Via Infinito

The Via Infinito is a vast optional dungeon below Bevelle accessed during the 5th chapter of Final Fantasy X-2. It consists of 100 floors or cloisters, beneath each other. In Chapter 5, the player can go to the New Yevon Headquarters and find a glowing glyph on the floor at the end of the path on the right. Completing Via Infinito contributes toward the story completion percentage.
The player faces many of the toughest opponents in Via Infinito, and at Floor 100, fights a superboss. In addition to a handful of native fiends, other random fiends may appear if they have been fought elsewhere. Thus, it is a good place for completing Shinra's Bestiary, especially when the Lure Bracer is equipped, resulting in even more random encounters for more Oversoul opportunities.
== Profile ==
The dungeon comprises of 100 cloisters (or floors) that form a descending stack. From each floor, one can drop down to the next but cannot ascend to the former. There are great cloisters at floors 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 that, except cloister 0, feature a boss battle. The bosses are characters from Final Fantasy X who died and turned into fiends; due to the nature of the characters involved, however, it is unclear whether or not they are the original characters as unsent or simply pyreflies taking the forms of subjects in the spheres confiscated by New Yevon. In the final "Infinity" the party can challenge Trema.
For each cloister block of 20 floors, there are about six level designs which appear at random. Because the dungeon is swarming with monsters, equipping a Charm Bangle for No Encounters will have no effect. However, in the Steam version, the player may still override random encounters using the Enemy Encounter Override feature. Every oversoulable fiend, except for the Georapella and Precepts Guard, can be found here. Elder Drakes or Mega Tonberries can be found wandering the levels in real-time, and approaching them initiates a battle, but most of the time they can be avoided. On rare occasions, a Tonberry will offer a random item in lieu of a fight.
The most important friendly asset on each cloister is a blue glowing glyph on the floor. Walking on it restores the party's HP and MP and allows the party to teleport to the dungeon entrance. The portal may appear on the main path, in an obscure side path, or in a dead end guarded by a powerful beast.
Once out of the dungeon, players can either resume from where they left off (mislabeled as "continue from the deepest level reached") or restart from cloister 0, which offers teleportation to any of the unlocked great cloisters.
Upside down banners with Yu Yevon's likeness can be seen on each floor.
== Recommended tactics ==
As Via Infinito has the toughest enemies, using strong equipment and dresspheres is optimal. The Highroad Winds and Mounted Assault Garment Grids offer the First Strike ability, which is useful for everyone. Good dresspheres include Dark Knight (for its high defense and HP), Gunner (for its damage-dealing potential with Cat Nip in the original version), Alchemist (for healing), and Berserker with all the evade abilities learned and a Speed Bracer equipped (for fighting the Elder Drakes). Gun Mages also have a chance to learn some Blue Bullet abilities from Via Infinito. Accessories that boost Luck are especially useful. Lady Luck is good for easily bribing opponents. Finally, Mascot is the strongest dressphere and the main damage dealer, after Cat Nip got nerfed in the newer versions of Final Fantasy X-2.
In the International + Last Mission and HD Remaster versions, the player can capture a variety of fiends and swap them in when there is a need. Players who have been grinding extensively in the Fiend Arena will also have an advantage.
== Cloisters ==
=== Cloisters 0–20 ===
Crimson Sphere 6 is received at the entrance of the dungeon after the initial cutscene.
Cloister 0 is known as the Great Cloister. Great Cloisters appear every 20 levels. On the far right side of Cloister 0 is a hidden path to a pillar. Jumping on it transports the player from one Great Cloister to another. This is useful for battling fiends one missed oversouling and if one accidentally went back to Cloister 0.
The first bloc is the easiest and can be completed in under 30 minutes. There are Elder Drakes jumping back and forth, but the player can get past them without a fight. The roar and jumping noises, as well as the shaking of the screen, indicate there being one nearby. 
The boss at Cloister 20 is Aranea. He has slightly above 18,000 HP and can inflict Stop with normal attacks or steal gil from the player when in Oversoul. He is similar in appearance to Boris from the Floating Ruins on Mt. Gagazet and was once Maester Wen Kinoc.
Crimson Sphere 8 is a reward for defeating Aranea. In the International + Last Mission and HD Remaster versions of the game, Aranea is also a requirement for unlocking the Aeon Cup, as capturing him, completing his fiend tale, and then releasing him spawns Anima, who can then be fought in the Fiend Arena.
=== Cloisters 21–40 ===
This bloc of cloisters has three new level designs. The level design with the Elder Drake may have two. There is also another room with an Elder Drake in a pit in the middle of the path. This particular cloister has a path going left and right; the player should take the left path and hit the switch to activate stepping stones.
The boss in Cloister 40 is Black Elemental that only has 9,999 HP, but maximum Magic, Defense, and Magic Defense stats. Its Ultima and Flare attacks are usually lethal to unprepared parties. It was once Lord Jyscal Guado, former Maester of Yevon and father of Seymour Guado.
After defeating the Black Elemental, a chest will appear containing Moon Bracer, Shining Bracer, Speed Bracer, Recovery Bracer, and Cat Nip. Cat Nip has the ability SOS ????, which will cause the wearer to deal 9,999 hit points in damage with all attacks if their HP is HP Critical. In the International and HD Remaster versions, it also has Auto-Berserk and Auto-Slow, greatly reducing its effectiveness.
=== Cloisters 41–60 ===
The dungeon becomes harder from here on. The level designs are different, but a few stay the same. Mega Tonberries appear rarely. There will be one Elder Drake jumping front to back to the side, and one at the end off a ledge that is hard to see unless one stops at the edge and drops down. Jumping the ledge triggers a battle; to avoid it the player must drop down and run to the side.
Tonberries appear alongside tiny Tonberries; if the player finds a cloister that starts on a ledge and at the edge there are three more ledges in intersections and one in the middle, following the path of that cloister to a Tonberry near the exit has a smaller Tonberry next to it. Talking to the little Tonberry nets an item.
The boss in Cloister 60 is Concherer who has nearly 350,000 HP, high stats across the board, and can inflict heavy damage. He was once Grand Maester Yo Mika. When defeated, he can be captured and used as a very powerful ally.
=== Cloisters 61–80 ===
This bloc has many Mega Tonberries, but none are mandatory. To get past the Mega Tonberries without a fight, the player must run to the side through the gap. The cloister with a long bridge has a Mega Tonberry at its closed end. After defeating it or waiting for it to walk away, the player must jump down the bridge and make a left, go down and press to get on another platform. After a semi-circular path, there are three separate alcoves with Tonberries. The exit is in the middle one, but it is blocked by a Mega Tonberry. Instead of fighting it, the player can fight ordinary Tonberries in the other alcoves to make the Mega Tonberry disappear.
On some levels, there is a Mega Tonberry waiting on the left intersection, so player should slow down in these parts.
There is also a cloister full of Tonberries. While the Mega Tonberries can't reach the player, touching a small one initiates a fight with a Mega Tonberry. The player must avoid the Tonberries and look for a switch. This cloister has two side platforms and two top platforms. One has a teleport glyph and one is a switch. The other two are empty.
In the original version, if the player equips Cat Nip and keeps a Gunner's HP low, they can clear this bloc faster and be prepared for the boss battles to come. This strategy is no longer viable in the HD Remaster version.
The boss in Cloister 80 is Chac, a strong Basilisk with over 430,000 HP who petrifies a party member with her unblockable Stony Glare attack and attacks the whole party with Heaven's Cataract. She was once Lady Yunalesca, the keeper of the inner sanctuary inside Zanarkand Dome.
=== Cloisters 81–100 ===
The bosses from previous Grand Cloisters appear in the last bloc as random encounters, but it is possible to escape from them. Chac only appears in cloisters 81 to 84. From the cloisters 81 to 99, Elder Drakes become random battles. In the last 10 floors, the Via Infinito bosses don't appear as often, but the fiends start appearing in unique battle formations and ambush the party regularly. With the First Strike ability, the ambush is not a problem.
There is again a cloister with a regular Tonberry along with a tiny Tonberry. They don't attack. The player can press on the normal-sized Tonberry to receive an item. The player can click to push the small Tonberry around, then get another item from the bigger one. The maximum amount of items one can obtain from them is two.
The items obtainable from the Tonberries are:
* Gold Hairpin
* X-Potion
* Turbo Ether
* Remedy
* Antidote
* Hi-Potion
* Potion
There are two bosses at the bottom of Via Infinito, fought successively with no chance to heal after the first boss. Paragon has 200,000 HP and high stats. He was once Lord Zaon, Yunalesca's husband and the first Final Aeon. The second boss is Trema, the former head of New Yevon who entered the Via Infinito a year ago. He is a superboss with 999,999 HP and maximum stats who possesses deadly physical and magical attacks.
Defeating Trema awards the Iron Duke accessory. It raises all stats by +100 (except Agility and Luck, which are +10 and +50 respectively) and boosts HP and MP by 100%.
== Enemy listing and location guide ==
=== Floors 1–3 ===
* Coyote 
* Divebeak 
* Flan Azul 
* Nashorn 
* Quadricorn 
* Ahriman 
* Iron Giant 
=== Floors 4–6 ===
* Gecko 
* Death Dauber 
* Purpurea 
* Sahagin 
* Yellow Elemental 
* Red Elemental 
* Bomb 
* Ochu 
* Stalwart 
* Boris 
=== Floors 7–9 ===
* Sallet 
* White Elemental 
* Takouba 
* Lesser Drake 
* Coeurl 
* Recoil 
* Behemoth 
* Flame Dragon 
* Guardian Beast 
=== Floors 10–12 ===
* Bicocette 
* Wild Wolf
* Flan Amarillo 
* Fly Eye 
* Gold Elemental 
* Hrimthurs 
* YSLS-Zero 
=== Floors 13–15 ===
* Killer Hound 
* Agama 
* Flan Palido 
* Vertigo 
* Bully Cap 
* Flak Python 
* Viper Sniper
* Battlesnake 
* Xiphactinus
* Shantak 
=== Floors 16–19 ===
* White Fang 
* Protochimera 
* YAC-13 
* YAU-28 
* Kukulcan 
* Haizhe 
* Chocobo Eater 
=== Floor 20 ===
* Aranea (boss)
=== Floors 21–23 ===
* Barbuta 
* Peregrine 
* Skink 
* Assassin Bee 
* Zurvan 
* Haunt 
* Flan Blanco 
* Daeva 
* Gemini 
* YSLS-99 
=== Floors 24–26 ===
* Armet 
* Anole 
* Leucophylla 
* Bolt Drake 
* Deep Haizhe 
* Machina Ranger 
* Scout Machina 
* Detonator 
* Sand Worm 
* Malboro 
=== Floors 27–29 ===
* Zu 
* Queen Coeurl 
* Machina Hunter 
* Guard Machina 
* Pairika 
* Tomb 
* Drowsy Ochu 
* Amorphous Gel 
* Shell Shocker 
=== Floors 30–32 ===
* Aculeate 
* Cephalotus 
* Sahagin Prince 
* Gigas 
* Lich 
* Ironside 
=== Floors 33–35 ===
* Archaeothyris 
* Blue Elemental 
* Taromaiti 
* Varan 
* Gucumatz 
* Adamantoise 
=== Floors 36–39 ===
* Canis Major 
* Tentacles 
* Vespa 
* Flan Rojo 
* Spine Drake 
* Mycotoxin 
* Humbaba 
=== Floor 40 ===
* Black Elemental (boss)
=== Floors 41–43 ===
* Bascinet 
* Balivarha 
* Grim Gaze 
* Rhyos 
* Dinictus 
* Zalamander 
=== Floors 44–46 ===
* Aquila
* Aka Manah 
* YAC-62 
* YAU-71 
* Dolmen 
* Pop Fry 
=== Floors 47–59 ===
* Lupus (Floors 47-49)
* Barong (Floors 47-49)
* Greater Drake (Floors 47-49)
* Flailing Ochu (Floors 47-49)
* Ultima Weapon (Floors 47-49)
* Cactuar (Floors 47-59)
* Heavy Sallet (Floors 50-59)
* Wasp Queen (Floors 50-59)
* Sahagin Chief (Floors 50-59)
* King Takouba (Floors 50-59)
* Great Haunt (Floors 50-59)
* Elder Zurvan (Floors 50-59)
* Big Bully Cap (Floors 50-59)
* Rukh (Floors 50-59)
* Jumbo Cactuar (Floors 50-59)
=== Floor 60 ===
* Concherer (boss)
=== Floors 61–64 ===
* Tindalos 
* Dark Elemental 
* Machina Soldier 
* Assault Machina 
* Monolith 
* Claret Dragon 
* Machina Panzer (only appears after its defeat in Thunder Plains or the Fiend Arena)
=== Floors 65–69 ===
* Volcano 
* Arast 
* Creeper 
* Hug Bug 
* Hexapod 
* Flan Azabache 
* Earth Worm 
* King VERMIN! (only appears after its defeat at the Fiend Colony)
=== Floors 70–74 ===
* Gug
* Machina Leader 
* Killer Machina
* Phantom 
* Great Malboro 
* Machina Striker 
* Adamantortoise 
* Azi Dahaka (only appears after its defeat at the Farplane or Fiend Arena)
=== Floors 75–79 ===
* Jahi 
* Wight 
* Aeshma 
* Epitaph 
* Protean Gel 
* Omega Weapon 
* Anything Eater (only appears after its defeat in the Ruin Depths or Fiend Arena)
=== Floor 80 ===
* Chac (boss)
=== Floors 81–99 ===
* Lacerta 
* Mushroom Cloud (disappears after Floor 84 and starts appearing again on Floor 90)
* Insect Matriarch (starts appearing on Floor 85)
* Critical Bug (starts appearing on Floor 85)
* Elder Drake 
* Aranea
* Black Elemental
* Concherer
* Chac (disappears after Floor 84)
=== Floor 100 ===
* Paragon (superboss; can be fought repeatedly after defeating Trema)
* Trema (superboss)
=== Miscellaneous ===
* Watcher-A (scattered floors)
* Watcher-R (scattered floors)
* Watcher-S (scattered floors)
* Tonberry (visibly appears on most floors)
* Mega Tonberry (visibly appears on select floors from Floor 61 beyond)
* Elder Drake (visibly appears on select floors before the 80th)
== Musical themes ==
The theme to Via Infinito is "Anxiety" , called "Disquiet" in the Luca sphere theater and iTunes.
== Etymology ==
de:Geheimes Labyrinth
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy X-2