Pharos (Final Fantasy XII)



The Pharos at Ridorana is a location in the land of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII. It is located on a island atop the Ridorana Cataract.

Location
The Pharos at Ridorana is located in the far east of Ivalice, in the Jagd Naldoa region. Since it is located in Jagd territory, it is normally impossible to reach by airship, and the tides surrounding it make it impossible for normal ships to approach. Access can only be had via the Ridorana Cataract. The Pharos at Ridorana is an area of three ascents, that are filled with creatures.

The expansive tower consists of three upper and three lower levels where various puzzles and challenges need to be completed before access to the next level is granted.

Treasures
The map urn for the Second Ascent is in the Northwestern-most corner of the Station of Suffering zone. The map urn for the Third Ascent is in the 1st Flight zone. It is next to the door you get transported to after incorrectly choosing the glyphs twice.

The Pharos doesn't have too many treasures, but the few treasures it does have, are usually good items. With the Diamond Armlet equipped, usually the item treasures are either Knot of Rust (common) or Elixir.

In the first floor there is a treasure in each western corner of the map. The northern treasures can be a White Mask and Crystal Shield, and the southern treasures can be Gold Hairpin and Giant's Helm.

In the areas above the player must build bridges by killing Brainpans. Afterward they can kill Deidars to build red blocks to build additional bridges to lead to treasures. Holy Rod can be found in the northwest of a map behind a red bridge. Behind the last red bridge the player may find two treasures. The other is a Dueling Mask no matter what, but the other one is Zeus Mace without the Diamond Armlet and Muramasa with Diamond Armlet equipped.

In the first map of the Third Ascent, the player can open a fool's façade in the southeast to find Rubber Suit and Dragon Whisker. In the north and middle of the first map of the Third Ascent, also behind a fool's façade, there is a treasure that is a Circlet without the Diamond Armlet, but has a 90% chance of being the Ring of Renewal with the Diamond Armlet equipped.

The treasure in the northeast of the first map, in the corner of a large off-the-map hidden area, is always an Elixir if it is an item, but contains 9,999 gil with the Diamond Armlet as opposed to only 999 gil without it.

First Ascent: Hall of First Light
Outside the Pharos, the player simply has to face Hydro to gain access to the entrance. Upon entering, the player enters the Wellspring on the first floor (the floor is indicated by a number below the map), which is surrounded by an area called the Wellspring Labyrinth. Inside the Labyrinth are Mistmares, which often drop Black Orbs as loot.

Claiming three of these these orbs and using them on the Altars of Night, which are Way Stone-like devices in the Wellspring, will open up a door at the back of the Wellspring Labyrinth on the second floor; opening it will result in a battle against Pandaemonium. Its defeat activates the Waystone in the entry hall of the Wellspring, which leads to the tenth floor.

In this area, the player must kill Brainpans, which creates green bridges to the next area. Deidars, which look similar to Brainpans but are red, damage green bridges upon their death, and create red bridges to secret items. Upon reaching the fiftieth floor, this cycle will end, and the player will again face a boss, Slyt. Past Slyt is a Way Stone leading to the Second Ascent.

Second Ascent: Reach of Diamond Law
On the fifty-first floor are four Altars: the Altar of Knowledge, which prevents the characters from using the on-screen map, the Altar of Steel, which prevents the characters from using physical attacks, the Altar of Wealth, which prevents the characters from using items, and the Altar of Magick, which prevents the casting of magick. Regardless of the player's choice, selecting an Altar will create a pathway; the four pathways are identical labyrinths up stairs from the sixty-first floor, where the labyrinth starts, to the sixty-fourth floor.

Along the way, there are several Fool's Facades hiding items. On the sixty-fifth floor, the party faces Fenrir, and then proceeds to the sixty-sixth floor, where they can recover their items, attacks, magick, or map, and also ride an elevator to the sixty-seventh floor, which has a Way Stone leading to the Third Ascent.

Third Ascent: Mete of Destiny
In the final ascent, the party must enter different Way Stones; the wrong Way Stone will return the party to the entrance, or, worse, force them to fight against a massive undead army before returning to the entrance. The first three correct Way Stones are: black, green, red; and for the fourth, it depends on which Altar was used in the Second Ascent. The Altar of Wealth requires the use of a yellow Way Stone; Steel is green; Knowledge is purple; and Magick is red.

The final can only be passed by means of a Fool's Facade; though the others can be skipped using Fool's Facades as well. In the sixth area, the party must take a Way Stone to the top and face Hashmal, Bringer of Order. After this, they can enter a lift to the ninety-first floor, and ascend the final few floors to find the Sun-Cryst and encounter Judge Gabranth, Doctor Cid, and Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud.

History
The Pharos at Ridorana was built by the Occuria to house the power of all nethicite, the Occuria's creation, the Sun-Cryst. The Occuria gave the Sword of Kings to King Raithwall and told him to go to the Pharos and cut shards off the Cryst. During his visit, Raithwall engraved a message to the tower's entrance, warning all the future 'Dynast Kings' of the three guardians the Occuria had placed to guard the tower.

Reaching Pharos
Seven centuries later Princess Ashe is chosen as the new Dynast King and given the Treaty Blade so she, too, could go the Pharos and cut shards off the Sun-Cryst.

The 'tower of the distant shore' is known, but no human has set his foot on the land after Raithwall, as the Ridorana Cataract the Pharos is located on is situated by a waterfall making access by sea impossible. The Pharos is also located on the jagd, forbidding travel by air - until skystones that can travel on jagd were invented by the Draklor Laboratory in Archades. Reddas, who accompanies Ashe and the party to the Pharos, has stolen such skystones from the labs, and so the party can reach the Pharos.

The Sun-Cryst
The party make their way to the top of the Pharos where they find the Sun-Cryst. Ashe intends to go against the Occuria's wishes and destroy the Sun-Cryst with the blade, but is met by a ghostly vision of her dead husband Lord Rasler, who urges Ashe to follow the Occuria's wishes to destroy the Empire. Ashe is shocked, and yells out she can't follow through with the plan, and is interrupted by Judge Gabranth. He urges Ashe to use the power she has to destroy the Empire that has stolen everything from her, and announces himself as the murderer of Ashe's father King Raminas.

Reddas rushes to block Gabranth's attack and reveals himself to be Judge Zecht who destroyed Nabudis with the Midlight Shard two years previously under Dr. Cid's orders. He wishes such power would never be wielded again.

Ashe realizes the Rasler she used to know would never ask her to mindlessly destroy the Empire, and that the ghostly vision is nothing but the Occuria's mind-games. With the Treaty Blade she strikes the ghostly vision. Having been revealed as nothing but an Occurian vision the ghost speaks with an Occurian voice and urges Ashe to follow her path as the next Dynast King, but Ashe yells out she is no false saint for them to use. She decides to destroy the Sun-Cryst.

Gabranth, embittered by the Princess's choice, strikes the party, but is defeated.

Dr. Cid enters the picture and dismisses Gabranth telling him he is no longer any use for the Empire. Enraged, Gabranth tries to strike Cid down, but is blocked by Venat. Cid takes out the shards of deifacted nethicite he had in his possession and integrates them back into the Sun-Cryst, which starts to exude powerful mist. The party then fight Cid and defeat him.

After Cid dies he turns into mist that is absorbed into the Sun-Cryst. The reaction is becoming ever the more violent and the Sun-Cryst is about to burst. Vaan and Ashe try to destroy the Cryst together with the Occurian swords, but Reddas stops them, grabs the Sword of Kings from Ashe, launches at the Sun-Cryst, destroying it, sacrificing himself in the process.

The Sun-Cryst explodes, destroying the upper levels of the Pharos, while the rest of the party escape on the Strahl.

First Ascent

 * They Who Thirst Not
 * The Wellspring
 * Wellspring Labyrinth
 * Blackrock Vault
 * Wellspring Ravel - 1st Flight
 * Wellspring Ravel - 2nd Flight
 * Wellspring Ravel – 3rd Flight
 * Wellspring Ravel - 4th Flight
 * Horizon's Break
 * Horizon's Cusp

Second Ascent
The Reach
 * Station of Banishment
 * Station of Suffering
 * Station of Ascension
 * Reach of the Damned
 * The Bounds of Truth
 * Reach of the Occult

Third Ascent

 * Spire Ravel - 1st Flight
 * Spire Ravel - 2nd Flight
 * Empyrean Ravel

Monsters

 * Abaddon
 * Bune
 * Crusader
 * Dragon Lich
 * Brainpan
 * Deidar
 * Mimeo
 * Undin Entite
 * Chimera Brain
 * Reaver
 * Aeronite
 * Cataract Aevis
 * Purobolos
 * Mistmare
 * Avenger (Rare)
 * Vishno (Rare)
 * Tower (Rare)
 * Hydro (Boss)
 * Pandaemonium (Boss)
 * Slyt (Boss)
 * Fenrir (Boss)
 * Phoenix (Optional Boss)
 * Hashmal (Esper)
 * Judge Gabranth (Boss)
 * Dr. Cid (Boss)
 * Famfrit (Esper)

Subterra
Subterra is the underground area of the Pharos which is available to explore after the upper levels have been completed. Subterra is divided to four levels, they are: Penumbra, Umbra, Abyssal, and Unknown.

Musical Themes
"Ashe's Theme" plays when reaching the Pharos at Ridorana as well as being the location theme for the Subterra. "The Beginning of the End" is the music for the First Ascent, "To the Peak"  for the Second Ascent and "Clash of Swords"  plays at the Third Ascent at the Pharos at Ridorana.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
The Pharos at Ridorana appears during the BMS for either "Clash of Swords" or "Esper Battle", a dual reference to the Third Ascent and the battle with Hashmal.

Etymology
The Pharos is named for the, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse was a massive tower built at Alexandria, Egypt, to guide sailors to port at night.