Final Fantasy X/Sanubia Desert

This is quite a bit different from Macalania, isn't it?

Finding Everyone

You'll start off swimming in an oasis by yourself. Check the lower left to find a chest containing 4 Remedies. Get out and save your game, then after Tidus has a few thoughts to himself, walk out into the desert. After a short way you'll enter a predetermined battle against a Zuu — by yourself. Use Slow on it and wait for its first attack (which will never kill you). Auron will show up to give you a hand. Use Power Break on it and after one turn something off-screen will cast a spell on it. It's Lulu, who will also join in. Tidus should use Haste on Auron and Lulu and Delay Attack/Delay Buster if you have it on the Zuu, and Lulu should keep up the punishment with -ara spells. Auron should just attack. Sonic Boom does about 600-700 damage to everyone, so watch out.

Zuus have 18000 HP but it shouldn't take too long to deplete. After this, go back and use the save sphere to replenish your health, then enter the desert once more. Around the corner of the dune you'll find Wakka in a sort of shelter. His faith's been shaken quite a bit. Once he's in your party, pick up the Al Bhed First Aid kit for 8 Al Bhed Potions (you'll get tons of these, and they're useful). Head on along to the next area. Go right and you'll see Kimahri fighting a losing battle with…a sand dune. Talk to him and he'll join your party again. Head around the corner and after so long you'll find Rikku by another shelter. She'll rejoin and tell you where you are and where you've gotta go. Pick up the Ether in the chest and the Al Bhed First Aid Kit, then use the Save Sphere and head on along to the next area.

To Home

This place is massive, and make sure you check everywhere for all the goodies — in the large main section there's an assortment of Mega-Potions, X-Potions and Hi-Potions in the chests dotted around. Towards the top you'll find another save sphere and a warning board from the Al Bhed. You'll want to go right and follow this area to the next one, but first go left. In the ruins around here you can pick up some good stuff — in one there's two chests with 10000 Gil and a Level 2 Key Sphere, in another there's an Al Bhed Primer, and at the bottom of this side-area there's a chest with an Elixir.

There are some more new monsters here:

• Sand Wolves are wolves, so hit them with Tidus. They should go down in one hit, although occasionally inflict Silence with their physical attack.
• Alcyones are birds, so Wakka will be the only one who will hit them often, but they go down in one hit. Their physical attack is weak but has a good chance of inflicting darkness.
• Mech Guards are machina, so use Steal for an instant kill.
• Mech Gunners are also machina, so use Steal for an instant kill. Otherwise they do more damage and have more health than Mech Guards but are also slower.

Once you've got these head back to the save sphere on the main path and head on up to the next area. Search around for some more goodies. You'll spot a side area just above the path coming from the southwest — along here is a chest containing 8 Hi-Potions and in the sand whirlpool a chest containing the Mercury Crest. You can't access the sandstorm-blocked areas yet. On the left-hand side just beyond the two sand whirlpools with plants in the middle (don't enter these for the chests yet) are two chests, one containing 3 Mega-Potions and the other containing 2 X-Potions.

The plants in the middles of the sand whirlpools up ahead are Sandragoras, and they are quite annoying if you don't know what you're doing. They have 12750 HP and absorb Water, so unequip any weapons with Waterstrike before you fight it. It's weak to fire, so have Lulu use Fira on it. Its main attack is Seed Burst which is extremely annoying — 200 or so damage and confusion on one person. It's vulnerable to Armour Break (which you should make sure you have by now) and occasionally Sleep, otherwise make sure you deal the damage quickly to avoid getting multiple party members under confusion and wasting valuable Remedies curing it. You can occasionally trust your party to hit themselves under confusion, thus knocking themselves out of it, but it's unreliable.

Defeating the left-hand Sandragora will allow you pick up a chest with 3 Megalixirs (!), and defeating the right-hand one will allow you to get 2 Teleport Spheres. Another Sandragora bars your passage to the north, but it's no different from the others (except you don't get an awesome prize for beating it). Once it's dead, proceed onwards and Rikku will tell you that Home's right up ahead…and it's under attack.