PANDORA'S TOWER FAQ/WALKTHROUGH BY ERICF87

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. VERSION HISTORYII. ABOUT THIS GUIDEIII. GAMEPLAY TIPSIV. WALKTHROUGH 1. Treetop Tower -tretwr- 2. Sheerdrop Spire -shrspr- 3. Wellspring Steeple -wspstp- 4. Crimson Keep -csmnkp- 5. Ironclad Turret -icdtrt- 6. Arcadian Tower -arctwr- 7. Rockshard Rampart -rksrmp- 8. Torrent Peak -trntpk- 9. Blazing Citadel -blzcit- 10. Truegold Tower -trgdtr- 11. Dawn/Dusk Towers -dwndsk- 12. Endgame -endgme- 13. New Game+ -newgam-V. ENEMIESVI. AFFINITYVII. ENDINGSVIII. WEAPONSIX. CREDITSX. LEGAL STUFFXI. CONTACT INFO

------------------I. VERSION HISTORY------------------

0.50 2/05/13 Initial Upload. Includes walkthroughs and enemy info for first five towers; full weapons, affinity, and endings sections.

1.00 2/20/13 Completed walkthrough for all towers and NG+; completed enemies section; minor changes and corrections throughout the guide.

1.01 5/25/13 Added the URL for the google doc, a new boss strategy, and a bit of info about the freezing glitch.

--------------------II. ABOUT THIS GUIDE--------------------

Here is where I'll go over exactly what my guide will show you as well as explaining some of the terminology I'll be using in the guide. This is the first FAQ/guide of any sort I have written, so please bear with me.

First, this guide was created using the PAL (EU) version of the game. There maybe some minor differences between this and the NTSC (NA) version, but I doubt it.

EDIT: I have been made aware that many people playing the NA version of this game have experienced a freezing glitch when trying to enter some of the towers(usually The Dawn/Dusk Towers). I did not experience this on my EU copy and cannot offer any advice to those seeking it. The best I can do is to point you towards the boards.

This guide is written assuming you are using the Wiimote and Nunchuk setup. All

commands listed are for said control scheme. If you're using the Classic Controller [Pro], then the commands will obviously be different.

This is not a 100% guide or anything of the sort. The main intention of this guide to navigate you through the towers and tell you how to deal with the enemies you will encounter. I will not be including any information relevant tothe plot unless absolutely necessary. I will also not be giving advice regarding items and equipment.

I will not be covering the locations of respawning items in the walkthroughs ofthe towers. I will direct you to the items that don't respawn, including all ofthe texts to be found in the game. There are a number of (usually short) dead-end paths I do not mention in this guide; those usually lead to respawnable items.

Enemies will only be mentioned in the walkthrough if you will be encountering them for the first time or if encountered in a locked room. Detailed explanations and strategies will be given in the Enemies section rather than inthe main body of the walkthrough.

The guide is written as if you are making a single foray into each tower without having to return to give Flesh to Elena. I realize this will not be thecase for most people which is why I've highlighted shortcuts you can create in the tower by capitalizing the word "shortcut" each time you create one. Returning just after creating a shortcut is usually the most convenient time todo so since you will have to backtrack less, but it is not necessary to do so.

--TERMINOLOGY--

This is here just to clarify some of my wording in the guide. Capitalized wordsusually refer to specific in-game commands or objects. Here's a list of words that may need clarification:

Pull - Press C or use the control stick when an enemy/object is bound.

latch/grapple/shoot - Point the cursor at an enemy/object and press B.

Tear/yank - Wave the Wiimote while an enemy/object is bound. (Shown as "Pull with Force" on-screen.)

Swing - Shake the Nunchuk while an enemy/object is bound.

Lift - Those pulley-like things that move along tracks in Ironclad Turret and Truegold Tower.

------------------III. GAMEPLAY TIPS------------------

Learn how to evade. It's not very difficult, and it makes the game much easier.You are invincible during the entire animation, making the timing relatively easy. I don't mention how to avoid any attacks in this guide because this is really the only good way to do so. Guarding isn't as effective because you get knocked back and enemies can break your guard after a few attacks.

Evade attacks rather than guarding. Yes, I know I'm being redundant, but being able to effectively evade will make combat significantly easier. Seriously, it's worth taking the time to get used to it.

You can guard or evade to cancel any weapon combos at any time during the combo. This prevents you from leaving yourself vulnerable in lengthy charge combos.

Explore a bit. As I mentioned earlier, I won't be mentioning all possible itemlocations in this guide. I will only direct you to items that do not respawn, including chests. The little dead ends in the game usually have an item spawn

point. Also, make sure you check all corners of the rooms for items and breakable boxes. The game likes putting these in areas that are out of sight ifyou just go straight for the exit. Some shinies are only visible if you use theZoom function or have the Farsight Band equipped, so keep that in mind. Many Chain Rooms contain shinies in the corners that you need to Zoom to see, and these tend to have good items. You should always check the corners of Chain Rooms; I won't be mentioning if they contain items in the walkthrough. (This isbecause I forgot to write down what the items were in the beginning, and I'd rather be incomplete than inconsistent.)

The first ten towers all have a (usually) unique item which only spawns during a certain time of day (e.g. morning, afternoon, night). These will be listed atthe beginning of each tower's walkthrough. The specific times given are an estimate and may not be completely accurate.

Get the item pouch expansions as soon you can. They will make your life much easier.

You have to open the Alchemy Teachings and Alchemist's Duty texts after Elena translates them in order for the new recipes to appear in Mavda's shop.

You can exit the rooms with the Masters at any time through the door you came in. If you feel overwhelmed, the transformation gauge is running low, or whatever else, you can exit and return later. The Master's HP will be restored when you get back.

---------------IV. WALKTHROUGH---------------

1. TREETOP TOWER -tretwr-

Timed Item: Dawn ChorusAppears at: Morning (6:00-12:00)

--1F--

Go straight ahead and turn right at the intersection. Enter the first door on your right.

Climb the platforms on the left side of the room for some items then go throughthe door.

New enemy: "Humanoid". For now, just go for it and try to get a feel for combat; you'll be returning after killing it. After a few full combos he'll go down. Use the chain to yank out the flesh, and then return the way you came.

--Observatory--

Speak with Elena, then talk to Mavda to get "A Harvest of Horror". Save to makethe in-game instruction go away. You can store items in the trunk, and you can recover HP by resting in the bed.

Head through door next to the trunk to reach the Courtyard. Get the Dryad Berryshiny and shoo away the bird. Birds here usually drop a shiny when you scare them off.

Up the stairs is the roof. There are usually more birds here, but I've never seen them leave items. At night, there should be a bird in the nest (where thecamera zooms); chase it away to get an item.

Go downstairs to the cellar. Pick up a Lamp and "Restoring the Chain". You cangive the Lamp to Elena (the game may force you to if you have it).

Once you're done with your business here, head back to the tower.

--1F--

There is now a timed transformation gauge in lower left corner of the screen. See the Affinity section for details.

Follow the same path as before and return to room where you got the Flesh. Enter the next door.

New enemy: "Grunt". Kill it and go through the door when you're done in here.

There is a red shiny near the ledge on the right; pick it up for "Treetop: In Bloom". Climb the ledge for a chest containing Mercury. Break the barrier on the south door for a SHORTCUT. Hop on the elevator then activate the switch with either the sword or the chain.

--2F--

New enemy: "Withered Plant". There is a Mercury shiny in a hanging lamp. Climb the ledge in the back of the room then Zoom on the lamp. The shiny should appear. Target it with the chain to acquire the item. You need to be near the edge of the platform to get the proper angle. (This item respawns.)

Take the elevator up.

--3F--

New enemies: "Wasp Nest" and "Wasp". If you try opening the red doors here, thegame will tell you they are locked and you'll need a key. You won't be able to get into these doors until a New Game+, so just ignore them. There will be similar doors in the rest of the towers; ignore those as well.

Grab the red shiny for "Treetop: Purple Mist" (see the Enemies section for details on this). Open the chest to get a Mercury. Go down the elevator.

--2F--

Go through the door and follow the path, dealing with enemies along the way. Atthe end of the path, past the door, break some boxes to find "Treetop: Wasp Study". Enter the door.

Follow the prompts to get the Warrior Amulet and equip it. Continue through thenext door.

Drop and climb through the area. Exit the room.

Here you'll find a Wasp Nest and Wasps. Defeat them to unlock the door. Alternately, you can latch the chain onto the door and Pull to unlock it manually if you don't want to defeat the enemies. However, this tends to be difficult since the enemies are likely to interrupt you in the process. Once unlocked, enter the door.

Go up the stairs, dealing with any enemies along the way. Enter the door at thetop.

--3F--

There are two Fountains here which restore your HP and status when you examine them. One is only active during the day, and the other is only active at night.There will be at least one Fountain in every tower. Some have one of each, while others only have one of the two.

Note: Examining a Fountain does not fully replenish your HP, and they have a limited number of uses each time you enter the tower.

Climb the ledge opposite the door and break some boxes for "Treetop: Plant Food". Enter the door at the back of the room. Here you'll find some red rose thorns. We'll be dealing with them soon. Hop across the first gap then climb

down second gap to find a Silver Coins shiny. Enter the next area.

There is a chest at the far end of the room from the door. Open it to get "The Sealing Chains". Climb or grapple up the ladder. You should see some conspicuously colored rocks on the wall above you (henceforth to be called Grapple Rocks). Latch onto and climb up the Grapple Rocks to the ledge and intonext area.

--4F--

Follow the path up the stairs and you will find a large chained door. This is the door to the Master; we'll be back here before long. There is an Elixir shiny on your left as you approach the Master Door. Break some boxes at the farend of the area for a Panacea and "Treetop Master". Go through the regular dooron the right side of the room.

Break some boxes to find "Treetop: Thorns". New Enemy: Rose. In this room you'll find a red Rose. This is much larger than your average flower. When you approach, it will flee underground to previous rooms. Follow it back to the room with the ladder on 3F.

--3F--

Approach the Rose again to make it flee near the door. Once it gets there, latch the chain onto pedestal then onto Rose. The Rose should now be chained tothe pedestal, preventing it from fleeing. Proceed to attack the Rose. Killing it will make all the thorns disappear. Go up the stairs or climb up the ledge, and you'll notice an odd-looking door.

This, and all doors like this, lead to the Chain Rooms in a tower. Inside theserooms you destroy the chain(s) locking the door to the Master. To open the door, latch the chain onto it and Pull. After a bit of gears turning, the door will unlock. Go ahead and enter the Chain Room.

Upon entering, examine the connector at the end of the room, then destroy it with the sword or chain. (This is the only time you have to examine the connector before you can destroy it.) That big chain sealing off the Master hasbeen destroyed! Leave the Chain Room.

Note: Many Chain Rooms having shinies hidden in the corners (Zoom or walk over to investigate). These tend be rather good items, so it's worth taking a momentto check.

New Enemy: "Moving Plant".

--4F--

Return to the room with big imposing door, but don't go through it yet. Instead, go into the smaller room past it (where you first found the Rose) to find a bevy of breakable boxes, a Shard of Divinity shiny, and some low tier enemies. Return to the big door and enter. Time for your first Master fight.

--Master--

The Master won't attack you until you attack it. First, go to the far end of the room and break some boxes to find an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 1").

Note: All Masters have two boxes in their room, one of which contains an Unreadable Old Note. Make a point of getting these each time you face a Master.

Get in front of the Master and target the big glowing thing (the Master Flesh) with your chain and charge the gauge by pulling on the chain. You should be able to fully charge the gauge. If not, then Tear when he starts reacting. Now the real fight begins.

Note: The only way to damage any Master is to use your chain. This is done by

charging the Chain Gauge and Tearing at the Master Flesh.

The Master walks around the room fairly slowly. At this stage he has two attacks. He will raise either his left or right hand, then a giant vine will start growing from his hand. He uses this like a whip to attack. He will also stomp his foot, causing roots to sprout in a line from him to you. This attack can home in on you, but it turns rather slowly. You can simply run to side to avoid it.

Before each of these attacks, a small glowing orb (not the Master Flesh) will appear. It appears in the appropriate arm when he uses the whip attack and in his abdomen when using the foot stomp. To prevent these attacks, bind and quickly Tear the glowing orb. This will "stun" the Master, causing him to kneelfor a few seconds. Take this opportunity to attack your primary target on his forehead.

When you reduce his HP to about 1/3, he will roar. This signals that he will become more aggressive. He will have new attacks, too. For the first, he leaps towards you to crush you. Second, he roars and does a Dragon Ball Z power-up stance. As he flings his arms outward, vines shoot up in a circle around him (very short range). He often uses the vine burst immediately after a stomp. These attacks cannot be interrupted like the first two. He will still use the attacks from the first part of the fight.

You can either wait for him to use one of the early attacks and counter them, or you can try to target the Master Flesh between his new attacks. When his health is depleted (when his HP bar turns red), he will kneel over. One more quick yank (no charge needed) will extract the Master Flesh and finish the fight. After the fight the chain gauge will extend and you'll receive the Master Flesh. Exit out the big door and you'll be instantly taken to the Observatory.

--Observatory--

Talk to Elena. Chat and request a translation for the unreadable texts you found. Then give her the Master Flesh. After the scenes, go upstairs for "Conquering the Curse". In the cellar you will find an Unreadable Old Note ("Chain of Destiny") and an Unreadable Old Text ("The Chain's Meaning"). Give these to Elena to translate. Talk to Mavda to receive "What Is This Curse?".

2. SHEERDROP SPIRE -shrspr-

Timed Item: Fire OreAppears at: Night (21:00-3:00)

--1F--

Head left around the statue and go through the north door.

New Enemy: "Sword Humanoid". Defeat both enemies to unlock door. You'll find "Sheerdrop: The Lifts" near the crates at the back of the room. Take the elevator up.

To use the elevator here, and ones like this, you have to latch the chain onto the handle and Pull. The elevator will stop moving if you release tension on the chain and then start to fall after a short time. (This information is in the text you just picked up.)

--2F--

You can reach a platform with a Strange Grains shiny and boxes by dropping off the east end of platform. If you do, drop down to the ground and take the elevator back up. Enter the door.

Head to the right. At end of path is box with "Sheerdrop: On Ore". Go back leftand you'll see blue areas on the walls. In these regions there should be a

round object you can latch onto; do so. Make your way left to the third one anddrop down. Break the box for "Sheerdrop: Gold Ore". Continue through the door.

New Enemy "Wolf". There are three of them here; defeat them and head outside.

Latch onto the nearby ledge and climb up. Repeat on the second ledge. Use the Grapple rocks to reach the exterior platform.

--3F--

New Enemies: "Bird" and "Larva". Here the Bird will continue to drop Larvae on you until you defeat it. Walk across the elevator and drop down from the right side to reach a ledge with a Diamond shiny. Make your way back to the platform.Hop across to the interior and break a box for "Sheerdrop: Explosion". Head back to elevator and take it up.

Here you'll notice a pointy looking rock lying on the ground. (This is the GoldOre from the text you found earlier.) Grab it with the chain and Throw it into the blue area. This lets you use it as a Grapple Point to climb up. If you miss, latch onto the nearby glowing rock formation to pull out another Gold Ore. (These respawn quickly and infinitely.)

--4F--

Ignore the elevator and instead go to the door at the rear of the room. Drop down to small platform and then drop to a walkway below that.

--3F--

Go through the opening and drop down from the ledge.

--2F--

New Enemy: "Bat". Go down the stairs and deal with the Bats as you see fit. Go through the opening and drop down to the platform.

Knock down the ladder on the platform with the door for a SHORTCUT. Hop across the ledge to reach a chest containing a Shard of Divinity. Unlock the door to the Chain Room, enter, and bust the connector.

Exit the room, climb up the wall, and ascend the stairs. Climb up the wall at the top of the stairs.

--3F--

Throw a Gold Ore into blue area on the ledge and climb up. Then head up the wall.

--4F--

Head out the door and take the elevator up.

--5F--

Head left and go past the elevator to find a ladder. Use it to climb down.

--4F--

Here, you'll find the Day Fountain and a ladder you can release. Climb down andfind another ladder to unlock. This creates a SHORTCUT. Head inside the door.

New Enemy: "Floating Boulders". Kill the Floating Boulders to unlock the door, or unlock it manually with the chain. There are Silver Coins and Mercury shinies on the wall. There is an Unreadable Old Note ("Alchemy Teachings 1") inthe corner left of the door you came in. You can find "Sheerdrop Master" on thefloor by the wall on the right side of the room. Head out of the room.

You should see a ledge with a chest. Drop down and the acquire the Sage Stone within.

Head back up and slide across the narrow platform. Continue and latch onto the Grapple Point and swing across. The game will make a sort of "whoosh" noise to indicate you have enough momentum to make the jump.

Unlock the door to the Chain Room then go in and bust the connector. Now the door to the Master is open!

To get there, first head back across the gap. Then cross the narrow ledge to the reach the door in the SE part of the map. Go through that and the next doorto end up outside near the Day Fountain. Drop or climb down to the area below.

--3F--

Throw the Gold Ore into the blue strip and grapple up the ledge.

--4F--

Take the elevator up. Head left and grab a piece of Gold Ore from the little rock formation and take it with you up the elevator to 5F.

--5F--

Throw the Gold Ore into the blue stuff and grapple up. Knock down the ladder for a SHORTCUT. Swing across the gap to find yourself in front of the door to the Master. Bust up some boxes and enter.

--Master--

Since he's not doing anything, head to the right and break a box for an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 2"). Head around behind him to find the exposed Master Flesh. When you strike it, he'll get up and, after about a second, you'll lose your shot. Try to strike again for a quick bit of damage (no charge). He moves very slowly, but can spin around rather quickly. You'll have to stop him from doing that.

One of his attacks is to try to smash you with his fists, as if he's throwing punches. He will bring his arm back then thrust it forward. He will do this up to three times in a row, alternating hands. This attack can destroy the boulders he creates.

He will also raise both hands over his head to make a boulder and try smash it on you. This is fairly easy to recognize.

Lastly, he will use one hand to "dig" into the ground and create boulders on the floor. His hand will glow for this attack.

You need to get behind him to be able to attack him, but he won't let you just run around him and do that. You have to chain one of his legs to one of the boulders he creates. The best way to do this is to latch onto his leg first. Once you get a hold of him, Pull to charge the Chain Gauge. Once you have a decent charge (maybe half-full) shoot one of the boulders to tether him to it. The more the Chain Gauge is filled, the longer it will hold him. Also, the Gauge will retain some of its charge when you attack him, allowing for greater damage.

When he's stuck, run around to get behind him. Recover the chain and quickly attack that glowing flesh. Be aware, if there are a lot those boulders on the field, they may end up blocking your path.

Another method is to shoot his face with the chain when he is forming a boulderover his head. This will cause the boulder to drop on his head. This will stun him, giving you time circle around him and attack the Master Flesh. (Thanks to Christopher W. for pointing this out to me.)

At half HP, he'll roar and become more aggressive. He will also turn sooner when you recover the chain from holding him. You have to act very quickly to hit him before he turns around. He will also continue attacking even when chained to a boulder.

When his HP is depleted, perform one last attack to extract the Master Flesh. Exit out the big door to be returned to the Observatory.

--Observatory--

Go upstairs to find "A Slip of the Pen". Talk to Mavda to get "Bounty on Her Head". Go the cellar to get an Unreadable Old Note ("Eternal Blessings").

3. Wellspring Steeple -wspstp-

Timed Item: PermafrostAppears at: Night (21:00-3:00)

--1F--

Note: Hang from the edge of platforms in order to get shinies in the water.

Head around the statue to the only door in the room and enter.

Go right, latch onto the Grapple Point and swing across. Go through the door atthe end of the platform (the one to the east).

New Enemy: "Fishman". Open the chest at the end of the room for a Shard of Divinity. Return to room with the water wheel and go through the door at the opposite end.

Latch onto the crate and Pull it towards the ledge. When it's close enough, climb the crate and hop across. Go up the stairs and through the door.

--2F--

Follow the path and go through the door. You have another crate to move, but there are two Fishmen here to harass you. Take out the one on your side of the water, then move the crate to the area where the floor is colored differently. Hop across and deal with the second one. Head to the right to break a box containing "Wellspring: Water Gate". Now head up the stairs. Alternately, thereare Grapple Rocks you can use to ascend; the first is on the left side of the room, near where the stairs meet the wall. Head through the door at the top.

--3F--

Follow the path east and slide across the narrow ledge to reach a chest containing the TWINBLADES! You now have a new weapon at your disposal. It's faster, but weaker than the sword. It also has longer combos. See the weapons section for more details. Latch onto that nearby handle and Pull. Nothing happens now, but it's necessary for later.

Go back to the narrow ledge and you'll notice some Grapple Rocks below; latch onto them or simply drop down to the level below.

--2F--

Head through the nearby door for what can be a tough fight. New Enemy: "Lance Arm". There is a Lance Arm and two regular humanoids in this room. The humanoids are closer, so try luring them towards you and damaging them before Lance Arm comes over. It can get a bit messy if all three are on top of you. Ifthat happens, evade to try to get some space and maybe try using the chain for damage from afar. The doors will unlock when you defeat them.

Go to the far end of the room and unlock the door to the Chain Room. Go in and bust the connector. Leave the Chain Room and head back out the door you used to

enter the room with the Lance Arm.

Follow the path on the left (the one going north) and enter the door.

Destroy the box in the far corner of the platform you are on and collect "Wellspring: The Wheel". Go to the bottom of the staircase and break the bar onthe door, creating a SHORTCUT. Climb up the stairs and use the Grapple Point toswing back to the staircase where you just were. You have to swing towards the side you started on (north).

Head up the stairs and you'll find the Night Fountain. At the top, there are a few Grapple Points. Latch onto the highest one and swing across for a chest containing a Sage Stone. Swing back across and enter the door.

--3F--

Latch onto the handle and pull. The water wheel is now turning, making a SHORTCUT.

Latch onto the water wheel and let it take all the way around to the other sideof 3F (the north-west corner). Latch onto the Grapple Point there and swing over to the platform. Enter the door.

Go up the stairs. On your way up you'll pass the Day Fountain. Next to the doorat the top you'll find "Wellspring: My Fish". Go through the door.

--4F/5F--

You'll find yourself in a room with a column of gravity-defying water. It flowsup instead of down somehow. Anyway, if you read the "My Fish" text, you'll havean idea of what's waiting for you in the column. New Enemy: "Fish". I recommendnot trying to climb column until you kill both Fish.

In the Northeast corner of the room there's a Shard of Divinity shiny and a boxcontaining "Wellspring: Master".

Your objective is the platform to the west above you. Get just north of the west end of the room and ride a rock up. You'll find a grapple point which allows you to swing onto the western platform. Unlock the door, enter the Chain Room, and bust the connector. You can now access the Master's Room!

Before heading there, there's a piece of treasure to get here. There is a smallplatform on the east side of 5F that has a Rainbow Scale shiny. To get there you need to be in the southeast part of 4F and ride a rock up. There should be a Grapple Point which lets you get to the southeastern platform. However, if you swing in the opposite direction, you should land on the small ledge with the item. You'll likely need to brace for the fall.

Get to the southwestern platform for a Panacea shiny. Head through the door andup the stairs. There will be one or two fishmen at the top, engage at your discretion.

--Master--

First go around to your right and break the box for an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 3"). Find the glowing orb, latch onto it and let the fight begin.

The Master Flesh follows a specific track around the Master's body (the blue curving line) and moves constantly.

The Master can attack with jets of water from the eye-looking things on his body; these will start at one point then sweep either vertically or horizontally rather quickly. These will knock you down.

There are also slow moving blue blobs which home in on you and inflict sap, making them a real nuisance. The eye-looking thing on the track with the Master

Flesh fires the blobs. The Master Flesh will move very slowly when you latch onto it, making life easier.

There are also glowing blue things moving on the track; if one passes the Master Flesh while you are latched onto it, the blue thing will travel along the chain and damage you if it reaches you. Tear before it does.

At around 1/3 HP the Master roars and becomes more aggressive. It sprouts four tentacles equidistant around its body. It will flail them in attempts to harm you. Sometimes, it will retract a tentacle and quickly shoot it out at you. It still uses the attacks it did in the first part of the fight as well.

Once you've depleted it's HP, give the Master Flesh a final yank to acquire it.

--Observatory--

Go upstairs to find "On Beast Flesh" and "The Cellar". Talk to Mavda to get "War to Rage Again?". Go to the cellar to get "Reconstruction Plans".

4. CRIMSON KEEP -csmnkp-

Timed Item: Sacred AshesAppears at: Night (21:00-3:00)

I highly recommend equipping a Permafrost if you have one. Many enemies here can cause inferno, and preventing it is a real help.

--1F--

Go to the right around the statue and enter the door to the west.

In case you didn't notice, the room is poorly lit making it difficult to see. The door will lock and you will be facing six Wolves. Some of the Wolves may buff their attack. The game instructs you to use the Chain Swing attack, which is a rather useful tactic here. Defeat all enemies to unlock the doors (or do it manually). Before leaving, go to the northern end of the room to find "Crimson: Torches". Exit to the south.

There is a broken Elixir shiny in the southwest corner of the room. Head up thestairs. Left of the door, in the corner, is a Silver Coins shiny. Grab it and enter the door.

--2F--

New Enemy: "Moth". Here you'll find all the stuff that was in the text you justfound. Kill the moths. Shoot your chain in to the flaming pile of rubble and Pull out a cinder. Drag this over to the left side of the room and Throw it into the unlit torch to light the area. In this corner of the room break a box for "Crimson: Red Beasts".

Drag the cinder further, until you reach the door. Here you should see a suspended torch in the middle-left of the screen. Throw the cinder into it to expose a Grapple Point. (If the cinder burns out, go back to the pile and Pull out a new one from the unlimited supply.)

Swing across to find a ledge with a chest. Open it for a Shard of Divinity. Swing back across the gap. (If you fall here, you'll end up in the room that was locked on 1F and have to walk back up the stairs to return.) Enter the door.

New Enemy: "Sabertooth". Two of these will likely show up either now or after you return here from the next room. There is an Inferno Bomb Shiny to the right. When you're done here, head left and enter the door.

New Enemy: "Red Beasts". When you enter this room, the door will lock and you'll be confronted with a new enemy. The game calls them Red Beasts so I'll

stick with that. (These are the monsters from the earlier text.) Kill them all to unlock the door. You can also try unlocking the door to the Chain Room without bothering to kill them. Once unlocked, enter the Chain Room and bust the connector. Now head back to the room with the flaming pile of cinders.

To the left you'll see some Grapple Rocks. Climb across them to reach a new platform with more flaming cinders. Grab a cinder and drag it towards the otherend of the platform. You'll come across a door with a torch next to it. Throw the cinder into the torch and enter the door.

Here you'll likely have to deal with some Wolves. Head towards the ledges in the background. On the first ledge there should be an Elixir shiny. Climb the ledges and latch onto the glowing handle on the contraption in front you. Pull,and some Grapple Points will emerge from the wall. Use them to swing up to the high ledge. You will need to backtrack towards the door in order to be able to reach the first one. The Grapple Points stay out for a limited time so you need to be a bit quick about getting up there. Shoot the chain while swinging to reach the next Grapple Point.

--3F/2F/1F--

Here you will find the Day Fountain, a door, a ladder you can knock down, and likely a Sabertooth with Purple Mist. Knock down the ladder and climb down the ledge. Repeat. After you've dropped three times, walk to the left all the way around the platform to find a box containing "Crimson: The Furnace". Lower another ladder and you'll reach 1F, creating a SHORTCUT. There is a Detonation Ore in boxes near the ladder on 1F. Head up the ladders back to 3F and enter the door.

--3F/4F--

Head east (towards the background) and turn the corner. There are two of the contraptions we found outside and some fire coming out of the ground to block your path. Latch onto the machine on the left through the fire and Pull to extinguish the nearby flames. Move forward and do the same to next machine, extinguishing the flames in the center of the room.

Continue forward then right. There may be some paralysis bombs in the boxes in the area. Further to the right, before dropping down, grab the red shiny for "Crimson: The Tiger". Well, this information certainly comes a bit late.

Anyway, drop down the ledge and walk along the irregular path. There is a Phoenix Stone shiny just before you get to the central walkway. Once there, head towards the columns in the background. If you didn't make it in time and the flames returned, there is another oddly shaped path which will take you around the flames so you can reach the entrance.

There are some shining handles on the right column, grapple and climb up. At the top handle the camera angle changes showing you another structure with Grapple Handles. Shoot yourself over and make your way to the right.

Note the differently colored Handle. Sometimes lava will pour down over it. If you happen to be there when it does, you'll knocked down into the pool of lava and have to start the room over. Depending on where you are, it may just knock you down to a platform on 3F. Before the lava falls, there will be some red sparks dropping down. That's your cue to get out of the way. Head over to the next set of Grapple Handles taking note that the first one experiences lava showers. (You can actually latch onto the second one instead.)

Grapple onto the ladder and climb up to find a broken Panacea shiny. There is aGrapple Handle to the left of the chain door; grapple over there. There is a switch to the right of the chain door. Activate it to permanently remove the flames in this area, making a SHORTCUT. Just past the switch is a box; break itto get "Crimson Master". Enter the Chain Room and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open!

Grapple back to the ladder and then to one of the Grapple Handles below it. Now

shoot the Grapple Point to your left, then latch onto the Grapple Handles on the other side. The third Handle here gets lava showers as does the first one on the following set of Handles. Continue to this second set.

There's a large metal mesh in the center of the screen. Grapple onto it. Latch onto the Grapple Point in front of you and swing across, reaching the tops of the columns from earlier. Knock down the ladder in the foreground for a SHORTCUT.

Climb the ledge to your left to find "Crimson: The Vents". More information reaching you after you really need it. Shoot the steam vent with the chain to block the steam, go past the vent, and then recover the chain. Latch onto the Grapple Handles above you to the left. Make your way to the right across them. Use the chain to reach the last one and then get on the ladder.

There is a steam vent in the upper-right of the screen; shoot the chain onto itto safely climb the ladder. At the top is a Lump of Metal shiny. Make your way back to the top of the column (where you knocked the ladder down earlier).

Climb up the ledge to right. On the left side of the platform is a Remedy shiny. Shoot the Grapple Point hanging the ceiling and swing/shoot yourself to the next platform.

There are some Grapple Handles to your right that have a steam vent blowing on some of them. Latch onto to the first Grapple Handle. Now shoot the steam vent to safely cross and climb up the platform. There is a Gold Coins shiny at the far end of the platform.

Latch onto the Grapple Point on the wall to get back. Go past the door, to the far end of the platform, to find a chest containing Mercury. Head back to the door and enter it.

--4F/5F--

You'll find yourself outside. Drop down and break the lone box for an ExplosiveOre shiny. Shoot the machine through the flame wall and Pull to put out said flames. Follow the path to its end to find a switch. Activate it to shut off the steam vents that were blocking your progress.

Backtrack, using the machine to put the flames again, and climb up the ladder. Shoot the Grapple Point above and continue to latch onto the ones in front of you. You'll reach a wall with Grapple Handles. Use those to advance. Climb up and go to the far end of the path, past the Master door, to find a Detonation Ore shiny. Next is the Master of Crimson Keep.

--Master--

Grapple onto the stalactites to cross the gap. Once across bust the boxes to the left for an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 4"). Latch onto his glowing center, then charge the Chain Gauge and Tear for the opening blow. Now that he's awake, shoot his Master Flesh again and yank as he shakes his head for more damage. Now the real fun starts.

The Master is now coated in flames, making the Master Flesh inaccessible. To expose it you have to remove the flames covering his body. Most of his attacks can cause Inferno status.

The Master can spew a stream of lava from his mouth. He will raise his head andthere will be a circle around his mouth before he starts the attack. He'll start at low angle and then tilt his head up, so that the stream moves vertically. It'll start at the edge of the platform near the Master and move tothe far side.

He will create a sword of fire and attempt to slash you with it. You can avoid this by latching onto a stalactite or running to the opposite end of the platform. If his arm is bound, he will not be able to use this attack.

Sometimes he will hold his hands out at look upwards. When this happens, up to four red orbs will appear in his hands. Shoot these with your chain immediately. These orbs will replace the flames on a part of his body where youhad already removed them. Stopping this is a very high priority.

You need to remove flames from five parts of the Master's body: both arms, bothshoulders, and his head. Shoot one of the areas and you should see a bunch little sparks where the chain connects to him. This indicates that you are damaging his flame coating. You don't have to put any tension on the chain. As long as it's connected, it'll damage the flame coating. You can even shoot the other end of the chain to a stalactite if you want. However, Pulling on the chain will charge the Chain Gauge, allowing you to do more damage to the MasterFlesh when it becomes vulnerable.

When you remove all five sections of his flame armor he'll collapse. Latch ontothe Master Flesh and fully charge the chain before Tearing. If the gauge is mostly charged, continue Pulling until he gets up. Simply Pulling on the MasterFlesh causes damage. If you're quick, you can get a second hit in (uncharged) before he submerges.

When he gets below 50% HP, the Master will roar and become more aggressive.

For his flame sword attack, he can now create a sword in each hand. Latch onto a stalactite to avoid this. He is still able to attack with a single sword. If you hang from a stalactite after any of his attacks, he will usually attack with a flame sword aimed at that height.

When he spits lava, he will now do it three times in quick succession.

The Master has a new attack now. He will viciously punch the ground near Aeron creating a flame tornado. This attack will cause you to drop from a stalactite.If the punch hits Aeron directly, it will not create a tornado. The tornado homes in on Aeron and will cause him to flinch if it hits. This generally results in getting hit multiple times by it. Multiple tornados can be out simultaneously. Shooting one with the chain will destroy it.

Once his HP is depleted, give the Master Flesh one final tug to extract it. Exit the room and you'll return to the observatory.

--Observatory--

Head upstairs to find an Unreadable Old Text ("The Twelve Laws") and "The Courtyard". Go to the cellar to find "A Wandering People". Talk to Mavda to get"The Curse's Mark".

5. IRONCLAD TURRET -icdtrt-

Timed Item: Lump of MetalAppears at: Afternoon (15:00-21:00)

--1F--

Go left around the statue and enter the door.

New Enemy: Wall Lizards. Go up the stairs.

--2F--

Destroy the box at the top of the stairs for "Ironclad: The Lifts". Flip the nearby switch to activate the Lifts. Grapple onto the one moving away and drop down on the next platform. Enter the door.

New Enemy: "Flail Arm". The door locks, and you have to face a new enemy which I will be calling Flail Arm. The chest at the far end of the room contains the SCYTHE, the final main game weapon! (You can open the chest before defeating the enemies.) The scythe is slower, but more powerful than the sword and has a

wider attack range. See the weapons section for more details. After defeating the enemies, enter the door next to the chest.

Go right to the next door and enter it. More Lifts. First, use the chain on theswitch on the left. This will make everything start moving. Next, hit the nearby switch to change the path of one of the Lifts. Latch onto the Lift that comes out of the nearby wall and ride it to a platform with a door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

Back in the room with the Lifts, hit the nearby switch. Latch onto the Lift that passes overhead and it will take you to a platform on the right side of the room. Here you will find an Abyss Ingot shiny. Use the Lift going left to get back to the previous platform.

Latch onto the Lift left of the Chain Room door to return to the entrance. Hit the switch on this platform and ride the Lift above you to the left. This takesyou to the platform with the power switch. Enter the door here.

Go up the stairs and enter the first door you come across.

--3F--

You're now in a room with a bunch of big machines. I'll be referring to this area as the Central Room.

You should see a platform with a chest to your left. Grapple up the broken ladder to reach it and get an Unreadable Old Note ("The Vow of Aios"). From here you should see some weird yellow-orange hardened goop around a piston. Take note of that stuff, you'll be dealing with it a lot.

Drop down and head to the south end of the room. You should see a ladder leading up on your right. Climb it. Head right, outside of the Central Room, tofind a switch on your left. Activate it and all the machinery in the tower willstart functioning. A short distance in front of the switch, there is a Defang Bomb shiny.

Head down the stairs to your right to find the Night Fountain and a newly unlocked door that doesn't make much of a shortcut. Head back to the Central Room.

On the north side of the area there is a door with gears you could not enter before. Enter it. To your right there is a switch. Activate it to make some Lifts start moving.

--3F/4F--

Latch onto the Lift above the pit that is going up. As you ascend, there is a Grapple handle to your right. Latch onto it and drop to the floor. Open the door to find a chest containing a Shard of Divinity. Drop back down to 3F, and make your way to the pit.

--3F/2F/1F--

I don't remember if the Lift here is going up or down when you first encounter it. If it's going down, then ride it down to 1F. Otherwise drop down the pit. If you do, then hang from the ledge and tap C (don't hold it) and you'll grab the ledge at 2F. Drop from there to reach 1F (you'll need to brace for thefall).

There will be some enemies here. Defeat them if you want. Our first objective here is the door to left. Destroy the wooden beam holding it shut to create a SHORTCUT.

There is also a door to your right when drop down. When you go in, the door will lock and you'll be fighting four Wolves. Defeat them to unlock the door. On the left (south) side of the room there is a box containing "Ironclad Master". On the right (north) side of the room is box containing "Ironclad:

Expansion". To the right of the door there is a Mercury shiny on the wall.

Leave this room the same way you came in, and ride the Lift back up to 3F. If necessary, hit the switch near the Lift to change its direction.

--3F--

Head to the right to find a piston covered in that crusted goop I mentioned earlier. Shoot the goop twice to destroy it, freeing the piston. On the other side of the piston is a door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

--3F/4F--

Back outside, ride the nearby lift up. You'll come across two stuck pistons; leave them alone for the moment. Drop down onto the platform. Use the piston tocross the gap on your right. This takes you to a small platform with an Abyss Ingot shiny. Go ahead and free both of the stuck pistons here. You may have to get back on the Lift for the proper camera angle. Drop down or flip the switch and ride the Lift down back to 3F. The switch near the Lift on 3F also reversesthis Lift's direction.

--3F/4F/5F--

Head back to the pit. Left of the pit there is a Grapple Handle. Latch onto it,then the one above it. From here, grapple to the Lift on the left side of the screen and drop to the platform.

When the piston extends, walk across it to another platform. Break the crust onthe nearby piston; when it retracts, climb up the ledge to reach a switch. Activate it, and you'll see the path of one of the Lifts change. Ride that Liftup, then take the Lift above it.

Break the crust on the piston then latch onto the Grapple Handles on the left. Climb up the ledge to find a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open!

Head back to the Grapple Handles and you should see a Lift going down. Ride it to reach a platform with an Abyss Ingot shiny. Make your way back down to 3F. Head towards the pit and enter the door the Central Room.

--3F/4F/5F--

Grapple up to the ledge with the chest. Walk on top of the piston to reach the other side of the gap. Break the crust on the nearby piston. Continue on this platform until you reach more pistons.

Climb the ledge and use the piston to cross the gap. Climb the ladder and continue to a Grapple Point and use it to swing across the small gap. Keep going to find some Grapple Handles; climb them up.

You should see a Lift moving to the left. Grapple onto it and drop onto the platform. Break the crust on another piston. When the piston below you extends,use it to cross the gap. Climb up the ledges.

Grapple onto the Lift on your right and take it up. Grapple onto the Lift in the foreground. You may need to be on the piston to reach it. When you drop down, grapple onto the next Lift. Use the piston to cross the gap then climb upthe ledges.

Break the wooden bar on the door to your right for a SHORTCUT. Go through the only other door in the room.

--5F/6F--

Here you'll find the Day Fountain. Head up the stairs. There is a broken Panacea shiny in the corner left of the door. Enter the door. Follow the path

and enter the door to the Master.

--Master--

Don't cross the gap yet. Instead, drop down into the pit surrounding the circular platform. On the west side of the room are some boxes. Break them to find an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 5"). There are some Grapple Handles nearby; climb up and walk towards the center of the platform. Time to face the Master of Ironclad Turret.

This Master is quite different from the previous ones in many respects. You don't get a free opening hit on him. He's much smaller and faster than the others, and he moves around a good deal. Also, you'll need to use your weapon in order to expose his Master Flesh.

For his standard attack, he'll slash downward at Aeron, one arm at a time, up to three times. He tends to use this more often than his other attacks. Occasionally, his arm will become stuck in the ground when performing this attack. If it does, use the opportunity to attack with your weapon.

For one of his attacks, the Master will either raise both his arms, or point them out in front of him. He will then slam them violently to the ground. This causes rubble to fall from above. Near misses from this attack will cause Aeronto stand unsteadily for a short time.

He may cross his arms and slash outward with both arms. Sometimes he will crosshis arms then charge and slash at you.

If he hits you when he's turning, you won't take damage but you will be knockeddown.

If you see him venting heat from his tail, shoot the chain onto it. (He will cross his arms in front of himself while doing this.) This will cause him to collapse briefly. If you attack him now, it will usually cause him to expose his Master Flesh. If you wait too long to bind his tail, he will shoot hot steam out of his tail. This will cool him and the steam will damage you if it hits.

Attacking him with your weapon will cause him to heat faster.

When he overheats, he'll collapse to the ground exposing his Master Flesh. Movein front of him and use your chain to damage it. Tear just before he turns black. When he returns to his original black color, he will slash horizontally with both arms in front of himself. You will also lose your attack. You need tobe a good ways away to be out of range. If you aren't, evade to avoid getting hit. This attack is fairly easy to evade so don't worry about keeping your distance too much.

When his HP gets under 50%, he'll roar and become more aggressive. If he passesthis threshold while you're charging the chain gauge, you'll lose the attack and he will slash at you.

The Master's attacks seem to be the same, albeit a bit faster. The gaps betweenhis attacks are shorter. He can also chain his standard attack up to 5 times.

This fight is mostly about getting around him to avoid his attacks, then attacking with your weapon. If you don't attack him, he will overheat on his own, but it will take much longer. Just keep evading to side to get around him then attack. Evading twice to the side then attacking seems to be a fairly safeand effective strategy.

If you fall into the pit, just use the Grapple Handles to climb back up.

--Observatory--

Go upstairs to find an Unreadable Old Text ("Alchemy Teachings 2"), "From the Roof", "The Mark on My Back", and "Text Index". Got to the cellar to find "The

Final Experiment". Mavda will give you "Tightening Borders" when you speak to her after giving Elena the Master Flesh.

Note: After you clear Ironclad Turret, all of the next five towers become accessible. I will be listing them in the order they are listed in the game. I recommend clearing them in this order as well since the difficulty seems to increase in the same order.

6. ARCADIAN TOWER -arctwr-

Timed Item: Setting SunAppears at: Evening (17:00-21:00)

--1F--

Go around the statue and enter the north door. Go through the only door here.

New Enemy: "Toxic Moth". Here, and only here, they will still be in the larval phase. Since they are much easier to kill as larvae, try to do so. Using the chain works well since it can't metamorphose while bound. Climb the platforms to find "Arcadian: Toxic Moths". It is in the back corner of the higher platform. Head back to the previous room and take the elevator up.

--2F--

Here you'll find a lot of yellow rose thorns, just ignore them for now. Zoom above the platform in the background to find a Gleaming Amber shiny. Enter the door. Swing across both gaps and enter the door there.

The purple thorns prevent you from doing anything here, so just go through the door. Just pass through the next room and enter the door.

Here we find a white Rose and a purple Rose. You can also find the Night Fountain in the far corner of the room. Shoot the chain on to the pedestal, then shoot the purple Rose to prevent it from escaping. Kill the purple Rose, and the purple thorns will disappear along with it.

Now climb up the platform to make the white Rose flee near the pedestal. Quickly run after it and shoot the pedestal, and then shoot the Rose as it emerges to hold it in place. If you head over slowly, the Rose will flee beforeyou are able to target it. Just chase it back if you are unsuccessful. Now killthe white Rose to make the white thorns disappear.

Drop down the ledge near the Night Fountain to fall to an elevated platform on 1F. There's nothing important on the platform so don't worry if you miss it.

Note: Killing the purple Rose opens a SHORTCUT to 3F, but you should also kill the white Rose and at least unblock the door on 1F before exiting the tower.

--1F--

Drop down from the platform to find a New Enemy: "Electric Wolf". There are three of them here. Kill them off so you can open the door to the Chain Room inpeace. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Exit the Chain Room and break the bar on the door, unlocking it. This takes you back to the first room of the tower. Go through the door to the north and take the elevator up.

--2F--

The purple thorns that were here are now gone. First, climb up the platform in the back and open the chest to get an Unreadable Grimy Note ("Alchemist's Duty 1"). Go through the door.

Swing across the gaps here to reach the door to the next area and enter it. Shoot the crate in the corner and pull it over to the elevated platform (you

may want to kill the Withered Plants up there first). Climb up and at the top there's a chest containing "Arcadian: Thorns". We're done here, so head back tothe room with the elevators. Take the newly accessible one up.

--3F--

Here you'll find the Day Fountain and some red thorns. Enter the door. In this room, there is a Sliver Coins shiny in the middle of the room where the wall meets the floor; you may have to Zoom to see it. Continue through the next door.

In here is a blue Rose. Walk towards the platform to make it retreat. Above theexit is a Gleaming Amber shiny you have to Zoom to see. Follow the Rose throughthe door. Just walk through this room to the next.

Here you'll find the blue Rose, a Moving Plant, and two withered plants. On topof that, the door locks behind you. Take care of the Withered Plants and the Moving Plant first. Doing so will unlock the door. Shoot the pedestal in the center of the room then the Rose and proceed to kill it, removing all blue thorns. There is a Gold Coins shiny in the back-left corner of the room. Exit via the door to the right.

Head up the stairs. At the top is a box containing "Arcadian Master". Go through the opening.

Now it's a red Rose. First, kill the Withered Plant. Then, grab the Gleaming Amber shiny to left of the Rose.

Drop down and you'll see some plants you've yet to come across. These things are explosive; if you attack one, it'll blow up in your face. However, you can use the chain to Throw them at enemies, damaging them. Shoot one with the chainand throw it at the Rose. It'll burrow over to the left. Continue Throwing these at the Rose until it dies.

Now climb up the platform on your right to find a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

Note: Killing the red Rose removes the thorns blocking the elevator to 4F, creating a SHORTCUT to the Master after you remove the last chain.

Go back to the room where you first found the blue Rose to find you can now access the adjacent Chain Room. To the right of the door to the Chain Room is an Ambrosia shiny you may have to Zoom for. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open!

Head back to the room with the elevators and ride up to 4F.

--4F--

Towards the foreground there is a box containing a Poison Bomb. Enter the door.

Here you'll find more of those bomb plants and possibly some weak enemies. Killany enemies that are being a nuisance and approach the bomb plants. There is atree limb growing diagonally out of the wall on the right; Zoom to find a Gleaming Amber shiny.

There are Withered Plants here that will shoot stuff at you which can detonate the bomb plants. I find the easiest way to get through this area is to use the Chain Shot to destroy the bomb plants from a safe distance. Once a Withered Plant is in range, I kill it and move on. If you detonate the plants yourself from a distance you should be fine. Go through the door at the end of the room.

You'll find the door to the Master here, but don't enter yet. Go past the door to the left. At the end of the path is a Gleaming Amber Shiny (you have to Zoomor get up close for it to appear). Now enter the Master's chamber.

--Master--

You'll see the Master standing in some light that's shining through the ceiling. You are going to want to keep it away from that.

Before you start fighting, bust the boxes just to the right of the Master to find an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 6"). Use the chain so that you do not accidentally initiate combat. Get close enough to the Master and the fight will start.

It will swipe at you with its leaf arms if you get close. This will usually knock you down. It will also toss bomb plants at you. These seem to explode after a set time. You can use these against the Master by Throwing them at her.

The Master Flesh is not visible at the start. You need to attack the Master with your weapon in order to reveal it.

When the Master is in the light, it restores its armor around the Master Flesh,forcing you to damage it again to re-expose the flesh. She will glow and look upwards when restoring her armor.

The Master will gradually turn from green to brown when kept out of the light. She appears to be more sluggish like this, and attacks seem less accurate. She will collapse if she stays out of the light long enough while her Master Flesh is exposed. Use this opportunity to damage the Master Flesh.

The Master will often shake from side to side (almost like it's badly dancing).This is the Master's attempt to return to the lit area.

I find the best strategy is to stay near the entrance, away from the lit area, and lure the Master towards you. Latch onto it with the chain and charge the gauge while pulling it away from the light. You'll have to use a combination ofthe C button and the control stick to do this effectively. When the Master is coming towards you and creating slack in the chain, use the C button to remove the slack and charge the gauge. If the Master is trying to move away from you, then use the control stick to drag it away from the light.

When the Chain Gauge is filled, use the C button to remove any slack in the chain. Once the chain is taut, shoot one of the pedestals to tether the Master to it. Now you should start attacking with your weapon. After dealing enough damage, the Master Flesh will be exposed.

I recommend Tearing as soon as you shoot the Master Flesh. You should then target its main body and drag it away from the light, preventing it from restoring its armor. If done properly, she will not be able to restore the armor at all during the fight. This allows you to just use the chain on the Master Flesh and not have to worry about using your weapon to remove the armor.

It will sometimes send vines along the chain to damage you. Tear or recover thechain to avoid this. I recommend recovering so you don't lose the charge in theChain Gauge.

When the Master's HP is reduced to 50% she will roar and become more aggressive. She can now send tremors through the ground to damage and knock youdown. She whips her tail around as she is performing this attack. It moves quickly and hits a wide area in front of her for a decent distance. Bomb plantswill be more plentiful and the aforementioned tremors will cause them to explode. She will frequently toss out bomb plants, then quickly use a tremor, knocking you all about the place.

When you reduce the Master's HP to zero, give the Master Flesh one final yank to extract it.

--Observatory--

After the scenes, go to the cellar to get "The Cataclysm" and talk to Mavda to get "The Scar".

7. ROCKSHARD RAMPART -rksrmp-

Timed Item: Shadow OreAppears at: Dawn (3:00-9:00)

--1F--

Head towards the statue then go through the door to the west. Follow the path up the stairs and go out the door.

You'll find yourself outside. One of the boxes on the right contains a Detonation Ore. Pull out a piece of ore from the wall then attack it to split it into two pieces. Throw one into each of the blue regions to the left. One ison the wall, the other is on the ledge. Use the nearby Grapple Rocks and the ore you threw to make your way up.

--2F/1F--

On the ledge is a Shard of Divinity shiny. Shoot the two pieces of caked mud torelease the elevator. Drop down the ledge and open the chest for "Rockshard: Mining". Take the elevator up.

--3F--

Head right and ride the elevator up. Drop down the left side of the elevator and shoot the caked mud to allow the elevator to go lower.

--2F--

Ride down, then follow the path to find a Paralysis Bomb shiny and a chest containing a Blast Stone. Take the elevator back up and head right.

--3F--

Go past the next elevator and past the opening. On the narrow ledge is a DefangBomb shiny. Shoot the small blue crystal formation above you to be pulled up. Then shoot the one to your left and drop to the platform for a Gold Coins shiny. Drop down from the ledge.

Note: Those small blue crystal formations will crumble after a few seconds causing you to fall if you are holding onto it. They will reappear a few seconds after crumbling.

This one is a bit tricky. Ride the elevator up, then drop down from the left side of the elevator to the ground. Hang from the ledge where the elevator was and the camera angle will change. Latch onto one of the blue crystals, then shoot the shiny on the ledge for a Sage Stone. Latch onto the nearby Grapple Rock, then shoot the Grapple rock above the ledge. You have to do all this before the elevator comes all the way down. If it does, just drop down and the game will send you back a bit and you'll lose some health.

Note: The path splits in two here, and you'll have to double back to this point later. I will say in the guide when to return here.

Go through the opening and you'll be met by a new enemy. New Enemy: "Minotaur".Defeat it and go through the doorway it broke through. Grab a piece of ore fromnext to the door and another Minotaur will appear; defeat it. In the corner of the area the second one came from is an Okanos Stone shiny.

Go back and drag a piece of ore into the hallway. On the left wall is one of those blue areas. Throw the ore into it and climb up the ledges. Break the box to the right for "Rockshard Master". Go towards the left to find some blue crystals on the wall. Use these to make your way to the floor below.

--2F/1F--

Go through the door, and follow the path around. Break the wooden beam on the door you come across, but don't go through it yet. Instead, drop from the narrow side of the walkway to a platform below. There is a Diamond shiny at thefar end of the platform.

Drop to the ground and break the beam on the door to make a SHORTCUT to the statue room. There will likely be a Minotaur here. If there is, I recommend killing it before continuing. Break one of the chunks of ore behind the elevator to create two usable pieces. Drag one onto the elevator, then take it up.

Throw the ore into the blue region, then latch onto it and drop to the platform. Unlock the door to the Chain Room, enter, and bust the connector. Leave and drop back down to 1F. Take the elevator up and enter the nearby door.

Head towards the right. When you reach the end of the walkway, you should see two Grapple points. Before using them, Zoom on the area just above the doorway below (on 1F). A shiny should appear. Shoot it for an Okanos Stone.

Now is a good a time as any to go back to the earlier juncture on 3F, so make your way there.

--3F--

Go back to where the Minotaurs are and get another piece of ore. This time takeit all the way to the elevator. Take the elevator up, bringing the ore with you.

--4F--

Throw the ore into the blue strip on the far ledge and grapple over. Go throughthe opening and drop into a room containing "Rockshard: Minotaur", a Panacea shiny, and a Silver Coins shiny. Climb out of here and use the blue crystal to get across the gap.

Zoom on the right wall, below the chain, to find an Elixir shiny. Use the two Grapple Points to swing to the next platform. There is a Diamond shiny on the left side of the platform.

Continue ahead to see an ore deposit on the wall. Pull a piece out and Throw itinto the blue region on the nearby wall. Grapple up and over to a ledge with a Power Stone shiny. Drop back down.

Drop down again to find a large ore deposit and some blue regions to the left. Use your chain to knock down the Wall Lizards in the closer one. To knock the other one down, Throw the ore so that it hits the Wall Lizard. Pull a chunk of ore out of the wall and attack it to make two smaller pieces. Throw one into each of the blue areas. Use the ore to grapple across to a ledge with a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Exit and go left to find a ladder you can knock down. Do so and use it to climb down to 3F.

--3F/4F/5F--

Head through the door. You'll find the Night Fountain here. Go through the opening. Use the blue crystals to make your way up the wall. You'll come acrossan elevator with caked mud holding it up. Shoot both clumps to lower the elevator. Take the elevator as high as it will go. Latch onto the nearby blue crystal, and from there latch onto the ones to your right. Drop down to the platform. Head right and drop off this platform to reach a new one with a door.Enter the door.

--4F--

The door will lock and you'll be fighting three larvae. Two more will appear shortly. Kill them all to unlock the doors or unlock them with the chain. Go through the door.

More ore tossing, but first, knock down the ladder to your right. Same deal as the last one. Remove the Wall Lizards then Throw a piece of ore into each blue area so you can grapple across. Latch onto the Grapple Point and swing to the elevated platform in the corner. Here you'll find an Okanos Stone shiny. Drop down to the ledge below to find a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open! Drop down to a platform witha Diamond shiny in the corner near the wall. Make your way back to the giant wall outside.

--4F/5F/6F--

Head right and take the elevator up. Use the blue crystals to head to the left and climb up the ledge. Head through the door to the Master.

--Master--

Towards the right is a box with an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 7").Walk through the center of the room to start the battle.

The Master will appear beneath you and you'll be riding on what I assume is itsback. The Master Flesh is the glowing orb by its head (if it has a head). The other glowing orbs connect to its legs.

Start by shooting and Tearing all four of the orbs in the legs, slowing the Master down immensely. This will give you more time to damage the Master Flesh.After you Tear the orbs on the legs, some small rocks may appear on the Master's back. These will sprout little blue shards which will shoot in a straight line, damaging you if it hits.

When she reaches the wall, she'll jump up and start walking on the wall. You donot take damage if you are on the Master when this happens.

Now you're back on the ground. The giant shadow indicates where the Master willland. Try to stay out of its way so you don't get hurt.

You are now on the ground and the Master will begin to attack you. It will liftone of its legs, send sparks through it for a couple of seconds then slam it tothe ground. This is easy to avoid.

Sometimes she will drop rocks on the ground. After a short while, these will sprout multiple blue shards that will shoot out in a straight line. You can easily destroy one of these rocks with any attack.

Sometimes it will spin around and the camera will zoom out. This means it willattack with its tail, much like a scorpion. Avoid this attack and her tail willbe momentarily stuck in the ground. Take this opportunity to attack the tail. Your aim is to expose the bright blue stuff you can latch onto with the chain.

Your objective is to get on the Master's back again. To this end, start attacking its legs. Try to focus on one leg because that's all you need. As youattack, its armor will be removed, exposing the bright blue stuff underneath.

When the bright blue stuff is exposed on the tail and the top of one its legs, it is time to mount your offensive. Grapple to the top of the leg, and then shoot the tail to grapple to it. Once there, drop down to land on its back. When on its back, repeat what you did at the start of the fight. (Tear the orbs in the legs then attack the Master Flesh.)

The armor on both the legs and the tail will regenerate over time.

Sometimes, continued attacks on the Master's legs will cause it to collapse. (I do not know exactly what causes it to collapse. If someone is able to figureit out, please contact me and I will add the information.) When this happens, ALL the bright blue stuff will be exposed. Latch onto the top if one of its legs and then latch onto the tail. Now wait for it get up. When it does, drop down onto its back and repeat what you did at the start of the fight.

When its HP is reduced to 50%, it will roar and become more aggressive.

Sometimes it will stick its tail under its main body. This indicates that it will charge straight ahead. Get behind it or to the side to avoid the attack.

When you've depleted its HP give the Master Flesh one final yank to extract it.

--Observatory--

After giving Elena the Master Flesh, you'll automatically receive "Ancient Masters". Go to the cellar to find an Unreadable Old Text ("The Price of Peace").

8. TORRENT PEAK -trntpk-

Timed Item: Goddess TearsAppears at: Dawn (3:00-9:00)

--1F--

Go around the statue and enter the door to the north. While there is technically a new enemy here I'm not going to list it. It's virtually identicalto the Fishman enemies. Follow the path and hit the switch to create a Grapple Point. Swing across and follow the path. On the giant water wheel there are some Grapple Points. Use these to ascend, then shoot the suspended Grapple Point and swing over to the ledge.

--2F--

Open the chest for a Panacea and go through the nearby door. You are now in what I will be calling the waterfall room. For now, use the Grapple Rocks near the door to climb up. You should see more Grapple Rocks above you, use the to climb up to door on 3F. Enter the door.

--3F--

Head around the nearby corner to find a giant mechanism like the one in Wellspring Steeple. There is a Rainbow Scale shiny on the narrow path between the two big handles. Go around to the far one and use the chain to activate it.This will cause the water wheel to start moving. (Unlike Wellspring Steeple, the wheel here will only move when you are actuating the switch.) Stop the water wheel as the first Grapple Point on it passes 2F. Head back to the waterfall room and make your way down to 1F. Enter the door.

--1F--

Follow the walkway to the door and enter it to find New Enemy: "Shellfish".Defeat the three of them to unlock the door. Use the Grapple Point to swing across the water. Go right for a Rainbow Scale shiny, the head left out the door.

Hit the switch to make a Grapple Point appear (and possibly a Fishman). Swing across the gap to another platform with a switch. Hit it to make a second Grapple Point appear and use it to swing across. There may be a Rainbow Scale shiny on this platform. These Grapple Points make a SHORTCUT.

Use the Grapple Points on the water wheel to make your way up to 2F.

--2F--

Before going in the door, break the boxes at the far end of the platform to find "Torrent: Restoration." Now go through the door.

There is a Gold Coins shiny in the corner near the door. Defeat the enemies here and open the door to the Chain Room. Enter and bust the connector. Break

the wooden beam on the door to open the path and make SHORTCUT for later.

Go through the door and follow the path to another door. Enter.

The door will lock and you'll encounter New Enemy: "Claw Hand". Two of them. Defeat them to unlock the door. There is an Elixir shiny in the left-rear corner of the room. Break the boxes near the exit to find "Torrent: Membrane". Go out the door.

Follow the path and enter the door. You are now back in the waterfall room. Make your way up to the door on 3F.

--3F--

Enter the door and go around to the giant switch for the water wheel. Activate it. Stop the water wheel just after it starts. The Grapple Points on the wheel should now allow you to reach 3F. Go back to the waterfall room and head down to the door on 2F and enter it.

--2F--

Follow the path to the door and enter. Continue this pattern until you are backin the room with the water wheel. Use the Grapple Points on the wheel as well as the suspended Grapple point to get to 3F.

--3F--

Defeat any enemies you find here (likely a lone Fishman with the purple mist). Now unlock the door to the Chain Room, enter, and bust the connector. Head backdown to 2F and make your way back to the waterfall room.

--2F/3F/4F--

Head up to the door on 3F. From there, Latch onto the Grapple Rocks to your right and drop down to the small platform. Go towards the waterfall and the camera angle will change. Shoot a piece of debris in the waterfall and ride it up. After grabbing hold, there should be another piece of debris to your left. Latch onto it and ride it up. Ride it high enough and you'll spot a Grapple Point on the left side of the screen. Shoot it and use it to swing to a platform with a chest. Open the chest for a Sage Stone.

Make your way back to the second piece of debris you rode (the one that went higher). You'll pass a pair of Grapple Rocks on your left above a small platform. Latch onto one and drop to the platform. To the left and a bit below you are two more Grapple Rocks. Latch onto one. Climb up and shimmy across the narrow ledge. Enter the door on this platform.

--4F/5F--

You are now in a room with a swirling column of water similar to the one in Wellspring Steeple. There are two Fish inside; kill them before proceeding.

The other door in this room leads to a small area with the Night Fountain.

The pieces of debris here move horizontally, circling the column. The ones higher up move faster than the ones at the bottom. Shoot a piece and make your way up by shooting pieces above you. On the south platform is a Gold Coins shiny. On the east platform is a door leading to a small room. In this room is a Shellfish, a chest containing "Torrent Master", and an Adamantia shiny in thefar back corner of the room.

Now get to the west platform. Here is a door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open! Make your way up and over to either the southeast or southwest platform. Go through the door and up the stairs to find the door to Master. Enter.

--Master--

The usual two boxes are on the right side of the room. Break them to find an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 8"). Walk through the center of the roomto start the fight.

The Master appears and hangs out at some waterline above Aeron's head. You'll need to remove pieces of its shell in order to expose the Master Flesh. To do this, simply shoot a section and Pull. You will reveal the Master Flesh, a weapon, or the Master's head. If you reveal a weapon, a bright light should travel along the top edge of the Master. This light stops where the Master Flesh is located, so always pay attention to it.

The Master fires slow-moving blue orbs from pieces of its shell. These are mosteasily destroyed with the Chain Shot (bind and Tear also works). It can alwaysfire these since it will always have at least one section of its shell present.

The Master has two types of weapons: tentacles and short nozzle-like appendages. Thee will swipe at you. The nozzles shoot a fast-moving mass of water at you.

All of its projectiles can cause sap.

If you walk directly beneath the Master, it will start spinning and create a large vortex of water around itself. This will damage you and knock you down.

If you expose the Master's head, the camera will zoom in on it. The Master willthen create the vortex mentioned above and shoot the fast blobs of water. It

will then retreat above the water line and replace all the piece of its shell you tore off. The Master only does this when its head is exposed.

Continue to Pull of pieces of its shell until you expose the Master Flesh. Do the usual when the Master Flesh is exposed. After the Master Flesh retreats, the bright light will appear. Follow it to the new location of the Master Flesh.

At 50% HP it roars and becomes more aggressive. You will lose your attack, but it will not replace missing pieces. The fast water blobs will now be fired in sets of two.

Now each time the Master Flesh is exposed and retreats, the Master will make the vortex around itself and three other ones in the area. One vortex will be centered on Aeron. It also performs this attack when its head is exposed. Sometimes it may use this attack without provocation. This will not restore lost pieces of the shell.

The Master will rotate a lot more and rotate faster. It also seems to try to move above you in order to trigger the vortex attack. She becomes very aggressive with her attacks when the Master Flesh is exposed.

When you reduce the Master's HP to zero, give the Master Flesh one final yank to extract it.

--Observatory--

Go upstairs for "Colours in a Dream". After the scenes, go to the cellar to find "The Masters' Rage" and an Unreadable Old Text ("A Unified God"). Talk to Mavda to receive "The Scar-2".

9. BLAZING CITADEL -blzcit-

Timed Item: Explosive PowderAppears at: Night (21:00-3:00)

--1F--

Go around the statue and enter the east door. The door will lock and you'll encounter New Enemy: "Queen Moth". Right of the door, near the northwest corner, is a box containing "Blazing: Queen Moth". Kill it and all the little moths to unlock the door. Enter the door to the south. Go up the stairs and enter the door.

--2F--

Note: If you fall in this room, you will end up in the room that had the Queen Moth on 1F. Take the stairs back up if you do.

Pull a cinder from the pile. There is a suspended torch in the middle of the room; Throw the cinder into it to give yourself some light.

Further along the path is a torch on the floor; Throw a cinder into this as well. This should reveal a suspended torch nearby into which you should Throw acinder. A Grapple Point left of this torch should be revealed. Use it to swing to a platform to your left.

There are two unlit torches on this platform. Go to the edge of the platform nearest a second pile of cinders. Pull one out and use it to light both torches. Lighting one torch should reveal a suspended torch, and lighting the other should reveal a narrow walkway. Follow the walkway to find a Gold Coins shiny. Get another cinder and use it to light the suspended torch, revealing the corner of another platform. If you move the cursor along the edge of this platform, its shape should change into a "+", indicating an unlit torch. Throw a cinder into it.

Swing over to this platform and you'll find a Vestran Water shiny. Lighting thetorch should have revealed a new Grapple point. Use it to swing to the platformwith the cinders. Move the cursor to the right, below and a bit left of where the giant chain comes out of the wall, to find an unlit torch. Throw a cinder into it to light up a platform with a door.

Head towards the back corner and the camera angle will change. You should find another unlit torch; Throw a cinder into it. Follow the path and climb up the ledges. Follow the narrow walkway that leads in the direction you came from. You'll come across an Elixir shiny on the platform. Continue along the next narrow path to a platform with a broken Phoenix Stone shiny. Head back the way you came or drop down and retrace your steps to where you first climbed to thisheight.

Follow the upper walkway towards the background, dropping down and climbing back up, to find another narrow path. Take this path and make a left at the intersection to find a Phoenix Stone shiny. There may be a random shiny in the other direction. You can drop down here to fight a Humanoid in the dark. If youdo, climb up the low section of the walkway to get back up. Drop to the area with the torch where the giant chain leads and enter the door.

Follow the path and go through the door. The door will lock and you'll be facedwith a New Enemy: "Big Bat", ten of them. In the dark. Kill them all to unlock the door. The door to a Chain Room is here. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Head back to the dark room with all the platforms. Swing to the platform to your right and enter the door.

Follow the path and climb up the ledges. Bind the steam pipes if you need to inorder to get by. At the top, Pull the handle on the machine to create some Grapple Points. They are only out for a limited time, so don't dawdle.

--3F/2F/1F--

At the top, there is a ladder you can knock down. Do so, climb down, find another ladder, repeat until you get all the way down to 1F. This makes a SHORCUT.

Near the ladder is a chest containing "Blazing Master". In front of the chest is a Blast Stone shiny. On the other side of room, around the column, is a

broken Elixir shiny and a Remedy Shiny. The door here leads to the statue room.

Start making your way back to 3F. On the first ledge, go all the way around to find a Silver Coins shiny. On the second, inspect the narrow space to find a Fortifica shiny. Continue up to 3F and enter the door.

--3F/4F--

Head to the foreground (west) to find a box containing "Blazing: A Crack". Headback the other way to find a wall with three Grapple Handles. Climb up. Drop down the ledge and Zoom the nearby lava pit to find a Phoenix Stone shiny. Timeyour jumps to make it across the lava pit. Shoot the Grapple Point and swing tothe next little lava pit.

Jump across to the right of the two ledges you can reach. Use the Grapple Handles to make your way up two ledges. There is an Inferno Bomb shiny near theboxes in the corner. Knock down the ladder here for a shortcut if you fall or don't finish the next part in time. Hop across the narrow gap on the left side of the platform to reach a platform with a machine. Pull the handle to extinguish some flames on a platform with a Chain Door. This is timed so don't dawdle.

Head back to the little lava pit and jump across to the third ledge. Shoot the Grapple Handles and climb up to find another lava pit. Hop across. There is a Grapple Point extending from the wall; shoot it and drop down. Hop across the rising and sinking platforms to the ledge against the wall. Head towards the Chain Room, passing where the flames were.

Here, you'll encounter New Enemy: "Fire Tiger". Defeat it so you can unlock thedoor to the Chain Room in peace. There is a Blast Stone shiny near the rubble on the right wall. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

Exit and drop down the ledge at the other end of the platform. Hop across the platforms (one of them is colored differently and stays above the surface) to reach a stable area with some boxes. Climb up the wall using the Grapple Handles. Use the ladder you knocked down earlier to return to the entrance.

Head south along the stairs and use the platforms to cross the lava to the walkway on the opposite (south) side. Shoot the ladder and climb to the top of the platform. You'll find the Night Fountain here.

Shoot the Grapple Point hanging from the ceiling and then shoot a Grapple Handle on your left. Climb up. Walk to the other side of the platform and you'll see a Grapple Point extending from the wall; shoot it and drop down.

Knock down the ladder here for a shortcut if you mess up and a SHORTCUT after you break the last chain. Shoot the ladder and climb down to find a machine. Pull the handle to extinguish some flames on a platform with a Chain Door. Again, this is timed.

Shoot the ladder and get to the top of the platform. Shoot the Grapple Point hanging from the ceiling, then shoot the ladder in front of you (it's easier than swinging to the platform). Climb up and climb the ledge on the left. Go past the steam pipe and you'll see a Grapple Point extending from the wall. Shoot it and drop down. Move past where the flames were to reach the door to the Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to theMaster is now open!

Exit the Chain Room and drop from the end of platform to a pathway that you cantake back to the area with the Night Fountain. Head back to the entrance.

Head north and climb up the wall. Shoot one of the Grapple Handles to your right. Shoot the ladder you dropped earlier and climb up. Go out the door.

--4F--

Outside at last! Shoot the Grapple Point closest to you. From there, shoot the

next one and continue until the fourth one. Use that one to swing to the nearbyledge. Watch out for the steam vents as they can knock you down to the ground. If this happens, just head back to where you started and try again.

Knock down the ladder for a shortcut then Pull the handle on the machine. This shuts down a steam vent above you for a limited time. Shoot the Grapple Point you used to swing here. Then shoot one of the ladders to your left. These ladders experience periodic lava showers. The showers are preceded by a bunch of red sparks falling, so use that as your cue to move to the other ladder.

After climbing the ladders a bit, a Grapple Point will appear to the right. Shoot it and use it to swing to the ledge. Knock down the ladder for a SHORTCUT. Past the door to the Master, at the end of the path, is a Detonation Ore shiny. Go ahead and enter the Master's door.

Note: If you are trying to get the D ending this is your last chance to change your affinity with Elena. The D ending will occur if your affinity is at the proper level after giving Elena the ninth piece of Master Flesh.

--Master--

The box containing the Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 9") is on the left side towards the back. Grab it before going through the center of the room. Going through the center of the room will start the fight.

The Master will likely dive-bomb you almost immediately. Try to evade this.Shoot the Master's body with the chain to bring it to the ground. This will give you an opportunity to target the Master Flesh. After attacking the Master Flesh, the Master will get up and start hovering. Quickly target it's body again to bring it to the ground, then attack the Master Flesh. Repeat as much as you can until the Master brings out its shields. (I believe you can only attack the Flesh twice before the shields appear.)

The Master's shields are those small objects floating around the Master. As long as at least one shield is up, you will be unable to attack the Master Flesh.

The Master will use its shields to attack you. It can launch all of them towards you, one at a time. It can launch a single one at you. When launched, the shields will open up, resembling a flower. That means it is vulnerable. While a shield is open, use the chain to destroy it. You can either use the chain shot or you can bind and Tear.

The Master can create a flame tornado similar to ones created by the Master of Crimson Keep, but bigger.

Once you destroy all six shields, the Master Flesh becomes vulnerable. I recommend targeting the Master's body and Tearing to bring it to the ground before targeting the Master Flesh. If the Master is in the air, she can still attack you. She typically attacks with the flame tornado under this circumstance. The Master will also rise into the air, circle around, then dive-bomb you when all shields are destroyed.

The Master will restore all shields anytime you damage the Master Flesh.

At 50% HP, the Master will roar and become more aggressive. When the Master shoot the shields, there will be a shorter delay between shots and the shields will travel faster.

The Master will now have the shields circle around itself, with the circle gradually extending outward. The shields are vulnerable during the early part of this attack and at the end. The Master is also vulnerable during this attack. You can evade through the ring of shields to get close to the Master. Once there, you can target the Master's body, causing it to fall. Now target the Master Flesh. The Flesh will only be vulnerable for a short time. Since allshields will be restored if you attack the Master Flesh, you may instead want to target the shields so you have a longer window to attack the Flesh later.

The Master will now dive-bomb you when it has shields available. After the attack, all shields will be vulnerable on the ground. Use your weapon to destroy them; the chain won't work. The dive-bomb can inflict inferno via the shields.

--Observatory--

Head upstairs to find "Additions to Index" and an Unreadable Old Note ("The People's God"). Go to the cellar after the scenes for an Unreadable Old Text ("Who Are the Masters?").

10. TRUEGOLD TOWER -trgdtr-

Timed Item: Steel IngotAppears at: Afternoon (15:00-21:00)

--1F--

Head around the statue and enter the north door. The door will lock and you'll have to fight upgraded versions of the Wasp and Wasp Nest enemies. The strategies are the same, so I won't bother putting it here. The Wasps can spew a liquid that inflicts the poison status. Defeat the Wasp Nest to unlock the door.

Climb up the ledge near the door to find an Elixir shiny. Climb up the crates in the back until you reach the platform at the top.

--2F--

Hit the switch and some Lifts will start moving. Hit the switch to stop the Lifts when the farther one is above the platform to the right. Grapple over to it and drop down. Grapple onto the moving Lift nearby and ride it up to 3F.

--3F--

Head west and break the box at the end of the room for "Truegold: Hammers". Now go all the way east to find a pair of Lifts. Take the one up and drop down onto the piston. (I believe you can only do this on every other Lift that goes through. If the timing doesn't work out, just try again; it will eventually.)Walk onto the platform and you'll find another piston. Climb up this one and walk across to a platform with a switch. Hit the switch to change the path of the Lift you rode up.

--3F/4F--

Latch onto that Lift and ride it up. On the way up is a Lift moving horizontally. Latch onto it and drop down onto the stuck piston. Use it to reach a chest containing an Unreadable Grimy Note ("Creating Zeron"). Free the stuck pistons and ride the first lift up to 5F.

--5F--

Head east to the end of the platform and drop down onto the rusted piston.

--4F--

Go to the next rusted piston and drop down from near the wall to a narrow platform. Drop off the right side of the platform to reach an area with a door to a Chain Room. Defeat the enemies and unlock the door. Enter and bust the connector.

Hit the switch next to the Chain Room door to activate a Lift, creating a SHORTCUT. Break the wooden beam on the door and enter it.

I will be referring to this area as the Central Room. By the base of the

ladder is a Silver Coins shiny. Climb the ladder and use the piston to cross the gap. Inside one of the boxes is a Corrosion Bomb. Use the chain to tether either of the two pistons to the pedestal. This lets you use the pistons to hopacross to a small platform.

Recover the chain and latch onto the Lift in the background. Once on it, the camera angle will change showing you another Lift. Latch onto it. Ride it to the end and you'll be dropped off on a small platform with a switch and an Abyss Ingot shiny. Hit the switch and you'll change the path of one of the Lifts in the room.

Drop down the platforms to your right and you should the Lift whose path you altered a moment ago. Latch onto it and let go above the protruding ledge.

--3F--

To the left is the Night Fountain. To the right is a door to a Chain Room. Defeat any nearby enemies, then unlock the door. Enter and bust the connector. Return to the Central Room.

Run around the room until you come across a platform with a broken ladder. Shoot yourself up. Go past the pistons to the end of the platform.

--3F/4F--

Here you'll find a rusted piston. Latch the chain onto it and Pull. When you'vepulled it out all the way, tether it to the pedestal. Drop down and go out the door. (You'll automatically recover the chain when you leave the room.) There is a platform with a broken ladder left of the pit. Grapple up there. Go past the rusted piston and the camera angle will change. Wait for the piston in front of you to retract, then grapple to ladder on the left. Climb up to find achest containing Aegis Steel. Return to the Central Room.

Go around the room until you find a large hole in the floor. Use the Grapple Handles to safely get down to 2F.

--2F--

There will be 3 Humanoids here and a locked door. Defeat them to unlock the door. There is a Detonation Ore shiny right of the door by the rubble. Enter the door.

--2F/1F--

More Lifts. Hit the switch to activate them. Drop down to the nearby platform and knock down the ladder there for a SHORTCUT. You should see two Lifts: one moving left and one moving right. Shoot the near one as early as you can, then quickly latch onto the far one and drop down when it enters the wall. There's anew version of the Minotaur enemy on 1F as well as some the new Wasps. So, watch out if you fall. You can use the ladder or the crates to get back to 2F.

Continue ahead and you'll see a power switch for the lifts. Ignore it and continue to the left to find a track switch. Hit it to change the path of one of the Lifts. Latch onto the Lift as it passes overhead to be taken to a new platform. There is a door to a Chain Room on this platform. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Exit, hit the track switch again, and ride the Lift back towards the entrance. Use the Grapple Handles to reach the platform. Head back to the Central Room.

--3F--

Get back onto the platform with the broken ladder. This time, use the good pistons to cross the gap to outer part of the room. Follow the path to the rusted piston. Pull it out again, then chain it to the pedestal. Use it and theother piston to make your way ahead. Climb up the ledges to 4F.

--4F--

Use the chain to activate the switch across the gap. This will bring a platformover allowing you to cross. Follow the path up the stairs and outside. Zoom to the right of the entryway to find a Mercury shiny. To the right you will find the Day Fountain and a box with "Truegold: Enhanced". Head back and go to the left this time.

When you turn the second corner, Zoom on the clump of brown stuff behind you tofind an Abyss Ingot shiny. Continue to find a door to a Chain Room. Defeat any enemies, then open the door to the Chain Room. Enter and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open! Head back to the Central Room.

Step on the moving platform and hit the switch. Climb up the ladder and use thepiston to cross the gap. Go right to find two rusted pistons. Pull the left piston all the way out then recover the chain. Now pull the right piston all the way out. Pull the left one out again and tether it to the pedestal. Hop across the pistons to advance. If you don't get the timing right, use the Grapple handle to return and try again. Climb up the ledges.

--5F--

Walk around the room and break the wooden beam on the door to create a SHORTCUT. Go past that door and find a second door. Enter it.

The door will lock and you'll be faced with three upgraded Wasps and an upgraded Minotaur. Kill them to unlock the door. Break the boxes in the northwest corner to find "Truegold Master". Go up the stairs. When you get to the top of the stairs, Zoom on the wall a bit to the left of Aeron; you should find an Aegis Steel shiny. If the top door did not unlock automatically for some reason, use the chain to unlock it. Enter the door.

--5F/6F--

Go up the stairs and past the door to the Master. At the end of the path is a Gold Coins shiny. Now go ahead and enter the door to the Master.

--Master--

The box with the Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 10") is to the left; goahead and grab it.

You'll notice that odd panel on the front of the Master. Pull it off. When the Master is done spinning, you'll have an opportunity for a free attack.

To be able to target the Master Flesh, you have to line up the opening you created earlier with the Master Flesh.

Using the Chain Shot on the panels in the outer ring will cause it rotate two spaces in the appropriate direction (if you target a panel to your left, it will rotate to the left and vice versa). If you use the Chain Shot on the central part of the Master's body, the Master Flesh will move two spaces in thesame fashion. When the Flesh and the opening are only one space apart, latch onto one of the yellow tabs on the outer ring. Pulling on it will cause the opening to move one space.

Once the Flesh and the opening are lined up, you get a free attack on the Master Flesh. Now the real fight will start.

The outer ring can only be rotated with the chain shot if you shoot a retractedpanel. Shooting an extended panel will cause that panel to retract.

Outside of leaping straight up, the Master will never move during this fight. Your goal is what you did at the start: line up the opening with the Master Flesh. The opening and the Master Flesh change location whenever the Master leaps into the air.

The Master sends out bits of ooze from under itself that track Aeron and

solidify into crystals. These can be destroyed with your weapon, but are unaffected by the chain.

The cannons on its exterior shoot blobs that solidify as they hit the ground. These are not homing. These cannons can be temporarily destroyed with the chainor your weapon.

When you expose the Master Flesh, watch out for those blobs on the floor. They will either try to attack you or solidify in front of the opening. The latter can prevent you from attacking the Master Flesh. Exposing the Master Flesh doesnot guarantee that you will have time to attack it.

You can attack with your weapon when the chain is out, but you will lose your charge if you do. (The chain will still be attached.)

At about 1/3 HP the Master will roar and become more aggressive.

When it lands after leaping, purple crystals will radiate outward from it alongthe floor. You cannot evade through these. (You can still evade to avoid damage.) Try to get into one of the gaps to avoid this attack.

Now the Master will divide the room in two with unbreakable crystals. The crystals will disappear a couple of seconds before the Master leaps into the air.

--Observatory--

After the scenes go to the cellar for "Divine Unification", "A Heroic Race", and an Unreadable Old Text ("Alchemist's Duty 5"). Talk to Mavda to get "The Beast's Curse".

11. DAWN/DUSK TOWERS -dwndsk-

Timed Item: NoneAppears at: N/A

Note: You will be warping between these two towers. I apologize if this gets a bit confusing. I highly recommend reading the texts you find for explanations of the towers.

Note: I messed up with my save file and as a result I do not have the specific locations of the following texts: "Blacklight: Vortexes", "Blacklight: Controls", and "Blacklight: Stones". They are in the early parts of the Towers. I believe they can all be found before the fourth Chain Room. Break allboxes you come across. I'll update as soon as I can verify their specific locations.

--Dawn 1F--

Go around the statue and the door to the west. Use the Grapple Rocks to climb the wall and enter the door. Follow the path up the stairs and enter the door.

--Dawn 2F--

Walk into the black glowing thing (these are called Vortexes) to be transportedto the Dusk Tower.

--Dusk 2F--

First, we'll go a bit out of our way to make a shortcut. Head left and go through the door. Take the path left and down the stairs.

--Dusk 1F--

Just follow the path and enter the door.

Just outside the door is a small yellow mist on the floor. This is a Vortex which currently does not have enough power to transport you to the other tower.If you have a Light Stone, you can use it to activate the Vortex and be taken to the Dawn Tower. Regardless, do not enter it and follow the path.

Break the wooden beam on the door at the end. Go back to the underpowered Vortex and use a Light Stone to activate it. Use it to warp to the Dawn Tower.

If you don't have a Light Stone, just go back to the area on 2F with the Vortexes (where you first entered the Dusk Tower).

--Dawn 1F--

There is a Gold Coins shiny by the rubble in the foreground (east). Enter the nearby door. Knock down the ladder here to complete the SHORTCUT. Head back to the area in Dusk Tower 2F with the Vortexes (where you first entered the Dusk Tower).

--Dusk 2F--

Go past the first Vortex and step into the second.

--Dawn 2F--

Follow the path to the right and enter the door. If you grapple up the ladder, you'll find another underpowered Vortex. You need a Shade Stone to activate this. You don't have one now so head back down to the lower level of the room. Enter the Vortex here.

--Dusk 2F--

Go out the door and you should find a Shade Stone shiny in the small area here.Go back and enter the Vortex to return to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 2F--

Use the broken ladder to reach the upper ledge and use a Shade Stone while in the mist to activate the Vortex and be taken to the Dusk Tower.

Note: All Vortexes you open will stay open permanently. However, ones you closewill re-open when you re-enter the towers.

--Dusk 2F--

Go around the corner to your right to find a door to a Chain Room and a ladder you can knock down. Knock down the ladder for a SHORTCUT. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

Go back to the corner and enter the door there. Here, enter the Vortex.

--Dawn 2F--

Go through the door here. Inside you'll find another ladder you can knock down for a SHORTCUT, as well as the door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. When you're done, go back out the door and enter the Vortex.

--Dusk 2F--

Enter the door. Follow the path past the Chain Room and around a corner to whatlooks like a dead end. There is a Grapple Rock above on the wall to your left and one on the wall in front of you. Use these, and a third Grapple Rock that appears when the camera angle changes, to reach 3F.

--Dusk 3F--

Enter the door. Here you should see some kind of glowing purple growth on the

wall which reaches the floor. There are many of these in both towers and they sometimes have Light/Shade Stone shinies hidden in them on the floor. (Shade Stones are found in the Dusk Tower, while Light Stones are found in the Dawn Tower.) Light/Shade Stones are also sometimes hidden the breakable boxes found everywhere.

Follow the short path and enter the door. Here, simply enter the Vortex.

--Dawn 3F--

You'll encounter New Enemy: "Light Demon" as soon as you pass through the Vortex. You do not have to defeat it to advance, so do as you please. The nearby door is locked, so head upstairs and enter the door there.

To your right is another non-functioning Vortex. If you examine it, the game will tell you that exit might not be open. Drop down from the ledge and go out the door. (We'll get to the Vortex here later.)

Head right and break the wooden beam on the door to make a SHORTCUT to the Vortex we just used to get here. Continue and enter the next door.

Knock down the ladder in the foreground. (This won't be useful until NG+, but since we're here...) There is a Grapple Rock in the top-center of the wall to your right. Use it climb up to a platform with a door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Head back to the earlier room with thenon-functioning Vortex (the big square-ish one to the west). Drop to the lower level and enter the Vortex there.

--Dusk 3F--

Use the Grapple Rocks to climb to the higher level. You'll see the other end ofthe non-functioning vortex here. Use a Light Stone to activate it, creating a SHORTCUT. If you warped to the Dawn Tower, warp back.

Follow the path and do not enter the Vortex in the middle of the walkway. (It will take you back to the lower level of the equivalent room in the Dawn Tower,forcing you to double back a bit.) Instead, enter the Vortex in the corner at the end of the path.

--Dawn 3F--

Enter the door here. There is another closed Vortex here. Since it's closed from the other side, you can't do anything about it now. Pass it by and head upthe stairs to 4F.

--Dawn 4F--

Enter the door where the stairs level out. Head to the right and enter the Vortex.

--Dusk 4F--

Here you should see another Vortex back to the Dawn Tower. "But there wasn't a second Vortex there." you say? Well, guess what, it was invisible. The onlyreason I'm bringing you here right now to demonstrate that. Warp back to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 4F--

About a few steps before the end of path use a Shade Stone and the invisible Vortex should appear. (Stygian Stones, and later Luminous Stones, are a bit easier to use because of the larger area of effect.) Enter the Vortex if you didn't automatically.

--Dusk 4F--

Here there is a chest containing a Sage Stone. Zoom on the rubble at the base

of the wall to the right to reveal an Ambrosia shiny. Warp back to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 4F--

Enter the nearby door. Inside, use a Shade Stone to activate the underpowered Vortex and warp back to the Dusk Tower.

--Dusk 4F--

Break the wooden beam on the door here. There is a Grapple Rock on the wall in the back; use it to climb to the upper level. Here you'll encounter New Enemy: Dark Demon. The only difference between fighting this and the Light Demon is that the Dark Demon's ranged weapon can bind you temporarily. If this happens, button mash to escape. After defeating it, go to work on the door to the Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector.

After exiting the Chain Room, head right. At the end of the path is an underpowered Vortex. Use a Light Stone to activate it and warp to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 4F--

Use the Grapple Point to swing over to the ledge with the door to the Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. Exit and drop down from the ledge. Go through the door.

Head left and enter the second door. In the far right (southeast) corner of this room is an underpowered Vortex. Use a Shade Stone and warp to the Dusk Tower.

--Dusk 4F/3F--

In front of the large hole in the floor is an Unreadable Grimy Note ("Alchemist's Duty 6"). Break the wooden beam on the door in this room and go through it. Head to the right and enter the door. Follow the path here to find an underpowered Vortex. Use a Light Stone on it to create a SHORTCUT. Go back to the large room you most recently warped into (southwest 4F).

--Dusk 4F--

In front of the vortex (the north side of the room) is a broken ladder. Use it to reach the upper level. Enter the door. At the end of the path, there is a Panacea shiny. Use a Light Stone on the underpowered Vortex to warp to the DawnTower.

--Dawn 4F--

Enter the door. Cross the walkway and knock down the ladder at the far end for a SHORTCUT. In the middle of the walkway is a circle pattern on the floor. Use a Shade Stone here to warp to the Dusk Tower.

--Dusk 4F--

Yes, you are supposed to fall through the hole. Drop down from the ledge.

--Dusk 3F--

Knock down the ladder on the left side of the platform to make a SHORTCUT. Zoomjust to the right of the door to the Chain Room to find a Dark Matter shiny. Now unlock the door to the Chain Room, enter, and bust the connector. Exit and use the Grapple Rocks near the opening in the ceiling to get back to 4F.

--Dusk 4F--

Enter the Vortex in this room to warp to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 4F--

Climb up the ladder you knocked down on the north side of the room and enter the nearby door. Follow the path up the stairs to 5F and enter the doorway.

--Dawn 5F--

Enter the door here. In this room you'll find the door to the Master with one chain still holding it shut. You'll also find the Day Fountain at the opposite end of the area. Break the boxes near the door to the Master to find "Blacklight Masters" and an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 11").

First, I'll direct you to a shortcut you can make. Enter the Vortex near the Fountain.

--Dusk 5F--

In here is another door to the Master, the Night fountain, and three regular doors. Break the boxes near the door to the Master to find an Unreadable Old Note ("Vessel Testament 12"). Enter the door to the south and take the stairs down to 4F.

--Dusk 4F--

Enter the door here and knock down the ladder on the other side to create a SHORTCUT. There is a Dark Matter shiny on the platform. Head back to the room with the door to the Master on 5F.

--Dusk 5F--

Enter the Vortex here to return to the Dawn Tower.

--Dawn 5F--

Enter the door to the south, then go through the nearby door to the east.

There is a Mercury shiny as well as an Unreadable Old Note shiny ("Alchemy Teachings 5") in this room. Use a Shade Stone To the left of the door (southwest corner) to activate an invisible Vortex. Enter it.

--Dusk 5F--

Open the chest to get a Spirit Silver. There is a broken Orb of Opposites shiny, a Mercury shiny, and an Unreadable Grimy Note shiny ("Alchemist's Duty 7") in this room. Break the box in this room to find "Centrum: The Fulcrum". Break the wooden beam on the door and exit the room. Go through the nearby doorthen enter the Vortex near the Fountain.

--Dawn 5F--

Enter the east door (the one near the Vortex). In this room is a set of GrapplePoints hanging from the ceiling (You need to go to the other end of the room for the camera to show them.) and two Light Demons. First, kill any enemies. Inthe northeast corner of the room use a Shade Stone and a Vortex should appear in mid-air just above you. Use the Grapple Points to swing into this Vortex.

--Dusk 5F--

You should be in a small room with a door to a Chain Room. Unlock the door, enter, and bust the connector. The door to the Master is now open! ...sort of.You need to destroy the last chain in the Dawn Tower before you can face the Masters of the these towers.

Don't leave the Chain Room yet. A few steps in front of the door, use a Light Stone to activate an invisible Vortex.

--Dawn 5F--

You're already in the Chain Room, so go ahead and bust the connector. Now the doors to both Masters are open! Go into the vortex and return to the Dusk Tower.

--Dusk 5F--

Exit the Chain Room, then break the wooden beam on the nearby door and enter it. You are now in the large room with the door to the Master. Enter said door.

Note: This is your last chance to change your affinity with Elena. Once you defeat the Masters here, your ending will be determined. If you want to change your ending/affinity, stop now and start working on raising (or lowering) your affinity.

Walk through the area and enter the door at the far end. Here is the Master of Dusk Tower. Go ahead and get your free attack in. Use a full charge. Tear just before the coloration on the wall disappears for maximum damage.

After loosing the Master from the wall, it will start to fight you ...sort of. Just avoid getting hit and you'll be sent to the Dawn Tower shortly.

--Dawn 5F--

You'll be in the large room with the door to the Master. Enter said door.

Walk through the area and enter the door at the far end. Here is the Master of Dawn Tower. Go ahead and get your free attack in. Use a full charge. Tear just before the coloration on the wall disappears for maximum damage.

After loosing the second Master, the wall collapses and you end up in a large room connecting the two towers.

Now you get to fight two Masters at once. Fun.

--Masters--

On the floor, there is a large circular area around each Master. The one aroundthe Light Master is yellow, and the one around the Dark Master is purple. If you stay too long in one of these areas, a ground blast will start charging. (There is an audio indication that it has started charging.) If you are in the elemental circle when the blast finishes charging, it will hit you for damage and knock you down.

The blast itself will not start charging until a set period of time has passed.Leaving the circle before the charge starts will reset the timer. (Leaving willnot cancel the attack once the charge has started.) If you are in the area where the two circles overlap, the preliminary timer will not start. However, if the blast itself has started charging, you will not be safe there.

The Masters can switch places with each other. This damages Aeron if he is between them. The Dark and Light area on the floor swap when they do this.

The Masters will throw swords will throw swords at you. These are necessary to damage the Masters.

Each Master has a different ranged attack. The Light Master shoots two fast-moving beams in a straight line. This has a very long charge time. If he is damaged while charging, the charge will be canceled. The Dark Master shoots two slow-moving homing orbs. These can be destroyed with the chain.

The Masters start with armor protecting their Master Flesh. You have to Throw the swords mentioned previously at them in order to destroy the armor. Throw Light swords at the Dark Master and vice versa to remove the armor. You will need to hit each one three times to destroy their initial armor. Hitting a Master with a sword of it's own element will restore its armor.

The Masters can damage each other's armor with their attacks. Should an attack from one Master hit the other, the second's armor will take damage.

After suffering three attacks, a Master's Flesh will become vulnerable. Use thechain to damage the Master Flesh. All of both Masters' attack will continue even when you are latched onto one's Master Flesh.

The Masters will eventually restore the armor around the Master Flesh. It only takes one attack to remove the restored armor.

At about 25% HP, each Master will roar and become aggressive. Their attacks seem to be the same, just more frequent.

When you kill one Master, it will drop two swords of its own element, and a halo will appear above the other Master. This halo shrinks over time. When it shrinks to nothing, the dead Master will be revived with 50% of its original HP. The revival damages Aeron because the Master Flesh is stolen off of him. (The stolen Master Flesh is used to revive the dead Master.)

I recommend getting both Masters into rage HP before killing one. I find that you can easily run out of time if you try to only have one in rage HP at a time.

--Observatory--

Give Elena the Master Flesh and watch as events unfold. When Elena goes missing, go to the courtyard. If you are getting the C ending, you will face the final boss here. Otherwise, go up to the roof, stuff will happen, and the transformation gauge will disappear. A new tower will appear when you leave theobservatory, but you are still free to explore the other towers at your leisure.

12. ENDGAME -endgme-

--FINAL BOSS: C ENDING--

This is just a stripped down version of the final boss from the B, A, and S endings.

You fight the boss in the courtyard of the Observatory, which is much smaller than the area for the other endings. As such, you will have less room to dodge and otherwise move around. The boss only has three attacks.

Fire: The boss will hold the orb in front of itself for the duration of this attack. The boss will shoot pairs of fireballs that target Aeron's location at the time the attack is executed. Evade just after the second "foom" sound and you should be able to avoid getting hit. If you feel the need for it, evade twice. Shoot the orb as soon as it appears and try to constantly charge the gauge during the attack. Evading usually stops the charge, so it can take a while to destroy this one. You have about a second after the last (fourth) set of fireballs to charge and Tear.

Metal: This is one is fairly easy. The boss will send out a series of stalagmites that slowly moves forward. While this does track Aeron, it moves soslowly that it's not a concern. As soon as the orb appears, move up very close to boss and attack the orb. You have around three to five seconds to damage theorb. (The stalagmites will usually become visible at the edge of the screen just before the attack ends and the boss stows the orb.)

The boss's third attack is to swoop down to grab Aeron and then slam him to theground. The boss will lean forward slightly just before performing this attack.Quick, sudden movements by the boss often precede this attack. You have to evade in order to avoid this attack; it cannot be guarded against.

Like the Master Flesh from the previous bosses, you have to perform one final

attack after depleting an orb's HP to destroy it. The fight ends when you destroy both orbs.

--CENTRUM--

You'll technically start in the Masters' chamber from the Dawn/Dusk Towers. Go through one of the doors in front of you to actually enter Centrum.

Follow the path. In the center of the bell tower (the large circular area) is an Old Wood shiny. This is a gift for Elena. Continue along the path until you reach the end and scenes ensue.

--FINAL BOSS: B/A/S ENDINGS--

Note: The only way to damage this boss is with the chain. When I say to attack,I mean to shoot the target, charge the gauge, and Tear. Since you won't be using your weapon, I recommend equipping the sword for its defense. Just don't equip the scythe for this fight, especially if you are getting the S ending.

The fight will start immediately. The boss's first attack is what I call "air blasts". The boss creates many columns where the air seems distorted (difficultto see through). After about a second, a column will "explode" for lack of a better term. If you're standing in one of these columns when it explodes, you'll take damage and be knocked down. Just run around and evade to avoid getting hit. There seems to be no real pattern for where the columns appear. While the orbs are vulnerable during this attack, I don't recommend trying to attack them (unless one is at 0 HP, in which case go for it).

All but one of the boss's remaining attacks are derived from the different elements used in the game. Each orb corresponds to a specific element. I will be listing the attacks for each of the elements and which orb corresponds with which element. (Left and right will refer to what side of the screen the orb ison, not the boss's left or right.)

Note: Each orb has its own HP gauge, completely independent of the others.

Wood (top): A mass of roots will radiate outward from the boss in a semi-circle. If this attack connects, a root will ensnare Aeron, lift him up, and then slam him to the ground. Evade forward twice to pass through it so you can freely damage the orb. Tear before the boss stows the orb (when the roots stop making their noise and disappear).

Water (upper-left): The boss will create a spinning disc of water around its hand. As the boss brings its hand back, evade to the left to dodge this attack.The boss will keep the disc in front of itself and remain stationary regardlessof whether the attack hits. This attack will knock you down if it hits. You have about two seconds to damage the orb if you successfully evaded the attack.

Earth (lower-right): Four stalagmites will appear, with each containing numerous blue shards. After about two seconds, all of these shards will shoot out in straight lines from the stalagmites in a circular pattern. The shards damage you upon impact. Attack the orb before the shards shoot out.

Fire (upper-right): The boss will hold the orb in front of itself for the duration of this attack. The boss will shoot pairs of fireballs that target Aeron's location at the time the attack is executed. Evade just after the second "foom" sound and you should be able to avoid getting hit. If you feel the need for it, evade twice. Shoot the orb as soon as it appears and try to constantly charge the gauge during the attack. Evading usually stops thecharge, so it can take a while to destroy this one. You have about a second after the last (fourth) set of fireballs to charge and Tear.

Metal (lower-left): This is the easiest one. The boss will send out a series ofstalagmites that slowly moves forward. While this does track Aeron, it moves soslowly that it's not a concern. As soon as the orb appears, move up very close to boss and attack the orb. You have around three to five seconds to damage theorb. (The stalagmites will usually become visible at the edge of the screen

just before the attack ends and the boss stows the orb.)

Light/Dark (bottom): The boss will start with the dark half of this attack. The boss will hold the orb in front of itself and immediately you will be sucked in towards the boss. After about five seconds, the vacuum effect will cease, and the boss will create a small sphere around itself. This will damage you if are close enough to the boss. After this, the boss will then shoot out amassive beam in front of itself. This does big damage and can knock to the far side of the arena. Run away from the boss during the vacuum effect. As soon as it ends, run towards the side of the boss to avoid being hit by the beam. The direction of the beam changes very slowly. Use this opportunity to attack the orb. If the beam starts getting close, Tear and evade away from the beam to avoid damage. (This attack is the main reason I said not to use the scythe at the beginning; its low foot speed can make avoiding the first part of the attack difficult.)

Before you destroy any orbs, the boss will only use the wood, earth, and water attacks. After destroying one orb, the boss begins using the fire attack. When two orbs are destroyed, the metal attack will be used. The boss only uses the light/dark attack after three orbs have been destroyed.

The boss's only remaining attack is to swoop down to grab Aeron and then slam him to the ground. The boss will lean forward slightly just before performing this attack. Quick, sudden movements by the boss often precede this attack. Youhave to evade in order to avoid this attack; it cannot be guarded against. It can use this at any time between the other attacks.

Like the Master Flesh from the previous bosses, you have to perform one final attack after depleting an orb's HP to destroy it. Each time you destroy an orb,the boss will attack with the air blasts. The boss will sometimes use this attack between the elemental ones if it has only one orb remaining.

If the air blasts are the only thing giving you trouble, you can reduce multiple orbs' HP to zero but not destroy them. Once you get many of them to 0 HP, destroy one. As the boss starts the air blasts attack, target the other orbs to destroy them. This way you will have to deal with fewer air blasts, butlikely more elemental attacks.

The fight ends when you destroy all orbs.

--S ENDING ONLY--

After some scenes you will suddenly be chased by a huge mass of ugly. The only objective here is to run away. To prevent this, the ugly will shoot little purple blobs of something at Aeron. These cause Aeron to stop for a brief moment if he is hit. These things do not do any damage. Your health is irrelevant at this point. Zigzag to avoid the blobs. They target Aeron's location at the time one is shot. Evading is not recommended because of the pause at the end of the animation. If the ugly catches you, button mash to escape, then continue running. After traveling a set distance, Aeron will automatically be caught. Follow the on-screen prompts and you'll get back to the ending scenes. (This is the other reason I said not to equip the scythe.)

--B/A/S ENDINGS--

That's it. Watch the scenes and save after the credits to access New Game+.

13. NEW GAME+ -newgam-

There's really not much here. There are some new texts in the Observatory, somenew scenes with Elena, Mavda has some new items for sale, and you can finally access those rooms with the locked doors in all of the towers. You need to buy the Crimson Key from Mavda for 500 Leots to get into the rooms.

I'll just be listing the new texts in the Observatory and what you can find in each of the locked rooms in the towers. I will not be providing directions to

the rooms. You have a map; use it.

--Observatory--

Talk to Mavda to receive "Bless this Couple". Go upstairs to find "Enemy Kingdoms 1", "After Unification", "Before Unification", "No Change Observed", "A Magic Formula", "No Benefits", "Holy Scripture", "Future Plans", and "Curious Text". Go to the cellar to find "Rise of the Army", "War of Independence", "Experiment - Success", "Enemy Kingdoms 2", an Unreadable Old Note ("Uniting the Realm"), and an Unreadable Old Text ("About the Testaments"). "A Family to Be" can also be found upstairs, but did not appear for me for a while; I'm not sure what causes its appearance.

--Treetop Tower 2F--

After entering the red door, just walk through and enter the door to the next area. Here you will find a Wasp Nest and some Wasps. Kill them at your leisure.Climb up the ledges to find a chest containing a Sage Stone. Enter the door to the west to find a Gleaming Amber shiny. Next, enter the door to the north. Zoom on the far ledge to find an Ambrosia shiny. Drop down the ledges to a chest containing a Panacea. (This chest is technically on 1F.)

--Treetop Tower 3F--

I'm including both doors here.

Past the south door is a room with a Wasp Nest and Wasps. Break the boxes in the southeast corner to find a Fortifica and an Adamantia. Climb up the GrappleRocks and head right to find a Vestran Water shiny. Zoom on the empty cage to the left to find a Gold Coins shiny. Back near the Grapple Rocks, Zoom on the cage with the Withered Plant to find a Gleaming Amber shiny.

Enter the east door and walk to the end of the path to find a Gleaming Amber shiny.

--Sheerdrop Spire 1F--

There is a Diamond shiny in the corner just past the door. Follow the path and break the boxes at the end to find an Ambrosia.

--Sheerdrop Spire 3F--

There is a Gold Coins shiny in the southeast corner and a Diamond shiny to the right of the chest. Inside the chest is the final weapon in the game: The Explosive Stake (see the weapons section for details).

--Wellspring Steeple 2F--

Head left to find a Silver Coins shiny. There is a Gold Coins shiny a bit further down. Head right to find a Gold Coins shiny at the end of the path.

--Wellspring Steeple 5F--

There are three Grunts with Purple Mist here; I recommend killing them first. On the bookshelf left of the door is a Tactical Manual shiny. On the desk near the chest is an Ambrosia shiny. Inside the chest is an Unreadable Old Note ("Alchemy Teachings 4").

--Crimson Keep 1F--

There are two Red Beasts in here; go ahead and kill them. To the right of the door is a Tactical Manual shiny. Inside the chest is an Apron, a gift for Elena.

--Ironclad Turret 4F--

First off, kill the enemies present. Head right and enter the door. Follow the

path and continue killing enemies as you see fit. At the very end of the path is an Aegis Steel shiny. Zoom on the corner of the wall just left of that to reveal a Spirit Silver shiny.

--Ironclad Turret 5F--

There is a Lance Arm with Purple Mist in the room. Kill him so you can loot thearea at a leisurely pace. In front of and a bit to the right of the chest is a Panacea shiny. There is an Aegis Steel shiny on the wall in the northwest corner. There is a Fortifica shiny in the southeast corner. Inside the chest isan Unreadable Old Note ("Alchemy Teachings 3").

--Arcadian Tower 1F--

Kill the enemies here to make your life easier. There is a Panacea shiny on oneof the lumps of dirt next to the ledge and a Poison Bomb shiny on the other. Break the box at the north end of the upper level for a Shard of Divinity. Inside the chest is a Formal Dress, a gift for Elena.

--Arcadian Tower 2F--

Kill the three Electric Wolves and commence looting. There is a Blast Stone shiny in the corner left of the door. That's it.

--Rockshard Rampart 3F (south)--

Follow the path and go through the opening. Knock down the ladder for a SHORTCUT. Left of the ladder is an Explosive Ore shiny.

--Rockshard Rampart 3F (north)--

At the right end of the back bookcase is a Sage Stone shiny. Open the chest to get an Unreadable Grimy Note ("Alchemist's Duty 2").

--Rockshard Rampart 4F--

There is a Diamond shiny along the east wall. Break the box in the northwest corner for a Spirit Silver. Zoom on the large crystal formation right of the Spirit Silver to find a Gold Coins shiny.

--Torrent Peak 3F--

There is a Sage Stone shiny near the door. In the northeast corner is a Tactical Manual shiny. An Unreadable Grimy Note ("Alchemist's Duty 3") is in the northwest corner.

--Blazing Citadel 2F--

At the north end of the area is a Detonation Ore shiny. At the south end is a box containing an Unreadable Grimy Note ("Alchemist's Duty 4").

--Blazing Citadel 4F--

Kill the Fire Tiger first. There is likely at least one Mercury shiny in the room. Break the boxes right of the chest for an Inferno Bomb. Zoom on the torchto reveal a Phoenix Stone shiny. Inside the chest is a Noble Garb, a gift for Elena.

--Dawn/Dusk Tower 2F--

You enter from the Dawn tower. There is a Spirit Silver shiny by the rubble at the end of the path. Use a Shade Stone to activate the Vortex and warp to the Dusk Tower. There is a Dark Matter shiny on the floor where the door would be.

--Dusk Tower 3F--

In the far right corner is an Adamantia shiny. There is a Sage Stone shiny by the rubble at the end of the path.

----------V. ENEMIES----------

Just like you, enemies can buff themselves. There will be a number of small, colored lights around the enemy if a buff is in place. There is also the same chime as when Aeron uses items when an enemy activates a buff. Enemies will usethree different types of buffs. Red lights indicate boosted attack. When it boosts its defense, green lights appear. Finally, blue lights indicate an increase in movement speed. Yes, you can tell the difference when an enemy buffs itself.

Sometimes you'll come across enemies with a purple mist around their bodies. These guys are on steroids; they deal much more damage and have more health. Whenever you encounter such an enemy, proceed with caution. Even the little "grunt" enemies can take away half your health if you simply ignore them. These enemies do seem to give more experience and better items, so they are worth fighting.

--TREETOP TOWER--

Humanoid: Its main attack is a one-two swipe with both its arms; this can be blocked/evaded easily with some practice. It will also curl into a ball and roll at you at high speed.

Grunt: It's your typical weak annoying enemy. One should not be much of a threat, but they can be troublesome in groups.

Withered Plant: They sometimes spit stuff at you, but that's it. They're very easy to kill; just bind and yank to kill it and get an item.

Wasp Nest and Wasps: These can be frustrating if you allow too many Wasps to spawn. The first thing you should do is use chain to tear off pieces of Wasp Nest. This will limit its ability to spawn more Wasps. If the Wasps are giving you trouble during this, kill them off first. I recommend tearing off all pieces and killing the Wasps before trying to kill the Wasp Nest, but it is notnecessary to do so. Behind one of the Tearable pieces of the Wasp Nest is its head. You can use the chain or your weapon to damage the head. When you destroythe Wasp Nest all Wasps still alive will die, but they will not drop any items.Wasps can also be found on their own without a Wasp Nest nearby.

Rose: Roses don't attack; they just run away. Chain them to something to prevent them from fleeing underground, allowing you to attack with your weapon.Killing them removes like colored thorns.

Moving Plant: It lashes out with vine arms. Sometimes, it spurts out a harmfulgreen liquid. This liquid can cause corrosion status (this causes you to be unable to block). If you throw small enemies at it, it will eat them. Upon consuming an enemy it will become stationary and not attack for a time. After digesting the enemy, it will spurt out the green liquid. These will also try toeat Aeron.

--SHEERDROP SPIRE--

Sword Humanoid: These are similar to the regular ones, but now they have a sword for more offense. Latch onto the sword and yank to disarm them. They willusually try to retrieve their sword if you leave them alone for a few seconds.

Wolf: They are fairly quick and move around a lot. One of their attacks is torush towards you and try a grab hold of you. If they do get hold of you, buttonmash to escape. They will also dash at you with the dash itself being the attack. They also spit fireballs occasionally which can cause inferno status.

Bird: Using the chain to either throw or tear is the easiest way to deal with these. Sometimes, if you leave a Bird alone, it will lift you up and slam you to the ground for decent damage. These are often seen dropping Larvae on you.

Larva: Larva take reduced damage from the front; try to get behind them if you can. Sometimes mindlessly attacking is easier. They sometimes open up their protective shell to shoot some blue stuff at you. If one does, go in and attacksince it will now take normal damage from the front. The blue stuff can cause paralysis if it hits.

Bat: They can fly, but they're really weak. The Chain Shot works well against them. They can shoot slow moving projectiles at you.

Floating Boulder: The easiest way to kill them is to Throw them into each other. They take reduced damage from weapons, but I believe they take normal damage from the chain.

--WELLSPRING STEEPLE--

Fishman: These are similar to the Humanoid enemies, but they have better stats and can spit at you, causing Defang (attack down). They can also dive into the water and then launch themselves at you.

Lance Arm: Lance Arm takes reduced damage from your weapon unless you tear off the crest/helmet on his head, so always target that first and tear it off. You can't Bind his lance arm, but you can tear items from it when he's dead. You can Bind his regular arm, but if you do he'll likely jerk the chain dragging you towards him, causing you to lose the bind. He can also remove head bind after a short while, so watch out for that. You cannot bind his legs. His attacks include a ramming attack where he just runs as hard as he can through you. This attack hits multiple times and will very likely break your guard. He also has a straight "punch" with the weapon (this has pretty good range), and aback-hand swipe with his normal arm.

Fish: They can spit a ball at you which may inflict sap (defense down), spray astream of water at you, and dive out of the water column at you if you're closeto it. The easiest way to kill them is to pull them out of the column. You can also simply latch onto one and Tear.

--CRIMSON KEEP--

Moth: A small flying nuisance. They are easy to kill, but can inflict inferno.They help illuminate dark areas.

Red Ghosts: Red Ghosts can "eat" each other, expanding in size when they do. When they get bigger than you they spit large blobs of liquid at you which may cause Inferno (HP loss if you stand still). This liquid will remain on the ground a short and will damage you if you touch it. They can also lash out an appendage a small distance. If caught, it'll ingest you then spit you out. The ones roughly Aeron's size and smaller will still eject liquid, but will not tryto eat him. When huge, I find it easier to attack with my weapon than the chain. They tend to get smaller fairly quickly. The small ones can be dealt with any which way and are not much of a threat. These can grow larger on theirown if you leave them alone.

Sabertooth: It's a very big and strong cat. It will run up to and then swipe atyou with its claws. Sometimes, especially when you have its body bound, it willroar, producing a damaging shockwave in all directions. When its head is bound it frequently swipes its claws. They have a lot of HP. If you're Binding and Tearing, you may want to use the control stick to charge the Chain Gauge to stay out of range of its attacks.

--IRONCLAD TURRET--

Wall Lizard: These guys can fire slow moving projectiles at you, but these are easy to avoid. These can cause defang and/or corrosion. Shoot them with your chain to knock them off the wall. Just as a sidenote, these enemies

actually have two sections you can get items from: its tail, and its main body.

Flail Arm: He has a flail for an arm. These guys take reduced damage unless youremove their helmet/crest from their heads. You should always do that first. They have two attacks with the flail. For the first, it will briefly spin the flail to its side then shoot it at you. This attack has very good range. For the other, it will start spinning the flail over its head, then it will spin the flail vertically in front of it for a short-range attack. This usually hitsyou multiple times before knocking you back. They may also slam down with both hands hitting whatever is immediately in front of them. If you latch onto his normal hand, he may slam you to ground for decent damage. Most of their other behavior is similar to the Lance Arm enemies.

--ARCADIAN TOWER--

Toxic Moth: These are rather large flying bugs. They shoot large, slow-moving masses of reddish stuff at you which can inflict poison. Since they're airborne, most of your weapon attacks won't connect, and you'll be forced to use the chain. I find the easiest way to deal with them is to first shoot them with the chain. Then, while it is helpless on the floor, attack with your weapon. Tearing also seems to be effective.

Electric Wolf: These are like the regular Wolves except now they can shoot electricity between each other. In addition to damaging you, the electricity they shoot can inflict paralysis. They usually get into a formation to shoot electricity between themselves. They can do this between just two or all three of themselves. Their dashes are now electrically charged.

--ROCKSHARD RAMPART--

Minotaur: It is bipedal at night and on all fours during the day. When it's walking on two legs, it mostly uses its front claws to attack. It can swipe outwith a single claw or slam the ground in front of it with both. The latter is particularly damaging and generates a shockwave for additional range. He can also headbutt you. When on all fours, its main attack is to charge at you. Thiswill send you flying if it hits. It will snort and scrape a claw along the ground before it charges. It can also headbutt you. Unlike many other enemies, the Minotaur does not seem to attack when bound by the chain.

--TORRENT PEAK--

Shellfish: These have a protective membrane of some sort around them. Use the chain and Pull to remove it. It will regenerate this membrane after some time if you do not kill it. While its membrane is still up, it can flatten it into a spinning disc to attack you with. It can shoot fast movingblobs of water at you; these can inflict sap. Just keep your distance and you should have little trouble with these. You can use your weapon, but I find it easier to use the chain against these. As a sidenote, these can drop Mercury when you destroy their body before extracting an item.

Claw Hand: This guy is in a different series than Lance Arm and Flail Arm. You can Tear the claw off of its right hand. All of its attacks consist of it running at you then swiping with both arms. If you bind one its arms it will tug on the chain, pulling you to the ground. Not really much else to say.

--BLAZING CITADEL--

Queen Moth: Throw one of the small moths at it to make it vulnerable. It will "shoot" small moths at Aeron in succession. It can shoot large, fast fireballs which cause inferno status. Bind it with the chain to bring it down to the ground. Much easier to use weapons on it when it is bound.

Big Bat: Exactly as its name here says, it's a big bat. It can release a damaging shockwave in all directions. It will normally stay in place and flap its wings quickly before releasing it. They can also shoot projectiles. Bind itwith the chain to bring it to the ground, where you can use your weapon more easily. They can grab hold of you. If one does, button mash to escape.

Fire Tiger: It leaves small puddles of damaging lava as moves; these disappear fairly quickly. It can breathe fire a good distance. It rears back its head before breathing fire. It also swipes with its front claw. It is similar to theSabertooth in most respects. It swipes a claw when its head is bound, and breathes fire when its body is bound. It can also leap forward at Aeron.

--TRUEGOLD TOWER--

No new enemies.

--DAWN/DUSK TOWERS--

Light/Dark Demon: These things hover in the air making them difficult to targetwith your weapon. I find the easiest way to kill them is to first bind their wings. This drops them to the ground. While it's bound, charge you weapon to its highest level and unleash that attack on it. This killed in one shot for meat Level 34 with the Twinblades at level 3 (9 upgrades). You can also use Stones of the opposing element (Light Stones on Dark Demons and vice versa) to stun them temporarily. Luminous and Stygian Stones work better at this due to their larger area of effect. This is particularly useful when you encounter them in groups. As an FYI, you can usually get White/Black droplets from their wings and Light/Shade/Luminous/Stygian Stones from their head.

Both can attack by slashing with their held weapons. Light Demons can attack byusing a boomerang-like weapon. Dark Demons use a whip-like chain instead of the"boomerang". This can bind you temporarily if it hits. If it does, button mash to escape. Binding their wings will cause them to stay on the ground for a short time, even after you recover the chain.

------------VI. AFFINITY------------

--Transformation Gauge--

Very early in the game a circular transformation gauge will appear in the lower-left corner of the screen. This indicates how far Elena's curse has progressed. When it is about 1/3 full (the blue area), she will undergo her first transformation. She will undergo the second when the gauge is about 1/4 full (the red area). When the gauge is extremely low, about 1/10 full, the screen will start flashing and she will undergo her third transformation. Each time Elena transforms it will lower your affinity.

To restore the transformation gauge you must give Elena Flesh; different types fill the gauge by different amounts. Dried-Out Flesh will restore the gauge to 1/2 full, Beast Flesh to 3/4 full, Dripping Flesh to 7/8 full, and Pulsating Flesh will completely fill the gauge. Master Flesh also completely fills the gauge. Giving Elena any type of Flesh will increase your affinity. (I don't know if different types of Flesh give different affinity bonuses.)

--Raising Affinity--

The fastest way to raise your affinity is to give Elena gifts. You can give Elena any type of item as a gift, not just trinkets (the gift box icon in the menu). Some items will lower your affinity. If you give Elena certain types of equipment as gifts, namely bands, bangles, and amulets, she will begin wearing them around the observatory. Also of note is that if you give her a Dryad Berryor Medicinal Moss, she will give you Homemade Cakes or Homemade Salve, respectively, in return. You won't receive the item immediately.

Speaking with Elena is another way to raise your affinity. When you select Chat, Elena will run off a few lines of dialog. Some of these will boost your affinity. It's a good idea to use the Chat function whenever you talk to her ifyou want to raise your affinity faster.

Sometimes a fourth option will appear when you speak to Elena. Selecting these will sometimes lead to Elena asking Aeron a question which you have to respond to. The more sentimental, schmaltzy responses almost always give a bonus. Theseusually show up after certain plot points as well as after you give Elena certain gifts. (mostly trinkets, but there are some others as well).

If you allow Elena to transform, one or more of the trinkets or equipment she was wearing at the time will break. You can usually find the item(s) as a shinyon the table. These can be repaired the same as any other item in the game. There will usually be extra dialog choice when talking to Elena after she breaks something.

--Affinity Rewards--

As your affinity level increases, Elena will give you items. This occurs when your affinity reaches a specific level. When you reach one of these points, thegame will display "Your bond grows." over the affinity meter. There are ten levels at which you will receive an item, and you can only get each item once in a single save file. The gold dots in the gauge indicate the different levels.

The items are as follows:

1. Homemade Cakes x22. Homemade Salve x23. Ambrosia4. Sage Stone5. Guard Stone6. Power Stone7. Sacred Talisman8. Bulwark Band9. Strongarm Band10. Bulwark Band

------------VII. ENDINGS------------

There are five endings for this game: S, A, B, C, and D. Which ending you get is dependent solely on your affinity. The D ending comes earlier in the game than the others. It will occur after you give Elena the 9th piece of Master Flesh if your affinity is at the proper level. Otherwise, your ending will be determined when you complete the Dawn/Dusk Towers.

Ending D:Your affinity needs to be just about rock bottom when you give Elena the 9th piece of Master Flesh. You can easily lower your affinity by repeatedly giving her items she doesn't like. These will not be removed from your inventory when you attempt to give it to her so you can lower it all the way with a single item. Items that lower her affinity include: Beast Fangs, Large Bones, Tough Pelts, and Strange Grains. I'm sure there are others, but you likely have at least one of these in your inventory so I won't bother experimenting to find out.

Endings C, B, A, S:If you've gotten past the point when the D ending occurs, then you will get oneof these endings regardless of how low your affinity may be. You can tell whichending you'll get by the shape of the affinity meter.

S Ending: The gauge is a double helix shape. There is a spiraling light orbiting the gauge.

A Ending: The main portion of the gauge consists of lines of light moving upward in no distinct pattern. There is a spiraling light orbiting the gauge.

B Ending: This is similar to A, but the orbiting light stops near the top of

the weird shape sitting on transformation gauge.

C Ending: The orbiting light is completely gone.

-------------VIII. WEAPONS-------------

SWORD

Starting attack: 140Final attack: 290Defense: 100Size on Equip Screen: 3x2Movement Speed: AverageRange: AverageBasic Combo: Four slashes then a thrustForward Movement in Combos: AverageRings in each Charge Level: 1/2/3/4Location: Starting Inventory

--Upgrades--

Upgrade 1: +8 Lump of Metal x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 2: +12 Lump of Metal x2, Mercury x1, Crystal Ore x1

Upgrade 3: +13 Lump of Metal x3, Mercury x2

Upgrade 4: +13 Lump of Metal x3, Mercury x1, Oil x2

Upgrade 5: +13 Abyss Ingot x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 6: +15 Abyss Ingot x2, Crystal Ore x2

Upgrade 7: +15 Abyss Ingot x1, Steel Ingot x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 8: +16 Aegis Steel x1, Explosive Powder x2, Lump of Metal x2

Upgrade 9: +20 Aegis Steel x1, Crystal ore x2, Mercury x2, Fire Ore x1

Upgrade 10: +25 Spirit Silver x1, Orb of Opposites x1, Aegis Steel x2, White Droplet x2

Description:Your starting weapon is average in most respects. Its attack power, range, movement speed, and combo length are all between those of the other two main game weapons. The sword has the best defense of the main game weapons, but is overtaken in NG+ by the Explosive Stake. The sword's biggest issue is that it requires a lot of Aegis Steel, a difficult to obtain item, for its high level upgrades. Other than that, the sword is a well-balanced weapon with no major flaws.

TWINBLADES

Starting attack: 90Final attack: 190Defense: 50Size on Equip Screen: 3x2Movement Speed: FastRange: ShortBasic Combo: Seven slashes and kicks then a thrustForward Movement in Combos: LargeRings in each Charge Level: 1/3/5/6Location: Wellspring Steeple, 3F

--Upgrades--

Upgrade 1: +5 Tough Scale x1, Amethyst x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 2: +6 Tough Scale x2, Diamond x1

Upgrade 3: +8 Tough Scale x3, Amethyst x1, Diamond x1, Lump of Metal x1

Upgrade 4: +8 Rainbow Scale x2, Crystal ore x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 5: +9 Rainbow Scale x2, Amethyst x2, Shadow Ore x2

Upgrade 6: +9 Rainbow Scale x3, Diamond x1, Lump of metal x2

Upgrade 7: +10 Gleaming Amber x1, Goddess Tears x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 8: +12 Gleaming Amber x1, Aegis Steel x1, Phoenix Stone x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 9: +15 Gleaming Amber x2, Steel Ingot x1, Mercury x1, Dawn Chorus x1

Upgrade 10: +18 Spirit Silver x1, Orb of Opposites x1, White Droplet x4, Luminous Stone x3

Description:The Twinblades is the fast, but weak weapon in the game. It has short range, very long combos, and low defense. Its attacks move you forward quite a bit so you'll have to adjust for that. The Twinblades allow for the fastest movement of all the weapons in the game, a big plus because of the timer. The Twinblades' evade animation is different from the other weapons for evading sideways and backwards; you do cartwheels instead of side-steps and backflips instead of back-hops. I believe these animations move you farther than the standard ones. The Twinblades can do well against a single enemy, but you can run into some trouble against groups. The large movement in the combos and short range make this a tricky weapon to master.

SCYTHE

Starting attack: 190Final attack: 390Defense: 80Size on Equip Screen: 4x2Movement Speed: SlowRange: LongBasic Combo: Two horizontal sweeps then a thrustForward Movement in Combos: SmallRings in each Charge Level: 1/2/2/2Location: Ironclad Turret, 2F

--Upgrades--

Upgrade 1: +10 Large Bone x1, Witch's Wand x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 2: +12 Large Bone x1, Lump of Metal x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 3: +13 Large Bone x2, Beast Fang x1, Sticky Mud x1

Upgrade 4: +14 Bodily Fluid x2, Large Bone x1, Oil x3, Mercury x1

Upgrade 5: +17 Bodily Fluid x2, Sacred Ashes x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 6: +18 Bodily Fluid x2, Abyss Ingot x2, Large Bone x2

Upgrade 7: +21 Bodily Fluid x3, Okanos Stone x1, Setting Sun x2, Mercury x2

Upgrade 8: +28 Okanos Stone x1, Beast Fang x3, Large Bone x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 9: +29 Okanos Stone x2, Shadow Ore x1, Bodily Fluid x1, Permafrost x1

Upgrade 10: +38 Dark Matter x1, Orb of Opposites x1, Sacred Ashes x1, Black Droplet x5

Description:The Scythe is a slow, but powerful weapon. Its attacks cover a very wide range,making it easy to target fast enemies as well as take on groups. The Scythe's defense is average, between that of the Sword and the Twinblades. The charge combos never have more than two rings, making them easy to execute. The Scythe has two major weaknesses. The first is that it takes up an extra two spaces in the equip screen. The second is that it has the lowest movement speed in the game. You can try to overcome this by switching to a different weapon when not in combat, but it takes Aeron a couple seconds to change weapons and this gets tedious quickly. The Scythe is a fairly easy weapon to use, but you'll be hampered by your low speed with it equipped.

EXPLOSIVE STAKE

Starting attack: 240Final attack: 490Defense: 150Size on Equip Screen: 4x2Movement Speed: SlowRange: ShortBasic Combo: Swipe down then thrustForward Movement in Combos: MinimalRings in each Charge Level: 1/1/1/1Location: Sheerdrop Spire 3F behind the red door (NG+ only)

NOTE: The charge time for the Explosive Stake is notably longer than those of the other weapons.

Upgrade 1: +10 Gunpowder x1, Crystal Ore x1, Lump of Metal x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 2: +15 Gunpowder x2, Abyss Ingot x1, Mercury x1, Oil x2

Upgrade 3: +15 Gunpowder x3, Explosive Ore x1, Mercury x1, Oil x2

Upgrade 4: +20 Abyss Ingot x2, Lump of Metal x5, Crystal Ore x1, Mercury x1

Upgrade 5: +20 Abyss Ingot x3, Phoenix Stone x1

Upgrade 6: +25 Abyss Ingot x3, Explosive Powder x2, Gunpowder x2

Upgrade 7: +30 Aegis Steel x2, Abyss Ingot x2, Steel Ingot x1, Phoenix Stone x1

Upgrade 8: +30 Aegis Steel x1, Shadow Ore x1, Gunpowder x5. Blast Stone x1

Upgrade 9: +35 Spirit Silver x2, Blast Stone x2, Mercury x1

Upgrade 10: +50 Dark Matter x2, Orb of Opposites x1, Lump of Metal x1, Stygian Stone x1

Description:This is kind of the obligatory gag weapon. It has the best attack and defense in the game, but has pathetic range and many other weaknesses. By the time you get this in New Game+, your other weapons will likely have been upgraded to be more powerful than this. The Stake can only target what is directly in front ofyou and only if it is very close. It takes longer for it charge than the other weapons, and gives you the same movement speed as the Scythe. Nonetheless its crazy high attack can make it fun to play around with. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to the "explosive" part of its name until it is fully upgraded

to level 4. The Stake is a thoroughly impractical weapon, but it can be fun to mess around with.

-----------IX. CREDITS-----------

Barburdo, nugro, Nova2689, Brennan88, Asshole Lee, Arkmana and anyone else who contributed to the Pandora's Tower spreadsheet for making a convenient source of information from the game.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AosxZ_OvEp61dE55eHdGYjRTNmpNWXVlZTZYazVhc2c&output=html

Christopher W. for pointing out a strategy for the Sheerdrop Spire Master.

Various members of the GameFAQs boards for tips, suggestions, and information.

Members of Banana Circle Diffusers (a The Last Story "clan") for information about the glitch and other miscellaneous bits of information.

Nintendo and Ganbarion for creating this game.

Xseed for bringing this game to North America.

--------------X. LEGAL STUFF--------------

This document copyright (c) 2013 Eric Frank. This document is not to be reproduced in any form without express permission from the author. Currently, the only site authorized to host this document is www.gamefaqs.com.

----------------XI. CONTACT INFO----------------

If you wish to contact me with any questions, criticisms (valid ones only), suggestions, corrections, omissions in the guide, or whatever else, you can e-mail me at edf_fl@hotmail.com or you can try PMing on GameFAQs. I am somewhatlax about checking these, so you may not receive a prompt reply.