Final Fantasy X: Tidus Celestial Weapon – Caladbolg

Tidus’s Celestial Weapon is the Caladbolg. Obtaining and upgrading this sword requires playing the chocobo racing minigame, and is considered one of the hardest weapons in the game to fully realize, particularly because of the Sun Sigil.

Fully upgrading the Caladbolg grants the passive effects Break Damage Limit, Triple Overdrive, Evade & Counter, and Magic Counter. Damage from the weapon scales on Tidus’s HP, dealing 100% damage at full HP.

Obtaining Caladbolg

After gaining the Celestial Mirror, Caladbolg can be found in the Calm Lands, but the path will be blocked initially. To open the path, you must find the chocobo trainer and go through the chocobo racing minigame.

There are a few locations where the trainer can be:

• Initially, she will be around the Northwest corner of the Calm Lands.
• Afterwards, her location will depend on how you enter the Calm Lands.
  • If you come from the airship, she’ll be next to the Travel Agency.
  • If you come in from Macalania, she’ll be next to the South entrance.
  • If you come in from Gagazet, she’ll be a bit South of the North entrance.

The chocobo racing minigame involves a series of races with the purpose of training a wild chocobo, with new races unlocking as you complete the current one. The races are Wobbly Chocobo, Dodger Chocobo, Hyper Dodger Chocobo, and finally Catcher Chocobo.

To win a race, you must finish the course with a better time than the trainer’s time, while avoiding obstacles like blitzballs and birds. In the Catcher Chocobo race, grabbing balloons in the race will take 3 seconds off of your time, while getting hit by a bird will add 3 seconds.

Once you beat the trainer’s time in the Catcher Chocobo race, the man blocking the path to Caladbolg will move. You will find the path to the weapon on a slope in the Northwest section of the Calm Lands.

Sun Crest and Sun Sigil Locations

The Sun Crest can be found in The Beyond within the Zanarkand Dome after your fight with Yunalesca. Go back to where the boss was fought and go to either of the stairs in the room. You will be transported to another corner of the room and the chest will appear at the top of the stairs they descended.

It’s important to know that if you do not get the Crest before initially leaving Zanarkand, you will have to fight Dark Bahamut in order to get it, as he will now be waiting in the area.

The Sun Sigil requires you to go back to the chocobo minigame. This time, you must win the Catcher Chocobo race with a time of 0:00. This can be considered one of the hardest tasks to complete in the game, due to the difficulty of controlling your chocobo, and the luck based mechanics of the minigame.

Earning a 0:00 Time

In order to finish with a time of 0:00 (or under), you must complete the course in under 36 seconds, grab a minimum of 13 balloons, and get hit by no more than one bird.

While the chocobo controls and the luck-based nature of the race makes this very difficult, there are some tips that will help you get this time:

• Using the D-Pad instead of the analog stick will allow for faster turning.
• The chocobo always runs at top speed, so there is no need to hold forward.
• If you can grab more than 13 balloons, the time required to finish the race will be more lenient.
• While balloon placement is random, the bird strikes are not. Observe and memorize where the birds attack so you can dodge them easier.
• Hugging the wall on the initial slope on the track will help you stay ahead of the trainer, making grabbing balloons much easier.
• In most cases, it is better to simply tap the direction you want your chocobo to turn, rather than hold it.

Completing this will earn you both the Sun Sigil, and the ‘Chocobo Rider’ achievement. Once you have both the Crest and Sigil, take them back to the altar in Macalania Woods to fully upgrade your Caladbolg.