So I pretty much had the best Easter weekend ever. I ate so much I couldn't move, but the best part is the worst (i.e. the best) movies were on all weekend. I love terrible movies, you know, so terrible they're amazing? I watched the first two Mummy films, the 1991 Robin Hood, the Scorpion King prequel and I'm just watching Wild Wild West whilst finishing up Part 17 of Paramina's Final Fantasy XIII Walkthrough.
"Heyyyyy."[]
We're finally here! After what seems like hundreds and thousands of mentions, we've arrived on Gran Pulse: Hell on Earth. This is also where the game finally opens up beyond the endless corridor of linearity we've been ushered down for the past sixteen parts; it finally trusts us enough to let go of our hand and let us have a wander by ourselves.
Our party have reconvened down in the Vallis Media, though we are sans our youngest member. Vanille, I'm sure you recall, can understand Chicobo, so she relays our newest alert: there's something wrong with Hope's brand. It looks like our first task down here is finding the kid.
Battle Team Change...
|
Lightning, Snow and Sazh are our given Battle Team for this spell, and the Paradigms that we're given will actually serve us fine. The only change I'd suggest is to change your Default Paradigm from Aggression (which only really works for single enemy battles, since both Commandos choose different targets) to Relentless Assault.
...
 |
As always, follow the path around. There are Alraunes - which are the third iteration of the Gapra Crawler - and Flans, which look quite delicious, all créme caramel-y. Your toughest obstacle at this point is the Dire Flan - to deal swiftly with the one guarding the treasure chest (it has a Partisan in it), I switched my default Paradigm to Decimation (Com - Rav - Syn) to get Haste, then switched to Relentless Assault to push to Stagger.
It seems toughness isn't hereditary.
Eventually you'll reach a clearing where Hope is passed out on the ground. Cue a swift transition to a camp fire scene, and Hope is still out for the count. "Is this how it ends?" I don't know, but it'd be a really strange gameplay experience if this was its conclusion. Things are looking pretty bad right now, and we're in desperate need of some vague direction, so it's decided that our destination Oerba - Fang and Vanille's home - which, somehow, Hope knows the wikipedia introductory paragraph to by heart.
Since he's come to, Hope is still feeling a little wobbly around the knees. He wants the team to go on to Oerba without him, because he feels he's too weak. I wish he'd made this offer like, five parts ago back when I still hated him, because for some inexplicable reason, he is no longer persistently ebbing at my tolerance. My heart even (reluctantly) pangs as he sobs into his hands and is so consumed by self-pity that his Eidolon decides now is a good time to pay a visit. I think this scene would've fit so much better in Palumpolum, you know, when his emotions were so overwhelming that they actually physically exploded him off of the top of a building? But w'evs. Let's do this.
| Eidolon Battle: Alexander | |
 |
Yields to |
| .....∙ those who amass chain bonuses | |
| .....∙ those who heal the wounded. | |
| .....∙ those who strengthen their allies. | |
| Difficulty: Easy | |
| Strategy | |
| We fight this with Hope as Leader (obv), Fang and Lightning as back-up, and a whole boat of ready-made Paradigms. First, switch to Protection, and have Hope deal out some buffs. Switch to Relentless Assault to push up the Stagger, but when he starts readying Blast Punch or Explosive Fist, switch to Combat Clinic to have Fang take the brunt of the damage whilst you can still charge the Gestalt through healing. When you're back in the green, switch back to an offensive Paradigm, since the Ravager fills the Gestalt quicker than the Synergist or Medic. | |
Hope gains an ATB Segment post-battle, and the insight that Eidolons aren't here to kill us (though they make a pretty good attempt at it), they're here to deliver us from despair. You know what they say: nothing inspires motivation like imminent death via Transformer. This is where Hope stops being super annoying, but mainly because this is the last significant thing we hear from him for the rest of the game. With that little bonding sesh over, our party is firmly decided: to Oerba! That is where all our answers lie. Like, maybe. Hopefully. *Fingers-crossed.*
The Archylte Steppe[]
Hero Complex: Activate!
We barely step foot in the glorious Archylte Steppe before we are accosted for our services. A Cie'th Stone is essentially the endgame for Cie'th, and they tragically call out to other l'Cie to finish their Focus for them, or else they're condemned to eternal torment at their failure. I think you know Snow's modus operandi well enough by now to know this is going to become our new thing. Hence, your introduction to our primary (and pretty much sole) form of Sidequests in Final Fantasy XIII.
|
Cie'th Stone Missions function very similarly to Hunts in Final Fantasy XII. They're totally optional, and but I highly recommend them. To embark on a Mission, accept it from the active Cie'th Stone, then go track down your mark. When you kill it, you will automatically be given your reward, as well as Battle Rating. Missions differ in difficulty and class. You can retake missions as many times as you want to get five stars: receiving five stars on every single Cie'th Mission will reward you with the L'Cie Paragon Trophy. That is where I come in. I will be getting you those five stars. As Zac Efron would sing whilst fiercely prancing across an empty golf course: Bet on It. |
So let's go get out first mark! It's not actually that far from the Stone (you won't always be this lucky, unfortunately). The gelatinous rube (Irvine, is that you?) that is the Ectopudding is just hanging out near the pond just North of where we're at; it's marked on your map with a star, so you shouldn't miss it.
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Ectopudding |
| No. 1 - Pond Scum |
We have a nice easy entry level to ease us in to the practice. Cast Libra, then let Hope and Fang do their thing in Bully before switching to Relentless Assault and being really heavy with your Thunder stacks. If you left Bully on long enough, Hope will - hopefully - have cast Enthunder on your weapons, so stack Sparkstrike if that's the case. |
As soon as Pond Scum is down, another stone pops up, clamouring for help. It's like when you give one person gum and suddenly everyone bloody wants a piece. Because these are all optional battles from now on, I'll be letting you know when I did them during the storyline (though most are reserved for post-storyline); it's totally up to you whether you do them at the same time as me or not.
We can technically proceed onwards towards Oerba now, but we can embark on more Cie'th Missions in the mean time, and explore the Steppe. Heads up: I plan on clearing out all the D-class missions to get the Kelger's Cup Trophy before jumping back into the storyline. Obviously I can't force you to do the same, but like... just do, seriously.
It'd be really difficult for me to tell you where every treasure chest in the Steppe is as I have done for the past locations, purely because the directions would be like 'turn ten degrees to the North and then go ahead approximately five scale-relative yards.' What I intend to do is note any chests that are around the directions I point you in. I will still cover every chest, don't worry.
Accept the new Cie'th Stone Mission: we're going for Uridimmu and his possé of Gorgonopsids. Check your map for the location, then head on over. Don't hesitate to taking on any formations you come across on your way: there's a difficulty spike in the next area that implies the game definitely infers you do a bit of exploration (read: grinding) in this expanse. The Steppe is a great place to beef up your team and earn extra CP. Here's a brief overview of the monsters milling about here:
- Gorgonopsid - Their main inconvenience is that they inflict Poison via Virulent Breath, but other than that, they're just like the other Lobos and whatnot you've come across before.
- Behemoth King - You know how Behemoths go. This one's just a little tougher.
- Navidon - Palette swaps of the Sunleth Scalebeasts, so just remember to push it to Stagger to get rid of its shell. It's an ice-based lizard, so protect your team with the likes of Barfrost.
- Rangda - These little things aren't too bad by themselves, but sometimes they Summon like, King Behemoths to join the fight, so you need to be quick and efficient with these guys.
- Goblin - Goblins are totally new, and pack a pretty heavy physical punch, so keep an eye on your HP, it can slip so quickly away from you in a fight against these guys.
- Amphisbaena - They aren't necessarily tough as they are just… a trawl. You can take them down in two minutes with Light/Fang/Sazh if you open with Strategic Warfare (Com - Sen - Syn) and primarily attack in Delta (Com - Sen - Rav). 3,500 CP is pretty decent pay out.
- Adamantoise - lol just don't.
|
When you find the Uridimmu, switch your team to Lightning, Hope and Sazh. I say this purely because Sazh as Haste and that's pretty helpful for disposing of such a large group. Put Decimation (COM RAV SYN) as your default, and set up Diversity (COM MED RAV), and the usual, Relentless Assault (COM RAV RAV). |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Uridimmu |
| No. 2 - Goodwill Hunting |
Your priority should be taking out Uridimmu's crew. Stack Blitz with Lightning until Sazh has done his Haste rounds, then switch to Relentless Assault to finish them all off. If you're struggling (though you shouldn't really be at this stage), stay in Decimation a little longer so Sazh can cast some more buffs before starting your offence. If things are looking bad, then switch to Diversity to heal up. |
And another stone has popped up! Accept it and hit 
to check out your map to get your bearings - to the Yaschas Massif!