P06B: Bresha Ruins in AF005

P06B: Bresha Ruins in AF005

Selecting the gate gives us a briefing about society and then the visual of travel to the destination, where we arrive to find Cocoon and are instantly thrust into battle with Paradox Alpha -- or at least his hand anyway!  Using RB will get you the stats on this bad boy -- and then you can kick his butt!

Your first hit from him after the battle begins in earnest introduces you to Wounding -- a state in which you lose a segment of your HP that cannot be replaced until after the battle ends...  Later you will be able to obtain more advanced Potions that can heal Wounding damage, and some monsters that you can capture, add to your group, and train have the ability to heal some Wounding as well...  For now try to make this a fast and efficient battle though so any Wounding you receive does not matter.

During the battle you will get several Cinematic Sequences -- try to ace them and remember when a button is flashing it means you need to tap it fast to fill its meter and not just hit it.  The Cinematic Sequences really do help you in the battle.  Midway into them you will get an assist from a trio of military attack ships that show up and from their radio chatter appear to be aware of the nature of the beast -- that it is a time paradox -- as they begin attacking it too.

Assuming that you remember to go to Double Shield to avoid major damage when the hand attacks, and remember to switch back to damage dealing Paradigms otherwise -- and you do the Cinematic Sequences perfectly -- what should happen here is you will begin to crank up the Stagger Meter and then, when Noel jumps up on to him and you complete the button-presses, you will Stagger him, after which the military attack will finish him off provided that you fill the meter quickly when you are prompted to tap the button (Y for Xbox) -- watch the video above to see what I mean.

You should easily five-star this battle if you follow those standard tactics -- and in so doing score yourself some tasty loot as a result -- like a Silver Gear.

The Paradox Alpha Battle

-- After Battle Report --

You will have unlocked the story-based Achievement "Time Traveler" (15 G) Left behind a normal life, and began a journey through time -- which you get for using the Gate with Noel.

The battle is over, Atlas has been subdued, the Army has arrived, and Serah is happy -- until they arrest you as unauthorized intruders and accuse you of setting off the event that is!  Serah, Noel, and even poor Moogle have no choice but to raise their hands in surrender, whereupon they are lead off to incarceration, a bread and water diet and torture by water boarding as the...  No, sorry, I was thinking of Blackhawk Down, my bad... 

When the CS ends and you are in the cell the LT symbol in the upper left corner should clue you in on what you need to do -- so talk to Noel then talk to the guard and you will have the opportunity to get information -- or be funny (I went for be funny myself).  Unfortunately the Guard must have once worked for TSA because he has no sense of humor -- but we are saved by a stranger name Alyssa who spins a cock-and-bull story that the Guard believes, and so we are released!  Yay us!

Alyssa is a member of the research team under the Academy, and she seems to know you!  After a brief LT opportunity she asks you to follow her and then runs off -- she has a waypoint marker over her head so she will not be hard to follow -- but you can take a quick look around now if you like -- and then follow her to receive an Academy Communicator and a Map of the Bresha Ruins.

After you get the two key items Alyssa explains why she helped you -- and during that conversation Noel ends up vowing to take care of Atlas for Alyssa -- since his presence is a threat to her research.  Yeah, Atlas should be a push-over, right?  Right?!  Errr...

The Primer now shows the Change Leader page, which explains to you how you go about changing the party leader so you can choose who to control in battle -- and while exploring -- adding the Change Leader option to the Character Menu.   That page is followed by the one on Types of Gates -- and remember you can read these pages again any time you want by accessing the Primer via the Character Menu screen. 

As the page explains there are three types of Gates -- the shining ones that require a special artifact, the crystal ones that require Wild Artifacts (and are single-use), and the Scorched Gates that we have already used.  The Scorched Gates can be used to gain access to the Historia Crux whenever you like.

The Chocolina - A Time-Traveling Merchant

-- Having some Chats --

Before you continue along the story line why not explore this area of the map to fill it in and have a chat or three with the different people who have the chat bubble above their heads?  That will fill you in on the situation and add to your understanding of the situation here, and of course fill in the map, which you want to do anyway...

Facing the Gate that you came through in the back of the area, if you head left and up the stairs there is a Treasure Sphere with 400 Gil in it -- and to the right in the shallow alcove at the top of the stairs is a Treasure Box with a Key Item: Leaving' Gate Seal inside -- so be sure to grab those now!

Heading up the stairs on the right side of the zone (east) you can have a few more chats as well as get 350 Gil from a Treasure Sphere, and then find your first Chocolina shopkeeper!  After you chat her up you get the Primer page on Chocolina Shops -- the mysterious traveling merchants who will become your best friend when you end up with lots of redundant loot you want to get rid of and have supply needs that they can also manage for you!

As they can also upgrade and create weapons, and can be a source for special equipment, your local Chocolina is going to be a must-do stop for you when you encounter them...

The next lesson you learn is equipping Accessories -- something that you should have done before now, but if not, read the instructions and give it a go!  Now would be a good time to sell off the extra Iron Bangles and Power Wristbands that you are carrying -- and picking up 5 of each of the utility items that she has in stock may also be a good idea.  I bought some extra Greens as well -- you never know when you will need to ride a Choco and while the Yellow Chocobo will allow you to ride as long as you like on a single Green, others consume multiple Greens as you ride them, so a few extra is always a good idea, but do not bankrupt yourself here -- remember that there will always be loot and treasure ahead! 

Ideally you do want to have a few (as I said, five was the magic number for me) Remedy, Painkiller, and the like on hand...  You cannot sell items that are equipped by a character, so you do not have to worry about selling an item that they are wearing by the way.

If you look up the stairs on the left as you head back into the main area there is a Treasure Sphere with the Black Belt Accessory which offers 15% passive Physical Resistance.  Not a bad accessory!