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Final Fantasy XIII-2 Walkthrough

January 26, 2012 5:12PM PST

By Peter Brown, Editor

Follow @PCBrown

Main Story Walkthrough: Bresha Ruins, 005 AF

Bresha Ruins 005 AF, Enemies: Gremlin, Garchimarcera, Zwerg Scandroid, Cait Sith, Nekton, Albino Lobo, Dendrobium

Historia Crux

Welcome to the Historia Crux, Final Fantasy XIII-2's "compass for navigating the rivers of time." Here, you can chose different times and locations to explore. The gate you just entered reveals a path to Bresha Ruins: 500 AF. That's where you're headed next, but if you would like a little more info on traversing time, check out the Historia Crux section of this guide. For now, let's venture onward.

No time to get acquainted with time travel and such, it's time to fight! Right when you land in Bresha Ruins, you'll enter a miniboss fight against a gigantic arm connected to an invisible foe.

This battle is not particularly difficult, but it introduces a new mechanic to Final Fantasy,

Wound Damage
Wounds reduce your total HP potential. Normal potions will only heal up to your newly reduced health limit. That being said, you can recover from wounds with specific wound-related potions.

These aren't much of a threat at the moment; you'll only be wounded a few times, for minimal loss. Continue to whittle Paradox Alpha down, and eventually it'll lead to a brief Cinematic Action Sequence.

Cinematic Action Sequence
RIGHT

If successful, Serah and Noel move out of harm's way and gain Faith and Bravery respectively. If you miss the command, his hand will come smashing down on you, resulting in modest damage.

After more damage, another sequence begins.

Cinematic Action Sequence
Xbox 360: RIGHT, UP, A
PlayStation 3: RIGHT, UP, X

Succeeding will stagger Alpha. Throw everything you've got at him. When you've depleted his HP, a cutscene will ensue.

Cinematic Action Sequence
Xbox 360: Tap Y
PlayStation 3: Tap Triangle

If you perfect the CAS inputs, you get a Cinematic Bonus during the battle results. This time around, you get a Silver Gear, an adornment for the monsters in your party (more about that shortly).

Even though you've taken down the threat to the ruins, the army decides to arrest you anyway. Apparently, your mysterious appearance has raised a few eyebrows. Once in custody, your presented with a Live Trigger.

Live Trigger
"There's something about this world that's different from mine. Let's see what Noel thinks."

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"What's the Academy?"	"Why did we arrive in this place?"	"What do you make of this 'paradox' effect?"	"What's up with the giant hand?"

Talk to the guard for another LT.

Live Trigger
"We've been taken prisoner by a group known as the Academy. Let's see what we can find out from the guard."

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"What's going on?"	"I'm hungry!"	"Why are we prisoners?"	"What's the Academy?"

Talk to the guard again, for another LT.

Live Trigger
"The elevator wasn't anywhere near completion, but he says it's been operational since last year. How is that possible?"

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"Is this the future?"	"What could it mean?"	"Is this another world?"	"Am I remembering things wrong?"

At this point, a girl runs into the scene and knocks into the guard. She convinces the guard that you are VIPs, and therefore should be released immediately. Talk to the guard one more time and he will release you after apologizing.

As you walk through the ruins with Alyssa, there's another LT.

Live Trigger
"A girl named Alyssa lied to a soldier to set us free. We need some answers."

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"What are these ruins?"	"Won't you get in trouble?"	"What's your story?"	"You're a friend of Serah's?"

You are now free to roam the ruins for a bit. First, let's hit up the crystarium.

You should have enough CP at this point to boost your roles a bit more. Again, I focused solely on each character's primary roles. Both Serah and Noel were able to reach level 20. At 19, they were granted a bonus for expanding the crystarium. You have a choice between boosting role bonuses, unlocking roles, increasing the ATB gauge, and increasing your accessory capacity. Considering the importance of chaining multiple attacks together, I opted to increase each character's ATB gauge.

Now, follow Alyssa. Talk to her and she'll give you an Academy Communicator, and a Map of the Bresha Ruins. In order to take out Atlas, head for the orange exclamation point in the north end of your map.

On your way, you'll get into a battle with two enemies: a Cait Sith and a Zwerg Scandroid. This is an easy fight, but it serves as your introduction to the monster-catching feature of this game.

Monster Catching

Aside from a guest character, monsters will act as your third party member throughout the entirety of the game. Nearly every non-boss in the game can be caught and raised with a crystarium of their own. Unlike Noel and Serah, each monster has a predefined role and must be leveled up using items, not CP. Each monster also has its own Feral Link ability. Similar to the limit breaks in Final Fantasy VII, a gauge will fill up during the course of a battle (it will also carry its charge between battles). When it's full, you can unleash the ability at any time by pressing X (or SQUARE). This will lead to a CAS that is unique to each monster. Executing the inputs quickly enough can result in a major boost in damage. Also, executing a Feral Link as a final blow can increase your chances of catching the enemy in question. It is not a guarantee, however. There are also rarer varieties of common enemies that can be caught, but they usually pose a significant challenge, so just encountering them is half the battle.

Side Quest: Unio Mystica Fragment

When roaming the ruins, you'll come across a PSI-COM soldier in red gear. Talk to him to pick up a side quest. He's looking for two capsules containing an experimental drug. Capsule #1: Located in a hidden treasure sphere in the middle of the Bresha Ruins Map. Check the path heading west from the gate near the pillars where you first see Chocolina. Capsule #2: You can find the second capsule in the underground section of the ruins. The treasure sphere lies in the western tunnels connecting the middle and upper sections of the map.

Side Quest: Ghast Fragment
Keep an eye out for a yellow PSI-COM soldier (Chester) with a chat bubble over his head. There are a few, no doubt, but eventually, one of them along the way will mention the Cie'th and offer you a side quest. You must locate the Cie'th and defeat it to earn the Ghast Fragment. Cie'th Location: Far northwest corner of the map.

You'll see a gate on your way to the next goal on the map. Examine it and an LT event will pop up.

Live Trigger
"We need a key to open the gate. What's something that doesn't belong in this time…?"

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"Us?"	"Atlas?"	"The artefact we used last time?"	"Alyssa?"

Near the gate, Mog will indicate something of importance near a PSI-COM footman. Talk to the soldier and he'll recall some equipment that seems to have disappeared. If you notice, there is a semitransparent object nearby. Mog steps in to reveal the hidden item.

The Moogle Hunt
Whenever you encounter these mysterious see-through objects (paradoxes, essentially), you can use mog to dispel the paradox and reveal the tangible object. To do so, press RB or R1, and Mog will undo paradoxes within a certain proximity.

Use Mog to uncover the nearby object. Congratulations! You've just obtained your first wild artefact!

Wild Artefacts
Wild artefacts can be used to open crystal gates only. There are 10 in the world, and an equal number of wild artefacts. Crystal gates appear blue, while standard gates are white. Wild artefacts can be used universally, while normal gates require a specific artefact for activation.

Onward toward the goal. Before you get there, you'll see a cutscene regarding a mysterious energy surge in the ruins. It is somehow connected to Atlas, and at the moment, it's your only hope for defeating the humongous foe.

Live Trigger
"We either fight Atlas head-on, or take our chances with the device. Before I decide, how do I reply?"

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"I'm not sure…"	"I live in the moment!"	"What does Alyssa think?"	"What does Mog think?"

Head up the stairs and charge ahead until you reach a fork; a trail to your left and Atlas on the right. As you've probably guessed from the previous cutscene, you should head to the other underground section in the northwest to reach the device prior to fighting Atlas.

*Side note: At this point you can chose to fight Atlas head-on, or disable the device to weaken him. While you can only progress in the game by following the latter path for now, later on you can reverse time for each stop along the Historia Crux. Doing so, and defeating Atlas without use of the machine, will change the outcome of the battle. For more information, check out the Paradox Endings section of this guide.

Grab the treasure sphere nearby for a free Phoenix Down. Head underground. Your goal is marked on your map, in the eastern section of the ruins in the north. On your way there, keep an eye out for the treasure sphere floating on the docks. Grab it to claim an Orange Newsboy Cap adornment. Also, you can head to the northwest room to find the C'ieth needed to complete the Ghast Fragment side quest. There is also a treasure sphere containing a Star Pendant.

Make your way to the room in the east and examin the device. Before you can turn it off, you have to solve a few puzzles.

Temporal Rift Puzzle: Tile Trials
You've been sucked into the Void Beyond. In order to escape, you must solve the "tile trial" puzzles. In this set, you must proceed to collect crystals and make it to the exit gate. The trick is that each tile you step on will disappear.

Stage 1	Up x 4, Left, Up, Right x2, Up, Left, Up x 4
Stage 2	Up x4, Right, Up x 2, Left, Down, Left, Up x3, Right, Up x4
Stage 3	Up x 4, Left x2, Up, Right x2, Up, Right, Up, Left x 2, Up x4

Once it's complete, head back to the weakened Atlas. To prepare for battle, check your paradigms. Here are a few suggestions:

Paradigm	Noel	Serah	Monster
Tri-Disaster	Ravager	Ravager	Ravager
Relentless Assault	Commando	Ravager	Ravager
Diversity	Commando	Ravager	Medic
Mystic Tower	Sentinel	Ravager	Ravager
Tortoise	Sentinel	Sentinel	Sentinel
Consolidation	Sentinel	Sentinel	Medic

Boss Battle: Atlas
HP: 156,000 / Strength: Physical, Magic / Weakness: Fire, Ice
Raise Atlas' stagger gauge with setup #1, then quickly switch to #2 to slow the gauge down with physical attacks. When he inflicts status effects on your party, switch to 3 or 6 (depending on your HP at the time) so Cait Sith can cure your party with Esuna. When he's staggered, switch to relentless assault (#2) and let loose.
Common Drop: Potent Bolt / Rare Drop: Silver Bangle / Reward: 500 CP, 600 Gil
Post Battle Spoils: Atlas Fragment, 2,500 CP

Cinematic Action Sequence
Xbox 360: Right, B, Right, A, Right A, Right A
PlayStation 3: Right, Circle, Right, X, Right X, Right X

After the fight, a live trigger sequence:

Live Trigger
"The paradox may have been caused by someone meddling in history. Let's think about that."

A or X	B or CIRCLE	X or SQUARE	Y or TRIANGLE
"Is that why Cocoon is gone in the future?"	"Is that why Lightning disappeared?"	"Who would do something like that?"	"Could I be a freak accident?"

Check out the area that was previously inaccessible due to Atlas. Examine the monument along the south wall. After the cutscene, you'll find an artefact in the northeast corner. Use Mog to reveal the hidden object. There will potentially be a live trigger reward cube as well. For choosing "Who would do something like that?", I received a Locky Clover Adornment. Head back to the gate in the middle of the map. Along the way, examine the goal maked on your map. Behind the bars is the Reunion Artefact. Use Mog to reveal the hidden artefact and claim it for yourself.

If you feel like spending a little more time in the Ruins, there are a plethora of treasures to recover. Head back towards the starting area, with the giant hand in the circular pit. along the way, use a chocobo to jump off the ramp and into the grassy area near the stairs. There is a treasure sphere containing eight Power Droplets. There's also a hidden Fragment, Graviton Core Beta. Use Mog to find it now, because you'll need it to progress through the story before you know it.

Now, continue to the large hand back at the starting area. You'll notice a treasure sphere floating on one of the finger tips. You won't be able to get it yet, but make a mental note of it. From there, head east towards Chocolina. South of her are two treasure spheres, one with a Black Belt accessory, and another with 300 Gil.

Next, return to the southern part of the starting area. There is a long, lateral platform, just north of the black gate where you entered the ruins. In the east, you'll find a treasure sphere with 400 Gil. To the west, use Mog to uncover the Leaving Gate Seal.

Now, head for the gate in the center of the map, adjacent to the pillars. Unlock it with the artefact you recovered near the purge monument and you'll open up Yaschas Massif 010 AF. Let's head there and level up a bit in the crystarium.