“I’ve heard of some people trying to map out the Great Crystal during their XII playthroughs so as not to keep getting lost, but such a task would be long and frustrating and definitely not worth the trouble.”

~ Livvyplaysfinalfantasy during her current insightful FFXII playthrough

Yes, the in-game map is nearly useless. However, notice “A Prama Vikaari” at top. It tells you exactly where you are, if only SOMEONE would make a map…

I love making maps, and I took Livvy’s comment as a challenge. Here’s the fruits of a week’s labor.

I’ve divided my Giruvegan Great Crystal map into two parts, one for the lower levels which you have to traverse for the plot, one for the upper levels that masochists explore for valuable and unique items and prey, including Excalibur, Ultima and Omega (Mark XII). My notes below will help you find all the treasures and understand the naming conventions of the rooms so that they’re not just gibberish.

Deciphering the Great Crystal’s Room Names

“Vikaari” rooms have Waystones teleporting to another location; the room name specifies the destination. (E.g. “A Vikaari Bhrum” means “up to level Bhrum,” while “Dha Vikaari Trahk” means “down to level Trakh.”) Nearly every Waystone moves you exactly one level up or down.

“Sthaana” rooms have Gate Stones that open/close the corresponding gate. (Or, on the upper floors, they start a timer, and you have to run and poke the corresponding gate.)

The third and most common type of room specifies its location with its name, according to the following system:

So if I said I was in “Trakh Phullam Pratii’vaa,” that would mean I’m in a room near the bottom, close to the outer edge of the crystal on the southwest side.

To view your current location/room name in the Great Crystal, hit Select and look at the label at the top.

The Great Crystal Map I: areas mandatory for plot

Click HERE to see a full-sized version; the image below is shrunk to fit.

(After you’ve gotten the gates open, the direct path from arrival to goal is exactly twelve hexes. Because, y’know, FF 12.)

Shortcut to Exit: Once you’ve played through the plot at Giruvegan, the elaborate-looking Waystone in the “Goal” room will teleport you straight out of Giruvegan, bypassing the dungeon surrounding the Great Crystal.

Great Crystal Map II: Optional Levels

Click HERE to see the full-sized version, which you’ll need to do, because the embedded map below is shrunk so much it’s fuzzy:

SHORTCUT from top to bottom: Look for XIX on the Kanbhru level at the very top. That Waystone teleports you all the way back down to Dhebon.

THE WAY OUT:  Go down to Dhebon’s Waystone X, teleport from there to Kabonii Waystone IX, walk to the adjacent room and use Waystone VIII to exit the Great Crystal.

Treasure Hunting Tips:

• Don’t put the Diamond Armlet on for the lower four levels (Map I), because it makes everything down there a Knot of Rust. But not to worry if you forget; those chests respawn until you find their special item.
• DO put the Diamond Armlet on for the upper four levels (Map II). It raises your chance of snagging a good item. All the upper level chests respawn with ONE exception.
• Whatever you do, don’t open the Zodiac Escutcheon’s chest unless you’re wearing Diamond Armlet. This chest does NOT respawn once opened.
• Chests respawn after you move three rooms away.

Etymology Trivia:

As far as I can tell, the names in the Great Crystal are pseudo-Sanskrit or scientific names spelled as if they were Sanskrit. I mentioned the plant parts (Pis = Pith, Jilaam = Xylem, Phullam = Phloem) above.

The level names are geological eras:

• Kanbhru: Cambrian
• Uldobi: Ordovician
• Sirhru: Silurian
• Dhebon: Devonian
• Kabonii: Carboniferous
• Bhrum: Permian
• Trahk: Triassic

The Great Crystal’s cardinal directions are loosely based on Sanskrit:

I’m not sure whether the rash of Sanskrit in FFXII was inspired by Sanskrit’s use in some old-fashioned Japanese Buddhist sects, similar to Latin’s use in the west, or whether it’s just that Squeenix is continually mining various world mythologies and cultures in order to name these games’ endless parade of places, critters and things.

Image Credits

Great Crystal Screencap: FFWikia
Compass Rose and weird Hexagon Thing: OpenClipart

The rest, I drew.