Back in the Nalbina Dungeons, I avoid the 316-gil chest and get the other two, netting me a Tourmaline Ring and a Foe: Targetting Leader Gambit thing. Anyway.
In the next room (The Black Watch), there are many Imperial soldiers; Swordsmen, Marksmen, Hoplites and Magus'. Balthier recommends treading lightly, so I charge into battle and get in a fight with three soldiers straight away. Yep. I clean house, and then trigger a cutscene; Gabranth's Archadian entourage opens the oubliette and leave. My characters follow shortly after.
We are greeted to a confrontation between Gabranth and Basch; Gabranth removes his helmet, revealing a face very similar to Basch's. After Gabranth scurries off, Vaan squabbles with Basch when Basch requests that the group rescue him. Hurried by the return of the guards, Fran drops the cage Basch is suspended in down into the Barheim Passage. After the cutscene, Basch joins the team as a guest.
Heading down the stairs, I try to activate the Timeworn Device; it's not working. According to Balthier, the fuse is blown. So, we need a new one. A Bangaa Merchant at the bottom of the stairs gives me a replacement. Before I head back up, I decide to sell my Loot to... "Burrogh".
I consult his wares; he has some nice stuff. I buy the Gambits/Magicks he has to offer, a Longswordfor Vaan, as well as Bronze Armour and a Bronze Helm. Fran and Balthier will have to wait: Burrogh doesn't have any Spears.
I head back up the stairs and active the Power Relay; this dungeon's gimmick is then revealed. There's a Charge-bar in the upper-right of the screen. I consume charge to lift gates, and it's also leeched by Battery Mimics. If the Charge does below 50%, Undead start rising. Spooky.
Basch assist our group with his fists; he's not as strong as the rest of my party, but he's certainly an asset. Mimics form a substantial amount of the monster population here, as well as the Undead. Steelings make a return, as well — they also bring their slightly-stronger relatives, Seekers, with them. Deeper in, Flans pop up — they're high in EXP, so I'm not complaining. They do force me to use Magic, since only Fran and Balthier's ranged weapons do damage against them.
After a while, Basch finds a shirt and a sword. He also ties his hair back in a ponytail... this might be my favourite look for him, actually. We're then shown that Basch was being impersonated by his twin brother in the opening sequence. Balthier gets Vaan and Basch to stop squabbling, and we progress. It is at this point that we encounter Mimics in the shape of Treasure Urns; furthermore, we also find a nice spot to level. If I personally allow the Charge Gauge to fall below zero, Skeletons/Skull Defenders appear. If I drum up a large Battle Chain of them (see below), they begin dropping Bone Fragments (high resale value) and Iron Helms (same, and good equipment).
I'm gonna go grind for a bit. I'll be back later.
While I said I'd spend this post talking about Damage-Dealers, it's also a good place to explain how Chains work.
There are three types of Chains. There's normal Battle Chains, in which you kill monsters of the same Classifications in a row. For example, multiple Undead. This is the X-Chain thing that shows up on the bottom of your screen.
Then there's Reverse Chains, where you kill monsters of different Classifications; they're useful for killing monsters of unusual classifications, although not much else. Then there's Hidden Chains: if you kill ten specimens of the same creature (e.g. ten skeletons) sequentially, you can get multiples of Very Common or Commot Loot. If you kill eighteen, you can get the same for Rare or Very Rare Loot.
Chains allow you gain rarer Loot with greater frequency, as well as bringing you more EXP for your troubles. Not picking up Loot from enemies you kill shortens the time taken for the Chain to 'Level up'; except if the Chain number flashes white, at which point you can freely gather-up Loot until you kill another enemy. Higher levels means higher chance of rare Loot; higher levels also bring random beneficial effects. For a testament to how much not-collecting Loot helps: gathering all Loot means you need to kill 163-enemies to reach Chain Level 4. Picking up none? 30. So, yeah.
Any questions? Leave 'em in the comments. As I reach them, I'll explain good grinding spots. The first is the Barheim Passage, of course.
