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Well... I didn't finish yet. This was played on August 31, 2025.
This part got strange; I had beaten three Water Elementals with elemental attacks earlier, and this was important for a quest where I needed to fight them as well as Air Elementals without resting. Thus, I was trying to get by using very few spells for a long time. Since I knew I wanted to fight Air Elementals, that meant going into the Flying Fortress. Going into the Flying Fortress meant fighting the game's only fixed Blue Dragon. Thus, I wanted to fight a Green Dragon in the Waterfall Cavern to do the quest involving fighting the different elemental dragons... while also conserving spell charges. It was sort of a strange cascade effect.
Before heading back into Mirage Tower, I would need to fight both a Red Dragon (in Mount Gulg) and a White Dragon (in the Cavern of Ice). These were substantial detours but they didn't really take long. I did buy some potions but I was careful to avoid resting and fleeing. On the way to the Red Dragon, I ran into an Ogre Mage, and I made sure it got to buff itself before I clobbered it.
Then, in fairly short order, we did the Red Dragon and the White Dragon.
I'm mentioning this here although the final check-in doesn't happen until just after I leave this area, just because this is the timeframe when this quest was being completed... and in fact, a lot of the quests I do here require returning to a town to talk to someone. I hadn't really planned it, but I ran into quite a few Medusas here and thought I could get it done.
Although Cecil briefly had to be a statue, Vivi completed the core criteria for this quest in one battle...
...waitasecond.
Huh. I think I thought Vivi was the one who had to not be petrified! Okay, I'll have to consider this one not-yet-complete. The good thing, I suppose, is that I hadn't actually used the Aegis Shield in battle yet.
Before getting anything else big done, there was a lot of treasure, including the adamantite. We also got our third Ribbon, which Locke would wear.
Not long after that, I ran into three Vampire Lords - our first.
We sat in this fight for a while waiting for the Vampire Lords to (maybe ineffectively?) cast NulBlaze on themselves.
We did exactly as the quest says! The Death spell just doesn't animate or anything so it wasn't very anticlimactic.
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The first thing I wanted to do was beat Frost Gigases to enable Thor's Hammer. I expected them to be easy to find around Gaia, but it turns out that wasn't the case. I ran into some other interesting things, though.
I gave up on this after a bit and decided I'd be better off doing it in the Cavern of Ice. While I was there, I encountered some Dark Wizards and realized I could do a different quest while I waited for the Frost Gigases to show up.
Here are the things I did, mostly in the order that they happened:
Title: Magnetic Elf Battle
I gave up on this after a bit and decided I'd be better off doing it in the Cavern of Ice. While I was there, I encountered some Dark Wizards and realized I could do a different quest while I waited for the Frost Gigases to show up.
Here are the things I did, mostly in the order that they happened:
Title: Magnetic Elf Battle
Author: FreshFeeling (2019)
Story: From another universe (or timeline or something), the party's fighter recalls having to travel through a cave with a strong magnetic field such that they had to rely on wooden, leather, cloth, and crystalline goods in order to face a corrupt elf. An ally's magic aided the fighter in overcoming this struggle and use of a magician's weapon is what the party has to gain.
Requirement: Defeat at least one Dark Wizard, Dark Fighter or Astos. From the time you enter the dungeon where you are searching for this quarry until you kill it, you must use no metallic equipment.
Unlocks: (e)Mage's Staff
For this Final Fantasy IV-based quest, we took off a bunch of our armor, even though the magnetism of equipment is somewhat ill-defined. For example: is a Diamond Helm metallic? I'd say I mostly erred on the side of caution. For weapons, we had Staff on three characters and Power Staff on the fourth.
For this Final Fantasy IV-based quest, we took off a bunch of our armor, even though the magnetism of equipment is somewhat ill-defined. For example: is a Diamond Helm metallic? I'd say I mostly erred on the side of caution. For weapons, we had Staff on three characters and Power Staff on the fourth.
Title: The God of Thunder
Author: Linguar82 (2019)
Story: Lukahn has heard of an artifact that holds the power of an ancient god within. But in order to tap into that power, the wielder must prove themselves worthy in the eyes of the god for whom it is named after.
Requirement: Defeat 10 Frost Gigases by only damaging them with Thunder family spells and physical attacks with a hammer, or making them run away.
Unlocks: (e)Thor's Hammer
It took quite a while to get these ten Frost Gigases done, getting me into roughly the 55-minute mark of my gameplay this day. But we did!
I found the idea of the ninja with the giant, metallic hammer amusing.
Now, with Gauntlets, Mage's Staff, and Thor's Hammer, I have three potent spellcasting items! This makes a big difference to how we fight random battles against large numbers of weak enemies, and generally saves us a lot of spell usage. Or, well, that would be true except that I don't actually own Thor's Hammer yet. Let's buzz over to the Mirage Tower and get it.
I could finally unequip the Mythril Hammers that most of the team had been using for this, but I cautiously kept Mythril Axes on Cecil and Locke most of the time because of a quest involving Vampire Lords. We looted all of the Mirage Tower's chests, but there was nothing we could actually make real use of until the 2nd floor, where we finally retrieved the Sun Blade, Thor's Hammer, and the Dragon Mail.
I didn't end up finding any Vampire Lords, although I did encounter a random Blue Dragon.
This was exciting, but there wasn't really a practical way to have it contribute to quest completion at the moment. I left soon after and decided to do the Sunken Shrine. It was very easy, and the only significant treasure we hadn't already got here was the Giant's Gloves / Power Gauntlet. I beat some Water Elementals using only elemental attacks, and got to Kraken.
Kraken isn't a very hard fight, except when he targets an un-buffed mage and does 300+ damage with an 8-hit physical attack. We took some steps to prevent that, gently buffed Locke and Cecil, and then beat him.
It took quite a while to get these ten Frost Gigases done, getting me into roughly the 55-minute mark of my gameplay this day. But we did!
I found the idea of the ninja with the giant, metallic hammer amusing.
Now, with Gauntlets, Mage's Staff, and Thor's Hammer, I have three potent spellcasting items! This makes a big difference to how we fight random battles against large numbers of weak enemies, and generally saves us a lot of spell usage. Or, well, that would be true except that I don't actually own Thor's Hammer yet. Let's buzz over to the Mirage Tower and get it.
I could finally unequip the Mythril Hammers that most of the team had been using for this, but I cautiously kept Mythril Axes on Cecil and Locke most of the time because of a quest involving Vampire Lords. We looted all of the Mirage Tower's chests, but there was nothing we could actually make real use of until the 2nd floor, where we finally retrieved the Sun Blade, Thor's Hammer, and the Dragon Mail.
I didn't end up finding any Vampire Lords, although I did encounter a random Blue Dragon.
This was exciting, but there wasn't really a practical way to have it contribute to quest completion at the moment. I left soon after and decided to do the Sunken Shrine. It was very easy, and the only significant treasure we hadn't already got here was the Giant's Gloves / Power Gauntlet. I beat some Water Elementals using only elemental attacks, and got to Kraken.
Kraken isn't a very hard fight, except when he targets an un-buffed mage and does 300+ damage with an 8-hit physical attack. We took some steps to prevent that, gently buffed Locke and Cecil, and then beat him.
Title: Cagnazzo's Final Gambit
Author: FreshFeeling (2019)
Story: In another universe (or timeline or something), after having faced the archfiend of water, the party's fighter was once saved by two children who turned themselves to stone. Though the fighter and his allies had the ability to magically teleport away, it was their decision to walk out that put the children in danger. Being in a similar position may somehow remind the fighter, allowing him to tell the tale to his magical allies to inspire them.
Requirement: After class change, visit the Altar of Water and exit the Sunken Shrine by walking to the submarine thingy. Characters who can cast (w)Stona or (b)Break must not be killed or petrified during this trip.
Unlocks: (w)Stona, (b)Break
This is another Final Fantasy IV reference. All this quest really entails is walking backwards after beating Kraken instead of warping out. It's also important that my wizards don't die during the trip, requiring some caution. This was no real problem. Amazingly, I never encountered Ghosts on this entire trip - they would normally be the biggest scare in the Sunken Shrine for this sort of thing.
This is another Final Fantasy IV reference. All this quest really entails is walking backwards after beating Kraken instead of warping out. It's also important that my wizards don't die during the trip, requiring some caution. This was no real problem. Amazingly, I never encountered Ghosts on this entire trip - they would normally be the biggest scare in the Sunken Shrine for this sort of thing.
This part got strange; I had beaten three Water Elementals with elemental attacks earlier, and this was important for a quest where I needed to fight them as well as Air Elementals without resting. Thus, I was trying to get by using very few spells for a long time. Since I knew I wanted to fight Air Elementals, that meant going into the Flying Fortress. Going into the Flying Fortress meant fighting the game's only fixed Blue Dragon. Thus, I wanted to fight a Green Dragon in the Waterfall Cavern to do the quest involving fighting the different elemental dragons... while also conserving spell charges. It was sort of a strange cascade effect.
Title: Diamond Ore
Author: FlamingXP (2025)
Story: Did you know that the Waterfall Cavern was once used as a diamond mine? Apparently the rare Green Dragons that live there still hoard some of the diamonds. The Green Dragons are hesitant to show themselves while the Mummy Lords are present.
Requirement: In one trip to the Waterfall Cavern, defeat at least one Mummy Lord and then encounter at least one Green Dragon.
Unlocks: (a)Diamond Armor
I thought I'd need to get to the forced encounter at the end to fight a Mummy Lord, but I encountered one randomly almost right away. Thus, I just needed to beat a Green Dragon. They are quite rare here! But eventually, I got one.
I thought I'd need to get to the forced encounter at the end to fight a Mummy Lord, but I encountered one randomly almost right away. Thus, I just needed to beat a Green Dragon. They are quite rare here! But eventually, I got one.
Before heading back into Mirage Tower, I would need to fight both a Red Dragon (in Mount Gulg) and a White Dragon (in the Cavern of Ice). These were substantial detours but they didn't really take long. I did buy some potions but I was careful to avoid resting and fleeing. On the way to the Red Dragon, I ran into an Ogre Mage, and I made sure it got to buff itself before I clobbered it.
Then, in fairly short order, we did the Red Dragon and the White Dragon.
Title: Ultimate Protection
Author: Zzonkmiles (2019)
Story: There exists a special piece of equipment that can protect its bearer from all elements. But in order to prove that one is worthy enough to equip this, a trial is required.
Requirement: Without running away and without resting (inn/sleeping bag/tent/cabin/house), defeat at least one of each of the following enemies: White Dragon, Red Dragon, Green Dragon, and Blue Dragon. Additionally, the party must sustain damage from Icestorm, Blaze, Poison Gas, and Thunderbolt from the four dragons they kill.
Unlocks: (a)Ribbon
Before even getting to the cloaked figure acting as the fixed Blue Dragon fight, I once again encountered a random Blue Dragon on the 2nd floor of Mirage Tower. We got hit with Thunderbolt and earned our Ribbons!
Amazing! This was a quest that required some serious setup and care, even if my team is strong enough to stomp these dungeons now. It's one of a few that I thought I might just leave by the wayside, but I'm quite glad it happened.
Before even getting to the cloaked figure acting as the fixed Blue Dragon fight, I once again encountered a random Blue Dragon on the 2nd floor of Mirage Tower. We got hit with Thunderbolt and earned our Ribbons!
Amazing! This was a quest that required some serious setup and care, even if my team is strong enough to stomp these dungeons now. It's one of a few that I thought I might just leave by the wayside, but I'm quite glad it happened.
Title: The Shield of Perseus (not actually done)
Author: FlamingXP (2025)
Requirement: Defeat 3 Medusas or Earth Medusas using the (b)Break spell. If a character with (b)Break or a character who can use the Aegis Shield are slain or petrified, start the counter back at 0. After beating 3, report to the Circle of Sages.
I'm mentioning this here although the final check-in doesn't happen until just after I leave this area, just because this is the timeframe when this quest was being completed... and in fact, a lot of the quests I do here require returning to a town to talk to someone. I hadn't really planned it, but I ran into quite a few Medusas here and thought I could get it done.
Although Cecil briefly had to be a statue, Vivi completed the core criteria for this quest in one battle...
...waitasecond.
Huh. I think I thought Vivi was the one who had to not be petrified! Okay, I'll have to consider this one not-yet-complete. The good thing, I suppose, is that I hadn't actually used the Aegis Shield in battle yet.
Title: Masters of Defense
Author: FlamingXP & FreshFeeling (2025)
Story: The Defender sword is a semi-intelligent magical weapon spoken of in legend as being able to provide its wielder with a potent defensive spell. It refuses to be held by anyone who hasn't observed this spell and also shown understanding that it can also be overcome.
Requirement: In separate battles with an Ogre Mage and a Spirit Naga, allow this enemy to cast Blink at least twice, and then defeat it using only physical attacks. A character that can equip the Defender must survive these battles for them to count.
Unlocks: (e) Defender
Remember when I was last in the volcano, and I let an Ogre Mage use Blink a couple of times? Well, I did that here with my first Spirit Naga.
Remember when I was last in the volcano, and I let an Ogre Mage use Blink a couple of times? Well, I did that here with my first Spirit Naga.
Before getting anything else big done, there was a lot of treasure, including the adamantite. We also got our third Ribbon, which Locke would wear.
Not long after that, I ran into three Vampire Lords - our first.
Title: The Annointed Axe
Author: FlamingXP (2025)
Story: It's possible to endow an axe with holy power by using it to overcome a great evil.
Requirement: Defeat a Vampire Lord in the Mirage Tower using only damage caused by attacks with axes. Sell the axe that deals the killing blow.
Unlocks: (e) Light Axe
Again, we have to head back to a town to sell the Mythril Axe, but Cecil did this nicely.
Again, we have to head back to a town to sell the Mythril Axe, but Cecil did this nicely.
Title: Blue Magic: Death Force
Author: FreshFeeling (2025)
Story: Supposedly there exists a blue magic that allows its caster to resist the power of death! You'll need to observe an enemy setting up a barrier and resisting these magics to understand.
Requirement: Observe an enemy casting (w)NulShock, (w)NulFire, (w)NulFrost, (w)NulDeath or (w)NulAll. Cast (b)Death or (b)Kill on the monster and ensure it survives. Win the battle without any characters who can learn (w)NulDeath ever having any negative status effects.
Unlocks: (w)NulDeath
We sat in this fight for a while waiting for the Vampire Lords to (maybe ineffectively?) cast NulBlaze on themselves.
We did exactly as the quest says! The Death spell just doesn't animate or anything so it wasn't very anticlimactic.
Title: Undead Are Uninvited II
Author: Diamond_Dragon (2020)
Story: While in Cornelia, the party's white mage happened to bump into Krylos again. Krylos still hates the undead. Just talking with the man for a few moments reinvigorated the desire to destroy the undead within our white mage.
Requirement: Complete Undead are Uninvited. Kill 30 undead including a Dragon Zombie and a Vampire Lord. Stand in the woods near Cornelia and say out loud, "Thanks Krylos for hating the undead so much." Express your own disdain/loathing for the undead out loud. Imagine the world without the undead and how pleasant that would be.
Unlocks: (w)Diaga
A Vampire Lord was also the last missing piece of this puzzle... although like many of these other quests, I couldn't shout about the undead in a forest until after leaving.
Again, pretty quickly after those Vampire Lords I encountered a Dark Fighter. First, he cast Mighty Guard, er, NulAll... but I stuck around and let him just keep casting spells.
Because after a while he cast White Wind, er, Healara!
We had gradually been beating Soldiers and got this done almost immediately after, too. It was just a fight or two after the Dark Fighter. I had done the 5 Goblin encounter between the Green Dragon and Red Dragon in this play session to get this started.
Many of the restrictions like healing or items or using elemental weapons were listed now and we got to more freely enjoy our new spoils.
I guess the Katana has been renamed in this version. I had forgotten that they did that.
As I approached Tiamat, I thought it might be fun to fight WarMech. It doesn't do too much for me, other than fill the bestiary and make a bit of progress toward enabling Excalibur. I dawdled for a while waiting for it to happen, but despite all the other rather rare fights I've seen, it didn't. So I fought Tiamat!
We didn't really need any defensive help, but Lenna used Protera anyway. Cecil and Locke buffed. After a while, Vivi tried using Break and Scourge to go for the instant kill, but it didn't work.
We checked in with a lot of people, like Jeff, to finalize many of the quests noted above.
This also allowed one more quest!
A Vampire Lord was also the last missing piece of this puzzle... although like many of these other quests, I couldn't shout about the undead in a forest until after leaving.
Title: Blue Magic: Mighty Guard
Author: FreshFeeling (2019)
Story: A technique mastered by blue mages over the ages is one that massively bolsters the caster's defense. Often, enemies powerful enough to use this are quite rare, but once you've seen it cast you'll be able to use this powerful ability for yourself.
Requirement: Observe an enemy casting (w)NulAll. Win the battle without any characters who can learn (w)NulAll having any negative status effects.
Unlocks: (w)NulAll
Again, pretty quickly after those Vampire Lords I encountered a Dark Fighter. First, he cast Mighty Guard, er, NulAll... but I stuck around and let him just keep casting spells.
Title: Blue Magic: White Wind
Author: FreshFeeling (2025)
Story: White wind is a well-known blue magic ability that allows the caster to heal themself and their allies. (Often, it's only able to be used in battle!)
Requirement: Observe an enemy casting (w)Healara. Win the battle without any characters who can learn (w)Healara having any negative status effects.
Unlocks: (w)Healara
Because after a while he cast White Wind, er, Healara!
Title: Gotta Go Fast!
Author: FlamingXP (2025)
Story: Later in the journey, the party was able to befriend a hedgehog being bullied by Goblins in the forest. They learned that this hedgehog had a gift of immense speed that was partly limited by a lack of powerful emeralds that had been co-opted for use by some ancient Lefeinian who created robots with them.
Requirement: After obtaining the airship, defeat a group of 5 Goblins in a forest. Then, defeat at least 3 Guardians and 3 Soldiers.
Unlocks: (b)Haste
We had gradually been beating Soldiers and got this done almost immediately after, too. It was just a fight or two after the Dark Fighter. I had done the 5 Goblin encounter between the Green Dragon and Red Dragon in this play session to get this started.
Title: Advanced Studies in Elemental Physics
Author: KingRamz (2019)
Story: Jeff the Sage (you know, the one standing right next to Lukahn. Wow, do you really not remember him? Savage.) has been impressed by the way you handle yourself in battle. But if you want to unleash the true power of the elements, you must demonstrate that you know how to use it. Speak to Jeff while all of your training is fresh in your mind, and he will know you are ready.
Requirement: Without resting (inn/sleeping bag/tent/cabin/house), defeat 3 Water Elementals and 3 Air Elementals by damaging them only with fire, ice or lightning elemental attacks, and then return to Crescent Lake and talk to Jeff. (Elemental weapons and spells cast from items are ok.)
Unlocks: (b)Thundaga, (b)Blizzaga
Again, immediately after the fight with the previous, singular Soldier, we got an encounter with four Air Elementals. I was really careful to just use elemental attacks (including Ice Brands) here.
That's it! This is why we hadn't rested in so long. The team was actually doing quite well though. We weren't done yet.
Not long after this fight, I noticed the text for The Qake Is a Lie! and realized I could back out of the Flying Fortress and still do that quest, which sounded pretty easy. I may as well!
Again, immediately after the fight with the previous, singular Soldier, we got an encounter with four Air Elementals. I was really careful to just use elemental attacks (including Ice Brands) here.
That's it! This is why we hadn't rested in so long. The team was actually doing quite well though. We weren't done yet.
Not long after this fight, I noticed the text for The Qake Is a Lie! and realized I could back out of the Flying Fortress and still do that quest, which sounded pretty easy. I may as well!
Title: The Qake is a Lie!
Author: FreshFeeling (2019)
Story: For some reason the ancient robotic guards in the Flying Fortress seem to have taken up taunting the humans who pass through, and they are obsessed with sweet edibles. Unfortunately you'll never get any qake until after you escape.
Requirement: Without using any restorative items from the time you enter the Flying Fortress, defeat at least one group of robotic enemies (Guardian, Soldier or WarMech). Leave without using (b)Teleport or (w)Exit.
Unlocks: (b)Quake
It took a minor backtrack but really wasn't hard!
It took a minor backtrack but really wasn't hard!
Many of the restrictions like healing or items or using elemental weapons were listed now and we got to more freely enjoy our new spoils.
I guess the Katana has been renamed in this version. I had forgotten that they did that.
As I approached Tiamat, I thought it might be fun to fight WarMech. It doesn't do too much for me, other than fill the bestiary and make a bit of progress toward enabling Excalibur. I dawdled for a while waiting for it to happen, but despite all the other rather rare fights I've seen, it didn't. So I fought Tiamat!
We didn't really need any defensive help, but Lenna used Protera anyway. Cecil and Locke buffed. After a while, Vivi tried using Break and Scourge to go for the instant kill, but it didn't work.
We checked in with a lot of people, like Jeff, to finalize many of the quests noted above.
This also allowed one more quest!
Title: Synthesizing a Black Robe
Author: FreshFeeling (2019)
Story: In another universe (or timeline or something), the party's black mage was able to have a fine protective garment crafted by the dwarves in exchange for the necessary supplies. Those supples included a protective armlet, and an earth-empowered robe. As no earth-empowered robes exist in this world, the black mage would need to improvise to have appreciable results.
Requirement: You must have access to a hammer and already earned some means of applying earth resistance (probably NulDeath or NulAll). Bring a Clothes and a Protect Ring to the dwarven blacksmith and drop these when you speak with him.
Unlocks: (a)Black Robe
We've got a hammer and NulDeath so all we needed was to squander a Clothes and a Protect Ring.
We've got a hammer and NulDeath so all we needed was to squander a Clothes and a Protect Ring.
This is great! There are actually relatively few quests remaining... and some, like the quest for Diamond Gloves, are impossible... and others, like the quest for the Fear spell, are pointless. There are just a few left that are worth doing but I sure hope we'll finish next time I play.
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