Select controller:Gill Shrine[edit]
Renamed: Ghido Cave (GBA)
Though the barrier is now down and you can enter X-Death's castle, the door to the main part of the castle is locked, so other than talking to Zeza's soldiers who are occupying the lower levels, there is nothing else to do here.
There are three points of interest marked on your underwater map, and the one in the center marks Gill Shrine. This is what is left of Gill's island since it is now underwater. Sail around X-Death's island and locate a rocky spot on the otherwise sand covered ocean floor. As soon as the sub is over it you automatically dock.
Go south to reach B2. Cross the room and go through a doorway to a room with five chests in the middle. The one that is closed has a big rock in it; this holds the lid down which then holds the doorway open. You can change which of the five doorways on the north side of the room is open by moving the rock to different chests. To save time, the doors on the far left and far right are dead ends, and since these are controlled by the chests on the right you do not have to bother with those two at all. Take the rock out of the center chest and place in the chest in the upper left; this opens the middle right door. Go in and press the button here to open a passage in another room. Now go back and move the stone from the upper left to the lower left; this opens the middle door. Go in, follow the newly opened passage to B3.
Around this time you start getting random battles with a monster called Metamorpha, who can transform into one of nine alternate forms. You have seen these forms as other monsters, some of which are easy to handle but others may be tricky if you are not prepared. Metamorpha has high ABP but low EXP so this is a good spot to develop jobs without leveling up.
Look for the dark passage in the southwest corner, follow and press the button at the end. This opens a doorway in the center of the room. Go through this doorway down the stairs to B4. This floor has dark passages similar to the ones in Valley of Dragons; follow them west, south, and east, then exit to B5.
This seems like a dead end, but when you get close to the edge of the pond here you see a turtle. Jump in to be sucked through an underwater passage and emerge in a new area. Cross the path over the water to meet the turtle again. The turtle is revealed to be Gill. He gives you the Elder Branch which allows you to enter Moore Forest.
Cast Telepo to return to the sub.
Moore Village[edit]
- For more details on shops, see Moore Village's shops.
| Found | Container | Location |
|---|---|---|
| HuntingKnife | Barrel | West of pub. |
Gill mentioned that the forest, your next stop, is west of Surgate Castle. It cannot be reached by the drake. Check the underwater world map and locate the point of interest marked nearby; it's at the western edge of the map. Pilot the sub there and follow a narrow channel northeast until you reach the end, then surface and you find yourself in a small lake. Start by entering the town to the west.
Rest at the inn for 70 GP; the item shop is here with the usual items. There are new items at the weapon shop to the east, new armor at the armor shop in the southeast, and new magic in the north. Visit the pub for gossip and do the second to last part of the Pianos subquest.
Moore Forest[edit]
| Found | Container | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2500 GP | Chest | Northwest corner of first area. |
| Ether | Barrel | East side of first area. |
| 4900 GP | Chest | Northwest side of second area. |
| Phoenix Down | Barrel | North side of second area. |
| 9500 GP | Chest | Northeast corner of second area. |
| Cottage | Chest | Southwest corner of third area. |
| 9500 GP | Chest | Southwest corner of third area. |
| Giant Drink | Chest | Southeast corner of third area. |
| Elixir | Chest | West side of path, north of save point in third area. |
| Mace | Chest | Northeast corner, north of save point in third area. |
| Flame Shield | Chest | Northeast of Moogle hole, after fire. |
| Ash | Chest | North side of path, west of Moogle hole, after fire. |
| Flame Saber | Chest | West end of path, after fire. |
When you are ready, head east over the bridge to enter Moore Forest. With the Elder Branch in your possession, approaching a small gap opens a passage. Go north, then east where it looks like the passage ends. There is a tree with a knothole here; check it and the tree opens an underground passage for you. Enter and follow the tunnel to the next area.
Follow the path going northeast, then head to the north for treasure. Come around to the east and go to the end of the passage for treasure, then backtrack a bit to check a knot and open a passage to the next area.
Check the corners west then east for treasure, then go north to a save point. Do not bother to heal overnight here unless your situation is critical. Continue north until the path turns, then go west.
When you reach a certain point you hear a rumbling noise. A fire starts to the south and spreads to the rest of the forest. Suddenly there are flames all around and you are trapped. Wait a moment and then a Moogle appears, waves at you to get you to follow, and dives into a hole in the ground. Follow to join two Moogles in a small grotto. There is a healing spring here so use it, but otherwise there is nothing to do but wait for the fire to pass. Eventually the Moogle standing at the doorway moves and you can go back to the surface.
The once green forest is now all brown and withered. Continue west, checking the corners for treasure along the way. You will come to a point where you can go either north or south. Go south to exit the dungeon; this is handy if you want to go back to town and come back since you will not have to go through the dungeon again. You will notice a burned area of the forest on the world map now. Go north to find a narrow passage beyond which you can see the Elder's Tree. The Elder Branch works its magic again and the path opens up so you can go inside the tree. There you will see four glowing creatures sealed inside. They sense your presence and attack.
| (four unnamed bosses) |
| Boss level: 77, Recommended party level: 29 |
| HP: 7777, Weaknesses: None, Nullifies: Fire (except top), Ice, Bolt, Absorbs: None |
| Gold: 0, ABP: 15, Drops: Ash (rare) |
Preparation: You can go fast and strong with this, in which case you will need mostly Summoners with Titan or Blue Mages with Aqua Rake, and most of your characters will need White ability for healing. You can also go slow and steady with a more balanced party, where you include a White Mage and maybe a fighter type, will work better. In either case, a character with !Time Level 2 to cast Float will be very helpful, but a Time Mage with Slow2 is better if you have room. Even if you go for the slow and steady approach, at least one Summoner with Golem will be nearly essential. For reasons later, have Galuf be able to do some decent damage dealing; in other words, do not make him the White Mage. Tactics: What appears to be four identical monsters are actually four different ones, one for each the original crystals: Fire (top), Water (right), Wind (left) and Earth (bottom). All start out with purely physical attacks, but switch to magical attacks, each according to its element, when their health starts to be depleted. There are two ways to go at this battle. One is to go with group attacks to deal large amounts of damage, and the other is to go after one at a time. The problem with the first method is you run the risk of all three or four of the monsters being at low health at the same time and all casting their attack spell on you at the same time, but this is still manageable if you can finish the monsters off quickly enough. The second approach takes longer but is safer because you should be able to heal the damage inflicted by a single enemy. In either case, start by casting Golem so you do not have to worry about physical damage, and keep recasting whenever you notice the effect has worn off. Meanwhile, cast Float to nullify the magical damage from the Earth-based enemy, and, if you have it, Shell on your weaker characters. Cast Slow2 a couple of times if you have it, then Slow on any of the enemies not affected until you've gotten all of them. Cast Haste on your own party if you have it. If you decide to go for group spells then Titan does well against three of the four, and Aqua Rake is mediocre but damages all four at once. Either way you will need be fast and strong so Haste and Slow will be important and you need several characters attacking at once. If you use Titan then the Earth-based enemy will survive and you will need to switch to another method of attack, but as long as you have Golem and Float in effect the enemy cannot really hurt you. Keep your characters pretty well healed as the magical attacks can be strong, and either use physical attacks or strong single-target magical attacks such as Comet. |
When the battle is over, X-Death appears again and knocks out the entire party.
Krill appears. Galuf attacks X-Death and a second battle begins.
| X-Death |
| Boss level: 63, Recommended party level: 29 |
| HP: about 11000, Weaknesses: None, Nullifies: None, Absorbs: None |
| Gold: 0, ABP: 0, Drops: None |
Renamed Exdeath in the GBA version. Preparation: None. You have no time to make any preparations as there is no break between the last battle and this one, so Galuf fights just as he was then. Make sure that Galuf has a Job that can deal heavy damage. Tactics: There is no way to actually win this battle. You are not really meant to win anyway; somehow the power of the fire spell keeps Galuf going even with 0 HP, which means you cannot lose either. Do not bother trying to heal since X-Death will easily knock your HP back down to 0 again. Instead, just do as much damage as possible until X-Death has had enough. |
When the battle is over, X-Death disappears, taking the crystals with him. Galuf is lying on the ground and the rest try to rouse him. It becomes clear that the only thing holding Galuf together this long was the power of X-Death's spell. Galuf asks the rest of you to go after X-Death and asks Krill to take his place before dying. Krillcan still hear Galuf in spirit and he tells her that he is passing whatever power he had to her. Krill accepts as a way of remembering him. As she joins your party, Krile passes on the message that X-Death is trying to destroy the crystals and you must go to his castle to stop him. Krile calls her dragon and you fly out of the forest.
Fly the dragon to the clear spot west of Moore Village. Get back in the sub and pilot it back out to the ocean.
From now on you play with Krile replacing Galuf in your party. You keep all of Galuf's equipment and Krile inherits all the APB and abilities the Galuf earned up to now. But while Galuf's stats were somewhat skewed toward being a warrior, with bonus Vigor and Stamina points, Krile's stats are skewed toward being a mage, with bonuses for Speed and Mag. Pwr.
Chocobo Forest[edit]
There is one more point of interest shown on the underwater world map; this is optional but recommended before going to X-Death's castle. Stock up on Soft, then pilot the sub to the south side of the large island in the northwest corner of the map. Look for a light glowing at the base of the cliff. When you're above it the sub docks automatically. Exit the sub to a grotto similar to the one at the Gill Shrine landing. Go up the steps to a forest surrounded by mountains and next to a lake.
Wander the forest until you meet up with a monster called Shoat. This is an optional summon which casts a petrification spell, which is why you need the Softs. Otherwise this monster should not be too difficult and you win a very useful summon spell to your collection.
In the southeast corner of this area is a small section of forest; in the center of it is the entrance to the Chocobo Forest. At the moment there is a female chocobo wandering around, but you cannot ride her.