Final Fantasy XII Walkthrough - Tchita Uplands & The Sochen Cave Palace

Tchita Uplands

Trek all the way east to the exit leading to the Sky Trail. The Coeurl is also weak to ice, so again the Icebrand comes in handy. Anyway, continue to the Chosen Path via the bottom-right exit. Talk to the Archadian Wayfarer and accept his hunt bill. (Note that it will not be added to the Clan Primer.) He'll then give you the Soul Ward Key. Save and head east to the next area.

Keep moving east along the left side of the cliff to reach the exit leading to the Fields of Eternity. There, go northwest to find the cave entrance. Inside, head north and use the Soul Ward Key on the door at the end. Also, make sure your party has enough MP to execute Quickenings before opening that door.

Sochen Cave Palace

Boss: The Mandragoras

This battle involves 5 different creatures: Mandragora Prince, Onion Queen, Topstalk, Alraune King, and Pumpkin Star. They each have 9069 HP, and all have Haste on. Immediately activate Quickenings once all 5 of them are within range, and close together. Have each of your characters target different enemies for their Quickenings. Also, try to trigger a final attack at the end of your Quickening chain. Inferno and Torrent are the easiest to execute (Rank 1 x3, Rank 2 x2).

Take some time to run around the room to restore some MP. Exit through the doors on either side. At the Acolyte's Burden and head north. The save crystal here is actually a Crystal Bug, so defeat it first, and then save. Proceed through the east door to the Mirror of the Souls.

The map urn is located in the small alcove at the southeast-most corner of this area. Continue north past the Falls of Time and Destiny's March, to reach the Hall of Shadowlight where a boss awaits.

Boss: Ahriman

HP: 62149
LP: 28
Weakness: Holy
Steal: Maduin Gear, Sky Jewel, Death Powder

Start off this battle with Quickening chains from your reserve party. Swap back your main battle party afterwards. Holy Motes and curative spells (especially Curaga) work well against this boss. Now, cast Berserk on your strongest fighters, and watch them destroy Ahriman. Healers should stay back and cast Cura or Curaga if necessary. (Set your gambits to Ally: Any HP < 50% -> Curaga.)

If you don't have Berserk magick, just use Bacchus' Wine. Berserked characters are immune to most negative status effects, so don't worry about that too much.

Equip Jackboots accessory to ward off Immobilize. Cast Esuna to remove the said status. Make sure you have plenty of Smelling Salts and Antidotes in stock as well. Lastly, learn the Augment ability Remedy Lore 3. It allows the Remedy item to remove Doom, Stop and Disease status effects.

After that battle, cast Libra before leaving through the east door. Though you might want to run around the boss room to recover some MP. At the Temptation Eluded, avoid stepping on the explosion traps (which is visible only if Libra is activated.) Follow the path, while defeating the Strikers (weak against wind), and Imps (weak against Ice) along the way.

Head north to the next room when you reach the open space. Here, go around south to spot a lift. Press the nearby switch to activate it. Save at the top floor, and continue north out the stone door towards Old Archades.

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