Final Fantasy XII Walkthrough

Pharos Second Ascent

Choose a Sacrifice

At this point the game decides to handicap you, so you’re going to have to choose what that looks like. Find the save crystal and save, then head to the southeast. You could choose any, I guess, but you have to give up something. To the northeast, you’ll be giving up items. To the northwest, you’ll be giving up Attack. To the southwest, you’ll have to give up Magick. I recommend the southeast, as you are only giving up the mini-map. So go there, then enter the room and head up the stairs.

Area Enemies: Pharos Second Ascent

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

Zombie Warlock

Hostile

Important! Begins under Shell and Faith. Dispel it or defeat it before its Magick overwhelms the party.

Chain family: Zombie
Level: 48–50
LP: 1
HP: 7,598–7,958
EXP: 3,838–4,158
Weakness: Holy; absorbs Dark

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
200 Gil	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Crusader

Hostile

Important! May begin under Protect, Shell, and Haste and can repeatedly use Slowga. Dispel the buffs and keep Slow recovery ready on 61F.

Chain family: Skeleton
Level: 47–48
LP: 1
HP: 10,592–10,772
EXP: 4,868–5,028
Weakness: Holy; absorbs Dark

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Necrofiend

Hostile

Begins under Shell and Faith and appears from defeated enemies. Defeat it before its Magick adds pressure to an existing group.

Chain family: Ghost
Level: 48–51
LP: 1
HP: 12,709–13,249
EXP: 4,809–5,289
Weakness: Holy; absorbs Dark

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Bune

Hostile

May begin under Protect and Bravery. Use Water, avoid Fire, and treat its Gungnir drop as a rare bonus rather than a route goal.

Chain family: Bune
Level: 48–49
LP: 1
HP: 13,239–13,659
EXP: 4,615–4,778
Weakness: Water; absorbs Fire

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Abaddon

Hostile

Use Holy or neutral damage and finish it promptly after Adrenaline strengthens its attacks at critical HP.

Chain family: Abaddon
Level: 47–49
LP: 1
HP: 13,239–13,879
EXP: 4,615–4,963
Weakness: Holy; absorbs Dark

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Dragon Lich

Hostile

Important! Two guard 62F's inner ring. Corpse Fly is the rare Steal needed for Whisker of the Beast; do not hold the party in danger for it on console.

Chain family: Dragon
Level: 49–51
LP: 2
HP: 22,241–23,601
EXP: 8,078–8,484
Weakness: Holy; absorbs Dark

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Reaver

Hostile

Important! May begin under Protect and Bravery. Dispel it, exploit Earth, and avoid fighting several in the narrow 63F rooms at once.

Chain family: Reaver
Level: 49–50
LP: 2
HP: 22,771–23,191
EXP: 6,539–6,702
Weakness: Earth

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	48.0%	80%
	9.7%	30%
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Drop chances
No chain	Chain Lv 1	Chain Lv 2	Chain Lv 3
40%	45%	50%	55%
25%	30%	35%	40%
3%	6%	8%	12%
1%	2%	3%	5%

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

Avenger

HostileTrophy

Important! Trophy Rare Game: 40% chance in the last 63F room after Hunt Club initiation. Steal Muramasa before the one-time kill and Vile Trophy.

Chain family: Bune
Level: 61–62
LP: 16
HP: 105,618–106,038
EXP: 10,880–11,043
Weakness: Water; absorbs Fire

Steal chances
Item	Normal	Thief's Cuffs
	3%	6%

Normal Steal checks rare to common and stops at the first success. Thief's Cuffs can take multiple items; chains do not affect Steal.

Floors 61 Through 64

The exit for the next level, Station of Banishment, is up some stairs in either the southwest or the northeast. When you get to the Station of Suffering, head to the northwest corner of the main map. You can find an urn here. In the southwest corner of the map is a Fool’s Facade. In the southeast is the exit to the next area.

Second Ascent Stair Route
Step	Action
1	61F, Station of Banishment: Either the southwest or northeast stairway reaches 62F. Crusaders here like to spam , so keep Slow recovery ready.
2	62F, Station of Suffering: The exit is southeast. For the map urn in the northwest, travel east, then north, then west because the direct door is locked from this side.
3	63F, Station of Ascension: The exit is northwest, but approach through the northeast rooms and work west because the direct route is one-way.
4	64F, Reach of the Damned: Use the save crystal, then take the southwestern rooms to the stairs for 65F.

The 63rd Floor is the Station of Ascension. Again, the southwest has a Fool’s Facade. The exit to the Reach of the Damned is in the northwest corner of your main map. Head there.

Optional: Two Corpse Fly Steals

Two Dragon Liches guard the inner circle of 62F. is their rare Steal, and needs three. If Hydro already gave you one, these can finish the set.

Console: A failed attempt requires moving two zones away before returning, which is a lot of work for a rare result. A better farming option appears later.
Emulator: Save state before Steal. After a failure, reload, cast Cure to advance the random number, make a fresh save state, and try again. Save again after a successful before moving to the second .

See the Emulator Notes for the established save-state method.

Optional: Avenger

The last room on 63F before the stairs to 64F has a 40% chance to contain once the Hunt Club trophy hunt is open. If it does not appear, go through the Ancient Door on 64F, return through it, and go back downstairs to reroll the room.

This is a one-time Trophy Rare Game. Equip Thief’s Cuffs and steal before defeating it for the Vile Trophy. Avenger can combo up to twelve times and cast , so use one attacker and two healers, Dispel its buffs, and apply Slow. Near defeat it raises a Paling, then can use Renew when the field expires. Switch to strong non-Fire Magick while the Paling is active because Avenger absorbs Fire. The Rare Game page keeps the permanent-kill warning and retry details together.

Fenrir

When you reach Floor 64, you’ll find another save point. Partake, then head to the next floor via the stairway in the southwest. When you reach the door in the middle of the Cleft of Profaning Wind on Floor 65, buff up before you open it.

Boss Fight Prep

Gear: Give the tank a shield and your best physical defense. prevents Silence from Wail and is especially important if the Altar of Wealth has disabled Items.
Gambits: Put KO recovery and strong healing above attacks. Prepare Silence recovery with if Items are available; otherwise protect every caster from Silence before entering.
Damage: Fenrir is weak to Earth and absorbs Wind; it is immune to the other six elements. Use Earth damage if your current equipment supports it, or dependable neutral physical attacks. Do not use a Wind weapon.
Buffs: Protect, Bubble, Haste, Bravery, and Decoy keep one tank stable. Fenrir begins with Haste and may have Protect and Bravery, so Dispel it immediately and again if Bravery returns.
Steal: Equip before opening the door. , , and are the three possible tiers.

Boss Fight: Fenrir

Level / HP	Level 49 with 189,992 HP.
Steal	, , or .
Weak / Absorbs	Weak to Earth and absorbs Wind; immune to Fire, Lightning, Ice, Water, Holy, and Dark. Most hindering statuses do not work.
Reward	36 LP.
Drops	None.
Strategy	Dispel Haste, Protect, or Bravery and keep the tank under Protect and Decoy. Wail can Silence the party, so recover it immediately or block it with Rose Corsage. Fenrir becomes much faster below 20% HP and can restore Bravery, so save Quickenings or your strongest neutral physical damage for the finish.

Reading the inscription alludes to the fact that you won’t be able to use items. That’s not actually true if you chose Knowledge. Anyway, Dispel and attack. This shouldn’t be a really tough battle at this point. Continue on and open the pink door.

unlocks the repeatable . The Pharos Second Ascent Bazaar checkpoint explains when selling it is useful.

Restore the Sacrifice

When you get to the next area, find the appropriate altar and touch it. In my case, it was Knowledge. Once you do that, go west and read the pillars to learn how to use the elevator. Ride it to 67F, save, then use the waystone. It carries the party to the Third Ascent.