Fans of Final Fantasy who want a game that meets just at the edge of classic turn-based combat and real-time action should definitely look at Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age for a breath of fresh air. While definitely not as seamless as modern releases, The Zodiac Age definitely stands on its own as a solid entry, with equally a unique setting and engaging-enough gameplay to keep players glued to their screen for hours.
With The Zodiac Age getting its own Nintendo Switch entry, Final Fantasy fans who want to explore the game once more might want to engage the story much faster than usual. And thankfully, the game does allow players to level up much faster than intended, provided they know exactly where to start.
9 Speed Mode Makes Everything Flow Faster
In The Zodiac Age, players finally have a way of making things work much faster than the base game. By pressing L1, players can increase the speed of the game up to 4X, making everything much faster - including traveling and leveling up.
This mode is extremely convenient when combined with other time-based elements, such as Mana recovery via walking around. Considering that Speed Modes make everything much faster, even combat becomes more seamless and much more bearable, giving players more time in the real world to plot out their farming routes.
8 Gil Is Good For Investment
While it’s nice to see characters all leveled up, higher stats don’t mean anything if players don’t have the best gear for their beloved crew. To do this, players need to keep an eye on how to make money as early as possible. Once they access Gambits, players should activate “Foe: HP = 100% Steal” as a gambit when farming, which should encourage everyone to try and steal something from opponents as often as possible in combat.
Likewise, players who can access the Feywood can use an exploit to get more Gil. They should go to the zone that is just west of the Save Crystal to meet Mirrorknights. Players should chain them continuously and try not to break the chain, and at the same time avoid the northern area. Once done, players should head back to the area with the save crystal, and then head two zones north from there. Players shouldn’t attack enemies, so their chain doesn’t break. Once this is done, players should head back to the Mirrorknight zone and there should be more Mirrorknights for players to fight. Chaining around 90 to 100 Mirrorknights should score players enough items to earn 200,000 Gil, with the process taking around 20 to 30 minutes.
7 Guests Go To Trial Mode For Easy Farming
Players can meet a lot of new characters they don’t get to keep in their party, serving as Guest Characters for their respective parts of the story. Thing is, Guest Characters are almost always much more powerful compared to the main cast of characters, giving players that much-needed boost to clear difficult areas. However, players should maximize the presence of these Guest Characters to farm worthwhile places, such as Trial Mode.
For instance, getting Vossler in the Tomb of Raithwall is a great opportunity to capitalize on his sheer strength in combat during Trial Mode. WIth the right party, players can use Vossler to clear multiple Stages and just savor the leveling carry. This can prove extremely helpful during the latter parts of the story, which can prove quite tricky to pull off with an ordinary playthrough.
6 Quick Leveling Areas For Levels 1 to 20
Players can actually find a lot of areas in Rabanastre during the early game to level up quickly. In order to do this, players may want to consider having protagonist Vaan go to these zones and areas on particular level gaps to level up much faster:
- Dalmasca Westersand/Corridor of Sand (Levels 1 to 25): Vaan alone can chain Dustia in Dalmasca Westersand or Corridor of Sand and clear 1,000+ Experience during a few runs. Killing around 99 Dustia, which lasts for about 45 minutes, should clear Vaan through Levels 1 to 25.
- Dalmasca Estersand/Giza Plains (Levels 1 to 5): Killing Hyenas in Giza Plains and Wolves in Dalmasca Estersand should get Vaan from Level 1 to 5 quickly.
- Barheim Passage (Levels 5 to 10): Killing Skeletons inside Barheim passage while letting the lights go out can easily help Vaan go through Levels 5 to 10.
- Lhusu Mines/Shunia Twinspan (Levels 10 to 20): Players can get from Levels 10 to 20 by killing Skull Defenders and Skeletons in Lhusu Mines or Shunia Twinspan.
- Ogir-Yensa Sandsea/Nam-Yensa Sandsea/Tomb of Raithwall (Levels 13 to 26): Regularly killing foes in Ogir-Yensa Sandsea, Nam-Yensa Sandsea, and Tomb of Raithwall should easily get players from Levels 13 to 26. Players should remember to kill religiously, though.
5 Quick Leveling Areas For Levels 20 to 30
Players may also find faster ways to level through Levels 20 to 30 by going to specific areas, and even returning to some zones near the beginning city of Rabanastre. With the right pacing, players can get Vaan and his pals from Levels 20 to 30 quickly when entering these zones:
- Giza Plains/Starfall Field (Levels 20 to 30): Players should consider killing Werewolves in these areas, and then going east two zones before coming back and seeing them respawn.
- Henne Mines/Pithead Junction B (Levels 20 to 30): Players can chain Jellies in Henne Mines and Pithead Junction B, but remember that they can only do so when pressing the switch. By the time the Jellies disappear, players just need to go to two zones and then return to the area for them to respawn.
- Necrohol of Nabudis (Levels 25 to 33): Players can go to Necrohol of Nabudis to kill approximately 250 Elvoret and Baknamy foes, which should help them progress from Level 25 to 33 fairly quickly. This would take around 4 to 5 hours, though, which can become a drag - but much faster than conventional leveling.
4 Quick Leveling Areas For Levels 30 to 40
By the time players are about to get to the halfway point (Level 50), the leveling process will end up consisting of a lot of proccing respawns and a few hours to get consistent EXP flowing for the entire party. To pull this off, players may want to focus on the following areas:
- Stilshrine of Miriam/Ward of Velitation (Levels 30 to 35): Players can score Levels 30 to 35 by killing Dragon Aevis and Blood Gigas in the Stillshrine and the Ward areas, and can go back and forth these areas to force respawns.
- Golmore Jungle/Rustling Chapel (Levels 35 to 45): Players can chain Dark Skeletons to start earning more EXP quite easily, but they need to eliminate monsters in other areas first to force them to appear.
- Tchita Uplands (Levels 35 to 45): Players can chain Malboro Overking while getting Gil in order to score Marlboro Fruits.
- Stilshrine of Miriam/Throne of Veiled Gods (Level 35 to 45): Constantly killing foes in the Stilshrine can help take players from Level 35 to 45 quite easily, provided they go back and forth to trigger respawns.
3 Quick Leveling Areas For Levels 40 to 50
Given how this is close to the mid-game, it’s expected for players to have to farm and rely on respawns in order to ensure their leveling remains consistent throughout this part of the game. Thankfully, there are still areas that facilitate these leveling possibilities, given the right perspective and the right planning:
- Great Crystal (Levels 40 to 60: Players can chain Necrophobes that reside in the top layer of the Great Crystal and even use Phoenix Downs to down them immediately. Players may need to kill approximately 700 Necrophobes or around 4 to 5 hours to pull this off.
- The Feywood/Walk of Dancing Shadows (Level 45 to 50): Players can do the same Mirrorknight tactic as above in order to chain Levels 45 to 50, especially considering the level of loot earned when chaining around 90 to 100 Mirrorknights.
2 Quick Leveling Areas For Levels 50 to 75
After reaching this part of the mid-game of the Final Fantasy classic, players should start identifying the best areas of the game to farm the fastest, especially since this would take a lot more time than usual grinding from the previous levels. Notable areas for farming these levels include:
- Giruvegan/Gate of Fire (Level 50 to 55): Players should kill all monsters on the way to the Way Stone in Gate of Fire so that players could end up in The Great Crystal/A Prama Vikaari. Players should then return via the Way Stone and kill everything on the way back. Players should repeat this process as foes respawn.
- Nabreus Deadlands (Level 50 to 60): Players can use Embroidered Tippets to kill a lot of the things inside the Nabreus Deadlands, particularly in the Overlooking Eternity region.
- Nabreus Deadlands/Overlooking Eternity (Level 60 to 75): In this area, in particular, players can chain and kill approximately 1,650 Dead Bones to gather this much level. Players can speed this up by using Embroidered Tippets, though this can take as much as 7 hours.
1 Do The Last Stretch In Henne Mines/Pithead Junction C
Players should start chaining Abysteel foes as soon as they hit Level 75 for the game’s endgame, as this is the foe they could face that could take them to Level 99 extremely quickly. To allow Abysteel to gather near the player, they need to press the switch. In order to eliminate Abysteel foes much faster, players can set up some gambits that focus on Curaja and Sleepga, as well as buffing players with the Faith status.
To be able to do this, players need to have the following requirements:
- Players must have talked to Geomancer Yugelu in Jahara.
- Players must have completed the Mindflayer Hunt.
- Players must have 10+ Espers with them.
Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age was released in 2017 and is playable on the PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.