The method of getting the Zodiac Spear in the original Final Fantasy 12 was, without a doubt, one the most counter-intuitive methods of getting an endgame weapon ever in a game. How did Square expect players not to open every chest they came across?
Getting the Zodiac Spear in Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age isn’t necessarily easier than the original game, but it doesn’t require you avoid certain chests to get it. Instead, there are two different methods to get the weapon in this version, and we’ll go over both here.
Both methods of getting the spear are fairly time-consuming and are not available until near the end of the game. The first requires that you take a side quest to task after the events in Draklor Laboratory. The second requires that you not only take on and complete a couple of hunts, but the you have 10 Espers at your disposal.
Before we go forward, it’s worth noting that the Zodiac Spear is no longer the strongest weapon in the game. It grants 141 attack and a 20% chance to disable foes, but Uhlan’s other high-tier class-specific weapon (Vrsabha) has 108 attack and a 50% chance to disable foes. That’s not shabby, either.
Two weapons totally trump the Zodiac Spear.
One, the Trango Tower sword, boasts 153 attack, is invisible, and is incredibly rare. The Seitengrat, another invisible weapon, blows them both out of the water with 224 attack and a whopping 75 evasion. It’s basically broken, but if you’re interested in getting it, check out my guide on how to get a Seitengrat.
First, let’s go into the most obvious one:
1. The Hunt Club at Phon Coast
Once you deal with Draklor Laboratory you can head back to the Phon Coast and start a new sidequest chain, the Hunt Club.
Four Bangaas at the Phon Coast will allow you to join their Hunt Club and hunt down rare game for trophies, which are counted toward a special list of buyable items that you must buy using Gil. There are 30 total trophy rare games for you to hunt down to get the Zodiac Spear, each with their own requirements and ideal level ranges.
Making the Zodiac Spear available this way requires you to give each of the 3 brothers 10 trophies each, and once done, you must spend 999,999 Gil to buy it (and the Zodiac Escutcheon) up.
If you don’t want to distribute the trophies 10-10-10, you can alternatively ensure that Atak gets at least 16 trophies and distribute the others to your own needs. In doing this, you will be given a Zodiac Spear once you’ve completed all 30 hunts
I’ve worked up a guide on the Phon Coast Hunt Club sidequest and trophy rare game. Should you be interested, the guide lists out the locations and level ranges of all the trophy rare game as well as the trophy and Gil cost of all the items available via the club. You may find you’d rather grab another item and just get the Zodiac Spear using the other method.
2. A Chest in Henne Mines — Special Charter Shaft
This is one method I haven’t gotten to try myself in TZA, but I know it works.
There is a secret area in the Henne Mines that you can open up at endgame, but it requires a great deal of work. It’s worth the effort if you want a Zodiac Spear and you don’t want to have to distribute Hunt Club trophies in the manner listed above, or you simply want two of them.
The Special Charter Shaft of the Henne mines will not open until you complete the following tasks:
- Complete the Mindflayer hunt
- Collected 10 total Espers
- Speak to the Garif Geomancer in Jahara
Once you’ve completed all these steps the Geomancer will send someone to open the gate in the Ore Separation section of Henne Mines and you can proceed.
Phase 2 entrance location.
Deep inside the Henne Mines is not a friendly place, but push forward deep inside to the Special Charter Shaft and you do have a chance to get the Zodiac Spear — a 1% chance, anyway.
The red dot indicates the chest’s location.
The Zodiac Spear’s chest only has a 1% chance to spawn, but nothing else will ever be inside it. You can simply run in and out of the door to the north (at 2x or 4x speed of course) until you eventually get lucky enough for the chest to spawn.
If this helped you out, feel free to check out my other Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age guides.
