Final Fantasy 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 3
First location we're going to visit in Chapter 3 is Mt. Duergar. Before coming to this dungeon make sure that you collected the Nitro Powder in Cornelia Castle which is talked about on the previous page in Chapter 2. Assuming that you have this item, go to Cornelia's Dock and hop into your boat. Sail directly west until you hit land then sail to the north until you hit a dock (seen in my screen shot on the right above).
Dock your ship and travel southwest down the land mass until you come across the cave that's also shown in a screen shot above. This is Mt. Duergar.
Mt. Duergar Treasure Chests: 1025 Gil, 575 Gil, 400 Gil, Tent, Grand Helm, Wyrmkiller, Mythril Knife, Helmet, Mythril Mail and Cottage
Speak with the Dwarf in the southern portion of Mt. Duergar (near the room with the butt load of treasure chests) and he'll recognize the Nitro Powder in your inventory and thank you for bringing it to him. A brief scene will commence where he blows up a large piece of land, magically doesn't flood the entire cave that they live in, and it opens up a canal for you to go through with your boat.
Go back to your boat and sail on through the newly created canal, continue west until you find a place to dock literally right next to a town. This is the town of Melmond; despite being a town of shanty's it's got Level 5 White Magic and Black Magic spells. It's strongly recommended that you buy Cure3 and Life1 before leaving at the very minimum.
White Magic Spells to Buy: Cure3, Heal2 and Life1
Black Magic Spells to Buy: Fire3 and Slow2
Armor Shop: Silver Gauntlets if you want - ignore the most expensive armor
Weapon Shop: Anything that's an upgrade buy, it's all pretty cheap in comparison to the Level 5 Spells.
Items: Make sure you have at least 5 Gold Needles before tackling Terra Cave - some of the enemies in there on the third floor Stone your team! (Bought in Elfheim)
After you've purchased everything you can from Melmond you'll want to travel west along the coast until you can go south. Once you're able to head south, follow the thin strip of land down until you reach a peninsula which is where you'll find Terra Cave, shown in my screen shot below.
When you first enter Terra Cave you'll notice that it's bigger than any dungeon we've been to before. There's six different paths which jut off the central room where you enter into the dungeon. Avoid the west and southwest entrances because they'll lead you down a path that has a 100% encounter rate with every step... and the enemies aint easy either!
The north path and southeast paths are the two you will want to follow to find the Treasure Chests. Blow up my screen shot below if you'd like to use that for guidance instead. When you're ready to go down to the dungeons next floor follow the east route to the staircase that leads to Terra Cave B2.
North Route Treasure Chest: 1975 Gil
Southeast Route Treasure Chests: 880 Gil, Potion, Antidote, 795 Gil
Terra Cave B2 is a lot more straight forward than the first floor. It's a huge floor with many different rooms and the Treasure Chests are spread out throughout. When you want to go down to Terra Cave B3 head as far southeast as you can in the area and you'll stumble across the stairs.
Terra Cave B2 Treasure Chests: Coral Sword, Tent, 330 Gil, 5575 Gil and a Leather Shield
Terra Cave B3 Treasure Chests: Sleeping Bag, Potion, 3400 Gil, 1020 Gil
The end boss of this dungeon is Vampire and he's found in the room that's just above the staircase where you enter Terra Cave B3. In order to reach him though you'll need to circle around the entire area by going up north, then to the west then south. There's chests scattered throughout this floor too and the packs of enemies that attack you can get really tough down here. I found the Wight/Ghast enemies that paralyze you especially frustrating when they come in large groups.
Vampire Weaknesses: Fire and Dia spells.
After you defeat the Vampire be sure to grab the chest in his room which contains a Star Ruby. This is a required item for our next stop, Titan's Cave. You might also realize that there's a door on the eastern end of the room where you fought the Vampire. If you go through this door and to the north you'll find a stolen plaque which can't be bypassed yet - you'll need the Earth Rod which we're getting next. Remember this location though, we'll be back here later.
Exit Terra Cave and head north until there's a path on the land for you to go east; then head that direction and you'll find yourself at Titan's Cave Entrance, shown in my screen shot below. Inside the cave hand the giant Titan the Star Ruby and he'll let you through.
South of where the Titan once stood you'll find a room with multiple Treasure Chests in them. You can grab them on your way to the Sage's Cave or on the way back, it doesn't really matter. The Mithril Helm will likely be an upgrade but the Great Axe you'll probably sell to a vendor.
Titan's Cave Treasure Chests: Great Axe, Mithril Helm, 1070 Gil
In the northern portion of the cave you'll find stairs which will lead you outside which is where we wanna go. It's a very linear path to reach Sage's Cave - talk to the old man in Sage's Cave then head back down to Terra Cave. Before you head back to Terra Cave... You should take a moment to prepare yourself for the difficult journey ahead.
I recommend you hop in your ship and sail back to Elfheim to buy some Gold Needles if you don't have many. I'd suggest making sure you're stocked with the following items before heading back to Terra Cave.
99 Potions
30 Antidote
10 Gold Needles
1 Cottage
Head all the way back down to the bottom of Terra Cave where you fought the Vampire. Run from as many battles as you can to preserve your MP and items for later. Once you hit Floor 3 you'll encounter the Piscodemons from the previous dungeon. I dunno if it's just me but I could never successfully run from these guys. This is the only enemy I usually stopped to fight on my way down to the boss.
Terra Cave B4 Treasure Chests: Staff, 3400 Gil, 1520 Gil, 1455 Gil, 5450 Gil
At the bottom of Terra Cave you'll find the Earth Crystal. Inspect the poop bubble in front of it and you'll get into a boss fight with Lich who is an undead enemy just like the Vampire before him. Blow him up with Dia and Fire and you'll take him out fairly quickly.
With the Earth Crystal in hand head on back to Melmond to get our ship, the brown circle behind the Earth Crystal is a teleporter that will take you to the world map from inside of the dungeon. Use that to get out of here quickly. Rest up in Melmond, hop on the ship, and sail south following the coast.
My party at the end of Chapter 3.