Jagd Ramooda
Regions of Mist-laden winds and magicite-rich soil, precluding the proper operation of skystone. Shifts in weather have been known to make jagd where once there was none, though the reverse has never been recorded by the chroniclers of such things. As airships cannot operate in jagd, no such region is under the control of a major country, making the jagds lawless, perilous places.
Yeah, about that whole no airships in jagd thing... remind me why I had to walk uphill both ways through the snow, again, and the Empire gets to just fly to Mt. Bur-Omisace?
Oh, right. Video game logic. Never mind.
Paramina Rift
Comprising a great ravine running through the mountains of the Jagd Ramooda, this is a barren land covered in hoarfrost and deep snows. The spent shells of airships hang in the frozen river, and here and there can be seen the ruins of great cities built during the years of the Galtean Alliance. Many are the scholars who believe that the Paramina Rift was once a rich and verdant land, and that a climate change brought about by Mist made it into the cold, harsh jagd we see today.
Comprising a great ravine running through the mountains of the Jagd Ramooda, this is a barren land covered in hoarfrost and deep snows. The spent shells of airships hang in the frozen river, and here and there can be seen the ruins of great cities built during the years of the Galtean Alliance. Many are the scholars who believe that the Paramina Rift was once a rich and verdant land, and that a climate change brought about by Mist made it into the cold, harsh jagd we see today.You’re free to explore the whole area as soon as you get there, but I usually wait until I reach Mt. Bur-Omisace and go through all the scenes there. I suppose still having Larsa would be more useful, but eh. Usually I’m impatient to see the cutscene. Yes, even though I’ve played this game five times. Shhh.
I’m usually at a decent level by the time I get here, so I don’t often grind much here, but it’s worth mentioning that there are a lot of great drops from the enemies in the Paramina Rift, especially if you have the Thief’s Cuffs and the monographs.
Rare Game Worth mentioning is that if you kill all the enemies in the Karydine Glacier (including the friendly Wild Onions), the rare game Anchag will spawn. I did it entirely by accident on my last playthrough; imagine my surprise when I was heading back through and there was someone waiting for me. You can steal Damascus Steel from him, used to make Gemsteel, which in turn is used for the Masamune and the Tournesol weapons. Ancbolder will also appear if you’ve started the Hunt Club quest.
The Trickster hunt is an absolute pain in the ass; I recommend killing the majority of the enemies in the Frozen Brook area (especially the elemental) so that they don’t interrupt you fighting it, as the Trickster will run all over the map.
Mt. Bur-Omisace
The sacred mountain of the Kiltia sect, located to the north of the Jagd Ramooda. The temple was built here by believers to mark the place where the founder of the Light of Kiltia began to spread the teachings. There are accounts of the holy city here dating back to writings from the age of the Galtean Alliance. In its long history, Mt Bur-Omisace has never fallen under the control of any foreign power. On the understanding that Kiltia's followers would exempt themselves from political dealings in other lands, Kingdom and Empire both formed a pact to guarantee the holy city's independence, an agreement which stands to this day. It would not be an error to call Mt Bur-Omisace itself a shrine to Kiltia. Apart from the temples, there are only a few residences, with roadside shops catering to the steady stream of pilgrims. In recent years, refugees from war-torn lands have gathered here, forming camps on part of the mountain. The priests of Kiltia give them aid that they might live here in peace. As Mt Bur-Omisace is surrounded by jagd, the faithful must cross the Inner Naldoan Sea by boat in their pilgrimage to the holy city.
I can’t remember now what I thought about the fate of Bur-Omisace the first time I played the game, but in subsequent playthroughts it’s so obvious what’s coming. Oh hey let me just step away for one minute and— WAIT WHY IS EVERYTHING BURNING. I’m exaggerating, but really, it is a standard trope.
Anyway the important thing about Bur-Omisace is that you finally meet Al-Cid. Also I really like all of the cutscenes here. Gameplay-wise, there’s really not much to talk about aside from the few hunts you can start here. Bergan’s not that bad if you levelled up enough in the Stilshrine. Try and steal a Ruby Ring from him in the Zodiac versions since you can’t buy them.
The Stilshrine of Miriam
An ancient shrine deep within the Jagd Ramooda. Like Raithwall's tomb, this, too, was constructed in the time of the Galtean Alliance, originally to honor the ancient god of swords and martial might. It is said that a Gran Kiltias of long ago selected the Stilshrine to house the relics of Dynast-King Raithwall, though why he chose this site, and not a temple of his own sect, is unclear.
An ancient shrine deep within the Jagd Ramooda. Like Raithwall's tomb, this, too, was constructed in the time of the Galtean Alliance, originally to honor the ancient god of swords and martial might. It is said that a Gran Kiltias of long ago selected the Stilshrine to house the relics of Dynast-King Raithwall, though why he chose this site, and not a temple of his own sect, is unclear.I really, really like the Stilshrine; I think it’s one of the best-designed areas of the game and I especially love how you can see the colossus in the center of the shrine from so many different areas of the map. It makes perfect sense and it’s just adds to the immersion. It’s also just a really fun dungeon to run around in, and the fact that the statues actually get up and attack you? Holy shit it’s so cool.
There’s a secret passageway in the Ward of the Sword-King; hug the left wall to the south of the T-split and you’ll find a staircase full of Oilings. Use Float before entering the room at the top as it’s full of traps. (I learned this the hard way.) Other than that the dungeon is fairly straightforward. If you get stuck with turning the statues to face the colossus, just remember that their eyes light up when they’re pointed in the correct direction, and voila.
Mateus can be a pain if you’re not prepared or if you’re in the Zodiac versions and don’t have many options. Give as many characters as you can Ice Shields, cast Thundara and use the Storm Spear if possible, and take out the elementals first.
Level Grinding The Stilshrine contains a well-known auto-levelling spot. I’ve used this one before on playthroughs that I wanted to speed through , and it works well. You need to spawn the Negalmuur rare game, which appears in the Walk of Revelation area once you’ve killed the Darkmare and spent thirty minutes inside the Stilshrine. The Negalmuur constantly spawns Ghasts, and the basic idea is that you set your gambits to kill them, while leaving the Negalmuur alone. Because this is a very specific strategy, I’ll just go ahead and link you to two guides for it: on GameFAQs, and the FF wiki. Happy auto-levelling!
This is a lot harder to do on IZJS given that you probably don't have all of the necessary spells, but then again if you’re playing IZJS (and have gotten this far) it’s probably because you enjoy the gameplay and don’t need to auto-level.