Transportation Methods

There are several ways to get around Ivalice.. one of the main ways is to WALK.

Chocobos


Chocobos are a common sight in Final Fantasy XII. The yellow Chocobo is the tamed one and can be rented for transportation from Chocobo Wranglers at most towns based on the ground of Ivalice. Some appear in the background of various areas, including on top of the airship. The yellow Chocobos allow players to ride them, provided that the player feed them their stock of Gysahl Greens. There are also other colored Chocobos that can be fought in the wilds of Ivalice; these come in red, black, brown, green and white varieties. There is also a rare variant of black Chocobo, a powerful red variant, and even a white Chocobo recognized as a Mark.

Characters can ride a Chocobo for a maximum of 180 seconds before it drops the character. Chocobos have the ability to access special paths that player characters cannot cross on their own. Some story elements of the game require characters to use a Chocobo, and in those situations, they are free of charge. Riding a chocobo allows the character to cross maps faster without being harassed by enemies.

Airship

Final Fantasy XII offers a variety of airships. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and run off a combination of magic and electricity. History recorded that airships were first invented by the Moogles. The discovery of Bhujerba by House Ondore has been credited to one of the first airship expeditions.

A variety of Magicite, called "Skystone" is used to power the airships. Airships in Ivalice run on glossair rings, in which fuel produced from the mist within Skystones run through glossair engines. These shiny rings of blue can be seen in many airborne vehicles, from the small air cabs in the streets of Archades to the large Archadian military fleets invading the skies.

There are certain areas known as Jagds that standard airships cannot access because of the large amount of Mist in the air of those areas, as well as the rich amount of magicite in Jagd soil. By using Nethicite, airships are able to fly over jagd territory.

The Strahl


The Strahl is the main airship for the party. It is owned by the party members Balthier and Fran. Unlike previous games, the Strahl can't be boarded. Instead, boarding the Strahl will instantly bring up the world map and a list of destinations you can travel to, similar to Final Fantasy X.

Originally a new prototype ship for the Archadian Empire, its unique folding-wing design proved to be too expensive. As such, the ship was going to be scrapped. However, while Balthier was escaping from Archades, he stole the Strahl. As shown in the game when being chased by Archadians, Balthier doesn't use any weapons on the Strahl and because it is a prototype ship it is safe to say it doesn't have any, why Balthier didn't equip it with any given his profession is unknown.

The Strahl has since been upgraded so much, it no longer resembles its original design. New features include invisibility, and a skystone that allows it to travel over jagd.

Archadian Ships


Alexander

Shares its name with the recurring summon, Alexander. The Alexander is the flagship of the 12th Fleet of the Archadian Imperial Army and is commanded by Judge Zargabaath. It is classified as a No. 1 Heavy Carrier class airship.

Atomos


Shares its name with the Final Fantasy V enemy and Final Fantasy IX summon, Atomos. The Atomos is a class of carrier ship, meant to transport people quickly. It is similar to Pandaemonium, though it is painted in a white hue.

Bahamut

Shares its name with the recurring summon, Bahamut. A Sky Fortress under the command of Vayne Solidor, it is powered by a great amount of Mist, taken from the Sun-Cryst. Even when not at full power, its Mist Cannon is powerful enough to blow entire airships out of the sky in one shot. Built by the Archadian Empire, Bahamut serves as a gigantic base for the Archadian military. At the end of the game it is heavily damaged and crash lands, narrowly missing the city of Rabanastre. It crashes just outside of the city, and embedding itself in the ground. In the epilogue, it is shown to have been covered with plant life, and a small lake had been formed at the base.

Carbuncle


Shares its name with the recurring summon, Carbuncle. It was also the ship Vossler used to transport the party to Shiva

Catoblepas


Shares its name with the recurring enemy and summon Catoblepas. Originally the Destroyer-class airship of the 12th fleet, it has been a standard to include Catoblepas in every fleet.

Ifrit


Shares its name with the recurring summon, Ifrit. It was one of these types of ships that stopped the resistance from invading the Royal Palace of Rabanastre while Vayne Solidor was visiting. Part of the 8th fleet, it can be assumed they sunk with the Leviathan.

Leviathan

Shares its name with the recurring summon, Leviathan. The Leviathan is the flagship of the 8th Fleet of the Archadian Imperial Army and is commanded by Judge Ghis. It is classified as a No. 1 Dreadnought class airship. It was fitted with a special type of skystone, able to resist the effects of the Jagd, which usually disables the use of airships. It was destroyed in an explosion cause by the Dawn Shard, when Judge Ghis attempted to use the shard as the airship's primary source of energy instead of the skystone.

Odin

Shares its name with the recurring summon, Odin. It is part of the Imperial 1st Fleet.

Pandaemonium


Shares its name with a Mark in Final Fantasy XII, two locations and a summon in another Final Fantasy, Pandemonium. The Pandaemonium is a carrier ship similar to Atomos, only differs in its hue which is black.

Remora

Shares its name with the Final Fantasy V summon, Remora. Unlike the other airships, the Remora is a class of light fighter. Several Remora are seen, including ones called Antlion and Tonberry. It's official name is the Draklor CB56 Remora Fighter.

Shiva

This Light Cruiser-class Airship shares its name with the recurring summon, Shiva. Part of the original 8th fleet, it was destroyed along with the fleet in the explosion caused by the Dawn Shard.

Valfarre

Possibly shares its name with the Final Fantasy X summon, Valefor. An improved light fighter, the Valfarre is seen directly after the party leaves Raithwall's tomb, and during the battle between the resistance and Archadia. It's official name is the Draklor CB58 Valfarre Fighter.