Final Fantasy X

Final Preparations
And End Game Side Quests

Step-by-Step Guide for the End Game Content

You can begin to look towards the end game and side quest content after Tidus and the team escape from the Zanarkand Ruins after defeating Yunalesca and after they have returned to the Highbridge and Bevelle. The point of no return is shown in the screenshot below:

At this point you can choose to work your way to the end of the story or you can complete the endgame and side quests content. Some of things you can do now are included in the links on this page. You do not need to do any of the side quests or endgame content in order to beat the game. Skip ahead to the next section if you would like to complete the story section of Final Fantasy X.

Also note that completing these side quests will make the final boss encounters much, much easier. So much so that you will be able to defeat the final boss in just a few hits. You may want to consider completing the story of the game while it is still challenging just to make it a little more interesting.

It should also be noted that the side quests in Final Fantasy X can be completed in any order. You don’t have to complete them in the order listed below, but if you follow this guide, this list will ensure that you don’t miss anything and that you complete them in the most efficient manner possible.

The most difficult battles in the game involve those in the Monster Arena and the optional Dark Aeon battles so those two areas will come last. Note though that the Dark Aeons were an additional to the international and later versions of the game. You won’t be able to challenge them on the original PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Watch Out for Dark Aeons

There are a number of Dark Aeons that have now appeared in various areas of Spira. These are Dark Aeons that you can and will be defeating later on in the game, but they are extremely powerful, and will easily defeat your team if you accidentally run in to them right now. They can be found:

1) Dark Valefor in Besaid Village:
Entering the village will automatically begin the fight. You cannot return to Besaid Village at this stage of the game (or go through it to obtain the Jecht Sphere near the temple). Many players accidentally engage this battle and will find themselves staring at the “Game Over” screen shortly afterwards.

2) Dark Ifrit in the Bikanel Desert:
Travelling to where the Al Bhed home world of Home used to be located is where you will find Dark Ifrit. Home has been destroyed through so its easy to avoid accidentally encountering Dark Ifrit.

3) Dark Ixion in the Thunder Plains:
You have to speak to a summoner in the Thunder Plains in order to initiate this battle.

4) Dark Shiva at the Macalania Temple:
She guards the entrance to Macalania Temple but there is no reason to return there unless you did not complete the Destruction Sphere portion of that Cloister.

5) Dark Bahamut in the Zanarkan Ruins:
Will appear where you fought Yunalesca. This will make it impossible to return to the Dome area to obtain the Sun Crest if you left without picking it up.

Additional Dark Aeons will appear after you have obtained the three optional Aeons but those will be described on their individual pages.

Returning to the Zanarkand Cloister of Trials

The first thing that you can do is return to the Zanarkand Cloister of Trials to complete the Destruction Sphere portion of that dungeon. Use the NavMap on the Airship to travel back down to the Zanarkand Ruins and then use the warp pad to travel back to the Cloister.

Check out the Zanarkand Cloister of Trial walkthrough page for more details:

Monster Arena Initiation

As you travel through Spira completing the remaining side quests, you should also be using these opportunities to capture all of the fiends that you need for the Monster Arena in the Calm Lands.

Capturing 10 of each fiend throughout Spira will unlock new monsters that you can challenge and defeat for rewards. You will also receive rewards when you obtain all of the fiends in a particular area as well as when you obtain all of the monsters of one type (e.g. all wolves, all bats). Check out the link below to see each of the rewards that are available:

Travel to the Monster Arena in the Calm Lands and purchase the taming weapons (which have the Capture Ability) so that you can capture enemies as you encounter them throughout your travels. Check out the Monster Arena section for more information:

Complete the first quest that the Monster Arena owner offers you, which is to track down all of the Calm Lands and return them to him, and then get used to returning back to the Monster Arena in order to turn in fiends that you’ve captured and pick up any rewards.

You can use the Monster Arena section for a full list of the fiends that you can obtain in each area and find tips on where to find each of the fiends in each area.

The rewards that you receive when you turn in all of the fiends from the Calm Lands is 60 Farplane Wind. You can use these to customize a weapon and add the Deathstrike Ability but you should save them in order to add the Deathproof Ability to your armor later on.

No Encounters Items

One of the things that you should do is obtain a weapon or some armor that has the No Encounters ability equipped to it. This is not a required step, but having access to the ability to disable random world battles can be extremely helpful for travelling around Spira more speedily and effectively.

You can skip this step if you would like though as completing some of the Monster Arena fiend capturing steps that follow will automatically get you the ingredients required for obtaining this ability on your armor. And for now, you need to be battling fiends and capturing them for the Monster Arena side quest.

There are two methods that you can use to obtain a weapon or a piece of armor that has the No Encounters ability though if you choose. Check out the No Encounters page in the Tips and Tricks section if you would like more information. Remember though, you can skip this step for now if you plan on completing all of the side quests and end game content:

Celestial Mirror (Remiem Temple)

You can complete the Celestial Weapon side quests and obtain each character’s Celestial Weapon now if you want, but because you need to capture monsters for the Monster Arena, which requires the use of weapons with the Capture ability, you won’t be able to use the Celestial Weapons right now anyways. It actually makes sense to wait and obtain each of the weapons as you go through the various zones listed below to capture monsters.

That being said, you should still complete the steps to obtain the Celestial Mirror so that you can create each of the Celestial Weapons as you obtain the correct Crests and Sigils. Refer to the Celestial Mirror section for more details:

Secret Airship Passwords and Coordinates

While accessing the NavMap aboard the Airship, there is an option to select “Input” and the “Search” option to reach a number of secret areas around Spira. Check out the Airship Passwords and Hidden Coordinates section to visit each area and collect the items.

Skip the Baaj Temple and Omega Ruins sections of this side quest section for now.

Start Collecting

The next thing to do is to begin collecting fiends from around Spira. You may have already initiated this side quest if you chose to obtain weapons/armor with the No Encounters Ability in the section listed above.

Travel to the Calm Lands and speak to the owner of the Monster Arena if you have not already done so (and as previously mentioned in the guide above). He will sell you taming weapons which have the Capture Ability which you can use to capture fiends in each of the areas around Spira. Before that though you will need to collect 10 of each fiend in the Calm Lands.

Some of the fiends in the Calm Lands can only be found in specific areas of the zone. Use the Monster Arena section, specifically the fiend listing pages, for more information on where to find each fiend. Once you can begin collecting fiends, move on to the next section.

Improving Your Capture Weapons

Each of the taming weapons ( Taming Sword, Herding Staff, Catcher, Trapper Mog, Taming Spear, Beastmaster and Iron Grip) come with one empty slot that you can use to customize the weapon. There is no reason to purchase or customize the weapons for your magic users (Yuna and Lulu) but consider purchasing each of the other weapons and customizing them.

The best customizations to add to Capture Weapons is either the Deathstrike or the Stonestrike abilities. You can use Petrify Grenade to add the Stonestrike ability and use Farplane Wind to add Deathstrike ability but you should consider holding on to your Farplane Wind items for now. You will need a hefty amount of them to add to your armor later on for some of the superboss battles.

You may not have these items right now and you certainly don’t need these abilities for capturing to be successful, but keep an eye out for these items as you travel around capturing enemies.

Crafting Strong Armor

You won’t necessarily be able to craft the strongest armor right away, but as you progress through Spira completing these side quests, you should begin assembling the pieces to craft the best armor as soon as possible.

Familiarize yourself with the raw materials needed and the Auto-Abilities you should be targeting so that you can craft the best armor as it becomes available:

Collecting Fiends

It’s now time to start collecting fiends. Start by traveling to Besaid Island and be careful not to re-enter Besaid Village as you will end up being thrown in to battle against Dark Valefor. Remember to use the Monster Arena section for a full list of the fiends that you need to obtain and where to find them (or use the links below).

Besaid (3 fiends)
Pick up the Moon Crest in the alcove of Besaid Beach if you missed it.

Kilika (4 fiends)
You can re-enter the Kilika Cloister of Trials if you did not complete the Destruction Sphere portion.

Luca (no fiends)
Pick up the Jupiter Crest in the locker room of the Stadium if you missed it.

Mi’ihen Highroad (8 fiends)
Pick up the Mars Crest along the oldroad if you missed it.

Mushroom Rock Road (7 fiends)

Djose Highroad and Moonflow (7 fiends)
You can re-enter the Djose Cloister of Trials if you did not complete the Destruction Sphere portion. You can also pick up Auron’s Masamune while you’re in the area.

Thunder Plains (8 fiends)
Obtain the Spirit Lance for Kimahri.

Macalania (10 fiends)
You can complete the Butterfly Catcher side quest to obtain the Saturn Sigil while you are in the area.

Bikanel (6 fiends)
Complete the Village of the Cactuars side quest while you are here.

Mt. Gagazet and Mt. Gagazet Caves (12 fiends)
Pick up the Saturn Crest if you missed it.

Monster Arena Hunting Interlude (No Encounters)

There are a few more areas that you need to visit in order to open all of the Monster Arena sections and rewards, but at this point you should consider heading back and collecting some of the rewards.

You should now have captured at least 4 of each flying-type bug fiend which means that one of the rewards that you will have the required components to Customize your armor and add the No Encounters Ability. Specifically, you can use the 99x Purifying Salt reward. Check out the No Encounters page in the Tips and Tricks section for more information:

Baaj Temple

The next area to visit is the Baaj Temple. You will need to defeat Geosgaeno, the gigantic aquatic fiend that tried to eat Tidus early in the game, and you may want to reattempt this battle until you obtain a No Encounters weapon. Refer to the link in the subsection above.

At Baaj Temple you can pick up Onion Knight, Lulu’s Celestial Weapon, and obtain the first optional Aeon that you’re already familiar with: Anima. Check out the Baaj Temple and Anima sections below for more information:

Cavern of the Stolen Fayth

This is an area that you have likely already seen and passed by earlier in the game. Consider selling some of your equipment and items as you will likely need a fair amount of gil. It’s difficult to say exactly how much but it could cost you up to 250,000 gil.

Obtain the optional Aeon, Yojimbo, in this area. Use the two pages below for additional information on how to do this:

Return to the Monster Arena

Obtaining all of the fiends in the Mt. Gagazet area is a requirement to obtain a reward at the Monster Arena. The reward is a Blossom Crown which is required for the side quest listed below (to obtain the Magus Sisters Aeon).

You may have already obtained this item when creating a No Encounters customization for one of your armor. The Blossom Crown will appear at the bottom of your Key Items inventory so check there if you’re not sure if you’ve obtained it.

Visiting Remiem Temple Again

You have already completed the Celestial Mirror side quest at Remiem Temple but there are a few other things you’ll need to take care of at this location.

The first thing that you should do is challenge Belgemine inside the temple and defeat her Aeons. This will allow you to obtain the Flower Scepter. With that and the Blossom Crown you can break the seal on the Chamber of the Fayth at the back of Remiem Temple. Check out the Remiem Temple section for more information:

Completing the Celestial Weapons

You will likely have already obtained a few of the Celestial Weapons throughout your journey, but it is now time to obtain all of the Celestial Weapons for all of your characters. Go back and obtain any of the ones that you are missing.

Note that obtaining Wakka’s Celestial Weapon involves winning a number of Blitzball games and tournaments. You may want to visit that section of the strategy guide as well for more information.

Check out the Celestial Weapons page and the Blitzball Page for more information:

Rounding out the Overdrives

You can obtain Wakka’s strongest Overdrive through the completion of Blitzball tournaments, but what about the Overdrives for other characters? Check out the Overdrive section for more information on how to obtain additional overdrives for each of your characters. Note that this section is entirely optional:

Visiting the Omega Ruins

The Omega Ruins are one of the hidden areas that you can reach on the NavMap by inputting hidden coordinates (listed above). Start off by ensuring that at least one of your characters has the First Strike Ability on their weapons before you enter:

Check out the Omega Ruins section for more information:

Finish the fiend hunting for the Monster Arena while you’re here:

Omega Dungeon (10 fiends)
Note that a number of the fiends for “Inside Sin” can be found in this area.

Back to Monster Arena Fiend Hunting

The last place to visit to capture fiends are the final dungeon areas of the game including “Inside Sin” and the “City of the Damned”. Be sure not to go past the point of no return which is shown in the screenshot below:

Inside Sin (9 fiends)
Make sure not to go past the point of no return.

Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (9 fiends)

Trophies and Mini Side Quests

There are a few mini side quests that you can complete before moving on to the more difficult aspects of the game. You can purchase all of the movie spheres in Luca. This can be fairly expensive so use the “earning gil” tips and tricks page if you are short on cash.

Optional Super Bosses

The only thing left to do are the optional super bosses. This includes defeating all of the species creations in the Monster Arena.

Before you begin, you will need to do some preparation. For starters, make sure that you have obtained the strongest armor in the game and that you have maxed your characters stats. Note that some of the bosses you battle are going to require slightly different, customized armor, but those will be identified separately in the pages below.

Its now time to take on the most difficult battles in the game. Check out each of the subsections for details on how to complete each of them. Note that you need to defeat all of the Species Conquest, Area Conquest and Original Creations in the Monster Arena in order to make Nemesis appear as an option in the Monster Arena menu:

Congratulations! You’ve defeated the most difficult super boss in the game!

The last thing to do is to make sure that you have obtained all of the trophies that are available in the PlayStation 4 versions of the game:

And that’s everything that you can do in Final Fantasy X (aside from completing the story mode of the game). Hope you enjoyed this strategy guide!