FFXII Help Thread: CAUTION - spoilers abound

[Tequila Sunrise]

What's the difference between energy-weak and -vulnerable?

[Meier Link]

Weak is exactly what it states the enamy is highly supseptable to that kind of magic damage.

As to where vunerable means that they can take the damage but the resulting damage will not be as suvere as compared to what damage will happen if you use the same spell on a bad guy that is weak.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Okay, so it's a matter of degree.

Thanks,
TS

[Tequila Sunrise]

Is there something special that I have to do to get Montblanc to give me the Yiazmat hunt? I've finished every other hunt, but his lips are sealed.

Also, any particular advice for fighting Yiazmat? I hear he's a pain.

Thanks,
TS

[Meier Link]

The only reason that he will not be availible from Monty would be

A: You have not completed all of the mark hunts
B: You have not completed Wyrm Philosopher side-quest


A few spells to keep up are Protectga, Shellga, Hastega, Bravery, and Regen keep them up on everyone and heve everyone equiped with Bubble Belts , have every type of healing item and magic restoring itemat 99 and set down for a VERY long battle. There are a few ways to reduce the fighting time but I am not going to get into them, I will leave that up for someone else to do.

[Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima]

What is a good enough average Party Level to go against Zodiark??? Cuz his lvl is like 66 or something like that, but has Massive HP: 34?,??? and is super anoying. But since then I have trained and I have this: Vaan lvl 94-96, Balthier lvl 56, Fran lvl 56, Basch lvl74-76, Ashe lvl 77-78, and Penelo lvl 56-57! I also have like 3 Save the Queen 's and other good weapons and armor. Any advice would help. Unless I'm good now then tell me if I am or not. He is the last esper I need. Please Help!

[Meier Link]

Mid/high 60s are recomended by me for all and use the rotation of characters to your advantage. But even at 65 it is still a challenge to make it to him let alone fight him. Should give you a dman good challenge.

[DragonHeart]

The only recommended level reference I could find says level 78-82 (I haven't yet conquered Zodiark myself.) You should be fine as long as you go prepared. Here's a strategy provided by GameFAQs:

Zodiark
Level 66
HP: 336847
LP awarded: 70

Actions:
Attack - 4% to inflict Disease.
Reflect - Places Reflect.
Bravery - Places Bravery.
Faith - Places Faith.
Lv. 2 Sleep - Inflicts Sleep on all characters with levels divisible by 2.
Lv. 3 Disable - Inflicts Disable on all characters with levels divisible by 3.
Lv. 4 Break - Inflicts Break on all characters with levels divisible by 4.
Piercing Graviga - Deals to an area damage of half the target's Max HP.
Banish Ray - Standard single-damage dark-elemental spell.
Scathe - Strong area non-elemental spell.
Darkja - 50% to inflict Instant Kill + Blind, yeowch!!
Battle Cry - Used on self, so normal attacks are stronger.
Limit Break - Used on self, so attacks and magicks have no charge time.
Mana Spring - Used on self, so spells no longer cost MP.
Shift - Used on self, so elemental weakness switches when hit with the element.
Greater Barrier - Places both Protect and Shell on himself. Also, his subsequent damage received is reduced.

Notable passives:
Penetrate Reflect.
Increases Attack Power when HP Critical.
Increases Magick Power when HP Critical.
Gun and Measure damage is reduced to 1/8.
Returns 5% of damage to the attacker.

Boss' HP < 50% --- Zodiark's Evasion +25.
Boss' HP < 20% --- Zodiark becomes immune to physical damage.
Boss gets Dispelled --- Zodiark becomes immune to magickal damage.

Ouch, what a huge pain in the ass. Zodiark seems to combine the more difficult elements of previous Esper battles (Zalera, Shemhazai, Exodus, Zeromus). Zodiark starts the fight with Darkja, the infamous spell that has a chance to instant kill AND inflict Blind (Blind does not disappear when revived). Black Masks and Demon Shields absorb dark damage but are unable to prevent instant kill or Blind. Summon Shemhazai and prepare for her Soul Purge; take no chances here. You must creep slowly towards Zodiark and let Shemhazai unleash Soul Purge before Zodiark uses Darkja, because Darkja could possibly kill you. Soul Purge shaves 20% off the boss' life.

Zodiark will use Darkja again throughout the battle, so be very prepared to use Pheasant Netsuke + Phoenix Down to revive fallen members. Always wear Black Masks or Demon Shields, too. Zodiark's Banish Rays, Piercing Gravigas and Level spells are no joke! Keep your party in top condition all the time.

The next biggest problem after Darkja is immunity. Zodiark becomes immune to physical damage at low HP, and once this paling disappears he puts it up again, making physical attacks almost ineffective now. He also becomes immune to magickal damage, but unlike the paling this doesn't stay on all the time, so switch your weapon-users to magick-users and spam Flares and Scathes. BEWARE OF REFLECT. If Zodiark puts on Reflect, equip Opal Rings on your magicians! Dispelling Zodiark induces him to become immune to magickal damage again.

Hope this helps.

~DragonHeart~

[Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima]

I went into battle with him earlier(last year not long ago) and I got owned but I got more than half of his life down...It was challenging and sooo freaking anoying! I had a lot of confidence in my self that I could beat him when I first challenged him...but I lost miserebly, but I got really close so it wasnt like I couldnt take care of myself. But losing after being so close to winning is one of the worst feelings you can have. I just gotta train a little harder, and get everyone's levels to @least 66. I'll try to make Vaan lvl 99, and Basch lvl 77 as well. Maybe lvl 80 with Basch and Ashe just in case.

[Tequila Sunrise]

I beat Zodiark at 99th, but I had crummy equipment. I think there's only two effective ways to finish him off when he becomes consistently immune to magick and physical: summons and quickenings. I used Ultima to finish him off, though it took me about an hour before I tried summoning as a hail Marie play. Who would have thought that summons deal untyped damage?

TS

[BabyCosgrove]

JUST A QUICK QUESTION / REQUEST:

A while back, someone posted the directions on how to find ULTIMA in the GIRUVEGAN CRYSTAL. Well, I'm trying to get to her again and I can't remember how to get there. Someone here was nice enough to screen shot the way and, like an idiot, I didn't write it down or print it out LOL

Can someone show me how to get to the top of the Crystal (where I heard she was?)??
and how do you get the SCORPIO GATE open? I can't seem to find the right place to get that gate open.

Thanx,
BabyCosgrove

[Meier Link]

Meier Link
Seeing you have been in the crystals upper layers I am only going to write out a small section of what I would normally say. IF you are having trouble finding your ways around the Crystals upper layers, try making your own map, I found this helped a little bit.

First you have to go through the Capricorn Gate II you only have about 3 minutes to make it there after you activate the Capricorn Stone via WAystove XVI. Then you have to go through Virgo Gate II you have a little over 100 seconds to make it to here after activating the Vigro gate stone, then take Way Stone XVII to the peak of the crystal. Keep in mind the Virgo

And here is the link to the map you where given,
http://thefinalfantasy.net/forums/fi...ml#post1172131
it was one page back.

[BabyCosgrove]

Whose post is it under? I can't find the map LOL

***Nevermind LOL. I found the map TWO PAGES back LOL!!!

So my question is this instead. Once I get to the Crystal, I try to open the Gate Scorpio but all it says is: "The device doesn't open but for my Master's Chosen, I will open" or something like that.

Uhhhh, okay then LOL. How do I get that device to open so I can actually GET to the top of the Crystal?

[CrazyVaan]

can i continue play after i finished the game ?

[Meier Link]

As far as I know, no you can not. Only options are going back from a previous save point out side of the final stage or you can completely start over again.

[nra4]

wats the easiest way to beat omega mark XII

[Confession]

Firstly be very prepared, levels 80+ are best, also having top notch weapons and armours such as, Zodiac Spears(s) and a Tournesol is good. Also if you go to that secret merchant in the Dreadlands you can get good armour.

Omega has only one attack, a single beam that takes off about 6k in life. so when setting up your gambits, you have to revolve around having everyone doing the same thing, but at different times. Why is this? Because in XII if you have singular classes for people, you lose one character and it is hard to recover. But if they all do the same thing, if you have the right gambits and enough items it can make any battle alot easier.

When considering your party I advice you to use Basch, Ashe and Penelo. Basch is the strongest, Ashe is the best magic user, and Penelo is as quick as a mountain goat (which is surprisingly quick)

Your gambits have to focus around have a few constants.
- Bubble
- Bravery
- Faith
- Downs.
- Haste
- Beserk

A good gambit setup should be as follows:

Basch:
Ally: Any - Phoenix Down
Ally: Any - Arise
Ally: Health < 30% - Curaja
Ally: Any - Remedy.
Self - Bubble
Foe: Any - Attack

Now as he is your main attacker in this part, you will have to turn gambits on and off during the battle.

Ashe:
Ally: Any - Phoenix Down
Ally: Any - Arise
Ally: Any - Curaja
Ally: Any - Bubble
Ally: Basch - Haste
Self: Haste
Ally: Basch - Bravery
Self: Bravery
Self: Faith
Ally: Any - Remedy
Ally: Any - Esuna
Foe: Any - Attack

Penelo:
Ally: Any - Phoenix Down
Ally: Any - Arise
Ally: Any - Curaja
Ally: Any - Bubble
Ally: Basch - Beserk
Self: Haste
Self: Bravery
Self: Faith
Ally: Any - Remedy
Ally: Any - Esuna
Foe: Any - Attack

Okay so witht hat setup and a bit of modifying to you own flow you have a basic game plan.

Have Basch with the strongest weapon, and as soon as the battle starts beserk him, Now you should be going into this battle with all augments already on each character so you don't need to worry about anything yet.

A hasted Basch with beserk on and the tournesol for example can hit about 3 times with 9999 damage in the time it takes for the other party members to hit.

Keeo basch beserked and make sure all augments remain on MAKE SURE BUBBLE IS ALWAYS ON OTHERWISE YOU WILL DIE.

If you cannot handle casting bubble all the time, bubble belts are a fantastic idea, as a matter of fact I advise them, don't worry about bubble gambits lol. have 3 bubble belts equipped.

So here's the plan.

Keep Basch beserked attackking full pace with Ashe and Penelo healing the person who gets struck and attacking, If shit gets thick and you cannot afford to be healing with 2 chars turn off the beserk gambit and justr have all three healing and attacking normally until you regain composure.

Good Luck.

[Firaga15]

I equip a Ninja Sword, it says it is a 2h weapon, but it looks like a 1h weapon when being used. Just for the record, it is the Yagyu Darkblade. Can they be dual-wielded, as in someone has a Yagyu and an Orochi equipped at the same time?

[Firaga15]

Whose post is it under? I can't find the map LOL

***Nevermind LOL. I found the map TWO PAGES back LOL!!!

So my question is this instead. Once I get to the Crystal, I try to open the Gate Scorpio but all it says is: "The device doesn't open but for my Master's Chosen, I will open" or something like that.

Uhhhh, okay then LOL. How do I get that device to open so I can actually GET to the top of the Crystal?

You have to have the Treaty-Blade. Try equipping it on somebody, then going for it. To get the Treaty-Blade, you have to safely travel through the Great Crystal and beat the boss on the other side of the Great Crystal, the Esper Shemhazai. The Occuria will grant you the sword, and you will have to go back through Giruvegan, as it is much safer than going through the Crystal. Hope that helps!

[Zierro]

I've been camping Larva Eater to get a Danjuro for two days straight. I'm doing the 1-zoning method and I get a spawn about every 15 minutes. No luck whatsoever.

I heard there is a 3% chance for them to drop it. Does this mean:

A.) After you kill it, there is a 3% chance of a Danjuro dropping to the floor.
or
B.) Whenever an item bag finally appears, there is only a 3% chance that this item will be Danjuro.

PS: Does anyone know of an easier way? I heard a rumor that chaining 255 Necros will cause LE to always spawn but I'm a bit skeptical about that.

[Meier Link]

I beleive it is A off of a zero kill chain, as your kill chain goes up the chances of receiving the item goes up also.

Just a quick suggestion, if at all possible move 2 screens away. This will cause all bad guys in the zone you want to fight into to respawn at once.

255 Necros will cause LE

Never heard about this, doubt it works that way. Woudn't waste my time trying either.

[Fate]

The thing about killing 256 Necrophobes is false, I read. From what I know, all you need to do is kill all the Necrophobes in the Leo Gate Stone area, and then keep going from that area to Waystone XIV. Just do that until the Larva Eater appears in the Waystone XIV area. And maybe getting the highest chain level is good, too? I mean, just getting the Larva Eater to drop something is hard, so you'll want to have the highest chain level to improve your chances of getting good items if it drops something. If you kill the Larva Eater, and you don't have a Danjuro, go two areas away form the Waystone XIV, but make sure to do it by passing through the Leo Gate Stone so that you don't accidentally respawn the Necrophobes that you killed. Do that, and then repeat the the going from Leo Gate Stone to Waystone XIV thing until it respawns again. You can actually chain the Larva Eater this way. I read this somewhere, and it worked for me, but I was never patient enough to get a Danjuro. Good luck.

[Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima]

Okay, I am having difficulty trying to Find a Mob Hunt: Ixion. It is said that Ixion is at Ridorana, but I need more info then that. I've Looked and Looked and I cannot find it. Where can it be? This Will help me so much if I can just Get it over with now. It Is really hard, and I hate it. Please, can someone help me?

[Fate]

I'm pretty sure Ixion is in the Penumbra part of the Pharos. Just take the lift to there, and if enemies are there, take the lift again and then back to Penumbra until no enemies appear. Then, just run around the giant circle path until Ixion decides to pop out into the open.

[SacredAngel13]

where / how did you get diamond armlet??

and also about the treasure in Balfonheim Port [Villa no.2], if we opened it then re-zone again, is there any possibility for us to get the treasure?? [i forget the treasure name]

[ffking997]

ok the diamond armlet is in the dalmasca westersand... u usually find it while doing the side event after u kill the flowering cactoid(hunt mark#2)... the balfonheim thing.. im not really sure what u are tlking about??.... sry i cant help u on tht part.

[FinalFantasy12]

Q. What level is recommended for Yaizmat? I'm level 85 now, but I died 8 times and I actually threw my controller. Any help?

Q2. Can you only obtain Zodiac Spear once?

[ffking997]

Q. What level is recommended for Yaizmat? I'm level 85 now, but I died 8 times and I actually threw my controller. Any help?

Q2. Can you only obtain Zodiac Spear once?

For yiazmat, try levels 85+ for all members, reserves included. Use a smart gambit set-up, curaja below 30% HP, cura below 50%.
All:Any-Arise
Keep bubble, regen, protect, and haste on at all times. And dispel Yiazmat immediatley.

Q.2 You can obtain the Zodiac Spear any amount of times.., once in the Nechrol (considering you didn't open the forbidden chests) and you can always obtain it in the Henne Mines, but it's extremely rare.

[Meier Link]

and you can always obtain it in the Henne Mines, but it's extremely rare.

FinalFantasy12, I wouldn't hold your breath on this means of getting a Zodiac Spear. There is only a 1/1000 chance of the Chest appearing with the spear inside of it. It is a total luck situation and generally requires way to many hours to obtain one from the chest let alone multiples from that chest. There is really no need for such a powerful weapon either. Every bad guy in the game can be taken down with out it.

If you truly want one the best and easiest method is Nechrol method that FFking pointed out.

Seeing I am lazy I am just going to source the chests you don't want to open and throw it in a spoiler tag.

SPOILER!!:

1. The chest in front of Old Dalan's place at the southern end of Rabanastre Lowtown.

2. The chest in the Rabanastre Palace Cellar. Do not open the one at the southeast corner of the map. There will be either one or two chests that may appear there. To be safe, don't open any of them.

3. The chest in the room at Nalbina Dungeons where you regain all your equipment back. There are more than one chest in the room so to be safe, just don't open any of them.

4. The chest at the eastern-most section of the Phon Coast. There are 16 chests there arranged neatly near the shore. Don't open any of them.

Source: Articlesbase

[ffking997]

Here's a trick I found at one point, it supposedly makes the Henne Mines ZP spawn almost certain, never tried it myself though.

One of the biggest headaches in the game is the Zodiac Spear if you have opened one of the 4 forbidden chests. Many people have spent countless hours trying to get the Zodiac Spear from the chest in the Henne Mines which is a 1/1,000 chance. Some people have been lucky and fluked one early whilst others have spent more time that they cared the to think about chasing that elusive spear. But now things are different. Let me explain.During one day I got 6 Zodiac Spears from the chest in the Henne Mines. Yes, you read that correctly.....SIX!!! Was I lucky? No. Did I use Armax or some other cheating device? No. So how did I do it? Well, I used the PS2's pre-programmed list of random numbers against itself. I am now going to show you how to get a Zodiac Spear from the Henne Mines but there are some conditions to this which must be met first. So here goes.....a step by step guide to the Zodiac Spear.

1. First thing I have to say is that this was done on a Phat PS2 (PAL Version) Series 39003. You will have to test this out and see if your machine will also do it. It probably will.

2. You MUST have one character who does NOT have the Brawler Licence activated. If you don't have a character without Brawler then you aren't going to be able to do it. The idea in this is that you have to hit yourself to move the Random Number Generator (RNG) and you could be hitting
yourself over 80 times. On my file Vaan is level 99 but has a Grand Armour. He does over 3000 damage with his bare hands. Three or four hits and he is history.

3. You need to know how to use the Immobilise Glitch. If you don't then I suggest you look it up in the FAQs and learn pretty fast if you want a Zodiac Spear (or 99).

4. Teleport to the Henne Mines making sure you have Chronos Tears and a Nihopalaoa. I guess you could use magick but it's best not to do too many things that move the RNG along. Equip two characters with armour but no weapon. Helm can be equipped, it's up to you. It makes no difference to my character whether they have a Circlet on or not. Equip one character with the Nihopalaoa and equip the character WITHOUT Brawler with the Diamond Armlet. Make sure the character with the Diamond Armlet has 5000+ HP. If not, cast bubble on them now. Cast float on both characters and turn off all gambits. Now put Game Speed on SLOWEST.

5. Put character with Nihopalaoa into reserves and just have your main character in the party. Save your game and then TURN OFF YOUR PS2!! This is imperative. A soft reset will NOT work and in trying to save time you will just waste time. Now reboot your game.

6. Head from the Gate Crystal into the Ore Separation and towards the Phase 2 Dig but before you enter the Phase 2 Dig you MUST hit yourself twice. If you forget to do this then you are just going to have to start again. If you don't hit yourself twice then it is unlikely you will ever see the Zodiac Spear Chest. Having done this, enter the Phase 2 Dig.

7. Now bring out the other character and get them to use a Chronos Tear on themselves which will put them under stop. Now with the flee button held in head down the passage. You will see 3 Abysteels in front of you and you may take some damage in this spot only. Run directly at the Abysteels and don't try to dodge them. I find they use Gnaw (instant attack) more if you try to
dodge them. When you get to the intersection where there are 2 more Abysteels use the Immobilise Giltch to clear all of them away. Keep going through the area towards the ZS Chest using the Glitch to clear all enemies in your way. As you reach the brickwork you are at the point where you may have to renew the Chronos Tear on the character by the entrance. You will
have to renew it at least once.

8. You arrive at the Zodiac Spear Chest Location. It may not be there but there is a reasonable chance that it will. Doing it this way I reckon it appears a lot more than 10% of the time. Shame you're not guaranteed the Spear, eh? Now put your other character into the reserves. Do NOT forget to do this. Turn the game speed back to FASTEST and give your character just one gambit. SELF: ATTACK.

9. Now you have to hope that you have the right pattern for the random numbers. What you are looking for are Combinations. The one of most interest to you is a 5 Hit Combo but that will be later. For now what you DON'T want is a 2 hit combo at all. If you get a 2 Hit Combo you may as well reset without even opening the chest because you ain't getting a Spear. It depends on whether you took any damage from the Abysteels as to when you get your first combo but I am going to assume you took none. There are 3 possibilities and this is what you need to be looking for:

a) A 3 hit combo after about 21 hits. This will then be followed by a 4 hit combo after 29 more hits. Finally, after another 28 hits you will get a 5 hit combo.

b) A 4 hit combo after about 54 hits. This will be followed by a 5 hit combo after a further 28 hits.

c) A 5 hit combo after 82-84 hits

If you get any other pattern then forget it. You won't get the Spear. One more thing. During the 5 hit combo MAKE SURE YOU TURN YOUR GAMBITS OFF!!! If you don't do this and your character hits themself after the 5 hit combo then your Spear is gone.

10. If you didn't get a), b) or c) then turn your PS2 off and start again.

11. If you got any of a), b) or c) then open the chest and get your ZODIAC SPEAR. If you have the Diamond Armlet on I will GUARANTEE you it will be there.

12. Get the hell outta there and save your game.

13. Rinse and repeat as many times as you want for as many Zodiac Spears as you want.

Copy/pasted from here:
Getting the Zodiac Spear from the Henne Mines - GUARANTEED - Final Fantasy XII Forums