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 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?

[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 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.