STORY
Our game begins in Rabanastere, when two rulers, Prince Rasler and Princess of Ashelia, decided to settle down and get married. From out of nowhere, the Archadian empire decided to conquer the both Nabradia and Dalmasca, cities where the two rulers hail from. In the process, Rasler was killed, a city called Nabudis was damaged, and King Raminas of Dalmascan also got killed. That’s even after signing a treaty to renounce their kingdom.
The assassin, by the name of Bascha, a Dalmascan captain. He was tried to death. Meanwhile, as this happens, it was announced that Princess Ashe has taken her own life.
Fast forward to two years when we see our main character, Vaan, trying to trespass the palace as the inauguration of Varne Solidor, Prince of Archadia, for being appointed as a consul. As he sneaks in, he discovers a chest that contains a magical crystal called magicite. He got caught by two pirates named Fran and Balthier, who are also looking for the stone. They leave the area as they discover the Dalmascan Resistance invade the vicinity. When they reach the sewers, they meet Amalia, the Resistance leader. Eventually, they got eventually captured by Archadian forces who brought them into the Nalbina Dungeons. In there, they meet an assassin. That assassin was Basch, who was initially reported to be killed. He said it was his twin brother, Gabranth, who killed the king. All of them managed to escape with help coming from Penelo, and all of them went to Bhujerba.
As they go there, they’re acquainted to Lamont. Apparently, he’s just in disguise and is really Larsa, the younger brother of Vayne. Basch took the opportunity to confront Marquis, who was the one who announced that he was the assassin. Before things could even get further, they’re captured once again and brought to the Leviathan airship. Once again, they meet Amalia, who at this time was revealed to be Princess Ashelia.
What about the magicite Vaan took? Well, Ghis took it and brought to Archadia. The group escapes once again. This time around, they went for another piece of nethicite called Dawn Shard. To the surprise of no one, they once again got captured by Ghis. Seeing that they got a new stone on their hands, he used it to power the Leviathan. Not knowing the effects of the stone, the airship sudden got destroyed, causing our ratpack to escape once again.
They eventually met Larsa once again. They convinced him to join them instead of having signing another peace treaty. Afterwards, they went ahead to Mt. Bur-Omisace, not to escape, but to speak with Gran Kiltias Anastasis. He’s the religious leader of Ivalice, and he’s the only key to make Ahse as the Dalmascan queen. While in there, they were introduced to Al-Cid Margrace who seeks to put a stop on the Archadian and Rozzarian war. All those plans were averted when Archadia kills Anastasis. Just right after that, Gramis passes away, giving the inheritance of the throne to Vayne.
As our party tries to take the Sword of Kings and be successful with it, they journey their way to Archadia to save Larsa. On their way, they meet Doctor Cid, who created a magicite for them and advises them to head to Giruvegan, where they can destroy the source of the nethicite. When they reach the area, only Ashe managed to get in. She meets the nethicite creators called Occuria. They made her a Treaty Blade that would destroy the source (Sun-cryst). One of the Occuria members, Venat, betrayed the group for his own selfish reasons, controlling Cid and Vayne in the process. While doing so, they invaded Ivalice giving him the reigns to be the Dynast King as well as a create another magicite to weaken Occuria. All of this was Archadia’s plan to retrieve the remaining pieces of nethicite.
As for our friends, they went to Pharos Tower where the Sun-cryst can be found. Ashe makes sure that she destroys the Sun-cryst. As they journey in doing that, the defeated Gabranth, who’s the real killer of King Raminas. Before destroying the Sun-cryst, they’ve also defeated Cid who says that the Resistance is on its way to wage a war with Archadia in Rabanastre. Archadia, however, packs more muscle when they acquired Sky Fortress Bahamut. That’s a big deal because it’s powered by the mist brought about by the Sun-Cryst’s destruction. Our rat pack heads to Bahamut and sees Larsa trying to persuade Vayne. That didn’t turn out well so our party went on a little fight, eventually beating Venat and Vayne, ending the battle once and for all.
As the game comes to a close, Larsa is appointed as the emperor of Archadia and Ashe becomes the Dalmascan queen. Basch, on the other hand, becomes Larsa’s bodyguard. Meanwhile, Penelo and Vaan fly off to get some more adventures.
WALKTHROUGH
NALBINA FORTRESS
You know what’s good about tutorial stage of the game? Is that it doesn’t allow you to fail at allow. Everything is in detail so there are no gray areas. From battle systems to how interact with NPC’s, everything is carved out for your convenience. Anyway, I don’t have to get into that since the game does that for you already. If it does this for the entire game, I won’t have to make a guide at all.
Anyway, so much for that. Just get familiar with the basics until you get yourself to the first boss.
BOSS BATTLE: AIR CUTTER REMORA
Now, all you have to do is keep up with the boss while balancing yourself out. When you do that, chances are you’ll defeat him eventually.
In fact, when your health gets low, your teammates will throw a heal at you. But if you want to do things on your own, try Cure Magick or some potions.
Following the very rigorous boss fight (NOT!), now’s the time for you explore the area. From the minimap, you may follow which direction you want to go to. When you see a split, head north until you meet a group of Swordsmen.
After beating them, head right from the split you just came from then open the chest you’ll come across to and open it up for a Potion. Keep going up then head west taking you to the upper part of the map. There’s another Potion waiting for you here hidden in the chest.
Do a quick backtrack to reach the steps. Move up and if you see a Save Point, go ahead and do your thing. When you make it to the next floor, fight off the Imperial Soldiers. Don’t worry, you can take care of them, even if you need to cast some Cure from time to time. Follow the path afterwards when you’re done with them.
RABANASTRE
Being in control of Vaan, you’re tasked to take out the waterway rats. This is a cakewalk for you, considering that your foes are marked on your map. After beating them, you’ll get a cutscene.
Right after the scene, you can further explore the map if you want to grind up. If you want to go head on though, proceed to Migelo’s place, which is marked on your map by moving right until you see the urn symbol. You’re on the right track if that’s the case.
From here, look for Kytes found north from where are at the moment, also called Sandsea. When you reach the area, you’re given a guide on how use the Notice Board.
Right after that, you’ll be meet Tomaj’s who’ll fill you in on about the Hunts. If you agree to track these hunts, he’ll give you a Clan Primer to help you on this task. Aside from that, he’ll give you an Orrachea Armlet, which eventually introduces you to the Licensing system.
A few moments after, Vaan weill get the Writ of Transit, giving him a go signal to exit the area. Use the Orrache Armlet before leaving then head to the south. Leave left then go the steps taking you to the Dalmasca Estersand.
DALMASCA ESTERSAND
This is the area where you can start fighting off your foes to boost your level as well as earn License Points. You can fight your enemies at any time you wish since the fights are not random at all.
Speaking of randomness, the contents on the chests are also random, ranging from Gil to special items. The good thing about them is that they re-spawn when you exit the section and then returning after leaving for quite a while.
That makes it hard for me to give you the chest locations, and as to where special items can be found. Then again, I’ll be more than helpful to give you an estimated location of the items should be retrieved.
Back to the game itself, proceed to the boulder found on the southern portion. When you reach that part, you have to move northeast where you’ll eventually meet the Rogue Tomato.
BOSS BATTLE: ROGUE TOMATO
HP
LV
134
2
Heal up before starting your fight. After a few successful hits, the boss will fall off from the edge to recharge his HP. Follow him by walking off to the side then start finishing him. Once he’s toast, you’ll get Galbana Lilies.
If you want to get started with the License System, it’s recommended you use Cure and White Magick.
You might also a T-Rex roaming around. I dare you not to even touch him. You see the HP bar above his head? Its color will tell whether he’ll come running to you or not. Since you’ve just started the game, it would be best not to get near to the red ones.
Since the boss has been defeated, you have the liberty to roam the area for some items. If you’re all set, go back to Sandsea and look for Kytes at the gate for another scene.
RABANSTRE
When you reach Sandsea, right after speaking to Kytes, head to the bar and talk to Tomaj to receive the following items:
Teleport Stone
Potion
300 Gil
Speak to Bangaa afterwards, who’s waiting for you at very north side of your map. He’ll give you another Hunt for you to fulfil. From this point on, all of the Hunts given to you are optional, as well as little bit harder than the last one you did. For now, it would be best to set them aside until we’re ready.
So if you’ve already used your LP’s to learn White Magick, take time to learn the Cure spell afterwards. To learn that, you have to look for the Magick shop, which is indicated by a wand icon. Go and follow the icon then talk to the person there who’ll fill you in about the Cure spell.
Gil is very scarce in this game, so it would be best to spend it on only the important items. Remember to pick up all the items your enemies will drop. They’re too valuable for you to miss them.
Head to the north side and proceed to the building marked by ‘???’. When you get there, talk once again to Bangaa so he can let you enter. Once inside, you have to take the steps and talk to Montblanc so you can be part of their Centurio Clan. The next time you talk to him, you’ll get 3 Potions as a gift for joining their group.
Proceed to Muthru Bazaar afterwards then go to Southern Plaza. From there, leave southwards until you reach the entrance of Lowtown.
LOWTOWN
ZODIAC SPEAR ALERT!!!
This is an interesting piece of weapon that you can only get a hold of if you follow a specific action, and that is to avoid 4 particular chests. The first one can be found at the Lowtown entrance. Despite having the urge of opening it, I’m telling you right now, tempering yourself will do good as you progress in the game.
Follow the icon leading you to Dalan’s place. Or better yet, explore the place for other chests and items before heading there. After reaching the place, move back to where you entered from.
In the interest of progressing in this game the right way, buy a map at Moogle before heading to the next area. Trust me, you’re gonna need it.
GIZA PLAINS
Again, even if the chests here are random, it’s still best to pick them up just to have a better inventory as you progress in the game.
Now that we have that out of the way, head south towards the Nomad Camp and approach the elder at the tent. After talking to him, go at the back of the tent and speak to Masyua. After a brief cinematic with Penelo, she’ll join you on your quest.
Leave the area from the west side and you’ll get the following items courtesy of Penelo:
Potions (3x)
Phoenix Down (2x)
You’ll now be introduced into changing the leader as well as making leader commands. Make yourself accustomed to the commands during your battle.
Move south while taking down the enemies on your path. Once you reach the bridge, open the chest below that to retrieve the Escutcheon. There are some Werewolves roaming around the area. With the progression you’re making this far, it’s best to stay away on those red-coloured names.
Head east right after that and speak to Jinn who’s waiting for you near a giant boulder. Give him the time to understand what’s going on and you’ll get Shadestone from him, which you can evolve to Sunstone. Go further and head east.
Upon reaching east, you might notice a chest from the bottom right. Open it and take the Broadsword. Move north afterwards and get past the bunnies. Don’t even consider fighting a bunch of them at all cause they might lure some of the monsters that you’re not supposed to face yet.
When you see the Dark Crystal, start boosting your Shadestone. When you see the chest near the eastern bridge, DO NOT OPEN IT. Contents are not too significant right now.
The next Dark Crystal is found at the north side, perfect for boosting your Shadestone if it’s not been filled up yet. Head to the last crystal found at the southern section of the Nomad Camp. By now, you should have turned your Shadestone into Sunstone. If not, what the hell are you doing?! Okay, fine! The next one can be seen northwest. Make the most out of it.
You’ll get a reward for completing this task:
Teleport Stones (2x)
Potions (2x)
50 Gil
Return to town and reunite with Dalan who has a Crescent Stone for you. Proceed to the north end of the town. From there, move left then north to reach Storehouse 5.
You’re about to reach the next area. But before you could do that, speak to Kyte so he can you the following:
Eye Drops (4x)
Potions (2x)
Head to the door to reach the next area.
GARAMSYTHE WATERWAY
Save your game then move north via the stairs. Open the chest on the west then cross the bridge leading you to the east side of things.
As you move further, you’ll come across some shallow water channels, which may have some chests appear from time to time. Move northeast to reach the next area.
At the new area, check on the chests you’ll encounter until you have the time to move on the west side. Get past the steel bridge and steps. Take the next staircase leading you to another chest which may contain the Oak Staff.
Move west then descend on the other end. Follow the path that will lead you to the chest which may or may not have the Mage Masher. Lucky you if it does. Move northwest which will take you to the Royal Palace.
ROYAL PALACE
ZODIAC SPEAR ALERT!!!
When you see the chest southeast of the vaults, don’t open it. Oh yeah, I forgot, there are two chests you’ll see there. You can open the one on the right and leave the other one untouched. Or if you want to play it safe, don’t open any of them at all. There’s nothing significant on those chests anyway. Restart your game if in case you’re too stubborn and you’ve opened an Elixir.
Proceed to the urn icon and take items like crazy. Head north afterwards to trigger a scene. You’ll be forbidden to take the nearby steps. But you’re that hard-headed so you’ll still go and even talk to the servant you’ll find there.
When you get past, call out the guard and let his stupidity help you sneak by him by going through the walls leading to the next steps.
After that is a puzzle that would be very easy to solve by simply pressing square to call out the guards. This will make them move places, preventing you from getting close to them and eventually getting past them. On the first split, move right then lure the guards before moving west.
Once again on the split, call out the guards then take a right turn when they move down. You’ll reach a Hawk Signet that doesn’t react to what you have, so it simply means you need another item. Move right and then turn left and continue with another left turn until you reach a Lion Signet. Your Crescent Stone fits here and it will open the path taking you to the hidden chamber.
Head left until you reach another split. Once again, lure the guards so you can head east leading you to the other side. Move up afterward then take a left route until you reach the secret chamber. Press X to open up room.
Take the switch hidden on the west side then check the wall to open up another path. Right after a cutscene, you’ll get the GODDESS’S MAGICITE. After that climb upstairs for another scene.
GARAMSYTHE WATERWAY
Head downstairs where you’ll be introduced to the Gambit system. Right after that tutorial, check the corpses and head south afterwards. Take a left turn then take the Garamsythe Waterway map found inside the urn.
Take a left turn and get past the stairs. You can afford to ignore that since it will only take you to a chest with an item of no value. Move up when you reach the steps and keep going till you find the next section. Somewhere on your path is a chest that has a HiPotion.
Continue taking the southern route until you reach the bottom wherein you have to take a left turn afterwards. You’ll eventually reach a point where you’ll be taking a rectangular path. Keep your eye out for the chests that will appear here. One of them might contain an Escutcheon and a Long Sword.
Climb up another series of steps when you reach the end path. Keep going up until you reach a dead end with a chest that might spawn. This could potentially have the Leather Armor.
Head south until you reach another set of stairs, wherein you have to go up once more. Keep going and ignore the chest you’ll find here. Doesn’t mean anything at all. Head to the next area instead.
You’ve finally reached East Sluice Control. Nothing, I just like to say that. Anyway, just follow the passage, which is too linear to be honest, until you see a Save Crystal. Move down for another set of battles.
You’ll encounter a mysterious woman as well as 4 Imperial Soldiers in this area. This is not yet a boss fight, mind you. Then again, you have to take note of a few things because you really need to in order to survive.
If Vaan learns the Cure skills, make him heal your party. Meaning to say, you have to keep your party’s health bar apart from attacking your foes.
Have Fran and Balthier focus on whoever the mystery girl is putting her focus on. Since they already have their gambits on, they’ll be prompted to target whoever you’re focusing on.
Right after the battle, the mystery girl will be introduced as Amalia and will join you on your quest. She”ll just be a guest character though, meaning you can’t control her during battles.
Since the battle is done, leave west to reach the next battle-infested area. You’ll be facing The Flans, which is one of the toughest you’ll face in the game. You’ll still make it, don’t worry. With how far you’ve reached, you have everything you need to beat them.
One important thing about your enemies is that they’re weak to Fire. Vaan doesn’t have that, but Fran does. So with that, go to the menu and adjust his Gambit so he can cast Fire.
As for everyone else, make sure they target everyone else. Be careful if they cast Blind. You can still counter that though by using Eye Drops. There’s always that occasional healing between you and your enemy. But pretty sure you’ve already given enough damage before they start healing that they can’t keep up anymore.
When they’re finally down, head back to the Save Crystal so you can heal up without consuming items. Also, put Fran’s gambit back to its old setting. Explore the battlefield for chests that may contain Dagger and Leather Shield. Leave west and take notice of the chest here which can potentially have a Phoenix Down.
Head south and take the steps to move up and head to the next section. The paths to the left might have a chest that contains Cotton Shirt. Some of the enemies here are ghost that evade and will call out other mobs to face you. Fight with extreme caution if that’s the case.
Keep going east and when you reach the point that looks like a letter D on your map, look for a chest that may contain Foe: Targeting Self, a new type of gambit. Like what I’ve told you before, the chests here are random. In this case, the chances of getting the item would be at 25%.
Don’t fret though if you didn’t manage to get it, there’s still an opportunity to have this item later. So don’t waste time and reset your game just to get that.
Anyway, move east to reach the next Save Crystal. When you’re all set, head to Overflow Cloaca to face the next boss.
BOSS BATTLE: FIREMANE
HP
LV
3571
7
Stock on some healing items. You’ll definitely need that in this fight as Firemane throws attacks that would need Cure or Potion from your party. Just like on the last tough fight, putting Vaan as the main healer is the best option here.
Target on the boss so your party can focus on him. Do this when Fireman starts teleporting. At this point as well, he might unleash the most devastating attack called Bushfire. Aside from putting in a massive damage on your party, it will also put Poison on them. To counter this, have your Antidotes ready and cycle through your party.
On the other hand, Amalia is defaulted to use Phoenix Down when a party member goes down. So that saves you some items, I think. You just have to be cautious if her own HP drains. Though she’ll also put in some Potions from time to time, it won’t be enough to offset the damage taken, so make sure Vaan still does his job.
Have Balthier and Fran pour in the most damage to the enemy. You’ll put him down before you know it.