_____ _ __ _ _ |_ _|_ _| | ___ ___ ___ / _| | |_| |__ ___ | |/ _` | |/ _ \/ __| / _ \| |_ | __| '_ \ / _ \ | | (_| | | __/\__ \ | (_) | _| | |_| | | | __/ |_|\__,_|_|\___||___/ \___/|_| \__|_| |_|\___| _ _ / \ | |__ _ _ ___ ___ / _ \ | '_ \| | | / __/ __| / ___ \| |_) | |_| \__ \__ \ /_/ \_\_.__/ \__, |___/___/ |___/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VERSION 1.4 FAQ/Walkthrough By: PeTeRL90 E-mail: thebestskylight[at]gmail[dot]com Copyright: 2006-2007 Date Started: October 12, 2006 Date Finished: October 25, 2006 Latest Update: February 6, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Make sure to replace [at] with @, and [dot] with . Also, if you're going to e-mail me, please put TotA or something like that in the subject box so that I know it's not an advertisement. Before e-mailing me, please make sure that your question isn't already covered in the guide. If it's already in there, I'm going to delete the e-mail, so please look carefully before e-mailing me. Thank you. =================== Table of Contents =================== 1.) Introduction 2.) Legal Stuff 3.) Characters 4.) Basics 5.) Walkthrough 6.) Sidequests a.) Luke b.) Tear c.) Jade d.) Guy e.) Anise f.) Natalia g.) Mieu h.) Other 7.) Bosses 8.) Item List 9.) AD Skills 10.) FAQ 11.) Credits/Thanks 12.) Version History =================== 1.) Introduction =================== Howdy and welcome to my guide for the latest game in the Tales of series: Tales of the Abyss. You see those pants out there lined up? Those are the pants that needed to be cleaned after the confirmation that this game was coming over to the United States. Mine are the blue pants next to the black ones with holes in them. But yeah, this arguably the best Tales of game in the series, and after what Symphonia brought a few years back, it's a huge debate. I liked Symphonia and Legendia, and I wrote guides for those, so I thought to myself "Hey, why not write a guide for Abyss?" And here I am. =================== 2.) Legal Stuff =================== This FAQ is copyrighted by me, and may be used for personal use. This FAQ may NOT be used for any kind of profit, or be put in any kind of magazine. I write these on my spare time for free, and you shouldn't be able to get money from ripping this, claiming it as your own, and selling it off. You may NOT use this on your website. You may NOT copy and paste part of any part of my work, as that is still plagiarising. I am no longer allowing any more sites to use any of my present or future FAQs any longer. The only sites that are allowed to use my present and future FAQs are the sites listed below. ALLOWED SITES TO USE THIS FAQ AND FUTURE FAQS: http://www.neoseeker.com http://faqs.ign.com http://www.supercheats.com http://www.gamerhelp.com http://www.honestgamers.com =================== 3.) Characters =================== Name: Luke fon Fabre Age: 17 Class: Swordsman Height: 5'7" Weight: 150 lbs. -Luke is the only son of a Duke of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. He lost all memory of his childhood due to the shock of being kidnapped. Since his return he has been a prisoner in his own palace, but his family's wealth has kept him in comfort, leaving him spoiled and naive. His only hobby is practicing with his sword, and, though he lacks refinement, he does possess some skill. Name: Tear Grants Age: 16 Class: Melodist Height: 5'4" Weight: 110 lbs. -Tear is a Seventh Fonist in the military wing of the Order of Lorelei, the religion ovreseeing the Score. She lost both her parents when she was still an infant, and has been raised as a warrior ever since. She is staid and silent, giving her a cold air, but she has a secret weak spot for cute things. A certain incident leads to her joining with Luke on his adventure. I'd also like to point out, my friends, that Tear is the definition of Jailbait. I mean really, that's not a 16 year old girls body. Name: Mieu Age: Unknown Class: Unknown Height: Unknown Weight: Unknown -Mieu is a young cheagle. Cheagles, considered holy by the Order of Lorelei, normally live in herds in the forest, but fate will bring him to join Luke and the others on their adventure. The Sorcerer's Ring that he wears around his tummy allows him to use human speech, and he can use the ring's fonic power to breathe fire. Name: Jade Curtiss Age: 35 Class: Fonist Height: 6'1" Weight: 163 lbs. -Jade is a colonel in the Malkuth Empire's military. He is both a skilled fonish and a master of the spear. He always smiles, so no one knows what he is truly thinking. He is known to be the right-hand man to the Malkuth Emperor, Peony, but he is also known among those in the military as "Jade the Necromancer." Name: Anise Tatlin Age: 13 Class: Puppet Master Height: 5'0" Weight: 93 lbs. -Always cheerful and happy, Anise is a Fon Master Guardian, charged with personally protecting Fon Master Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei. The stuffed doll, Tokunaga, that she keeps strapped to her back can grow to gargantuan size, and she fights while riding on its back. She hopes to marry rich, and ever since meeting Luke she has been plotting to become his future duchess. Name: Guy Cecil Age: 21 Class: Swordsman Height: 6'0" Weight: 174 lbs. -Guy is a servant in the Fabre household. He was first taken on as a babysitter, and ever since then, Guy has been like both a brother and a parent to the palace-bound Luke. He is uncomfortable around women, so his kind words to them often lead to awkward situations. Name: Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear (say that 5 times fast) Age: 18 Class: Archer Height: 5'6" Weight: 117 lbs. -Natalia is the princess of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. She is haughty and arrogant, but at the same time, as a member of the royal family she is concerned for her subjects and for her country. She is proficient with a bow, and difficult situations bring out the true strength of her will. Natalia is engaged to Luke, and her lifelong friendship allows her to freely criticize him for his lapses in judgment. =================== 4.) Basics =================== Battles ------- -Just like all of the other Tales of games, this battle system is in a real time state, which allows you to move your characters to attack your enemies. However, battles in Tales of the Abyss have been beefed up a bit. You are now able to use Free Run (scroll down to find it) and you have a number of skills, or Artes (pronounced Arts) at your disposal to use. There are no random encounters in the game (let alone for scripted fights) and any number of enemies can be on the screen at once. Pressing X will allow you to use a normal attack. Simply pressing X will do a regular slash. Hold right/left (depending on the directions you're facing) and pressing X will swing your weapons upwards. Hold up and pressing X will do a jump slash. Hold down and pressing X will do a sweep attack. Once all the enemies on the screen are defeated, you'll gain experience points and Gald and a certain amount of GRADE depending on how well you fought. Free Run -------- -As pointed out above, you're able to use Free Run in this game, which allows you to freely run around the battlefield which is a first in the Tales of series. In order to use Free Run, first you need to learn it (your other characters will most likely come with it, but Tear and Luke need to learn it) and once you do, simply hold L2 and use the left analog stick to move around the battlefield. However, while Free Running, you can't attack or use spells, so you'll need to let go of L2 in order to attacks. Using this strategically will help you catch enemies offguard and hit them easily. AD Skills --------- -These are some nice skills that you gain as you level up, or you learn them from Capacity Cores. AD Skills are quite useful (Free Run is one of them) and will prove to be helpful in even the most toughest battles. Town Link System ---------------- -Normally in RPGs, shops always have the same items for sale at the same prices, which makes it pretty simple to find what you're looking for. But in Tales of the Abyss, you're able to control the prices of items and the availability of the items in shops by your actions. If you do something to help someone in town, prices may go down for you. This gives you a good feel that your choices actually do matter in the game. Capacity Cores -------------- -Capacity Cores are things you're able to equip on your characters, and each one gives a different stat boost to a character, or holds special AD Skills that can only be learned if the character has it equipped. Looking at a Core and seeing which direction it points in tells you which stats you will get a boost at when you level up. Unequipping a Capacity Core will NOT remove the stat bonuses that you recieved at your previous level ups. Cooking ------- -Cooking is back, and it's the same as before. You gather recipies and then ingredients to cook those recipies. You can cook from the Menu (Triangle button) and select cooking. You can choose which character will do the cooking, and then which item to cook. Then you push the Triangle button to cook the food. As a character cooks more of the same food, they'll get some stars to increase their ability for that food, as well add in some additional ingredients. =================== 5.) Walkthrough =================== Note: There are spoilers in this guide, so read at your own risk. Watch the opening scene, descriping a prophecy or two. Soon, the game will switch to luke looking out his window. It's like that for a minute or so, so be patient. After that, you'll have control of Luke. Get used to the button configurations and the feel of the game and whatnot. When you're ready, exit Luke's room. Head to the right side of the courtyard, and go on through the door. Talk to the maid and go south and use the save point. Talk to the person in here and he'll bring up Van, who is Luke teacher, has come for a visit. Exit the room, and your first skit will become available. Press Select in order to view Skits. There are a lot, and I mean a lot of skits in this game, but none are voiced, so enjoy. Make your way back to Lukes room, and a voice will come inside of Luke's head. Soon, someone else shows up in Luke's room, which is Guy. Guy asks Luke if he wants to practice with his sword, but Luke says he can't since Van is here today. A maid knocks on the door, and Guy flees. You're left to go find your way to the audience room. Exit Lukes room, and head to the left side of the courtyard. Instead of going down, go north into Lukes parents room. Examine the right cabinet for an item. Now exit this room and go all the way south to find the audience chamber. Luke nearly wets himself with excitement when he sees Van. Van explains why he is here, and then heads out to the courtyard to wait for Luke. Make your way to the courtyard to find Guy and Luke. The scene switches to someone singing, and two Guards falling down. The scene switches back to Luke and Van, and you're thrusted into a training session. Van will explain the battle basics to you and tell you what to do in order to attack, guard, use Artes, and use a combination of normal attacks and Artes. Do as Van says. After the training session, Tear comes into the picture and Guy falls asleep. Tear attempts to attack Van, but Luke jumps in the way, causing some sort of portal to occur, teleporting the two somewhere else. ============== TATAROO VALLEY ============== Tear wakes up Luke, and after some talking, an enemy will spot you two, and you'll be in your first real battle. You should remember how to attack and guard and move, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. After the fight, you'll have control of Luke. Head down the path and use the save point. Continue along the path and go left at the fork for a couple of chests. Follow the river to reach the next area. Continue along the path and you'll trigger a scene, in which two enemies will attack you. Oh my, how will Luke ever manage. During the fight, Tear will instruct you about targetting your enemies. Once the enemies are defeated, go right for a couple of chests. Head back and go left and follow it as it bends to the right. Hug along the top portion of this road and you'll find a hidden path that leads to a chest. Open it. Go back to the main path and follow it and you'll soon bump into a man. Tear will offer her pendant to ride in the Coach. Use the save point and grab the chest behind it as well. Now talk with the man whenever you're ready to exit the Valley. Once outside, you'll spot another Coach running away from some kind of ship. The coach you're in pulls away so you're not in the middle of the crossfire. You'll then learn that you hopped onto the wrong coach and are going in the wrong directions from where you intentionally were going to go. You'll then have a choice to make: either ride to Engeve, or walk to it. I picked the second option. If you choose that, then head directly to the east and you'll spot a bridge. A scene will trigger and you'll get a tutorial about Cooking. After that's all done, it's time to move on. Head over the bridge and read the sign in the middle of the road to find the direction to Engeve. Follow the path and you'll reach it in a matter of seconds. ============== ENGEVE ============== Once you enter, a scene will trigger, with Tear asking for directions. The bridge seems to be down, and you'll need to go through a checkpoint, but you don't have passports at all. Well, with that in mind, it's time to explore the town. Head left from the entrance to find the inn, but it appears there's an angry mob with pitchforks and torches hunting Dracula. Okay, maybe not. But even still, you can't get in yet. Head back to the right and head north and another scene will trigger, with Luke taking an apple from the merchant, and eats it without paying. This just shows how ignorant Luke is about the world around him, but I guess you can't really blame him since he can't leave the mansion. Anywho, Tear will teach you how to pay for items (seriously now) and whatnot. Talk with the merchants to find several different items on sale. Go past the man ringing a bell and behind the house and go through the back door. Open the chest for an item. Exit, and head back down and go across the bridge to the left to reach the next section of town. Head into the most left house and talk with the woman cooking something. She will ask you to fetch some Miso from an old woman. Exit the house and enter the house to the right of this one to find the old woman. Talk with her and go back to the previous house and give the lady the Miso. As a reward, you'll learn the recipie for Spaghetti, as well as some ingredients. Hooray!... I think. Exit the house and make your way back to the Inn, in which another scene will trigger. Luke will then be accused of stealing all the towns food. Luke is taken to a house that belongs to someone named Rose. The man from the ship chasing the Coach will be there as well. He'll introduce himself as Jade Curtiss. After some more scenes, someone else walks into the house: Fon Master Ion. Ion shows some evidence from the food thieves, and it is believed to belong to a Cheagle. After some more scenes, you'll be in control of Luke once again. Head back to the Inn. Talk to the man to the right of you to buy some equipment, though you most likely don't have enough Gald to fully upgrade. Now head up and talk to the Innkeeper, Kelly, and he'll let you stay for free because of the little mishap earlier. Once in control, save your game and exit town, and head north and into the woods. Look for a big tree in the middle of a forest. That's your next destination. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Pyscho Penguin has informed me of an item that you can get in Engeve after a certain quest. From Psycho Penguin: you talk to the grocer who luke stole the apple from, after the inn scene. he asks you to bring back a box from the cheagle forest. you go get it and bring it to him and he gives you the collectors book. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ============== CHEAGLE WOODS ============== As you enter, you'll spot Ion being surronded by monsters, but Ion does some kind of spell to destroy them, and then collapses to the ground. Luke then properly introduces himself to Ion, as does Tear. After some more talking, you'll be in control. Head up to the fork and go to the right and down. Follow the path around to find a chest (it looks like a pile of rocks, but it is actually a chest.) Continue to the next screen, and you'll spot that Cheagle again. Watch the scenes. Continue down the path and you'll find some apples on the ground. Examine them to trigger another scene. Once you're back in control, don't enter the giant tree just yet. Instead, head around it and follow the path to reach a new screen. Take both paths at the fork to find two chests. Now head back to the tree and head inside to find a lot of Cheagles. The Elder steps up and explains the situation. Apparently, one of the Cheagles burned down the Ligers home, and the Ligers got super pissed, so they start demanding the Cheagles steal food from the village, or else the Ligers would eat a Cheagle each day. Poor little guys. The elder calls forth one of the little Cheagles, and gives it the Sorcerer's Ring. Meet Mieu. Once in control, talk with the Elder to rest, and use the save point. Exit the tree now. Mieu will show that it can breathe fire. The Sorcerer's Ring helps the little fellow breathe the fire, and that'll prove to be helpful for us. Before advancing any further, go down another screen, and then to the right to find a bunch of vines guarding a path. Use Mieu to get rid of them, and open the chest at the end. Backtrack to the screen before the giant tree, and go to the right at the fork. Use Mieu to burn the roots of the tree and cross it. Keep going and then a scene will trigger, which leads to the introduction of the Capacity Cores. Go up and burn the roots of the tree across the river to cross it. Go left at the fork for a chest, and then head up to enter a cave, which happens to be the home of the Ligers. Once you enter, you'll get into a fight, so make sure you're at full health. Continue down the slope, and use Mieu to burn the vines holding the chest. Continue down the slopes, grabbing the chest along the way. Once you reach the bottom, continue to the right to find a save point that will completely heal your HP and TP. Use it and open the chest. Continue to the next screen to find the Liger Queen. Once you enter, it roars at Mieu, which is its way of telling you to piss off. The Liger Queen is about to hatch some eggs, but due to circumstances, Tear wants to destroy them all, which leads to our first boss fight. O-------------------O | Liger Queen | O-------------------O | HP | 10,200 | O-------------------O -Pretty sweet music, eh? That HP total is not a typo (well, maybe it is since I was dumb enough not to write down the HP total during the entire fight) but the HP total is surely in the 10k range. The Liger Queen herself isn't very tough. Simply guarding her will render her defenseless, which opens you up to attack her three times, and then use a Fang Blade. After the Liger Queen loses about a quarter of its health, Jade steps in to help. From this point on, this fight is a breeze, since Jade hacked his stats and has God Mode on (not really, but it's close enough). Just attack and let Jade rip it apart with ease. Jade calls Anise over after the battle (I know I've heard Jade's and Anise's VAs before, but I just can't remember where). After some more talking, head back to the Cheagle Elder and make your report. Mieu will then be tagging along to repay you for saving him. Now make your way to the entrance. Once you reach there, a scene will occur, with Jade having Luke and Tear arrested. Well isn't that just fan-effin-tastic. ============== TARTARUS ============== You'll be in some kind of interrogation room. Jade, Ion, and Anise are all there and Jade starts talking. Ion claims there isn't any evil in either Luke or Tear. Jade also explains the situation he is in. Jade and Ion soon leave, and Anise goes over to Luke and wants to show him around the ship. That's funny. Anise hasn't known Luke for long, and yet she's already making the moves on him. Gee, I bet it couldn't be that Luke is a rich man and comes from a noble family. Nope, that sure can't be it. Once in control, head up and enter the second door on your left. Head to the left side of the room to find a chest. Continue down the hall and you'll soon reach the deck. Talk with both Ion and Jade. Make your way back to the interrogation room and talk with the guard in here, and say that you're ready to talk with Jade. Jade and Ion will explain the current situations. They also bring up how they need Luke's help, mainly because of what family he's from. Head out into the hallway and head down it and talk with Jade to trigger a scene. The alarm goes off, and Griffons start attacking the ship as well as drop Ligers onto it. Luke decides to make a break for it, but a large man by the name of Largo steps in to stop him and pins him against the wall. Largo then throws a cube over Jade, which nullifies his magic abilities. Mieu fires up at the ceiling, and during the confusion, Anise runs off to get Ion, and Jade stabs Largo, with Luke shaking over it. It's time to take back the ship. Oh, and Jade is no longer a hacker. His stats and level are down to what yours basically are, so no more breezing through fights. Climb up the ladder that's closest to you, and climb the next ladder. Head along the path and Tear will put the guards to sleep. Luke stays out with Mieu and starts hurting him (Poor little guy) while Tear and Jade head on inside. Luke gets a little excited, and the guard wakes up and attacks Luke. After hitting him once or twice, Luke, in self defense, will stab the guard, which ends up killing him, and Luke seem disturbed by the fact that he actually killed someone. Soon, a voice comes out, and a red haired man drops down. After some talking, you'll be in a jailcell. Jade thinks out a plan about ambushing the guards so they can take Ion back. After some more talking, Jade hits the switch to release the bars of the cell. Jade runs to the speaker, and says a command that shuts down the entire ship, which he claims should buy them some time. Well, let's not let that time go to waste by drinking beer and playing poker. Head down and into the room to find a chest containing your equipment. Now explore the left doors until you find a room that has 3 chests in a box puzzle. It's a simple puzzle, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. After getting the chests, exit and head to the room where you found your equipment and head into the room below it to find another box puzzle. Solve it and watch a scene. Open the chest and head through the hole. Make your way up the ladders and then once you're on the deck, head all the way to the right portion of the ship and head through the upper door. A scene will trigger, with one of the Six God-Generals with Ion. The party surprises her, and Tear comes down, only to recognize the lady as Legretta. Luke then uses Mieu to knock the soldier over the head. I hate Luke now. Anyway, a Liger catches Tear off guard, and the situation goes back to the guards, until someone jumps down. It's Guy! Talk about good timing. With Guy catching them off guard, the situation goes back to your favor, and then they're gone. After some more talking, you'll be left to get to your next destination: St. Binah. On the world map, go southeast, but along the way, a scene will trigger. Guy introduces himself, and he shakes hands with Jade and Ion, but once Tear gets close, Guy quickly backs away and starts shaking. Yes, Guy has gynophobia. It means he's afraid of women. No, he's not gay, so don't ask. Guy brings up that Van is looking for Luke. During the talking, the party is interrupted by some Oracle Knights. Lay waste to them. Luke tries to kill the guard, but can't, and the guard knocks away his sword, and is about to slice Luke until Tear jumps in the way. You'll then be around a campfire. Talk with everyone but save Tear for last. After talking with Tear, talk with Mieu to rest up. Once in control, continue to the southeast until you find St. Binah. ============== ST. BINAH ============== Upon entering, you'll find the Oracle Knights standing guard, so we can't go in yet. Luckily, a wagon from Engeve stops by, and since there's another one behind it, the party decides to hitch a ride on the second. Rose is driving it, and she agrees to help you out with it. Once you're in town, check out all the shops. Head to the eastern part of town, and enter the house on the left. Head to the left side of the house and examine the book on the floor to learn a recipe for a Sammich... I mean Sandwich. At the end of this portion of town is a Medicine shop that sells Gels and Ailment Curing items. Head back to the western part of town, and head to the house with the two guards in front of it. Watch the following scenes. It appears Anise left a letter for Jade, but it's mostly about her talking to Luke. Jade mentions that your next destination is to the southwest. You'll recieve the World Map after the scenes. Press R3 (push the right analog stick down) to bring it up. You can zoom in into towns you've visited before, so it shouldn't be too hard to navigate. After reciving the map, exit the house and head for the entrance of the town and a scene will occur with the Six God-Generals. Largo and Legretta are still there, as well as Arietta, but it appears someone else is there with them: Sync and Dist. Asch is missing. Watch the scenes, and Sync pulls the Knights from town, as he points out the party will be heading to the southwest next. Looks like the little bastard is one step ahead of us. After the scenes, head to th einn and choose to rest up. In the inn, Ion mentions a place called Sephiroth (Oh dear lord no...). Once you're in control, exit St. Binah, and head southwestish direction. You'll eventually run into a huge group of rocks. Head for it to find your next destination. ============== FUBRAS RIVER ============== Just to make a little note, this is where I replaced Luke with Guy to control in battles. It's up to you if you want to do that, though. Once in control, go to the left to find a chest in some vines. Use Mieu to get rid of them. Now head down the path and continue down it until Jade pulls you over, and offers you to teach you how to use FOF Fields effeciently. View the tutorial if you wish. Once the tutorial and battle is over, head right for an item. Now go down and left for a chest, and then go down the most left wooden barrier and go through the opening to reach the next section. Check on the left to find a chest. Head down and you'll eventually bump into a save point. Go right of the save point, and then up to reach another screen that has a chest. Defeat the Zombie here too if you wish. Backtrack to the save point. From there, head down and to the right for a chest. Head back to th esave point, and go left and down until you reach the next screen. Open the chest here, and follow the river and head right and down. A scene will trigger with Arietta. As it turns out, Arietta is out for your heads, because you killed her Mother, which apparently was the Liger Queen that you defeated back at the Cheagle Forest. As Arietta is about to attack, an earthquake occurs, causing poison gas to come out. Tear uses a shield to block it out momentarily so you can escape. Once in control, go to the right for a chest. Head down for another chest. Now go to the left and hten up for another chest. Follow the path and you'll eventually reach the exit. On the world map, head south and you'll eventually spot a town. That would be Kaitzur. As you venture there, another scene triggers, with Jade asking about how Tear learned her songs. After it, enter the town. ============== KAITZUR ============== Enter the first building you see and rest up to refill your HP and TP. Luke will also learn Sonic Thrust. After that's over, continue down and you'll spot Anise. After the reunion, Van comes in, and says he wishes to speak with you at the Inn. Head for it and talk with him, and you'll recieve passports. Once the scene is over, head back down to the bridge, and show the guards your passports. Head on down. Examine the right building to find an equipment shop, but all the things are pricey. Once you're done, exit the town. Head south to find the Kaitzur Naval Port. ================== KAITZUR NAVAL PORT ================== As you come in, the first thing you'll realize is that the Port is under attack, and that Van somehow got here before you. (damn cheater) Head all the way down to where the ships are docked, and you'll find Arietta. She claims that Asch told her to do this, and she tells you that she's kidnapped the main engineer and that you'll need to go to Choral Castle to get him back, and to bring Ion as well. Well, isn't that just fine and dandy. Use the inn if needed, and attempt to exit, and a scene will trigger. After it, exit the town. To reach Choral Castle, follow the dirt road until you find a signpost. Take the other dirtpath and follow it until it breaks off into a huge field. Go east between the forests and you'll eventually find the castle. ============== CHORAL CASTLE ============== Head down the path and enter the castle. A scene will trigger, which will introduce you to Surprise Encounters, meaning your 5th party member will be taking a role in this fight. After it, use the save point, and go into the room near it. Examine the right door with the purple glow from it. Exit and go right and up the stairs and head down to reach the Balcony. Head left and go through the door. You'll find a ghost with a red orb in it. If you get close, he'll run away. Grab the nearest statue, and pull it down as far as you can to the left of the railing. Pull the other statue from the passageway, and pull that down as far as it will go. If done correctly, it'll form a barricade. Exit this room and re-enter it. Don't attack the ghost yet. Instead, go through the left door. Go down the stairs here to find a chest. Head down and exit the hallway. You'll bump into a ghost with a yellow orb in it. It'll chase you around and if you fight it, you'll recieve the yellow orb. Go outside to find another chest. Go back to the stairs and head back to where the ghost with the red orb is. Fight it and get the red orb. Go back to the stairs, and while you go up them, explore the side rooms to find treasure chests. As you make your way up, you'll eventually spot a ghost with a blue gem. Use Mieu to breathe fire on it to freeze it. Continue to the top and you'll find a chest. Ignore the ghost with the green orb. With the red and blue gems in hand, make your way back to the save point, and go into the room with the door with a purple orb. Examine it and it should open. Head down the stairs and you'll eventually find a huge machine. Stepping on it triggers a scene. After the scene, continue along the path to the right to reach the next screen. You'll spot a Liger running away. Continue into that room and head up the stairs and you'll find a save point that heals your HP and TP. Also make sure to explore the side rooms as you make your way up to the top. Once you reach the top, you'll spot the Liger, but Luke suddenly gets picked up by a monster, as does Anise, but Areitta commands the monster to drop Anise and she lands on her face. After some more talking, Luke is taken away, and another scene occurs involving Luke inside that huge machine you found. Guy comes to the rescue, knocking off Sync's mask, and in the moment of shock over Guy, Sync kicks Guy away and makes a break for it. You'll get Luke back. Make your way back to where the healing save point is and make your way back all the way to the top to find Arietta. She isn't playing around this time. O-----------------O | Arietta | O-----------------O | HP | 3000 | O-----------------O -Talk about a tough battle. Arietta comes with two other monsters, in which you'll want to care of first for obvious reasons. Free Run will play a huge factor in this fight, as Arietta casts some pretty powerful spells such as Limited, and will often use a FOF Effect to use Spark Wave. Take out the Liger first while using Free Run to avoid Ariettas spells. The Liger hits hard, and since you may not be able to use items on your other characters, you'll need to be extra careful. Once the Liger is gone, focus on the other monster. Once it's gone, Arietta shouldn't be too hard to finish off. After the fight, Jade is read yto finish off Arietta for good this time, but Ion gets in the way. Van decides to take Arietta back instead. You'll then get a choice of hitching a ride back, or walking. Choose whichever, and make your way back to the port. ================== KAITZUR NAVAL PORT ================== Head to the other building in the port, and you'll find Van. Luke requests that a message be sent. After the scene, you'll rest and get your HP and TP restored. Head down to the port and talk to the guard near the ship and tell him that you're ready to board. ============== KATSBERT FERRY ============== Try to leave your room, and the voice will come inside of Lukes head again. Once you exit, a soldier will tell you that Van is waiting for you on the deck. Head down the hallway and go up the first set of stairs, followed by the next set of stairs to find a chest. Open it and go back down. Before going through the door, head to the right and hug along the right wall until you get the choice to examine something. Do so to recieve an item. Exit. While on the deck, talk with everyone if you wish. I'm not sure if the choice with Anise makes an impact or not. Go talk to Tear on the far side of the ship. After the scene, continue along the deck until a scene triggers, in which the voice in Luke's head comes back, and starts controlling his body. Van comes out, and tells Luke to come calm down. Luke learns about this ability of his, and finds out that he's been kept at the castle so he could be used as a tool of war. After some more scenes, you'll reach your destination. ============== CHESEDONIA ============== Explore the town, examining all the shops and whatnot. While walking around the town, you'll bump into a lady that tries to seduce Luke, and then starts to waltz off until Tear jumps in and demands to give back what she stole. The lady, Noir, then runs off, but Tear knocks one of the members down and demands the wallet back. Continue searching the town, and you'll eventually find a huge mansion. Head inside, and Guy will want to analyze the Fon Disc. You'll recieve the results seconds later. Head back into the mansion and examine around it and you'll eventually find an Accessory for Anise. (It's in a drawer) Now exit the mansion, and head back to the markets and a guard will find you, telling you the ship is ready. However, Sync suddenly comes into the picture, and puts some weird mark on Guys right arm. Sync takes the disc, but Guy retreats with the results from the disc, as does everyone else. You'll be back on the Ferry. ============== KATSBERT FERRY ============== During the scene, a soldier will rush in, telling you the ship is under attack and then some Oracle Knights come in. Once you defeat them, head down the hallway and up the stairs and head for the deck. Out here, some little poorly built robot steals a fragment from one of the sailors. Here starts a minigame and it's quite simple. You need to run after the crude robot, but when the boat starts to shake, you need to walk instead of run. You should be able to catch the little critter fairly quickly. Once you do, you'll recieve the fragment back, and the little guy will jump off the ship... only to realize that robots and water don't mix. You'll recieve a Capicity Core from the sailor. Continue along the deck, and Dist will come to pay your a visit. After some talking, you're thrusted into a fight. O---------------------O | Kaiser Dist R | O---------------------O | HP | 19,000 | O---------------------O -If you're controlling Guy, and he has Crescent Strike, this battle shouldn't be too hard. The Kaiser has a lot of HP as well as decent Defense, but he's weak to Water. If there's a Water FOF on the field, have Guy get in it and use Crescent Strike to get an FOF Effect going to do some decent damage on the Kaiser. The Kaiser's attacks aren't very strong, but because this battle will last awhile, your other party members may run out of TP here. Just keep using your best Artes and you'll win eventually. After the fight, you'll be in Baticul. ============== BATICUL ============== Once you arrive, you'll be greeted by a General. After the scene, you'll need to head for the castle. Baticul is a huge city. Explore the town if you want, and then ride the cable car to the next section of town. Find the elevator and take it up to reach the next section of town. Ride the next elevator to finally reach the castle. Head along the path and watch the scene. Enter it and go up the stairs to find the King. Watch the scene. Exit and head for where Lukes quarters are. Head along to Lukes mothers room and you'll bump into Natalia along the way. Watch the scene here, and head for Luke's mothers room and watch the scene in here. Head for Lukes room and rest up. Luke wakes up and a maid comes into Lukes room, telling him that Natalia wants to see him at the castle. Watch some talking, and head to the throne room. A town requests your aid, and Luke is named the Good Will Ambassador. Can't say that Luke would be my first choice. Luke agrees to do this so that Van will be released. Now it's time to find Van. Exit the room and go down the stairs and head through the left door and follow the path until you find Van. Van explains what he wants to do with Luke, and admits that he was the one that kidnapped Luke 7 years ago. After the scene, make your way to the city and you'll bump into everyone else. Anise explains the situation and Guy says there's probably another way to leave town without being spotted. Use the elevator and go down, and before you go any further, Guy says he wants to take Luke somewhere. You'll be in Miyagi's Dogo, and you'll be able to use FSC's, or Fonslot Chambers. These will enhance your current Artes depending on the stone you put in it. You'll also recieve an item that lets you change the order of your party during battles. This is great in healing your other characters. Once in control, head to the right side of town and use the Aircar and use it to enter the Factor. ================= ABANDONED FACTORY ================= Once you etner, Guy will explain about the Factory, and then a voice calls out to him. It appears that woman that went on ahead of us was Natalia, and it seems she's pretty stubborn about wanting to go with you. Luke doesn't want to take her along until Natalia pulls him aside, and blackmails him. How nice. From the start climb the ladder that's next to you and open the chest up at the top. Climb back down and use the next ladder that goes down. Head for the chest, and the pipe will break, moving the chest away from you. We'll get this in a bit. Head back up the ladder and head right to find a chest. Now climb up the ladder, and then climb up the next ladder. Head along the pipes and climb down the next two ladders, and follow the path and you'll find the chest that dropped from the pipe. Open it up. Head back and go into the door. After a scene, go down the ladder and open the chest. Go back up and go up the ramp and activate the switch here. Use the elevator and climb the ladder and head along the pipe to find a chest containing a Scimitar. Go back down the ladder and go along the main path until you reach an intersection. Go down for a chest. Go back and go up and then up the ladder. You'll get a scene on how to light the drumbarrels here. Light it up with Mieu, and activate the switch next to you. Go through the door and go past the Aircar and down the ladder. Run along the pipe and the pipe will break, and oil will pour out of it. Head down to get the chest, and go back up the ladder and return to the previous room. Take the elevator down and step on the pipe and it will break. Go down it and head into the door. You'll find another drumbarrel, and some oil dripping into it. You'll need to time yourself and use Mieu to hit an oil drop as it falls to light the barrel. Once you light it, go back to where the Aircar was, and activate the switch for it. Once you land, you'll find a device that changes where the oil flows. Make it flow to the left first. Once it does, hop back into the Aircar and go to the right and take the ladder down. You'll see the oil dripping. Use Mieu to light it and backtrack to where the oil controlling machine is. Change the oil direction to the right this time and follow the path. Take the ladder going down before the door and follow the pipe to find a chest with some Gald in it. Go back up and go back to the save point. Use it and activate the switch near the save point and ride the elevator up. Follow the path to reach the next screen. Grab the chest in his room and follow the pipes, lowering the ladders as you do. Now climb down the ladder that's near the healing save point, and push the oil drum over the edge. Push it to where the gap is along the wall, and line it up with it and push it over. Now go back up and work your way around the pipes until one of them breaks and oil spills into the drumbarrel. Go back to the barrel and use Mieu to light it. Go back up and head for the healing save point. Use it and activate the switch for the Aircar and use it, and you'll trigger a scene. O-----------------O | Abaddon | O-----------------O | HP | 22,000 | O-----------------O -The only damaging attack this boss really has is Negative Gate, and it can easily be avoided with Free Run, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. The boss at first has slime covered all around it. As you attack it, it'll form into a giant spider. This is where he starts to get a bit tougher. Sometimes he'll unleash several little spiders. Free Run around those and continue using your best Artes on him. Make sure to keep Tear's or Natalia's TP up. This boss isn't very hard compared to Arietta. After some talking, exit the Factory, and you'll come across your first anime cutscene of the game, with Luke and Asch. During the fight, Luke is shocked and disturbed to see that Asch the Bloody looks just like him. Once on the world map, head along the coast and head east and you'll eventually find the Oasis. ============== DESERT OASIS ============== Luke hears the voice again, but he soon realizes that the voice is actually Asch's. Asch tells Luke that Ion as at the Zao Ruins. Once in control, examine the shops and talk with everyone. Once you think you're ready, exit the Oasis and head directly east. ============== ZAO RUINS ============== The first part is pretty straightforward. Just go down the spiraling stairs and once you reach the bottom, open the chest and head down to the next screen. Ignore the left branch and continue down and you'll eventually reach an item and a scene. Mieu will be able to bust open rocks now. In order to change what Mieu does, hold R2 and push left and right to shuffle through his abilties. Make sure it's set so that he can break rocks, and make your way back up and take the left path this time. Go down the slope to the right for a chest containing some Gald. Go back up and use Mieu to break the rocks to continue on. Go left and break the rocks here for a chest. Go across the bridge and get rid of these rocks for another chest. Use the save point and continue along the path. Grab the next chest as you come across it. As you go along, some rocks will fall in front of a chest. Use Mieu to break it and grab the chest. Continue along the path and soon some of the bridge will crumble. Continue along the path and go right at the split and go down the slope. Once you reach the bottom, break some rocks for a chest. Cross the bridge and break the rocks you come across for another chest. Head down to reach the next screen. Follow the linear path here, and you'll find a healing save point. Make sure to use this. Head up to the next screen to find Asch, Sync, and Largo with Ion. Seems like your presence is not welcomed here. Go figure. O----------------O O-----------------O | Sync | | Largo | O----------------O O-----------------O | HP | 13,000 | | HP | 17,000 | O----------------O O-----------------O -This is going to be a very tough fight, so I'm hoping you used that previous save point. You'll want to target Sync first since he has less HP and is much quicker than Largo. Sync's attacks do quite a bit of damage, and you may find your other characters getting hurt pretty quickly, so take him out as fast as possible. Sync has a tendency to use Arcane Artes on frequent basis, so if you see him ready to use one, quickly run away from him so you won't be caught up in the attack. Once Sync is down, Largo should be rather easy to take down. Though his attacks hit just as hard as Sync's, he's much slower, so you shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding him. Just make sure to switch characters on a frequent basis so that you can heal them if you can't heal them yourself yet. After the fight, watch the following scenes, you'll be back in control. Head for the save point, and another scene will trigger, introducing the use of Wing Bottles. The sparkly things above a save point indicate that you can use a Wing Bottle to automatically exit the dungeon. Then you magically recieve a Wing Bottle, so try it out and don't ask how you got it. Once you exit the Ruins, watch the scene, and exit the Ruins. Head northwest to find Chesedonia. If you get lost, just look at the large red dot on your map to find your way there. ============== CHESEDONIA ============== Luke suffers from a headache again, and Asch tells him to pull out his sword and to turn it against Tear. Luke does so, and then just collapses. You'll be at the inn, and everyone asks what could the problem be with Luke. Once in control, shop around if you want, and head for the Malkuth Consul building. Enter the back door and talk with the person there. During the talking, the scene shifts to Sync outside, and then Guys body starts acting on his own. Jade recognizes the Curse Slot. It's more powerful if the user is nearby, so the party decides to leave Chesedonia right away. You'll then be on the ship, and then at the Kaitzur Naval Port. ================== KAITZUR NAVAL PORT ================== Head for the exit, and Jade will tell you to go northeast to cross the Deo Pass. Let's do so. If you want, you can go to Choral Castle and fight the first Sword Dancer if you wish. ============== DEO PASS ============== Watch the scene when you enter. After it, break the rock with Mieu, and hit the tree with Mieu as well and a chest will fall out. Open it for an Apple Gel. Continue along the path and take a right at the split. Head along the path and break the rock at the end to find a chest containing 1600 Gald. Head back and continue along the main path. Hit the tree in the next area for a Panacea Bottle. Now go left and down for a Gothic Mace. Go back up the slope and continue following the main path. Go down the slope going under the bridge and hit the tree with Mieu for a chest containing 1800 Gald. Head back up and go across the bridge this time. Ion will then get tired, and the party suggests that you rest, but Luke, being the thick headed brat he is, demands to move on, but decides to rest in the end for Ion. After the scene, use the save point. Go right and down the slope. Break the rock along the way for a chest containing a Cobalt Chamber. At the split, go down and down the slope until you find a tree. Hit it to find a chest containing an Apple Gel. Now head down from the middle and hit the chest here to throw out a chest into a broken down hut. Go back and go right and make sure to save your game. Head left to reach the next screen and to find a chest containing an Orange Gel. Head back to the previous area and hit the tree to make a chest appear. Open it up for an Apple Gel. Go left and break the rocks for a chest containing 1500 Gald. Go up and go along the path that has grass on it and climb the ladder at the end. Open the chest for a Steel Blow. Before advancing, head back to the save point and save your game. Make your way back here and go down the bottom slope and a scene will trigger. Boss time. O------------------O | Legretta | O------------------O | HP | 31,000 | O------------------O -Since Legretta uses some Guns as her weapon, you can guess that she'll mostly attack in a linear fashion. This makes it easy to dodge her in Free Run, but her attacks do a lot of damage, so you may need to do some character switching to use healing items. Legretta will sometimes use an Arcane Arte attack that hurts a lot, so if you see her raise some fire from the ground, quickly run away. That HP total will take awhile to knock off, so make sure you have enough healing supplies to last through out the fight. Just make sure not to stand still and use your best Arte combos or Arcane combos and you'll come out on top eventually. After the scene, Jade starts to get angry, and then goes back to being the calm smartass that we know and love. Exit to the world map. Follow the road and go east at the split and you'll find your next destination. ============== AKZERIUTH ============== You'll see how bad the situation is once you enter. Natalia goes over to see how someone is fareing, but Luke tells her not to get close or else she might catch what they have. After some more talking, you'll be in control. Work your way to the bottom to find the Inn, as well as some shops. The Inn is free, so use it and buy anything if needed. Also make sure to explore the houses, as one people will give you some free items. Once you're all set, use the elevator and enter the tunnel. ======================= AKZERIUTH MINE SHAFT 14 ======================= A soldier will come up to Tear, telling her some business. Ion tells Tear to go ahead and confirm the Fon Stone. With that, Tear leaves the party. Once you enter, take the left path and open the chest at the end for a Panacea Bottle. Now head all the way to the right until you hit the wall and go down the slope to go back into town. Grab the chest out here for some Archery Gloves for Natalia. Go back in and go through the other door. Take a left at the next split for a chest containing a Steel Circlet. Continue along the path. Grab the chest in here for a Life Bottle, and then continue down the path until you reach a split. Go down the path that has no tracks and open the two chests at the end for a Carmine Chamber and 5500 Gald. Continue along and take the next trackless path for a chest containing a Nocer Forte. Continue along the main path and take the next split for a chest containing a Cobalt Chamber. Head off the track and go right and then back for a chest that has a Halberd in it. Continue to the next screen to find the miasma is really bad here. Asch will tell Luke not to go any further, but Luke ignores him. Go down the path and talk to Van once you reach him. Ion will open the door. Follow the next set of paths, and Asch will continue to warn you not to go in. Soon you'll be in a hall with a straight path and an odd device at the end of it. Go to it for a scene. Upon being told to do so by Van, Luke uses his power to use the device, and then Asch arrives. Van flees along with Asch. Tear and the others come in, and Tear begins a Hymn to try to protect the party from the earthquake. You'll wake up near a healing save point. Use it and talk with everyone, but save Tear for last. Tear spots a survivor, who happens to be a little boy. He cries out for his mommy and daddy before sinking into the mud. Jade suggests that you should head to the Tartarus. Upon entering, Tear mentions a city named Yulia City. You'll then gain control. Head west until the screen blackens. Another scene occurs, with the party turning on Luke. Once in control again, continue to the west and you'll eventually reach Yulia City. ============== YULIA CITY ============== The party heads into the city, except for Luke, so stays back and says he doesn't want to go. Asch's voice appears, and he jumps out of nowhere again. Seriously, how does he just come from out of nowhere? Asch calls Luke a replica like Van did, and Luke gets confused. Tear tries to stop Asch, but Asch tells him that Luke is just a clone, and that Asch is the real Luke, the Luke that was captured 7 years ago. Luke gets pissy, and draws his sword out. You'll then get to fight Asch. You can win or lose, it doesn't matter. Winning will consume a handful of healing items, and you get nothing for winning, so just go ahead and throw the fight. Some more talking occurs, and you'll be in control of Asch. One thing to note here. DO NOT equip any Capacity Cores on Asch whatsoever. The stat boosts will be meaningless. Asch has the same level as Luke, and same skills, plus some magic ones. Now with Asch, examine the closet for a Deck Brush. Head down stairs and examine the table for a recipe for Ramen. Exit the house and find and talk with your party members. If you head all the way left in this area, you'll find a man that wants 3 Apple Gels. Give them to him, as it's a little sidequest for Tear. Now enter the center building. Buy some items from the merchant on your left if needed. Save your game if you want and go to the top floow and head across the table and talk with the Mayor. Watch the talking, and you'll be asked if you're ready to go. If you are, say that you are. After some scenes, you'll then be back up in the Outer World. You'll now need to find a place called Belkend. The port for Belkend is on the same continent at Baticul, and the port is in the outer southwest section of the continent, so hover the Tartarus around there until you find it. ============== PORT BELKEND ============== Exit the port and go south to reach Belkend. ============== BELKEND ============== As soon as you enter, examine the machine on the right, and a grabber will come down and pick up the box and drop it, smashing it, revealing a chest. Head over and open it for an Orange Gel. Continue along the path until you can go down and right and under the bridge. Do so and examine the little hatch to find someone stuck in there. Help him out and he'll give you a new recipe. Now go back up and continue left until you can't go left anymore and enter the huge building here. Go into the next room, and go through the right door. Examine the drawers until you find a Dark Seal. Check behind the drawer behind the doctor for a Warrior Maiden. Head back and continue straight and follow the path and you'll eventually reach your destination. You'll meet a scientist that recognizes Jade. After some talking, make your way to the exit. As you leave, Guy will tell you that he's going back to Luke, and with that, Guy leaves the party. Exit Belkend, and go on the Tartarus. Before going to the Ortion Cavern, first find the Sheridan Port (it should be on the east side of a huge brown continent on the west side of the map) and approach an old man surrounded by thugs. Natalia will learn a new Arte from him. When you're ready, move the Tartarus back to Port Belkend. From there, go west to the huge brown continent, and follow the coast line southwest, and follow it as it bends and you'll eventually find the cave. ============== ORTION CAVERN ============== Head inside the cavern and open the chest you see for a Ruby Wand. Continue along, and a scene will trigger with Natalia examining three Jellyfish type enemies, until they attack her. Asch steps in and gets rid of them. Open the chest that's close to you for a LIfe Bottle. Ignore the elevator and head along the path to reach the next screen. Grab the chest here for a Grass Chamber. Continue to reach the next screen. At the split, go down for a chest containing a Nimble Rapier. Go up and follow the path and use the save point. Head through the door. You'll find a huge machine. Asch examines it and you'll find two Cheagles who were part of a replica experiment. After the scene, make your way back to the entrance, but we're stopped well short of our destination. O-------------------O | Ancylopolyp | O-------------------O | HP | 35,000 | O-------------------O -This boss comes with those three Jellyfish type enemies you found earlier, and if you destroy them, he'll summon some more. Either way, get rid of the Jellyfish enemies first, as they'll become a pain for your spellcasters if you leave them alive for too long. The Ancylopolyp's attacks are easy to dodge with Free Run, so if you see him winding up for an attack, quickly run away. After you do enough damage, he'll go into a shell state where he will be invulnerable for a few seconds, so focus on the Jellyfish enemies if he summoned more. It's not a really tough fight, so just keep your attention on the main boss for most of the time. As you make your way back to the ship, an earthquake occurs. Asch also mentions that Van is targetting St. Binah. He then kicks Luke out of himself. ============== YULIA CITY ============== Luke wakes up and is greeted by Mieu. Luke looks out the window, and sees Tear standing in a flower bed. Luke then ventures outside to where Tear is, and tells her that St. Binah is going to fall. Tear says to stop listening to Van and Asch, and to start thinking for himself. Luke agrees, and then says he wants to change. He asks Tear for one of her knives. An anime cutscene occurs with Tear handing over the knife, and Luke cuts off his hair in order to symbolize his wanting to change. It's about time he stopped being a little bitch. Tear suggests going to visit her grandfather, or the mayor. Head for the first floor of Tears house and go through the back door, and Tear will ask you for some help with character identification. After the scene, examine the left side of the room for a chest containing a Scild Forte. Exit the house and go to the man that you gave 3 Apple Gels to. He wants 5 Rices now. Give them to him if you have any. Head for the Mayors room, but a woman comes and stops you just short. She asks Tear to visit her before leaving. Before visitng the Mayor, go down and enter the lower door in this building and talk with the lady. After the scene, Tear will learn Holy Song. Go visit the Mayor now, and he'll talk about how Akzeriuth was supposed to be destroyed because the Score said it would be. After some more talking, you'll be in control. Head back to Tear's house and head to her room and she'll give you an item helping Luke control his Fonons. After some more scenes, head back to the Mayors building, and go to the second floor. Take the right exit to reach your next destination. ============== ARAMIS SPRING ============== Follow the path upwards and open the chest for a Carmine Chamber. Continue along and you'll eventually bump into Guy who was waiting for you. After some talking, you'll be in control. The first thing you'll notice is that when you get into a battle, the battle music has changed. Go down the bottom path and open the chest for 6000 Gald. Go up and use the save point and follow the path to reach the next area. After the fight, continue along the path and open the chest for a Silver Mail. Guy will have a chat with Luke. After it, open the chest here for a Panacea Bottle. Use Mieu to burn the tree roots, and head outside. Guy will talk with Luke again. Continue along and burn the next set of roots you come across. Continue along and Guy will talk with Luke yet again. Go up at the split and you'll be outside. Head into the next cave and open the chest for a Nimble Rapier. Go back to the split and go down and you'll reach the exit. You'll bump into Jade who was looking for Guy. He informs you that both Ion and Natalia have been captured by Daath. Once in control, go to the right to find a chest containing a Pineapple Gel. Go left to find a chest containing a Yellow Ribbon. Now exit and follow the dirt path until you reach Daath. ============== DAATH ============== You'll need to cross a hill to reach Daath. Cross it and enter the town. Head up the stairs on your left for an item. Go back down and examine the right vendor to buy some Food. Right above him is an Inn Keeper. Go to the left to find a weapon/armor merchant. Upgrade as needed. Now go back to the right and north and talk with the Chef to learn a recipe for Pizza. There's an item shop near the Chef. Across from the item shop is a chest (it's pretty hard to see, but it's there) containing a Espirit Forte. Continue your way to the Cathedral and Anise will come out of nowhere, and scare the living bejebus out of Guy, who hides behind Luke shaking. After some more talking, enter the Cathedral. Head directly north and talk with Anise's parents alone the way. Talk with the man you're looking for and he'll give you a Permit. Head back down to the first part of the Cathedral. Take a left and enter the Library first. Examine the table to find a recipe for Sushi. Now go back to the main hall and go through the right door. Go through the next door here, and then through the first door you come across. Talk with the guard at the end of the hall, and go through the door. Keep going and you'll reach your next destination. =================== ORACLE HEADQUARTERS =================== Follow the linear path and you'll find a gong next to a door. Try to open the door, and Anise will look over the gong. Switch Mieu's power to his rock breaking ability, and use him to bang the gong and the door will unlock and an Oracle Knight will come out. Fight him and head through the door. Open the two chests in this room for a Lemon Gel and 5500 Gald. Exit and head along the path and up the stairs. Keep going to the end for a Miracle Gel. Bang the gong and go back down the stairs and go to the door the soldier came out of. Go inside and open the chest for a Carmine Chamber. Exit and go left and down the stairs. Hed around the path and up the stairs. Ride the elevator and defeat the guard out here. Go back down and bang the gong. The soldier will run out and examine the downed guard. Ride the elevator back up and go through the door. Open the chest for a Green Ribbon. Go back down the elevator and head left and down the stairs. Go right and through the door here. Head along the hall and enter the room on your left for a chest that has a Cobalt Chamber in it. Exit and continue down the hall and enter the left door. Open the chest for a Bella Forte. Exit and enter the right room for a chest containing a Silver Cloak. Exit the room and continue down the hall and enter the left door for a chest containing a Partisan. Exit and go through the center door for two more chests containing a Life Bottle and 6500 Gald. Exit this room and go back down the hall and exit it. Go left and use the save point here. Don't go up the stairs yet. Instead, go up behind the gold bars and switch Mieu to breathe fire, and hit the guard with some fire. He'll be frozen. (Huh.. someone that's frozen after being hit by fire... go figure) Now go back down and then up the stairs leading to the guard and fight him. Once you defeat the enemies, go back down and bang the gong. Go through the door. Ignore the first left and right doors. Enter the second door on the right for a chest containing a Melange Gel. Exit and enter the third door on the right for two chests containing a Syrup Bottle and a Silver Guard. Exit and go through the door the Oracle Knight was in front of and you'll find Ion and Natalia. After some talking, you'll automatically exit the dungeon. Exit the city and head for the hill that you had to cross to reach Daath. Head for Daath Port. ============== DAATH PORT ============== After the scene, get into the Tartarus, and make your way to the bridge, which is northeast of Chesedonia. Along the way, a scene will trigger with the Tartarus taking some damage, and you'll make an automatic stop. ============== KETERBURG BAY ============== Enter the house to your left to find a recipe for Salad. Now head to the man in front of the storehouse, and talk with him. He'll ask you to rearrange the boxes, and he'll even let you keep the items you get from the chests. This puzzle shouldn't be too hard to figure out. The three items you can get are a Pineapple Gel, a Rebirth Doll, and a Stun Bracelet. If you obtain all three chests, you'll also recieve 5000 Gald from the man. Exit the port and go west and you'll eventually find Keterburg. ============== KETERBURG ============== Go up the stairs on the left and go left again. Head into the building here and you'll find a woman who happens to be Jade's sister. After some talking, Jade's sister says she'll get the Tartarus fixed. As you leave, she asks to see Luke alone. Oh my, a steamy situation? Make your way to the hotel (there are two entrances to it: one on the east side of town, and one on the west) and you'll find out that you have your rooms booked. Luke will take off, and Mieu will follow. Make your way back to where Jade's sister is, and she'll talk about Jade's past about how he used to be a Devil Child and found fun in killing harmless monsters. A person named Nebilim changed him for the better, though. But due to Jade's mistake, she ended up dying. Once back at the hotel, Jade will bump into Luke, and Jade says he has no intentions of trying to bring Nebilim back. Once you regain control, go back to where Jade's sister is and examine her drawers to find an Alca Forte. If you go to the second floor of the hotel, you can play the Waitress Minigame that was in Symphonia. You'll play as Tear during it. If you never played Symphonia, or never played the minigame, it's simple. You simply memorize who ordered what, get their orders, and bring them to the correct people. You'll get paid according to how you do. The first two are easy to do. Once you're done with all the customers, Tear will get a title. Also, visit the Casino, and an amusing scene with Anise will trigger, with her getting a title at the end of it. Go back to the Port, and hop aboard the Tartarus. Find Chesedonia on the map, and follow the coastline as it bends and you'll eventually find the bridge you're looking for. Dock at it, and head north and go east along the cliff and you'll fund Theor Forest eventually. ============== THEOR FOREST ============== As you enter, some Malkuth Guards will stop you, and Jade will leave your party here. While the party waits for Jade to come back, screams can be heard and the party decides to investigate themselves. You're going to need to pull a Solid Snake here and make your way to the exit carefully and make sure no one catches you. However, if you want, you can get caught a few times, and you'll get a choice to just destroy any enemies that spot you. Do that to make it as painless as possible. Head to the left first. Grab the chest here for a Panacea Bottle. Now head to the right twice. Grab the chests here that contain a Life Bottle, a Silver Bracelet, 4800 Gald, and a Half Guard. Now head up and check to the right for a chest containing a Lemon Gel. Go down and left for a chest containing 5500 Gald. Don't head north and go back to the previous area and go left. Go down to find a chest containing a Magic Lens. Head across the bridge and grab the chest upper left of the rock. Go left and hit the tree to distract the guards. Go between them as they look away. Go left and up the slope to find a chest containing a Sage, and then check the right side of the area to find a chest containing a Grass Chamber. Use the save point and head north. You'll find some down soldiers, and as Natalia goes to inspect them, Largo comes down and surprises the party. Guy suddenly starts attacking Luke, and Ion realizes that Sync is near. Guy knocks Luke's sword of his hand, and an earthquake occurs. Tear tells Natalia to shoot at the trees, and Sync comes to the ground. Malkuth Guards shout out, and Largo and Sync make a run for it as Guy collapses to the ground. The guards then arrest you. ============== GRAND CHOKMAH ============== As you enter, you'll find a General. You'll be thrown into Jail regardless of what has happened, but Ion wants to heal Guy. Ion tells Luke that a Curse Slot stirs the memories of a person, and the reason Guy attacked Luke was because there was a part of him that hated Luke so much that he wanted to kill him. Go left and Tear and Mieu will follow you. Time to find Jade and Natalia. Enter the building across from the bridge and head to the second floor. Head to the end of the bar and you'll find Jade. Exit to the first floor and talk with the bartender. Go down the stairs across from the bar and you'll find Natalia. Head back up and continue left and talk to a guard standing outside of the palace. Peony will talk about how he wants to evacuate St. Binah, but can't because they think their soldiers will be wiped out by the Kimlasca guards. Luke says he'll evacuate the people. Exit the castle and make your way to the Inn. Upon the Inn, Luke will apologize to Guy, and Guy will tell the party of how he used to live in Hod, and how Duke Fabre killed many of Guy's kin, and Duke Fabre laughed as he did so. His family, relatives, and servants were all killed. Guy went to the Fabre household in order to get his revenge, but he wants to stick with Luke, saying he wants to find something out. If you wish to head for St. Binah automatically, choose the first option. If you decide to walk, exit the town and go to the exit of Theor Forest, and head southeast from there to find a Search Point. Examining it will allow you to fight the second Sword Dancer. Once ready, head for St. Binah. ============== ST. BINAH ============== Use the inn and save your game. Go to the main base and a scene will trigger. After it, the evacuation will begin, and Jade and Tear are holding off something in the distance. A machine comes to the ground, and Dist comes out of hiding. He wants Ion, but being the good people we are, we just tell him to go screw himself. O----------------------O | Kaiser Dist RX | O----------------------O | HP | 40,000 | O----------------------O -This is just like the last Kaiser you fought, except he's much stronger and he'll go into Overlimit from time to time. If you're at Level 30, this is the perfect opportunity to test out your Mystic Artes. In order to perform one, first you'll need to be in Overlimit. If you're using Luke, Guy, Natalia, or Anise, use an Arcane Arte and hold the attack button, and at the end of the attack, they'll go into their Mystic Arte attack. For Tear, have her use a Hymn and hold the attack button as she's casting it and she'll use hers. Jade can't use his yet. Mystic Artes work incredibly well here, and if you want, you can switch characters as they go into Overlimit and manually make them use their Mystic Artes to get the most damage. Just make sure to keep the Kaiser away from your party and you should be fine. After the fight. St. Binah starts to fall apart, and the party tries to think of a way to get them, but to no avail until Guy mentions about a place called Sheridan experimenting with flying machines. Once on the world map, go back to the Tartarus (to the west) and if you've been to Port Sheridan before, you'll know where it is. If you haven't, then head for the southwest continent (it's a big brown continent) and hover around the uppereast side and you'll find it eventually. ============== PORT SHERIDAN ============== Talk to the man in front of the storehouse and you'll get another minigame. This one is simple if you can remember to do one thing. If you can push the most left box from the start into the most right gap in the 4 gaps above the boxs starting position, you should be able to figure out how to position the other boxes easily. The chests this time contain an Apple Gel, an All Divide, and an Holy Ring. You'll also recieve 5000 Gald if you get all the chests. Exit the port and go northeast to find Sheridan. ============== SHERIDAN ============== So what do we do when we find a new town? That's right. We go into peoples houses unexpectedly and raid their items while they just stand there not caring. Head for the inn and examine the right room for 3000 Gald. Examine the left room this time for a Savory. Stay on the bottom section of the town and go north to reach the next area. Use Mieu's rock breaking ability on the seesaw here until the chest goes flying into the air. Return back to the first portion of town. Go back to where the inn is and follow the metal slope to the next screen. Examine the to the left of the Capacity Core shop to find the chest you just launched. Open it up for a Demon's Seal. Go back to where the seesaw is and head to the north part of that area to trigger a scene. Now go back to the entrance and enter the first building to find Iemon. The party says that they'll go rescue Ginji in exchange for being able to use the flying machine. You'll recieve a Launcher. Make sure to stock up on supplies here. To find the Meggiora Highlands, head southwest past the port and hug along the east mountains until you find a gap. That's where you're going. ================== MEGGIORA HIGHLANDS ================== You're going to be splitting into two teams. Make sure the first party contains either Guy or Jade. Your first party should contain your best characters, and since Luke is involved, and you need either Jade or Guy, I'd suggest bringing Tear along, as you'll find out why soon enough. I went with Guy and Tear for Luke's party, though. But it's up to you. You'll have 12 minutes to bring down the flying machine. The timer doesn't run while you're in the menu, but it will run during battles, so if you get into a fight, make sure to run away. With your first party, go left for a chest containing a Weak Bottle. Go up and follow the path around and then go right and down for a chest containing a Wasier Rapier. Now follow the path up and go right for a chest containing a Battlesuit. Follow the slope to the left and a scene will trigger, with a boss fight. O-------------------O | Blade Rex | O-------------------O | HP | 40,000 | O-------------------O -The timer is running, so don't screw around. The boss generally isn't hard. If you can get a Fire FOF, have Guy (if you brought him along) use Demon Fang in it to get an FOF Effect. The Blade Rex is easy for the most part, and using your Mystic Artes will get him to fall faster than he already should. You shouldn't have too much trouble. After the fight, your second party will have their turn. Start by going left at the split for a chest containing a Mystic Cloak. Go along the bottom path and open the chest for 6800 Gald. Now follow the path around and you'll eventually reach the flying machine and Ginji. The party will pull both down to safety. Make your way back to Sheridan. ============== SHERIDAN ============== Head to the north section of town again (where the seesaw is) and attempt to enter the left building, but some soldiers will come to try to arrest you. As you go in, Guy attempts to hold them off as the flying machine is getting the last few touches it needs. After hearing it's done, they head to the center to board it while the elders hold off the soldiers. Noelle introduces herself to the party as the pilot. You'll automatically be taken to St. Binah. Everyone gets rescued before St. Binah sinks. After some more talking, it's time to head for Yulia City. Go west. ============== YULIA CITY ============== The citizens of St. Binah head inside of Yulia City once you land. Talk to the man who you've given items to so far, and he'll want 5 Maces this time. Once ready, head to where Tears Grandfather is and talk with him. After some talking, your next destination is Shurrey Hill. It's east of St. Binah. You'll need to fly over the mountains east of St. Binah and land on the other side of them, and then hug along the mountains there until you find it. ============== SHURREY HILL ============== Head up and Ion will tell you that the passage is currently hidden. Switch Mieu to his fire breathing ability. At the split, go right and open the chest at the end for a Lemon Gel. Stand on the hill here and hit the red slab with fire to make it disappear. Go back down and head back to the split. Go left and go up onto the hill here and hit the red slab with fire again. Go back down and then up and around the path to find a chest containing a Pineapple Gel. Go up the hill here and hit the red slab with fire once more. The passage will open it, so go to it and enter. Head in and go straight and you'll find some seals on the ground. Ion explains that you can't do anything until the seals are broken. Once in you are in control, use the save point and go through the left path first. Pick up the Green Fonon in here. Head to the left and you'll find a Yellow Fonon inside some glass. Have Mieu break it with his second ability. To the right is a Red Fonon. Use Mieu and have him breathe fire on it. Now head further into the dungeon and open the chest for a Cure Bottle. Defeat the enemy carrying the Blue Fonon here. Continue along the linear path and you'll eventually reach a room with some stairs going down. Go to the bottom and examine the Fonons underneath the pillar of light. Examine them again and you'll need to correctly place the colored Fonons that aren't lit up yet from the left. Put in the correct Fonons (Red, Green, Blue) and a bridge will form. Go across it and have Mieu break the rock here and the first seal will disappear and you'll be taken back to the three way split. Save your game and take the path on the right this time. You'll need to collect Fonons again. Open the chest for a Light Plate. Go to the right and head over to the stairs and open the chest behind it for 12,000 Gald. Yowza. Make sure to pick up the Red and Yellow Fonons, and go back to the area you were just in. Go up and to the right. Get the Green Fonon in here and open the chest for a Dinei Bottle. Now go left for a chest containing a Sclid Meggiore. Head back and go right and climb up the stairs on the right. Pull and push the right mirror so the light pillar shoots off to the left. Now move the left pillar so the light pillar shoots downwards onto the lens and more Fonons will appear. Go down to examine it. Use the Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green Fonons, and a bridge will form. Cross it and have Mieu break the rock to break the second seal. You'll be taken back to the save point. Use it and take the middle path this time. Before we start, make sure to pick up only the Fonons you need. You'll need: 2 Reds, 1 Green, 1 Blue, and 1 Yellow. Open the chest for a Panacea Bottle and grab the Yellow and Blue Fonons in here. Take the middle path and get the Red Fonon in this room. Head up and to the right for two chests containing a Specific and a Battle Guard. Ignore the Yellow and Blue Fonons and go through the door and go down and left. Pick up the Red and Green Fonons in here, as well as the chest containinga Carmine Chamber. Now go back and go up the middle and up the stairs. Use Mieu and hit the bottom switch once counter clockwise. Now go to the top and hit the top one twice clockwise will align the lens and the Fonon Score will appear. Go down to it and put in the Red, Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green Fonons. The third seal will be broken. Go back to the center now and a scene will trigger. Tear approaches the Passage Rings and it starts up for her. Luke then erases the code in it. After a little bit more talking, you'll be back up on the surface. Attempt to fly and a cutscene will trigger with the war starting. You'll need to split up into two parties now, with Jade being mandatory for Engeve, and Natalia being mandatory for Kaitzur. You can make Luke go to either one. I chose to have Luke go to Kaitzur along with Anise, which meant Guy, Jade, and Tear went to Engeve. The next two parts will assume that you chose Luke to go to Kaitzur. ============== KAITZUR ============== You'll spot one of the Generals, and Natalia wishes for her to stop the war, but she can't without the order from the higher ups. The party then agrees to go to Chesedonia. Exit Kaitzur to the north. On the world map, you're going to north and west (bring up your map from time to time to make sure you're heading to the long bridge that connects this continent to Chesedonia). Along the way, you'll make several camp stops. Try to avoid any battles you can. You'll see why at the end. Once you reach the bridge, cross it and make your way to Chesedonia. You'll recieve some items once you reach Chesedonia, depending on how many battles you fought. I fought 2 battles, and wound up getting an Apple Gel and a Specific. It might wind up being different for you. The scene will then switch to Jade's party. UPDATE: If you don't fight any battles, the items you recieve are: -Rebirth Doll -Efreet -Apple Gel -Specific Many thanks to Cory and Ruth for this information. ============== ENGEVE ============== Head for Rose's house and talk with her. She'll suggest that the townspeople go to Chesedonia on foot while Noelle takes some of the people in the flying craft to safety. Just like with Kaitzur, try to avoid any fights you can. Make your way south and west to reach Chesedonia. Along the way, you'll reach several camp sites again with various scenes. Cross the bridge once you come to it and head for Chesedonia. Again, depending on how many fights you got into, your items will vary. I got into 2 fights again, and I wound up with a Life Bottle and an Ether Slash. Both parties are now in Chesedonia. UPDATE: If you don't fight any battles, the items you recieve are: -Hourglass -Magical Pouch -Life Bottle -Ether Slash Again, many thinks to Cory and Ruth for this information. ============== CHESEDONIA ============== The two parties will reunite and you'll be one big happy party again, so make sure to rearrange your party to put your main characters in the first four slots. Head southward for a scene. Mohs steps in and says that there is no need for the words of a Fake Princess to be taken seriously. Mohs explains that Natalia is infact not the real daughter of the King of Baticul, and that she was switched with the real Princess. Ion says he wants to go back to Daath. Anise of course disagrees with his actions, and Ion then relieves her of her duty as a Fon Master Guardian. Ion whispers to her to stay with Luke and to report anything to him. Perhaps Ion has something up his sleeve? Head into the bar and talk to the man on the other side. He'll ask for the password, but apparently we don't know any passwords. I wanted to guess Rosebud, too. Oh well. The Dark Wings show up, offering to give the party the password... for a price. They tally up 1000 Gald per member, which would total into 6000 Gald... until Mieu mentions he's part of the party, which bumps the price to 7000. You then get an option to pay or not. Select not to pay and after a short scene, you'll be able to pass for free. Head for the exit, and a Guard will come running into town. Head for Astor's Mansion and head through the bottom left doors and talk with him. He'll tell you that Chesedonia is apparently sinking, just like Engeve and St. Binah. After some talking, our next destination is known. Make sure to talk with the man outside of Astor's room. Make your way to the exit, and Asch will start mindraping Luke again. He says to go to the Desert Oasis. Might as well. ============== DESERT OASIS ============== If you haven't done so yet, hit the Palm Tree in the north section of town with Mieu to recieve an Apple Gel. Now go to the right to find Asch. He asks Luke if other people have been able to get through his mind, but Luke has no clue what he's talking about. Asch tells you that the Passage Rings are all connected to each other, so you can toy around with any Ring from another Ring. Huh... why's he being so helpful? Asch then takes off. Head for the Zao Ruins. ============== ZAO RUINS ============== Make your way to the room where you fought Sync and Largo earlier in the game for another fight. O-------------------O | Tyrannopion | O-------------------O | HP | 48,000 | O-------------------O -This guy is strong, and most of his attacks usually target a certain range, so you'll need to keep him away from your spell casters, as well as your other characters so you won't be using healing items every 2 minutes. His attacks can also possibly poison you, and since his poison attack can reach into a wide area, this can spell trouble if you don't use Natalia or don't have any Panacea/Poison Bottles. He has no weaknesses or strengths, so make sure to take full advantage of any FOFs on the field and switch between characters as they go into Overlimit to use their Mystic Artes. After the fight, the second part of the Zao Ruins open up. Make sure to go back and heal up at the healing save point, though. The first part of this area is pretty linear. Head along it and open the chest along the way for a Pineapple Gel. Soon you'll get an overhead view of the Passage Rings. Go all the way to the right, ignoring the slope to find two chests containing 7650 Gald and a Lemon Gel. Now go back to the slope and go down it and continue following the path and you'll eventually find the Passage Rings. Luke inscribes what Jade tells him to put, and a scene with Chesedonia sinking starts up. After it, Tear collapses to the ground, but she'll claim she's alright. After the scene, make your way to the entrance of the Ruins and you'll see that you're not in the Outer Lands anymore. Head for Chesedonia. ============== CHESEDONIA ============== Noelle will come to greet you as you enter. Well, at least we know that our pilot is safe. Jade says that he's concerned about something, but doesn't want to mention what it is until he's sure of it. Exit Chesedonia and hop aboard your flying machine. Begin to leave the Chesedonia region, and a cutscene will trigger. Apparently the Sephiroth Trees are going out of control, and if it keeps it up, the entire Outer Lands will sink below. After some talking, head to Daath. ============== DAATH ============== Head up to the Cathedral and a scene will trigger, with people wanting a boat and them not believing the story of nearly an entire region sinking. Now it's time to find Ion. Go through the door on the right and head for the seal on the bottom floor. Go to the right to find Ion's room, but he's not there. Someone suddenly approaches the door, and the others go hide. Well well well. If it isn't Dist and Mohs. After some talking, you'll automatically be in the Library where Ion is. Luke asks Ion if there's anything in the Score about the Sephiroth Trees going out of control. Ion says he'll check in the backroom, and again, you'll be taken there automatically. Ion reads the score and it doesn't mention anything about it. Soon, some soldiers will run in, and you'll flee to exit the city. Head for the entrance of the city, and you'll be met with Mohs. Jade attempts to play the Hero, but Dist tells him not to do anything, as he has Noelle in his chair. On the ship, Luke says that him being executed will most likely be for the best, as his birth screwed over the Score. Tear quickly gets angry and tells him to stop speaking nonsense. You'll soon arrive in Baticul. ============== BATICUL ============== Talk with Natalia, and a scene will trigger. A minister will come in, and call Natalia... Meryl? Odd. Guards come in with some poison, until Tear uses one of her Hymns to knock out the guards and the minister. JAILBREAK TIME! Sorta. Make your way to the Audience Chamber and a scene will trigger, explaining Natalia's true existence. The true Princess of Baticul was actually a stillborn infant, meaning it was dead. Therefore, Natalia, or Meryl, was switched with the never-was Princess. Natalia asks her Father if he believes it, and he says they found a buried infant where they pointed him to. That's just lovely... digging up an infants grave. Mohs then accuses Natalia that she was going to bring down Akzeriuth because of this mistaken identity. Natalia quickly rejects that logic. Mohs again wants them executed. Asch then runs in, telling the party that he released them from the prison for a reason and to run away. Dist then calls Asch a traitor, in which Asch quickly strikes back by saying Dist was leaking Van's information, which in return gets Largo mad. Make your way to the elevator outside of the castle, and you'll trigger a scene. Go down the elevator and continue along and some guards will surround you. The townspeople then come and try to back off the guards as the others make their escape. Continue to the exit, and Goldberg will appear this time. The townspeople protect the party again, but Natalia is confused why they're doing it as she's an imposter, but the townspeople apparently never forget her kindness to them. Asch comes in again, distracting Goldberg as the party makes their escape. As you make your way to the entrance of the city, a townsperson will give encouraging words as you pass them. Once on the world map, head southwest until you bump into some mountains to the west. From there, go west and you'll find Inista Marsh eventually. ============== INISTA MARSH ============== The water here will slow your running speed, so you may wind up getting a lot of surprise counters if you're not careful. Open the chest to your left to obtain a Talwar. Take the northeast path and open the chest at the end for a Knight Helm. Go back and take the west path and a scene will trigger, with Guy and Jade bringing up an old story about a monster that used to attack bypassers. The monster then appears and the party runs away. From here on out, if you encounter the Behemoth (the big black monster), run away. Don't try to fight it, as its strength is immense. After the scene, continue along where you came from (where the Behemoth first appeared) and continue along the path to find two chests containing 5600 Gald and a Mystic Rod. Once you reach a bridge, go south from it to find a chest containing 3200 Gald. Now cross the bridge. Continue along, and a scene with Natalia occurs. She lags back and the Behemoth comes out and traps her on the other side of you. Tear uses her Hymn, while Anise uses the pollen it doesn't like and Luke attacks it. Go northeast from where you to find a chest containing a Drain Ward. Go a bit north to find a Knight Guard. Now go west and follow the path as it curves to the south to cross another bridge. Use the healing save point here and grab the chest in sight to obtain a Mirage Robe. Now follow the path from the treasure chest to reach the exit. Natalia will fall behind again, and the Behemoth comes out again. You'll need to fight it until Natalia is safe and secure. After awhile, run away and you'll be outside of the Marsh. From here, head along the cliff sides until you find a slope going down. Now follow the path westward and you'll find a dirtroad eventually. Follow it to reach Belkend. ============== BELKEND ============== Upon entering, go to the Replica Facility. Attempt to enter and some Oracle Knights will come out. They tell Luke, or rather in their eyes, Asch, that Van is waiting inside for him. Upon entering, Luke and Tear ask what Van's true intentions are. Guy calls Van foolish, only to have Van say that if he wants to help him, he'll accept Guy's help. So it seems those two know each other from way back. They both swore vengence upon the Fabre Household. Asch then makes his way inside. After some more talking, make your way to the inn now. Guy says he no longer wants revenge, and the party is skeptical at first, but since Luke still trusts him, so does everyone else. Jade will recieve some Forbidden Text, and it'll take him a night to read it. You'll automatically stay the night at the inn. Talk with everyone, saving Jade for last. Jade mentions that everything is sinking below is because there are vibrations coming from the core, thus making the liquefaction. You'll need help from the people of Belkend, but since they're under Van's and the King of Kimlasca's watch, it won't be easy. Guy, however, mentions that someone else might be able to help. Head for the Replica Facility again and examine Van's room for a recipe. Explore aorund the facility to find the man you're looking for. At first, he is reluctant to help, but once he mentions Iemon, he's ready to go. Exit the facility and make your way to the Governor's House (the building next to the inn) and watch the scene in here. Anise mentions that you should go see Ion. Leave the house, and you'll find out that you had an eavesdropper. Asch takes off to catch the culprit. You'll then be able to go to Daath automatically if you want, or you can choose to go by yourself. Either way, get to Daath. ============== DAATH ============== Head for the Cathedral, and the party decides to go visit with Anise's parents and ask about the current situation about the Six God-Generals. Apparently all of them are out. Well, that just falls right into our hands, doesn't it? You'll then be taken to Ion automatically. Ion mentions that while in the Tartarus, he heard Legretta say something about a Sephiroth Tree at Tataroo Valley. He says it should be sealed, and that'll he'll come along with you. As you exit, Asch will mindrape Luke again, telling him that Spinoza leaked your information to Van, and that the Six God-Generals took him away. You'll now need to go to Sheridan. Upon reaching the town entrance, Anise's mother comes out and says that Arietta has returned, and that she told her that Anise was looking for her. Okay well... maybe we didn't get so lucky. Arietta appears, and immediately has her Ligers attack the party. Anise attempts to protect Ion, and Pamela jumps in front of Ion to protect him. Guy watches the whole thing, and he drops to his knees after having a small flash back, remembering the thing he couldn't remember from his past. You'll be back in the Tatlin's room. She says to go check up on Guy. Head for the Chapel portion of the Cathedral and talk with Guy. Guy mentions that he remembers now when his family was killed. A flashback occurs with a woman hiding Guy in a stove, telling him that he needs to stay alive. Apparently the woman, Mary, is Guy's sister. Duke Fabre's voice can be heard outside of the building, and soldiers from Kimlasca enter the house, and kill Mary in front of Guy. Pere then came to rescue him. Upon awakening, he found himself underneath the bloody bodies of his sister and his maids, which then triggered his Gynophobia. Anise, Natalia, and Tear all apologize to Guy for not taking his condition seriously, but Guy tells them to not worry about it. You'll then get an option of going to Sheridan automatically. Do so if you wish. ============== SHERIDAN ============== Upon entering Sheridan, you'll spot the Dark Wings. Asch asked them to help him out. Talk with the old people in front of the first building, and then head inside to see Class I and Class M arguing. After some more arguing, they agree to work together to make the device you need. Make your way to Tataroo Valley. Open up your map and select Dungeons, and you'll notice Tataroo Valley is the only dungeon, or location for that matter on the Continent is resides on. Head for it. ============== TATAROO VALLEY ============== Don't underestimate the enemies here. Though some of them are from your first visit here, there are new enemies as well. Open the chest near you for a Purple Ribbon. Head across the rockbridge over the river. Hug along the top area and you'll find a hidden path. Open the chest for a Carmine Chamber. Now go back to the main path and go up and right and go across the river and open the two chests here for a Pineapple Gel and 7500 Gald. Go back to where the slope is and go up it. Go left from here to find two chests containing a Lemon Gel and a Silk Hat. Follow the path up. If you go left, you'll find where you first started the game at. I like this spot, because it has a beautiful view with the flowers and the petals flowing through the air and whatnot. Go back to the split and go right. Go down and then right and you'll eventually spot a rock along the mountain side. Have Mieu destroy it. Go to the right side of this area to find another one of those crystals you found at the Zao Ruins. This will give Mieu the ability to fly... sorta. He'll just hover in the air as you grab onto him. Hit the switch on the ceiling, and go through the door for a Knight Mace. Exit and head for the left side of this room and hit the switch on the ceiling with Mieu again. Go through the door to find a Life Bottle and a Wing Bottle. Now exit the cave itself and continue along the main path. Anise spots a rare creature, and attempts to chase after it, but stops once it flies over the cliff edge. An earthquake occurs, and Anise clings onto the mountain as Tear tries to pull Anise up. Guy comes over, and pulls Anise up, forgetting about his phobia for the moment. An amusing skit occurs after this once you regain control. Use the healing save point here and hit the tree with Mieu to make a chest fall out. Open it up for a Panacea Bottle. Go up the slope and you'll find a chest in a tree. Have Mieu fly up there and open the chest for a Knight Robe. Jump down and go left to find another chest in a tree. Have Mieu fly up there again and open it up for 6000 Gald. Jump down from the tree and go down and follow the path. You'll eventually find a monster in the mist, and it seems to be suffering. The mist clears, and the monster doesn't appear to be anywhere, until it charges at you from behind. O------------------O | Uniceros | O------------------O | HP | 54,000 | O------------------O -You'll want to avoid using Wind and Light based spells and FOFs, as this boss is strong against them, and weak against Shadow type spells. His attacks don't do a lot of damage, but he likes to charge a lot, so make sure to keep him away from your spellcasters. Using your Mystic Artes as they become available to use will help end this battle quickly. After the battle, Mieu will communicate with the Uniceros. He claims that the miasma made him do this, and that he recieved it from Tear. She acts startled and claims she doesn't know what it's talking about. It apologizes to you for attacking, and thanks you for healing it and it runs off. Have Ion open the door near you, and you'll be at the second part of the Tataroo Valley. Grab the chest on the left for an Alca Maggiore. Head along and you'll find a Tuning Fork. Have Mieu hit it and it'll activate two switches. The door opens. Go through the newly opened door and you'll find the Passage Rings, but the Yulia Seals haven't been deactivated. Use the save point to your right and go down the right path and through the door. In this room, hit the right Tuning Fork, and then the left one. Go through the door. Climb the stairs and go past the door and open the chest at the end for some Mirage Gloves. Go back to the door and go through it. Hit the Tuning Fork in here to break the seal. Once it's broken, hit it again to open up the wind pipe again. Go left and through the door. Hit the Tuning Fork in the middle first. Climb the stairs to reach the Tuning Fork at the top and hit the left and then right fork. Make your way back down, ignoring the middle Tuning Fork and hit the left Tuning Fork on the bottom, and then the right one. Now go back up to the middle Tuning Fork and hit it and a new wind pipe will open up. Go to the previous area, and line yourself up with the chest in the southeast corner. Have Mieu fly into the air and you'll be lifted over to the chest. Open it up for an Aqua Cape. Make your way back to the Passage Rings. Apparently Van hasn't been here yet. Watch the following scenes, and make your way back to Sheridan. Or you can use the Wing Bottle on the nearby save point to exit the Valley quickly. Either way, get back to Sheridan. ============== SHERIDAN ============== Head for the meeting hall and you'll find out the Tartarus is being modified so that you can go to the core without exploding from the inside. They'll need a bit more time. Outside, Natalia suggests going back to Baticul, but she wants some time to think about it, and the party splits up. You can explore the town and find your party members if you want. If you don't want to, go right from where you're standing and talk with Natalia, and she'll head off for the inn. Follow her and choose to rest. As the sun sets, Natalia looks out to the ocean, and Asch appears. After the scene, Luke makes his way back to the Inn, only to find Tear. It'll be morning soon. After some talking, it's time to head to Baticul. ============== BATICUL ============== Head for the castle, and you'll need to find the Kings private room, not the Audience Chamber. It's on the second floor to the left. Once you enter, the King is surprised to see Natalia. Luke mentions that the memories he shared with Natalia should be a factor into treating Natalia as his daughter. Jade presents a letter to the King, and he asks for you to return tomorrow. Make your way to the Inn in the town. The next day, you'll be in the Audience Chamber already. After some talking, it's time to head to Grand Chokmah. Before leaving, go to the Front Hall and talk with Pere looking at a sword. This will come into play later. ============== GRAND CHOKMAH ============== Make your way to the Audience Chamber and you'll talk with Peony. Since Mohs will try to interfere, Luke wants to do it at Yulia City instead, but you can't fly yet due to Dist having the Flightstone. Make your way to Daath now. ============== DAATH ============== Make your way to the Cathedral, and a paper airplane will hit Anise on the back of the head. Luke picks it up and reads it. Apparently it's from Dist, and it says that the Flightstone isn't in Daath, and that he [Dist] brought it with him to the Covenant location. According to Jade, it's still in Daath. Jade says to let Dist wait there and freeze as they search for the Flightstone in Daath. After some talking, you'll soon learn that Mohs is at the Aramis Spring. Exit the Cathedral and go to the right side. Talk with the guard and he'll let you pass. Go through the shortcut here to re-enter an all too familiar place. =================== ORACLE HEADQUARTERS =================== Once you enter, you'll get into a fight with some Oracle Knights. Make your way to the top level and head for the right side and use the Mieu Wing to reach the ladder here. Go through the door to find a chest containing a Melange Gel. Exit the room and follow the path to find another chest that contains a Red Savory. Go back to the ladder and climb down. Now go to the left side of the top level here, and use the Mieu Wing to reach another ladder you couldn't reach before. Open the two chests up here to find an Epee and a Killer Bow. Make your way to the save point near the bottom level, and go through the door. Head through the door at the end. Make your way down the stairs, and open the chest along the way to obtain the Noble Thief. Continue down the stairs and open the next chest for a Carmine Chamber. Make your way to the bottom and talk with the man down here. He can't hand over the Flightstone since Dist told him not to. So instead, Tear uses a Fonic Hymn to knock him out and Jade takes it by force. Exit the headquarters, and make your way to Chesedonia. ============== CHESEDONIA ============== Go find Astor and talk with him. He's more than happy to help you out. You'll then spend the night at the inn, and a scene involving Tear and Luke starts up. Once in control, make your way to Yulia City. ============== YULIA CITY ============== Both of the Kings sign the peace treaty, and Guy steps up, asking the King of Kimlasca if he can really keep his promise this time, since he didn't keep his promise last time with the Hod treaty. Guy pulls out his sword, not wanting any crap. Duke Fabre points out that he killed Guy's family, and that if Guy's going to kill anyone, it should be him. Peony then speaks up, taking the blame for what happened at Hod, but it was his ancestors that did it, not Peony himself. Jade brings up a test subject that was 11 years old, and that Guy and Luke might know him. Apparently, Van was also a replica subject. Interesting. Guy puts his sword away at the request of Ion, and you'll be in Tear's room. Make your way back to the Mayor's room for another scene. Time to head for Sheridan. ============== SHERIDAN ============== Go to the meeting hall and talkw ith Iemon. He tells you that the Tartarus is ready to go to the core, but you only have 130 hours until the shields die out. It takes 5 days to get to Akzeriuth, which leaves them only 10 hours to fix the core. You'll now get a chance of stocking up on items if needed. If you're seriously lacking in items (I.E. Lemon Gels/Apple Gels and so on), I strongly recommend getting at least 10 of each (Apple/Orange/Lemon/Pineapple). If you feel you're ready, talk with Iemon to start the operation. As you're ready to leave, Legretta ambushes the party, and the villagers start to protect the party. Iemon tells you to get going to the port. Try to exit to the south, but some Oracle Knights will block your path. Make your way to the north exit, and some Kimlasca guards will appear. Make your way to Port Sheridan. ============== PORT SHERIDAN ============== Jade quickly notices some sleeping fonons in the air, and he uses some of his own Fonons to disperse the sleeping gas. As you make your way to the Tartarus, Legretta and Van appear. The elders jump in front of Van to buy the party some time. They escape, but Van strikes down the elders. Upon going down, the alarm sounds, indicating an intruder on the ship. Once you arrive, Guy notices a flash, and he mentions that he saw it as a kid once in Hod. Soon you'll be outside of the Tartarus, and you'll find the Glyph that Iemon mentioned, but something seems wrong about it. Sync appears, and says that he erased it, and that he's ready to finish you off. O----------------O | Sync | O----------------O | HP | 83,500 | O----------------O -Since you're fighting Sync alone this time, he shouldn't be as tough as he was with Largo, but his attacks still hurt a lot, so make sure to keep him away from your party. Make sure to keep your distance from him whenever he gets ready to wind up his Arcane Artes, as sometimes he'll use his Mystic Arte to heavily damage whoever is caught in it, possibly killing them. Don't hesitate to using any healing items, and keep him away from your party as you use your own Mystic Artes and combos on him. After the fight, Sync's mask falls off, and he looks just like Ion. Ion then speaks up, admitting that he's only a replica of the real Ion, as is Sync. He released Arietta from her position as a Fon Master Guardian because he couldn't remember who she was. The real Ion was apparently sick, and was near death. Sync mentions that the failure Ion replicas were all thrown alive into a volcano, and that he was the only one left. Ion suggests to escape with Sync together, but Sync says he's only alive because he is to be used by Van. Sync then leans back and falls off the edge. Jade asks for Luke's and Tear's help in recreating the Glyph. Luke will need to use Mieu's fire to draw the Glyph as Tear gives directions. You do have a time limit with this, so you'll need to time your angles correctly the first time. Any mistake, and you'll need to start over. You can have Tear do it if you want, but you won't get a title for Tear if you do that. Once it's done, watch the following scenes. Head for Belkend. ============== BELKEND ============== Before going to the Governor's house, go to where the entrance of the Replica Facility is. Have Mieu breaks the boxes on the right side of it until you find a chest. Open it to obtain a Poison Ward. Now go to the Governor's house and talk with him. He'll tell you to go find a man named Shu and have him examine Tear. You'll automatically be taken to him, and after the examination, he calls you in. He says that Tear is absorbing the miasma from the Passage Rings. If she keeps it up, she'll most likely die. Once in control, go to the right and talk with Tear. After some talking, exit the Medical room and go up and left to find the researcher from Yulia City. He'll mention the Meggiora Highlands and some mountains. Ion suggests leaving the mountains for last, as the Six God-Generals were badly wounded from the monsters there. Attempt to leave, and the researcher will stop you, saying you'll need to enter the Meggiora Highlands from the sea. Head for the world map. Open up your map, and zoom in and highlight the continent Sheridan is on. See that blue line that's inside of the continent? That's the river we need to head down. Make it so that you're skimming across the water, and head for that river. Follow the paths and enter the Highlands. ================== MEGGIORA HIGHLANDS ================== From the entrance, go north and west underneath the bridge and go south to find a chest containing 4800 Gald. Continue west and go south again for a chest containing a Royal Guard. Go into the nearby cave as well. Head up to where the fans are higher off the ground, and use the Mieu Wing to grab the two chests on the left and right sides containing a Melange Gel and a Katana. Exit and go east and then north. Head east, and then west to find a save point. Go under the bridge to find two chests containing a Duel Helm and a Battle Axe. Go east and go south the first chance you get. Head down the path and open the two chests to obtain a Full Plate and 7200 Gald. Go back until you reach the most north portion of the cliff. Go east and keep going east. Turn south to find a chest containing a Hamayumi. Go back to the west to find a glowing door. As you approach it, Legretta will come in, and she tells Tear to stop her nonsense. She tells Tear that Van is worried about her, since he knows about her condition. After a bit more talking, head for the door and have Ion open it. Use the healing save point, and go to the right to find a chest that has a Miracle Gel in it. Now go all the way to the left for a chest containing a Marcato. It's a Capacity Core. Now go down the path and you'll find an odd looking machine. Guy approaches it, and Tear warns him not to get too close, but Guy says it's not a fighter. Go to where the elevator is, and a scene will occur. The power is down, and it needs a new power source. The only option is Guy's new best friend. Go over to the machine, and choose to attack it. O---------------------O | Repair Fonbot | O---------------------O | HP | 57,000 | O---------------------O -The Repair Fonbot has a lot of spells in its arsenal, such as Turbulence and Stalagmite. His lasers are a bit weaker than his spells, but you should try to avoid them nonetheless. You shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding both his magic and lasers, though, as he takes a few seconds to wind up his lasers before firing, and he gives you about a 3 second notice that he's about to use a spell. As long as you take full advantage of its ability to warn you ahead of time that it's about to attack, you should have no problems. After the fight, Jade takes the power source from the Fonbot. Go to the elevator and Guy will fix it. Ride it down and go up to the Passage Rings. Jade asks for Tear to put something on her arm to see if it's really the Passage Rings that are making her sick. Luke uses the same directions that he used at Tataroo Valley. Apparently, the Passage Rings respond to Tear and transfer the miasma to Tear because she's a descendent of Yulia. If the core is really the source of the miasma, then Jade says there might be a way to stop it. Make your way back to Belkend. ============== BELKEND ============== Upon entering, Luke will throw Mieu at Spinoza, and Mieu breathes fire to stop him and Guy grabs him fron behind. Spinoza was there to apologize to Aston for what he did. Jade suggests if he feels like that, that he should help him on a way to isolate the miasma. The Governor mentions that he got a message saying the next Sephiroth Tree is at Daath. Make your way to Daath now. ============== DAATH ============== Make your way to the Cathedral and you'll bump into Mohs. Mohs will show you the door leading to where the Passage Ring is, but he won't tell you how to get there. Exit through the right door. Go up the stairs and go through the left door. Go through the door Mohs pointed at and follow the path and you'll reach the Library eventually. The party looks for a secret door. Anise stumbles against a bookshelf, and it lowers, revealing a door. Huh... seems like Anise might've known about this. Well, whatever. Once you enter, you'll be taken to Mt. Zaleho. ============== MT. ZALEHO ============== Cross the bridge to the south, and go left for a chest containing an Arc Wand. Go all the way to the right from there to find a chest containing a Strecido. Go to the next area and follow the path until you reach a split. Go up to find a chest containing a Wing Bottle. Continue along the main path until you reach another split. Go down this time to find a chest containing a Cobalt Chamber. Continue along the main path and you'll find the sealed door. Ion will open it up. Open the chest at the end for a Druid Cloak. Head down the slope and you'll find an unlit torch. Have Mieu breathe fire on it to form a bridge. Continue along and defeat the enemy you find. After the fight, the enemy will form into a block that you can push. Push it off the right ledge. Go stand on the block and have Mieu light the next torch to reach the next area. Go through the bottom door first and head go down the ramp here. Defeat the monster down here and push the block to the middle of the platform above you. Now exit and go up the ramp and go through the door up here. Go down the path to find the same monster. Defeat it, and push the block off the middle portion of the platform. Make your way back down to the bottom door and step on the blocks and have Mieu light the torch. Follow the path and you'll find the Passage Ring eventually. Luke does his thing, and Jade suggests going back to Belkend to check up on Spinoza. Use a Wing Bottle if you want on the save point in the room outside and make your way to Belkend. ============== BELKEND ============== Enter the Replica Facility and at the four way split, take the left door to find Spinoza. Jade describes his plan. Apparently, the last Sephiroth Tree is at Mt. Roneal. You'll be staying at the inn tonight. Head for it and choose to rest. Morning will come, and Anise comes to wake up Luke, saying that Tear is gone. She claims that she went with Asch. Tear left a mineral from the Ortion Cavern in her room. Make your way to the Cavern. ============== ORTION CAVERN ============== As you enter, you'll be stopped short by the Oracle Knights. Legretta follows them and tells them that Van said to let them pass. Legretta says she's not here to fight, and she'll settle things once and for all once the party goes to Mr. Roneal. Make your way to the lab area (the path is very linear) and you'll find Van, Asch, and Tear. Van strikes down Asch, and Natalia quickly runs to his side. Van notices the party, and tells Tear and Asch to go with them. Asch, being the ass he is, decides to just leave on his own, despite his injuries. You'll automatically be taken to Sheridan. ============== SHERIDAN ============== Go to the meeting hall, and Luke asks Tear where she went. Tear knew that Van would be effected by the Passage Ring as well, and went to see if he was feeling well, and wanted to convince Van out of his plan. Well gee, I wonder if that worked. Our next destination is Mt. Roneal, but Jade wants to stop by Nephry's place first in Keterburg. So let's head there. ============== KETERBURG ============== Head for Nephry's office. Talk with her and she'll say that they found someone named Saphir collapsed in the middle of town. Jade explains that Saphir is Dist's real name. Nephry says that she brought him to a room at the Hotel. Make your way there and you'll automatically be taken to where Dist is lying down at. Jade looks over him, and asks the others to leave while Jade needs to do what he came for. Well that can't lead to anything good. After the... odd/disturbing (your word here) scene, exit the Hotel. Enter the house that's next to Nephry's house to find an Accessory for Anise. Also, make sure to head to the weapon/armor shop in the first part of town and upgrade your equipment. You should be able to afford everything there now. Also make sure to stock up on Lemon/Pineapple Gels, as well as Life Bottles. Once you're ready, exit the town via north and go west to find Mt. Roneal. ============== MT. RONEAL ============== Upon entering, go to the left and hit the tree here with Mieu to find a chest containing a Lemon Gel. Now go back to the right and go north and hit the tree here with Mieu to find a chest containing a Wing Bottle. Now go to the right and examine the bottom portion of the cliff you're under. There's a well hidden chest there containing a Pineapple Gel. Go back to the left and go up the slope here. At the split, go right for a chest containing an Aquamarine. Go back to the left and go up to the next area. Go right at the split for a chest containing a Panacea Bottle. Take the left path this time and you'll find the entrance to a cavern. Before entering, go left and slide down the ice. Hug along the left wall and open the chest near the bottom of the screen to obtain a Dinei Bottle. Make your way back up to the entrance to the cavern and enter it. Go straight ahead and use the Mieu Fire to melt the snow pile. Open the chest to obtain a Mythril Guard. Continue down the main path and melt the snow pile on the left to find a chest containing a Nocercido. Exit the cave. Go to the right and use the Mieu Fire on the bottom portion of the snow bank to reveal a path. Follow it to find a chest containing a Lemon Gel. Go back to the main path and follow it and you'll find a chest containing a Battle Bow. Use the save point here, and follow the path as it slopes up. Soon, you'll trigger a scene, in which Legretta lands behind you. That's not all. She also brought Arietta and Largo to play with you. O---------------O O-------------O O-----------------O | Arietta | | Largo | | Legretta | O---------------O O-------------O O-----------------O | HP | 26,000 | | HP | 32,000 | | HP | 29,000 | O---------------O O-------------O O-----------------O -You can already tell that fighting three of the Six God-Generals at once is going to be a bothersome matter. Focus on Arietta first, as she still has some powerful spells, and her HP total is the lowest out of all the three. As you're attacking Arietta, make sure to Free Run around Legretta if she tries to attack you, as her attacks will rip you to shreds if she connects. Once Arietta is gone, focus your attacks on Legretta, as she's more powerful than Largo is, and her Arcane Artes hit a wider area. Once Legretta falls, Largo shouldn't be hard to take down. After the battle, an avalanche occurs, and the screen blackens. Jade wakes Luke up, and Luke is shocked that they're still alive. Unfortunately (or forunately, depending on how you want to look at it), Legretta, Arietta, and Largo got swallowed by the avalanche. The avalance also carried you to where the sealed door is. Well, talk about lucky. And a little bit cliche. Go inside after the door disappears and open the chest you find to obtain a Pineapple Gel. Continue down the path and you'll eventually spot an elevator. Ride it down. Keep going to find the Passage Ring. Luke does what he needs to do, and an earthquake occurs. After some talking, it's time to take Ion to town to rest. Go down to the save point, but don't exit yet. Instead, go to the left and open the chest here for a Grass Chamber. Take the southern pass and you'll eventually reach a room with a snowy slope on your right. Don't take it. Instead run down the path and have Mieu melt the snow. Open the chest here for 7800 Gald. Now go back to the save point and use the Wing Bottle to get back to the entrance. Make your way back to Keterburg. ============== KETERBURG ============== As soon as you enter, Noelle tells you that your engine has frozen over, and that Nephry is helping her with it and it should be ready by tomorrow. The party then splits up. They're at the following locations: Tear - West of the Hotel. Jade - In front of the entrance to the town (southside) Guy - In the Casino. Anise - Out in front of Nephry's office. Natalia - Near the igloos, near the northern exit. Mieu - Right next to you. Ion - in Nephry's office. Talk with each of them, and go to the Hotel and go to the counter to trigger a scene. Tear says that the Outer Lands can fall at any given time, but Jade only wants you and Tear know. While sleeping, Luke gets another headache. Luke heads outside, and sees Asch. Luke asks for help to defeat Van, but being the self centered assmonkey he is, Asch refuses in an abrupt way. Morning comes, and the party gathers. Ion says he'll stay behind, as he'll only be a burden on the party. Before leaving, make sure you're absolutely prepared for the upcoming battle. Meaning get as many Lemon/Pineapple Gels and Life Bottoes that you can. When ready, head for Port Keterburg, and fly northeast and you'll find some whirlwind activity on an island. That's the Absorption Gate. =============== ABSORPTION GATE =============== Enter down the pathway, and Noelle will go back to the Albiore. Make your way in, and you'll find a Score in the center. Take the top western path and follow it to find a Blue Fonon. You'll get an option to be warped back to where the Score is. Once back at the Score, take the bottom right path and pick up the Yellow Fonon here. Go back to the center and take the top eastern path and follow it for the Red Fonon. Now go back to the score and place the Fonons in their correct order, and a warp will appear underneath you. Follow down the path and go through the door here. (it's glowing, so you can't really miss it) Work your way around the twists and turns. Examine the upper portion of the room to find a chest containing 8000 Gald. Go through the next door once you come across it. Once you reach a split, go down to find a chest containing a Tartan Ribbon. Go back and through the next door. This room is the same as last one, so make your way to the door. Go to the left of the door first to find a chest containing a Pineapple Gel. Continue along. Make your way to the bottom and go through the door here. As you make your way down, you'll notice an enemy with fire inside of it. Defeat it and all the red flames will disappear. Grab the chest also that contains a Red Basil. Go through the next door and before the next one, open the two chests that contain an Ancient Ribbon and Mythril Cloak. Warp down and an earthquake will occur, seperating your party members. Your party will be split into 3: Luke and Tear, Guy and Natalia, and Jade and Anise. The glowing circles will allow you to switch between parties until the party reunites. I'll split the next section into parties. --------- LUKE/TEAR --------- From the start, go left and use Mieu to light the torch here. Make your way down the spiral pathway and light the other torches as you come across them. You need to light them, as the other parties will need to cross them. If you're having trouble hitting them, hug along the wall near the torch until you get an action to examine it. If you do so, you'll line up with the torch, so fire Mieu and you'll light it. Once you reach a split, go right to find a chest containing a Mighty Saber. Once you reach the bottom, use Mieu and hit the Tuning Fork and go through the newly opened door. Use the warp here. Go down and at the second split, go left and light the torch with Mieu. Take the right this time and hit the Tuning Fork with Mieu. Take the warp and switch to Guy and Natalia. ----------- GUY/NATALIA ----------- Follow the path and go across the bridges as you come across them. Use the warps to make your way to the bottom. Once you reach a split, go up and use the warp to find a chest containing a Treat. Take the other warp this time and use the save point and go through the door. Follow the path that spirals downwards and at the split, go left to find a chest containing a Grass Chamber. Go through the door. Go down and take the warps and grab the chest that contains a War Hammer. Go through the next door and defeat the enemy in here. It'll form into a block. Push it off the right ledge between the two green posts. It'll land on the seesaw. Switch back to Luke and Tear. --------- LUKE/TEAR --------- Go up to the seesaw and go up the left side of it. Hit the tuning fork here and a door will open. Go back down to the seesaw and hit the block o