Hero Complex: Activate!
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.
Mission 01: Pond Scum[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Central Expanse, Archylte Steppe
- Mark Location: Central Expanse, Archylte Steppe
| 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. |
Mission 02: Goodwill Hunting[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Central Expanse, Archylte Steppe
- Mark Location: Central Expanse, Archylte Steppe
| 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. |
Mission 03: Massif Contamination[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Central Expanse, Archylte Steppe
- Mark Location: Tsubaddran Highlands, Yaschas Massif
|
We need a Saboteur here, and we need Imperil, or Deprotect and Deshell. Unless you've been grinding like crazy and you've reached the latter two abilities with Fang, then you're going to need to sub her out for Vanille. You'll also want a Synergist, but as always, it's up to you whether you prefer Offensive or Defensive Buffs at this point. |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Massif Contamination |
| No. 3 - Ugallu |
Open with Bully and have your Saboteur cast Deprotect and Deshell whilst your Synergist buffs. If you can't get those to stick and you feel you've spent too long in the Paradigm, Imperil will do. Then switch to Relentless Assault. Simples. Ugallu can hit pretty hard, but with those debuffs, and you incapacitating him with Stagger, the fight should be over before you have to deal with cleaning up any damage on your end. |
Mission 04: A Hero's Charge[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Tsubaddran Highlands, Yaschas Massif
- Mark Location: The Ascendant Scarp, Yaschas Massif
- Waystone
|
I'm not going to give you specific Paradigms to set up or people to use, but you do need a Sentinel in there, and a Saboteur, so obviously Fang would be your best option. I recommend you use a vial of Deceptisol, because there are a lot of little things hopping around up there. |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Adroa |
| No. 4 - A Hero's Charge |
With the pre-emptive, use Blitz to stabilise the Stagger whilst your two Ravagers cast some area-spell damage. The Adroas are easier to clear, the Verdelets (immune to all spell damage, so focus on those with your Commando) are a bit tougher, and one will probably summon another Ugallu to join the fiesta. It'll be you and the Ugallu standing last, so hit it with your Debuffs and then finish it as quickly as you can. |
Mission 05: Joyless Reunion[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: The Ascendant Scarp, Yaschas Massif
- Mark Location: Tsumitran Basin, Yaschas Massif
|
Like the Ugallu fight, we need a Saboteur with Imperil, so either use Vanille or your buffed-up Fang. Having one doesn't necessarily mean you can't have the other, though. Hope's Synergist skills aren't necessary here, so you can have both Fang in for her Sentinel/Commando abilities, and Vanille for Saboteur/Ravager/Medic. Set your default as Ruthless (RAV COM SAB), and make sure you have a Paradigm like Tireless Charge (COM COM MED) or Diversity (RAV COM MED) that has two offensive roles and a Medic. Other than that, consider the usuals like Combat Clinic, and maybe give Discretion (MED COM MED) a shot. |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Edimmu |
| No. 5 - Joyless Reunion |
First off, quickly cast Libra to let the AI know not to bother with physical attacks; Edimmu has a crazy evasion rate, and it takes half-damage from the hits that you're lucky enough to land. Commandos should be using Ruin for their offence. Now, open with Ruthless and have your Commando and Ravager deal damage and build the chain gauge whilst your Saboteur works on sticking Imperil or Deprotect to break down Edimmu's resistances. Wind Slash is pretty harsh, and you should switch immediately to a healing paradigm to deal with that ASAP - Combat Clinic is always a safe option, but if you want to keep up offence, try Discretion. You'll also need to switch to a Paradigm like Tireless Charge or Diversity to deal with the status effects Miasma brings without letting it totally derail your attack. The key here is weaken Edimmu's defenses and then get this over as quickly as possible, because Edimmu actually has pretty paltry HP compared to some of the other things we've been hacking away at lately, but the fight just gets harder the longer you give it the time to obliterate you. |
Mission 06: No Place Like Home[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Paddraean Archaeopolis, Yaschas Massif
- Mark Location: The Pass of Paddra, Yaschas Massif
- Waystone
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Munchkin Maestro |
| No. 6 - No Place Like Home |
Goblins are regular players down on Pulse, so this should be no problem for you. Wipe out his possé, then hit it with Despell, plug the Blizzara and Aeroga for a stagger, and then finish it off with some swift hits from a Commando. Swish. |
Mission 07: Bituitus, the Pillager[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Paddraean Archaeopolis, Yaschas Massif
- Mark Location: Paddraean Archaeopolis, Yaschas Massif
|
For this battle, you're going to need Lightning, Hope and a Saboteur. Who you pick depends entirely on who has Deshell; if you've got Fang up to a level 8, pick her. If not, sub in Vanille. Set up Evened Odds (MED SYN SAB) as your default. Your defensive Paradigm should be either Recuperation (MED SYN MED) with Vanille or Combat Clinic (MED SEN MED) with Fang. For your offensive, set up Aggression (MED COM MED) if you have Fang, and your good old trusty Relentless Assault. |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Bituitus |
| No. 7 - Bituitus, the Pillager |
Bituitus always opens Miasma, which is a lovely smattering of ailments. In Evened Odds, Lightning should clear up the worst of the inflictions whilst Hope buffs (try and hold out for Barthunder) and your chosen Saboteur lays on Slow and Deshell (and Imperil, if you've opted for Vanille). With that set-up done, we can step out of Evened Odds and comfortably weather most of Bituitus' worst offerings. He has crazy quick ATB recovery speed, so Slow will help there, and Barthunder should take the edge off of Levinbolt. Switch to either Relentless Assault or Aggression (he is weak to Ruin, by the by), and fall back on Recuperation or Combat Clinic when you need to heal. |
Mission 08: The Eleventh Hour[]
- Cie'th Stone Location: Base Camp, Vallis Media
- Mark Location: Atzilut's Tears, Vallis Media
- Waystone
|
This set up is wonderfully simple and should take all of one minute. All you need are Evened Odds (MED SYN SAB) as your default and Relentless Assault as your offence(/se? Hmm). |
| Cie'th Stone Mission: Rakshasa |
| No. 8 - The Eleventh Hour |
Puddings and Skat Bird. Familiar territory. Take out the Flans before taking on Captain Skat. Make sure you land Deshell and Slow before switching to Relentless Assault and taking this home. |