Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is finally upon us, and it’s the definitive way to experience the instant and legendary classic that fans have been singing the praises of since its initial launch back in 1997. While veterans will feel just at home, newcomers will be struck with the same steep learning curve everyone experienced when they first played it. Fortunately, new quality-of-life enhancements make things a bit more manageable overall.
Bringing us to the Ziekden Fortress mission, a pivotal part of the story, where things really begin going south for Ramza and company, serving as the exclamation point of the game’s first chapter. While the encounter isn’t overly complex, it can be challenging if you’re not fully prepared!
Ziekden Fortress Overview
Ziekden Fortress is the final main mission in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles’ first chapter, delivering on many twists and turns that lead into an intense battle. The overall objective for this mission will be to eliminate Argath, meaning you complete the mission the moment you defeat him and do not have to KO everyone else on the battlefield.
But, as always, doing so is easier said than done, as the enemies working alongside Argath will punish you for being too overzealous or aggressive, forcing you to take a more strategic route if you hope to come out on top. They have tremendous long-range Magick options and close-range Physical potential, which can be tricky to deal with. Here’s everyone you will be dealing with on the opposing side!
Ziekden Fortress Enemy List
|
Enemies |
|---|
|
x4 Knights |
|
x2 Black Mages |
Yup, they have four Knights and two Black Mages, making them a pretty solid formation that can be hard to penetrate and get a solid hit on Argath. But, fortunately, you can systematically pick off the units that pose the most threats relatively early, leaving Argath relatively defenseless, allowing you to eliminate him with ease afterward.
We recommend being at least Level 7 overall before attempting this mission, with your Job Level being around at least Level 4 if possible. You shouldn’t need to grind too hard for this mission, unless you find yourself dying quickly or lacking the damage output to eliminate enemies!
Ziekden Fortress Jobs And Formations
Delita will be your only Guest Character in Ziekden Fortress, meaning you will only get to choose three additional characters to aid him and Ramza. While it can be beneficial to learn Monk or other potent Jobs before this encounter, relying on range-based Jobs will work marvelously well in your favor.
Ramza can remain a Knight if you’ve been trying to stick to leveling it up, as it gives him the most protection while allowing him to maintain a high damage output. For your other party members, we suggest having an Archer, a White Mage, and a Black Mage, as they can run tremendously solid countermeasures to their setup!
Ziekden Fortress Recommended Formation
|
Primary Job |
Secondary Job |
|---|---|
|
Ramza (Knight) |
Squire |
|
Delita (Guest/Squire) |
N/A |
|
Archer |
Thief |
|
Black Mage |
Chemist |
|
White Mage |
Black Mage |
How To Complete Ziekden Fortress
Eliminating Argath is your primary focus for this mission, and you can achieve that in a wide variety of ways. However, charging in without a plan is hardly a winning strategy, so you will want to take a more methodical approach that allows you to pin Argath, giving him no hope of fighting back.
While it may seem like a no-brainer to put the Black Mage with Ramza and Delita, we strongly urge you to put the Archer in Group 1 on the sloped tile, two spaces to the right of Ramza, as they can offer devastatingly solid cover for everyone with their excellent range and damage potential.
For Group 2, we recommend putting the Black Mage on the tile leading behind the house on the eastern side, with the White Mage directly behind them. This method will allow your Mages to flank their Mages, allowing them to deal with them alongside your Archer. It’s a very effective strategy that can save you a lot of headaches!
Enemy And Guest Character Opening Moves
When the encounter starts, Argath will likely have the first move, unless you have equipment that raises your Speed quite considerably. He will drop down onto the lower platform and take a shot at Delita with his Crossbow, dealing a decent amount of damage. Following that, one of the Knights will move behind him and Defend, since they cannot do anything else at the moment.
Another Knight will move toward the center of the uppermost platform before Waiting, tossing things over to the final Knight. This Knight will be in the back of the alleyway and will begin making their way toward your Mages, stopping roughly halfway to them before Waiting.
Delita follows, and he will charge directly at Argath and land a standard attack on him for okay-ish damage while placing himself in harm’s way for the next rotation. Next, a Black Mage will move to the corner by the tall stack of boxes and the wall, Waiting until their next turn. The final Black Mage will cast Thunder on Delita before moving slightly forward, just beneath Algath and the Knight!
Your Opening Moves
Kicking off your turn will be none other than Ramza, and his positioning will allow him to run directly beside the Black Mage, casting Thunder on Delita to deliver a devastating normal attack on them for massive damage.
Next up will be the Archer, who can scale the elevated platform directly in front of him to line up a standard attack on the Black Mage, finishing them off before they can even cast Thunder on Delita. This is a power position for your Archer, which is why we strongly recommend bringing one along for this mission and having them start here.
Your Black Mage follows. Have them move up to the end of the boxes in the back alleyway and cast Blizzara on the Knight who approached you earlier. It won’t be executed until two turns later, which is fine. Then, have your White Mage get directly behind your Black Mage and cast Blizzard on the Knight for decent damage. This won’t kill the Knight, but it will undoubtedly put them on their back foot!
Enemy Second Rotation
The enemies are up again, and they’re not playing around this time. The first person to move will be the Knight who was in the center of the elevated platform, having them move toward the Defending Knight toward the bottom of the platform before Waiting. Following them is the Knight you attacked with your Mages, who will return the favor by delivering a devastating attack on your Black Mage.
Argath is up next and will create distance between himself and Delita before shooting him once more with his Crossbow for a pretty decent chunk of his health. After this, a Knight will move up in front of Delita and nearly deliver the finishing blow to him. This is fine since Delita is a Guest Character and cannot permanently die.
Lastly, the Black Mage will move toward the center of the elevated platform and cast Blizzard on Ramza. However, it won’t come out until five turns later, giving us plenty of time to try and stuff it!
Your Second Rotation
Your second turn begins with Ramza, allowing you to run up beside the Black Mage who is casting Blizzard on you to deliver a normal attack for substantial damage. Next in line is your trusty Archer. Move them to the edge of the boxes to the right and attack the Black Mage to finish them off.
Since you are at a higher elevation, it doesn’t matter that Ramza is in front of your target, but you MUST have a Longbow for this to work; a Crossbow won’t do.
Now it’s your Black Mage’s turn. Have them cast Blizzard on the tile behind the Knight that attacked him to have the AoE hit only your target instead of yourself along with it. He won’t cast it until two turns later, but the Knight can’t act before then, so it’s more than fine. This will also finish them off, leaving only three enemies left, including Argath.
To close out your turn, have your White Mage cast Cure on herself, which will heal the Black Mage without also healing the Knight. With this, you are more than healthy and ready to finish this battle!
Third Rotation (All)
Since there are very few enemies left, we’re going to cover everything in one rotation from now on. Kicking off the third rotation will be a Knight who will approach Ramza and attempt to use Rend Armor on him to get rid of his body armor. They have a slight chance of succeeding, and there’s a high probability Ramza will Parry the attempt if you have a Shield equipped.
From there, it’s time for your Black Mage and White Mage. They cannot attack or do much of anything here, so move them as far ahead as you can, having them begin cutting through the center of the arena. Both will be behind the wooden walkway, but that’s fine, as they will be very useful in the next rotation.
Delita is still hanging on by a thread since he had a few lines of dialogue, having Argath target him once more, landing a shot on him with his Crossbow to KO Delita. Again, this is fine, as Delita cannot die permanently, nor will the mission end in failure if he gets KO’d. After this, a Knight will move beside the other one that attempted to Rend Armor on Ramza before Defending.
Now, it’s Ramza’s turn, allowing you to attack the Knight directly beside you before moving to the wooden platform. Since your Archer is still in prime position and doesn’t have to move, you should be able to use Aim +5 on the Knight that Ramza just attacked for even more damage, almost taking them down!
Almost There
The Knight who attempted to use Rend Armor on Ramza will kick off this rotation and will attempt the action again if he failed the first time. If he didn’t, he will instead go for a standard attack on Ramza, which will deal considerable damage. Regardless, he puts himself in a prime position to get obliterated by your Mages.
Speaking of which, they’re both up next, with your Black Mage leading the charge. Move him to the bottom of the wall and cast Blizzara in the center of the platform, having the AoE hit both Knights. From here, have your White Mage move directly behind the Black Mage and cast Blizzard in the exact same spot. The Knight in front of Ramza will be KO’d, and the other will be nearly defeated.
Next up is Argath, who will move up onto the platform and use his Crossbow to fire a shot at Ramza, dealing decent amounts of damage on contact. Afterward, the Knight that was nearly defeated will retreat, running down into the area below, away from Ramza.
Ramza’s turn follows. Move him down to Argath and perform a standard attack on him. While it only has a 75 percent chance of hitting, it’s still worth going for, as the odds are in your favor. Lastly, move your Archer to the side of the wall, two tiles in front of your Black Mage, and attack the Knight to finish them off, leaving only Argath left!
The Final Turn
Finally, it’s the last rotation. Sort of. If Ramza’s previous attack didn’t land, it won’t be, but it doesn’t matter too much. It will be your Black Mage’s turn, allowing you to cast Blizzara on Argath for massive amounts of damage. Ensure you cast it on the tile behind him to avoid hitting Ramza in the process. Then, as your White Mage, cast Blizzard in the same spot for even more damage.
If these Spells don’t kill Argath, he will consume a Potion and attempt to create distance. Chase him down and deliver the final blow to finish the encounter. You will likely be able to reach him with Ramza, but if he’s just out of reach, your trusty Archer or Mages can finish the job!
Rewards
Clearing Ziekden Fortress will grant you 7,400 Gil. That’s it. Is it a bit disappointing? Sure. But considering this is the last mission of the first chapter, it’s not so bad, considering you will now be in the present day in the game’s timeline!
