Page Seventeen- Makes Cocoon feel like a chocobo coop. - FlamesofRebirth
Completely Random Introductory Quote-
The angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.Edgar Allan Poe, The Conqueror Worm
Chapter 11 Continued[]
Gran Pulse[]
The Archylte Steppe[]
Makes Cocoon feel like a chocobo coop.
Lightning
After all this time, we’ve finally made it to the main part of the game. Remember how in FFX the Calm Lands seemed so huge and open? That’s nothing compared to the Archylte Steppe. After spending the entire game walled in to ten foot wide paths, this place can be a little disorienting. If you get lost, and you will if this is your first time here, just look up. Cocoon is your guiding light in the sky, you can’t go wrong by heading toward it. I will refer to this direction as north for a reference point. You also have your mini-map, but that only helps you if you’re following the story line. You can also use the Square button to bring up the full map, just be aware that it changes direction based on which way you‘re facing (as opposed to North always being up).
"We can’t just ignore it!" - Snow[]
The opening cut-scene gave an explanation of Ci’eth Stone Missions, so if you want to try out a few before moving forward with the plot go here. If you choose to complete all of these missions, it may take longer than the entire main game. I’m going to leave all of them for the postgame, but the CP gained from roaming around and fighting will definitely help you out if you do some now. I would recommend trying missions 1-14 now, then finishing the story before doing the rest.
"I will set you free!" - Cid Raines[]
If you don't feel up to doing any missions, but you still want to do some exploring, you can turn around and go back to Base Camp. You went this way to rescue Hope, but you only scratched the surface. Beyond Vallis Media is the Yaschas Massif, leading to the Paddrean Archeopolis. Feel free to look around as much as you want, but we will be going through all of these areas while completing missions 3-8 later on.
Treasure Hunting[]
Like I said, this area is huge, and it’s chock full of treasures and enemies. You can actually run all the way through here without fighting a single battle if you want to, but I recommend picking up a few of those treasure spheres first. Just avoid the Behemoth Kings, and those giant Adamantoises will squash you like a bug. Basically, you only want to fight the wolf-like Gorgonopsids and the Flans for now. Don’t worry, we’ll come back for the other treasures later on when we’re stronger.
From that first save point, go east and follow that wall as it curves around east and north. You will see a few Flan along the way, you can fight them or avoid them.
Battle- Flan x 2, Dire Flan
This little group has a Lightning Charm behind them. Like all Charm accessories, it randomly absorbs its eponymous element. Keep following the wall northeast.
Battle- Rangda x 3
These enemies can use Aerora, which is only a minor annoyance, but if you leave them long enough they can summon a Gorgonopsid to help out. They are guarding a Wind Charm. Stay along the wall, and keep going Northeast. You will see some shelled Navidons in the area, they can be dangerous so avoid them if you can't get a preemptive.
Battle- Rangda x 3, Navidon
Take out the Rangdas as quickly as possible, but make sure you stay healed up at all times. The Navidon has a powerful physical, but the main thing to watch for is Icy Breath. This will kill you if you aren't at full health. Stagger him ASAP to minimize damage. Once he's staggered, go to Ruthless to keep him launched while you debuff him fully. You will probably need two staggers, but the second one will be easy to get because you'll get in some shots before he puts his shell back up. The treasure here is an Earth Charm. Now head about due west, look for a little hill between the two save points you can see on the big map. You'll see the treasure sphere bouncing up and down from a long ways away.
Battle- Gorgonopsid x 2
Pick up the Rod of Thorns, then keep going west. There is a big hill here, with a narrow passage between it and the edge of the area. Go around the southern edge of the hill, there is a group of three Gorgonopsids and a three way battle of two Gorgonopsids with a Navidon. Both fights are easily avoided. Follow the western wall north and look for the next sphere on a little hill.
Battle- Rangda x 4
Grab the Zephyr Ring, then go toward the destination marked on the mini map. After a while you’ll see a save point up ahead, and the next treasure sphere off to the left of it up a hill. This one isn't guarded, it's just 5 Severed Wings. Go back down the hill and then back to the western edge, follow it north to the next treasure. There are 5 Librascopes here, just ahead to the north is a small opening off to the west. Go toward the center of this side area to find the next battle.
Battle- Leyak x 4, Rangda
Leyaks can summon Rangdas to help them out, so kill them off before they have the chance. They are guarding 8 Smooth Hides. Turn toward the north, you can see the next one.
Battle- Rangda x 2, Leyak
Get the Ice Charm, then go north to the edge of this little area. There is a small group of enemies guarding the next sphere.
Battle- Rangda x 2
In the little corner behind them is a Fire Charm. Now exit this area and follow the mini-map to the destination. You will see a little pond right in front of you, you should be able to see the treasure sphere near the little sheep things. You'll have to get your feet wet to pick up the 2,615 Gil. Now go west and look along the edge of the area for a group of Rangda.
Battle- Rangda x 3
They are guarding a Millerite, now keep going toward the destination, you should see a Behemoth King in front of you. I wouldn't try to fight him right now, just go behind him and find 11 Monstrous Fangs. You should be able to see a save point from here, so go to it.
Some Quick Notes Before Moving On[]
Before moving on, there are a few enemies in the area that we haven't fought. I'm going to mention them now since there won't really be a better time to do it.
Amphisbaena- They're the flying dragon type enemies, you'll also see them around Taejin's Tower.
The only enemy on this list you should fight for now.
Goblin- This is a weak enemy, they resist physicals but can be hit with magic.
Adamanchelid- The smallest oretoise, don't mess with them just yet. You will be forced to fight one in Eden, so if you're doing some grinding here this would be a good test to see if you're ready to move on.
Adamantoise, Adamantortoise- These are the lumbering dinosaurs with turtle shells. Don't get stomped. More on these guys later.
Cactuar- You have to go out of your way before these appear, more on that later as well.
Moving On[]
When you’re ready to move on, take the narrow downhill path next to that save point in the center of the northern edge of the area. Halfway down the slope, you will run into a battle between two big nasty beasts. This may seem dangerous, but it’s actually the greatest thing ever (or at least the greatest thing you’ve come across in the last ten minutes).
Battle- Behemoth King, Megistotherian
It’s a three way battle, so you get a guaranteed preemptive attack, and they both start with half HP. Go in with Ruthless, and focus on the Behemoth first. If he stands up, your screwed, just restart. What you need to do is get him debuffed and launched, then do a mid-air shift to Relentless Assault. The Megistotherian won’t attack you while the Behemoth is still alive, so make sure you go all out to kill it before Stagger ends. Now go back to Ruthless to get Deprotect on the Megistotherian quickly, then go to work building his chain. Get him staggered as quickly as possible to avoid his hard hits, then finish him with Aggression. You get a whopping 6,600 CP for this battle, making it a very efficient grinding spot. Right now it will take you about 1 minute plus, but when you get stronger you’ll be able to finish this fight in about 5-6 seconds, and they respawn very quickly. All you have to do is run back up the hill and one or two steps past the save point, then turn around and come right back. I usually spend some time here building up my party before moving on, but I’m not going to do it this time. That way my strategies later on won’t require abilities that you won’t have if you didn’t grind. If you do rack up the CP here, get Fang Deprotect and Deshell, and Vanille needs Curasa and Curaja. Hope should go for Curasa and Raise. After that, try to max out each character’s full ATB skill job- Commando for Fang and Snow, Saboteur for Vanille, and Ravager for the rest.
Time to catch our breath[]
You know, cause that was a long walk. Wow, a whole page on an area that you could run through in two minutes if you wanted to. The next page will be more conventional.