Page Three- This thing needs to die. - FlamesofRebirth
Completely Random Introductory Quote-
To reign is worth ambition, though in hell;
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.John Milton, Paradise Lost
Chapter Two[]
In Pursuit of Snow[]
Lowerworld Vestige[]
Those meddling kids have gone and got themselves trapped in the Pulse vestige. How are they going to get out of this one? And yet another page begins with a character intro box.
| Character Intro- Oerba Dia Vanille | ||||||||
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Your obligatory cheerful, annoying young girl. Her voice really bugged me for a while, but I guess I got used to it eventually. She should probably be the main character of the game considering she is deeply involved in almost every plot development, even if you don’t realize it right away. Vanille is a great addition to your active party, as you always need a good mage to keep you healed and run up the enemy‘s chain. Her magic power isn’t quite as high as Hope’s, but she actually has enough HP to survive for more than five seconds, so she gets the nod. Vanille is also the party’s best Saboteur, and she is the only character with access to the Death spell. Not only does it have a chance to inflict instant KO, but it also deals big magic damage if it misses, making this the first time in the series a Death spell is actually worth casting (except with the Vanish-Doom bug). This will actually become the strongest repeatable attack available to you with the right setup, more on that later. The chances of instant death hitting are a measly 1%, but it increases by 1% for every Debuff you inflict on the target, so you can give yourself some decent odds. Don’t keep her on the sidelines, no matter how much her cheerfulness and optimism might annoy you. | |||||||
| Best Roles- | Saboteur (full ATB skill), Ravager, Medic | |||||||
Shroud Farming[]
This is the first place in the game you can win Shrouds, so now would be the opportune time to explain how they work. You use them before battle to start off with an advantage- Aegisol gives defensive buffs, Fortisol gives offensive buffs, and Deceptisol makes you invisible so you can avoid an enemy or get a pre-emptive strike. They can make life a hell of a lot easier, but try to save them for when you really need ‘em because you can always take a Mulligan if you lose. You have to use them outside of battle, and the effect doesn’t last forever, meaning if you use one and then don’t get into a battle within a few seconds it will be wasted. However, if you use one before a battle and then hit Retry instead of finishing it you get the shroud back. A lower battle rating increases chances of getting shrouds, so if you want to farm them here don‘t attack with Vanille, just let Hope kill everything so you get zero stars. The Pantherons in this area can drop Deceptisols and Fortisols, so after you kill them off run back to the beginning of the area and they should respawn.
Cheating Bastard[]
I really enjoyed doing the Cheating Bastard segments in my last guide, but the linearity of this game just doesn’t lend itself to that kind of deviousness. There will only be a few underhanded tricks in this walkthrough, probably fewer than five. At least two of them can save you a lot of time and effort getting the last few trophies. Anyway, you can use shrouds to avoid battles that are supposed to be mandatory or just tough to get around. Use a deceptisol to get around an enemy blocking your path, then once past him turn around and run into him, and hit Retry as soon as the battle starts. You’ll still be on the other side of him and you’ll get your deceptisol back. If you can’t get around the enemy, run up to him and then back off when it comes after you. Now that he’s out of position you should be able to get by.
"Well, since we're here, let's look around" - Vanille[]
The only new enemy in this first area is the Zwerg Scandroid, and they're just as weak as the Pantherons.
Battle- Pantheron
Hey, Vanille has three ATB segments instead of two like everyone else. Nice bit of foreshadowing there. After this quick fight go back toward the crashed hover bike and pick up the 30 Gil "treasure." Then head back toward the save point and up the stairs. Instead of continuing down the other side, go left.
Battle- Pantheron
After dispatching this guy, go to the group of Zwerg droids to the left.
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 3
Try to preempt these guys every time for quicker wins. There is a treasure sphere with 4 Potions behind them.
Battle- Pantheron x 2
No reason to fight these guys unless you're farming for shrouds, so go back to the stairs and into the next area.
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 3
After defeating them pick up the Iron Bangle from the sphere.
Battle- Pantheron x 2
With the Pantherons out of the way walk to your destination.
Where Men Fear to Tread[]
If you haven't noticed, almost all of these section headings correspond with the Events part of the datalog. The rest are obviously quotes from the chapter, as are the page titles. Anyway, with Snow turn around and get the treasure sphere with 2 Potions before following the arrow.
Battle- Pantheron x 2
After you kill them you can hit the switch to move on.
Open Doors Beckon[]
After an interesting scene with Light and Sazh, continue taking the only available path forward. You will see some info about using shrouds, but don't go and waste one here just to try it out. If you haven't already, put an Iron Bangle on both of them before moving on.
Battle- Pantheron x 3
Battle- Pantheron x 2
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 4 (on the left)
There is a treasure sphere with a Phoenix Down here, don't miss it.
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 3 (on the right)
This fight is a complete waste of time, so don't bother. Just go up the stairs, which are guarded by a...
Battle- Myrmidon
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 2, Pantheron
After defeating them, check beside the base of the next staircase for a Gladius, this is the best weapon Lightning will have for a while, and is a good candidate to make her ultimate weapon later.
Battle- Pantheron, Myrmidon
You will now reach your destination and the scene will shift back to Snow.
“Hold on, Serah” - Snow[]
Once again, turn around and get a treasure of 2 Potions before moving forward.
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 2, Pantheron
Hit the switch in the middle of the area, then walk forward to check up on the kids.
In the Shadow of L'Cie[]
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 2
You can just run right past these guys because they're a waste of time. Go up the stairs and turn right.
Battle- Zwerg Scandroid x 4
Do take out this little group, though. They guard a Fortisol.
Battle- Pantheron x 2
If you jump down to the right you will be back at the beginning of the area where the hover bike crashed. So go through the door across from you to move on.
Battle- Pantheron x 2
Pick up the 100 Gil after the battle, and then if you have any accessories equipped on these two remove them. When you move ahead to the destination mark Snow shows up and joins the party.
Battle- Ghoul x 3
Saving the Enemy[]
Back with Light and Sazh, don't go up the stairs until you defeat the two Ghouls guarding a Power Wristband.
Battle- Ghoul x 2
Battle- Ghoul
You have to kill this guy to get up the stairs, but after him there are 6 (!) more potential Ghoul battles that you can easily avoid by just running past them. Since you can't level up yet and the rewards are just worthless components, don't waste your time. Eventually you'll run into a Ghast completely blocking the path.
Battle- Ghast
Battle- Ghoul
This is the first of 5 Ghoul battles in a row, but you can weave around all of them to get to the two Ghasts.
Battle- Ghast x 2
Since there are two this time, watch out for their Fire spells. It can take around 100 HP, so be quick with the Potions.
The Gift of Eternity[]
This is an interesting scene for many reasons. First of all, it's the first time Light slugs Snow in the face. Also, when Serah reaches up and touches Lightning's face, is it just me or does she have man hands? Oh yeah, and there's that whole crucial turning point in the plot, too.
Battle- Ghast
You can try to run past and avoid him, or get a preemptive strike while his back is turned.
Battle- Ghoul, Wight
Try for a preemptive here as well, by running up to the Ghoul before he has a chance to stand up.
Battle- Ghast, Wight
After killing these guys at the top of the stairs, look to your left for a treasure sphere with 5 Potions. Move into the next room for the boss fight.
Pulsian Menace[]
Before the battle, make sure Lightning has the Gladius and an Iron Bangle, Sazh has an Iron Bangle, and Snow has the Power Circle and the Power Wristband.
Boss Battle- The Fal'Cie Anima[]
Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!
Lightning
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Bound in Darkness[]
After a crazy scene, you'll fall into a new area. Find out where on the next page.