F I N A L F A N T A S Y I I I F R E E L A N C E R G U I D E V 1.0 ________________ | C O N T E N T S \____________________________________________________________ | | | 1. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS [SEC1] | | 2. WORDS OF WISDOM [SEC2] | | 3. WALKTHROUGH [SEC3] | | 4. CONTACT ME [SEC4] | | 5. VERSION HISTORY [SEC5] | | 6. LEGAL [SEC6] | | 7. THANKS [SEC7] | |______________________________________________________________________________| *************************************** * Frequently Asked Questions * [SEC1] * *************************************** Q: What is the purpose of this guide? A: To discover if it's even possible to beat Final Fantasy III by using 4 Freelancers throughout the entire game. I imagine it is but will require a lot more grinding than what most players are used to, only the hardcore players with little to no life need apply (or people with WAY too much free time on their hands, such as myself). Q: Why in god's name would you make this? A: I live on my own, hence I don't have a ton of money to spend. I've always wanted to get the most out of my games. I'm making this to make sure I've done what is quite possibly the hardest thing to pull off in Final Fantasy III. I'm also a huge Final Fantasy fan (I played Final Fantasy I when I was 9 years old) so I absolutely adore the old skool hardcore grinding. Q: What do I get out of this guide? A: Respect from Final Fantasy geeks? Actually...they might even look down upon you for dedicating this much time into something that gives you nothing in return. Q: Why 4 Freelancers, why not 4 Onion Knights? A: Few reasons actually. First off, Onion Knights are not available from the start. Secondly, they can equip insanely powerful weapons and use insanely powerful magic compared to what a Freelancers is capable of. While the Onion Knight may pale in comparison of raw stats, their overall capabilities compared to that of a Freelancer are FAR better. Q: Why in god's name are you making this again? A: The real reason is I always wanted to, but I never put it on paper. I was 18 hours into a Freelancer game at Level 45 when I accidentally overwrote it. After crying myself to sleep (just kidding), I decided to give this chance to everyone else who wanted to do it but didn't think they'd have the time. I will be giving you a step by step, hour by hour run through of how to approach it. It will truly be the essential guide to beating Final Fantasy III with 4 Freelancers. Q: What should my final equipment look like? A: Luneth: Ultima Weapon, Excalibur, Ribbon, Crystal Mail, Celestial Gloves Refia: Aegis Shield, Crystal Shield, Crystal Helm, Crystal Mail, Crystal Gloves Ingus: Aegis Shield, Crystal Shield, Crystal Helm, Crystal Mail, Crystal Gloves Arc: Aegis Shield, Crystal Shield, Crystal Helm, Crystal Mail, Crystal Gloves Magic: Cure, Fire, Blizzard x 4 Q: You have no life. A: Not a question, but thank you. **************************** * Words of Wisdom * [SEC2] * **************************** 1. Potions and Hi-Potions SUCK! They will be useful until mid-game then you will discover that Cure is much more affective (because using Cure 3 times on all characters will give you more HP than 3 Hi-Potions on single characters.) 2. The best weapons and armor must always be equipped on all characters, no exceptions here. 3. FIGHT EVERY BATTLE! Unless you are on the brink of dying, fight every battle. In the long run it will save you some grinding. Back attacks don't count...run from those...bothersome... 4. If you do not like level grinding for a long time, stop reading this guide now. 5. I've discovered from my first time through that the Celestial Gloves and Ultima Weapon will be essential to beating bosses farther in the game. I will provide you with mognet information through out the guide on how to get these as soon as possible. 6. The best offense is a good defense. ************************ * Walkthrough * [SEC3] * ************************ Note: I'm going to assume this is not your first time through the game...who would be that crazy? I highly recommend you do this after enjoying the game before you put yourself into a world of pain. I'm not going to draw out maps or point out where the treasure chests are. What I will do is put what is available in what, what you should buy, what level you should be and boss strategies. _______________________________ / CHAPTER 1 CRYSTAL OF THE WIND \ ++++++++++++++ + Altar Cave + ++++++++++++++ Land Turtle / Level 4 / HP 111 Luneth - Level 3 - Front Long Sword Leather Shield Vest Strategy: This should be nothing new to you. Use the 2 Antarctic Winds and then attack twice and he'll succumb to your amazing Freelancer power. +++++++++++++++++ + Castle Sasune + +++++++++++++++++ Griffon / Level 6 / HP 230 Luneth - Level 5 - Front Bronze Knuckles x2 Mythril Helm Vest Bronze Bracers Arc - Level 5 - Front Wightslayer Longsword Leather Cap Leather Armor Bronze Bracers *Cure Refia - Level 5 - Front Longsword x2 Leather Cap Leather Armor Ingus - Level 5 - Rear Leather Shield x2 Leather Cap Leather Armor *Blizzard Strategy: Have Luneth, Arc and Refia pound away on Griffon with physical attacks while Ingus sits in the back casting Blizzard. Have Arc cast Cure if needed. +++++++++++++++ + Sealed Cave + +++++++++++++++ Djinn / Level 7 / HP 600 Luneth - Level 6 - Front Bronze Knuckles x2 Mythril Helm Vest Bronze Bracers *Cure Arc - Level 6 - Front Wightslayer Longsword Leather Cap Leather Armor Bronze Bracers Refia - Level 6 - Front Longsword x2 Leather Cap Leather Armor *Cure Ingus - Level 6 - Rear Leather Shield x2 Leather Cap Leather Armor *Blizzard Strategy: Don't waste your Antarctic Wind, keep it for a boss that actually has some sort of challenge. Follow the same strategy with Djinn that you did with Griffon. ___________________________ / CHAPTER 2 CRYSTAL OF FIRE \ ++++++++++++++++++ + Kazus / Canaan + ++++++++++++++++++ From this point on I am going to assume all of your Freelancers have Fire Blizzard and Cure as those are the only Level 1 magic spells of any importance. It may cost a lot but also deck out everyone with Mythril equipment and don't forget that Kazus Cave has 2 Mythril Swords inside as well. Buy 8 Mythril Shields as well (yes, 8). +++++++++++++++++ + Dragon's Peak + +++++++++++++++++ I'm going to introduce a new strategy here that you will use a lot through out the game. Equip all your characters with dual Mythril Shields and align the to the rear. Since your mana is going to regen after you battle with Bahamut just use Blizzard the entire climb to the top. Since you have so much defense and are in the rear some enemies will do 0 damage to you, even if they hit you with a critical attack. Bahamut / Level 45 / HP 34,000 Strategy: RUN! +++++++++ + Tozus + +++++++++ Okay now we have small dilemma, we need to be mini but Freelancers can't use Level 2 White magic. There are 2 ways to solve this. You can do the obvious which is change 1 of your characters into a White / Red Mage, but the downside to this is for some reason it will affect them in the long run. I turned Luneth into a White Mage my first time around to cast and revert back to Freelancer without even going into battle and for the entire game he had much less HP than the others. The other way is the only time I will condone cheating or glitches in games. Remember that Mallet you found in Canaan? Well if you didn't get it, you'll have to switch jobs and be cursed. Otherwise go into your inventory and move it to the top left slot (where your potions usually reside after using sort). Enter a battle and click on item then press A+UP simultaneously. This will go up to you weapon screen for a split second and then a hand will appear on your character, press B and go back to items, you will realize that the item has gone up by 1. Since there is no place to buy Mallets in-game yet, duplicate it 16 times so you have a total of 9. From this point on when you enter Tozus you can use Mallets to shrink and un-shrink your characters without changing classes (I made you do it 16 times so you can enter Nepto Temple as well). Sadly later on in the game you will be FORCED to change jobs to turn into Toads to complete Tower of Owen. ++++++++++++++++ + Nepto Temple + ++++++++++++++++ Giant Rat / Level 11 / HP 900 Luneth - Level 9 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Shell Helm Shell Armor Mythril Gloves *Cure Arc - Level 9 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Mythril Helm Mythril Armor Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 9 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Mythril Helm Mythril Armor Mythril Gloves *Cure Ingus - Level 9 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Mythril Helm Mythril Armor Mythril Gloves Strategy: Pound away at the giant rat with Fire, it shouldn't take more than 4 rounds unless you are incredibly low. Throw in an occassional Cure if needed, he's a push over like most bosses have been up to this point (don't worry, it will eventually get harder). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Village of the Ancients + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Now is as good a time to grind as any. Before heading to the Villeage of the Ancients make sure you have around 10,000 gil in your pocket. You'll need to buy 4 Headbands, 3 Kenpo Gis and 4 Serpent Swords to deck out your party with the latest and greatest fashions. I can't hurt either to make sure you have around 50 potions on hand for those pre battle healings, don't worry about hi-potions for now as they are more of a luxury than anything else. +++++++++++++++++ + Tower of Owen + +++++++++++++++++ Beforehand run to Castle Argus and turn any player of your choice into the oh so 1337 Red Mage then refresh them at the HP/HP wellspring. Remember until you revert back to a Freelancer you must run from all battles, sorry but that's the law if you plan to follow this walk through the way it was intended. Make your way into the Tower of Owen, remove Toad and start your journey. Medusa / Level 17 / HP 3,000 Luneth - Level 16 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Arc - Level 16 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 16 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Ingus - Level 16 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Bracers Strategy: Due to my own neglegence I'd recommend using Bracers in any purely magic based battles because they raise your INT and MND which helps in casting Black and White magic better. The battle is fairly easy, keep casting Blizzard and Cure (when needed), she will go down with very little trouble if any at all. +++++++++++++++++++++ + Subterranean Lake + +++++++++++++++++++++ Gutsco / Level 17 / HP 3,500 Luneth - Level 18 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Arc - Level 18 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 18 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Gloves Ingus - Level 18 - Rear Mythril Shield x2 Headband Kenpo Gi Mythril Bracers Strategy: Hardly even considered a boss battle. Cast Blizzard until dead. +++++++++++++++++++ + Dwarven Hollows + +++++++++++++++++++ Deck all your characters out in Ice Helms and Armors, grab 8 Ice Shields while you are at it, you'll need them. +++++++++++++++ + Molten Cave + +++++++++++++++ Salamander / Level 19 / HP 5,700 Luneth - Level 19 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Gloves Arc - Level 19 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 19 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Gloves Ingus - Level 19 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Gloves Strategy: This boss is slighty harder. Pound on him until you run out of magic and then throw an Antarctic Wind at him. I really hate to waste magic items on such an easy boss (in theory) but it just picks up the pace a bit. His Fire Breath can be bothersome but just cast Cure on everyone when needed. +++++++++++++++++++ + Dwarven Hollows + +++++++++++++++++++ Loot them for all they are worth! ____________________________ / CHAPTER 3 CRYSTAL OF WATER \ +++++++++++++++++ + Hein's Castle + +++++++++++++++++ Remember when we duplicated those Mallets back then? Do the same thing again 8 times. Hein / Level 22 / HP 4,500 Luneth - Level 20 - Rear Freezing Blade Heroic Shield Scholar Hat Knight Armor Gauntlets Arc - Level 20 - Rear Salamand Sword Ice Shield Ice Helm Scholar Robe Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 20 - Rear Serpent Sword Ice Shield Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Gloves Ingus - Level 20 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Myhtril Bracers Strategy: This really all depends on the luck of the draw to be honest. Start off by attacking with Luneth, Arc and Refia to see what does the most damage act upon that. Due to the fact this boss is just annoying I recommend using magic items for that purpose. In my case I was very lucky. His intial weakness was Ice so I used 4 Antarctic Winds but he did a Barrier Shift before I got to act, fortunately he didn't actually change, his attribute was still Fire. After that I had Luneth use an Arctic Wind and everyone else cast Blizzard. He did another Barrier Shift but his attribute was STILL Fire so he ended up getting royally owned by 4 Freelancers in only 3 rounds. I can't say you'll get as lucky as I am but I'm sure you get the idea of having 3 characters each weilding a sword with a certain element. +++++++++++++++++++++ + Village of Gyshal + +++++++++++++++++++++ Make sure you have around 10 Magic Keys and go loot Castle Sasune like a good thief. +++++++++++++++++ + CAVE OF TIDES + +++++++++++++++++ Kraken / Level 24 / HP 8,000 Luneth - Level 24 - Rear Heroic Shield Ice Shield Scholar Hat Knight Armor Gauntlet Arc - Level 24 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Scholar Robe Mythril Gloves Refia - Level 24 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Scholar Robe Mythril Gloves Ingus - Level 24 - Rear Ice Shield x2 Ice Helm Ice Armor Mythril Bracers Strategy: Your first REAL boss battle, so don't cut any corners, Kraken can and will hit you hard with spells like Blizzara (maybe wearing Ice Armor isn't the best for the given scenario?) Anyways at this point in time I had 6 Zeus' Wrath and 1 Heavenly Wrath saved up from all the previous dungeons + grinding, that's all it really took to take him down in 2 rounds. If you don't have that many use whatever you have then move in and lay the smack down on him the best you can while using Hi-Potions to heal yourself when needed. ____________________________ / CHAPTER 4 CRYSTAL OF EARTH \ ++++++++ + AMUR + ++++++++ Start the grind train up again because you're going to need 100,000+ gil for all the stuff here. 6 Main Gauches, 7 Heroic Shields, 4 Chakra Bands, 4 Black Belt Gis and 3 Thief Gloves. Hint: Sell the Shuriken for an easy 32,000 gil. ++++++++++++++++ + Goldor Manor + ++++++++++++++++ Goldor / Level 26 / HP 9,000 Luneth - Level 28 - Front Royal Sword Poison Dagger Chakra Band Black Belt Gi Power Bracers Arc - Level 28 - Front Main Gauche x2 Chakra Band Black Belt Gi Thief Gloves Refia - Level 28 - Front Main Gauche x2 Chakra Band Black Belt Gi Thief Gloves Ingus - Level 28 - Front Main Gauche x2 Chakra Band Black Belt Gi Thief Gloves Strategy: Attack over and over again, healing shouldn't even be an issue. ++++++++++ + Duster + ++++++++++ Buy 4 Bard Vests. Magic Defense is a good thing! +++++++++++ + Saronia + +++++++++++ Garuda / Level 28 / HP 10,000 Luneth - Level 30 - Rear Heroic Shield x2 Scholar Hat Bard Vest Power Bracers Arc - Level 30 - Rear Heroic Shiled x2 Chakra Band Bard Vest Thief Gloves Refia - Level 30 - Rear Heroic Shiled x2 Chakra Band Bard Vest Thief Gloves Ingus - Level 30 - Rear Heroic Shiled x2 Chakra Band Bard Vest Thief Gloves Strategy: I've seen people actually complain about this boss! They clearly have no idea what the hell they are doing, that's all. Cast Blizzard over and over again. His Lighting will prolly hit you for 250-ish DMG so you might have to use 1 round dedicated to Hi-Potions and then resume freezing his sorry bird ass. I'm still confused as to how that normal guy turned into a giant bird, either way he shouldn't even be considered a boss, he's a push over. +++++++++++++++++ + Ancient Ruins + +++++++++++++++++ Bye bye gil. Diamond Shield x8, Diamond Helm x4, White Robe x4 (or Black Robe if you prefer), Diamond Bracers x2, we now have happy characters! I choose the White Robe over Diamond Mail in terms of pure Magical Defense which will play a huge role in Boss Battles. You can choose the Black Robe for more DMG but I like to know I can Cure for more if needed rather than hit for more. The best offense is a good defense, it holds very true for this mode of play. +++++++++++++++++++ + Cave of Shadows + +++++++++++++++++++ Don't even bother fighting the enemies in this cave, they are a complete and utter waste of time, in terms of everything (experience and the dividing annoyance). Hecatoncheir / Level 43 / HP 28,000 Luneth - Level 39 - Rear Diamond Shield Genji Shield Genji Helm White Robe Genji Gloves Arc - Level 39 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Power Bracers Refia - Level 39 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Protect Ring Ingus - Level 39 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Diamond Bracers Strategy: Hrm...does this seems familiar? Blizzard x 10,000, it should do anywhere from 700 - 1,000 DMG per cast, use Cure when needed (which won't be very often). You can dedicate 1 character to using Cure while the rest pound away with Blizzard. +++++++++++++++++ + Doga's Grotto + +++++++++++++++++ Remember how I said eventually we'd be fighting some hard bosses? THIS IS IT! This may be given to the fact my levels are so low (heck, anything is easy if you take the time to grind to insanely high levels) but I just wasn't feeling up to it. Once we get Celestial Bracers, Ultima Weapon and Excalibur we will be forced to grind...so might as well make it a bit easier right? Here are the equips for both battles. Luneth - Level 40 - Rear Diamond Shield Genji Shield Genji Helm White Robe Genji Gloves Arc - Level 40 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Diamond Bracers Refia - Level 40 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Protect Ring Ingus - Level 40 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Diamond Bracers Doga / Level 45 / HP 22,800 Strategy: Unleash half of everything on him. He's the easier of the two fights sadly. During this battle aside from Blizzard, Cure, countless Hi-Potions, Phoenix Down x3 and an Elixir I also used 4 Bomb Fragments and 1 Bomb Arm. He eventually went down with my characters all at around 1/2 health and Arc dead. Watch out for when he does Flare, it'll down any character with under 2,500 HP in 1 hit. =============================================================================== Unei / Level 44 / HP 21,800 Strategy: Wait...didn't you say Doga is easier? What gives? Doga didn't have Tornado or Haste. During this battle I used 3 Artic Winds, Raven's Yawn, Chocobo's Wrath, Elixir x2, Phoenix Down x2 and then the usual assortment of Hi-Potions and Cure + Blizzard. Honestly, she is a real pain in the ass. If she didn't cast Haste it wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem. In the end these battles really come down to luck...does she attack too much? Does Tornado hit all your characters or just a few? I was fortunate enough to kill her with all my characters intact. _________________________________ / FINAL CHAPTER WORLD OF DARKNESS \ +++++++++++++++++ + Ancients Maze + +++++++++++++++++ Titan / Level 46 / HP 29,000 Luneth - Level 45 - Rear Crystal Shield Genji Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 45 - Rear Aegis Shield Diamond Shield Genji Helm White Robe Genji Gloves Refia - Level 45 - Rear Aegis Shield Diamond Shield Diamond Helm White Robe Protect Ring Ingus - Level 45 - Rear Aegis Shield Diamond Shield Diamond Helm White Robe Protect Ring Strategy: Blizzard is my favourite spell and this boss is a push over. ++++++++++ + Eureka + ++++++++++ Boss battles will be covered under the Optional Chapter Side Quests but there are a few important things to do at this point in time that will affect your gameplay. Open Eureka and go back to Airship, at this point find that pesky Mastersmith and get the Ultima Weapon and Celestial Gloves from her. NOW return to Eureka, deck everyone out with Crystal Helms, Armor and Gloves (with exception to the fact that Celestial Gloves and Protect Ring x2 are better than the Crystal Glove) and a bucket load of Crystal Shields (5 to be exact, 'cause Aegis Shields pwn). Now goto the Optional Chapter Side Quests and find out how to beat down General and get that elusive Excalibur. +++++++++++++++++ + Crystal Tower + +++++++++++++++++ Xange / Level 50 / HP 49,999 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: There is a strategy involved here? It's pretty self explanitory given by the layout of your team. Luneth will be dealing 9,999+ DMG per hit, Xande will be dead after 3 hits. +++++++++++++++++++++ + World of Darkness + +++++++++++++++++++++ Don't bother with Ribbons, they are a complete and utter waste of time, only 1 is needed. Luneth will be wearing a Ribbon because he will not be wearing an Aegis Shield. The difference in DEF between Aegis Shield and Crystal Shield is less a drop than a Ribbon vs. Crystal Helm. Echidna / Level 55 / HP 99,999 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Erm...remember how you killed Xande? It's the same...it's going to be the same for all the bosses from this point on with a small exception for Cloud of Darkness. Get everyone sans Luneth to cast Cure on everyone, you'll probably end up having full HP after each turn because you should be getting around 250 HP per cast for everyone. =============================================================================== Ahriman / Level 55 / HP 99,999 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: OMG it's an ugly yellow flying version of Echidna (not to say Echidna was attractive or anything) =============================================================================== Two-Headed Dragon / Level 55 / HP 99,999 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Ahriman grew a second head! (O___O) =============================================================================== Cerberus / Level 55 / HP 99,999 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: and a third head... =============================================================================== Cloud of Darkness / Level 60 / HP 120,000 Luneth - Level 75 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Arc - Level 75 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Brace yourselves, this will take more than 6 turns to finish (which should have been the case for past 4 battles.) Cloud of Darkness is all on the rag and pissy but she isn't too hard at all, the only problem is that particle beam. If your party drops below 1,500 HP at any point take 1 turn to use an Elixir on each party member...which should only be done once before she falls. Honestly, sad excuse for a boss but maybe that's because I levelled up WAY too much on the bus rides to and from work instead of actually completing the game earlier. Enjoy, you apparently did the hardest thing in Final Fantasy III (well within reason that is, it's just pointless and stupid to pass the game with 1 Level 99 Freelancer or some insane shit like that.) ______________________________ / OPTIONAL CHAPTER SIDE QUESTS \ +++++++++++++++++++++ + Saronia Catacombs + +++++++++++++++++++++ Odin / Level 40 / HP 21,000 Luneth - Level 43 - Rear Aegis Shield Diamond Shield Genji Helm White Robe Genji Gloves Arc - Level 43 - Rear Genji Shield Diamond Shield Diamond Helm White Robe Diamond Bracers Refia - Level 43 - Rear Aegis Shield Diamond Shield Diamond Helm White Robe Protect Ring Ingus - Level 43 - Rear Diamond Shield x2 Diamond Helm White Robe Diamond Bracers Strategy: This should be nothing new to you, Blizzard + Cure FTW. Zentetsuken will do around maybe 600 DMG to each person...just shrug it off and keep hammering away on him, he'll go down with very little effort. +++++++++++++ + Lake Dohr + +++++++++++++ Leviathan / Level 43 / HP 22,000 Luneth - Level 50 - Front Ultima Weapon Poison Dagger Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 49 - Front Excalibur Royal Sword Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 49 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 49 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Okay so here's the deal...Ingus and Arc are taking 0 DMG in the back row LoL and Luneth is a rock...so that leaves us with poor Refia being a weak girl just like girls in real life (I KID I KID, I kid because I love!) So having said that and loosing all of the female readers, have Luneth and Refia attack while Ingus and Arc cast Cure on Refia for the hell of it. Leviathan will be down in 3 rounds. ++++++++++++++++++ + Bahamut's Lair + ++++++++++++++++++ Bahamut / Level 45 / HP 34,000 Luneth - Level 49 - Front Ultima Weapon Poison Dagger Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 49 - Front Excalibur Royal Sword Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 49 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 49 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Seeing as how Bahamut doesn't inflect status ailments 2 Crystal Shields would have made a lot more sense...but that doesn't matter because Refia was the only one who didn't make it out alive...*tears* Now you have the summon Bahamur...which makes no sense because his name is Bahamut...then again Odin turned in to Catastro so...I'm not even gonna dwell on this anymore. I'm sure the strategy is pretty obvious, 2 leads pound, 2 rears heal. ++++++++++ + Eureka + ++++++++++ Ninja / Level 4...not a boss... =============================================================================== Amon / Level 48 / HP 33,500 Luneth - Level 50 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield x2 Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Let me tell you, there is nothing more frightening than a gay Skeleton wearing a Bard outfit with all the colours of the rainbow...*blank stare*...okay so what we have here is we gotta make sure that Luneth does the most damage possible because Refia is a wuss. Have everyone use Cure on all every single turn and have Luneth pound away on the skeleton of Richard Simmons. =============================================================================== Kunoichi / Level 48 / HP 29,000 Luneth - Level 50 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Ribbon Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Apparently there is a things called blind and poison in the game... so while Kunoichi is hitting your characters for 0 DMG be thankful that the Ribbon and Aegis Shields are preventing her from doing any real damage at all. I think the non existant boss gaurding the Omnirod is harder than Kunoichi. =============================================================================== General / Level 48 / HP 35,000 Luneth - Level 47 - Front Ultima Weapon Royal Sword Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 47 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 47 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 47 - Rear Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: A slightly modified layout for boss battles that will be followed even more so once you get the Excalibur from this happy little fellow. Luneth dishes out the damage while (you guessed it!) Blizzard helps here and there... I did tend to use Cure once or twice but it really wasn't even necessary. At this point in the game Luneth should be taking no where over 100 DMG per hit even on bosses like this. =============================================================================== Gaurdian / Level 49 / HP 33,700 Luneth - Level 50 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Ribbon Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Write your Freelancer walkthrough while not paying attention the DS Lite and following the Amon / Kunoichi method. =============================================================================== Scylla / Level 49 / HP 35,000 Luneth - Level 50 - Front Ultima Weapon Excalibur Ribbon Crystal Armor Celestial Gloves Refia - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Ingus - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Protect Ring Arc - Level 50 - Rear Crystal Shield Aegis Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: That wolf has a lot of effen heads...actually to be honest I was like OH SNAP at the start because she killed Luneth in 1 hit with Flare...but then I used a Phoenix Down on him and some Hi Potions and she cast Holy on Ingus and it only hit for like 1,500 so I was all lawlz your gonna get pwned 'cause I was like hitting her for 9 x4 yo!...I need some sleep...it's 5:38AM...After killing her I bought more Crystal Shields for no real reason at all...now I have 8 in total. ******* * ??? * SUBMITTED BY JEREMY MAXWELL ******* In the Secret ??? Dungeon you will find an endless supply of Yellow/Green/Red Dragons and the Iron Giant, the most ridiculous boss in the game. Note about possibility of success: Obviously, since I wrote this section of the Walkthrough, the Iron Giant can be defeated using only Freelancers throughout the entire process from starting the game to finishing of the Iron Giant (except as described above in two instances where spells are necessary). I say this because up until I actually beat the Iron Giant, I thought that it might not be possible. However, beating him relies heavily on Luck. Beating the Iron Giant with Freelancers takes an insane amount of time and dedication due to the fact that there are not enough weapons to quickly defeat many enemies and battles last much longer than normal. So, I may be the only person willing to dedicate months to achieving this goal. The running game time it took me to level up and beat the Iron Giant was 55:03:51. Since it only took me 23:25:08 to actually defeat the Cloud of Darkness, you can see that it took a long, long time of pure grinding. As you will see below, since I only used Freelancers, grinding to Level 99 produced a range of hit points from 8,415 to 8,507. I am sure that this is a pretty good estimate of what you will end up with, but I am not willing to do this again to see for myself. Note on cheating: Beating the Iron Giant with Freelancers can be done without cheating (i.e., duplicating items). During the course of grinding you should choose to fight enemies that will drop the items that you will need. Since you will be grinding forever, fighting enough enemies will give you all of the items you will need. There are really only three items (other than worn equipment) that you will need to beat the Iron Giant: Chocobo¡¯s Wrath (25+), Elixir (30+), and Turtle Shell (4). All of these items can be obtained in normal battles as you progress/grind through the game. The numbers in parentheses are how many I used in defeating the Iron Giant. Individual results may vary, so have extra on hand. Dragons obviously drop Elixirs every battle except when dropping onion equipment. Many enemies in Eureka (e.g., ninjas, kunoichi, etc.) will drop Chocobo¡¯s Wrath at a relatively high rate so look for these there. Turtle Shells can be obtained from Frost Flies and Sorcerers, as well as many underwater enemies. Note on Equipment: You may think that I am crazy to wear black robes on 3 of 4 warriors (especially on Luneth who is not wearing shields), but the added intellect is integral to beating the Iron Giant. Believe me I tried using Crystal armor during many unsuccessful attempts. The first time I tried with 3 black robes I beat the Iron Giant. As you will see in the strategy section below, Ingus will spend most of the time using Elixirs, so the added intellect of a black robe is pointless. Iron Giant / Level 81 / HP 199,999 Luneth - Level 99 ? Rear ? 8471 HP Ultima Weapon Excalibur Ribbon Black Robe Celestial Gloves Arc - Level 99 ? Rear ? 8455 HP Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Black Robe Crystal Gloves Refia - Level 99 - Rear ? 8415 HP Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Black Robe Crystal Gloves Ingus - Level 99 - Rear ? 8507 HP Aegis Shield Crystal Shield Crystal Helm Crystal Armor Crystal Gloves Strategy: Round 1: everyone uses turtle shell on self. Rounds 2 through ¡°Swipe¡±: Luneth will use Chocobo¡¯s wrath every turn. Arc, Refia and Ingus will use either Chocobo¡¯s Wrath or Elixir based on current hit points. Because at least one warrior will need healing (<6000 HP) each round Ingus will use Elixir almost every turn. If more than one warrior drops below 6000 HP, Refia and/or Arc will use Elixir. Note on Round 2: In my successful campaign against Iron Giant, I used a Bacchus cider on Iron Giant to get him to attack me before I used my Elixirs. This is important during ¡°Swipe,¡± but the effect ran out the round before ¡°Swipe¡± so I don¡¯t know if it actually helped. Luneth will do damage of around 6500 to 9999+ each round because his stats have been raised with the Ultima Weapon, Excalibur, Celestial Gloves and Black robe. Arc and Refia will only achieve around 3500 to 7500 in damage with each Chocobo¡¯s Wrath, but every bit of damage counts. Note on ¡°Swipe¡±: the battle is pretty easy up until ¡°Swipe¡± so even at lower levels in the high 80¡¯s you might think that you have a chance. But no you don¡¯t! ¡°Swipe¡± will kick you¡¯re A$$ until you are Upper 90¡¯s, and even then luck plays a huge part. Iron Giant will start to ¡°Swipe¡± after to do 150,000 in damage so there will be about 49,999 HP left at this point. Round ¡°Swipe¡± on: This is where luck plays a huge part. Does Iron Giant get to attack first, or can you heal up first. Regardless, Luneth will continue to use Chocobo¡¯s Wrath (hope that he does 9999+). Arc, Refia, and Ingus will use Elixirs. Whichever has the most HP heals Luneth. After three rounds of ¡°Swipe¡± and hopefully 30000+ in damage by Luneth, everyone uses Chocobo¡¯s Wrath to try to finish the Iron Giant off. Note on dying during ¡°Swipe¡±: Too bad, you will not be able to revive you fallen friend, so try to carry on without him/her. If one dies, you will likely all die soon. If Luneth dies, just start over. I managed to beat Iron Giant will all Four Warriors Alive and Kicking A$$. With enough luck you may have success beating Iron Giant at levels lower than 99, and if you that is awesome you can end your misery sooner. You may also have success using different equipment than I did, but believe me, I tried countless combinations of gear including protect rings, ribbons, etc. I only showed what I was wearing when I beat Iron Giant. Good Luck and happy hunting. maxjermo@yahoo.com *********************** * Contact Me * [SEC4] * *********************** Spelling errors? Strategies? Praise? Insults? jrockidol at hotmail dot com **************************** * Version History * [SEC5] * **************************** 1.0 (08.04.13) - Completed the guide with help from Jeremy Maxwell 0.7 (07.04.11) - Completed the guide except for the ??? Dungeon which I will eventually get around to when I have more free time. 0.6 (07.03.27) - Crystal Tower and ??? Dungeon are all that's left. Minor cosmetic changes to walkthrough. 0.5 (07.03.25) - Walkthrough up to Doga's Manor is completed. 0.4 (07.03.21) - Walkthrough up to Saronia is completed. 0.3 (07.03.20) - Walkthrough up to Amur is completed. 0.2 (07.03.18) - Walkthrough up to Tower of Owen is completed. 0.1 (07.03.14) - Basic layout for the walkthrough is created. ************************ * Legal Stuff * [SEC6] * ************************ This guide may not be reproduced or sold in any way shape of form without my verbal consent. This guide may only be posted on GameFAQs. If you wish to post my guide on your site please consult me first. ***************** * THANKS [SEC7] * ***************** Me for accidentally over writing my original save and thinking "damn, I have no life, how about I make a walkthrough on how to do this." Quinnie for sending me Mognet mails at 1:35AM for ALL my saves (total of around 28 mails) Jeremy Maxwell for making an amazing in-depth 4 page walkthrough on how to kill the Iron Giant with 4 Freelancers when I didn't have the time nor motivation to do so. Kim Kyung-hee, my beautiful GF who is waiting for me in Vancouver while I study abroad in Korea. CJayC...he owns GameFAQs right? Yeah, GameFAQs owns me! SquareEnix for making a game that is a joygasm for the eyes as well as fun. Korean bands for providing me music to listen to instead of the horribly repetative music in-game.