Pharos Subterra

[Adam 77]

ok i am really confused where can i find this place exactly it says in the guide it appears once Bahamut appears but for some strange reason it is not letting me go there :confused: can anyone help plz
:)

[Sergeant Hartman]

You've got to go down one floor in the lift.

[McLovin']

Go into the Pharos, first floor. Then go to that life thing and there has to be a fourth option to go down into the "Subterra"

If not then go find someone who has posted a hunt that has a monster in the subterra. The game will then have to let you in...

[PuPu]

The monsters there are lvl 55-60 and will easily gang up on you and kill you. I would not recommend going down there until you are about level 60 as well.

[Adam 77]

argh right i see :) and awesome that shouldnt be a problem my characters are level 65 and my vann is 75.....

[PuPu]

Alright that's good, but you should still save before going down there. The monsters can still gang up on you like crazy and can inflict bad statuses as well. The Subterra is, in my opinion, the hardest dungeon in FFXII and will give you a great thrill while navigating through it.

Stuff you should know:

Your map is disabled and certain chambers are dark. Meaning, you have no map, and no view of your surroundings, and five or six monsters can attack you by surprise.

Certain treasure chests down there can contain great items. You should save just in case these treasure chests don't spawn, or if you end up only getting 1 Gil or Knot of Rust when you could have gotten Ribbon or Ultima Blade.

And whenever you see a Magic Pot, TURN OFF ALL YOUR GAMBITS. You do not want to attack it because it most of your attacks will do 0 damage (excluding 1000 Needles) and it will hit you for about 4000 Damage with its physical attacks, and can cast powerful magick like Flare, which can do over 7000 damage. Give it an Elixer like it asks, then it will be happy and will run around in glee. During this, you can steal back your Elixer that you gave it and kill it without it fighting back.

[Adam 77]

thanks for the advice :) must admit i hate random chests on this game makes it so annoying, takes away the fun of picking up a chest like on the classic old ones!

ribbon and ultima blade awesome i shall be getting those when i make my way there, just got myself the excalibur sword which took forever.

[Adam 77]

ok i am stuck in this place how do i get to the other areas in this place so i can get the ultima blade and the ribbon, do i have to use all the black orbs to activate something? :confused:

[PuPu]

No, just look for certain treasure chests in certain areas.

Here's a map:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/459841/45695

You put the Black Orbs on the pedestals in the rooms in the corners of each floor. Once you put enough Black Orbs on the pedestals, the room will light up. However, if you do end up putting too many Black Orbs, they will be wasted. Once you put enough Black Orbs on every pedestal on the floor, the next floor will be unlocked until you get to the floor "unknown," which can only be unlocked once you have accepted a certain Mark hunt.

The monsters in the outer ring where the elevator is don't drop Black Orbs, so it's pointless to fight them. Also, in the rooms on every corner, there's a chance that if you don't pick up the Black Orbs that the monsters drop and that you let them float away, they will stockpile into a Massive Black Orb, containing three times the amount. Basically, if you kill 10 monsters that drop Black Orbs, let them float away, and find the Massive Black Orb, you will get 30 Black Orbs. However, I think the Massive Black Orb can only appear once for every time you enter the area.

[BizarroSephiroth]

Btw no one mentioned this.......North part of the Penumbra (Subterra's first level) you know how you fought Fenrir, Slyt, and Pandaemonium? Well, they are part of the Shadowseer hunt, and the fourth monster, Phoenix is there. Look out for him, you will have plenty of trouble but here is a strategy i used, it kicked my arse, but i won by:

Saving up 300,000 gil!!!!!!!!!! Then gil tossing it to death (remember, flying enemy, physical damage does spit to him) 9999 over and over dood!!!!!!!

[Adam 77]

argh i see thanks for the advice :D i shall go hunt for those chests

[Shiva_]

While you're in the Subterra, watch out for those Necrofiends. They love doing Phantasmal Gaze, and if all three of your guys get confused from it, then your entire party can get wiped out. Put Bowline Sashes on whenever you encounter them. If you have a Ribbon, always keep it on someone when you're down there. You don't want three or more Necrofiends gang up on you, and all of them be doing Phantasmal Gaze simultaneously. and then have tons of zombies along with them putting tons of status ailments on your guys.

[Hazzard]

While you're in the Subterra, watch out for those Necrofiends. They love doing Phantasmal Gaze, and if all three of your guys get confused from it, then your entire party can get wiped out. Put Bowline Sashes on whenever you encounter them. If you have a Ribbon, always keep it on someone when you're down there. You don't want three or more Necrofiends gang up on you, and all of them be doing Phantasmal Gaze simultaneously. and then have tons of zombies along with them putting tons of status ailments on your guys.

So really there's no point putting on anything other than a Ribbon, if you go down there. Just think about it?

[Shiva_]

So really there's no point putting on anything other than a Ribbon, if you go down there. Just think about it?

The ribbon is actually not essential in the first 2 sections (B1 and B2) of the Subterra. There's a chest for a ribbon in the NW wing of the 3rd section (B3). The 3rd section is the most difficult, and the necrofiends and zombies are the worst there, and they will cause a lot of status ailments, esp. if you get mobbed by them. The necrofiends in the 2nd section aren't as bad, imo.

I got mobbed one time while I was in the third section when getting some armor, and once I switched bowline sashes on 2 of my guys and the ribbon on my other one, I was able to survive.

[jessica85r]

Will the monsters on the First Ascent still drop Black Orbs once you've fininshed Pharos? Or do only the monsters in the Subterra drop them at this point?

I've been grinding levels by standing by the lift, letting the monsters mob my party and running back upstairs when I'm out of MP.

[Shiva_]

Will the monsters on the First Ascent still drop Black Orbs once you've fininshed Pharos? Or do only the monsters in the Subterra drop them at this point?

edit:
I'm not exactly sure if they do or not. Before I headed into the Subterra, I went through the 1st floor to pick up the map I missed there, and I found a few in my inventory afterward. These could have probably been some I had leftover when I was getting the Black Orbs to insert into the pedestals there.

In the Subterra, if you don't pick up a Black Orb, it will move in a given direction towards a massive Black Orb. Some people prefer not to pick-up the individual Black Orbs and just go for the massive ones instead. A massive Black Orb will usually be located in a room in one of the wings (NW, SW, NE, and SE zones outside of the ring).

[Cap'n Basch]

They still drop them in the First Ascent after you've finished the Pharos.

I tried farming the monsters up there when I was starting my run on the Subterra and found the monsters on the First Ascent didn't actually drop any black orbs. Either the game was being stingy (y'know, just out of spite) or the drop rate is affected in some way, I think.

Either way it was substantially easier to just farm the monsters in the Subterra, all of whom have a set drop rate, and it will be better in terms of EXP.

[Shiva_]

I tried farming the monsters up there when I was starting my run on the Subterra and found the monsters on the First Ascent didn't actually drop any black orbs. Either the game was being stingy (y'know, just out of spite) or the drop rate is affected in some way, I think.


I thought they did, but I could be wrong. I went around there one time (after finishing the Pharos) to get the map that I missed before I headed into the Subterra, and I found I had a few in my inventory after I got the map. Apparently, those few I had could have been some I had leftover when I was originally getting the Black Orbs for the pedestals on the first floor (after entering the Pharos for first time).

I didn't try to farm for Black Orbs on the first floor while I was doing the Subterra.

[emdeuce]

Im in the pharos...if the chests with the items do not spawn does that mean that they wont spawn at all? Would I have to reload my save and hope they will spawn? Or is there a chance of it respawning if I exit two maps and return?


emdeuce

[Renmiri]

exit 3 maps iirc

[Shiva_]

Okay, I've confirmed it.

I went through the 1st floor of the Pharos: First Ascent to check, and the foes there no longer drop Black Orbs once you've finished the Pharos.

[Sergeant Hartman]

This place is crazy! I accidentily bumped into the Phoenix but managed to beat it.

It puts the creeps up me :eek:
(play it at night I dare you)

[Savannah]

Btw no one mentioned this.......North part of the Penumbra (Subterra's first level) you know how you fought Fenrir, Slyt, and Pandaemonium? Well, they are part of the Shadowseer hunt, and the fourth monster, Phoenix is there.

How are they a part of The Seer hunt (assuming Shadowseer and The Seer hunts are not different things)? I killed all four of them before I even approached Montblanc and he didn't say anything about it.

[BizarroSephiroth]

In order to fight The Seer you must kill these four first. Check out the bill for the mark you'll see all four. Plus it said that on GameFAQS so i guess its right

[Sergeant Hartman]

I seem to be stuck on the first floor. How many of these black orbs must you put in each pedestal?

[Shiva_]

I seem to be stuck on the first floor. How many of these black orbs must you put in each pedestal?


Here's a list showing the # of orbs that you have to insert into each pedestal before being able to proceed to the next floor.


1st Floor
----------
NE = 18
NW = 9
SE = 3
SW = 6
Total Black Orbs = 36

2nd Floor
----------
NE = 15
NW = 9
SE = 15
SW = 18
Total Black Orbs = 57

3rd Floor
----------
NE = 15
NW = 21
SE = 27
SW = 12
Total Black Orbs = 75

[Sergeant Hartman]

Thanks :hat:
The second floor is quite annoying :mad:

[McLovin']

Just wait till you get to the Seer. Hated that guy.

[emoel]

Ok, I'm in Umbra, and I'm trying to locate the massive orbs, but when I go to the places marked on the map (the one by sephirosuy, posted by PuPu earlier in this thread) they're not there. Help?