Golmore Jungle (expanded) - Paramina Rift - Bur-Omisace


defeat the Elder Wyrm
bur-ormisace entrance
(1) Defeat the Elder Wyrm in Golmore
to open the way to Bur-OmisaceExit Eruyt Village. With Lente's Tear, you can now go through the blue seals that had limited your access to Golmore Jungle so far, expanding the area greatly. Part of those until now uncharted territories lie south, ultimately leading to the Feywood. While you can explore that area, be aware that the foes there are much more difficult than in the rest of the region, in particular in the Rustling Chapel (southernmost area): you'll only be truly comfortable there at level 38-40; the Feywood is even more treacherous, and I don't recommend you go there before you reach level 45 (more details about it all in the Extra Hints section). Anyway, for now the story takes you to the eastern reaches of the Golmore Jungle. After exiting Eruyt, look east and go through the magick field to enter the Wisperleaf Way. Continue straight on until you reach a save crystal: save, as you're about to meet a new boss. Make sure you have unlocked Esuna and that you have Remedies and Handkerchiefs at the ready, possibly associated with Gambits. Proceed then to the Dell of the Dreamer, where the Elder Wyrm (71,692 HP) awaits, alongside two Treants. Get rid of those in priority (I wouldn't recommend to use a Mist Knack chain to trigger an area attack, as you'll need MPs to cast Esuna throughout the battle). As soon as you've dispatched them, you can focus exclusively on the boss. Its physical attacks are strong but nothing that you shouldn't be able to deal with at this point. The problem lies in the multiple statuses it can inflict at once with its Sporefall attack. The worst statuses you have to look out for are Confuse and Sleep, which you can remove with Smelling Salts and Alarm Clocks (unless they are afflicted by more statuses, in which case you might want to rely on Esuna or Remedies to get rid of them all at once instead), as well as Oil: it is likely to follow up quickly with a Fireball attack which may well KO any character that's afflicted with the latter, so make it a priority to remove them. As usual, make sure your party is spread out with a mix of short and long range weapons to minimise the area attacks' impact. If you keep a close eye on your characters' status, healing them right away, you'll eventually get the upper hand. If you have enough MPs left, or by changing your characters for your reserve members, you might consider a Mist Knack chain to finish it off quickly when the boss is critical. With its defeat is the last notable obstacle to your treck to Bur-Omisace removed: continue eastward and you'll eventually reach the snows of the Paramina Rift. Although this is another vast region, you can move the story along quickly by foregoing its exploration and continuing east through the Head of the Silverflow to the Freezing Gorge: entering the latter will trigger a couple of cutscenes. Eventually the path will lead you north to the entrance to Bur-Omisace

Discussions at Bur-Omisace
(2) The future of Ivalice is discussed
at Bur-OmisaceBur-Omisace is rather small but it's a region you'll get to visit quite a bit around this time of the game, be it for the main story or for side quests. For the moment, you're here mainly to make the story progress, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a look at the merchants' assortment. Indeed, there are some interesting pieces of equipment and spells that may be of interest, in particular if you haven't bought new spells at Eruyt Village upon returning from the Henne Mines. You can also buy maps for Paramina Rift and Bur-Omisace from the Cartographer. Whenever you feel like it, progress towards the Temple Grounds, from where you can enter the Temple itself. Doing so will trigger a long series of cutscenes pivotal to the story during which you brush up on Ivalice's politics....anyhoo, what matters to us here is that, at the end you find yourself without guest again as Larsa leaves your party, and you have a new destination in view as you are encouraged to seek the Stilshrine of Miriam and a specific artefact that lies within

Extra hints: Expand your horizon

Use your guests wisely I wanted to address that question at some point and with all the sidequests and areas available at this stage, now seems a pretty good time. Guests can be a great asset as it's the only times you're allowed to have four characters in your party instead of three. Larsa is particularly useful to tip the battle in your favor when facing a tough opponent thanks to his endless Potions and Hi-Potions supplies. But while he's a really sweet guy, you may not want him to stick around too much. The trouble with guests is that they inevitably slow down your levelling up since all EXP are divided between the characters who are still on the battlefield when the foe is defeated, and you can put a guest in your reserve team. My recommendation then? Don't waste too much time along the road between Eruyt and Bur-Omisace: you can level up all you want after your first visit there without any guest tagging along. You may want, however, to target a couple of hunts and sidequests while he's around in order to complete them early: in particular, he proved to be of great assistance for the White Mousse and Ring Wyrm regular hunts, the Gil Snapper Elits Mark and the Earth Tyrant sidequest

Exploration and challenges: there are a lot of areas that are not part of the story at this point which you may now begin to be able to explore. I've already mentioned the Mosphoran Highwaste and Salikawood in chapter 5, as well as southern Golmore and the Feywood above. Other regions of interest may be the Zertinian Caverns, the Garamsythe Waterway and the Barheim Passage, the last two proposing new areas for you to explore since your last visit, which are home to much tougher opponents. Of course, it's all a matter of level and, to a certain extent, of equipment. The Mosphoran Highwaste and Salikawood should prove easier this time around if you had already given it a try during chapter 5. Southern Golmore, especially the Rustling Chapel, probably requires that you be level 38+ if you intend on spending enough time for undead foes to appear. Indeed, if you manage to get rid of all enemies in the area, they will begin to appear pretty much at every step. The only places where they don't spawn at all are the squares at both exits: on the other hand, you'll be snowed under if you venture on the square in the middle of the area, so tread very carefully! They are, however, awesome to chain as they both give you lots of EXP and drop loots that sell for high prices! The same level is necessary to acces several areas of the Zertinian Caverns: however, remember that the Athroza Quicksands, which is central, is home to one of the Espers, Adrammelech, which, as I mentioned before, requires that you be at least level 40something. Same goes for most areas of the Garamsythe Waterway; the Feywood is even trickier, whether you access from Golmore Jungle or Paramina Rift, and you'll only have serious chances to explore all areas open to you at this stage around level 45. Finally, the further you'll go into the areas of the Barheim passage newly open to you, the higher level you'll need: 45 is a must, and you'll probably still struggle even then. Moreover, another Esper, Zalera, is hidding at the end of the way leading west, although if you've survived the treck until there without fleeing, you're probably strong enough to face it as well....Again, all those levels are indications only, and the quality of your equipment may make a huge difference. As for challenges, why not take on most hunts that are available for now? The only one I'd tend to recommend against is the Antlion Elite Mark. Apart from that one though, spending reasonable time levelling up should allow you to clear you hunt log pretty quickly. You might also consider the sidequest that takes place in the Dalmasca Westersand and hunt for the Earth Tyrant that's staying there. The King Bomb of Salikawood also should be less daunting now. Also, beating it would open more areas in the Salikawood, as well as access to the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis. You would probably not survive very long there though, so avoid those two places (moreover, going there a bit later will give you extra bit in a cutscene)

Equipement: Tons of new equipment that often even surpasses what is available in shops are potentially up for grabs. I will exclude for now anything that comes/requires loots from the Feywood and Bahreim Passage (as well as the Nabreus Deadleands and the Necrohol of Nabudis) with one notable exception: indeed, there's an isolated area at the entrance of the western part of the Bahreim Passage where you might possibly get the Deadbriger sword (attack +93!!!!!). You'll need for that to steal it from a rare monster, the Ithuno, which like mimics appears similar to a treasure chest, but reveals itself to be a foe once you examine it. There's a 10% chance it shows up, so you'll may have to go out two areas and come back several times for it to appear. Stealing may take quite a few rounds, but it's the only item to steal from it so patience will be awesomely rewarded. Feel free to collect more than one such swords. Platinum daggers can also be obtained, this time as a drop from a common monster, the Shambling Corpse, which hides in the Zertinian Caverns and that you'll chain easily once Adrammelech is defeated. A let loss fighting (but a lot more running) is necessary to earn a Yoichi bow (as reward for the Viera RendezVous sidequest in Rabanastre). A trip in the Garamsythe Waterway may allow you to regroup the loots necessary to exchange for a Francisca (2x Pointed Horn, 4x Malboro Fruit, 6x Wind Magicite). Also, if you've defeated the White Mousse and obtained the key, you can open and close the watergates at leisure. Entering either of the central entrances once they are dry, you're likely to meet Gespensts from which you can steal a Ninja Gear or two (light armor level 9!). Speaking of light armor, you can also regroup what you need in exchange for a Chakra Band and a Power Vest, which is almost as good as the Ninja Gear itself; as for heavy armor, if you manage to defeat the King Bomb, you might obtain a Diamond Armor courtesy of the Baknamy in the Salikawood, and acquiring a couple Insect Husks from the Antares would go a long way in helping you securing a Platinum Gear package, including a Platinum Helmet, a Platinum Armor and a Platinum Shield. Of course, there are even more options out there, but getting your hands on some of those pieces would already help you considerably!


Paramina Rift - Stilshrine of Miriam


Entrance to the Stilshrine of Miriam
(3) The magnificent entrance to the
Stilshrine of Mirian
Going to the Stilshrine basically means that you'll have to treck across the Paramina Rift again, only heading all the way south this time, as several characters on the way will tell you. The journey that takes you from the Freezing Gorge to the Frozen Brook is not a difficult one if you've levelled up enough (you should be at level 30 or more at this point): the only place where you might want to be more cautious is beyond the Path of the First Fall (the area with a save crystal - to go there take SW exit from the Frozen Brook): Twintanias will be your first sight at the Spine of the Iceworm and their attacks are pretty powerful. Once you've beaten them, you'll find yourself in front of a bridge that's covered in traps and which is home to a few Garuda-Egi. The Silverflow's End has relatively few ennemies, but both the Emperor Aevis and the Yeti might be a threat if your characters are still around level 30 and/or have poor equipment. However, you can run if things go bad for you as the southernmost exit leads directly to the Stilshrine of Miriam and a most welcome save crystal

Solve the puzzle to reach the Hall of Worth and beyond
Turn the statues to face center
(4) Solve the puzzle to get the treasure
hidden deep in the templeNew dungeon often means new puzzle to solve, and the Stilshrine of Miriam is no exception. Don't hesitate to use the save crystal just before the door of the temple. You enter through the Ward of Measure: there are two doors on the sides down flights of stairs, but both are closed at this point. You'll eventually find a pedestal that you are prompted to touch to be transported to the Ward of Veliation: for it to work though, you'll need to equip the leader with the Dawn Shard. It will reduce to zero the MPs of whoever's using it, but another save crystal is not too far, and you can always take that character out of battles in the meanwhile. If you don't equip the Dawn Shard before touching the device, not only will it not work but it will also prompt the appearance of zombies around you. Once arrived you'll automatically enter a fight with a Miriam Guardian. There are lot of those around, usually under the appearance of huge statues against the walls which aren't marked on the mini map as foes until you get close to them, so be on your guard during your exploration of the temple if you experience any difficulties against that one: in case of trouble, you might want to cast Aero as they are weak against Wind spells. The trap behind the teleport device is actually a beneficial one, so step on it, open the chest and go into the next room. There is probably the most difficult fight for you (apart from the bosses) as three Aevis Dragons are waiting. Again, it all depends on your level - if you're around 35 or so, it should be a walk in the park. If you're under 30, it might be a bit of a nightmare. Remember that they are not immune to spells like Immobilize or Disable so you might want to try that; flee if you must (although you'll have to go back in there in a moment) until you move to the next area. There you'll eventually find another pedestal: again, equip the Dawn Shard to have it work. This time it will unlock stairs back in the previous room. Go back and take either one to proceed to the Walk of Revelation, where you'll quickly spot something that looks remarkably like a save crystal....only it isn't! It's actually a crystalbug. Pretty nasty thing but defeating it will treat you with a real save crystal so it's definitely worth the effort. Touch it to trigger the battle, then equip everyone with long range weapons to keep out of reach. When this is done, progress to the next room and go all the way south. The passage is blocked but examining it will open a door north to reveal a transport device taking you all the way back to the Ward of Measure. All that running around for nothing, you may think. Well, actually this time the doors on the sides are open. Take the one west then from the next room, walk until you find a passage on your right. Take it, go all the way west and you'll end up in front of a statue: this is the first part of the actual puzzle that consists in finding all three such statues in the temple and rotate them until they face the center [3]. Do so for this one then take the exit taking you to a huge area called the Walk of Reason where you'll find yet another statue eventually (check the map for its exact location). You'll find the next statue by going north into the next area, then take the exit on the right. Since that one is protected by a boss, you may want to go back all the way to save your game before that. Once ready go in and brace yourself. The battle field is magnetic, which means that all characters wearing metal will be slowed down (make sure people in your party wear either light or mystic armor for this battle). Moreover, Vinuskar tends to cast Slow as well! The good news though is that it is itself rather slow, its attacks are mostly limited to average physical ones and has relatively few HPs (15,138), which means that you could probably finish it off with a Mist Knack chain once you've worn it down by half. Once defeated, you can reach the last statue as well as the region's map. The way at the end of the Ward of the Sword Kings is now open

Fight the esper Mateus to reach the Sword of Kings
Mateus casts its Blizzaja attack
(5) The Esper Mateus is the last obstacle on
your way to the Sword of KingsWhew, that was quite a lot of running, and not much reward in view so far! Don't worry though as you're almost there. Just go back to the Ward of Measure. You may wish to save your game either outside or using the save crystal in the Walk of Revelation. Then use the transport device to go back to the Ward of the Sword King where the way has just been opened and go all the way south to the next area. Entering will trigger another boss fight, this time against the Esper Mateus [4]. The Esper itself isn't so much trouble, but it is surrounded not by one, nor two, but by six supporting Ice Azers. You need to get rid of those first. You may want to cast Haste on your fighters and keep at least one character behind with a long range weapon that will focus almost exclusively on healing and support spells at this point while the other two keep attacking them. Alternative tactics include casting several Thundara in a row in order to defeat or severly weaken them and finish them off with physical attacks. Whatever your attack tactics, your best defence is probably equiping Ice Shields on your close range fighters if you've got any. Once only Mateus is left, the fight should be somewhat easier: the only two things you should really watch out for is its super attack Blizzaja (nothing much to do but grit your teeth and weathering the tempest!) and Sap - equip Quasimodo boots if you have any available and have those Esuna and Remedies ready. Once you've depleated all of its 34,259 HPs, you will be the lucky owner of a new Esper and you will be finally able to reach for that artefact you've come all this way for. Enter the next area to trigger a scene at the end of which you'll receive the Sword of Kings (which is listed among your weapons and that you can, in theory, equip: but its attack is fairly weak so it's unlikely you choose to do so). Exit the temple and as you run towards the save crystal, another scene hints at the fact that you must go back to Bur-Omisace. Do so and go all the way back into the temple, but don't forget to save before entering. New scene, which will lead to yet another boss fight. It comes with its own supporting fighters but this time there's only three of them and they are much easier to dispatch. Do so while the boss walks towards you and is thus out of reach, then engage it with melee fighters. The boss relies on both physical attacks and elemental spells. Have your fighters equip a shield to significantly diminish the damages; you might also consider having your support member cast shell on them. It goes quite nuts as soon as it goes critical, which is when you should go all out with your Mist Knacks to finish it off quickly. With only a fraction of its initial 17,200 HPs left, one combo might well prove enough. More scenes will follow your victory, at the end of which your next objective will be clear - which is nothing less than Archades itself! - as well as the rather long journey that awaits you

Coming next: Mosphoran Highwaste - Salikawood