Final Fantasy IX
Hades
Ever wonder where to find that synthesizer that everyone says creates the best items in the game? Well, Hades is the man but you won't be able to get to him until Disk 4 for he resides in Memoria. He is an optional boss but beating him allows you to take advantage of his synthesizing shop.
Where the heck is he!?
Upon entering a certain room in Memoria, Quina will think there is water there and attempt to swim. Afterwards, search the area that's hidden around the coral on the right of the screen. You know you have found it when an ominous voice speaks and attempts to scare you away. Keep persisting in order to fight Hades and make sure you keep hitting the confirm button for the "!" symbol won't appear.
As a quick note, make sure that you have completed the Stellazzio quest in order to receive the Hammer in order to forge more items with Hades. Also, make sure that your party is strong and has already mastered most of their abilities for Hades isn't that easy.
The Battle Plan
An optimum party to have would be Zidane and Steiner for their physical strength, Vivi with his strong magic, and Dagger with her healing capabilities. It is recommended that all your characters have Auto-Regen, Body-Temp, Antibody, and Clear-Headed for Hades casts a curse spell that causes everything from Darkness to Mini (actually, it also causes Confusion, Poison, and Slow). Make sure that Zidane and Steiner have Auto-Haste and even High Tide in order to be powerhouses. Vivi should already have Flare available and ReflectX2 equipped for it will prove quite useful in battle. If possible, have Dagger equip Auto-Reflect or at least cast Reflect on her in order for Vivi to reflect his magic off her onto Hades during battle. Equip Zidane with Ultima Weapon and Steiner with the Ragnarok (refer to Chocobo Hot and Cold quest for both weapons). If you want Zidane to steal, then equip Mug, Master-Thief, or Bandit.
As for the actual battle, have Steiner do Shock and he should cause 9,999 HP damage per turn. For the first turn, have Vivi focus while Dagger either casts Reflect on herself or cure other party members if she has Auto-Reflect equipped. After that first round, just have Vivi reflect his magic off her which should inflict around 9,999 HP damage per turn (refer to the paragraph above if you don't know what magic to use). If you can beat him in less than 8 rounds, then you save yourself from his oh-so devastating attack known as Doomsday which pretty much annihilates anyone without protection from Shadow magic. Other strategies include, building everyone up to near Trance and unleashing your fury upon him, or as I said above, using either Eiko or Quina instead of Dagger. Quina should utilize her Mighty Guard and Angel's Snack abilities and Eiko can counter Mini with her own Mini spell.
After Battle and the Synth Shop
If you beat him, you will get 16,383 EXP along with 9,638 Gil. This also means he can start to synthesize items for you. If you bring him two Pumice Pieces, like he asks, he can forge the Pumice, an item that allows Dagger to learn Ark, her most powerful summon. Here is a chart, in order from least expensive to most expensive, of all the items Hades can create:
Synthesized Item |
Gil Needed |
Items Required |
Peridot
Opal
Topaz
Sapphire
Amethyst
Phoenix Pinion
Garnet
Lapis Lazuli
Ether
Pumice Piece
Robe of Lords
Protect Ring
Tin Armor
Pumice
Save the Queen |
100
100
100
200
200
300
350
400
500
25000
30000
40000
50000
50000
50000 |
Ore, Soft
Ore, Potion
Ore, Eye Drops
Ore, Antidote
Ore, Annoyntment
Phoenix Down, Gysahl Greens
Ore, Remedy
Ore, Dead Pepper
Echo Screen, Vaccine
Hammer, Pumice
White Robe, Black Robe
Dark Matter, Rebirth Ring
Hammer, Ore
2 Pumice Piece
Javelin, Silver Gloves |
*Info gathered from www.PlayOnline.com
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EXP: 0% 
11-2000 (US)
07-2000 (JP)
02-2001 (EU)
