z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- --------zzzzzzz--------- ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z Metroid Prime: Hunters GameFAQs FAQ of the Month March 2006 FAQ/Walkthrough By MrShotgun of GameFAQs Copyright Andrew Brown July 26th 2007 Andrew.ComfortablyNumb[at]GMail.com All guides by MrShotgun are submitted to GameFAQs first, and disseminated to other hosting websites as the author finds the time and desire to do so. To ensure that you are viewing the most recent version of any guide, please visit www.gamefaqs.com. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Author's Pledge When Richard Taylor of New Zealand's Weta Workshop undertook the monumental task of the production design for the Lord of the Rings films, he gave this speech to his employees. Recognizing the significance of this speech, I have adopted it as my own pledge to the quality of my guides. God, I'm a nerd. "If you can't rise to the highest level of enthusiasm, passion, and professionalism, and grasp this task as if it is the most important thing that you have ever taken on in your life, you aren't worthy of the task. We have been blessed with this opportunity." - Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Version Information --------zzzzzzz--------- [0000] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.0 March 22nd - April 3rd, 2006 Walkthrough completed. Added three scans I forgot to point out. Added a Table of Contents and a Find Code system. Added Subchapters and Find Code System to the Walkthrough. Added The Logbook and a Special Thanks chapter. Fixed the location of the Alimbic Joist object in the first visit to Celestial Archives. Rearranged walkthrough for first visit to Vesper Defense Outpost to increase completion speed. Added the Weapon & Item Locations chapter. Removed the "End Chapter" headlines from the Walkthrough for being unnecessary. Added a tip submitted by player Dark Crono for beating Gorea. Added permission to appear on Cheat Code Central, Neoseeker and 1up.com to legal information. Fixed a problem with the subchapter find code in the Logbook section. Added more thanks to Special Thanks. Miscellaneous spelling, grammar and formatting changes to entire guide. Added the Game Basics; Unlockables, Bugs & Glitches; and Multiplayer Mode Strategies chapters. Changed the Walkthrough chapter's name to Adventure Mode Walkthroughs and Weapon & Item Locations to Weapon & Power Suit Upgrade Locations. Adjusted the Find Code system to match new chapters. Lumped the Legal, Contact Info and Special Thanks chapters into one and renamed it Legal Stuff, Contact Info and Special Thanks. Added a Spoiler-Free Walkthrough subchapter to the Adventure Mode Walkthroughs. Added the Ice Hive Missile Expansion to the Weapons & Power Suit Upgrades Locations chapter. Rearranged the Incubation Vault part of the Walkthrough during the second visit to Celestial Archives for faster completion. Rearranged the Council Chamber and Alinos Perch part of the Walkthrough during the second visit to Alinos for faster completion. Rearranged the Fault Line/Frost Labyrinth/Sanctorus part of the Walkthrough during the second visit to Arcterra for faster completion. Added asterisks to the walkthrough to indicate where Hunters or Guardians may appear. Minor format changes done to Adventure Mode Walkthroughs to improve guide appearance. Added more tips submitted by players. Added links to my Frost Labyrinth and Echo Hall maps where appropriate. Double-checked Adventure Walkthrough for accuracy. Added permission for the guide to appear on additional websites. Guide is now "Completed," though I will continue to update it as necessary. --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.1 April 4th - 12th, 2006 Added a link to the Echo Hall Maze Map to the Power Suit Upgrades chapter. Added the Star Ranks to the Unlockables chapter. Clarified the function of the Samus symbol on the Hunter's License subchapter. Added more tips to Multiplayer Strategies chapter. Fixed scan location for the Stronghold Portal object in the In-Depth Walkthrough. Added a Frequently Asked Questions chapter. Added permission to appear on additional websites to Legal. ---------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.2 April 27th - May 04th, 2006 Erased a leftover bit of text which should have been erased, but I missed it. Added a small ASCII logo and removed the legal blurb from the beginning of the guide. Added a Links subchapter to Chapter 0900. --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.31 July 12th, 2006 Added more links to the Links subchapter. Minor spelling and grammatical revisions to entire guide. Added additional reader submitted tips and updated Special Thanks. --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.4 September 12th, 2006 New chapter headings created to conform with a new guide layout. Added link to my Ocarina of Time guide to Links chapter. --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.5 September 13th, 2006 Added Author's Pledge to beginning of guide. Ran guide through Microsoft Works Spellchecker. --------------------- FAQ/Walkthrough v1.6 March 22nd - July 26th, 2007 Super fantastic one-year anniversary update! Links updated to conform with GameFAQ's latest file update. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Table of Contents --------zzzzzzz--------- [0100] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- [0000] Version Information [0100] Table of Contents [0200] Game Basics [0300] Adventure Mode Walkthroughs [0400] The Logbook [0500] Weapon & Power Suit Upgrades Locations [0600] Multiplayer Mode Strategies [0700] Unlockables [0800] Frequently Asked Questions [0900] Legal Stuff, Links, Contact Info and Special Thanks -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Game Basics --------zzzzzzz--------- [0200] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- [0201] Introduction [0202] Equipment [0203] Weapons, Items and Upgrades [0204] Rival Hunters Author's Note: The following chapter, for the most part, concerns only Adventure Mode. For a more in-depth overview of Multiplayer mode, including Modes, Hunters and Arenas, skip down to the Multiplayer Mode Strategies Chapter. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Introduction --------zzzzzzz--------- [0201] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ In Metroid Prime: Hunters Adventure Mode, the player takes on the role of the Galactic Federation Bounty Hunter, Samus Aran, and tasked with finding the eight separate Octoliths in one of four locations of the Alimbic Cluster: The Celestial Archives, Alinos, The Vesper Defense Outpost, and Arcterra. Once all eight Octoliths are located, then the Alimbic Cannon on Alinos can be used to tear a hole in the fabric of space-time and access the space prison Oubliette, where the "Ultimate Power" is held. Along the way, she will be challenged for possession of the Octoliths and the Ultimate Power by six rival Bounty Hunters, none of whom pull any punches. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Equipment --------zzzzzzz--------- [0202] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Samus is equipped with a Power Suit, a bionic suit of armor created by an ancient species known as the Chozo. While in her Power Suit, Samus has a constant uplink to her Hunter-class Gunship, and can send records to the ship's database using the Power Suits Scan Visor. The Power Suit also gives superhuman jumping ability (even the ability to jump in midair), and is equipped with an Arm Cannon which automatically adapts to fire any kind of weapon technology and any type of ammunition. The Power Suit can also roll into a "Morph Ball," an Alt Form that can enter small tunnels and has an unlimited supply of bombs. These bombs can be used to destroy small objects, and can even allow Samus to use the kinetic energy of the Bombs to propel herself in a Bomb Jump. With proper timing, she can even use three different bombs to reach twice the height of a normal Bomb Jump. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Weapons and Items --------zzzzzzz--------- [0203] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ ----------- Power Beam Opens: Unsealed Doors The backbone of Samus' arsenal, the Power Beam can fire a three-shot burst before it begins to charge up for a more powerful projectile attack. The Power Beam is an extremely useful weapon early on, when Universal Ammunition pools are low and enemies are relatively weak. With practice, it is even an effective weapon at later stages of the game. Since it does not use ammunition and most enemies aren't very resistant to its attacks, the Power Beam is a solid choice for any situation. ----------------- Missile Launcher Opens: Brown-sealed Doors Firing powerful concussive missiles, the Missile Launcher is a very powerful weapon which should never be ignored. Since Missiles are not needed nearly as much in Hunters as they have been in previous Metroid titles, players should not hesitate to empty their supply of Missiles whenever it seems necessary. Missiles are a great weapon to use in Hunter Duels especially, and Samus can make the Missiles track heat by charging them first. Missiles move slowly, and are easily dodged by quick targets. ------------- Battlehammer Opens: Green-sealed Doors, Green Force Fields The Battlehammer fires a string of explosive rounds. It has no charge mode, and it fires fast enough that it can quickly drain an entire Universal Ammunition pool before the player realizes it. As the first weapon discovered which uses UA, the Battlehammer is a good reminder to conserve your UA for when you really need it. The Battlehammer fires in a low arc, requiring players to adjust their aim to hit their intended target. ---------- Judicator Opens: Purple-sealed Doors, Purple Force Fields The Judicator fires a single stream of frozen plasma, or when charged fires a whole bunch of the streams. The Judicator is especially effective against enemies based on fire, such as the Fire Spawn or Magma Voldrums. One of the more commonly used Weapons in the game. ------------ Volt Driver Opens: Yellow-sealed Doors, Yellow Force Fields The Volt Driver works similarly to the Power Beam, firing a single shot before charging up to deliver one powerful burst. Not a weapon you will find yourself using all that often, but it still has its uses. ----------- Shock Coil Opens: Blue-sealed Doors, Blue Force Fields The Shock Coil fires a stream of electricity at anything within the weapon's extremely limited range, continuously dealing small amounts of damage for as long as the weapon remains activated. A really great weapon if you practice with it, but it initially seems weak to those who have not mastered it. -------- Magmaul Opens: Orange-sealed Doors, Orange Force Fields The Magmaul is a powerful weapon which works especially well one ice-based enemies such as the Frost Spawn and Ice Voldrums. Its Achilles heel is the huge arc it has, requiring considerable adjustment of aim to actually hit your target. Practice with this one before using it full time. ----------- Imperialist Opens: Red-sealed Doors, Red Force Fields The Imperialist is a laser rifle, which fires a long thin, stream of energy with enough force to kill almost anything in one shot (provided you make contact with the head). The Imperialist is also equipped with a zoom function, allowing Samus to attack enemies from clear across the room. A really fantastic weapon if you work on your aim with it. ------------- Omega Cannon The last, most powerful weapon Samus finds, the Omega Cannon may well be the "Ultimate Power" referred to in the hidden message. The Omega Cannon fires a single, powerful burst which explodes like a nuke, and is only used against the final boss. ------- Energy Energy comes in three varieties and heals three different amounts of health: 30, 60 and 100. It drops off almost everything and is generally found in abundance. -------------- Missile Packs Gathering Missile Packs increases the amount of Missiles carried in the Power Suit. --------------------- Universal Ammo Packs Gathering Universal Ammo Packs increases the amount of UA carried in the Power Suit. ------------ Energy Tank Energy Tanks increase the maximum energy capacity of the Power Suit by 100. ------------------ Missile Expansion Missile Expansions increase the maximum Missile capacity of the Power Suit by 10. ------------- UA Expansion UA Expansions increase the maximum UA capacity of the Power Suit by 30. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Rival Hunters --------zzzzzzz--------- [0204] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ ------- Kanden Weapon: Volt Driver Alt Form: Stinglarva Weak Against: Battlehammer The first Hunter you encounter in the Adventure Mode, Kanden uses the Volt Driver. His attacks disrupt the Combat Visor, affecting your field of vision. When he rolls into his Stinglarva Alt Form, he moves very quickly and is low to the ground, making it hard to hit it from below. The Stinglarva can drop bombs which home in on enemies. Kanden is an escaped biological experiment, an attempt to create the perfect soldier. With the combined DNA of some of the most powerful and dangerous species in the galaxy bioengineered into his body, Kanden is an extremely dangerous enemy and is generally considered to be psychotically homicidal. ------ Spire Weapon: Magmaul Alt Form: Dialanche Weak Against: Judicator The second hunter you encounter in Adventure Mode, Spire is equipped with a Magmaul. His attacks can set you on fire when they connect, causing additional damage over time. When Spire enters his Dialanche form, he gains the ability to climb walls (ala Spider Ball), though the CPU AI rarely takes advantage of this ability. The Dialanche can lash out with two blades at close range, so stay away from his Alt Form to avoid unnecessary risk. Spire is the last known Diamont, a race whose body is composed entirely of a molten ferrous rock. Spire is trying to find the fate of his people, and believes that discovering how the Alimbics were destroyed may shed some light on his own people's fate. Spire isn't necessarily evil, but that doesn't make him Samus' friend either. He will attack with just as much zeal as any other Hunter. ------- Weavel Weapon: Battlehammer Alt Form: Halfturret Weak Against: Volt Driver The third hunter you encounter in Adventure Mode, Weavel is equipped with a Battlehamer. His shots with the Battlehammer cause a large explosion, so even when he misses you're not necessarily avoiding damage. In his Alt Form, Weavel splits in half. His lower legs become a turret, his upper half a melee robot. The legs are significantly more dangerous, so destroy them first if he enters Alt Form. Weavel was formerly the Space Pirate General in charge of the Zebes outpost, at least until Samus arrived and shut down the operation. However, she made the mistake of leaving Weavel alive. His body was recovered, and his spinal cord and brain were implanted into a new cybernetic body. He is now the Space Pirate's most deadly and effective assassin. It's not certain whether he is after the Ultimate Power for the Space Pirates or for his own purposes. ------ Noxus Weapon: Judicator Alt Form: Vhoscythe Weak Against: Magmaul The fourth or fifth Hunter you encounter in Adventure Mode, depending on the order you finish the planets, Noxus wields a Judicator. His regular shots with the Judicator deal a moderate amount of damage, but more dangerous is the charged attack which can freeze you solid. In his Alt Form, Noxus becomes whirling blades which deal large amounts of damage to anything he strikes with them. Noxus is a member of the Vhozon race, an empire whose might rivals that of the Galactic Federation. Though the two governments share a wish to enforce justice, both have radically different ideas of how to enforce that. The Vhozon are merciless to any who break their incredibly strict laws, and employ an army of Warrior Monks who police the population. Noxus is seeking the Ultimate Power to keep it out of the hands of any "undeserving heretics." ------ Trace Weapon: Imperialist Alt Form: Triskelion Weak Against: Shock Coil The fifth or sixth Hunter you encounter in Adventure Mode, depending on the order you finish the planets, Trace wields an Imperialist. He becomes virtually invisible when he stands motionless while holding the Imperialist, giving him extra time to carefully aim his shots. A smattering of rapid fire shots or a Homing Missile are usually enough to snuff out his hiding place, and if that doesn't work then the long beams of the Imperialist are pretty obvious indicators of his presence as well. While in his Triskelion form, Trace can become invisible while standing motionless, letting him ambush Samus in narrow halls with its powerful attacks. Trace is a Kriken, one of the most hated races in the galaxy. They are an incredibly warlike race, moving from planet to planet like a swarm of locusts. Trace is a relatively young Kriken warrior, and has set out on a quest to find a new planet for the Kriken to invade as part of his rite of passage. He seeks the Ultimate Power to bring glory to himself, and failing that at least he'll find a few good planets for the Kriken to destroy. ------ Sylux Weapon: Shock Coil Alt Form: Lockjaw Weak Against: Imperialist The fifth or sixth Hunter you encounter in Adventure Mode, depending on the order you finish the planets, Sylux wields a Shock Coil. Sylux possesses what is probably the most effective and powerful strategy of any of the Rival Hunters in Adventure Mode, staying as close to Samus at all times and letting the Shock Coil slowly wear down her Energy. While in Lockjaw Alt Form, Sylux can drop a series of bombs which are connected by a line of electricity. Crossing this line causes all the bombs to explode. Sylux is a Bounty Hunter who, for reasons unknown, hates the Galactic Federation, and especially Samus Aran. His presence in the Alimbic Cluster may not necessarily be directly related to the Ultimate Power, but it can be certain that if he got his hands on the Ultimate Power it wouldn't be good for Samus or the Federation. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Adventure Mode Walkthroughs --------zzzzzzz--------- [0300] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- [0310] Spoiler-Free Walkthrough [0320] In-Depth Walkthrough [0321] Part 01: Celestial Archives [0322] Part 02: Alinos [0323] Part 03: Vesper Defense Outpost [0324] Part 04: Arcterra [0325] Part 05: Return to Celestial Archives [0326] Part 06: Return to Alinos [0327] Part 07: Return to Arcterra [0328] Part 08: Return to Vesper Defense Outpost [0329] Part 09: Alinos Again and Oubliette ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Spoiler-Free Walkthrough --------zzzzzzz--------- [0301] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ This is the Walkthrough for people who don't want to be told exactly what to do and where to go, but is instead a general outline. It does not reveal the locations of scans, Power Suit upgrades or give strategies for defeating enemies. 01. Land on the Celestial Archives. 02. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 03. Land on Alinos. 04. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 05. Land on the Vesper Defense Outpost. 06. Find the Battlehamer. 07. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 08. Land on Arcterra. 09. Find the Judicator. 10. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 11. Return to the Celestial Archives. 12. Find the Volt Driver. 13. Find the Shock Coil. 14. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 15. Land on Alinos. 16. Find the Magmaul. 17. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 18. Land on Arcterra. 19. Find the Imperialist. 20. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 21. Land on the Vesper Defense Outpost. 22. Retrieve the Octolith and return to the Hunter Gunship. 23. Reclaim stolen Octoliths from rival Hunters, if any. 24. Land on Alinos. 25. Use the eight Octoliths to activate the Alimbic Cannon. 26. Return to the Hunter Gunship. 27. Land on the Oubliette. 28. Defeat Gorea. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- In-Depth Walkthrough --------zzzzzzz--------- [0320] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ This is the complete guide to Metroid Prime: Hunters. It covers the entire game, beginning to end, room for room, in high detail. All Scans are pointed out and strategies are given for fighting the major enemies or maneuvering through the obstacle courses. If you're looking for a 100% completion rating, then this is the Walkthrough you're looking for. Author's Note: Most of the large areas in the game have a small hallway between them. These hallways serve as "loading buffers" and have no real use. This guide typically ignores their very existence. Just pass through them even when the guide doesn't mention them at all. A Note on Organization: Each part of the walkthrough is divided into areas for ease of use. To recognize when one area ends and another begins, look for the line of hyphens (-). At the beginning of each area's section, if there are new scans or items covered in that part of the guide, then it is pointed out. To locate a specific area in the game, use the in-game map on the pause menu. A Note on Checkpoints: If you die and return to an earlier checkpoint, you will have to repeat all Scans and Item Pickups after that checkpoint. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part I: Celestial Archives --------zzzzzzz--------- [0321] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ -------------------- The Alimbic Cluster When the game begins, a brief introductory sequence plays. Sit through it if you like (very little of the game will make sense if you don't). After the intro, a map of the Alimbic Cluster will appear on the Touch Screen. The two sliders on the bottom and left of the Touch Screen adjusts Samus' destination. By default, they rest on the Celestial Archives. Press the large, red Land Ship button to enter the Celestial Archives. ----------------- Celestial Gateway New Scans: Hunter Gunship (equipment), Celestial Archives (object), Alimbic Prophecy 01 (lore) Jump off your Hunter Gunship and take a look around. There are two portals on the left and right of the door (we'll activate them later), a computer console in front of the Gunship and a green barrier beneath the landing platform. We won't be able to open this barrier for a little while, but keep it in mind. Switch to the Scan Visor and scan the Hunter Gunship for its equipment scan, and the Computer Console in front of it for the Celestial Archives object scan. Move towards the door, and scan the Alimbic Prophecy 01 lore which hangs just above the door (most Lore scans are in the form of Datashades, which are invisible unless you have the Scan Visor on). Blast open the door and follow the long, bending hall to the Helm Room. --------- Helm Room New Scans: Synergy Processor (object), Synergy Drive (object), Port Helm (object), Starboard Helm (object), Psycho Bit v1.0 (bioform) Switch back to the Scan Visor and step towards the large platform in front of you. Scan its left side for the Synergy Processor object. To the left of the Synergy Processor is the Synergy Drive object, behind the blue force field. Scan it as well. A catwalk near the center of the room climbs up. Go up it, and follow the catwalk to the left first. Scan the console for the Port Helm object scan, then to the opposite side of the catwalk for the Starboard Helm object scan. Scan the button next to the door against the far wall to unlock it. Shoot it open and go inside. As soon as the door closes, both doors in the room will be locked and several Psycho Bits v1.0s will appear. Scan one of them for their bioform scan, then kill them all to unlock the doors. Open the door at the top of the ramp and follow the hall to the Meditation Room. ---------------- Meditation Room New Scans: Alimbic Panel (object), Navigational Chart (object), Petrasyl (bioform), Synergy Strut (object), Tetra Trade Map (object) Use the Charge Beam to destroy the crates and gather their contents. Follow the hall down and to the right. Scan the left wall for the Alimbic Panel object, then enter the doorway to the right. Scan then kill the Petrasyl, who will drop a Small Missile Pack. Scan any of three force fields for a Synergy Strut object, then the blue panel near the ramp for the Tetra Trade Map object. Blast the Brown Door with a missile to unlock it, then leave the room. --------------- Data Shrine 01 New Scans: Science Hub (object), Alimbic Artifacts (object), Artifact Shield (object), Shield Key (object), Cartograph Artifact (object), Lesser Ithrak (bioform) New Items: Cartograph Artifact, Energy Tank The hallway goes to the left and right here. The right dead ends almost immediately, so go to the left. Notice the small crawlspace beneath the floor; we'll get to that in a moment. Keep following the hallway left, and kill the Psycho Bits v1.0s that get in the way. Near the end of the hall, your Gunship will send a message that another ship has landed in the Celestial Archives. Go through the silver door to the right. When you enter the room, both doors will immediately lock. Quickly scan the small, low wall before you; this is the Science Hub object. In front of the Science Hub is a computer which holds the Alimbic Artifacts object scan. Jump up to the center platform and scan the large, blue diamond for the Artifact Shield object scan. Once you do, several Psycho Bit v1.0s will appear. There are several waves of them; just keep killing them until they quit spawning. A Shield Key will appear next to the Artifact Shield once all the Psycho Bits are dead. Scan it, then take the key. The Artifact Shield will disappear, revealing a Cartograph Artifact. Scan then take it. With the Artifact in hand, the doors will unlock. Leave through the door with the two crystals standing beside it (as a general rule, doors with crystals go forward, while those without go back). As soon as you enter the hall, four Psycho Bit v1.0s will attack. Kill them, then jump down into the trench. Stop, and turn around. There is a small path which goes under the floor. Roll into Alt Form and head down the tunnel to find a Small Missile Pack. Roll back out and follow the tunnel's curve. On the other end of the trench is another small tunnel. In Alt Form, go to the end of the tunnel to find an Energy Tank. Return to the trench and jump up to the platform. Keep following the tunnel's curve left. Near the end of the hall there is a locked door. Try to go near it, and a Lesser Ithrak will jump down. Scan then kill it. The door will unlock. Head through it to Fan Room Alpha. -------------- Fan Room Alpha New Scans: Cooling Fans (object) Scan the base of the pillar in front of you for the Cooling Fans object. Then, jump up to the top of the pillar using the platforms that surround it. At the top, head through the door to Data Shrine 02. -------------- Data Shrine 02 New Scans: Kanden (bioform), Alimbic Joist (object) New Items: Missile Expansion This area is structurally similar to Data Shrine 01, but the configuration of doors and Alt Form tunnels is a little different. You won't even be able to access most of Data Shrine 02 until we return here later on. As before, the hall stretches left and right. The left dead ends on an as-yet-unopenable door, so head to the right. You'll see a Missile Expansion under the floor after a short ways; we'll get this in a moment. Keep following the hall. Near the end of the trench, you'll get a glimpse of a green humanoid figure. This is Kanden, the first and easiest of your rival hunters. He'll run if you get too close; try to scan him before he sees you. If you don't, no worries - you'll be able to scan him again in a moment. Run towards him, and he'll roll into his Alt Form and run down the tunnel. Roll into your own Alt Form and follow him. On the other side of the tunnel, change out of Alt Form and kill the Psycho Bit v1.0. Keep following the trench, and halfway across scan the angled beam on the ceiling above for the Alimbic Joist object. Kill another Psycho Bit, then continue on. At the far end of the trench is another tunnel. Go Alt Form and roll to its end to get that Missile Expansion we saw earlier. Return to the trench. Jump onto the path above Kanden's Tunnel and kill the Psycho Bit v1.0s that guard the door. Leave through the door to Fan Room Beta. -------------- Fan Room Beta New Scans: Tetra Galaxy (object) Scan the center window on the far wall for the Tetra Galaxy object, then jump to the top of the pillar. Kill the Petrasyls that get in your way. Head through the door at the top to Data Shrine 03. --------------- Data Shrine 03 New Scans: Stinglarva (bioform), Political Hub (object), Anthropological Hub (object), Attameter Artifact (object), Alimbic Turret v1.0 (bioform) New Items: Attameter Artifact Blast open the crates to your right and gather up their contents. Follow the hallway to the left. The hall deadends at a silver door. Go inside, where Kanden will attack you. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Kanden ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Kanden begins the fight in his Stinglarva Alt Form, so scan him quick. All rival Hunters must have their Humanoid and Alt Forms scanned individually. Blast the Stinglarva a few times with the Power Beam, and he'll change back into his Humanoid form. Scan him now if you missed him before. Keep pelting Kanden with rapid or charged shots, and absolutely never stand still. Hide behind objects, strafe around him, jump around like an idiot - anything to keep him from hitting you. Not that he hits hard, it's just good practice for later when not being hit actually will matter. Try to make all shots connect with his head, especially Charge Shots. Kanden is really easy and should be no trouble to even the most novice player. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Hunter Duel: Kanden ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ When Kanden is defeated, he will leave behind a Shield Key. Pick it up, and one of the doors on the upper catwalk will unlock. Blow the door open, then roll inside with the Alt Form to find the Attameter Artifact. Go back out to the main room and scan the Anthropological and Political Hubs on the left and right sides of the room. Leave through the other door (the one you didn't come through). Out in the hall, turn right and scan the Alimbic Turret v1.0 directly in front of you before you blow it up. He's got a friend behind him; blow it up too. With both Turrets dead, the door on the left wall will unlock. Go in to the Synergy Core. ------------- Synergy Core New Scans: Binary Subscripture (object), Lift Controls (object) New Items: Binary Subscripture Scan the yellow button on the floor to your left. This will activate a portal, but don't go through it yet. Begin jumping up the platforms. Part of the way up, on the wall above the door you came through, is the Lift Controls object scan. Take note of the yellow force field, but you won't be able to do anything with it right now. Climb to the top of the shaft and enter the door at the top. In this room is an Artifact Shield which holds the Binary Subscripture, the last Artifact you need for this visit to Celestial Archives. Surrounding the shield are four switches. Scan then shoot each of these switches, and the Shield Key will appear. Pick it up, then scan and grab the Binary Subscripture. The door to the next room will unlock, leading to the Stronghold Portal. But before we go there, return to the portal we passed earlier. It will take you to the Celestial Gateway. ------------------ Celestial Gateway Jump into the Gunship (stand in front of it, jump on top of it and stand near its center) to save and heal, then return to the Synergy Core through the portal ------------- Synergy Core Jump back to the top of the shaft and go through the door on the other side of the deactivated Artifact Shield. If you have all three Artifacts (which you should, since the game doesn't let you progress without them in this first level) then the machine in this room will activate and open a portal. Step inside. ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Stronghold Door (object), Stronghold Void (lore), Cretaphid v1 (bioform), Biodefense Chamber A (lore), Octolith (object) New Items: Octolith First thing in Stronghold Void, switch to the Scan Visor and get the Stronghold Void lore scan. It's right in front of you as you arrive. Head straight forward, up the stairs, and scan the door before opening it for the Stronghold Door object. Shoot then stand right next to the second door to open it. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss: Cretaphid v1 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ First, scan the pillar to get the Cretaphid v1 scan. Then, get the Biodefense Chamber A scan to the right of the door (this is one of the easier scans in the game to miss). Cretaphid v1 will shoot lasers at you from his red eyes; they don't deal much damage, so no sweat if you get hit a few times. Circle the pillar in a clockwise or counter-clockwise pattern, shooting the blue eyes with rapid and charge Power Beam shots. Once all of the eyes are destroyed, then the Cretaphid's "brain" will appear at the top of the pillar. Shoot it with rapid and charge shots until the pillar flashes or the brain descends, whichever happens first. Repeat the process until Cretaphid v1 dies. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Boss: Cretaphid v1 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Pick up the health that Cretaphid v1 leaves behind, then scan and grab the Octolith. Return to the portal. On the way back, your Gunship sends a message: eight minutes to security lockdown. Jump into the Stronghold Portal to return to the Synergy Core. ------------- Synergy Core Try to use the Alt Form as much as possible on your way out - it moves much faster then the Humanoid Form. However, several of the doors on the way back are locked. Kill all of the Alimbic Turret v1.0s, Psycho Bit v1.0s and Lesser Ithraks you come across along the way to ensure the door ahead is unlocked. Kill the waves of Psycho Bits v1.0 in the Binary Subscripture room, then head through the door and jump down. The portal to Celestial Gateway is deactivated, so don't get any clever ideas. Return to Data Shrine 03. -------------- Data Shrine 03 Run to the right and blast through the silver door. Hug the right wall and leave through the other door. Back out in the hall, run to the left and kill the Psycho Bit v1.0s to unlock the door. Go through to Fan Room Beta. ------------- Fan Room Beta Drop down to the bottom of the shaft and go through the door to Data Shrine 02. Ignore the Petrasyls; the door isn't locked. -------------- Data Shrine 02 Run to the right into the trench, and roll through the tunnel back in the direction you just came from (the same tunnel you chased Kanden through earlier). Kill the Lesser Ithrak on the other side of the tunnel, then follow the tunnel's curve. A pair of Alimbic Turret v1.0s and another Lesser Ithrak guard the door. Kill them to unlock it, and go through to Fan Room Alpha. -------------- Fan Room Alpha Drop to the bottom of the shaft and go through to Data Shrine 01. -------------- Data Shrine 01 When you step through the door, a Lesser Ithrak will ambush you from the right. Kill it, then follow the hallway left. Kill the Psycho Bit v1.0s, then shoot through the silver door. Kill the group of Psycho Bits to unlock the door on the other end of the hall. Go through it and to the left, into the door to the Meditation Room. Kill the trio of Psycho Bits on the way. --------------- Meditation Room Run up the ramps in the Meditation Room. Kill any Petrasyls that get in your way, but ignore the rest. At the top of the room, go through the door into the Helm Room. ---------- Helm Room New Scans: Guardian (bioform) Move down the ramp and into the main Helm Room, where you will be immediately attacked by three Guardians. If you're pressed for time, don't bother scanning them. You'll get plenty of opportunity later. Fighting Guardians is a lot like fighting rival Hunters, only they are not as powerful and don't have Alt Forms. Fight them just as you fought Kanden: Circle around, hitting them with rapid shots and trying to hit their heads with Charged Shots. Once all three Guardians are dead, head through the door back to Celestial Gateway. ------------------ Celestial Gateway Jump into your Gunship, save your game and select "Launch Ship" on the touch screen to leave the Celestial Archives. ------------------- The Alimbic Cluster The map of the Alimbic Cluster will reappear on the touch screen, and a new planet will appear. Set a course for Alinos by moving the navigational sliders so they line up with Alinos, then press the "Land Ship" button. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 2: Alinos --------zzzzzzz--------- [0322] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ --------------- Alinos Gateway New Scans: Alinos (object), Magma Station (object), Alimbic Prophecy 02 (lore), Alimbic Datashade 01 (lore), Alimbic Datashade 02 (lore) New Items: Missile Expansion Jump down from the Gunship and scan the console for the Alinos object. Run down the stairs, and move around to the rear end of the pyramid structure. There is a small machine back here which can be scanned for the Magma Station object. Head back to the front of the pyramid and jump along the rocks over the lava, but be quick - they sink. Get the Alimbic Prophecy 02 lore scan from above the door, then head to the right for Alimbic Datashade 01 & 02 lore scans. Return to the door, but don't go through yet. Head to the left, where you can just see a Missile Expansion in an alcove above you. Jump onto the rubble, then roll into the alcove. Use bomb jumps to reach the Missile Expansion. Drop back down and head through the door. ---------- Echo Hall New Scans: Exposed Rebar (object), Zoomer (bioform), History 01 (lore), War Wasp (bioform) New Items: Energy Tank, Cartograph Artifact Run down the hall a ways, and stop to scan and then kill some Zoomers. The plants on the floor can also be destroyed, and some of them hold items. Remember that for emergencies later on. There is a large, square sandy area at the end of the hall. Scan the left side of the room for the History 01 lore, and the right side for the Exposed Rebar object. Roll into Alt Form and enter the tunnel. Echo Hall Maze Map by MrShotgun: www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/920760/42183 This is a wee bit of a maze here, but it isn't large or difficult. Nevertheless, I'll give directions. Follow the maze's path until you hit a crossroads. Go right, then left, then right again at the next split, then straight. You will be in a small alcove filled with Zoomers. Slaughter the lot of them to reveal a Shield Key. Pick it up, and roll back into Alt Form and return to the maze (use the same entrance you came in through to exit). Go straight, left at the next fork, straight, and around the corner to the door you just unlocked. Bomb it open. Ignore the right path, and keep going forward. Down this branch and to the right is an Energy Tank. Return to the tunnel you just passed and roll into it. At the end of the path is an elevated tunnel; bomb jump into it. At the top is a small room with the Cartograph Artifact. Grab it, then head through the door with the two blue crystals. Scan and kill the War Wasps on the other side of the tunnel, then go through the door to High Ground. ------------ High Ground New Scans: Flow Regulator (object), Interment Chamber (lore), Magma Vent (object), Science Sarcophagus (lore), Battle Sarcophagus (lore), Alimbic Scripture (object), Blastcap (bioform), Spire (bioform) New Items: Missile Expansion There's a whole swarm of Zoomers in this room. Kill them all to unlock the door. Scan the orange strip on the left wall before you go through the door to get the Flow Regulator object scan. Go left around the corner and kill more Zoomers to unlock another door. Through the door, take two more lefts. On the way, you'll see an opening covered by a purple force field. You won't be able to open this until later, but turn on your Scan Visor and scan the hole in the wall for the Interment Chamber lore. Another left, and scan the cracked floor for the Magma Vent object, then jump up through the hole in the ceiling. Spire, another rival Hunter, will attack. You don't really fight him yet (he runs away after he takes a few hits), but now is a good chance to scan him. After you've sent Spire packing, return to the center of the room. Scan both of the large square blocks in the courtyard to get the Battle and Science Sarcoghi lore scans. Scan one of the inscribed walls for the Alimbic Scripture object. Face the Battle Sarcophagus, then turn around and run up the ramp. Hang a right at the top and grab the Missile Expansion. Climb back up the Battle Sarcophagus ramp, then run to the left along the wall. Scan the Blastcap, then jump over it and into the silver door to the next room. --------------------- Elder Passage (lower) New Scans: Voldrum (bioform), Dialanche (bioform) New Items: Attameter Artifact Head forward. There's an Artifact Shield to your left, but there isn't much we can do with it without a Shield Key. Head to the right, where a force field will activate and trap you in the room. A blue plate on the wall will activate, steadily spitting out a stream of Voldrums. Destroy the Voldrum Generator first, then scan and kill the Voldrum itself. Another generator will activate behind you. Same deal. Once both Voldrum Generators are destroyed, then the force field above will disappear and Spire will reappear. He'll take a few shots at you through the hole; you should do the same. If you couldn't scan him back in High Ground, then do it now. After a while, Spire will jump down into the pit and use his Dialanche Alt Form. Scan it, then blast away. After a few shots, Spire will run away. Again. But don't think too low of the guy. He's the last of his race, after all. Scan the orange switch on the wall to make the Shield Key appear. Take it, and claim the Attameter Artifact as your reward. Return to High Ground through the silver door. ------------ High Ground New Item: Binary Subscripture ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Spire ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Time for a real, honest-to-goodness brawl with Spire. Just blast away at him, using High Ground's considerable architecture for cover. When he rolls into Dialanche, then jump up onto one of the Sarcophagi where the Dialanche has a much harder time reaching. Spire should fall as easily as Kanden did. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o End Hunter Duel: Spire ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o When Spire is defeated, he will drop a Shield Key. Take it, and grab the last Artifact in the corner of the High Ground. After you pick up the Binary Subscripture, then the floating platforms above High Ground will rearrange themselves. Jump across them to the previously unreachable silver door, and enter it to the Elder Passage (upper). More Generators will also activate, these producing Psycho Bit v1.0s. They can be safely ignored. --------------------- Elder Passage (upper) Scan the yellow switch in front of you and enter the portal to return to Alinos Gateway. --------------- Alinos Gateway Save and heal at the Gunship, then return to the Elder Passage. --------------------- Elder Passage (upper) Enter the Stronghold Portal ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Slench 1A (bioform), Slench 1B (bioform), Energy Blaster (bioform), Biodefense Chamber B (lore) New Items: Octolith Head through the pair of doors to the next boss fight. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss: Slench 1 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Quickly scan the lore on the right side of the door for the Biodefense Chamber B lore scan, then scan the Slench itself plus one of the three round discs that surround it for the Slench 1A and Energy Blaster bioform scans. The Slench is a bit more difficult to fight then the Cretaphid, but luckily is a bit easier to explain. For the first part of the fight, strafe back and forth to dodge the Slench's attacks, and shoot at the Slench's tentacles with the Power Beam. Once all three tentacles are destroyed (be fast - they regenerate), the Slench will detach itself from the wall. Once the Slench is removed from the wall, scan it again for the Slench 1B bioform scan. Now, begin circling the eye and shooting Power Beam shots directly into its pupil. After a preset amount of time or the Slench loses one-third of its health (whichever happens first), then it will return to the wall and the process begins again. The lower the Slench's HPs, the faster it will move. This is particularly annoying in the Slench 1B portions of the fight, since the Slench's pupil is a fairly small target. Keep it up and he'll die rather easily. Player Tip: In the fight with Slench 1, when he switches to his B form, I found it helpful to run forward right underneath the eye. Not only did that make the pupil a bigger and easier target to hit, but it was much easier to dodge his projectiles there--minimal right and left movements dodged almost all of them, and then all I had to do was strafe. It was easy to take off a third of his health very quickly every time using this trick, because you could land a number of successive hits just from dodging. I usually just followed his right to left movements to dodge - that way, his projectiles would almost always land to my side. I only got hit a couple of times, when it was time to change directions. Don't know how much help that will be, and it's not as useful against his later forms (you don't want to get that close when he could crush you), but I thought I'd send it in, because I haven't seen anyone else come up with a strategy like that. You can also destroy his tentacles in every fight with missiles. Two missiles kill off a tentacle, and since his green blobs often drop missiles, it seems like the best way to go. (Scott M.) ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o End Boss: Slench 1 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o Grab the Octolith, then run out. You've got four and one-half minutes to return to the Gunship - and a Hunter is waiting in ambush. ---------------------- Elder Passage (upper) Drop down the pit to Lower Elder Passage and run out the silver door to High Ground. ------------ High Ground Jump into the pit in the middle of the area, landing in the tunnels beneath High Ground. There are four tunnels; three are blocked by force fields, one is not. Run down this tunnel and follow it to the end. Blast the door and enter Echo Hall. ---------- Echo Hall New Scans: Weavel (bioform), Halfturret (bioform) Ignore the War Wasps and roll into the tunnel. When you come out on the other side, Weavel will attack. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Weavel ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Weavel is a different kind of Hunter from Kanden or Spire. His chief ability is to split in half, his legs becoming a gun turret and his upper body a melee automaton. Blast away at Weavel (don't forget to scan!) until he switches to his Halfturret Alt Form. Scan then destroy the Halfturret by circling it and using rapid shots. The Halfturret fires fast, but isn't very accurate against moving targets. Weavel's upper half probably ran down the tunnel opposite the one you came from. Chase him. If you appear in the maze, you used the wrong tunnel. On the other side of the exit tunnel, roll to the right to drop through a gap in the wreckage. Weavel should be waiting for you. Finish him off. If this is your first run through the game, then Weavel will now be available in Multiplayer Matches (Kanden and Spire are available from the start). ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Hunter Duel: Weavel ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Run down the hall to Alinos Gateway. -------------- Alinos Gateway Jump back into the Gunship, save and press the Launch Ship button. ------------------- The Alimbic Cluster Back on the Alimbic Cluster map, two new areas will appear: Vesper Defense Outpost (VDO) and Arcterra. You can do either one first, but I recommend VDO be finished first. Not only is it much easier, it's also much shorter. If you choose to do Arcterra first, then skip down to Part 4. Return here to Part 3 when it's time to do VDO; you won't be able to do Part 5 without finishing at least the first part of VDO. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 3: Vesper Defense Outpost --------zzzzzzz--------- [0323] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ ------------ VDO Gateway New Scans: VDO (object), Alimbic Prophecy 03 (lore) Jump down from the Gunship and scan the computer for the VDO object scan. Walk down the sloping bridge to the left, then go right behind the wall to the door. Scan above the door for Alimbic Prophecy 03 lore before going through it to the Bioweaponry Lab. --------------- Bioweaponry Lab New Scans: Spore Farm (object), Mixing Tanks (object), Lab Equipment (object), Clone Engine (object), Fuel Rod (object) Kill the floating ring of Petrasyls so you can safely traverse the room. Scan the glass windows on the left and right sides of the room for the Spore Farm, Mixing Tanks, Clone Engine and Lab Equipment object scans. Scan the device in the middle of the room for the Fuel Rod object. Head through the opposite door from where you entered into the next room. ----------------------- Weapons Complex (lower) New Scans: Frozen Fuel Line (object), Alimbic Turret v1.4 (bioform) Hang a left and follow the corridor. Scan the floor to find the Frozen Fuel Line object. At the end of the corridor, scan and destroy the Alimbic Turret v1.4. On your left is a small door with blue crystals. Go through it to the Cortex CPU. ----------- Cortex CPU New Scans: Cortex Chamber (object) New Items: Missile Expansion, Battlehammer Roll to the left and use a Bomb Jump to get up onto the elevator. Ride it up one level, then roll to the right. Come to a rest underneath the Missile Expansion. Use a Triple Bomb Jump to get up to the Missile Expansion. Player Tip: Alternatively, you can bomb jump up to the platform near the Missile Expansion, then use another bomb jump up and to the right to reach the Missile Expansion. (Atrimis) Roll back to the left, over the elevator and to the far left of the second level. At the end is a Jump Pad. Time it so you roll onto the Jump Pad while the green damage fields are turned off. A series of Jump Pads will propel you into a tunnel if you time it correctly. If you time it poorly and you pass through the damage field, you'll still be bounced to the top of the shaft but you'll take some damage as well. Once in the tunnel at the top of the Jump Pad Shaft, roll to its end. On the other side, change back to Humanoid Form. Scan the tank in front of you for the Cortex Chamber scan, then scan the four switches in each corner of the room. The Battlehammer will rise from the floor. Use it to blast through the green force field that blocks the door (aim for the little triangle that floats around the force field) and return to the Cortex CPU Morph Ball Maze. Drop to the bottom of the Jump Pad shaft. You will probably land on a Quadtroid enemy; you'll be able to scan one later, but for now just kill it with bombs. Ride the elevator back up to where the Missile Expansion was. There is a tunnel above and to the left that is flanked by two blue pillars. Bomb jump up to it and roll through it. --------------------------- Compression Chamber (upper) New Scans: History 05 (lore), History 06 (lore), History 07 (lore), Alimbic War 10 (lore), Stronghold Portal (object) Get the History 07 scan to the right of the door, then scan the Stronghold Portal object (you can only get this object if you scan it before activating the portal, so unless you purposefully skip an Artifact in one of the two previous levels then this is your first chance to get it. Use the Battlehammer to blast through the green force fields. Use the Power Beam to clear the room of enemies and generators (try to conserve Universal Ammo as much as possible this early in the game - you don't have much). Get the History 06 lore scan in the middle of the room, and the Alimbic War 10 lore from the alcove near the ceiling. Between the two doorways into this room is a force field switch. Scan it, then turn around. There is another switch in the alcove at the far end of the room. You'll have to jump to reach it, and it may take several attempts to scan the whole thing. Grab the History 05 Lore from the right rear corner of the room, then return to the Cortex CPU. Reader Note: If you do not scan the switch on your first visit to VDO, then you will not be able to lower the force field to the UA Expansion. A bug in the game prevents the force field from lowering if you do not lower it in your first visit. - matt steven ----------- Cortex CPU Return to where you encountered the Quadtroid (beneath the Jump Pad Shaft) and roll into the tunnel against the left wall. --------------------------- Compression Chamber (lower) New Scans: Psycho Bit v4.0 (bioform), Oubliette 08 (lore), History 08 (lore) New Items: UA Expansion, Binary Subscripture Scan then destroy the Psycho Bit v4.0s and their generators. If you scanned both switches in the Upper Compression Chamber, then the force fields down here should be deactivated. Roll under the pillar first for a UA Expansion, then through one of the small openings into the next room. Kill the Lesser Ithrak, and a Shield Key will appear. Grab it, then scan for the Oubliette 08 lore behind the barrier. There is also a Jump Pad back here, hidden in a small Alt Form tunnel. Use it to launch back up to the Upper Compression Chamber. Scan the History 08 lore in the middle of the room, then grab the Binary Subscripture artifact. A Guardian will appear in the room below you. This Guardian is much tougher then the trio you fought in the Celestial Archives. And he got a hold of Kanden's Volt Driver. Drop down through the hole in the floor and kill the Guardian to disable the remaining force fields in the room. Return to the Cortex CPU. ----------- Cortex CPU Return to the Weapons Complex. ----------------------- Weapons Complex (lower) New Scans: History 03 (lore), History 04 (lore), Octolith Safeguard (lore), Crash Pillar (bioform), Alimbic Prophecy 07 (lore) New Item: Attameter Artifact Go to the room we passed earlier, directly in front of the door to the Cortex CPU. There's an Artifact Shield here. Kill the Psycho Bit v1.0s and their Generators, and the Force Field in the floor will deactivate. Get the History 03, History 04 and Octolith Safeguard lore scans in the corners of the room, then drop down and kill the Lesser Ithraks who fall from the ceiling (you can shoot them before dropping down if you like). A Shield Key will appear upon their demise. Pick it up and ride the elevator back up. Take the Attameter Artifact. Blast through the green force field with the Battlehammer. Scan the object in the next room; this is a Crash Pillar. Step near it, and it will jump in the air. Shoot the red eye on its underside before it lands. Repeat until it dies. Scan the Alimbic Prophecy 07 lore above the door, then ride the elevator up (we won't be able to open that door for a while). At the top, activate the portal and take it to VDO Gateway. ------------ VDO Gateway Save and heal at your Gunship. Use the Jump Pads to return to the portal and go back to the Upper Weapons Complex. ------------------------ Weapons Complex (upper) New Scans: Sylux (bioform), Lockjaw (bioform), Gestation Tanks (object), Delano 7 (object) New Items: Cartograph Artifact From the portal, hang a left into the corridor. Follow the tunnel (there is only one linear path). After a few turns, you will encounter Sylux. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Sylux ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Sylux is arguably the hardest Hunter in the Adventure mode, but he still isn't all that hard. He spends most of the fight slowly wearing away your energy with his Shock Coil while he jumps and strafes all over the place. Use rapid Power Beam shots, and rockets if you're accurate (don't bother with the Battlehammer, you'll just waste UA). He's very difficult to hit with Charged Shots, but if you can pull it off then by all means do so. When he rolls into his Lockjaw alt form, he is most vulnerable but still difficult to hit. Roll into your own Alt Form and try to hit him with Morph Ball Bombs, or just stick to rapid power beam shots. Blow open the crates around the area if you need health. One of Sylux's favorites tricks is to roll into his Alt Form and go in a big loop to get behind you. When he does this, don't chase him; just turn around and ambush him before he ambushes you. After a while, the force fields in the area will deactivate, moving the battle into the central area. Sylux's ship, the Delano 7, will arrive at this point to provide cover fire. Scan the Delano 7 (this is your only chance to do so), then fire a few rockets at it to disable it before turning your attention back to Sylux. After a rough fight, he will succumb. If this is your first time through the game, Sylux will now be added to your Multiplayer Character Roster. If you visited Arcterra before Vesper Defense Outpost, then Sylux will be the last Hunter you can unlock. Congratulations! ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Hunter Duel: Sylux ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ With Sylux out of the way, a Shield Key will appear. Grab it and head around to the tunnel you just opened. Take the Cartograph Artifact inside. Return to the portal to VDO Gateway, grabbing the Gestation Tanks scan in the left tunnel on the way out. ------------ VDO Gateway Save and heal at your Gunship. Return to the Lower Weapons Complex via the Portal or the Bioweaponry Lab - your choice. ------------------------ Weapons Complex (lower) Roll through the door flanked by two blue crystals to the Cortex CPU. ----------- Cortex CPU Enter the tunnel near the center of the morph ball maze to the Upper Compression Chamber. --------------------------- Compression Chamber (upper) Enter the Stronghold Portal ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Cretaphid v2 New Items: Octolith Go to the end of the hall into Biodefense Chamber A to face another Cretaphid. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss: Cretaphid v2 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ The basic idea to Cretaphid v2 is identical to Cretaphid v1. Kill the blue eyes around the pillar to make the brain appear at its top. Shoot the brain until it dies. This boss has a new twist though: it shoots green blobs and can randomize the eyes between red and blue. The eyes are invulnerable while red. Still, you don't need to change your strategy at all. Just circle it to avoid its attacks, and don't forget to scan it. Cretaphid v2 is actually quite a bit easier then Cv1, since the green blobs are very easy to dodge or destroy and Cv2 doesn't have a laser attack. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Boss: Cretaphid v2 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Grab the Octolith and return to the Stronghold Portal. You've got three minutes to return to your Gunship. More then enough time. --------------------------- Compression Chamber (upper) Roll into Alt Form and enter the passage to the Cortex CPU. ----------- Cortex CPU Ride the elevator to the bottom floor, then roll all the way to the right, through the tunnel to the Lower Weapons Complex. ----------------------- Weapons Complex (lower) Take a right and go through the door at the end of the passage to the Bioweaponry Lab. ---------------- Bioweaponry Lab Leave through the opposite door to VDO Gateway. ------------ VDO Gateway Jump in your Gunship and press the Launch Ship button to leave Vesper Defense Outpost. -------------------- The Alimbic Cluster You have two choices at this point. You can either head to Arcterra, and do the last of the first tier Octoliths, or you can return to the Celestial Archives and do its second part. If you choose to do Arcterra first (which I strongly recommend all beginners do), then read on in Part 4. If you decide to skip Arcterra for now, then skip down to Part 5. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 4: Arcterra --------zzzzzzz--------- [0324] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Author's Note: Arcterra has some pretty freaking huge areas. I did my best to give descriptive directions and tried not to make my instructions too complicated, but there were a few cases where it just couldn't be helped. Sorry! ----------------- Arcterra Gateway New Scans: Arcterra (object), Alimbic Prophecy 04 (lore), Geemer (bioform), Alimbic Crest (object), Shriekbat (bioform) Scan the computer console in front of the Gunship for the Arcterra object scan, then the Alimbic Prophecy 04 lore above the tunnel. Enter the tunnel and begin working your way down the platforms to the bottom level. Don't worry if you fall on the way, it isn't deadly, but you will miss several scans along the way. Scan the Geemer bioforms about one-third of the way down, and one of the orange circles on the walls for the Alimbic Crest object. A short ways past the first set of Alimbic Crests, three Shriekbats hang from the ceiling. Try to scan them before they go kamikaze on you. If you miss, don't worry - you can leave the room and return, and they will respawn. Once all of these scans are completed, drop to the bottom of the area and enter the door to Sic Transit. ------------ Sic Transit New Scans: Alimbic Emblem (object), Noxus (bioform), Vhoscythe (bioform), Damaged Bridge (object) New Items: Attameter Artifact, Energy Tank Scan the orange disc in front of the door for the Alimbic Emblem object. Move near the force field, and you will witness Noxus and Trace taking shots at each other. Once you're spotted, then Noxus will turn his attention to you. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Noxus ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Basic Hunter duel strategies work here. Circle, strafe and jump to dodge his shots, and be sure to scan both his Humanoid and Alt Forms. When he rolls into Vhoscythe, head for high ground to avoid its attacks. Trace will take pot shots at both of you over the course of the battle. Stay under cover to avoid his fire (hugging the right side of the bridge works well). Once Noxus is defeated, then Trace goes MIA. If this is your first run through the game, then Noxus will now be added to your Hunter Roster for Multiplayer matches. Player Tip: When you start fighting Noxus, you can scan Trace and also scare him away for about a minute (maybe 45 seconds), about two rockets do the trick. Also if he kills you while you're fighting Noxus you can get him back by rocketing him until he dies, it takes a while though because of him hiding after every two rockets he takes. (Cyborg Dragon) ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Hunter Duel: Noxus ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ As soon as Noxus is defeated, several Generators around the area will activate and begin spitting out Voldrums and Psycho Bit v1.0s. Destroy them when you come across them, but don't go out of your way to kill every single one. In the Sic Transit area, there are six hidden Proxy Locks which must be scanned to reveal the Shield Key. For these instructions, assume that the northwest corner of the room is the door you entered from Arcterra Gateway. When you scan Proxy Switches 2, 3 and 4, be sure to get the Damaged Bridge object scan as well. 1.) Northeast corner, on the wall near a door. 2.) South side of the Damaged Bridge, near the top. 3.) North side of the Damaged Bridge, near the top. 4.) North side of the Damaged Bridge, near the top. 5.) Southeast corner, near the red door. 6.) Northeast corner, near an Alimbic Turret v1.0. Once all six switches are scanned, then a Shield Key will appear on the second level in the southwest corner. Pick it up to open the locked door near the middle of the northern corridor. Inside is the Attameter Artifact. Pick it up, then roll into Alt Form and under the bars against the wall. Lay down a bomb to activate the elevator, then bomb jump up to the Energy Tank. Leave Sic Transit through the door in the northeast corner. --------- Ice Hive New Scans: Alimbic Pride 01 (lore), Barbed War Wasp (bioform), Blue-Barbed War Wasp (bioform), Ice Bridge (object), Witherite Shards (object), Ammolite Shards (object), Alimbic Insignia (object), History 09 (lore), History 10 (lore), History 11 (lore), Heating System (object) New Items: Judicator, UA Expansion, Cartograph Artifact, Missile Expansion, UA Expansion Try not to hyperventilate. This area isn't that bad, it just has a lot of stuff crammed into it. The Ice Hive splits three ways from the Sic Transit door. Left is blocked for now, and you're not ready to go right yet. Go straight and drop through the vision barrier to the floor. To your left is an open alcove; face it and scan the switch inside. The force fields around the other alcoves on the left and right will deactivate. Scan the switches inside each of them. Barbed War Wasps will emerge from their nests. Scan one of the Barbed War Wasps, then destroy their nests on the wall before killing the Wasps themselves. After they are dead, a computer console will activate above and a Jump Pad will appear. Use the Jump Pad to return to the three-way split. Take the left path, down the corridor we skipped earlier. Scan the Alimbic Pride 01 lore in the corner of this small room, then step through the force field. Scan the console to open the Vault Door. Jump down and enter the Vault. Scan and kill the Blue Barbed War Wasp and its nest, then scan the crystal formation for the Ammolite Shards object. Enter the tunnel on the right. Once you enter the room, purple force fields will block all the exits (I know they look blue, but the game calls them purple, and so will I). A panning camera angle will briefly show the Judicator weapon in the corner of the room. Scan the large orange disc above the doorway for the Alimbic Insignia object, then climb over the broken pillar to the other side of the room. Scan the flashing light, and several platforms in the room will shift. You have only about a minute to do this next part, so do it fast. Roll into Alt Form and enter the opening to the left of the light. Bomb jump up and to the left to the next level. Wait for the elevator to arrive, then use another bomb jump to hop over to the elevator (this is probably the hardest part of this whole timed sequence). Player Tip: Alternatively, you can use a Morph Ball Boost to reach the elevator instead of Bomb Jumping onto it. To perform a Morph Ball Boost, swipe the stylus quickly on the touch screen the direction you wish to go. (Daffy22853) Ride the elevator to the top, and follow the tunnel to a cliff. The platform beneath you will begin moving. Ride it until it stops, then drop a bomb to start it again. Ride it until it stops again, and then roll onto the three floating platforms. Move carefully but quickly along them to the tunnel on the opposite wall. Roll through the tunnel, then drop down to the ledge. Grab the Judicator. Use the Judicator to punch through the purple force field beneath the Alimbic Insignia. On the other side, scan the Ice Bridge and the crystals on the ceiling for the Ice Bridge and Witherite Shards objects. Cross the Ice Bridge, then kill the Geemers. Use the Judicator to open the purple force field in the wall on the right. Jump over into the opening (if you miss just climb back through the Vault and try again). Take the UA Expansion and kill the Turret. A Shield Key will appear. Grab it, and scan the ceiling for the Heat System object before you drop down to take the Cartograph Artifact. Follow the hallway, and activate the portal at the halls end, but don't go through it yet. Go down the hall across from the portal. It's filled with weeds, thus I refer to it as Weed Hall. Blow away the weeds with the Power Beam to reveal a small opening on the left side of the wall. Roll through it in Alt Form to find a Missile Expansion. Drop down to the Vault Door area and break the purple force field with the Judicator. Take another UA Expansion. Return to the Upper Ice Cave using the Jump Pad and open the Vault Door again. Go around through the Vault and back across the Ice Bridge, into the room on the other side. The Stronghold Portal sits here, but we're still missing the Subscripture Artifact. Use your Scan Visor to see three new lore entries: History 09, History 10 and History 11. Drop down into the area below the Stronghold Portal and use the portal to return to Arcterra Gateway. ----------------- Arcterra Gateway Save and heal, then return to the Ice Hive. --------- Ice Hive Go back down the Weed Hall and return to Sic Transit. ------------ Sic Transit Don't worry, you don't have to fight Trace just yet. Jump to the left and follow the corridor to the end. Use the Judicator to open the door. Enter it to the Frost Labyrinth. ---------------- Frost Labyrinth New Items: Energy Tank, Subscripture Artifact Frost Labyrinth Maze Map by MrShotgun: www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/920760/42044 Roll into Alt Form and enter the hole. Go right and follow the winding path. Note the locked door on the way. At the next split, go up. Dodge the green damage fields, and head right at the next split. There is a crack in the ice here, with a Shield Key hovering just above it. Position yourself beneath the crack and use a Triple Bomb Jump to reach the Shield Key. Return to the last split. Head down, and at the next split go down again (you'll go through the unlocked door in a minute). Follow the path around the corner where it will begin bending up. At the next split, go left, then up, left around a corner, then up to another split. Go right around the pillar, then up. Pass through the trio of green damage fields to find an Energy Tank. Return to the entrance of the Labyrinth, stopping to enter the unlocked door and grab the Subscripture Artifact. Return to Sic Transit. ------------ Sic Transit No Trace yet. Return to the Ice Hive. --------- Ice Hive Go left through Weed Hall. Take the portal to Arcterra Gateway. ----------------- Arcterra Gateway Save and heal, then return to the Ice Hive. --------- Ice Hive Climb up to the Stronghold Portal. Either try to jump on top of the large crystal near the Arcterra Gateway Portal, then jump again to the Stronghold Portal, or else go around through the Vault and across the Ice Bridge. Both ways work. ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Slench 2A (bioform), Slench 2B (bioform) New Item: Octolith You know the deal by now. Run down the hall to Biodefense Chamber B. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss: Slench 2 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ This fight is identical to the last Slench fight, with the one exception that the Slench's tentacles and eyes can only be damaged by the Judicator. The Slench's beam attacks now deal fire damage, and have the ability to set you on fire to deal additional damage over time. Fun! If you run out of UA, then shoot the green blobs the Slench fires in Slench 2A form to replenish your ammunition. Make sure you scan both forms of the Slench before the fight is over. Player Tip: As an alternative to using the Judicator to destroy the tentacles, you can also use two Missiles. (Scott M.) Player Tip: If you stand near the door in the A form, the Slench's beam attacks will fizzle out before they reach you. This means only the green blobs can reach you, and gives you a good chance to recharge for his B form. This only works on Slench 2 and 3. (Curtis Hunt) ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Boss: Slench 2 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Grab the Octolith and leave. You've got seven minutes to make it back to the Gunship. This is a pretty generous amount, but novice players might still be pushing things a bit. Return to the Stronghold Portal. --------- Ice Hive Drop down and run through Weed Hall to Sic Transit. ------------ Sic Transit New Scans: Trace (bioform), Triskelion (bioform) Jump down from the door and take a left into the Damaged Bridge Courtyard. Trace will finally rear his ugly head. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Hunter Duel: Trace ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Trace spends most of the beginning of the fight in his perch, taking shots at you with his rifle. This is the deciding point of how hard the rest of the fight is going to be: the more shots Trace gets off you at this point, the harder fighting his Alt Form will be. Wait until he fires, strafing and jumping to avoid his shots, whereupon he will become visible. Scan him quickly (it's hard to get a scan of his Humanoid form once he goes Alt Form), then keep shooting at him until he jumps down. Trace will immediately roll into his Triskelion Alt Form and begin lunging at you. Scan the Triskelion quick, then get to the safety of a tall block or pillar to avoid its attacks. Keep shooting at the Triskelion, but try not to lose sight of it. If Trace manages to escape your vision for only a second, he'll take the opportunity to either set up an ambush with Triskelion (bad) or take aim with his rifle (worse). Once Trace is defeated, he will be added to your Multiplayer roster. If you already defeated Sylux in the Vesper Defense Outpost, then Trace should be the last Hunter you have to unlock. Congratulations! ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Hunter Duel: Trace ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Once Trace is defeated, the force fields blocking the doors will disappear. Leave through the northwest doors to Arcterra Gateway. ----------------- Arcterra Gateway Begin climbing up to your ship on the floating platforms, and three Guardians will appear in the lower door. You'll have to kill all of them to continue. Once they're dead, climb to the top and take off. -------------------- The Alimbic Cluster Now that you have the Judicator, you have a number of options on where to go next. If you still have not finished the first visit to the Vesper Defense Outpost, then head there now. If you have finished the Vesper Defense Outpost and gotten the Battlehammer, then you can choose to either go to the Celestial Archives for its second half, or return to Alinos for its second half. If this is your first run through the game, I strongly recommend doing the second half of Celestial Archives first. The large number of UA and Missile Expansions found there are invaluable in Alinos' second visit. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 5: Return to Celestial Archives --------zzzzzzz--------- [0325] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ A Note on Hunters: From now on in your adventure, Hunters will randomly move between the different planets and will attack you in some of the larger areas in the game (such as Data Shrine 03, Weapons Complex, High Ground, Sic Transit, etc.). To see which Hunters are on a planet, then examine that planet's coordinates on the Alimbic Cluster Map. In the event that a Hunter defeats you in combat, he will claim one of your Octoliths. You must then hunt down that Hunter to reclaim it. A Note on Asterisks: From now on in the guide, an asterisk (*) will appear on an area's name if there is a chance a Hunter or Guardians will appear in that room. There is only a chance, not necessarily a guarantee. ------------------ Celestial Gateway New Item: UA Expansion Make sure you have the Battlehammer from the Vesper Defense Outpost before you progress any further. You absolutely cannot get the second Octolith from Celestial Archives without it. If you don't have it, then jump back to Part 3: Vesper Defense Outpost and finish that chapter. Switch to the Battlehammer and jump down from the Gunship. Roll into Alt Form and slip underneath the landing platform. Use the Battlehammer to break through the green force field. Drop down into a large room full of pillars, a UA Expansion hidden behind one of them. Use the Jump Pad to return to the Upper Celestial Gateway. Take the portal to the Synergy Core. ------------- Synergy Core Leave through the door near the portal to Data Shrine 03. --------------- Data Shrine 03* Take a right in the hall and go through the silver door. In the center room, fight off the Guardians and/or Hunter who appear (if any) then leave through the other silver door. Take a left and head through the door at the end of the hall to Fan Room Beta. -------------- Fan Room Beta Drop to the bottom of the shaft and go through the door to Data Shrine 02. --------------- Data Shrine 02* New Scans: Literary Hub (object), Medical Hub (object) New Items: UA Expansion, Volt Driver Now that you have the Battlehammer, you can open the green doors into the center area of Data Shrine 02. Take a right and open the green door with the Battlehammer. Inside, a pair of Guardians will attack. Kill both of them, then scan both of the low barriers on the left and right sides of the room for the Literary and Medical Hub objects. Jump up to the center pillar in the room for a UA Expansion, then onto the floating platform with the pair of pillars sitting on it. Jump from there to the ledge on the wall, then roll into Alt Form and into the tunnel to get the Volt Driver gun. Return to Fan Room Beta. -------------- Fan Room Beta Climb to the top of the pillar and enter Data Shrine 03. --------------- Data Shrine 03* Go back through the central chamber and out the other side. In the hall, enter the door to the Synergy Core. ------------- Synergy Core New Scans: Alimbic Prophecy 05 (lore) Return to your ship in Celestial Gateway and save if you like, but it's not necessary. Jump up to the fourth platform and use the Volt Driver to blast through the yellow force field. Follow the tunnel to its end and ride the elevator up. Step on the Jump Pad to launch to the other end of the room, across the pit. Scan the Alimbic Prophecy 05 lore above the door, then use the Volt Driver to open the yellow door and enter the next room. Jump in the portal to teleport to Transfer Lock. -------------- Transfer Lock New Scans: Docking Bay L2 (object), Docking Bay L1 (object), Docking Bay L3 (object), Photon Stabilizer (object), Psycho Bit v2.0 (bioform) New Items: UA Expansion Drop to the bottom of the Transfer Lock from the orange bridge. Kill the Voldrums and their Generator, then run up to where the generator was to find yet another UA Expansion. Use the Jump Pad to return to the top of the Transfer Lock, then turn around and scan one of the large circular discs for Docking Bay L3 object. Repeat this again on the second and first floors for Docking Bay L1 and Docking Bay L2, then use the Jump Pad to return to the orange light bridge and step through the vision barrier. Step into the room, and a whole mess of enemies will appear. Psycho Bit v1.0s appear on the catwalk, while Voldrums appear on the lower level. They both have Generators to supplement them. As always, kill the generators first (wait for the Voldrums to leave the generators before you try to kill either - they have an annoying habit of sitting in the generator, making both the generator and the Voldrum invulnerable). Pretty soon, a trio of Guardians will arrive to reinforce the Psycho Bits and Voldrums. Once all this mess is out of the way, head for the back of the area, behind the large structure, to find a new kind of Psycho Bit. Scan the Psycho Bit v2.0s, then blow up their generators before killing the Psycho Bits themselves. As so you do, the force fields covering the floor will begin to deactivate. Once all three generators and Psycho Bits are destroyed, drop down and shoot each switch in the trench. Each switch reveals another switch near the front of the structure. Shoot each of these switches to deactivate the force field leading to the innards of the structure. Run around to the back of the building and go inside. Scan the console inside to reactivate a portal back near Docking Bay L3. Head back that way through the vision barrier (which have now had the force fields blocking them removed), and on your way, scan the gap in the catwalk to find the Photon Stabilizer object. Enter the portal on the third floor to transport to the Docking Bay. ------------ Docking Bay New Scans: Alimbic Order 01 (lore), Alimbic Order 02 (lore), Alimbic Order 03 (lore), Alimbic Order 04 (lore), Final Wish (lore) New Items: Cartograph Artifact, UA Expansion As soon as you arrive in the Docking Bay, a Guardian will attack. Kill him to reveal a Shield Key on the ramp in the center of the area. Pick it up to deactivate the Artifact Shield on the other side of the pit. Ride the elevator across the pit and gather the Cartograph Artifact, and be careful. A fall is deadly. Before you leave the Artifact Platform, scan for the Alimbic Order 04 lore. Return to the main part of the Docking Bay. On the far left (facing from the artifact platform) of the Docking Bay is the Alimbic Order 02 lore, and Alimbic Order 03 is hidden on the right. With both lore in your logbook, climb to the upper catwalk. At the end of the catwalk, where the four floating platforms meet, scan for the Final Wish lore. There are four platforms moving back and forth here. From left to right, I have numbered them 1, 2, 3 and 4. Keep this in mind as you progress. First, jump onto number 2 and ride it to the platform at the end of its path. Grab the UA Expansion on this floating structure, then scan for the Alimbic Order 01 lore. Ride platform number 2 back to the hub, then get on platform number 4. Step into the platform to travel to Incubation Vault 02. -------------------- Incubation Vault 02 New Scan: Electro Voldrum (bioform) Kill the Crash Pillar, and two generators on the wall will activate and begin spitting out Psycho Bit v1.0s. Kill them, and the generators on the floor will turn on and start spitting out Electro Voldrums. They will also be joined by three Guardians. Kill the Guardians first, then scan and destroy the Electro Voldrums and their generators. Blow up the crates in the room to get some health. There are two portals near the blue shield. One close to it, and one is further away. Step into the one closest to it. -------------------- Incubation Vault 01 New Scan: Incubation Tank A (object) Scan the top of the big green glowing tube to get the Incubation Tank A object, then drop down to the bottom floor and kill the Guardians. The force fields on the upper level will release and reveal a Shield Key. Step into the portal in front of the computer console to return to the Docking Bay. ------------ Docking Bay Catch Platform #4 and return to Incubation Vault 02 through the portal. ------------------- Incubation Vault 02 Return to Incubation Vault 01 through the portal closest to the blue shield. -------------------- Incubation Vault 01 New Item: Attameter Artifact Run along the catwalk and into the structure. Grab the Shield Key. If you fall off the catwalk, then return to the Docking Bay through the portal closest the computer console and repeat the process to get back here. Shield Key in hand, the Artifact Shield will disappear. Run out and grab the Attameter Artifact. Take the portal on the catwalk near the Artifact Shield (now disabled) to return to Incubation Vault 02. -------------------- Incubation Vault 02 New Item: Shock Coil You will appear on the catwalk above Incubation Vault 02. Enter the structure and drop through the hole in the floor to get the Shock Coil. Use the Shock Coil to blast through the blue-green shields. Head to Incubation Vault 03 through the portal against the far wall as you come through the doorway. -------------------- Incubation Vault 03 New Scan: Incubation Tank B (object) New Item: Missile Expansion Grab the Missile Expansion, then scan the top of the big green glowing tube to get the Incubation Tank B object. Drop down to the bottom floor and kill the Guardians. The Psycho Bits can be ignored, but you can kill them if you really want to. There are quite a few of them though, so be patient. Blast through the blue force field on the main floor with the Shock Coil and enter the portal. ------------ Tetra Vista New Scans: Shield Generator (object), Gravity Stabilizer (object) Finally out of that maze of portals! Be careful here, though - a fall through the many gaps in the floor is deadly. Scan one of the blue force fields on the right for a Shield Generator object. Halfway across, there is an orange pipe on the right. Scan it for the Gravity Stabilizer object. As you work your way carefully across Tetra Vista, Psycho Bit v2.0s will attack you. Neutralize them, and be careful how you strafe. One wrong move can be deadly. Enter the door at the other end to New Arrival Registration. ------------------------- New Arrival Registration New Scans: Quadtroid (bioform) Scan the Quadtroid right in front of you when you arrive, then start blasting at it with everything you have. If it manages to latch onto your head, then roll into Alt Form and drop a few bombs to shake it loose. After considerable punishment, it will die. Kill all three Quadtroids in this room, and the door at the end of the hall will unlock. Go through it to the next room. Kill the Psycho Bits that appear, then go around the ledge. Activate the portal, which leads back to Celestial Gateway. Go through it. ------------------ Celestial Gateway Save and heal, then return to New Arrival Registration. ------------------------- New Arrival Registration New Scans: Gorea 06 (lore), Gorea 07 (lore), Gorea 08 (lore), Gorea 09 (lore), Greater Ithrak (bioform) New Items: Binary Subscripture, Energy Tank Ride the pair of elevators up to the top level, then jump across to the tunnel. In the next tower, look down to see a single stationary floating platform. Jump out and land on it. Look towards the right, and you will see an Artifact Shield in an alcove. Jump over to it. A force field will close you in the room. Switch to your scan visor to reveal four lore: Gorea 06, Gorea 07, Gorea 08 and Gorea 09. Scan them all, and a Shield Key will appear. Pick it up, take the Binary Subscripture Artifact, then try to leave the room. A Greater Ithrak will drop from the ceiling. Scan it, then wait for it to lunge at you. Jump over it as it does, then shoot its tail with a charged shot. Do this until it dies. Return to the tower, and look down. There is a tunnel to the right. Drop down to the ledge and walk around to the tunnel. Go through it to the third tower. There is an Energy Tank waiting out in plain sight to the right. Walk left along the ledge, then jump out to the broken ledge, and again to the angled platform. Jump a third time to the Energy Tank. Ride the pair of elevators in the tower to the top and jump over to the door. Open the door and enter the Stronghold Portal. ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Slench 3A (bioform), Slench 3B (bioform) New Items: Octolith Run through to Biodefense Chamber B. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss Fight: Slench 3 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Another Octolith, another Slench fight. Slench 3a is unchanged since last time, except in that he is now tougher and is only vulnerable to the Battlehammer (other weapons deal minor damage to the iris, but not enough for it to matter). The real challenge in this fight is learning to adjust to the Battlehammer's weird firing arc. The shot actually lands slightly beneath where you actually aim, so you need to aim a little above your target. In addition to using the Volt Driver in his A form, The Slench also has a new attack while in his B form. When he rolls up his eyelid and begins to shake, that is your queue to quickly roll into Alt Form and roll to the left or right. Because he's going to come crashing down, and it hurts like the dickens. Do not, I repeat, do not roll forward or back. If you do, the Slench will hit you anyway. As always, remember to scan both of the Slench forms to fill out your logbooks, and when you run low on UA kill green blobs to get more. Player Tip: As an alternative to using the Battlehammer to destroy the tentacles, you can also use two Missiles. (Scott M.) Player Tip: If you stand near the door in the A form, the Slench's beam attacks will fizzle out before they reach you. This means only the green blobs can reach you, and gives you a good chance to recharge for his B form. This only works on Slench 2 and 3. (Curtis Hunt) ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Boss Fight: Slench 3 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Take the Octolith and head out. You've got eight minutes and thirty seconds to return to your Gunship. I know it seems like a long way back to the Celestial Gateway, but it's not as bad as you think. Return through the Stronghold Portal. ------------------------- New Arrival Registration Blast open the door and drop to the bottom of the tower, landing on the ledge. Head through the tunnel to the middle tower. Ride the elevators to the top of the middle tower, and into the tunnel to the first tower. Jump down to the bottom of this tower and enter the door. Run through the Quadtroid tunnel (the Quadtroids, thankfully, have gone) and into the door to Tetra Vista. ------------ Tetra Vista Run and jump as quickly and carefully as you can through the tunnel. Ignore the Psycho Bit v2.0s (they take too long to kill), but be wary of their shots which distort your vision. Enter the door at the end of the hall and return to Incubation Vault 03 through the portal. -------------------- Incubation Vault 03 Enter the portal in front of the computer console to return to the Docking Bay. ------------ Docking Bay To your right as you arrive, there is a small alcove with a portal inside it (very near the Alimbic Order 02 Scan). Enter this portal to return to the Transfer Lock. -------------- Transfer Lock Drop down to the second level and enter the portal. If you missed the second floor and landed on the first, then use the jump pad to get up. ------------- Synergy Core See, that wasn't so bad now was it? Only two or three minutes and you're already back in familiar territory. Go through the door and drop to the bottom of the shaft. Enter the door to Data Shrine 03. --------------- Data Shrine 03* Go right and into the silver door. If there were any Hunters loose in the Celestial Archive when you landed and if you haven't faced them already, then one of them will probably appear here (possibly joined by a Guardian or two). Otherwise, it'll probably be a bunch of Guardians. Kill them, then leave through the silver door which doesn't have blue crystals around it. Remember, blue crystals means forward, no crystals at all means back. Most of the time. Go left in the hall and through the door to Fan Room Beta. -------------- Fan Room Beta Drop to the bottom of the shaft, turn around and go through the door to Data Shrine 02. --------------- Data Shrine 02* Go right and through the door into the central area. If there are any more Hunters about, one may be here. Otherwise, it will just be more Guardians. Kill them, then leave through the door to the right of the floating platform. Out in the hall, go through the door to Fan Room Alpha. --------------- Fan Room Alpha Drop to the bottom of the shaft, turn around and go through the door to Data Shrine 01. --------------- Data Shrine 01* A Lesser Ithrak will drop down from the ceiling. Kill it, then run left through the trench. Kill the Psycho Bits and head through the silver door. If there is anything here to pick a fight with you, kill it then leave through the opposite door. Hang a left, and go through the door to the Meditation Room. ---------------- Meditation Room Climb to the top of the Meditation Room's ramps, killing any Petrasyls that get in your way. At the top, go through the door into the Helm Room. ---------- Helm Room* If you're really unlucky, there will be another Hunter waiting for you here. If not, there may be more Guardians. But sometimes not! Whatever the case, do whatever you have to do then head out the door to Celestial Gateway. ------------------- Celestial Gateway Jump into the Gunship, save and Launch Ship. ------------------- The Alimbic Cluster So with two new weapons and another Octolith at your disposal, it's time to choose your next destination. If you still have not done Arcterra, then now is the time to go there. It's impossible to progress in the second visit to Alinos without the Judicator from Arcterra, and it's impossible to progress in Arcterra without the Magmaul from Alinos' round 2. Lastly, you can't progress in Vesper Defense Outpost without the Imperialist from Arcterra's second visit. So, in short, if you have done Arcterra, then head for Alinos' second visit. If you still have not done Arcterra, then go there now. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 6: Return to Alinos --------zzzzzzz--------- [0326] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ --------------- Alinos Gateway First, make sure you have the Judicator from Arcterra before you go any further. You can't get anywhere in Alinos on the second trip without it. Enter the portal to the Upper Elder Passage. ---------------------- Elder Passage (upper) Leave the Elder Passage through either its upper or lower door to the High Ground. ------------ High Ground* If there are any Hunters loose on Alinos, chances are pretty dang good that one of them will be in High Ground. At the very least, expect a pack of Guardians. If neither are there, count your lucky stars. Once your foes are out of the way, drop down into the tunnels beneath High Ground. Destroy the force fields down here with the Volt Driver. Head around the perimeter of the tunnels until you find a small opening covered by a purple force field. Blast the force field open with the Judicator, roll into your Alt Form and go inside. ----------- Magma Drop New Item: UA Expansion This is scary at first, but actually isn't all that hard. The Magma Drop is one long pool of lava. You will take constant damage in here, but the fact that there is a medium energy unit every few feet sort of removes the health danger. Drop all the way to the bottom of the pool, grabbing the health units on the way. Don't worry if you miss a few. You'll waste more health then you'll recover if you try to grab each and every one. At the bottom, roll to the right. Use a bomb to propel yourself upwards. The liquid magma will make you rise very high and very fast. Bomb up to the first ledge, then use another bomb to head up to the next ledge. You will fall just short, but don't worry about it. Hug the left wall until you get stuck on the cliff, then use another bomb to propel to the right of the ledge, then back to the left to land on the ledge. Bomb up one more time to one more ledge, grab the UA expansion, then use another bomb to leave through the shaft above you. See? Scary, but not hard. ------------ High Ground* New Scans: Thermal Regulator (object), History 02 (lore), Alimbic Prophecy 06 (lore) Another Hunter may have taken up residence in High Ground while you were down in the Magma Drop. Return to the central area and kill him, but be careful if you took a lot of damage in the Magma Drop. Once the Hunter (if any) is out of the way, then blast the purple force field near the empty Artifact Shield with the Judicator. Go inside. At the top of the ramp is a door. This leads to the Combat Hall. Go explore if you like, but you don't need to go in there until the third and last visit to Alinos. So I won't be covering it just yet. Scan the wall on the opposite side of the door for the Thermal Regulator object, then keep following the hallway up. Blast the Alimbic Turret v1.0, then scan the History 02 lore in the corner. Go out the door and scan the button on the edge of the ledge to activate one of the floating platforms above High Ground. Be careful you don't fall down the hole, or you'll have to climb up again. Use the new platform to reach the other side of High Ground. Scan above the door for the Alimbic Prophecy 06 lore, then jump over the hole in the ground. Blast the door open with the Judicator and go inside. ---------------- Alimbic Gardens New Scans: Red-Barbed War Wasp (bioform), Gorea 01 (lore), Gorea 02 (lore), Alimbic War 02 (lore), Alimbic Garden (object) Look up to see a Red-Barbed War Wasp. Scan then kill it, then climb up the rubble. Kill the Zoomers along the way. At the top, you'll see the Delano 7 flying over. To this day I still can't figure out why the Delano 7 flies overhead, but I'm pointing it out anyway. Scan the platforms on the left and right side of the room for the Alimbic War 02 and Gorea 01 lore, then jump down into the center of the room. The Gorea 02 lore and the Alimbic Garden object both sit right next to each other. Enter the door on the other side of the Garden. ------------- Thermal Vast New Scan: Psycho Bit v3.0 (bioform) Roll into Alt Form and follow the tunnel to its end. On the other side is a long pit of lava with numerous platforms and elevators crossing it. Jump across onto the elevator directly in front of you, and ride it out to the center of the lava pools. Jump to another elevator which will move directly alongside yours. This elevator moves left and right, stopping to make contact with two more elevators on the left and right side of the room. It doesn't matter which one you take, just hop onto one of them, ride it to the ledge and roll into the Alt Form tunnel. If you fall off any of the elevators, then use the rocks in the lava to jump safely back to the start and try again. Roll to the end of the tunnel and into a Jump Pad. It will launch you up into the second half of the Thermal Vast. There are generators here on the left and right sides of the room which produce Psycho Bit v3.0s. Scan one of the Psycho Bits, then destroy the generators. Jump along the rocks to the tunnel, roll through it and enter the door to Alinos Perch. Don't stand on the Jump Pad, unless you want to do the whole Thermal Vast over again. ------------- Alinos Perch* There's a lot do in Alinos Perch, but we'll be skipping a lot of it for the time being. There's more pressing matters in the next area. To the left of where you came in is a locked door. Kill the Guardians in this area, which will unlock the door. These Guardians are highly susceptible to the Judicator, so use it for an easy victory. Go through the unlocked door to the Council Chamber. ---------------- Council Chamber New Scan: Fire Spawn (bioform) New Item: Magmaul Destroy the crate for some UA, then take a right. Destroy another crate for more UA, and scan the wall behind it to get the Wall Scroll object. Pass through the vision barrier, and get your Judicator out. A Fire Spawn will emerge from the pool of lava. Make sure your scan it, as this will be your ONLY opportunity to do so. Quickly run to the left behind the barrier, and charge up your Judicator. Wait for the Fire Spawn to throw a ball of lava at you, then while he is preparing to throw another step out and shoot him square in the mouth with a charged Judicator shot. After a few shots, he will die and the Magmaul will appear on the cliff above you. Climb up and grab it. Use it to blast the orange force field that appeared over the entrance from Alinos Perch. Return to Alinos Perch. ------------- Alinos Perch* New Scan: Ceremonial Charms (object), Magma Voldrum (bioform) New Item: Missile Expansion There are three switches in this room which must be activated (by shooting them) to progress to the next area. The first is on the rear of the pillar in the center of the room. The second is along the path directly in front of you when you arrive from the Council Chamber, hugging close to the wall. Scan the Ceremonial Charms object right next to it as well. Climb to the upper area of Alinos Perch using the ramp to the left as you come in from the Council Chamber. At the top, scan and kill the Magma Voldrums and their Generators, as well as the Alimbic Turret v1.4 on the cliff behind you. Climb to the very back of the area and use the Magmaul to punch through the orange force field. Go to the right and up the cliff, and kill the pair of Psycho Bit v3.0s. Shoot the switch in the small bunker, then grab the Missile Expansion in the left side of the room before returning through the door you came in. Use the Jump Pad you just activated to launch out to the top of the highest mesa. Scan the computer and the door on the far wall will unlock. Jump down to the Jump Pad and let it launch you to the second Jump Pad, which will in turn launch you to the door. If you touch the d-pad, you'll throw off the aim and have to start over from the first Jump Pad. Go through the door to the next area. ------------ Crash Site New Scans: Structural Debris (object), Alimbic Pride 03 (lore) New Item: Cartograph Artifact Move forward a tiny bit and scan some of the rubble in the room for the Structural Debris object. You can also see a Shield Key off to the left. You'll have to jump out through the rubble to reach it and deactivate the Artifact Shield, which houses the Cartograph Artifact. Once you have the Shield Key, drop down and get the Alimbic Pride 03 lore from the rear of the room before running down the tunnel to the Artifact. Take the Cartograph Artifact then return to Alinos Perch through the door. ------------- Alinos Perch Roll into Alt Form and slide out through one of the holes. Return to the Council Chamber. ---------------- Council Chamber New Scans: Glyph Pattern (object), Wall Scroll (object), Council Chamber (object), Alimbic War 03 (lore), Gorea 05 (lore), Alimbic War 07 (lore), Alimbic Pride 04 (lore), Ice Voldrum (bioform) New Item: Energy Tank, Attameter Artifact Scan the pool of lava, near where the Fire Spawn used to stand, for the Council Chamber object. Blast open the orange force field on the far right. Go down the hall to the end and grab an Energy Tank. Return to the Lava Spawn room, and run down to the other side of the pool of lava. Use the Magmaul to blast through the last orange force field, on the far left. A Guardian will appear. Kill it with the Judicator, then follow the hallway around the corner. Keep your Scan Visor on, and scan the Alimbic War 03 and Gorea 05 lore. Follow the hall until it deadends. Scan the room for the Alimbic War 07 lore, the Glyph Pattern object, and a security computer which deactivates the force field behind you. Turn around and use the Jump Pad to reach the upper Council Chamber. At the top, kill the pair of Shriekbats then scan near the hole in the floor for the Alimbic Pride 04 lore. Move forward and around the corner. In the next room, force fields will close you in and the two Generators will activate and start spitting out Magma and Ice Voldrums. Scan both the new Ice Voldrums, then destroy their Generators and the Voldrums themselves. Head through the doorway left from where you came in and activate the portal to Alinos Gateway, but don't go through it yet. Step into the circular room near the portal with the force fields on the floor and ceiling. Kill all the Petrasyls in the room, then scan the computer. A Shield Key will appear, and the force field in the floor will disappear. Grab the Shield Key to remove the shield above, revealing the Attameter Artifact. Drop down through the floor and shoot the switch on the wall to activate a Jump Pad. Use the Jump Pad to fly up and grab the Attameter Artifact. Use the Jump Pad to reach the Alinos Gateway portal. Go through it. ----------------- Arcterra Gateway Save and heal, then return to the Council Chamber. ---------------- Council Chamber Return to the Voldrum room and go through the door to the Processor Core. --------------- Processor Core* New Scans: Backup Processor (object), Lava Processor 01 (object), Lava Processor 02 (object), Alimbic Pride 02 (lore) New Item: UA Expansion There may be a Bounty Hunter waiting for you here. You'll know if there is if you hear battle music. Defeat him if there is one, then return to the center of the room. Face the Stronghold Portal, then look to the left. Scan the Backup Processor object. Now look to the right, and scan the Lava Processor 01 and Lava Processor 02 objects. Head around to the back of the Backup Processor and use the Jump Pad to return to the top of the room. Scan the Alimbic Pride 02 lore on the catwalk at the top of the room, above the Stronghold Portal, then jump over to the ledge opposite where the door is. On the left, behind a pipe, a UA Expansion is hidden. Jump over to the ledge closest to Lava Processor 01 and 02, then jump into the center of the tower. There is a rising and falling piston in here. Ride it all the way to the bottom (you may have to ride it up first). At the bottom of the shaft is a small tunnel. Roll into Alt Form and go inside. ------------ Piston Cave New Item: Binary Subscripture Artifact You'll appear in a lava-filled tunnel with a small catwalk leading across it. Roll along the catwalk, timing it so you avoid the pistons. The first few pistons will only knock you into the lava if they hit you. Just roll back to the start and try again if they do. After you pass a number of pistons on paths, the camera will change angles and you'll see pistons slamming together. These pistons are deadly if you get caught between them. Time it very carefully so you don't get smashed, and don't worry - two sets of the pistons don't move at all, so there are safety zones. At the end of Double Piston Hall is another tunnel. Roll into it, and you'll find more Pistons. Some crash towards the ceiling, others to the floor, and all are as deadly as the double pistons. Move to the right, and roll onto the set of double pistons. You'll have to ride the piston up and squeeze through the tunnel just before it hits the other piston. This isn't as hard as it looks - just hold right as the piston rises and you'll slide through with plenty of space. On the last piston, wait for it to rise to the top and roll safely through to the right. Roll around the corner, and use a bomb jump to bounce up onto the line of pistons while the upper piston is just beginning to rise. The third piston in the line is probably the hardest to get past - you have to use a bomb jump to get up over the ledge before the piston can crush you. Once you make it past that, it's basically home free to the Artifact Shield. The last few pistons aren't all that hard to get by. Bomb Jump to the top of the stairset and grab the Shield Key. Roll back down to grab the Binary Subscripture Artifact, then hop back up the stairs and through the tunnel. --------------- Processor Core* Return to Alinos Gateway via the Council Chamber Portal to save and heal if you want. Head through the Stronghold Portal in the Processor Core when you're ready. ---------------- Stronghold Void New Scans: Cretaphid v3 Run down the hall to Biodefense Chamber A. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Begin Boss Fight: Cretaphid v3 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Cretaphid v3 is a combination of Cv1 and Cv2, combining the ability to shoot green blobs from his blue eyes and lasers from a separate set of eyes. Additionally, it is now possible to disable his laser beam eyes by destroying them when they turn blue. As always, circle around the pillar clockwise or counter-clockwise and destroy the eyes when they turn blue. Once all the eyes are destroyed, the brain will appear. Shoot at it until it retreats, rinse and repeat. Use primarily the Power Beam for easy victory. Don't forget to scan! Player Tip: Against Cretaphid v3 and v4, you can use a Charged Magmaul shot to destroy multiple laser beam eyes with one shot. (Chris Pexton) ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ End Boss Fight: Cretaphid v3 ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Take the Octolith and head back to the Stronghold Portal. You've got five minutes to make it back to your ship, which will be easy or hard depending on how much Hunter resistance you meet on the way. --------------- Processor Core* There may be a Hunter here, and the small area has a lot of hiding places. Try not to waste a lot of time hunting the enemy Hunter. Once he's dead, use the Jump Pad in the Backup Processor and go out through the door to the Council Chamber. ---------------- Council Chamber Go to the right through the doorway and drop down the hole. Head along the path alongside the Fire Spawn pool and to the entrance hall. Go out the door to Alinos Perch. ------------- Alinos Perch* Again, there are probably Hunters or Guardians waiting for you here. Defeat them, then go through the door to your right to the Thermal Vast. ------------- Thermal Vast Roll through the tunnel and into the Jump Pad on the other side. It will launch you clear to the other side of the room, where you should roll back into Alt Form and through the other tunnel. Go through the door to the Alimbic Gardens. ---------------- Alimbic Gardens Jump across the sand garden and around the path to the other door. Ignore enemies you encounter on the way. Leave through the other door to High Ground. ------------ High Ground* Another Hunter and/or Guardian room. Once they're out of the way (if any), jump down to the pit in the center of High Ground, into the tunnel area beneath. Go straight forward where you land, and keep following the outer corridor until you reach the door to Echo Hall. ---------- Echo Hall* Make sure you kill any Guardians or Hunters in this area to ensure that the door to Alinos Gateway is unlocked. Roll into Alt Form and go through the tunnel. On the other side, go straight across to the tunnel directly facing the one you just emerged from. Roll to its end, and use a bomb jump to get over the wreckage. Run to the end of the hall and open the door to Alinos Gateway. --------------- Alinos Gateway Jump into your Gunship, save and select "Launch Ship" on the Touch Screen. -------------------- The Alimbic Cluster If you still have not completed the second part of the Celestial Archives, then go there now. Jump back to Part 5 for the walkthrough. Otherwise, return to Arcterra for its second half. You won't be able to finish Vesper Defense Outpost without first doing Arcterra's second half, so unless you still haven't done Vesper Defense Outpost's first part (I'm amazed if you haven't) then it's not an option. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ z ---------zz--- ---------zzz---- ---------zzzz----- ---------zzzz------- ---------zzzz--------- ---------zzzzzzz-------- Part 7: Return to Arcterra --------zzzzzzz--------- [0327] ---------zzzz--------- -------zzzz--------- -----zzzz--------- ----zzz--------- ---zz--------- z ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ ----------------- Arcterra Gateway Drop to the bottom floor and enter Sic Transit. ----------- Sic Transit* There may be a Hunter waiting here. Defeat him, then leave through the orange door in the southwest corner (remember that the door to Arcterra Gateway is the northwest door). Use the Magmaul to open the orange door. ----------- Fault Line* New Scans: Alimbic War 09 (lore), Seal Sphere 01 (lore), Frost Spawn (bioform), Alimbic Prophecy 08 (lore) New Item: Imperialist Kill the Quadtroids in this room to unlock a force field in the back, which leads to the other side of the area. Before you go through the tunnel, get the Seal Sphere 01 and Alimbic War 09 lore from the rear of the Quadtroid tunnel. Go through to the area you just opened up and another force field will appear, trapping you inside. A Frost Spawn will appear. Scan it, then start strafing around it to dodge its attacks. The Frost Spawn is similar to the Fire Spawn, but is only vulnerable to the Magmaul. Once the Frost Spawn is dead, then the Imperialist will appear. Scan above the door for the Alimbic Prophecy 08, then take the Imperialist. Use the Imperialist to open the red door. Go inside to the Frost Labyrinth. ---------------- Frost Labyrinth Frost Labyrinth Maze Map by MrShotgun: www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/920760/42044 Roll into Alt Form and head into the tunnel. Work your way to the top of the labyrinth and go through the red door. The tunnel at the top is buggy. You may have to approach it an angle or use a Boost to actually get the Morph Ball to go inside. ---------- Sanctorus New Scans: Gorea 03 (lore), Gorea 04 (lore), Alimbic War 01 (lore), Alimbic War 06 (lore), Alimbic War 12 (lore) New Items: UA Expansion, Binary Subscripture Take a left from the door to find a UA Expansion at the end of a curving hall. Scan above the hole in the floor for the Alimbic War 01 lore. Return to the door and take the right path. Go into the tunnel on the right and scan the arch above for the Gorea 03 lore. Jump down and scan the Alimbic War 12 lore, then go through the doorway. Kill the Greater Ithrak hanging from the ceiling. There are three switches in this room which must be scanned to remove the force field blocking the Imperialist Switch. There is a computer to your left as you enter which says as much. 1. Behind the pillar across from the computer. 2. Behind the pillar closest to the computer. 3. On the ledge above the computer. Scan the broken pillars in the room's center for Gorea 01 and Alimbic War 06 lore, then stand near the Artifact Shield. Shoot the red switch on the far side of the room with the Imperialist to make the Shield Key appear. If you stand too close to the switch, then it will close and shooting it will not work. Stand near the Artifact Shield to ensure it stays shut. Take the Shield Key, then grab the Binary Subscripture from the Artifact Shield. A pair of Guardians will appear to attack you. Kill them both, then return to the Frost Labyrinth. ---------------- Frost Labyrinth Frost Labyrinth Maze Map by MrShotgun: www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/920760/42044 Return to Fault Line through the right exit. ----------- Fault Line Stand in the back of the room, between the two arches, and use the Imperialist's zoom function to snipe the red switch on the wall. The switch will activate an elevator. Ride the elevator to the second level. Use the Jump Pad at the top of the elevator to go up into a narrow tunnel. Move to its end, to where the UA Ammo is, then spin around to face where you just came from. High on the left and right walls, just above the force field, are two more Imperialist Switches. Shoot them both to lower the tall force field. Head back down into the area you just opened. Scan the switch on the left side of the room to open a Portal to Arcterra Gateway. Return there and save if you like. Back in the Fault Line, use the Jump Pad near the portal to reach the door on the upper ledge. Go through the door to the Drip Moat. ---------- Drip Moat Step forward onto the square tile on the floor. The platform will begin moving forward. You may notice a UA Expansion below; you'll get this later on. Ride the platform to the end, shooting the Petrasyls, War Wasps and Shriekbats who get in the way. If you get knocked off by one of them, then return to the start and use the Jump Pad to return to the top and try again. Go through the door at the other end of the Drip Moat to enter Subterranean. ------------- Subterranean New Scans: Alimbic Turret v2.7 (bioform), Alimbic War 04 (lore), Alimbic War 05 (lore), Alimbic War 11 (lore) New Items: Missile Expansion, Cartograph Artifact To deactivate the force fields in this room, you have to shoot the four switches in the ring above with the Imperialist. Stand in the corners of the room and the small area in the middle of the force fields to shoot over the fields and reach the switches. You may have to jump to reach over the fields. You have to shoot the switches straight on. Shooting them from the side doesn't work. Once all the switches are activated, work your way to the center of the maze and stand on the disc. The disc is actually an elevator, which will go down. Go to the end of this new hall and take the Missile Expansion. Scan for the Alimbic War 04 lore, then turn around. On your left down the hall a ways is a large crack in the wall. Go through it, and get the Alimbic War 11 lore halfway through the short tunnel. Hang a left when the tunnel branches, then scan and destroy an Alimbic Turret v2.7 bioform. Once the Turret is dead, a Shield Key will appear. Take it, then scan the Alimbic War 05 lore against the wall before going to the opposite end of the hall to claim the Cartograph Artifact. Return to the elevator, and make sure you have all of the scans and the Missile Expansion before leaving. Once you exit Subterranean, the elevator will stop working. Player's Note: Actually, I was wrong. You can get the elevator to run again, but you must first take the Octolith and return to the Gunship. Once you have done this, then the elevator will start working again. Thanks to Dark Crono for figuring this out. Start working your way out of the maze, and after a short time the force fields will deactivate and no less then six Guardians will appear to attack. The Guardians appear one at a time at intervals of only a few seconds, so the faster you kill them the better. If you're a good shot with the Imperialist, then a single head shot with the rifle is enough to kill any of them. Once all the Guardians are dead, return to the Drip Moat. ---------- Drip Moat New Item: UA Expansion Return to the start of the Drip Moat. When you near the end of the platform ride, you will see a UA Expansion floating in midair below you. Jump off of the platform after it stops moving and grab the UA Expansion. Use the Jump Pad at the bottom of the shaft to bounce back up. Go back through the door to Fault Line. ----------- Fault Line New Scan: Oubliette 01 (lore) New Item: Attameter Artifact Ride the elevator back up from the Ice Spawn room and use the Jump Pad closest to the elevator to bounce back up into the narrow tunnel. Go up the ramp into the next room. D