Final Fantasy
Cie'th Stone Missions - 3
Mission 16: Surrogate Slayer
Rank: B
Mark: Sahagin
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Eastern Tors
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Font of Namva
Reward: Rhodochrosite
These vicious fish didn’t get the memo that harassing Chocobos is a bad idea, so it’s up to you to beat another round of sense into them. The pack is a bit more numerous this time around, and they can gang up and deplete your health quickly if you aren’t careful. If you keep to the same strategy as before, however, you should again emerge victorious.
Mission 17: A Widow’s Wrath
Rank: B
Mark: Pulsework Champion
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Northern Highplain (Waystone)
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Northern Highplain
Reward: Perfect Conductor (x3)
The Pulsework Champion has some incredibly solid defenses, being immune to almost all magic and resistant to physical attacks. Fortunately, he’s got a low percentage needed to stagger, so that’s what you’ll need to do in order to start landing significant damage. Send your commandos into the fray and keep wailing on him until he cracks. While magic won’t damage him, it will help up its percentage, so it might not hurt to Ravage him as well.
Mission 18: Name: So Close, Yet So Far
Rank: C
Mark: Ambling Bellows
Cie'th Stone location: Mah'habara – Twilit Cavern (Waystone)
Mark location: Mah'habara – Twilit Cavern
Reward: Sorcerer's Mark
It’s a Robot dance-off! Ambling Bellows is still the crazed accordion you knew, loved, and conquered, and the backup crew are the same robot foes you’ve been taking on so far within this particular dungeon. By this point you already have some solid strategies against all of these rebellious robots. Just keep an eye on your HP as you would normally for any fight against a large pack.
Mission 19: Triangle of Tragedy
Rank: C
Mark: Uridimmu
Cie'th Stone location: Sulyya Springs – Ceiling of Sky (Waystone)
Mark location: Sulyya Springs – Subterranean Lake
Reward: Cobaltite
You’ve fought Uridimmu before, but last time, he had a bunch of lower-level buddies as backup. This time, you’ll be taking on three of these ugly pack leaders at once. Still, these ugly kitties shouldn’t pose too big of a threat to your team. Follow a similar strategy as you did before and you should be able to triumph again without much hassle.
Mission 20: Words Unspoken
Mark: Goblin Chieftain
Rank: C
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – The Palisades
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – The Palisades
Reward: Rhodochrosite
Are two heads better than one? Perhaps so, if you’re thinking like the Goblin higher-ups. For this fight, you’ll be taking on both the Munchkin Maestro and the Goblin Chieftain as a pair. And – as usual – they’ve got their posses in tow. By this point, you should have fought these guys enough to know their quirks, so keep your past encounters in mind and show no mercy.
Note: Missions 21 – 26 are required story missions and are impossible to miss as you ascend Taejin's Tower.
Mission 21: A Tremulous Terror
Rank: C
Mark: Gelatitan
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Reward: Speed Sash
This is the first of the mandatory missions you’ll need to finish in order to ascend this tower. You’ll receive this quest not from a Cie'th stone, but from a statue-like structure that promises to help you progress once you’ve killed the mark. Gelatitan is another flan-like enemy, and probably the biggest you’ve yet encountered. It’s weak to Thunder attacks, so go after it with the appropriate elemental strikes. It’s also possible to sneak up on Gelatitan from behind with patience and timing, giving you a huge boost in your efforts to stagger it.
Mission 22: Infernal Machine
Rank: C
Mark: Ambling Bellows
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Reward: Particle Accelerator (x3)
You know the drill by now, right? This should be the last time you’ll ever see this guy as a mark, so savor your final meeting.
Mission 23: Natural Defenses
Rank: B
Mark: Gurangatch
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – Second Tier
Reward: Warrior's Wristband
You’ve likely seen a few creatures very similar to Gurangatch wandering around the Archylte Steppe. If you’ve fought them already, you know their gimmick: They are resistant to damn near everything you throw at them until you stagger them, destroying their spiny shield and leaving them completely defenseless. Keep on the offensive to crack this one wide open without much trouble.
Mission 24: A Potent Sting
Rank: B
Mark: Mushussu
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – Fifth Tier
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – Fifth Tier
Reward: Moonblossom Seed (x6)
Mushussu itself isn’t tough, but there are a couple of Yakshinis acting as backup that can debuff your team and cause some serious hurt – they should probably be your initial targets. Mushussu is resistant or immune to most elemental spells, so non-elemental offense (physical or magical) is the best strategy. A balanced party with a strong offense and a healer/buffer is the ideal team.
Mission 25: Spectral Haunt
Rank: B
Mark: Vetala
Cie'th Stone location: Taejin's Tower – Sixth Tier
Mark location: Taejin's Tower – Fifth Tier
Reward: Cobaltite
Much like Gurangatch, Vetala has some very tough defenses – it’ll laugh off almost every elemental spell you can toss at it, though physical strikes are somewhat more effective. It also has some pretty powerful spellcasting skills that can leave you hurting if you’re not sufficiently buffed. Your goal here is to smash through its barrier and then juggle it as much as possible while it’s staggered. Vetala can be tough if you’re unprepared, but don’t breathe a sigh of relief when it’s finished - it’s got relatives later on that are even more difficult.
Warrior (Fighter) — A specialist in heavy weapons and armor who can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. Can become the Knight later in the game, who is able to use the most powerful weapons and some White Magic spells.
Monk (Black Belt) — A martial arts expert who is best left fighting empty-handed, but may also wield nunchaku, and the most basic of staves. Does tremendous amounts of damage in combat, but cannot wear heavy armor. Can become the Master later in the game. In the original Famicom/NES version a high level, barehanded Master who is unencumbered by armor, can do more damage in a single attack than any other character type; a party of four Masters can defeat the final boss monster in less than two full rounds. A rather weak class in the beginning, but you never have to buy much weapons/armor for him.
Thief — A high evasion/accuracy finesse fighter with very limited weapon and armor selection, but greater agility and luck (ability to escape from combat). However, the ability to flee is bugged in versions before the Origins release. Later in the game, the Thief can be upgraded to the Ninja class. Ninja can use almost every weapon and most armor, and can use many Black Magic spells.
White Mage — A specialist in White Magic. Not a good fighter, but can use hammers for physical attacks. Can be upgraded into a White Wizard, which allows the character to use the most powerful White Magic spells in the game.
Black Mage — A specialist in Black Magic and a very weak fighter. Becomes the Black Wizard later on. Black Wizard is the only character who can cast Flare (NUKE in the original North American localization), one of the two damaging spells that retain full effectiveness against Chaos (the White Wizard can cast Holy, the other spell, but it is less powerful than Flare).
Red Mage — A jack-of-all-trades character, able to use most but not all of both White and Black Magic, and possessing fighting abilities similar to but not quite as good as the Fighter. Becomes the Red Wizard later in the game.
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