Final Fantasy 12

The Barheim Sidequest

Your first task is to complete the Hunt: "Dalmasca's Desert Bloom." The Cactus Flower that you get from this Hunt is a necessary element. In addition to this you will also want to complete the Hunt: "Marauder in the Mines." Make sure not to sell the great Serpentskin. This can still be completed without it, but the rewards will not be as good.

It begins with Dantro who is located in the Dalmasca Estersand (at the camp). He's the one who gave you the Dalmasca's Desert Bloom quest. Make sure not to do this until after you have completed the Tomb of Raithwall. He'll tell you to head for the village on the south bank of the Nebra.

Take the east exit from here and begin heading very far north. About three screens or so north, just above the Banks of the Nebra. Dantro's wife is the villager standing in front of one of the houses. In return for the Cactus Flower you will get a Bundle of Needles.

Leave the village and then immediately come back in. There is now a group of people waiting by the dock at the north beach. Speak to the kid on the dock and agree to accompany the boy.

On the other side, go and speak with Ruksel. After learning about the Cactoids, it's time to set sail back across the river. Speak to Dantro's wife, then go around behind the house (make sure to use the Save Crystal here so you can teleport to it later.)

Examine the flower and a cactoid will pop out. Cross the river again and speak with the cactoids there. For returning their precious baby you are awarded 1000 Gil and a Pouch of Wyrmfire Shot.

Cross the river (again) and speak to Dantro's wife. She says that in order to subdue the pain she needs some Semclam Shells. Just walk along the beach and keep an eye out for anything sparkling. Examine it to get a shell. Get at least two of them and you should get a Golden Amulet as a reward for this quest. Take them to Dantro's wife.

She wants you to go speak with Dantro, so head back to his little encampment. Talk to Dantro and then examine the phial sitting atop the big pile of crates in the middle. With that in hand it's time to return to his wife in the village.

Now she wants some Valeblossom Dew which will be a little harder to obtain. Cross the river to the north side and leave the village through the west exit. Head north through this area to the Broken Sands. The enemies here are quite difficult, so you may just need to hold R2 and run (though in some cases you may actually find that more dangerous given the number of enemies you will pull).

When you enter the Broken Sands you will reach a fork in the main path. Take the left branch and go north. Around the (exact) middle of this area there is a rock, that when examine, can be knocked loose to connect the two paths. A few steps west of this rock, stand right against the south cliff overlooking the area below and you should be a prompt of something "glimmering." That is the Valeblossom Dew.

Bring the dew back to Dantro's wife and give it to her, along with the Great Serpentskin. Now you need to play the waiting game. I'm not quite sure what variables are involved in the passage of time (perhaps just time?) but I would still suggest you at least get a reasonable distance from the area while waiting. Head a couple maps in either direct and just fight stuff for a little while. Five or ten minutes should be more than enough.

Speak to the traveler around back and get the Barheim Key. You'll also get another item for your troubles. The sidequest is now complete. For those who are here for the sake of acquiring the Deathbringer sword, read on below the dashed line. For those who are here to find the Zalera Esper, proceed now to the Zalera heading in the "Optional Espers" section of the guide.

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Now, let's get that Deathbringer Sword. Just a quick note: I would highly recommend you bring a half decent stack of Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs with you. Trust me on this one, even if you think you're overleveled.

Take the south exit out of the village (after saving your game) and take the southeast passage out of the area (leading to the Murmuring Defile.

Use your map to see where to go in here. Head southwest at the start, then north from there. Keep going north until you find a Save Crystal. Set the battle mode to "Wait" and the battle speed to the absolute minimum, then turn off everyone's Gambits. Now make absolutely sure to save the game.

Return south to the previous area (Great Central Passage) and proceed directly west. When the rails fork in two directions, you want the west route (as opposed to northwest). Use your map.

Don't even try to fight anything in here, the enemies are simply too powerful. This is a run-in, run-out operation from here on. Here's what you do: run west past the first two turtle enemies. They won't follow for long if you're holding R2. Stay along the south edge.

Soon enough you'll see an enormous turtle. This is your cue to hug the north wall and go north to the railway tracks the first chance you get, hopefully avoiding this monster. It won't follow you onto the tracks even if it does get off an attack or two.

If your party is damaged, heal now. Just up ahead (west again, on the tracks) you will see two rocks on either side. Behind the rock on the right (north rock) there is a chest for a chest to spawn. There is also an enemy usually walking back and forth beside it.

Very often no chest will appear there. If it doesn't appear, press start, return to the title screen and try again. The vast majority of the time when it does appear, it will only contain Gil. If it contains Gil, press start, return to the title screen and try again.

The remainder of the times (being generous, I'd estimate one out of every 10 or 15 attempts) the chest will be fake! A mimic enemy will burst out. This is exactly what you want. Now comes the hard part.

All your Gambits should be off. You need to "kite" the mimic back to the entrance where you came into this area on the east side. For those unfamiliar with that terminology, this means you have to run back to the entrance, but slowly, so that the mimic keeps following. If you get too far ahead he will turn around.

This is difficult because of the insane damage enemies deal here. The Hi- Potions and Phoenix Downs I told you to bring will come in handy because they are instant use. You don't have time to cast magic, but you will definitely need to heal.

If the mimic stops chasing, have someone throw a Blizzard spell or something to pull it back to you. The mimic will chase you further than any other enemy will, so you don't need to worry about the entire room following you. All enemies EXCEPT for the mimic will eventually turn around.

Once you have managed to kite the mimic to the entrance, pull him right up to the "transition" line between "Special Op Sector 5" and the area east of it where you came from. Now leave Special Op Sector 5. When you go back in, the mimic will be right there waiting for you. Don't go back in yet.

Stand beside the transition line and heal everyone to max health. Now, turn on all their Gambits and create the following Gambit on all three characters: "Any foe: Steal." When you're ready, zone back to Special Op Sector 5 where the mimic is waiting and start stealing like mad. This is how you get the Deathbringer sword.

If your level is low, I suggest letting each of your characters try to steal once, then run back and heal. It will take longer, but it's safer. If you want to be quick, you can have them steal over and over again while someone heals them. It's faster, but dangerous. Should take about 10 - 20 tries to steal the sword.

Once you have the sword, run back and save! You can get as many of these as you want, but you have to repeat the whole quitting and reloading process to find a new mimic again. The swords do insane damage for this point in the game (1300 - 1500) and they also sell for something like 8000 Gil, so it's a potential moneymaker to boot.

If you managed to get through all this and get the sword, congratulations!