Part 33: Five for Fighting

Returning to Mysidia lets Cecil recruit his old party members. The only real catch is that Cecil must be in the party at all times. Ironically, this lets Cecil leave Rydia and Rosa behind just like he wanted...



A random White Mage runs in to see the Elder.

Th-Th Mountain! The Mountain of Ordeals...

What of Mt. Ordeals?

The whole mountain is covered in a sinister cloud!

A sinister cloud? Could it be...? ...I see. Thank you for the report. Cecil, may I have a word?



Are you up to the challenge?

Yes, sir.

To go along with the new endgame characters, there is also a dungeon full of equipment in it as well. The catch is that the characters need to be with the party to get all of it.



Cid takes Kain's Genji equipment (he rejoined the party with it on). Yang throws on his old gear (plus his bonus Catclaw from the Sylvan Cave), and Palom and Porom borrow Rydia and Rosa's gear for the time being. Cecil takes Edge's Genji gear for the moment.



Several blasts of lightning open up a new door in the first section of Mount Ordeals.



A presence gets Cecil's attention inside the cave. His father, perhaps?



KluYa's soul opens up the door to the Cave of Trials.



There aren't really any new enemies in this area. They're pretty much all retreads from the Magnetic Cave on through the Sylvan Cave. The later floors can get pretty dangerous (Marlboros )

The structure of the area is a lot like Bahamut's Cave, but with a lot more hidden passages leading to the good loot.



The Coronet is for Palom. It boosts his Intelligence by 5 and stops Transformation Magic. The Sage's Robe prevents Silence and increases his Agility and Intelligence by 10.



The Cat Hood increases Porom's Agility by 5 and reduces ice damage. The Lord's(?) Robe raises her Stamina and Spirit by 10 and helps her resist fire, ice, and lightning damage (a great thing for the team healer).



The Funny Mask goes on Yang. It raises his Strength by 5 and prevents Paralysis. The Courageous Suit helps him out by protecting him from Curses. But more importantly, it gives the almighty Yang +10 to Strength, Agility, and Stamina as well.



The Grand Helm is Cid's headgear. It raises his Agility and Spirit(?) by 5 and resists lightning damage. The Grand Armor increases his Stamina and Spirit by 15 and also resists lightning damage.



The Red Cap gives the absent Edward +10 to Stamina and also reduces fire damage. The Red Jacket doesn't do anything special at all, but it does is reduce fire damage just like the Cap. (Edward's gear seems terrible and it probably is because Edward)



These are new and kinda seem like overkill. Megalixirs restore the whole party to full HP and MP.



The final floor is where things get interesting.



There's a Save Point, a Warp Point out, and five ultimate weapons.



This is not the sword you think it is. It's not even a sword.



Master Flan's pretty damn hard. He can't be targeted while all four Flans live, but he'll regenerate them if you kill all four.



He loves to reflect magic off of himself for 3000-5000 damage as well. Fortunately, he has low HP and several Bluffed Quakes take him and his Flan posse out.



Triton's Dagger boosts Palom's Intelligence by 15 and can be used as an item to cast Flood.



Cid's up next.



The Death Mech has a bunch of laser attacks, but only one is a real threat and it only hits one party member.



Thor's Hammer has the Lightning Element and also increases his Strength by 15. It casts Blitz when used as an item and does extra damage to robots. It increases his attack power by a bit, too.



Yang needs a new claw.



The Storm Dragon's pretty tough. It can use Tornado on the group to one-shot Palom and Porom, and can Maelstrom the whole party as well. It has no other tricks, though.



The Godhand (I don't care what the translation says) is Holy(!) Element and boosts his Strength, Agility, and Stamina by 15. Yang is a never-ending force of destruction now.



Porom's next in line.



T-Rex's main attack is Earthquake. Casting Float on the party makes him into a joke. He loves to counter elemental magic, but when Palom's hitting him for 6000-8000 damage it's kinda irrelevant.



Seraphim's Mace increases Porom's Spirit by 15 and can be used in battle to cast Esuna.



Sadly/stupidly, the last weapon requires us to use Edward to acquire it. This means Cecil has to hike through the whole dungeon again.



Oh boy, a harp.



The Gigas Worm is basically Behemoth XL. Blinking the party would make him a joke, but he's just not as bad as them at this point with GODHAND and whatnot.



Apollo's Harp has the Fire Element and increases Edward's pitiful Strength, Stamina, and Agility by 15. It also deals extra damage to Dragons. I'm not impressed.

With the Cave of Trials cleared, the only thing left to do is destroy Zemus.

But who comes along for the ride? Keep in mind there's still some more ultimate equipment and a very large dungeon to tackle...

Cecil has to come along.

Pros: Is a Dragoon and can Jump out of harm's way. Cons: Is a dick and there are other actual options for once.

Cid's got a big hammer and a lot of HP, but can't do much else.

Yang's a walking death machine, but can't take a magical punch.

Edge doesn't do physical or magical damage well, but he can certainly Throw...

Rosa's the heartiest Mage, and can use a Bow. But does that really matter?

Porom's is a better White Mage but doesn't really do anything else. Do we need anything else?

Rydia's the only Summoner, but is the most fragile of the whole lot.

Palom has more Intelligence than Rydia, but lacks her versatility.

Edward is a bard. If he does something else I'm not aware of it.

Make your case...