This Hunt becomes available as soon as you reach the Imperial City of Archades. This strategy guide recommends completing it a little bit later on though after finishing the Draklor Laboratory and reaching Balfonheim Port.
The petitioner is the ‘Homesick Man’ in Vint’s Armament shop in the Nilbasse area of the Imperial City of Archades. He is located right up near the front of the shop.
Darksteel is very easy to find. You can either walk to the location from the Imperial City of Archades through Old Archades into the Sochen Cave Palace or you can take the cab back to Tsenoble and warp to the Sochen Cave Palace using the orange Save Crystal.
Touch the Disused Pedestal in the Skybent Chamber to activate the lift which will take you down to the Chamber of the Chosen. Take the pathway down to the lower level and go through the door into the next room (Temptation Eluded).
Level: 38
HP: 111,331
Steal: Eye Drops (55%), Aged Turtle Shell (10%), Ancient Turtle Shell (3%)
Make sure you start off the battle with Protect, Bubble, Haste, Faith and Bravery buffs activated. Touch the Save Crystal after buffing with each of the spells to restore your character’s MP and then travel down to initiate the fight.
Darksteel is not too difficult to defeat when you receive the Hunt. Set up a Gambit to automatically Dispel to remove its buffs. It will start attacking with Dark-based Magicks later on in the fight which can be counteracted by equipping a Black Mask or a Demon Shield if you have them.
You can cast Blind and Poison on it which will help make the fight even easier.
A video of the battle in the Zodiac Age version is included below:
Return to the Homesick Man to receive your rewards which include 3,000 gil, an Adamantite and some Lead Bolts.
Click on the following link to return to the Balfonheim Port section of the walkthrough.