How do I obtain Ark?

[Daenerys]

Okay, on my most recent playthrough of FFIX, I'm determined to unlock all the abilities for all my characters. So I have all the Eidolons for Garnet, except for Ark. How do I obtain him, and when is the earliest time I can do so? I'm near the end of disk 3 at the moment, getting ready to go to Ipsens Castle.

 

[Saix]

You get the first Pumice Piece as a compulsory drop from the Ark boss battle, so if you play through the game normally you're half way there anyway. To get the second, you have to steal it from ... Ozma. It sucks really, because Ark isn't worth that much trouble. Alternatively you could just kill Ozma and get a Piece, or the full Pumice (if you threw the first Piece away, or just don't have it).

After getting the two Pieces, take them to Hades, beat him, then get him to synthesize the two for you.

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

You can get one without fighting Ozma, from one of the final Chocographs, I think. Or if you're incredibly dim, have Hades synthesise a piece from your whole Pumice.

 

[Daenerys]

Where is Hades anyway? I have no idea where he is, and I've never been able to find him

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

In Memoria, which is disc 4 only. In the room that looks like it's underwater where Quina has the weird acid-trip moment and sees food everywhere. There's a rock on the right of the path, and he's behind that.

 

[Saix]

You can get one without fighting Ozma, from one of the final Chocographs, I think. Or if you're incredibly dim, have Hades synthesise a piece from your whole Pumice.

Either way, you need a Gold Chocobo for it. Might as well just get the rest of what Ozma has to offer in the meantime.

Where is Hades anyway? I have no idea where he is, and I've never been able to find him

As above, through you need to press the square button. Press select so you can see where you are, and when you're behind the obscuring rock, keeping walking along it whilst bashing square. He'll then ask if you want to fight - to which you should obviously say yes.

Make sure you steal from him though.

 

[Daenerys]

What level do you need to be at to defeat Hades? I heard he's an optional super-boss, so I wouldn't want to go in underleveled...My main 4 are at level 50 at the moment.

 

[Rockman X]

What level do you need to be at to defeat Hades? I heard he's an optional super-boss, so I wouldn't want to go in underleveled...My main 4 are at level 50 at the moment.

Hades is pathetically easy, if your guys are at lvl 50 you should beat him no problem. Just have Vivi pound away at him with Firaga and Meteor (for some reason it seems to work well on him) and Steiner hit him with his best attacks. During the battle, Hades counts down to......something. I forgot what attack he counts down to, I always beat him first.

As for getting that Pumice from Ozma, you're better off keeping it and using it as an accessory to absorb Vivi's Doomsday. Summons in IX suck.

 

[Lord_Atomos]

after listening to how to get him, he seems worth getting, plus i get to fight a really strong boss along the way^^

 

[Saix]

What level do you need to be at to defeat Hades? I heard he's an optional super-boss, so I wouldn't want to go in underleveled...My main 4 are at level 50 at the moment.

I wouldn't say 50 was under-levelled, but you might want to ensure you have good armour equipped. I wouldn't worry so much about his spells as I would about his damn sword - it can hit pretty hard if you're not ready to deal with it. You should be OK at your current level, but it doesn't hurt to bump it a little... plus it's easy to level in Memoria anyway.

Hades is pathetically easy, if your guys are at lvl 50 you should beat him no problem.

Only if you're heading at him with all you've got. If you're wanting to steal his high desirable items, he can prove to be quite a pestilence. Not an overly challenging boss either way, but he can still rack up some hefty damage.

As for getting that Pumice from Ozma, you're better off keeping it and using it as an accessory to absorb Vivi's Doomsday. Summons in IX suck.

Man speaks truth. Though for the sake of getting Ark; you might as well.

 

[Gabranth]

Hades does cast Curse however. It's possibly the most annoying attack in the game since it deals a good 3k damage, and inflicts multiple status effects on ALL your party members.