Gamer Corner Guides

Secret Paths in Castle Fynn

Return to the throne room and interact with the eastern wall in the northeast corner, using the [Ekmet Teloess] Keyword. This opens a path that leads all the way to the Castle Basement. However, before descending the stairs on the 1F, check the eastern wall just before they start. This is false wall leading outside the castle, and you can find another false wall just to the south (one square from the bottom) leading back in. This leads to a Treasure room containing Golden Armor, a Golden Shield, and a Gold Cuirass. Oddly, there is an NPC walking around down here—did he know about the path and [Ekmet Teloess] too!?

Castle Fynn Basement B1

The Castle Fynn Basement is a unique dungeon. It has the usual five floors, but you cannot use Teleport or Warp to leave. Each floor consists of only two possible Random Encounters, one of which appears over 98% of the time. The rare encounter on each floor is against a group of benevolent Green Souls. The primary encounters are all quite different, and on B1 you'll find combinations of Revenants, Ghasts, Stunners, and Wraiths. A good shot of Fire should take out the weaker undead, but none of these Monsters should be particularly threatening at this point.

There are no Treasure rooms in the Castle Fynn Basement, only trap rooms. These rooms feature encounters with large groups of Stalagmites, which aren't very tough but take a while to defeat. It's best to avoid them just to save time. The three Treasures on B1 are nearly worthless, though the quality of Treasure in the Castle Fynn Basement will improve dramatically as you descend. The path south then east leads to a Knife, and takes you in the opposite direction from your destination. To proceed, head northwest from the stairs. You'll find Eye Drops in the corner before you turn back east. The southern branch of this path contains Clothes, while the northern branch leads to B2.

Castle Fynn Basement B2

The encounters on this floor are against groups of Parasites, Brains, and Changers. The Brains and Changers can both cast Swap, which could lead to some low HP totals but moderate MP totals throughout this floor. The Brain's Fog Spell is the most annoying attack you'll need to worry about, requiring Esuna at level 3 or higher to remove outside of combat.

The Treasures on B2 aren't much better than those above. You can head northeast from the stairs to find a Potion before heading west. The path splits into four, and you can follow it west and then south for a second Potion. The northwest path leads to a Maiden's Kiss, while you'll find the stairs to B3 to the northeast.

B3

The Monsters make a sudden shift from silly and annoying to deadly on B3. You'll find the new Killer Mantis in groups of up to three. They have five powerful attacks to go along with their high HP and Defense. They are vulnerable to Ice, and a good mid-level Blizzard Spell should take one out at a time. Blink is not a bad idea if you come upon several of them at once.

The layout of B3 is slightly more interesting than previous floors. You'll start out in the northeast quadrant. A Potion is lying in the southeast, but don't let that lackluster Treasure disappoint you, because things are about to start improving on the loot front. You can head either north or south from the central intersection of the floor. In the southwest corner, you'll find a Flame Shield, a complement to the Ice Shield that will be useful for its resistance to Ice. The stairs are found to the northwest, and in the corner past them you'll find the final treasure on B3, some Spider's Silk.

Castle Fynn Basement B4

The Monsters on B4 are back to being more annoying than threatening. You'll fight various combinations of Stalagmites, Adamantoises, Ogre Chiefs, and Ogre Mages. Taking them all out will take some time, and they'll get in some minor damage, but if you've come this far, you should be OK.

This is the longest floor to walk so far, but contains excellent Treasure. Head north from the start, and the path will turn east and split. The northern branch contains arguably the best item in the game, the Blood Sword. You'll have to defeat a relatively powerful combination of Undead for it, though: the Specters and Revenants are the main threat, while the Ghasts and Wraiths are basically fodder for a Fire Spell.

The Blood Sword seems (and generally is) incredibly weak, with no Accuracy bonus and 0 Attack. It will drain 1/16 of the target's HP with each hit, which isn't very impressive against most normal Monsters. Against bosses or Monsters with huge HP totals, though, it will wildly outclass normal Weapons. The fact that it heals the wielder on top of that is just gravy. Put this in the reserves of your sword user and don't look back! (Unless you think the Blood Sword is an unfair advantage and want to preserve some challenge later.)

Back on the southern path, you'll reach another branch. A Betrayal Fang, an Item which can cast Confuse 16 to great effect, lies at the end of the southern branch, along with the stairs to B5. Don't miss the Flame Armor on the northern branch before you descend. This provides 7 more Defense than the Knight's Armor or Gold Cuirass, but with a hefty −33% Evasion penalty. Also note that, while the Flame Shield resists Ice, the Flame Armor instead resists Fire. Thus, if you want both protections, you can equip both at the same time (the same is true for the Ice Armor and Ice Shield).

Castle Fynn Basement B5

The lowest floor of the Castle Fynn Basement features encounters with large groups of Stalagmites, the same as in the trap rooms throughout the dungeon. Fights with them will be a slog, but they should pose little threat to Characters with high Defense and/or Evasion.

The layout of this floor differs from the others, and there are several routes you can take. The quickest is to head east, ignore the first two northern branches, and take the third (after the water ends). Bear west as you go north, and you'll find the Orichalcum guarded by one or more Rhyoses. These are dangerous foes, and the closest thing the Castle Fynn Basement has to a boss. They are similar to Chimeras, but can use Bad Breath to turn party members to Stone. This requires a Gold Needle or Esuna (5 outside of combat) to recover from. If you happen to run into a full group of four of them, you could have a problem on your hands. The Orichalcum is a massive Attack upgrade over the Main Gauche, though it doesn't feature a 5%×level Evasion bonus. (If you have a knife-wielder relying on said Evasion bonus, perhaps Leila, consider using the Main Gauche in their off hand.)

There are six doors in the northeast corner of B5, five of which are fake. The second from the right is the one you want. Within, you'll find the White Mask, unguarded, as well as a teleporter back outside. White Mask in hand, your quest here is done.