===================================== FINAL FANTASY IX Dagger Single Character Challenge FAQ Version 1.11 Copyright 2006 by green5un green_sun@luukku.com ===================================== LEGAL STUFF This FAQ is copyrighted 2006 by green5un, and it is meant for personal use only. You are not allowed to put this FAQ on your web site, or publish it in any form of media. This FAQ can be hosted by GameFAQs only. Do NOT ask me permission to post this FAQ anywhere else, as I won't grant such a right. There are no exceptions, and I'll simply ignore mails asking for this kind of permission. VERSION HISTORY 1.11 Corrected a few small mistakes and made some minor changes. (30th August) 1.10 Corrected some typos and added a lot easier method for leveling up in Dali. (27th August 2006) 1.0 First release of this FAQ on GameFAQ's FFIX FAQ page. Contains all basic information necessary for beating this challenge. Small improvements will still be made. (24th August 2006) EMAIL POLICY If you have read this FAQ carefully and still have some question about this challenge, you can send me email. Likewise, if you have corrections or additions, you can mail me and I'll consider editing this FAQ. If you have other questions about the normal game, I'm not interested. Post these questions on GameFAQs's boards, for example. ===================== = TABLE OF CONTENTS = ===================== 1 PREFACE 2 INTRODUCTION 3 WALKTHROUGH 3.1 Disk 1 3.2 Disk 2 3.3 Disk 3 3.4 Disk 4 4 APPENDIXES 4.1 White Magic list 4.2 Summon Magic list 4.3 Ability list 4.4 Equipment list 5 CLOSING ============= = 1 PREFACE = ============= After completing FFIX several times I had to figure out something to do. Likewise, after several FFIX challenges that already have FAQs on GameFAQs I again had to concoct something new, and I wrote a FAQ for No Healing/No Money Challenge (this guide is available at GameFAQs, check it out). And as I never get bored of FFIX, I then decided to try out some single character challenge. As I didn't want anything too easy, I decided to test Dagger SCC, and this FAQ is what I got when making some notes while I played. Even though Dark Locke has already composed a single character FAQ that surely is very helpful when completing this challenge, I decided to make a new and more complete one for Dagger SCC. After all, this surely is the hardest SCC there is for FFIX and thus, in my opinion, it also deserves an own FAQ. Enjoy! :) green5un 24th August 2006 Turku, Finland ================== = 2 INTRODUCTION = ================== "I might not be okay on my own." - Dagger, Lindblum Welcome to my Dagger Single Character Challenge FAQ. This FAQ will explain how to complete FFIX with a single character only, Dagger in this case. The guide solely focuses on attaining this goal, so if you are searching for some other information about the game, please look for it elsewhere. If you have played Final Fantasy I and checked out some FAQs about that game on GameFAQs, for example, you might know that it's possible to get through the game with just one White Mage. It's a damn hard challenge, but it's possible. Likewise, it's very possible to get through Final Fantasy IX by using only single White Mage, Dagger. If you've played FFI, you should know that when escaping Alexandria Castle in the beginning of the game in FFIX, Dagger actually has clothing very similar to that of the White Mage in FFI :) Dagger Single Character Challenge is not that hard, unlike it's counterpart in FFI world, but still requires some patience and use of correct strategies. In the following, odds and ends associated with this challenge will further be explained. WHO SHOULD TRY THIS CHALLENGE? This challenge can be tried out by everyone who has completed FFIX at least once. This is recommendable since you should be familiar with the basic concepts when completing this challenge. Newbies may not understand what I'm talking about in this guide, and I also skip many details in the game that do not have much significance regarding the completion of this challenge. Moreover, the more you know about the the game and the better you master every aspect of it, the easier your quest will become. Finally, I also want to emphasize this game should be played normally for the first time just because of the great gaming experience; it's something that shouldn't be spoiled by trying some challenge immediately. For all the gamers out there having some experience with FFIX: welcome to try this challenge! This is probably the hardest Single Character Challenge available for FFIX, but at the same time, it's a very interesting and rewarding challenge. RULES AND CONSEQUENCES The idea of this challenge is very simple. In all the fights, everyone except Dagger has to be killed off, and you have to defeat all the enemies in the game by using Dagger only. There are three additional points worth noting: 1) Of course, Dagger is not available in all parts of the game. At these points of the game, just use your other characters normally. 2) Sometimes, your other characters are healed just before a boss fight. In these cases you have to kill them off in the battle as quickly as possible and use only Dagger to defeat the boss. 3) There is one boss fight in the game that can't be handled with Dagger only, namely the one against Black Waltz #2. More information on how to deal with this fight is provided in the respective point in the walkthrough section of this guide. With these essential rules explained, we now move on to discuss some of their consequences along with Dagger's pros and cons as a single character used. On the positive side, Dagger can use White Magic and Eidolons. Without these essential abilities, this challenge wouldn't be possible. Eidolons are a really powerful and efficient way to defeat enemies and bosses later in the challenge. Dagger's Trance may also make the Eidolon last used to randomly attack the enemy. Moreover, Dagger's physical defence can be made pretty high. Finally, Dagger is just a cool and damn cute character, isn't she? ;) On the negative side, Dagger has incredibly weak physical attacks, and it's very hard to level up early in the game. Also, Dagger does not have that high HP. Fortunately, once you reach Treno, Auto-Reflect can be used. In addition to the problems above, Dagger's story-driven undependability (after she loses her voice in Lindblum) can also be a little problematic. In my opinion, however, these negative things and problems can be overcome quite easily, and this challenge is not as hard as usually believed by many players. SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES - Save often, but don't overwrite your previous save or you may regret it - Keep Dagger in the back row, unless otherwise instructed. There are some rare cases Dagger should be kept in the front row to increase her physical attack power, but always keep her in the back row otherwise. Also note that there is no reason to put Dagger in the front row when she has some Racket equipped, since these are long range weapons and do the damage that doesn't depend on the row. - It's essential to always use Boost ability after it becomes available - Use Auto-Reflect, it's often very useful. However, remember that some bosses absorb their own reflected attacks. In these cases, Auto-Reflect is not a recommendable ability to use. - Use Auto-Potion, Chemist and Auto-Regen when these abilities become available. This way, you don't have to heal yourself continuously. - Keep abilities preventing unwanted status effects enabled. You surely don't want to get venomed, stopped or petrified, for example. - Always use best equipment available, and also use equipment reducing, guarding or absorbing elemental damage to your advantage. Moreover, use Eidolons in combination with element enhancing equipment to further increase their damage. SOME NOTES ON THE FAQ Please note that this FAQ, although giving all the necessary information for completing Dagger SCC, is still a work in progress. Most notably, some strategies against the bosses may still be improved and further information relevant to this quest may be added. I'm welcoming all the suggestions how to further optimize tactics used in this guide and how to make this FAQ better. Especially tips from other FAQ writers and elite players on GameFAQs are very welcome. It should be especially noted that this FAQ does not strive for optimization or perfection. It just guides you through the game, but does not explicitly optimize the equipment used at every point of the game, for example. Most notably, Chocobo Sidequest is not covered in this FAQ and items acquirable only this way are ignored, pretty much. This is because I didn't make the Chocobo Sidequest at all when testing this challenge; it's simply unnecessary, as it's easy enough to complete this quest without visiting Chocobos Forest at all. Thus, I didn't acquire Ark in the course of this challenge. I also don't power up Eidolons to the full power or level Dagger up to level 99. It's simply unnecessary. To sum up, this guide is about how to easily complete the game by using only Dagger in the battles. You may want to do more optimizing, sidequest and other things like leveling up and powering up Eidolons, and you are free to do it, of course. Finally, a brief note on Dagger's name is in order. Dagger, Garnet, Sarah, or or Princess Garnet Til Alexandros, if you want, has many alternative names. I prefer Dagger and thus I'm using that name in this guide, even though many people don't like this name :) Dagger is the default name given by the game, after all. ================= = 3 WALKTHROUGH = ================= The walkthrough section will now guide you through the game. It also includes the more detailed dicussion on strategies used in this challenge. ============== = 3.1 DISK 1 = ============== BEGINNING - When controlling Zidane, light the candle in the middle of the room - Defeat Masked Man. You can also steal something if you want, but this is not important - Some events and FMV follow. You'll then control Vivi in Alexandria. ALEXANDRIA - You'll now control Vivi. Collect some items here if you want. - Especially pick up Ether in Synthesis Shop; Ethers are pretty important in this challenge - Head to the ticket booth, peek in and find the Rat Kid. Then go to the steeple and climb up the ladder to let the events roll on. - In the play, defeat King Leo - It's recommandable to perform a perfect swordfight with Blank. You will get 10000 Gil and Moonstone if you succeed. This is not obligatory, but it will make your quest a little easier. - As Steiner, obtain Moonstone from Queen Brahne - After this, go look for the princess. You can also find all the Pluto Knights if you want. - FMV and some events will follow - Make your way through the engine room - In the first fight with Steiner, first loot him, then just attack The play goes on, and a fight with Steiner ensues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Steiner HP: 167 This is the first time Dagger fights in the game. However, Steiner and Pluto Knights never attack her. Suicide everyone except Dagger, and you will win automatically. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After some events, there is one more fight with Steiner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Steiner HP: 162 Again, suicide everyone else except Dagger, and wait the battle to end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMA VISTA CRASH SITE - As Zidane, just go look for Dagger and defeat two Prison Cages - You can steal Leather Wrist from the second Prison Cage if you want - You'll then be back in Prima Vista - Collect some items and equipment, Ethers are especially important - Make the storyline advance and defeat Baku EVIL FOREST - Make your way through Evil Forest - You are of course allowed to level your characters up a bit here to make some incoming battles easier. It's very recommendable to level up Zidane at least to level 5 (this recommended due to a tedious boss battle in Dali; you may want to check the appropriate point in this walkthrough for more info) - When ready, just move on and fight Plant Brain - After the fight, run away from the forest and defeat Plant Spiders on your way - A camping scene follows, then you are taken to the World Map - Head for Ice Cavern - Now, if you get into a fight, you have to suicide other party members and leave only Dagger alive. Fights can be incredibly hard this way as Dagger's attack power is really pathetic and she can't use eidolons yet due to her low MP. ICE CAVERN - Make your way through the Cavern, and collect some items on the way. At least Elixir and Ether are worth picking up. - Save your game at the moogle - Fight Black Waltz #1 and Sealion - After the fight, save your game again at the moogle - Get out of the cavern and save your game - Continue your journey to Dali VILLAGE OF DALI - Here, several events occur - Go to the Weapon Shop and buy Feather Hat for Dagger - After watching the ATE 'Queen Brahne's Steiner', exit Dali and save your game on the World Map Now comes the first tedious part of this challenge. The first real boss fight Dagger participates in is against Black Waltz #2, who has over 1000 HP. As Dagger usually deals something like whopping 14 HP damage on enemies, it's self-evident that the fight becomes really tedious. In fact, there are three approaches to the problem with Black Waltz #2: 1) Just relax the rules of this challenge and fight him normally. Dagger is really pathetic at this point of the game anyway. 2) Crazily level up Dagger until she can summon Shiva. 3) Level up Dagger a bit, then fight Black Waltz #2 by using Dagger's physical attacks. Approach number one is advocated by some players. It's true that Dagger is really pathetic, but I still recommend that you choose some other alternative. This is not meant to be an easy challenge, after all :) Approach two is really laborous, but makes the boss battle easy. Leveling up to the point where Dagger can summon Shiva takes an eternity, however. Approach three is an interesting one, and the way I chose. I also recommend that you try this alternative. It won't take as long as the second one, but it also isn't as lame as the first one ;) And the boss battle will be challenging using this option. With the three possible alternatives now presented, leveling up will next be discussed. In what follows, I will assume you chose the alternative three like I did, even though you may also choose another one. In my challenge, I did level up to level 15 by killing Pythons in the World Map, which is a pretty tedious task to accomplish. However, killing Ghosts in the Underground Storage Area is a lot easier way to level up. I want to thank Aqua Black Mage Roscoe for pointing out that this is a lot easier way to level up than the method I used :) This being said, just head to the Underground Storage, open the large door leading to the Mist Room there to enable random encounters and fight some Ghosts. These enemies are undead, so just kill them using Cure. This is a very quick way to level up compared to other possibilities. When you run out of MP, just visit the inn and continue leveling up. It might be a good idea to level up Dagger at least to level 10 at this point. The more you level up, the more MP and HP you have, and these are important resources in this challenge. Even though you probably don't bother to level up to a level where Shiva becomes available, you need to use Cure when following the alternative three presented above. After some leveling up, check that Dagger is at a decent level. Also, Zidane should be at least at level 5. This way, he should have well over 200 HP, which is a necessary condition for the following boss fight. Now, make the following preparations: - Remove everyone's equipment - Optimize Zidane's equipment otherwise, but don't use Silk Shirt, as it is weak against Fire. Have Zidane wear Leather Plate instead. - Buy a lot of Potions (99 Potions is not too much) - Once ready, make your way through the Underground Storage - Here, just loot all the chests as you advance if you haven't done this yet - Before the boss fight, be sure to put Dagger in the FRONT ROW and Zidane in the BACK ROW. This is very important. After some scenes, you'll fight Black Waltz #2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Black Waltz #2 HP: 1030 This will be a really long and tedious fight, if you did choose the alternative three I recommended. Despite this, I found this battle extremely amusing and really enjoyed it in a sick way ;) In this fight, we can't follow the rules for this challenge completely. The problem is that if Dagger is the only person alive in the battle, Black Waltz #2 will put her to sleep, ending the battle. This is why you have to keep Zidane alive during this fight, and this, in turn, is the reason I told you to give Zidane the best possible equipment. You are not allowed to input any commands for your supplementary character, you just keep him alive to prevent Dagger dozing off :) Black Waltz #2 never targets his attacks on Dagger, which is why Dagger's equipment is unimportant in this fight. With Zidane's equipment described above, Black Waltz #2 shouldn't be able to deal significant damage on him. He should thus be able to survive two attacks without getting healed. Now, the strategy is as follows. Dagger should attack Black Waltz #2, but always when Zidane's HP gets low, she should heal Zidane. Remember that Zidane must not do anything, not even Defend. Heal using Potion if it brings Zidane's HP well over 200. If Zidane's HP is really low, on the other hand, it is better to use Cure to fill up his HP. Occasionally, you may have to use Ether. Just keep alternating between healing and attacking. Be careful and don't take any risks; keeping Zidane alive is important. This battle will be very long, but shouldn't be too hard to win. There are, however, two subtle things in this fight. Once you have dealt enough damage on Black Waltz #2, he will cast Fira on Zidane. If Zidane doesn't have well over 100 HP at this point, this attack can easily kill him. I was lucky and Zidane survived Fira, which caused around 130 damage. Another dangerous thing is Black Waltz #2's physical Teleport attack. This is not that bad normally, but a critical hit may occur, and this might kill Zidane. However, even though Zidane gets killed, this is still far from Game Over. Just keep reviving Zidane using Phoenix Downs. It's pretty probable that after reviving Zidane, you'll be able to get another turn before Black Waltz #2 kills Zidane again. Then just cure Zidane and you are back in business. Just be patient and you'll defeat this boss eventually. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After this tedious fight, choose to rest in the inn and save your game there. Then board the Cargo Ship. CARGO SHIP - Enjoy the nice scenes here - Go to the deck and defeat Black Waltz #3 - After the fight, a FMV will be displayed and you are taken to Lindblum LINDBLUM - When you can control Zidane in the castle, go to the Guest Room and loot the chests there - Then let the storyline advance and finally save your game in Lindblum inn - Now, it's time to collect and buy some equipment in the town - The following pieces of equipment can be collected in the three Districts: Leather Plate, Silver Gloves, Leather Wrist, Bronze Vest, Steepled Hat - Also synth Glass Buckle, Cotton Robe, Yellow Scarf and Desert Boots - You may also want to buy or synth some other stuff for Freya, Zidane and Vivi, as a part of the game where Dagger is not available will now follow - Once ready, head to Tantalus's Hideout to make the storyline advance - Then go to the castle and find Dagger - The Festival of Hunt will now commence; just do whatever you want, either suicide Zidane immediately to speed up the game or play normally - However, let Freya win the festival to receive Coral Ring - After this, just head for Dragon's Gate and enter World Map GIZAMALUKE'S GROTTO AND BURMECIA This part of game has no significance relevant to this challenge whatsoever. I will not go into any detail about Gizamaluke's Grotto or Burmecia, since Dagger is not available in these parts of game, and you should very well know how to complete this phase of game. However, there are some things that are worth doing, and some items that might come in handy and should be picked up. These will be listed in what follows: - If you want, you can start the doing Chocobo sidequest now. This is completely optional, and I didn't do this AT ALL during this entire challenge. - Go to Qu's Marsh and make Quina join your party. This will make completing this part of the game easier. - Pick up Magus Hat, Mythril Gloves and Bronze Vest in Gizamluke's Grotto - Once controlling Steiner at South Gate, pick up Multina Racket, left of the entrance - In Burmecia, collect Germina's Boots, Mythril Spear and Lightning Staff - I suggest that you remove your equipment (at least anything Dagger will need) before you fight Beatrix in Burmecia. It's easy to defeat her just by using Phoenix Downs on dead party members, as she ends the fight after certain time. After you defeat Beatrix in Burmecia, Disk 1 is ended. ============== = 3.1 DISK 2 = ============== SUMMIT STATION - At Summit Station, purchase Mythril Rod and Air Racket - Optimize Dagger's equipment Make the storyline advance, and you'll soon fight Black Waltz #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Black Waltz #3 HP: 1,292 This is a very easy, yet interesting fight. Black Waltz #3 never attacks Dagger, and after you suicide Steiner and Marcus, this boss will kill itself by exploiting attack several times. You can help him in his suicidal actions by attacking, even though Dagger's attack power is still pathetic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some events follow. Move on and you'll be on the World Map. Save your game, then head to Treno. TRENO - In Treno, you might want to get Power Belt by displaying the ATE 'Treno Tradition', entering the big building near the cafe and talking to Four-Armed Man - Much more important, however, is to buy Reflect Ring at auction. Reflecting is very important in many boss fights, and the only way to deal significant damage if Dagger can't summon eidolons yet. - If you don't have enough money for this, earn more by giving Stellazzios to Queen Stella. You can also fight to get more money, but this is tedious. Also sell your Phoenix Pinions and needless equipment for some extra money. Yet another way to make some money is to purchase Doga's Artifact, Une's Mirror, Griffin's Heart and Rat Tail and sell them to people in Treno, but these items are pretty expensive, too. - If you still have some extra money, you can spend it in the synthesis shop or weapon shop. There isn't anything really important here, though. - Once ready with shopping, head to the inn to initiate some scenes - Then make your way to Tot's tower and enter Gargan Roo GARGAN ROO - You might want to level up a bit here, Crawlers are not impossible to kill with Dagger's physical attack, even though it's a bit tedious. I didn't bother to level up here, though. - Just get the stuff from the chests here and pull the appropriate levers - Before proceeding to ride the Gargant, equip Reflect Ring and Glass Armlet for Dagger, and optimize her equipment otherwise - Enable Auto-Reflect and Antibody - Moreover, Cotton Robe and Chemist ability could be useful - When ready, trigger the last switch on the wall to ride the Gargant Ralvurahva will then interrupt your ride and you'll have to defeat it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Ralvurahva HP: 2,296 Suicide Marcus and Steiner if they're alive. Due to Auto-Reflect, Ralvurahva will deal nice damage on itself every time it uses Blizzara. Its physical attack, Devil's Kiss, is not that bad, especially as you have Antibody enabled. Ralvurahva can put you to sleep with Night (this is rare), but it doesn't matter, actually. It can also inflict Slow on you, but this is not that bad, either. Just attack, and heal when needed. Remember that you shouldn't cast Cure on yourself when Auto-Reflect is enabled :) Use Potions instead, or cast Reflect on Ralvurahva and then cure it to bounce Cure back. This fight takes some time, but it's really easy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After some events, the scene will switch to Zidane et co, and you'll be taken to World Map. Head for Cleyra. CLEYRA'S TRUNK AND CLEYRA SETTLEMENT Again, Dagger is not available during this stage of game, so I will again only summarize the most important things. - When making your way through Cleyra's Trunk, pick up the items there. Most important ones include Mythril Vest, Desert Boots and Magician Shoes - Also Mythril Gloves, Needle Fork, Ice Staff and Flame Staff should be picked up. If you have no use for them, just sell them for some money in Cleyra Settlement. - One thing that might come in handy afterwards is Quina's Auto-Life. Learn it now by eating Carrion Worm. - Remember that Elixirs, Ethers, Tents and Phoenix Pinions are useful and should be picked up in Cleyra's Trunk and Cleyra Settlement - Pick up Yellow Scarf and Thunder Gloves in Cleyra Settlement - Also, you can buy Mage's Hat and Bandana here - Display two ATEs with Quina: one where Quina's chases Moon Maidens and one where Quina finds a mushroom. Then go to Antlion's sandpit, and you'll end up in a place with two treasure chests. They contain Magician Shoes and Silk Robe. After this, make your way back to Cleyra Settlement. - You might want to get Emerald from the High Priest when controlling Freya - Defeat the Antlion, Black Mages and Soldiers and claim some rewards from the Cleyrans you have saved - Remove Quina's equipment before fighting Beatrix if he/she carries anything important - Try to steal Ice Brand from Beatrix when you fight her - After you beat Beatrix, you'll be taken to Red Rose. Save your game there. The scene will now switch to Alexandria. ALEXANDRIA - Make Marcus and Steiner escape from the cage, then defeat the soldiers - Remember to remove Marcus's equipment once you reach the ladder, you lose it otherwise - Make your way to Queen's Chamber - Once there, examine the lilac light, then enter the passage and continue down the stairs - Enter the Chapel to find Zorn and Thorn - Have Zidane steal continuously. Especially steal Stardust Rod from Zorn. - Remember to neuralize the powers they give to each other and the fight will be really easy After the fight and events, heal your characters and continue up the stairs. After some events, you'll have your third fight with Beatrix. - Don't give Freya any good equipment you will need when in Outer Continent, since she won't be in your party for a while - Have Zidane steal continuously. Hopefully, you can steal Survival Vest from Beatrix. After you beat Beatrix, there will be six forced fights. - Defeat Bandersnatch with Freya and Beatrix in the first fight - Once you control Zidane, adjust Dagger's equipment. Equip Reflect Ring for Dagger and enable Auto-Reflect. Optimize her equipment otherwise. - In the second fight against Three Black Mages, suicide Zidane, Vivi and Steiner. Then just attack and heal when needed. Black Mages mostly use magic, which will be reflected to them, causing nice damage :) - After this fight, you can equip Coral Ring for Dagger and enable Insomniac - Also remove Steiner's equipment at this point. Like Freya, Steiner won't be available for a while. - In the third fight, you'll face two Bandersnatches. Just attack and heal, Bandersnatches also use magic, so this is not hard :) - In the fourth fight, you'll face one Bandersnatch. This is even easier. - The fifth and sixth fights are easy, since you just fight Bandersnatches with Beatrix and Freya - After the battles, go to the Chapel and save your game. Then exit and go to south to ride the Gargant. In Gargan Roo, you'll face Ralvuimago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Ralvuimago HP: 3,352 When Dagger is at level 17 and equipped with Multina Racket, she'll do about 160 damage on Ralvuimago. Attack this boss physically and it will compact itself. Wait until it unwraps, then attack again. This way, this boss won't be able to deal any damage on you after its possible initial attack. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After this battle, you'll be taken to Pinnacle Rocks. PINNACLE ROCKS - After meeting Ramuh, go to the moogle and save your game - Find all the XXXXXXXXX of Ramuh. You'll now receive Peridot and be able to summon Ramuh :) - Also loot the chests here for The Ogre, Mythril Vest and Mythril Armlet LINDBLUM & QU'S MARSH - After some events, you'll be taken to Lindblum - Move on to meet Minister Artania - When you are taken back in town, you might want to visit Synthesis Shop and Weapon Shop. You can synth Gold Choker, Cachusha, and Barette, for example. Barette is important as it teaches you Cura. - When ready, talk to the man near the fountain - When you arrive at Dragon's Gate, pick up Bandana behind the platform there - Go to the world Map and head for Qu's Marsh to meet Quina - Move on to find the Excavation Site and enter Fossil Roo FOSSIL ROO - Once in Fossil Roo, optimize your equipment for a boss fight - Dagger should wear Silk Robe and Reflect Ring - Enable Auto-Reflect, of course - A monster will then chase you. Just don't let the swinging axes hit you, and you'll be able to avoid the fight with Armodullah. After some running, you'll fight Lani. You are healed before this battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Lani HP: 5,708 This fight is amusing and easy. Suicide Zidane, Vivi and Quina at the beginning of the fight. Lani will use a lot of magic, which reflects back to her, so all you have to do is wait and heal occasionally. You can also have Dagger cast Blind on Lani, which will make this fight even easier. Try to keep Dagger's HP pretty high, however, since Lani also uses Aera, which can't be reflected. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - After the fight, enter Fossil Roo - Just make your way through the tunnel by riding Gargant and be sure to pick up the following items: Fairy Earrings, Lamia's Tiara and Survival Vest - Once you get out of the Fossil Roo, head to Conde Petie CONDE PETIE - Here, buy some new stuff from weapon shop (Magic Armlet, Ritual Hat, Magician Cloak) - Also buy Stardust Rod, Multina Racket and Lamia's Tiara. These items are soon used for synthing. - You can get Diamond from the Kirkboat if you want - After Vivi sees Black Mage, exit Conde Petie and make your way to Black Mage Village - Once you are in the forest surrounding Black Mage Village, you might want to encounter the friendly Ladybird and gain some AP. - You can also level up and learn abilities by fighting Zaghnols here. Just equip Coral Ring and it will be easy to kill these big beasts. - It's recommendable to learn e.g. Auto-Potion, Ramuh and Chemist at this point - After this, enter Black Mage Village BLACK MAGE VILLAGE - Go to the weapon shop and purchase Bone Wrist - After this, synth Madain's Ring and Extension - Also stock up some Hi-Potions - Pick up some stuff here and get the storyline roll on - Before you leave the village, you should get Black Belt from the upper floor of the item shop - When everything's ready, head back to Conde Petie MOUNTAIN PATH - Optimize Dagger's equipment - However, equip Extension for Dagger if she masters Ramuh. If she doesn't, have her wear Peridot as an add-on. - Also enable Auto-Potion and Chemist - If you don't master Float yet, Dagger should carry Stardust Rod ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Hilgigars HP: 8,106 Silence Hilgigars at the beginning of the battle to prevent him from using annoying Curaga. After this, simply keep summoning Ramuh. Use Ethers when needed. If you enabled Auto-Potion and Chemist, there shouldn't be too much need for healing. An easy fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adter the battle, continue to the end of Montain Path and you will reach World Map. Head to Madain Sari. MADAIN SARI AND IIFA TREE - Enjoy several events that take place in Madain Sari - Stock up some Softs, Potions and Magic Tags, then head to Iifa Tree through the Mountain Path - Note that you can kill all enemies easily here. Stropers can be killed using Soft, Zombies and Dragozombies can be killed using Life. If you don't have Life yet, you can reduce undead enemies' HP to a critical point using Phoenix Downs. - Try to get rid of Zombies swiftly as they may use Roulette, which can kill you instantly if you have bad luck - This is actually a pretty good place to level up a bit. I had Dagger on level 29 when I got out of Iifa Tree. - Pick up Healing Rod on your way down - There will be a forced fight with Zombies and another one with Dracozombie. Just defeat them using Life (or summoning Ramuh). - Once you reach the bottom, pick up Elixir and Brigandine Then proceed to fight Soulcage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Soulcage HP: 9,765 Have Dagger cast Life on Soulcage for a quick battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MADAIN SARI AND IIFA TREE REVISITED - Optimize Zidane's equipment for high physical defence and defeat Amarant - After this and numerous events, head back for Iifa Tree - Before the forced fight with Mistodons, equip Dagger with some equipment carrying Life and Insomniac. Enable Insomniac. - Use Life on both Mist Monsters for a quick battle - Dagger will now run away and other party members will fight Mistodon * In this fight, have Eiko use Cura on Mistodon - Find the moogle and save your game - Run after Dagger and fight some more Mistodons on the way down - Dagger will now receive Aquamarine, which enables you to summon Leviathan Some events take place, and Disk 2 is ended. ============== = 3.1 DISK 3 = ============== ALEXANDRIA You now control Vivi in Alexandria. - Stock up some Hi-Potions and other items if needed - Visit Weapon Shop and Synthesis Shop and check if they have some stuff you want to purchase - You might want to synth e.g. Pearl Rouge and Feather Boots - When ready, make the plot advance again and watch the long sequence - In one of the scenes, you'll receive Opal, Topaz and Amethyst from Doctor Tot. This enables you to use Shiva, Atomos and Ifrit, respectively :) Your party will now head to Treno. TRENO - Display the ATE City People to receive Chimera Armlet - Save your game and start the Card Tournament - Try to win the tournament; you will receive Rebirth Ring as a prize - This item will enable you to use Auto-Life ability, which can be useful later - After the tournament, some events occur, and you'll be taken to Alexandria ALEXANDRIA IN CHAOS - Alexandria is under an attack. As Dagger, command the soldiers as follows to receive Angel Earrings: * Blutzen and Kohel should gather information * Weimar and Haagen should protect the townspeople * Breireich and Lando should contact Lindblum to request reinforcements * Dojebon and Mullenkedheim should begin the preparations to fire the cannons - You will now have to fight some Mistodons with Steiner and Beatrix - After this, a sequence of scenes follows and you'll eventually be taken to Lindblum LINDBLUM AND BLACK MAGE VILLAGE After the events, you'll be in Lindblum. - When controlling Zidane in the guest room, loot the chest for Egoist's Armlet and Elixir - Go meet the regent, and you'll soon discover that Dagger has lost her voice. This starts an annoying period in the game, as Dagger may be unable to contcentrate from time to time whilst fighting. - Go find the potions in the town - When there, buy some new stuff: Magic Racket, Mantra Band and Dark Hat - After this, return to the castle to turn Cid into a frog :) - Board the Blue Narciss and head to Black Mage Village - After the birth of the baby chocobo, exit the village - It's recommendable to go to Esto Gaza now and buy Mythril Racket for Dagger to increase her attack power - After this, head to Kiera Desert - Enter the most northern sandpit, and you'll be in Desert Palace DESERT PALACE AND OEILVERT I'm pretty sure most gamers playing this challenge would just make Dagger go to the Desert Palace. This is easy, and more natural indeed. I, however, being a gamer loving little challenges, decided that Valia Pira would be far too easy to beat, and I thus chose Dagger to go to Oeilvert, where she has to beat Ark all alone, without using any magic :) This is very easy actually, as you will soon see. - You may choose whichever place you want for Dagger, both boss fights will be really easy. Ark will take some time to beat, though :) - After choosing the other party members accompanying Zidane, make your way to airship, which will take you to Forgotten Continent - Make your way to Oeilvert through the canyon. Be careful if you decided to take Dagger here. Enemies here are pretty though and you should save often. - Once in Oeilvert, purchase some new equipment: Judo Uniform and Green Beret - Also stock up 99 Hi-Potions and some Softs here - I recommend that you sell your ordinary Potions here if you have any of them, leaving only Hi-Potions in your inventory. This way, Auto-Potion becomes more effective, which is useful in the following boss fight. - Then make your way to the Star Display and save your game at the moogle - You can learn some abilities here by defeating Epitaphs. Simply use Softs on them and remember to enable ability up. You must learn Clear Headed at this point if you don't master this ability yet. - Solve the puzzle and collect all the stuff from the chests. Pick up Diamond Sword, Power Vest, Shield Armor and Gaia Gear (and also Rising Sun, Elixir and Remedy). - While wandering around in Oeilvert, it's wise to keep Jelly and Locomotion enabled - Once ready with puzzle, go to the moogle and save your game In the following, I'll give some tips how to beat Ark easily by using Dagger only. - Dagger should have Mythril Racket and Black Belt equipped, optimize her equipment otherwise - Enable Clear Headed, Auto-Potion and Chemist - Keep Dagger in the back row, damage caused by Rackets doesn't depend on your row ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Ark HP: 20,002 With Mythril Racket and Black Belt equipped, Dagger will deal fairly good damage on Ark. However, Ark's defence is pretty high. Ark is weak to wind, and Mythril Racket causes wind elemental damage. Moreover, Black Belt enhances wind element and also adds strength. And if you have only Hi-Potions (no normal Potions) in your inventory and have Chemist enabled, you'll get healed for 900 HP each time Ark attacks you. It's not possible to die as long as you don't run out of Hi-Potions. The only problem about this fight is Daggers occasional inability to concentrate. This is annoying, but just keep attacking and you'll defeat Ark eventually. This will be a long but really easy fight. You could actually tape the X button down and go do something else for a while ;) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - After you have beaten Ark, you'll receive Pumice Piece which carries Dagger's important Boost ability :) - Remove the equipment from your characters in Oeilvert, so that the other party members in Desert Palace can use it The scene will now switch back to Desert Palace. - As Cid, play the minigame (put the weights B, C and D on the scale) - After this, save your game in the room to the right - Make your way through the Desert Palace, collecting the following items: Black Hood, N-Kai Armlet, Venetia Shield, Anklet, Fairy Earrings, Promist Ring - If you have Dagger here, make sure you are protected from several status effects the enemies can inflict on you - Once you reach the moogle, save your game After this, proceed to fight Valia Pira. If you have Dagger here, follow the strategy above. - Do not equip anything you found in the Desert Palace - Equip Reflect Ring for Dagger and enable Auto-Reflect ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Valia Pira HP: 12,119 Valia Pira only uses Reflect and magic, and all his spells will be reflected. Moreover, he's weak to water, so if you master Leviathan, use it. You can also use some other eidolon, but there's no real need for this. You can just wait and watch as this pathetic boss finishes himself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Exit this area and some scenes will follow - After this, head to Esto Gaza ESTO GAZA & MOUNT GULUG - Enter Esto Gaza, and go to the Weapon Shop - You can buy Asura's Rod for Dagger here - Also stock up a good amount of Hi-Potions - Once in Mount Gulug, you can pick up Golden Hairpin, Red Hat and Demon's Mail - Collecting Gaia Gear might not be worth it, as you already have it and you have to fight two Red Dragons after you get this item - After collecting items, save your game and then slide down the rope - Equip Magus Hat for Dagger, and optimize her equipment otherwise - Have Dagger wear Opal as an add-on if you don't master Shiva. If you do, equip Pumice Piece for Dagger and enable Boost ability. - You'll now fight two Red Dragons - At the beginning of the battle, you might want to use Tents on Red Dragons to inflict Silence, Poison and Darkness on them - Red Dragons are weak to ice, use Shiva - These dragons give Dagger some really nice EXP; I had her at level 34 after this fight - Now, adjust Dagger's equipment before the incoming boss fight - Equip Topaz as an add-on for Dagger if you don't master Ifrit yet - Also have Dagger wear Red Hat - Enable Auto-Potion, Chemist and Antibody ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Meltigemini HP: 24,348 Have Dagger use Ifrit continuously if she masters it, as Meltigemini is weak to Fire. Otherwise, use some other eidolons. This fight is ridiculously easy with Auto-Potion and Chemist abilities equipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - A long sequence of events now follows - In a scene, Beatrix will give you Garnet. This item contains Bahamut summon. You are already starting to have a quite nice collection of summon magic :) - You'll eventually control Hilda Garde 3 SOME MISCELLANEOUS THINGS TO DO BEFORE HEADING TO IPSEN'S CASTLE Before you go to Ipsen's Castle, there are some things you can do, as you are now able to move easily from one place to another using Hilda Garde 3. In the following, I'll list some important things you should do: 1) Daguerreo - Go to Daguerreo, which is located in Salvago Archipelago - Here, pick up two Elixirs - Purchase Jade Armlet and Gaia Gear and synth White Robe, which gives Dagger really nice defence against physical attacks 2) Treno - Purchase Dark Matter at auction in Treno - This item contains Odin summon, which causes instant death to the target if it hits - The success rate of death is not too good, but death is not the thing we are after here. Later on, when we are able to use Odin's Sword ability, Odin will be able to deal significant damage on enemies and it will be our main attack against the tough bosses at the end of the game. 3) Leveling up - After you have acquired Dark Matter, you can level up by killing Grand Dragons in Salvago Archipelago - Enable Level Up - With Auto-Reflect and Auto-Potion enabled, only Hi-Potions in the inventory and equiment giving high physical defense, Grand Dragons virtually can't kill you - Grand Dragons are weak to ice, so you can use Shiva to deal nice damage on them - You can also test Odin, but the success rate seems to be pretty slow when trying to kill Grand Dragons - Remember to enable Ability Up and learn some skills when leveling up - I leveled up to level 50 at this point 4) Learn some useful skills - You should learn some useful skills at this point - Just fight some weak enemies to receive some easy AP - Also encounter friendly monsters to get lot of AP - Learn all the abilities available you don't master yet * It's very important in this challenge to master several different eidolons, as Dagger will have a nice collection of different elemental attacks this way * Moreover, learn all the white magic available at this point * Learn abilities preventing unwanted status affects, e.g. Jelly, Locomotion and Insomniac * Learn Auto-Reflect, Auto-Life, Auto-Regen, MP+20%, Reflect-Null and Boost After completing these tasks, head to Ipsen's Castle. IPSEN'S CASTLE - Go to the moogle and save your game, then move on - Before going to the room with mirrors solve the door puzzle to get Barette on the terrace above the entrance - Then make your way to the room where the mirrors are and pick them up - Then prepare Dagger for a boss battle - Equip Reflect Ring, optimize Dagger's equipment otherwise - Enable Auto-Reflect, Auto-Potion and Chemist Once you return back from the wall, you'll have to fight Taharka, who seems not to be too happy about the fact that you stole the mirrors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Taharka HP: 29,186 Taharka is weak against Fire, just summon Ifrit continuously to beat this boss. An extremely easy battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Return to the moogle and save your game. Then exit the castle. - Amarant is missing. Return to the castle to find him. - It might be a good idea to level up Zidane a bit, as the incoming boss battle might be hard at a too low level. I leveled up Zidane to level 25 by fighting Agares and Gargoyle. This is easy: just enable Auto-Reflect, kill Gargoyle using Soft, and then wait Agares to kill itself with the spells bouncing back to it. - Now go and pick up Ancient Aroma in Ipsen's Castle. This item contains Odin's Sword ability, which causes Odin to deal damage on the enemy if the instant death first fails. Odins attack power is high, so this is a very good way to deal significant damage on enemies. - Ancient Aroma can be obtained by taking the new stairs that have now appeared at the entrance of the castle. Just follow the path and take the elevator down to a room with two pots. Moving the pots counterclockwise will enable you to get Ancient Aroma. - You might also want to pick up Maiden's Prayer. This item can be obtained by falling down the trap near the moogle. It's in the chest on a candelier. THE FOUR SHRINES Take your characters to the four shrines. Even though this is not relevant to this challenge, I'll make some suggestions how to make beating the next boss easier. Earth Guardian is the last boss in the game whom you can not fight with Dagger in your party. - Have Zidane wear Reflect Ring and enable Auto-Reflect and Distract - Zidane should also have Gaia Gear equipped - Have Quina wear Feather Boots or Gaia Gear if you have another one - Equip some equipment reducing or guarding elemental damage if possible - If you have extra money, you might want to buy some better sword for Zidane, but this is not really necessary - Zidane might get killed in the front row, so consider putting him in the back row Enter the Earth Shrine. After scenes, you'll fight Earth Guardian. - This fight might give you some trouble if you are at a low level - However, if you leveled up Zidane a bit in Ipsen's Castle like I recommended, this fight shouldn't be too difficult - Quina probably dies easily in this fight, but that doesn't matter - If Zidane's in back row, Earth Guardian can't kill him if you use Hi-Potion every time he has used his physical attack - With Distract equipped, his physical attacks miss very often - Just wait him to cast some elemental magic that bounces back to him - Aslo try to steal Rubber Suit from this boss After finishing Earth Guardian, it's time to had to Shimmering Island and enter Terra. Before you do this, however, save your game. Also adjust Steiner's equipment before going to Terra. Have him wear Coral Ring as an add-on, optimize otherwise. TERRA - Once prompted to choose your party, choose a party which includes Dagger, of course - Enemies here are though and might give you some trouble (especially Hecteyes can be annoying as it can instantly kill you with it's Roulette attack, so have Auto-Life equipped) - Odin is probably the most efficient way to defeat them - Just try to avoid encounters and you should be able to make it to Bran Bal - On the way there, collect some items: Mythril Racket, Coronet, Dragon Wrist, Demon's Vest, Minerva's Plate - NOTE: Before you reach Bran Bal, adjust Dagger's equipment: she should wear Feather Boots and Barette; optimize her equipment otherwise. Enable Auto-Potion, Chemist and Boost. - There will be a forced fight, and you won't have a chance to change Dagger's equipment before it anymore BRAN BAL - Pick up some stuff here: collect Flash Hat, Angel Earrings, two Elixirs and Wing Edge - Make the storyline advance. Zidane will now go meet Garland. - Optimize equipment for Quina, Freya and Amarant but don't make them wear Reflect Ring PANDEMONIUM - Check Zidane's equipment. Equip Reflect Ring for him and enable Auto-Reflect. - There will be several scenes, and then you'll have three forced fights - Note that the monsters' HP is recovered every time an ally joins the fight 1) Amdusias (10,926 HP) - This fight requires some luck if your characters are not on high levels - If Zidane's level is not too high, you might want to change him in the back row at the beginning of the battle (the game automatically puts you in the front row for some weird reason) - Wait until Freya appears, have Zidane attack and Freya jump - Heal Zidane with Hi-Potion if he is attacked physically - Amarant will soon appear (after you have caused about 6000 damage), have him throw Wing Edge - Zidane should still attack and Freya jump - Hopefully, Amdusias will use several Bios on Zidane and often miss with his physical attacks and you'll be able to finish him 2) Abadon (10,926 HP) - Likewise, luck is needed here if Steiner and Quina are at low levels - Have Quina cast Auto-Life continuously and pray that Abadon doesn't use High Wind too often - Hopefully, he'll use Thundaga on Steiner and this attack will be absorbed - When Zidane finally appears, change him in the back row - Then have Zidane and Steiner attack - Quina should also attack and cast Auto-Life when necessary 3) Shell Dragon (10,921 HP) - Wait until Dagger appears and suicide Zidane - Use Odin continuously for a quick battle - Shell Dragon's Earth Shake will heal you, and you also have Auto-Potion and Chemist enabled, so this should be a really easy fight After fights, a scene occurs. - Save your game at the moogle - Head right first to get Holy Mitre, then go back, get past the room with several pods and proceed to solve the maze - Items you might want to pick up here are Elixir and Battle Boots - Also go get the chest contaning 20,007 Gil if you want, but remember enemies can be pretty tough here and you can't, of course, have other characters then Dagger in the fights when cmopleting the the puzzle - Save your game when you reach a moogle Now prepare for three consecutive boss fights. - It's not necessarily wise to equip Auto-Reflect: this actually elicits Kuja's Flare Star attack, something we surely don't want - Have Dagger wear Coronet, Coral Ring and White Robe - Remember to keep Boost, Chemist and Auto-Potion enabled - Enable Odin's Sword and also Auto-Regen if you want - Also enable Locomotion to prevent Garland's Stop After this, move on to fight the bosses. Don't worry, you'll see that all three bosses are real pushovers, after all :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Silver Dragon HP: 24,055 An easy fight. Coronet will guard Wind, which means Aerial Slash and Twister are useless against you. Shockwave is a weak attack, and Claw misses really often. Just use Odin until the boss is finished. Use Ethers to recover your MP if necessary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Garland HP: 40,728 Garland has pretty powerful Flare attack, but with Chemist, Auto-Potion and Auto-Regen enabled, this shouldn't be nothing to worry about. Just keep summoning and he'll go down eventually. I used Odin continuously to beat him. An easy fight, which requires nothing but a few Ethers and Hi-Potions :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Kuja HP: 42,382 Kuja's main attack is Thundaga, which will be absorbed by Coral Ring, which makes this fight really easy. Just use Odin over and over to take him down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you defeat Kuja, several scenes occur. Disk 3 will then be ended. ============== = 3.1 DISK 4 = ============== PREPARING FOR THE FINAL SHOWDOWN Congratulations, you've reached the point in this challenge where only the completion of the final dungeon, Memoria, is left. When testing this challenge, I was actually surprised how easy it had been until now. However, some enemies and bosses in Memoria are pretty tough, and it's important to get well prepared before the final showdown. In the following, I'll list some things you should to accomplish before the final battles. 1) Buy some items - Complete your item collection: buy all the necessary items you don't have yet - Buy Power Wrist from Daguerreo - Synth Running Shoes in Black Mage Village - Also synth Light Robe, Circlet and Golden Skullcap - Obtain Rosetta Ring and Robe of Lords by bringing 12 Stellazzios to Queen Stella in Treno - Buy Wizard Rod and synth Priest's Racket in Black Mage Village 2) Learn all the skills you think you'll need - Learn all the skills provided by the new equipment you just bought as you level up (see below) - Especially learn Half-MP, Auto-Haste and Curaga - Also learn all the skills you've been too lazy to learn at the earlier stages of the challenge ;) 3) Level Up - Leveling up is necessary at this point. This takes much time, but it's worth it. - It's especially important at this point to make Dagger's Magic and Spirit stats to increase - Our goal is to make Odin's Sword to cause 9999 damage on most bosses - I leveled up Dagger to level 78 - I used Grand Dragons to level up. Yans or other random monsters at the World Map would be another alternative, but I personally prefer fighting Grand Dragons. - Killing Grand Dragons is really easy now. Odin's Sword already deals well over 7000 damage with Boost equipped when Dagger's around at level 55. 4) Power up Eidolons (optional) - Along with leveling up Dagger, there's another way to power up eidolons - Gems power up eidolons. Aquamarines power up Leviathan, Amethysts power up Atomos, Garnets power up Bahamut, Lapis Lazulis power up Ark, Opals power up Shiva, Peridots power up Ramuh, Topazes power up Ifrit. - Each gem you have in your inventory adds 1 to the attack power of respective eidolon - You can collect some Ores by killing certain enemies and synth gems using them, but don't get too crazy with this. If you level up considerably Odin's Sword will surely do 9999 damage at some point and other eidolons need not to be powered up. - Another alternative, of course, is to get 99 Garnets, after which Bahamut will do 9999 damage for sure, but this requires lot of patience. - Odin is a weird exception: having Ores in your inventory DECREASES Odin's Sword's power while it increases chance of Death caused by Odin. Bosses won't be killed by Odin anyway, so be sure NOT to have any Ores in your inventory while engaging in the final fights. - More interesting info about attack powers and formulas associated with Eidolons can be found in Rebirth Flame's Battle Mechanics FAQ - Like I said, powering up eidolons this way is totally optional. The fact this can be done is more like an interesting curiosity than an obligatory task to accomplish. 5) Complete Chocobo Sidequest (optional) - By all means, if you want, feel free to complete Chocobo Sidequest at this point - As I've said earlier, I did not complete Chocobo Sidequest, as it really isn't necessary for the completion of this challenge - The only thing that would interest me about this is the chance to fight Ozma. Indeed, I might add info about this fight to the future updates of this FAQ, if I decide to try to best Ozma :) Alright, when you are ready with the things above, there's nothing left but some final preparations: - Stock up 99 Hi-Potions - Also purchase good amount of Tents and some items negating unwanted status effects - Buy some Vaccines and Echo Screens if you think you need to synth more Ethers in Memoria - Make sure you don't have any Ores in your inventory, they will just weaken Odin's Sword - Finally, make sure you are not at a level divisible by 5. Lich and Deathguise will use LV5 Death and you probably want to avoid getting killed by this attack. - After these preparations and checks, just make your way to Iifa Tree Before you enter Iifa Tree, prepare for a boss fight. - Have Dagger wear Ribbon and Robe of Lords, and carry Magic Racket. Optimize her equipment otherwise. - Enable Auto-Potion, Chemist and Auto-Regen - Also enable Boost, Odin's Sword and Auto-Haste You'll now have to fight the gatekeeper dragon of Memoria. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Nova Dragon HP: 54,940 Aerial Slash, Tidal Wave and Twister are useless against you due to the protection provided by Ribbon. Nova Dragon's other attacks can't kill you due to your Auto-Potion ability. Just use Odin (or Bahamut) continuously to defeat this boss. I mostly made the full 9999 damage with this eidolon :) A really easy fight once again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMORIA - Save your game at the first save point - It's recommendable to keep Auto-Potion, Auto-Reflect, Odin's Sword, Chemist, Locomotion, Body Temp and Antibody enabled in Memoria always when it's possible to run into random encounters - The first boss you'll fight here is Maliris - Enable Body Temp, Auto-Potion, Auto-Regen, Chemist, Odin's Sword, Boost and Auto-Haste - Have Dagger carry Magic Racket, Rosetta Ring and Robe of Lords, optimize otherwise ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Maliris HP: 59,497 Rosetta Ring will absorb Flame Slash, and Sword Quiver is not a big deal. Reflect and Mustard Bomb are totally useless. Maliris has a final attack, Raining Swords, but due to Auto-Potion and Auto-Regen, your HP is full when the attack occurs, so it doesn't matter at all. You know what to do: simply use Odin :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Save your game at the hidden savepoint, then move on to fight Tiamat - Enable Loudmouth, Body Temp, Auto-Potion, Chemist, Odin's Sword, Boost and Auto-Reflect - Equip Magic Racket, Robe of Lords and Ribbon for Dagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Tiamat HP: 59,494 Tiamat's Jet Fire and Silent Claw are not a big deal since you are protected against Heat and Silence. Twister doesn't affect you at all, and Float is bounced back due to Auto-Reflect. Tiamat won't use Snort because you are never in Float status and his Absorb MP is pretty useless (it always absorbed 0 MP when I fought him). So, sounds good, doesn't it? Wrong. Tiamat also has two other annoying absorb attacks. Absorb Strenght weakens your physical defence, so if Tiamat uses this several times and then uses Jet Fire or Silent Claw, you'll be finished. Absorb magic, on the other hand, seems to cut the damage made by Odin to half every time it's used. Just pray that Tiamat won't use Absorb Strenght too many times and that you can get in at least four Odins before he uses Absorb Magic. This fight requires some luck, but other than that, it's very easy. Just keep using Odin and the boss will go down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - After the fight, just move on to the next save point. It's a long way there, hopefully you won't run into too many random encounters on the way. - After using Tent and saving, you may fight an optional boss, Hades - Furthermore, one more easy boss fight is always fun :) - Enable Body Temp and Clear Headed - Also enable Auto-Haste, Auto-Potion, Chemist, Auto-Regen, Boost and Odin's Sword - Have Dagger wear Robe of Lords, carry Magic Racket and use Pumice Piece as an add-on ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Optional boss: Hades HP: 55,535 Hades wastes numerous turns by using Mustard Bomb, Freeze, Reflect, and powering his Sword. Curse is no big deal as you are protected against the worst status effects it causes. Mini status doesn't affect Odin's performance at all. Pumice Piece absorbs Doomsday and if Hades decides to use Judgement Sword, you'll be totally healed due to Auto-Potion and additional HP produced by Auto-Regen during Odin's long animation :) Finally, Cleave attack is not big deal. All in all, this is a very easy boss fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - If you happen to have two Pumice Pieces, by all means, synth Pumice to get Ark. In this case, just use Ark all the way from now on. I, however, completed this challenge without too much difficulties by using Odin. - Return to the save point, negate possible unwanted status effects you've got and use Tent. Then save your game. - Move on to fight Kraken - Enable Body Temp - Enable Auto-Haste, Auto-Potion, Chemist, Auto-Regen, Boost and Odin's Sword - Equip Magic Racket, Robe of Lords and Ribbon for Dagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Kraken HP: 59,496 (+ 18,169 / tentacle) Ribbon absorbs Kraken's Waterga and his physical attacks are useless due to Auto-Potion. Body Temps guards Kraken's Freeze attack. Simply use Odin. Goodbye, Kraken! :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Proceed to the next savepoint, use Tent and save your game - Then make your way to the point where you face Lich - Enable Antibody - Enable Auto-Reflect and Auto-Life - Also enable Auto-Potion, Odin's Sword and Boost - What comes to equipment, I just maximized it for good magic stat (even though I still had to attack seven times as Odin didn't cause full damage) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Lich HP: 58,554 To start our analysis, Lich's Stop and Death are useless as they will be reflected back to him. Venom Powder is likewise useless, and so are Earthquake and Earth Shake, due to Auto-Potion ability. LV5 Death won't hit you either. On the negative side, Lich has two attacks that will kill you if they hit, and they usually do. Doom and Death Cutter will both inflict Doom on you, which means pretty swift death for Dagger. Continuously summon Odin, and pray that Lich won't use Death Cutter or Doom. And if he uses them, pray that they miss. If Lich kills Dagger, she is brough back by Auto-Life. Just keep summoning Odin. This battle requires some luck and probably several tries, but it's very possible that Lich only uses Doom or Death Cutter once, or better yet, doesn't use them at all. For example, in my victorious battle, Lich did this sequence: LV5 Death, Stop, Death, Earth Shake, Doom (miss), Earthquake, LV5 Death. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Save your game at the hidden savepoint after you have beaten Lich and use Tent to recover your MP - Then make your way through space to arrive in the Crystal World CRYSTAL WORLD - Move on to reach next savepoint and save your game. The final battles await :) Prepare to beat Deathguise. - Enable Auto-Reflect - Enable Auto-Potion, Auto-Regen, Chemist, Odin's Sword and Boost - Optimize Dagger's equipment to give her a good magic stat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Deathguise HP: 55,535 Fortunately, this aerial beast doesn't use Doom, and his LV5 Death and Death attacks are useless. He also wastes turns by opening and closing. Twister will be absorbed by Ribbon, and Demon's Claw and Spin are pretty useless due to your Auto-Potion ability. Still, this fight might require some tries because of Deathguise's annoying initial attack, Meteor, which may easily kill you at once. You could enable Auto-Life to prevent this, but that's not really necessary. Oh, and the strategy: how about using Odin? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After this fight, go back to the savepoint, use Tent and save your game. Then prepare to fight Trance Kuja. - Enable Auto-Haste - Enable Auto-Potion, Auto-Regen, Chemist, Odin's Sword and Boost - Optimize Dagger's equipment for a good magic stat but have her wear Pumice Piece as an add-on (absorbs Holy) - Don't use Auto-Reflect; this will just incite Kuja to use Flare Star ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Trance Kuja HP: 55,535 This battle is easy in the beginning, but when you have dealt enough damage on Kuja, he starts counterattacking with Flare Star, and if he uses Flare and Flare Star in succession and Flare hits you hard, you might be in trouble. Hopefully, Kuja will just use lot of Holy and you'll be able to survive. You are healed completely every time you use Odin due to Auto-Regen and long animation :) Simply keep using Odin. Kuja will probably give you a break at some point by using Reflect, and he also uses Curaga at the end of the battle. This is a pretty easy fight, after all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the fight is over, you'll be taken to the Hill of Despair, where you will face the final boss, Necron. - There are surely as many theories about good equipment and abilities to use in this fight as there are gamers :) - In the following are my adjustments, using which I easily defeated Necron on my first try - Once again, I simply optimized my equipment to give the best possible magic stat - Enable Boost and Odin's Sword, of course - Also enable Auto-Regen. This is a risk, as Necron may inflict Zombie on you. But then again, Auto-Regen is damn helpful, and as we enable it, we don't really need Auto-Potion or Chemist at all. - Enable Auto-Haste - Enable Locomotion, Jelly, Body Temp and Clear Headed to prevent some of the worst status effects ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Necron HP: 54,100 Alright, it's time to teach the Darkness of Eternity what Zantetsuken means :) Necron often starts by using pretty harmless attacks like some elemental magic and Blue Shockwave, but sooner or later he'll surely launch his nasty Grand Cross attack, which may inflict any possible status effect on you. It's time to say a little prayer beseeching that this attack will not inflict Death on you, since it's game over if this happens. Zombie Status will probably kill you, too, as it causes Auto-Regen to damage you. If you get silenced, use Echo Screen. Grand Cross is usually followed by the physical Neutron Ring attack. This is not a big deal, however, since the animation of Grand Cross is so long that you'll always be healed during it. After this, Necron will ALWAYS use Blue Shockwave three times in a row, which gives you good time to attack him if you survived Grand Cross. To sum up, if you survive Grand Cross, you'll probably survive the entire fight. With a little bit of luck, this fight is not hard to win. I wish you good luck in this final challenge! :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations, you've beaten the Dagger Single Character Challenge, and it wasn't even that hard after all, was it? :) ================ = 4 APPENDIXES = ================ This section includes some useful lists. It contains a list of all White Magic Dagger can use along with descriptions of each spell, a list of all Dagger's Summon Magic, and a list of abilities that can be used as a checklist when learning abilities. Finally, there is a list of all equipment Dagger can use, in which the whereabouts and abilities associated with every piece of equipment are also mentioned. ======================== = 4.1 WHITE MAGIC LIST = ======================== Below, all white magic that can be used by Dagger in the game is listed. Berserk MP: 6 Use: Makes the character or enemy with Berserk attack enemy uncontrollably. Blind MP: 6 Use: Inflicts Darkness on the target, reducing the accuracy of physical attacks. Confuse MP: 8 Use: Makes the target attack uncontrollably and randomly, even on itself. Cura MP: 10 Use: Recovers some HP. More efficient than Cure. Curaga MP: 22 Use: Recovers HP. More efficient than Cura. Cure MP: 6 Use: Recovers some HP. Float MP: 8 Use: Causes Float status. Earth elemetal spells won't affect you when you float, but you become weak against wind elemental attacks. Life MP: 8 Use: The only way Life should be used in this challenge is to defeat some undead monster, like Mistodons and Soulcage. Mini MP: 8 Use: Makes your opponent shrink so that its attacks became weaker. Panacea MP: 4 Use: Negates Poison or Venom. Protect MP: 6 Use: Reduces the damage you receive from physical attacks. Reflect MP: 6 Use: Reflects the magic back to the caster. All magic can't be reflected. Scan MP: 4 Use: Reveals some information about your enemy. Shell MP: 6 Use: Reduces the damage you receive from magic. Silence MP: 8 Use: Silenced enemy won't be able to use magic. Stona MP: 8 Use: Cures Petrify and Gradual Petrify ========================= = 4.2 SUMMON MAGIC LIST = ========================= Eidolons used by Dagger are listed in what follows, along with their MP costs and elements. Morever, the base values for attack powers of Eidolons are also listed. Ark MP: 80 Element: Shadow Atk: 106 Atomos MP: 38 Element: Shadow Atk: 30 Bahamut MP: 56 Element: Non-elemental Atk: 88 Ifrit MP: 26 Element: Fire Atk: 42 Leviathan MP: 42 Element: Water Atk: 59 Odin MP: 28 Element: Non-elemental Atk: 145 Ramuh MP: 22 Element: Thunder Atk: 32 Shiva MP: 24 Element: Ice Atk: 36 ===================== = 4.3 ABILITY LIST = ===================== This section lists all the equipable abilities Dagger can learn. Use it as a checklist. To find out how you can learn ability in question, check the equipment list in the folowing subsection. Just use quick search (Ctrl+F) to find the name of the ability in question. Auto-Reflect Auto-Float Auto-Haste Auto-Regen Auto-Life MP+20% Healer Chemist Reflect-Null Concentrate Half MP High Tide Body Temp Level Up Ability Up Insomniac Antibody Loudmouth Jelly Auto-Potion Locomotion Clear Headed Boost Odin's Sword ======================= = 4.4 EQUIPMENT LIST = ======================= Here, all the equipment that can be used by Dagger during the game is listed. The abilities Dagger can learn from the items are also listed. Moreover, the recommendable point in the game where the item in question should be obtained is mentioned in the list below. RODS AND RACKETS Air Racket Abilities: Panacea, Scan Whereabouts: Can be bought at Summit Station Asura's Rod Abilities: Confuse, Mini, Silence Whereabouts: Can be bought in Esto Gaza (after going to Desert Palace) Healing Rod Abilities: Cura, Healer, Life Whereabouts: Pick up in Iifa Tree Magic Racket Abilities: Berserk, Cure, Mini Whereabouts: Buy in Lindblum (Disk 3) Mythril Racket Abilities: Protect, Reflect, Shell Whereabouts: Can be bought in Esto Gaza (before going to Desert Palace) Mythril Rod Abilities: Life, Shell, Silence Whereabouts: Can be bought at Summit Station Multina Racket Abilities: Blind, Shell, Stona Whereabouts: Can be found at South Gate Priest's Racket Abilities: Silence Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) Rod Abilities: Cure, Panacea, Protect Whereabouts: Dagger has this initially Stardust Rod Abilities: Ability Up, Float, Reflect Whereabouts: Steal from Zorn Tiger Racket Abilities: - Whereabouts: The Dive Spot below Quan's Dwelling Whale Whisker Abilities: Curaga, Life Whereabouts: Part of Chocograph 18 (Ocean) Wizard Rod Abilities: Curaga, Protect, Shell Whereabouts: Can be purchased in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) HATS Adaman Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Can be bought in Bran Bal Bandana Abilities: Insomniac Whereabouts: Buy in Treno Black Hood Abilities: Locomotion Whereabouts: Found in Desert Palace Circlet Abilities: Clear Headed, Jelly Whereabouts: Can be synthed at the Black Mage Village Coronet Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy from Daguerreo Dark Hat Abilities: High Tide, Jelly Whereabouts: Can be bought from Lindblum (Disk 3) Feather Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Purchase from Dali Flash Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy in Bran Bal Golden Hairpin Abilities: Auto-Regen, Loudmouth Whereabouts: Pick up in Mount Gulug Golden Skullcap Abilities: Locomotion Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Black Mage Village Green Beret Abilities: Ability Up, Clear Headed Whereabouts: Buy in Oeilvert Headgear Abilities: - Whereabouts: Purchase in Lindblum (Disk 1) Holy Mitre Abilities: Bosy Temp, Insomniac Whereabouts: Pick up in Pandemonium Lamia's Tiara Abilities: Clear Headed, Confuse, Float Whereabouts: Avaialble in Fossil Roo Leather Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Initially equippeed to Zidane and Vivi Mage's Hat Abilities: Loudmouth Whereabouts: Buy in Cleyra Magus Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Acquirable in Gizamaluke's Grotto Mantra Band Abilities: Antibody Whereabouts: Can be purchased in Lindblum Red Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Pick up in Mount Gulug Ritual Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy in Conde Petie Steepled Hat Abilities: Protect Whereabouts: Pick up or buy in Lindblum Straw Hat Abilities: - Whereabouts: The Dive Spot between Mist Continent and Outer Continent Twist Headband Abilities: Add Status Whereabouts: Buy in Alexandria (Disk 3) ARMLETS Bone Wrist Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy in Treno (Disk 2) Bracer Abilities: - Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) Chimera Armlet Abilities: - Whereabouts: Acquired while displaying the ATE City People in Treno (Disk 3) Dragon Wrist Abilities: Jelly Whereabouts: Can be found in Terra Egoist's Armlet Abilities: Level Up Whereabouts: Available in Lindblum Grand Castle (Disk 3) Glass Armlet Abilities: Antibody Whereabouts: Pick up in Lindblum Grand Castle (Disk 1) Jade Armlet Abilities: Body Temp, High Tide Whereabouts: Purchase in Esto Gaza (After going to Desert Palace) Leather Wrist Abilities: - Whereabouts: Steal from Prison Cage or pick up in Ice Cavern Magic Armlet Abilities: Clear Headed, Silence Whereabouts: Can be bought in Conde Petie Mythril Armlet Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy in Cleyra N-Kai Armlet Abilities: - Whereabouts: Available in Desert Palace Pearl Armlet Abilities: - Whereabouts: The Dive Spot between Mist Continent and Outer Continent Power Wrist Abilities: - Whereabouts: Purchase in Daguerreo (Disk 4) Wrist Abilities: - Whereabouts: Initially equipped to Zidane and acquirable in Prima Vista CLOTHES AND ROBES Adaman Vest Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy at Dragon's Gate (Disk 2) or in Conde Petie Aloha T-Shirt Abilities: - Whereabouts: The Dive Spot between Mist Continent and Outer Continent Bronze Vest Abilities: Jelly Whereabouts: Available in Lindblum (Disk 1) Cotton Robe Abilities: Chemist, Shell Whereabouts: Synth in Lindblum Dark Gear Abilities: Clear Headed, Jelly Whereabouts: Purchase in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) Demon's Vest Abilities: Auto-Potion, Locomotion Whereabouts: Available in Terra Gaia Gear Abilities: High Tide, Insomniac Whereabouts: Can be picked up in Oeilvert Judo Uniform Abilities: - Whereabouts: Buy in Oeilvert Leather Shirt Abilities: - Whereabouts: Initially equipped to Zidane and Vivi Light Robe Abilities: Auto-Regen, Half MP Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village Magician Cloak Abilities: Insomniac Whereabouts: Purchase in Conde Petie Magician Robe Abilities: Auto-Potion Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Alexandria Minerva's Plate Abilities: High Tide Whereabouts: Acquirable in Terra Mythril Vest Abilities: Auto-Potion Whereabouts: Pick up in Cleyra's Tree Trunk Power Vest Abilities: - Whereabouts: Available in Oeilvert Robe of Lords Abilities: Concentrate, Reflect-Null Whereabouts: Give Queen Stella 12 Stellazzios in Treno Rubber Suit Abilities: - Whereabouts: Steal from Earth Guardian Silk Robe Abilities: Ability Up, Loudmouth Whereabouts: Found in Cleyra's Tree Trunk Silk Shirt Abilities: Cure Whereabouts: Part of Dagger's initial equipment Survival Vest Abilities: Antibody, Locomotion Whereabouts: Stealable from Beatrix and available in Fossil Roo White Robe Abilities: Auto-Potion, Loudmouth Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Daguerreo ADD-ONS Amethyst Abilities: Atomos Whereabouts: Automatically given to you by Doctor Tot Ancient Aroma Abilities: Odin's Sword Whereabouts: Available in Ipsen's Castle Angel Earrings Abilities: Auto-Regen, MP+20% Whereabouts: Command the Knights of Pluto correctly and you'll receive this item Anklet Abilities: Healer, Locomotion Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Alexandria (Disk 3) Aquamarine Abilities: Leviathan Whereabouts: Received automatically in Iifa Tree Barette Abilities: Chemist, Cura Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Lindblum (Disk 2) Battle Boots Abilities: - Whereabouts: Synth in Daguerreo Black Belt Abilities: - Whereabouts: Found in Black Mage Village Cactusha Abilities: Ability Up, Life Whereabouts: Synth in Treno (Disk 2) Coral Ring Abilities: Insomniac Whereabouts: Let Freya win the Festival of Hunt to get this add-on Dark Matter Abilities: Odin Whereabouts: Buy at auction in Treno Desert Boots Abilities: Protect, Scan Whereabouts: Synth in Lindblum Diamond Abilities: Body Temp Whereabouts: Pick up on the Kirkboat in Conde Petie Emerald Abilities: - Whereabouts: Get this from the High Priest in Cleyra Extension Abilities: Auto-Potion, Level Up Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village (Disk 2) Fairy Earrings Abilities: Body Temp, Level Up Whereabouts: Buy at auction in Treno Feather Boots Abilities: Auto-Float, Float, Mini Whereabouts: Synth in Alexandria Garnet Abilities: Bahamut, Healer Whereabouts: Beatrix gives this item to you Germinas Boots Abilities: - Whereabouts: Can be found in Burmecia Glass Buckle Abilities: Antibody Whereabouts: Synth in Lindblum Gold Choker Abilities: Auto-Potion, Shell Whereabouts: Synth in Treno (Disk 2) Lapis Lazuli Abilities: Ability Up Whereabouts: Pick up in Alexandria Castle's yard Madain's Ring Abilities: Body Temp, Chemist Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village (Disk 2) Magician Shoes Abilities: Blind, Clear Headed Whereabouts: Pick up in Cleyra's Tree Trunk Maiden Prayer Abilities: Auto-Regen Whereabouts: Available in Ipsen's Castle Moonstone Abilities: Shell Whereabouts: Got as a prize after performing a perfect swordfight Opal Abilities: Shiva Whereabouts: Automatically given to you by Doctor Tot Pearl Rouge Abilities: Level Up, Loudmouth, Reflect-Null Whereabouts: Synth in Alexandria Peridot Abilities: Ramuh Whereabouts: Get this from Ramuh in Pinnacle Rocks after you've completed the story Power Belt Abilities: - Whereabouts: Receive this from the Four-Armed Man after the ATE Treno Tradition Promist Ring Abilities: - Whereabouts: Can be found in Desert Palace Protect Ring Abilities: Half MP Whereabouts: Answer over 13 of Ragtime Mouse's questions correctly or have Hades synth this item Pumice Abilities: Ark Whereabouts: Defeat Ozma or have Hades synth this item Pumice Piece Abilities: Boost Whereabouts: Got after defeating Ark Rebirth Ring Abilities: Auto-Life, Life Whereabouts: Win the Card Tournament in Treno and you'll receive this item as a prize Reflect Ring Abilities: Auto-Reflect, Reflect Whereabouts: Buy at auction in Treno Ribbon Abilities: Ability Up Whereabouts: You get this automatically in Mount Gulug Rosetta Ring Abilities: Concentrate, Level Up Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) Ruby Abilities: Reflect Whereabouts: Got automatically when Eiko breaks the seal at Iifa Tree Running Shoes Abilities: Auto-Haste, Auto-Potion Whereabouts: Synth in Black Mage Village (Disk 4) Sandals Abilities: - Whereabouts: The Dive Spot between Mist Continent and Outer Continent Sapphire Abilities: High Tide Whereabouts: Eiko has this item initially Topaz Abilities: Ifrit Whereabouts: Automatically given to you by Doctor Tot Yellow Scarf Abilities: - Whereabouts: Can be synthed in Lindblum ============= = 5 CLOSING = ============= SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE In the preface, I said I didn't want to do anything too easy, and thus decided to complete Dagger Single Character Challenge. It turned out, however, that this challenge was pretty easy to complete; much easier than I expected. Not a single boss fight was really hard, some of them just required some luck and certain advanced strategies. But I'm not saying that I didn't like completing this challenge. Even though it was quite easy, it's really enjoyable to beat all those tough bosses with the party member who is supposed to be weak ;) I had a really great time completing the challenge and typing this FAQ. I'm planning to update this guide in the future. This will include optimized strategies and some additions and corrections. I'm also looking forward to fight Ozma with Dagger only, and I'll update this FAQ when I do so. Another optional boss one could fight is Quale, even though s/he surely is quite a pushover :) Finally, I want to thank everyone reading this. I hope you have as great time completing this challenge as I did :) CREDITS Firstly, thanks go to the following Finns: - My girlfriend, tuuliax2, who put up with me during yet another FFIX challenge :) Also, thank you for introducing FFIX to me at the first place. - My girlfriend's brother, Otsuka-Ode, for providing the PlayStation I play this game with. You won't get your contraption back anytime soon ;) I would like to thank the following FAQ authors: - Atomos199 for the great treasure location list in the Perfect File FAQ. - Dark Locke, for writing the SCC FAQ available on GameFAQs. Even though not a comlete work, it provided a lot of useful information, and most importantly, inspired me to write this. - Rebirth Flame 2002. No matter what the challenge is, his monster FAQ and equipment list are always really useful. I'm really grateful for these great FAQs. Moreover, thanks for composing a great Battle Mechanics FAQ, it explains really nicely what's going on behind the scenes in this game :) - SoftReset for the original Damage Formula FAQ. It's a really interesting read, and especially the section on summon magic was helpful when I was planning how to beat this challenge. Furthermore, thanks go to following gamers and other parties: - Aqua Black Mage Roscoe for telling me about a very easy method for leveling up Dagger in Dali Underground and making me realize how stupid I had been while leveling up by killing Pythons ;) Thank you very much. - userc8314 for correcting my erroneous suggestion to put Dagger in the front row while she had a long range weapon equipped. - CJayC for posting this guide and keeping up the best site on Internet :) - SquareSoft for this excellent game I have to play over and over again