Archades The Imperial City of Archades is the capital city of the Archadian Empire which rules over most of Ivalice in " Final Fantasy XII " . The modern city of Archades is built on the poor , and the ruins of older cities . There are only two ways into the city of Archades . The most common way is via airship . This method is patrolled for trouble by the Archadian Judges . The second way is up through the Sochen Cave Palace , into Old Archades and across the bridge into Archades proper . Locations . Archades . The city is divided in two levels : one consisting of the districts of " Nilbasse " , " Trant " , " Molberry " , and " Rienna " and the upper level of " Tsenoble " . There are no poor within the city of Archades proper , all of the poor find themselves in Old Archades . Dr . Cid bases all of his research out of the Draklor Laboratory , found within the city in the Tsenoble area . Archades residents tend to be rich and arrogant . Most people there are more interested in having a good reputation — usually of being well informed — than in money or riches . Well informed people in Archades can earn chops by giving information to other residents about a particular subject . The chops are then used as proof of status , granting access to Tsenoble via taxi . Certain areas in Tsenoble can only be accessed by those who possess a sandalwood chop . The Archades Aerodrome has Skyferry flights to Balfonheim Port , Nalbina and Rabanastre . Treasures . In the original version , there is no treasure to be found in Archades . In the " International Zodiac Job System " version , a single chest has been added in Archades . It has a 5 % spawn rate , and typically only holds junk Knots of Rust or small amounts of gil . However with the Diamond Armlet equipped , one can find the extremely rare item , Dark Energy . Old Archades . Old Archades is where all of the poor and destitute from Archades wind up . It is run down and barely patrolled by the Judges , who appear to be more interested in keeping the poor in their place . The only way into Archades is with money , so all of the citizens dream of finding a way to earn enough to see them safely into Archades . Where chops are the most important trade item in Archades , gossip is the most important in Old Archades . If there ' s one way to get ahead it is by finding out as much information as possible to make the way up into Archades through gaining fortune . Old Archades can be accessed via the ruins of the Sochen Palace . Sochen Cave Palace . Sochen Cave Palace is an ancient palace overrun with several undead creatures . The only royalty currently residing within the temple are a family of Mandragoras led by the Onion Queen . These Mandragoras have caused problems for hunters in the Archadian wilderness . Several ancient and powerful creatures are locked away in the depths of the Sochen , including one of the game ' s superbosses , the Hell Wyrm . An old lift device connects Sochen to Old Archades , whilst the entrance to the destitute palace lies within the Tchita Uplands . Draklor Laboratory . The Draklor Labs serve as a base to Doctor Cid , whose research concerning nethicite is integral to the Empire ' s developments . He uses these facilities to create more and more powerful airships for the Archadian fleets , such as the Sky Fortress " Bahamut " . He also uses these facilities to create manufacted nethicite . The Laboratories are actually a series of rooms on multiple floors . Each floor has a garrison of Judges on it , as well as several smaller labs manned by Imperial scientists . The top floor houses Cid ' s personal open air lab . Quests . Information exchange . To proceed in the storyline the player needs to play the information exchange minigame to earn Pine Chops . The story proceeds after nine chops , but if the player collects all , the chops can be traded in for a Sandalwood Chop on the second floor of any merchant shop by talking with the Chopmaster . The Sandalwood Chop grants entrance to Archades ' s Highgarden Terrace . Pine Chops are earned by connecting people with information in the various sections of Archades , by matching pairs of people . Once the Tarot Reader and the Happy Novelist are matched in the Rienna area , the Tarot Reader will tell how many matches are left in each area . Hunts . The Darksteel is a Rank IV Mark whose hunt becomes available upon reaching Archades . The Darksteel can be found in the Temptation Eluded area of the Sochen Cave Palace and all of the other enemies will be cleared out when the player enters it . It is petitioned by the Homesick Man in Archades ' s armor shop . The Overlord is a Rank VI Mark whose hunt can be undertaken after the events in the Draklor Laboratory . The Overlord can be found in the Doubt Abandoned area of the Sochen Cave Palace . The Insecure Seeq assists the party in battle , but he falls in one shot from Overlord ' s Pyromania . The seeq is the petitioner , found in the Technick shop in Archades . Hunt Club owner . The owner of the Hunt Club can be found on the Highgarden Terrace ( can only be accessed with a Sandalwood Chop , see above ) . He will reward the player with Zodiac Gems for killing Trophy Monsters . July the streetear . If the player helped July in Nalbina Fortress earlier in the game , she will reward them with a Salamand Halcyon at Charlotte ' s Magickery . Nabudis medallion . After talking to a nu mou in Nabreus Deadlands the player is asked to find some medallions and bring them to the deadlands . In Archades the player can find Roh ' Kenmu within the Magick Shop , looking for a medallion . In the Old Archades the player can find the Proper Gent sitting on a side wall in the eastern side of the Alley of Muted Sighs . He is Otto and will give the Moonsilver Medallion , which the player must pass on to Roh ' Kenmu at the Magick Shop . Great cockatrice escape sidequest . A cockatrice called Agytha is in the Grand Arcade area in the Central area of Archades , looking for a husband . The player must have a Sandalwood Chop to access the area , by earning all the available chops and trading them in a shop . The player must speak to a male Cockatrice in the Alley of Low Whispers area in Old Archades , then tell Agytha where to look to get a Tumulus . Shops . The items available for purchase change throughout the game . These items may not all be available at the same time . Musical themes . " Theme of the Empire " plays as the background music to the Imperial City of Archades . A piano arrangement of the theme is included on the " " album . Other appearances . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . The Imperial City of Archades appears as the FMS for several " Final Fantasy XII " themes :