Like the best tactical role-playing games, Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles features a selection of rare, powerful weapons that can turn any character into a powerhouse. Getting hold of these weapons, however, is not simple at all, as some can only be obtained by stealing them from powerful enemies, while others are only available as rare finds inside Midlight's Deep, an optional, challenging endgame dungeon.
Thankfully, there is one strategy that allows you to farm the rarest melee weapons long before you access the endgame. Here is the definitive guide on how to use this strategy, starting as early as the beginning of Chapter 4.
NOTE: This farming strategy has been refined in Enhanced Mode's Tactician mode, and later tested in Knight and Squire difficulties and Classic Mode. Screenshots captured from the up-to-date Steam version as of October 15, 2026.
Table of contents
How to Farm the Best Rare Weapons
You can start farming the best melee weapons in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles from the very beginning of Chapter 4 by triggering a rare enemy encounter in Araguay Woods. By entering the woods from the Merchant City of Dorter, you can fight a group of Ninjas who will use their Throw Job Command to throw different weapons at you, depending on their learned skills and their level. By equipping the Sticky Fingers Reaction Ability, any unit targeted by the Ninjas' throw ability will be able to catch the thrown weapon, depending on the ability's activation rate based on the unit's Bravery stat.
NOTE: The Araguay Woods rare Ninja squad encounter is a rare enemy encounter, so there's a high chance you will have to initiate a fight in the woods multiple times before they show up. If you meet any other enemy group in Enhanced Mode, deploy your fastest unit, start the battle, open up the pause menu, and then select Return to World Map to quickly initiate another fight.
NOTE 2: An enemy encounter with high-level Ninjas is also possible on Midlight's Deep HORROR stage. Despite the different map layout, this strategy works in the endgame dungeon as well.
Requirements
Although you can start farming rare weapons as soon as the beginning of Chapter 4, you will need to meet some requirements first.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Level | 80+ (Essential to ensure enemy Ninjas throw the rarest weapons, typically Level 90+) |
| Reaction Ability | Sticky Fingers (Thief Job Reaction Ability - 200 JP). Must be set on your target units to automatically catch and keep the thrown weapon. |
| Immobilization Ability | Mustadio's Leg Shot. This is the only recommended immobilization method, as it prevents movement but still allows the enemy to use the Throw ability. |
| Speed Buffs | Ramza's Tailwind or Haste Time Magick (Optional, but highly recommended). Increase the speed of the enemy so they take their turn and throw weapons more often, speeding up the farming process. |
Farming Strategy: The Turn-by-Turn Method
Although getting the Ninjas to throw weapons at you only requires positioning your units in their throw range, which is determined by the thrower's movement range, you can use certain strategies to make your weapon farming endeavors in Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles more consistent.
Recommended Party
| Unit / Ability | Role | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Any Unit with High Bravery and Sticky Fingers | The Catcher | Essential. High Bravery increases the activation of the Sticky Fingers Reaction Ability when catching a thrown weapon. |
| Orlandeau or Meliadoul OR Any Unit that can use the Knight's Arts of War Rend Helm | The Crusher | Essential. Crush Helm or Rend Helm is needed to remove the Thief's Cap (which grants Immobilize immunity) before Mustadio can use Leg Shot. |
| Mustadio | The Immobilizer | Leg Shot is required to stop the enemy from moving without preventing them from using the Throw command. |
| Ramza | The Speed Buffer | Tailwind can be used to increase the enemy Ninja's Speed. This makes the Ninja act and throw weapons more often, significantly speeding up the farming process. |
| Any Unit that can restore HP and revive | The Safety Net | Essential backup. Ninjas can quickly overwhelm your party with high damage, so a unit capable of healing/reviving is necessary to prevent a restart of the battle. |
Turn-by-turn Strategy
Phase 1 - Finding your Target and Cleaning House
As soon as the battle begins, take your time to check out the enemy Ninjas' abilities and see what weapon type they can throw at you. Generally, the female Ninja, who will be 10 levels higher than your highest level unit, is the enemy with the most Throw abilities learned, but if any other enemy has the ability to throw a weapon type you wish to farm, keep note of them as well.
Once you have found which enemy can throw your desired rare weapons, get rid of the rest as quickly as possible.
Phase 2 - Immobilization
After defeating the enemies that cannot throw anything valuable at you, use Mustadio's Leg Shot to immobilize the remaining Ninjas. As high-level Ninjas equip the Thief's Cap, use Crush Helm with Orlandeau, Meliadoul, or the Knight's Rend Helm ability to destroy the headgear and remove the Immobilized status immunity.
Phase 3 - Positioning
Once the remaining enemies have been immobilized, put any of your units with the Sticky Fingers Reaction Ability in the enemies' throw range. Move any character without the ability as far as possible.
Phase 4 - Catch the Weapons
If you have done everything correctly, the remaining Ninjas will start throwing rare weapons at your characters every turn, allowing your units to catch them with Sticky Fingers. Boost their speed with Ramza's Tailwind to speed the process up while ensuring the enemies stay immobilized with Mustadio's Leg Shot.
NOTE: If you are targeting a specific weapon, but the Ninja that is supposed to throw it at you is at a higher level, you can drop their level using the Mindflayer's Level Down ability. The monster can use this ability when another unit with the Squire's Beastmaster Support Ability skill (200 JP) is nearby.
Every Farmable Rare Weapon
| Weapon Type | Enemy Level Required | Weapon Name |
|---|---|---|
| Knife | Lv. 95-99 | Zwill Straightblade |
| Sword | Lv. 95 | Nagnarok |
| Lv. 96-99 | Materia Blade | |
| Flail | Lv. 90-99 | Scorpion Tail |
| Katana | Lv. 95 | Masamune |
| Lv. 96-99 | Chirijiraden | |
| Ninja Blade | Lv. 95 | Sasuke's Blade |
| Lv. 96-99 | Koga Blade | |
| Axe | Lv. 90-99 | Slasher |
| Polearm | Lv. 95 | Holy Lance |
| Lv. 96 | Dragon Whisker | |
| Lv. 97-99 | Javelin (Enhanced) | |
| Pole | Lv. 95 | Ivory Pole |
| Lv. 96-99 | Whale Whisker | |
| Knight's Sword | Lv. 92-94 | Defender |
| Lv. 95 | Save the Queen | |
| Lv. 96 | Excalibur | |
| Lv. 97 | Ragnarok | |
| Lv. 98-99 | Chaos Blade | |
| Book | Lv. 95-99 | Omnilex |
With these powerful weapons, you should have no trouble taking on the many challenges of Chapter 4, including the final boss. If you have yet to reach the game's final chapter and need help with other challenges and game mechanics, check out our Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles guides.
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