Finished in the lower-world, head back to the portal drive at Relay Point A, either through the Steel Beach freighter, or the Wyndia castle basement terminal. There has to be more than meets the eye to the portal drive that brought us back and, sure enough, inspecting the control panel reveals that it is locked into "auto-receive mode" and the antenna needs to be adjusted to change the destination from the console.
Relay Point A is filled with more new encounters, but the unpredictable old Codgers continue to be a thorn in our side, so continue to target them first. This time, they're frequently paired with TankBots who will use the learnable Transfer skill to recover their AP. This skill allows you to expend 10 AP to recover the same amount of another character. Not bad. If you combine it with either the Shaman's or Spirit Ring, which reduces AP consumption, the character can actually recover their own AP slightly by using Transfer on themselves! Be wary when TankBots are left alone, as they are inclined to use the Sacrifice skill, which is learnable, but Ryu's Royal Sword should be able to down them in one hit.
TankBots are the only basic enemy in the game that you can receive Wisdom Fruit from, as a drop; they also have the lesser Wisdom Seed to steal, making this the best enemy in the game to farm both. You'll find TankBots frequently in some other areas, also.
Insectors, when alone or their HP gets low, will use the new, learnable Tornado skill before trying to escape. Tornado is similar to Tsunami, being status-based, but targets characters at random (Including allies) and attempts to drop their HP down to 1 instead of just half. Even with resistance to status effects for your party, most enemies you would want to use this on are immune, so it ends up being another skill to send to your notes. Better than Disembowel, though, I suppose. Insectors can, potentially, drop the Gale Javelin weapon that was for sale in Kombinat, also. The Dragnfly, that often accompanies Insectors, have the Snap skill to learn and is your only source for it outside of boss battles.
Reapers are the most sought after enemy of Relay Point A due to having two rare items. The AP-increasing Magic Shards can be stolen from them, and is the best place in the game to farm them outside of Faerie Village gifts. Surprisingly, unlike their Phantom counterparts at Angel Tower, Reapers don't use Death magic at all and instead will use the Focus skill, then Multistrike on their next turn; both learnable skills if you haven't already got them.
Reapers also drop the PhantomDress armor for Nina/Momo and it is the only place in the game you can find it. The drop rate is reasonable, however, it's entirely a situational piece being weaker than the current Sage's Frock and you take damage from healing magic. On the positive, you become entirely immune to status, death, and stat-decreasing abilities. To help in farming, give the character who's turn comes after the one using Charm the Kyrie skill to destroy them instantly. The Chain Formation can help, as well.
Outside the portal drive room, Honey took the t-shaped path right that lead out to the Steel Beach freighter, so take the downward path this time. After turning the corner, ignore the first set of stairs, then use the next two pairs to climb up into the tower. At the center of the next room, you'll find four levers in a circle, each with a colored marking; there are also rooms around the area with what look like monoliths, but are diagrams explaining the relationship between the levers. Thankfully, you're reading this and don't need them.
Start by activating the light-blue lever to the south, then pass under the beam that was raised below it. Climb the stairs and through the door at the top. Next, head for the exit on the other side of the room. Move across the orange beam and pick up the LacquerStaff in the chest. A one-of-a-kind weapon, I'm not sure what they were going for with it. It's 11 points of attack weaker than the Beryl Rod, but does cast Silence when used as an item.
Return to the switches, then flip the dark blue-colored lever on the right-side; proceed under the beam to its right and through the door. Descend the steps down to an Hourglass.
At the levers again, inspect the top-most diagram to reset them, then flip them in this order: dark blue, light blue, then orange. Move under the red-colored beam to the left, climb the stairs, then wrap yourself around the room, using the beams as walkways, to the north, finally passing under the orange beam and up a large flight of stairs. At the top, in the lower-right section of the next room, rotate your camera to spy a satchel of 4000 zenny cleverly hidden out of sight. After, climb the next set of stairs in the lower-left of the room.
The following room is another puzzle with moving platforms on 4 sides of a chasm that have to be navigated around and positioned to reach the switch to the door in the very center. Start at the platform seen above and ride it south. Get on its other side and ride it eastward. You'll automatically get off it and onto another platform that continues east. Move back to the top of the room and ride the platform at the top-left position down to the bottom. There should now be three platforms side-by-side. Ride the lower-left-most one back to the top. From there, ride it west, south, then back east. You'll then ride the other two platforms to the eastern-side. The platform you rode around the room is now perfectly centered at the bottom to ride north and onto the switch unsealing to the door to the east.
Beyond the sealed door, climb the stairs, then make a right, ignoring the stairs, down to a LaquerShield treasure chest. Using the previously-passed stairs now, tread downward and through the door to the outside to acquire the electric-based Barbarossa sword. Inside again, exit through on the upper-left-side of the room.
There are two sets of stairs to the lower-left near a door leading outside; descend them and them up another pair to find a Skill Ink chest, then exit to the outside. On the outside terrace there is another door leading back inward. At the top of the room is yet another door leading outside, but this one leads to the tower's climax and the Relay Point's antenna. You'll have to swivel the antenna to a point that receives absolutely no static to align the antenna with the portal drive. The necessary positioning is seen in the screenshot above. Aligned, you'll have to make your way back down the tower to the portal drive.
At the control panel, you're presented with three new options: the Colony, which you can return to it and the Kombinat area, Dragnier, and Container yard. Select Container yard and you'll find Ryu's Radiance gene right off from the portal. The holy-elemental gene, it allows access to the Shining Claw and DivineBreath abilities. Amplified with the Eldritch gene provides the Resurrect spell for use, too, while Warrior variations have access to the Holy Strike skill. Splicing with Radiance also grants the form double recovery from healing spells. Now, if only we could somehow jump down from that crate...How easier life would be.
Select Dragnier from the portal drive to continue the story. Immediately outside the portal room, the party is grabbed and dragged away for a celebration! They've been waiting for the chosen one to step out from that room for thousands of years, apparently. The entire village of Dragnier consists of Brood who gave up their powers to the now-referred-to-as Goddess and hid away here from her. Suffering from a food-induced coma, Ryu has a dream where he speaks to the villagers of Dragnier who reveal that they've awaited the dragon prince who would challenge the Goddess, now-named Myria, since Tyr sounds a bit too malevolent to the ears. Upon waking, search the bookcase at the top-left to procure a Skill Ink, then step outside. Rei rejoins you and the pair go looking for a morose Garr who is ruminating at the top of the village. Garr, understandably, is uncomfortable in Dragnier having been their enemy for thousands of years, and despite his change of heart, the villagers are suspicious that Ryu considers him an ally. While the three contemplate, Griol approaches and lets Ryu know that their elder wishes to meet him underneath Dragnier.
The tent to the left of the bottom-section of Dragnier is a shop. Outside of the Faerie Village, this is the only shop in the game that sells MultiVitamin. If you got the Royal Sword and Life Armor from the fishing spot near Kombinat, you don't need either the DamascusSwd or Mail, although if not, they are better than the Demonsbane and LacquerArmor. You'll need to purchase the DamascusSwd, however, the Mail can be stolen from an enemy later to add one to your inventory. Before meeting the elder, you can leave Dragnier and change party members, but Garr and Nina will be required.
Note: There's a dragon statue that functions as a save point inside the tent to the right of the portal drive exit. The only other one of these is found outside the cabin on Mt. Glaus which has always been quite curious to me. I wonder if the developers changed their mind about providing a save point in dungeons for players early in development?
Descend the ladder in the center of Dragnier into what looks like was a well at some point. Further in is another ladder to climb and a set of stairs. A massive mural is along the corridor wall of the heroes from the original Breath of Fire fighting against the Goddess Tyr, although for some reason Gobi is missing compared to the one shown before the title screen, and Karn is strangely absent from both. Beyond, enter the door across to get a useful Ivory Dice from one of the back shelves before entering the door on the far-end.
Inside, Ryu and company meet Jono, elder of Dragnier. He puts attention on the outside mural and that chosen Brood and his friends have battled the Goddess over millennia, long-before even the Great War. He then asks to speak with Garr. Approaching him as the Urkan Guardian, Jono chastises him for refusing to speak the names of the Brood and Myria, but assures him it was fate that caused the Great War, regardless of his actions during it. Frustrated with Garr's formalities, Jono demands to speak with a "pretty girl". Bring him Momo for a priceless interaction, but ultimately, it has to be Nina. He continues to speak about the Brood and how their level of power is plenty enough to destroy the world, but regardless of their passive nature, Myria feared the possibility and felt she had to eliminate them to protect the world. Jono won't speak further unless Nina gives him a kiss, however! Whichever way Ryu responds, it has to be done to appease the dirty old man.
Jono asks to speak to Ryu one last time. A boss battle is imminent, but you are free to leave the underground and change party members to whomever you like. The boss battle will have to be fought without Ryu's access to dragon forms, so you will have to heavily rely upon your fellow party members and skills you have assigned to him. Make sure Ryu has, at least, one offense skill to use such as Double Blow, Super Combo, or Shadowwalk, and since the boss has partial magic immunity, bring War Shout, or Momo to cast Might to supplement your offense. For equipment, fire and electric damage is prominent. In fact, if you equip each character with a Ring of Fire and Thunder Ring, the battle is practically unlosable. If you never got around to copying the accessories, you can supplement with Magma Armor or the Robe of Wind if deciding to take Nina. I wouldn't bother with the AsbestosArmr, though. Garr, Peco, and Rei should take priority with receiving these items.
The true power of the Brood has been concealed inside Jono, but to pass it onto Ryu, it has to be taken from him! The special room has a ward around it, preventing Ryu's Ascension, but Jono is still able to transform into a massive dragon! Without the before-mentioned equipment, this is a very difficult battle and Ryu (Or another character with the skill) will need to cast Barrier on each character; more than once for Garr, Peco, and Rei! The Elder will lash out with Inferno, Sirocco, and Myollnir; the latter of which can kill any character without electric protection or a Barrier in a single hit. The Elder has slight protection against all magic types, rendering Nina and Momo's magic a bit ineffective, but they can still supplement with War Shout, Might, Protect, and Weaken/Blunt. With Barrier cast, fortify with Shield, then focus entirely on physical attacks: Double Blow, Super Combo, Shadowwalk. If you brought Rei, Weretiger using Influence afterward is a solid choice. Jono will hit physically, also, and hard, but being single-target, it shouldn't hinder anyone more than what a MultiVitamin can take care of, except maybe Nina who should have more than one Protect/Shield cast. If you can bear-down with Barrier, or completely nullify his magic with equipment, winning is a matter of attrition trading physical blows with the Elder.
Note: Even though all three of the Elder's elemental spells are taught by masters, they cannot be examined (You can get Double Blow and Bad back, however).
Jono passes on the Infinity gene to the new champion of the Brood, Ryu, who now has the power of Kaiser to stand against the Goddess Myria, if he chooses to do so. The Infinity gene provides access to Ryu's ultimate dragon form: Kaiser, however, there are three different variations of the Kaiser dragon depending on the genes spliced with Infinity. All three versions are a normal-looking, but golden-haired Ryu.
- The Infinity gene alone creates a berserked version of the Kaiser that physically attacks allies and enemies at random, but can be Influenced like Rei's Weretiger form. Statistical boosts are triple the amount of HP, 2.5x Power/Defense, and a 50% buffer to Agility and Intelligence. Besides those incredible stat bonuses, the Kaiser is completely immune to status effects, death, and stat-lowering skills, PLUS has 75% resistance to all elements. The ultimate downside is the required 40 AP to assume the form, then a further 20 after each turn to maintain it.
- Infinity spliced with Failure forms a controllable version of Kaiser, but its statistics are drastically reduced, by more than half, and it no longer has any resistances. The controlled Kaiser has access to all of Ryu's learned abilities and skills, including Bonebreak, the confusion-causing Howling ability, and KaiserBreath, that is significantly stronger than even MeteorStrike, and has a striking similarity to the Ryu from Breath of Fire II's G.Drgn.
- Infinity, Trance, and Radiance spliced together creates the "complete" Kaiser form with all of the benefits of both the berserk and Failure variations. This version is easily the strongest and most versatile dragon form in the game, assuming you have the AP to sustain it at 53 to transform and 27 each turn after, however, depending on the situation, a lesser-AP Warrior form may be more desirable.
Possession of the Infinity gene completes Ryu's collection (Or should if you have been following along!) and unlocks the game's final master the dragon god, Ladon. Inspect the relief of Ladon at Dragnier's precipice, where you found Garr a bit ago, and he'll supply you with his wisdom as long as you have obtain all of the genes in the game. Statistic-wise, Ladon is the antithesis of Giotto: you lose 6 HP/AP, but gain +2 to all others; besides Agility which is only a +1 bonus. There's no character that cannot benefit from Ladon in some way, although I would be careful not to invest Nina, Momo, or even Rei too heavily due to the loss in HP. Additionally, Ladon has passive bonuses of a 75% resistance to fire-based attacks, and 25% resistance to status/death ones. Ladon's taught skills are listed below:
- Mind's Eye (3): Raises the user's accuracy to 100% for a limited amount of turns. Unlike Target or Momo's Homing Bomb weapon, this actually does guaranteed a hit even against dodge-prone opponents like Nut/Bolts. However, the best application is to give it to a character with Charge or Flying Kick, which can cause heavy damage but frequently misses, insuring that the skill lands.
- Holy Strike (5): A basic weapon attack, but holy-elemental.
- WardOfLight (7): This skill bolsters a character's defense and reprisal rate by 20%. Like most buffers, it can be stacked up to 4 times for a 100% increase. Peco is the only character that can achieve a 100% counter rate from using it 4 times, however, Garr can get respectful numbers using Attack formation with it.
- Aura (9): You've likely seen this skill already used by the Warrior dragon. It's a guaranteed critical weapon attack, but is holy-elemental, and sets you back a staggering 20 AP. It's inferior to Shadowwalk in every way, but makes a nice addition to an AP-heavy character like Peco.
Having claimed Jono's power, Griol meets Ryu above ground and informs him that the Goddess Myria can be found beyond the Desert of Death to the north. He entrusts a villager named Horis with your passage to the Desert, but only to its edge. A sure-to-be useful radka is sent along, too. You must pass through the border wall-like Factory first, though.
Since we were separated from our masters, we never did cover the Lost Shore random battlefields, but now is a good time to gain some levels and items there before heading for the Desert of Death. Here, you can now find satchels containing Ivory Dice and Ginseng, with Power Food, Protein, and MultiVitamins still making appearances. There are no new monsters, but ProtoBots are prevalent providing opportunities to steal Wisdom Seeds and drop Wisdom Fruit. Once you enter the Factory, then the Desert beyond, we won't see life for a good while, so only go when fully prepared for the long trek.
Note: Equip the Midas Stone for the entirety of the Factory! One enemy here is the largest source of zenny in the game and we are quickly approaching the final shop of the game! Equipping Light Bangles or receiving Changeblock inoculations would be helpful, but not totally necessary. Momo will be required to obtain an item, but you can always come back.
There are new and unique monsters galore within the massive walled Factory that is protecting the outside world from the Desert's encroachment. A lot of previously-obtainable enemy skills are available here also. Starting off, Hobgobln are incredible sources of Power Food that you can steal. They'll also use both Spirit Blast, which is only obtainable here outside of the Contest of Champions, and Intimidate. If they spawn with a BossGbln, watch as they obliterate it after it tries to command them with Influence!
The fascinating Egg Gang hold the Beads item to steal. Another of those "appears valuable" ones, they're easier to get here than through faerie exploration. Of more interest is their Ovum ablity that, without status protection, can turn your characters into defenseless, but cute, eggs. You might recall Rocky way back in the McNeil manor using this on you. It's more of an annoyance than anything, but you will take heavy damage if attacked while an egg. Besides Ovum, they use both the Double Blow and Magic Ball skills you can learn, if you haven't already for whatever reason.
Note: Egg Gang and PipeBombs both drop Ivory Dice, and while they aren't incredibly rare, you're likely better off trading fish for them outside Kombinat as a way to farm them. PipeBombs perform both Air Raid and Sacrifice skills for another opportunity to learn, also.
The elusive Gold Egg is the easiest way of maximizing your zenny, so make sure to bring your Midas Stone (And maybe an Ivory Dice)! Worth a total of 20,000 zenny on defeat, if hit with a physical attack, it loses a portion of that amount noted by the message "Gold Egg loses a chunk of flesh!; so in order to get the full 20k, you need to defeat it with either magic or having the finishing blow be a physical attack. It's weak against earth, so Momo's Quake spell is effective, but Peco's Fusion Hybrid dragon (w/Garr or Rei) form's Geo or Gaea'sBreath's will devastate it. Alternately, Ryu with the Royal Sword in Attack formation should be able to down it through one use of Double Blow. Later in the dungeon you will find the only earth-elemental weapon in the game for Peco and using it with Double Blow (Attack formation) or Shadowwalk is another option to defeat them in one strike. Equipping Speed Boots to get your character's Agility higher than 38 is recommend also, because the glittering menace can use the learnable Resist skill to null damage or even escape!
Note: Gold Eggs can drop the Divine Helm, which is the best helmet in the game for Ryu (Possibly), Rei, and Garr, but it is astronomically rare and chances are better from another foe in the final dungeon. You can steal the death-resisting Diamond Rings from them also, which sell nice, but you can always purchase them in the Faerie Village.
You start outside the massive Factory walls and have to navigate the numerous dirt paths to the entrance. After turning the corner, you'll come to the first of several forks. Take the higher path, up a large slope at the end, then over to the left for a Wisdom Seed chest. Returning to the fork, use the lower path, then take the first road that heads downward. Reaching the next fork, move to the upper-left to find another chest with an Artemis' Cap accessory at the edge. Backtracking, continue heading down the mountain path to the last fork at the bottom. Left is a linear road leading further down and around to a Skill Ink treasure, while taking the right path places you at the entrance of the Factory.
Note: Inside the Factory, the GntOrc begins appearing. It's nothing special, but you can pick up the Blitz skill from it, as well as steal Titan Belts.
Inside, climb the set of stairs to your right and pick up the Ammonia bag in the lonely, square room. Back down, proceed through the corridor and the door directly at its end. There's a laser barrier preventing access to the door, but if you swivel the camera around to peak behind the contraption, you'll spot a cleverly-hidden ladder leading down. Here, you can find the earth-elemental Rockbreaker weapon for Peco. Stronger than the Raptor Claws, not only is it the only one in the game, but is the only earth-based weapon, too.
Outside the barrier room, there's a dirt path heading downward to follow. After turning a corner, you're met with roads leading further north or to your right. With Momo in your party, move north and you'll easily identify a cracked foundation in the wall she can blast through with her chrysm cannon. Within is an Aries Spear for Garr you likely already have from Manillo trading. Retrace your steps back to the split, this time moving right, and climbing the staircase. Ascend the next pair of stairs across from it and tread across the dirt floor to outside the Factory to snag a, likely smelly, Fish-head in the chest.
Back down the previous stairs, head through the door in the center-right (The lever activates the door's laser guard if you want to damage yourself). The proceeding room has portions of the floor that are electrified and levers that charge specific, un-electrified sections of the floor and lower the brown-colored obstructions. You have to be quick, however, since the levers have a time limit on them. Start at the upper-left lever seen in the above screenshot. Pull it, then race back around to the lever near the entrance of the room and pull it, too. If you have enough time left, you can speed across both lowered blocks, otherwise, the first lever will return to position and you'll have to try again.
Move around to the back of the room and you can procure the chest containing another of Momo's Homing Bomb weapons earlier than usual, and saving a sliver of time later, before leaving through the door on the far-left. In the F-2 labeled corridor, turn right, then south, using the first door exiting to your left. Follow this narrow pathway downward to a Sage's Frock chest. Out in the F-2 corridor again, there are two exits further below. The lowest-left door returns you to outside the laser barrier near where we found the Rockbreaker treasure. You can deactivate the barrier and use this as a shortcut back to the entrance, if needed. Using the lower-right exit positions you in another puzzle room.
Note: The electrified floors in the F-2 corridor can never be deactivated, even though it looks like there could be rooms beyond them.
To the right of the door is a lever to pull, then further to the right, past the disconnected stairs, is another lever that raises a block allowing access to the terminal above. The panel allows Ryu (Or anyone other than the massive Garr) to control the workbot down below by it mimicking his movements on the above platform. You need to use the workbot to activate both the central and right-most levers, which would normally be impossible with the limited space, but thankfully they left an obstacle that the workbot can get stuck on and not completely follow Ryu's movements. To begin, move Ryu left one step, which will trap the workbot, then three steps downward; Ryu and the workbot's positioning should match the above screenshot. From there, move back up the three steps and have the workbot take action via Ryu's sword swipe to flip the lever. Next, one step down, two right, and lastly, one up to activate the second lever.
Note: Although it's unnecessary, there is a third lever on the left-side you can pull if you want to completely turn off all the electric floors. To reach it, move down two steps, left twice, then up once. Next: right once, up twice, left once, then switch the lever.
With the floors discharged, climb the ladder to the left of the door that brought you into the room. You can use the stairs leading down to activate a lever and discharge the remaining floor that was protecting the Homing Bomb treasure, otherwise, continue north and take a right turn, passing across the flooring the workbot turned off for you. Ignore the door and plunder the Hourglass to the south before turning back and using it. At the top of the massive climb of stairs, Ryu needs to slash the emergency exit button to slide open the door that sends you out to the world map and Desert of Death within reach.
A few steps into the desert places you on the above screen with Horis. The trek across the Desert of Death is complicated and convoluted, but I've got your back! Still, you can listen to what Horis has to say. Search the jar by the tent to obtain the Water Jug item and learn of its importance. It only has 16 uses, but if you follow the directions carefully, you won't need all of them. If you happen to run out of water, your party begins to lose maximum HP that can only be recovered by resting somewhere other than camp. When you're prepared for the journey, move to the edge of Horis' camp and choose "Go into desert".
Note: Absolutely, under no circumstances, equip the Holy Mantle or Bell Collar accessories in the Desert of Death! The change in encounters, which are in-step with the flow of time, will alter the length needed to reach your destinations, and not for the better.
You begin here: facing the North Star, and it is your guiding light through the Desert. Since it always points north, you can assess what cardinal direction you are heading from determining its location. The most important detail to remember is that your cardinal direction changes based on turning Ryu in increments of four. From the North Star, four to the left means you are heading west, four to the right indicates east, and eight either direction turns you south. There is, however, a "fake North Star", but since the real one never changes position in the sky, it's usually easy to tell the difference between the two.
As you walk, you'll be prompted that your party's throat is dry, requiring you to enter your menu and use the Water Jug item to stave off the maximum HP-lowering effects of thirst. You can camp with the start button at anytime, but to save yourself potential issues with the Desert's time, never camp until the game informs you that the sun has risen and you should. Even if the sun has clearly risen, resting before the notification to camp can severely undermine the passage of time. After the camp message, you can either rest inside the tent or select to rest from the edge of the screen to begin the next night of the journey. You can also use the accompanying rakda at the campsite to return to the Factory.
Each night, you will enter 2-3 random battlefields before sunrise. They are full of new enemy encounters, but also contain item bags, and seeking them out is worth the effort. Rewarding finds: Wisdom Seed, Swallow Eye, Fish-head, Moon Tears, and Ivory Dice.
Swallow Eyes are particularly hard to come by, usually needing 71-80 consecutive battles to be given as a gift at the Faerie Village, but are not uncommon finds in the Desert.
Over to the encountered enemies, a party of Ryu, Nina, and Peco cannot be recommended enough, though, if you have learned Blizzard through Deis, and Momo has it, she is an even better option than Nina. Unsurprisingly, most, but not all, have a weakness to ice, and Blizzard or Peco's Icebreath will make short work out of groups. The Vulcan clone Magmaites are an exception, however. They are strong against all elements, but deathly weak against earth, making Peco's earth-elemental Rockbreaker weapon very effective, as is Momo casting Quake, otherwise, you will have to rely upon strong physical attacks. While they do not have any of the special quirks Vulcans do, Magmaites possess the Air Raid, Flying Kick, and when their HP reaches half, Lavaburst, skills to learn. You might throw a Charm on them in hopes of getting a Royal Armor as a drop, but unlike its powerful Sword counterpart, it's not better than the Life Armor and can be purchased soon.
The Drak is a rather peculiar encounter. They are in a perpetual state of paralysis due to the Desert heat and you can just destroy them easily, but if you heal their paralysis, with either a Panacea or casting Remedy, they will use the learnable Cure skill on you, then likely, escape. Cure is a phenomenal skill that completely recovers a character's HP and status, although does require a hefty 18 AP. Given to Nina, she can be a bit more versatile like Momo, although Peco is a solid choice, too, having high AP and his low Intelligence will not hinder Cure's recovery like it does his Rejuvenate. Draks have Titan Belts to steal, also, if you are interested. The only other noteworthy enemy in the Desert is the Scorpion that will perform the Tornado skill, if alone, in case you missed it at Relay Point A.
All of that out of the way, how do we reach the Oasis on the other side? While Horis' directions are, technically, correct, there is a much simpler route there and will snag us two treasures on the way. There are several other treasures in the Desert of Death, also, but we're going to first focus on reaching the Oasis, then come back for them.
Note: When you exit camp or a battlefield, make sure that you realign yourself via the North Star in case your course was altered (And it likely was). Also, the directions written on the note in the tent are incorrect. You don't need them, of course, but it's worth noting that this probably confused many, many players over the decades.
From the Factory, facing the North Star, turn Ryu twice to the right to face northeast. You will be directly in line with the fake North Star and it will not change positions while you are traveling this direction, so you can always use it as a point of navigation. Journey northeast for three nights. Around the end of the third night, you will enter a random battlefield with a satchel bag perfectly located in the center of the field containing Moon Tears. This is not a typical field item bag, even though it is an item that is found in them, but is actually a finite treasure. Besides the bag location, you will know you have found the treasure because there will be a second satchel on the battlefield along with it. The point in finding them is rather moot, but for those that want every possible treasure in the game, it is important.
At the start of the fourth night, turn to the North Star and follow it for the next two nights. Near the end of the fourth night, or beginning of the fifth, you will enter another random battlefield with a second, centered Moon Tears treasure bag. These are the only two of its kind in the Desert. When you make camp following the fourth night, be sure to change your party members to prepare for a boss. You don't need much in terms of preparation, but Light Bangles or Balance Rings, from the Faerie Village, are recommended for accessories. Rei equipping the ice-based Heavy Dagger or giving Garr his Ice Halberd, also from the Faerie Village, are options. The Frost Strike skill set to Ryu can be very useful, also.
Near the end of the fifth night of walking, the party attempts to climb a sandy mound to reach a higher vantage point, only for it to come alive as the Manmo! This is a fairly simple battle, especially since you have the Kaiser form now, but don't get complacent. The worst of Manmo's offense is probably his frequent reprisals, so Ryu casting Shield before transforming, or using Protect with Momo, is not a bad idea. Counters aside, you frequently get free turns with Manmo performing Focus or Feign Swing, but the confusion-inducing Howling can present a problem without the recommended accessories. Late in the battle, it will begin casting Quake, also, which may require immediate healing afterward. For offense, start by stealing its Power Food, then decide between the complete Kaiser form (Infinity, Trance, Radiance) or Myrmidon (Force, Trance). If Ryu has Frost Strike, the complete Kaiser, who also has immunity to Howling, will do ungodly amounts of damage to the Manmo. Alternately, the Myrmidon can also innately perform Frost Strike to huge damage, but be prepared to use a Panacea if he becomes confused. If you want to be super-conservative, you can go with a Force, Ice, Shadow splice that opts for lower attack than the Myrmidon, but has access to Frost Strike and immunity to confusion. Any other ice-elemental attacks from your characters are bonuses, but a Shadowwalk delivered by Garr having the Ice Halberd is another, potentially, massive death blow to the creature!
After the battle, the demoralized group finds that Nina has become sick from the long journey in the intense heat. She can't be moved, but you're too far from help, also. Speak to Rei outside, then look for the rakda. Bite your lip and slash the innocent creature to procure the Rakda Meat, a one-of-a-kind item that recovers 100 HP, but more importantly, the nutritious meat can save Nina (It stays in your inventory). Before taking the meat to Nina, talk to Rei twice for a scene where he reminiscences about killing the Nue.
With Nina recovered, the party automatically finishes the journey and reaches the Oasis. A few days of rest passing, the Oasis chief, Fa'ah, doesn't know of any such location of God, but upon further questioning, he does point the party to a ancient city called Caer Xhan to the north. When back in control, visit the house nextdoor to Fa'ah's to take 800 zenny out of a chest of drawers next to the (pregnant?) lady. There's not much else to find in the Oasis but a basic item/accessory shop and an inn, however, a man inside the shop will give you cryptic hints to treasure he lost in the Desert of Death that we will be recovering soon! Before that though, climb the large hill near Fa'ah's home to reach the Desert world map.
Note: The Desert region random battlefields are identical to the Deserts of Death's with the same monster encounters and items. Much easier to hunt for Swallow Eyes and Moon Tears here without wallowing away in the Desert of Death!
With Garr in your party, save, then head northeast across the Desert to a ? location at the base of the massive, surrounding dunes. This area is home of the two hardest encounters in the game, the Berserkr and ArchMage, which we will be discussing a bit later, but for now, dash across the yard and into the building. Try to escape if you run into one of the boss creatures, but you'll usually find TankBots instead. Inside, you'll discover this is the Container Yard where you found the Radiance gene! A digital slap in the face when you discover that the entire Desert of Death would have been avoided if you could have jumped down from that crate! Anyway, put Garr in the lead of the party and have him push against the crate to destroy it and allow access to the ladder. You can now use the portal drive to return to other parts of the world to change masters or anything else you need before the game's finale. There's still the matter of the Desert of Death treasures, though...
Ready for treasure hunting in the Desert of Death? I'm sure not, but there are four hidden items to recover there, but only one cannot be found anywhere else and we'll start there. Enter the Desert from the Oasis-side. Turn back south to face the North Star and the Oasis, then rotate left four times toward the west and begin walking. At first, there will be nothing to guide you, so when you exit a battlefield or camp, you'll need to face the North Star again and rotate four times back west. Eventually, the Evening Star (Shining white) will emerge and you can use it for direction since west is one turn to its right; so the entire rest of the trip you will be walking just to the right of the Evening Star. Near the beginning of the seventh night, you'll enter a battlefield containing a chest (Can't miss it) with the Death Claws weapon for Peco. One-of-a-kind, it is Peco's second-best weapon and like the HiddenDagger, has a chance to instantly destroy an enemy. When you have it, camp and use the rakda and select to return to Factory to hunt the next items.
Note: Remember to refill your Water Jug after each venture! Also, while the trip for the items is incredibly tedious, I know, it is a great way to level your characters and stock up on Swallow Eyes and Moon Tears on the random battlefields.
Getting to the Speed Boots is an exact copy of the Death Claws trip, except we're starting from the Factory and heading east. Facing the North Star, turn right four times, then begin the journey eastward. For navigation, the fake North Star will be located for the entire trip at the far-left-edge of the screen if correctly positioned. On the seventh night, you'll encounter a battlefield with a corpse holding the Speed Boots. Return back to the Factory.
The next two items require a lot more precision, but can be gotten together in one trip if you follow along closely. Starting at the Factory, turn Ryu left twice from the North Star, then begin walking northwest (The shining Evening Star should be to your left, but will be moving away from you in the opposite direction, so you'll need to realign with the North Star after each battle/camp). Follow this for three nights, then on the fourth night, turn directly west (You should be in line with the Evening Star) and mid-way through the night you'll enter the battlefield with the Life Armor in its center.
After you acquire the Life Armor, finish the night by traveling north. On the following night, turn 3 to the right, which is one off from directly east (The fake North Star will stay on your left), and travel for two nights. Finally, on the third night, head north and you'll encounter the Royal Sword lying on the ground of a battlefield shortly thereafter. That's it! Having picked up the two Moon Tears, Death Claws, Speed Boots, Life Armor, and Royal Sword, there is absolutely no reason to ever return to the Desert of Death!
