OH. MY. GOD. What has to be the world's biggest bee just flew right at the window I was sitting at and hit the glass with such force I jumped and fell off my seat. I know I am prone to exaggeration but it was like the size of a fat baby's fist and my breathing still hasn't regulated itself yet. Part 19 of Paramina's Final Fantasy XIII Walkthrough, written in subsiding panic... slowly subsiding...
Mah'habara Subterra[]

This is like the one picture of the Mah'habara, I swear to God.
This area plays out like the Vile Peaks redux, so much so that it even has the same soundtrack and aesthetically displeasing colour scheme. This should be a reasonably quick passage, so let's get to it: you'll enter from the Archylte into the Maw of the Abyss, which, like much of our past treks, is pretty much a straight corridor.
The first new enemy you'll come across is the Hoplite, and like all other shambling robots, they're pretty easy to pre-empt if you take a second to approach them carefully. Other new monsters lurking in the tunnels include the Cryohedron (which is another bomb), the Rust Pudding (a new type of dessert, infinitely less tasty-looking), the Pulsework Centurion (meh) aaaaand the Boxed Phalanx, but we'll get back to that guy in a minute when we find one.
You'll pass a chest with a Hauteclaire inside for Lightning. When the path finally splits (!), you actually have an option. Yes, look, I'm giving you an option; don't say I'm not good to you:
Optional Jaunt: There's a Juggernaut waiting for you at the end of the left fork, and its guarding a Platinum Bangle in a treasure chest. Juggernauts at this stage of the game are no walk in the park. In fact, they're pretty nails. There's a high chance that it will burn off the faces of your team and dance on their smouldering corpses. The only reason I'm pointing out that the Juggernaut is here and not just flat out telling you to ignore it is that I have no idea how much grinding you've been doing, or whether you chose to do a ton more Cie'th Missions in our brief intermission. Also, since the Mah'habara isn't on Cocoon, we're free to return here later in the game when we're a bit stronger to take it on. By all means, attempt it now if you wish, but be very wary.
Back to Regular Gameplay...
If you keep following the right fork, you'll eventually come across a Boxed Phalanx. Ugh, these guys... okay, you need to go into a fight with a Saboteur ready to inflict as many status effects on the Phalanx as they can (Vanille or Fang, doesn't matter), and you need to focus on taking out the Phalanx before you even consider its lackeys, because if you cut down the Hoplites first, it'll just call some more to join the party. If you're really struggling, I suggest approaching one with Bully (Com - Syn - Sab) so you can increase your durability a bit.
Continue along the tunnel into the Earthworks and two trailers will open when you pass; the first has Electrode x4 in it, the other has Chobham Armor x4. Head out onto the bridge to see a fal'Cie pummelling straight through at high speed. Alright, roly-poly - time to call a cab.
Keep going onto the structure bit and take the left fork (past the Cie'th Stone) to pick up Tesla Turbine x4. Head up and over to the bridge and cross it. There's only one lone Rust Pudding guarding the mouth of the Twilit Cavern. Follow it through - grab the Saints Amulet x2 on your way - to day light! Faboosh. Save up, then proceed.
"Woo. Go robot guys!"[]
Vanille spots the same flowers that grow in Oerba, which distracts her long enough for Fang to claim she's suddenly regained her memories, and remembers everything that went down 500 years ago. Vanille's ass catches fire with the red-hot intensity of her second hand guilt, I guess, which is enough to prove Fang's bluff successful: she knew Vanille still possessed her memories this whole time. You know who else knew? The many-armed creature that just materialised from Vanille's left butt-cheek.
Eidolon Battle: Hecatoncheir | ||
Yields to | ||
.....∙ those who amass chain bonuses | ||
.....∙ those who heal the wounded. | ||
.....∙ those who weaken and debilitate their enemies. | ||
Difficulty: Easy | ||
Strategy | ||
I'm presuming this is easy because I didn't even bother writing down a strategy for it in my notes. Like it just says 'Hecaton - (looks like crotch arm; not crotch arm).' The four Paradigms they give you are suffice enough. Cast Libra, then open Stumbling Block. Have Vanille inflict Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil. Heal up whatever damage Fang has taken during this stretch with Lifeguard. Inflicting status affects and amassing chain bonuses work better than straight up healing, so switch between Stumbling Block and Slash and Burn. Just using these Paradigms, the fight goes pretty close to the wire, but it's doable. If you fail, be sure to set up Arcane Defence (Rav/Sen) as an alternative for Slash and Burn, and you should be fine. |
Hecatoncheir Eidolith and an ATB Level Up for Vanille. Of course, that's no comfort to Vanille, since she's still pretty distraught about Fang knowing the truth now. Fang comforts Vanille with her oddly veiny hand. I can't remember what else happens because I was so transfixed by her hand. I think she might have shoved Vanille's face right into her boob but I can't be sure: hand.
We're back with our usual trio, so Save Up and head back into the Mah'habara. There's an Ice Charm up for grabs along your way to the Dusktide Grotto. Cross the bridge to reach the rig in the middle, and you're faced with three paths. To the right, you'll find a treasure chest with a Particle Accelerator. In the middle, you'll find another Juggernaut. The left continues on back into another tunnel, so cross that bridge and head on in. Oh, just before you go in, hop over onto the rock on the right, and you'll find a chest with Crystal Oscillator x3. Further along, there are Perfect Conductor x3, before you reach your end destination, and hit .
Dead end? Oh, of course not. Hope has jumped onto yet another Juggernaut (it is the Vile Peaks all over again) and manages to fall right into the path of Atomos. It looks like Hope is about to get his little capri-clad behind mowed down when the rest of the Juggernauts jump down and save him. Juggernaut Whisperer. They've essentially just hailed a taxi for us, so let's hop on and ride it out.
→ Striding through Sulyya...
← ...Sidies off of the Steppe
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