I understand, Ritz...I'm going through this valley.
Mission #023: Over The Hill[]
Pre-Battle[]
Remember last page how I couldn't find any good images, so I flooded you with Odin? This page's theme is Thieves. And there is no better avatar oF Thievery than Mr. Zidane Tribal himself.
Ritz and Shara are poised on the highest ledge of Siena Gorge, along with four of their Viera clan-mates: an Elementalist, Summoner, Assassin, and Fencer. Ritz is a Red Mage and Shara is a Sniper. Marche waltzes in, and he knows what's going happen. (Hint: It isn't going to be a reconciliation involving hugs and kisses.) Marche states his determination to pass through the valley, and Ritz replies that she'll do everything power to stop him. Too bad for her I'm guiding you through this mission :)
Barring the Final Boss Battle (coming up next, how coincidental), this is probably one of the most intricate main missions in the game, due to all the awesome items to steal off Ritz and her Clan. Marche is best suited as a Ninja with the Steal Secondary A-ability. You want to equip him with the Fairy Shoes to make manuvering around the battlefield easy, as Ritz will likely end up blocking you from crossing the bridge. You may also want to fit an Acacia Hat on Marche for increased Movement Range, and Thief Armlets don't hurt either. Another melee unit of yours should also have the Fairy Shoes equipped to quickly teleport up to the plateau and start taking out the Summoner and Assassin. You also want a mage to cast Haste on Marche so he can have more chances to steal stuff. Here's a list of things we will definitely be snatching and who from.
- Ritz: Femme Fatale, Ribbon
- Shara: Ribbon
- Summoner: Silver Coat
Sadly, you can't steal footwear, so the Ninja Tabi and Galmia Shoes are off-limits. If you've already obtained a Ribbon through the World Map Treasure Hunts, you may only need to steal one. There are also several minor things that you might be interested if you haven't obtained them already: The Madu from the Fencer/Elementalist, Max's Oathbow from the Assassin, and Galmia Set and Seventh Heaven from Shara.
Battle Strategy[]
He can steal anything that's not nailed down or on fire.
The battle ends when Ritz falls, so make sure to keep her alive, preferably asleep or stopped, until you have stolen everything that you want. The catch is that you cannot afflict Ritz with status effects until you have stolen away her Ribbon, so make that a priority. Move Marche up the rocky ledge towards the bridge, and Haste him with your nu mou. If you have a Summoner, advance towards the waterfall and let loose with a spell that targets as much enemies as possible. Keep your other units close behind Marche. Shara should cross the bridge, move to the right, and fire an arrow, and Ritz should stop on the entrance to the bridge and Doublecast. On Marche's next turn, you can opt to take either Ritz's or Shara's Ribbon. Ritz will most likely be facing you with a clanmate at her back, so you're only going to have a 50% or so chance of stealing her Ribbon. Opt for Shara's instead, and then KO the Sniper, unless you want another item from her. Your other units should target the enemies whose equipment you do not want: the Elementalist, Fencer, and/or Assassin. Marche's next turn should then be devoted to taking Ritz's Ribbon away. Once this is done, immediately put her to Sleep, or Stop her with a Gunner's Stopshot or an Assassin's Shadowbind. With Ritz out of the way, you are then at your leisure to pluck the Summoner's Silver Coat away before sadistically killing her, and then take Ritz's Femme Fatale while she's incapacitated. When you're finished with your theiving misdeeds Equipment Relocalization, KO Ritz and end the battle.
Post-Battle[]
Thank God we're done with that endeavor. I hope you were a good little thief instead of being a wimp who opted to use a Totema to kill off Ritz right away. Marche crosses Siena Gorge, and as he leaves, Ritz tells Shara that she believes he will accomplish his goal in Ambervale.
Preparing for the Next Mission[]
The Ambervale symbol appears in the northeast corner of the world map. The next mission contains the Final Boss, so we'll need to do a bit of sidequesting first. Unfortunately, my save file has already completed all 300 missions, so I'm not sure what new missions have appeared. By now, you should be well-versed in the "Go to the Pub, take any new Dispatch Missions, free the lastest area," la de da de da. My advice to you is to cycle through all five months in order to discover as much new missions as possible. Take Mission #203: Dig Dig Dig as often as you can, because you're going to need a whole bunch of Zodiac Ores for future post-Final Boss missions. You can also unlock Ezel Berbier as a secret character, which I'll go over now.
Unlocking Ezel[]
Yes, I used this picture of Ezel back on page 5. Don't hate on me.
First off, you need to have completed Mission #056:New Antilaw in order to start this, which can be put up at the Pub when you gossip at Ezel's card shop in Cadoan after completing Mission #022: To Ambervale. After that, to go to Ezel's shop again and gossip once more. The Hermetic will then talk about mediating a conversation between the Palace and the resistance (all of you Star Wars nerds fans must be waxing reminiscent over this) and talks Marche into helping him out. Take Mission: Reconciliation at the Pub and head to Siena Gorge. The negotiations are going on well until a group of lawless rioters interrupts, sending the two parties fleeing. The resistant units aren't anything special, there's a Fighter, a Soldier....you know, at this point in the game, having a Soldier in your clan means you're a worthless bunch that deserves to be squishyfied. Send the objectors packing, and the negotiation talks are a success. Ezel laments that because of the new peace, he won't have to live in hiding anymore, but he doesn't feel very excited about it. He then offers to join your Clan, so accept.
Ezel's Skills[]
The Hermetic equips Maces and has only two spells: Azoth and Astra. You should remember the former spell from way back at Mission 9: It's a Target All spell that puts enemies to sleep. This is an excellent spell for missions where you want to steal enemy items or prolong the fight to gain EXP.
FINAL BATTLE PREP (For real this time)!!!!!!!!111!1!!11![]
Whoop-de-doo. You've come so far, and now you're at the moment that you've all been waiting for: Mission #024: Royal Valley. This is a three-part battle, and compared to the cake in the last several main missions, they are tough, as all Final Boss Battles should be. Here's some tips before you enter the royal palace of Ambervale:
- All your units should be level 36 or higher. This is the level of the Final Boss, who isn't a pushover at all. The mroe overleveled, the better.
- You should have two units, in addition to Marche, who are Moogle, Bangaa, or Human. This is because you want as much Totema-destruction as possible, of the HP varient. Make sure they all have 10 JP.
- Jobs and Equip: Marche as a Dual-Wielding Paladin is awesome. Two units with healing abilities are almost necessary. A long-range unit of your choice (or two) with an Ultima ability is also a great assest. This can be an Assassin with Ultima Masher and a Greatbow, Gunner with the Mog Knight's Ultima Charge, or Hunter with Ultima Shot. All mages should have Turbo MP as their Support Skill for maximum effect.
- Law Cards: A varient of Law Cards will make the third part of this Final Boss run much easier. R5 and R6 antilaws are the most useful, and bring several specific antilaws too, including Healing, Color Magic, and Fight.
Ready? You sure? Positive? Hurry up and get to Ambervale then, save (SAVE!!!) and then attempt to leave the location. You'll be engaged. WHAT'S NEXT!?!?!??! Find out Page 18 :)