******************************************************************************** Final Fantasy VI Advance CES Near-Perfect Stats FAQ ******************************************************************************** A Celes, Edgar, Setzer final ending guide that doesn't sacrifice good stats. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** Foreward: Why in the heck would you want to do a challenge like this? Either because you're crazy, you want a heck of a challenge, or you want near-perfect characters combined with an opportunity to see the CES ending while using only one save slot. Note what I just said. This isn't an FAQ for a CES challenge. This is an FAQ for completionists who want to see the CES ending without missing anything. So don't e-mail me complaining about this. Is a strictly CES game doable? Yes. But if you're in it for the challenge and nothing else, quit reading right now and go be challenged. I have suggested cheating in a couple of places - against the cranes and against Kefka. Consider these your "strategy" of last resort - you don't have to, ever. That's one of the beautiful things about Final Fantasy VI. And the only battle you might conceivably actually -need- to cheat would be that against the cranes - simply because if you have not prepared sufficiently in advance you will be relying entirely on luck, and you have no opportunity at that point in the game to "go back" and prepare some more.. Whatever your reason, let me alert you to something right now - without the ability to save states, you are gonna scream. Trust me on this. Prepare to die very often. And you are going to get very sick of the introduction to the fight with Kefka. I'm assuming you've played through this game before, by the way, preferably two or three times, so you know your way around. Now, this is going to be a low level game right up until you get on the Floating Continent. Depending on how you want to do things and how lucky you feel, maybe until your second venture there. You are going to run from everything you encounter. Since this is Final Fantasy VI Advance, we have some advantages - missing a missable enemy, or missing a boss steal, is not going to be permanent. You can pick them up in the Soul Shrine with a little luck. A major point of this strategy is that any enemy that can reasonably be robbed blind, will be. This isn't just a guide on winning the game with a medium-level Celes, Edgar, Setzer party - it's a guide on getting everything that can be missed en route to doing so. The World of Balance portion of my guide therefore keeps a list of all missable items - if you need specific directions, you might refer to another FAQ, or mention it to me, and I'll fix it in the next version. If I'm missing something - and I mean something worth picking up - mention it to me, and I'll try to fix it. If you have a better suggestion for a boss fight, let me know. There's rarely a case, even in a low-level game, where a combination of good strategy and good luck can't win out, remember that. I have tried to omit spoilers as much as possible, while still allowing searchers to find what they need to find - if you have a suggestion on how to better word something to avoid spoilers, again, let me know. Where is credit due? Djibriel's Rage guide for the SNES version was inestimably helpful in producing this. The_Returner123's translation guide was excellent for using Djibriel's guide. bogalx's updated Coliseum guide was quite helpful. Lufia_Maxim's bestiary was, finally, also immensely helpful, and would have been more so had I paid attention to the "MP Kill" field. I rasped Inferno for a good twenty minutes before realizing that his Meteors had no MP behind them. Kelos7, for a few tips here and there, credited in place. Xyon, for a recommendation credited in place. ******************************************************************************** Contents: (I): Terra, Locke, and Edgar (II): South Figaro Cave (III): Mt Koltz (IV): Lethe River (V): Return to Narshe (VI): Narshe Cave, Locke and Celes (VII): Sabin and Shadow (VIII): Phantom Train (IX): Waterfall (X): The Veldt (XI): The Serpent Trench (XII): Narshe Group Battle (XIII): After Narshe Group Battle (IXX): Zozo (XX): The Opera House (XXI): Magitek Factory (XXII): The Sealed Cave (XXIII): Imperial Banquet (XXIV): Thamasa (XXV): Esper Cave (XXVI): Preparation For the Floating Continent (XXVII): The Floating Continent (XXVIII): END OF WORLD OF BALANCE ENEMY CHECKLIST: (Less enemies already (XXIX): Return to the Floating Continent mentioned as missable) (XXX): World of Ruin (XXXI): Celes, Edgar, Setzer (XXXII): Gau (XXXIII): Maximizing Gau's Defense (XXXIV): Obtaining a Thief (XXXV): Maximizing CES Defense (XXXVI): Creating Wizards (XXXVII): Killing the Dragons (XXXVIII): Creating a God (IXL): First Venture Amidst Dragons (XL): Obtaining A Celestriad (XLI): Return to Kefka's Tower (XLII): Guardian (XLIII): Fiend (XLIV): Goddess (XLV): Demon (XLVI): Kefka (XLVII): Afterwards ******************************************************************************** (I): Terra, Locke, and Edgar Missable enemies to encounter: Guard , Silver Lobo, Megalodoth, Wererat, Bandit, Spritzer(Can be acquired later on the slopes of Mt Koltz) Have Vicks and Wedge kill Terra in the first fight. Now kill all the Narshe Guards and such you encounter up to the Whelk - save first - and proceed to carefully kick its arse. As Terra alone, thereafter, you may not want to pick any items up as you are running away from everything you encounter - it's up to you, but be aware they'll turn into better items later in the game. As Locke, you have a couple of choices. I sent Mog down to kill the leader at the bottom of the maze. You might prefer to send one of the other Moogle parties - but be prepared to repeat the sequence a few times if this is your decision. ROB MOG OF HIS EQUIPMENT, EITHER WAY. You'll want it. Fleeing from Narshe, more running. Be sure to buy some tools from Figaro with Terra while you can - you'll need them. Pick up the treasure if you want, it doesn't get any better. The Magitek Armor shouldn't be too much of a challenge - I never even used Terra's magic, because I hate the scene Locke and Edgar make when you do it. (Kelos7 suggests using Noiseblaster to save yourself any trouble at all.) ******************************************************************************** (II): South Figaro Cave Missable Enemies to Encounter: Foper, Hornet, Urok Be sure to encounter all three enemies in the South Figaro Cave. LEAVE THE TREASURE. You may want to buy weapons and armor in South Figaro - steal bandanas from the Zaghrem in Mt Koltz or claws from the Belmodars outside in order to sell, and then run from the fight. If you want good equipment, be prepared to spend some time here. I just continued on. South Figaro items improve if you wait till later, so leave them till the World of Ruin - except the items in the hidden passage in the rich man's house. Grab everything you can from down there, including, from the hidden passage in the hidden passage, a Ribbon. ******************************************************************************** (III): Mt Koltz Missable Items: Main Gauche, Gigas Gloves Mt Koltz isn't too bad - grab all the treasure here, it won't improve. Main Gauche and Gigas Gloves are the important ones. Vargas is a tough fight, especially if you didn't bring enough items, like me. Be prepared for frustration - there aren't any good strategies for this fight. If you, like me, get Sabin in, only to get killed by screwing up the Blitz TWICE - cry. And try again. (Kelos7: In fighting Vargas, I had some difficulty getting by on more than pure luck until I realized that his gale cut was what would always spell doom for the party, and it does much more damage and causes a downward spiral if you let Terra/Tina die, and she'll only survive in that low a level at full health, so I just had her wait with her turn until she takes any damage, and heal herself, then the whole thing went reliably like clockwork...save proper execution of sabin/mash's blitz...hence the 'reliable' bit, yay.) ******************************************************************************** (IV): Lethe River Rob Locke of all his equipment. DO NOT GET ON THE RIVER YET. Get the Genji Glove or the Gauntlet, it's up to you. I prefer Genji, myself. Also, grab the Air Knife and the White Cape. Now, DO NOT GET ON THE RIVER. When Locke leaves your party, walk outside. Kill off everybody but Banon. And level him. Considerably. When you think you've levelled him enough, level him a little bit more. He has to be able to survive the fight with Ultros, which in a low-level game, he won't be able to without some help. I recommend at least 200 health - 300 is much better, and 400 is probably too much. Revive everybody with a rest, and hop on the river. Run a lot on your way down it - if you aren't sure about how much levelling you did with Banon, you may not want to save. Keep running. Ultros is not a tough fight, with your overpowered Banon. Hell, Banon is the one who finished Ultros off, in my party, with two of my other party members dead. Continue with the Terra, Edgar, and Banon party - you're not done with them yet. What's that? You didn't level Banon up? You saved on the last save point? No fear. Go down the river, fight a random encounter, kill all but one enemy, and then kill everybody but Banon. Win the fight. Die in the next fight. Wait till the death animation ends, and you're back at the save point. Heyyyy, look at that! Banon kept his experience points! Save, and repeat the process until Banon can survive. ******************************************************************************** (V): Return to Narshe Missable Enemies: Valeor, Wild Rat Do Edgar/Terra/Banon FIRST. Trust me. Continue leaving the items here. They'll improve more. Save, and get through the security system perfectly - you can't run from those fights, I do not believe, and you can return to fight these enemies, which don't show up in the Bestiary, later, if I'm not mistaken. (I didn't bother - they don't show up.) Unequip everybody once you see the lights of Narshe. You're done here. (As Kelos7 makes note, hermes shoes are invaluable for Celes in fighting the tunnel armor.) You have a choice between Locke and Cyan, now. I did Locke first. Locke and Celes: Missable Enemies: Heavy Armor (Encounter it and run away) The Cadet and Merchant don't show up in the bestiary or the Veldt, and you only have to fight the Merchant, and that only once. So hit the merchant up, steal his clothes, go through the boy's house, walk across the secret passage under the building over the water, steal the next merchant's cider, use the same passage back, fail to get the password from the old man, guess with the boy until you get it, and land yourself in the rich man's house. You've already robbed him blind, so just go ahead downstairs and rescue Celes. Save in the next room, and proceed through the house - make sure to get all the items, the enemies here aren't too risky, and you can run from everything. (If you get surrounded, try to kill one side, and then flee) Not a big challenge to get out and up to the Narshe Cave. You can't return, by the way, so steal potions if you need them, and cry if you need Phoenix Downs. ******************************************************************************** (VI): Narshe Cave, Locke and Celes Missable Enemies: Cartagra, Acrophies, Gold Bear You can pick up a thunder rod now, if you want - it'll turn into a Hero Ring if you leave it till the WoR. I left it. Encounter the three enemies, heal at the spring, and consider what items you'll want that are equipped on Locke and Celes for Sabin's scenario. I left everything on them, as Sabin has it easy. The boss here is tough. If you grabbed the Thunder Rod, you can score an instant win - but it isn't necessary. Celes should runic constantly. Locke should abuse the thing as much as he can - you can steal an Air Knife, but I didn't bother - and heal when necessary. With any luck, it will die. Without luck, you will. You still don't have enough resources to have any sort of real strategy, so do what you can. (That Thunder Rod makes a future fight - against the Cranes - much easier. It is not strictly necessary, however, especially if you PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I TELL YOU before doing the Opera House.) (Kelos7 makes note that hermes shoes can bring Celes' runic up more frequently, if you're having trouble with the Tunnel Armor outmoving her.) ******************************************************************************** (VII): Sabin and Shadow Missable enemies: Imperial Soldier (Maybe... I think you have to fight some with the Templar.) Grab Shadow in the tent, and buy about ten shurikens. You'll keep him until the waterfall, since you are running from every fight - try to encounter a stray cat en route, by the way. Not necessary, but helpful. Save. The imperial camp is not a real challenge - but Cyan died for me twice in his fight with the general. Retort and luck is your best bet for that fight, it's the second charge. Grab the Star Pendant, and the Mithril Glove. Jump off the ledge behind the tent with the two chests for a Barrier Ring - I missed it, no big loss. I fought the Satellite for the Green Beret and won - it's your only chance until late in the game to do this fight, so go for it. Ribbon Shadow before the fight, and spam shurikens. I didn't die, but I came close. Save before the Phantom Forest/Train. Make sure you have a phoenix down. This is important. ******************************************************************************** (VIII): Phantom Train Missable Enemies: Cloud, Angel Whisper, Oversoul(later in the train), Living Dead, Apparition, Siegfried Missable Items: Earring, Sniper Eye, Hyper Wrist Go through the forest, running constantly. No big deal. Neither is the train, but make sure you get all four of the missable monsters here. Apparition and Siegfried are both monsters-in-boxes. Neither should present TOO bad a challenge; I believe I had a ghost possess the Apparition for an instant kill. If you use your phoenix down, buy one from one of the ghost merchants. Save every chance you get. There's an Earring, a Sniper Eye, and a Hyper Wrist here, in that order, and also some regular items. Grab them if you so desire - none is irreplaceable, I don't believe, but they ARE helpful. Encounter a Bomb. Trust me. The head of the train is instantly disposed of with a phoenix down or a holy water. You should have a Phoenix Down. Use it. With any luck, you'll get the item off before it gets an Acid Rain off. Instant victory or instant loss. Unequip Shadow after this fight. ******************************************************************************** (IX): Waterfall Aura Bolt and Dispatch/Retort. Potion when you need to. I won this fight in one try, but I was lucky. Hardly deserves a section. ******************************************************************************** (X): The Veldt Save. Run to the town. Buy a dried meat - sell potions if you need to. You NEED Gau. Feed him the dried meat, and prepare for some well-spent time. Get every rage you can - make sure at the very least you get a Bomb. Buy everybody some brand-new weapons, armor, and if you desire, relics. Ready? No? Too bad. ******************************************************************************** (XI): The Serpent Trench Run away from everything, and pray Aqua Breath doesn't end your fun. The items available are an X-Potion and a Green Beret - if you fought in the Veldt for any time at all, you'll have plenty of the hats. The potion might come in handy, though, so grab it. Nothing important to do in Nikeah. ******************************************************************************** (XII): Narshe Group Battle Missable Enemies: Fidor, Corporal, Hunting Hound Save. This is a NASTY fight. You can encounter some of those enemies if you want - but be aware you'll get experience. Unequip everybody except Edgar, Celes, Cyan, and Sabin. Gau can substitute in for anybody but Celes - his Bomb rage comes equipped with Blaze, a powerful fire-based attack, which won't interfere with Celes' runic. I recommend replacing Cyan. Toss everybody else into the other teams, and continue down with this main party - move fast. You CAN get to the bottom without a fight. Just keep your thumb on the B button, and be very careful. I fought the enemy directly in front of Kefka, running back and forth, without getting a level - but it's up to you. You'll get 100 exp per character if you do. Against Kefka, runic Celes, have Edgar spam Drill or Autocrossbow, have Cyan use Dispatch, Sabin use Aurabolt, and Gau use Bomb rage. Edgar, Cyan, and Sabin should heal whenever necessary. None of his spells should penetrate Celes' runic, with any luck, and he'll fall quickly. ******************************************************************************** (XIII): After Narshe Group Battle Collect all the items in the bottom-right building in Narshe. Now you're going to hate me. Create a party with Gau in it. Go back through Mt Koltz and the Lethe River. Go back down through the forest. Go back to the Veldt. YOU WANT ANGUIFORM. This is an important rage. ALSO GET ASPIRAN. This is also an important rage. Got them? Good. Get a party with Locke, Edgar, Cyan, and someone besides Sabin in it. Grab the Hero Ring from that house north of Kohlington. Now head for Zozo. ******************************************************************************** (IXX): Zozo Missable items: Chainsaw, Brigand's Gloves, Burning Fist, Hermes Sandals (None will get better later, so go ahead and grab them.) You can steal Dragoon Boots from the Harvesters, but they'll retaliate by stealing all your money. Spend all your money, therefore. Since the boots sell for 2500 apiece, collect about ten, and you'll have enough money to play with. Collect twenty and you'll have money to spare for a while. Of course, you could have also grabbed cash playing in the Veldt, a lot easier - but this will do for now. Also, grab the chainsaw. The necessary time is 6:10:50. (xyon14 suggests having your party vanished to steal from the Harvesters without running the risk of retaliation - at this point the only way you'll be able to accomplish this is by using Edgar's noiseblaster on the Gobbledygooks and getting them to vanish your party, although this can take a while, depending on how cooperative they are being, and runs the risk they may kill themselves with regular hits. If you pursue this route be sure to stay out of the buildings, as the dancers can and will use spells that will devanish your party.) Save once you collect some boots, and head up the building. Steal from Dadaluma at the top of the tower. I got a Jeweled Ring - a Thief's Bracer would have been better, but that's alright. He's not tough, just focus all your attention on him, and try to avoid killing his minions when he summons them. Cyan's Dispatch, Edgar's Drill, Gau's Anguiform rage all work wonders. He'll fall without too much effort. Bring Gau with Locke and Celes. Edgar is also a good choice. ******************************************************************************** (XX): The Opera House Missable enemies: Stunner, Goetia Oh gods. Go through that inane sequence. Be prepared to see it several times, as you'll likely die. Fight ONE group of both kinds of rats. Try to avoid all the others. It's possible, but unlikely. I gained a level for Locke here, sadly. Ultros is tough. A full-party tentacle will likely wipe you out. Dragoon boots on everybody is one strategy - I suggest raging Aspiran with an earring equipped. He should fall very easily to Giga Volt. (I didn't have Aspiran, and raged a Bomb instead - Blaze is also a powerful attack here.) Be prepared to repeat the Celes sequence. Setzer will bring you south. You can buy weapons and armor down here if you want - I didn't bother. Your desired party before setting out includes Locke, Celes, and Gau. Buy four Reflect Rings. ******************************************************************************** (XXI): Magitek Factory Missable Enemies: Onion Knight, Sergeant, Belzecue, Proto Armor, Trapper, Flan, General, Destroyer, Lenergia, Magna Roader (Purple), Magna Roader (Red), Chaser Missable Items: Flametongue, Thunder Blade, Dragoon Boots, Golden Shield, Golden Helm, Golden Armor, Icebrand, Zephyr Cloak, Stoneblade Grab the Flametongue, the Thunder Blade, the Icebrand, the Zephyr Cloak, and the hidden Stoneblade, at least. The golden armors are nice, but not irreplaceable in the WoB, and the Dragoon Boots we have seen plenty of. There's also some regular items. Enemies you absolutely want to see here are the Flan, the General, and the Destroyer. Against Ifrit and Shiva - SAVE FIRST - try this: First, steal repeatedly from Flans. Magicite Shards are helpful. Toss a handful of Magicite whenever Shiva shows up. Have Gau rage Bomb. Blaze abuses Shiva. Keep healed when Ifrit shows up. Runic will keep ordinary attacks off your back, but their special attacks will likely wipe your party out. Beyond that, it is mostly luck. I only didn't throw my SP at a wall because a save point was nearby. Save after the fight, and continue. Don't miss the Stoneblade hidden under the stairs as you progress! Steal from Number 024 if you're feeling intrepid. Blood Sword would be awesome - I left it alone. Stray Cat is your best rage against this barrier-changing menace. He fell for me without too much effort. Unequip Celes, and continue. Save after the scene with Kefka, and prepare for a wild cartride, and possibly a few levels - equip your characters with stat-improving espers!! You CAN miss the red Magna Roader here - I did. It's pretty much random in this version of the game. You can steal a Kazekiri from Number 128 if you want. I'd recommend it, but it's very hard to do, and you can fight this boss later in the Soul Shrine. Number 128 is a hell of a fight. It took me three tries. Try raging Anguiform with Earrings, to try to kill each blade at least once. You'll PROBABLY win. Save once you get out of the cart ride. The Cranes are next, and they killed me at least twenty times - but then, I didn't have good advice, and had skipped the Anguiform rage, AND the Thunder Rod. If you did, too, prepare to die about twenty times. The left Crane absorbs lightning, and the right Crane absorbs fire. Try to steal from the right crane for a Debilitator - don't worry too much if you miss it, you can buy one later. If you're done doing that, throw a Thunder Rod at it, with your Earring-ed Gau. Poof, instant death. If you didn't use your Thunder Rod, or if you didn't bring it, or if it survived it, or if it didn't - whatever happens, your next move is to Rage Anguiform. Aqua Breath will level the remaining crane. Reflect rings will help keep you alive here, if you happen to have bought four of them, but in my experience that aren't necessary. If they Absolute Zero you, you are dead, so pray they don't. They should die without too much trouble. Unless you have neither Thunder Rod nor Anguiform rage, or if you brought somebody besides Gau. (Shame on you!) Gau saved me. I have no advice for you if you didn't bring him. Yes I do, summon Bismark with your strongest summoner. Next, dump some Magicite shards with everybody. The fire-immune died first with me. Then I had Gau rage Bomb, and a single Blaze wiped out the other Crane. That was on try #22 or 23. I did well raging Bomb first, as well - Gau tended to focus on only one Crane, and wiped out the left one in three hits. Unfortunately, he then charged up the other Crane, which slaughtered my party. If you don't have Gau, just continue throwing magicite, or alternatively, if you run out, your most powerful attacks. If you're just plain tired of this fight, you can rig the slots with Setzer for an instant win. After an endless number of tries, you get an Airship. Fun stuff. Spend some time collecting all the WoB rages you can now, and collecting gold. Do not get Mog yet - you WILL get him, just not yet. You can buy the Zoneseek esper, and level up Gau, and ONLY Gau, if you would like. If you do, you have to Leap him at the Veldt before continuing, and you won't have him available to slaughter things at the Banquet for you. But hey, that's the price you pay. BUY GOLEM MAGICITE. Also buy the Seraphim magicite in T'zen. ******************************************************************************** (XXII): Sealed Cave Missable Enemies: Outcast, Provoker, Zombie Dragon, Antares, Lich Missable Items: Assassin's Dagger, Kazekiri, Heiji's Jitte, Genji Glove, Ultima Weapon Nothing in here except the Ninja provide a terrible challenge. Don't fight the Ninja, and run away from everything. GET ALL THE ITEMS ABOVE. RUN FROM ALL THE ENEMIES ABOVE AT LEAST ONCE. Antares is the most important - Magnitude8 is a powerful spell for a Rager to use. Ultima Weapon isn't useful yet - hell, it won't be useful till you are done with this FAQ - but it is still nice to have. ******************************************************************************** (XXIII): Imperial Banquet Missable Enemies: Imperial Elite, Mega Armor Missable Items: Gale Hairpin, Tintinibar, Ward Bangle Do everything right here - you can miss talking to a single soldier and still get full credit, so you might want to avoid talking to one of those who wants to fight. Make sure to fight the enemies in the middle of the Banquet itself - you won't be seeing them again before the Soul Shrine, and besides, they're necessary to get the Ward Bangle, which you NEED. I repeat that. YOU NEED THE WARD BANGLE. It will help immensely. Sacrifice a level or two if necessary. If you do not get the Ward Bangle here, you will not get another opportunity until the WoR. It can then be acquired at the Coliseum by gambling a Behemoth Suit, and then the resulting Snow Scarf. Grab the items at the Imperial Observation Post. Head to Albrook, and set sail. ******************************************************************************** (XXIV): Thamasa Missable Enemies: Balloon Memento Ring is nice, but you can get it later. Use Phantom outside, make yourself invisible, and steal Gaia Armors from those Briareus things for use and profit. You want to buy at least 4 Ice Rods, so you may have to steal quite a few. Avoid the forest here. Chimera's Aqua Breath will slaughter you. Inside the burning building, staying invisible, grab the Ice Rod and the Fire Rod if you want, run away from everything - avoid that door that surrounds you! - and lay waste to the Flame Eater with your ice rods. It'll take about four to kill him. ******************************************************************************** (XXV): Esper Cave Missable Enemies: Bonnacon, Land Grillon, Adamankary, Mandrake, Venobennu Missable Items: Healing Rod, Chocobo Suit, Tabby Suit You can return here later, but I expect you don't want to, so make sure you catch everything. Ultros isn't too bad a fight - Golem will protect you considerably. ******************************************************************************** (XXVI): Preparation For the Floating Continent Buy Seraphim at T'zen. You can never return there. Go and get Mog. Now, level up Gau, using Zoneseek, to about level 15. The lower the better, but he's going to be killing all the enemies on your way to the Floating Continent, so not TOO low. You can't miss the Spitfire OR the Sky Armour. Chimera and Aspiran are both good Rage choices. Absolute Zero will likely wipe you out, so a bit of luck is in order. I have no advice for Ultros and Chupon. Aspiran is a decent Rage choice, and fixing Slots with Bahamut isn't bad either. They killed me a lot. Air Force never killed me. I think I raged Chimera, and Aqua Breath wiped everything out. It's weak to water, after all. Strago could use Aquabreath as well, and somebody else could use Bismarck once. It wasn't necessary in my game. ******************************************************************************** (XXVII): The Floating Continent Missable Enemies: Gigantos, Brainpan, Misfit, Apocrypha, Dragon, Platinum Dragon, Behemoth, Ninja, Naude Missable Items: Murasame, Beret, Sasuke If Gau isn't too high levelled, just grab Shadow, and sacrifice the two or four magic points. If Gau is too high-levelled, save, leave him, and run for your airship - pausing to slap the Gigantos around if you'd like. *** Assuming you don't get Shadow: Ninja is game over right now, so cry if you encounter one. Ward Charm is useful. Save before your last leg to the Airship. If you haven't encountered Behemoth yet, try to. Now flee this wretched land, and head back to the surface. Leap Gau away, grab your three lowest-level party members, return to the Floating Continent, and get Shadow. *** After that, or assuming you grabbed him: Hang out at the save point, and train up Shadow to level 18, swapping Zoneseek and Bismarck espers out between your party members as each approaches a level. Any two party members except Edgar, Celes, and Setzer can gain one extra level if necessary, to 19. Once Shadow is at 18, flee the continent again. Feel free to train Gau to level 22 - everyone else, bring them to 18. Try to train two party members at a time, preferably pairing off characters who need str and magic, so you don't have to swap espers. My personal favorite spot is the desert on the middle-south of the Southern Continent - toss Holy Waters at the bags of bones that show up for plenty of experience. Some party members will be effective at dealing with Bugs, others won't. Experiment. Get all of Mog's dances except the Ice dance, whatever it is called in this version - you'll have to go down the Serpent Trench path again to get the Water-elemental dance, but it isn't hard, and you can get his first few levels that way. (It's easiest to start from South Figaro, by the way.) ******************************************************************************** (XXVIII): END OF WORLD OF BALANCE ENEMY CHECKLIST: (Less enemies already mentioned as Missable) WOB Enemies to encounter, and easiest place to find: Leaf Bunny, Triangle Island Darkwind, Triangle Island Sand Ray, Figaro Desert Alacran, Figaro Desert Belmodar, South Figaro Area Unseelie, South Figaro Area Mu, South Figaro Area Zaghrem, Mt Koltz caves Trillium, Mt Koltz outside Gorgias, Mt Koltz Cirpius, Mt Koltz outside Lesser Lopros, Lethe River Nautiloid, Lethe River Exocite, Lethe River Commander, under South Figaro (Recoverable in WoR) Vector Hound, under South Figaro (Recoverable in WoR) Stray Cat, around cabin where Sabin is deposited Aepyornis, around cabin where Sabin is deposited Nettlehopper, around cabin where Sabin is deposited Chippirabbit, around cabin where Sabin is deposited Ghost, Phantom Forest Poplium, Phantom Forest Bomb, Bomb Forest Anguiform, Serpent Trench Aspiran, Serpent Trench Actinian, Serpent Trench Fossil Dragon, desert near Kohlington Vulture, around Kohlington Iron Fist, around Kohlington (In forest, maybe?) Bloodfang, around Kohlington Rock Wasp, around Kohlington (In forest, maybe?) Paraladia, supposedly around Kohlington - I missed. Find it yourself. Harvester, Zozo Hill Gigas, Zozo Goobledygook, Zozo Veil Dancer, Zozo, in buildings Litwor Chicken, south continent Joker, South Continent Don, South Continent Wyvern, South Continent Grasswyrm, South Continent Grenade, Bomb Forest Bug, South Continent Briareus, Thamasa Area Devourer, Thamasa Area Chimera, Thamasa Area Intangir, Triangle Island ******************************************************************************** (XXIX): Return to the Floating Continent Leap Gau away again now if he's more than level 20. Make sure you have a party of characters with Rasp and Osmose both. Preferably characters with high XP-to-next-levels. Return to the Floating Content - if you want an extra Ribbon, bring Locke. Nothing will be too bad this time through - avoid getting any extra levels, especially with Celes, Edgar, or Setzer. Rasp and Osmose Atma's mana away to kill it easily. Steal a Ribbon if you feel like it, but it's a rare steal. Reflect Rings will protect you from Flare. Chainsaw the enemies on the way out. With any luck, Instant Death will take care of the boss at the end of your flight. And that's it for the World of Balance. ******************************************************************************** (XXX): World of Ruin From here on out in this guide, nothing is missable. Anywhere I send you, you can return to. Run from everything you can. ******************************************************************************** (XXXI): Celes, Edgar, Setzer Save Cid, let him die - up to you. I saved him. You can't get Sabin, and you have to run away from everything again. So head straight to the tip of the Serpent Trench(Now the Serpent Continent?), and follow Gerad into the South Figaro cave. Equip a Hermes Sandal on Celes, and follow along behind him. (You can never enter T'zen.) The tentacles aren't too bad once you realize that they can't grab you if you aren't slowed, which Hermes Sandals prevent. And all but the top left are vulnerable to Poison. Bio-blast them, hit that one with Chainsaw and Celes' strongest non-water, non-earth attack, and they should go down easily. Don't bother reviving Edgar if he falls. Dragoon Boots on Celes might help her survive their attacks until there is only one left - but it's unlikely to be a problem. Grab Setzer. In Daryll's Tomb, don't fight the Monster-in-a-Box - the Whelk will drop two Dragon Claws if you hit it with X-Zone, which you don't have yet, and besides which, you don't need those claws yet anyways. ******************************************************************************** (XXXII): Gau Now that you have your airship back, fly to the Veldt, and pick up Gau. Head into the cave nearby, and slaughter the two Behemoth Kings - the first you'll just have to abuse with Stop until death, using whatever strategy you desire, and the second you can toss a Holy Water at to kill. ******************************************************************************** (XXXIII): Maximizing Gau's Defense Save. Go bet one of those Behemoth Suits at the colloseum. Use an instant-death weapon, and, with a little luck, you'll come out of it with a Snow Scarf. If you have trouble, equip your entire party with reflect rings, and grab a Safety Bit from the first door of the Cult of Kefka tower. (Grab the Air Anchor while you are there, actually.) Setzer's Death Tarot cards, which you can grab from the Ancient Castle, are my personal favorite Outsider-slaying weapons. Go back and grab a Genji Helm at Daryll's Tomb if you missed it. An Aegis Shield can be acquired at Mt Zozo - and that will max out Gau's physical defense. If you head up there, make sure to grab the Thunder Shield as well. ******************************************************************************** (XXXIV): Obtaining a Thief The thing we want now is a Merit Award. This is going to take a while - you want to kill a Basilisk, found in the grass around Maranda, and get it to drop a Tortoise Shield. The hard part? Without gaining any levels, except maybe one or two on Gau. Bet this at the Colliseum. You'll fight a Muud Suud for it - Gau, outfitted for 255 defense, in the back row, is unbeatable. Giggle a bit, and collect your Saucer. Bet the Saucer. You'll face a Brachiosaur. Gau killed it in one try for me - you may have to try a couple of times. Equip the Thunder Shield on Gau. Bet your Cat Ear Hood. Gau should slaughter the Slagworm. You now have, with a little bit of effort, a Merit Award. Equip it on one of your other three characters - Gau can't use it. Equip the Thief's Knife. You can steal again. Head down to the Ancient Castle, grab Odin - don't convert him to Raiden just yet - go save, and fight the Monster-in-a-Box, a Samurai Soul. Cast Stop on him, steal the Murakumo - NOT the Murasame, and then confuse him. The Murakumo will be necessary to obtain a Celestriad later. He should kill himself for you. Equip the Master's Scroll on your thief. ******************************************************************************** (XXXV): Maximizing CES Defense Go fight Basilisks again. This time, kill all but one Basilisk, and then attack him with your thief, keeping it healed with your other characters. Got another Tortoise Shield? Good. Run away. Collect two more. Steal three saucers from the Tumbleweeds around the dinosaur forest. Run away each time. Very, very carefully, steal three Reed Cloaks from Tyrannosaurs. Run away some more. Cast imp on your three non-Gau characters, and equip them with this stuff. Go engage the Leviathan in combat. Have Gau rage Aspiran, and your other two characters just... attack, I suppose. Gau could do this on his own, by the way, but this takes all the chance out of it. ******************************************************************************** (XXXVI): Creating Wizards Go to the Cult of Kefka tower, and teach Odin's meteor to all four characters. Go transform Odin to Raiden. Teach everybody Quick. You now have a fairly powerful party, which on command can become entirely physically immune, and mostly magically immune. Right? Right. ******************************************************************************** (XXXVII): Killing the Dragons Go kill the Earth Dragon at the Opera House. Equip Angel Wings all around. Go kill the Holy Dragon at the Cult of Kefka tower. Reflect rings and Meteor will deal with him. The Ice Dragon in Narshe isn't too bad - just have Gau rage Bomb or Behemoth and let everybody else die. The Storm Dragon in Mt Koltz was the hardest for me - Leaf Swirl is non-elemental. Keep two characters alive to minimize the damage it does to you. The Blue Dragon in the Ancient Castle shouldn't even faze you. Rage Aspiran, and go all-out Imp. SAVE. The next three are difficult. Put Gau and another member in the 2nd party position at Kefka's Tower. Head in. Go on through, collecting what treasure you dare to, until you get to the Gold Dragon. Equip Gau with a Thunder Shield, and have him rage Chimera. Your other character should heal if necessary - probably not. Flee. Expect to have to restart several times because of Land Worm and Giant Behemoth battles, which you can't run from. (You CAN teleport out, I believe, to save some tears.) Put Gau and another party member in the 3rd party position, and head in again. Save at the handy save point en route. Kill that surprise attacker immediately after the save point - it'll be a tough fight, so abuse Quick, Meteor, and Osmose. You can try rasping the center thing out of mana if you can't beat it - I didn't have Quick, so this is the strategy I used. Save again. Equip Gau with a ribbon, and a Safety Bit. If you have a spare ribbon, equip your spare character with it. Fight the Skull Dragon. Rage Behemoth, and stay alive. You'll win out. Flee, saving again on the way out, or just teleport. You can't just hop in with the Phoenix Cave - and, in fact, I gained a level on each character, and two on Setzer. A fight with two Faces will likely kill you, and if it doesn't, it will force you to gain experience. Split your party like this: Gau leading one, Edgar leading the other. Why? Well, Edgar has Noiseblaster. Faces can be confused, and if you don't confuse them, they'll kill you. (You could also toss a meteor out - but if it's just one Face in an enemy party, you want to focus on killing it specifically, and then fleeing.) Just walk over the spikes, and heal the damage - you don't need to bother with the chests, but there is a Wing Edge, a Dragon Horn, and a Ribbon useful to you here. Save once you reach the save point, and head into the fight with the Red Dragon. Either party should be capable of killing it, so it doesn't really matter which goes where - it is vulnerable to Confuse and Poison, so poison it, and keep it confused, and it will kill itself. Equip Crusader on Gau, and get the heck out of there. Since you can swap characters now, select a party with a lone Gau in it. ******************************************************************************** (XXXVIII): Creating a God Level Gau to level 26 with the Crusader on. Fight some Tyrannasaurs if you feel like it - they might drop an Impartisan or two, but it's a tough fight. Take off the Crusader, swap it with Zoneseek, and bring him to 50. You don't need him any higher than THAT, do you? At this point I brought my full party together, and headed back up the Cult of Kefka tower, garnered lots of magic points, grabbed the goodies, and killed the Magimaster. (I rasped him to death. It took about an hour of clicking with my thumb while talking to friends online.) You should do the same. It's not too bad, but make sure everybody has Float on, and maybe even go gamble for some Fire Shields and distribute them to your weaker three, in case of a Merton on the way up there. ******************************************************************************** (IXL): First Venture Amidst Dragons With the Gem Box in your hands, I recommend you head to the Dragon Den. No, we aren't going to finish it. We're going to kill the Ice Dragon, for the Final Trump weapon. Dual-meteor with Gau, who is naturally ice immune with the Snow Scarf - maybe upgrade those fire shields for ice shields at the colloseum for everybody else - and all four will die in three turns. That was easy! You now have a Final Trump, which, if you want to, you can trade in at the Colloseum for a Scorpion Tail. You don't have Gogo, though, so why bother? ******************************************************************************** (XL): Obtaining A Celestriad Alright, you want a Celestriad? We'll get one the time-consuming but easy way. First, you remember that Murakumo you stole from the Samurai Soul in the Ancient Castle? You forgot to get it? Well, you should have gotten one from the Red Dragon. Lost it? You can gamble a Holy Lance for one. You can steal those from the Holy Dragons on the veldt, assuming you threw yours away. Got a Murakumo? Good. I assume you want to keep your Murakumo, so here is the very slow method: Transform Setzer into an imp. Equip them with your merit award and a safety bit. (You COULD replace the Safety Bit with Marvel Shoes - up to you.) Now equip him with the Thief's Knife, and imp gear. 255 defense, right? Right. Gamble the Murakumo, use Setzer as your fighter - hey, what's this? He is still an imp! Awesomeness. Yeah. He'll attack for ~50 damage per blow. And he won't take a bit of damage with the Safety Bit and imp gear on. 1/8 fights will result in a Celestriad at the end of it. If you don't want to watch, you COULD just set the fight, walk away for the 100-200 rounds of combat necessary to kill the thing, and return. I watched and reset each time I got a phoenix down. It took me about forty minutes to collect the celestriad I was after. I'm waiting for the fight to end as I write this. If you don't want to keep your Murakumo - say, you happen to have a spare laying around - replace the Safety Bit with the Master's Scroll. Setzer will now have a chance of dying, but he'll do the battle much, MUCH faster. (The reason it can kill you is that gravity-based attacks can kill your 1 health Setzer, even though its physical attacks can never hurt you.) ******************************************************************************** (XLI): Return to Kefka's Tower Leap Gau away. Land in the tower. Organize your characters however you want - just keep in mind the third character is going to be taking some abuse. Run that character ahead, lunging for the save point. You'll probably reset a couple of times before you manage to get in a run without any Behemoths or Land Worms. Saaaave. Awesome. Now move your other characters ahead a screen or two at a time, saving whenever you feel you've gone far enough, by swapping characters to your third party. I suggest trying a run, once your first party is stuck, to hit the chest, and then running back to save again. Once your other two characters can't advance anymore (They're at the merge point), run ahead again. This party will have to face off with the Guardian. Read ahead! ******************************************************************************** (XLII): Guardian Guardian is a fairly simple kill - you have a Soul of Thamasa, you have a Celestriad, you have a Quick spell, and you have a Thundaga spell. Equip the former two, and, for your first spell, Protect and Quick. Thundaga three times, shell. Haste and Quick, thundaga three times, regen. Shell and quick... You get the gist? Just keep laying on the Thundaga. You should be doing around 3000 damage per casting. It won't take too long to eat through 60,000 HP this way. He didn't even Tentacle me before dropping - and now, you have a save point! (If you died, cry a bit, and try again - try it with Vanish on, perhaps.) ******************************************************************************** (XLIII): Fiend Edgar is your best choice here. Why? Debilitator. Equip Ice Shield, Genji Helm, and the highest-defense armor you've got. Protect/Quick your first turn, and then spend your next few turns Debilitating until you get an Ice weakness. After that, follow this pattern: Blizzaga+Quick, Blizzaga+Blizzaga, Blizzaga+Vanish Why are we using Blizzaga? Because Fiend will raise a Reflect shield at some point during the fight, and if it happens between castings, Flare(Your next best choice) would kill you. Once the Reflect shield is raised, Dispel it, and continue the pattern. You can substitute Flare in if you want now - I do not believe that Reflect will be raised again, and Force Field may kill Blizzaga. You can't steal the safety bit. Fiend is, I believe, level 72. At level 20... Just wait and face her again in the Soul Shrine. ******************************************************************************** (XLIV): Goddess She doesn't use physical attacks... load down with magic evade. Lots of magic evade. Don't do too much damage until she's out of mana. Rasp if necessary. If you want that Minerva Bustier she's carrying, two words - good luck. Celes is your best bet for this fight because of her naturally high magic evade. If charm hits, I believe you've lost. Did I mention magic evade? Soul of Thamasa/Merit Award is my recommended pair of relics, but if you can't get enough magic evade without a Zephyr Cape, the Soul of Thamasa only speeds things up - it isn't necessary. Rasp away, and then cast Vanish to protect yourself, and then just use your highest-damage attack to finish her. You can try to kill her without rasping first - it's a lot faster - but it's riskier. If you go that route, Soul of Thamasa/Celestriad, and abuse Quick, and probably flare. Thundaga will hurt if it hits you. Magic evade is lovely, isn't it? ******************************************************************************** (XLV): Demon Your odds of stealing the Red Jacket are about 1/1500 at 18. (1/100 chance of a successful steal, 1/8 chance of getting the Red Jacket from the steal, and 1/2 of all hits attempted stealing.) Not worth the trouble. Just abuse Stop, Quick, and Flare. If you really want to steal the thing, here is a couple of strategies: Cast Stop and Quick. Cast slow and shell. Steal once. Cast protect and quick. Steal twice. Cast regen and quick. Steal twice. Precede your Quick with a Bio if you want to add some extra damage after that. Rinse, repeat, till you steal a Red Jacket. This battle is largely luck - you do NOT want to get hit with too much retaliation. If you are patient and tired of dying, here's an alternative strategy: You need a character with rasp, osmose, stop, haste, quick, vanish, and bio. Soul of Thamasa+Merit Award+Best magic boosting equipment you've got. Magic evade is also nice if you can throw it in. First turn, haste yourself, stop it. Second turn, protect yourself, cast quick. Rasp twice. Osmose, then stop. After that, follow this pattern: Rasp+Quick Rasp+Rasp Osmose+Stop It should almost never, maybe even never, hit you. Once it is out of mana, vanish yourself, equip the Thief's Knife, and wail away to your heart's content. Maybe even heal it if it nears death - you can afford to be generous. If you could do both vanish AND berserk, I'd recommend it, and walk away. But sadly, you can't. ******************************************************************************** (XLVI): Kefka Hm. Tough. AND we want to steal that Ragnarok. Fortunately it's a common steal and the enemy is level, what, 58? Ultima Weapon is a harder steal, and you can come back for another later, so leave it off. You only have one Soul of Thamasa, and one Celestriad. Put them on Edgar. Setzer needs Fixed Dice and Master's Scroll. He'll do some healthy damage. Give him a Merit Award to steal that Ragnarok later. Celes has no special strategy. Give her Ribbon. Maybe Dragoon Boots, as well. Maximize her physical defense. 
(If you have real, serious trouble with this - you could always cheat and fix
Setzer's slots for instant-win on every fight.  But it won't save you from
counterattacks, so be prepared for them.)

***
Tier One:

Hit Long Arm with Air Anchor.  Dealt with.
Visage is weak against Fire, Short Arm is weak against Water.  Celes and Edgar
should both use Quick and hit with their strongest attacks(Firaga?) on Visage.
Setzer should just use Quick and lay about him with his Fixed Dice.
Flare or Flood once Visage dies to finish Short Arm.

***
Tier Two:

Machine goes down to Air Anchor.
Bio Tiger, and let poison dissolve it a little bit.  He's weak to Ice if
he's trouble.
Mute Magic.
Bio power - he's not vulnerable to poison, but he's weak to the element.

***
Tier Three:

Swap Setzer's dice for Thief's Knife!  Lady is level 58 - a level 9 could,
potentially, steal the Ragnarok.  You're not level 9.  You should gnab it after
about 8 hits.  You can't steal the Ultima Weapon at anything less than level 22,
and it'd be a hard steal anyways.

Debilitator won't help you kill Lady.  Non-elementals are your friends here.
Swap in your Fire Shields if you want, as Meltdown will come your way.

Quick and Meteor after you grab the Ragnarok, and keep it up till Lady croaks.
Use Edgar's Debilitator to weaken Rest, and then just keep Quicking and firing
off whatever element you can weaken Rest to first.  If Celes has her Dragoon
Boots equipped, keep her in the air, so Meteor, if it is cast, doesn't destroy
your whole party.


***
Kefka:

Okay, this is a tough fight.  However, there's a reason Edgar is the one with
the Celestriad and Soul of Thamasa.  My first strategy called for Celes using
them, but we're altering the rules a bit to survive this fight.

Have Edgar Vanish everybody.  Hastaga your party.  Protect and Shell your
party. Revanish every time you lose it.  You don't want to get hit by a
physical attack.  You can also Reflect Edgar - the only character who can
revive and heal the rest of your party in the event of a full-party
Thundaga, Blizzaga, or Firaga.

This is your attack string for Edgar:

Non-offensive spell+Quick
Flare+Flare
Flare+non-offensive spell.  (Kefka can only counter the last spell cast.)

Setzer should Quick, attack, osmose.  Rinse, repeat.

Celes should Quick, Flare, Osmose.  Rinse, repeat.

Once Kefka's attack pattern changes, you can either run for the finish line,
or adjust your battle strategy.  You may want to play it safe, and have Celes
Runic, wait for Kefka's attack, and then blast him with your other two party
members.  Setzer can win this fight in a single set of four lucky throws at
this point - unlikely, though.

With a little luck, you'll win with only a few of Kefka's attacks penetrating
your solid wall of Quickening.



********************************************************************************
(XLVII): Afterwards

Save the game.  You can return to it, and go through Kefka's Tower for the
ending again - or go and collect other characters, and see their endings.  Or
you could collect everybody and start training and preparation for the Dragon's
Den and Soul Shrine.  If you're really ambitious, you could beat Kefka another
three or four times for some Illuminas for Edgar and Celes to dual wield - the
evade and magic evade combination is hard to beat when considered with the
other stats added.  After that, you could try the Dragon's Den, with Gau in
one party, and your other three characters in the other.  Or however you want
them organized.

Whatever you do, you've beaten one heck of a challenge, congratulations.



********************************************************************************
Copyright 2007, Adirian Soan
AdirianSoan@Yahoo.com
All rights reserved.