Confessions of the Creator

Main Scenario 000: Confessions of the Creator is the third and final story mode in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. It can be purchased for 2,000 PP after the completion of Main Scenario 012: Treachery of the Gods, or is automatically unlocked by completing the original Dissidia story, Main Scenario 013: Light to All. In this mode, the player may construct a party of any five characters from either alignment, and can swap them out while on the world map. It is designed to challenge high level characters, with enemies ranging from around level 50 all the way up to 120+.

The world map features teleportation stones, and most of the dungeon gateways roughly line up with the original Final Fantasy dungeons. There are numerous gateways, each with a random Assist character. Interacting with the assist character will trigger a battle with that character at Level 100. Several gateways are multi-floor dungeons, often with rare treasure in its depths. The Distant Glory scenarios from the first Dissidia are also available as two of such multi-level dungeons.

Completing this mode unlocks Feral Chaos as a playable character for 350 PP in the PP Catalog.

Story
Because of Cid's interference at the end of the thirteenth cycle, the pact between him and Shinryu is broken. Shinryu, seeking revenge over being denied the power of the summoned warriors, traps Cid in a nightmare realm where Chaos survived the 13th Cycle, and Cosmos and her warriors defeat Chaos each subsequent cycle until the eighteenth cycle, where Chaos is driven insane and slays both Cosmos's warriors and his own warriors, turning into Feral Chaos.

At the twentieth cycle, Feral Chaos seeks to kill Cosmos, who has lost the power to summon warriors, but she is saved by Cid who seals her within the Cavern of Earth. Chaos, denied his prey, instead goes against Shinryu, challenging its power. Cid saves himself and Cosmos by sealing off the northern continent, along with Feral Chaos, into a volcano.

The world is now inhabited by moogles and manikins; Cid, who has now been turned into a moogle, uses the remaining power he has to summon five warriors (the five the player chooses) in order to help destroy Chaos once and for all. Upon doing so, Chaos regains his sanity long enough to inform the warriors that Cid was able to escape the nightmare world to the world where he was killed at the end of the thirteenth cycle, while the crystals that the Warriors of Cosmos held in that world were able to revive Cosmos and forced Shinryu to retreat into the Rift, never to return. As he perishes, he thanks the warriors for saving his "father", certain that the cycle will never repeat again.

World Map
In this final story mode the player gains the opportunity to explore the vast world map in its entirety, though one has to pass certain gateways first to unlock new areas with each new "act" of the story. With every act little changes can be noticed, from the background music to what the moogles have to say/(sell ->Moglin) and temporary surprise appearances of well-known characters. Therefore 5 such "acts" can be identified:

I. Act (Rumors about the mured moogle) ''Kupooo!? It-it-it's moving, kupo!!! Waaa! A manikin! Um-um-um, I-I-I'm not a bad moogle, I swear! So don't hurt me. Wait a minute. You're not a manikin. You're the original of a manikin! The real thing! You just took me by surprise because I'm so used to seeing the manikins. It might take a little more time before I get used to you. Nothing personal.'' ---Moglin, the aspiring Shop Moogle
 * Gateway to beat for proceeding to the next act: "Chasm in the Rotting Land"
 * Background music: "FFI - Main Theme -arrange-"
 * Unlocked areas: Southern Continent (path to the north is locked)
 * Appearances for I. Act only: Info Moogles hinting towards the mured moogle's location (grey map symbols)

'''II. Act (To the Northern Continent)''' ''I'll follow you if you don't mind. I know I proposed we head for the gateways in the north, but take your time to get ready. The gateways are virtually untouched inside. I'm sure you'll find some treasure, too. If you're heading north, jump to Crescent Lake and take the route along the shore.'' ---Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form) '''III. Act (Across the Mirage Sandsea)''' ''The path has opened for the northern continent. Wait, that's not all... It seems the whole world has changed. Maybe the Teleport Stone has changed, too. Let's look around to see what happened.'' ---Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)
 * Gateway to beat for proceeding to the next act: "Southern Lufenia Gateway"
 * Background music: "FFI - Main Theme -arrange-"
 * Unlocked areas: Path to the Southern Lufenia Gateway accessible through "Ancient Volcano Ring - Gulg"
 * Permanent change: Cid of the Lufaine will tag along until the end, giving advice and hints
 * Gateway to beat for proceeding to the next act: "Conquered Trials Gateway"
 * Background music: "Keeping the Peace"
 * Unlocked areas: Mirage Sandsea and parts of Bahamut Isles (incl. Teleport Stones)
 * Appearances for III. Act only: Warriors of Cosmos (Terra, Yuna, Prishe and Lightning)

'''IV. Act (To the Land of Discord)''' ''The foe you just fought was a manikin of Chaos at the time he was sealed. Beyond this road, in the land of discord, awaits the real Chaos. But you can now also use the Teleport Stone to go to the Dragon Caves. The choice is yours to make. I shall follow you on the path you choose.'' ---Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form) V. Act (The Way Home) ''I have some good news and some bad news. It seems the door to the Rift has opened. We might be able to escape from this world. But we should not expect Chaos to use his powers to bridge the Rift to the door. If we are to have a chance to escape, Chaos must be defeated...'' ---Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)
 * Gateway to beat for proceeding to the next act: "Confinement and Flight"
 * Background music: "Keeping the Peace"
 * Unlocked areas: Rest of Bahamut Isles (incl. Teleport Stone) and parts of Land of Discord
 * Gateway to beat for ending the story: "Edge of Discord"
 * Background music: "Canto Mortis ~An Undocumented Battle~"
 * Unlocked areas: Rest of Land of Discord (incl. Teleport Stone)
 * Notable changes: The moogle monologues which change every act don't do so for this last act (only Cid's Land of Discord message changes)

Map Treasure
Compare the numbers with the related locations on the world map:

Map Enemies
Compare the numbers with the related locations on the world map:

Cornelia Plains

 * Teleport Stone: Castle Cornelia
 * Teleport Stone: Pravoka

Gateway to Departure

 * KP Chance: BRV Break within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 50
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: Use a Multichain at B3 or Straight Chain at D3 to chain all enemies at once.

Gateway of Good and Evil

 * KP Chance: BRV Break within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 50
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: Use a Straight Chain at C5 to battle all hard enemies at once with powerful, normally breakable, accessories. Alternately, if you equip a full set of Diamond Equipment, a Diamond Ring, a Diamond Necklace, and Diamond Studs, C5 is the best spot in the game to AP grind: because your Diamond accessories will never break, you can simply exit the dungeon and re-enter it after defeating the manikins of the Emperor and Cloud of Darkness.

Beyond the Continent

 * KP Chance: Win within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 50
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: Use a Multichain at B3, C4 or E5 to chain 4 enemies at once.

Ancient Volcano Ring - Gulg

 * Teleport Stone: Crescent Lake

Encounters and Treason

 * KP Chance: BRV Break within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 60
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: Use a Multichain at D4 to chain all enemies at once.

Southern Lufenia Gateway (not repeatable)

 * KP Chance: None
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 80
 * Rules: Disabled
 * Skills: Disabled

Here ends the war of the gods. Destiny's hand cannot be swayed. Begone, mortals... --- Chaos

That voice I just heard... Never mind. It's nothing. It may look like only treasure chests inside, but I had sealed this gateway before... There is no telling what might come out. Please use caution! --- Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)

Battle tip: For those who absolutely can't get past this enemy, there's a fool-proof, yet tedious, method to defeat him with just one warrior, namely Firion. He should be leveled to Lv. 100 and have at least Lv. 60 Equipment. Stats-enhancing accessories such as as drops/gems are recommended; breakable ones might help too. An Iifa Leaf/Dew should also be equipped, just for safety. Speed Boost++ and Snooze and Loose might come in handy too. When the fight starts there are two phases: Phase 1 lasts 90 seconds, and you can still inflict BRV damage and break to gain the Stage BRV until then. If you get hit it, won't be disastrous yet. Be on the offensive and try to lure him into ground combos (if you have them equipped) to inflict as much damage as possible in an short amount of time. After 90 seconds, Wakening of Darkness kicks in and boosts his basic accessories x90, turning him invulnerable to BRV attacks and boosting his attack strength to lethal dimensions. Now begins the tedious part: try to get high into the air as fast as possible and start to spam Straightarrow. Feral Chaos will dodge them most of the time but sometimes you'll land a hit (working with assist attacks to distract him should help). Snooze and Loose helps here, forcing the AI to break his dodge chain sometimes to perform an attack, giving you just enough time to land a successful HP attack. If he succeeds to dodge right into your closer range try to mix Weaponsmaster in. Naturally, having a high base BRV helps ending the fight sooner.

Elven Snowfields

 * Teleport Stone: Elven Castle
 * Teleport Stone: Marsh Cave

Frozen Continent

 * KP Chance: BRV Break within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 60
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: Use a Multichain at A3 to chain all enemies at once.

Gateway of Melting Snows
Battle tip: Use a Multichain at C3 to chain all enemies at once.
 * KP Chance: Win within 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 60
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Gateway of the Great Will
Battle tip: Use a Jump Chain at C4 to chain all enemies at once.
 * KP Chance: Win within 30 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 60
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Melmond Fens

 * Teleport Stone: Melmond
 * Teleport Stone: Cavern of Earth
 * Teleport Stone: Western Keep

Mirage Sandsea

 * Teleport Stone: Lufenia
 * Teleport Stone: Gaia
 * Teleport Stone: Mirage Tower

Forgotten Trail

 * KP Chance: Win within 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 80
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle tip: This gateway offers the fastest way to receive Lufenian Equipment since you only have to fight one Expert Battle Piece at C5 to open the Rare Chest. Multichain at B4 to chain all of the expert battle pieces ignoring the party battle piece

Eastern Mirage Gateway

 * KP Chance: Win within 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 80
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

P: Who... are you? Imitating me's not gonna help you out one bit! S: Wait, young lady, behind me you should stay. This looks not like a manikin, I dare to say. M: I am you and you are me. But not all the same are we. S: A fight against myself is what you expect? A worthy challenge I am inclined to accept! --- Prishe, Shantotto and mirror images

Note: This is the first gateway to fight your mirror images. Multichain at E3 but it will ignore the mirror battle piece because it's immune to chains and cannot be berserk.

Bahamut Isles

 * Teleport Stone: Citadel of Trials
 * Teleport Stone: Dragon Caves

Conquered Trials Gateway

 * KP Chance: Win w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 80
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Battle Tip:If one does not mind earning no KP at all. One can simply not adjust their lvl(assuming lvl 100 characters) and easily defeat all the ???-Battle Pieces except for C3, as they are simply around lvl 80 and mass-produce Lufenian Equipment without much difficulty.

(upon entering the Gateway) Great Will... I wish to put an end to the conflict. They are not pawns made to fight. They belong in their own worlds, not here. Now that the door to the Rift is shut, I must spare them from this cycle... --- Cosmos

(after starting the Gateway) Having come to this gateway - everything connects now. I was formerly known as the Great Will - I had made a pact with Shinryu... and designed the conflict of the gods. - I suppose I must tell you everything... about the past that I had sealed away... and the objective of the conflict... It is as though this world is a prison, drifting in between the dimensions. When I was trapped here, I searched for a way to return to my homeworld. But the only way to break through the door to the Rift was to use monstrous force... Chaos amplifies his power of discord through destruction. So I began to think - Perhaps Chaos should destroy the world, after which Cosmos would bring back order - And repeating this cycle would eventually generate the power to open the door. It was the summoned warriors who called this the "conflict of the gods". --- Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)

Land of Discord

 * Teleport Stone: Onrac

Inherited Memories

 * KP Chance: BRV Break w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Gateway of Artificial Life

 * KP Chance: BRV Break w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

To a Foreign World

 * KP Chance: Win w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

Confinement and Flight

 * KP Chance: Win w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

There were many warriors like yourself, fight under the aegis of the gods. All have met their demise - a long, long time ago. Of course, most were not aware of my existence, if any were at all. I was nothing but an observer, after all... --- Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)

Battle tip: This Gateway offers one of the fastest ways to gain large amounts of KP in a short period of time. The Bonus Line is set to Lv. 100 and you only need to defeat 2 Strange Battle Pieces, offering you the chance of setting your warrior to Lv. 1 and ending the fights easily with a simple Combo or HP Attack, granting 101 KP for a successful Gateway clearance. In addition to this method, using 3x KP Bonus will also help you unlock the accomplishment "Gambler". If you have the "Smiting Soul" accessory with a high multiplier equipped, you can also get past the Party Battle Piece easily to engage the KP Silver Cup, doubling your KP to approximately 200-250 depending on chains and KP bonuses.

Pervasive Sorrow

 * KP Chance: Win w/ 10 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

I would very much like to ask you something. But before I do, I must tell you everything... about the conflict of the gods in this world. I wonder if you would lend an ear to a pathetic man's attempt at repentance... I had thought Shinryu's purification was the power to revive the dead. But in reality - he was absorbing the experience of warriors that had yet to die, returning them to fight. Once a warrior had no more to give, he was erased, no matter how honorable he was. I felt as though I was tricked by Shinryu. But there was no stopping the ruthless cycle... Chaos would gain strength with every battle. But Cosmos's warriors could never grow - they lose their powers at purification. The difference in strength became evident, I believe, during the 13th conflict... Cosmos's warriors perished, and even Cosmos herself was purified... --- Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)

Note that the treasure chest at H6 is one of two places (the other being Solitary Salvation, the dungeon after this one) where a rare material can be found. These materials were formerly found (in the first Dissidia) from ghost friend cards. A random material from the following list will be generated: Dragon's Seal, Chocograph, Omega Badge, Wyvern Egg, Whisperweed, Occult Fan, Al Bhed Primer, Shinra Card Key, Snowboard, Sphere, Gnomish Bread, Strategy Guide, Carnelian Signet, Automaton Parts, Warp Cube, Noah's Lute, Crystal Eye, GF Eden, Wild Rose, Delicious Fish, Nethicite, Tintinnabulum.

Solitary Salvation

 * KP Chance: BRV Break w/ 60 seconds
 * Bonus Line: Lv. 100
 * Rules: Enabled
 * Skills: Enabled

The cycle of destruction and purification gave Chaos power – and corroded his mind. And after the 18th purification, as soon as the next conflict began – Chaos lost himself. Leaping out of his throne, he thrashed the lands, eliminated Cosmos's warriors – and annihilated even the warriors he had summoned himself... Cosmos was true to her mission, even as she lost her memory after every purification. She would summon her warriors and send them to fight Chaos until they perished. No one knows how many of these warriors were sacrificed as disposable pawns... Chaos was initially reluctant to fight Cosmos... Because Cosmos was a "manikin" of the one once loved and cared for Chaos. Thus, even after the conflict had begun, he would never inflict direct force onto her. It was when Chaos began to attack Cosmos without hesitation – that I realized just how horrible the "cycle" of my creation actually was. --- Cid of the Lufaine (Moogle form)

Note that the treasure chest in B1 is one of two places (the other being Pervasive Sorrow, the dungeon before this one) where a rare material can be found. A random material from the following list will be generated: Dragon's Seal, Chocograph, Omega Badge, Wyvern Egg, Whisperweed, Occult Fan, Al Bhed Primer, Shinra Card Key, Snowboard, Sphere, Gnomish Bread, Strategy Guide, Carnelian Signet, Automaton Parts, Warp Cube, Noah's Lute, Crystal Eye, GF Eden, Wild Rose, Delicious Fish, Nethicite, Tintinnabulum.

Trivia

 * Shantotto's voice files in the museum's jukebox section indicate that the gateway "Curses and Hopes of Yore" was temporarily named "Sage's Path Gateway" during the development process.
 * It is unclear whether Garland was spared from Feral Chaos's rampage, as he is used as the god's Assist character. However, this may be a case of gameplay and story segragation, with the Assist mechanism being independent of whether Garland even exists in that world.