QUICK QUEST SUMMARY

Go to Castle Zvahl Baileys and pick a coffer to obtain the Rogue's Vest.


Part 1: Prepping Yourself to Evade Detection and Pick a Lock (Solo)

The Rogue's Vest is obtained the same way as the Rogue's Culotte, you "simply" unlock a coffer and instantly get the item. The target coffer in this case is located in Castle Zvahl Baileys. These aren't vigorously camped like the ones at Castle Oztroja, but staying undetected here is MUCH more difficult. You are forced to contend with almost every type of detection, because there are many different types of monsters inside the castle. In general you must have both Sneak and Invisible on the entire time. You have three options really when it comes to avoiding aggro in this hellhole.

THF/WHM or RDM: Allows you to cast Sneak, Invisible and Deodorize on yourself indefinitely, as long as you make sure to keep your MP up. You must have the mage leveled to 25, as Deodorize is level 15, Sneak is level 20 and Invisible is level 25. I used /WHM, and while the thought of raising a mage just for this might freak you out, it is a good investment. Having easy, free access to these spells will allow you to coffer hunt in the future! I planned for my AF and began raising this mage when I was around level 52. If you do decide to use /WHM or /RDM, bring along some juices and food and consider wearing items to boost your MP.

THF/NIN: This combo is good for anywhere where all you need to worry about is sight detection. Unfortunately, in Castle Zvahl Baileys you will still need Sneak, so if you use a NIN sub you will have to bring along a bunch of Silent Oils and Deodorizers.

THF/XXX + Prism Powder/Silent Oil/Deodorizer: This is the most expensive option, but may be the best for you if you are an alchemist, or if you don't sub NIN and hate the idea of leveling a mage. It's hard for me to say exactly how many powders and oils you should bring along, but at least a stack of each, probably two stacks and a few Deodorizers.

I strongly suggest that you set up a "panic macro" if you don't have one already. I use the following one, and since I play with a controller I place it on Ctrl5 with Ctrl4 and Ctrl6 empty so there is no chance of me hitting it accidentally. If you run into trouble along the way, you can save your skin with one simple button press. There is no time to fumble with the interface when you are being chased by numerous IT++ demons, or heaven forbid a Mimic.

/ja "Perfect Dodge" <me>
/wait 1
/item "Instant Warp" <me>

Warning about Mimic poison: It is also a good idea to set your home point somewhere VERY near a mog house, for example I set mine at Port Jeuno right outside the mog house. Reason being, a Mimic will instantly poison you when it pops, and even if you successfully warp away you can still be killed by the deadly poison. Whenever you arrive at your home point, run in and get back to full HP. For the record if you use /WHM you can remove the poison with Poisana, but it's still a good idea to have home point near mog because you may not have enough MP to cast Poisana.

Now let's get a quick refresher course in the monsters you will be dodging along the way and all their detection types. The most annoying type of mob in the castle is the Ahriman (floating eye), due to its double detection. Also, any of the sound detecting mobs are scary to be around because if you aggro them you generally must warp out unless you want to chance running to a zone. You will encounter Skeletons, Ghosts, Elementals, Ahrimans, Demons and possibly a Shadow Dragon on Xarcabard as you run to the castle. Once inside, you will face Ahrimans, Demons, Elementals, Goblins, Quedevs, Orcs and Yagudos. Note: You can use your Hide ability to shed aggro from any monster that uses purely sight detection. The mobs that also pursue by scent require the use of Deodorize. I am not 100% sure that Demons also pursue by scent but the Brady guide lists that they do. In addition, the "Hit Points" detection type means the mob will aggro you if your life is 75% or below. Stay out of yellow HP when near them!

Goblins: Sight
Quedevs: Sound
Yagudos: Sight
Orcs: Sight (also pursues by scent)
Ahrimans: Sight & Sound
Demons: Sight (also pursues by scent)
Elementals: Magic
Skeletons: Sound & Hit Points
Ghosts: Sound & Hit Points
Shadow Dragons: Sound

Invisible casting tip: Unlike Sneak, you can re-cast Invisible on yourself and have it take effect. Sneak must be cancelled or have worn in order to be received again, but you can keep yourself hidden without ever having to cancel Invisible. Remember this!

Deodorize clarification: The mobs listed with scent detection will NOT aggro you based on scent. Being near them with Invisible only is perfectly fine. They will however not fall for your Hide unless you are under the effects of Deodorize. So should you aggro one of the scent pursuers, clean off your stink first and then use Hide.

Deodorize warning: The effects of Deodorize will be cancelled if you are the target of an attack, even if the attack misses. So say for example you get spotted by an Orc. You stand there and cast Deodorize on yourself, but before you can Hide an Orc swings at you and boom the Deodorize gets cancelled. I suggest first using Flee to get as far as possible from anyone who is attacking you, then as quickly as you can cast Deodorize and Hide. If this method fails, you still have one last trick up your sleeve... warp out.

Warning about Sneak and coffers/chests: As you know, you cannot even attempt to pick a lock while Invisible. What you may not know is that attempting to open a coffer/chest with Sneak on will remove the effects of Sneak. If you were for example nearby some mobs that detect sound and you tried to pick a coffer, Sneak would instantly be removed and the mobs would attack you. Remember this and plan accordingly.

As far as what type of keys you should be using, it's hard to say and this is a subject of great debate on many thief forums. I prefer Thief's Tools, mainly because I can make them and so they are almost free. People say that Skeleton Keys have the best success rate and least chance for Mimic. When I was here it took me one tool to open the coffer and get my vest. A stack of tools goes for about 9,000 gil on Midgardsormr as of May 22, 2004. Make sure to bring more than one, I suggest a stack for best value. If for some reason you want to use a Zvahl Coffer Key, check out this list of key-dropping mobs.

You should also make a lock picking macro. This way you just target the coffer and hit one button and boom. Below is the one I use for my tools, if you use Living Keys or Skeleton Keys just substitute the correct name.

/item "Thief's Tools" <t>


Part 2: Getting to Castle Zvahl Baileys (Solo)

Again, you have a couple options. If you have the Vahzl crystal, you can seek out a teleport in Jueno. This teleport is the hardest to find, and the most expensive, so I did not choose this option (but this is the quickest way to get there). The other option in getting there is to run. The route is Southern San D'oria > East Ronfaure > Ranguemont Pass > Beaucedine Glacier > Xarcabard > Castle Zvahl Baileys. Once you reach Xarcabard just head west until you reach the castle entrance, you can't miss it. You will see these colored rainbow light wave effects and there will be a bunch of ascending pathways.


Part 3: Finding and Unlocking the Coffer (Solo)

Once inside Castle Zvahl Baileys, you need to reach the lower "moat" area and then head to the spots where you can drop to get to the coffers. To do this, use the map below and follow the red line to reach the area shown in map 2. Before you get moving, use any MP boosting food you have (Apple Pie etc.) and rest to get full MP. Remember that if you get into trouble nearby you can zone back out to Xarcabard.

The map below shows what you will see when you drop down one of the holes. There is a coffer spot in each of the 4 corner rooms, and then there are 4 more coffer spots in the center area. The center of the 4 middle coffer spots is a massive hole, so you can't reach all 4 of those spots at once (they wouldn't make it that easy on us).

Again this is very hard to visualize until you are actually there doing it. As a general rule, drop down to the ledge closest to you (highest one) to reach a corner room. Drop down to the second highest ledge if you want to check the middle area. I advise you not to drop down to the third ledge, because it leaves you with the least amount of options if you want to check the middle coffer spots. You'll understand when you get there.

I suggest your first drop down be to a second ledge, where you can check out all of the middle spots. If you don't see a coffer, you know it is in one of the corner rooms and you can then check them one by one. If you try the corner rooms first and the coffer ends up in the middle you will have wasted a lot of time that could have been saved if you scouted the middle first.