Thanks to goldeneye86 and spirit_guy_25 for their contributions here
By the way, you can get additional Franciscas from Mimeos (rare drop), as well
as Gigas Hats (+38 Magick Defense, +530 HP) as rare steals from Dead Bones
enemies.
In Special Op. Sector 5, which is west of the Gate Crystal, run past the
Silicon Tortoise and keep going until you see a rock on the right side of the
tracks. On the far side of that rock there will be a chest. If there are two
of them, the silver-looking one is Ithuno. If the silver chest is not there,
reload your game. Examine the silver chest to provoke Ithuno. Let it chase
you all the way back to the entrance of Special Op. Sector 5. At this point,
just keep stealing until you get a Deathbringer. If you need to heal, go back
one screen and heal before returning (Ithuno will still be there, like the
Lindbur Wolf). Don't move back two screens or you will reset the area. Once
you've obtained your Deathbringer, head back to the Gate Crystal and save
your game. Now quit and reload. Repeat the entire process if you want another
one. Rinse and repeat as many times as you like.
- 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
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 (this doesn't take much additional effort
after unlocking all of the other ones).
Run through Mosphoran and into the Salikawood. Head straight for
the Gate Crystal at Quietened Trace. Save your game. The Bomb King is one
screen away from you. Put on your game face and head north. The Bomb King will
start out with some minions, so get rid of those first. However, once you've
done so, pull back out to the crystal. The little ones won't be there when you
go back.
Kill the Bomb King. This is easier said than done, but you should be able to do
it with the help of Kotetsus, Demonsbanes, and your Francisca. Equip as many
of those as you can. As far as your characters go, make sure that you have at
least four characters that know MQs. This shouldn't be an issue by now, but it's
the bare minimum if you want to be safe, and for those four, it is preferred
that at least three of them have attained their Level 2 MQs.
Once your characters are set up, rush in. Hack away at the Bomb King until it
starts to call for help (reviving the little Bombs). This usually happens with
50% to 60% of its health remaining. When you see this, immediately start your
MQs. Sometimes your chain won't kill it immediately. If this happens, you must
not allow the Bomb King to stick around for much longer, since it will cast
Renew to heal itself completely, so swap out one character for your fourth
character with MQs and start another chain, hopefully one that will do enough
damage to finish it off. Obviously, if you have more characters with MQs, you
can repeat this process up to two more times.
Retreat to the save point again and rotate all of your characters around so
that every single one of them has an active Libra/Protect/Shell. Save your game.
Now, reform your party so that it has only one member.
Run through where the Bomb King previously stood and take the left branch. Keep
heading west and you will enter the Necrohol of Nabudis. This area is filled
with deadly traps and difficult enemies. With your level of equipment, it is
stupid to pick fights in here. That's not why we came, anyway.
Avoid all traps and run from all the enemies. In the first area, keep heading
west while searching for the exit. This is the hardest area to get through,
since Baknamys are extremely aggressive. When you lose a character (and you
will), swap out another one, but ONLY one. This guarantees maximal
survivability. Once you reach the second area, stop to revive, heal, and
recast Libra/Protect/Shell on everyone. Keep running, this time heading
northeast. Eventually you will reach Cloister of the Highborn, the central
area and home to what is for the most part the strongest weapon in the game.
Make a right from where you come in and then the next left. You should be
heading down a corridor heading north. Take the first left; this room should
have sixteen treasure chests in it if you left the right chests alone earlier
in the game. The Zodiac Spear is in the second chest from the left in the row
closest to you as you enter the room. You will likely have Elvorets on your
tail, so grab the weapon and get out of there. Backtrack through the first
two areas and exit out to the Salikawood. Make your way all the back to the
Gate Crystal. Congratulations!
Note :
if u want this weapon avoid the following chest (don't open it)
1. At the southern end of Rabanastre Lowtown, do not open the chest that
sits in front of Old Dalan's house.
2. In the Rabanastre Palace Cellar, do not open the treasure chest(s) that
sit in the southeast corner of the map. There are either one or two
chests that may appear there. Do not open anything in either case. To be
specific, do not open the chest with the Elixir in it (on your left as
you approach the southeast corner), but that chest is not guaranteed to
show up. Just play it safe and don't open anything you see in the
southeast.
3. In the Nalbina Dungeons, do not open any of the treasure chests that
appear in the room where you get the map for the area and regain your
equipment (Confiscatory).
4. At the eastern-most section of the Phon Coast (Vaddu Strand), do not open
any of the 16 chests that are there. This step is irrelevant, because if
you are going to follow the walkthrough in this guide, you will obtain
the spear way before you ever reach the Phon Coast.
Head to the Tomb of Raithwall. Kill both Demon Walls. They should be easy with
your equipment. Activate the side stairs in the area of the first Demon Wall by
examining the area where the Demon Wall was and then save your game outside at
the Gate Crystal. Time for another weapon.
Now take those stairs you opened up all the way to the back. Once you reach
Royal Passage, go all the way down until the two paths converge. There is a
70% chance that there will be a chest here. If there is, there will be a
22.5% chance that it holds one Demonsbane. You can fight through all of the
Tallows, or just grab the chest and run. If the chest isn't there or if you
don't get the sword, reload your game and try again. If you run out of
patience, then don't worry about it. The Demonsbane is merely temporary and
will become obsolete once we get out of Raithwall. However, the fun part is
that the chest respawns, so you can grab the Demonsbane, run back to the
save point, save, reload, and try your luck again ad infinitum/nauseum.
Kotetsu
~~~~~~~
Stats: +50 katana
Method: Rare drop from Werewolf - Giza Plains, Starfall Fields
Save your game at Giza Plains, Crystal Glade. Head west and you'll find
two Werewolves stalking around in the southwestern corner. They are weak to wind.
Perfect! Go to town on them with your Gladius. You can chain them by heading two
screens east (don't touch the save point) and returning. You'll likely
also build up a few more levels this way.
The Werewolves aren't pushovers, though, even with the Gladius. You can buy
Protect from Nalbina (thanks for the reminder from prinnypayday@yahoo.com) to
help you move things along. If things get really rough, consider investing
some LP into a Mist Quickening (MQ). A few Red Spirals should be all you need
as a desperation move.
