Tower of Babil
While the dwarves keep the tower occupied, head inside. This is our first visit to Babil, approaching from the Underworld. There are enough equipment upgrades here to make a little inventory preparation worthwhile. Leave several spaces free, bring recovery items, and don’t arrive with everyone already running on fumes.
Enemies and Guarded Treasure
Ice is useful here, but not a universal solution. Use it against the fire enemies and Tofu; use physical attacks or EquipmentEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain, Edge, Rydia (both forms), Palom, Edward. Power 28; Acc 94%. Reusable Item attack with no MP cost. against Chimera. Its party-wide Blaze is a good reason to finish the fight promptly. In doll formations, kill Marion before working through its replaceable helpers.
Several equipment chests contain Alert battles. Concentrate physical attacks on Alert instead of spending your best spells against its high magic defense. It can call help, and killing the helper while leaving the caller alive is not a terribly efficient way to finish collecting treasure. Heal before opening another equipment chest.
1F and 2F: Ice Weapons
On 1F, collect 10 Equipment: ArrowsEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Rydia (both forms), Rosa, Cid, Palom, Porom, Edward, FuSoYa. Power 15. Attack element: Ice. Requires a bow-and-arrow pair. from each of the western and southwestern chests, plus Ether1 to the east. Then take the stairs onward.
On 2F, check the northwestern chest for Equipment: HeadgearEquippable by Everyone except Cecil (Dark Knight). Def 3; Eva +2%; Mag Def 1; Mag Eva 1%; Strength +5, Vitality +5.. Give it to Yang in place of EquipmentEquippable by Everyone except Cecil (Dark Knight). Def 1; Eva 0; Mag Def 1; Mag Eva 1%; Strength +5. Protects against Confuse.. The two treasure rooms are more interesting:
| Room | Treasure | Called reinforcement |
|---|---|---|
| Southern room | Equipment: Lances and spearsEquippable by Kain. Power 77; Acc 80%. Attack element: Ice, Projectile. Reusable Item spell: Ice2. | Stoneman |
| Eastern room | Equipment: SwordsEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain. Power 75; Acc 80%. Attack element: Ice. | Chimera |
Both are guarded by Alert. Stoneman is weak to Ice, but its magic defense is extremely high. Ice-element physical damage is the useful distinction here; weakness doesn’t make every Ice spell equally effective. Against Chimera, avoid relying on Fire, Ice, or Bolt damage.
Equip Equipment: Lances and spearsEquippable by Kain. Power 77; Acc 80%. Attack element: Ice, Projectile. Reusable Item spell: Ice2. on Kain, in his left hand, and Equipment: SwordsEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain. Power 75; Acc 80%. Attack element: Ice. on Cecil, in his right. Keep their shields in the other hands. These weapons are particularly welcome against the tower’s fire enemies.
3F and the Separate 4F Branch
Collect Equipment: ClawsEquippable by Edge, Yang. Power 0; Acc 99%; Strength +5, Agility +5. Attacks may inflict Sleep. near the entrance, HiPotion to the east, and ItemRevives a KO'd ally. Can appear as loot from a FloatEye and Eagle formation southwest of Baron. to the south on 3F. Try Equipment: ClawsEquippable by Edge, Yang. Power 0; Acc 99%; Strength +5, Agility +5. Attacks may inflict Sleep. on Yang alongside Fairy; you don’t need to remove both claws to change one.
Before taking the main route up, use the southeastern stairs to visit a separate section of 4F. Its two chests contain Archer and Notus. This is a treasure detour, not the onward route. Return to 3F, then take the northern route to the main part of 4F.
Archer is a bow for Rosa. Put the bow in LHnd and arrows in RHnd. If the equipment menu refuses the change, empty an incompatible item from the other hand first. Bow and arrows work together; a stray staff in the opposite slot prevents the pairing.
Main 4F: Save Room and Ice Armor
The room immediately left of the entrance is a save point. Rest if necessary. A ItemField/save-point recovery, restoring up to 1,000 HP and 100 MP. At higher levels, check your remaining deficits before continuing. restores 100 MP per character here; don’t assume it fills a larger MP pool just because it did earlier in the game. Use a Cabin when you need a full recovery.
The southwestern treasure room contains Equipment: ShieldsEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain, Cid. Def 3; Eva +30%; Mag Def 2; Mag Eva 2%. Resists Fire., guarded by Alert with Naga as its reinforcement. The northern treasure room holds Equipment: Body armorEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain, Cid. Def 17; Eva −10%; Mag Def 4; Mag Eva 2%. Resists Fire., with Alert calling FlameDog. Ice attacks make that second helper much less troublesome.
Try the shield and armor on Cecil. Compare the Status screen as well as the equipment preview: a shield swap can improve evasion without changing the displayed Defense or Magic Defense. Equipment: Body armorEquippable by Cecil (Paladin), Kain, Cid. Def 17; Eva −10%; Mag Def 4; Mag Eva 2%. Resists Fire. also trades away the Will bonus on Equipment: Body armorEquippable by Cecil (Paladin). Def 11; Eva −10%; Mag Def 3; Mag Eva 1%; Will +3.. Keep useful displaced gear until you have compared Kain’s outfit too; this isn’t a command to throw all the old armor away.
An empty side room really is empty. It isn’t hiding a chest because your inventory is full. If you do need a slot, an obsolete Headband is a less painful sacrifice than ItemRevives a KO'd ally. Can appear as loot from a FloatEye and Eagle formation southwest of Baron., ItemAn item found in the middle chest of Baron Castle's opening treasure room., or one of the new weapons.
5F through 7F
On 5F, collect Boreas in the northwest and HiPotion in the southeast. The door at the end of the central bridge is locked. Remember it, but don’t head back down the tower looking for a missed switch. We will acquire what opens it farther up.
6F is a connecting floor with no treasure to hunt down. Continue to 7F, collect the Ether2 in the south, and enter the eastern save room. Use a Cabin if the party needs it and save before continuing. The next floor is the boss destination, not another treasure sweep.