Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Zodiac Spear location: where to find the infamously elusive weapon

One of the things Final Fantasy XII was most famous for was the Zodiac Spear, a ridiculously powerful late game weapon that had some truly insane requirements behind it. We're pretty certain in being able to say that absolutely nobody stumbled upon the Zodiac Spear by accident - you really have to plan to get your hands on this weapon.

That's because the Zodiac Spear was hidden behind a bizarre series of chest-opening triggers where if you opened the wrong chest at any point during your play through your chances of ever getting the weapon would be completely shot. FF12 is an amazing game, but it was always a very silly little thing about it.

As we gleefully reported in our list of changes and additions to Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, the Zodiac Spear has been moved, making the manner in which you get it much less clear cut and much less something that you could accidentally ruin many hours into a play through. Here's how it's found in the new version of this classic JRPG...

How to get the Zodiac Spear - the most powerful weapon in FF12: The Zodiac Age

The Zodiac Spear is just as incredible in The Zodiac Age as it was in the original version of FF12, and as a result the weapon is pretty sought-after. Thankfully in this game there's no way to completely con yourself out of the ability to ever get it, but it's still pretty difficult to get.

The Zodiac Spear can only be equipped by the Uhlan character class, so you'll want to make sure that one of your characters has the Uhlan as their first job, or add it to a character as a secondary job - we have a few second job combination suggestions that include the Uhlan class, which is a useful support character role sort of job. Once you have an Uhlan, you'll need to grab the Strongest Halberd License.

It has to be said that the fact that it's now restricted to certain classes in turn makes the Zodiac Spear a little less of a must-have item than it was before - especially when Uhlan isn't quite one of the top-tier jobs.

Anyway, the Zodiac Spear can now be found in a few different locations throughout the game - either in a certain chest or out in the world via the Hunt Club.

Zodiac Spear location 1 - from a rare chest drop

The Zodiac Spear can actually be found inside a chest as a loot drop - but it's extremely rare, with the chest appearing only a miniscule 1% of the time. That sounds painful, I know, 

It'll drop from a rare chest in a secret area of the Henne Mines zone, near where the Zodiark is found. That location means it's now an extremely late-game item, too - you can't reach there early. Even then, it's a late-game drop and there is only 1% chance of it dropping! 

There's a twist to all of this, of course: you can revisit this area hoping the chest will spawn. Each time you enter the area (you only need to move one screen away) it has a chance to appear. Once it appears take a deep breath and open it: the Zodiac Spear will be inside. You can see an example of where in the Henne Mines this chest has a chance to appear on a simple map below - thanks to FFWorld, whose map from the PS2 FF12 we've used as a base.

Zodiac Spear location 2 - from the Rare Hunt Club Collection Sidequest

This way is much more guaranteed, but it has a very difficult, long path to get to the Zodiac Spear and then in turn forces you to pass up on other options in favor of it. First you'll need to access the Hunt Club - you'll know when this is available in-game (after your encounter with Cid at Draklor lab) - once the time is right, visit the Hunters' Camp on the Phon Coast.

There, speak to the Huntsmaster hanging out near the Hunt Board. Say "you're a bird of prey," and he'll give you a hunt to carry out. Go ahead and do that side quest to take down a Thalassinon and then head back to the Hunters' Camp and report your success. You'll then have to chat to a few other hunter types to be fully inducted.

From this point you'll have access to a grand total of 80 rare creatures who need to be brutally hunted down. 30 of these monsters are new thanks to you joining the Hunt Club, and have only appeared now you've kicked off this quest line. These 30 monsters are special - unlike the regular hunts they only spawn once, and they're especially hard. The game marks these as "Trophy Rare Monster", while the regular hunts are just marked as "Rare Monster". 

These 30 extra battles are also hard because doing these hunts gets you trophies, but due to the number of beasts you can only get a maximum of 30 trophies. Here's where it gets complicated: the vendors Atak, Blok and Stok all carry various items in their stock that are pretty rare, but you only have a total of 30 trophies to spend once you tackle the hunts. Depending on who you allocate your 30 trophies too, the rewards you can get will vary. Zodiac Spear is just one of many potential rewards.

In order to get The Zodiac Spear from the Hunter Club sidequest, there are two combinations that will work. You either have to give 10 of those trophies to each of the three bangaas, or you give at least 16 to Atak. By getting it you're potentially passing up other possible rewards including the Genji Gloves, Grand Helm, Ultima Blade, Masamune and other top-tier items. Consider this carefully - but if you want the Zodiac Spear, it's there for you, but it all depends on what classes you are using.