Baten Kaitos: Origins
FAQ written by lopp3 (Jed Estep)
endiment@gmail.com
Copyright 2006-2007, all rights reserved.
Current version 1.08
Thank you all for 50000+ hits!
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Section 0
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Copyright Info {0001}
This may not be reproduced under any circumstances.  It may not be hosted
anywhere except GameFAQs.  Do not contact me with hosting requests.
Table of Contents {0002}
Section 0
Copyright {0001}
ToC {0002}
History {0003}
Section 1
Questions {1001}
Overview {1002}
Characters {1003}
Magnus {1004}
Section 2
Walkthrough {2001}
Links to Guides {2002}
Plot Layout {2003}
Section 3
Copyright {3001}
Credits {3002}
Version History {0003}
V0.02 – Not a lot done.
V0.19 – Coming along, gotten through to Nihal.  Version accepted by GameFAQs.
V0.22 – Almost finished with disc 1.
V0.29 – Same as above.
V0.32 – Finished with Disc 1 and Holoholo Bird.
V0.41 – Through the Heart-to-heart, working as fast as I can.
V0.49 – Up to Tarazed.
V0.62 – Walkthrough finished, parts of Sedna as well.
V1.00 – No more Sidequests, replaced with links to the sidequest guide.  Got a
plot summary and some minor fixes.
V1.08 – Sorry for the long update time, added short Coliseum description along
with info on Imperial Ward.
V1.09 – Just a few things, nothing major.
V1.14 – A few more fixes, new strategy for the Bird.
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Section 1
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Frequently Asked Questions {1001}
Q: WTF IS WRONG WITH THE BATTLE SYSTEM??!?!!!?!?!!
A: Yes, I know.  The battle system is very different from the original, and
it took me a good while to get it, myself.  Here’s battling in a nutshell:
You have weak, medium, and strong attacks.  The “weapons” and “armors” are
for powering up your characters.  There is no defensive turn.  You may
discard a Magnus by pressing B on any characters turn.  This will take their
turn, but unless there is another character waiting for a turn, they will
take another turn immediately.
Q: What’s a Magnus Mixer?
A: It’s an item you get in Hassaleh.  You can get several more as the game
progresses.  By using a magna mix recipe to put two or more magnus in, and
then waiting a while, you can produce a new Quest Magnus.
Q: I can only have 1 deck??
A: Sort of.  You can make as many as you want, but all your characters must
run off of the same deck.
Q: WHY IS PAC MAN SO GREEDY?????
A: Am I Pac Man’s babysitter?  I don’t know why he’s greedy, but feed him
enough and you’ll get some kinda reward...thing.
Overview {1002}
Baten Kaitos: Origins is the sequel-prequel to Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings
and the Lost Ocean.  It occurs a good while before the original, although the
exact time frame is uncertain.  It also features a new continental island,
Hassaleh.  It features none of the original characters from the first game,
at least none of the playables except Gibari.  NOTE: The following sentence
contains first-game spoilers.  It does however contain Lyude’s siblings Skeed
and Vallye (you get to see them being raised as snotty brats by their mother
Camilla), their housekeeper and future-emperor Geldoblame.  It also contains
younger versions of Gibari (age 14), King Ladekahn (age 12), Savyna (age 5),
Palolo II, father of Palolo III, a somewhat younger Quzman and Taymiya, and
some others.  Kalas, Xelha, and Mizuti will not be making appearances, since
they haven’t been born yet.  No more spoilers from this point forward (until
the walkthrough).
Characters {1003}
This is only a list of the PLAYABLE characters, not NPCs.
+------------+
|    Sagi    |
+------------+
Sagi is the main character of BK: O, and unfortunately, he is not as cool as
Kalas ever was, in my opinion, anyway.  He has a similar fighting style, with
powerful sword-based attacks that execute at a relatively fast rate.  He is
definitely a prime character and he exploits the power of the elemental
Magnus to increase his strength greatly.  His starting finisher is Scension.
+------------+
|   Guillo   |
+------------+
Guillo is Sagi’s best friend, and is a kind of cyborg.  Guillo has no memory
of his existence before meeting Sagi, and has no idea why it was created.  It
has powerful magic attacks, and its starting finisher is Firewheel.  His
fighting style is more or less identical to that of Xelha, except only his
finishers feature elements, since normal attacks cannot.
+------------+
|   Milly    |
+------------+
Milliarde (aka Milly) is a high-born “sheltered” (Guillo insists that it was
a bomb shelter) girl that joins Sagi and Guillo after saving them from a huge
army of soldiers.  She is somewhat boisterous, but is actually very caring.
Her style of fighting is sort of a combination between the styles of Savyna
and Ayme (yes, the same Ayme that used Crazy Rabbit 10^100 times per half-
second).  She attacks quickly like Amy, but actually does decent damage like
Savyna.  Her starting finisher is Swallowtail.
Magnus {1004}
I admit, the Magnus in this game are way too weird.  Rather than having
different weapons to attack with, you just have weak, medium, and strong.
The weapons and armor just power you up.  Some of them give your weapon an
elemental attribute, which is pretty cool.  Fortunately, they did keep a lot
of the old game’s cool Magnus in one form or another, such as Crystal Edge
now being a power up for Sagi.
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Section 2
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Walkthrough {2001}
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g
t;>>>Start of Disc 1
---Dark Service HQ---
Go as far left as you can without going to the paramachina lockers, go up the
stairs, and then to the right.  You can stop in the rooms if you want, but
right now, there’s no point.  Head to the strategy room, which has the big
banner over it.  Listen to the conversations and then head over to the door
guard to receive your Blank Magnus.  You can use these to trap the Magna
Essence of certain items.  Sagi will tell you if you can trap an item’s
Essence, and a large “!” will appear over his head when you can examine
something.  Also, just a tip, when Sagi asks you something, always respond in
the way that Sagi would want you to.  It gives you a better hand in battle.
Anyway, once you get the blank Magnus, you will see that one of the soldiers
somehow set the control panel on fire.  Trap some water from one of the
barrels around the room, then release it onto the flaming panel.  Afterwards,
talk to the guards and leave.  Once you are outside, listen to the soldier,
and 3 guards will come out and attack you.  In this fight, you only have to
worry about Sagi, as Guillo will act on his own, using potions as he needs
to.  After beating them, you will be given a choice to stop fighting or keep
going.  No matter which you say, the Captain will come out and break up the
fight.  He’ll talk to you for a while.  Afterwards, talk to the guy that
called you over.  He’ll ask you to light the torches around the HQ.  Go into
one of the lighted rooms up top and look for a standing torch.  Grab 4 fire
essences, and then head outside to the hallway.  Look for unlit standing
torches, and use an essence on each one.  He’ll give you a Magnus for
completing it.  Afterwards, head up the last set of stairs to get to the
mission.
---Olgan’s Residence---
After the conversation, talk to each of your men to commence the operation.
You will head off into the bushes.  Once inside, defeat the guards, grab the
chest, then sneak past the chef in the kitchen.  In the main room, feel free
to defeat the guards.  Examine the Crestwall, and then grab 2 or 3 Stale
Water essence.  Head into the only unlocked room, which is on the left.
You’ll see 2 guards standing over an unconscious person.  They reveal that
this person is a mechanic, and that he was supposed to maintenance the
Crestwall.  Go ahead and fight the two guards.  Note that Guillo is still
acting autonomously.  Once the guards are gone, pour water on the mechanic’s
head.  He’ll wake up, and give you a room key.  Use it on the door on the
right side of the main room.  Inside
you’ll see two sleeping guards.  Tiptoe so as not to wake them.  Grab the
essence of Chunk of Rubber from the huge pile of black blocks.  You can grab
the essence of Fruit Fit for an Emperor if you want, but it isn’t necessary.
Go back to the mechanic, wake him up again, and give him some rubber.  He’ll
use the rubber to block up the Crestwall, allowing you through to the next
room.  Upon reaching the door, you’ll hear a conversation.  Walk in, and
you’ll find that the Emperor is already dead.  Once the apparent killer walks
out, the Captain will barge in and accuse you and all of your men of
murdering the Emperor.  His troops open fire on you, and everyone is shot
down except for Sagi and Guillo.  From here, continue the only way you can go
to run into a boss fight.
0-------------Hideous Beast-------------0
This thing is really, really tough, especially for the first boss in the game.
Be ready with the low-potions, and although Guillo will pot you from time to
time, keep an eye on your health.  Also, if you see that Guillo’s eyes are
red, hit him with a potion, because that means he’s at low health.  Keep
smacking away, and eventually a cutscene will initiate.
0---------------------------------------0
During the cutscene, Guillo’s arms start glowing and his bashes the beast
into total annihilation.  This somehow torments Sagi to the point of passing
out, thrusting him into a very strange dream.
---The Dream---
Once the cutscene is finished, follow Seph and Thoran.  Guillo is not with
you at this time, so be extra careful.  Grab the Magnetite Wave essence from
any glowing rock you see, and deposit it on a red rock that doesn’t seem to
be glowing as much.  Once you’ve wound your way through to the end, you’ll be
in Rasalas Village.  When you reach Rasalas, you have to talk to every NPC in
the town.  Not just the ones outside: all of them. And there’s a catch as
well.  Notice that there are some NPCs who are having a conversation with each
other.  These still count as two NPCs.  You must talk to both of them.  There
should be 26 NPCs in all. Afterwards, follow the cutscenes, and you’ll be
returned to Olgan’s Residence.
---Olgan’s Residence---
You’ll wake up in Olgan’s Residence, with Guillo standing over you.  Listen
to the conversation, and you’ll find that all of your men are dead.  Valara
will also show up, and remark that the thing you defeated is possibly one of
Malpercio’s Afterlings.  After that, Sagi and Guillo leave into the sewers.
---Mintakan Sewers---
Walk around in the sewers, collecting every chest you see.  You can’t unlock
any of the cells, so don’t bother.  Also, when Guillo suggest staying
underground, always disagree with him, and head for the nearest ladder up to
the streets.
---Mintaka---
Once on the streets, be watchful of the guards, as they won’t hesitate to
attack.  You can fly past them by holding B, but your heart meter fills up
very quickly, so watch out.  Head into Lyude’s future home (it’s the
northernmost one, if you don’t know), and observe Camilla lecturing a young
Skeed and Vallye on the Imperial Constitution.  Once Camilla leaves, talk to
the housekeeper.  Head over to the counter on the far right and try to take
some Machina Oil.  The housekeeper won’t let you.  Go talk to her again, and
she will start ranting about how she hates Camilla.  Camilla will walk in and
yell at her.  Keep talking to her, and take the essence of Yesterday’s News
both times she asks you to.  After that, you can take the Machina Oil
essence.  From here, head south until you see a soldier talking to a man who
crashed his cart outside a door.  Talk to the man with the cart after
defeating the soldier, and he will ask for Machina Oil.  Give it to him, and
he will move his cart.  Sneak through the building that just opened up, and
head up the stairs.  As usual, fight the guards if you want to; leave ‘em if
you don’t.  Grab the chest on the right, and then head north.  From here, you
can keep going around in a circle until you get to the other side of the
city, where you can jump down.  Talk to the crouching man on the roof for a
funny conversation with Camilla.  Once you have the ability to jump down to
ground level, do so.  Make sure you save here, as a boss battle is
approaching.  Head toward the city port (eastward), to trigger a cutscene, and
then a boss battle.
0----------------Giacomo----------------0
This noticeably younger version of Giacomo is no less tough than he ever will
be.  Most of his regular attacks are mediocre, but have a low potion or
regular potion on hand when he uses Thrashingale.  It does 150+ damage, so be
very careful.  Also, Milliarde will be joining you for this battle, but she
isn’t under your control just yet.  She can die, but it doesn’t really matter
if she does.  Just make sure that, at a minimum, 2 party members are alive at
all times, and you’ll be OK.
0---------------------------------------0
After the battle, you’ll be able to board the ship.  You can go back and hit
the shop if you want.  Listen to the conversation, and eventually you’ll
arrive in Hassaleh.
---Hassaleh---
This is Sagi and possibly Guillo’s home country.  Listen to Guillo and Milly
argue for a while, then head out of the station and into the Nusakan
Thornwood.
---Nusakan Thornwood---
Once you enter, Guillo says that the very place makes him sick.  A
conversation ensues, and Milly officially joins your party.  Continue into
the forest.  You’ll notice a large, glowing, blue fruit hanging from a vine.
Go up to it, and you can grab the essence of the Yesterbean.  Make sure to
get this.  Next, find the thorn bridge.  Sagi will comment that it is too
feeble to support any weight.  Use the Yesterbean essence on it, and a large
vine will wrap around it, making it passable once again.  Head down onto the
next screen.  Talk to the herder, and he will request that you bring him a
Yesterbean to move the rock.  The old bean didn’t grow back, so you’ll need a
new one.  Go back to the previous screen, and come to the herder’s screen
through a higher entrance.  You’ll see the essence of a Yesterbean, but a
Balloona will eat it.  Rather than fight the Balloona, you have to keep it
from running.  Go through the middle-left exit of the herder’s screen, and
you’ll see a large spiny ball.  Push it to the ground.  Then go back and start
chasing the Balloon Gator.  Keep chasing it until it hits the spiny ball and
deflates, giving you the Yesterbean essence.  Now you can talk to the herder,
who gives you a Magnus.  Use the essence on the rock, causing vines to grow
and push it out of your way.  Continue through to exit the Thornwood.  Head on
over to the next town.
---Sheratan---
After the cutscene, follow Gena to the right screen.  Go through the cutscenes
as you will, reminiscing about the briar clock with the neighbors.  On the
next day, you will be required to find Tik’s hat.  In order to do so, first
talk to Tik in the orphanage.  Then go talk to a kid near the entrance to the
town, on the left side.  His name is “Vault Guard”, and he acts very
suspiciously.  He will tell you to get a red juicy fruit.  Go over to the
shop lady nearby, and she will tell you that you may have an apple for free.
Give the guard the apple, then return Tik’s hat to him.  Overnight, Sagi will
have a conversation with Milly.  On the third day in Sheratan, talk to Sis,
then get some Thornflower Nectar from the neighbor.  Give it to Sis, and
supper will be ready.  Tik and Wacho will tell you that they saw a huge
monster down at the lake.  Head on down to Lake Botein Ruins.
---Lake Botein Ruins---
Start off by talking to Tik and Wacho by the gaps in the railing.  Then, go
to the Photosynth Lilies and grab all you can carry.  You will be able to
jump across the pillars from the railing gaps.  Each way you go, you will
encounter an underwater area with a very strange wall at the back.  You must
go underwater and PUSH BOTH of these walls in order for the game to progress.
Also, on the left side, make sure to fight the Ogopogo enemy, as it leaves
behind a chest containing Flametongue.  Once both walls are pushed, the water
will drain, so grab the chest and use the save point, then examine the new
statue in the middle to initiate a boss fight.
0-------------Hideous Beast-------------0
He’s certainly no easier than he was last time.  This guy is still a tough
nut to crack, so be wary of everyone’s health and have a finger on the
healing items at all times.  Although he doesn’t use more than one attack per
turn very often, when he does, he is easily capable of killing any character
in one hit. His combos do 450+ damage, so have a Fate’s Cordial or two in
your deck.  Keep wailing on him, and eventually he’ll do something that
apparently defeats you instantly, but actually signifies that you won.
0---------------------------------------0
Once you watch the post-boss cutscene, examine some of the people around the
ruins.  You can give one of them a Photosynth Lily for an Ice Fruit and some
cash, but other than that, there’s little of interest.  Head back to town.
---Sheratan---
You walk in on a very disturbing scene.  Valara and her army have invaded,
and she comes piloting some kind of weird mechy-thingy.  Listen to her
ramblings, then get ready for another boss!
0-------------Machina Arma--------------0
This boss isn’t quite as tough as Hideous Beast was, but it’s not exactly
easy,either.  Be watchful of your character’s health, as the weapon’s Arma
Cannon attack is quite damaging.  The boss is so slow that it can seldom
attack, and doesn’t even use Arma Cannon that often.  Just keep pounding on
it until it uses some form of Arma Cannon that knocks out all your
characters.  The battle is won.
0---------------------------------------0
Watch the cutscene, and for those of you who desire spoilers, I’ll put some
in right now.
The Afterling you just beat comes to your aid, completely annihilating Valara
and her army.
That is the end of spoilers, for now.  Anyway, Valara will use Arma Cannon on
the beast, killing it.  This torments Sagi immensely, thrusting him back into
the dream.
---The Dream---
Guillo and Milly are with you this time, but it seems the others don’t know
of their existence.  After the conversation, talk to Thoran, then follow him.
In the next screen, grab the Magnetite Wave from the red rock, then go all
the way down the left side of the screen, onto the next screen, to grab some
of the pink sand.  Go back up on the first screen, walk around to where the
giant caterpillar is, and when Sagi asks you what do, use the pink sand,
which makes the worm fall back asleep.  Sneak by onto the next screen.  On
the next screen, place the Magnetite Wave in the first place you can, then
head down to where the large hole in the wall is.  The worm will emerge,
leaving you stuck.  You need a new magnetite wave to keep him in the hole,
but where can you get one?  In the worm’s old hole, on the previous screen,
all the way at the back, that’s where!  Grab an essence, then head to the
only other red rock on the lower screen, and deposit the essence there.  This
will trap the worm.  Continue past his hole, use the save point, and get
ready for yet ANOTHER boss battle!
0---------------Sandfeeder--------------0
This is DEFINITELY going to be the toughest boss you’ve fought at this point.
Beware its combo, Paralyzing Quills followed by Lunchtime.  Lunchtime doesn’t
wake a character from the sleep induced by Quills, and does 200+ damage easy.
Keep healing items on hand always, and never, EVER, discard Fate’s Cordial
unless all 3 characters are at near perfect health.  Keep pounding and
eventually it’ll fall.
0---------------------------------------0
After the boss, try to follow the others into the town to wake from the
dream.
---Sheratan---
Watch the cutscene, then you’ll be thrust into a “planning” stage.  Choose
“go to Alfard” every time.  Once that’s all done, head to the port.
---Hassaleh Port---
Not much to do here except a quick cutscene.  On your way there, you’ll
notice the Machina Arma took a sizeable portion off of the continent.  Pretty
scary, eh? Anyway, board the ship for Mintaka.
---Mintaka---
Once you arrive in Mintaka, head toward the exit.  You’ll be stopped by a
Wussy Man, who gives you some dogtags for the coliseum, which you can access
any time via a Blue Flower.  Continue out of the capital and into Greater
Mintaka.
---Greater Mintaka---
You’ll walk in on the funeral proceedings of Olgan, but they don’t last long.
Everyone wants to hear the candidates make their speeches.  Head up the main
staircase to listen in.  Once the speeches are over, and you try to walk out,
the pod that was parked there explodes.  Even in the least realistic game
physically possible, they have car-bombers.  At this point, investigate all
the houses you see for some good loot.  In the lower-left, you get a Weak
Attack B, and a Pegasus Jump.  Anyway, you’ll need to help some injured
people.  You can get everything you need from the lady standing at the base
of the steps, on the middle level.  You’ll also need to make 2 trips.  One of
the trips will consist of 4 Pristine Waters.  Use one of them on Girl with a
Burning Bum, and the remaining three on the burning pod.  The second trip
should consist of a Med Kit and Fruit Fit for an Emperor.  The Med Kit goes
to the little girl, and the fruit is for the Guy with a Skinned Knee.  Once
everything has settled, head through the left exit on the middle level to get
to the Quaestor’s residence.  Tell them that Geldoblame invited you, and
you’ll be let in.  Watch the scene, and please don’t tell the Quaestor to go
to hell.  Anyway, no matter what choice you make, Sagi will ask for time to
think about it.  Try to sleep in your little room after grabbing both of the
crappy chests.  Then investigate the bed to sleep.  Once you apparently wake
up, Milly will suggest going to Azha through the Nihal Desert.
---Nihal Desert---
OK, it is really, REALLY hot out here.  Stumble over to the guy next to
the machine and get a unit of Sparkling Snow.  You’ll only need 1,
since you can’t use another one after it runs out.  Anyway, use the
snow to give yourself temporary energy, and get down that path ASAP.
At the other end, talk to the lady at the machine and agree to help her
deliver the flame ice.  Once you have it, go due north until you reach
an area with very strong sunlight.  You can take the essence of Mother
Sunlight, but you don’t need to.  Go back along the path and deliver it
to the old man for a nice reward, then head to Azha.
---Azha---
What a friendly place.  I suggest wandering around town until you’ve
found all you can, including some nice finisher Magnus.  Make sure to
talk to Almarde.  After that, go back and take a rest at the Quaestor’s
house, and he’ll officially hire you.  Your first charge is flushing
out the terrorist at the speeches.  Go back to Azha to initiate the
investigation with Captain Lyuvann.  Notice that all the people have
been herded into the highest room in the building on the left side.  I
recommend first going back to the scene of the crime, talking to the
boy, then coming back.  Show the metal thing you found to Mallo, which
she will identify as a bomb detonator.  Tell this to Lyuvann to
assemble the villagers.  During the assembly both Nollin and Juwar
“confess”.  Talk to the remaining people, the most important of which
are Nollin, Mallo, and Juwar.  You don’t actually have to talk to Juwar
just yet, but talk to Nollin and ask about the bomb he planted.  Don’t
collect the testimony as evidence, but go talk to Mallo, ask about his
expertise, and THEN collect it as testimony.  Talk to Lyuvann and tell
him you found evidence.  After showing the evidence, talk to Juwar and
ask until he says he planted the bomb inside a building.  Collect this
testimony, then talk to Almarde.  After the scene, tell Lyuvann you
have some more evidence.  During the assembly, Mallo reveals that she
discovered the real Mourning Mistral, and it’s actually...Bein?!  Chase
him into the Lava Caves to keep going, and watch as Lyuvann forever
earns Milly’s utter and complete hatred.  Save before you head into the
caves, and outside the door, talk to the sickly man to get 3 Eau du
Mouche essence.  Use these wherever you see a blue flame inside the
caves.  Since the guards won’t let you in, call up the Quaestor on your
communicator for some backup.  Proceed into the lava caves, after
collecting the Magna Mix recipes on the large tanks.
---Lava Caves---
Use Eau du Mouche wherever you can.  If you need any more, grab the
essence of a Rockfly Corpse and take it to the sickly man.  He’ll give
you one for each corpse you bring him.  Anyway, the path through the
caves is more or less completely straightforward, so follow the only
path you can, and save at the red flower.  You’ll need it, because a
boss battle is coming on.
0-----------------Umbra-----------------0
More commonly known as an Afterling, we have yet another fight with
this guy.  Fortunately, his HP is too diminutive for his Mountain Maker
attack to be all that devastating, since chances are, you’ll kill him
before he can ever use it.  Use any ice-based finishers you have, like
Icebloom and Diamond Drop.  Even Icefan works too.  Keep pounding,
using fire finishers scarcely if ever, and spamming ice finishers all
you can, and this boss will kneel before you.
0---------------------------------------0
You guessed it!  Valara shows her disgusting face yet AGAIN, ready to
take the umbra down.  This takes you back to your creepy little dream
world.
---The Dream---
All you can do is talk to people here.  Make sure you talk to Seph,
Thoran, and Pieda.  Talk to Ven if you want, then head up all the
stairs and out the south exit to discover...you’re not in the sky?
‘Fraid not, but you don’t get any explanation, since Sagi decides to
wake up at that very moment.
---Lava Caves---
You’ll immediately be thrown into a fight with the Lavafish, but it
won’t be the last.  Hit it with ice finishers, and watch for its
flaming tackle (it’s not called that, but you’ll know what I mean when
you see it).  Eventually you’ll drive it off.  Head to the next screen,
save at the flower, then get ready for another battle with Lavafish.
Same strategy, blah blah blah.  Keep going down the path, and once you
get to the Rockfly bridge (the first one you made), you’ll be thrust
into the ACTUAL boss fight.
0----------------Lavafish---------------0
This boss isn’t particularly hard, although he obviously has more HP
now than he did previously.  The strategy is relatively similar to the
Umbra strategy, since they’re both fire type, but you might want a Red
Beans in your deck to cure the occasional burn.
0---------------------------------------0
Once Lavafish is history, head back to the Quaestor’s place and consult with
him.  His instructions state that you should go talk to Lord Baelheit, if you
want your name cleared.  Head to his house (northeastern house in Mintaka),
and have a chat.  After that’s done, go back to the Quaestor, then head to
Mintaka’s port.  You’re off to Diadem.
---Sheliak---
Diadem starts out as easy as physically possible.  Just follow Celsica, then
watch the scene with King Ladekahn, Gibari, and Rambari.  They’re heading off
to Nashira.  If you plan on following them, you’ll need to go to the Lesser
Celestial River.
---Lesser Celestial River---
Head down a bit to see Gibari turn on some kinda cloud-making thingy.  Follow
them up.  Wherever you see a cloud vortex around here, you can jump down to
the ground below.  Follow the path, and drop down to see Gibari use the Royal
Mirror to dispel a light wall.  Grab the mirror he left behind, and use it
wherever you can.  Proceed on the path, observe Gibari and Ladekahn jumping
over the passage, and find a light wall you can’t break.  At the light wall
that won’t break because the clouds are too thick, look around until you see
that little star-thingy you saw earlier.  Shine the light on that, and it
will reflect onto the light wall and break it.  Go down the new vortex and
talk to the man, who teaches you how to make Diadem Clouds.  Follow his
instructions (you do have to beat 3 enemies, but not Cancerites), and use the
cloud on the broken passage.  Make your way into Nashira.
---Nashira---
In Nashira, save at the flower, then get caught right where Gibari and the
King did.  Inside the cell, Ladekahn will ask you to remember how many people
you saw.  There should be 3 on top, 5 on bottom, and 2 battle mechs.  If you
guess them all right, you don’t have to fight any later.  Your magnus are in
a big sack on the table, so don’t forget them.  Head out into the village,
and go in the only house you can.  Go up the bunk bed to get into the next
house.  Do the same in each house until you end up in Anna’s bar.  Talk to
her, and she’ll open the secret exit to the village.  Now would be a good
time to go back to Elnath.  That means going through the Cloud Passage.  Once
you get there, someone will be waiting for you...
0----------------Giacomo----------------0
How fun.  The man with the funny hat is back, with a vengeance.  He comes
equipped with a very nice new move called Thrashingale Redux.  This thing is
deadly.  I mean, OHKO style deadly.  Definitely have a Fate’s Cordial in your
deck, and 2 or 3 healing items.  Take out the soldiers near him first, then
go all out.  If you can set up any good EX combos, now is the time.  He
doesn’t have a spectacular amount of HP, though, so you’ll be good if you
pull off a successful MP burst or two.
0---------------------------------------0
---Castle Elnath---
Go back to the throne room to see Rambari scolding the two kids.  Once you
arrive, they’ll inform you that the Cloudvents have been taken.  Head out the
right side exit to the throne room to get to the vents.
---Cloudvents---
You can only go through the passages when the clouds aren’t blowing through.
Start off by going left.  Keep going left as far as you can, until you see a
freaky looking boulder.  This is the Gust Boulder, and you need its essence.
Grab it, then head out the upper right exit.  Find a tunnel with monsters
blowing out of it, and head through it.  Cross the tunnel when the wind dies,
and you’ll get to a room with a crazily strong wind.  Use the Gust Boulder to
block up the hole, then head across after saving at the flower.  After the
cutscene, Celsica will turn into an umbra, but you never even get to fight
it. Nasca will get there first with his big ol’ tank and snatch it from under
your nose.  You have to have a brief fight with the tank, but you can’t win.
After that’s over, the new trio introduces themselves.  Giacomo, Ayme, and
Folon can move over, there’s a new trio in town.  Meet Heughes, Nasca, and
Valara, the baddest bunch in the Sky.
0---------------The Trio----------------0
First of all, do NOT spread your attacks evenly.  You must focus on one of
them, so that you can eliminate one as fast as possible.  If all 3 are alive,
they can use Machina Formation, which is almost always a 1-hit KO.  Also, you
really should eliminate Valara first.  She has a move called Deathdealer,
which does way more than Heughes’ Machina Fist or Nasca’s Stun Grenade.
Nasca should come next, since he has the healing items.  Heughes is the least
of your problems.  He rarely attacks and does pathetic damage.  Watch out for
their special attacks, and eventually you’ll wear ‘em down.
0---------------------------------------0
Dead umbra, you know what that means...
---The Dream---
This is by far the simplest section in the entire dream.  Basically, head to
Cujam, go down the stairs on the right screen, and listen to Wiseman.  There’s
nothing else to do, so just get it over with and come back.
---Cloudvents---
Nasca will stay in the tank for quite a while, but if you fight him, you have
to actually WIN, not just stall.  Come back a long time later for some fun.
Also, you need to come back anyway to grab the Bloody Crest on the ground.
But before you can do that, you need to talk to Ladekahn.  Once you have the
crest, talk to one of the soldiers in front of Castle Elnath, and give him
the crest.  Then you may leave.  The quaestor would like to speak to you.
---Greater Mintaka---
Talk to the quaestor, and you’ll hear some stuff about Umbras, and that
there’s troops in Sadal Suud.  That’s your next stop.
---Pherkad---
First off, go tear down some of those “WANTED” posters.  They’re bad
publicity.  If you’re wondering about the one near the two talking ladies,
all you have to do there is leave the city, then reenter.  Once they’re all
down, the circle of children in one of the screens disappears, and you can go
inside to meet the guy drawing this crap.  You can also go into the shop and
read your mail.  Try to go inside the Lord’s manor, and you’ll find out he’s
still in Cebalrai.  This means going through Nunki Valley.
---Nunki Valley---
Wherever you see the shiny things, you can get a Holy Droplet.  Once you have
one, you have to absolutely bull-rush the Lightbugs before your Droplet turns
into Pristine Water.  Other than this, the path is more or less
straightforward, so keep going down into Cebalrai.  Don’t bother with
Moonguile forest, you can’t do anything there.  Ever.
---Cebalrai---
Not much you can do here, either.  Just go to the left screen and listen to
Rodolfo and Heughes talking, then go back to Pherkad to try and catch Rodolfo
at home.
---Pherkad---
Barge through the mansion doors, and be prepared to fight.  After everything
settled down a bit, go up the steps and through the middle two doors.  Then
go up the stairs on the right, all the way to the roof.  Talk to the person
there and grab the chest.  Go into the kitchen and ask for some smoke, and
the chef will tell you to get into the room below.  Guillo will blow a hole
in the stove, allowing you downstairs.  Turns out, this isn’t the room with
the smoke in it.  Unlock the door and leave, then head into the middle-left
room.  Use the vine near the window to sneak into the locked room, grab some
smoke from the crate, and head back out.  Now, go downstairs and through the
archway on the left.  Put some smoke in the grate, then save and prepare for
a battle with...
0----------------Giacomo----------------0
Giacomo’s back, and he’s not alone this time.  He has a pair of Dark Service
Swordsman to help him out.  These two are your biggest concern, since they
attack very frequently for reasonable damage.  The only attack of Giacomo’s
that’s really dangerous is Thrashingale Redux, which he rarely uses.  Once
the soldiers are dead, set up as many big combos as you can and he’ll fall
before you once again.
0---------------------------------------0
Now it’s time to talk with Rodolfo.  Once you do that, head over to Nunki
Valley like Heughes instructed.  It’s a nasty scene.  In order to progress
throughout here, you have to use Flame Ice on the numerous Imperial cranes
around the area.  Once all the cranes work, you’ll be able to get to a new
path on the southernmost screen.  This will lead you to a chest, and a
clearing with some very bad things in it.  Namely, Heughes.
0----------------Heughes----------------0
Before this fight, you ABSOLUTELY must go to Cebalrai, head into the rightmost
house, and get as many Mountain Apples from the crate inside as possible.
Otherwise, his Burning Harken attack is much too powerful.  Each apple
increases all characters max HP by 50, and if you can carry about 13, that’s
a pretty big difference.  Naturally, you can’t win, but you have to do a
certain amount of damage before he’ll cave and take the fight into his own
hands.
0---------------------------------------0
Cutscene, blah blah, another boss fight?!
0---------------Afterling---------------0
This one shouldn’t give you much trouble, considering it more or less never
attacks.  Wail on it as fast as you can, or save up your MP and pull off a
big EX combo, like Heavenly Glacier, which is one of my favorites.
0---------------------------------------0
You killed an umbra, which means...
---The Dream---
How fun.  We’re back here.  Head to Zaurak Keep like Seph instructs, and
prepare for one heck of a dungeon.
---Zaurak Keep---
Follow the only possible path in the first 2 rooms.  In the 3rd room, grab
the chest, then fly up the large ledge, leaving Ven behind.  You’ll come for
him later.  Anyway, keep moving through the rooms, grabbing all sorts of
chests, including one with Wickedwing Revels in it, until you get to a room
with a large spotlight in it.  Start by drawing Light Powder from it and
using it by the gap in the floor, where a bridge would be.  Then, turn the
spotlight so it points to the bottom of the screen.  Go through the new
passage and grab Ven, then come back to the spotlight room.  Turn it to the
left side of the room, grab some more Light Powder, and save.  Go on through,
avoiding the enemies and grabbing the chest on the high ledge, and examine
the boulder.  Ven will blow it up, allowing you through.  Go through, use the
light powder on the missing bridge, turn the spotlight to the top of the
room, and prepare to wake up.
---Nunki Valley---
We’re back, and still alive.  Heughes is about to kill you off, but Palolo
saves the day, yet again.  Talk to Verus, then head back to Mintaka.
---Greater Mintaka---
Talk to the Quaestor, and save.  Save in two files, and do NOT overwrite both
of them with the “Game Disc 1 Complete” file.  You will have no chance to
level between now and Holoholo Bird, so come prepared.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g
t;>>>>>End of Disc 1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g
t;>>>Start of Disc 2
After the numerous cutscenes, save over ONE and ONLY ONE of your files, then
talk to everyone.  You’ll initiate the dreaded Holoholo Bird fight, whether
you like it or not.
0-------------Holoholo Bird-------------0
Alright, you guys seem to think that this thing is hard.  You are mistaken.
The HoloHolo Bird is not a difficult boss to beat.  The key, however, is that
you need to use both mob attacks (attacks that hit more than one enemy at the
same time), which you’ve never really needed on bosses before, and strategy,
which is something that you’ve also never needed before.  Having fought this
boss on my second playthrough, I discovered this and surprised myself at the
same time. I beat the Holoholo Bird EASILY on my first try, and I was what
most people consider to be “underlevel”, with all my characters at level 26.
Surely you know the strategy, but if you don’t, I’ll inform you.  You are to
use the EX Combo “Fiery Ice Queen”.  This combo goes in the order of Icefan,
Sigil Cry, Empyreal Wildfire.  That is but the strategy.  A wise person once
said, “It is not enough to be a good player; you must also play well.” That
retains truth in this context.  It is not enough to simply USE this; use it
right.  That means you should ABSOLUTELY use this as the spearhead of a major
MP burst combo.  Don’t start your burst until the chicks and parent have all
attacked.  That way you won’t get knockdown-ed in the middle of a combo.  Your
other characters should be using EX combos, if they can.  Sagi can have such
destruction as Flame Ice Flurry.  Milly...well, Milly can’t have much.  Do
whatever you can, since I believe that Thunder Seriatim is not currently
available to you.  There are other ways to show good practice in this fight as
well.  Obviously, your characters aren’t going to be as powerful unequipped as
they are with good equipment.  This means one thing: HAVE GOOD WEAPONS.  I
know exactly what you’re thinking: “MY WEPPINZ SUX!!”  That’s not true.
Upgrade those sucky weapons of yours.  Guillo’s pathetic Mars Sophia weapon
becomes a deadly Meteor Sophia.  A common Drakeshead Stave for Milly can be a
Drakeslord Stave, which is the most powerful weapon you have yet acquired in
the game.  Sagi can have some things, like Levinlight, but they’re not quite
as impressive.  Apostolos is a good bet.  With your strategic genius in play,
there’s but one more thing: have the highest class level you can.  If your
class is higher, you can charge MP faster.  That means more MP bursts in a
shorter amount of time.  That is win.
0---------------------------------------0
Well that was easy.  Now, save.  Save.  Save some more.  You don’t want to
do that again, so save one more time, just to be sure.  Head as far left as
you can go, then examine the Olifant. On the way, beware of the Mirabilis
enemies walking around.  They’re deadly.  Go right to loop yourself around,
then head back to the room with water.  Take the 12 o’ clock exit, and get the
essence of Holoholo Nectar.  Dump it on the Olifant to attract a lethal
assault of blooderflies, which wake it up.  It’ll charge through the shrubs,
giving you a pathway to Komo Mai.
---Komo Mai---
Now that you’ve made it out of the jungle, you’re officially in Anuenue, the
Rainbow Nation.  This is the longest continent by FAR, especially if you want
to get all 9 election ballots.  For those of you who want to, you won’t find
out from me, sadly.  If you need to know now, though, go look at
ryokazendriel’s guide, he has all of the solutions.  Anydangway, go talk to
Queen Corellia.  Basically, she’ll tell you to go shove the Quaestor’s
proposal up your ***.  If you try to leave the palace area, Milly suggests you
see the school of Magic.  Basically what you do is talk to the teachers in the
far left and far right rooms, then leave.  You have to go to Holoholo again,
but you can’t really do anything.  Just go to the Sfida, then come back.  The
pollywhale part is simple enough, and you get some White Night Beans for it.
Go back and look for Corellia, but she’s gone.  Come back out to see a scene
with some snotty kids and my all time favorite Quest Magnus ever...Woodfellah!
Anyway, now you want a landmark stone.  All that you really have to do to get
one is go to the room in the far left (you must have more red cookies than
blue cookies, or have no blue cookies at all to get in), and talk to the
little girl in red.  This is the headmaster, believe it or else, and she’s got
a Landmark Stone.  However, if you want it, you have to pass Classics, Magic,
and Chemistry.  Let’s start with Magic.  Basically, walk in and start
answering questions.  The answers are as follows:
Malpercio
Children of the Earth
Bell which Tolls Time
Flight of Time
End Magnus
5
Dark Brethren
Beatrix
Now you just need to pass Chemistry and Classics.  To pass chemistry, talk to
the person near the huge flask in the far right room, and he’ll ask for
Rotten Food.  If you have none, talk to the guy on the blanket in the main
town to get some.  Give it to the man, and he’ll give you Chemistry credit.
Classics is by far the hardest.  First, you have to get 10 of the red cookies
to the man selling red cookies in Anuenue Port.  This is kinda hard, though,
since the Righty Staff won’t let you through with that many.  Unless, of
course, you have the Original Cookie Pin.  If you have that, you can go
through no problems.  Otherwise, it may take some trips, since you need more
blue cookies than red.  After you give him 10, he’ll be all happy, and you
can get the essence of Good Times from him.  Grab 3, then go talk to the
Classics Professor again.  Give him all 3, and you get the last credit.  Talk
to the headmaster again for the Landmark Stone.
---Holoholo Jungle---
Go right past the Sfida, and try to exit the screen through the rightmost
exit.  Some stupid koa monkey steals the landmark stone, and you have to
scare him a bunch of times before you get it back.  I can’t really describe
where it’s hiding, so you’ll just have to look yourself.  Once you get it,
continue on out.
---Opu Village---
You can’t really do anything except go to Lolo’s house.  After you finish the
conversation, you can look around town for some miscellaneous stuff.  Then go
to the Celestial Tree and talk to the guards.  Now it’s time to hike back up
to Corellia’s palace.
---Komo Mai---
As you can see, the troops have mobilized.  Talk to Corellia and beg to lend
her aid.  She’ll eventually let you, but she doesn’t let you at any fell
branches yet.  So go back to the Celestial Tree.
---Celestial Tree---
Go down the little passage you see there, and fight the enemies if you can.
They’re pretty dang tough.  Go down the left most exit to see that you can’t
actually get in, because the roots were burned.  Go back out and talk to
Lolo, she’ll give you my favorite magnus of all time...Woodfellah!  You need
to use this guy to collect the 5 elemental Dagroots.
---Veinroots---
You can get to the dagroots from any other exit except the leftmost one.  All
of them are pretty straightforward, just send Woodfellah through the hole in
the tree, then grab the root, then drag it back.  The dark one is tougher,
though.  You have to send him over to the torch, then have Sagi go in and get
it, since there are too many monsters there.  Once you have them all, give
them to Lolo, she’ll build you a wooden thingy to get across the gap.  Move
it with the Control Stick once you’re on.  Before you go inside and initiate
a boss fight, head past the core and grab the two chests in the next room.
Then go into the core.
0---------------Afterling---------------0
This boss fight is a bit different than we’re used to.  Only attack it when
the head is up.  Valara will fire when the head is down, and if she kills the
head, then you lose.  Your objective is to kill the roots before she has a
chance to kill the head.  Bash as fast as possible when it’s up, and
heal/prepare combos when it’s down.  Valara will not attack you, in case you
were wondering.
0---------------------------------------0
Even though you freed it, we still end up in...
---The Dream---
Ugh, not again.
---Zaurak Keep---
This part is annoying.  Go back outside and save, then start off by going to
the right.  Grab every chest as you see one (including the one in the middle
of all the undead warriors).  One of them has an Efreeti Saber, so you can
finally replace that Kusanagi you had for just about ever.  You’ll eventually
come to a door with a save flower on each side, one of each color.  Use one,
then continue left.  Go up, leaving Ven behind, then up again for a chest.
Come all the way down, and on the next screen, go through the rightmost door.
It will lead you to another one of those searchlight things.  Start by
pointing it south, so you can grab the chest.  Then go east, grab some light
powder, and head out into the room with a ton of undead warriors.  Go up the
cliff, and use the Light Powder on the half-bridge.  Then go back to the
searchlight room and finally point it north.  You’ll have to exit south (by
the undead warriors), and circle around counterclockwise, past the two save
points, pick up Ven, save, and get ready for a boss.
0-----------------Rudra-----------------0
This guy is not your friend.  He is very, very bad.  His two attacks that are
your main concern are Heathen Melody and Feral Proof.  Heathen Melody is the
worst, since it does massive damage with random status ailments to ALL.
Feral proof only hits one, but it’s more or less a one hit KO.  Use every big
combo you’ve got, go for big MP bursts, and you’ll eventually take him down.
0---------------------------------------0
You’ll automatically go back to Naos.  You now have the power of the Dark
Brethren on your side.  Ven suggests coming up with a name.  Pieda is the one
who comes up with their final, spoilerific group name:
Malpercio.
No foolin’, these people are the wicked god itself.  Now your job is to head
to Cujam.  Upon arrival, you’ll see that nobody’s there.  Exit out the east
side and head to the Battlefields of Atria.
---Atria---
There’s a reason this is called a battleground.  Avoid getting seen by the
Shamans or Mediums, they hit you with a blue bolt that makes you walk around