8. Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age Rabanastre & Rogue Tomato Hunt

Garamsythe Waterway, Rabanastre and the Dalmasca Estersand

Garamsythe Waterway

Enemies:

• Dire Rats

This is the start of the main game. You'll be playing as Rek's brother Vaan. He's the main protagonist of the game. You'll start off having to kill three Dire Rats scattered around the area. The mini-map in the top right will show them (if they're close enough) as large red dots. Remember you can overlay the area's map with .

You'll have a Technick that is recommended you start using straight away. This is Steal. To use Steal, press , and on the D-Pad, scroll down to Magick and Technicks and press . Then scroll down to Technicks, press and select Steal. Press to select it, and then pick an enemy (if multiple, use the D-Pad to scoll through the list) and then press to confirm. 

The items you have a chance of stealing from the Dire Rats are:

• Rat Pelts
• Fire Stones
• Potions

After the Dire Rats are dead, you'll have a couple of cutscenes to watch. (If you want to skip them, press [cn_Start] and then ).

Rabanastre

East End

During the cutscenes, you'll be introduced to Penelo in Rabanstre's East End. You'll be informed that Migelo needs Vaan to help with some Errands. 

You'll then gain access to the Equip submenu, in the menu. This can be used to modify a character's equipped Weapon, Armor, and Accessory. There's also the Optimize option, which can be helpful in most situations. It will show which equipment is considered the "best" to equip for a character. Pressing while on this command will then equip the items. Be warned though, there are some cases where the "best" items are not optimal for your current situation. 

Vaan's current equipment is: 

• Weapon: Dagger
• Helmet: Leather Cap
• Armor: Leather Clothing
• Accessory: None

You'll also have access to the World Map,  which lets you view places that you have previously visited. The picture below is of the full World Map in the game. To begin with, you won't see all of the locations, they'll be added when it comes to visiting that location. 

At the bottom of the area map, there will be a note indicating where you need to head to, to proceed in the game. It'll state "What could Migelo want? Better go see him at his shop.". Head to Migelo's shop, as even though Rabanstre is explorable, there's not much you can do right now.

Migelo will talk to Vaan, and then tell you to head over to The Sandsea (Rabanastre's Tavern) to retrieve Kytes. The Sandsea is at the north end of East End. It's indicated by a bottle and drink on the map. Enter The Sandsea for a cutscene. Tomaj will explain the concepts behind Hunts and the Notice Board, the Clan Primer, and the License Board. 

Notice Board

The Notice Board is where people will post Hunt Bills. The bill you'll pick up has Tomaj as a petitioner, and the Mark you need to kill is the Rogue Tomato. You'll be informed that you need to speak with the petitioner to initiate the Hunt. You'll then return to the Petitioner after the Hunt to claim your reward. 

Clan Primer

The Clan Primer is by far the best place to find the information you'll need for Hunts. Every bill you pick up from a Notice Board will be shown in the Hunts section. 

The Bestiary contains a list of every enemy you have killed. 

The Sky Pirate's Den keeps track of major milestones you've completed. The in-game achievements that are shown here correspond to Xbox achievements. 

The Traveler's Tips section provides you with useful information about how to continue through the story. It's probably the only section you won't need to look at during the game. 

License Board

There are 12 License Boards in the game, one for each Job Class. To complete a License Board, you need to earn LP, which is done by killing enemies. Each tile on a License Board will cost a set amount of LP. From the menu, you'll be able to see how many LP each character has. All characters earn LP upon the killing of an enemy. 

The last thing that Tomaj will do is give Vaan a Writ of Transit This allows you to leave Rabanastre by any of the three City Gates. Follow the additional instructions from Tomaj, and then equip the Orrachea Armlet he gave you. 

Optional Task

Now head to the Southern Plaza. You'll want to talk to the Desert Merchant that's speaking to the Imperial Guard near the fountain. Agree to take the item to the Desert Merchant's friend, who is outside the gate. You'll be given a Small Package. Giving the package to the Bangaa (next to the Save Crystal in Eastgate) will not give you a reward, or you can sell the package at a shop for 150 Gil. What you decide to do will not impact the game.

Head to the Eastgate and use the Save Crystal here, and then head out into the Dalmasca Estersand for the next part of the story. 

Dalmasca Estersand

Important Enemies

• Rogue Tomato (Hunt Mark/Boss)

This is the first area where you'll encounter enemies. They'll appear as red dots on your minimap if they're within the area displayed. There are a number of treasure chests here, they'll appear in random locations, and many of them offer random rewards (ones that don't will be explicitly mentioned). You can spend time hunting for them, but it's not necessarily a good use of your time.

Take the time to get Vaan some experience to level him up and get some License Points. Depending on what Job you selected for Vaan, use the points for useful things. 

To find the Rogue Tomato, you can use the Hunts section of the Clan Primer. Opening up the bill and pressing will display a map. Depending on how far through the bill you are, this will either be the Petitioner's location, or the Mark location. 

You'll find the Rogue Tomato on the ledge near the entrance to the Estersand. Kill any wolves nearby so you don't become overwhelmed in this fight. 

Hunt 01: Red and Rotten in the Desert (Rogue Tomato - Rank I)

You'll unlock this achievement upon killing the Rogue Tomato:

• Galbana Bloom

  Defeated your first mark.

  
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Vaan will then take the Galbana Lillies in a quick cutscene. If you wish, you can stay in this area of the Estersand and level up some more. Otherwise, return to Rabanastre. 

Rabanastre

Save at the Save Crystal. You'll find that the gates into Rabanastre have been locked. Go and speak to Kytes, who's standing in the crowd by the gate. After a cutscene, Migelo will appear and you'll be able to roam about Rabanastre again. 

After a cutscene, the game will pick up in Rabanastre's North End. Go back to the Sandsea and speak to Tomaj to complete your first Hunt. He'll be standing in front of the bar. You'll be rewarded with: 

• 300 Gil
• Potion x2
• Teleport Stone

Check the Notice Board, and read Bill No.1. This will start Hunt 02. The petitioner, Gatsly, is in the Sandsea, sitting to the right of the Notice Board. Speak to Gatsly to start the hunt, but we'll save completing this for further into the game when it'll be easier.

Now you can head to Yugri's Magicks to purchase a couple of spells. To find where this shop is, press  to view the map. The Magicks shop has a purple pin icon. 

In here, you can sell some of the loot you obtained in the Estersand, such as Earth Stones, Wind Stones, and Wolf Pelts. Do not sell the Teleport Stone, they are incredibly useful items. Purchase, at a minimum, Cure Magick. If you can afford it, purchase any of these three: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder.

You may want to consider heading to Batahn's Technicks, and purchase the Libra Technick, if you can afford it. 

Starting out, Gil is quite hard to come by, so don't waste money just yet on new weapons and armor. 

Travel to the North End, and speak with the Conspicuous Bangaa, who's on the west side of the area. This Bangaa will permit you entrance into the Clan Hall. Speak to the Moogle, Montblanc, who's standing on the railing at the top of the stairs. He'll offer you the opportunity to join the Clan. There's more information about Clan Centurio on the Clan page. 

Becoming a member will allow you to purchase items from the Clan Provisioner in the Muthru Bazar. Montblanc will give you rewards for each Clan Rank you achieve. So speak to Montblanc until he gives you Potion x3. 

Another thing you may wish to do is to speak to the Cartographer's Guild Moogle, that's in the South Plaza. This Moogle will offer you the chance to purchase maps for:

• Dalmasca Westersand
• Dalmasca Estersand 
• Giza Plains

For 30 Gil, it's worth buying the Giza Plains map.

Now it's time to head to Lowtown. There are a few stairs in Rabanastre that will get you into Lowtown. 

Lowtown

Head of Old Dalan's Place in Lowtown's South Sprawl, and head inside. Old Dalan will help Vaan gain entry into the Royal Palace by using a secret passageway, using a Magick Stone, otherwise known as a Cresent Stone. You'll need to head to the Giza Plains and perform a couple of tasks in order to get a Cresent Stone. 

So head out of Old Dalan's Place, and over to Rabanastre's South Gate. There's an Orange Save Crystal here, so save your game. (Orange Save Crystals can be used to teleport your party to another Orange Save Crystal using Teleport Stones!)

Then head into the Giza Plains.