Main Quest - The Dead Dunes

When you arrive here, visit Chocolina and take all the available quests from her message board then activate the red cactuar, There are quite a few of these found throughout the desert and function as warp points for quick travel between sections. Purchase all the new garbs from the Outfitters too. Also, you will sometimes see lizards wandering in the sands as you explore. Exterminate 30 of these harmless creatures with R1 or RB to unlock the Lizard Lariat trophy.

Head straight north up the narrow path (on the map) and you'll come to some steps where you can grab the Pilgrim's Crux. Your next destination is the bandits settlement, but sadly the shortcut is currently blocked off by a sandstorm so you'll have to take the long way around. Be sure to activate the warp point when you get there. You will meet Mal, another one of Baird's colleagues at the settlement's cafe so sell him Soul Seeds. Find Adonis (the red clad man with white hair), talk to him and accept his challenge. Use the warp point outside and teleport to the area called "Near God's Wrath" (if you activated the red cactuar in that area), save and approach the blue marker to fight.

The sandstorm should be gone now so use the new shortcut to return to the settlement. Find Adonis to complete his mandatory quest and trigger the event that ends with Fang joining the party.

Talk to Tobais, the general store owner and also pick up some of Bhakti's Oil from the ground.

The correct entrance into the ruins is to the east of the Temple North Gate. You can teleport over to that location and just go the rest of the way on foot. But be sure to speak to Ramon before moving on. Also from Day 7 onward, the Aeronite, a special monster will start appearing at random on the Giant's Sandbox. He is the black distortion-like thing floating around on the field, and it will probably be best to avoid him for now. Defeating this creature will unlock the Desert Dragonslayer trophy.

Also try to slay all the Cactuars that you find while trekking through the desert, as they drop the Cactuar Doll (an item for a Canvas of Prayers quest) plus a hefty sum of gil at 7500. There is another Pilgrim's Crux a good distance south from the Temple Ruins East Gate. Should you choose to explore this gigantic location (and you definitely should), make sure Chronostasis is running at all times and fight large enemies (like the Gurangatch) to quickly refill your EP gauge.

Activate all the warp points you see and pick up every treasure including a Spiritual Veil, Loupe and Rainbow Gem in the Atomos Sands; Key to the Sand Gate, Angel's Headband and Bhakti's Oil in the Oasis Lighthouse. Note that the path to this area is blocked by a sandstorm so use a crux on the stone to remove it then kill the Cactair for the Proof of Kindness item. You'll also find a man named Zanford at the Lighthouse and his presence comes with a big job for Lightning.

The narrow path in the Dry Floodlands that leads west to a dead end has another Pilgrim's Crux at the edge while the fourth Pilgrim's Crux is on the pathway connecting the Atomos Sands and the Grave of the Colossi. Don't forget the Star Bracelet in the Dry Floodlands and the Cosair Scarf near the Ruffian settlement and the Serenity Sachet in the graveyard. Onward into the ruins now.

Follow the path down the east entrance into the ruins proper. This dungeon is full of timed doors colored blue (open) and red (locked). The clocks above the doors indicates the time when the door opens or closes. Nevertheless, Chronostasis is your friend here so take time to fight and keep your EP charged. The freebies include a Nacre Cameo, Slow Lv.2, Deprotect Lv.2 and White Strap.

Activate all the warp devices and destroy statues at the Sentry Row for Yellowed Skulls, a Canvas of Prayers item. You'll soon come to a roadblock which requires you to visit the three shrines in the desert to collect the three Tablets (one from each shrine). Once you have all three, return to the ruins and continue through the Sacred Grove. Grab both Pilgrim's Crux and also speak to Bhakti.

Proceed further down the hallway to check the large red cube which will unlock the nearby door. Your next goal basically is to take those three tablets to the three galleries in the ruins to view the murals. This means you'll need to explore further and check the rest of the dungeon. Naturally, there will be more freebies mostly located in the Lower and Upper Levels of the Golden Chamber. The treasures are: Collectors Catalog, Cursed Band, Demon Claw, Thorn of Speed, Poison Lv.2.

Also at Scorched Earth Upper Level is a Golden Scarab treasure (Canvas of Prayers quest item) and a man named Nolan who gives Lightning a job. To reach this section of the ruins you must kill the Earth Eater blocking one of the doorways near the warp point at the Golden Chamber. As for the galleries, one is found west of the Sacred Grove, another is near Scorched Earth and the third is just past a door in the Sacred Gate, which opens after you've seen two of the three murals. And with that take the newly completed Saint's Crux to the remaining door at the Sacred Gate to unlock it.

If you return to the Ruffian settlement after obtaining the first piece of the Saint's Crux, you'll find that the place has turned a whole lot livelier. Several shops had popped up so buy the new garbs from the Outfitters. Check for anything you might like then go speak to Jamus at the tavern for a quest. Anyway, what you fight behind in the Clavis Chamber depends will depend on what day it is. If it's Day 7 onward, you'll face the Parandus if it's Day 6 or lower then you'll be battling with the Grendel.

The Parandus has 480000 HP which isn't all that high but the real killer here will be the creature's debuffing capabilities. The best you can do is to try and defend against the worst of them which would be Poison, Fog and Pain. Equip accessories that give 100% resistance to those. Garbs that boost overall debuff resistance is a plus. Also make sure every schemata you use has Evade ability equipped, and that all three have access to wind-type attacks or spells. For the battle, you will usually find yourself having to stagger this boss twice, as the first disengages the barrier and the second is the actual knockdown. Spam wind magic until the barrier disengages, throw a Slow spell and work on inflicting stagger a second time. Unleash your best attacks as soon as he falls over.

His Disaster attack will cause a myriad of ailments which you can either guard or evade. Heal with Esunada if anything particularly bad sticks. But of all his attacks, Gloria Mundi and Hellkat are the deadliest even when blocked so your best option would be evade. For the former, do a sidestep instead of a backstep since the attack goes in a straight line. For the latter, start mashing the Evade combo as soon as the attack starts pulling you in since the strongest bit comes last, giving you some leeway to avoid it. Use EP for Overclock if you want but it's probably best saved for healing.

Once all the cutscenes are over and done with, snag the Preta Hood from the floor before you do anything else. The Mystery of the Holy Clavis trophy unlocked. That will be all for this location.