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Just finished six hours of hardcore biology revision so I feel totally guilt-free about taking the time to write this. Of course, I will return straight to the books post-"Save Page" because I hate myself and consistently make my brain cry with facts relating to identifying polar R groups on amino acids and one's lipoprotein blood profile. Enough of this jargon: Paramina's Final Fantasy XII Walkthrough, Part 8! Ready to go.

Low Blow, Mate.[]

Back in Bhujerba, pop up your map to see your destination. It's in Travica Way, you don't have particularly far to go. Speak to he Sainikah hanging around outside and tell him you're ready (if you are, obviously) to be given an audience with Marquis Ondore.

Marquisondore

Up goes the Arrest Count.

Amongst the general chatter between our group is the announcement that Larsa has already taken Penelo along with his brigade, probably back to his mansion in Archades (that tween sure knows how to impress a girl. Props). Vaan is slightly pouty that a twelve-year old has increasingly more pulling power than he does and allows the adults to continue talking. They mention "Amalia" again, that snooty woman who joined in us in the sewers earlier. In a sudden flash of blades and chat I think I perhaps missed, Basch and Ondore come to a little secret agreement and our entire party get arrested. Arrest Count: 2. What the hell? How does this continually happen to these guys? Talk about unlucky.

Back in Rabanastre... Glossy-Maned Vayne is having a little tete-a-tete with a Judge. I had to do a quick spot-the-difference game here where I had to quickly check all the wiki articles and match the Judge's helmet on-screen to a name. I've come up with Gabranth (definitely not Bergan, since Bergan's looks like a kettle). They discuss how the Senate back in Archadia are seriously cramping Vayne's evil mojo and not allowing him to be the fabulous villain he know he can be (he says with an irritable toss of his hair, Valley Girl style). Meanwhile, Vayne waves a letter from Ondore saying Basch has been handed to Judge Ghis. Considering this very action happened all of five seconds ago, the mail system in Ivalice is very efficient. Gabranth wants to kill Basch himself, before clanking off stage right. Then our darling Dr. Cid rambles on scene, a major contender for true villain of Final Fantasy XII. He's the only evil Cid we've ever had, and ohhhh, does he do a good job of it. You can tell he's evil by the way he engages himself in animated and intense conversations with the empty space beside him. He ends this little viewing with the mutter with a slight smidge of insanity, "The reins of history back in the hands of men!" Ominous.

Leviathan, Robots in Disguise.[]

XII Leviathan

Leviathan is also a Transformer. Maybe we should add that to the wiki article?


Mission: Escape Dreadnought Leviathan, our prison... hmm, this is beginning to look like Prison Break.


Our party aren't locked in another dungeon prison, but an airborne one: the Leviathan, but not as the chummy water dragon we know and love. No, it's a really annoying Airship brimming with Imperials and blinking lights. Not the best dungeon in FFXII. But we must persevere: we open with a quick scene of our party being shuffled into a... cock-pit (?) where that Amalia woman happens to be. Oh, convenient. She storms over and smacks Basch one straight across the face. Ooh! He didn't see that one coming. It appears she's not Amalia at all, but actually Princess Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca (ugh, mouthful). Yeah, the one that Marquis said killed herself after her foolhardy husband went riding in a warzone with a target around his neck. Oh well, looks like we've been played, again. First by a twelve year old, now by a pseudo-Indian. I'm beginning to feel rather stupid playing this.

It's the gallows for Ashe is she can't prove her royal lineage to the rather creepy Ghis (whose helmet is giving him the same breathing affliction Reks had). The only thing short of ordering a Gel Electrophoresis and readying are Restrictive Endonucleases (slotting in my bio revision there) is to use the Dusk Shard. Oh! Vaan happens to have it in his hands. Super convenient. Ghis snatches it from our brainless peasant and we're off to get locked up... again (beginning to know how Akon feels).

However, these Imperials are even worse than the ones in Nalbina. They don't even get our team into their cells before Balthier and Basch floor them and Vossler sticks his head out of a tin helmet in a "whazzup?" kind of manner. Vossler proceeds to unlock everyone's cuffs, explaining that he's been keeping his eye on Ashe for two years and won't let her be locked up any longer. If you ask me, she's a bit of a whiny bitch, so maybe leaving her locked up would teach her some manners. But no - I forgot that she's wearing that pink ribbon as a mini-skirt and both Basch and Vossler are helpless to it's powers. Looks like we're off to get her then.

Temporary Party Member: Vossler
Age: 38
Race: Hume
Home: Rabanastre, Dalmasca
Quickenings: N/A

"If we are to save Dalmasca, we must accept the truth. I will fight this profitless battle no more!"

Vossler is a character that I started off excited about, but he soon sort of just... sits there. No, don't get me wrong, he's not nearly as irrelevant as what's-her-face, but he kind of falls flat. Probably just because he's constantly paired with Basch in scenes, and Basch is the man. Vossler has dedicated his... life (maybe, I don't know) to looking out for Ashe. Some edit-happy anon said on her page at one point she and Vossler had an affair, which is very untrue, yet would probably add a bit of spice to his character, no? Vossler... Vossler, what else is there to say about Vossler without spoiling the next part of the game a little? You know, I keep looking at him and thinking "this guy is covered in belts!" I guess that's what years of Nomura's designs have done to my perceptions.

In terms of battle, he's a bit like a palette swap of Basch (but not as awesome, probably another reason he's slightly disappointing to me). He fights with the Nightmare, a massive sword Cloud-style (not quite Garland-style though, jeez that's a big sword). He's equipped with decent Heavy Armor and his Gambits include using Balance when HP Critical or for flying foes after Ashe, and the now-awesome Telekinesis for flying foes. He's also got some prompting battle against whatever's nearest and also whatever's plugging at Ashe.

Luckily, Vossler brought a map of this place - you'll need to consult it quite a bit to make sure you're not going long, pointless routes and triggering unnecessary alarms. We start off in the Port Launch, so cast your buffs (Protect, Shell etc.) then touch the Save Crystal to replenish your MP and save up. Cross to the Port Section for an event battle, and to learn that this whole place is rigged with cross-wire alarm systems to catch us out. I'll detail how to navigate the Leviathan if you want to avoid alarms/battles and get it done ASAP and if you want to relish the fights, trigger battles and kill some Imperials. It's up to you which route you choose, but if you think you can take the enemies here (they peak at level 12), I really, really recommend you make your own route and fight battles because it'll only give you extra EXP and LP as well as a really, really good chain. Know that my directions are totally according to the map, not your perspective. Righty-ho, let's go eskimo:

Method One: Avoiding Alarms[]

Zell Hot Dog Addiction

This bit is a bit text-heavy, but there's no suitable pictures to slot in... so I've decided this is amusing enough to break the text up. Enjoy.

Port Section

  • Take the second right down. When you reach the straight corridor, take a left and follow the path down the outside until you reach the clear square in the bottom left-corner of this area. There's a One-Way Alarm guarding a Treasure Chest here. The Treasure Chest has a 60% chance of being only 250gil, but has a 40% chance of being an item, and a 50% chance of that item... hang on, basically it has a 20% chance of being a Hand Axe, a great weapon for Basch. I recommend going after it, but know you have to trip the alarm on your way out of the alcove, leading to a battle against Imperial gangs. Ah well, EXP and LP to mop up, eh?
  • Now take the path leading out to the right of the open square and follow it round to a new open square. Take the path to the right again and follow the path up and around the section to find a Treasure Chest with possibly Ally: Status = HP Critical in it. Plunder. Transition South to the Large Freight Stores.

Large Freight Stores

  • Immediately take the first East exit to the Starboard Section.

Starboard Section

  • Take the path along East and then North until you reach an open square. From the square, take the path West and follow it around until you reach another open square. Take the North path until you get blocked by a wall - take the path to the right then take the first North path that appears. At the top of this path (and the weird sort of junctiony bit), head to the West and then to the South, taking the path to the left at the bottom. After reaching another wall, take the path North past the path on the right (blocked by a door) and to the second left that opens up. Follow the left path along then take it South a little before changing to the next left path on the outside of this area. Follow it around to reach the Bulkhead Release, then take the path to the North leading to the Sub-Control Room.

Sub-Control Room

  • There's a battle here, so you'll need to wipe out the Imperials. Continue North to the Bulkhead Release and activate it. Then go South down the stairs to transition to the Airship Berth Access. Wait.

Method Two: "It's Killing Time."[]

Port Section

  • No need to particularly give you a route for this part - just try and get the Hand Axe in the alcove at the very South of this area. Go nuts and I'll meet you in the Large Freight Stores.

Large Freight Stores

  • Take the path around to the South stairs. There's a massive floor battle here with a bunch of Imperials and our darling team. Decimate them before plundering the three treasure chests in the middle of the area and heading North in order to screen transition to...

Airship Berth Access

  • Take the path on the left if you want to fight some more. When you nearly reach the Northern bit, wait, you rogue!

Where Methods One and Two conveniently reconvene[]

So we're now both in the Airship Berth Access (keep writing 'birth', which is totally the wrong word here), we can head South towards the exit to the Central Brig Access... but don't actually screen transition yet. There's a potentially nails boss fight coming up so I'd recommend setting up your buffs - ESPECIALLY PROTECT, DO IT - then going for a quick jog in a circle. Make sure two of your characters have decent healing Gambits and that you reconfigure everyone's Foe: Attack to Party Leader's Target. With that done, head down to the Central Brig Access.

Sort of Boss Battle: Judge (x2), Imperial Swordsman (x3), Imperial Magus
ImperialSoldier FFXII

Stats given are for the two leaders, the Judges
Level: 11
HP: 2245
Steal: No idea, working on it...
Difficulty: Easy


God, I had no idea what picture to use so I decided this rabble of armored people would do.

Righty, basically the premise of this battle is do as Vossler says: "Fear not their numbers! Take down their leaders and the others will follow!" Our strategy here is to eliminate the Judges first to end the battle quickly. The whole premise of me telling you to put Protect on before you entered was so you could bear the brunt of those Swordsmen's incessant hits. Firstly, take out the Imperial Magus. I know I just said we'd focus on the Judges, but by eliminating the Magus you eliminate those bloody annoying Black Magicks he sends our way. With that guy out of the way, focus on the Judges. Of course, Vossler will be going aggro-crazy in the foreground, whacking whatever approaches him the closest, but ignore him. I'd say if someone dies, then switch in your extra party member, only use Phoenix Down if someone else KOs, too.

With that battle done, you're given a No. 1 Brig Key. Whoop whoop. Let's go use it - exit South to get to the cells. In C-203 are some cute little Moogles (who would imprison Moogles? Looks like the Empire really are baddies), and one is even a Travelling Merchant! Who was all his wares! In prison! Convenient! Top-up if need be. C-201 has a Save Crystal! Huzzah! Save up and heal up before grabbing the Systems Access Key from the Urn. Now, open C-202 to find Ashe sitting in there, sulking. She gets up and nearly floors it, then has the nerve to be snooty to Basch in the wake of her fall. Look, I know she thinks Basch killed her father and stuff, but seriously - chill out, woman. Looks like she's along for the ride:

Party Member: Ashe
Age: 19
Race: Hume
Home: Rabanastre, Dalmasca
Quickenings: Northswain's Glow, Heaven's Wrath, Maelstrom's Bolt

"Even with power, we cannot change what has passed. What is done, is done."

Ashe has a horrifically long name that I've already typed twice in this walkthrough, and that was two times too many. She comes across as pretty snotty and mean to begin with, but you warm to her eventually. Especially with this whole "oh, that's nearly indecent!" thing she's got 'going on' with Basch. Quite a few people say she's the true lead in this game and I won't even argue that (can't be bothered, to be honest). She's a decent lead - with a drive for revenge and a longing to regain her country and freedom. Yeah, she hates the Empire, yeah, she can be a condescending bitch sometimes, but hey, she's a Princess. It's practically a given. Well, she may be royalty, but she's not exempt from el fashion disastro that often strikes in XII. Really, look at what she's got on, how awkward must that be to put on every morning? Why does she have a random leather swath around her waist? And those open-toed steel boot things paired with those socks... someone should really call Queer Eye on her ass. And the skirt! It's not even a skirt, it's slit up to her hip and basically has all the modesty of a loincloth; it's so incredibly un-Ashe and weird I don't know what Yoshida was thinking when he put it in. Oh, actually, probably the same thing he was thinking when he drew her in a bikini with Basch (Basch really looks like he's got a bad case of rickets in that picture).

Battle wise, Ashe excels in magic stats. As a note, her Quickenings have the most awful quotes accompanying them, they're kind of embarrassing to listen to and more often than not make you wish you break the chain so she doesn't keep talking. To be honest, you can put her in whatever role you want - she's a more than decent fighter and is a very respectable sub for the A-Team, or even a perma-member, if you want. Like I've said a million times, Final Fantasy XII is really each to their own. If you want her in, put her in. Whatever floats your boat, comrades.

With Princess Ashe introduced, feel free to sub her into your main party to test her out/level her up on the next bit. Exit Brig No. 1 for a massive alarm to suddenly sound. Oh noez!

Legging It[]

Like all FF prisons, there's some sort back-and-forth element. Luckily it's not nearly as enduring as D-District, but it's still pretty rough setting off all those net alarms. Normally I'm one for "Let's end this!", but you'll quickly get overwhelmed if you try and take it like a man and beat some iron, because the onslaught is never ending. Thus, (it really hurts me to say it) hold R2 (ouch) and leg it.

Central Brig Access

  • Run straight through, do not pass Go, do not collect £200.

Airship Berth Access

  • Turn either left or right at the intersection, you're headed for the Southern-Exit for the Large Freight Stores NOT the Northern-Exit to the Sub-Control Room.

Large Freight Stores

  • Run down to the Security Terminals and choose one to activate. Hit X-button to use the Systems Access Key and silence the alarms for 60 seconds. Bliss. Oh, God, a timer has popped up on screen. I get so incredibly stressed whenever I see a timer it's unreal. Run up the stairs and exit to the Port Section.

Upon arrival our fortunes take a swooping turn for the worse - Unlikely-Pimp Larsa arrives on scene with what's-her-face... Penelo. Apparently Judge Ghis knows of our escape. But that's not the worst of it - Vossler then leaves with Larsa, and in exchange, we get Penelo. In exchange for Vossler, we get Penelo. Ugh, Square, what have I done to upset you so much?

Anyway, you don't have time to muse on our new problemo because the timer is still ticking, which means I'm still anxious. Keep running to the Port Launch (i.e., where we started), but before you enter, quickly heal up (with Potions, as not to waste your MP). When you're ready, enter to see Judge Ghis already waiting for us. Upon seeing this, I wonder why Larsa didn't tell us where Ghis was and to avoid him, but oh well - too late. Ghis is not happy - he tries to Avada Kedavra Ashe but luckily the Manufacted Nethicite absorbs it. I think Square had Penelo be the one to hold it in order for fans to be like "Of course Penelo has relevance! If she hadn't been there in Leviathan, holding the Nethicite, Ashe would be toast!" No. If she hadn't been there in the Leviathan... Vaan would have probably been holding it. If Vaan hadn't been there in the Leviathan... Basch would have probably just punched Ghis in the face.

Boss Battle: Judge Ghis
Ffxii-ghis

Level: 14
HP: 4120
Steal: Potion, Dark Mote, Jackboots
Difficulty: Easy


There are two strategies you can go with here: one is to set up a Quickening Chain, three will lead to a Concurrence and floor the fight. End of.

The other is to fight it out. He has an attack that will wipe out your party if your HP is below 50%, so MAKE SURE you have a Cure Gambit set-up for Ally: HP <60% or higher. Pick off Ghis' possé quickly to eliminate their annoying attacks and then focus on the big guy. Basically just keep your physicals whilst making sure your ranged fighters are staying out of the fray and quick to send a Cure when needed. The battle ends when Ghis' HP falls below 25% anyway, so 'tis no biggie.

Now I've got the rest of this box to fill. Hmm... Ghis should really keep his helmet on at all times, shouldn't he? That hair is really rough. Why did he curl that little fringey bit, I wonder? You know, on closer inspection his hair matches his helmet. Or, maybe, his helmet matches his hair. I wonder whether he styled his hair like that or had his helmet especially made? Who would I ask about this kind of thing?

With Ghis finally fallen, Vossler will return. No, he won't try and swap himself back into our fold (gutted), but rather he's found another Transformer for us to escape on: the Atomos. A scene starts where Fran steers us safely out of Leviathan and back into the free skies of Ivalice...

Back to Bhujerba, bhadra.[]

And we're back in Bhujerba? Again? Alright. Vossler takes his final leave here and Basch steps up as Ashe's new Bodyguard. In his first role of duty, he suggests Ashe goes and sees Ondore. Why, I don't know - since that mental pseudo-Indian does not have a good track record for thinking logically (oh yes, have the party arrested and potentially murdered by the Empire they're currently on the run from having already been jailed by them... so we can see Ashe).

Still, an order's an order - return to Ondore's on Travica Way for another scene. Ashe and Ondore have some chat re:Resistance. I think (and I say 'I think') we learn that Ondore is Ashe's uncle, except his wiki article says differently. Ondore reminds Ashe that no one is likely to believe she's Princess because she's supposed to be six feet under. Ashe will have to regain the Dusk Shard (the one we get gave Ghis, natch) in order to have the Gran Kiltias recognize her as the true heir of Dalmasca. Oh well, looks like it's 'Time Out' for Ashe.

But of course not, our wily Princess is too busy plotting to hijack the Strahl. However, she's so hilariously terrible at it that the rest of the party casually walk on board and catch her out. Ashe, in what must be a fit of adrenaline/craziness, proposes Balthier kidnaps her (this is Final Fantasy, not Criminal Minds, love) in exchange for some treasure at King Raithwall's Tomb. Because Balthier loves him some treasure, it looks like we have a new Mission, comrades!

Balthier's in. Fran's in. Ashe's in. Basch's (reluctantly) in. For some reason I'm not sure, Vaan and Penelo are both in. Someone should really tell them it's rude to invite yourself places.


→ The other Sandsea (no alcohol here, I'm afraid)
← To the Sidequests!
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