Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls/Soul of Chaos/Lifespring Grotto


 * Note: While the Lifespring Grotto is shorter and opens before the Whisperwind Cove, the two bosses at the end are by far the hardest in the game. It is recommended that you save these two until the end, though you can still go through and get the treasures in the first ten floors as soon as the Grotto opens.

The Lifespring Grotto is directly south of Mount Duergar, right next to the canal. Simply sail into the whirlpool to enter the Grotto. Access is granted once players have defeated the Fiend of Water, the Kraken.

By the time you're ready to take on the Grotto, you'll have long since switched to the airship. As a result, your ship is probably still docked near the Ryukahn Desert. Since the only reason to use the ship again is to get into the Grotto, you might as well dock it closer to the whirlpool in order to save time. The closest place is the river mouth north of the Western Keep. To get your ship over there, land the airship at the northernmost point of the landmass south of the canal. Now, walk south, past the Western Keep, through the forests, and then turn east and head back towards Elfheim. Continue east until you get to the river, then canoe east until you get to the desert, and finally get into your ship. Sail west, along the southern coast and then up the western side - all the way back to where you left your airship and dock at the river mouth. Now you can just land your airship right near the ship and sail directly into the Grotto.

Inside the Grotto entrance, a mermaid tells you that this is where mermaids and humans who fall in love with each other can come to live together. After the seal is opened, she'll tell you that the water is pure now.

Floors

 * * While most maps have a maximum of five treasures, the Castle map has ten chests, so there are five additional items available on with that map.

One boss is located on the fifth and tenth floors, and the other two are located on the twentieth floor.

The treasures listed are potential chests. The actual number of chests is determined by the specific map and the floor number. The deep into the dungeon you go the more chests will appear. If the map has less than five chests, treasures will be randomly chosen from the list.

Maps

 * * Dungeon = fighting, Town = interact with people, Minigame = solve puzzle
 * ** Closed = area with defined rooms/sections, Field = open area, Endless = no edges

Castle
One of the largest and most complicated maps, this one isn't particularly difficult; it just requires going slowly. The catch is that most of the floor consists of very narrow walkways of invisible tiles. The tiles will occasionally flicker so you can see where they are, then disappear again. Just move very slowly and wait if you're not 100% sure where the next tile is located. If you misstep you are sent back to the beginning of the floor (though there is no other penalty, such as taking damage). It would be a good idea to turn of auto-dash if you're using it so you don't accidentally overshoot your target. You start in the northwest and the exit is in the northeast, but you have to go through the southern part to get to it. To get straight to the exit from the start take the following branches at each fork: north (from the starting point), east, south, south, west, north, exit the room from the north, north, north, north, continue along to the exit.

Note that this is the only map in the Grotto where ten treasure chests can appear, so you can get extra items. The ten chests will always appear, regardless of which floor you get this map.

Dancers' Village
This floor is simply three out of five possible "rooms" filled with those dancers that can be found in various towns. Don't bother talking to any of them as they have nothing important to say. Unfortunalty you can only get up to three of the possible four treasure chests on this floor because of the random room selection.

Part 1
 * Room A: This room is always the starting room. There a two rows of dancers going back and forth, so simply move through the upper line first to check for a possible chest then go through the lower line to the warp tile.

Part 2
 * Room B: This room is a bit more complicated than the first, but still easy. There are three huts with dancers moving clockwise around them. Simply get into an opening and follow them around until you get get to the next circle, and then the third to check for a chest in the southeastern most section, then go back to the second circle and exit at the south end to find the warp tile.
 * Room C: Similar to Room B, but there is only one house, and single, massive dancer circle going around. Just grab a spot and follow the dancers around to the warp tile on the south end. If there's a chest in the northeast corner you'll see it as you move through the circle.

Part 3
 * Room D: This area is one long hallway that switchbacks five times. Two of the columns are filled with dancers meandering about aimlessly. Simply push your way through the crowds until you get to the stairs.
 * Room E: Also a swtichbacking room, but much larger than Room D and there is only one dancer. Head down the right side for treasure (you'll be able to see if there is a chest as soon as you get to the end of the first vertical hallway) and then down the left side for the stairs.

Dark Bahamut's Lair
A very simple floor, this is simply a string of fights. You start off standing in front of Dark Bahamut. Talk to him and he'll tell you that you have to fight his servants (dragons) in order to prove yourself ready to pass on to the next floor. He'll then give you a list of specific dragon types you have to defeat (e.g. Red Dragons, Silver Dragons, etc.) and the room will fill up with a bunch of dragon characters wandering about. Talk to one to start a fight. You'll fight a random type of dragon, and once you defeat it, continue talking to dragons until you kill all of the ones on the list. Once you kill all the necessary ones you can talk to Dark Bahamut again and he'll let you pass. After you talk to him to finish the minigame you can't fight any of the remaining dragons, so you might want to kill them all first for EXP and Gil. There a three of each type of dragon, which means you get 84,162 Gil and 80949 EXP if you clear out the entire floor.

Just be careful of Holy Dragons, which can maul even a level 50 Knight. Black dragons cast instant death spells, so it is advisable not to attempt to fight them unless you have Protect Rings, or even better Ribbons. The rest of the dragons are run-of-the-mill, and you're probably at a high enough level that even their special attacks cause trivial damage.


 * Dragon types (see the Final Fantasy enemies and DoS enemies pages for details)

Fortress
Long, winding hallways reminiscent of the Flying Fortress, this is a fairly simple map, though a bit large. If you are interested in treasure, run around to all of the different rooms and dead ends to find chests, otherwise just head straight to the southeast corner of the map for the exit tile.

Ice Cavern
Very similar to the lowest level of the Ice Cavern where you got the Levistone. The enemies are fairly easy, though there are a lot of damage tiles, so whenever you get into a fight have someone use one of the items that casts Healaga.

Library
A small, but crowded floor that involves you trying to get past annoying townsfolk who are in your way. There is no puzzle to solve; just want for them to move out of your way so you can get to the exit in the northeast.

Marsh Cave
Based on the Marsh Cave, this floor is a fairly open dungeon, however you have to navigate through a maze of rocks. Most of the treasure chests are on the way to the exit, but two are off in the northern section. The exit is in the southeast, but you have to get to it by going through the hallway-room from the southwest.

Shrine A
Very similar to the fifth floor of the Sunken Shrine, you're in a large area with numerous small rooms. Additionally, there are two very long rooms that serve as hallways, connecting the west and east sides of the map. The upper hallways connects to the northeast section and the lower hallway to the southeast section. The exit is in the very northwest corner of the floor, behind a room with no door.

Shrine B
This floor is basically a single path, with a couple of rooms. There's a decent chance that you'll start a few steps away from the exit, so if none of the treasures are worth your time, just head on to the next floor. Depending on what floor this maps appears on, you may begin to encounter Killer Sharks, which one are some of the nastiest (non-boss) enemies in the game.

Shrine C
While this maps is relatively large, all of the treasures are clustered together in the rooms. One room is in the center of the map, and the other is in the northeast corner. If you want them, grab them before heading to the stairs in the southeast. In any case, you should be out of here in no time.

Shrine D
Another very large map, but this one is fairly linear and the entire western half is completely empty. Just follow the path around to the east; the area with the exit branches off of the rightmost path.

Shrine E
If you start in the lower section, the treasure may be too out of the way to bother with since the exit is in the southeastern corner. If you start in the upper section, you can easily grab the treasures as you run by the rooms.

Shrine F
Another linear map, though this one is fairly small. The exit is in the upper right corner (you may start near it), and the treasures are either in the room in the middle or on the opposite end of the map in the northeast corner.

Sunken Village
Here you'll be canoeing through a flooded town that's completely devoid of humans or monsters. The treasure chests are scattered about and the exit is a random door. Get the treasures first and then try to go into every doorway; one of them will take you to the next floor. Only the doorways that are above water are possible exits, so no need to bother trying the completely submerged buildings.

Temple A
This floor consists of one large open area, a small room with a treasure chest, and numerous narrow hallways. The exit in in the very southeast corner of the map, in one of the hallways.

Temple B
It would be a fairly open area, except for the strategically placed pillars. To get the treasures on the eastern half, you'll have to head down to the bottom and make your way up from the bottom. To get to the stairs, you'll have to approach from the north and loop around a row of pillars.

Temple C
Most of the hallways are blocked off by pillars, so you'll have to navigate through the rooms. There's a potential treasure in each of the four rooms, and to get to the stairs you'll have to go through the southwestern room.

Floor 5
There's only one boss here - Gilgamesh, but you have to find him first. Usually he'll be in a treasure chest in one of the rooms, but occasionally he'll be near the exit. You can talk to the mermaids for clues, or just wander around looking for chests. If you don't find one, go talk to the mermaid by the locked door near the exit. If she unlocks the door for you, he's waiting near the exit; if not, he's somewhere in the main area or one of the rooms.

Floor 10
A large, but simple floor, with the boss Atmos standing in front of the only door available from the start. Smack him around a bit to get the Judgment Staff, a weapon that casts Flare when used as an item. Once Atmos is dead, go into the massive room that he was blocking. Head along the eastern wall to get to the transporter that takes you to the surface or along the western wall to get to the stairs to floor 11. It should be noted that this is the last chance to exit without dying, unless you beat Omega or Shinryu - the two strongest bosses in the game. If you aren't at a very high level, you might want to just leave and go enjoy abusing the free Flare spells you now have.

Floor 20
A massive chamber with two bosses, Omega and Shinryu. From the start, head up until paths branch off to the right and left. Omega is to the left and Shinryu is to the right. Omega is slightly easier than Shinryu, but both are the two hardest bosses in the game so the difference is fairly trivial. You'll get the Hero Shield once you defeat Shinryu.

Enemies

 * See the enemies page for details on each monster.

Castles, towns, and the library do not have random encounters and the Dragon Lair only has non-random dragon encounters.

Bosses
The Lifespring Grotto has four new bosses, which Final Fantasy fans might recognize from Final Fantasy V. Gilgamesh is hiding on the fifth floor, Atmos guards a door on the tenth floor, while Omega and Shinryu are on the lowest level.

Note: All bosses are strong against Quake, Stone, Death, Time, and Poison. Additionally, you will receive no Gil or EXP for defeating them.

Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh hits very hard, but if you can get enough Proteras cast you should be okay. Three castings of it and an Invisira should make him more reasonable. Just hope he doesn't attack one character repeatedly before you can get your defense up. He'll occasionally use a Wind Slash attack, which hits all characters for moderate damage, or Excalipur, which hits for 1 damage. Once you get your defense and attack up, just focus on physical attacks and use your Wizards for healing.

Atomos
Atomos' has two main attacks: a fairly weak physical attack and casting Firaga. While the physical attack can be neutralized by casting Blink, for some reason Nulblaze does not protect against Firaga like it should. In addition to those to he will occasionally cast Comet, a very powerful spell that can do 500+ damage to even a high-leveled character, so immediately use Curaja or Curaga after someone gets hit with it (or Full-Life, if necessary). Aside from that he also does Wormhole, an instant death spell, somewhat frequently. However, if you have Ribbons, Protect Rings, or NulDeath then this is a worthless attack.

Shrinyu
Shrinyu is a very hard boss and you should make sure that your party is at full health before you fight him. Shrinyu constantly uses Flare, which can do massive damage to your Knight, Master and/or Ninja, so be prepared to use Phoenix Downs and Life. He also uses Tidal Wave, which does more than 400 damage to your entire party. Shrinyu has very strong spells, so be careful. His physical attack is also strong, so Protera should be used. He has the most health out of all bosses in Final Fantasy, 35,000 (Which is the same health as Omega) so casting Haste and Temper on your strong teammates should be a priority. He has very weak defense which means that you can do loads of damage to him if you boost your player's attacks. He is also weak to Fire and Dia, as he is undead, so use those spells to deal out some more damage. It will take a while, but you will eventually kill him. Make sure you use Healaga constantly as well as Temper and Haste. Once you defeat him, you will get the Ragnarock, a sword even more powerful than Excalibur. Also, if you open the chest on the right, you will get the Hero's Shield.