Main Story Walkthrough

1

Earth Shrine

Finish the combat tutorial, leave Grandshelt with Rain and Lasswell, and investigate the Earth Shrine. Save before the permanent dialogue choice, then continue to Belmodar.

2

Mitra and Grandshelt

Obtain Leah and Tronn in Mitra and equip the Visions before returning to Grandshelt. Prepare before entering the castle, defeat Hell's Rider and rescue the king. The following Umbra encounter is a scripted loss.

3

Kol and the chocobo

Fina joins after leaving Grandshelt. Visit the Village of Kol and stay at the inn to open the chocobo route past the sand pit. Collect nearby Vision crystals as optional detours.

4

Southern Grandshelt

Check Oblivion Palace for Tablet Shard rewards and Grandport for supplies. Rescue the girl on the route toward Felicitas; Terra's sanctum is an optional detour before entering town.

5

Felicitas and Kolobos Ruins

Accept Chloe's Secrets Unearthed quest before exploring Kolobos Ruins. Keep recovery items and MP for both forms of The Hunger, and handle the accompanying soldiers during its second phase.

6

Siren's Tower

Return to Grandport and continue to Siren's Tower. Prepare Lightning attacks and healing before the summit. Defeat Siren, then choose Fina's permanent dialogue bonus.

7

Before sailing

Return to Grandport to meet the Moogle of Light and unlock Vision Awakening. Complete any desired early detours before boarding the ship; the Marauder challenge is optional.

1

Dilmagia

Follow the marked conversations in Dilmagia, then visit the shipyard to recruit Lid.

2

Mt. Thunderclap

Cross Mt. Thunderclap and defeat Liquid Thunder. Paying Lid 1,000 Gil opens a shortcut, while the longer path still contains items. Ramuh is an optional return trip to the mountain peak.

3

Dwarven Forge and shipyard

Defeat Mom Bomb at the Dwarven Forge, then explore Mobliz Shipyard. Make a manual save before its timed escape section because the countdown continues during battles.

4

Restore the elevators

Trigger the stopped-elevator scene, break through the fence to the switches and use central lever 16. Once the elevators work, avoid unnecessary Guardian battles during the escape.

5

Consecutive shipyard fights

Prepare the party before Epimetheus: Adrastea follows without a chance to rebuild the loadout. Preserve recovery resources across both encounters.

6

Wind Shrine and departure

After escaping, check the Mechabo repair quests if desired. Continue to the Wind Shrine, prepare Ice attacks for Aether and its summoned enemies, then return to Dilmagia before speaking to Lid to leave.

1

Olderion and the Cave of Waters

After the opening dialogue choice, explore Olderion and follow its marked conversations. Meet Nichol and continue to the Cave of Waters, where he joins. Choose four active members before proceeding.

2

Cave battle and return

Defeat the Cave of Waters boss and its Snappers, then return to Olderion. Save and finish any desired preparation before entering Old Town.

3

Old Town

Prepare Rain, Fina and Lid for the restricted party segment: Lasswell and Nichol leave temporarily after its opening fight. Defeat the Water Dragon, then restore the returning members' equipment and lineup.

4

Lake Dorr

Reach Lake Dorr through the western side of the Cave of Waters. Leviathan attacks on arrival; check each supporting orb's weakness. Return to Olderion and stay at the inn afterward.

5

Waterfall Way and Water Shrine

Continue through Waterfall Way and Warden's Cape to the Water Shrine. Its route requires changing water levels and moving boxes to form a crossing.

6

Alluvion and the next ship

Prepare Lightning attacks for Alluvion and its Prism Cores. Return to Olderion, follow the Arsha sequence and choose Nichol's dialogue bonus. Complete any desired detours before sailing to Zoldaad.

1

Mozul Station

Travel south to Mozul Station and board the train. During the chase, run toward the back of the train rather than stopping for optional soldier encounters.

2

Zoldaad and the hideout

Follow the Commercial District and Slums scenes, then meet in the alley behind the Imperial Hotel. Take the underground route to the Rebel Hideout. The repaired Grandshelt Colosseum is an optional detour.

3

Jake and the Weapons Factory

Speak to the required hideout NPCs and visit Jake's room to recruit him. Rest before heading to the Weapons Factory. Its first two Ignis encounters are scripted losses; solve the rotating-path bridge route to continue.

4

The decisive Ignis fight

Prepare Water attacks before the winnable Ignis encounter. Afterward, return to the Rebel Hideout for Lasswell's permanent dialogue choice and the next story scene.

5

Castle keys

Enter the castle dungeon through the tunnels, defeat the guard holding the master key and open the cells. For the locked throne-room door, obtain the key from the captain in the far-right room.

6

Castle finale

Defeat the Emperor of Zoldaad, open the chest beside the throne and take the western exit toward the roof. Continue through Evan and Lazarov's encounters, then make Jake's dialogue choice as the chapter ends.

1

Airship and Mysidia

Board the airship and complete any desired newly reachable detours. Find Mysidia with the airship radar. Chloe's scene in Felicitas and the Chamber of Arms are optional stops.

2

Sakura and Sunioo

Follow Mysidia's story through Sakura and the Potion Factory before leaving the city. Defeat Slagworm on the route to the Village of Sunioo, then speak to the Village Headman and choose Sakura's dialogue bonus.

3

Nameless Ruins

Defeat Iron Giant and Liquid Flame to open the back route. The first Tellus encounter ends through a scripted sequence, so concentrate on surviving rather than spending everything trying to win.

4

Arcane Library

Clear the five fixed encounters to reach the forbidden text wing and Byblos. Prepare for the encounter that uses Death 5: characters whose levels are multiples of five are vulnerable to that attack.

5

Fina's Psyche and the tower

Use the tome to enter Fina's Psyche, return to the real world and climb the Tower of Mysidia. Enter the psyche again from the top and follow the new eastern route, preparing for the mandatory Malboro encounter.

6

Gate and return

After the camp scenes, return through the gate and continue the story battles. Prepare both physical and magical Wind attacks for the later Tellus fight and follow its battle instructions. Return to Sakura's house to end the chapter.

1

Gronoa settlement

Travel to Gronoa and visit Gaberada. In its northernmost house, obtain the white-jade-stone objective. Speak to the Hiding Man if pursuing the optional hidden-treasure scanner route.

2

The white jade stone

Search the Research Center Ruins to the east and obtain the stone from the table in the Level 3 door's room. Return it before using Holy to cross the miasma.

3

Rugged Mountain Path and Gronoa Shrine

Cross the Rugged Mountain Path and defeat Lux, then continue south to Gronoa Shrine and Elfdrit. Prepare ailment protection for the shrine battles.

4

Sanctissimus trials

Read the steles before entering each trial and adjust the party between rooms. Prepare for changing weaknesses, dangerous death or countdown effects, and paired enemies that revive one another.

5

Geldius

After the trials, make the final preparations available before fighting Geldius in the crystal room. Guard against the Deprotect effect and finish the chapter's closing scenes.

1

Pharm and Sian

Prepare before approaching the floating island above the Kingdom of Pharm: Aether attacks immediately. Continue to Sian and speak to Ayaka to open the Mt. Reizan route. Optional Esper and side-quest checks can be made between story objectives.

2

Mt. Reizan

Climb the mountain, collecting the Resonance Stone if pursuing hidden-treasure upgrades. Prepare for consecutive Ignis and Alluvion fights, which favor Water and Lightning attacks respectively.

3

Forest Path

Take the eastern route from the summit into Forest Path and prepare Wind attacks for the next Tellus battle.

4

Wandering Lands

Follow the Wandering Lands route and collect the Silver Key before Umbra. Prepare Light attacks for that fight. After clearing the chapter, check Rain's side quest before entering the Crystal Tower.

1

Crystal Tower

Climb to the middle section, where the Ancient Katana chest is beside a save point. Open the nearby side exit to establish the airship shortcut.

2

Behemoth and the upper floors

Behemoth's barrier initially limits damage, but its stagger gauge can still be reduced. Continue through the upper floors and the disappearing-floor room after the fight.

3

Final-story portal

Make a manual save at the upper chamber before entering the point-of-no-return portal. Defeat Sol and prioritize the Dark Bahamut that joins the encounter.

4

The final climb

Continue up the spiraling route and use the cave's save point and shop before pressing on to Chaotic Darkness. Deal with its separate hand targets before focusing on the main target.

5

Ending and return

Complete the final multipart encounter and watch the ending. Load a clear save afterward for the post-clear return and newly available optional content.