Excavation minigame

The excavation minigame can be played in Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Final Fantasy X-2. It involves searching for hidden treasures in various parts of the Bikanel Desert, with Picket advising the player of danger.
To initiate the minigame the player must visit Djose Temple and get enlisted by the Machine Faction by talking to Gippal and answering "We're sure" when the option comes up. He will give the Gullwings the Letter of Introduction key item. This will make Bikanel a Hotspot when the Gullwings return to the Celsius.
Visiting Bikanel and talking to Nhadala will initiate the minigame. In Chapter 2, she will send the Gullwings to the oasis to investigate some suspicious activity.
==Digging==
The player is given 60 seconds to find a golden X on the map and dig up the mission-critical item. This will be either an Assembly piece, which will affect the strength of Experiment in Chapter 5, or a piece of Scrap Metal. There will also be four silver Xs on the map the player may also hunt for. These will either award gil, an item, an Al Bhed Primer, a Sphere Break coin, an accessory, or will initiate a battle. Finding the mission-critical item and returning to the hover before the timer runs out rewards the party with gil depending on their wage, which can be increased by successfully answering "work ethics" questions at a terminal inside Djose Temple. In certain areas the golden X is not always shown on the map at the start of the digging session, but will always appear with at least 25 seconds remaining.
Once the Assembly piece is uncovered, the player should return to the hover before the timer runs out. If the player fails to make it back in time, Yuna will collapse and lose the Assembly piece, and the digging session will be considered failed. Failing to retrieve the mission-critical item also results in a failed dig. In either case, Yuna will keep any silver X treasures she dug out. In the Western Expanse and the Central Expanse, the player will also have to compete with a rival digger for the treasures.
Occasionally, after three to ten seconds have passed, the screen will flash red with a warning of an unidentified object approaching the area. Later on in the dig, a red reticle will appear on the map heading for Yuna. If the reticle meets Yuna, a battle will initiate. In Chapters 1, 2 and 3, this will be a battle against the superboss Angra Mainyu, and the player cannot yet defeat it as it will always eject the party. In Chapter 5, a battle against monsters indigenous to the area will initiate instead.
==Guide map legend==
The player will find the following icons on the guide map:
*Yellow square: the hover.
*Golden X: mission-critical item (Assembly piece or Scrap Metal).
*Silver X: gil, items, Al Bhed Primers, Sphere Break coins, accessories, or monsters.
*Green X: random NPC/O'aka XXIII only if the player turned him to the Al Bhed (Southern Expanse), one-time only event battle against Machina Hunters (Eastern Expanse).
*Red arrow in a circle: a red arrow coming towards the party is Angra Mainyu or, if it has been defeated, an indigenous encounter, which varies depending on the Expanse (Western & Southern: Fly Eye + Killer Hound; Eastern: Pop Fry; Northern: Zu). Picket will warn the party of an unidentified object approaching.
*Silver blinking arrow in a circle: an Al Bhed digger (Western Expanse and Central Expanse).
*Yellow arrow in a circle: Yuna.
==Areas==
At certain points, new areas will be unlocked.
*Western Expanse: Unlocked after mission "Can you Dig It?" in Chapter 1.
*Southern Expanse: Unlocked after mission "Water we doing here? in Chapter 2.
*Eastern Expanse: Unlocked when the mission "The Cactuar Connection" is started in Chapter 3.
*Northern Expanse: Unlocked when the mission "The Cactuar Connection" is started in Chapter 3.
*Central Expanse: Unlocked after a chocobo is sent from the ranch to Bikanel.
==Treasures==
Different items are found in different areas, and will be found at the silver Xs on the map.
Western Expanse	Southern Expanse	Eastern Expanse	Northern Expanse	Central Expanse
200 Gil 	200 Gil 	1000 Gil 	400 Gil 	1000 Gil
500 Gil 	400 gil 	5000 gil 	5000 gil 	2000 gil
1000 Gil 	1000 gil 	Al Bhed Primer*	Al Bhed Primer* 	Al Bhed Primer*
3000 gil 	4000 Gil 	Echo Screen 	Candle of Life 	Desert key**
Al Bhed Primer*	Al Bhed Primer* 	Ether 	Chocobo Feather 	Dispel Tonic
Antidote 	Antarctic Wind 	Eye Drops 	Chocobo Wing 	Ether
Echo Screen 	Arctic Wind 	Hi-Potion 	Hi-Potion 	Farplane Shadow
Ether 	Bomb Core 	Mega Phoenix 	Light Curtain 	Grenade
Eye Drops 	Bomb Fragment 	Phoenix Down 	Lunar Curtain 	Hi-Potion
Hi-Potion 	Budget Grenade 	Potion 	Phoenix Down 	M-Bomb
Holy Water 	Dark Grenade 	Power Gloves 	Potion 	Mega Potion
Phoenix Down 	Dragon Scale 	Remedy 	Silver Hourglass	Nature's Tome
Potion 	Electro Marble 	Soft 	 	Poison Fang
Soft 	Fish Scale 	 	 	Potion
 	Grenade 	 	 	S-Bomb
 	L-Bomb 	 	 	
 	Lightning Marble	 	 	
 	M-Bomb 	 	 	
 	Petrify Grenade 	 	 	
 	Potion 	 	 	
 	S-Bomb 	 	 	
 	Silence Grenade 	 	 	
:* - The player may only have one copy of each Al Bhed Primer.
:** - Desert Key can only be found once. This will open the chest at the campsite.
==Sphere Break coins==
Among the treasures the player will find, they may also find Sphere Break coins. Different coins can be found in different areas.
Western Expanse & Southern Expanse	Eastern Expanse & Northern Expanse	Central Expanse
Adamantoise 	Arachnid 	Azi Dahaka
Behemoth 	Bomb 	Chocobo
Blade 	Cactuar 	Dinictus
Chimera 	Creeper 	Eater
Coeurl 	Dragon 	Evrae
Coyote 	Fungus 	Gel
Daeva 	Magic Urn 	Haizhe
Defender 	Pairika 	Hermit
Drake 	Piranha 	Omega Weapon
Elemental 	Sahagin 	Tentacles
Flan 	Stalwart 	Ultima Weapon
Helm 	Tonberry 	
Iron Giant 	 	
Kukulcan 	 	
Malboro 	 	
Ochu 	 	
Ogre 	 	
Phantom 	 	
Purpurea 	 	
Ruminant 	 	
Tomb 	 	
Worm 	 	
Zu 	 	
Zurvan 	 	
==Ranks==
There are several ranks obtained through accumulating successful digs. Failing digs will count against gaining a rank. The ranks do not affect payment or unlocking new areas.
Digs	Rank
0 	Sandbox League
15 	Beach Comber
30 	Sand Blaster
60 	Zen Master of Digging
Category:Minigames in Final Fantasy X-2