Great Crystal (Final Fantasy XII)

The Great Crystal, is a location in the land of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII. It is a large crystal located in the deepest reaches of the Ancient City of Giruvegan. The player won't get a true map of the area, but a sketch of the outside of the crystal, and an indication showing an approximation of where they are from the outside (near the bottom, as opposed to near the top).

The core of the crystal is a great orb of magicite, constantly spewing Mist. Though the party speculates that it might be nethicite, its exact nature is unclear.

While its purpose is never revealed, it may be assumed the Great Crystal is the Occuria's deposit of nethicite, or perhaps the source of magicite and Mist. Whatever the case, it acts as a deadly gateway to the Occurian dwelling, filled with powerful monsters and a twisting maze. Also sealed within are the fearsome prisoners, the Espers, Ultima and Shemhazai.

Story
Princess Ashe and her comrades come to Great Crystal in their hunt for Dr. Cid who claimed he is taking the Empire's pieces of deifacted nethicite with him to Giruvegan. As the party arrives on the gates of the ancient city they see Cid nowhere in sight, and prompted by an apparition of her late husband, Lord Rasler, Ashe ventures deeper into the ruins where the party finds Great Crystal at its core.

Inside the crystal the party comes across a final Way Stone that takes Ashe to the domain of the Occuria where she speaks with Gerun, the spokesperson of the Occuria, and notes the throne of Venat is empty. Gerun claims Venat is a heretic and has given the secrets of nethicite to the hands of the Empire.

To undo the harm Venat has inflicted on the Occuria's goal, Gerun entrusts Ashe with the Treaty Blade and instructs her to find her way to the Sun-Cryst to cut a piece of deifacted nethicite with it and use it to lay waste onto the Empire. Ashe hesitates, but upon seeing the apparition of Rasler clutching the blade she follows suit, and is transported back to the Great Crystal where she is greeted by her friends, who, although not able to see the Occuria, heard their voice. Ashe takes the Treaty Blade and decides to look for the Sun-Cryst.

Location
Not actually located on the World Map, the Great Crystal is found in the Ancient City of Giruvegan. The player has to walk down to the deepest reaches of the Gate of Fire and find a waystone, which grants access to the area. The Great Crystal links the Gate of Fire at Giruvegan with the floating Gate of Wind and is the only way the Occuria and Shemhazai can be accessed.

Navigation
The Great Crystal is difficult to navigate due to the game not providing a full map. The player may use the unique naming system for the crystal's areas (see below) to navigate the crystal. There is also a full map in the gallery at the bottom of this page.

The Great Crystal is divided in two halves: the part that is part of the storyline and is rather straightforward, and the optional part that opens up only after the story in the place has been completed.

Complicating navigation are the zodiac gates that block some of the paths between areas. Each gate has a stone that deactivates it, indicated by the shared name (e.g. the Pisces Gate Stone deactivates Gate Pisces). In the storyline area, they behave much like those in Giruvegan - Once activated the corresponding gate is removed. However, in the optional area, each stone can open one of two gates (e.g. the Leo Gate Stone can open either Gate Leo I or Gate Leo II).

Crucially, only one of the pair can be open at any one time. When the stone is activated, both gates are closed and a countdown timer activates. The player has to reach whichever gate requires opening, and activate it within the time limit to remove the gate. The time varies between stones, and is sufficient to reach either gate if the player goes directly there without engaging in too much combat. The state of the gates is retained for future visits.

Treasures
The storyline area has three treasures. They always spawn, will never respawn, and never contain gil. The first treasure is in the Kabonii Jilaam Pratii'vaa area, right the next area from the Waystone VIII where the player starts. Without the Diamond Armlet the treasure is either Elixir or Black Mask. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is 90% Black Mask, 10% Knot of Rust.

The next treasure is past Waystone VI. The player will find it if they take the middle path from the Waystone VI, to an area called Bhrum Pis Avaa. Without the Diamond Armlet it is either Knot of Rust or White Robes. With the Diamond Armlet it is always a Knot of Rust.

The final treasure of the mandatory section of the Great Crystal is past Waystone IV, in the area right before the Aries switch, called Trahk Jilaam Praa'dii. Without the Diamond Armlet the treasure is either Knot of Rust or Holy Lance. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is always Knot of Rust.

The treasures of the optional part of the Crystal are labeled in the map below (in the gallery).

The treasures are:
 * 1) Zodiac Escutcheon or Brave Suit when Diamond Armlet is not equipped. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is always the Zodiac Escutcheon. The treasure has 20% spawn rate and will never respawn once claimed.
 * 2) 2 gil or Knot of Rust or Stoneblade without the Diamond Armlet. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is 5000 gil or Knot of Rust (common) or Glimmering Robes (rare). The treasure has 80% chance of being gil.
 * 3) 2 gil or Knot of Rust or Maximillian without the Diamond Armlet. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is 5000 gil or Knot of Rust (common) or Demon Shield (rare). The treasure is 85% gil.
 * 4) 2 gil or Knot of Rust or Mirage Vest without the Diamond Armlet. With the Diamond Armlet the treasure is 5000 gil or Knot of Rust (common) or Gungnir (rare). The treasure is 75% gil.
 * 5) This area actually has two treasures. The other has only 20% chance to spawn, but it is always the Excalibur. After being claimed the treasure will never respawn. The other treasure is either 2 gil or Knot of Rust or Sage's Ring without the Diamond Armlet, and 5000 gil or Knot of Rust (common) or Renewing Morion (rare) with the Diamond Armlet equipped. The treasure is 80% gil.
 * 6) 2 gil or Knot of Rust or Power Armlet without the Diamond Armlet, or 5000 gil or Knot of Rust (common) or Golden Skullcap (rare) with the Diamond Armlet equipped. The treasure is 70% gil.

Location Names
The map of the Great Crystal hides the player's location to add to the mystery of the area. The names of the area of the Great Crystal may sound like it came from out of a Sanskrit dictionary, but it is actually contractions and bastardization of English words and some scientific terms, which help to indicate location:

Monsters

 * Ose
 * Reaper
 * Mythril Golem
 * Mom Bomb
 * Necrophobe
 * Shadonir
 * Ash Wyrm
 * Forbidden
 * Skulwyrm
 * Giruveganus
 * Evil Spirit (Rare)
 * Larva Eater (Rare)
 * Crystal Knight (Rare)
 * Omega Mark XII (Superboss)
 * Ultima (Hidden Esper)

Music
The theme of Great Crystal is called "To the Place of the Gods". A piano arrangement of the theme is included on the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy XII album.

Trivia

 * The Great Crystal is one of two locations in Final Fantasy XII that have a location sketch instead of a map. The other one is the Sky Fortress Bahamut.