Gamer Corner Guides

Gaia is the only northern town you don't need to trek across the overworld to reach, and it has plenty of new goodies to buy, if you have the money. The Cat Claws sold in the Weapon Shop are immensely expensive, but are the most powerful Weapon a Black Wizard can use, giving him more than an entire extra attack worth of accuracy.

The Armor Shop is of more interest, especially if you haven't yet achieved the Class upgrade. The Protect Rings not only grant resistance against Death, they are the best gloves in the game and can be used by any job. (Of course, depending on how old school you are, you may want to wear the Gauntlets or Giant's Gloves instead.) You will find three Protect Rings and a pair DiamondGloves, which are nearly as good, in chests later in the game, so keep this in mind if you want to conserve cash. The Ruby Armlet is the most powerful armlet you can buy, overshadowed only by the DiamondArmlet (although the Black and White Robes have the same Defense).

If you have a level 20 Black Mage, you will definitely want the Ice3 Spell sold here, but no other Spell in Gaia can be learned until the Class change. Break is a Poison-elemental death Spell that's quite accurate, making it the best death Spell so far. Cure4 is an amazing Spell for your White Wizard, while Dia4 is somewhat lackluster because of the lack of powerful Undead to use it on.

You will also find level 8 magic Shops here, so return once you have reached level 25 and made the Class change. (Red Wizards can learn Ice3 at level 26.) The fourth Spell of each type is found in Lufenia, and you will definitely want to leave a slot open for them for both Black and White Wizards. The other black magic is of questionable merit. Banish is a mass KO Spell that no enemy other than Chaos resists, but its accuracy leaves a bit to be desired. Doom will KO most enemies with under 300 HP, but so will a normal attack by the end of the game. Stop is a highly effective Paralysis Spell that hits all enemies, which can come in handy in some situations.

The level 8 white magic is quite a bit more interesting. Holy is a non-elemental attack Spell with damage second only to the Black Wizard's Flare Spell. Dispel will remove all Elemental resistances from a single enemy, though this sounds more useful than it actually is since it doesn't create any weaknesses. NulAll will grant one party member resistance to all eight Elements, similar to wearing a Ribbon. Obviously you don't need to cast this spell on characters already wearing a Ribbon.

The only plot reason to come to Gaia is to get the Oxyale from the fairy fountain after buying the Bottled Faerie from the Desert Caravan. This will allow you to access the Sunken Shrine and fight the Fiend of Water.