Dread Not the Dreadnought

Chapter 4

Enter Kashuan Keep, and in true Final Fantasy fashion, your objective will be right in front of you, but you will be unable to access it. We must make our way to the fifth floor to get Egil’s Torch if we are going to return the SUNFIRE to Cid.

The first three floors offer little in the way of items or difficulty outside of a Golden Shield on floor 3F. You meet Gordon, a member of the Kashuan Royal Family on floor 2F and he will join your party. Joy! The fourth floor is home to a couple of Mythril weapons and the Werebuster, so be sure to pick them up. There is a chest containing Golden Armor on the fifth floor that is guarded by Mines, so proceed with caution. The boss is located on floor 6F.

BOSS: Red Soul

Red Soul is a magically inclined enemy, and as such, absorbs most magic. If you are underleveld or having difficulty with this battle, do nothing but heal yourself until Red Soul exhausts his MP. After that, you can attack him with impunity. If you are strong enough and are taking little damage, just whack away with martial weapons.

After the battle, take Egil’s Torch from the chest behind Red Soul. If you have Teleport, use it to exit the Keep, then walk right back in to collect the SUNFIRE. if you don’t, hang your head in shame and get to walking. After collecting the SUNFIRE, exit the Keep and watch another cutscene.

We now need to get to Altair, and we must do so by walking. There is a Chocobo forest south of Kashuan Keep that you can use if you’d like to make the trip as quick and painless as possible. Once you have arrived, you will find that Hilda is missing. Head to the King’s chambers and speak with Minwu, who will suggest the something the size of the DREADNOUGHT would have to refuel sometime, leaving it vulnerable. Leave the King’s chamber and speak with the elder to learn of the DREADNOUGHT’S refueling location.

The DREADNOUGHT can be found northwest of Fynn and represents a leap forward in the difficulty of the game. The monsters inside are more difficult that any you have faced so far, and you cannot teleport out once inside. Because of this, I recommend that you create a separate save file before entering so that you have a backup in case you weren’t as prepared as you thought you were.

Upon entering the DREADNOUGHT, you will greeted by the Black Night. You have two options here, either give him the PASS we obtained last chapter and walk on by, or tell him WILD ROSE and fight him. He’s not a push-over, so be prepared.

OPTIONAL BOSS:Black Knight

However you deal with the Black Knight, continue on to the rest of the first floor. There is an important treasure chest here that contains the powerful Sleep Blade, so be sure to pick it up. There are a few other weapons and nice pieces of armor along the way, but nothing else interesting happens until you reach the fifth floor.

On the fifth floor is the Knight’s room, and to proceed you must sneak around them. While it is possible to battle the Knights and win, doing so doesn’t remove them from the map.

After you pass the Knights, you will see a final staircase that leads to the DREADNOUGHT’s engine room. Approach the engine and throw in the SUNFIRE. After doing so, a Black Knight approaches and a cutscene follows. After the scene, you will be back in Altair. Unequip Gordon as he will be leaving the party soon.