Archylte Steppe (Final Fantasy XIII)

Archylte Steppe is a vast grassland in the world of Gran Pulse. In Final Fantasy XIII it is visited in Chapter 11, and can be returned to from the final dungeon, and thus also acting as a post-game area. Archylte Steppe is where the player can do optional content in the form of Cie'th Stone missions, battle ferocious monsters, such as the colossal oretoises, and ride a chocobo to move faster and to find buried treasures.

Archylte Steppe is a single-loading map, meaning it only loads once per visit, or only when the player leaves the map, or saves then loads that file.

Datalog
These great plains cover a vast expanse of Gran Pulse.

''With an unobstructed view clear to the horizon, creatures can easily spot intruders into their territory. Perhaps this explains why so many beasts of the steppe are merciless predators—victors of the unending struggle for survival.''

Story
After departing the Vallis Media, the party finds themselves in the Archylte Steppe and comes across a Cie'th Stone. Fang explains it is the petrified remains of an ancient l'Cie, and the party accepts their first mission. They head for the Mah'habara Subterra in hopes of reaching Oerba, Vanille and Fang's home.

Sazh and Fang have chance to talk about Dajh in the Font of Namva, a wetland where chocobos live, but the path is barred by an energy field only dispelled by appeasing a Cie'th Stone. Though Sazh plans to leave his chocobo chick in a flock of wild chocobos, it insists on staying with him. On the steppe the party can witness the colossal fal'Cie Titan walking about the horizon, and if they do enough missions, the oretoises on the steppe evolve into Long Gui.

Grinding spots
The Archylte Steppe has a good grinding spot on the northern expanse near the passage to Mah'habara Subterra. A Behemoth King and Megistotherian are constantly fighting down the path from the Save Station, and all the player needs to do to get the pair to respawn is to backtrack a little and come back.

The pair gives an automatic preemptive strike, and rewards the player with 6,600 CP after each battle, 13,200 with the Growth Egg accessory. An easy strategy is to instantly stagger the Behemoth King and then juggle it with a Commando's Launch skill, so it will not be able to replenish its HP.

In addition, players can battle groups of three Gorgonopsid for 1300 CP in a simple battle. Three groups of Gorgonopsid are arranged closely together and respawn on the western edge of the map, near the Uridimmu mark.

Post-game, if the player wants to do all the optional content and max out their Crystaria, fighting oretoises becomes the best way to accumulate Crystogen Points and money. Killing an Adamantoise rewards the party with 40,000 CP with the possibility to double it for 80,000 with the Growth Egg, making them one of the best monsters for accumulting CP. Oretoises drop items that sell for good gil, and the big oretoises rarely drop Trapezohedrons needed for making the party's ultimate weapons. If Vanille has learned Death for her Saboteur role, it is possible to defeat the Adamantoise and the Adamantortoise with it, but the chances of successfully landing Instant Death are low. This is a way for even a low level party to defeat the oretoises, however.

Missions


The Archylte Steppe is the main location for completing missions, which task the party with felling various monsters for various rewards. The system is reminiscent of the hunt system from Final Fantasy XII. Doing some missions dispels the palings that allow access to different parts of the steppe. Some Cie'th Stones become waystones for fast-travel after their mission is completed. Doing the missions on the "Cie'th Stone circle" on the steppe evolves most of the oretoises, the Adamantoises becoming the superboss Long Gui, which is not a mission on itself, but does unlock an achievement.

Riding
To be able to ride a chocobo, the player needs to complete missions 12-14; to get access to these missions, the player must do missions 1-8 first. Afterwards, whenever the player wants to ride, they can walk up to one, and press to ride when the option comes up. The chocobos and only be used to the large open area.

When riding across the steppe, players have to avoid colliding with enemies, or they risk decreasing the chocobo's morale, represented by a feather on the morale meter. One morale drops with every collision, but it is gradually restored. An exception is when the player collides with the gargantuan oretoises, which depletes the morale completely. When this happens, the chocobo throws the rider off.

There are locations in the Archylte Steppe that can only be accessed with a chocobo marked by a yellow circle on the field map. Chocobos can leap over wide gaps or high cliffs, which usually hide pathways to hidden ruins. Chocobos are easily found in these locations marked by a feather on the map. When the player dismounts, the chocobo usually waits for their return.

Each character does specific things when the chocobo is idling, and so does the chocobo on some occasions. When Lightning overlooks the horizon, the chocobo will look at every corner ahead of it. Snow will pose with his head up high. Fang sits sideways, and when stopping, she will stretch out her arms and yawn. The chocobo Vanille rides will doze off, and she will try to rouse it. Hope and Sazh will caress the chocobo and the chocobo will return the gesture.

Treasure hunt
Occasionally, an exclamation mark pops up as the player rides a chocobo indicating a treasure is nearby. Players only need to follow the direction the chocobo is facing to find the treasure, which is easier to see if the chocobo is standing still. The twentieth treasure the player digs up is a Ribbon, which can only be obtained once. Finding the Ribbon earns the player the Gysahl Wreath achievement.

The treasures are in fixed locations in the dirt, not in the grass:
 * Treasures


 * Special treasures

Areas
The Archylte Steppe is a vast plain connecting Vallis Media (where the party had their camp when they first arrived to Pulse), Faultwarrens, and the Mah'habara Subterra. Oretoises inhabit only these lands due to their immense size. In the west, there is a small corridor blocked off with a Cie'th Paling leading to the Font of Namva where chocobos live. To reach the Faultwarrens, unlocking chocobos is required, as the path leading there is located high. On the way to the Faultwarrens there is a small plain called Aggra's Pasture where the mighty Ochu resides, and further along the way there are ruins of the city of Haerii.


 * Western Benchland
 * Central Expanse
 * Northern Antrepass
 * Eastern Tors
 * Northern Highplain
 * Arid Strath
 * Southern Funnelway
 * The Font of Namva
 * Aggra's Trough
 * Aggra's Pasture
 * The Haerii Oldroad
 * The Haerii Archaeopolis
 * Way of the Ancients

Enemies
Central Expanse=
 * Behemoth King
 * Gorgonopsid
 * Behemoth King, Gorgonopsid x3
 * Gorgonopsid x2
 * Gorgonopsid x4
 * Gorgonopsid x3
 * Flan x4
 * Flan x2
 * Flan x3
 * Dire Flan, Flan x2
 * Adamantoise
 * Adamanchelid
 * Navidon, Gorgonopsid x2
 * Rangda x4
 * Goblin x3
 * Gorgonopsid x2, Goblin x2
 * Cactuar
 * Shaolong Gui (after missions 56-62)
 * Long Gui (after missions 56-62)
 * -|Eastern Tors=
 * Navidon
 * Navidon x2
 * Navidon, Rangda x3
 * Navidon x2, Rangda x3
 * Megistotherian, Gorgonopsid x3
 * Adamantortoise, Gorgonopsid x2
 * Amphisbaena
 * Adamantortoise
 * Adamanchelid
 * Cactuar
 * Shaolong Gui (after missions 56-62)
 * Long Gui (after missions 56-62)
 * -|Northern Highplain=
 * Amphisbaena
 * Adamanchelid
 * Gorgonopsid x4
 * Megistotherian, Gorgonopsid x4
 * Behemoth King, Gorgonopsid x4
 * Behemoth King
 * Behemoth King x2
 * Behemoth King, Megistotherian
 * Cactuar
 * -|Western Benchland=
 * Amphisbaena
 * Gorgonopsid x4
 * Megistotherian, Gorgonopsid x3
 * Rangda x3
 * Leyak
 * Rangda x2, Leyak
 * Rangda, Leyak x4
 * Rangda x3, Leyak x2
 * Goblin x4
 * Cactuar
 * -|Arid Strath=
 * Dire Flan
 * Dire Flan x2
 * -|The Font of Namva=
 * Sahagin x2
 * Sahagin x3, Orobon
 * Sahagin x3
 * Sahagin x5
 * Orobon
 * -|Aggra's Pasture=
 * Ochu, Microchu x5
 * Triffid
 * Triffid x2
 * Triffid x3
 * Cactuar
 * -|The Haerii Oldroad=
 * Goblin x4
 * -|The Haerii Archaeopolis=
 * Goblin Chieftain, Goblin x3
 * Goblin x4
 * Strigoi, Pijavica x2
 * Pijavica
 * Strigoi
 * Strigoi x3
 * Pijavica x2
 * Seeker x4
 * Strigoi, Seeker x3
 * Cactuar

Musical themes
Archylte Steppe has its eponymous theme as a background theme. "Pulse de Chocobo" also plays exclusively in this area, since chocobos can only be ridden here.

The theme also plays in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as Lightning's world map theme.

Trivia

 * The Archylte Steppe in Final Fantasy XIII is reminiscent of the Calm Lands in Final Fantasy X, in being a vastly more open area compared to the rest of the game. Both are grassy plains.