Altar Cave

Your party plummets straight into Altar Cave with zero preparation. Three Goblins attack before you can even open the menu, so beat them for your first bestiary entry. And make this a habit: defeat every enemy type in each dungeon before you leave. You can't always come back.

B3 - Starting Floor

Head north on B3 to grab two chests: a Leather Shield (1/367) and a Potion (2/367). Continue north and interact with the boulder to open a hidden path to the right. Follow that path up toward the stairs for another Leather Shield (3/367), then take the stairs up to B2.

B2 - Healing Spring & Path to the Crystal

B2 has loot on both sides of the stairs. Go left first for an Antarctic Wind (4/367), then double back right past the stairs and down the hall for a Potion (5/367). Head up through the narrow corridor and grab the chest at the fork junction for one more Potion (6/367).

Take the right path from the fork to reach a healing spring that restores all HP and MP (and revives dead party members). There's an Antarctic Wind (7/367) directly north of it. Head back to the fork and go left through the door. The Wind Crystal room is just ahead, but you've got a boss blocking the way.

How to Beat Land Turtle

Wind Crystal Jobs

Beat the Land Turtle and interact with the Wind Crystal. After a cutscene about your party's destiny (the usual Crystals-in-danger setup), the crystal grants you access to five new jobs:

• Warrior - Warriors deal pure physical damage with swords. They can't cast any magic, but they're much bulkier than Monks and survive hits better.
• Monk - Monks hit hardest when fighting bare-handed; they actually out-damage Warriors. The tradeoff is poor defense and limited gear options.
• White Mage - White Mages handle all your healing and status removal, with some offensive spells later. Have at least one in your party to avoid burning through Potions.
• Black Mage - Black Mages specialize in elemental damage and status spells. They're especially useful against bosses weak to a specific element.
• Red Mage - Red Mages can heal, cast offensive magic, and equip some Warrior gear, but they don't excel at any one thing.

Use the teleporter at the north end of the room to exit to the overworld. Save immediately; you can only save out here. Assign your jobs now (and bring a White Mage). Check your world map and you'll see Altar Cave shows 7/14 chests collected, so head back in for the rest.

Hidden Path & Remaining Chests

From the entrance (you're now on B1), head down and right toward what looks like a dead end. Keep walking right through the wall to find a hidden path with two chests, each holding 1000 Gil (8/367 and 9/367). Watch for hidden paths like this throughout the game; they tend to hide the better loot.

Head back through the hidden path and go south to the stairs down to B2. You'll emerge into a room with five chests arranged around the hole you fell through at the start of the game.

• Top chest: Sleep (10/367)
• Bottom right chest: Longsword (11/367)
• Bottom chest: Bronze Bracers (12/367)
• Bottom left chest: Nunchaku (13/367)
• Far left chest: Longsword (14/367)

That's all 14 chests in Altar Cave, and there are no hidden items to worry about. Before you leave, check your bestiary and make sure you've got all 5 entries: Goblin, Carbuncle, Eye Fang, Blue Wisp, and Land Turtle. The first two are story fights but the other three are random, so run a few laps on B2 if you're missing any. Backtrack out to the overworld and save.