Legend of Dragoon - Chapter 12: Death Frontier

After the encounter with Diaz, we find the party crossing the desert on their way to the Wingly city of Ulara, but first, they must survive the Death Frontier that stands between them and the city: it's here that the game's final chapter begins, Moon & Fate. When in control of Dart, you can go down into a cave under the desert to the lower-left to view a small scene between him and Albert before you begin your advance through this maze-like wasteland. There won't be any random battles here, but if you come in contact with the inhabitants, that naturally are hunting Dart, you'll be thrown into a battle. If using Albert/Lavitz, I recommend you equip them with the Twister Glaive as almost all of the enemies here are earth-based ones. One last thing, the Scorpion monsters will sometimes drop Poison Needle items which are necessary to defeat our next special monster. You will be able to purchase them in the next town, but if you get some free ones, don't throw them out.

I'll try to simplify my directions through the area as best I can to locate all of the items scattered about. All screens have multiple exits; including ones dropping Dart into sand traps that are required to pick up most of the items. Beginning from the screen to the south of the starting area (With the entrance to the cave) move: left, down, down, right, and then up to a screen surrounded by whirlpools. In the center is a treasure chest with a Healing Breeze inside.

 

After grabbing the Healing Breeze, have Dart fall into the left-side sand trap to be deposited in the underground cave next to a chest containing a Moon Serenade. Then, return topside and to the first screen of the maze (South of the cave). 

To the next item head: left, down, down, right, down, left, and in the lower-left corner of the screen you can pocket a Healing Fog.

 

From the Healing Fog, jump in the whirlpool to the north to find an underground Healing Rain chest.

Starting over, move Dart: right, down, down, down, and on this screen, you can use the sand trap to the left-side to access an underground spring to restore the party, but it's not necessary since there is another one a few screens away. Continue: right, passing through a midway point, then right once more to arrive at a screen with a recovery oasis and save point. Here, Rose will attempt to take the burden of the Moon Child and Zieg upon herself, only for Miranda to slap a bit of sense into her that they are all in this together. After the scene, trek: right, up, right, down, down, and in the bottom-right corner there is a chest with the Gladius weapon for Rose in it that has the instant death additional effect.

 

Slide down the whirlpool to the left of the Gladius to find a new underground cavern and be next to a Recovery Ball treasure chest.

From the oasis: up, left, up, up, and in the middle of the sand is a treasure with a Power Down inside. This extremely useful, once-per-battle item, drops all statistics of an enemy, except for Speed, for three turns.

 

With the Power Down in your inventory, hop in the sand trap to the right, then move south to find a Sun Rhapsody item.

Once again from the oasis: up, right, up, left, up, up, and you'll find yet another oasis and save point. From here: left, up, up, right, right, and crack open the Healing Potion chest to the top-right.

 

For the final item, drop in the sand whirlpool to the south where the Bandit's Shoes await. These are the male equivalent of the Dancer's Shoes, providing no defense, but a +20 to the character's Speed. Once we've outfitted our characters with the Legend equipment, this is the best piece of footwear in the game for the males; however, unlike the Dancer's Shoes, this is the single only one to be found in the game. For now, this is the perfect compliment to Kongol: allowing you to remove his Bandit's Ring and equip an accessory like the Angel Scarf of Spiritual Ring to vastly increase his magical defense. Alternately, you could use this with Albert/Lavitz the same way, if you'd prefer. With all the items collect, back again at the first oasis, head: up, right, up, left, up, up, left, up, up, right, and lastly up, to reach the exit of the Death Frontier. Ulara is just a short distance to the south.

At the entrance of Ulara, Rose will use the choker that grants her immortality to open the way to the Spring Breath Town, but before you enter, snag the Sun Rhapsody chest nearby. Within, the party will meet the town's guardian, Caron, who welcomes Rose and her companions. From there, use the path leading to the right-side, then follow the path to the northwest.

 

There will be a short scene here with a fountain covered in roses and Miranda. Miranda will recall her hate for roses as they remind her of the abuse she suffered from her birth mother when she was a child.

Afterwards, search the rose-covered fountain to pick up a Stardust, then use the lower-left exit and the following portal to find the shopping area.

 

In the shop, have Dart search the pyramid-looking construct on the right-side to pick up another Stardust.

The item shop has Panic Bell, Stunning Hammer, Poison Needle, Midnight Terror, Attack Ball, and Recovery Ball items all finally available for sale. Pick up several Poison Needles as we'll be going special monster hunting when we leave Ulara.

 

The armory is loaded full of greatness. Buy and equip an Arrow of Force for Miranda/Shana, but just add the Fairy Sword and Thunder First to your inventory. With the Soul Eater, you don't really need the Fairy Sword unless you want to free Dart's accessory slot, and the Thunder Fist, in my opinion, should be passed over to keep the instant death Brass Knuckle on Haschel. The funny thing is, the thunder-based Thunder Fist is a neutral element, so you'll never gain an advantage on an enemy by using it, however, you can be at a disadvantage against other thunder elemental enemies with it. Anyway, the Magical Greaves should be purchased for every character other than the one with the Dancer's and Bandit's Shoes. Since there is only one Bandit's Shoes to be found, the Magical Greaves will be the best footwear in the game for any of the guys that don't have it equipped. They provide a 5% boost in evade to both types of damage, and a nice +10 to Speed. Lastly, the Sage's Cloak accessory is for sale here that adds a +20% to both physical and magical evasion, and combined with the Magical Greaves, makes for a great tandem. In a later dungeon, you can get one of these as a drop, but I go ahead and purchase one here for Haschel.

Return the way you came and at the fork you took northwest to the rose fountain area, use the path that leads to the northeast, this time. Here, you'll meet Miata, another longtime friend of Rose. You'll learn a little from her about the Signet Sphere, but will need to speak with Charle Frahma to be told everything. From there, search around the piranha plants (?) for your 49th Stardust. Only one more left to find. You can then talk to a nearby Wingly to learn about Melbu Frahma and his right-hand man, Faust, whom we met at the Tower of Flanvel. Apparently, we need an item known as the Vanishing Stone to challenge him. Moving on, exit to the west and use the teleporter to enter Charle Frahma's residence.

 

Phew, tons of plot is dropped in our laps during the meeting with Charle. Thankfully, even after the meeting, you can always talk to Charle and have her explain everything in detail to you again. Basically, Zieg is headed for the three ancient Wingly cities: Magical City Aglis, Law City Zenebatos, and the Death City Mayfil, to use the Divine Moon Objects to break the Signet Spheres there that will release the Moon That Never Sets. Once the God of Destruction's flesh is unsealed, he'll guide Shana there, the Virage Embryo's soul, and the 108 fruit that will bring destruction to the world will be born. Rose, being called a Black Monster, had been given the task of killing each Moon Child born to prevent its merger with the Moon That Never Sets, but missed Shana when her twin sister was mistakenly killed, instead. The only thing the party can do is try to stop Zieg at one of these three ancient cities. The first, Aglis, can be found by heading to Haschel's hometown of Rouge.

Once the talk is over, Dart will be free to explore the town during the twilight. Before leaving Charle's house, use the teleporter to go upstairs and take a chest containing a Moon Serenade.

 

Outside, Dart and Rose will reminisce of their time together. You'll see a scene where, at the Death Frontier, the two crossed swords after the reveal that Rose was Dart's long-sought after Black Monster, but ultimately, knowing the cruel fate that was given to her, he has been able to forgive her. From there, head to the town's tavern, which is the portal due south from the exit of the piranha plants. Miranda and Haschel will be discussing each other pasts, when Dart and Rose join them for a drink.

To find Albert and Kongol, head for the shopping area past the rose fountain. Here, both are resolved to see everything through to the very end. Also, only during the night, which occurs at random each time you enter Ulara, you can use the portal behind the counter to access the actual item shop, although there is nothing to be found there. Meru is waiting for you at the entrance of town. Caron will inform you that they've already sent an emissary to the Twin Castle to tell them of your arrival to use the Queen Fury to leave for Rouge in the morning.

 

The next morning, the entire town of Ulara will unite to give the party a hero's send-off. You'll then be out on the world map with the familiar Home of Giganto to the east. However, before that, we've got a new special monster to hunt.

Outside of Ulara, near the Death Frontier, you will encounter the Lucky Jar frequently. The bad news is, the special monster's HP has gone up to 6, but the really bad news is they are now invulnerable to all damage. So, how can you defeat it? The only thing that can damage it is poison; hence why we've been gathering Poison Needle items. Alternately, you can try to poison it by using Miranda/Shana's Virulent Arrow weapon. Once poisoned, wait for it to take 2 damage, and hopefully doesn't run, then throw the Magic Signet Stone, and it will die on its sixth turn.

 

Defeating a Lucky Jar will land you 1000 EXP and 300 Gold, along with a Moon Serenade (Fully recovers entire party's MP). This is the only place in the game to acquire these except through treasure chests.

Passing back through the Home of Giganto, if you want to farm any Sachets from Piggies for the upcoming, last special monster, do so now. Also, if you'd like to see the rare damage cap of 9999, with Dart's Blazing Dynamo addition's level maxed out, encounter a Berserker, throw the Power Down on him, with the Power Up item on Dart, and you should easily land the maximum amount of damage.

 

You'll then need to head over the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, then the Barrens, to the Twin Castle in Fletz. Note: The Queen Fury is gone from Donau, so you won't be able to return to Mille Seseau, for now. Also, if you haven't seen the scene between Dart and Shana's parents in Seles, you may want to make a trip to Southern Serdio for that. Otherwise, in Fletz, you can view a small scene with Albert and Nello by talking to him at his usual gardening spot near the entrance of town. From there, make for the Twin Castle where King Zior and the Princesses are waiting for the Dragoons to arrive and see them off on the Queen Fury that is docked in a newly-created port in what was the Castle's former basement.

Before setting off, you can view even more scenes inside the Chamber of the Sun and both Emille and Lisa's rooms. When ready to leave, enter the port area, which there are two doors to near the Castle's save point, and let Commodore Puler and Kayla know you are ready to set sail. Out on the waters, you can still enter inside the Queen Fury by using the Square button, although there is nothing new to be found other than using Miranda in the Julienne mini-game. The enemies are also the same as the travel between Tiberoa and Mille Seseau, with one exception...

 

The game's final special monster, the Rainbow Bird, is encountered in the Endiness waters. Like the Lucky Jar, it's immune to all forms of attack, but also poison, so what's the trick this time? Well, the intention was for you to use the Panic Bell item to confuse it; which, for whatever reason, it can deal damage to itself. The problem with that is, it's way more likely to flee because of the confusion than to attack itself. This is where the Sachets we have been hoarding come into play: they can instantly defeat the Bird without having to deal with the frustration to get it to attack itself 4 times. You should have, at least, 3 in your inventory if you picked the ones up throughout the story. You can, of course, farm them from the Piggies in the Home of Giganto.

The prize? 3000 EXP, which is the highest for a non-boss in the game, and a rare chance at dropping the Rainbow Dress armor. You'll find a piece of this armor later, but I highly recommend you try to get one to drop for every Sachet you have. Not only is this the best armor for the females right now, and the best armor in the game for Meru, besides the Armor of Legend, but it also sells for a nice 250G. While the EXP is nice, in my opinion, it's not worth the time to get additional Sachets to use. When we reach the final dungeon, there will be an enemy that rewards 2000 EXP that we can use to reach the maximum level of 60 much easier. When finished with the Rainbow Birds, sail the Queen Fury on the straightforward route to the Outland Village, Rouge.

 

The villagers are shocked that they actually have visitors, while Haschel wonders if he has been forgotten here. The Mayor of Rouge will instantly recognize him, however, and invites the party upstairs to discuss their urgent matter. On the bottom level of the village, there is an item and accessory shop, but they carry things we have already encountered before. So, climb either the ladder to the west, that the Mayor used, or the one to the south, and speak with him on the second floor. The party will ask him of any suspicious buildings around; ones that couldn't possibly have been built by humans. Although utterly confused by the group's story, he mentions a "stick" that has risen up out of the sea just off the coast of Rouge. Dart and company can get a look at it from the outskirts of the village.

After the talk with the Mayor, use the door to the north to find Martel nursing her sick daughter, Lil. For the moment, head past here and out to the left-side to find a semi-hidden area. Here, there is a crate with 100G inside, then search the large jar in the lower-right corner to find the final Stardust of the game.

 

Deliver all 50 Stardust to Martel and her wish that her daughter be healed and live a happy life will be granted. She'll be forever grateful to Dart and give him his final reward, the Vanishing Stone. If you listened to the Wingly story in Ulara about Faust, you know that this item is needed to destroy the illusion he creates of himself back at the Tower of Flanvel. That will come later, however.

Back in the center room with the Mayor, descend the eastern-most ladder and follow the path to find the Satori Vest for Haschel that is a one-of-a-kind item.

 

From the ladder you took down to the Satori Vest, in the center room, there is a doorway leading out just to the lower-right of it. There's a crate here with the Wargod's Calling accessory. If you got this from Kongol way back at the Black Castle, you can sell it for an easy 500G.

To continue the story, at the entrance of Rouge, exit to the south and follow the rounded path to an overlook of the surrounding sea. The party will notice the "stick" the villagers were talking about and Rose will speculate that it is actually the Magical City Aglis. You'll then have the opportunity to learn more about the Wingly cities that have held Signets. Unsure about how to advance to the Magical City, attempt to head back to Rouge and you'll see a scene of some peculiar characters watching the group. Then, suddenly, a path toward Aglis splits itself through the sea, beckoning the party. Return to the boat and select to head for the Magical City Aglis to continue, but make sure you've resupplied your items as you won't be able to leave once inside. Before the next dungeon, since we've had so many changes in equipment lately, I want to update what my characters are currently using.

• Dart: Soul Eater, Phoenix Plume, Saint Armor, Magical Greaves, Therapy Ring
• Albert/Lavitz: Partisan, Phoenix Plume/Knight Helm, Armor of Yore, Magical Greaves, Spiritual Ring/Angel Scarf/Bandit's Ring
• Miranda/Shana: Arrow of Force, Jeweled Crown, Rainbow Dress, Magical Greaves, Giganto Ring/Mage Ring
• Rose: Gladius, Rose's Hair Band, Rainbow Dress, Dancer's Shoes, Dragon Shield
• Haschel: Brass Knuckle, Phoenix Plume, Satori Vest, Magical Greaves, Sage's Cloak/Attack Badge
• Meru: Heavy Mace, Dragon Helm, Rainbow Dress, Magical Greaves, Therapy Ring/Giganto Ring
• Kongol: Battle Axe, Magical Hat, Giganto Armor, Bandit's Shoes, Angel Scarf/Spiritual Ring