The Top 10 Most Challenging Achievements: Xbox 360

We like to stick with themes when we do Top 10 coverage, not because they have an established audience and popularity -- though that never hurts -- but because taking that approach helps create a sort of library of information that builds off of each following piece.

When it comes to Top 10 Achievements pieces the Xbox 360 - and now the Xbox One - makes that a very simple process thanks to its well-established diversity! There is plenty to cover in other words.

The previous piece in the Top 10 Achievements series covered the Top 10 Most Frustrating Xbox LIVE Achievements - to refresh your memory those were:

Final Fantasy XI: Level 75 (Any Job)

Mega Man 10: Mr. Perfect

Guitar Hero 3: The Inhuman Achievement

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter: World Champion

Gears of War Series: Seriously Achievements

Call of Duty 4: Mile High Club

Portal: Aperture Science

Hexic HD: Grand Pearl Pooh-Bah

LA Noire: Bulletproof Windshield

Those were the Top 10 Most Frustrating Achievements - and they are indeed frustrating - but this time around we are not shooting for the sort of result; rather than make you angry we mean to make you happy by highlighting the ones that entertain and challenge!

This is actually a follow-on piece too thanks to our recent feature article on the Top 10 Most Challenging Achievements for the Xbox One.

When we wrote that we did so from the mindset that as the Xbox One is the current gen console and games platform, it is the obvious choice and focus, right?

Well, not so much really... You see while the One made sense for the Top 10 Most Challenging Achievements feature on the one hand, on the other there is the small matter of density and utilizatioin rates....

We got to thinking about those subjects and realized that, while the One is the current gen, the console that it “replaced” - the seventh generation Xbox 360 -- was never really replaced at all, but rather it was also-played.

What we mean by that is simple enough - following the trail that Sony blazed with its PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 - a period of nearly 6 years during which BOTH of those consoles was fully supported, Microsoft is heading into very well documented territory.

That being so, it occurred to us that we actually should not have presented the matter as an exclusive to the Xbox One at all - and in fact in the future for Top 10's of this sort we will need to plan out coverage for BOTH consoles from the beginning rather than play catch-up as we are doing now.

So with that fact acknowledged - and offering a sincere “Oops - Our Bad!” to the 360 gamers out there, here is our make-up feature piece that covers the Top 10 Most Challenging Achievements for Xbox 360!

Considering that most of the experts are giving the 360 a viable projected lifespan that extends well into and possibly even through the year 2018, that seems to be a well-established fact.

The Top 10 Most Challenging Achievements for Xbox 360

When the LIVE crew established the rules pertaining to G they concluded that every retail game should have 1000G, and every arcade (digital) title less - though come to think on it they actually changed that recently so that all now have to same 1000G requirement - whether retail boxed or not.

In the beginning Achievements were pretty much dealt with as either an afterthought or made as simple as possible - until the wizards figured out that gamers actually liked it when they got creative with the requirements for unlocking them, after which point all bets were off!

Happily and inspite of the previous entry in this series (the Top 10 Frustrating Achievements one) for the most part Achievements tend to either be dead simple or nicely complicated - and when it is the latter and the matter is handled properly, they can actually add to the entertainment value for the game.

It is that sort that is the subject of this Top 10!

10. Final Fantasy XIII: Treasure Hunter (80G) Held every weapon and accessory.

This first entry on our list turned out to be among the more challenging in the game - but probably not for the reason you are thinking... It was challenging largely because there were so many weapons and accessories in the game that any chances you had of actually keeping track meant starting your own tick-list, from the very beginning - as otherwise it was nearly hopeless!

How does that work out to be both challenging and entertaining? Well the easy answer to that is that the process of actually obtaining each and every weapon and accessory required more than simply finding and picking them up - it largely required the player to engineer obtaining each, because in most cases the modification of an item or weapon actually changed it.

You have to bear in mind that Final Fantasy XIII was, at the time it was launched, one of the largest and most complex games ever released for the 360 - not just in the FF series mind you, but pretty much EVER.

That being the case - and with a large percentage of the Achievements in the game following that same “you have to earn it” pattern, the intense nature of this Achievement is perfectly understandable - one might even go so far as to say predictable!

Treasure Hunter turned out to be among the most challenging 80G we have ever earned on the 360 - but it did so in a good way, being both challenging and entertaining - which is how it ended up on this list come to think on it!

In the example video embedded above the creator did not add that song and background music - that is how the game actually is - which makes for a rather relaxing and memorable process of working your way through the weapons, upgrading each often multiple times, and slowly but surely working your way towards unlocking this one.

That said if you are serious about the unlocking of this one there are a few tips we really need to share with you, as otherwise it probably will not happen. It certainly will not happen if you are relying on luck and the grind!

So first, you really REALLY need to hit Google and pull up one of the plethora of ticklists that exist for this Achievement. There are so many that you may actually want to be selective on this and go for one of the spreadsheet lists rather than a flat list, as that allows you to make notes and tick them off as you do them, as well as record the different required upgrades objects you have (as opposed to the ones you need).

Second, you need to understand how the upgrade system actually works - because you can find actually end up inside the process and doing it without really grokking what you are doing and that can lead to come costly mistakes. In fact in some cases it can cause you to use up uber-rare resources without realizing you are doing it, and that would be a very bad thing indeed.

So in a nutshell, you will obtain the Omni-Kit as part of the story in Chapter 4 - and that is important because it is the Omni-Kit that acutally allows you to do this mod and upgrade process!

Next - BEFORE you start doing mods and upgrades willy-nilly (remember we said there are mistakes you can make) it is a really good idea for you to at a minimum read the following information on the process so you understand its different methods and WHY they work the way that they do...

So the basic reality is that there are four (4) types of resource that you will use in this process: Catalysts and Inorganic / Organic Materials being the most common. The fourth and least common is the Premium Materials.

Catalysts are identified by their Crystal Icons, and are required to "promote" any item to its superior grade and form. You use a Catalyst in order to alter an item such as when you upgrade a weapon from Tier to Tier.

Inorganic Materials are marked and identified with a bolt icon, and are the primary source of XP as well as being among the more common resources.

Organic Materials are marked with a Cross Icon -- and they are the second most common resource, and the primary source for XP Bonuses.

Finally we have the Premium Resources, which will span the different icon markings and which you will commonly find are easy to ID because they are marked with the note that they “Can be sold for a premium" in their description.

The problem with these resources is that there is a very confused sense of their value found on the boards and online in different guides - particularly in general guides that cover the upgrades process.

What you need to understand is this - the wizards that made the game would NOT screw with you by putting into the game a rare resource you actually need in order to progress the upgrades and mods part of your kit. They just would not do that.

So despite the mini-guides you will find online that say things like be careful not to sell the more valuable and rare items as you will need them all and blah blah blah - that is pure hooey.

You need to be aware that this class of resource is your main source of Gil (the in-game money) and they are MEANT to be sold! If you tried to hang on to this stuff - even a representative sampling of it - you would soon find your inventory so bloated you can make sense of none of it.

So don't sweat this stuff - sell what you need to in order to keep your game moving forward. The only exception to this advice is in the area of Elemental Rings - which you should try to hold on to a few of each type (the Tier for these does not matter) as you will need them for the mods and upgrade path.

Bearing in mind that each piece of kit has a rank associated to it, and each of the major upgrades and mods also has a rank as well as XP level associated with it, and you will quickly come to terms with the fact that you simply cannot wing this process and expect to succeed in unlocking this Achievement.

So you now know what you need to know - the four upgrade resources, the fact that Premium Items are meant to be sold to raise Gil, and that you absolutely and without question MUST have a tick-list in order to proceed - and that you can get that online by hitting the Googlies until you find one that you like!

Once you have that down, you are all set to begin the massive challenge that is Treasure Hunter in Final Fantasy XIII!

Posted: 15th Jan 2015 by CMBF
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