Old Archades

Alley of Low Whispers

When you first arrive in Old Archades you’ll find a merchant fairly close by, in case you need to restock on anything. While making your way through the city you’ll need to stop and talk to the NPC’s that you walk past. An upcoming event requires you to have spoken to a few of them and collected some information. Make your way over to the next area as you go.

Alley of Muted Sighs

Here in this area, you need to seek out a couple of the NPC’s to speak with, Beasley, and a “Lucky Man”. Make your way over to the exit and try to speak to the Imperial Guards to leave the city. You’ll trigger a brief scene with Balthier and a man called Jules who wants information. Pay him the 1500 Gil he wants and then tell him about the sack of coins that you would have heard were stolen from a barrel. He’ll tell you to go give that information to a man called Beasley. Head over and speak to Beasley before returning to Jules, who you’ll now find sitting on some crates in the northeastern section of the large loop on the map. Talking to him will trigger another scene and open the way into Archades.

Archades

Trant

Here in Archades, you’ll need to speak with all the NPC’s just like in Old Archades. There is a sort of minigame for helping people with their problems that you’ll need to participate in, to progress the story. Continue heading west to trigger a scene where Balthier will leave the party with some business to attend to. Head west into the next area when you’re ready.

Molberry

Here you can find the Technicks Shop which also has the Cartographer Moogle on the second floor. Buy up the maps to make exploration here a little easier. Take the time to visit any of the Shops here now as well. Leave yourself 2,500 Gil though, as you’ll need it in an upcoming section. Buying gear at the weapons and armor shops will be a little easier than trying to farm for them for now, so feel free to spend up. Take the south exit from here when you’re ready to continue.

Nilbasse

South of the weapon store you’ll find a Skycab. Speak to the operator to learn about Chops and have Jules pop up again to help out. Pay him his 2,500 Gil to continue.

Basically, this begins an information-gathering game. Each of the four areas you have access to holds people with information and people seeking that information. When you speak to someone who has info, you’ll be given the ability to memorize that info. From there you need to speak to the person who needs the info to gain a Chop. If you collect all 28 Chops you can trade them in for a Sandalwood Chop with any Chopmaster. Chopmasters are on the second floor of each store in Archades. The table below can help you with getting the chops in each area.

Archades Pinewood Chops Guide

A guide to the location of all the Pinewood Chops available in Archades in Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age

Area:	Information Gathered From:	Phrase:	Give The Information To:
Nilbasse	Gentleman Onlooker	Working up a Sweat	Eager Crier
Nilbasse	Senior Researcher	Words of Encouragement	Failed Researcher
Nilbasse	Athletic Woman	A Grand Line of Gamesmen	Avid Reader
Nilbasse	Worried Husband	Wages Halved	Materialistic Woman
Nilbasse	Aspiring Starlet	The Path to Stardom	Faded Star
Nilbasse	Determined Researcher	Time to leave	Ex-Researcher
Rienna	Lucky Man	An Epistle to Love	Romantic Lady
Rienna	Lazy Profiteer	A Gambit for the Market	Researcher's Wife
Rienna	Philosopher of Cuisine	A Revolutionary Dish	Dangerous Chef
Rienna	Tour Leader	The Aerial Gardens	Bhujerban Lady
Rienna	Greenseller	Out of Ears	Vegetable Seller
Rienna	Good Brother	What She Wants	Waiting Woman
Rienna	Tarot Reader	The Misfortune Teller	Happy Novelist
Trant	Boutiquere	The Boutique	Moneyed Gentleman
Trant	Historian	A History of Empire	Perceptive Man
Trant	Builder	The Artisan Architect	Artisan Architect
Trant	Music Appreciator	The Lutenist	Lutenist
Trant	Farce-Goer	A Ticket to the Farce	Girl on an Errand
Trant	Smitten Man	The Client's Daughter	Smitten Woman
Molberry	Avid Traveler	The Traveler	Traveling Gentleman
Molberry	Reminiscing Lady	The Mummer	Family-minded Girl
Molberry	Talented Woman	A Knack for Magick	Akademician
Molberry	Poor Husband	The Anniversary	Poor Wife
Molberry	Daughter-In-Law	A Trinket from Giza	Man from Giza
Molberry	Would-Be-Judge	To be a Judge	Judge's Wife
Molberry	Look-alike	The Master of Disguises	Look-alike
Molberry	Ardent Woman	The Eight & Twenty Chops	Ardent Man
Molberry	Proud Mother	The Tutor	Tutor

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You’ll need to collect at least 3 Pinewood chops to progress the story. Collecting all 28 is required to unlock some optional content later in the game, so if you have the time and plan to 100% the game, you may as well complete this now.

Once you’re done, speak to the Cab Guide in Nilbasse and tell him to take you to Tsenoble.

Tsenoble

Use the Save Crystal here to add Archades to our teleport roster, then follow the path to trigger a scene. Speak to the Cab Guide afterward and tell him “You know where to go” to progress the story.

Draklor Laboratory

66th Floor

The first floor you’ll arrive on in Draklor is the 66th Floor. Here you want to head west followed by north. Make your way to the Lift Terminal to the north of the area and set the destination for the 67th Floor. The only chests on the 66th floor contain Motes.

67th Floor

Head East and then North to the end of the hallway to trigger a scene by the room with the initials “CDB” outside. Afterward, you’ll obtain a Lab Access Card and a Map of the Draklor Laboratory. With the Access Key, you can now enter all of the side rooms that are scattered about. Nearby you’ll find a door marked as Rm 6704 East, this contains a Save Crystal. The next room down the hall, Rm 6703 East, contains Bulkhead Controls that swap which color gates are open. Activate the Bulkhead controls to gain access to the lift area again.

Continue west past the Lift this time and head north. The first room on the right, Rm 6703 West, contains more Bulkhead controls. Use these controls to open the Red Doors. Head southwest from here to find Rm 6711 West, inside you’ll find a chest containing a Claymore. Return to the Bulkhead controls and swap the open gates to return to the lift.

At the lift set your destination for the 68th Floor.

68th Floor

When you first arrive on this floor the Blue Bulkheads are open, head east and then north to Rm 6803 East. Change the Bulkhead to open the Red doors.

From here head north and then west down the passage. When the passage turns south, you can find the room, Rm 6804 West, open the Blue Bulkheads.

Continue southwest from here and follow the passage, counterclockwise around the southwest loop. At the bottom of the loop, you’ll find Rm 6811 West, use the controls to open the Red Bulkheads here.

Exit the room and continue to the east, follow the passage north taking the first available eastern door to arrive at a new Lift Terminal. Here you’ll want to select the 70th Floor.

70th Floor

When you arrive you’ll trigger a scene and meet a new friend. To the east is a Save Crystal and if you continue east you can find a room, Rm 7002 East, with the Gil Toss Tecknick inside.

Once you’ve claimed them and healed up, follow the stairs up to a Boss Battle.

Boss Battle: Dr. Cid

Boss:	Dr. Cid
HP:	72,989
Elemental Weakness:	Holy
Status Effect Weakness:	Silence, Berserk
Resistances:	- N/A (Absorb) - Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Wind, Earth (50% Effective) - Dark (Nullified)
Steal:	Knot of Rust Hi-Potion X-Potion

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age - Dr. Cid Boss Battle

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You need to get rid of the Rooks that surround Dr. Cid first. While they are active, he will cast Greater Barrier on himself and they will heal him. Take them out to stop the healing and prevent him from being able to cast Greater Barrier. Once the Rooks are down, Cid will cast Haste on himself, counter that with a Dispel and then focus on bringing down his health as quickly as possible. Many of Cid’s special attacks ignore Defence and Evade, so your tank will likely take a real beating the longer the fight goes on.

Once the fight is over, you’ll trigger another scene and we’ll find out our next story destination as well.

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