09B: The Palamecia

09B: The Palamecia

Grinding Spot

It's okay though - Fang has a plan!  Okay before we try out Fang's plan, first head to the right to get the nugget of Milerite from the Treasure Sphere - after you take out the Deckdrones - which I point out are a new mob for us, so you did Libra them, right?   Ahead is another pair of Deckdrones and a PSICOM Dragoon - the Dragoon also being new to us so be sure to ID him as well!

There is a conveniently placed save point here - so after the fights go ahead and use that to save.  You may also take a look at the shop network - most of them have some new stuff for sale and there should be another new shop listed!

If you are doing the grind to maintain route and not just playing through and letting the levels fall where they will, you are aware that your team is presently not at cap on most of their jobs.  Right now you have 4 of your team on your roster - Lightning, Fang, Hope, and Snow. 

The place we are in at the moment has three groups of mobs close together and near a save point - the first group is a pair of Deckdrones that is worth 282 CP, is a very fast fight, and usually gives you spoils.  The second group of mobs is a pair of Deckdrones and a PSICOM Dragoon, is a very fast fight and is worth 445 CP and also tends to give up spoils.  Finally there is a group of 6 Deckdrones further along that gives a very nice 705 CP and also tends to give spoils.

You see where I am going with this, right?  This is a good spot for grinding CP *and* picking up some Gil and components for upgrading kit!  Whether you decide to stop here and cap off your jobs or not is up to you -  I chose to because of the convenience of the spot and my childlike desire to upgrade my kit as quickly as I could while picking up some Gil...  Even though at this point I am not sure that upgrading your kit makes all that much a difference outside of the boss fights.

Your situation is probably pretty close to mine, which means to cap off the jobs you will need around 19,650 for Snow, 25K for Hope, 27K for Lightning, and 40,800 or so for Fang.  Obviously grinding out the whole 40K for Fang is not practical in one go - it takes about 4 minutes to do all three fights and save, which translates to just over 20,000 CP an hour - so picking Lightning as the target, we can easily grind out the 27K she needs in a little over an hour, and that should be our goal!

Okay I messed up on the goal...  Because I was grinding I popped my iPod ear buds in an listened to an audio book - Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash - and got so wrapped up in the story with my grinding sort of on auto-pilot that I ended up doing just under 2 hours!  Woops!

About 1 hour and 45 minutes worth of grinding netted me 41,810 CP, and 67 Digital Circuits, 3 Torn Leather, 2 Smooth Hides, 10 Credit Chips, 5 Incentive Chips, and 55 Silicone Oil.  Whew!  The chips are Gil as they are only really good for being sold to the shops - and total 17,500 Gil - not a bad profit! 

The end result is everyone's job is capped off at Level 3, Stage 6, and everyone but Fang having a healthy amount of banked CP, which will make the upgrades coming in the next chapter that much easier!  Excellent!

Follow the path along the area where we fought the third group and use the double-jump-point to access the upper walkway.  Before you continue to the left head right and take out the Dragoon guarding the Treasure Sphere here, and then collect the 3 Incentive Chips (a nice bit of Gil that) before turning around and following the path.  You take out a pair of Dragoons here, and then a trio of Deckdrones a bit further on.

Head across the bridge to the next walkway and take out a mixed group of a Dragoon and Deckdrones, which you will make very short work of.  Beyond them is another double-jump-point, after which you will grab 4 flasks of Silicone Oil from the Sphere on the left before you work your way through a few more fights - which are worth doing if just for the spoils so I suggest not avoiding them...

After the last fight you exit the walkways and re-enter the ship, and get a brief CS in which we are reunited with Sazh and Van - and we see what happened from the point where Sazh did not - as it turns out - off himself!  I know I thought that he actually had shot himself, but now that I think on it him going out that way did not really make sense.  Colonel Librarian - that nasty wicked bad old girl - puts in an appearance, and humiliates Sazh.   Every time they do a close-up of Vanille I keep hearing Jessica Rabbit's voice in my head - "I'm not really bad, I'm just drawn that way!"

At this point we learn a few things that we did not know - for instance that Van and Fang are hundreds of years old!  We are treated to a CS of them being de-crystallized, which is rather cool - and clearly from the way that it happened it was not an accident or an unplanned event.  It is just as clear that the L'Cie were not aware that they could be recalled - which gives them something in common with a lot of retired Marines.

The CS now shifts back to our team - with Snow taking charge.  The battle mode changes again and Lightning is the lead - and look, there is a convenient save point!  Go use it!

Nearby is a mixed group of Raiders and Infiltrators to defeat while that annoying alarm rings in the background.  In the next group there are three Infiltrators and a PSICOM Huntress - the Huntress being new to us, so be sure to ID her while we fight them!

The path branches here - and the yellow arrow indicates that it heads to the right - but before we go that way why not take out the bad guys straight ahead?  Why not indeed!   There are a pair of Raiders and a Huntress here - so if you did not fully ID the previous Huntress you should be able to manage that here - and good on ya!  We are getting close to unlocking the Trophy/Achievement for ID'ing mobs!

Keep heading straight and you will transition to a new area in which there is a group that includes a pair if Infiltrators and a Raider.  After you take them out you will spot the save point here - may as well use that.  Now turn around and head back to the previous area and take the branch - which is now on our left coming back - before you go though, check out that view!

As you take the branch you will spot the Treasure Sphere - grab the Lifesaber - yeah I saw Litesaber for a second too.  That is another one of Lightning's weapons we can tick off the list now!

Just before the next branch point you get to fight a group that includes a pair of Huntresses and then, at the branch, a Viking - which is a mech unit and a type of mob that is new to us, so be sure to ID it!  I love the way that they knock it into the air when it is staggered - and how it actually takes a little damage when it falls back to the ground.  Bad Viking!  No donut!

Directly ahead is a Treasure Sphere with an Ember Ring - and after you grab that, to your left is a group that consists of a pair of Raiders and a pair of Huntresses - nice quick fight that!  The deck tilts up here and at the top there is a pair of Raiders and another Viking for us to fight - a nice brisk fight with a lot of deck work, but you know what to do here by now!

As you come around the bend here there is a convenient save point - so use that and then continue along the path.  Battle your way along the path until you get to a Treasure Sphere in which you will find a Pandoran Spear - one of Fang's weapons you can now cross off the list.