One of the biggest time sinks in the Kingdom Hearts series is the need to grind for particular materials that are needed to create the more powerful items and weapons in the game. In the case of the original Kingdom Hearts, one of those items is the Blaze Gem, one of three Blaze items that can be obtained by defeating Heartless across the various Disney worlds.
While Blaze Gems aren't the hardest materials to come across in the game, they can be difficult to find if players are not aware of which enemies drop them upon defeat and where those enemies are most commonly found, leading to many players simply running from world to world in a vain attempt to find even one of them. As such, here are a few handy tips to help you get access to all the Blaze Gems you could possibly need in Kingdom Hearts.
5 What Are Blaze Gems
Despite their name indicating that they would be associated with fiery enemies like the Red Nocturne, this isn't actually the case as those particular enemies will only drop Blaze Shards, one of the more common synthesis materials, rather than the Blaze Gems or Blazing Stones required to make more powerful items. Blaze Gems also can't be synthesized from Blaze Shards, a feature that is often common in RPGs with similar mechanics and can only be gained from defeating certain enemies, the drop rate of which changes between the original PS2 release and the subsequent 1.5 Final Mix versions of the game.
4 Which Enemies Drop Blaze Gems
In the original Kingdom Hearts, Blaze Gems are most easily obtained from Bandits and Fat Bandits, which have a drop rate of 6% and 10% respectfully, while White Mushrooms also have a chance to drop them when Fire spells are used on them, having a 20% chance to drop when the final spell is the correct spell and 60% when all three hits are from the correct spell.
In 1.5 Final Mix, the same enemies can be used to find Blaze Gems, but the drop rates are significantly lower with Bandits and Fat Bandits only having a 4% and 8% drop rate while White Mushrooms have a 10% drop rate regardless of how many correct spells are used on them. Thankfully, both the original release and 1.5 Final Mix both allow the use of the Bambi summon for a more consistent means of finding Blaze Gems as well.
3 Where To Farm Blaze Gems In Kingdom Hearts
The best place to farm for Blaze Gems is any world with an abundance of Bandits and Fat Bandits, making both Traverse Town and Agrabah the most accessible areas early in the game if players are looking to synthesize every item quickly. These locations are prime spots for Blaze Gems to drop. Since the Bambi summon finds both Blaze Shards and Blaze Gems in Traverse Town when its summon power activates, this world is the best for farming for many Blaze Gems using Bambi, though the number of Bandits that spawn in Traverse Town is fairly low compared to Agrabah by comparison. If players would rather fight the old-fashioned way, Agrabah's Cave of Wonders area spawns many Bandits and Fat Bandits that can make farming a little more consistent and less reliant on using Bambi if players haven't received the summon power yet.
2 Where To Farm Blaze Gems In Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Final Mix
While the drop rates for Blaze Gems are reduced in 1.5 Final Mix, the locations where Bandits and Fat Bandits appear don't change all that much and allow for much the same farming techniques as in the original release. However, while the original Kingdom Hearts didn't have a guaranteed drop for several synthesis items, Final Mix does allow the player to find a Blaze Gem inside a chest in World Terminus.
In the Agrabah region of World Terminus, there is a chest hidden overhead in the Palace Gates area that can be missed fairly easily. Simply use the surrounding market stall roofs as jumping platforms to reach the highest point where a chest can be found containing a Blaze Gem. If players are lucky, the enemies that spawn in this area include a Fat Bandit which may also drop a Blaze Gem.
1 Synthesize The Items Blaze Gems Are Needed To Create
In the original release, Blaze Gems can be used to synthesize powerful healing items such as Mega Potions and Mega Elixirs, as well as powerful accessory items such as the Ribbon and Rune Armlet. In 1.5 Final Mix, they are no longer able to create Mega Potions and Mega Elixirs, but they are instead able to create AP Up, a very powerful item that is useful in just about every scenario, particularly at later levels in the game.