Final Fantasy XII Walkthrough

Lhusu Mines and the Bhujerba Resistance

First Lhusu Mines Visit

This is another decent place to level up. Lamont will potion your guys up if they drop below 50%, so it’s OK not to have Cure Gambits.

AerieelRare GameHas a 20% chance to appear in Oltam Span; it can Poison or drain HP with Leech, its rare Steal is a Bat Wing, and its rare drop is Golden Armor. has a 20% chance to appear when you enter Oltam Span. It is substantially stronger than the ordinary enemies, can Poison or drain HP with Leech, and can rarely drop Golden ArmorHeavy Armor20 Defense and +4 Strength, and requires Heavy Armor 4. It is sold after obtaining the Dawn Shard and can also be a rare Aerieel drop.. Open its Rare GameBestiary SystemAn enemy with a special spawn condition; ordinary Rare Game can respawn, while Trophy Rare Game is one-time. button before deciding whether the early armor is worth the detour.

Keep Libra active because the mines contain several trapsField MechanicA floor hazard revealed by Libra and crossed safely while Float is active.. The side paths beside the tracks are safer when you want to avoid a fight or preserve a ChainBattle SystemDefeating consecutive enemies of the same family improves their normal drops; a different family, town, or touched Save Crystal breaks it..

Skeleton Chaining

This is a GREAT place to practice chaining with the SkeletonsEnemyAn undead enemy weak to Holy and able to absorb Dark; in Lhusu Mines, chain it with Skull Defenders for Bone Fragments and a rare Iron Helm.. You can find a bunch in the Shunia Twinspan and Site 2, but be careful with Site 2. Don’t go past the room at the top of the staircase. You can go to the top, but don’t go any farther until you are ready to advance the story.

If the SkeletonsEnemyAn undead enemy weak to Holy and able to absorb Dark; in Lhusu Mines, chain it with Skull Defenders for Bone Fragments and a rare Iron Helm. stop respawning, you can FLEE back to the Shaft Entry screen, then FLEE back to Shunia Twinspan. This will reset the counter and respawn the SkeletonsEnemyAn undead enemy weak to Holy and able to absorb Dark; in Lhusu Mines, chain it with Skull Defenders for Bone Fragments and a rare Iron Helm.. The FLEEing will keep your Chain levelBattle SystemThe hidden drop-quality tier from 0 through 3; higher levels improve normal drop rates and can add recovery bonuses.. Otherwise you’ll likely kill off a SteelingEnemyA hostile Waterway avion weak to Earth; it can be hit by ordinary melee attacks and supplies Bat Fangs, Wind Stones, and a rare Armguard Steal. or SlavenEnemyA Wind-weak enemy seen in Giza Plains and Lhusu Mines; the stronger mine variant can supply Tanned Hide and a rare Aevis Killer., then you’ll have to start all over.

Just run around and get lots of XP and money, but try not to kill any bats, or you’ll destroy your ChainBattle SystemDefeating consecutive enemies of the same family improves their normal drops; a different family, town, or touched Save Crystal breaks it.. When you have 95 or so Bone FragmentsLootCommon Skeleton-family Loot; sell it for gil and Bazaar progress unless a later recipe plan calls for it., head back and sell them for nearly 20k gil. Items I ended up selling include the following: Bone FragmentLootCommon Skeleton-family Loot; sell it for gil and Bazaar progress unless a later recipe plan calls for it., AntidoteItemRemoves Poison from one target., Wind StoneLootCommon early elemental Loot from Steelings, Wolves, and other enemies; sell three with two Foul Flesh and two Horns to unlock Light Spear., Dark StoneLootShared early Bazaar ingredient used by Assorted Leathers, Bow & Bodkin, and Marksman’s Delight; unlock every wanted package before buying any of them., Bat FangLootEarly Steeling Loot; sell one with two Dark Stones and two Rat Pelts to unlock Bow & Bodkin., Iron HelmHeavy ArmorEarly Heavy Armor headgear available as a rare Skeleton drop in Barheim; equip it after learning the matching Heavy Armor License., Armguard, and PebbleLootLow-value Loot carried by Rogue Tomato and many ordinary enemies. It has no original-release Bazaar recipe or later quest use, so it is always safe to sell.. I also acquired some of the following items, but opted not to sell them: Teleport StoneItemConsumed to travel between activated Gate Crystals., Knot of RustItemDeals random non-elemental damage and adds the amount dealt to Dark Matter’s stored-damage total; four can be collected in the Nalbina Dungeon Stockade. from treasure chests, and Dark MoteItemCasts Dark without spending MP; save it when free elemental damage would be more useful than its sale price..

If you didn’t use the zone-out glitch to level up against the DustiaRare GameAppears in Corridor of Sand when any party member enters below 10% maximum HP; a Phoenix Down defeats it instantly for 1,098 EXP and 3 LP. Rare GameBestiary SystemAn enemy with a special spawn condition; ordinary Rare Game can respawn, while Trophy Rare Game is one-time., this is a decent place to earn the money to buy Monographs. You know, all those Monographs you got access to way back on Giza Plains and Palace Preparations? Earn the cash to buy them all by chaining SkeletonsEnemyAn undead enemy weak to Holy and able to absorb Dark; in Lhusu Mines, chain it with Skull Defenders for Bone Fragments and a rare Iron Helm. for fun and profit! Spending the time here will also allow your guys to level up, making it a little easier to save Penelo.

You can use the Steal Gambits to make this go much faster. You did set your battle speed to fast, right? Basically, I used Vaan, Fran, and Balthier, and Lamont, I guess. One time through, when I had purchased all the Monographs, Vaan, Balthier, and Fran were all at level 23. Another time, they were at 26. It depends on how much time you spent leveling up before this, I guess. Anyway, the setup below assumes Vaan is the party leader.

Character	Gambits in priority order
Vaan	Foe: HP = 100% -> StealTechnickAttempts to take an item from the target; Thief's Cuffs improve the success rates and allow multiple items. Foe: party leader’s target -> Attack Foe: nearest visible -> Attack
Balthier	Foe: party leader’s target -> Attack
Fran	Ally: any -> Phoenix DownItemRevives one KO’d ally with 20% maximum HP before Phoenix Lore and item-effect bonuses. Ally: any -> BlindnaWhite Magick8 MP. Removes Blind from one ally. Ally: any -> VoxWhite Magick8 MP. Removes Silence from one ally. Ally: any -> PoisonaWhite Magick8 MP. Removes Poison from one ally. Foe: party leader’s target -> Attack

Also of note, there is a chest in Transitway 1 in which I found a Killer BowWeapon: Bow33 Attack, requires Bows 2, and must be paired with arrows. A Transitway 1 treasure can provide it six Attack earlier than the Aevis Killer., not to be confused with an Aevis KillerWeapon: Bow27 Attack, requires Bows 2, and must be paired with arrows. It can be bought in Bhujerba and can rarely drop from Slaven enemies in Lhusu Mines.; it does 25% more dmg. Fran WANTS this!

Ba’Gamnan’s Trap

When you have leveled to your heart’s content, head on through the mines to the northeastern end of Site 2, the top-right corner of your Lhusu Mines map. When you get to the top of the stairway there, cast Protect and Shell on all your guys, and head down the tunnel to the west. Watch some cut scenes, and then you’ll have to decide who/what/when/where/how to fight. And sometimes “Y.” No, wait… That’s a different grammar rule.

Anyway, steal from everyone if you can. If you get a Round ShieldShield14 Evade and requires Shields 2 for 20 LP. It works only with a one-handed weapon, is the rare Steal from Ba’Gamnan, and becomes buyable after escaping the Dreadnought Leviathan., don’t be afraid to equip it immediately. Also, if you used my Gambit list above, be sure to undo the Steal Gambit and do things manually. I didn’t have any trouble with this crew, but I had just spent a few hours buying all my Monographs, read: leveling up.

If you cannot hold your own in the fight, just hold down R2 and book it toward the mine entrance. Otherwise, leave the mine when you’ve beaten Ba’Gamnan and he flees in disgust. You may find new enemies on your way out, but they’re not that challenging.

Back in Bhujerba

When you leave the mine, you’ll be treated to a series of cut scenes, and you’ll eventually have control again at the start of what is ALMOST, but not quite, a minigame.

First things first, though. Sell off any Loot you acquired in the mines, and buy up the newly available supplies, like Gold NeedlesItemRemoves Stone or Petrify from one target., Alarm ClocksItemRemoves Sleep from one target., and HandkerchiefsItemRemoves Oil from one target.. Also, don’t forget to save the game. Since the Empire is gone, you can now run around the rest of the city, too.

Find the Bhujerba Resistance

Basically, you are looking to do two things here: Press the square button around City Parijanah, but not around the Bhujerban Sainikah people. You can tell the difference by the uniforms. Look at the helmets for easy identification.

1. Shout near City Parijanahs whenever possible. They raise Notoriety much faster than ordinary listeners.
2. Do not shout within earshot of a Bhujerban Sainikah. They cut the meter substantially.
3. The meter drops over time. Open the map or pause after a useful shout if you need to choose the next target.
4. The Cloudborne contains several City Parijanahs and makes a reliable place to finish the meter.

When you get 100%, you’ll end up in a tavern, and you’ll watch more cut scenes, of course.

Optional Hunts Before Ondore’s Estate

When you have control again, take a look at the message board in The Cloudborne and start Nidhogg. This return also opens the way to Rocktoise. You can head out and experience the sights and sounds of Bhujerba, or you can just head to the estate.

I recommend:

1. Start the Nidhogg hunt.
2. Save your game.
3. Complete Nidhogg. The gate switch in Shaft Entry works now.
4. Collect your bounty and do not sell the Great SerpentskinLootNidhogg bounty used for Desert Patient; do not sell it if you want the best bonus reward.. Keep it for Desert Patient and the Barheim Key.
5. Save your game.
6. Finish the Rocktoise hunt, then talk to Pilika again for Pilika’s Diary.
7. Collect your bounty.
8. Save your game.

The Clan Centurio and Hunts page now contains full prep, strategy, rewards, and Accepted/Completed tracking for Nidhogg. Rocktoise remains safe to defer if its damage is excessive.

After that, you should be ready to enter your audience with the Marquis of Ondore. I mean, you CAN teleport at this point, but all exits from Dalmasca are still blocked, and there’s nothing for sale that you can’t get in Bhujerba. Montblanc has no new quests, and you’re not a new level yet. You can’t even talk to the lady by the Nalbina Crystal yet.

When you are ready, go to Ondore’s Estate. You’ll watch a lot of cut scenes, then you’ll end up on…