Shandar Ridge is the next major area you will need to cross to get to the next stopping point on Nowa’s journey. This takes you to the desert region of the game, where you will encounter the Shi’arcs. This race is willing to help Nowa in the war against the Empire if he can gain their favor. The guide below goes over all the chests and enemies you can find in Shandar Ridge, along with how to defeat the Surkkamui mini-boss.

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Shandar Ridge is a short area with plenty of chests to find.

Enemies in Shandar Ridge¶

Watch out for the Desert Serval, as it has the ability to evade attacks and dish out counter damage. Other enemies you will encounter in the area include the Salamander, which can damage your entire front row with a weak fire attack. Sandworms and Sand Lizards are also present in the area but aren’t too tough to defeat.

Enemies in The Eastern Desert¶

You will find quite a few enemies while wandering around the Easter Desert. The Desert Serval will still appear in battles, along with the Scarab. You will also find some Flame Gels, all of which are decently easy to defeat so long as you have kept up with your levels.

Treasure in Shandar Ridge¶

There area has a total of seven treasure chests to find in this area.

Navigating Shandar Ridge¶

Shandar Ridge is to the right of Hishahn, and was previously inaccessible so use Carrie to fast travel back to the area to save time walking. There are plenty of chests to pick up and quite a few enemies to grind for levels. Once you begin venturing through the canyon, you will discover it’s hard to find chests since the cliffs block sight of them. The first one you can find will be located at the furthest southern dead end and contains a Rune of Mighty Power. Now go to the southern dead end to your right to get the next chest containing a Knight’s Guard. Keep following the path north to find a treasure chest out in the open containing x6 Quality Healing Herb and then continue until you see a southern split leading to a dead end.

Follow it to find a blue chest with a Rune of High Magic. The next chest will be on the main path, open it to get an Anti-Poison Corsage. The final chest is next to the save point at the top of the map, containing x6 Antivenom Herb and should give you a clue as to what you can expect going forward. After crossing the bridge ahead, you will face a mini-boss named Surkkamui.

Defeating Surkkamui¶

Surkkamui is an intimidating-looking enemy that is quite easy to beat. The main attack you need to look out for has it spitting poison at your party that appears as purple goop. This has a chance of poisoning the party member it hits and can easily drain your health. You will want to have Francessca in your party to heal and keep poison damage down until you can use an Anti-venom. Outside of this, you just need to keep steadily attacking Surkkamui until he’s defeated.

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(1 of 2) Surkkamui will confront the party after crossing the bridge.

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Surkkamui will confront the party after crossing the bridge. (left), Watch out for being poisoned. (right)

You will get two items for winning the battle, a Rune of Poison Immunity, which gives you 100% resistance against poison and some Spirit Medicine which is a potent healing item that restores 500 health to your entire party. Keep heading down the path to grab one more blue chest containing Magic Holy Water.

Exploring The Eastern Desert¶

Once you make it out of Shandar Ridge, you will find yourself in the Eastern Desert region. Unlike in previous areas, there’s only one large port to visit, which is Dabavin, and you must circle around the oasis to the bridge to enter. Once you enter the town, you will need to board a ship that will sail you across the desert. Be sure to look around town before you go to take advantage of all that Dabavin can offer you and you will soon arrive at Impershi’arc. Head to the house at the top of town to meet the Soalmeister and learn what Nowa needs to do to enlist their aid.