07A: The Capital of Commerce

07A: The Capital of Commerce

Entering the city

The opening CS shows the PSICOM forces preparing to deploy - and deploying - and then our POV switches to Hope and Lightning, who have managed to get right up to the edge of the city but now need to find a way in that does not involve confrontation with an army.  Fortunately Hope is familiar with the area, having grown up and played in this section of the city.  He points out a secret route to the train station - using the drainage pipe and underground passages.

We start with a save point smack dab in front of us - may as well use that so if we have to reload for any reason we do not have to sit through that long CS again.

First thing first - we have a large pool of CP and our jobs are no longer capped off!  Let's get that little matter taken care of now, while we are thinking about it!   Once you are done Lighting should be fully capped off for Stage 5 Level 2 on Commando, and almost completely capped on Ravager, but probably Medic's gap is untouched, and Hope will have both Ravager and Synergist fully capped at Stage 5 Level 2 but Medic partially un-capped, which means we have some grinding to do if we want them totally capped going into the chapter. 

Yeah, bummer, but grinding it also means that Lightning will get a full level gain on Medic, which is good since that is one of her secondary roles in full-party battle.  There are two groups of soldiers in the area that we can use if we want to grind it - and I did, but YMMV.  It did not take long since the area is small and the CP is not really bad for the time it takes, so once you are done we should move on along the path!

Before you go into the tunnel with Hope you see that hook-shaped area on the map in the corner?  Right, there is a Treasure Sphere there that has 3 lengths of Fiber Optic Cable that is worth having - so let's grab that real quick right? 

As you drop down into the drainage pipe and follow the path there is a side-pipe on the left with a Treasure Sphere that has 3 flasks of Holy Water, and then a jump point further on where you leave the pipe and encounter a Corps Pacifex - this is your first encounter with one of these and chances are you will not completely fill the data on it from one encounter...  That is okay though because directly ahead there are two more of them and a Tranquifex, so you should try to Libra both types.

On average it takes two or more encounters with a given mob to fully ID it - check your journal now to see if you did manage it - remember there is an Achievement/Trophy for fully ID'ing 100 enemy units, and in theory if you manage to ID every type in each level you should unlock this around mid-way through Chapter 10. 

After the fight run up the slope to the stairs and either avoid or fight the Falco Velocycle - if you choose to fight it then be aware that it has one nasty special attack that can (and often will) incap Hope.  You may have to use a few Phoenix Downs on this fight if you do not keep an eye on his health bar, I am just saying.  It would be an idea to Librascope this thing too, as you want to get it ID'd since it is new to us.

Enter the broken pipe and exit into the large tunnel and then you jump down onto a track and get a CS in which Hope tries to reassure you - but pessimist you - that doesn't work.  Activate the controls at the end of the platform to call the lift and ride it across to the other side, following the path until you encounter a pair of Flamitor - another new mob for us, so try to ID them.

The next beasties we encounter are around the bend - a Lucidon - and it is nasty!  It's special attack can practically kill you on its own, so minding your health bar and smooth deck switching is a given.  Try to stagger this thing as quickly as you can but do not take chances on your own death - as that will end the fight in a manner we do not want.  Hope getting incapped is something that we can deal with by using a Phoenix Down - bear that in mind, but try not to let him get incapped, right?

The problem with this thing is that whenever it uses its special attack that resets its stagger meter, so you have to press the attack in Dualcaster to push the meter when you can, even if that means risking an incap on Hope to do it.  Once you actually do fill the meter though, this mob goes down fast.  All that work for a lousy 96 CP may seem like a rip-off, but hey, at least it is dead, right?

Ahead of you is a fal'Cie and you have a brief CS about it before you continue on - this one is a fal'Cie named Carbuncle though it is nowhere near as cute as the Carbuncle in FFXI :)

At the top of the nearby stairs is another pair of Flanitor, so if you did not fully ID them before make the effort here, and then kill them!  At the lift dock activate the controls to call the lift and ride it up to the next dock, where sadly you must fight another Lucidon.  Sigh.   Remember, you want to stagger it as fast as you can and then kill it quickly!  If you try to stay on top of heals at the expense of Dualcasting this fight will just drag on and on, so be aggressive with this thing and it should take no more than 30 seconds to die.