Final Fantasy X-2/Chapter 5/Mushroom Rock Road


 * Area Enemies
 * Archaeothyris -
 * Crimson Shadow -
 * Domen -
 * Elma (Ch 5) -
 * Gucumatz -
 * League Mage -
 * League Master -
 * League Slasher -
 * League Veteran -
 * League Warrior -
 * Lich -
 * Lupus -
 * Spine Drake -
 * Watcher-A - Should be taken out first with physical attacks only. Will only appear before defeating the Machina Panzer boss found on the Thunder Plains.
 * Watcher-R - Should be taken out first with physical attacks only. Will only appear before defeating the Machina Panzer boss found on the Thunder Plains.
 * Watcher-S - Should be taken out first with physical attacks only. Will only appear before defeating the Machina Panzer boss found on the Thunder Plains.
 * Yaibal -

Youth League
If you handed the stolen sphere over to the Youth League during Chapter 2, speaking to the group at the entrance to Mushroom Rock Road will start a side mission. The League members have become restless and have set up a challenge. Speak to Yaibal to accept the challenge when you are ready. A battle will begin against him and two other soldiers. After you have beat him, follow Lucil down the Mushroom Rock Road path, encountering 6 more sets of soldiers along the way. The last set includes Elma. After you have taken her group out, Lucil confronts you. Lucil isn't a real challenge to fight. Normal attacks and spells will work just fine against her. What you do have to watch out for is that she will attempt to cast Doom on each party member very quickly. Focus on attacking her instead of defending against her and it shouldn't be a problem. If it does become a problem, use an Alchemist's Mega-Phoenix Stash ability or a Mega-Phoenix to recover.

After Lucil is taken out, Episode Complete will be awarded and the girls will automatically return to the Airship Celsius. Return to the area to collect treasures.

Treasures
Entering Mushroom Rock road from either the airship, Djose, or Mi'ihen, follow the path to a small alcove to the north. Ride the lift found in the alcove up to the ledge to collect two chests with 2500 Gil and a Mega-Potion. Take the lift back down and head to the next section of Mushroom Rock Road. Head along the curving path to the crevasse. Jump down to collect a chest with Turbo Ether x3 and two different chests each containing an Elixir. The Den of Woe can be completed at this point if you have all the Crimson Spheres. When you have finished with the lower area, jump out of the lower area and continue to the northern end of the curving path. In the next area with the lift that leads to the Youth League Headquarters, look around the southern part next to the lift for a chest. Open it for the key item Machina Booster. Take the lift up to the headquarters.

Before entering the headquarters, jump to the small side ledge on the right. There is a chest with Crystal Bangle. You can now enter the headquarters. Navigate through the headquarters to the observation deck. Here you can find Lucil. Speak with her and she will give you Nooj's Sphere. This can be viewed on the airship by speaking to Shinra and asking to watch Deathseeker.

If you have collected all the Crimson Spheres, head to the Den of Woe at the end in the crevasse.

Den of Woe
All 10 Crimson Spheres are needed to open the Den of Woe. The below table tells you the location and chapters in which the spheres are found. Once you have collected all 10, head to Mushroom Rock Road and down to the bottom of the gorge. Save at the Save Sphere found before the cave. Enter the area before the door and interact with the door by pressing psx: X. All the spheres will be placed and the door will light up. Head into the cave. There are no items inside the den so proceed directly to the east to a large area. Pyreflies will begin to overwhelm the party with feelings. Yuna must now take on each of her friends. It is ideal to prepare Yuna for the upcoming battles before entering the cave. Equip her with a Thief so you can use the Steal or Mug ability and Pilfer Gil. Give her access to a strong attack dressphere as well as a healing dressphere. Rikku, true to the thief dressphere attacks swiftly. Use the thief dressphere to Steal and Pilfer Gil and then switch to an attacking dressphere. Attack until she goes down, using Hi-Potions if needed.

Paine is equipped as a warrior so her attacks will be strong. Don't hesitate to heal when needed. Use a Thief to Steal and Pilfer Gil and then as before switch to an attacking dressphere. After completing the battle against Paine, you will now have all three girls to fight with for the upcoming battles. This illusion of Baralai fights similar to the real version you fought in Bevelle with the exception he has a few new attacks that drain MP or silence. A Black Mage or other dressphere that relies on MP should be avoided. Use a Thief to Steal and Pilfer Gil and then switch to attack. You may have to have someone set as a White Mage to heal every round if Baralai's swinging staff attacks takes the group to low. Physically attack him until he fades into pyreflies. Gippal has a similar fighting style to Baralai. However magic is more effective against him. He can cast attacks that inflict silence, but does so infrequently. Have a Thief Steal and Pilfer Gil then focus on healing and attacking. As Gippal's HP drains, he will begin to cast Bullseye and Mortar more. Have two girls focus on hitting him with strong attacks while one is healing when it comes to that point. A healer is key while fighting Nooj. He has a gun attack that cause more than 1500 HP in damage as well as a Greedy Aura ability that siphons MP from all characters. He is resistant to magic so focus on using strong physical attacks. Don't forget to have a Thief Steal and Pilfer Gil before taking him down. Take advantage of his weakness to Darkness by using a Dark Knight's Darkness ability. Once Nooj drops below 3000 HP, have your healer ready. At that point he performs an attack that causes 5000 HP damage to the entire party.