Old Wounds - Sword Weaponskill  

Summary

Curilla has agreed to help you polish your single-handed sword skills for the upcoming tourneys.

Walkthrough

Min. Job Lvl: 71+ Min. Sword Skill: 240+

If you're ready to accept the mission, head to Chateau d'Oraguille in San d'Oria and speak with the leader of the Temple Knights, Curilla (Elvaan female in I.M. armor). If you meet the requirements, she will tell you that you have progressed sufficiently in skill level to compete in the San d'Oria tournaments, but that you need to perform one last feat of sword mastery before you may challenge San d'Oria's best.

She proceeds to hand you a key item as well as a sword, the Sapara of Trials. She instructs you to master the sword by weakening it's powers, which roughly means you need to remove the latent effect off of it by participating in skillchains and performing weapon skills. The number of SCs and WSs you need to do before the sword is sufficiently weakened goes by a strict point-based system, also please keep in mind that the monster you fight must also be EP or above:

Solo-WS or opening any level SC: 1 pt.

Close LVL1 SC: 2 pts.

Close LVL2 SC: 3 pts.

Close LVL3 SC: 5 pts.

Total Needed: 300 pt.

Participate in SCs until you've accumulated enough points for the latent effects on the Sapara of Trials to dissappear. Note: the text on the item description will remain, but the effects will expire. The best way to do this is find a SAM buddy and and do Swift Blade > Tachi: Gekko and then switch the order around on the next and so on. Chaining with a DRK and Cross Reaper would work too, but DRKs don't get TP as quickly.

After the latent effects are off of the Sapara of Trials, return to Curilla and trade her the sword. She will hand you yet another key item and tell you to proceed to Quicksand Caves.

PLD Weapon Skill NM: Girtablulu

You will Need: - Balanced alliance of 12+ Lvl70+ people, - Map of Quicksand Caves:(from Treasure Coffer), - Silent Oils, - Lots of patience.

After turning in the sword, Curilla asks you to go to Quicksand Caves, find a ??? inside and kill Girtablulu, a difficult NM scorpion. Of course, like most everything for us PLDs, it's not as easy as it sounds. If just killing the scorpion NM wasn't hard enough, getting to the ??? is an even harder task.

The Altepa Gate

You need to get this gate open before you can reach the NM. The gate is located at (I-6) of Western Altepa but is only accessible through Quicksand Caves and can only be opened when 4 columns/switches are activated. At this point, you're going to have to split up the alliance into 4 seperate groups to go after each column/switch to open the gate. Remember, mobs in Quicksand Caves will still aggro at 70+ so it's a good idea if everybody can Sneak themselves.

1) Emerald Column Send 2 party members to (D-12) of Western Altepa Desert. From there, have them zone into Quicksand Caves and head for (F-7) on the map. On the way, they may encounted a door that can only be opened by having 2 people stand on a weight-switch. Once at (F-7) they will find a sand whirlpool where they can drop through to a lower level. Once they've dropped, have them head to the zone at (H-4) on the map. Once they are back in Western Altepa Desert, they should see the Emerald Column. Have them click on the column and head back to join the rest of the alliance.

2) Sapphire Column Send another 2 party members to (G-5) of Western Altepa Desert. Have them zone into Quicksand Caves and pass through another weight-switch doorway and head for the zone at (D-8) on their map. Once there, have them look for the Sapphire Column and examine it to activate it. After they are done, have them catch up with the rest of the alliance.

3) Topaz Column Send the rest of the alliance to (J-9) of Western Altepa Desert and have them wait at this spot until the gate is opened. Send 1 party member into Quicksand Caves and have them head for (D-11). Then have them head to the farthest room on their right-hand side and fall through a whirlpool to a lower level. From there, have them zone to (C-6) to Western Altepa Desert where they can reach and examine the Topaz Column. When they are done, have them re-join the alliance at (J-9).

4) Ruby Column Once the other 3 switches/columns have been activated, gather the entire alliance at (J-9) of Western Altepa Desert and enter Quicksand Caves. Head north to (K-6) and drop through yet another whirlpool. From there, have the entire alliance zone to (N-4) on the map to Western Altepa Desert.

From here, send 1 person to activate the Ruby Column while the rest of the alliance heads north through the interconnected tunnels to the Altepa Gate at (I-6). The Altepa Gate looks like a tall set of double doors. Once all 4 columns have been activated, the Altepa Gate will open and stay open for about 15-30 mins. Make sure everybody hurries through the gate and once the alliance is gathered behind it, proceed into Quicksand Caves.

The ??? to spawn Girtablulu is at (I-6) on your map once you've entered Quicksand Caves. Be careful, the mobs in this area should check Decent or Even to 70+ and there is an NM that lurks around the center area and it detects through Sneak. Clear the room at (I-6) of all mobs and prepare for a fun fight.

Girtablulu

Girtablulu can be fought like any mid-level NM. The scorpion has rotten accuracy but hits hard when it connects. There's not much AoE to speak of but keep your mages well away for safety. The only thing to really worry about is to watch the tank's hp when Girtablulu performs it's special attack, which can cause significant damage. Make sure to bring adequate healing power and this fight should go by without a hitch. Once Girtablulu is dead, check the ??? again to receive yet another key item.

Now head back to San d'Oria and speak w/ Curilla again. After a short cutscene where you learn a bit more about Curilla and her eye, you will receive your long-awaited prize: Savage Blade!