Final Fantasy IV: Ultima #22 - Climbing the Tower

Final Fantasy IV: Ultima is a hack by 8-bit fan that aims to present a more expansive version of the classic. New weapons, spells, bosses, and a modified overworld are just a few of the changes on tap. The latest version of the patch can always be found here: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4134/ Time to start climbing the tower. Nothing real noteworthy on the random enemy side save for Chimeras. One pair of them I ended up showing how the Cursed Ring interacts with elemental resistance gear to turn it into absorption (while getting my rear kicked trying to set it up). On the first floor, the elevator to the next floor is due north. There's three chests on the first floor that all contain Ice Arrows. Could be useful for Rosa if she's leaning towards archery since there's lots of ice weak enemies in the tower. Second floor is a straightforward one with three chests. The first contains a Beret. Take all the good stat boosts of the Headband, remove the charm immunity, but add more defense and an additional +5 to vitality. Goes straight to Rosa for me. The next two chests are both in small rooms and both are monster trapped with a single Alert. If hit by an attack and it's alone (as it always is when you find one in a chest), it'll summon a monster. You could farm these spawning monsters for exp if you wanted, but it's not really worth it. You get plenty of exp going through every dungeon as is. Oh, and Alerts can be with a Stop spell so they can't summon. Alternatively, laughing as Rosa one shots them with her Gaea Hammer works too. These two trapped chests reward two ice themed weapons in the Blizzard Spear & Icebrand. Cecil & Kain will both appreciate these upgrades, especially for a future boss. Third floor gives you a couple paths to take. The nearby chest to your west has another copy of Yang's Kaiser status ailment factories, but sadly it's of no use as nobody else in the current party can equip. On the plus side though, the Frost Whip in the eastern most chest will be of use. Another ice elemental weapon which Rydia can make some use of if she wants. Once those chests are collected, take the eastern most elevator in the south (and grab the Life from the chest). There's a DwarfAxe & Notus in this small area. Head back down to 3F and loop around to take the other elevator up to another part of 4F. This part of the fourth floor is linear to the next elevator. First door you see leads to a save point, then you'll see three more doors after crossing a bridge. One door leads to nothing (southeastern most door), the others have trapped monster chests with an Ice Shield & Armor as your rewards. Fifth floor...Boreas & Ether in the chests here along with a locked door in the center. Remember this for after the upcoming boss. After taking a couple more elevators, you'll be on the seventh floor. Directly to the east is another save point. Going due south from the elevator will let you grab a Dry Ether on the way to the elevator leading to the eighth floor. On the eighth floor, you'll run into Dr. Lugae talking to someone by the name of Rubicant who happens to be the final elemental fiend, being attuned to all things fire related. After Rubicant takes his leave via teleport, Lugae thinks he's in the clear for some weird experiments. Sadly Cecil's party puts a damper on that and kicks his ass something fierce (Yeah, this is a boss fight, but it's an absolute joke). After Rosa crits the mechanized doctor's face for 5k damage and kills him, he drops his key. That locked door back on the 5th floor? That's what the key unlocks. Next time, we'll be at said door and deal with the threat behind it.