F I N A L F A N T A S Y I & I I : D A W N O F S O U L S \\//
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File: Final Fantasy I |
_______________________/
| Solo Challenges
_________________-- > THIEF / NINJA
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[TAOC] Table of Contents
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Version History............................................[VEHI]
I. Preface.................................................[PRFC]
II. Starting Out/Garland...................................[BEGG]
III. Pravoka...............................................[PVKA]
IV. 15 Slider Puzzle!......................................[PUZZ]
V. Elfheim, Astos..........................................[ELFM]
VI. Trades and Treasures...................................[NTRO]
VII. The Earth Crystal.....................................[EACR]
VIII. Class Upgrade Quest..................................[NNJA]
IX. The Fire Crystal.......................................[FICR]
X. The Water Crystal.......................................[WACR]
XI. The Wind Crystal.......................................[WICR]
XII. Loose Ends............................................[XTRA]
XIII. The Chaos Shrine.....................................[KAOS]
XIV. Odds and Ends.........................................[OVXR]
Version History
Feb. 09, 2013 (started)
Complete up to class change.
Feb 13, 2013
Reformatted to 78 char/line, expanded up to Wind Crystal
Feb 17, 2013: v1
Finished, submitted to GameFAQs
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[PRFC] Preface
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Hi, this is modal here with a solo Thief/Ninja challenge walkthrough for the
re-made Final Fantasy I for the Game Boy Advanced. Throughout the guide, I
will beassuming you have already played through the game at least once.
Alongside White Mage/White Wizard solo games, Thief/Ninja solo runs are
arguably the most fun and challenging way to extend the life of this timeless
RPG. So, let's jump right in.
This guide utilizes the "search" command - Ctrl + F on Windows computers, and
Cmd + F on Macs. Type in the keyword you're looking for - or more conveniently
the four character designation marked in the Table of Contents [TAOC] next to
the section in question.
As already stated, THIS GUIDE ASSUMES YOU HAVE PLAYED THROUGH THE GAME AT
LEAST ONCE ALREADY. I will assume you already understand the controls, the
map, the basic mechanics of the game, etc. - and strive more to give you tips
on the more challenging aspects of a solo run.
Which brings me to my last point - a SOLO RUN is defined as -
- ONE character is alive, the whole game. No other character is
allowed to get EXP, use items, magic, nothing.
- Some solo challenges disallow the stat boost/class upgrade at the
Citadel of Trials - this challenge does not.
-...Tying in with the above, this guide should help you acquire the
class upgrade (and accompanied stat boosts) at as early a level as
possible.
With that out of the way...start up your game, and let's get ready for one of
the best challenges the FF series can throw at us.
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[BEGG] Starting Out / Garland
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So, start off the game, run into Cornelia. Go talk to the guard and get
dragged to the king's chamber, talk with him, exit the castle then stop by the
weapon shop and pick up ONE Rapier, then the armor shop and pick up ONE
Leather Armor. While it may seem tempting to sell your unneeded equipment,
don't - it will make getting your three characters killed much easier if you
hold on to it. Proceed to get three of your thieves killed in a random
battle. Usually I unequip all of their armor and weapons, then use the "Item"
command to use them in battle (which does nothing). Once three of them are
down I equip a Rapier and Leather Armor to my remaining member and go at the
remaining enemies. Save once you've done this.
Go back to Cornelia and sell all the equipment you don't need. Buy at least
ten potions, certainly no less. Start killing Goblins/Wolves outside of
Cornelia - keep close so you can heal up at the Inn (remember, the Inn is
10gil less costly than using a precious potion) - and grind until around level
five. Then head northwest to the Chaos Shrine.
AS you near the Shrine, watch out for Crazy Horses - they can deal a lot more
damage than the Goblins or Wargs do, and kill you in two or three hits. So
keep an eye on your HP. Go inside the Shrine and interact with Garland...
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GARLAND //________________________________________________________//
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HP: 212 Agl: 6 Treasure: Longsword
Atk: 15 Int: 12 250 Gil
Acc: 27 Eva: 12 130 EXP
Def: 8 MDf: 64
====================================================
This isn't too bad. As long as you're above Lv.5 or Lv.6 you should be fine,
and by Lv.7 this becomes a walk in the park. Keep your HP floating above 35 or
so; Garland has the nasty habit of landing critical hits when you think you
can forego healing for another round. Just keep putting the pressure on him;
with no regen spells or magic this battle is pretty straightforward. For
beating him, you are awarded a Longsword, which a Thief cannot use, 250 Gil,
and a nice 130 EXP.
After bringing Garland down, a cutscene starts...and poof, you're back at the
Cornelia castle. Speed through the dialogue and grab the Lute from the
princess, then watch yet another cutscene. Spend all of your money on Potions,
rest at the Inn, and then head for Pravoka.
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[PVKA] Pravoka
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Watch the cutscene and read the text. Head north on the bridge, then east. You
will begin to face some rather challenging monsters around this time - but
more on that a little later.
When you get to Pravoka you will want to do a couple things before challenging
the Pirate crew. Go to the southeast corner of the town and buy a Scimitar;
next, head to the opposite corner of town (southwest) and replenish your
Potion supply. Rest at the Inn if you're heavily hurt - it's cheaper than
using a bunch of Potions. Finally, make sure to pick up the Leather Gloves at
the armor shop.
Unfortunately, it is now time to grind some EXP. Get up to Lv.10+ in the grass
outside of Pravoka. While grinding like this, MAKE SURE NOT TO STRAY TOO FAR
TO THE EAST. You will then be in the "Peninsula of Power" area - which really,
is just far too risky for me. So keep close to the northern walls of Pravoka,
or by the dock.
Monsters to watch for - Ghasts can inflict you with the fatal Paralysis
status, since you won't be able to use a restorative item your thief will just
sit there and get pummeled. Ogres and Lizards are both decently bulky (~100HP
each, similar Atk and Agl stats) - except Ogres give FOUR TIMES the amount of
Gil and about 25% more EXP than Lizards. Warg Wolves are lethal until about
Lv.10, when you can often drop them in one hit.
When you think you're ready, save, and go talk to the Pirate Captain, Bikke.
He's in front of the bar, above where the item shop is.
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PIRATE x 9 //________________________________________________________//
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HP: 24 Agl: 6 Treasure: Leather Shield
Atk: 10 Int: 3 360 Gil
Acc: 2 Eva: 12 360 EXP
Def: 0 MDf: 35 Pirate Ship
====================================================
This can be a doozie of a battle if you don't get lucky. At this point in the
game your Eva starts to matter - a lot - and should be sitting above 70.
Anything less and the Pirates won't miss enough to give you an opportunity to
strike back. Gameplan here is to play very conservatively. Keep your HP above
70 until about halfway through the battle - after you take down four or five
pirates the battle gets much quicker. The pirates can inflict upwards of 100
points of damage on you in one round...so keep that in mind when deciding
whether or not to heal this round or put it off one more. I was sitting at
Lv.11 - you should have no problem if you're at Lv.15 like some other Thief
players suggest.
So you finally beat the Pirates, you get a Leather Shield (useless for a
Thief), and almost 400 Gil and EXP. Okay, cool. Oh, and the badass Pirate
Ship. Almost forgot about that. Gain another level or two if you'd like, then
head due south from the port of Pravoka.
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[PUZZ] 15 Slider Puzzle!
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So now that you have the ship, you should guarantee your future success by
winning a few choice items from the 15 Slider Puzzle game. Hold A and press B
23 times and a little mini-game will pop up. The goal is to line the numbers
up in ascending order from left to right. This is an incredibly tedious and,
to be honest, actually a really good brain warm-up for you to do daily. But...
we know why you're really here.
Prizes you can win:
0:30:00 or less = X-Potion
1:00:00 or less = Dry Ether, Elixir, Emergency Exit, Hermes' Shoes, Remedy
2:00:00 or less = Blue/Red/White Curtain, Blue/Red/White/Vampire Fang,
Spider's Silk, Cockatrice Claw
2:00:01 or more = 100 Gil, Antidote, Echo Grass, Ether, Eye Drops, Gold
Needle, Phoenix Down, Potion
Honestly, we only care about the X-Potions (we're aiming for 10 of them), and
one each of the Curtains and Hermes' Shoes. These powerful items cast magic we
don't have access to, and will make our encounter with the Lich MUCH more
relaxing (and additionally, relieve any need to grind EXP mindlessly). The
game is challenging; but eventually, you'll start to get pretty good at it
(and probably start feeling a little smarter, too.).
It's hard to explain simply how to win at this game - without awful and clumsy
ASCII art, at least. So, I will leave some links at the bottom of this section
to help you out. The basic idea is to get the [1], [2], [3] in place, then get
the [4] underneath the bottom right corner. This will leave an open space in
the bottom right corner, which will allow you to shift the outside perimeter
over one space and the [4] up to where it belongs.
Basically, the idea is to leave space where you're going to need it. You
repeat the above process for the first three numbers of every row, in essence.
It's actually pretty simple in theory - keep things in order but out of the
way.
The first three rows can all be solved in a similar fashion as the first row;
however, the last row is often much more difficult. Generally, you just want
to examine the situation and figure out logically, how to keep the order there
but move the numbers out of the places they're in. FOr example:
[1] [2] [3] [4]
[5] [6] [7] [8]
[9] [1o][11][12]
[15] [13] [14 ]
See a solution? It's actually quite simple.
1) Move [14] over to the empty space.
2) Move [12] down, with [11] and [10] next to it
3) Move [15] up, and [13] and [14] shift to the left
4) Move [10] down, move [9] to the right
5) [15] goes to the right, [13] up, [14] left
6) [15] moves down, [9] goes left, [10] comes up
7) Shift everything counterclockwise one space. Voila!
Anyway. Whether or not you get it or not, I found this game to be a pretty
easy way to guarantee solo-character runs are a success at a relatively low
level. Of course, there are other ways. But anything you win here - even if
it's just a couple of Hermes' Shoes or X-Potions, will be a HUGE help
against a boss battle in the near future.
Pictures, and explains it better:
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/15puzzle.htm
You can also apparently cheat:
http://www.ic-net.or.jp/home/takaken/e/15pz/index.html
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[ELFM] Elfheim, Astos
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A quick note - you're going to want to run away from pretty much everything
you run into on the high seas. Unless you're at or above Lv.20, there's
nothing that you can easily beat that isn't just a waste of Potions. Just
run away. Be especially wary of the BigEyes enemy, as it will relentlessly
use Gaze on you and inflict Para status.
Sail out of the cove Pravoka is nestled in, then follow the coast on the right
side of the screen south. The land will hook back in and you'll make landing
at a dock. Leave the ship and head south into Elfheim. Pick up a Leather Cap
at the armor shop, grab a Saber (if you want. It's less accurate than your
Scimitar and accuracy is incredibly important on a solo run. Your call.) from
the weapons shop and then, of course, stock up on Potions and Antidotes, and
even Tents if you feel so inclined. When you're ready to head out, head west,
then south, to Marsh Cave.
When you enter the cave head south at both the first and the second fork -
it's quite possible you'll make it down the ladder in that southmost room
before you even have to deal with a monster. Should you be that fortunate,
save. On Marsh Cave B2 you'll be sitting in a room with three doors, all
exiting to the same larger cavern - exit the one closest to right in front of
you. Head due south and ignore all the other little caverns. When you hit the
far wall, head east along that southmost wall until you come to a door - which
opens up into a room that once again, takes you east - exit the room and head
down the stairs to B3.
Well by now you've most certainly encountered a monster or two. As a general
rule I would say run from the following creatures: Ghasts and Wights (Par.
status is a game over), Green Slimes (255 Def!!!), Bloodbones (general heavy
hitter), and lastly Piscodemons (if you're under 150HP you're in the killzone
if you encounter two or more). Of course there is later an unavoidable fixed
Piscodemon battle.
Anyway, you're at B3! Last floor. Head east, again, then south, again. You'll
notice that this floor is laid out in a sensible, grid formation. I recommend
(it's not mandatory by any means) stopping at the far west room in the second
row to pick up a Copper Armlet. It will replace your Leather Armor and give
you a slightly raised Eva stat. Either way, proceed to the third row of
little rooms and enter the second room in from the west. Here you will fight a
random number of Piscodemons - BE CAREFUL. Piscos have some solid defensive
stats (84HP, 66EVA) coupled with a decent 30Atk, which is more than enough to
deal some serious damage to your frail thief. Take them out and grab the Crown
from the chest. If you're having trouble here, it's a good idea to save at the
square before the Piscodemon's come out and attack you - that way you can
force the game to give you just two, instead of something absurd like four.
Backtrack out of the cave taking the same path you used to get to the Crown,
except in reverse. Head north (and briefly east) to the Western Keep - where
you will fight Astos.
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ASTOS //________________________________________________________//
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HP: 420 Agl: 39 Treasure: Mythril Sword
Atk: 30 Int: 24 2000 Gil
Acc: 42 Eva: 78 2250 EXP
Def: 18 MDf: 170 Crystal Eye
====================================================
Astos is hands down the most difficult enemy you've encountered in the game
thus far. Decent all around stats, plus an arsenal of deadly magic (including
Death and the second-stage elemental magics) make for a very difficult boss
fight. The elf-king would be often leads off with Death - which WILL instantly
end the game for you about 80% of the time if you're under Lv.20 - and, should
that fail, will follow up with Slowra on your thief and usually Haste on
himself. If that setup happens, you're actually doing alright. Astos will
start using physical attacks more with Haste cast on him, which keeps you
alive and away from his devastating elemental magic.
Should you get lucky enough to avoid both Death and Slowra, you should be able
to simply out-muscle him with a brute force strategy. WITH Slowra it becomes
a bit more difficult because you're only hitting for 10 or 20 damage each
attack. The thief depends on his speed to inflict damage, unlike the warrior
class (who hit for more damage, less times).
Regardless of what strategy Astos uses against you, your goal is to keep as
much damage coming at him as possible. HP isn't all that important because
it's really not worth keeping up on it when a Death spell could be right
around the corner. If you whittle him down 200-250HP, and you haven't been
seeing much of Death, keep your HP above 80 or 90 and you should be good to
go. Slowra will inevitably slow you down but if you persevere, Astos will
fall. If you happen to have an extra Hermes' Shoes, cast Haste and it will
make this battle much easier.
When you do eventually topple the Dark Elf, you will be handsomely rewarded -
a Mythril Sword, 2000 Gil, 2250 EXP, and a key item, the Crystal Eye. Head
back to Elfheim and stock up. Rest at the Inn. Then head back to your boat and
sail due north to the port of Cornelia.
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[NTRO] Trades and Treasures
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We get a brief reprieve from the action; it's time to run some errands. From
Cornelia, head north over the bridge (like you were going to Pravoka), only
instead of heading east, head northwest where the mountains start. Head as
north as you can and you'll reach Matoya's Cave. When you walk into where
Matoya is you'll watch a quick scene. After the scene, give Matoya her eye.
You'll receive the Jolt Tonic from her - then proceed to the left of the
screen and raid her three treasure chests. Leave and head back to Elfheim
***NOTE: The reason I leave the ship down at Cornelia instead of up further by
Matoya's Cave is because I would rather fight the easy monsters on land than
the stronger monsters on the sea. Plus, you have to go back to Elfheim anyway
- so you wouldn't be saving yourself much time. However, there is a port north
of Cornelia that *is* closer. I just wouldn't bother using it.***
At Elfheim, go in the castle and give the Prince the Jolt Tonic. He'll give
you the Mystic Key. A lot of little treasure hunts open up now. Here's a list;
from what I feel is most return on your risk, to least return:
Castle Cornelia
---
Cottage, Saber, Mythril Knife, Iron Armor, Tent, Nitro Powder
You have to go here for the Nitro Powder. This could technically be your only
stop out of all of these; the Mythril does a good job offensively, and just
sell the rest of the stuff. I'd still recommend dropping by the Chaos Shrine,
but everything else is entirely up to you. Though this is the most useful stop
on the way to Mt. Duergar, it should definitely be your last - it's in a very
convenient location.
Chaos Shrine
---
Rune Blade, Werebuster, Gold Needle
There's no reason not to revisit the Chaos Shrine. You have to go to Cornelia
anyway; why pass up a decent weapon, and two things you can sell?
Elfheim Castle Grounds
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Mythril Hammer, 1500 Gil, Bronze Gloves
You're already here, but sadly if it wasn't for the Gil it still probably
would not be worth it. Both the equipment doesn't equip to thieves, so you'll
have to just sell it. But at least it isn't Marsh Cave...
Marsh Cave B3
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Antidote, 1020 Gil, Silver Armlet
I really, really, wish I could say the Silver Armlet is worth going through
this hellhole, but it isn't. I guess it isn't TOO far out of your way, but
there's just so many easy ways to die in Marsh Cave. The Antidote and Gil are
certainly not worth it; so it's your choice. Additionally, you can buy the
Silver Armlet very soon anyway. As long as you save often you don't have too
much to worry about. But it's still rather time consuming, and I'd rather just
buy it in Melmond.
Western Keep
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Falchion, Power Staff, Steel Gloves
You can't use any of this stuff. Falchion would be good if it was thief-
accessible, but sadly it isn't. If you go to Marsh Cave you don't really have
a good reason NOT to go here, though. Personally, I leave this and Marsh Cave
off my list of attractions.
Anyway, after you're satisfied with your looting, set sail for Mt. Duergar
(and make sure you picked up the Nitro Powder at Cornelia!). Make sure to make
a quick stop at Cornelia's item shop for any Potions you'll need, because the
next town you're headed to doesn't have an item shop. Sail all the way to the
west of the sea, then follow that coast north until you get to a dock. Dock
it, stick to the coast and head south until you can't anymore. You'll see a
cave to the west - Mt. Duergar.
Inside, you'll find there is plenty of treasure - but forego that for now, and
run to the southmost point of the tunnel system. Give the dwarf down there all
alone the Nitro Powder, and he'll blast a canal for you! What a guy. Watch the
cool effects then proceed to go around and collect your treasures from the
many different rooms; don't miss anything, there's plenty of resale value
here: Tent, Great Helm, Wyrmkiller, Ether, a Potion, Mythril Mail, 575 Gil,
and a Cottage are all strewn about Mt. Duergar. At least pick up the
Wyrmkiller, it's the best weapon you've gotten up to this point by a long
shot, at least if you missed the Rune Blade. Double check the list, now return
to the ship and sail right on through. Melmond, your next destination, will
be right in front of you if you continue sailing west.
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[EACR] The Earth Crystal
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There isn't much to be said for Melmond. The weapon shop has nothing very
interesting for us thieves, sans a Falchion if you missed the chest (as if you
really want it anyway). You can pick up a Silver Armlet here; do so if you
didn't backtrack to Marsh Cave B3 and get it after you received the Mystic
Key.
And that's all there is in Melmond.
Head south, sticking along the coastline next to Melmond, and take the land
bridge when you come to it. Keep to the coast until the mountains divide, then
take the path in between and enter the cave on the right of the screen. Now
you have an important decision to make.
Directly to your west is the "Hall of Giants". YOu will encounter strong, and
very rewarding creatures called Hill Gigas. They reward you with 879 Gil and
879 EXP - which will put you in a very good spot at this point in the game. A
lot of runners use this opportunity, similarly to the peninsula by Pravoka, to
grind endlessly to an obscenely high level then breeze through the rest of the
game - this is a perfectly viable strategy.
I will not be using that strategy. Why? Skip to section [NNJA] for more
info...
So after you bulk up in the Hall of Giants, should you choose to do so, head
east from the entrance down the "straight-east" (rather than the southeast)
path, which will bring you to a set of stairs. Go down them to B2F. Now head
south until you can't anymore, then follow the path until you, again, can't
anymore - take the south path. It will continue east for a while, then stop at
the stairs down to B3F.
Yes, there are a lot of chests in the Earth Cavern. But 90% of it is useless
or Gil, which, you really shouldn't be in too desperate need of. You can grab
the Coral Sword on B2F if you really must have it...it's about on par with the
Wyrmkiller. If you didn't practice in the Hall of Giants at all, be VERY wary
of the enemies you're now facing - Minotaurs, gangs of six or seven Cobras/
Anacondas...all dangerous. Be aware of your surroundings.
Anyhow, B3F. Follow the path east until it splits, then head north, then enter
the door on the left. You'll fight an Earth Elemental; dispose of him then
open the chest for a cool 3,400 Gil. Exit the room and continue west. Inside
the next door you'll see is a room full of no enemies but Earth Elementals -
so if you're feeling like some more grinding is in order, step in and show
'em who's boss. If not, continue on the path and turn east with it. The next
door (on the north face of the cave) houses 1,020 Gil and more Earth
Elementals. Head south afterwards, follow the path and enter the door. Talk
to the bat to begin the Vampire boss battle.
_______________
VAMPIRE //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 280 Agl: 36 Treasure: 2000 Gil
Atk: 76 Int: 26 1200 EXP
Acc: 39 Eva: 72
Def: 26 MDf: 75
====================================================
The only super difficult aspect of Vampire is that he has Para status inducing
spells (Gaze). Usually you'll stay Para for 2-3 rounds then come out of it,
assuming he hasn't re-cast it. The problem is, in 2-3 rounds he can easily
drop you to zero HP. The Rune Blade is very effective here, inflicting well
over 150 damage on a crit. to Vampire even if you're barely leveled. This
battle is like an easier version of Astos - but there's still some luck
involved.
Alternatively, you leveled up to Lv.45 and dropped him in one hit. Whatever.
Anyhow, the second aspect of Vampire to watch for is his Regen ability - every
turn, Vampire will heal back a fractional amount of HP - but it adds up. While
you're wasting entire turns on Potions, he's keeping the pressure on you AND
healing. It's a tricky situation to be in; but with the Rune Blade and a tiny
bit of luck, you'll be good. Dropping Vampire sadly doesn't net you any cool
rewards, other than an okay chunk of EXP and Gil. Grab the Star Ruby in the
chest behind where Vampire was and backtrack out of the Cavern of Earth. Head
towards Melmond.
Where the rocks split and you went southeast towards Cavern of Earth when
coming from Melmond, now you will bear left and go west. Giant's Cave is in
plain sight.
Present the Giant with the Star Ruby. Head south and collect the Great Axe,
1,070 Gil, and a Mythril Helm. Head north and you'll go up a flight of stairs
and come out on the world map. Take the obvious path and enter Sage's Cave.
Pretty self-explanatory. Follow the path and receieve the Earth Rod from the
man.
Return to the Cavern of Earth and follow the same directions as I gave you a
few paragraphs up, until you reach the chamber where you fought the Vampire
and got the Star Ruby. ***NOTE: Upon re-entering the Cavern of Earth, realize
this will be your last easy go at the Hall of Giants. Less-experienced players
will find it very difficult to beat the coming boss without a couple of levels
under their belt.***
Exit the Vampire's room through the other door on the east side of where you
just entered, then follow the path. You'll probably fight Piscodemons (you
might not, but you probably will), then investigate the rock at the apparent
dead end. The power of the Earth Rod moves it aside. Descend further into the
Cavern of Earth.
Follow the path when you enter B4F; head north when given a choice to go
collect some serious Gil and fight some good EXP monsters. Grab the >10,000
Gil and go back down to the other path you didn't take. You can get some
goodies along this path as well, but they're mostly useless (1,250 Gil,
Mythril Shield, Tent). Save your HP for Lich. Make your way to the northwest
corner of the floor and you'll find the stairs to B5F. Simply cut north up the
closest passage, follow it to the west, and you'll see a door. Walk through
and examine Lich. It's boss fight time!!!
_______________
LICH //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 1200 Agl: 12 Treasure: Dry Ether
Atk: 40 Int: 30 3000 Gil
Acc: 49 Eva: 24 2200 EXP
Def: 40 MDf: 120
====================================================
Lich is the worst of a bad bunch; high HP, high defenses, high attacking
stats, and a limitless supply of our old arch-nemesis, Paralysis. To make
matters worse, Lich also has Slow and Haste, the former which fizzles a
thief's attacks almost completely, and the latter which lets Lich deliver even
MORE punishment FASTER - IN ADDITION, Lich's Hold spell casts instant Para,
he has Sleepra, his physical attack has an added 20% chance to add Para, and
finally, is accompanied with the usual host of elemental magic (Blizzara,
Thundara, Fira).
All you need is:
1x Hermes' Shoes (Haste)
Blue Curtain (NulFrost)
Red Curtain (NulBlaze)
White Curtain (NulShock)
10x X-Potion*
*you can make do with as few as five. But it's almost impossible to get that
lucky. So bring 10. Yes, it's incredibly annoying and difficult to do the
puzzle game that quickly. But it's the easiest way to do it without grinding.
Also, if you have no idea what I'm talking about please refer to section
[PUZZ].
So assuming you grabbed these items from the 15 Slider Puzzle game on the
ship, go about using them. Drop all your NulXs, X-Potion up, drop a Haste and
go to town on him. You WILL NOT need more than one Haste or NulX. You WILL
need at least five or six X-Potions, and in conjunction upwards of fifteen
regular Potions (if you have 10+ X-Potions you'll be fine, though.). You
probably won't win the first time, but you will get the strategy down.
Recommended Lv.25 +
Okay, so 15 Puzzle not your thing? Go to Crescent Lake (southeast corner of
the world map - you can't miss it, it's literally a lake in the shape of a
crescent moon.) and spend every last dime on Hi-Potions. If you're Lv.29 or
above, you SHOULD be able to get lucky once and pull off a win. The key is to
hit as many times before Lich inevitably casts Slow - if you can get a lucky
2-3 crit. hits in on him in a row, you'll be dealing 500+ damage to him pretty
quickly. The only thing that Lich DOESN'T have going for him is his lack of
recovery magic, which is lucky for us because this guy would be unbeatable
with recovery. Recommended Lv. 29 + (this will take a while at Lv.29) *Note:
you can also pick up the Buckler shield in Crescent Lake, which will improve
your defenses.*
Another way of doing it is simply leveling up to Lv.40 - Lv.50 and just
pounding away on him. This ruins the reward of an early-ish class up, but if
all you care about is progressing in the game then this is probably the route
for you.
Recommended Lv. 40 +
So, one way or another, finish Lich off. Now comes the fun part.
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
[NNJA] Class Upgrade Quest {optional}
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
Yes, it's optional...but it really isn't. Upgrading your class as early as you
can (level-wise) is a good way to ensure great stats quickly. For a thief, it
means a considerable boost in all stats and the AWESOME boost of being able to
use Atk/Agl increasing Black magic - primarily, Temper and Haste. You can also
equip a wider array of armor and weapons. In short, there's no reason not to
class upgrade. Honestly, it isn't even that difficult of a quest.
First things first - head back to Melmond, heal up, stock up on whatever you
need to stock up on. Then hop on your ship and sail to Crescent Lake. If you
haven't been there yet, check you map (B+Select on the overworld screen). See
that crescent-shaped lake in the southeast? Yep, you guessed it. Head
southwest from Melmond and sail around to the other side of the world; you
should pop out just where there's a piece of land jutting out, which happens
to have a port just for you! If you're good at the 15 Puzzle, win an Emergency
Exit or two as some good luck charms. Dock, then head towards the town (keep
towards the middle of the land mass and you should be able to find it no
problem.). Watch for some interesting new monsters. Trolls can hit hard and
have Regen; you'll meet a new monster, Ankheg - sporting a 222 HP stat and an
Atk stat that rivals Lich's. I recommend running from everything except the
standard fare - i.e., Gigas worms, Goblins, Wargs, etc. Even Hill Gigas can be
brought down with some confidence - and as we know, the rewards are worth it.
But I'd hold off on the power leveling for just a bit.
So walk into Crescent Lake. Heal up at the Inn, and buy a couple of Hi-Potions
at the shop. Also buy the Buckler if you haven't yet. Head to the northeastern
part of town, behind the Black Magic shop. Follow the path east and talk to
the sages to receive a canoe. Now, you COULD use this canoe to go to the Fire
Crystal and progress the story. But we are definitely not going to do that.
Instead, leave Crescent Lake and head back to your ship. Head due north and
enter the estuary with your canoe. Head north through both forks, then keep to
the left at the next fork. At the next fork head west and then south with the
path. Make sure you have your Coral Sword equipped! It makes light work of the
aquatic monsters you fight while in the canoe. Disembark and enter the Cavern
of Ice B1!
*Note: there's a lot of Gil in treasure chests in here. We're gonna blow
through this though - you want the Gil, find it on your own time. This dungeon
can be VERY challenging due to the stong monsters. SAVE OFTEN! GIL-HUNT AT
YOUR OWN RISK!
Head west (obviously). Follow the path, taking the first stairway you see. Go
around the middle pillar thing and head down the stairs. Take the other set of
stairs in the next room, then head around the center room in this fourth room
- enter it when you see the door. Fall through the cracks - the chests are
both empty anyway - and land in a little room where you'll most likely face a
forced encounter. Flee if you can; the monsters in here, as I said, are pretty
strong.
Head south, walk onto the spikes, stay to the right at both forks then walk up
the stairs. Grab the Ether in front of you then exit the room. Head to the
right and enter the room, fall down through the crack in the middle (FYI -
from left to right, the chests contain 9,500 Gil, a Sleeping Bag, and an Ice
Shield). Go for the Levistone and you'll be attacked by a Death Eye.
Seriously I don't know why people still call it a boss. One or two hits should
do it. Grab the Stone and let's get the hell out of this awful dungeon. Canoe
allthe way back to your ship with your shiny new Levistone, and head to the
Ryukahn Desert, which can be found a little south of Crescent Lake. Check your
map, and you'll see it. You can land at another little delta. Just hop out and
walk into the desert to be awarded your brand spanking new AIRSHIP!
Right on. Now let's get weird.
Anyhow. We've got one dungeon left before we can officially call ourselves a
solo-Ninja. Head south from the Desert until you're on the northern-most
continent. Then head towards the center mass of the western "wing" of the
continent. It kind of looks like a castle from the overworld. You'll have to
park the airship FAR away. Which unfortunately means a whole lot of strong
monsters coming at you. Flee when you can, save often. You won't have to run
for much longer.
Enter the Citadel of Trials. Talk to the man in the middle of the room and he
will vanish. Go to the northwest corner and step onto the throne - you'll be
transported to the Citadel of Trials 2F. The first two warp points are self-
explanatory; in the room with two warps, take the bottom one. Take the obvious
progression then take the bottom one, again. Follow the long path and
continue, then take the warp point closest to you. Head east then south and
take the warp point furthest away from you in this little triad of warp
points.
Citadel of Trials 3F is up the stairs. Head north and grab the Healing Staff.
Next go west and grab the Ruby Armlet, Ice Brand, and Steel Gloves. Head south
and pick up the 8,755 Gil in chests, along with the Gauntlets and Cottage.
Follow the path right and grab the Rat's Tail. You can now either Emergency
Exit out or take the throne, but if you take the throne you'll have to fight
a Dragon Zombie. We haven't done a boss fight lately, so lets take a look.
_______________
DRAGON ZOMBIE //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 268 Agl: 12 Treasure: Megalixer
Atk: 56 Int: 26 999 Gil
Acc: 67 Eva: 24 2331 EXP
Def: 30 MDf: 135
====================================================
**NOTE: If the game forces you to fight more than one Dragon just reset and
try again. There's no reason to fight more than one if you can prevent it.
You can win Red Fangs from the 15 Puzzle Game and make this a relatively quick
fight. Dragon Zombie's only offensive option is a physical attack, which yes,
can inflict Para. But he's kind of a lightweight, especially compared to Lich,
or even the Vampire - at least he had Regen. Your equipment setup should
include a Buckler and Ruby Armlet; and make sure you have the Wyrmkiller
weapon equipped, because it deals extra damage to Dragon-typed enemies. At
LV.30 I dropped this bad boy in two hits with Wyrmkiller, so I don't foresee
any difficulties here - the only reason I typically avoid this encounter is
because it will, almost invariably, rank you up right before the class change
(which serves no purpose). Secondly, I don't have many recovery items to waste
healing off 300+ damage. So it's ultimately your choice, but the Emergency
Exit works better for me.
Return to the airship and head west to the Dragon Caves. If you're having
trouble finding them just head to the Citadel of Trials and go southwest, you
can't miss the island chain. Starting from the island closest to the Citadel:
=========
Island 1
=========
19,770 Gil, X-Potion
Make sure you grab ALL the goodies in here - there's two little rooms in the
cave and some people forget to grab the ~12,000 gil to the west side.
=========
Island 2
=========
500 Gil, Elixer, Cottage
The small island north from island one has nothing in it. The large island to
the west is Hellfire Chasm, which doesn't intrest us right now. However, the
cave west of Hellfire Chasm contains an Elixer, Cottage, and 500 Gil. Grab it.
Fly north onto the island with two caves, head into the south one.
==========
Island 3
=========
CLASS CHANGE!!!!
Follow the really long path to the stairs, then follow the next really long
path up to Bahamut. After some brief dialog he'll upgrade your class! The
game gets much easier to complete now, mostly because you can equip a lot more
weapons and learn black magic. So equip that Ice Brand you picked up, as well
as a helm. Leave the cave and ignore the other cave on this island. Head west
to the last island.
=========
Island 4
=========
Tent, Gold Needle, Dry Ether
Honestly you can skip this if you want. Just grab the items and leave; then
hop in the airship. There's a number of places you can go now; with the
airship, the limitations are really only how fast you want to be done with the
game. You can head straight for Crescent Lake now and take on the Fire Crystal
or travel the world and pick up some cool new equipment, get some black magic
equipped to your shiny new Ninja class, and grind out a few levels. If you
want to progress with the storyline simply search for [FICR] and skip this
part. Otherwise, read on!
Now that you're a Ninja, there's a few things you should know. First off, and
arguably most important, you can now use Level 4 and under Black Magic. This
is a huge help, because this is inclusive of two of the most important stat-
boosting spells in the game. Temper and Haste will become your new best
friends. Buy the Lv.1 elemental magic if you want in Cornelia (I wouldn't
bother, you can rely on Fangs from the 15 Puzzle game for elemental damage),
but DEFINITELY head to Pravoka to pick up Temper. I also snagged Slow and
Blind while I was here, because...well, because why not? Next run to Elfheim
and grab all of the stage two Elemental spells, as well as Haste and possibly
Sleepra if you'd like. Finally, head to Gaia, which is the town found in the
most northeastern point on the world map. Here you can buy the Protect Ring,
a helpful addition to your defenses - and also, blocks the Death spell from
taking effect, which makes it the perfect addition to your inventory. It is
also very advisable that you stock up on Hi-Potions while you're here.
It's about time to continue on with the story. Head towards Crescent Lake, but
instead keep heading west towards a big volcano. This is Mt. Gulg - and it's
time for you to make a visit to the Fire Crystal.
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
[FICR] The Fire Crystal
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
Enter Mt. Gulg! The lava will hurt you when you walk on it, so try to keep the
firewalking to a minimum (1 point of damage for each step. Hope you have a
nice stockpile of recovery items!). The monsters here will be kind of weak,
since you should be sitting around Lv.30 by now. You are also free to level up
as much as you want; there shouldn't be too much fleeing anymore because there
is no reason not to fight everything you come in contact with. You want to be
sure to fight a couple battles before you reach the bottom of Mt. GUlg and
fight Marilith, because you want some MP built up from some level-ups. Also,
take note of the fact that the Ice Brand you picked up in the Citadel of
Trials will be inflicting some serious damage on the monsters in Mt. Gulg -
due to it's typing (Ice). Anyway, head west and keep to the north wall and
you'll find your staircase down to Mt. Gulg B2.
You can head straight here and get to the next level. Or take the incredibly
long way and collect all of the (admittedly useless) items. If you take the
path less traveled (entering the door and following the labyrinth of items),
you'll be rewarded with some Gil, a Great Sword, some recovery items, and a
full set of Mythril equipment. Woo.
Mt. Gulg B3 has no reward to the west so head east. Follow the straightforward
path and go down the stairs. Remember to heal, because you're taking damage
with every step. Head south in Mt. Gulg B4 until you hit a wall, on the west
side of the cavern, then trace the wall and head east. Go up the stairs. Back
on B3, head west for the first two caves, then head south until you cannot
go any more south. Head west and go down the stairs. Again on B4, ignore the
door (or go through and pick up the Gil and Gold Needle). At the intersection
you can go west and pick up some Gil, another Ice Brand, and a Flame Shield
(which has the same defensive stats as an Ice Shield, which you could've
snagged earlier. If you didn't, go make the detour and get the Flame Shield).
There's some more Gil in the door closest to that intersection. At the NEXT
intersection there is yet another Ice Brand to the east. It's safe to say
you can ignore that and continue south to the next stairway.
Finally on Mt. Gulg B5, go to the west and pick up the Flame Mail. While it
may bolster your defenses a bit more than the Ruby Armlet, it lowers your Eva
just enough to discourage me from using it. Your call though. The only other
items down here are Gold Needles, which I skipped. You can run around and
level up a little bit if you want. When you're ready, use an MP - recovering
item (an Elixer, most likely), and head to the southwest chamber in the
cavern. Time for another boss!
_______________
MARILITH //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 1440 Agl: 24 Treasure: Golden Apple
Atk: 40 Int: 32 3000 Gil
Acc: 63 Eva: 48 2475 EXP
Def: 60 MDf: 183
====================================================
Uh, well, you could use Red Curtains to cast NulBlaze on you, or whatever, but
after a Temper and a Haste you should be dealing between 400 and 600 points of
damage on Marilith each hit. As long as you survive the first two attacks,
which generally are her weak physical attack, you should win this first try
every time. I wish I had more to say about this battle, but I really don't -
it really is just that easy.
If you ARE for some odd reason having trouble with Marilith, try Sleepra or
COnfuse, she is susceptible to both. You can also inflict Para on her but
I've honestly never seen it work.
Finish Marilith quickly and exit Mt. Gulg. It's on to the Water Crystal!
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
[WACR] The Water Crystal
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
Two down, two to go. From Mt. Gulg run to Crescent Lake and heal if you even
need it, then head east. This will take you to the other side of the map,
then head north, to around the same area as the islands where Bahamut was to
give you your class upgrade. On the continent to the west of that land in the
Desert and you can easily find the Desert Caravan on the northern outskirts
of it. Buy the Bottled Faerie from the man. When you do buy the Faerie, he
will now sell you in-battle temporary stat boosters. Which would be useful
if you didn't have Temper and Haste already...I guess you could buy a Speed
Drink if you really wanted to, but it's hardly worth it. From the Caravan,
head back east a little bit and you'll find the town of Onrac nestled in
between the river and the sea. Before heading into Onrac, canoe into the river
directly into the waterfall. Ooooh, a secret cave!
In Waterfall Cavern, follow the west wall, then keep going south - there's no
other items in the cave other than in the one room you're headed to so there
isn't any need to explore. There's a pretty high encounter rate in this cave,
so be wary of your HP and engage selectively. Grab the Gil, Ribbon, Staff,
and Defender at the end of the tunnel, and talk to the funky little robot
dude to get the Warp Cube, an item that is very important later. Emergency
Exit out of there (I did, at least) and then double back to Gaia. When you
enter the town, your faerie will leave it's bottle! Head to the body of water
in the northeast of the town and speak with her. She'll give you the Oxyale.
Finally, it's time to head in to Onrac.
There isn't much in Onrac for a Ninja. Some cool spells that you can't use, an
item shop full of things you should already have...sleep at the Inn and then
head to the far east side of town. Talk to the person next to the submersible
and then enter the most well-named dungeon in the game, the Sunken Shrine (you
know it's awesome.).
*NOTE: I usually take Kraken out first, then return to the Shrine for the
Rosetta Stone, at least on solo challenges. I do this because it's easier to
fight seven or eight battles, then Kraken, rather than twenty or thirty
battles. Additionally, you can easily exit the Shrine after beating Kraken, so
you have an easy chance to heal up at the Inn before grabbing the Rosetta
Stone. It's perfectly acceptable to do it any way you choose, though. In this
walkthrough I'll put the Rosetta Stone part first though, because I know most
people prefer to do it that way.
Head up the ladder. If you're hurting for Gil you can grab 11,900 Gil in the
two chests in the first cave - to the east is 2,000 Gil, to the West (far
west, not the middle) is 9,900 Gil. At the intersection head east and go up
the stairs. You'll now be on 4F. Ignore the first room and continue west. You
can head north here and follow the path to gain the Diamond Armor, but,
unfortunately, Ninja cannot equip Diamond equipment (it's Knight only) - so I
don't really know why you'd bother. The room in the middle of 4F contains only
20 Gil, so ignore it. The southwestern room contains a Light Axe, which also
serves very little use for you. Heading south, the first room will contain
a Mage's Staff, which casts Confuse when use. Pick it up. Grab the 12,350 Gil
in the next room and then take the stairs up.
You'll now be on 5F. There are fifteen little rooms in this cavern, eight of
which contain items. Head north from where you are on the stairs right now,
and grab the 10,760 Gil and Diamond Armlet out of the room. Exit the room and
head north. Enter the second room in from the left on the top row, and get
2,750 Gil from the chest. The next room to the right has 10,010 Gil. Finally,
the room to the right of that has the Diamond Helm, Diamond Gloves, and the
Rosetta Stone, a storyline item. Below that is 5,000 Gil, and next to that
4,150 more. The south-most two chambers contain an Antidote and a Diamond
Shield. This room is a little confusing to some; the trick is to remember that
the passage to the left / right is one weird, interconnected construct that
simply brings you to the other side of the room. Like Pac Man.
Anyhow, once you get the Rosetta Stone get back to the first room (the lobby,
if you will). This time head west and take the stairs up. In the next room,
ignore all the little rooms and just head north and you'll see the stairs. The
next two floors are painfully obvious (the stairs are right in front of you),
then on the next floor enter the door and follow the path. Leave through the
south wall and head down the stairs.
In this final room you can pick up interesting items in every room, and I for
once recommend grabbing most of them. There's 15k Gil in the room immediately
south of you. Then a little over 20,000 Gil in the room just north of you. The
room west of that one has a Light Axe, which can cast Diara in battle (which
is kind of useful I guess). Finally, the chamber all the way to the west will
house the Giant's Gloves (casts Thundara when used in battle) and 5,800 Gil.
After collecting all your goodies, exit through the stairway in the north.
Follow the path in this last room west, then north, then east again. Enter
the door and then exit through the door on the east wall. Follow the clear cut
path and enter a final door to battle Kraken.
_______________
KRAKEN //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 1800 Agl: 42 Treasure: Kikuichimonji
Atk: 50 Int: 32 5000 Gil
Acc: 90 Eva: 84 4245 EXP
Def: 60 MDf: 160
====================================================
Kraken can be a pretty tough boss fight, at least compared to the pushover
that Marilith was. With Temper and Haste, and assuming you still have the Ice
Brand equipped (which is still the best offensive equipment you have up until
this point), you should hit around 300-500 damage each hit. Unfortunately,
Kraken will be typically hitting you for around 150+ damage each turn, or
blinding you with Ink. Regardless, the same strategy applies; stat up then
hope for the best. Hopefully you kept your Eva high so Kraken will miss some
of his pretty strong attacks. If you bought any of the Tonics from the Desert
Caravan salesman, use them.
You could use the Giant'S Gloves to cast Thundara, but you'll honestly end up
wasting turns where you could've been doing more damage with a stat-upped
physical attack (Thundara doesn't come close to 500 damage). Status moves are
worth a try but again, it's probably safer to just stat up, heal, then go all
out offensively. Unfortunately you're getting to the point in the game where
the boss battles will pretty much all play out the same.
Finish Kraken and he'll drop the Kikuichimonji, a new offensive weapon for you
to equip. Get out of the Sunken Shrine. Return if you skipped the Rosetta
Stone. If not, heal up and leave Onrac. Get in your airship and fly to
Melmond.
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
[WICR] The Wind Crystal
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==
Head to Melmond, and then inside Melmond go to the graveyard (North section
of town). Talk to the guy who clearly doesn't look like he belongs there (with
the blonde hair and jacket) and he'll teach you Lufenian. Now, head towards
Lufenia. You will be parking the airship on the eastern-most continent near a
lake just east of a massive desert. It's a long walk. Head south and you'll
eventually find Lufenia.
Despite the magic shops selling two of the strongest forms of magic in the
game here, there isn't anything for a Ninja to do. Talk to the most south-east
Lufenian in the village to receieve the Chime, a necessary item. Leave, and
get back to the airship. Land it in the southern tip of grass near the huge
desert. And...you guessed it. Go to the middle of the desert and enter Mirage
Tower. Make sure you are stocked on recovery items.
Enter Mirage Tower. Enter the door and loot the center of the room for a
number of interesting items, and close to 30k Gil. None of them are much use;
the Healing Helm would be GREAT if you had more than one active character...so
continue onto the second floor and enter the middle room again. You can grab
about 60,000 Gil in the chests alone, not to mention the obscene Gil rewards
for the monsters in this room (Chimera, Blue Dragons, Guardians, etc.). Which
reminds me - there are a few heavy hitters here, particularly the Dragons and
the Chimera are fearsome. The items in the second middle room include the Sun
Blade, which should be ignored, Thor's Hammer, and Dragon Mail - neither of
the latter can be used by Ninjas. Head north and take the stairs up to 3F,
then circle around, enter the middle room and fight a Blue Dragon. It should
not really pose too much of a threat to you at this point (I was near Lv.50,
and I didn't even grind at all...). Strong physical attacks will take it out -
afterwards, warp to the Flying Fortress.
Upon entrance to the Flying Fortress, you can do a few different things. Head
east for 11,720 Gil, another Healing Helm, and a Protect Ring. Head west for
21,050 Gil, and a Potion. To the south is the Razer, a terrible weapon that
you have no use for. To the north is the warp point you want to take. So grab
what you want (if anything) and head north. On 2F you have a similar decision
to make. The northwest corner holds a Mythril Helm and a Cottage. The north-
east holds Diamond Gloves. In the center, the west has 13,880 Gil. The west
has a Ribbon and a Diamond Shield. I recommend ONLY stopping in the south-west
corner for the Adamantite. To the southeast are the Black and White Robes. If
you finish grabbing swag, exit through the south stairwell.
On 3F the trend continues. Due north is 14,450 Gil, a Protect Ring, and a
Potion. To the west is the stairway you will take to go up to 4F, as well as
a Gold Needle, 7,550 Gil, and Sasuke's Blade (useless; Kikuichimonji is one
of the best weapons in the game for a Ninja). To the east is almost 25k Gil,
a Gold Needle, and a Protect Cloak. When you're done head up to 4F, where you
will head north two blocks, then west two blocks and go up the stairs.
***NOTE: SAVE AS YOU ARRIVE ON 5F. YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO ENCOUNTER THE DEATH
MACHINE ENEMY ON 5F. IT IS RANDOM; YOU WILL NOT BEAT DEATH MACHINE ON A SOLO
RUN. SAVE. SAVE NOW. DO IT. For those unaware, Death Machine is a 2,000 HP,
128 Atk, regenerating invincible monster that will end you (even in a normal,
non-solo game). It is rather rare, thankfully, but it's nearly impossible to
kill on a solo run.
Hopefully you make it to Tiamat.
_______________
TIAMAT //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 2,400 Agl: 36 Treasure: 6000 Gil
Atk: 53 Int: 45 5496 EXP
Acc: 80 Eva: 72
Def: 80 MDf: 200
====================================================
Temper, Temper, Hi-Potion, Haste, Hi-Potion. Repeat as necessary. Seriously
though, Tiamat is a nasty girl. She'll cast Thunderbolt, which will take off
about 150 HP. Her physical attack is also pretty nasty, ripping into you for
close to 300 HP on occasion. Lastly is Poison Gas, which hits for somewhere
in between the two previous attacks (generally something like 230 damage). So,
DEFINITELY keep an eye on your HP. Heal anytime you're under the 250 mark,
because her damage can be unpredictable sometimes. Make sure you at least have
2x Temper buff on you before you even think about attacking Tiamat. She has
solid defenses and attacking before you have 2x Temper stacked is going to let
the battle run a little too long for comfort.
You should be hitting for roughly 600 damage each attack after two Tempers,
definitely more if you leveled up a lot. This puts the game on a four turn
clock after your buffs are up. If you have any CUrtains left over from the
ship game, use them, because Tiamat's magic is quite strong. Overall, I found
Tiamat to be rather challenging - second only to Lich - but as usual, remember
that eventually the luck and skill will line up and Tiamat will fall.
After you win, leave. Now, enjoy your freedom! There are a couple of different
dungeons you can do before you head off to the final battle. I also recommend
leveling up quite a bit; the final boss is a HUGE jump in power from anything
you've fought yet. So, read on. Or skip to [KAOS] for the final dungeon.
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[XTRA] Loose Ends
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i. The Adamantite from the Flying Fortress
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Bring the Adamantite you should've gotten from the Flying Fortress to Mt.
Duergar. Talk to the dwarf in the smiting area and he'll turn your worthless
Adamantite into Excalibur! A sword worthless to you because you aren't a
Knight class! Still; it's a one of a kind weapon, so why not get it?
ii. Extra Dungeons
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
As you (should) know, there are four additional dungeons added in for the GBA
release of FF1! Unfortunately for you, a solo Ninja isn't going to be able to
beat many of the super secret boss enemies. Actually, the real let down is
that beating these tough bosses don't actually get you very useful items - at
least beating the ones that you have a shot at. Attempt the Earthgift Shrine,
or the Hellfire Chasm - at your own risk. Be forwarned though - you won't find
anything particularly useful in either.
iii. Preparing for Chaos
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Last note here; make sure you grind a considerable amount. I wouldn't consider
being ready for Chaos before Lv.70 solo. And personally, why bother? You've
already beat the game once (probably), so take your time and level up a little
bit. Do some of the extra dungeons and REALLY challenge yourself. Don't rush
into this.
Notably, the second best sword the Ninja can use is found deep inside the
Chaos Shrine - so if you wanted to get serious about the Soul of Chaos
dungeons, perhaps consider going as far into the Chaos Shrine as you need to
so you can get said weapon. The Chaos Shrine is a great training ground, so
it's doubly valuable.
iv. LAST CALL!!!
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Make sure you have 99x Hi-Potion. If you hadn't already (you're crazy), make
sure you have the Black Magic Haste and Temper. 99x Ether wouldn't hurt either
though you won't need anywhere near that much. Definitely grab a couple of
Protect Drinks from the Desert Caravan salesman, because Chaos solo is quite
a challenge. As many X-Potions as you can find, as well - and if you don't
have super high MP, also Hermes' Shoes.
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[KAOS] The Chaos Shrine
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Enter the Chaos Shrine. Investigate the black crystal in the center, where you
fought Garland in the beginning. Things will change...when they're finished,
exit the small room and head to the southeast corner. There are no items in
the rest of the room so don't bother exploring. On 2F there will be stairs to
your immediate east - take them up and you'll find yourself on 3F. Here, head
south until you can't anymore. Then head east and then north through the door
in the middle. Here you'll encounter a Death Eye - waste him and investigate
the slab in the middle of the room - which will turn into a ladder. Grab the
Dry Ether and Elixer from the left and right treasure chests, respectively.
Once down the ladder, head south through the door. Then head west, and then
north (it will seem like you're backtracking). Take the stairs down. Back on
1F follow the path to the west. Go down the stairs and find yourself on B1.
Follow the path north, east, ignore the first turn south, take the second turn
south, then prepare to fight Lich, again.
Lich will be very much an indicator of whether or not you are ready to face
the final boss. He's hugely more powerful than his former self, casting
devastating magic like Flare. As usual, buff up, heal, and launch. I took
him down in a couple of hits and didn't get below 652 HP. Good luck. Just a
small reminder - while he has close to 3000 HP this time around, his other
stats haven't really changed a whole lot. While he seems intimidating, casting
Flare and all, he's a lot easier than he was the first time. After toppling
Lich, head down the stairs.
Now, head south. Then loop around north and go through the door. Head up a
block, then east until you're in the second cavern area. Head south out the
door and loop around, to where the stairs are. You'll now have to fight
Marilith, who's even more of a joke this time around, despite having over 3000
HP. Same strategy as usual. If you leveled up enough, you can laugh at her
Firaga, and all of her awful status spells (Death, Hold, etc - past Lv.90 it's
nearly impossible to be statused).
Roast Marilith, then head out. Loop around through the doors again, then head
through the door to the west. Follow the pretty direct path and take the
middle door out. Head south, save, then head east to fight the Kraken - who
now packs a nice 3600 HP. Take him out using the same strategies as before,
and he will quickly fall. Take the stairs and save again, prepare to fight
Tiamat again right in this narrow hallway. But before that...
Head south. Head south as far as you can, then head west. There's only really
one place to end up - sitting in front of the Masamune, which is pretty darn
close to the best weapon in the game. Grab it and head back to the stairs you
came down. Then head east, south, east - fight Tiamat, who's nearly 6000 HP
may give you a bit of a headache. She's casting the same spells as before,
with the addition of Flare and an attack called Scourge. Same strategy as
usual, be sure to heal off any statuses she inflicts, and keep your HP above
300 (which shouldn't be too difficult). The Masamune, Haste, and Temper will
keep you hitting pretty hard, and if you have Strength TOnic or the like, that
will assist as well. Finish her off, continue on, and head down the stairs.
SAVE YOUR GAME!
Run around the pentagram (c wut they did there?) and enter the door. It's time
to fight Chaos.
_______________
CHAOS //________________________________________________________//
--------------- \\
HP: 20000 Agl: 50 Treasure: None
Atk: 170 Int: 40
Acc: 200 Eva: 100
Def: 100 MDf: 200
====================================================
This is going to be a challenging battle regardless. Lets get Chaos' abilities
out of the way. Chaos has powerful elemental magic: Blaze, Cylcone, Firaga,
Blizzara, to name a few. Tsunami inflicts non-elemental damage, and his
physical attack is the worst of all of it - inflicting above 500 damage pretty
routinely. Even worse, he casts Haste on himself and Slow on you - the old
Astos combo that really hurts Thieves/Ninjas. Going into this you'll need a
couple things; first, you will need to be over 500 HP. Some people say you can
get by a little under, but I've never seen it or done it so I am NOT going to
condone it. YOU WILL NEED Protect Tonics. That's all there is to it - though
it was easy enough to depend on the Ninja's good Eva stat this whole time,
Chaos' ridiculous Acc (almost perfect, but not quite) stat will ensure he
hits almost every time with his physical attack. You will need Temper and
Haste, as usual. You will also NEED X-Potions, many of them - so get on the 15
Slider Puzzle and win those X-Potions (you can also get them for beating
Echidna in Earthgift Shrine). Unless you're doing a low-level challenge, do
yourself a favor and be above Lv.70.
Really, the only thing that changes with Chaos depending on your level is the
amount of time. Regardless of level start out with Protects, then if you don't
have maxed HP use Giant's Tonics. Heal routinely, keeping yourself above 450
HP or so. If Chaos casts Haste, keep your HP (or GET your HP) above 700
immediately, because Hasted Chaos can deal almost 700 damage. If you are also
attempting a low-level run, you will need Hermes' Shoes to re-cast Haste (just
in case Slowra takes to you), and I would also make sure you have Giant's
Gloves (found in Sunken Shrine) to cast Saber on yourself as a replacement
for Temper. The Curtain items from the 15 Slider Puzzle are useful, but it's
almost better to forget it, use Protects and buff your attack. It's going to
be an excruciatingly long fight.
The worst part about this fight by far is the Curaja; Chaos will occasionally
heal 9999 damage off himself...undoing a few rounds of hard work. This does
little but prolong the fight, so keep yourself healed and Hasted and Sabered
and/or Tempered. After enough Tempers you'll be able to start dealing some
pretty serious damage that will start adding up, and Chaos won't be able to
shrug and Curaja it off. Remember that Sabers and Tempers will keep stacking
until they're maxed, so don't ever think it's a waste to cast one of them.
Hang in there man! You will, eventually win. Chaos will fall, and you will be
able to enjoy the end scenes. Congratulations! You've finished a solo-Thief
run in FF1 - impressive!
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[OVXR] Odds and Ends
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Please! Give me feedback.
modalrifle(at)live(dot)com
Feel free to use, download, or share this file without express consent from
me, the author. Please do not use it for profit or personal gain without my
permission though. And please give credit where credit is due.
I will not be adding Soul of Chaos strategies anytime in the near future -
why? Because two perfectly good guides exist right here:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/920240-final-fantasy-i-and-ii-dawn-of-souls/faqs
/33854
(TFergusson)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/920240-final-fantasy-i-and-ii-dawn-of-souls/faqs
/33809
(transience)
Thank you to GameFAQs for hosting the best gaming site for the better part of
the last twenty years.
Thank you to Sloppy, Rhythm, Rake, Crazy, and AmyRose for their support.
Thank you Square, Nintendo, etc.
