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Phoenix Flame 05-19-2007 02:35 AM

FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
YOU CAN NOW FIND THIS GUIDE COMPLETED AT: http://www.neoseeker.com/resourceli...6507&rid=145011




:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

This is going to be my first guide of any FF I've played - I hope you enjoy it!

While I'm at it: This guide is my personal intellectual property - for the time being, it is only available to FFNet and it's members/guests. If I find this guide anywhere else on the netz0rz I will sue j00 n00b! =^_^=

Nao! Let's talk a little about who this is for ------> This guide assumes you've at least played through Final Fantasy XII once...and are looking for a way to maximize the enjoyment and entertainment the game offers without spending 130 hours of your life leveling to 99, getting top-equipment, killing marks and saving Ivalice. If you want to spend that much time on a game, be my guest - FFs are wonderful in that no matter how long it takes you to finish one they are still awesome. It is not difficult to see why Square-Enix enjoys the popularity of the game series even after 20+ years!!! ^_^

Feel free to PM me with any questions/comments/rude remarks which I will likely ignore... J/K XD! I know that I WILL NOT include every minute detail about the game, but if you would like to see anything added to the guide (or want to comment/add info yourself that I may not have thought of/couldn't be troubled to add-in - be my guest!) ;arf


----------------------------First and only warning: Zodiac Spear--------------------------------
The most powerful weapon in the game (which we will get early if you follow this walkthrough) is unique in that there are two ways to get it. If you want to be able to get it easily, DO NOT OPEN several key chests from the beginning of the game until you obtain it in the Nechrol of Nabudis. These chests are as follows: 1) In front of Old Dalan's hangout in Lowtown. 2) Rabanastre: palace basement - just don't get any chests here and you'll be ok. 3) Nalbina fortress, after your fight with the Seeqs - where you pick up your equipment and map from - don't touch the chests here! 4) Phon coast...which we won't even make it to before obtaining the spear...but JUST IN CASE YOU GO ADVENTURING. XD!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blitzing - Part one. Time frame: why aren't you already doing this? o_O

In this first part of the leveling-up process I will let you decide how much is enough. I've seen several people use this method and get as high as level 80 before moving on with the story. I'm talking, of course, about the very beginning of the game when you only have Vaan...think back to the Rogue Tomato hunt... XD! That's how early we're talking about here!!! So - How high (level) do you want to be when you fight those stinkin Demon Walls?!?! 20, 50, 70??? It's up to you and here's why: there is a simple-to-do, easy-to-repeat way to level-up relatively quickly at the beginning of the game. First-off, you have to stock up on phoenix downs...so you may want to chain wolves in the Estersand long enough to buy a healthy supply (I suggest 30+.) Nao - you are ready to begin :p

There is a rare monster in the Dalmascan Westersand named Dustia. He only appears if/when you have < 10% health. To make him appear, you simply can allow the wolves in the first area - Galtea Downs - to attack you until you are at critical health and then flee to the next northern area (where Dustia will appear after you take a step or two...) - which I DO NOT reccommend because it takes too long. On the other hand, you can attack yourself until you are critial. NOTE: This is VERY tricky - doing this incorrectly will KO you and you will get game over. Vaan killed himself twice at a very high chain level before I figured out what I was doing wrong and I was so pissed....I'm sure you'll see why when I explain. The closer you are to critial HP, the easier it is to link your attacks and combo. Here's what you do: after you attack yourself when you are close to critical you have to bring up your menu and change equipment - essentially this resets the animation for your attack killing any combo you may have had. In english: Vaan won't kill hisself n00b! ;res Now you are ready to chain the rare monster known as Dustia...

Phoenix Flame 05-19-2007 03:46 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
....again, as you enter the first area North of where you exit Rabanastre (from the Aerodome) Dustia will appear within the first two steps you take - I suggest you take two steps back towards the entrance of the zone. This will make Dustia appear directly behind you (which is necessary to get any loot he drops while you are chaining him.) Essentially what you do is take two steps back, wait for his HP bar to show up, toss a phoenix down at him, pick up any loot he drops and get the heck out of the zone before the EXP/LP numbers show up. (Grab his loot and run out of the zone behind you.) Now, turn back around and return to the zone you just ran out of - if you did this correctly Dustia will respawn as if you didn't kill him. You roughly fight two-to-three Dustias/minute doing this - they yield 1,000+ Exp and 3 LP per phoenix down and their drops sell for rougly twice what you paid for your phoenix downs. I did this while I was talking with Spec and wracked-up a 230+ chain of them by using all my phoenix downs, running all the way west to the orange save crystal, (without touching the crystal/breaking your chain) selling my loot and restocking on phoenix downs, running back to chain more Dustias! If you have the patience I'm sure you could wrack-up a 999+ chain in roughly 9 or 10 hours... =^_^= Now, I know - I'm the only person sick enough to actually sit there for that long doing this... but I haven't....yet! Keep in mind that if you let the Exp./LP show up after you K.O. him you'll have to save your game and reload to get him to come back; so if you have to choose between grabbing his loot and zoning-out - choose to zone - you can always get more loot by continuing to chain him. I suggest you at LEAST stay here till you are level 30...although I am going for at least level 50 in my game before moving on further. If you go to level 30, you'll have more than enuf monies for the monographs, plus a nice stash for later when you have to make BIG purchases - ie. 250K for the Canopic Jar and 600K for the Tournesol.

So - after you are leveled-up to your liking, go back to Rabanastre and unlock/buy in the bazaar the Warmages Monograph.... and eventually, you'll want all the Monographs. These will allow better drops from every adversary and will keep you from having to chain much more to get the same amount of loot/gil. After you purchase these...........and you have gained 'enuf' levels - you are free to progress with the game. Up-to and including the Tomb of Raithwall. Here is a list of all the monographs:
- 18000 gil -> Hunter's Monograph, enhances loot from beasts/avions
Speak with Gatsly in the Muthru Bazaar after completing the Thextera hunt.
- 19000 gil -> Knight's Monograph, enhances loot from giants/insects
Talk to any weapon merchant more than 30 times.
- 20000 gil -> Warmage's Monograph, enhances loot from amorphs/undead - thar are a LOOT of these in Ivalice....plus that is what Dustia is ^___^
Read the hunt bulletin board more than 20 times.
- 21000 gil -> Mage's Monograph, enhances loot from fiends
Talk to any magick merchant over 25 times.
- 22000 gil -> Scholar's Monograph, enhances loot from constructs
Talk to any armor merchant more than 15 times.
- 22000 gil -> Dragoon's Monograph, enhances loot from dragons/plants
Read the hunt bulletin board more than 40 times (you can save this one for
later if you want to differentiate between Scholar's and Dragoon's).
- 25000 gil -> Sage's Monograph, enhances drops from elementals
Talk to any merchant over 100 times

Next I will include a few places to get some awesome weapons/armors near the beginning of the game. First off, you can get a rod (+30 attack) from a random chest in the Sand-Swept Naze. There is a save crystal near the exit of the Barheim passage...simply save, run to the northeast and pick up the chests (if they are there) and if you don't find the rod soft reset and begin again. You could get unlimited rods this way...but why bother - there are better weapons to be had (much better, even this early in the game.)
You can chain Werewolves in the Giza plains - in the Starfell Field - and try for a few Kotetsu (+50 ninja swords.) Even if you are moderately leveled (around 30) you shouldn't have too much difficulty pwning them. If needed, spam MQs to quickly wipe the floor with them. With just Vaan, this ninja sword is (arguably) the best weapon you can get this early in the game. If you are interested in getting a ranged weapon (and you have some patience) you can chain the Dive Talons in the Westersand for one or more burning bows. The *cough* simple way to do it is to kill a whole-lot of Dustias or other chainable enemy, blind and poison a Dive Talon when it is close to death and wait for it to expire (don't manually kill it or it will break your chain!!!) This is a trick that you can use for many monsters - including hitting them with petrify or doom as well. Very helpful! ^_^ If you'd prefer a one-handed weapon, I'll make honorable mention of the Gladius (+45 attack dagger w/wind elemental.) To obtain it, go to the Westersand again, begin chaining wolves here. After you have killed approximately 20-30 of em - go to the small, isolated area southwest of the Galtea downs to find a rare beast called the Lindburn wolf. If you are below level 30, you probably will have to blind him to live long enough to actually steal the Gladius from him. Buy as many shield block licenses on the LB and equip a shield for added protection. Don't hesitate to run out if your HP drops - he tends to combo a lot and at this stage in the game you are lucky to have a few High potions in your possession - save em. Just run out and spam cure if you need to. After a hard-fought exchange of steal attempts and damaging blows - you'll have your hands on a pretty nifty one-handed weapon that (depending on the foe) may do more damage than your Kotetsu swords. w00t!

Since you cannot go further to the West, it's impossible to get better armor than you can find at Nalbina for now, but you CAN get Winged helmets by chaining Slimes in the Zernithian Caverns if you RLY want good equipment...ultimately not that important though...

Honorable mention: I suggest stealing from the Gnoma entite that roams the Westersand. You need a Gnoma Halcyon to make your Ultima weapon later. It may take several tries, but it's worth it to get a +118 Atk. Greatsword early...although - with this walkthrough I doubt you'll be lacking good weapons by any means. ;) You may also find a Skeleton roaming about [I believe] in the same area of the Westersand as the Gnoma entite - if not, then he is one screen East of the Gnoma Entite (two screens East of the gate Crystal in the Westersand.) This Fideliant is a rare game with roughly a 40% chance to spawn each time you enter the area. If you chain him you can get a Heavy spear very early as well. (If you are weak, use phoenix downs for an easy KO.) He'll probably drop it quickly but you may need the Warmages monograph to get it on a low chain level.

Phoenix Flame 05-20-2007 03:37 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Adventure: Getting some cool weapon(s)/armor/accessory(ies), harvesting items for t3h Ultima blade. Time frame: two time frames - one: after arriving back from the Barheim passage; two: after finding out about Raithwall's legacy - ie. the Dawn Shard.

After arriving back from the Nalbina dungeon, you can get two different/awesome items, the Hermes Sandles (auto-haste) and the Francisca axe. I'll begin with the axe:

Credit here goes to [email protected]. You can obtain a Francisca (+89
axe) from the Bazaar right now by selling off Wind Magicite x6, Malboro Fruit
x4, and Pointed Horn x2. Wind Magicites are dropped by Dive Talons in the
Westersand. Malboro Fruits are dropped by the Malboro Overkings in the [Garamsythe] sewers. Finally, Pointed Horns can be dropped by the Lizards in the sewers. The axe
costs 10350 gil. You can only get one of them, but it's a huge boost for where
you are in the game and doesn't take too long.

- Teh Hermes Sandles are simple to get as well. Complete the first 5 marks so you have access to some Gyshal Greens at the clan store in the marketplace in Rabanastre. Buy some (you need 33 of em for one; so if you want 3...) You'll need one more piece of loot to sell for the sandles: Arcana (x15.) If you have the Warmages monograph, and you've been chaining Dustias - like a sick little RPGer you are - you should have a pretty good stock of Arcanas now. Simply sell 33 Gyshal Greens and 15 Arcana and you've got one character w/auto-haste! = D!

----------------------------------------------NOTE---------------------------------------------------------------
While in Bhujerba, you'll have the option of doing the Nidhogg hunt - which nets you the GREAT SERPENTSKIN loot!!! DO NOT SELL THIS! This item is important in the 'Patient in the Desert' sidequest in the Estersand - which nets you the Barheim key. If you sell this item, you will have to wait longer to get some really 1337 weapons and armor, (including the Zodiac Escutcheon) a new Esper, and some really good loot for later.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next, after you have your party, (minus Penelo) and find out about the Dawn Shard, you have access into the Nam and Ogir-yensa Sandsea areas, as well as a new entrance to the Zernithian caverns. A few notables about this area:
- Shielded Armor - available by theivery of rare monster Imdugud in the Withering Shores area of the Nam-Yensa Sandsea. This is precisely where you meet the Belito mark later-on in the game. Simply clear-out the area of enemies, wait in the circled area where you'd meet the Belito hunt for about 30 seconds or so, steal from Imdugud until you obtain the shielded armor, zone two zones out, rinse and repeat until you have three shielded armors. This is an awesome armor in that it applied auto-protect to your characters. NOTE: DO NOT KILL IMDUGUD UNTIL YOU HAVE OBTAINED THE 3 SETS OF ARMOR!!! Doing so will make you have to soft reset to get another set! Simply steal the armor, zone away two zones and come back to steal some moar! = D
- While in the caverns, Farm two Death Powders from one of the couple of areas that the Bogey spawns at. You may have to beat/chain quite a few of them - I was lucky and got two death powders in like,...5 minutes - but my first play-through it took me > 30 minutes to get two. You need them for the Ultima blade.

Phoenix Flame 05-23-2007 05:32 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Raithwall's Tomb


The only thing notable here is the Deamonsbane sword - which should be easy to obtain since you leveled-up so much in the beginning... right?! o_O

To obtain this sword, first we have to defeat both demon walls. You shouldn't have too much trouble here. If you are getting close to the door on the first wall - swap out your lead team for your reserve and do a MQ to quickly pwn him. The second one is waiiii to easy. = D Now: go back outside and save your game...we are going to have to do quite a bit of soft-core for j00 to get the sword...especially if you want two or three.

The first Demon Wall left behind a blue glyph...touch it to lower the uber-secret stairs to the sides of this room. The sword is two screens west of this area and down the flight of stairs (on either side of the room because the passages meet.) Look for the chest (which hopefully contains the sword) in the center of this lower area. If you don't see a chest - or if the one that's there doesn't contain the sword - soft-core and try again. = O

Rinse and repeat until you get a Demonsbane sword. = D Nothing more that is notable here. Clear out the tomb! Next we basically break the game wiiiiide open after the scene on the Leviathan. So I have my work cut out for me for the next few posts. I'm going to try and give you some weapons and armor before you reach Jahara that you could basically go through the rest of the game with once you reach level 99. Of course there are better ones. = D Stay tuned!!!

Phoenix Flame 05-25-2007 01:12 PM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
...AAAANNND NOW!!! GETTING T3H MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN T3H GAME!!!! The Zodiac spear!


Time frame: after Raithwall's Tomb/Patient in the Desert Sidequest.

First-off, we have to get that sickly patient cured in the Dalmascan Estersand at the villiage by t3h river. You must have completed the flowering cactoid hunt in the Estersand, as well have KEPT the Great serpentskin you got when you defeated the Marilith hunt. O_o You DID keep it...right? If you haven't done either of these hunts (as well as others) do them now. Dantro's wife will ask you to bring her some readily availible (at this point) ingredients to help the wittle moogle feel all better o_O So bring them ALLLLL to her. Got it? Good. *hears someone say they don't get it* -_-' Ok, I'll tell ya briefly what you'll have to do. 1) She'll ask for some kind of 1337 seashells that are along the beach - there are....like, 6 (or so.) There are some IN the village and there are some OUTSIDE of the village - make sure you get them ALL. They are by the beaches both in and outside and shine when she asks for them. Next she will ask for some kind of special medication - there are two vials of this stuff near where Dantro is sitting on his box. Get BOTH of them...lastly, she will ask for some Dewdrop pebbles or somethin...they are across the river - North of where you are at by 3 screens. Again, make sure you get them all (I belive there are like 4 or so) and they are by the pink, flowering trees by the canyon/hill you have to climb up. Lastly, she will ask for the Great Serpentskin to make a broth to bring his fever down. Hopefully you have it. After you give this to her your task is complete and he will soon recover - just go outside the village for a few minutes, re-enter, and you will find him around the back of her hut. This moogle will give you the Barheim key, along with a GOLDEN AMULET (LP earned x2) if you did everything correctly. If you sold the Great Serpentskin - it will take some time before he will recover - but you can still get the key. Actually this only unlocked for us the ability to travel North of here towards where you got the Dewdrop pebbles. We need to head north to get to the Mosphoran Highwaste, and eventually - the Salikawood.

Upon arriving in the Highwaste - make sure you purchase up to 5 more Golden amulets as well as 3 sets of Theif cuffs...these items will be a valuable asset to your entire party (and quest in general when you are trying to get loot/monies for later.) For now - move onwards to the Salikawood.

The Bombking: The Salikawood has a gate crystal you can (and should use.) Frankly, this is a great area (if you have the patience for it that is) to make money by stealing over and over from the Bombking one screen north of here. Simply steal, leave, re-enter where he is - rinse and repeat until you have as much loot as you want. Once you are ready to move on, prepare for the fight against him...it may be long depending on how well you've followed my guide, leveled-up, and how good your equipment is. I suggest having a party with one character equiped with the Nipholaoa accessory - you can purchase one of these from the merchant who supplies the hunters in Rabanastre after completing most of the hunts up to this point in the game. With it - you will EASILY be able to fell the Bombking and his kids - I'll tell you why: the Nipholaoa accessory reverses recovery items. O.O Do you know what that means??? If you throw a remedy at an enemy with one of these babies equiped it puts every status in the game (except the ones they are immune to) on the enemy! 0.0 See what I mean?!?! The Bombking will be slowed, poisoned, asleep, diseased, etc... essentially making this battle toooooooo easy. If you choose not to follow this path - just be aware that as he gets low on health he will cast renew - AND revive the bomb kids :p Your choice. After defeating him - return to the save crystal. This is/can be the tricky part.

Next - swap out all your characters so they a) have Shell, Protect and Libra cast on them, b) have as many HP + augments as possible, c) have the licenses for the best equipment you have available to your main squad. Alternative, if your levels/equipment are high enough - you may choose to fight your way through the Nechrol of Nabudis - but at this point I don't recommend that. Simply surviving is difficult ENUF! Here goes.... ;arf Run north of where the Bombking was, and eventually head West to get to the Nechrol - you should only have 1 active party member for this to work. HOLD DOWN R2 TO FLEE ALL BATTLES here! The Bachelmy that inhabit this place are awful to try to survive-through their attacks and magicks - that's one reason we are running - the other is that it is a LONG way to the effing spear! WHEN your character(s) die - remember to swap their equipment onto the next character so they can take several hits before getting KOed.
Head East - past all the traps. Around the large, central area, then South to find a staircase to the next area. Next - stop and revive and recast your buffs. Then head East again and North, then Northeast (you'll see what I mean when you are running) to find the next (and last) area you'll have to run through...remember to revive and rebuff any fallen party members. Now head a little North and as soon as you can go East do so. Follow and hug the wall to your north around the next bend and you'll eventually come to a room with 16 chests...now - if you DID NOT touch certain chests in the beginning of the game there will be 16 here - otherwise there will only be 15 - and you will have lost the Zodiac spear - although you have < a 1% chance of getting another one later in the Henne mines...this is the only foolproof way to get it (and you'll want it) this early in the game and with consistency.
After obtaining it - high tail it outta there and work you way back to the save crystal - congratulations. Have a sigh of relief, a smoke, a colonoscopy...whatever floats your boat. >_> You now have an attack valued at 150 - which at this stage in the game should be doing between 1900-over 3000 damage depending on what level you are at.

Phoenix Flame 05-26-2007 03:14 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Next...we are going to try and obtain some really nice armor and two kick-ass weapons from the Barheim passage...so head there now. (Use the key the moogle gave you to open the other entrance Southeast of the village.) Head to the save crystal and use it. If you remember obtaining/did obtain the Demonsbane sword(s) I told you about earlier - you're patience will be called-upon again here. Go South one screen of the save crystal and Immediately follow the tracks off to the West - you want to zone West from here...but take the southwest tunnel (there are two ways to head West.) Fight your way through the overgrown toads and (if you want) the giant turtle in this area. Past where you fight the turtle there is a huge boulder in the middle to the right of the path. If you see a 'special-looking' chest - you are in luck! This mimic is Ithuno, a rare monster with one item to steal - the Deathbringer sword (1-handed, + 90 Atk and + 10% chance for instant KO/attack) If you don't see Ithuno - soft-core and try again. Repeat until you have two... o_O At least that's what I do. I wouldn't sell these either because two Deathbringer swords + two shields = two walking tanks. o.o
Now that you have some good weapons, it's time to get some 1337 armor. This also may take a while. There are two chests further in the mine...one is about 1/2 way into it (Celebrant's Miter) which is awesome (+50 mgk.def, + 5 spd and + 5 magick).... If you happen to make it to the save crystal before Zalera...not that you'll be fighting him/her/shim/it yet.... >_> Just prior to making it there you may find a chest containing some dragon mail (+ 53 def, + 8 str.) 0.0!I suggest growing some gonads and trying to get a full 3 sets of these helmets and 3 suits of Dragon Mail. It will take a while... ok, it WILL take a while. :p But this will be all you need to fight in the Nechrol and get the 'best' heavy armor in the game...as well as THE BEST heavy armor in the game. (Maximillians-VS-Grand armor.)
Refer to the map that I keife...
*cough cough* .... - borrowed. = D ---- > www.geocities.com/arthellinus/barheimchests.jpg

---- 2 things of honorable mention: you can steal Gigas hats: (+38 MDef, +530 HP) from dead bones (rare steal.) Lastly, remember that 'Elixer' chest for later...once you have the Diamond Armlet you can come back here and get the Zodiac Escutheon from that chest!!!

While these are totally optional at this point in the game; can you imagine the powerhouse I was with 3 characters at level 50+, with a)Zodiac spear + 2 Deathbringers, b) 3 Dragon Mails and 3 Celebrants Miters, c) my 1337n355? o.O XD! As I said - You can (basically) go through the rest of the game with these items. You don't have to waste time on marks, leveling-up too much, or undesirable sidequests. But there are better weapons/armors out there and I'M gonna tell j00 where to get em! Later. <_<

Phoenix Flame 06-02-2007 07:45 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Update: I'm actually going to be editing this same guide on GameFAQs.com shortly...so instead of doing double the work I'll just wait until the guide is approved/posted and then copy/paste the rest of our work in.

= D

KKThxBai!!! = O

dappa 06-13-2007 07:10 PM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
When you do are you gonna put it in the final fantasy games information forum?

Phoenix Flame 06-16-2007 08:04 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Hmm...probably = D I hadn't thought about it. Maybe when we update the forum...since (hopefully) it will be done by that time.

Comalies 06-17-2007 11:24 PM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Just came across this through a search engine.

Great guide!

One thing about the Dustain- you don't have to save and re-load your game for it to respawn (if the EXP numbers do appear). You can just run back into Rabanastre and run back out since FFXII monsters re-spawn 2 screens away. :) I just figured this out myself.

Thank you so much for this!
;wel

Doctor 06-19-2007 05:31 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Heh heh, I like your guide. A LOT. XDD I wish I had done this stuff the first time I played. XP

Phoenix Flame 06-21-2007 02:44 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Thanks Faust = D

And,... I'm not too sure about the respawning. I attempted once before to get him to respawn by touching the save crystal and going back to see if he would and remember that Dustia didn't respawn...I'd have to check again to be sure.

Zeromus_X 06-21-2007 05:19 AM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
When I was farming loot with the Barheim Skeletons/ Feywood Mirror Knights, I noticed that going two screens away and coming back would make the enemies respawn. Although I guess there could be other factors that determine when monsters respawn.

Anyway, excellent guide Reason. :) Whenever I play FFXII again, I'll have to implement some of these strategies...

Phoenix Flame 06-21-2007 02:08 PM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Thanky again! :o Umm...that's true with normal enemies. But with most rare game enemies you have to soft reset to get them back.

Zeromus_X 06-21-2007 10:51 PM

Re: FFXII power-leveling guide!
 
Ah, I see. Thought there might be something different. :p


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