The Mirage Tower

You can reach the Mirage Tower as soon as you obtain the AIRSHIP, but you can't actually enter it without the CHIME. To get that, you'll need to find the SLAB in the Sunken Shrine, meaning that this will likely be among the last dungeons you enter during your main quest.

There are a few places to land the AIRSHIP in the vicinity of the vast Yahnikurm Desert that contains the Mirage Tower. The most obvious is a grassy area at the southeast edge of the desert, but there are several small landing zones along the eastern mountains much closer to your destination. You'll want to limit your walking distance as much as possible, because the encounters in this desert are the toughest on the World Map.

ANKYLOS are a common foe here, and combine a devastating attack with high Absorb and HP. Their cousins the R.ANKYLOS are even more dangerous, featuring three attacks. Each attack is less powerful, but in aggregate they are absolutely devastating. The only good news is that R.ANKYLOS have less HP to cut through.

You'll also encounter TYROS, often along with a WYVERN. TYROS have a ridiculous 480 HP, though even that is dwarfed by the 600 HP of the super-rare T REX. Finally, you'll occasionally encounter Sand Ws, sometimes in pairs. Ribbons are helpful against their CRACK attack.

Mirage Tower

The Mirage Tower is a relatively straightforward and small dungeon filled with unguarded treasure. It serves as a path to the Floating Castle, although the first time you come here you will likely be lacking the CUBE that is required to make that trip. Still, it's worth coming here as soon as you get the CHIME just to collect the treasures.

There is no particular theme to the encounters in the Mirage Tower, but you will run into several monsters with damaging special attacks that can wear down the entire party. On your first trip, don't hold back against your enemies. Later on when you are headed for the Floating Castle, you will want to be more conservative in your tactics.

Mirage Tower 1F

The first floor of the Mirage Tower consists of a huge circular room with a hallway surrounding it. You can enter the room and immediately exit it to the west if you want to head up to 2F, but take the time to collect the treasures on your first trip. The encounters found here vary widely, and are quite effective at wearing the party down. CHIMERAS are the primary threat. They get four mediocre attacks, but their CREMATE ability can deal damage that will add up over time. If two or three appear, ICE3 will help take them out quickly.

The VAMPIRE from the Earth Cave makes his return here, and does so with friends. VAMPIRE packs have attacks that remain dangerous, but they are easy to kill (especially with your Light Axes and Mage Staff). NITEMARES return as well, though their BADMAN companions are more dangerous. BADMEN are much hardier than their stature might suggest. The new GUARDS are difficult to hurt but their weak, Paralyzing attacks aren't a threat. Use LIT3 to tear through their ranks.

The central room contains several layers of hallway lined with chests. None of them are guarded, so take your time collecting them all. You'll find 24,960 G here as well as a few interesting items. The Heal Helmet is similar to the Heal Staff except that it takes up an armor slot. The Aegis Shield is the best shield in the game for your KNIGHT, offering resistance to Poison. The Vorpal is a pointless weapon because critical hits don't work as intended, but it's worth 15,000 G. The haul is rounded out by a CABIN that you probably don't need at this point.

Mirage Tower 2F

The second floor is similar to the first, except there is no quick shortcut this time. You'll have to work your way around the outside of the floor to reach the inner path around the central room. You'll run into packs of CEREBUSES here that will try to drain the party's resources with SCORCH. Use FIR2 against the mixed group of WzMUMMIES, MUMMIES, COCTRICES, and PERILISKS before they can inflict status ailments on the party. If you run into a rare Blue D, use the same strategy as you would against the area boss on 3F.

The stairs to 3F are found at the north end of the inner path, while the entrance to the central room is to the south. The chests are arranged in a nice pattern with no guardians. The big prize is the Dragon Armor, which is similar to the Opal Armor for the KNIGHT but resists all three basic elements. The Sun Sword is the first weapon that's likely to replace the Ice Sword for your KNIGHT, NINJA, or RedWiz. The Thor Hammer is the best weapon a Wh.Wiz can use (other than the Masmune itself), but you'll be using it to cast LIT2 more than attacking with it. A HOUSE and almost 60,000 G rounds out the treasure on this floor.

Mirage Tower 3F

This floor is very tiny, consisting of a single room, and features no new encounters. You will have to fight a Blue D just inside the door of the room. Like the other true Dragons you've fought, you'll want to end this fight quickly and put up a defense against its powerful special attack, THUNDER. ALIT and FAST are probably all you need in this fight. The Blue D is not vulnerable to any element, and has very high Magic Defense. It can dish out a lot of damage, but it's outnumbered four to one.

Inside the room you'll find a warp mechanism that will only function if you have the CUBE from the Waterfall. The robot here will inform you of this fact, so for now you should EXIT and head back to the AIRSHIP.