Party 2 starts off a bit west of party 3. Have them descend the stairs to the east, then circle back west to reach the Outside Switchback. You'll find Brontaurs and Evil Oscars here. There are two doors here. You'll find a Tack Star in the northern area, the Pipe Output. This area exists primarily as a way to return from a one-way drop in the Scrap Area ahead. To the south is the Kefka's Tower Imperial Prison and within it, Atma. Atma is an optional boss, and the reward for defeating it is a save point. The Encounters in the area are a limited version of those you saw previously in the East Dragon Room—Retainers with Hemophytes or Dark Forces.
Atma
Atma is a powerful spellcaster that can use a wide variety of Spells and Abilities. Its attacks early in the battle consist of all three tier-3 Elemental attack spells as well as both N. Cross and S. Cross. All of these do roughly the same amount of damage, except N. Cross which instead causes the Freeze status. Once you've gone through about 40% of Atma's 55,000 HP, it will switch up its attack strategy. It will still use Fire 3, but will mix in CleanSweep, Quake, Meteor, and Flare Star. Meteor will do around 1,200 damage, while Quake can do almost 2,000 to anyone who isn't Floating. Atma will continue this onslaught until it is dead, countering on occasion with a powerful basic attack.
Once you've attacked Atma 12 times, an "unknown light" will surround it. This indicates that you have two more full turns until Atma uses Ultima. It will deal around 2,500 damage, so if you're high enough level you may be able to survive. However, your best strategy is to finish the fight before Ultima is ready. Atma has low Defense and Mag.Def and absorbs all but the basic Elements (Fire, Ice, and Thunder). Stick to powerful attacks to delay the Ultima countdown early on, but feel free to go all out once the unknown light first appears.
Once Atma is defeated and your game is saved, proceed south. You'll fall a long ways into the Scrap Area, a small area featuring two Monsters not seen anywhere else in the game. First are Steroidites, large creatures with pitiful Defense. Their attacks are fairly powerful, especially Rush, but their most powerful Ability is Giga Volt. They also like to Freeze opponents with Cold Dust and N. Cross. They are notable not for their attacks, but because you can Steal Thunder Shlds from them. Not only are Thunder Shlds great on their own, you can wager them at the Colosseum and turn them into Genji Shlds.
Series veterans may expect Movers to be worth a lot of Magic Points, but this is not the case. They appear in threes, and will do nothing but attack or Mute opponents with Silencer at first. They have incredibly high Mag.Def but normal Defense and only 120 HP. When there's one left, they will start to use Big Guard and Blow Fish. They are the only Monster in the game that actually uses Big Guard, though you can also have Strago learn it by having Relm Sketch EarthGuards on the Solitary Island. You can also Steal Super Balls from the Movers.
The door at the top of the stairs leads to the Pipe Junction. The right pipe leads back to the Pipe Output, allowing you to backtrack if needed. There is a new set of Encounters in this area. Most commonly you'll run into three Junks. Each will usually die on the first round, either through Pep Up or Exploder. They have 2,000 HP, so Exploder can hurt. If they don't kill themselves, they may use Parallout to turn themselves Clear before deciding once again whether to end it all.
You'll also encounter trios of IronHitmen, simple creatures that use basic attacks, their double-damage Destroy special, or Dischord. They have low HP and standard mechanical vulnerabilities to Thunder and Water. Finally, sometimes a Fortis will attack paired up with a Dueller. Party 3 has seen both of these Monsters before, though not together. Both are vulnerable to Thunder, though Fortises will counter uses of it with a combination attack.
The left pipe leads back Outside to a new area. You'll find a Force Shld in a nearby chest. There are two nearby entrances. For now, take the one to the west, which leads to the Switch Room. You'll have to hit the switch in here in order for party 1 to pass by. There is a Ribbon in the chest in the corner, and the Encounters are the same as in the Pipe Junction. Back Outside, follow the lower path west to collect a suit of Force Armor before returning east to the far door. This leads to the West Single Path, and from there to the West Dragon Room. The West Single Path has a unique encounter with two Vectagoyles. These Chimera-like Monsters use a variety of Elemental damage Abilities including Giga Volt, Blizzard, Blaze, and Aqua Rake. They often counter Fight with the appropriately-named Counter, a double-damage special that hurts. They have no counters for other attacks, nor do they resist any Elements or absorb them.
The West Dragon Room contains the Gold Drgn, and the random Encounters here are seen nowhere else. Veterans can appear in trios, and frequently use Condemned. They sometimes counter Magic with Roulette, making them an effective teacher of both of those Lores if Strago has not yet learned them. They can also Petrify with the Dread Ability. They have 10,000 HP but no special defenses, so defeat them with whatever attacks are convenient. Sometimes a lone Veteran appears with a Didalos. Didaloses will use Reflect??? if any Characters are under the effects of Reflect. This can be a difficult Lore to learn, and they are a valuable source. They can use L.5 Doom or Bio in the first round, then follow that up with Demi or Virite. They may counter Fight with Fire Wall. They are undead and have the standard vulnerabilities to Fire and Pearl.
The Gold Drgn
If you've been following this walkthrough in order, this is the eighth and final legendary dragon. It will attack with various Thunder Abilities like Giga Volt, Bolt, and Bolt 2 to begin with. Of these, only Giga Volt is of any concern. It will counter Magic with Bolt or Bolt 2. Using Fight against the Gold Drgn four times will cause it to store up energy. On its next turn, it will use Bolt 3 on the party.
The Gold Drgn is not difficult to kill, with only 32,400 HP. It absorbs Thunder and is vulnerable to Water, though you don't need to target a weakness to defeat it. You'll get the Crystal Orb when you do. This Relic raises its user's maximum MP by 50%.
If the Gold Drgn was the eighth legendary dragon you defeated, you automatically receive the Crusader Esper. This is a good Esper if you like Spells that kill your own party members along with the enemies, as both Merton and Crusader's Purifier summon do just that.
You can head through the door to the Double Switchback and from there to the left side of Grand Hall South. Walk up the path and stand on the left switch. If party 3 is already standing on their switch, the middle doors will open, allowing party 1 to pass through.