Sky Fortress Bahamut
Walkthrough

The Sky Fortress Bahamut is the last and final chapter of Final Fantasy XII. There are numerous end game side quests and hunts that you can take part in that are more difficult than the final battles faced in this chapter (click on this link to go to the End Game Side Quests and Preparations section of the walkthrough) so these will not be the hardest battles per se, but they do conclude the story and the events of the game which is what most players are interested in.

To travel to the Sky Fortress Bahamut and begin the final events, approach one of the Anchors which are located throughout Ivalice and choose to board the Strahl. You can also head in to any of the Aerodromes and speak to the NPC at the counter labelled “Private Airships”. The Strahl can now be used to transport your team all across Ivalice, but for now, select “Bahamut” as your destination.

Using the Strahl to initiate the end game sequence at the Sky Fortress Bahamut

Final Warning: As mentioned right in the game, there is no turning back once you have flown to the Sky Fortress Bahamut. Make sure you have saved your game at a Save Crystal so that you can return if you decide to come back and attempt any of the end game content.

Rushing out of the Strahl and into the Sky Fortress Bahamut

There are a few cutscenes that will take place as you approach the huge ship in the distance. Lord Larsa will please with Vayne to break off the attack but Vayne will ignore his pleas. The Sky Fortress Bahamut will fire on one of the resistance ships completely destroying it. An intense air battle will take place between the two sides with the Strahl rushing in to the middle of the fray. The Strahl will land on the Sky Fortress Bahamut and the team will rush in to attack.

Antechamber

The main map will not work while you are onboard the Sky Fortress Bahamut. Similar to its behavior inside the Great Crystal, you can press the SelectButton to pull the map up, but it will only show a picture of the ship itself.

Map of the Sky Fortress Bahamut

It will, however, still give you the name of the room that you are in which will be useful for navigating through the halls.

Entrance to the Antechamber to start the Sky Fortress Bahamut

Go through either of the two doorways to the north or south – they both lead to the Periphery.

Periphery

As a quick reminder, because there is no returning to previous points of the game, you should consider equipping your characters with their most powerful weapons, armor and accessories. Equipment such as Thief’s Cuffs, Golden Amulets and Embroidered Tippets have limited use while aboard the Sky Fortress Bahamut.

You should also feel free to use some of your more powerful items and inventory, including Elixirs, Megalixir, etc. when required.

No matter which direction you chose, all of the pathways lead to the center of the ship. Deal with the Imperial Soldiers that attack you as you make your way through the halls. They are very easy to defeat.

Traveling through the Periphery up into the Catwalk area

Catwalk

There are another few cutscenes that take place as you enter the Catwalk area. Resistance Airships will continue to bombard the Imperial Fleet and the Sky Fortress Bahamut but things are not going in their favor (despite what Fran says). Vaan, Penelo, Fran, Balthier, Basch and Ashe will discuss the plan one last time before continuing.

Traveling down the Catwalk

Rush through the Catwalk and past the enemies that appear. The Spinner-Rook and Helm-Rook enemies will continuously spawn and are difficult to defeat. Run past them and head to the central lift area which can be seen in the mini-map.

Running from the Helm-Rook down the Catwalk towards the Central Lift

Central Lift

Another boss battle is coming up and will begin as soon as you touch the Lift Controls. Another reminder for this upcoming boss battle, as well as the ones that follow, is that you have reached the final chapter of the game; there is no point in holding on to your most powerful items. Make use of any Elixirs or Megalixirs as you see fit and as needed.

Activating the Central Lift Controls to initiate the final boss battles
Boss Battle: Judge Master Gabranth
Opening cinematic of Judge Magister

Level: 49
HP: 70,719
Steal: Hi-Potion (55%), X-Potion (10%), Elixirs (3%)

The second battle against Gabranth is very similar to the first battle. Buff your party with the standard assortment of spells including Protect, Shell, Bubble and Haste. Judge Gabranth can do more damage during this fight using a move called Innocence but this damage is manageable.

Opening cinematic of Judge Master Gabranth - final battle

Set up a Dispel Gambit to get rid of Gabranth’s Haste and Protect status and be ready to heal when Gabranth starts doing more damage. You can inflict him with Silence and with Blind in order to reduce the amount of damage that he does.

Battle against Gabranth split screen with Basch

A video of the battle in the Zodiac Age version is included below:

There is another boss battle the takes place once Gabranth falters in his attack. Use Elixirs or Megalixirs to restore your party before activating the Lift Controls to head up to the next level.

The team will arrive to find Lord Larsa and Vayne speaking in the center of a large circular area. Vayne will tell Larsa to “watch” the battle but Larsa will challenge his brother and join in the attack. The next boss battle begins shortly thereafter.

Boss Battle: Vayne Solidor
Opening cinematic of Lord Vayne in the first battle against him

Level: 50
HP: 76,755
Steal: (nothing)

Larsa will join you for this battle but his power and abilities have not changed since the last time that he joined your party. His attacks are very mild but he will throw out the odd Potion and Hi-Potion.

Lord Vayne attacking on the Sky Fortress Bahamut

Vayne himself is not very powerful during this fight. He will focus on using physical attacks that can potentially chain but they do not do very much damage. His “Force of Will” move does around 1,500 damage and he will only use it when he is low on HP and he will use a move called “Mach Wave” which does around 800 damage throughout the fight.

Keep Protect, Shell and Bubble active on your characters throughout the fight and you should have no issues dealing with Vayne’s attacks.

Lord Vayne using Mach Wave attack during the first boss battle

A video of the battle in the Zodiac Age version is included below:

The next boss battle begins as soon as the previous battle ends. Vayne’s manufacted Nethicite will bestow him with new powers.

Boss Battle: Vayne Novus
Opening cinematic of Vayne Novus with his Sephira Swords

Level: 50
HP: 104,210
Steal: Hi-Ether

Vayne will cast an assortment of regular spells as well as two special moves. Those two moves are Azure Vortice and Contempt, both of which will initiate a short cinematic. They will do around 500 to 1,500 damage.

Vayne will also be surrounded by Sephira Swords that fly all around the battle zone. You can have your characters focus on attacking them first, if preferred, but they are hard to hit due to the speed at which they move. Gabranth will also attempt to take them down for you when he joins the battle.

Dispel Vayne at the beginning of the battle. He will regain his enhancement bugs after the cinematic that occurs when he reaches 50%. Either Dispel him again or set up a Dispel Gambit so that one of your characters does this automatically.

Behold the Power left my by our fallen friend - Vayne Novus

Near the end of the battle, Vayne Novus will begin using a move called Tree of Sephira which can cause up to 2,500 damage to each person. Be prepared to deal with these attacks with any healing Magicks or items you have.

Gabranth will deal the final blow at the conclusion of the battle. Vayne is not quite defeated and will attempt one final attack against the team with his Sephira Swords. Lord Larsa will protect the team from the attack with his Nethicite.

Battle against Vayne Novus using Aeroga

A video of the battle in the Zodiac Age version is included below:

Judge Master Gabranth finishing off Vayne Novus

A few more cutscenes will take place before the final battle begins on a platform on the outside of the Sky Fortress Bahamut.

Cannon Superstructure

Lord Larsa using the Nethecite to protect the team
Vayne Novus transforming into the Undying
Final Boss Battle: The Undying
Opening cinematic of the final boss battle against the Undying - Vayne

Level: 55
HP: 228,299
Steal: (Nothing)

You have reached the final boss battle of Final Fantasy XII! This battle is not as difficult as some of the final Hunts in the game and will be less difficult depending on how many of the side quests you completed, but it can still be quite difficult if you are not prepared.

Opening cinematic of the final boss with a full view of the Undying - Vayne

The Undying can and will cast Dispelga throughout this fight which will remove all of your status buffs (Protect, Shell, Haste, Bubble, Bravery, Faith). As such, you should switch your Gambits so that your characters are not recasting these spells every time they have Dispel cast on them. Protect and Shell are important to keep up, but you can do without the others. Equip each of your characters with a Bubble Belt to keep that status active throughout the fight.

The Undying will cast Piercing Firaga, Piercing Blizzaga, Piercing Thundaga and Megaflare. Each of these Magick-based attacks will go right through any Reflect status that your characters have (hence why they are called ‘Piercing’). He will also attack with a glowing sword-arm type attack that deals around 2,000 for each hit.

Boss battle against the Undying - Vayne aboard the Sky Fortress Bahamut

He will put up a Magick Barrier to negate Magick-based attacks and will activate Perfect Defense once you get him down to 25% HP. This will make him immune to all attacks so you will just have to wait out this status. Run away from him as much as possible to avoid Dispelga attacks. There is no health bar during this fight so it will be difficult to tell how much HP The Undying has left.

Battle against the Undying - Vayne

The most difficult aspect of this fight is withstanding all of the firepower that The Undying throws your direction. As mentioned above, don’t be afraid to use Elixirs, Megalixirs, X-Potions, etc. and spread out your healing so that more than one party member is helping. Keeping healed and keeping Bubble active is critical for this fight.

Undying using Gigaflare Sword attack

Good luck!

A video of the battle in the Zodiac Age version is included below:

Wings of My Own Trophy

Congratulations, you have completed Final Fantasy XII! The final cinematic is included below for your enjoyment:

Wings of My Own

The Wings of My Own Trophy is automatically obtained after you have completed the game.

Wings of My Own Trophy Icon

And a few screenshots:

Ashe at the end of Final Fantasy XII cinematic
End cinematic with the Sky Fortress Bahamut
End cinematic with the Sky Fortress Bahamut
Penelo during the ending cinematic video

I certainly hope that you have enjoyed and got good use out of the walkthrough and strategy guide. If you have any comments, suggestions or improvements for this guide, please feel free to send them to be by clicking the Contact link at the top of the page or by connecting with me on Twitter using the link below. Thanks for reading!