Archades



The Imperial City of Archades (帝都アルケイディス Teito Arukeidisu) is the capital city of the Archadian Empire which rules over most of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII. The modern city of Archades is built on the poor, and the ruins of older cities. There are only two ways into the city of Archades. The most common way is via airship. This method is patrolled for trouble by the Archadian Judges. The second way is up through the Sochen Temple, into old Archades and across the bridge into Archades proper.

Archades
The city is divided in two levels: one consisting of the districts of Nilbasse, Trant, Mulberry, and Rienna and the upper level of Tsenoble. There are no poor within the city of Archades proper, all of the poor find themselves in Old Archades. Dr. Cid bases all of his research out of the Draklor Laboratories, found within the city in the Tsenoble area.

Archades residents tend to be rich and arrogant. Most people there are more interested in having a good reputation—usually of being well informed—than in money or riches. Well informed people in Archades can earn chops by giving information to other residents about a particular subject. The chops are then used as proof of someone's status, granting access to Tsenoble. Passage to and from Tsenoble can only be done if the traveler has chops to pay for the air cab. Certain areas in Tsenoble can only be acessed by those who possess a sandalwood chop.

Old Archades
Old Archades is where all of the poor and destitute from Archades wind up. It is run down and barely patrolled by the Judges. The Judges are more interested in keeping the poor in their place. The only way into Archades is with money, so all of the inhabitants dream of finding a way to earn enough to see them safely into Archades. Where chops are the most important trade item in Archades, information is the most important in old Archades. If there's one way to get ahead it is by finding out as much information as possible to make the way up into Archades through gaining fortune. Old Archades can be accessed via the ruins of the Sochen Palace.

Sochen Cave Palace


Sochen Cave Palace is an ancient palace overrun with undead, bats, imps and other nasty creatures. The only royalty currently residing within the temple are a family of Mandragoras led by the Onion Queen. These Mandragoras have caused problems for hunters in the Archadian wilderness. Several ancient and powerful creatures are locked away in the depths of the Sochen.

Draklor Laboratory


The Draklor Labs are the home point of Dr. Cid. He uses these facilities to create more and more powerful airships for the Archadian fleets. He also uses these facilities to create Manufacted Nethicite. The Laboratories are actually a series of rooms on multiple floors. Each floor has a garrison of Judges on it, as well as several smaller labs manned by Imperial scientists. The top floor houses Cid's personal open air lab.

Chop Collecting
In order to proceed in the storyline, the player needs to play the Information Exchange minigame in Archadia to earn Pine Chops. The story proceeds after 9 chops, but if the player collects all, the chops can be traded in for a Sandalwood Chop that grants entrance to Archades' Highgarden Terrace. Pine Chops are earned by connecting people with information in the various sections of Archades, by matching pairs of people.

Once the Tarot Reader and the Happy Novelist are matched in the Rienna area, the Tarot Reader will tell how many matches are left in each area.

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Molberry

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Rienna

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Trant

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Nilbasse

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Hunt Club Owner
The owner of the Hunt Club can be found on the Highgarden Terrace (can only be accessed with a Sandalwood Chop, see above). He'll reward the player with Zodiac Gems for killing Trophy Monsters.

Trivia

 * If the player arrives to Archades via the Gate Crystal, they can talk to the 'Prideful Boy' nearby who complaints about the party using teleports.

Shops
Note: The items available for purchase change throughout the game. These items may not all be available at the same time.

Vint's Armaments
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Armor Seller
You may wish to consult the List of Final Fantasy XII Armor article for more information on individual armor pieces.


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Weapons Seller
You may wish to consult the List of Final Fantasy XII Weapons article for more information on individual weapons.


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Charlotte's Magcikery
You may wish to consult the Magick article for more information on individual spells.


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Bulward's Technicks
You may wish to consult the Technick article fore more information on individual technicks.


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Granch's Requisites
You may wish to consult the List of Final Fantasy XII Items for more information on individual items.

Gallery
Archadis