Cerobi Steppe

The Cerobi Steppe is a location in the land of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII. It is flat wilderland that needs to be crossed to reach the Balfonheim Port by land. The Wyrm Philosopher is located here by one of the windmills, and he is a key element in fighting Hell Wyrm.

Cerobi Steppe is normally accessible after the events in Draklor Laboratory, but it is actually possible to enter Cerobi Steppe before going to Archades, by taking a chocobo from Phon Coast and riding it over Tchita Uplands all the way east to the The Shaded Path. The player must talk to the "Game Hunter" standing near the debris, then ascend the debris to enter Cerobi Steppe. However, the Balfonheim Port will be blocked by the Sky Watch, so entrance is impossible.

Locations
The Cerobi Steppe is located between the Tchita Uplands and Balfonheim Port.


 * South Liavell Hills (to Balfonheim Port)
 * North Liavell Hills
 * The Terraced Bank
 * Journey's Rest
 * Crossfield
 * Old Elanise Road (to the Tchita Uplands)
 * Feddik River
 * The Northsward

Weather
Cerobi Steppe has three weather conditions:
 * Sunny
 * Cloudy
 * Rain

The weather changes when zoning between the areas within the Steppe. During rain, Fire attacks deal half damage and Lightning damage is boosted.

The Undin Entite can be found during rain in North Liavell Hills and The Terraced Bank areas.

Treasures
Cerobi Steppe is littered in treasures that have a small chance of containing a special rare item when the Diamond Armlet is equipped. The treasures spawn 50% of the time. When Diamond Armlet is equipped the treasures contain 3,000 gil 50% of the time, and if the treasure does not contain gil, it will either contain a Knot of Rust, or a rare item.

The chance of obtaining the rare item is only 10% when the treasure is set to contain items rather than gil, meaning the actual chance to obtain the rare item is small. It is possible to exploit the so-called RNG Method, which lets the player obtain the rare item 100% of the time by exploiting the game console's predictable "random number generator".

It is also possible to farm Hi-Ethers at the Feddik River area. All of the 10 chests in the area spawn 50% of the time, with 50% chance of containing items, one such being a Leather Gorget, and, 50% to give a Hi-Ether if the treasure is items, without equipping the Diamond Armlet.

In the Zodiac versions, there is a chest in Cerobi Steppe that contains the spell Cleanse.

South Liavell Hills

 * Zodiac
 *  - Chest does not respawn.
 * FFXII

North Liavell Hills

 * Zodiac
 * FFXII

The Terraced Bank

 * Zodiac
 *  - Chest does not respawn.
 * FFXII

Feddik River

 * Zodiac
 * FFXII

The Northsward

 * Zodiac
 * FFXII

Crossfield

 * Zodiac
 * FFXII

Old Elanise Road

 * Zodiac
 *  - Chest does not respawn.
 * FFXII

Hunts
The Vyraal is a Rank V Mark whose hunt can be undertaken after the events in Draklor Laboratory are complete. The Vyraal can be found in The Northsward area and enemies will be cleared out when the player enters it. The hunt is petitioned by the Viera Wayfarer in the Whitecap pub in Balfonheim. The player will also receive the Viera Rucksack after the battle, which the Viera Wayfarer will take back when the hunt is reported. She lets the player keep the Dragon Scale, item part of the Wyrm Philosopher quest (see below).

Rare Game
The player must have spoken to the "Huntmaster" in Phon Coast and defeated Thalassinon and spoken to one of the three bangaa outfitters, which will trigger the start of the Rare Game quest. Aspidochelon then has a 40% chance of spawning among the Adamantitans in the Feddik River (three-way split area) area of the Cerobi Steppe.

The best idea is to steal Scarletite from it, then leave the area without killing it, as once killed, Aspidochelon will never respawn. That way the player can get more than one Scarletite from the rare game. Scarletite is an essential Loot item in the making of the Tournesol.

Once the player has hunted and vanquished all the foes in the Northsward area, Etherian will drop from the sky to the spot where the last foe is killed. It spawns no matter what the present weather conditions are.

To find the Bluesang the player must have spoken to the "Huntmaster" in Phon Coast and defeated Thalassinon] Bluesang then has a 40% chance of appearing in the Crossfield area between the windmills. If the player is trying to get the Tournesol, the Bluesang is one of the earlier and easier sources of one required Bazaar ingredient, Gemsteel. The player can acquire the Damascus Steel by stealing the item once, exiting two areas and repeating the process, until six Damascus Steel are obtained. Being a Trophy Rare Game, the Bluesang does not reappear after being killed.

Windmills
There are ten windmills scattered around the area. After having fixed the gate leading to Phon Coast, the moogles of the Craftsmen's Guild can be found in the windmills. During the fishing minigame/sidequest, the player gets a hint to stop certain windmills to get an item and a hint for the Matamune Fishing rod quest. The windmills that must turned on are: No.1, No.2, No.5, No.7 and No.9.

Wyrm Philosopher
The Wyrm Philosopher can be found in Windmill #10 in the Northsward zone of the Steppe after slaying the Mark Vyraal, and getting the Dragon Scale reward from the viera. After giving the Dragon Scale to Wyrm Philosopher he will reward the party with the Age Worn Key, a key that opens the Hall of Wroth God in Sochen Cave Palace, leading to Hell Wyrm.

Enemies

 * Bandercoeurl
 * Shield Wyrm
 * Adamantitan
 * Charybterix
 * Bellwyvern
 * Silver Lobo
 * Bangaa Thief
 * Seeq Explorer (Passive)
 * Undin Entite (Rain only)
 * Vyraal (Mark)
 * Aspidochelon (Rare)
 * Etherian (Rare)
 * Bluesang (Rare)

Musical themes
The theme that plays on Cerobi Steppe is simply called "The Cerobi Steppe". The composer of the game's soundtrack has named this theme as his favorite. This theme returns in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings as the theme for exploring Lemurés' overworld.

In the Zodiac Job System version, the Nam-Yensa Sandsea also uses the "Cerobi Steppe" theme.

Map
The map can be bought in Sea Breeze Lane for 4,100 gil.



Trivia

 * If the player finds the Seitengrat, a new ultimate secret bow added to the Zodiac versions, an arrow will appear in the Cerobi Steppe suspended a few feet in the air. It is found in the Old Elanise Road.
 * The area where Slyt is fought in Pharos seems to be the rock circle in the pond situated in the middle of Cerobi Steppe. This landmark can be viewed from the Crossfield, Feddik River, North Liavell Hills, Terraced Bank, and Journey's Rest zones.

Cerobi-Steppe