FF 12 walkthrough. Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age guide: tips and tricks for beginners. Barheim Passage Let there be light

The twelfth part of the series, Final Fantasy 12, was released in 2006 exclusively for Play Station 2. The game became the sixth in the world, which received 40 out of 40 points from the famous gaming magazine Fumitsu. A little later, the game was adapted for Windows. However, some define the genre of the game as “Japanese” role-playing game».

Final Fantasy 12 - Storyline

The action takes place in the game world called Ivalice. The opposing states - Rosaria and the Arcadian Empire - are drawing the neutral state of Dalmasca, located between them, into their conflict. The main characters of the game are the young guy Vaan, the princess of Dalmasca Ash, the air pirates Balter and Freya, Bash, accused of killing the king, and Vaan's girlfriend Penelo.

Together they travel to liberate Dalmasca from enemy occupiers. In the game Final Fantasy XII Traditionally, creatures are used that can be summoned to the battlefield to help the main characters. In this part they were called Espers.

When Esper is summoned, the main character remains on the battlefield and fights with him, while the rest of the team disappears. Espers can remain on the battlefield for one to two minutes. If an Esper's life bar is greatly reduced, it will use a powerful attack and disappear from the battlefield.

Gameplay of Final Fantasy 12

Special attention should be paid to gameplay. Unlike previous parts, the developers decided to make changes, and now at the start of the battle the game does not switch to a separate mode, as it has been before. The battle takes place in the same screen in which the players met the enemy.

The battle music is also the same as what was playing until the team encountered an enemy, and all battles take place in real time. The player can control all the characters on the team, but you can set the mode to automatic. Due to the fact that monsters are visible before the battle begins, combat is not difficult to avoid.

However, the game has not lost any of its old and good qualities, and thanks to the acquired innovations it has begun to meet the requirements of modern times. And to say about any shortcomings, of course, is stupid, because this will contradict well-known critics who appreciated the game Final Fantasy 12.

Final Fantasy XII spent five years in development starting in 2001 and it was finally released to North American audiences in October of 2006. The game was released on PlayStation 2 and the n it was later re-released on PlayStation 4 in July of 2017 with updated graphics, updated items and a completely redesigned job system .

The re-released version of the game on the PlayStation 4 was titled “The Zodiac Age”. It was based on the International Zodiac Job System version of the game which was developed and released in Japan many years earlier. This walkthrough has been updated and is based on the Zodiac Age version of the game (which is much more fun to play!).

Review

Final Fantasy XII stands out amid Final Fantasy games as it differs quite heavily from previous installations in the series. The graphics and game engine were completely redone, the combat system is unlike any of the previous games and the setting strays away from the fantasy-style settings such as those in Final Fantasy VI , Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX .

The first thing to note about the game is the huge jump forward in terms of graphics and the new artistic-style that the developers took when they created the game. While it is very dissimilar to Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX and X, gamers who previously played Final Fantasy XI, which was an MMORPG also completely unlike any other Final Fantasy game, will notice the similarities in character designs and the settings.


The cast of characters in Final Fantasy XII are one of the strongest of any of the Final Fantasy games to date. There are no ridiculous and nonsensical characters like Cait Sith (from Final Fantasy VII) or Quina (from Final Fantasy IX). The main cast includes Vaan, Balthier, Fran, Penelo, Basch and Ashe.

The only character who is not a human (referred to as a “Hume” in-game) is Fran, who is a Viera and while her race's attributes are very similar to elven races found in other fantasy-style games and literature, they fit well within the setting of this game.

The world of Ivalice has been seen in previous Final Fantasy titles including Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. The scenery in the various zones look fantastic and work well with the story, although many fans complained of the story being too “political”. This doesn’t bother me, as I would prefer more of a politically-stylized story rather than one that was more fantasy driven, but it doesn’t work well for everyone.

Another highly polarizing aspect of the game is the use of the Gambit system which allows the player to setup specific actions for characters that are completed only under certain conditions. For example, you can create a Gambit which causes your character to automatically use a Potion on themselves or a party member when their HP drops below 50%.

The Gambit system allows you to build specific tactics around moves and focuses a lot of the strategic aspect of the game into the preparation before a battle rather than actions taken during the battle. It did not go over well with every player of the game but I found it to be both challenging and rewarding; especially once you start to master the basic concepts.


This is also the first game in the series which removed the aspect of randomly encountering foes on the battlefield and being forced into a fight. Instead, monsters and enemies appear on the over world and you can now run right past them if you choose to. This style has now been repeated in many of the newer Final Fantasy titles in the franchise (Final Fantasy XIII and XV, for example) and finally removes one of the more annoying and unavoidable aspects of previous games.

This title is not without its flaws though; for example, there are balancing issues with a few of the characters. In the PlayStation 2 version of the game, Fran, Penelo and Balthier (to a lesser extent) are underpowered and it does not make sense to use them during a playthrough. Many of these issues have been corrected in updated versions of the game making all characters useful in certain situations and for certain jobs.

The game also suffers from problems with spell load times which can cause noticeable problems during faster-paced battle sequences. If you noticed this during you’re playthrough, don’t assume that your PlayStation 2 is broken like I did! This is an unavoidable issue that the game suffers from and that players will have to suffer through while playing.


The game also employs a strange replacement to the Limit Break / Trance / Overdrive system: Quickenings. It can take a few tries to get used to Quickenings and to learn how to chain them together, which greatly increases the damage done. But the shear randomness of being able to hit the correct buttons in order and the length of time that the battle is halted while you perform a Quickening Chain is hugely detrimental to the overall experience. Quickening Chains can be used to make many of the battles easier but I avoided them entirely during my first playthrough due to the ‘boringness’ associated with spending several minutes staring at the Quickening screen.


The License Board system is somewhat unique. In the early stages of the game, it offers quite a bit of customization for each of your characters, but this tends to run thin later on in the game as all of the characters begin acquiring the same moves and Magick spells. The Zodiac Age (as well as the International Zodiac Job System version) solves some of these problems by adding in character classes which will greatly change the mechanics behind a standard playthrough.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this game and would rank it in my top 3 Final Fantasy games without hesitation. I highly recommend playing the Zodiac Age version as it includes updated graphics and you won’t have to go hunting down an old PlayStation 2 just to play the game (or worse, having to emulate it). I definitely encourage all Final Fantasy fans to give this game a try - 10/10 .


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Final fantasy 12 was created in Japan. This is a cult role-playing game, originally created for the Play Station 2 console back in 2006. The development was carried out by Squar Enixe. The twelfth part of the series has a lot of innovations: for the first time, the player has the function of controlling a character during battle, the capabilities of game gambits have been improved, and a “License Board” appears. Thanks to it, you can get new types of weapons and talents.

History of creation

The idea to create the game came to Yasumito Matsunuma back in 2001. He directed Final Fantasy 12 Tactic as well as Vargant Story. Matsunume was forced to leave the project midway through the game's development due to severely deteriorating health. Minogawa Hiroshito was tasked with finishing the game. The producer was Akitoshi Kawadezu, known for the Crystal Chronicles and SaGa series of novels. Fans of the game noted that the very beginning of the game, in which Yatsumi Matsune is involved, has big differences from its continuation. Even the founder of the franchise, Hironobi Sakagushi, took notice of this. The first hours of Final Fantasy 12 The Zodiac Age are distinguished by a high level of saturation of game scenes when compared with the modifications of Minogawa Hiroshito.

Breakthrough in the gaming industry

The game developers were among the first to use a system of random character encounters on such high level. A unique Active Dimensione battle system has been developed, thanks to which the hero can explore the dungeon and at the same time get into battle. The complex battle system has become more flexible, which has opened up a lot of options for leveling up your character. The game gambit system, according to the developers, was borrowed from the American Soccer (everyone in the squad plays a specific role).

Walkthrough Final games fantasy 12 introduces the player to a world whose image is similar to the medieval views of the Mediterranean. The creators of the game relied on the customs and cultural heritage of Turkey and India; there were attempts to introduce some elements of the life of Arab countries. When creating fight scenes, inspiration was drawn from history Ancient Rome.

Game world of Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age

All events taking place in storyline, take place in an alternate reality, on the planet Ivalice. In this fictional place, magic is nothing special. Both for witchcraft and for everyday use in all spheres of life, a mysterious mineral filled with magical power is used - magicite.

Ivalice consists of three continents: Valendia in the east, Ordeal in the west, and Kervon in between. Ordeal is filled with endlessly vast plains, and in the west there is a desert. Its territory is occupied by an empire called Rosaria. For a thousand years they have been the enemies of the Arcadians - the inhabitants of Valendia - a region entirely consisting of tropical forests.

At the center of events is a small kingdom that separates two huge empires called Dalmasca. It is located near the Ordeal Peninsula, surrounded by desert by land. This territory has calm climatic conditions. The plot begins with a war that broke out between the Arcadians and the Rosarians. Two and a half years before the events in the game, the Arcadia Empire captured Dalmascus.

Arcadia is ruled by the Solidar royal family, led by Emperor Gramis. The main villain of the series was Vain Karudes Solidar, his goal is to destroy and enslave the entire world. His brother Larsa Ferrinas Solidor opposes him in this and for some time even joins the protagonist’s group.

The beginning of the game events

When we first launch it, even from the Final Fantasy 12 emulator, we are shown a long video that tells the background of the events of the game. In the main city of the kingdom of Dalmasca, Rabanastre, the wedding of the crown prince of Narbadia takes place and beautiful princess Ashi. But suddenly Captain Bash von Rosenburg runs into the main palace and begins to talk about how the troops of the Narbadia Empire are going to attack. The battle for Nalibina begins, in which Prince Rasler is defeated and dies. The king of the country, Raminas, goes to sign a peace treaty, but falls into a trap. Next, the gameplay begins for the knight Rex. The battle begins. The Knights of Dalmascus, led by Captain Bish, are trying to get to Nalbina. Rex's squad is defeated, and we see how Bash executes the king, the hero dies from his wounds, and Princess Asha commits suicide.

Defeat of the Kingdom

Dalmasca is occupied by the Arcadia Empire. The next scene tells of events that take place two years later. Vaan, Rex's younger brother, a thief and a weasel, despite Penelo's fears, infiltrates the royal palace during Vain Solidar's inauguration as chief consul. In the castle, Vaan meets two air pirates - Fran and Balthier. Their goal is magicite, stolen by the main character from the king's treasury. At the same moment, the castle is attacked by Dalmascan rebels, and the thieves escape through the sewers. Here they meet the head of the resistance, Amalia. As a result, the royal guards catch the pirates along with Vaan and send them to Nalbina prison. In the cell they meet the half-dead Bash, and the four of them escape from custody.

On the way, the former captain of the Dalmasca guard tries to prove that it was not he who killed the king, but his twin brother named Gabranth. They manage to reach the village of Boujerb, where the bounty hunter Ba'Gamnan tracks down Balthier and captures Penelo, mistaking him for an air marauder. The heroes go to help him and along the way they meet Vane’s younger brother, Lars Solidar, who initially introduces himself as Lamont. Together they save Penelo, but after meeting with Marquis Ondor, they are again taken into custody. So they end up on the Leviathan aircraft, captained by Judge Geese, the main enemy of this story arc. On the ship, the squad of heroes meets Amalia again. We are told that she is the surviving princess of Dalmasca, Asha - the suicide was staged. Ghis takes the magicite stolen by Vaan and sends it to Arcadia - it turns out that this is the treasure of the king of Dalmasca, which is called the Dusk Shard and is the second of two great artifacts that can destroy the world.

Thanks to Vossler, the team defeats Judge Geese and leaves the ship, but without the ancient artifact. The heroes go after another Dusk Shard, which is located inside an ancient tomb. After going through all sorts of traps, they meet again with Judge Geese, who obtains the second shard. He conducts various experiments with it, which results in an explosion that destroys the ship and many of its henchmen. The heroes manage to escape, taking with them the Shard of Dawn. On their journey to Great Kilty, the heroes learn that many rulers also want to end the war. Larsa meets Al-Cid Margrace, a member of the royal family of the Rosary Empire, in order to negotiate a peace treaty. The passage of Final Fantasy 12 takes an unexpected turn, and Asha tries to convince Gramis to end the war, but Vayne kills the emperor and takes the throne. Anastasite directs the heroes to Miriam's Shrine to retrieve the Sword of Kings, which can destroy the nethicite. The party of heroes fails, and Anastasit dies at the hands of Judge Bergan.

Events in Arcadia

Having avenged their comrade, the heroes defeat Bergan and, on the advice of Al-Sidiya, go to the main city of the enemy empire - Arcades, but the heroes have to walk almost the entire way. In the capital, they organize an attack on the laboratory of Doctor Sid, who is working on studying the properties of nethite and trying to synthesize it. The attack occurs unexpectedly, but the villain manages to escape, but during the escape he lets slip that his destination will be Giruvegen. Legend has it that a huge sample of artificial nethite - the Crystal of the Sun - is hidden there. Upon reaching Giruvegen, Asha meets a group of elders. They turn out to be the creators of this artifact. These are incorporeal deities called Okuriya. They have the ability to control the course of history through the people they choose, including the Ashei. Okuria gives the princess the Sword of the Pact so that she can cut off a new piece of nethicite from the Sun Crystal.

The Final Fantasy 12 playthrough is briefly interrupted by a video. In it we see that Doctor Sid was helped to explore the crystal by a traitor to Ocuria, Venat. She joined forces with the professor and Wayne Solidar, capturing their consciousness, with the goal of returning the right to control history to people. Prince Vane prepares for his coronation. With the help of artificial neficity, he plans to take over the entire continent of Ivalice. Events unfold in such a way that Balthier turns out to be the son of Doctor Sid. The professor lost his mind during his endless research into nethicity and communication with Venat. The war that led to the capture of Dalmasca and the burning of its capital was merely an occasion to test the strength of the nethicite.

The ending. Lighthouse of Farosa

The situation puts Princess Asha before a choice - to listen to the Occurii and avenge her family by returning the reins of power to them, or to return power over destiny to humanity. Without having time to make a choice, she, along with the Redias pirates, heads to the place where the Crystal of the Sun is stored - to the Pharos lighthouse. At the top of the building, she meets Gabranth, who admits his guilt in killing the king of Dalmasca in order to harden Asha's heart. The team of heroes defeats Gabranth and then Dr. Cid. The latter, in turn, manages to activate the ancient power of the crystal before his death, but at the last moment Redias pierces the solar artifact with the Sword of the Treaty, but the price for this was his life.

After this, Al-Sid tells the princess that the resistance under the command of the Marquis of Ondorea is organizing a large-scale attack on the empire. The huge "Bakhmuts", having absorbed all the energy of the destroyed Sun Crystal, flies towards the city. The princess and her team, with the help of the rebels, enter the air fortress and attack Gabranth. He is amazed by Captain Bash's loyalty after all these events. The group meets Lars and Wayne Solidar - in their hideout they argue about power. After meeting with the heroes, the younger Solidar, along with Gabranth, joins Asha's squad and attacks Venat and Vayne. The latter dies, and the princess announces the end of the war. The ship crashes near Rabanastra, but the heroes manage to escape. Complete walkthrough Final Fantasy 12 ends with an epilogue in which Asha becomes queen, Larsa becomes ruler of Arcadia, and our protagonist Vaan sets off on a journey in a brand new airship.

In the twelfth fantasy, the player controls the actions of a team of three heroes, interacting with NPCs and enemy units along the way. This game is radically different from previous parts of the series in that the player can now rotate the camera 360 degrees using the right joystick of the gamepad. In the city, completing the secrets of Final Fantasy 12 is only possible with one character. In enemy zones, he is joined by two more computer-controlled heroes.

This is the first game in Final series Fantasy 12 PC RUS, which uses a unique turn-based combat system in real time. It's called Activ Dimenshion Battle, or ADB for short. To conduct battles, the player uses a specialized menu in which the battle process stops until each character is assigned an action for the next turn. All of them must be manually given a command, unless this is a “guest” character who has artificial intelligence. All actions will be divided into five types: attacking, magical, haze abilities, gambits and using items.

The new generation battle system produces random encounters - all opponents are visible on the mini-map, and in all cases not provided for by the plot, the player is able to avoid battle with the enemy. Actions begin when a unit gets close enough to an aggressive enemy or attacks a passive monster. When a player performs an action, directional arrows appear in the game, connecting the attacker and the attacked, and the color of this connection indicates the nature of the attack. The game squad can consist of no more than three characters, and during the battle you can replace killed or wounded heroes, but only in cases that are not provided for by the storyline. As a result of the special type of battles, the developers abandoned the traditional victory scenes for previous games in the Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac series. They only survived in boss battles.

Another update gameplay passing Final Fantasy 12 zodiac job system became gambits. The player was given the opportunity, subject to certain conditions during the battle, to carry out pre-selected actions. The gambit system consists of three parts: priority, target orientation and the action itself. The command to be executed is called an action. Precedence is an attribute that chooses which gambit will work if there are two or more involved. The goal is the gambit's ability itself, such as restoring mana if health drops below 50%.

In the twelfth part of the series, a new ability appears - haze. This is an analogue of mana, with which the player can summon creatures to his squad and inflict special attack combinations. Final Fantasy 12 weapons have special ultimate abilities. These attacks rely on the quickening system. Using the "License Board" any character can be taught these skills. Using the controller, through the use of button combinations, you can perform huge attack combinations, after which the final blow occurs.

Hero evolution system

Game like typical representative An RPG with a system for gaining experience and leveling up characters. To reach a new level in development, you need to kill a certain number of enemy units. With each subsequent level, the total number of health points, strength, agility, magic and others increases. Also, as you progress, the secrets of Final Fantasy 12 are revealed by the same “License Board”. It is divided into two parts. In the first, all licenses are associated with magical abilities, magic rings, as well as permanent passive bonuses to attributes. The second part of the “License Board” makes it possible to obtain unique armor and mythical weapons of the ancients. To obtain these gaming opportunities, the player spends a certain amount of resources earned during the passage of the storyline.

Musical accompaniment

A huge part of the work associated with musical arrangement The game was developed by the famous Japanese composer Hitoshi Sakamota. Seven of the tracks featured in the game were designed by Hayate Matsune, and two by Masashiru Iwatoi. Hitoshi had previously worked on other projects of this studio - sequels and prequels of various parts of Final Fantasy 12 PC. Initially, Nobu Uzamatsu was chosen as the main composer. He participated in composing the music for all previous parts of the series, but by 2004 he had already left Squar Enixe and began to engage in freelancing music. Sakamoto found it difficult to copy Uzamatsu's style, so he set about creating a unique melody in his own style. Uzamatsu admitted that the new composer's keyboards turned out just fine and reminded him of Elton John's playing.

Special editions

In early March 2006, the company released a special collector's collection that contained a walkthrough of the game Final Fantasy 12 (a complete guide to the entire game universe), a regular gameplay controller and a console stand made in the style of the work. On the day of release, a special commemorative card was announced, which included merch in the form of stickers.

On March 7, a limited edition carbonated drink, “Potion of Final Fantasy 12,” began going out. It contains various herbs and milk. The premium edition also included 10-milliliter containers of the drink and collectible cards featuring the game's characters.

Based on the work of Amu Jin, a manga (Japanese comic book) was created, which has 5 volumes of 12 chapters. In August 2009, its release was completed. BennStuff has also published three books. One of them contains information about the basics of combat and developer data. The book "Endless Battle" contains a game plot, life path characters and a detailed description of all locations in Final Fantasy 12 the Zodiac age. The third book contains information about the composers and actors who gave their voices to the heroes of the game. For the 25th anniversary, all books and fan material have been reissued in a new collector's edition Ultimania Box.

The best-selling edition in the US is the Collection Edition. The game in it was in a metal shell and, among other things, contained information about the developers and interviews with the creators. Also, the lucky owners of the collector's version received a disc with a short cartoon about the history of Final Fantasy 12, including in Russian. In January 2007, figurines of the game's heroes went on sale.

Who helped with the passage of Final Fantasy 12 in Russian

The localization of the Russian version was carried out by Alexander O. Smith, known for his connection with Final fantasy 10 and Vagrant Story. In the project of the twelfth part, he was involved in production and translation. Smith perfectly conveyed the meaning of the plot and was able to introduce a lot of dialect phrases of the target language, replacing Japanese dialectisms with them. He demanded maximum performance from voice actors and recruited them from among the most eminent theatrical figures.

Popularity

The game is of great importance not only for the people of Japan, but also for the whole world. A week after its release, more than one and a half million copies were sold. Two weeks later the number had risen to two and a half million. By March, the shelves of game stores were empty; five million had already been sold. Thus, Final Fantasy 12 became the fourth most purchased game of 2006. By the end of sales, six million copies of the game were sold.

In 2006, it was recognized as the best game in the series; critics from various authoritative gaming publications gave only positive reviews of Final Fantasy 12. Game connoisseurs noted the best graphics at that time and new gameplay changes that only benefited the franchise. Final Fantasy 12 won the 2006 award for Best Visual Design from IGN. It was called the best game ever released for the Sony Play Station 2 console. At the prestigious Japanese gaming awards, the game was called outstanding.

Walkthrough of Final Fantasy XII.

Chapter 1: The King's Legacy

Royal city of Rabanastre. A significant day for all residents of Dalmasca - the wedding of Princess Ashelia and Prince Rasler. A magnificent parade takes place on the main street of the city. It is a pity that at this moment the state is facing serious problems with foreign policy. The aggressive empire of Arcadia, which is located northeast of Dalmasca, is preparing for war with Rosaria, an equally huge kingdom southwest of Dalmasca. Thus, the small kingdom is “in pincers.” And he may suffer the fate of Nabudis (homeland homeland of Prince Rasler), which has already been swept away by a huge force it served as a barrier to the arrival of the enemy.

A happy day for the entire kingdom turned into preparation for war. Prince Rasler and Captain Bash, together with the army, fly to the fort of Nalbina, located on the border with the former Nabudis. The goal is to repel enemies.

During the battle in Nalbina, the prince was mortally wounded and soon died, and the Dalmasca army was defeated. Ashelia was forced to bury her husband almost immediately after the wedding. Arcadia, meanwhile, was inexorably advancing on the royal city...

“The death of Lord Rasler Heios Nabradia was only one of the tragedies that Dalmasca had to endure. The hope that arose after the wedding of Her Majesty, Princess Ashe, was lost: the fate of Dalmasca is now in the hands of history.

Two great empires competed for control of Ivalice at this time: Arcadia in the east and Rosaria in the west. Arcadia's invasion of Nabradia was the first step in the march to the west. Lord Rusler's homeland was consumed by the hellish flames of war; it became clear that Arcadia was preparing the same fate for Dalmasca. The fall of Fort Nalbina marked the destruction of most of Dalmasca's forces.

The Order of the Knights of Dalmasca, the bravest and most loyal warriors, organized a counter-attack, but they had no chance in the battle against the entire might of the Arcadia troops. Their defeat was truly complete. After this, Arcadia put forward peace terms. Or, as some honestly say, the terms of Dalmasca's surrender.

Lord Raminas, King of Dalmasca and my close friend, had no choice but to accept these terms. Anxiously, he went to the fort of Nalbina, now occupied by Arcadia, to put his seal on the emperor's peace treaty.

The king had barely left the royal city of Rabanastre when the remnants of the Order returned. And they were not too late to face the terrible revelation that awaited them.

The treaty will be signed with steel and sealed with royal blood.

Memoirs of Marquis Halim Ondor IV.

Chapter 12: The Fall of Kingdoms"

Nalbina Fortress Betrayal

So, the Order of Knights arrived in Nalbina late at night and they saw that the imperial troops were defending the fort. We play as one of the members of the Order - a young guy named Rex. He was stunned in one of the battles, now Captain Bash and his squad are waiting for Rex to come to his senses, and Captain Vossler goes straight to the royal family.

First we are taught the basics of management. Twist the right analog stick to change the viewing angle (they don't say this, but you can center the camera by pressing the right stick). With the left analog stick we move.

Approach Bash and you will be shown a scene about conversation icons. There will be icons like this above the characters you can interact with. After this, you should talk to the soldier who stands at the gate.

As you get closer to the gate, you will notice an action icon above the character's head. One exclamation point there is an object nearby that you can interact with. Three you stand next to the item itself and you can press the action button to start interacting. We open the gate and move on.

Our first enemy notices us - a soldier of the empire. Here we will be taught the basics of the combat system . The battle will be simple, and a large squad will help you. One soldier has no chance against a large horde of knights.

But a flying car that arrives in time for a soldier poses a certain danger, albeit an illusory one.

After the battle, we will be able to explore the location normally. The palace is quite large, but you definitely won’t get lost, since extra passages will be blocked by carefully closed doors. Inside you will come across groups of hostile soldiers, but you won’t have any problems and you don’t have to fight them. And here Potion in a room with a table in the middle and a passage after the staircase, it's worth taking.

On the stairs that lead to the throne room, there is a conservation crystal, at which Rex will linger in order to stop the soldiers of the empire who arrived in time (the rest of the squad will continue on their way to the king). The fight will not be difficult: you can hit Thunder a couple of times and, if you start to worry about the HP level, use Cure.

There will be no enemies on the floor above: Bash and company have already tried. Move towards the throne room, where the massacre has already occurred. The brave captain Bash killed the king and his squad, considering the peace treaty a betrayal of the people. Rex turned out to be an unnecessary witness and also received a knife in the back.

The soldiers of the empire arrived, but alas! at the wrong time: Rex was taken away with a serious wound, Captain Bash was captured.

“Hopes for peace were cast aside. Arcadia's troops continued to advance towards Rabanastre. Inevitable doom hangs over Dalmasca. There is no use in resisting. With this main thought I addressed the people of Dalmasca:

“Sons and daughters of Dalmasca! Please, lay down your weapons and pray. Pray for the merciful King Raminas, a man dedicated to peace. Pray also for Princess Ashe, who, consumed by despair over the defeat of the kingdom, took her own life.

Know also that Captain Bash von Ronsenburg was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death for inciting rebellion and the murder of His Highness, King Raminas. Those who at this hour choose the sword, like the captain, are traitors who are leading Dalmasca to ruin.”

Unconditional surrender followed soon.

Chapter 13: Allied Activities"

Rabanstre (two years after the war) Assignments and training

Meet Vaan Ratsbane our new main character and, part-time petty thief. But at the moment he is doing something completely harmless: training his fighting skills on rats. Giant rats. With huge glowing eyes. In the sewer.

However, there is nothing to be afraid of: the rats die in two hits and will run away (and attack occasionally), so you will have to run around a bit before you deal with all three.

After training, our young friend Kytes goes to run errands, and Vaan goes to steal. One of the exceptionally arrogant soldiers got lucky and lost his wallet. But our thief did not manage to spend the money; his responsible girlfriend named Penelo took the shovel from him and scolded the young man.

Vaan and Penelo are orphans who grew up on the streets. For them, stealing is a necessary measure. And stealing from empire soldiers eliminates a number of moral problems. But who would like such a life? Vaan dreams of buying a flying ship and becoming a pirate.

But these are just dreams... Meanwhile, the merchant Migelo has some kind of errand, so it’s worth visiting him. We will be shown the location of his store, and the “World Map” item will open in the main menu. We won’t be able to return back to the bazaar (the robbed soldier is still trying to find Vaan), the rest of the shops are closed: all that remains is to go on an errand.

Migelo sends us to the Sandsea pub, whose owner must deliver food for the royal banquet. The pub is to the north, further down the street. Inside, Kytes is already waiting for us, showing an advertisement about the hunt for Rogue Tomato, which is terrorizing travelers in Dalmasca Eestersand. Tomaz (the owner of the pub) will offer to destroy this monster, which is delaying the supply of products and, at the same time, teach you how to use the license board.
Please note that in the IZJS version you will also have to choose a profession.

Together with the received Clan Primer, Oracchea Armlet and with a pass we go to the southern square (see map), where Desert Merchant stands near the fountain. He needs help in delivering a small package: the latter must be handed over to the merchant outside the gate. Now you can safely go beyond the city limits.

There is a conservation crystal conveniently located on the city limits, and next to it is Hapless Merchant, to whom we can give the package (although you don’t have to do this, but sell it). It's time to go into the desert and spread a little fear among the local wildlife.

Dalmasca Estersand Hunting

Aggressive wolves run around and cactuars sleep in the sun, and in the northwest you can even find a couple of cockatrices. I recommend that you spend a little time swinging, but just don’t try to touch the Wild Saurian dinosaur! He has no interest in people and simply hunts wolves (you can even specifically lure them to the dinosaur so that he eats the enemy), but he will get very angry if you try to stick your weapon into him.

The third level is quite enough: heal at the save crystal and go to Rogue Tomato, who is resting on a hill in the middle of the location.

After the fight, Vaan will notice several beautiful lilies, which he will take as a trophy. Well, it’s time to go back to Tomaz, who promised a reward for the hunt.

Rabanastre Robbery of the Century

A large crowd has already gathered at the gate; the guards do not allow anyone inside. Kayts was also lost among the people. We should talk to him.

Soon the chocobos, who were selected for the parade in honor of the new ruler of Rabanastre, will arrive. Vaan wanted to test his rights and accuse the Imperials of discrimination, but he was rudely driven away. Roughly enough that he dropped the lilies he had collected, and the chocobos walked over them. A fight began to emerge, but Migelo intervened and managed to appease the guards with a bottle of wine. After the bribe, everyone was allowed inside. While Migelo was reading our hunter, the beginning of the ceremony arrived, to which the whole group hurried to go.

Vaan still has internal worries due to universal injustice and he attracts unnecessary attention. Well, the new ruler of the empire, Wayne Solidor, meanwhile appeared before the residents of Rabanastre with his speech. It is worth paying tribute to the man’s oratory skills; the initially hostile crowd listened and accepted the new government with joy. And the person will also seem far from bad to you.

Well, Migelo, as the head of the upcoming banquet, is forced to introduce himself to the new consul, although he is terribly afraid to do so. Vane simply offers to call him by name and drink with him at the banquet - such a noble son of the emperor.

And Vaan still has not lost his indignation due to universal injustice and has matured the desire to get into the palace to steal at least something. Old man Dalan, who lives in the lower part of the city, can help with this.

  • It became possible to freely leave the city and visit Lowtown.
  • Hunts for and are opening.

It's time to get distracted by non-plot matters. You should run to Tomaz for a reward ( 300 Gil, 2x Potion, Teleport Stone) and sell the loot collected from the desert. Buy yourself some kind of weapon (suitable for your profession, just don’t forget to activate the corresponding license cells) and, if you have a quick prospect, learn something from magic or techniques - the corresponding skills. For those who play the regular version, it is highly advisable to buy Fire and Cure. If you are playing the IZJS version, then look at your license board and, if Cure is not expected there, then be sure to purchase at least a dozen Potion. Those who want to swing, hold your horses, we will soon have a new location with stronger monsters and better loot.

Let's run into the clan hall (North End, western house with a little man icon on the map). Conspicious Bangaa is standing nearby, who will check our Clan Primer and let us inside. There is a whole crowd of people in the hall, but we need a Montblanc Moogle the head of the clan. After a short check of the papers, talk to him and he will give a small gift in honor of joining the clan 3x Potion. At the same time, access to the clan store in Muthru Bazaar was opened.

It would be a very good idea to go to the tavern and take part in the hunt for Thextera. For now it will be a bit difficult for Vaan alone, but you can complete it a little later.

After all these little amenities, we go to the lower part of the city (the passages are marked on the map with stairs). There's not much to do for now, look at the place marked on the map and run, but if you're playing the normal version...

Don't touch the damn chest near this Dalan's house!

The developers, apparently grinning, made it so that you will not receive the strongest weapons if you open certain chests. You can safely open the IZJS version, since this nonsense has been removed. We go into the house and talk with the most wonderful old man. Dalan respects Vaan's desire to return the treasures belonging to the inhabitants of Rabanastre and tells about a secret passage to the palace and a magic stone that will open the necessary door.

Surprisingly, Dalan has the magic stones that open the secret doors in the palace. There's just one problem: Crescent Stone has long lost all its powers and must be recharged with the magic of the sun stones. Those are produced in Giza Plains, which are just outside the city, beyond the southern gate. However, it is not at all necessary to run through the square, because right next to Dalan’s house there is a passage leading to the exit from the city.

Be sure to touch the orange crystal to activate teleportation to Rabanastre (a great way to travel long distances) and exit to Giza Plains.

Giza Plains Unexpected meeting

In the northern part of the plains, hyenas walk and the cutest rabbits frolic. Rabbits, by the way, are not aggressive at all and can cast Cure on you if Vaan is low on health. If you want to kill a couple for the sake of loot, then keep in mind that rabbits love to run all over the location and while you are chasing them, a whole bunch of aggressive monsters will cling to you. You can also meet quite large Slaven, which, however, Vaan can easily handle alone (except beware of Stomp, which deals almost 80HP damage and can greatly complicate the situation).

It’s worth wandering into the southern part of the plains with levels four or five, and only if you don’t attract the attention of aggressive Werewolves, who can easily arrange a Game Over. Bagoly, which are found there in large numbers, do not pose any particular danger, but they will be stronger than hyenas and gather in small flocks. Those who love exploring will be interested in the fact that from Giza Plains there is access to Dalmasca Estersand.

Don’t wander too far, kill a couple of monsters (you can’t level up too much for now, soon we will have an addition to the team that will make things go a little faster) and go to the central section, where there is a small settlement.

Inside you will find a small store (take a closer look at Bangle, which gives the character a very useful Libra status and, moreover, very soon you will be able to equip it on any character, regardless of version), where you can buy Potion if the supply has decreased. But the girl near the huge black block will say that the supply of solar stones is very small and the children who charged the stones with the energy of the sun disappeared without a trace somewhere in the plains.

What a lucky coincidence, Penelo is just in the village, playing with the kids and notices our appearance. And, since she had a free minute, she joins us to help in the search for the children.

At the exit from the village, Penelo will tell you about the gambits (just a short introduction, the full system will be revealed a little later). In simple terms, we don’t have to assign an attack command every time, but we can simply switch the Gambits item in the battle menu to the On state and the characters will execute some commands automatically. You can still assign your commands and the characters will take care of them and then return to their normal behavior. Finally, Penelo will give us a small gift: 3x Potion and 2x Phoenix Down.

  • In the regular version, gambit squares have appeared on the license board.

Now is the time to turn on the gambits and run through the local fauna like a skating rink! Now it has become a much easier and faster activity (unless you are going to fight strong opponents). It would be a good idea to buy a map of Giza Plains from the Cartographers Guild moogle who hangs out in the settlement (30 Gil).

Take a look at the purchased map (remember, the SELECT button) and you will see a small location in the southern part of the plains. That's where it is located. In the southeast you can sometimes find an ally Bangaa Hunter. He will put Protect status on your team and heal if necessary.

We approach a boy named Jinn, who twisted his ankle while playing with his friends and running in front of the werewolves. His leg still hurts, so we’ll have to load the stone. Don't worry, it's quick and very simple.

Quest with Shadestone

Huge shadestones are scattered around the settlement, which absorb the energy of the sun. The sun stones, in turn, draw energy from there and become charged. Solar-powered Shadestone is very easy to identify; the stones emit a very bright light that can be seen even from the far corners of the plains.

We will need 3-4 pieces. The larger the size, the more energy will be given to our piggy bank (during the quest, a scale will appear under the mini map indicating the charge of our pebble), huge blocks can give almost 50%, so the activity will not take much time.

After the stone is fully charged, the team will return to Jinn and go with him to the village. The girl thanks us for our help and gives 50 Gil, 2x Potion and 2x Teleport Stone with Sunstone.

This concludes our business in the plains of Giza. It is recommended to remove all equipment from Penelo (Vaan will get caught up in a whirlpool of adventures and we will be separated for quite a long time) and distribute the license points that you collected while doing the quest. Sell ​​the loot at the shop in the settlement and finally buy yourself everything you need, since there are no shops in sight for us either.

My understanding of the word “prepared”:

  • Level 4-5.
  • Armor and weapons of the first level of the profession.
  • For magical professions magic. Cure and Fire will be great choices, don't waste your money or LP on the rest just yet.
  • At least 5 Phoenix Down, 5 Eye Drops and 15-20 Potion. The bigger, the better.

We return to Rabanastre and go straight to Dalan's house. Penelo will say that she was supposed to look after Migelo's store, but was tempted by the opportunity to do something with Vaan at least once and will run back to her duties. Well, we have no choice but to go to the old man, despite all the requests not to get into problems.

Dalan talks about the secret passage from Garamsythe Waterway to the palace. In the palace there will be a slab with the sign of a lion, which, together with a charged Crescent Stone, will lead us to the treasure. But the most important thing is not to get caught, otherwise we will be locked in the Nalbina dungeon for the rest of our lives. However, the risk is worth it. Maybe…

In any case, we go to the place where we hunted rats at the very beginning (marked with a cross on the map). As we leave the house, we are interrupted by a small scene: Captain Vossler and the resistance team are preparing an attack right in the water supply (it looks like Vaan will have to get into some serious trouble). Kytes is hanging around the warehouse and is trying to open that very door for us. Kites playfully asks to collect special tools, but don't worry, this is one of the developers' ways to laugh at the cliché. Our friend opens the door without unnecessary and unnecessary tasks, and at the same time gives out a small first aid kit: 2x Potion and 4x Eye Drops. Well, we are free to go to...

Garamsythe Waterway Rats and bats

In the sewers (if you can call this beautiful place a sewer), we will be attacked by rats with their nasty hit-and-run tactics and bats (can fly over obstacles, but can be attacked with melee weapons). This whole thing doesn’t attack much (let’s say, 10 HP on average), but the problem is that there are a lot of monsters and your HP will slowly creep down. Wait until the HP status is Critical and only then use Potion so that the goodness does not go to waste. If you have a healing profession, then it’s better for you.

Eventually, get to the stairs that lead to the palace. Before entering, please reconsider your preparations as we will not be able to go back for a certain time.

Royal Palace of Rabanastre Trouble

In the royal palace, the celebration is in full swing, but another pair of heroes appears in our field of vision, who made their way inside on a small flying motorcycle (?).

Vaan, meanwhile, is already inside and next to the save crystal.

Don't take the damn chest in the room!

At least in the regular version of the game. In the IZJS version, calmly pick up treasures. And, one more thing, an unusual-looking urn perched next to it. It is possible and advisable to take it, because inside there is a map of the palace (not necessary for achievements in Sky Pirate's Den, but desirable.

We leave through the only available doors and go into the servants' room. There are imperial soldiers at the entrance who won’t let anyone in, so you’ll have to come up with something. But it’s worth a try, if only because when Vaan is sent back, Seeq, who watched this scene, will call us. Approach him and he will offer help, thinking that our hero has been starving for several days and cannot stand the tempting smells from the banquet. Click to call the guard and, while our newfound friend distracts him with chatter, make your way upstairs (just go around the soldier so that he doesn’t notice us).

There are even more guards in the palace, so you'll have to use your brain a little. At almost every intersection there is a guard who can be called with the button so that they run closer (they also stop at the intersection).

Go northeast to the corner and call the guards. After this, return along the empty corridors to the entrance and call the guards again. A path opens with an engraved lion on the slab, where we use the stone. A ghostly light appears in one of the walls. We go west, further along the path and call the lone soldier in the north. We go around it along the empty corridors and touch the ghostly light.

We touch the ghostly light and a passage to the secret part of the castle opens. We go inside and see a dead end. Well, you'll have to look for some kind of switch...

Search the dead end opposite the entrance. Near the wall on the left you will be able to press a secret switch.

The false wall moves aside and we pass into the treasury - our main destination.

Vaan rummages through the valuables until he comes across another secret switch, which opens a secret compartment in the statue containing a strange-looking stone. Before our young man had time to examine his find, competitors appeared - a young man and his partner, who were hunting for the stone that we had in our hands.

Things started smelling hot and Vaan disappeared while Balthier and Fran (that’s them) were briefly distracted. We run upstairs and, opening the doors in the passage, we see that a real battle has unfolded near the palace between the rebels and the army of the empire. Even Ifrit himself (one of the empire’s flying ships) arrived in time, so there is no doubt that Vane was expecting steel for dessert. With a banquet, he not only celebrated his arrival in Rabanastre, but also lured the remnants of the resistance into a trap and our heroes found themselves between a rock and a hard place, surrounded on all sides.

Fran has already managed to capture the flying motorcycle and the couple only has to take away the stone that Vaan so stubbornly refuses to give up. There’s nothing they can do, they had to take the thief with them, but, unfortunately, the motorcycle was not designed for three and fell into one of the craters made by Ifrit’s cannons (which turned out to be so deep that the trio fell all the way into Garamsythe Waterway.

Garamsythe Waterway More Trouble

Everyone finally has the opportunity to get to know each other, and Balthier clearly makes it clear to our novice thief who is in charge. But the guy has a stone, so we have to travel together for now (although I would have preferred to quickly crush him with a numerical advantage, take away the stone and throw it back upstairs, but, unfortunately, we ended up with noble pirates).

So, two more characters have already joined our team for a long time. I advise you to assign appropriate professions to our managers and distribute license points (they will have an amount corresponding to the amount of points already collected + a small bonus). We save at a conveniently located crystal and go down, where Balthier will tell us Additional information about the gambit system.

  • Now we can. In the IZJS version, slot cells for gambits appear and, with proper pumping, you can already reach your first ones.

We head back to the city (exit the location with the crystal and look nearby for an urn with a map), but keep in mind that the rats and bats have become stronger (the latter have acquired the ability to heal), and Gigantoad have also been added to them. Chests (and the IZJS version) often contain Potion, which will certainly come in handy on our journey. And save up LP for HP+ augmentations for those who have them available (our first boss will be coming soon, who will test the team's strength).

Save at another crystal and go further, where you will see a girl bravely fighting a whole crowd of soldiers. But they have a numerical advantage on their side and they are driven into a corner. Vaan rushes to the rescue and catches her as she jumps from the dais. Of course, the soldiers arrived here too, but with our help the fight will be fair.

Four swordsmen don’t have much of a chance against our team, especially if you have at least the sixth level. The girl introduces herself as Amalia and is clearly not happy about the alliance with the thieves, but, for lack of best team, joins us as a guest.

  • In the regular and IZJS versions, it is impossible for a guest to change equipment. Only in the regular version it is impossible to assign a team to a guest, change gambits and make him a team leader.

Our ranks are growing by leaps and bounds! I advise you to approach the crystal and heal yourself, as another fight awaits us, and this time it will be more serious. Right in the next location, the team is attacked by a whole bunch of slugs.

We continue our adventures through the sewers. The enemies were supplemented by quite strong ghosts (the ability to cast Blind and split in two) and Garchimacera (they cast Fire and often attack in flocks). When you finally reach the area in the form of a semicircle with a crystal, do not forget to heal, as a boss fight awaits us. And don’t pay attention to the rusty devices, we won’t need them for now.

The defeated enemy turned into a fireball again and flew away, removing the curtain of steam only to reveal a detachment of soldiers who had managed to prepare a trap. Even Vane himself came to look at the thieves (Amalia wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, but Balthier wisely restored her). The entire group is shackled and taken outside.

Penelo, who found herself in a crowd of onlookers, to her horror, discovers Vaan among the arrested and was about to do something stupid too, but Balthier (again wisely) detained her, giving her his handkerchief until he brought her friend back (exceptional self-confidence even for a pirate ). A girl named Amalia, whom the observant player has already recognized as Princess Ashe, is separated from the team, and the rest are transported to the Nalbina dungeon.

Nalbina Fortress Captain and intrigue

The pirate even here manages to joke about the “irregularity” of the dungeon, which, in fact, is just the lower floors of the fort, locked with padlocks. Fran went to look for a way out, but Vaan had no choice but to explore the corridors and squares with prisoners.

Maybe you noticed it yourself, but it’s definitely worth saying that our equipment and items were completely gone. Don't worry, it won't last long (the soldiers would be completely stupid if they threw us into the dungeon with all our arsenal). It is impossible to get lost here, just go to the crystal and save next to the passage further.

Vaan enters a fairly large room with an arena in the center and observes a terrible scene with a poor prisoner being beaten to death with a stick by a Seeq guard. In a fit of stupidity, he draws attention to himself and instantly gets hit on the head, after which he passes out. It is unknown how long Vaan was passed out, but the guards clearly decided to have some fun with the impudent captive and dragged our thief into the arena.

Fortunately for Vaan, Balthier arrived in time to help, simultaneously mocking the presumptuous Seeq a little.

Our heroes barely managed to hide when a whole detachment of soldiers approached the arena. The remaining prisoners rush to get away as far as possible, and the guards see only an empty arena. Fran arrived in time and found a way out, only one “but”: the Mist is concentrated there, and this definitely does not mean anything good.

And a real quarrel broke out upstairs. The menacing-looking four bangaa seem to be looking for Balthier because of some old business and are clearly unhappy that the soldiers screwed up the pirate. The fight is prevented by Judge Gabrans himself, one of the elite squad of defenders of the royal family of Solidor, the rulers of Arcadia and the general of the empire's troops.

But what brought the judge to prison? It is unlikely that this is a group of thieves that snuck into the palace. Following the judge deep into the dungeons is not the best idea, but is it worth trusting Fran’s ears, which have never failed? In addition, the doors downstairs are sealed very strong magic, which can only be removed by a judge, so the situation plays into our hands.

Don't touch the damn chest in the room!

We run along the corridor and Balthier notices a warehouse of confiscated goods. This is where all our equipment is stored, which the guys quickly assemble.

  • All collected items and equipment have been returned.

As I already reminded for those who use the regular version, the chest in the confiscated room should not be touched, otherwise you will not receive the Zodiac Spear. There is no urn at the level; you will receive the map immediately along with the equipment. At the same time, you can save next to the save crystal, which is located nearby.

In the next location there is a whole bunch of soldiers, attracting whose attention will obviously be unnecessary. In principle, you can quite easily cut a path through corpses and there will be no penalty for this, unless you spend a few Potion. And keep in mind that if one guard notices you, then all the others will come running to him. My recommendation: leave one of the characters and turn on Fleeing mode, then quickly run to the passage further.

The judge is already opening the door and moving on, and all we can do is quietly hurry after him. And finally, the reason for the visit of such a high-ranking person is revealed - Captain Bash himself. It turns out that Captain Bash was not executed and spent all these years locked in prison. Judge Gabrans is trying to find out the reason for his secret imprisonment, but Bash himself sincerely believes that the only goal of his life is now to blackmail the Marquis of Ondor, who publicly announced the execution of the traitor. As if by the way, the judge talks about the captured rebel leader, the girl Amalia, and it seems that this had the desired effect.

However, the conversation turned out to be quite short and, after small mutual insults in which we learn that Bash and Gabrans are fellow countrymen, the soldiers leave, clearing the way for our team. Seeing strangers, the imprisoned captain begins to ask them to free him, but it is not in the interests of the team to free the traitors. But most of all, this request infuriated Vaan, whose brother, Rex, died at the hands of the captain. Our thief begins to scream and generally attract attention. And he did it successfully; the soldiers and the judge came running at the noise.

Fran acts quickly and, with a kick, breaks the lever for releasing the cage. Everyone jumps in with Bash and takes the high-speed express into the very depths of the dungeons.

Barheim Passage Let there be light

Vaan is still trying to at least cripple the poor prisoner. This is prevented by the timely intervention of Balthier, who slightly crushes our unrestrained hero. In such underground depths, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have another pair of hands, which, moreover, can hold a sword, so for a while, Captain Bash will be with us on the team, but only as a guest.

So, it's time to look around where we ended up. Very close by is a save crystal and, who knows how, a merchant named Burrogh got here, who is definitely worth talking to. He says that the safest passage was destroyed (but he doesn’t guess that it was our appearance), so it’s time to look for another way out. Notice that he has better equipment with him and try to buy everything he needs. If you buy really necessary things, and not everything in a row, then you will definitely have enough gold, so don’t worry (on the IZJS version, five thousand was just enough for me for any pleasure).

Now climb up to the switch and hit it. Balthier will notice that he is burned out. Actually, that’s why it’s so dark in the passage. The seller just happened to have a fresh fuse lying around, which we insert in place of the blown one.

Mini-game

The machine works and the eerie corridor is filled with light (and a Charge scale will appear under the map, which will fill to 100%). Next to the merchant is another switch that controls the gate. We click on it and the gate rises, taking with it 30% of the energy (note that the light of the lamps has dimmed).

In the next location, a small scene awaits us, where the team notices a metal creature that quickly sucks electricity from the network. The energy level quickly drops and, in the newly returned darkness, with the remaining charge of less than 30%, zombies begin to crawl out.

However, mimics perfectly give back energy if you kill them quickly, so the charge is not lost forever. Yes, we also have more than one gate ahead, so we’ll just have to save some energy.

The aisle will mostly be filled with those same mimics with a few nasty abilities. The first (Charge) allows the mimic to stick to the wire and restore its HP. The second (Discharge) allows you to release a charge of electricity around yourself to cause damage to the group. Steeling bats are also found

Don't forget to pick up the urn in the broken passage to the west and run further down to the second branch (there's nothing interesting in the first), where a couple of slugs will probably jump on you. Somewhere in the depths there will be another switch that will open the path further (consumes another 30%).

The next corridor turns out to be quite safe and the team decides to take a short break. Fran is worried about the behavior of Mist, which foreshadows something bad, and Bash, meanwhile, found some armor and a sword, which he hurried to put on. So, it's time to listen to the story of the captain who is innocent, although he was caught red-handed.

As you remember, Bash and his squad moved on when Rex was left to fight the soldiers. Arriving at the throne room, they found the dead king and two dozen Imperials who had set a trap. The captain was captured, his subordinates were killed, and Bash was replaced by his brother Gabrans, who is very similar to him. Gabrans staged a show in front of Rex and wounded him, but so that he could survive and testify at the trial. Thus, the empire received a reason to completely absorb the lands of Dalmasca, suppress resistance, presenting the hero as a traitor and divert popular anger in the other direction.

Balthier accepts the story about the evil twin brother with skepticism, but Gabrans really was quite similar to Bash, so for now you can trust the captain.

However, Vaan is still sulking and does not give in to any conversations, but Balthier quickly calms him down and everyone continues on their way to freedom.

Do your job at the successfully placed save crystal and go further south (we don’t have long left). Note that the Great Central Passage usually has several mimics that pretend to be chests. They can be distinguished by their slightly bluish coloring. In principle, they do not pose any particular danger in a hostile state, so there will not be any special problems. Near the lake, you can wade to a secret island, where there will be a chest with potentially good loot, and Suriander has been added to the enemies (they apply Regen to themselves using Angelsong).

Finally, get to another crystal in a small passage near the exit and get ready for a boss battle. Distribute the earned LP (if you have seriously leveled up, you will already be able to activate quickenings for someone), review the gambits (for those playing the regular version, be sure to have a healing Ally: HP< 50% c Potion или Cure и желательно Ally: Any с Phoenix Down, для использующих IZJS версию — проставьте Foe: Highest Max HP с Attack всем четверым, даже если у остальных стоит Party Leader"s Target). Когда вы полностью удостоверитесь в своей способности оказать достойное сопротивление огромному монстру, проходите дальше, к круглой локации, где увидите…

Mimic Queen (4073 HP)
Absorbs: Lightning; Theft: Knot of rust, Storm Magcite, Rose Corsage

There will be a whole crowd of Tiny Batteries around the queen, which get in the way and don’t cause serious damage, but the Foe: Nearest Visible gambit is pretty spoiled. Therefore, it is best to either enter attack commands manually or use Foe: Highest Max HP, which will automatically place the queen at the top of the target list. The batteries themselves not only attack our team, but also slowly suck energy from the wires, and somehow we don’t want to wait for zombies, so the battle should be completed before the electricity level drops below 30% (about two minutes).

The boss himself will cast Thunder (don't even try to hit him with lightning; this element will be absorbed) and Shockstorm if things get tough (removes ~150 HP). There is also Breath of Life, which heals a certain amount of HP and Spawn, which creates small batteries in the place of the dead one. But, nevertheless, we won’t have any problems with a simple healing gambit.

But the battle with such powerful attacks seems to have taken place in a place not intended for this, and the ceiling begins to collapse. Everyone hurried to run outside, but we obviously won’t be able to return for a long time.

Dalmasca Estersand The road home

Everyone had a long-awaited opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and look around. Balthier recognizes Dalmasca Estersand in the area, which means Rabanastre should not be very far away.

The same wolves and cockatrices roam across the vast expanses (but you can meet Alpha Wolf, around which a flock of ordinary and Nekhbet outwardly unremarkable cockatrices, which, however, are much stronger than ordinary opponents, often gather). In the north, near the banks of the river, in addition to the wonderful view of palm trees, which are reminiscent of fairy-tale oases, you can meet Ichtion (peaceful, attacks with water attacks, weak to lightning, no stronger than ordinary enemies). There, in the north, there is a small nameless village, which is probably worth running into (but it’s completely optional, you may not even know about it for the entire game).

Inside, we may need a merchant (nothing particularly useful, but you can replenish your stock of potions and sell loot), a moogle from the cartographers' guild with a full map of Dalmasca Estersand, which costs only 50 Gil, and a teleportation crystal (touch it right away, even if you don't fly away yet) ). At the same time, you can try to collect the money that the harmful chocobo merchant scattered because of his love for glitter (don’t expect huge treasures, there will be no more than 10 Gil).

You are free to return to Rabanastre as you wish, but I would recommend walking and visiting Nalbina (the passage is just north of where we left Barheim Passage). At the same time, take a look at the shops where the assortment is not yet unique and activate another teleportation crystal (just to be able to quickly move between cities).

Those using the IZJS version can buy the Foe: Concentrated Attack gambit (all characters attack one enemy en masse), but don't spend too much just yet. Resist the desire to bribe yourself with that interesting magic or some piece of equipment, because soon we will go to another city where the goods will be better and more expensive.

In any case, sooner or later you will find yourself in Rabanastre, where everyone goes about their business. Bash wants to find the resistance in order to explain himself to them, Balthier and Fran decided to take a break before flying off somewhere on their own business, and Vaan must find Penelo, who is probably restless from anxiety.

Our thief is interested in the stone, but the pirates seem to have lost interest in him. Fran thinks that he attracts misfortune and she no longer wants to have anything to do with him.

  • Balthier and Fran temporarily leave the team.

We definitely won’t do anything useful alone, so for now it’s worth going with the flow a little. That is, to find Penelo and tell her about all the adventures that we experienced. She's probably somewhere at Migelo's, which is where we're heading.

  • The Moogling network has opened.
  • Viere Ktjn can be answered at .
  • There is an opportunity to get it (don’t run headlong, the chance of getting it is 1/10000, and the weapon is cheating).
  • You can start a quest to deliver letters.
  • Elite hunts for and are opening.

Try a new way to quickly teleport between different parts of the city (we just need The Sandsea point). Penelo is not in the store, but Kytes is there, who is looking after everything while the girl is missing. Old man Dalan just has some kind of task, and the old brat probably knows where his girlfriend disappeared, so we go straight to his house.

Dalan knows nothing about Penelo’s disappearance, but agrees to help as long as our hero completes the task. It is quite simple, you need to find a man named Azelas and give him the sword of the order. It’s not far, in the same Lowtown (look at the mark on the map), you just have to talk to the man who is sitting on the boxes and tell him that we are from Dalan and he will let us into the resistance headquarters.

Inside there is already a lively discussion about the return of Bash and his story about the brother judge who killed the king. The captain himself also did not waste any time and now, at least, does not look like a man who has been on a desert island. The head of the uprising, Captain Azelas (aka just Vossler), notices this change, but seriously doubts Bash’s words and does not trust him, so he will not receive additional support in the mission to save Amalia.

Azelas is sure that there is a traitor somewhere, because Vane knew that the resistance would try to kill him during the banquet. And the responsibility for the life of each member of the resistance lies with him as a heavy burden, and therefore he cannot afford to be quick to trust, and even Amalia’s life is not worth several dozen lives of other people.

Bash asks our thief for one single favor - a conversation with Balthier and Fran. However, the young man still believes the captain and finally understands that the empire is to blame for all the deaths.

  • Bash, with full rights, joins the team.

Balthier is enjoying a moment of relaxation at the Sandsea (to his credit, he took the seats on the balcony that are reserved for important guests) and our team is just in time to see Migelo, who loudly explains himself to the pirates. Penelo was kidnapped and left a note. A note for Balthier demanding that he come to the Bujerba mines. But nobility is clearly inferior to prudence, and the couple does not want to meddle in the city where the empire’s fleet is now based. The captain just wanted to ask for a flight to Buzherba to meet with the Marquis there and Vaan, in despair, offers the same stolen stone as payment for help.

Fran felt the irony of the situation, but still, the guys agree to help. The ship is ready to depart at any moment, you just need to complete a few things.

  • Balthier and Fran join the team.

Penelo, meanwhile, looks quite tolerable (considering what bloodthirsty bounty hunters can do with a hostage) and tries to convince her captors that she has nothing to do with Balthier. He tries rather unsuccessfully, considering that the leader of the gang, Bagamnan, receives a message about the departure of a pirate ship heading for Bujerba.

The team arrives in Boujerba to see imperial soldiers looking for someone. Fortunately, this is not Bash and they are not paying attention to us, so we can safely go outside.

There is no time to enjoy the beautiful view of the city floating right in the sky (thanks to the huge Skystone deposits that stick out from the ground like huge flower petals) and the guys rush to the mines. However, their conversation is overheard by a young man named Lamont. He also has business in the mines and wants to accompany our team. This immediately arouses some suspicion among the others, since twelve-year-old boys are so polite and serious, and even with a secular manner of speech, this is fantastic even for Final Fantasy. However, Lamont is also a good guy and asks us exactly the same question. No one is going to answer, so there is nothing to do, the young man joins the team under the watchful gaze of Balthier.

  • Lamont joins the team as a guest.

New city, new experiences and new shops. Your first priority should be weapons and equipment, and don't be too disappointed if you're short on money or LP. Soon we will have the opportunity to reach level 20 and earn a lot of loot.

The passages to other parts of the city are still closed, so all that remains is to go into the mines. Before entering, Lamont will give a short tour and tell you about the mines rich in magicite, which, however, are not under the supervision of soldiers. Imperial troops, except in special circumstances, are prohibited from entering the flying city. All this is thanks to the cooperation of the Marquis of Ondor with the empire.

Lhusu Mines Old enemies and new friends

As soon as we went inside, we almost ran into the Marquis of Ondor and Judge Ghis. They discuss the supply of magicite to Lord Vane. Ondor is rumored to be secretly funding the resistance to the current regime and the judge seems to believe these rumors. The high-ranking officials leave and we can finally continue to explore new territories in peace.

Inside we are waiting for bats, which do not cause any particular problems, a ton of undead with the ability to use black magic (Dark and Thunder) and a fairly strong skill Bone Toss and Slaven, which could cause problems if they were not so slow. The undead, by the way, have a habit of appearing again (especially in sections where the mines are suspended), so you will have an excellent opportunity to pump yourself up.

For those using the regular version, the good news is that Lamont generously uses his Hi-Potion reserves to heal the team, so you don't have to worry about healing in regular fights. In the IZJS version, Lamont will use Potion from our stock and there will be no “freebies” here.

The area of ​​the mines open to us is quite linear, so you are unlikely to get lost (especially if you bought a map) just go to the place where magicite is produced, which Lamont was extremely interested in. The boy carefully examines the ore and compares it with a magic stone - artificial neticite, created in the laboratories of Arcadia. Unlike ordinary neticite, artificial neticite does not emit, but absorbs magical energy. Magicite, which is used to create such magic stones, is produced right here, in the mines of Buzherba. Earn yourself to at least level 20 if you have the desire to kill the optional boss.

Balthier finally breaks down and presses the guy to find out who he is. The tense conversation is interrupted by Bahamnan, who just came to see the light. They released Penelo in front of the mines (safe and sound, which is quite good-natured for bloodthirsty bounty hunters). Lamont takes advantage of the moment and rolls away with the stone, but we have much bigger problems.

Ba'Gamnan (3983 HP), Rinok (1745 HP), Bwagi (1593 HP), Gijuk (1690HP)

Ba'Gamnan steal: Potion, Hi-Potion, Round Shield

Rinok theft: 30 Gil, Water Mote, Hi-Potion

Bwagi/Gijuk theft: 30 Gil, Potion, Hi-Potion

There is no need for us to fight with this brethren. I wouldn't even recommend taking unnecessary risks. There will be no plot penalties if you simply run away, and LP received from victory is very easily returned in 15 minutes with acceleration and in a location inhabited by monsters.

If you want to fight and you have level 20, then do not run away under any circumstances, because in the next locations monsters will also join the fight, and we don’t need any extra problems.

The main goal of the fight is Bahamnan, that is, the rest of the company will simply disappear, which means all the team’s efforts should be directed at him. Use all possible means (Quickenings will also work) and do not forget that Lamont and his healing are no longer with you.

In any case, get out of the mines when, on the way out, the team again almost collides with the judge and the marquis. Standing with them is Penelo, who was captured by several soldiers of the empire, the real name of Lamont, who joined the company Larsa Ferminas Solidor. Lord Larsa is one of the royal family of Arcadia and Vane's younger brother.

Judge Gies is surprised that the royal travels unaccompanied and strongly advises not to disappear again, or at least not to walk alone. Larsa, having heard that the team was setting off to rescue Penelo, takes our friend with her as an escort and asks Ondor to settle her in the palace.

Vaan, who was watching this scene, is worried about Penelo's fate, but Fran seems to have sensed no danger and calms everyone down. And the captain wants to set up an audience with the marquis (after all, he secretly finances organizations resisting the empire) in order to clarify a couple of questions.

Of course, it is difficult for dead traitors to make appointments, and the rest cannot say the reason for the visit, so they will have to attract the attention of the Marquis in another way. If Vaan runs around the city and spreads rumors that Captain Bash is alive, then Ondor will be compromised, and the organization leading the confrontation will want to at least understand what is happening.

Mini-game

So we need to get people's attention to Captain Bash. In order to shout some nonsense, press the button and, if there are people nearby who have not yet heard you, then the fame scale will be filled. If one of the guards hears you, the scale will decrease, and Vaan will be scolded for spreading bad rumors. The counter itself, over time, decreases on its own, so it’s definitely not worth wasting time.

We will gain the most fame if Vaan is heard by City Parijanah guides, so a great option would be to simply catch four or five guides and the percentage will reach a hundred at the speed of light.

Once we reach a hundred, a group of inconspicuous people quickly surround Vaan and take him to the resistance headquarters, which is conveniently located in a secret section of the tavern building. The rest of the team, secretly watching what was happening, sneaks behind Vaan and finally reaches the people who have the opportunity to schedule an audience.

Balthier doesn’t even think about holding back a chuckle about the “originality” of secret rooms in taverns, and Penelo, meanwhile, sits in Ondor’s palace with Larsa, who explains to her about his royal origin and, seeing fear in her eyes, promises to protect her while she won't be reunited with his friends.

  • The hunt for .

We now have some freedom, so it's time to complete the hunt for Rocktoise, but after you have collected the reward, do not rush to run further and talk to Pilika again. She will ask you to pick up your diary, which is located in the hardware store, and will give you a staff band so that we will be allowed to go to the second floor. Inside, on one of the library shelves, there will be a diary that you can read. Nothing interesting, in fact, and there won’t be any penalties, just lie that you didn’t read anything and you’ll get Shepherd's Bolero(for IZJS version Jade Collar), if you admitted that you read it, you will receive Kilimweave Shirt(for IZJS version Bangle).

After you have finally completed all your business in the city, go to the place marked with a cross on the map and agree to go to the Marquis.

The audience, due to the workload of Ondor, took place only in the evening and, at it, Bash, once again, talks about the fact that the leader of the resistance, a girl named Amalia, was captured by the empire's troops and asks for help in a rescue mission.

The Marquis is not against providing assistance, but it is also worth considering that open confrontation with the empire will lead, at a minimum, to the imprisonment of the Marquis, and, in the worst case, to a new military conflict for which Buzherba is absolutely not ready. Vaan is worried about Penelo, but she is already on the flying ship with Larsa. It is on this ship that Amalia is being kept.

The plan hatches in just a few seconds and Bash stages an assassination attempt on Ondor before the others can say a word. The summoned guards arrive, arrest the team and take them away to hand them over to the empire's troops.

Meanwhile, we are transported to the royal palace of Rabanastre, where Vane bears the heavy burden of the ruler. Judge Gabrans reports that the resistance organizations are surprisingly well-funded and this is most likely the work of Ondor, but Vane is skeptical, given that he just received an envelope from the Marquis, where he said that he had captured the fugitive captain and intends to hand it over to Judge Gies. Gabrans’ suspicions have subsided and he sets off to prepare a worthy meeting for the prisoner.

The visitors did not end there; after Gabrans left, Sidolphus Demen Bunanza or, as everyone simply calls him, Doctor Sid, arrives, having flown straight from Arcadia. Sid cheerfully tells the ruler about the Senate's dissatisfaction with his independence and their attempts to get Vane out of the way. This just makes them both smile...

Dreadnought Leviathan Princess Rescue

And our team, shackled, is nevertheless loaded onto the Leviathan the main ship of the eighth of the twelve fleets of Arcadia, and brought to the judge, who keeps Amalia nearby. She is amazed that the captain is alive and gives him a nice slap in the face for all the troubles he caused Dalmasca.

Well, Judge Gies says that Princess Ashelia, in fact, did not commit suicide, but hid under the name Amalia and participated in the resistance. Unfortunately, Ash has no proof of her royal heritage and is therefore helpless. But King Raminas foresaw such a development of events and, before his death, entrusted an important task to the captain. When the time comes, he will have to point her to the place where the confirmation of her royal status Dusk Shard is hidden.

Incredibly, the stone, stolen by Vaan from the palace, begins to react to the princess. Vaan stole from the palace not just a magic cobblestone, but the same Dusk Shard that was just discussed.

The team's position is too difficult to bargain or listen to Ash's protests, and the lucky thief gives up the stone in exchange for a promise to leave them all alive.

While Gis is rejoicing at the find, everyone is taken away (the princess is separated from all the prisoners and taken to a separate cell). Of course, no one was going to just give up without a fight. After waiting for the right moment, Balthier, Bash and Fran attack the guards. While shackled, the chances of a successful escape are quite low, but one of the guards unexpectedly helps them. It turns out that Vossler also considered rescuing the princess a matter worthy of risk and immediately turned to the Marquis, who organized his secret entry onto the ship.

We are immediately given a map of the world with a mark on the location of the princess's camera, so I recommend planning your route in advance. The ship is filled with soldiers and their cute dogs, and lasers that detect strangers and set off alarms will not let you get bored. Free advice: if you prefer not to level up again in the mines, then bypass the lasers the tenth way.

There will be a serious fight right in front of the detention cell.

After winning you will receive No. 1 Brig Key, which is what we use to open the cameras.

Ash is completely fine, although a little weakened, she is able to walk and fight. It's time to get out of here before anything worse happens.

But you can stop for a while to, for example, shop and save the game. Next to the crystal there will be an urn with a Systems Access Key (the thing is not required, but why not take it?), and a constant alarm will accompany us all the way back. In the Large Freight Stores location, you can turn it off using our access key, but only for a certain time (it's not worth it, really).

On the way out, our company unexpectedly encounters Larsa and Penelo, who are looking for us. The young prince reports that the judge already knows about Ash’s escape and says that the lives of Bash and the princess are a great threat to the plans of the empire, which she will try to eliminate, and at the same time gives Penelo the same artificial neticite as an amulet for good luck.

Vossler leaves with Larsa, but we should prepare for the upcoming battle. In principle, you can win with both levels 10 and 15, just distribute all the license points among the characters and apply positive statuses (if possible) before heading to the takeoff pad.

  • Vossler leaves the team and Penelo joins. The core team composition will no longer change.

Of course, they won’t just let us leave. Judge Gies is extremely disappointed in Ashelia's behavior and, since she is so intractable, clearly intends to destroy everyone at once. But the huge fiery inferno, which he had already begun to conjure, dissipates and is completely absorbed by the artificial neticite. You'll have to work with your bare hands.

Judge Ghis (4120 HP)
Steal: Potion, Dark Mote, Nishijin Belt

Good boss, a fight with which can either make you sweat or end in a minute. If you leveled up to level 20 in Boujerba, then you can just sit back and relax, but if you are lazy or want to go through it at a low level, then I highly recommend supporting Protect and first killing the three Imperial Swordsman, who will come running to help the judge.

After that, take on Geese himself, who in his arsenal has mediocre physical attacks (~50 HP, we’ve seen worse in hunts), black magic (Aero ~ 200 HP) and the Greater Barrier ability (reducing damage from physical attacks), which he will use when things will smell fried.

The most important thing is not to interfere when someone requires treatment or resurrection. If you see that it is impossible to deal with him in normal combat, then take out quickenings and finish them off with them.

The judge is defeated, and Vossler has found a ship for us to fly away on. The team quickly escapes and flies back to Buzherba.

Ash and the captains discuss ways to restore the sovereignty of Dalmasca and want to ask for Ondor's support, Balthier hopes to receive at least some reward for all the suffering, and Vaan completely leaves the plot so as not to interfere anymore and occasionally say stupid things.

The guards who will take us to the palace are still standing there and there is no point in being distracted by side quests now, so we immediately run to the palace.

The Marquis listens to Ashelia's story with great interest and respects the princess's desire to restore the independence of Dalmasca, but looks at the situation soberly. Even if the opportunity now arises to destroy Vane, the princess will still not be able to prove her royal origin, and the only thing that can confirm her position is in the hands of Geese. In addition, the empire will certainly try to kill Ashe, who may lead the uprising. So, until the proof falls into the hands of Ondor, Ash better stay in the palace, in complete safety.

At night, the princess sneaks onto Balthier's ship and unsuccessfully tries to kidnap him. This outing does not go unnoticed and, literally a few minutes later, the rest of the team arrives. The girl explains that there is another relic Dawn Shard, which is hidden in the ancient tomb of King Racewall. Balthier doesn't want to have more more problems, but Ashelia talks about priceless treasures hidden inside, and the pirate, in anticipation of at least some kind of reward for all his troubles, agrees. The team takes off and heads to Dalmasca Westersand.

Meanwhile, Gabrans arrived in Arcadia to talk with the sick emperor. He is concerned about Dr. Sid's experiments and his conspiracy with Vane. The ruler is confident that the disease will very soon bring him to the grave and does not know whether the empire will fall into good hands after his death.

Dalmasca Westersand Long journey

The team lands at the very end of the desert. It is impossible to fly further, since the sand sea Yagd (an area saturated with magicite in which flying ships cease to operate). The rest of the journey will have to be done on foot.

However, this can wait, because there are so many unfinished matters...

Time for quests

  • Becomes available.
  • Viera Ktjn will now ask .
  • A second letter can be delivered.
  • The hunt for . If you complete it, hunts will open for , and .

Fly to Rabanastre (the teleport crystal is right next to it) and go shopping. Among the desirable purchases, you should have the Windbreaker armor, which will come in handy during one of the hunts (purchase the rest according to your taste).

Of course, we shouldn’t neglect the hunters’ guild, Montblanc, who can give us a reward for a new rank (if you haven’t taken it yet, of course), and in the Sandsea bar you can take a new hunt, which we’ll just complete as the story progresses .

After all the purchases (I remind you, the journey will be quite long, do not forget to stock up on Potion and Phoenix Down so as not to be nervous again. Alarm Clock with Handkerchief will also come in handy, which, for those playing the regular version, will be available in stores further) and a short rest , teleport back to Dalmasca Westersand and go west, to a new and unknown location.

Ogir-Yensa Sandsea Unforeseen circumstances

An incredible landscape opens up before the team: a huge sea of ​​sand that sways like water. It’s better not to climb into quicksand. Ancient rusty ruins of oil production stations are included.

The king's tomb is quite far away, and there are also a whole bunch of traps in the desert. Libra status or equipped Bangle will definitely come in handy. Let's get started?

Just nearby there is a rise to the platforms around the tanks, along which you will have to cross the sea. After a short run through the sites, another scene will begin in which Bash will tell you that Rosarriya once built these structures for oil production, but abandoned them many years ago when the war with Arcadia began. The states between opposing empires served as battlefields. Three states suffered in this way: Nabradia, Landis and Dalmasca.

Vossler unexpectedly intervenes in the conversation, having arrived in Boujerba only to learn that the princess has fled with the pirates in search of the Dawn Shard. The captain is surprised that such a high-ranking person would decide to ally with the thieves, but accepts Bash's assurances that Balthier is trustworthy and goes to talk with Ashe.

Well, while the others are talking, Fran, on the sidelines, begins to sense impending problems: it turns out that this is the territory of small and extremely aggressive people (?) towards strangers called Urutan-Yensa. And guess where a whole ton of these armed men are heading?

  • Vossler joins the team as a guest.

But don’t worry, Urutan-Yensa are not at all suitable for brilliant and very strong warriors, but they will delay you and can cause trouble if you run into a whole bunch.

This area is one of those where you can meet a very strong peaceful monster. You can meet a huge fireball, which is called Gnoma Entite. This friend can disintegrate your team into atoms in two or three magical strikes, and even Reflect will not save you. This thing is peaceful, but it really doesn’t like it when someone uses magic near it. If you are unlucky and Gnoma is flying after you, then don’t even try to take the fight (Quickenings won’t save you either) and just run away, fortunately, your friend is quite slow, and the radius of magic attacks is limited.

I advise (after you take the urn with the map, of course) to take the southwest direction and ignore the other exits for now. If you suddenly find yourself in Zertinan Caverns, I recommend getting out of there as quickly as possible (some enemies can easily kill the team, and you really don’t want that). In the end, you will come to a small peaceful location with a teleportation crystal, a small shop (buy a dozen Handkerchief and replenish your Alarm Clock supply if it is depleted) and a passage to Nam-Yensa Sandsea.

Nam-Yensa Sandsea Help despite

The western part of the sea is not so stormy, so here you can already walk along the shore. But this does not mean that there are fewer monsters here or that they are weaker. First, you should go north, where, near the save crystal, you will see Urutan-Yensa peacefully talking with a moogle. Moogle will tell you that his interlocutor was quite calm and asked for help. There is a creature in the desert that terribly hates Urutan-Yensa. The hatred is mutual. There will be treasure for anyone who can help with the thing, so it's definitely worth a try.

Return to the moogle and he will say that his interlocutor has just left. Run further to Ogir-Yensa Sandsea and, as soon as you enter the platform, a scene will play where a representative of the tribe communicates with that same moogle and returns to Nam-Yensa Sandsea. Head back and you will see a large tribal gathering. The Queen is outraged that someone asked strangers for help and simply sprays the unusual Yensa on the spot. The tribe disperses, and the good man who died left behind only a flower. It looks like this was a gift to our team...

Go to the flower and collect the Eskir Berries. In total, only one such thing can be in the inventory, and the berries themselves, over time, can be collected again. This thing will help us quite well in the upcoming boss battle.

If you completed the hunt, don't return to Rabanastre yet, we'll soon encounter another teleportation crystal. In the very west, next to the passage further, there is a merchant from whom you can replenish your supplies of potions, phoenix feathers, and don’t forget to buy Handkerchief if you haven’t bought them before. Prepare for battle and only then move on.

  • Now you will be given the opportunity to save. I recommend using it.

King Raithwall's Tomb Legacy of the King

Go forward to the temple and the boss will attack you:

Finally, you can go upstairs and listen to the story of Ashelia about the king who was blessed by the gods and united the disparate states into the Galtean alliance in this very place. The king ended a long war and restored peace for thousands of years. It was during this time that Arcadia and Rosarriya blossomed.

The king left behind three relics, three stones: Dusk Shard, Midlight Shard and Dawn Shard. The Midlight Shard was given to Nabradia, the Dusk Shard went to the ancestors of the rulers of Dalmasca, and the last relic, the Dawn Shard, remained here for centuries.

However, the crowd of people who are not allowed inside will set off a whole bunch of traps designed for outsiders.

But what can you do? Touch the teleportation crystal (be sure to save), if you need to buy some items, run downstairs (the seller is now hanging around there). When you are done with all your work, activate the ancient device in front of the entrance to the temple and it will take you inside.

Get ready for another boss battle that will have to be completed quickly. Be sure to distribute your license points and buy better equipment (but don't buy a sword, you'll soon get a very good one).

As soon as you walk towards the narrow passage, the wall behind you will come to life and begin to move. There is an opportunity to escape, but for us it is not suitable under any pretext.

Demon Wall (22158 HP)

Weakness: Holy

Immunity: Fire

Steal: Gold Needle, Solid Stone, Quality Stone

The most interesting aspect of the battle will be that our team will be slowly and surely pushed against the wall. On the right, under the location map, an additional indicator appears, showing the wall and our team.

In this battle, a white mage with status healing spells or Reflect on the team will be very useful. Stenka really likes to cast various Sleep, Doom, Silence, Blind, Poison and similar bad things, but a special mention is probably worth mentioning Telega, which is guaranteed to send one character to Void (but only one). It is impossible to return him to this battle, but after the fight he will return in perfect order.

The best strategy would be to heavily use Aero or Dark magic whenever possible (let Vossler hit as he wants) and a chain of quickenings. If you cannot place a reflection, then you can equip someone with Shell Shield, which you will receive as a reward for hunting the Wyvern Lord.

Go back, save at the crystal, rejoice at your victory over a rather difficult enemy and move on.

Demon Wall (10332 HP)

Haha, did you think it was all over? Don't even hope, you'll have to fight the wall again. However, now it will be much easier, because the boss has less HP, Telega will not be used, the hall is larger and it is possible to slow down the movement of our enemy.

You've probably already noticed that there are glowing stones near the torches. Some of them, when touched, go out (the boss stops for a certain time), and the rest light up and speed up the scoundrel (in the screenshot you can just see two torches that burn blue, note that their location never changes).

You can use the quickening chain again and quickly finish this whole thing.

For those playing the regular version, go back after winning ( NECESSARILY! save again) and examine the wall from which the first wall began to move. Click on the glowing stone and two paths not marked on the map will rise. Follow the opened path (any path) to the area where the left and right parts combine into one (a sure sign that you have come to the right place - the appearance of Tallow). With a certain probability (70%) a chest will appear there. With another probability (27.5%) there will be an excellent Demonsbane sword. I highly recommend getting it.

If the chest does not appear, then go three locations and then return. The probability will be recalculated again and the chest may appear. If the chest appears, but the treasure in it is not at all the same, press and load again.

Are you playing the IZJS version? No luck, only Scathe Mote will be inside.

Having completed these not entirely necessary, but very pleasant things, go inside and Ashelia will feel the Shard, which lies somewhere far away, in the depths of the tomb.

The large area has an activated blue device (transports the team back to the entrance), an urn with a map and passages down. Go to any of the lower ones and make your way to the glowing stone next to the teleportation device. This stone will activate the device for moving and lower the platform halfway on the side (well, and attracts interest from the monsters, of course. If the Lich" has put the Oil status on you, then remove it using Handkerchief). Teleport the activated device back to the main platform and repeat the steps for another passage.The platform will lower completely and open a passage to the lower level.

The last floor is completely immersed in a golden darkness - magical energy that concentrates in places where it cannot find a way out. If ordinary streams can only be felt by Fran, then in such places everyone can see her. This concentration is dangerous, but allows you to use more powerful magic. Take this fact into account, heal and go down to the lowest platform and meet the last guardian of the relic...

Belias, the Gigas (15943 HP)

Weakness: Water

Absorbs: Fire

½: Other elements

Steal: Aries Gem, Ether, High Arcana

Belias has decent physical attacks, but is quite slow, allowing him to heal without nerves. His weakness to water can be easily exploited using the appropriate spell or Water Mote.

Of course, you should not have a white mage stand idle, but try to save your MP in case the boss uses the Firaja attack, which causes serious damage to the entire team and Oil status to boot. Oil, I remind you, triples fire damage and, in this battle, becomes a serious complication.

Again, if you killed the first Demon Wall, you won't have much trouble.

After the battle, Belias recognizes our strength and will become a partner.

There were legends that a great king once defeated a powerful creature, which, after that, became his most best friend and helped him until his death. Belias is the priceless treasure of the tomb and now it has come to us.

  • The first Belias becomes available. Please note that you can only activate an esper cell for one character. You can summon him from the Mist menu.

Go to the treasury where the stone is kept. To the princess’s immense surprise, her husband, Rasler, who died in the war, appears. How he appeared and why is unknown, but he came for a short time and disappears literally after a few seconds.

  • Received Dawn Shard.

All the work here is done, it's time to get out. The quickest way is to teleport to the exit itself through the blue device nearby. As soon as you approach the teleportation crystal, you will notice that our problems are not over yet: the darkness that was freed after defeating the Esper still hovers and completely blocks the possibility of being transported using the crystal. Save and go down, where, it turns out, a whole fleet of the empire with Leviathan at its head is already waiting for us. There's nowhere to run...

Dreadnought Leviathan Even more unforeseen circumstances

Judge Ghis is very glad that another stone was found for him and urgently asks him to give the Dawn Shard before anyone gets hurt. It turns out that all three relics are fragments of neticite created by the gods and Captain Azelas knew about this, but did not consider it necessary to tell us. It looks like we have a traitor.

Vossler explains that Dalmasca is not in the best position to declare its independence. The state is exhausted and has not yet recovered from the recent war. If the princess appears now and organizes an uprising, this will lead to another war with Arcadia, where Dalmasca has no chance of victory. The state will be trampled and mixed with dust under the onslaught of the enormous power of the empire. And the empire, in exchange for the Dawn Shard, will allow Lady Ashe to be the ruler of the state (albeit formally). A whole kingdom for a stone is a lucrative offer, but Ashelia seriously doubts. In order to somehow motivate her, Gis, in case of refusal, will execute her entire company.

The situation has escalated to the limit and the princess cannot stand it, agreeing to the judge’s conditions.

Ghis is already anticipating how Dr. Sid will be delighted with the gift and orders Vossler to take the entire company to Shiva (another of the empire’s flying ships), which will transport them to Rabanastre for further preparations. After the team leaves, the judge hands the stone to a technician, who must test its strength, contrary to orders from above. After all, it would be very bad if Gis gave the doctor a fake.

The team has already melted down to Shiva, and Vossler, who is accompanying the princess, reports that as soon as the company arrives in Rabanastre, it will be possible to report that Ashelia has survived and begin negotiations with Arcadia. The young Lord Larsa will be the key in these negotiations, as he seems to be the most friendly towards Dalmasca.

Meanwhile, the stone is switched into the Leviathan's engines, which immediately causes a reaction from Fran. According to her, the darkness around begins to burn and she feels this heat on herself.

Neticite shows simply wonderful results and tremendous power; it is truly a real stone created by the gods. The general celebration is interrupted by anxiety, something has gone wrong.

Fran becomes so ill that she can’t even say what’s happening normally, let alone stand. The security guard unsuccessfully ordered her to stand up and flew off with a well-aimed blow to the other end of the area.

Finally, Vossler comes into play, whose plans to restore the kingdom are going down the drain.

Leviathan's engines completely fail; neticite, instead of supplying energy, begins to drain it. All attempts to disconnect the stone from the ship are unsuccessful, and a cascading resonance occurs.

Captain Azelas regrets his actions and asks that his loyalty not be questioned. Finally, the captain asks Bash to protect the princess, since now he will not be able to fulfill his duties. The team is in a hurry to board the ship and fly as far as possible.

Neticite reaches the peak of its power and simply disintegrates the Leviathan, along with all the ships that were too close to the epicenter of the explosion.

The team miraculously escaped and saw the Dawn Shard, which, having released its power, cooled down and took on its original form. Having captured the pebble, the company flies to Rabanastre.

“The Dreadnought Leviathan has sunk. The Eighth Fleet of the Imperial Army is lost. As soon as words about these events in Yagda were heard in the empire, I left Buzherba, citing a sudden illness. My true intentions are to bring together the various counter-Imperial forces scattered across Ivalice into one Resistance movement.

By this time, Lady Ashe had returned to Rabanastre. However, she did not make her presence known. Rather, she intended to keep her and the stone's location a secret. If she had chosen to go before the people, my mistake in declaring her suicide would have been exposed and would have caused serious harm to my efforts to rally the Resistance.

In such a situation as Lady Ashe found herself in, announcing the restoration of Dalmasca would only serve as an excuse to incur the wrath of the empire. Despite the fact that Arcadia lost its eighth fleet, it remained, as ever, a military force to be reckoned with.

Memoirs of Marquis Halim Ondor IV

Chapter 16: Waiting Time"

Just started playing new version famous game Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age? Then be sure to study this guide and learn how to properly plan your strategy.

Choose your job very carefully

With the new job system, you will need to choose one for each party member as soon as you receive one. Unfortunately, you cannot change your job once you select it. Because of this, it is very important to choose it carefully and build a strategy around your choice. You can access every profession in the game by having each of the six party members choose two different ones, or you can focus on one, such as magic. There are several required professions. You will definitely need a White Mage to heal and strengthen your , as well as a Knight who can deal maximum damage to enemies.

Check accessories

Be sure to check your accessories regularly. Some of them increase “license points” or experience gained. This can be a huge help when leveling up your professions and making your heroes as powerful as possible. At the same time, if you notice that enemies in the dungeon are damaging your stats, check to see if you have an accessory that can heal them.

Experiment with gambits

Gambits are probably the most unique aspect of Final Fantasy XII's combat system, allowing you to customize the tactics of each of your party members. Of course, when you take a look at this system, you will see that there are a ton of different options that you can choose from. The only way to truly understand a system is to experiment. Try setting up different uses of healing and buff spells or magic spells against enemies and just see how they work. Not everything will work the way you want it to, but experimenting will help you find a strategy that suits your playstyle.

Take part in every hunt

Final Fantasy XII has a ton of additional content, most taking the form of hunts that have unique and dangerous monsters to track. It's in your best interest to make every hunt your own, as not only do they contain some of the most challenging and exciting fights in the game, but they also give you decent rewards. Hunts can be found in pubs and message boards around the world or in Clan Centurio. Upon completion you will receive an excellent amount of Gil and a unique reward.

Check the Centurio clan regularly

Until you're done hunting, it's a good idea to make regular stops at Clan Centurio's hall for a variety of reasons. You'll find the most challenging and rewarding hunts in the game offered by Montblanc here. Additionally, as you fight monsters and complete hunts, you will gain clan points, which will lead to new ranks that you will be able to see in your Clan Primer. Each new rank receives a reward from Montblanc, usually including several teleport stones and other items. At the same time, defeating all the bosses in the game that are monsters will also unlock the Gil reward from Montblanc.

Sell ​​your loot and old equipment

Most monsters will reward you with loot of various types, and you will also receive many items from hunts and quests. When you go to the "Sales" tab of the merchants, you will see a whole tab for loot. This is your main way to make money in the game, so sell your loot regularly. Be careful because certain items you will need for quests. Anything that has a low cost, around a couple hundred Gil, is perfectly safe to sell, or those that are more than 10. When you get new equipment for your team, you can go and sell everything you don't need, there's no use for the old ones armor and weapons, and this can help recoup some of the spent currency after a big shopping spree.

Explore the world of Ivalice

Every corner of the world of Ivalice has a lot of lore and history, you can discover it by exploring. Talk to different citizens in each city, as this is a great way to learn about some of the policies, organizations and ideas. There are many secrets to uncover in the game by exploring both additional and areas, additional quests and weapons, and even additional espers.

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age is an updated version of the 12th edition of one of the most popular jRPGs in the world, Final Fantasy XII. The story is set in the world of Ivalice, long before the events depicted in the original game in an era when the skies were explored by majestic airships and magic was common. Rozzaria, which is at war with Archadia, is the dominant political power - two powerful empires located on opposite continents. Between the empires there is the small kingdom of Dalmasca, which is forcibly captured by the Arhad army. Seventeen-year-old Vaan is the main character - an orphan and a city thief who dreams of becoming a sky pirate.



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