This section of the game takes place after you battle Sin aboard the Airship (Fahrenheit) and navigate through the Sea of Sorrow area.
Remember, there is a ton of end game content and side quests that you can complete before “finishing” the game. More information on these side quests is available here:
That being said, you have not reached the point of no return just yet. This strategy guide will give you plenty of warning before you cross that threshold. If you’re ready to proceed though, continue reading below…
Move forward down the pathway and you will encounter a glyph on the wall on the right side of the screen. Touch it and it will tell you that “Ten fiends still seek eternal repose”. You have to kill ten fiends in order to get through this doorway.
Through that doorway will be another door asking you to kill ten more fiends and finally a third doorway asking you to kill 15 fiends. The reward for getting through all four doorways is a Lv. 4 Key Sphere which means that this task is a complete waste of time. The reward is an item that you likely already have a ton of.
There is an enemy in this area called a Demonolith that looks like a large stone block. This enemy will counter your attacks with a move called “Pharoah’s Curse” that will Darkness, Silence, Poison and Curse. It will also use a move called “Breath” which will inflict the Petrify status on all party members.
“Pharoah’s Curse” can be nullified by using Silence on Demonolith, but Petrify is a dangerous attack that can wipe out your entire party if you’re not prepared. Be sure to have one or more party members equip[ed with armor that has the Stone Ward, or better yet, the Stoneproof ability.
You may also run into a Great Malboro in this area. Great Malboros may inflict your party members with a ton of negative status effects, with Berserk and Confuse being the worst of them.
Equip your party members with equipment that also has some of the following abilities: Berserk Ward, Berserkproof, Confuse Ward or Confuseproof. It’s hard to protect against all of these statuses but make sure that your party members have a diverse set of protection so that you don’t end up seeing the Game Over screen.
You can also use Provoke on a Great Malboro if you get to chance to in order to prevent it from using its “Breath”.
You should still use Tidus’ Flee ability to run away from any Behemoth Kings that you encounter in this area. These ones are just as difficult to survive against as the previous ones.
Continue moving forward until you reach a small bridge connecting two sides of the pathway. Stand on the glyph on the bridge and it will light up and carry you to the upper level.
There is a treasure chest here that contains the Four-on-One weapon for Wakka. Take the glyph/elevator back down to the lower level.
Stand on the glyph in front of the large column-like structure just up ahead in order to push it down.
Walk along the pathway leading to a treasure chest which contains a Defending Bracer.
You will eventually reach a large open area with a large open pit in the middle. There is a ramp on the far side that you can use to climb down. There is a treasure chest that contains 20,000 Gil as well as a glyph that you can stand on that will turn into a large pillar.
Follow the walkway along to find one treasure chest that contains an HP Sphere and another treasure chest that contains a Defense Sphere. There is a glyph platform right beside this chest that you can use to return to the main level (the elevator you rode up will no longer function).
Continue down the pathway following the red arrows on the mini-map. The next wide open area contains walls that will jump up through the floor to prevent you from moving through.
Go to south section of this room and you will find a secret slide that leads to a passageway below the main level. The treasure chest on the left side of the room contains a Laevatein which is a staff for Yuna that contains the SOS Overdrive ability (which is not very useful).
Move over to the right side of the room and press the Button to begin climbing back up to the main level. Exit by heading north.
There is a Save Sphere here where you can save your game. This is the last Save Sphere on the way to the final battles of Final Fantasy X. You can still choose to return to the Airship if you would like to.
This is the furthest you can go in the game while still being able to turn back. There is no way to leave and go back once you have entered “The Nucleus”.
A short cinematic will occur as you move forward into the next area. A large structure will drop out of the sky and land in front of your party. Move forwards towards the door and Tidus will look up and then go inside.
You will be thrown into an arena-like area where icicles will pop up through the ground. If you are hit by one or if you run into one after it has popped up you will be thrust into battle against a powerful enemy.
Wraiths in this area are even more powerful than the ones on the Inside of Sin as they can cast Instant Death rather than the one that requires a timer (Doom).
Stay close to the center of the room so that you can keep a wider angled view of the surroundings. This will make it easier to see and run towards the shining crystals when they appear.
The ground will start to glow just before an icicle pops up so if you are fast you can avoid them altogether. Do not run around the room if you are having trouble locating one or more crystals. Stand in one place and let the camera rotation do the work for you while you dodge incoming icicles.
The goal is to touch each of the golden crystal shaped objects. Each time you grab one you will receive one of the following items:
Attribute Sphere
Hrunting
Infinity
Knight Lance
Prism Ball
Skill Sphere
Stillblade
Mage’s Staff
Wht Magic Sphere
Wicked Cait Sith
Each of these items are quite strong so double check and equip them if they are better than the weapons that your characters are currently using.
This is the end of the game so there is no reason for you to save your most powerful items and consumables. Feel free to make use of any items that you have been saving including X-Potions, Mega-Potions, Turbo Ethers, Elixirs, Megalixirs and Mega Phoenix.
You will be transported out of the area for the concluding battles once you have obtained all 10 of the items.
Heal yourself up with potions and ethers if you need to in order to prepare and then move forward and speak to Jecht when you are ready. Equip any equipment that you have with the Stone Ward or Stoneproof abilities prior to the fight.
In Game Description: Draws power from the Yu Pagodas and unleashes Overdrive attacks once his gauge is charged. Stop him from using Overdrives. Have Tidus talk to lower the gauge.
The final fight is made up of two different battles against the first form and the second form of Braska’s Final Aeon. The Aeon will pull a sword out of its chest in its second form and grow wings.
Yu Pagodas
There are two Yu Pagodas in this fight which float on either side of Braska’s Final Aeon. They will use a move called Power Wave which will heal Braska’s Final Aeon and charge up its Overdrive gauge (the black bar near the boss that charges during the fight). You can attack them directly and destroy them but will revive after a few turns though with more HP than they started with.
They start off with 5,000 HP and will return with addition HP equal to the amount that you overkilled them by. For example, if you destroyed one of them with an attack that did 3,000 followed by another attack that did 3,000 it would return with 6,000 HP.
This can be particularly problematic if you destroy the Yu Pagodas with very high damage attacks. Make sure that you destroy them at the same time though as defeating one of them will cause the other one to use some particularly painful spells including Curse. It is also advisable to hold off on defeating them until phase 2 of the fight.
Make sure you use the full assortment of beneficial status effects on your party. Hastega, Protect and Regen are all incredibly helpful. Also ensure that you immediately use a Soft or a Remedy on any party member that is petrified as Braska’s Final Aeon will use a move called “Shatter” on that character which will permanently remove them from the battle. It will be very difficult to defeat the final boss with only two characters!
You can use Tidus’ Trigger Commands to talk to Braska’s Final Aeon. Doing so will cause its Overdrive meter to drain but it is highly recommended that you save this for the bosses second form (when it pulls a sword out of its chest) as its Overdrives become much more powerful later on.
You can use the Talk command to completely reduce the Overdrive gauge back down to zero. It can be used up to two times during the course of the final battle.
Lord Braska’s Final Aeon is susceptible to Poison if you use Bio. You may have to use it several times in order for it to take effect. You will also want to use the different Break attacks (Armor Break, Power Break and Mental Break, or just Full Break) to help bring down its HP faster.
Good luck!
There will be one final fight against Yu Yevon that you cannot lose. If you’re having trouble defeating Yu Yevon just have Yuna cast Reflect on it. Enjoy the final cinematic!
You will receive The Eternal Calm Trophy once you have successfully defeated Yu Yevon during the final battle of the game.
Here are a few screenshots from the final cutscene:
Thank you for reading this strategy guide! Be sure to return to Jegged.com if you move on to any of the other Final Fantasy titles!
The strategy guides and walkthroughs on Jegged.com will always be 100% free to read and to use, but if you’d like to consider supporting the website in some way, consider visiting the Support section for more information, or use the link below to become a Patreon:
Any support you’re able to provide, or even just a quick thank you note sent my way, is greatly appreciated. Happy gaming!