All of Chapter I is a flashback to Ramza's days as a knight-in-training with the Order of the Northern Sky. You (Ramza) and Delita will be at the academy in Gariland, where you receive the assignment to defeat some thieves entering the town. You are automatically joined by four squires and two chemists, then the first battle begins. See "Battle Strategies" for tips on the battles.

After you win the battle, you will go to the map screen. You can click on Gariland to visit its shops. The Tavern is used to hear information about the game's story and world, and later to run Errands for extra JP and money and to enter the multiplayer mode. The Outfitter is used to buy items. Finally, the Warriors' Guild allows you to recruit new human characters to your roster.

You may want to stop at the Warriors' Guild recruit some new characters. In particular, look for characters with reasonably high Bravery, especially if your current characters don't have very good Bravery. Bravery affects the your chance of using Reaction Abilities and the strength of some attacks -- higher is better, of course! (Although there are abilities to raise everyone's Bravery later, you probably won't get them right away.) You may also want a character or two with high Faith to turn into a magick-user. A second thing to look at is the character's Zodiac sign. Taurus and Capricorn characters will be particularly effective against the bosses in this chapter and the next, so getting some of those signs on your roster will give you a bit of a leg up. If you want to spend the time, you can mine the Guild until you get just the character you want. If you don't like the character that appears; simply select "Don't Hire." You won't be charged anything and you can select Male Soldier or Female Soldier to roll another character. You can keep doing this until you get some high Bravery characters -- though it's certainly not necessary to spend the time here if you don't want. Note that female recruits are 100 gil cheaper and probably more useful in the long run since some of the game's most powerful items can only be used by female characters.

This is probably the only time in the game that you'll want to use the Warriors' Guild. If you lose any of your main team members later in the game, you're probably better off resetting. It's tough to replace characters who have already been built up with a lot of abilities!

Stop by the Outfitter's in Gariland to buy some Potions. If one or both of your Chemists has enough JP to learn the Phoenix Down ability, learn that ability and then buy a few (1-2) Phoenix Downs at the store. Phoenix Downs are great to have as they allow you to revive a KOed character. You'll also want to equip one of your Chemists with the Mythril Knife you picked up as a Battle Trophy in the first battle; it's stronger than the Daggers they already have.

Save the game by pressing Triangle and choosing Data, then head west to Mandalia Plain. As soon as you leave the city, you'll have a flashback (yes, a flashback within a flashback) to the death of Ramza's father Barbaneth. After that sequence has ended, you'll be back in Gariland. Click on Mandalia Plain once again and this time you'll actually get there.

At Mandalia Plain, you'll meet Argath, under attack by the Corpse Brigade. You can choose whether or not to help him (bottom option) or just go after the Corpse Brigade (to option). This has no long-term impact on the storyline; it only affects the victory conditions for the upcoming battle:

- If you choose not to help Argath (top choice), your goal is just to defeat all the enemies. It doesn't matter if Argath is KOed during the battle or not. Choosing this option also adds 10 points to the Bravery score of every character in your current squad, including Delita. 2 points of this change will remain even after the battle.

- Choosing to help Argath (bottom choice) adds an additional requirement to the battle: you'll have to keep Argath from getting KOed during the battle. This option has no effect on your team's Bravery.

The first option both makes the battle easier AND gives you a boost in Bravery. High Bravery is pretty useful since it increases some weapons' attack strength and your chance of using Reaction Abilities. There's no benefit at all from choosing the second option, so choose the first!

When the fight concludes, Argath will join as a guest regardless of which option you choose before the battle. Back on the map, go on up to Eagrose Castle. You'll have a brief chat with Dycedarg, then Zalbaag will send you to rendezvous with his spy at Dorter.

At this point, you might want to consider changing some of your characters to new jobs. Chemists are really more useful than either White Mages or Black Mages, so keep your Chemists as-is. But you might want to change some of your Squires to Knights, since Knights have more HP and damage potential than Squires. (Archers are also available at this time. They're good in general, but I'd skip them for the next few battles as melee combat is best for them.) I made Ramza into a Knight at this point. It's probably a good idea to keep at least one Squire, though. Why is that? As long as you have at least one Squire active in battle, everyone will earn some JP towards that job, and that will help you buy useful Squire abilities like Counter Tackle, Move +1, and JP Boost. Move +1 and JP Boost are particulary useful -- JP Boost increases the amount of JP you earn, and will help you learn all the other abilities faster--it's a good investment! At any rate, if you do change jobs, be sure to buy (and equip) new gear for those characters.

Before you leave Eagrose, stop by the Outfitter. There's new equipment for sale here. Stock up on Potions, then arm your characters with the new gear. Make sure all your Squires and Knights have Longswords, the best weapon available to them right now. In particular, if you changed any of your characters' jobs, be sure they have equipment that goes with the new jobs. You can safely skip the Mythril Knife, though--it'll just increase a Chemist's attack power by 1 point, and they don't do much fighting, anyway. The shop also sells Battle Boots, which increase your movement range by 1 tile. As handy is this, they're pricey, so you won't be able to afford them for your whole team. If you buy them for anyone, give them to your Chemist, so he/she can get around the battlefield quickly enough to heal people.

Also stop by the shop at Gariland, which sells different items than the one at Eagrose. The Eagrose has equipment for Knights and Archers, but the shop offers Plumed Hats and Leather Clothing, which is better armor for your Squires and Chemists. Pick up these upgrades as well; you want to make sure your Chemists stay alive so they can heal people! (Unlike in a lot of games, armor in FF Tactics doesn't actually reduce the damage you take; it gives you more HP or MP. Still, it helps you stay alive longer!) Don't forget that you change Delita's and Argath's equipment, too, despite the fact that they're guest characters. You can (and should!) have them learn new abilities, too!

You may want to gain some levels before proceeding. You can do this by strolling back and forth across the Mandalia Plain until you get into a random battle. Note that while Ramza is required in story battles, you do NOT have to deploy Ramza during the random battles. (Also, since Delita and Argath are Guest characters, they won't participate in random battles, only story ones.)

By the way, it'll help you out in some of the future battles if you're able to teach Argath a simple Black Magick spell. This is pretty tricky, though, since he doesn't participate in any of the random battles and can only earn JP in the story battles. So, the only way to do this is to have your Chemists take enough actions during the story battles that Argath gains some JP in the Chemist job and is able to unlock the Black Mage job. It's cool if you can do this, but don't worry too much about it if you can't; it's not *necessary*.

Your next story destination is the Siedge Weald, to the east of Gariland. Head down that direction. When you get to Gariland, you'll see a scene promoting the multiplayer mode. Continue on to the Weald and complete the battle there.

Before proceeding on to Dorter, make sure your Chemists have learned both Potion and Phoenix Down. You can skip the abilities for all the individual condition-curing items, though; most of the conditions are that bad and when you get Remedies, those will cure *any* status change. Other good abilities to learn are Stone and Rush. When you get the JP, pick up Move +1, Focus, and Counter Tackle. Ramza can also use the Tailwind ability, which you'll want to get as well. Chemists should have Potion and Phoenix Down.

When you enter Dorter, there will be a cutscene, and then you'll be tossed into a battle at the Dorter Slums. This is a pretty tough battle. If you don't win at first, try again, or build up your levels first. Upon your victory, you'll be able to visit the town. There's no new equipment to buy, but stock up on items. You'll want at least 10 Potions and 4 Phoenix Downs. Potions are cheap (50 gil each), so there's no reason not to carry plenty. Also, winning the battle at Dorter Slums netted you an Iron Sword, which is a better weapon than anything you can find in stores. Equip it one of your characters.

Again, you may want to build levels before proceeding to the next battle. When you're ready, go on up to the Zeklaus Desert, where you'll have a battle at the Sand Rat's Sieve. This is a difficult fight--the toughest in Chapter I--so it may take you a couple tries. After you win, you'll rescue the Marquis. You'll also pick up a Blind Knife. It's not stronger than the other knives you already have, but it does inflict Blind status on enemies (lowering their hit rate), so give it to a Chemist.

Return to Eagrose Castle. You'll meet Duke Larg, and then Dycedarg will let Ramza and friends in on the next mission against the Corpse Brigade. The shops at all three towns will now be stocked with new items. At Eagrose, you can buy Iron Swords for both your Squires and Knights, as well as Escutcheons, Iron Helms, and Bronze Armor for any Knights you have. Gariland has better light armor, used by jobs other than Knights. If you're using mages, you can buy new magick weapons at Gariland and Dorter, as well as Hempen Robes, which will raise their MP max. All towns also carry a new accessory-- the Shoulder Cape, which will boost both your physical and magick evade rates by a little bit (10%). It's not really as useful as the Battle Boots, though.

The most important new item isn't actually an equipment--it's the Hi-Potion, which is now for sale under Items! Hi-Potions restore 70 HP instead of the 30 you get from a regular Potion, and since you should have a lot more than 30 HP now, you'll need the healing boost. You can't use Hi-Potions unless you've learned the Hi-Potion ability (under Chemist), so be sure to have your Chemist(s) learn this ability.

Buy as much of the new gear as you can. There's a lot to buy, so you might not be able to afford it all. Aside from restocking your item supply, the priorities are probably the Iron Swords and Bronze Armor at Eagrose, and the Leather Plate at Gariland, as well as restocking your item supply.

After you're done shopping, your new destination is the Brigands' Den, south of the Mandalia Plain. You may want to bring more male characters than female ones here, as there's a chance that one of the enemies can charm a female character--but it's pretty unlikely, so don't go out of your way to adjust your roster. Also, if you happen to have any characters on your roster who are Tauruses, Capricorns, or male Pisces, they're good to deploy here. You'll be facing your first boss character here, and she's a female Virgo. The three Zodiac signs listed above will do the most damage to her. Again, it's definitely not essential to have them, but it'll help you out if you do.

The Brigands' Den is easier than the Sand Rat's Sieve, so if you won there, you should be able to attain victory here. Victory here nets you a Bronze Shield, which is a more effective shield than anything else you've got at this point. Following the battle, there will be a cutscene at Eagrose as the Corpse Brigade strikes back.

Strip Argath of all his equipment, as he'll be leaving your party shortly. Go back up to Eagrose. A series of scenes will follow in which Ramza and Delita decide to rescue Tietra, and Argath leaves.

At this point, you'll probably want to start changing jobs, if you haven't already. If you change any of your characters to Monks, do so; they're very strong fighters. If any of your characters have enough JP to buy the Knight abiity Equip Heavy Armor, a good strategy is to learn that ability and then make the character into a Monk--the heavy armor will make up for the Monk's otherwise poor HP count. It would also help to have a Black Mage and Archer. However, you will still want to have a healer, so give one of your characters the Items ability. Before switching out of the Chemist job, you need to learn (and equip) the Throw Item ability ... otherwise, your items will have a range of 1, and, as Sonic would say, that's NO GOOD!

After you've finished changing jobs, be sure to buy matching equipment for them. If you're just now switching to Archers, I'll explain the difference between bowguns and regular bows: bowguns only require one hand, allowing you to equip a shield, but bows deal more damage. Since Archers are usually in the back line and don't get attacked too much, a shield isn't too important, so I almost always use regular bows.

Note, also, that the Fire, Ice, and Thunder Rods (for Black Mages) boost the damage dealt by your Fire-family, Blizzard-family, and Thunder-family magicks, respectively. A good trick, then, is to buy a particular Rod and then learn some of the spells that go along with it (e.g., buy the Fire Rod and then try to learn Fire and Fira). This will increase the damage you can do with your magick. These rods also sometimes cast Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder when executing a physical attack, if your Black Mage happens to get caught in a melee.

Return to Gariland. As you cross Mandalia Plain, an animated cutscene will play. Once you get to Gariland, buy plenty of Hi-Potions (12 or so) and Phoenix Down (6 should be sufficient). If you weren't able to purchase all the equipment upgrades you wanted before the Brigands' Den, you could do so now as well, but you're probably better off saving your money--there are even better items coming soon. But if any of your equipment was stolen by the Thieves in the last battle, be sure to replace it.

Go north from Gariland to the Lenalian Plateau. You'll have another battle against Milleuda (Wiegraf's sister). She is of course still a female Virgo, so any Taurus, Capricorn, and male Pisces characters you have will be the most effective against her. After you win this battle, the shops will again update their shelves with new equipment. As before, you'll find heavy armor and most kinds of weapons in Eagrose, and lighter armor in Gariland and Dorter. Buy what you can and replace any items that Milleuda may have broken, then forge on the Fovoham Windflats.

At Fovoham Windflats, you'll square off against Wiegraf and his Chocobo Boco (a reference to Final Fantasy V). This battle isn't too difficult if you have good jobs. If you want to exploit your Zodiac signs to maximize damage against him, he's a male Virgo, so Taurus, Capricorn, and female Pisces will be the most effective.

Nothing is added to the shops after the battle at Fovoham, so if your item supply is okay, you can continue directly on to Ziekden Fortress, the final battle of the chapter. You'll probably want non-basic Jobs (particularly a Monk or an Archer) for this battle. And, again, Taurus, Capricorn, and female Pisces characters will be good against the boss. If you need JP, you can always go to the Siedge Weald or the Mandalia Plain to fight some random battles.

At Ziekden Fortress, you'll find Tietra being held captive by a Gragoroth, a Corpse Brigade knight. Argath arrive with some troops, and you'll find yourself battling an unexpected enemy. After you kill him, there are a couple FMV scenes, the fort blows up, and the chapter ends. The game will give you a chance to save, and then you'll move on to Chapter II.