Fort Condor Battles (when they are and what you win)
WARNING: This page contains SPOILERS for Final Fantasy VII.
Fort Condor is the mountain with a Mako Reactor on the summit. The first time you can visit Fort Condor is right after you go through the Mythril Mines. There will be a man at the entrance. If you agree to help the fort, he will allow you to enter it. Climb up the infuriating system of ropes until you get to the main area. Talk to the man at the table and agree again to help the fort. In the upper-right there are two men that will sell various things to you once you have agreed to help. You will also be able to use the beds and the save point in the bottom-right anytime you want after agreeing to help.
When you want to start a battle, you will have to head to the top level using the exit above the man at the table. There is another man here. He can tell you everything you'll need to know about the battles.
Not enough money? I just donated 8000 gil!
Donating money to the man will never, ever help you or him, period. Don't do it. What he means when he says that you must have at least 4000 gil is that YOU personally have to have that gil in your inventory. So if you donated so much that you no longer have 4000, you will have to get more before you can do a battle.
Will doing these battles help me?
Not really. The only one that gives you anything worthwhile is the mandatory one. Completing them all is just a fun task for the obsessed.
What's a good strategy?
I always fight these battles in the same way. I start off by placing an Attacker at the lowest spot I can on all three paths. Then I start the game. I switch it to the slowest mode possible, then select each Attacker and send it to the bottom of the screen. Once they're all moving, I crank up the speed to its maximum setting. As the three Attackers get closer to the bottom of the screen, the lowest spot that you'll be able to place units will move down. Once I'm close to the bottom, I just build a few more Attackers and Fighters at the two entrances. Have everything gang-attack each enemy that appears. If you can defeat all of the enemies on the screen at once, the battle ends automatically. If it takes you more than two and a half or three minutes to win each battle, there's something wrong.
When are the battles, and what do I win?
Battles are based on storyline events, not character levels. New battles will be available at the following times:
1) As soon as you
get to Fort
Condor.
2) Beat Bottomswell and sleep in the house. Then fight the battle.
3) Get the whistle, but don't use it. Fight another battle.
4) After getting the Buggy.
5) Don't let the Buggy break. When Bugenhagen tells you to get a party,
head back to Fort Condor.
6) After the Gi Caves are complete.
7) Talk to Shera in Rocket Town, then talk to Cid. Now head back to Fort
Condor without going back to Cid's house.
8) After you get the Bronco.
9) After you get the Keystone.
10) After the
Temple
of the Ancients.
11) After using the Lunar Harp.
12) After sleeping in the Forgotten Capital.
13) After you change to disc two.
14 - 18) These five battles were apparently left out of the game. They occur when you cannot get back to Fort Condor.
19) Before visiting Mideel to see Cloud.
20) The only required battle.
Here is a list of what you win:
1) Magic Comb
2) Peace Ring
3) Ether
4) Megalixir
5) 5 Hi-Potions
6) 5 Hi-Potions
7) Superball
8) 3 Turbo Ethers
9) 3 Turbo Ethers
10) 5 X-Potions
11) 5 X-Potions
12) 5 X-Potions
13) 5 X-Potions
19) 3 Elixirs (according to Terence)
20) The Phoenix Materia and the Huge Materia
Note, however, that the game has many glitches involving the items you win. For
example, you don't always get what it says you got, and the messages aren't even
displayed in the later battles. Also, losing a battle will severely screw up the
item order for winning future battles. But if you win all of the tactical
battles, those are the items you will receive, regardless of what the game might
say in the message box.
NOTE: You must win the tactical battle to win the items. Fighting the Commander will not get you the victory items.
NOTE: Battle 20 is mandatory. Even if you fight the Commander, you will still get the Huge Materia and Phoenix materia. In fact, there's no good reason NOT to fight the Commander. You can get an Imperial Guard from him, which is a decent piece of equipment. Losing to him will not result in a game over: It will, however, result in you missing the Huge Materia and Phoenix materia. Phoenix can be dug up in Bone Village, but don't waste your time. Just win the battle. If you lose, start over from your last save.