Final Fantasy XII Walkthrough

Nalbina Fortress and Rabanastre

Click the “New Game” option on the menu, and select your options. I’m using Widescreen, no filter and Pro Logic II. I like my setup. :D Watch the cut-scenes.

Intro - Good boy, Reks

After the cut scene is over (Faram), you’ll have to listen to the guy who simply cannot decide what kind of accent he wants to be. Is he British? Indian? South African? I just can’t say. Faram. Press the X button a lot. I mean a lot. Yeah. Faram. Oops. Sorry, I got carried away with the Farams there. Let’s meet Reks. You’ll hear about his brother, living in Rabanastre. Isn’t Basch a pretty hard-core guy? You might say he’s a real spark plug. Well, I might say that, but I have pun-related issues. Anyway, we’ll learn more about him later. For now, learn how to use the controls. Just do what Basch tells you. There’s not anything here. Just look around 360 degrees, then go talk to Sparky… Er, Basch.

Area Enemies: Nalbina Fortress Prologue

Choose an enemy to open its stats and loot chances. Mark, Rare Game, and Trophy badges flag special targets. Choose it again to collapse.

Imperial Swordsman

Hostile

Build the tutorial Chain on these. Until the Imperial Magus conflict is checked, defeat only Swordsmen.

Chain family: Imperial
Level: 3–5
LP: 0
HP: 115–148
EXP: 24–44
Weakness: None

Drop chances
Item	No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
	25%	30%	35%	40%

Each item gets its own independent roll. Chain level, not raw chain count, controls these rates.

Imperial Magus

Hostile

Important! Attacks with Magick from range. It is listed in the Imperial Chain family, but the remembered chain break is unresolved; avoid killing it while preserving the tutorial Chain.

Chain family: Imperial
Level: 3–4
LP: 0
HP: 110–114
EXP: 26–46
Weakness: None

Drop chances
Item	No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
	25%	30%	35%	40%

Each item gets its own independent roll. Chain level, not raw chain count, controls these rates.

Air Cutter Remora

Boss Fight: Air Cutter Remora

Level / HP	Level 10 / 2,200 HP; Basch ends the scripted fight before Reks empties the full HP bar.
Steal	None; Reks does not have Steal.
Weak / Absorbs	No elemental weakness or absorption recorded. Thunder is still Reks’s best ranged option here.
Reward	No EXP, , gil, or transferable reward.
Drops	None.
Strategy	Cast Thunder from range while Basch’s group keeps it occupied. Use Cure or a Potion if Reks’s HP gets low; the allied soldiers may also heal him. The Remora can hit an area around itself, which is one more reason not to stand under it.

After the red line shows up, feel free to enter the control panel and use the “status” area to change things like battle speed. You’ll probably be glad you did. You’ll probably want to use until you’re comfortable with things. Attack both the guy that shows up, and the boss. You might wanna use if your health gets low, but your comrades will you up. Did you notice how nice the enemies were when they talked to each other? It’s a little disconcerting, but pay it no mind. For now. ;) Your guy does not appear to level up, so keep on running and fighting. When you get inside the building, follow along using the mini-map. When Basch tells you there is no harm in retreating, that’s your ticket to run for it. As long as you don’t die, you’re fine. Just hold down R2 and book it for the top of the mini-map:

Be sure to use select to see the whole map at once. The path to the left goes nowhere - you can ignore it. Go forward to the next screen.
In a room to your right is a chest. Get it, then head back to the hall.
Turn right from that room, and go forward until you get to the ‘T’ at the end of the hall.
Go left (the path right has nothing).
Take an immediate right.
Go to the end of that hallway.
Turn right.
Fight the guy here, and open the chest on your left.
Double back and go up the stairway you passed.
On the next screen, save if you want, then head up a couple of flights of stairs.

You’ll now have to actually fight. Remember, your guy doesn’t do anything on his own; you’ll have to attack people. You can use the you’ve collected, but this really shouldn’t be too tough. As soon as one guy falls, be sure to attack the next. I didn’t have to take any during the battle (and you aren’t required to engage in any more fights, so you don’t really need to take one after it).

You have two options once the skirmish is over. You may either level up Reks, or you may continue on. Be aware that you will not be playing the game as Reks beyond a few more minutes, so no matter how high you level this character up, it will have no impact on your actual game play. (i.e., Vaan will only start out with 5 and he’ll be at level 1 regardless of what you do here, so it’s probably not worth it to level up Reks.)

Optional: Learn the Chain Level Mechanics

If you really want to level up anyway, you can use this opportunity to learn the mechanics. Head back down the stairs and save your game. If the game tells you you’re supposed to go up, just ignore that reminder. Run around the area you came through before and fight a bunch of enemies, but try not to pick up the these guys drop. I know - that’s weird for a Final Fantasy game, so let me explain. Since all these enemies are of the same type, continuing to kill them will result in a . There are 4 levels, and as you achieve a new level the drops become better. When the enemies stop spawning, you’ll need to transition to two new areas to trigger them to respawn. For example, you can head back past the (without touching it!) to the floor above, then come back down. Fun fact - if you touch the crystal, it will reset your . You can theoretically level Reks up as long as you want here, but again, it won’t have any impact beyond the next 5 minutes of the game.

After your skirmish (or after you get bored of leveling up), head through the doorway at the top of the stairs (not the locked fence). Go down the hallway and turn right. Go right again at the end of the line and head for the door. Watch more cut scenes. Lots of death, destruction, and Faram. You’ll hear our friendly locale-challenged narrator explain about the deaths of people whose names you do not recognize, and then you’ll just generally press X a LOT. Whee! Heh. I mean, Fara… Oh never mind.

Meet Vaan and Penelo

Area Enemies: Overflow Cloaca

Choose an enemy to open its stats and loot chances. Mark, Rare Game, and Trophy badges flag special targets. Choose it again to collapse.

Dire Rat

Hostile

Steal before defeating each of Vaan’s three mandatory targets.

Chain family: Rat
Level: 1
LP: 2
HP: 62–66
EXP: 3
Weakness: Water

Steal chances
Item	Normal
	48.0%
	9.7%
	3%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success; chains do not affect Steal.

Your friend Kytes watches while you attempt your greatest challenge ever - fighting rats. OK, show of hands. Who the heck didn’t see this coming? It’s FINAL FANTASY for crying out loud. Of COURSE your first real fight will be the rats. Anyway, you have to fight all three of them. You can a (or a , lol) from them, first, if you’d like. It’s not like they’re going to kill your guy or anything. Use the mini-map at the top left of your screen to find the rats (they’re red dots), if you need to. Or just stand in the center of the waterway - they’ll probably come to you.

So your dude has other “work” to do, eh? I guess we’ll see what’s going on in the next cut scene! OK, I just have to ask… Who came up with these names, anyway? Penelo? It sounds like a kind of fruit. “Hey mom, I’m going to go to the store now.” “OK, Joe. Pick me up a nice batch of Penelos, if they’re fresh!” Whatever. Anyway, after the cut scenes, you’ll have a world map and be free to wander around the city. Head to Migelo’s Sundries in East End (use the world map via “select” if you can’t find it). After talking to him, head to the Sandsea. Or, if you like, use the opportunity to walk around the place, but since you cannot leave the city (you can’t even go to Lowtown), just head to the Sandsea. You’ll hear about the notice board (see the “Marks” section when you get a chance).

Pay attention to the explanation about , hunters and (especially) . You’ll “learn” to use the you just got. When the tutorial is over, be sure to go to Party -> Equip -> Vaan -> Equip -> Accessory -> Orrachea Armlet and get your HP slightly raised. You’ll be able to head out of town now, but do something else first. Leave the Sandsea and head to the far left of the inside of the archway that forms the top of the map of Rabanastre. If you can’t find it from that description, just keep looking around the farthest north area - you’ll see a suspicious looking guy. Now that you have a , you can go inside. Welcome to Clan Hall. Talk to everyone here, but especially “Montblanc,” the moogle at the top of the stairs. You’ll be accepted into . After talking to everyone here, and optionally doing a quick sidequest, walk around. When you’re ready to leave the city, head to Eastgate and head out of town.

Save your game after the cut scene, and head out into the desert.