sco's FF2 Walkthrough [version 2.2] "In a far off land... A long peace has ended. The Palamecia Empire has summoned Hellspawn in hopes to rule the world... The people of Fynn fought bravely for their kingdom... And lost. Now four of Fynn's youth must flee to Altair, with the enemy just behind..." Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Pre-Adventuring Tips 2A. Skills/Stats 2B. Improving Stats 2C. Weapon/Spell Skills 2D. Boosting Stats 2E. Stat Boosting Tricks/Tips 2F. Combat a. Basics b. Fight c. Magic d. Item e. Run f. Rows g. Revivification 2G. Status Ailments/Buffs a. Permanent Ailments b. Temporary Ailments c. Buffs 2H. Character Weapons/Magic/Items a. Weapons b. Magic c. sco's Spell List 1. White Magic 2. Black Magic d. Items 2I. INT/SOUL penalties 2J. EVA% Significance a. Raises AGL b. Faster Turn in Battle c. RUN!!! d. Evade Physical Attacks e. Increasing EVA% 1. Having High AGL 2. Shields 3. Weapons 4. Equipment 2K. Key Terms/Items 2L. Menus/Translation 3. Walkthrough I. The Beginning I-A. The Journey Begins I-B. Basic Training I-C. Head to Fynn I-D. Back to Altair I-E. Search for the Mythril (Semitt Falls) I-F. Returning with the Mythril II. The Warship II-A. Contact the Spy II-B. The Bafsk Sewers II-C. Report Back to Hilda II-D. Finding the Goddess's Bell II-E. Ice Cave II-F. The Kas'ion Ruins II-G. Destroying the Warship II-H. Back to Altair III. Striking Back at the Empire III-A. Traveling to Deist III-B. Deist Castle III-C. Deist Cave III-D. Back to Altair, again... III-E. To the Battle Arena III-F. Recapturing of Fynn IV. The Path to Ultima IV-A. Exploring Fynn IV-B. The Down-Below IV-C. Finding the Black Mask (Tiny Island) IV-D. The Mysidian Cave IV-E. Side-Tracked Straight Down (Leviathan) IV-F. The Mysidian Tower V. The Emperor's Final Stand V-A. Reporting Back to Fynn V-B. Inside the Eye (Cyclone) V-C. Celebrating the Emperor's Beat-Down V-D. Acquiring the Airship V-E. Castle Palamecia VI. Pandaemonium, the Forbidden Fortress VI-A. Return to Deist VI-B. Get Ya Weight Up VI-C. The Jade Passage VI-D. Pandaemonium VI-E. The Finale (The Final Battle) 4. Secrets 4A. Snowcraft Mini-Game 4B. Chocobo 4C. Normal Mode 4D. Blood Sword 4E. Waterfall Magic Shop 5. Revisions/History 6. Legal crap 7. Thanks ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. Introduction Final Fantasy II was the ACTUAL second installment in Square's very popular Final Fantasy series. Commonly known as "FF2j", Final Fantasy II was originally released on the NES, a.k.a. "old nintendo", and never made it over to the U.S. Because of this, and the fact that FF3 never made it here either, the FF2 that did make it to the U.S. on Super Nintendo is actually FF4. Eventually, however, the game was officially released to the U.S. in 2003, as Final Fantasy Origins. Final Fantasy II was playable in the U.S. before then by getting the NES ROM, and playing it on an NES emulator. FF2 is a great game, with many original features. From the way the heroes are developed, to key word feature, FF2 accomplished many things never seen before in an RPG at that time. FF2 also had many “firsts" along with it. It was the first Final Fantasy to have the Chocobo, and also the first to have an actual plot. Many trademark enemies of the Final Fantasy series first made their appearance in this game. This is my very first walkthrough, and I picked one hell of a game to write/type one to. I probably should've started with something like NES Gauntlet, or Pong. Anyway, I decided on a FF2 walkthrough because of a number of reasons. One, it's a pretty cool game, two, I have a site floating somewhere around, and a walkthrough is just about mandatory. And three, while I've always been a huge fan of FF1, driving my nephew/cousin crazy playing it constantly through those long summer days with nothing to do, I was able to do the same thing with FF2. Playing through the same game, multiple times, on three different systems can't be fun to watch, or hear about. I always get the question "How can you do that over, and over, and over again?" Heh, heh, heh, no 2P games for you! Anyway, e-mail any questions, corrections, and pithy comments to sco@scoff2j.com. Don't be too harsh though... There are, in fact, multiple "translations" for Final Fantasy II. I chose to use the translation from the Playstation version for this walkthrough. A few things, however, may be little different. I may have used abbreviations for spells from the NES version. Also there are a couple of enemies that I refer to from the NES version. It's basically the same, but not. So don't hate, I've went through the game many times, so whatever stuck, sticks, got it, good? Moving on, there ARE spoilers in the walkthrough. EVERYWHERE. So if you don't want the plot to be ruined your first time through, don't read the walkthrough. Repeat, if you don't want SPOILERS, DO NOT read the walkthrough. If you do need some help though, you can read the Pre-Adventuring Tips section for a few hints and tricks. Well, I hope you enjoy the walkthrough, and find a lot of useful and helpful information in it. Again, e-mail me with any questions and the like. Good luck with the game, and have fun I guess... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2. Pre-Adventuring Tips Getting started in Final Fantasy II isn't hard at all. Although, a few things set FF2 apart from most RPGs. I'll start with the most complex stuff first(the stats), then move on to battles and stuff. Once you get the basics, like anything, it's not so bad, and it makes the game flow so much better. The fact that the characters are developed, or "leveled", so differently from many "traditional" RPGs, may have turned a few gamers away from FF2. In this Pre-Adventuring section, I'll attempt to break-down and explain various topics that should lead you to success, and hopefully help you better understand FF2 and it's many functions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2A. Skills/Stats FF2 has it's own way of developing the 'heroes' in the game. There are no experience levels, or even experience points. Rather, how you fight in battle dictates how your characters will improve. For example, if you use a lot of Magic in a fight, your magical abilities will improve, or if you always attack in a fight, your strength will increase, but magical abilities may begin to decline. All "raw stats" can be increased in battle, and some will decrease. Raw Stats include Strength(STR), Agility(AGL), Vitality(VIT), Intelligence(INT), Soul(SOUL), and MagicPower(M.PWR). Other stats that can increase in battle are Max HitPoints(MaxHP), Max MagicPoints(MaxMP), Evasion(EVA), and MagicDefense(M.DEF). Modified Stats are those that depend on various factors, such as the Raw Stats themselves, weapons, armor, and other conditions. They include Attack(ATK), Hit Percent(HIT%), Defense(DEF), Evasion Percent(EVA%), and Magic Defense(M.DEF). Modified Stats cannot be increased in battle. Here's what all the stats do: Raw Stats: STR - base damage output and accuracy of physical attacks AGL - base evasion% VIT - rate a character's MaxHP increases each time it goes up INT - power and success rate of Black Magic SOUL - power and success rate of White Magic M.PWR- rate a character's MaxMP increases each time it goes up Modified Stats: ATK - final damage output of physical attacks HIT% - number of and accuracy of attacks DEF - amount of damage a character can absorb EVA% - chances a character has at avoiding physical attacks, and more M.DEF- defense against Magic and Special Attacks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2B. Improving Stats Characters can improve their skills and stats in battle by attacking, using magic, or being attacked. Below shows each stat, and how it is affected in battles. MaxHP- lose a lot of HP in a battle MaxMP- lose a lot of MP in a battle STR - attacking a lot; decreases from excessive White Magic use AGL - having a high EVA% VIT - lose a lot of HP during the battle; decreases from Black Magic use INT - cast many Black Magic spells; decreases from attacking a lot SOUL - cast many White Magic spells M.PWR- lose a lot of MP during a fight EVA - be target of a lot of physical attacks **Only increases Evasion Count, not base percentage M.DEF- be target of a lot of spells **Only increases M. DEF Count, not base percentage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2C. Weapon/Spell Skills Weapon and Spell skills also improve in battle. Weapon skills can increase by attacking with a certain weapon type in battle. The Shield skill also goes up if one is equipped while attacking. The higher the weapon skill, the higher a characters Attack Count. A higher Attack Count gives the fighter an extra 'hit' per attack, thus raising chances for the attack to succeed, and increasing damage output and chances for critical hits. A higher shield level boosts the effectiveness of the shield wielded. A shield with the evasion percentage of 15%, matched with a shield skill level of 3, becomes a shield with the evasion percentage of 45%. Simple enough, yeah? Spell skills increase when a certain spell is used. Once a new spell is learned, it starts a level 1. Let's say someone learned FIRE, they would have FIRE 1. After using it a buncha times, it becomes FIRE 2. Each individual spell is leveled separately, but it's effectiveness increases with every level. Most status ailment spells need to be greater-than or equal to the enemies M.DEF Count to work. The spell won't always WORK, nor could it always MISS if this isn't the case, but it's a good general rule to go by. Weapon and Spell skills are MAXED OUT at level 16. 16... an impressive number, yeah? Especially when you count 8 weapon types(including shields), 40 spells, 3 main characters, and 6 side characters throughout the game. Raw stats MAX OUT at 99(or A5), MaxHP at 9999, and MaxMP at 999. That's a lot to build up, so your good friend 'sco here will give you some tips to boost those skills and stats real fast-like. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2D. Boosting Stats Now, in this section, I'm going to explain how to boost stats up faster, and higher than normal. FF2j can be an extremely hard game not using these "tricks", especially with the spells. But if you've got the skillz, or patience, then going through the game "normally", is a fun challenge. And I should maybe emphasize CHALLENGE. Not that it can't be done, because it very well can, just if you get stuck, and don't want to spend time fighting battle after battle, then you can use these "tricks" to help speed up the process. Using these "tricks" also helps bring up skills and spells up to levels not "normally" reachable. Weapon Skills/STR - To build up weapon skills quickly, instead of attacking over, and over, and over, and over, and over, killing enemy, after enemy, after enemy, simply target the enemy, and when the next character steps up for commands, cancel back to first character and repeat the process. Lost? Here, checkout this example: Maria wants to increase her weapon skill... 1. Maria steps up to attack 2. Maria selects 'Fight' 3. Maria then selects her target 4. Guy steps up to attack 5. Hit the cancel button, Guy steps back, Maria steps up 6. Repeat steps 2-5 over, and over, and over, and over, and... You should get the picture now. Each time you do that, you'll receive 1 point toward your weapon skill. Do it 100 times to increase your skill. Once you get a high skill level, you may need to do it more times, or find stronger foes with a higher rank. Doing this trick will also increases the character's STR stat. Magic Skills/SOUL/INT - Building magic skills is essentially the same as weapon skills. However, the process is a little longer, and there are just too many spells. The process is easier, however, if the spell you wish to build up is the first one on the character's spell list. Doing this trick with the spells raises the character's SPRT or INT, depending on what kind of spell is being used. Here's another example for the hell of it: Guy wants to increase his BREAK spell... 1. Guy steps up to attack 2. Guy selects 'Magic' 3. Guy chooses the BREAK spell on his spell list 4. Guy then selects a target 5. Josef steps up to attack 6. Hit the cancel button, Josef steps back, Guy steps up 7. Repeat steps 2-6 Now, you may be thinking, "well, what if there is no fourth character?", or "what if the next character is dead?", or even "what about the fourth character?" Well, the answers are simple. If there's no fourth character, Guy's S.O.L., and can't do the trick, same with the fourth character, he/she can't do the trick. If the next character is dead, asleep, paralyzed, or can't act for whatever reason, then if there's nobody left to act, then the 'round' will be forced. Long story short, you need another 'usable' character below you to do the trick. MaxHP/VIT - Simply beat the crap out of your own team. MaxMP/M.PWR - Have everyone cast spells on each other, or spells that won't kill the enemy. The RASP and OSMOSE spells can be used to damage a characters MP, making it easier to build up. AGL/EVA Count - The easiest way to build AGL, is to equip a shield and wear light armor. Basically, you just need a really high EVA%. The more EVA% you have, the better chance of an AGL boost. You can also do this with dual-wielding. EVA Count will go up from time to time, but to really boost it up, kill off everyone in your group, then fight monsters that use only physical attacks. A high AGL, and a shield are recommended for this. I believe that the higher the enemy's Attack Count, the higher your EVA Count can get. Not too sure, just need some more testing with that one. M.DEF Count - Simply fight monsters that use high-leveled magic. Sometimes they don't even have to use it to get a boost. M.DEF levels from time to time, I've never really "intentionally" leveled it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2E. Stat Boosting Tricks/Tips SWAP trick - To build up your MaxHP, VIT, MaxMP, M.PWR, and possibly SPRT, all in one shot, use the SWAP trick. Find or purchase the SWAP spell and level it a little, say 4 or 5. Go over to the Altair area and battle the Goblins, or Hornets, or something weak like that. Cast the SWAP spell on them to change stats. Your HP will drop to around 6, and MP to 0. Finish off the fight and reap the rewards. You can do this over and over and Max out your HP fairly quickly, along with MP. The only downside is that the Inn prices will eat your wallet, but near the end of the game, money shouldn't be an issue. Additional tips - Sometimes selecting 'Fight' 100 times, along with a target, can be a mind- numbing process. And building up each and every spell like that can drive you crazy as well. So I've come up with a few 'alternative' methods to build weapon and spell skills, while continuing on with the game almost unnoticed. Bulk Method - If I need to build up spells for three different party members, choosing the spells 300 times is boring. Instead, of using it 100 times, use it 25-35 times per character. This guarantees a Stat Boost, plus builds the spell. Do it for 3-4 battles to get an increased skill level and some extra stats. Tiny Method - Instead of just picking a time to build skills, do it while fighting all those monsters in the dungeons. If I want to build a weapon skill, every round I select a target 5-10 times before continuing. Same with spells. Maybe besides selecting a spell every round, I'll select it 10-20 times every time I use it, or if it's a boss, 20-50. Doing it this way breaks up the 100 uses, and makes it a little bit less monotonous, all the while increasing chances for a stat boost every battle. Heh... was all that clear? Anyway, the only downside to this is as your skills become way higher than the enemies rank, it becomes harder to build up skills. That's why you should seek out tougher enemies, or select the skill a couple of extra times. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2F. Combat Now that you know the how to boost stats n' such, let's move on to the basics of combat. You'll spend most of your time playing FF2j in dungeons, and in battles. While treading the world map or exploring a dungeon, the party can be forced into random battles. As I've mentioned before, how you battle is how your characters are developed, so let's learn how to fight, yeah? a. BASICS The battle system in FF2j is turn-based. Each 'round' consists of you choosing the actions of your characters. Once you're finished, your party and the enemies attack each other. Each character's Agility determines when they'll attack in the round. There are four actions each character can take in battle. The four actions are FIGHT, MAGIC, ITEM, and RUN. Your battle strategies will change, depending on the enemy being fought, and how you've developed your characters. A balanced party is key in making your journey a lot easier. b. FIGHT This action makes a character use a normal physical attack with his/her equipped weapon(s). You must first select a target to attack. Once a target is selected, and the round has begun, the character will attack the chosen target. c. MAGIC Use this action to have a character cast a certain spell during a battle. First, you must choose the spell the character will use, then you must choose the target for the spell. After the round has started, the character will use the chosen spell. Spells are important for strategy in a fight. Use them to heal the party, and to exploit enemy weaknesses. d. ITEM Items that are equipped in a character's inventory can be used in battles. Items can be used to restore HP and MP, cure status ailments, or even cast certain spells on the enemies. A character can equip extra weapons into their inventory and swap them out in battle. Some weapons can be used as items. To use an item, first you must select the item in the inventory, then a target for the item's use. Once the round begins, the character will use the item when his/her turn occurs. e. RUN Sometimes, there are situations that running from the battle is the best option. You may not have the strength, or time for fighting. Use the RUN command to escape from the battle. Simply select RUN, and once the character's turn occurs in the round, he/she will attempt to escape. Running from battle is based on the character's EVA%, the enemy being fought, and a little luck. Many enemies won't allow you to escape, such as bosses. The undead are also some pesky enemies that you can't run from. Pick and choose your fights, it may not seem the most useful option at times, but sometimes it's the only thing between you and certain doom. f. ROWS In battle, there is a front-row and a back-row. There must always be at least one party member in the front row at all times. Party members in the back-row cannot be attacked by the enemies' physical attacks, but they can only attack with Magic or a Bow. If you have any hardcore spell casters, keep them in the back-row, out of trouble. Enemies have rows as well. You cannot attack enemies that are in the back-row with physical attacks, until you have defeated the enemies in the front. The first two rows are the enemies' front-row, anything behind that is the enemies' back-row. Rows can be selected using the Formation Command in the menu. On the NES version, use the SELECT button to assign rows. Note: If playing the NES version, any party member that dies, is put into the back-row automatically. Remember to put them back into correct formation after reviving them. g. REVIVIFICATION Should a hero in your party happen to fall in battle(HP reaches 0), there are a number of ways to revive him/her. You can use the Phoenix Down item, or the LIFE spell. If you don't have either, you'll have to take them to a shrine in a village or town. The shrine is usually the house with no sign on it. The INN, and all of the shops have signs, the shrine does not. Once inside the shrine, speak with the Goddess statue at the top of the room. This will revive all KO'd party members with 1 HP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2G. Status Ailments/Buffs There are a number of Status Ailments that can be inflicted on your party in Final Fantasy II. Status Ailments can cause a character to be weakened in battle. Status Buffs are conditions that improve a character's fighting ability. Some ailments, and all buffs are removed after battle, but some conditions plague a character until cured. Ailments that wear off after battle can be healed during a fight with the BASUNA spell or by using the Unicorn Horn item, I refer to these as "Temporary" ailments. These ailments can also wear off during battles as well. Ailments that continue after battle can be healed using the proper item or ESUNA spell, I refer to these as "Permanent" ailments. A higher level of these spells are needed to heal more advanced conditions. You can use status ailments and buffs to gain the advantage over the enemy in battle. ***Also NOTE that status ailments PREVENT your characters from gaining*** ************stats after battle on the NES version!!!!!!!!!!************** ============================================================================== a. PERMANENT AILMENTS Ailments / Cured By / Description ============================================================================== Poison - ESUNA Lv.1 - damages the victim after every 'round' Antidote if not cured, damages victim with every step Blind - ESUNA Lv.1 - reduces the Hit% of the victim Eyedrops Amnesia - ESUNA Lv.2 - victim forgets spells and is unable to use them Mallet Curse - ESUNA Lv.3 - reduces the effectiveness of the victim's attacks Cross and spells Toad - ESUNA Lv.4 - the victim of this spell has lowered ATK and Hit%, also, he/she cannot cast spells Condition is similar to K.O.(trust me) Stone - ESUNA Lv.5 - the victim is turned into stone, and cannot act Gold Needle until cured, this condition is similar to K.O. K.O./Dead - LIFE Lv.1 - a character is put into this condition, and cannot Phoenix Down act once their HP reaches 0. If all party members are put into this condition, the game is over... ============================================================================== b. TEMPORARY AILMENTS Ailment / Cured By / Description ============================================================================== Venom - BASUNA Lv.1 - a weak poison that damages the victim every round Sleep - BASUNA Lv.2 - once asleep, the victim cannot act until awakened Mute - BASUNA Lv.3 - the victim is silenced, and cannot cast spells Mini - BASUNA Lv.4 - the victim is shrunk, reducing the effectiveness of his/her attacks and defense Paralyze - BASUNA Lv.5 - similar condition to Sleep, but a little stronger Confused - BASUNA Lv.6 - the victim begins to attack his/her own team ============================================================================== c. BUFFS Buff / Item Used / Description ============================================================================== Blink - N/A - Increases EVASION, easy to dodge attacks Safe - N/A - Increases DEFENSE, enemies' physical attacks do less damage Shell - Magiconch - Increases M.DEFENSE, enemies' spells aren't as effective, and do less damage Barrier - N/A - Boosts defense against enemies' special attacks Wall - MythrilMirror- Can completely nullify enemies' black magic Berserk - Bacchus' Wine- Increases ATK power, allowing more damage done by Yoichi's Bow physical attacks Haste - Hermes - Increases Attack Count, allowing more 'hits' Masamune Aura - N/A - Boosts attack against various enemies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2H. Character Weapons/Magic/Items In FF2, any character can use any weapon, armor, and spell. It also takes awhile to build up and MAX weapon and magic skills. Therefore it's a smart move to decide 'who's using what' at the start of the game. Based off the starting stats, Guy leans a bit more toward STR, VIT, and HP, sacrificing AGI. Maria has a lot more AGI, and INT, but lower HP and STR. While Frioniel is mostly balanced at the beginning. a. WEAPONS As I mentioned earlier, any character can use any of the equipment. Guy starts with an Axe, Frioniel a Sword and Shield, and Maria a Bow. I highly RECOMMEND that someone trains with the Sword, as the strongest weapon is a Sword. It doesn't really matter WHO, if you want to switch it up and give Maria or Guy the Sword, it's quite okay. Some people say that only Frioniel should use the Sword, or that Guy can only use Axes and Maria magic, but it doesn't really matter too much, it's whatever you want. Lionheart has a decent Sword skill near the end of the game, but it'll be a pain to get it to Lvl 16, if even possible. So if you want MAXIMUM damage, Frioniel, Maria, or Guy will have to use it. If you wish to play through the game "normally" (without using tricks to build up skills and stats), then you don't need to train with the sword if you don't want to, because Lionheart does have a high skill level with it anyway. Also, I recommend that someone train BAREHANDED. This skill is very often overlooked, but very powerful, especially at the beginning of the game. The only downside is that you can't dual-wield or use a shield barehanded. Every time you build up your Fist skill to the next level, your ATK increases with barehands. If you plan on maxing out your skill level, then the Fists will easily be the 2nd most powerful weapon in the game. Other than that, just pick you favorite weapons with whomever. Just be sure to consider the INT/SOUL penalties of the weapons. Bows can be used in the back row effectively(which may seem useful to a mage), but cripple the INT/SOUL of whoever wields them by 70. Knives have great Hit% and a low INT/SOUL penalty. Spears and Staves/Maces are fun. Staves have a low INT/SOUL penalty, however Maces have one of 20(with certain exceptions). Anyway, you can even mix it up and duel-wield some unique pairs. Also, while duel-wielding, both weapons level up. And if duel-wielding the same weapon type, it level's twice as fast. Here are the strongest weapons for each type, and their stats: 1) Sword - Masamune(150-ATK; 90%-HIT; INT/SOUL -0) 2) Fists - (Based on STR and Skill Lvl; INT/SOUL -0) 3) Axe - Rune Axe(95-ATK; 60%-HIT; INT/SOUL -50) 4) Bow - Yoichi's Bow(90-ATK; 75%-HIT; INT/SOUL -70) 5) Staff - Diamond Mace(90-ATK; 75%-HIT; INT/SOUL -5) 6) Spear - Holy Lance(90-ATK; 70%-HIT; INT/SOUL -40) 7) Knife - Cat Claws(86-ATK; 80%-HIT; INT/SOUL -5) I'll get into more depth on INT/SOUL penalties later. b. MAGIC As for Magic, anyone can have any spell, and it's up to you who gets what. Maria starts with higher INT, but not that much higher than Frioniel and Guy. Some say to just stick Maria with Magic and put her in the back row. But Magic is more used as a strategic skill, rather than an all out offensive skill. Although, if you've been slacking a little, then many bosses and a few enemies WILL require offensive magic. FIRE, ICE, BOLT, ESUNA, and CURE are absolute MUSTs. FIRE, ICE, and BOLT are the main elemental spells, and can deal high damage to multiple foes. ESUNA heals all status ailments after reaching LVL 6. And CURE for the obvious reasons. You may want 2 or even 3 characters with this spell. LIFE, EXIT, SWAP, BERSERK, and POISON are other really useful spells. LIFE to revive KO'ed allies, EXIT to escape from dungeons in tight situations, SWAP for the easy stat boosting trick, BERSERK for a high damage boost, and POISON is another 'elemental' spell. Buffs are often times underestimated. Buff spells such as SAFE, SHELL, HASTE, WALL, etc. can make a lot of fights easier. SAFE and SHELL can be used to lower the damage of the enemies' physical, and magic attacks respectively. A high leveled WALL can completely nullify the enemies' black magic. Use HASTE and BERSERK to buff your attacks, helping to deal more damage to the enemy. Don't underestimate status ailment spells either. You'll have to build them up at first, but spells such as CURSE, SLEEP, MUTE, BLIND, etc. can come in handy. Use CURSE and BLIND to weaken a hard-hitting opponent, and MUTE to stop those annoying mages from casting. Spells like STUN, STOP, and SLEEP can stop an enemy from attacking, other spells like DOOM, MINI, TOAD, and BREAK can instantly kill an enemy, taking them out of the fight completely. c. sco's Spell List I'm gonna attempt to breakdown every spell in FF2j here, and give MY opinion on them. I'll tell ya whether or not these spells are worth getting, building up, and even using. So here goes... ============================================================================== 1. White Magic ============================================================================== CURE - Maybe THE MOST important spell in FF2j. You don't really have to TRY and build this one up, as you'll be needing to recover HP constantly. Try to have two or even three party members using this spell, you'll need it. Also, don't forget to increase the MP of your main healer. This spell is actually useful offensively when battling those annoying undead monsters. ---10/10 LIFE - Another important spell. This revives dead allies, a useful ability. You really don't NEED to build this spell up, though, if you do, the HP a character is revived with, is closer to his or her MaxHP. I typically don't spend time building it up, however, when a bunch of people start falling over... ---8/10 ESUNA - A pretty good spell overall. This spell heals Permanent status ailments. The more you build it up, the more ailments it recovers, and the higher chance you have in healing those ailments while in battle. Once it reaches Lv5, ESUNA can heal all status ailments, which can help lighten your inventory. Usually, you only need one or two characters with this spell. ---8/10 BASUNA - Not an entirely useful spell. This spell heals Temporary status ailments. As with ESUNA, higher the level, the more ailments it heals, and with better chances. However, Temporary status ailments USUALLY wear off after a round or two, and there is only a CHANCE that the ailment will be healed. Most times you can wait it out or defeat the enemy completely. A Unicorn Horn is better to keep handy. ---4/10 BLINK - A VERY useful spell indeed. This spell increases your Evade%, causing enemy attacks to miss. BLINK, combined with BLIND, cripples those hard hitting monsters completely. At first, the spell isn't too reliable, often times missing, but the higher you build it up, the better chance it has to work. Once at Lv6, this spell is pretty reliable. This spell truly shines when fighting those hard hitting enemies, such as the Hill Gigas. ---9/10 SAFE - Not as useful as BLINK, but useful nonetheless. SAFE increases the DEF of the target, weakening the attacks of the enemies. The more you build this spell up, the more reliable it becomes, and seems to get more effective. A good spell to backup BLINK with for those enemies with a high Hit%. ---7/10 SHELL - I don't find this spell useful at all. It supposedly increases your M.DEF, but it's hardly noticeable. You're better off casting a CURE spell to offset the damage... ---3/10 BARRIER - This spell stinks too. It boosts defense against special attacks, but... why? To be honest I never really picked this up to use it. It just doesn't sound too useful. ---1/10 WALL - This is an iffy spell. WALL can completely nullify the enemies Black Magic, however, it's got to be at a really high level to do so. Unless you're lucky, by the time you get this, the enemies will be using level 8 or higher spells, which means you have to build WALL up really high, really quick for it to be useful. To be honest, a Mythril Mirror works better... ---3/10 EXIT - A handy spell EXIT is. This instantly teleports you outside of a dungeon in exchange for HP, however, you cannot EXIT out of every single dungeon. Still a useful spell, you can use this in battle to instantly kill enemies, though it doesn't work all that well. At higher levels, EXIT uses less HP when escaping, and has a better chance at killing foes. I usually keep this at level 1 though... EXIT is Matter elemental. ---8/10 DISPEL - Okay, I figured out what this spell exactly does. DISPEL does in fact lower the defense of elemental attacks. This can be useful in conjunction with status ailment spells and instant-death spells. There's one catch though, DISPEL is broken in the NES version. ---3/10 MUTE - This spell has potential, but just falls short. You can use this spell to stop casters from casting. Maybe it's my luck, but MUTE just seems to only work on monsters that don't cast. You'll need to build it up pretty good to be effective though, especially if you want it to work on those Wizard-type enemies. Just not worth the trouble if you ask me, however that Mute Bell came in handy a time or two, so who knows... MUTE is Body elemental. ---4/10 FOG - A little better than MUTE, partly because it causes a Permanent status ailment. It does seem to work a little better for me, but the spell is just found to late to be useful. You can, however, work with it and build it up, but why bother? FOG is Mind elemental. ---4/10 FEAR - This is supposed to scare enemies and cause them to flee. Note that I said SUPPOSED to. What it really does is lower the morale stat of the enemy. I don't see the point in this spell, it sucks and doesn't work. Well, technically it does, however, "Feared" enemies still stick around and fight. Don't bother with this spell, it sucks, hard. FEAR is Mind elemental. ---0/10 SLOW - This spell has potential also, the only problem is, it rarely works. SLOW reduces the enemies ATK Count really low, which is a great effect. It just hardly ever seems to work when you'd want it too. Maybe you gotta build it up really, really, high, but the price isn't worth the effect, there are better spells... SLOW is Body elemental. ---2/10 MINI - Now this is a fun spell to use. It's an instant-death spell for White Mages. MINI isn't at the top of the list, more like somewhere in the middle. You get it rather late in the game, and you need it to be at a high level to be effective, but it's fun to shrink the Thunder Gigas down in the Mysidian Tower... MINI is Matter elemental. ---5/10 SWAP - A useful and strategic spell when used properly. You can use this spell against weak foes to build up your stats after battle. What SWAP does is "swap" HP and MP between the caster and the target. It needs to be rather high to be reliable, but SWAP can really turn the tide in a heated fight. Another mid-line spell. SWAP is Matter elemental. ---6/10 RASP - This reduces the targets MP. Very useful against those annoying mages. Also you can use this on your party to help raise their MP after battle. It has it's place. RASP is Mind elemental. ---5/10 HOLY - Not exactly the best spell, but a decent one. It's an offensive spell for a "White Mage". You might think that it destroys the undead, but in fact, it does it's regular damage to them. HOLY is a non-elemental spell, which makes it really useful against those strong monsters, resistant to everything. HOLY does have it's place, and is useful in the Final Battle. ---8/10 ULTIMA - This spell is ALL hype. They claim it's the "ultimate" spell, but it isn't. ULTIMA's damage is supposed to be based on your entire party's total stats, but uh, I don't think it is. On the NES version, ULTIMA mostly does only 1 point of damage, massive, eh? It's more like a watered-down FLARE, but sometimes seems to have a random damage "boost" every now and then. A weird spell... NES/ version ---2/10 ============================================================================== 2. Black Magic ============================================================================== FIRE - FIRE is an elemental spell, and very useful. This causes Fire damage to the target, and the more you build it up, the more powerful it becomes. Many enemies are weak against FIRE, and the undead loathes it. This is a must-have spell for your arsenal. ---9/10 BOLT - Another elemental spell, this causes Thunderbolt damage to the target. Level this spell up for more damage. BOLT works well on water-based enemies, machines, and poison-based enemies. You'll need this, so pick it up from the start. ---9/10 ICE - This inflicts Ice damage to it's target. Many foes are weak against ICE, which makes it useful from the start. It's damage increases with each level. ---9/10 POISON - POISON is actually an elemental spell. You may find it late in the game, however, so you must spend extra time to catch this one up with your other spells. POISON is a little bit stronger than the other elemental spells, but only a select few enemies are weak against it. With this said, POISON is still a useful spell, with place in any Black Mage's spell book. ---8/10 FLARE - This is THE spell. It's probably the most powerful offensive magic in the game. It's non-elemental though, which means no enemy is weak against it, but no enemy is strong against it either. You find this spell really late in the game, so be sure to take a lot of extra time to level it up. Once built up, this spell definitely makes it's mark in the Final Battle. ---9/10 DRAIN - Not incredibly useful, though, it does have it's moments. This spell steals the target's HP, and gives it to the caster. Like with all the other offensive spells, the more you build it up, the more damage it does, thus, the more HP drained. The only problem is that the damage is really low. Oh, and DO NOT use this on an undead enemy... ---2/10 OSMOSE - A great spell OSMOSE it. This spell is similar to DRAIN, but instead of absorbing HP, OSMOSE absorbs MP! The amount absorbed is decent, even at Lv1. This spell can save you thousands of Gil, and make those annoying mage enemies to quit casting. Build this spell up to absorb insane amounts of MP, but still don't cast this on the undead... ---8/10 BLIND - This spell blinds it's target, lowering their Hit%. This spell combined with BLINK creates an unbeatable combination. If you find this spell early on, start leveling it immediately. The higher level it's on, the better chance it has to blind the target. BLIND is a Body elemental spell. ---8/10 CURSE - Another useful status ailment spell. CURSE lowers the damage output of it's victim. The ATK and magic damage of whoever is cursed is greatly lowered. CURSE works on more opponents than most think, if fact, all status ailments work a lot of opponents. The only problem is that the spells have to be build up so high to break the opponents M.DEF. CURSE is Mind elemental. ---8/10 CONFUSE - This spell confuses the target into attacking it's own group. The spell COULD be useful, but by the time you can acquire it, you may not feel like building it up. CONFUSE is a Temporary ailment also, which means that it could wear off in a round or two. CONFUSE is Mind elemental. ---3/10 SLEEP - Although a Temporary ailment, SLEEP has it's uses. It seems very effective on the bigger, hard-hitting enemies, giving you a chance to buff or heal your team. SLEEP is also Mind elemental. ---5/10 STUN - This spell paralyzes the target. Some enemies seem to stay stunned forever, but some just don't. Technically the same as SLEEP. STUN is Body elemental. ---4/10 STOP - STOP is the same as STUN. It does SEEM to work more often, but generally, the same as STUN, maybe because it's a Matter elemental spell. ---5/10 TOAD - This spell turns the target into a frog. It instantly kills an enemy if you use it on them. A very fun spell to use. You gotta build it up high though, but that's with most instant-death spells anyway. If you get this one to Lv16, all the cards in the hidden Snow Sled matching game turn into frogs. The prizes you get become outstanding... TOAD is Matter elemental. ---6/10 BREAK - A semi-useful spell, this instantly kills the enemy by turning them into stone. The higher level it's on, the higher success rate you will have. It's nothing to rely on, like most instant-death spells. BREAK is also Matter elemental. ---4/10 DOOM - DOOM causes the target to drop dead. Not much else to say, just your average, everyday instant-death spell. Of course, it is Death elemental, oh, and you don't want to use it on the undead... ---5/10 BANISH - This spell warps you to the previous level in a dungeon. Useful if you happen to need to go back a floor or two. You can also use this spell against enemies for an instant-death effect. The more you build BANISH up, the higher chance it has to kill enemies, and the more floors in a dungeon you'll warp back. If build up enough, BANISH can become more like EXIT. If you only want to warp back 1 level though, you'll have to keep this spell at lv1. BANISH is Matter elemental. ---6/10 BERSERK - An offensive buff, and a great one indeed. This spell increases the ATK of the target. The Yoichi's Bow gives a similar effect, but only at level 3. If you want maximum damage build this spell up. Using BERSERK, you can easily break through the enemies' DEF. If you find this spell early on, build it up, as it will make the game A LOT easier. ---9/10 HASTE - HASTE is really only a useful spell if you find it early on. The Masamune casts HASTE 11 on all members, so if you discover it late in the game, why waste time building it up? What HASTE does is increase the target's ATK count, giving them more "hits" per attack. If you find it early, use it, it'll help. ---7/10 AURA - This boosts damage against various foes by giving elemental properties to your attacks. The higher level that Aura reaches, the more elements you receive. Unfortunately, this spell is broken in the NES version, which explains why I didn't know what the f^%! it did. ---3/10 ============================================================================== d. ITEMS As you explore various dungeons and slay monsters in FF2, you'll undoubtedly find items that have spell effects when used in battle. Use these items when you find them, instead of saving them for later. Chances are, you'll forget about them and they'll wind up taking space in your inventory. You'll have to equip the items in your character's inventory to use them in battle, the same applies for regular items such as Potions. Most of the Magic Items cast spells on the enemies, such as FIRE or SLOW. And many of them can be used multiple times. A few weapons also can be used as items in battle to cast various spells. Here is list of weapons that can be used as items: 1)Mage's Staff - Bolt Lv 5 (All enemies) 2)Spellbinder - PoisonLv16 (Random Target) 3)Thunder Spear- Bolt Lv16 (All enemies) *Only one use* 4)Holy Lance - Holy Lv 8 (All enemies) *Only one use* 5)Rune Axe - Fog Lv 6 (All enemies) 6)Yoichi's Bow - BersrkLv 3 (All allies) 7)Masamune - Haste Lv11 (All allies) Also, magic spells can be used as items in battle if equipped in your character's inventory, rather than used and learned. The spell is cast as a Lv 8 spell, and targeted against all enemies, or allies, depending on the spell used. This is a more expensive way to use magic, but doing so will allow you to use the spell instantly without learning it. Also, I think that a character's INT isn't factored into the spells when used this way. The damage done is a bit low, so there's reason to believe that the INT used is low maybe like 1, or maybe 3... Anyway, the same goes for the Magic Items used as well. Here's a list of the many Magic Items, and the spells they cast in battle: Garlic - Undead Damage Mute Bell - MUTE Hellfire - FIRE Thanatos* - FEAR South Wind - ICE Hourglass - STOP Acid Bottle - POISON Unicorn Horn - BASUNA Gaia Drum* - QUAKE Magiconch - SHELL Zephyr Flute*- TORNADO Mythril Mirror- WALL Slumber Stalk- SLEEP Hermes - HASTE Silk Web - SLOW Sage's Wisdom - Boosts INT Backstabber - CONFUSE Saint's Spirit- Boosts SPRT Bacchus' Wine- BERSERK * - Multiple uses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2I. INT/SOUL Penalties Often times, I've heard questions and comments about why Magic in FF2j can just plain suck. While this may or may not be true, there is, however, a good explanation for this generalization. The equipment the caster wears plays a MAJOR role in his/her casting ability. You see, each piece of equipment has an INT/SOUL penalty attached to it, and although you can't see it on the status menu, it is there. For example, let's say Frioniel has a SOUL of 53. He equips a Mythril Mace(-20 SOUL), a Buckler(-70 SOUL), a Bronze Helm(-8 SOUL), a Bronze Mail(-20 SOUL), and some Mythril Gloves(-24 SOUL). This leaves Frioniel with a grand total of -89 SOUL. Not good, and if you look at the status screen, it still says that Frioniel has a SOUL of 53. Don't believe me? Try it out. I didn't believe it at first either, so I tried it, and here are my results: Maria with INT of 99 and Lvl 16 ICE, fully decked out in Genji Gear, complete with Excalibur and a Rune Axe, did around 800-900 damage to a Sergeant. Next battle, same stats, only this time Maria is barehanded with only the Black Robe, ICE 16 did around 1600-1750 damage to a Sergeant. That's almost a 100% increase in damage, yeah? The biggest downside is that your true INT/SOUL doesn't appear on the status screen(very, very, EVIL), so you don't really know what your true INT/SOUL is. That's what this walkthrough is for though. I got the INT/SOUL penalties for each piece of equipment. Once you see the numbers, you may realize why Magic "can just plain suck": NOTE: INT/SOUL penalties are removed from weapons and shields in the PSX version. The penalties still exist on armor though. ============================================================================== Weapons ============================================================================== Fists: -0 INT/SOUL(duh) ALL Knives: -5 INT/SOUL Bloodsword: -100 INT/SOUL Excalibur: -30 INT/SOUL Masamune: -0 INT/SOUL ALL other Swords: -50 INT/SOUL Mace: -20 INT/SOUL Mythril Mace: -20 INT/SOUL Werebane: -20 INT/SOUL Power Staff: -20 INT/SOUL ALL other Staves: -5 INT/SOUL ALL Axes: -50 INT/SOUL ALL Spears: -40 INT/SOUL ALL Bows: -70 INT/SOUL ============================================================================== Armor ============================================================================== ALL Shields: -70 INT/SOUL Leather Cap: -2 INT/SOUL Bronze Helm: -8 INT/SOUL Mythril Helm: -8 INT/SOUL Giant Helm: -24 INT/SOUL Flame Helm: -26 INT/SOUL Diamond Helm: -34 INT/SOUL Genji Helm: -60 INT/SOUL Gold Hairpin: -0 INT/SOUL Headband: -2 INT/SOUL Ribbon: -0 INT/SOUL Clothes: -2 INT/SOUL Leather Armor: -4 INT/SOUL Bronze Mail: -20 INT/SOUL Mythril Mail: -20 INT/SOUL Golden Mail: -20 INT/SOUL Knight's Armor: -44 INT/SOUL Flame Mail: -58 INT/SOUL Ice Mail: -72 INT/SOUL Diamond Mail: -86 INT/SOUL Dragon Mail: -50 INT/SOUL Genji Armor: -100 INT/SOUL Copper Plate: -1 INT/SOUL Silver Plate: -1 INT/SOUL Gold Plate: -1 INT/SOUL Ruby Plate: -1 INT/SOUL Diamond Plate: -1 INT/SOUL Black Outfit: -1 INT/SOUL Power Sash: -1 INT/SOUL White Robe: -0 INT/SOUL Black Robe: -0 INT/SOUL Leather Gloves: -4 INT/SOUL Bronze Gloves: -24 INT/SOUL Mythril Gloves: -24 INT/SOUL Thief's Gloves: -40 INT/SOUL Giant Gloves: -60 INT/SOUL Ice Gloves: -80 INT/SOUL Diamond Gloves: -100 INT/SOUL Genji Gloves: -100 INT/SOUL Power Armlet: -2 INT/SOUL Protect Ring: -0 INT/SOUL ============================================================================== It's easy to see why people think magic sucks when a lot of them equip their caster with a bow(having -70 INT/SOUL), along with other equipment. Bows, shields, swords, gloves, etc. can cripple a "mage's" effectiveness. I hope this clears up A LOT of confusion about how a "mage" character is very dependant on the equipment he/she uses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2J. EVA% Significance EVA%, or Evasion %, is one of, if not, the most important stats in FF2j. Not only does it help characters evade or dodge physical attacks, but it also does other things, like help raise AGL. The signifcance of EVA% has been stressed in many forums and such, and in this section, we'll look at what you can gain with a high EVA%, and how to achieve it. a. Raises AGL I've already mentioned it a couple of time in the walkthrough, but having a high EVA% increases AGL. The higher the character's EVA%, the more often, or better chance, he/she has in getting an AGL boost. The best part though, is that when you get an AGL boost, you also boost your EVA%. b. Faster Turn in Battle That's right, I've confirmed it. The higher a character's EVA%, the sooner his/her turn will be in battle. AGL doesn't DIRECTLY affect it. When a character's turn is determined by his/her EVA%. c. RUN!!! It's fact now, character's with a higher EVA% just seem to escape better than those that don't. d. Evade Physical Attacks Duh, that's what EVA% literally does, help you EVADE attacks. But what makes it so special here, is that EVA% becomes way better than raw DEF around the mid-end game scene. Most end-game enemies can easily "break" the DEF cap of normal armor, and with multiple hits, the damage can start adding up. With a high EVA%, you can dodge the attacks all together, plus avoid those nasty status ailments some enemies can drop on ya. e. Increasing EVA% 1. Having High AGL - a character's AGL determines his/her base EVA%. Every point of AGL adds 1% to a character's EVA%. So if Frioniel has an AGL 0f 28, then his base EVA% is 28%. But, to raise AGL you need a high EVA%, so... 2. Shields - The easiest way to boost EVA% is to equip a shield. Each shield has a small EVA% bonus, and that bonus is multiplied by a character's skill level with the shield plus one. Let's say Lionheart has a shield with an EVA% of 9%, and Lionheart also has a shield skill level of 5. Then that shield gives him a total EVA% bonus of 54%. Nice, yeah? 3. Weapons - Weapons work the same way as shields, but usually give a lower EVA% bonus. However, the Main Gauche and Defender offer great bonuses to help increase a character's EVA%. So the EVA% formula for weapons and shields would be: --'Total EVA% bonus'=('EVA% bonus')*('skill level' + 1) 4. Equipment - Most armor lowers your EVA%, and the Genji 'Gear' crushes it. The key here is to equip "light" armor, such as robes, hats, breastplates, rings, etc. Another plus to equiping "light" armor, is that it generally has a low INT/SOUL penalty, helping your casters... well, cast. You can check the status screen to help you determine if your is too heavy or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2K. Key Terms/Items Progressing through FF2 requires you to learn certain words called KEY TERMS, and finding KEY ITEMS. These terms and items are necessary to advance the story. Certain terms must be spoken to certain NPCs(non-playable characters) to gain hints on your next destination, or to continue with the story. Key items are those that are essential to your mission. Sometimes you have to give the items to an NPC, other times, you must use the items in a certain location or on an object. Here's a list of the key terms and items you will encounter in your journey: Key Terms: Key Items: Wild Rose Ring Mythril Canoe Airship Mythril Dreadnought Pass Goddess's Bell Snowcraft Sunfire Goddess's Bell Dragoons Egil's Torch Hiryuu Sunfire Mysidia Pendant Ultima Dragon Egg Mask White Mask Ekume Black Mask Cyclone Crystal Rod Palamecia Hiryuu Jade Passage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2L. Menus/Translation If you're playing a version of FF2 on an emulator, there are a few chances, especially if you have the WSC version, that the game may be in Japanese. If this just so happens to be the case, the first thing you should do is go to my site(www.scoff2j.com) and download the translation patch and patcher for your ROM(s). They're in the downloads section. If for whatever reason you can't get to the site, can't get the patch the ROM, or just don't want to, here's the translation of the game's basic menus: WSC - Main Menu Item Magic Equip Status Form Words Config. Quit(QuickSave) Save NES - Main Menu Item - Magic - Equip - Stats - Save ============================================================================== BREAKDOWN Item: This brings you to your everyday item menu. From here you can access all of your items for use, such as to restore HP/MP, heal status ailments, learn new spells using spell books, etc. You can also sort your entire inventory from here and discard unwanted items. NES version - you can only hold 32 items, and must sort them manually WSC/PS version - you can hold up to 63 items and are given the "Sort" option located at the top of the screen to arrange items automatically Magic: Select the Magic option, then select the character whose spells you wish to use/view. This brings you to a character's spell list. From here you can use or look at the spells a character has. You can view the current skill level of each spell. You can also arrange the spells or even choose to forget them. Once a spell is forgotten, it is discarded from the character's spell list. If you wish to learn it again, it will start from Lv. 1. Each character can only learn up to 16 spells at once. Equip: This option brings to the selected character's equipment screen. From here you can view or change a character's weapons, armor, and personal inventory. Each character can equip a weapon or shield in each hand, a helmet, armor, gloves, and any two items for their personal inventory. Items equipped in a character's inventory can be used in battle by that character only. WSC/PS versions - you are given three options at the top of the screen. Equip: Manually Equip a character Strongest: Equips a character with the best equipment in your inventory Best Defense: Equips a character with the best armor in your inventory Status: After choosing this option from the main menu, you must select a character whose status you wish to view. From a character's status screen you can look at much information about a character. You can view a character's Raw Stats, Modified Stats, Weapon Skill Levels, etc. WSC/PS versions - a character's primary hand, and equipment list also appear on the status screen Formation: Use this option to put a character in the front-row or back-row. One character must be in the front-row at all times. NES version - you cannot access rows from the main menu. Instead, press the SELECT but to change the party's rows. Words: This option simply takes you to a list of the Key Terms you've learned. You can read a little bit about them if you can read Japanese. Not terribly useful... Config.: Change different options about the game. Here's each option: Target Mode: Normal - Classic Mini Map : Globe - Plain Dash Mode : Normal - Classic Sound : Stereo - Mono Functions : Default - Custom (Sets buttons for quick menu options) -Item -Magic -Equip -Status -Form -Words -Quit -Save -Menu Msg. Speed : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 B.G. Color : R? - G? - B? Sort Order : (Order of Items) Quit(WSC version): Creates a "Quick Save" that is deleted upon loading it. This allows you to save anywhere, except battle, if stressed for time. However, once you load the data, it is erased. So if you die, you'll have to start back at the area that last SAVED the game. PS version - the "Quick Save" isn't deleted when loaded. But, once you turn off, or reset the PS, the "Quick Save" is then deleted Save: Saves your progress for later use. If you turn the game off, or die, you can start back at the point in which you saved. You can only save on the world map though. You must select a "save file" to save your current progress to. ============================================================================== WSC - Battle Menu Fight Magic Item Run NES - Battle Menu Fight Run Magic Item **You can checkout the Breakdown on the Battle Menu in the 'Combat' section** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. Walkthrough **Notes** **At the beginning of each section, I have put HP, MP, and skill level indicators for reference, since there are no experience levels in FF2. The indicators are in this format: (HP:???? WPN:?? MP:??? SPL:??) HP is for the average MaxHP your party should have. WPN is the general weapon skill level everyone should be at with his or her main weapon. MP is for MaxMP, and SPL is the spell level for your most used spells. The indicators are meant to be a simple guide to the party's strength, so use them liberally. **I went through this walkthrough without using the quick stat boosting tricks --a.k.a.--beating the crap out of your own team. Not using these tricks helps pin-point what your strength should be at, if not the minimum, for each area and boss. Spell Leveling and the such was done, but legit. Not everyone has the patience for this, so if you wish you build skills/spells up faster(especially status ailment and buff spells) for an area, use the tricks in the Pre-Adventuring Tips section. It took A LOT of time between dungeons to build certain spells, but it can be done, simply by using them over, and over, and over, and over, and over... **Going through the game like this greatly reduces the effectiveness of status ailment spells. Add a level or two to the Spell Level indicator for these to be useful, add three or four to be reliable. **Before each dungeon, I show the gear and spells I currently had. Just because some characters don't have shields equipped, doesn't mean I didn't use them throughout the game. Shields are key in reducing damage, and increasing AGL at certain points, however, they also reduce ATK power, and greatly reduce the efficiency of magic. Keep one handy in your inventory just in case. Also, remember to unequip it before casting. ============================================================================== I. The Beginning ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-A. The Journey Begins (HP: N/A WPN:N/A MP:N/A SPL:N/A) As the game begins, the party is instantly attacked by 4 Black Knights. There is no hope to win this fight, as the party is wiped out quick. Frioniel is shown in a room with Hilda and Ming-wu, who help him recover from his injuries. As Frioniel awakens, he wonders where his friends have gone. Just outside, he finds Maria and Guy, but Lionheart is missing... The three head into the main chamber to speak with Hilda, and tell her that they wish to join the rebellion. She tells them the rebel’s password, WILD ROSE, and hints that Maria's brother may be held captive at Fynn. Hilda allows the party to reside in Altair as long as they wish. Once you gain control over you characters, speak with Hilda again to learn "WILD ROSE". Also, before leaving the rebels' base, remember to grab a Potion from the single chest inside. Walk around, talk with some people, and see what's happenin'. After you're finished with everything, head into the village. Inside the village, you'll find many colorful characters. There's Gordon, the Prince of Kas'ion, who's kingdom was destroyed. His confidence is shot, as he chickened out and fled Fynn as it was attacked too. Then there is Paul, a master thief from Fynn who makes his living stealing from the Empire. You can meet Toboul in the weapon shop, but he won't reveal himself unless you speak the password. But instead of just walking around, wasting time, you should be figuring out your party's setup. Character Stats/Equipment/Spells For my setup, I equipped Frioniel with a Spear/Shield combo. I gave Guy a Knife, and equipped Maria with a Staff. I put Maria in the front row, and also kept guy in the front for now. Since I found out about the INT/SOUL penalties, I went through FF2 again with them in mind. This allowed me to create some equipment combinations well suited for 'mage'-type characters. This is also the reason behind buying a Staff and Knife. However, buying the Staff, Javelin, and Knife requires you to sell off old gear you don't need, which in turn can deplete GIL, that can be used for spells. Equip your characters however you wish, just be sure it's something effective, unlike everyone with the same weapon. Also give everyone "secondary" weapons. This'll help keep new, stronger weapons in your hands as you find them. I let Frioniel use his Fists for a secondary weapon, Maria used a Sword, and Guy the Bow. Unique setup still, yeah? For Spells, I usually give everyone a particular elemental spell, but this time I made 'Black Mage'(Guy) and 'White Mage'(Maria) combos. I usually try and keep my MAIN buffs/debuffs between different characters, that way the squad can buff themselves or debuff the enemy in one or two rounds. Mix 'n match your spells, or do whatever you wish. Whatever floats your boat, but again, just make sure it's effective. Also, be attentive to INT/SOUL penalties on ALL equipment. Heavy casters should wear 'lighter' armor, and have at least one, Primary or Secondary, weapon that wields a low penalty, such a Knife, Staff, or Barehands. This way you can switch between weapons when using spells for maximum efficiency. Okay, enough BS, back to the walkthrough... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-B. Basic Training (HP: 30 WPN: 1 MP: 5 SPL: 1) While in Altair, be sure to check out the Weapons and Armor Shops for gear, and equip your party to your needs. Also the first thing you should get is the CURE spell from the Magic Shop. CURE is a vital spell in FF2. Once you're out in the wilderness, outside Altair, your first concern should be to build up your party. Just battle the small creatures around the villages, but be careful not to wander to far, or you may get squashed by an Ogre or something... Build your HP to around 30-60, and you weapon skills to 2. If you have GIL, try to get the CURE spell as soon as possible. Try to get your MP up to 10 or so with whoever has the spell. After your party is built somewhere around there, you'll be more than ready for the first mission. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-C. Head to Fynn (HP: 40 WPN: 2 MP: 5 SPL: 1) After you are prepared, you should head to Fynn. From Altair, just follow the river north and travel around the lake. You cannot enter the castle yet, so go ahead and enter the town. Upon entering, you'll notice there aren't people roaming the city, but instead there are guards. It would be smart NOT to speak to the guards, because they'll try to kill you. Talking to one begins a fight with a Captain, who'll promptly lay the smackdown on your party under normal conditions. Also you'll notice that monsters roam the city, attacking the group at random. You can enter the shops and such, but there are no shopkeepers in them. Head all the way to northern part of the city, right before the exit. You're able to walk above and around the trees, leading around the city to the pub. Inside the pub, avoid the guards and speak to the man around the bar. Tell him the rebels password, "WILD ROSE" and he'll show you a secret passage to an injured soldier. Grab the Potions from the 3 chests, then talk with the soldier. Say "WILD ROSE" and discover it is Scott, Gordon's brother. He tells you that Borghen is the traitor and gives you the 'Ring'. With news of Scott's death and no information about Maria's brother, the party should head back to Altair. With the newly acquired 'Ring', you can view a Map of the world by pressing Select+B while on the world map. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-D. Back to Altair (HP: 40 WPN: 2 MP: 10 SPL: 1) Return to Altair and show Hilda the 'Ring'. She tells you to keep the 'Ring', and that she needs your help to obtain some "MITHRIL" to make equipment with. Hilda requests that you go to Salamand with Ming-wu, and speak with Josef about where to get some 'Mythril' ore. Speak to Ming-wu, and he will join the party to help search for 'Mythril' and he'll give you his 'Canoe'. Ming-wu is a White Mage who joins the party with a great array of spells, and a decent amount of MP. He's equipped with a Staff, and some Copper Armor. Since he has 175HP, trade his armor with another party member, as his HP is most likely greater than anyone in the party. Ming-wu has no skills in any weapon, so sticking him with the Staff is usually the best option. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-E. Search for the Mythril (HP: 70 WPN: 3 MP: 15 SPL: 1) Head northeast from Altair and cross the lake, this will lead you to Paloom. Nothing much to buy here, a few White Magic spells, and some slightly better equipment. It's better just to save your Gil for now. You have a choice to buy a ticket to take a ship to Poft for 32Gil or walk to Poft. I recommend to just walk to Poft for now, especially if you're low on Gil. Start heading north from Paloom, and just follow the coast to Poft. In Poft, head to the Pub and talk to Cid. He tells you about his "AIRSHIP" and that he'll give you a ride somewhere for some Gil. Talk to Cid's apprentice to get a ride to Bafsk, Salamand, Semitt Falls, or Kas'ion. From Poft, head just northwest to Salamand. Upon entering, discover that the townsmen have been enslaved by the Empire. Speak with Josef to find out that they have been taken to Semitt Falls to search for Mythril, along with his daughter. Check out the gear at the shops. By now, I would just recommend to have a Bronze Helmet or something. Equipped, Frioniel had Leather Armor and Bronze Helm. Maria had Leather Armor and Leather Glove. And Guy had just Ming-wu's Copper Armor, while Ming-wu only had the Clothes. For weapons, just save your Gil, there is really no need to upgrade yet. The only NEEDed spells for now are just Cure and maybe Ice. From Salamand, start heading directly west. Keep west until you reach the ocean and see a river. Follow the river into the lake and you should see the entrance to the Semitt Falls cave. For an easy way to the Semitt Falls, head back to Poft and pay Cid to fly you there. Here's my gear/spells before entering the Semitt Falls: Frioniel: Right: Javelin Spells: Bolt Lv 1 Left : Buckler Head : Bronze Helm Armor: Leather Armor Glove: N/A Maria: Right: Staff Spells: Cure Lv 1 Left : N/A Head : N/A Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Leather Glove Guy: Right: Knife Spells: Ice Lv 1 Left : N/A Head : N/A Armor: Copper Plate Glove: N/A Ming-wu: Right: Staff Spells: Default Spells Left : N/A Head : N/A Armor: Clothes Glove: N/A Upon entering, head to the northwest corner to find 10Gil in a chest, and the southeast corner for 200Gil. Head to the southwest corner to the stairs to B2. The northwest corner of B2 holds Eyedrops. Go east for a chest with a Potion inside. Now go to the southeast corner for another Potion. Just north from there are 4 doors, choose the first one on the left. Going into the wrong door takes you to an empty room with a high chance of random encounters. Once on B3, go directly south for a chest with a King's Ransom worth of Gil! After rejoicing, travel west and across the bridge for 50 more Gil! There is nothing more to the south across the bridge, so head back across and go north above the bridge. There are 3 doors, again choose the one on the left. Inside you'll see the townsmen of Salamand, along with Nellie, Josef's daughter. Speak with Paul and he'll tell you that he will rescue the Townsmen, and asks you to find some Mythril hidden deeper inside the mine. After Paul escapes with everyone, you're about halfway through the dungeon. If your party is in bad shape, now is the best chance to escape Semitt Falls and resupply the group. If the party is doing well, (which they should if you even remotely read this walkthrough) then continue downward. On B4, head north across the bridge and open the chest for the FIRE Spell. Go east to the bridge intersection and take the northern bridge. Follow along and descend the stairs to B5. Walk across the bridge and around to the chest. DO NOT open it yet. Heal the party first and prep up for a fight. Upon opening the chest, you'll receive the EXIT Spell, but also be attacked by a Spiketoise. The Spiketoise has a high defense and can pack a punch. If you've followed the walkthrough, you should have the ICE spell, at least at level 2. If not, cast any other damage spell and cast SAFE and/or BLINK with Ming-wu. Spiketoise isn't too tough, but can be deadly if you're unprepared. Claim your prize, and go back across the bridge. Go north from the bridge and choose the door on the left yet once more. Inside, you'll see a guard, and behind him a chest. If you want that chest, you're gonna have to slap that guard around a little bit... Heal up then talk to him. BOSS FIGHT: SERGEANT HP: 140 MP: 10 ATK: 35 HIT%: 2-70% DEF: 25 EVA%: 1-30% M.DEF: 3-50% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: none SKILLS: ARROW3 This guy is very similar to the Spiketoise, except he has no elemental weakness. Cast SAFE and BLINK with Ming-wu and focus on keeping the party alive. If you have spells, cast them. If you bought better weapons, or have someone using Fists, you'll have a better chance to damage him. All in all, the Sergeant is a pushover, however, if you came in ill-prepared and cannot damage him you'll be thrashed... After takin' out the Sergeant, grab the Mythril from the chest and escape the dungeon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I-F. Returning with the Mythril (HP: 100 WPN: 3 MP: 15 SPL: 1) With the Mythril, it's time to head back to Altair. First stop by Salamand and recover. Head back to Poft, if you sailed to Poft before, you can sail back to Paloom, if not, then you'll have to walk all the way back. Once back in Altair, Hilda tells you about the "DREADNOUGHT" and tells you to take the 'Mythril' to Toboul, the Blacksmith. Find Toboul at the Weapon Shop and hand him the 'Mythril'. He quickly makes equipment for the resistance. Some new gear is available at the shops in Altair, Paloom, and Poft now! Speaking back with Hilda, she tells you to meet with a spy in Bafsk. You have to stop the "DREADNOUGHT" before it is completed! ============================================================================== II. The Warship ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-A. Contact the Spy (HP: 110 WPN: 3 MP: 20 SPL: 1) After buying some new gear at Altair, head back to Poft. From Poft, either pay Cid to fly you to Bafsk, or travel east on foot. Once in Bafsk replenish the party, check out some more 'affordable' gear, and look at some new spells. After you're done taking your tour of Bafsk, head south and speak with the soldier blocking a path. Tell him "WILD ROSE" and discover that he is the spy. Tell him you're here to see the "DREADNOUGHT" and he'll let you pass into the sewers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-B. The Bafsk Sewers (HP: 120 WPN: 3 MP: 25 SPL: 2) Here's my gear/spells into the Bafsk Sewers... Frioniel: Right: Spear Spells: Bolt Lv 2 Left : Bronze Shield Head : Bronze Helm Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Mythril Glove Maria: Right: Staff Spells: Cure Lv 2 Left : N/A Exit Lv 1 Head : Leather Cap Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Leather Glove Guy: Right: Knife Spells: Fire Lv 2 Left : N/A Ice Lv 2 Head : Leather Cap Armor: Copper Plate Glove: Leather Glove Ming-wu: Right: Staff Spells: Default Spells Left : N/A Head : N/A Armor: Clothes Glove: N/A After entering the sewers, follow the water north to a chest with a Long Sword inside. Continue following the stream to the southwestern corner of the room. Grab a Long Bow from the chest before heading up the stairs. On 1F, head east from the steps and follow the winding path until you meet up with the Dark Knight, the Emperor's right-hand man. He tells you that the Warship is complete and retreats to it, followed closely by Borghen. The party heads out the cave only to see the Dreadnought take off. Head back inside and check out the room off to the right. Take the 'Pass' from the chest and use the teleporter on the east side of the room to exit the cave. The party now needs to return to Altair and report back to Hilda. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-C. Report Back to Hilda (HP: 130 WPN: 4 MP: 25 SPL: 2) On your way back to Altair, stop by Poft and learn of the Dreadnought's devastation. Speak with Cid inside the pub. Ask about his "AIRSHIP" and he will tell you about the "SUNFIRE". This should give you some insight on how to stop the Dreadnought. ***UNEQUIP MINDU, AS HE IS GOING TO LEAVE THE PARTY SOON*** Upon returning to Altair, speak with Hilda and learn that the King's condition worsens. Ming-wu stays behind to help the King, the party must find a way to stop the Dreadnought. Ask the King about the "SUNFIRE" to learn that it is in Kas'ion. The only way to carry the 'Sunfire' is with 'Egil's Torch', hidden deep in Kas'ion. But Kas'ion was sealed by Scott, and only the 'Goddess's Bell' can open the gates. Ask Hilda about the "GODDESS'S BELL" and she'll hint that Josef of Salamand may know something of it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-D. Finding the Goddess's Bell (HP: 130 WPN: 4 MP: 25 SPL: 2) Return all the way back to Salamand and speak with Josef. Inquire about the "GODDESS'S BELL" and he will tell you that it's hidden inside the Ice Cave in the northern snowfield. The only way to navigate the snowfield is with the 'Snowcraft', which Josef has conveniently hidden in the Semitt Falls. Josef joins the party to help with the search for the 'Goddess's Bell'. Go back to Semitt Falls. On B1 head west until you see a blue stone. That's Josef's mark. Search the wall northeast of it to reveal a passage. Grab the 'Snowcraft' from the chest and you're done, time to leave. Now's a good opportunity to strengthen the team and make your preparations before the next dungeon. Once you're finished, follow the mountains west of Salamand, and continue following them north until you reach the entrance to the snowfield. The Ice Cave is on the eastern side of the field. The recommended spells are CURE, FIRE, and ICE. ESUNA would is also very useful for healing the status ailments, i.e. Blind. As for armor, any Mythril gear is a plus. The enemies in the Ice Cave can pack a punch, so a decent armor for the group will help. With weapons, if you're still carrying around a Bronze Sword, you may be in trouble. Fists are very useful here, since Gil may be tight. Again, any Mythril stuff will help. If no one is using a shield, remember to equip one to build up AGILITY faster. If all party members have been using one, you should be okay. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-E. Ice Cave (HP: 140 WPN: 4 MP: 30 SPL: 2) Here's my gear/spells into the Ice Cave... Frioniel: Right: Spear Spells: Bolt Lv 2 Left : Bronze Shield Head : Bronze Helm Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Mythril Glove Maria: Right: Staff Spells: Cure Lv 2 Left : N/A Blink Lv 1 Head : Leather Cap Exit Lv 1 Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Leather Glove Guy: Right: Knife Spells: Fire Lv 2 Left : N/A Ice Lv 2 Head : Leather Cap Armor: Copper Plate Glove: Leather Glove Josef: Right: N/A Spells: N/A Left : N/A Head : Leather Cap Armor: Leather Armor Glove: Leather Glove Note, that you cannot EXIT out of the Ice Cave. If you begin to run into trouble, start out with enough strength to WALK to the exit, AND through the snowfield, AND back to Salamand. Okay, now that we've been warned, upon entering the cave, climb the stairs, and travel west. Open the chest on the northwest corner for 100Gil. Continue south and grab another chest for 150 more Gil. Descend the stairs to B2. Nothing much here on B2. Follow the path and skip the door, there is nothing in there anyway. Once on B3 head north and around the wall for a South Wind, an item that may come in handy. Return to the stairs, and from there head south and follow the path east. When you reach the fork, go north if you're interested in treasure hunting. Go south to continue deeper into the Ice Cave. Assuming you wish to be quite the treasure hunter(like me), or just like exploring EVERYTHING, then heading north led you to some stairs back up to B2. Just stay along the path and you should run into the first chest at the southeast corner of the room. It contains a Battle Axe. The second chest is at the southern part of the area and has an Antidote inside. Stay on the path and you'll reach the last chest with a Mythril Mace inside. BEWARE, guarding the chest are Grenades. This should be an easy fight, just thought I'd let you know about it though. Retrace your steps back to B3. Head south until you reach the fork. Obviously, keep heading south at the fork because it's the only path you haven't chosen. Use this point to check your party's condition. If you're not doing so good, and have used up all you resources already, head back now. If you're stomping and destroying everything in sight, then by all means, proceed. The path should take you to the southwest corner of B3 and down to B4. The northwest corner of B4 holds a Potion inside a chest. Directly east of that chest is another with the ICE spell inside. If nobody has it(shame on you if they don't) give it to someone as it will definitely come in handy. Make your way directly south from there to discover another chest with a Potion. Go northeast towards a chest with a Mythril Spear. Continue north to the northeast corner of B4. Bypass the door on the way, as it is an empty room as well. Go down the steps to B5. From the steps, go directly west. This should lead you to a chest in the northwest corner of the room, along with a door below it. The chest contains a Mythril Shield, and the door, you guessed it, nothing. Make your way to the southwest corner of B5 to find the Ancient Sword. It's guarded by a few undead creatures, but nothing you can't handle. The Ancient Sword has a ridiculously low Hit%, but has the ability to Curse opponents, thus reducing the effectiveness of their attacks. From here, head to the southeast corner of the room to find a door. This is the door you want to enter. So go inside. Inside you'll see a buncha weird beaver-like creatures. Talking to the roaming ones does no good, as they just make noise. Speak with the 'leader', who is standing in the corner of the room, Guy can understand him. Have Guy ask him about the "GODDESS'S BELL" and he will reveal a passage beyond the wall to the right. Walk east to discover that you can actually walk through the wall... WOW! Follow the winding path down and around until you stumble upon a turtle. Grab the chest to get a suit of Silver Armor. If by now Bells and Whistles aren't going off saying... "BOSS FIGHT" then you may need some help, seriously... Prep Up and take the Goddess's Bell's "Guardian" head on. BOSS FIGHT: ADAMANTOISE HP: 450 MP: 0 ATK: 50 HIT%: 2-75% DEF: 60 EVA%: 0-00% M.DEF: 1-50% WEAKNESSES: ICE STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: DRAGON, EARTH SKILLS: none This fight SHOULD be insanely easy. If you picked up the South Wind on B3 (which you should have) or if you have the ICE spell(hopefully you do), then the battle will go rather smoothly. If you do not have either of these, then you: A)really hate Ice or B)haven't been reading the walkthrough and need to KILL YOSELF!!!!!!!! Either way, just keep your party at full health, 'cuz this guy hits hard. Also, Adamantoise has high defense, so unless you have high-tier weapons or high-level fists, physical attacks won't do much. Keep your HP in the high 100s if possible and keep blasting it with ICE and/or any other spells. Whack him with the Ancient Sword you found earlier, and if you're lucky, it'll Curse the Adamantoise, thus weakening his attacks. If you've built them up, SAFE or BLINK are handy too, but at low levels they tend to be unreliable. After slaying the Adamantoise, head up the stairs and through the door. This will take you back to B1. From there, head north to exit the cave. Before you exit the cave, you'll see Borghen waiting for you. If you're an equipment Hog, you can unequip Josef now, because he's about to leave the party. Speak with Borghen and he will try to kill you. ***UNEQUIP JOSEF, HE'S ABOUT TO LEAVE THE GROUP*** BOSS FIGHT: BORGHEN HP: 240 MP: 20 ATK: 25 HIT%: 1-75% DEF: 17 EVA%: 1-40% M.DEF: 3-50% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: none SKILLS: HI-POTION Borghen is a pushover, especially when compared to Adamantoise. Just use physical attacks, why waste MP on him? This fight is just a waste of time. If you're really lucky, he may drop a Mythril Dagger. After laying the smackdown on Borghen, he triggers a sneaky trap, causing a boulder to roll down the stairs after you India Jones style. Josef braves the giant rock and holds it long enough for you to escape it's path. Watch Josef get squished and then leave the cave. Travel back to Salamand to rest up. With the 'Goddess's Bell' in hand, you can now enter the gates of Kas'ion to acquire the 'Sunfire'. You can either return to Poft and support Cid by paying him a little Gil to fly you to Kas'ion: the easy way, or go on a lonnnnnnnnng hike: the hard way. Personally, I'd rather just fly there, it's A LOT faster, plus, you can't get lost. But if you wish to walk, head east from Salamand until you see the ocean, then go south 'till you get to Bafsk. From there travel southeast 'till you run into some mountains, then follow them east a little. You should see a break in the mountain range leading into a dense forest region. Go southwest into the forest and you should see Kas'ion surrounded by a small mountain range and a lake. Kas'ion can be a really tough dungeon. And by really tough, I mean really really hard. Be sure to stock up on Potions to save your MP throughout the dungeon. EXIT, CURE, and LIFE are your friends here. If you find yourself getting stomped, EXIT out, instead of continuing on and dying. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-F. The Kas'ion Ruins (HP: 160 WPN: 4 MP: 35 SPL: 2) Here's my gear/spells into Kas'ion... Frioniel: Right: Mythril Spear Spells: Bolt Lv 2 Left : Mythril Shield Safe Lv 1 Head : Mythril Helm Armor: Mythril Mail Glove: Mythril Glove Maria: Right: Mythril Mace Spells: Cure Lv 2 Left : N/A Life Lv 1 Head : Leather Cap Esuna Lv 1 Armor: Silver Plate Blink Lv 1 Glove: Leather Glove Exit Lv 1 Guy: Right: Knife Spells: Fire Lv 2 Left : N/A Ice Lv 2 Head : Leather Helm Armor: Copper Plate Glove: Leather Glove Entering Kas'ion, head up. Bypass the big Flame in the room. It is the 'Sunfire', but you can't grab it without 'Egil's Torch', which is hidden deep inside the ruins. Anyway, head up to the locked door and use the 'Goddess's Bell'. This unlocks the door, so go inside. Just through the door you find Gordon waiting. He had access through the door, but was unable to compete with the monsters inside. He joins up with the party, and after seeing his stats, you can see why the monsters were to strong for him. Actually, he has some decent stats as far as STR, AGI, INT, etc., etc. are concerned. But he has low HP(64), no weapon skills, and no spells. He starts with a Spear, and a Bronze Shield, Glove, and Armor. I usually just keep him with the spear, since he's not a permanent member, but give him whatever your fancy. Sometimes I give him a sword. If you want to build him up a little before continuing on, it may be a good idea. Okay, back to the dungeon. Go east and descend the steps. This'll take you to 1F. From the steps, go south, this'll take you to a chest with the CURE spell. Head back to the steps, and this time go west. On the north- western corner you'll see a door, ignore it and head south. Go up the steps to 2F. Once there take the fork south, then east, to the southeast corner. Go north to the northeastern corner and open a chest for 300Gil. Go west and around to the stairs. Now on 3F, proceed to the west. From the corner, move south, this will lead you into an open room. Take the second path from the left downward, then go back west to a chest in the southwest corner of 3F with some Monsters(Wererats) and a Gold Shield. Move back north to the open room and go east. Take the eastern passage south and curve around back to the northeastern corner to reach the stairs. From the 4F stairway travel west until you reach a fork, from there, go south and enter the first door you see. Inside the room will be three chests. From left to right, the chests contain: a Mythril Axe, a Werebane Mace, and a Mythril Sword. Exit the room and go back north, head westward to the northwest corner, then south. You should see the stairs from there. Ignore all other doors on this floor, because they are empty. Ascend the steps to 5F. You'll be greeted with a fork upon entering 5F. Go east, the other way leads you to an empty room. Moving eastward should bring you to a 3-way. Take the road straight down to a guarded chest. Upon opening, a few Mines attack. A decent level BOLT and FIRE will take 'em out. Your reward, Gold Armor. Move east from there until the next 3-way, then go north. This should bring you to the northeast corner with a door. Go inside for some treasure. From left to right: a Mallet, an Antidote, and some Eyedrops. Nice treasure, eh? Exit the room and make your way to the southwest corner of 5F. The southeast corner has a door, but it's empty, so don't waste your time in there, unless you don't believe me. Anyway, once at the southwest corner you'll see stairs going down. So go down them. Back on 4F, there's only a small room with a door. Inside, you'll see a chest with a fireball-looking thing in front of it. That's the boss. Make sure you're healed up for this one. BOSS FIGHT: REDSOUL(a.k.a. Shrieker) HP: 540 MP: 30 ATK: 35 HIT%: 1-80% DEF: 40 EVA%: 1-60% M.DEF: 4-40% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: ALL TYPE: MAGIC, AIR, EARTH SKILLS: FIRE8, ICE8, BOLT8, POISON8 The RedSoul isn't too tough, but if you're caught off guard, you could be toast. First off, magic doesn't hurt this guy, it heals him, and any, I repeat ANY spell will heal him. Second, all he does is cast Lv8 spells all over your party, every single round, that is until he runs out of MP. You can stay defensive until this occurs, or you can go all out and crush him ASAP. The SHELL spell helps, a little. A lowly level 1 or 2 SHELL can't stand up to the RedSoul's Lv8 spells. Using a SHELL spell as an item doesn't help that much either, so when I stay on defense, I just throw a lot of CURE spells now and then, along with some Potions. If you can't damage him with physical attacks that well, then you'll be fighting awhile, there's no other way to beat him. A high-lvl Fist or a few good smacks with a Mythril Axe or Werebane will take the fight out of 'em. Try to Curse the RedSoul with the Ancient Sword to weaken his attacks. After beating the RedSoul, claim your prize, 'Egil’s Torch'. From here, you can EXIT out, or travel all the way back through the castle. But either way, return back to the main chamber on 1F. Walk up to the Sunfire and use the 'Egil’s Torch'. You've now acquired the 'Sunfire'. Exiting the Kas'ion Ruins, you see Cid's Airship being chased by the Warship. Return to Altair to report and find out what's going on. HINT: For an easy route back to Altair, move DIRECTLY SOUTH of Kas'ion. You'll wind up in the Chocobo Forest, grab one and leave the forest, it should be waiting for you just outside. Once back inside Altair find out that Hilda went on Cid's Airship to meet you at Kas'ion, and that they were captured by the Dreadnought. Speak with various people to find out that the Dreadnought is being refueled and repaired in a field northwest of Fynn. Rest and resupply your soldiers, then move out in that direction. Traveling northwest of Fynn you'll meet up with some stronger foes. Use this as an opportunity to strengthen the team, especially Gordon. Once you're ready, go inside, but remember to save, many things can go wrong inside the Warship, like running out of MP. Don't forget to bring along some Ether just in case. Like the Ice Cave, there is no warping to the outside. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-G. Destroying the Warship (HP: 250 WPN: 5 MP: 55 SPL: 3) Here's my gear/spells into the Warship... Frioniel: Right: Mythril Spear Spells: Bolt Lv 3 Left : Gold Shield Cure Lv 2 Head : Mythril Helm Safe Lv 2 Armor: Mythril Mail Glove: Mythril Glove Maria: Right: Werebane Spells: Cure Lv 3 Exit Lv 1 Left : N/A Life Lv 1 Head : Leather Cap Esuna Lv 2 Armor: Silver Plate Blink Lv 1 Glove: Leather Glove Rasp Lv 1 Guy: Right: Mythril Knife Spells: Fire Lv 3 Left : N/A Ice Lv 3 Head : Leather Cap Armor: Silver Plate Glove: Leather Glove Gordon: Right: Mythril Sword Spells: Cure Lv 1 Left : Mythril Shield Head : Mythril Helm Armor: Golden Mail Glove: Bronze Glove Okay, now that you're ready for the Warship, head inside and give the guard the 'Pass' you acquired in the Bafsk Sewers, without saying "WILD ROSE". Trust me, he won't like you if you say that... Don't speak with any other guards because they won't be as dumb as that one was. Move east until you see steps going down. This'll take you to 2F. All that is on this floor is a chest locked behind bars. To reach it, you must walk through a hidden passage DIRECTLY west of the chest. The chest is guarded by some Soldier and Mage type enemies. Dispatch them to receive the Sleep Sword. Now climb the stairs back to 1F. Now head west, up the steps and go west. Ignoring the doors, you should see a chest, grab it for 400 Gil. Now head east from the chest. Follow along until you reach a fork. Take the fork east and down the steps. This should take you around and up some steps to a door. Enter it. Inside is a small room with steps going down. This takes you to another part of 2F, follow the path south until you're at a fork, go west, and at the second fork, go west again. This should lead you to a chest with the Shade Bow inside. Now get back to the second fork, but this time go south. This'll take you to yet another 3-way. To the left, a chest with the Thief Glove, and to the right, a cell with Hilda and Cid. Speak with Cid, who tells you that he'll help Hilda escape, while you destroy the Dreadnought by throwing the 'Sunfire' into the engine. Now head all the way back to the first fork, and go east. You'll reach two chests, both only with Potions inside. Make your way back to the steps to 1F. Retrace your steps back to the 3-way, and go south, because it's the only way you haven't been yet. Follow along and go down a flight of steps, then go back east to find some more steps downward to 3F. This'll take you to a large room, with guards walking below. Walk ALL the way around and enter the door. Inside go down the steps to 4F. On 4F, walk ALL the way back around to the east side of the room. Skip the steps and make your way northeast, avoiding the guards. On the northeast part of the room lies four chests. From left to right: The Trident, the Main Gauche, GUARDED(HillGigas-a mean bastard) an Ice Shield, and a Giant's Helmet. TOUGH FIGHT: HILL GIGAS HP: 750 MP: 0 ATK:100 HIT%: 3-80% DEF: 60 EVA%: 1-30% M.DEF: 4-40% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: GIANT SKILLS: none Remember to Rejuvenate your party before the Hill Gigas fight. He has lots of ATK, DEF, and HP. If you're not careful, he could knock a party member out in one hit. Buff your party up with SAFE and BLINK, you'll need all the defense you can get. Use the Shade Bow, Sleep Sword, and Ancient Sword, and pray that the status ailment effects work. If you found the BERSERK spell from a monster drop, use it to boost your ATK power, other than that, use magic to wear the giant down, but be sure to keep him asleep using the Sleep Sword. You don't actually have to damage the HillGigas to put him to sleep. For good results, have whoever is using swords to dual-wield the Ancient Sword and the Sleep Sword. If you managed to survive the HillGigas, go back and climb the set of center stairs. This will take you to the center of 3F. Go inside the door and down those stairs. Now you're on 5F, the tricky part. Okay first off, you should notice that there are a buncha ways to go. Next, you should see that there are guards blocking certain ways. They won't do anything to you unless you talk to them. So don't unless you want to fight them. Even if you're strong enough to defeat one, when you return from battle, he'll still be right there, so fighting isn't an option here. So now you're thinking, "how the heck am I supposed to get through here if the guards are in the way?" Well, that's what the walkthrough is for, I'm here to tell you. But you'll have to read carefully. Okay, here goes. From the stairs, take a couple of steps to the right, and you'll be at the 1st fork, go north. All the way up. Once you're at the top, move west, then south. Walk by the guard, that's the 1st fork, now take either the 2nd or 3rd fork east, then south all the way to the bottom. Now go east, passing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd forks, and taking the 4th one north. There should be a guard just to your left, now head east and go north again at the fork. While going north, pass the 1st fork(there should be a guard a few steps to the left blocking the way), and make it all the way to the northeast corner of 5F. Head west and take the 2nd fork you see(should be your only option) south. Then east, then south again. Go all the way south you can, then west. From here you should see a door. You made it. Inside is the engine room. Walk up to the engine and throw the 'Sunfire' inside. Shortly after, everything starts shaking and blowing up. The Dark Knight curses you and Maria hears a familiar voice. With no time to spare, however, the party must escape before they are toasted and blown to bits... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II-H. Back to Altair (HP: 300 WPN: 5 MP: 55 SPL: 3) ***UNEQUIP GORDON, HE'LL SOON HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO*** Back at Altair, you should unequip Gordon of any useful gear. Head to the King's bedroom, his condition is getting worse. Hearing of Gordon's recent accomplishment's, the King asks Gordon to help lead the rebellion. He asks Ming-wu to find the Forbidden Spell, Ultima. And finally asks your party to travel to Deist and ask the Dragoons for help. With his final path set, the King passes on. Hilda is broken up about her father's death, so Gordon is in charge for now. Go into the main room and speak with him. Gordon will tell you about Deist, the "DRAGOONS", and the "HIRYUU". Talk to the other people to find out that Deist is located on a far off island. So to get there, you'll need a ship. Use this information and head to Paloom. ============================================================================== III. Striking Back at the Empire ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-A. Traveling to Deist (HP: 300 WPN: 5 MP: 55 SPL: 3) After destroying the Dreadnought, your party may be fatigued, and weighed down with all the loot looted! Reorganize and sell of what you don't need. If you were lucky, you may have picked up various Spells from defeated enemies. Replenish your team and supplies, then depart towards Paloom. Upon entering, you should see a woman next to the boat-ride guy. Speak with her. She offers a ride to Deist, how convenient. Maria doesn't trust her, but who listens to her anyway, right? Okay, it is a LITTLE suspicious, but why pass up such an opportunity? She tells you that she'll be waiting outside of town. Take care of any business you may have, then leave. You should spot a ship a little east of Paloom. Get onboard. After sailing a lil' ways, you'll be taken to a scene onboard where Leila gets her crew to attack. Bad news, eh? BOSS FIGHT: PIRATE x8 HP: 45 MP: 0 ATK: 17 HIT%: 1-60% DEF: 4 EVA%: 1-30% M.DEF: 2-40% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: none SKILLS: none Actually, I don't think it's possible to lose to these guys. If you've made it this far, then these chumps are nothing. Wipe them out and move on. Mad that you defeated her crew, she accepts defeat. Afterwards, you ask her to join the rebellion. Why not, yeah? So Leila and her crew join your group and you get a ship. Don't worry though, the pirates won't be used for battles. Leila starts with low HP and MP. Her stats are average at best, except for AGL, which is very high. She has some weapons skills in the Sword and Knife, and starts with the BOLT spell. Leila has some decent gear, 'cept maybe the weapons. I still keep her with the Sword/Knife, as it's my favorite combo anyway. Hmmm... Anyway, now that you got a ship, it's fun time. Well not really. You can go pretty much anywhere now though. The ship can dock anywhere in this Final Fantasy, unlike the first one. Okay, to get to Deist(the real reason you're here), start by sailing south- east of where you are. There should be a small channel around a peninsula at the southeast corner of the sea. From there, keep south. After aways, follow the sea southeast some more. You should run straight into the island. If you're lost, use the map(select+B on NES), it's the big island almost directly west of Fynn Castle. Once you reach the island, find Deist Castle, that's where you want to be next. Take this moment to really beef up your party, especially if you got your butt kicked in the Warship. Build up Leila's HP, and try to bring up everyone's AGL, if needed. Attacking first and strategic escapes will be very useful now, although running isn't an option for some battles(bosses, undead, annoying baddies, etc.). Regardless, now is the time to build up everyone's HP, MP, weapon/spell skills and the such if you've been slacking up 'till now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-B. Deist Castle (HP: 320 WPN: 5 MP: 60 SPL: 3) Once entering Deist Castle, you should see a boy. Upon talking to him, he runs off. Treading further, you see him again, and he runs up the stairs. Follow him up. You'll see a chest with a Cottage inside in the northwest corner. Now head south from the steps and speak with the boy and his mother. They tell you that all the Dragoons are dead, and only one Hiryuu remains. To speak with it, however, you're gonna have to find a 'Pendant' used by the Dragoons to understand the Hiryuu. The mother hints that one is hidden nearby, maybe in the Deist Cave perhaps? Explore the empty castle for treasure. Along with the Cottage you should have found earlier, you'll find: a PhoenixDown; a UnicornHorn; the STUN spell; the STOP spell; the CURSE spell; a GoldNeedle; a Sage's Wisdom; an Antidote; some Eyedrops; a Cross; a Saint’s Spirit; a Mallet; and a WingedSword. Nifty, yeah? After the looting, exit the castle and head north to find the Deist Cave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-C. Deist Cave (HP: 350 WPN: 6 MP: 70 SPL: 3) As soon as you enter the cave, head east. There should be a chest with 30Gil inside, take it. Take a few steps north, then keep east again. This with lead you down to some stairs. On B2, you'll be in a small room with an object. Search the object to find the 'Pendant'. See that wasn't so hard... Unless you got thrashed by a couple of HillGigas's or something. Regardless, take the 'Pendant' and get out, quick. Don't worry, you'll be back soon enough, trust me. Take the 'Pendant' and speak with the last Hiryuu. Ask him about the "HIRYUU" and he'll give you an 'Egg'. He wants you to submerge the 'Egg' into the Pool of Life located at the bottom of the Deist Cave. See, told ya you'd be back in the cave. If you had a lot of trouble just getting the 'Pendant', you're gonna need to build up some more, or change tactics. If you've been keeping up with spells, you'll have a decent leveled FIRE, very useful against the Undead monsters. For the HillGigas's and other hard-hitting enemies, the SAFE and BLINK spells are useful to possess. Use the CURSE spell to weaken foes, although you'll need to bring it to a higher level. BLIND and SLEEP are also handy at higher levels, if you found them that is. If not, make use of the Ancient Sword, Crescent Sword, and Shade Bow for these effects. Remember to bring along some Ether to sustain your MP though. Unless you're super-strong, 'hack-n-slash' isn't going to cut it here. Here's my gear/spells into the Deist Cave... Frioniel: Right: Trident Spells: Bolt Lv 3 Left : Ice Shield Stop Lv 2 Head : Giant's Helm Cure Lv 2 Armor: Golden Mail Safe Lv 2 Glove: Mythril Glove Maria: Right: Werebane Spells: Cure Lv 4 Exit Lv 1 Left : N/A Life Lv 1 Head : Leather Cap Esuna Lv 2 Armor: Silver Plate Blink Lv 2 Glove: Leather Glove Rasp Lv 2 Guy: Right: Main Gauche Spells: Fire Lv 4 Left : N/A Ice Lv 4 Head : Leather Cap Curse Lv 2 Armor: Silver Plate Glove: Leather Glove Leila: Right: Mythril Knife Spells: Bolt Lv 2 Left : Winged Sword Stun Lv 2 Head : Gold Hairpin Armor: Silver Plate Glove: Thief's Glove Alright, when you're ready, get back into the Deist Cave. On B1, make your way to the southeast corner of the room. Take the stairs down to B2. Follow along and at the fork, take the first path down to nab a chest with a Mythril Helmet. Then take the fork up for Mythril Armor. If you'd like to nab all the treasure, head south down into the next downward path, and down the steps to B3. From here, go north. Ignore the bridge for now and just go north. You should spot a chest with a Mythril Glove inside, take it. Keep going around and you'll run into another chest with a MythrilMirror inside. Now go back to the stairs, you should see a bridge to the left. It looks funny, but take it anyway. It should break just as you're about to cross it entirely. You'll fall to B4. On B4, make your way to the northwest part of the floor, and go down the steps to B5. Rather straightforward here, walk along to the east side of B5 and you'll see lots of treasure. The chest in the southeast corner holds a few Adamantoises and some Knight Armor. There are 3 more chests above it. The top-left chest contains a Flame Bow. The top-right chest holds an Sage’s Wisdom, and the bottom-right one has a Saint's Spirit. Now head back to B4. From there go to the southeastern part of the room. There should be some stairs, take them up to B3. Small room here, walk along and take the stairs up to B2. On B2, head west, and take the first fork south for a chest with a Potion inside. Go back, and keep heading west. Take the steps up. You're now on the southwest corner of B1. Take the opportunity to exit and recover if you need to. If you're still in good shape, continue on. Okay, now get back to B2, taking the southeast stairway. Return to the fork, but now keep heading west. This should take you to yet another fork. Go south to find a chest with a Mage's Staff inside. The chest is guarded by screamers, but don't worry, if you stand around long enough, they'll actually heal your party. Move back north and keep north, the cave will curve around and take you back south, where some stairs are. Go down them. You should now be on B3. Go east and you'll see a chest. Open it for a Mythril Shield. Now, go north and pass the bridge. DO NOT cross it, unless you want to fall down, again. Keep going north and cross the small bridge lying vertical. Follow the path east, and south once you reach the northeast corner of B3. This'll lead you to some more steps downward. Now on B4, you should go west. You should see a chest in the corner of the room. An AcidBottle is inside. Other than that, take the steps to the south to B5. On B5, head northeast from the steps and you'll encounter 4 doors. If you guessed that's there's only 1 correct door to enter, you guessed right. Pick the 3rd door from the left to continue onward. The others just lead to empty rooms. After going through the door, you'll notice a 'lil monster just standing around, not doing much. Wonder what it's doing way down here? Let's ask it, but be sure to heal up first... BOSS FIGHT: CHIMERA x(?)3-4 HP: 640 MP: 80 ATK: 60 HIT%: 4-75% DEF: 50 EVA%: 1-50% M.DEF: 3-50% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: DRAGON, AIR SKILLS: BLAZE7 As Greek mythical beasts, the Chimeras aren't all that tough, though they love using their flame attack, BLAZE, and can hit rather hard. BLAZE does a modest amount of damage to the party, and if all the Chimeras use it, it can get annoying. Equip the Ice Shield to decrease the effectiveness of BLAZE. Keep your party healthy using CURE, and take 'em down one by one. SAFE and BLINK can help protect your party, as usual, but most offensive spells are useless, as physical attacks should be enough to bring these monsters down. After defeating the Chimeras, walk up to the Spring of Life and drop the 'Egg' that the Hiryuu gave you inside. Nothing happens... Well, you did what you were supposed to do, so head back to Deist Castle. Use the EXIT spell if you have it, it's quicker. Upon returning to Deist, you'll find out that the Hiryuu died. What a waste of time that was. No Dragoons, no Hiryuu, no support for the Rebels. Hey, at least you got a ship out of it all. So sail back to Altair and see what Gordon's got cookin'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-D. Back to Altair, again... (HP: 420 WPN: 6 MP: 85 SPL: 3) Take a moment, now returned to Altair, to recover and resupply/get rid of some stuff. After you're done, enter the rebels’ base and speak with Gordon. He(and everyone else if you spoke with them) thinks that there is something wrong with Hilda. Gordon asks you to speak with her. Be sure to unequip Leila of any IMPORTANT items you may want to keep. ***UNEQUIP REILA, SHE'LL LEAVE AFTER THIS FIGHT*** Enter Hilda's room and talk with her, she seems to want to speak with Frioniel, alone. Hilda wants Frioniel, and wants him now. Frioniel thinks this is a bit odd, but figures, "Ah, why not?" But before he can get some hot princess action, Hilda turns into a monster. Frioniel sure is a freak... Anyway, the party rushes back into the room and a battle ensues. BOSS FIGHT: LAMIA QUEEN HP:1290 MP:370 ATK: 50 HIT%: 8-95% DEF: 50 EVA%: 2-75% M.DEF: 7-40% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: MAGIC SKILLS: BLINK16, CHARM9 Don't waste time with the Lamia Queen. She can charm/confuse your allies with her CHARM skill, turning them against you. Casting SAFE and BLINK is a good idea to protect you from her physical attacks, and your own. She has a high Hit Count and Hit%, so she can hit hard. The Lamia Queen isn't weak against any particular spells, and with her M.DEF so high, status ailments will be tricky to pull off, so stick with attacking. She'll cast a level 16 BLINK sometimes, which can be annoying IF your attacks start missing, this'll force you to use spells... The Sage's Wisdom can come in handy to give your Black Magic more "umph". Also her attacks can sometimes cause SLEEP. Knock her down quickly, or you may be quick to dispatch your own squad. After defeating the Lamia Queen, everyone begins to wonder where Hilda could really be. Just then, a guard busts in and informs you that Hilda is being held captive at the Coliseum in Palamecia. Great timing... Gordon joins the party to once again save Hilda, and leaves Leila in charge of the rebel army. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-E. To the Battle Arena (HP: 475 WPN: 6 MP:100 SPL: 4) The Coliseum is located by Palamecia castle. There are many ways to get there. The easiest is to go back to Kas'ion Castle, catch a Chocobo in the forest to the south. From there ride east a little, then south into the large desert. Stay on the eastern side of the desert and keep going south. Find the mountain range and follow it and you should see the Coliseum. It's the tiny building below the castle on top of the mountains. The monsters around Palamecia can thrash you if you're not prepared. Bring a Cottage or two along in case you need to replenish your group before and after the Coliseum. You cannot EXIT out of this dungeon either, so bring in enough supplies to cure various status ailments if your ESUNA isn't too high.(Gold Needles*HINT HINT*) Here's my gear/spells into the Palamecia Coliseum... Frioniel: Right: Trident Spells: Bolt Lv 4 Left : Ice Shield Stop Lv 3 Head : Giant's Helm Cure Lv 3 Armor: Knight's Armor Safe Lv 3 Glove: Thief's Glove Maria: Right: Mage's Staff Spells: Cure Lv 4 Exit Lv 1 Left : N/A Life Lv 1 Head : Gold Hairpin Esuna Lv 3 Armor: Silver Plate Blink Lv 3 Glove: Leather Glove Rasp Lv 3 Guy: Right: Main Gauche Spells: Fire Lv 4 Left : N/A Ice Lv 4 Head : Leather Cap Curse Lv 3 Armor: Silver Plate Glove: Leather Glove Gordon: Right: Wing Blade Spells: Cure Lv 2 Left : Mythril Shield Head : Mythril Helm Armor: Mythril Mail Glove: Mythril Glove Okay, anybody with half a brain would expect this to be a trap, so keep the party in full health. Enter the Coliseum and march toward the Emperor. Upon reaching him, you become trapped inside and the Emperor tells you to fight. A large monster comes out the gate and charges at you. BOSS FIGHT: BEHEMOTH HP:1620 MP: 0 ATK: 85 HIT%: 3-95% DEF: 50 EVA%: 1-40% M.DEF: 4-50% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: EARTH SKILLS: none The Behemoth has a simple attack strategy: HIT HARD. If possible, start the battle off with SAFE and BLINK. The Behemoth has a lot of HP, and not a lot of weaknesses. Try the SLEEP spell if you have it, and it's a high level. CURSE and BLIND come in handy to cripple the beast's offensive powers. If you picked up the BERSERK spell, use it to boost your fighter's ATK power. Other than that, keep up with your HP, and wear the monster down. It can only hit one of you, after all. After slaying the beast, you charge the Emperor, only to be caught in a trap. The guards surround you, and stupidly throw you in jail. After stewing for awhile, Paul comes to your rescue, evening the score from Semitt Falls. After leaving the cell(How could they not see that coming?), start following Paul east. Ignore the door an continue following the water. You should be led to a chest with an Antidote, guarded by some monsters. Now, retrace your steps back, follow the water north. You'll see a few doors ahead, make your way past them all, they're all empty, and into the door on the far east(almost just west of the chest with the Antidote inside). Inside will be three chests, containing (from left to right) an Ether, an Elixir, an a Cottage. Leave the room and go north. Now enter the small room in the northeastern corner. Climb the steps to B1. Rather straightforward here. Just walk along all the way around the jail cells, you'll eventually see Hilda in one. Keep walking until you're at the southeast corner of B1. Then take the small slit up and ALL the way back around to Hilda's cell. ***UNEQUIP GORDON, HE'S TAKING OFF FOR GOOD THIS TIME*** Unequip Gordon here, because upon releasing Hilda, he takes off with her ahead of the party. Hightail it outta there, by getting to the southwest corner of B1. The stairs there take you to 1F, where you are safe. From there, just exit the Coliseum. See, simple as pie... Guess your next step. If you guessed "head back to Altair", you win. You can take the long way and go walk all the way south, or head north toward Kas'ion and grab a chocobo in the forest there. If you sailed near the Coliseum, you may want to grab your ship... Once back in Altair, you'll see a guard. He tells you that the Rebels have gathered their forces and are ready to retake Fynn. Leila sure was busy! If you didn't notice it earlier, there is now a small tent just south of Fynn. Go there, after you recover and resupply of course. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ III-F. Recapturing of Fynn (HP: 525 WPN: 7 MP:120 SPL: 4) There isn't much to do at the Rebels' camp. Gordon and Hilda ask you for help in the raid on Fynn. Lucky you. Exit the camp and march north to the castle of Fynn. Once inside the castle, go straight up. You'll meet up with Leila, who'll join the party once again. Hook her up with some decent gear, and continue onward, up the stairs to 2F. You can hang around the entrance and fight monsters to strengthen your team if needed. When you're ready, head up to 2F. Beware of the Wizards and Sorcerers inside the castle. They can tear your group to shreds with status ailment spells, and pop you off instantly with the DEATH spell. If you happen to run into to them, take them out first. Their HP is low, so single out the casters in the back row with damage spells, or try and cast MUTE on them. They have a decent M.DEF though, so unless you focused on the MUTE spell, and got it to level 4 or 5, it may not be all that reliable... Ignore all the goodies you see for now, and keep going north, ascend the steps to 3F. Then up some more steps to the 4F throne room. Keep on going up and eventually you'll see Gottos sitting on one of the thrones. Walk straight up to him, and lay the smackdown on his monkey-ass. BOSS FIGHT: GOTTOS HP:2000 MP: 80 ATK: 70 HIT%: 6-90% DEF: 60 EVA%: 1-65% M.DEF: 5-40% WEAKNESSES: none STRENGTHS: none ABSORBS: none TYPE: none SKILLS: HASTE, BACCHUS' WINE(berserk) Gottos isn't really tough at all. Although, if you allow himself to buff, with spells like HASTE and BERSERK, he can hit pretty hard. Try the STOP or CURSE spells to counteract this. Also, SLEEP can work well. Just pound him into the ground with heavy hits and/or magic. This guy shouldn't be a problem at all. If you do have trouble, fall back on the BLINK/BLIND combination, it's flawless. You may not have the BLIND spell yet, use the Shade Bow instead. Gottos has a M.DEF count of 5, so your spells will have to be a little high to be effective. After removing Gottos, Fynn will be regained. Easy, wasn't it? Go ahead and speak with Hilda and Gordon. Both are worried about Ming-wu, and want you to travel to "MYSIDIA" and help him find "ULTIMA". However before you leave, you'll need two "MASKS", one of which is hidden in the catacombs underneath Fynn. Hilda knows the secret word "EKUME" which can unseal the doorway. Maybe Paul might know where it is, yeah? But before we head into town, let's grab all the treasure we skipped previously. Go back down the steps, all the way back to 2F. From there, grab the chest to the east. There's only a Potion inside, but some monsters want it. So fight them off. Go DIRECTLY east from that chest to walk through a secret passage in the wall. Go south to find a chest with some Giant's Gloves. Double back to the steps, but now go west. Take the chest for the AURA spell, and be greeted by some more monsters. Go DIRECTLY south from this chest and into the small chamber below. There should be another secret passage in the wall going west. Find it, and go north to reach a chest with a Werebane. Get back to the steps to 1F. From the steps go east, you'll be led into a little chamber with two chests. One with 2000Gil, the other with 1000Gil. Head back to the stairs, and go west, make your way to the northwest part of 1F for a chest with another 1000Gil. Now get to the southwest corner of 1F, and go up the steps. Then on 2F, climb the steps to 3F. From here follow the hallway east, to reach a door on the northeast corner. Go inside for three chests. From left to right, they contain: the BREAK spell, the DEATH spell, and the TOAD spell. That's it for the treasure in Castle Fynn(for now), so feel free to explore. Not much left to checkout except for the room with the big Mirror. Now that you've saved Fynn, the town is free. Now you can roam without being attacked, but most importantly, now you can buy stuff. So spend some Gil, upgrade your gear and spells. Then checkout Paul's house on the southwest corner of town. He'll tell you to check out the upper-right corner. Let's try the throne room. *wink* *wink* Make sure you're ready and prepped up first though. ============================================================================== IV. The Path to Ultima ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IV-A. Exploring Fynn (HP: 550 WPN: 7 MP: 120 SPL: 4) After speaking with Paul, and gettin' re-upped, go back into Castle Fynn. Head all the way back up to the throne room and check out the wall in the northeast corner. Say the password "EKUME" and a passage should open up. Go through and down the stairs until you are on 1F. Now before you descend the stairs, check out the walls to the east. You should be able to pass through yet another secret passage. Staying close to the castle, go south into the chamber below via another passage. There's a room there, and inside are three chests. Containing some Gold Mail, a Gold Shield, and a Gold Plate. Get back to the stairs and continue downward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IV-B. The Down-Below (HP: 550 WPN: 7 MP:120 SPL: 4) Here's my gear/spells into the Fynn Catacombs... Frioniel: Right: Trident Spells: Bolt Lv 4 Left : Ice Shield Stop Lv 3 Head : Giant's Helm Aura Lv 1 Armor: Knight's Armor Cure Lv 3 Glove: Giant's Glove Safe Lv 3 Maria: Right: Mage's Staff Spells: Cure Lv 5 Rasp Lv 3 Left : N/A Life Lv 1 Exit Lv 1 Head : Gold Hairpin Esuna Lv 3 Armor: Gold Plate Blink Lv 3 Glove: Leather Glove Mini Lv 1 Guy: Right: Main Gauche Spells: Fire Lv 5 Left : N/A Ice Lv 5 Head : Leather Cap Curse Lv 3 Armor: Gold Plate Doom Lv 1 Glove: Leather Glove Leila: Right: Mythril Knife Spells: Bolt Lv 3 Left : Wing Blade Stun Lv 2 Head : Giant's Helm Break Lv 1 Armor: Gold Armor Toad Lv 1 Glove: Thief's Glove From the B1 to F1 steps, go southeast. This'll take you to the southeast corner of B1 and a chest containing a Knife. Lucky you. Go back to the steps, ignore the door to the southwest, it only leads to an empty room. From the steps, go west, and get to the northwest corner for a chest with some Eyedrops. From there, go east, and at the fork, go south to find a chest with a Shirt, keep east at the fork to reach the stairs. Once on B2, you should see a chest northeast from you. It holds a Potion. Head west, and in the southwest corner of B2 is another chest with a Potion. Go northeast(ignoring the door directly north). At the fork, go west to reach the