Speedrun Guide

Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes
Written by LewdDolphin
Last Updated Sunday, October 15, 2017
Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes
If you would rather have an editable document instead of a mere PDF, you can find that
document here: http://tinyurl.com/ff13speedrunguide
If you are viewing this on a computer, you can click the text below to jump to its corresponding
section!
Preliminaries ................................................................................................................................ 3
Tips for Success ........................................................................................................................ 8
Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................... 16
Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................... 31
Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 7 ................................................................................................................................... 59
Chapter 8 ................................................................................................................................... 71
Chapter 9 ................................................................................................................................... 76
Chapter 10 ................................................................................................................................. 93
Chapter 11 ................................................................................................................................. 99
Chapter 12 ............................................................................................................................... 126
Chapter 13 ............................................................................................................................... 140
Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 158
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Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes Preliminaries 1/5
Preliminaries
This short section is meant as a quick reference for the rest of the guide.
First, some notes about game setup for speedrunning purposes.

 Required Settings for the speedrun (change via the main menu)
o Battle difficulty: Normal.
 This is only an option for PC, and for JP console versions. Normal on
those is identical to the game on EN console. You also get to select
difficulty after selecting New Game, so pick the same option there.
o Battle speed: Normal.
o Target selection: Via cursor.
 This is not personal preference. On Via Cursor, you can hover over Auto-
battle (or Repeat) and press X-Triangle (PS3) or A-Y (360) to near-
instantaneously select target and execute action. You cannot do this on
From List (try this out to see what I mean, though).
 Even with your cursor on the field, you can still press Up/Down to get the
cursor back to the list. I do this myself, since Left/Right target changes is
conditional on positioning, but Up/Down target changes is consistent.
 Timing method
o Start on New Game (EN console) or confirmation of difficulty (PC, JP console).
o End on the final button input on the final results screen for Orphan 2.
Here is some Common Jargon that will be used frequently throughout the guide:
 ATB Refresh: A paradigm shift that instantly refills everyone’s ATB gauges. The first
paradigm shift is an ATB refresh; after that, the next ATB refresh will occur with the first
paradigm shift you make after 12 seconds have passed (think of it as a 12-second
cooldown).
 Camera trick: While dodging, aim the camera toward the ground. This tends to disrupt
general enemy behavior.
 Canceling a ready animation: An ATB refresh that is timed for just after an ally does an
attack, so that they resume with their refreshed string of abilities after the ATB refresh
instead of doing time-wasting activities such as twirling their sword (Lightning) or
flexing their arms (Snow).
 Deceptisol canceling: Activate a Deceptisol, run past some number of dodges, exit the
battle zone of the last dodge, run back in to that dodge and hit one of the enemies, and
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immediately Retry the fight. This gives you back the Deceptisol and gets you past the
dodges without difficulties.
 Partial string: Press Triangle either while inputting commands or waiting for your ATB
bar to fill to execute a partial string of actions.
 Repeat: In battle, hover over Abilities and hold Right. Abilities than changes to Repeat,
which Repeats your previously manually inputted chain of abilities. Repeat only repeats
the abilities selected in the current role, so you can Repeat RAV abilities after having
shifted in and out of COM (even if you also manually inputted COM abilities in the
interim) if you need to.
o Sometimes you might wonder why I want you to use partial strings when you
have enough ATB for more. Generally the reason is it is slower to do otherwise.
For instance, when executing a full string of Attacks on a single target, the final
attack is a “finisher” and has a different, generally slower, animation than the rest.
For Sazh and Lightning, that final attack frequently is not worth doing in terms of
time spent doing it, so I will direct you to use less than a full bar of Attacks when
relevant.
 Stagger cancel: A stagger that is timed to interrupt the target’s current action. There are
several places where this is at the very least helpful, and sometimes even very powerful.
(The best example is the Manasvin Warmech fight in chapter 3, where stagger canceling
Crystal Rain stops that attack from killing you.)
Lastly, here are some miscellaneous notes.

 I am omitting dodge and cutscene skip descriptions. In previous versions of my notes, I
had some level of description of these; however, having played both the PS3 and PC
versions, I have decided to remove these altogether. Cutscene skips are inconsistent
across versions, and sometimes inconsistent within the same version. I can try to explain
dodges, but ultimately dodging is a learned skill and not something that can easily be
described dodge-by-dodge.
o Nevertheless, here is some general advice on dodging:
 Deceptisol cancels are valid if you fail a dodge at least once on average.
 Some dodges are best done via a lure: Run into the battle zone, lure the
enemy/enemies to one side, exit the battle zone, run to the other side of the
enemies, and run through the battle zone on that side. Sometimes this
takes more time to setup than is worth it, but sometimes this is the only
way to perform a given dodge.
 Some dodges are best done via a camera trick. In some instances, enemies
don’t charge out as early as they should; in others, enemies don’t charge at
all. You can still keep track of enemy positions by keeping an eye on the
mini-map. Why camera tricking works remains a mystery for the most
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part. I will try to highlight the few dodges where camera tricking
definitively works, but feel free to camera trick every dodge you want to.
 Fights will be described assuming you only have the minimum number of shrouds, but
most fights after chapter 1 has a set chance of dropping a shroud. These bonus shrouds
should be utilized for maximum time-gain. Please read the Appendix for possibly good
places to use these bonus shrouds, as well as updated battle descriptions for fights using
those shrouds.
 While sometimes I might write up boss fights as though it were a routine, in many cases
you must react to various situations that arise, such as an unexpected party member death,
or a premature ending of stagger. This is why you must practice all boss fights diligently,
instead of running the route blindly.
I will describe distinguished things such as battles and menus via tables. Here is how they will be
setup:
Battle: Names of enemies

Overview: A short description of what you are basically trying to accomplish as you battle.
 The leading bullet describes the paradigm to be in while you perform actions. (This is
omitted in the first two chapters because of the lack of paradigms.) For instance:
 [3] Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
o “[3]” means the paradigm is listed in slot 3, in case you think of paradigms in
terms of their positions in the paradigm deck.
o “Aggression” is the name of the paradigm, in case you think of paradigms in
terms of their in-game title.
o “(COM/COM/RAV)” describes the composition of roles in the paradigm, in
case you think of paradigms in terms of their roles.
 [2] Relentless Assault (COM/RAV/RAV)
o When this appears after the previous paradigm, it means to perform a paradigm
shift to this paradigm after the sub-bullets of the previous paradigm have been
resolved.
 Bear in mind that these are typically an approximate sequence of actions you will want
to perform when battling this encounter.
o Many fights are not routine; you will need to react to situations that arise mid-
fight.
Item drop rates that are relevant are described here.
100% chance you will read this, right?
50% chance you will remember this mid-run.
Menu
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Overview: A short description of what you are basically trying to accomplish in this menu,
and maybe why you are making these changes.
 Bullets describe the sequence of actions you will take in the menu.
 Unlike battle strategies, most menu actions are routine, so follow this very closely!
 When setting up paradigms, the following convention will be used:
o [COM] – This is the first role to select when setting up a new paradigm. This
choice is actually important—it minimizes the inputs necessary to arrive at the
desired paradigm.
o (COM) – Change whatever the role was here to the displayed one here. If there
are no square brackets, it does not matter the order that you do these, but do
make the square bracket role first.
o COM – Make no change to the role here. Feel free to double-check that your
roles are indeed correct, but if you follow my notes exactly there should be
nothing to correct.
o ← set default – Press Square to make this paradigm the default paradigm.
o ← default – The paradigm here is already the default paradigm. Feel free to
double-check that this paradigm is indeed default, but if you follow my notes
exactly there should be nothing to change.
Shop
Overview: The items you are buying in this shop. Also includes the gil necessary to afford this
shop, and whether it is possible to be short.
 The first bullet usually contains the item(s) you will be selling first. Technically, you
have to enter a shop first before you can sell anything, but it is easier to distinguish
sold items from purchased items if I do it this way. You should go to the first shop
below this bullet to sell these items.
 Subsequent bullets will lead with the name of the shop to go to, and what to buy from
that shop.
 It might happen that you are short on gil in a given shop; if so, watch out for alternate
purchases.
Upgrade
Overview: The equipment getting upgraded, and their goal levels.
 The leading bullet references either Weapons or Accessories, the two main categories
of equipment.
o The next bullet in is the name of the equipment to upgrade, and its level or
equipped status if that is necessary to distinguish it from others in the list.
 Finally, these bullets describe the sequence of components to use when
upgrading the equipment.
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 It is important to follow the items in their exact order, and to not

combine steps (e.g., if Sturdy Bones are used in consecutive steps).
 The parantheses after each component describes what screens you
should expect to see after you are done using that component. For
instance, (x2) means you will see a notification about the bonus
multiplier being x2, and (Lv. 13) means you can expect the equipment
to be leveled to Lv. 13 after this part of the upgrade.
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Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes Tips for Success 1/3
Tips for Success

These are just some quick suggestions on how you can best learn this game and eventually “git
gud”.
 Please do not try to do a blind run of this. There is a lot you have to learn in order to be
able to complete this run in a reasonable amount of time. Despite how “press X to win” is
the common meme with regards to FF13 gameplay (which is actually false, contrary to
popular belief), speedrun strategies require not just knowledge of what to do, but
experience to know what to do when things don’t go your way. Especially in the last
three chapters, there is often little-to-no leeway when it comes to battle execution.
 Watch some completed runs first. Here are some sample runs of mine that should be
useful (bear in mind there will always be some differences between my notes and these
runs):
o PS3 EN 5:12:42: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pzqK6MsbDk
o PC 4:54:36: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauQSJT2jqc
o RPG Limit Break 2016 5:06:42:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS62Ep11ebI (being a marathon run, some
extra things were done as donation incentives; nonetheless, this is probably the
best commentary there can be on this speedrun)
 Start learning by making a bunch of practice saves as you follow the notes. At the
bare minimum, make a save at the end of each chapter; this will help with a later tip. I’d
also recommend saving before each fight, when possible; at the very least, save before
bosses. You can also save right before each extensive menu, primarily so if you make a
mistake while learning you can just reload that save, but also so you can practice
individual menu segments later when it comes to optimizing your times. In any case, just
focus on making practice saves first, before you get carried away with learning individual
segments; this will help you understand the bigger picture of the speedrun.
 Don’t focus on learning dodges right away. A common issue new learners face is
demotivation upon failing each Chapter 1 dodge repeatedly. There is a lot more you have
to learn before you can conceivably complete this speedrun, and if you focus hard on
Chapter 1 dodges, you’re going to drain yourself before you get to the challenging fights.
Just remember: Time loss due to failed dodges is miniscule relative to time loss due to
deaths.
 Work on boss fights until you can defeat them within a few tries. Key word: Few. The
focus here isn’t to be able to be the Aster Protoflorian master, but to be able to take a boss
fight at random and secure a victory somewhat quickly.
 Run individual chapters. This is why I recommended making a save at the end of each
chapter. Load a save and run through the chapter, following the notes as you go. Do this
repeatedly for each chapter. You can make an exception for Chapter 11 due to its length;
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I’d recommend breaking it up into three segments or so. The goal here is just to see how
the boss fights fit within the flow of each chapter.
 Run groups of chapters. These mini-runs will start building up your stamina as you
prepare for your first full run. Take note of the fact that I have yet to mention practicing
dodges to this point; that is because dodges are best learned through tons of personal
experience as to their nuances. You will grow to hate various groups of enemies for their
insanely difficult dodges, but in the end you will understand best how to dodge each
encounter, and which ones are best dodged via a Deceptisol.
 Do your first run. It’s at this point that you can start contemplating your first run, as a
sort-of super group of chapters. Since it is a first run, you should be relaxed; you will
make mistakes, you will die repeatedly, you will mess up a menu here or there, and you
will not world record, but that’s okay! You have a lot of time to “git gud.”
 Right after finishing a run, make a list of the things that went well, and the things
that did not go so well. This will help inform you as to where you should focus your
practicing efforts before your next run. If you performed better on a boss than you had
expected, that’s great! If you failed a dodge because a monster did something you never
saw him do before, you should go and practice that dodge several times more, so that you
can know what to do when they do that thing in future runs.
 In general, don’t get flustered mid-run when bad things happen. It is almost
impossible to have a truly perfect run; at some point, something bad is going to happen. It
is my opinion that focusing on that bad thing mid-run will hamper the rest of your run.
Obviously, if something went wrong that requires you to fix it, you will need to figure out
the proper fix (which is very tough when you are inexperienced, to be sure), but focusing
on why that bad thing happened, and whether it is an indicator of your performance, or
thinking the game hates you or something ridiculous, is what leads to negative thoughts
that distract you from being able to properly focus on the speedrun, and will lead to more
mistakes later.
 Reference other runners’ PB videos. You can do this whenever, but I recommend you
do more than just merely watch one person perform a speedrun. If you are wondering
how a specific dodge works, watch different runners get past that dodge (but make sure
that runner is running on the same platform as you), and compare and contrast their
methods. If you wonder how a specific fight looks when executed properly, watch that
particular fight over several runners and runs. Be more engaged with the videos than a
mere viewer.
 Ask questions. A lot of FF13 runners are friendly and helpful when it comes to learning
this run! Don’t hesitate to ask questions as you learn. Furthermore, feel free to join the
FF13 Discord server, so you have a central place in which you can ask for guidance—the
invite link is https://discord.gg/0ysmzR388Af6Ci0v (you must have Discord installed in
order to be able to join the server).
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 Have fun! People speedrun for various reasons, but at the end of the day this is a video
game, and games are meant to be played for entertainment. If you ever feel stressed,
depressed, angry, or otherwise negative as the result of learning and running this
speedgame, you should reevaluate what importance this speedrun has to you, and whether
there is a better game to run that would make you feel more positive.
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Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes Chapter 1 1/5
Chapter 1
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Manasvin Warmech (1)

Overview: Auto-battle to victory, but time your attacks to not be interrupted and lose time.
● Skip the tutorial.
● Auto-battle thrice.
● Skip 1 cutscene.
● Auto-battle twice.
● Manually restart ATB (select Auto-battle, select target, immediately cancel; this will
start your ATB regeneration immediately).
● Auto-battle.
● Auto-battle 1 Attack (execute early).
● Auto-battle until victory.
○ If your ATB freezes during the second Wave Cannon, manually restart it like
before.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Change the control scheme? No (press Down).

(If you accidentally hit Yes, press X to select your current control scheme, and say Yes a
second time—the question magically changed to “Do you wish to use these settings?”.)
Mash X to get through the primer. When you have control, immediately aim the camera at the
ground to manipulate the next enemy spawn, and run forward. (This will be referred to as
camera trick from this point forward.) Right before the first dodge, there is an additional prompt
to mash through.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Pantheron & PSICOM Warden

Overview: Mash Auto-battle after skipping the tutorial to avoid getting interrupted. Then,
briefly change targets. As Sazh kills the Warden, focus back on the Pantheron.
● Skip the tutorial.
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● Auto-battle Pantheron.
● Execute a single Attack against PSICOM Warden.
● Auto-battle Pantheron (Sazh should be killing the Warden).
10% chance of a Phoenix Down.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Start camera tricking immediately.
Dodge 1 encounter (run up the stairs to the left).
Run around Sazh and activate the platform.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Marauder & PSICOM Enforcer x2

Overview: Blitz until one thing is left, and then Auto-battle.
● Skip the tutorial, and immediately Auto-battle (Blitz) PSICOM Marauder.
● Blitz PSICOM Marauder until either:
○ Both PSICOM Enforcers are dead. In this case, Auto-battle PSICOM Marauder
until victory.
○ Or, PSICOM Marauder dies. In this case, either use Attacks or Blitz on the
remaining Enforcer(s), as needed.
● (There is a very small chance of dying. In my years of running, I have died exactly
twice!)
19% chance of at least one Phoenix Down.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Just run forward with Snow.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
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The next dodge is referred to as the “legendary” or “impossible” dodge. The idea is to run right
in front of the first soldier, left around the first Pantheron, and right around the second
Pantheron. However, the hallway is too narrow, the enemies too fast, and Snow’s hitbox too
wide for this dodge to be reliable. In the very likely event you get caught:
Battle: Pantheron x2 & PSICOM Warden x2

Overview: Hand Grenade spam. Target the Wardens first to take them out, then target
staggered Pantherons if possible. Even if one Pantheron is left, they are weak to fire and Hand
Grenade is fire-elemental, so use Hand Grenade UNLESS you can kill with two Attacks for a
slightly faster kill.
● Hand Grenade PSICOM Warden A.
● Repeat PSICOM Warden B.
● Repeat Pantheron A.
● If the fight is not yet over, Hand Grenades/Auto-battle as needed.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters (start camera-tricking during the first dodge).
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Beta Behemoth

Overview: Throw an opening Potion to avoid interruption. Then Auto-battle until victory, but
time your attacks to avoid his swipes. The pattern described below generally works, but be
conscious of the Behemoth’s actions. (There is no risk of dying in this fight, but we want to
avoid getting hit both for speed and to prevent Lebreau from throwing potions.)
● Throw an immediate Potion (to prevent Snow’s interruption).
● Prepare Auto-battle and execute at 1.5 ATB.
○ If successful, the first swipe will miss.
● Prepare Auto-battle and execute when nearly filled for just a single Attack.
○ If successful, the second swipe will miss.
● Auto-battle thrice.
○ Hopefully, the third swipe will miss. (Ideally, at most one swipe connects.)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Would you like to save progress? No (press Down).
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Myrmidon
Overview: Myrmidon likes to evade attacks when he’s attacking, so time your attacks to
prevent misses on your end. The target Myrmidon selects will die unless either you throw a
Potion or he changes targets; since you can’t rely on the latter, throw a Potion at an opportune
moment.
● Execute Auto-battle at 1.5 ATB.
● Auto-battle.
● Use one Attack.
● Execute Auto-battle at 1.5 ATB.
● Auto-battle.
○ This all is to prevent Lightning’s swipes from missing, as well as prevent
Lightning’s interruption if she is the initial target.
● Throw a Potion.
● Basically, Auto-battle until victory.
○ When Myrmidon staggers, try to time Lightning’s attacks to prevent
Myrmidon’s target from getting interrupted.
25% chance of a Polymer Emulsion.
Skip 4 cutscenes.
Start camera tricking immediately. Pick up the Power Circle in front of you.
Menu
Overview: Give Snow the better Strength weapon.
● Equipment
○ Snow
■ Optimize: Offensive (Power Circle).
This next dodge is difficult. Try to weave between the Pantherons and make a break for the other
side (cutting left/right to avoid their swipes as necessary). The PSICOM Aerial Recons move
faster than Snow and will thus beat him in a race, but the immediate camera trick should help
make sure all three of them are far from the platform by the time they see you. If you get caught:
Battle: Pantheron x2 & PSICOM Aerial Recon x3

Overview: Throw Hand Grenades and get lucky.
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● Throw Hand Grenades at whichever PSICOM Aerial Recon would hit the most things,
until one target is left.
○ Be wary of interruptions!
○ Switch targets after every Hand Grenade in order to try to spread Gadot’s
damage.
● Keep using Hand Grenades, unless you are certain you can kill within two Attacks.
27.1% chance of at least one Phoenix Down.
Continue running to the destination marker (running around Gadot as needed).
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Warden & PSICOM Enforcer x2

Overview: Hand Grenade the front soldiers, Auto-battle the remaining soldier.
● Hand Grenade PSICOM Enforcer A.
● Hand Grenade PSICOM Enforcer B.
● Attack x2 PSICOM Warden.
● If there is a survivor, Auto-battle him.
Examine the motorcycle.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Examine the motorcycle.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).
15
Chapter 2
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Pantheron
Overview: Two Attacks twice.
● Attack x2.
● Repeat.
Skip 1 cutscene.
From this point forward, all fights (with a few choice exceptions) have a chance of dropping a
shroud. Shroud drop rates are the highest in this chapter, so we are going to take the opportunity
to farm a few. These notes will assume that you will have 2 Deceptisols and 2 Fortisols after
you are done shroud farming. However, up to two more Deceptisols (for a total of 4 Deceptisols)
may be grabbed for the sake of easier preemptive strikes in Chapter 11, and one more Fortisol
(for a total of 3 Fortisols) may be grabbed for the sake of an easier Barthandelus (2) fight in
Chapter 11. Any additional drops will be bonuses. Check the Bonus Shroud section at the end of
these notes for information on good places to utilize bonus shrouds.
Run to the left past the Pantheron and fight the 3 Zwerg Scandroids to the left.
Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x3 (1)

Overview: Have Hope target the first Zwerg Scandroid, have Vanille kill the second, and
Hope kills the third. Pay attention to the shroud drop!
● Select Auto-battle but don’t execute.
● After 2.5 ATB bars have filled (and Hope starts attacking), change and select a
different Zwerg Scandroid.
50% chance of a Deceptisol.
Don’t pick up the chest (it contains 3 Potions). Run back past the Pantheron and descend the
stairs opposite from where you started. Mash X to get through the primer prompt, and fight the 3
Zwerg Scandroids in front of you.
Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x3 (2)

Overview: Have Hope target the first Zwerg Scandroid, have Vanille kill the second, and
Hope kills the third. Pay attention to the shroud drop!
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● Select Auto-battle but don’t execute.

● After 2.5 ATB bars have filled (and Hope starts attacking), change and select a
different Zwerg Scandroid.
Don’t pick up the chest (it contains an Iron Bangle). Run to the right over the debris.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
As Snow, run forward and fight the encounter in front of you.
Battle: Pantheron x2
Overview: Throw Hand Grenades, and if there is one Pantheron left, Auto-battle to win.
● Throw three Hand Grenades.
● If a Pantheron survives, use Auto-battle to win.
12% chance of a Fortisol.
Activate the previously guarded switch.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Mash X to get through the primer prompt, and immediately start camera tricking.
Dodge 2 encounters. (The first group of Pantherons you run past are well past the battle zone
they belong to, thanks to camera tricking.)
Skip the left Zwerg Scandroid x4 group IF the following are all true:
 You desire only two Deceptisols;
 You already have two Deceptisols;
 You got at least one Phoenix Down drop from a Chapter 1 fight.
Otherwise, fight it.
Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x4 (Lightning lead)

Overview: Do nothing until 32 seconds have passed, and then end the fight to get zero stars.
● Select Attack x2, but don’t execute until 32 seconds have passed.
0 stars: 96% chance of a Deceptisol.
1 star: 48% chance of a Deceptisol.
2 stars: 24% chance of a Deceptisol.
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3-5 stars: 12% chance of a Deceptisol.

(Future fights will not breakdown the shroud chances like that. In general, 0 stars = 8x shroud
drop rate, 1 star = 4x shroud drop rate, 2 stars = 2x shroud drop rate, 3-5 stars = 1x shroud drop
rate.)
If you fought those Zwerg Scandroids, grab the previously guarded Phoenix Down.
In either case, continue going forward.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Fight the next group.
Battle: Pantheron & Zwerg Scandroid x2 (Lightning lead)

Overview: Blitz the Pantheron until the Zwerg Scandroids are dead, and then Auto-battle until
victory.
● Blitz the Pantheron until both Zwerg Scandroids are dead.
● Auto-battle the Pantheron until he’s dead.
Grab the previously guarded Gladius.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Again as Snow, run forward and fight the enemies in front of you.
Battle: Pantheron & Zwerg Scandroid x2 (Snow lead)

Overview: Throw Hand Grenades until the Zwerg Scandroids are dead, then deal with the
Pantheron appropriately.
● Throw two Hand Grenades.
● If no Zwerg Scandroid survives:
○ Auto-battle the Pantheron.
● Else, if there’s at least one Zwerg Scandroid survivor:
○ Throw a third Hand Grenade.
○ Auto-battle whoever survives.
Activate the switch.
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Skip 1 cutscenes
Run to the elevator and access the menu while mid-air.
Menu
Overview: Set the battle speed to slow to best farm the shroud in the upcoming fight.
● Settings
○ Battle Speed: Slow
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Turn right and fight the four Zwerg Scandroids at the top of the stairs. Make sure they see you
(i.e., don’t get a preemptive strike).
Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x4 (Vanille lead)

Overview: Attack just once, and then wait for 32 seconds to have passed before finishing the
fight with zero stars
● Execute a single Attack.
● Wait for 32 seconds to pass before ending the fight.
○ Alternatively, just let Hope end the fight himself.
Grab the previously guarded Fortisol and access the menu.
Menu
Overview: Set the battle speed back to normal.
● Settings
○ Battle Speed: Normal
Turn back around and head for the opposite door.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Ghoul x3
Overview: Throw Hand Grenades unless it’s appropriate to Auto-battle to kill a single Ghoul.
● Throw three Hand Grenades, trying to make sure they each hit as many Ghouls as
possible.
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● Auto-battle any survivors.

Skip 2 cutscenes.
Run for the left two Ghouls guarding a chest and fight them. Try for a preemptive strike by
avoiding their field of vision.
Battle: Ghoul x2
Overview: Blitz if it would hit more than one thing; Attack x2 otherwise.
● Simply Blitz if both are close, and Attack x2 (Auto-battle) otherwise.
Open the previously guarded Power Wristband chest, and access the menu.
Menu
Overview: Give Lightning the maximum Strength she can get, to both help with future fights
and also to make any necessary 0-star fights easier.
● Equipment
○ Lightning
● Optimize: Offensive (Gladius & Power Wristband).
Run back and run up the stairs past the Ghoul, ignoring all encounters until you reach the Ghast.
Dodge 4 encounters.
Try to dodge the Ghast. It is easiest if he merely walks to the side, in which case you can run past
him. If he walks forward and attacks, try to run past him while his arm is up. Be aware can either
attack slowly or quickly. If you get caught by him, fight him:
Battle: Ghast
Overview: Damage him a little bit with five Attacks, and then do nothing except heal until 56
seconds have passed, to get 0 stars.
● Execute a single Attack.
● Wait 56 seconds before finishing the fight.
○ Throw a Potion if either Lightning or Sazh drop to 80 or fewer HP.
20
After running through the door, you’ll be in the Ghoul Hallway. The next five Ghouls drop these
shrouds:
1. Fortisol
2. Deceptisol
3. Deceptisol
4. Fortisol
5. Deceptisol
This is your last opportunity to viably farm Fortisols and Deceptisols. Again, these notes assume
2 Deceptisols and 2 Fortisols (but you may want up to 4 Deceptisols for easier Chapter 11
preemptive strikes, as noted earlier). If you are missing something (usually a Deceptisol), fight
an appropriate Ghoul (make sure you don’t get a preemptive strike):
Battle: Ghoul
Overview: Do nothing until 33 seconds have passed, and then end the fight.
● Wait 33 seconds before attacking.
○ If Sazh doesn’t get hit, there’s a visual cue: Attack when the chain gauge passes
the decimal point in 106.5%.
96% chance of a Deceptisol/Fortisol.
When you’re done farming shrouds, run past the remaining Ghouls.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Run onto the elevator. Use a Fortisol and run forward when at the top.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Anima
Overview: Get Sazh and Snow to kill the Right Manipulator (on the left), and have Lightning
use Blitz on Anima to eventually kill the Left Manipulator (on the right). Potion as necessary,
and focus on Anima proper when both manipulators are dead.
● Select Blitz and hover over the Right Manipulator (to the left).
○ After Snow and Sazh start attacking, execute the Blitz on Anima.
● Wait for Anima to swipe before Blitzing Anima again.
○ Her swipes are counter-attacks.
● When the Left Manipulator (to the right) is dead, select Auto-battle and hover over the
Right Manipulator.
○ After either Snow or Sazh start attacking, execute on Anima.
21
○ Do this until the Right Manipulator dies.

○ There is a small chance the Right Manipulator dies due to Lightning, in which
case this step is already done.
● Auto-battle until the end of the fight.
○ If the arms return, throw Potions as needed, but keep attacking Anima.
Skip 2 cutscenes.

(This is not the end of Chapter 2 split.)
Skip 3 cutscenes.
22
Chapter 3
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Ghast x3
Overview: Blitz when it would hit more than one thing; Attacks when it would hit only one
thing.
● [1] Relentless Assault (COM/RAV/RAV)
○ Skip the tutorial, and immediately Auto-battle a Ghast that is not the default
target.
○ Use Blitz on whichever Ghast would ensure both are hit, and finish with Attack
x2.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Mash X through the first informational box, and then press Down to select Skip the tutorial.
Run to the save point in front of you and access it.
Shop
Overview: Buy a Magician’s Mark.
Goal: 1,000 gil. This is guaranteed since you have at least one Phoenix Down and one Credit
Chip to sell.
 Sell
o Items
 Phoenix Down x2 (if you have only one Phoenix Down, sell x1)
o (If you had only one Phoenix Down) Components
 Credit Chip x1
 B&W Outfitters
o Magician’s Mark
Menu
23
Overview: Setup paradigms for the next two fights, do some small leveling, and equip Vanille
and Sazh for the next two chapters. Replace Snow’s weapon with his initial one so that we can
sell the Power Circle later.
● Paradigms
Ltng Snow Vnll
(RAV) RAV RAV
COM SEN MED
[COM] COM RAV ← set default
[COM] COM RAV
● Crystarium
○ Lightning
■ Commando
● Next node (Strength: +4).
○ Snow
■ Commando
● Both side nodes (Strength: +18 & HP: +70).
● Equipment
○ Vanille
■ Optimize: Balanced (Binding Rod & Magician’s Mark).
○ Sazh
■ Optimize: Balanced (Vega 42s & Doctor’s Code).
○ Snow
■ Optimize: Balanced (Wild Bear).
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Warden x7

Overview: Auto-battle immediately and win.
● [3] Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
○ Skip the tutorial, and immediately Auto-battle.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
When Snow starts talking (approximately around the center of the bridge), turn around and run
back the way you came. (This triggers the cutscene earlier, for some unknown reason.)
24
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Jump and run up the ramp to the right.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Manasvin Warmech (2)

Overview: Use Libra to stop Snow’s COM from using Ruins. Build chain duration, and
stagger cancel Crystal Rain. Shift to Solidarity briefly to force the Warmech’s future attacks to
be directed to Snow, so that your leader stays alive. Kill in Aggression.
○ Skip the tutorial, and use Libra.
○ Auto-battle, and shift to your other Aggression either after Lightning’s third
Attack or when Wave Cannon interrupts her, whichever comes first.
○ Auto-battle.
○ Shift after Vanille’s third Aero.
● [1] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
○ Throw a Potion if Lightning’s HP is less than 120.
○ Wait for Crystal Rain’s text to appear on screen, and then Auto-chain.
○ (STAGGER) (interrupting Crystal Rain)
○ Auto-battle.
● [2] Solidarity (COM/SEN/MED)
○ Shift after Manasvin Warmech is successfully provoked.
○ Auto-battle.
○ Shift after Snow’s third Attack.
○ Auto-battle two Attacks.
○ Auto-battle twice more.
○ Shift after either Lightning’s or Snow’s third Attack, whichever comes last.
○ Auto-battle.
○ Use single Attacks to kill if needed.
25
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Re-setup paradigms, now that Sazh has replaced Snow.
● Paradigms
Ltng Vnll Sazh
COM RAV RAV ← default
COM MED RAV
[RAV] RAV RAV
[RAV] RAV RAV
[COM] RAV RAV
Dodge 1 encounter.
Take the left path at the fork.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Examine the machine gun thing.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run up to the bridge and activate a Deceptisol.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the previous frogs.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Alpha Behemoth

Overview: Get him staggered and keep him interrupted.
○ Skip the tutorial, and immediately Auto-battle.
○ Shift after his swipe connects.
○ Auto-chain twice.
○ Shift after Sazh’s second Fire in his second string.
○ Auto-chain.
26

○ Attack x3.
○ Try to time your shift so that stagger happens during the paradigm shift, to
prevent its slowdown effect.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Repeat with ATB refreshes between [1] and [5] until victory.
Run forward to activate the next cutscene.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol before the next dodge.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the previous soldiers. Then, run up the crystal mountain,
turning left at each fork. During the final jump, activate a Deceptisol.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Cancel the Deceptisol on opposite side of the last enemy group (the three Watchdrones).
Dodge 2 encounters.
At the top, run down the stairs to the right instead of jumping down.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Use the shortcut up the stairs (the shortcut’s path does not appear on the mini-map).
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run up the stairs to the right.
27
Dodge 2 encounters.
Grab the Phoenix Down to the right and the 2 Librascopes to your left before running up the
final staircase.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Garuda Interceptor

Overview: This is a two-part fight. The first part is simple—use Attacks as a Commando, and
avoid getting interrupted by Garuda’s physical attack. The second part is slightly more
involved. Build chain duration via Attacks first, and then build chain itself via Tri-disaster,
utilizing ATB refreshes. Once staggered, Garuda’s defenses drop so you can go for the kill
with Relentless Assault.
○ Attack x3.
○ Shift while midair to prevent the long first paradigm shift animation.
○ Repeat.
○ Repeat a single Attack to prevent Lightning’s interruption.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Repeat.
○ Repeat (although he should die before Lightning can do anything).
○ Skip 2 cutscenes.
○ Attack x3.
○ Auto-chain.
■ If Lightning gets interrupted, cancel the remaining string (this starts
recharging your ATB) and Auto-chain again.
○ Shift after Lightning’s third Thunder to execute the long first paradigm shift
(but without the ATB refresh).
○ Auto-chain.
○ Shift after either Vanille’s third Aero or Sazh’s third Fire, depending on
interruptions.
28
○ (STAGGER)
○ Repeat until victory, with ATB refreshes between [1] and [5].
Skip 1 cutscene.

Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Ranger x3 (followed by Stiria & Nix)

Overview: The first fight is just a tease. Against the Shiva sisters, build gestalt via alternating
attacks as a Commando or building chain as a Ravager. After an ATB Charge attack, use
Sentinel to get more gestalt bonus. Remember to press Square to finish the fight.
● [1] Commando (COM)
○ Attack x3 PSICOM Ranger C
○ Repeat on whichever Ranger is at full HP.
■ This should prevent any other soldiers from spawning, but if they do,
Repeat the Attacks to kill them as needed.
● Mash Start after the battle ends.
○ Skip the tutorial and use Attack-Ruin-Attack.
● [3] Ravager (RAV)
○ Use Froststrike x3, and Repeat two Froststrikes.
● [2] Sentinel (SEN)
○ Shift after the ATB Charge attacks end (they will have filled up some of the
gestalt bar).
○ Repeat.
■ If Snow gets interrupted during Ruin, cancel the string (this will start
recharging your ATB) and Repeat again.
○ Repeat.
○ Repeat a single Froststrike.
■ If chain has ran out or will run out before this Froststirke would
connect, don’t bother and shift back to [1].
● Repeat the [1] and [3] pattern until the second ATB Charge’s attacks start, in which
case shift to:
● [2] Sentinel (SEN)
29
○ Mash Square in case gestalt gets filled.

○ If the attacks end and gestalt is still not filled, shift back to [1] and continue the
above [1] and [3] pattern until gestalt is filled.
● Press Select to skip the gestalt animation.
(These items are drops from the PSICOM Ranger x3 encounter, but you do not get to see the
results screen for it; the only way to tell that you got the Fortisol is to check your shroud count
at the start of the next chapter (I will note when is a good opportunity to check). As for the
Phoenix Down(s), check your Items in any fight when you have an opportunity, if you desire
to.
Skip 5 cutscenes.
30
Chapter 4
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Pantheron x4
Overview: Blitz one of them, then three Attacks to hopefully kill the rest.
○ Blitz Pantheron C
○ Attack x3 Pantheron A
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward to trigger the bridge collapse. (This is a good opportunity to check your shrouds for
the “invisible” Fortisol drop from the pre-Shiva fight!)
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Mash X to get through Hope's Synergist prompt.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol as you're jumping over the last platform.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the front of the upcoming Pulsework Soldier.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 4 cutscenes.
Mash X to get through Sazh's Synergist and Vanille's Saboteur prompts.
Menu
Overview: Setup to optimize the next fight.
● Paradigms
Sazh Vnll
31
RAV RAV
SYN SAB
RAV MED
RAV [SAB] ← set default
[RAV] RAV
● Crystarium
○ Vanille
■ Ravager
● Water.
Run into the next fight.
Battle: Pulsework Soldier & Watchdrone x3

Overview: Watchdrones are weak to Water, so Libra them to get Vanille to spam Water later.
Make sure to kill the Pulsework Soldier before his stagger ends, otherwise the battle is
significantly lengthened.
● [4] Undermine (RAV/SAB)
○ Select Libra and hover over the Pulsework Soldier; after Vanille starts casting,
switch back to Watchdrone C and Libra it.
■ Pay attention to when the Pulsework Soldier staggers.
○ Auto-chain and shift after Sazh’s third Fire.
○ (STAGGER)
● [2] Tide Turner (SYN/SAB)
○ Auto-support twice (Vanille first, Sazh second).
○ Shift after Vanille finishes her current string.
● If the Pulsework Soldier staggered with Vanille’s first cast:
○ [1] Dualcasting (RAV/RAV)
■ Auto-chain a couple Fires.
■ Shift after Vanille finishes casting (even if it’s a single spell).
■ Auto-chain.
■ When the second Watchdrone will die to Vanille’s spells, change targets
to the Pulsework Soldier after Vanille starts casting.
■ ATB refresh between [1] and [5] to kill the rest.
● If the Pulsework Soldier staggered with Vanille’s second cast:
■ After Vanille starts casting, Auto-chain Pulsework Soldier.
■ ATB refresh between [1] and [5] to kill the rest.
6% chance of an Aegisol.
32
Activate the debris remover machine.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Activate the fan switch.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Jump up the platforms and run into the back of the nearby Pulsework Soldier for a preemptive
strike. (If you fail to get the preemptive strike, Retry and try again.)
Battle: Pulsework Soldier

Overview: Immediately stagger, shift to a SAB paradigm for Deshell, then return to Tri-
disaster and Auto-battle until victory.
○ Auto-chain.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Shift after Sazh’s third Fire.
● [4] Variety (RAV/SAB/MED)
○ Immediately shift. (Vanille should be casting Deshell.)
Open the previously guarded Ninurta chest.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 6 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for the birds fight and Dreadnought.
● Paradigms
Sazh Ltng Vnll
RAV COM RAV
33
SYN COM SAB

RAV COM (RAV)
RAV RAV SAB ← set default
RAV [RAV] RAV
RAV [RAV] RAV
● Crystarium
○ Sazh
■ Synergist
● All nodes.
○ Lightning
■ Commando
● Powerchain.
■ Ravager
● Strength: +10 to the side.
● HP: +15 after Water.
○ Vanille
■ Saboteur
● Second-to-last node (Magic: +4).
○ Hope
■ Ravager
● Two nodes (Magic: +4 and HP: +20).
Dodge 2 encounters.
Battle: Incubus x2 & Succubus

Overview: Focus on the Succubus first. The Incubi are weak to Water, so use Libra on them
for Vanille’s sake. The primary damage-dealers are Lightning and Vanille, so do not hesitate
to break Sazh’s attacks for the sake of Potions.
● [4] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
○ Hover over the Succubus before instantly shifting.
● [2] Bully (SYN/COM/SAB)
○ Auto-support. (This puts Bravery on Lightning.)
○ If the Succubus dies:
■ Libra.
■ Faith Vanille.
■ Shift after Lightning’s third Attack (throw a Potion if waiting).
○ If the Succubus doesn’t die:
■ Faith Vanille.
■ Libra after the Succubus dies.
■ Shift after Lightning’s third Attack (throw a Potion if waiting).
34
● [1] Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV)

○ Auto-chain with ATB refreshes between [1] and [3] until victory.
57.8% chance of at least one Sturdy Bone.
Activate the bridge contraption.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Dreadnought
Overview: This is another two-part fight. In the first part, use Libra (its revealed intel carries
over onto the second part), get Bravery on Lightning, and get Deprotect and Deshell on
Dreadnought. Throw a Potion at some point after Dreadnought’s third attack, and use
Relentless Assault after he is staggered.
In the second part, the listed pattern describes a possible way to stagger cancel Wrecking Ball.
Meanwhile, get Bravery on Lightning, Faith on Vanille, and Deprotect and Deshell on
Dreadnought. Throw a Potion before Wrecking Ball, in case you fail to stagger cancel it. If
Wrecking Ball does go off, it has a small chance of hitting twice, which will kill; if that
happens, Retry (this puts you back at the start of the first fight). After the stagger, use
Relentless Assault for Lightning’s sake, and prioritize all ATB refreshes to cancel her ready
animation. This stagger is very tight; you might not be able to kill by stagger’s end without
sufficient practice.
○ Libra.
○ After Dreadnought’s attack, Auto-chain.
○ Shift after Lightning’s third spell.
○ Shift immediately.
● If Dreadnought is lacking either Deprotect or Deshell:
○ [4] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
■ Auto-chain.
■ Shift after Lightning’s third spell in her second string.
● Else:
○ [6] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
35
■ Auto-chain.
■ Shift after Lightning’s third spell in her second string.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Potion.
○ If Dreadnought is not staggered yet, stagger before shifting.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Auto-chain.
○ ATB refresh between [1] and [3] until victory.
○ Mash Start.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Faith Vanille.
○ Auto-chain two spells.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Potion.
○ Auto-chain.
○ When Dreadnought is about to use Wrecking Ball, shift.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Immediately shift.
○ Auto-chain two rounds.
○ Shift after Lightning’s third Attack in her second string.
○ Shift after Vanille starts casting Deshell.
○ Auto-chain.
○ ATB refresh between [1] and [3] until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X to get through the upgrading prompt.
36
Menu
Overview: Remove Sazh’s Doctor’s Code so that Lightning can get it for Odin later. Replace
Hope’s weapon with a cheaper one and give him HP.
● Equipment
○ Hope
■ Equip
● Weapon → Ninurta.
● Accessory → Silver Bangle.
○ Sazh
■ Remove
● Doctor’s Code.
Run forward.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Corps Gunner x4 & PSICOM Tracker

Overview: Get rid of the PSICOM Tracker first via two Attack-Blitzes. Get Protect on
Lightning and Hope while Blitzing the remaining soldiers. Throw Potions as needed.
● [1] Slash & Burn (COM/RAV)
○ Attack-Blitz PSICOM Tracker.
● [2] Supersoldier (COM/SYN)
○ If there has been a lot of gunfire, immediately Potion.
○ Repeat PSICOM Tracker.
○ Potion.
○ Blitz a good target.
○ Repeat on good targets until victory.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
As you approach the turn, hug the left wall to assist with the next dodge.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Tracker x2
37
Overview: Blitz if it will hit more than one thing; Attacks if it will not hit more than one
thing.
○ Attack-Blitz PSICOM Tracker A.
■ Cancel the Blitz if he is backing up.
○ Repeat PSICOM Tracker B.
○ Blitz to hit both until victory.
In the Pulse Armament Minigame, try to hit at least 25 Pulsework Soldiers; this gives you 20
Thickened Hides at the end. Do this by:
● Count the number of Soldiers you hit in the first group;
● Hit all 9 in the second group (if you miss one, be wary);
● Hit enough in the third group to have hit 8 between the first and third;
● Hit all 8 in the final group.
(If you fail, you’ll get 12 Sturdy Bones, which isn’t immediately terrible, but you might not be
able to get the Blazefire Saber to x2.)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Open the left treasure sphere for 20 Thickened Hides.
Dodge 4 encounters.
(If you want, there is a Phoenix Down just up from the soldiers in the third dodge. It takes 7
seconds to grab, but if you want to be safe on money in the Chapter 6 shop, this is an item to
grab.)
Menu
Overview: Setup for Odin. Replace Lightning’s weapon with her cheaper initial one, and the
Doctor’s Code for use against Odin.
● Paradigms
Ltng Hope
COM RAV
COM SYN ← set default
MED MED
RAV RAV
[RAV] RAV
● Equipment
38
○ Lightning
■ Equip
● Weapon → Blazefire Saber.
● Accessory → Doctor’s Code.
Shop
Overview: Buy 49 Polymer Emulsions and 11 Potions.
Goal: 10,350 gil. This is guaranteed just by selling the three weapons listed.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Power Circle.
 Airwing.
 Gladius.
 Buy
o Lenora’s Garage
 Polymer Emulsion (up to) x49.
o Unicorn Mart
 Potion x11.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the Blazefire Saber to Lv. 13.
 Upgrade
o Weapons
 Blazefire Saber
 Thickened Hide x(all) (Lv. 2; x1.75/x2).
 If not x2:
o Cie’th Tear x(all).
o If still not x2, Tear of Frustration x(all).
o If still not x2, whatever organics are left, until x2.
 Polymer Emulsion x49 (Lv. 13).
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Odin
Overview: Get Protect while trying to manipulate Lightning’s actions to put distance between
her and Hope. Depending on who Odin targets, either chain and keep Hope alive, or throw
Potions to avoid Lightning getting launched. Remember to press Square to finish the fight.
○ Attack x2.
39
○ Repeat.
○ Shift to prevent Lightning’s backflip.
● [4] Dualcasting (RAV/RAV)
○ Potion.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Potion.
○ Water-Thunder-Water.
○ If Odin is targeting Lightning:
■ Prepare a Potion, and throw if Odin uses Seismic Strike or Skyward
Swing.
■ Chain only when Odin is using Ullr’s Shield.
○ If Odin is targeting Hope:
■ The pattern is:
● Chain
● Potion
● Chain
● ATB refresh
■ If Odin loses chain, use Ruins in [1] to regain it.
● Press Square when gestalt is filled to win.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run backwards. (This triggers the cutscene earlier, for some reason.)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: PSICOM Ranger x3 & Uhlan x2

Overview: Kill the soldiers with a single Blitz. Get both Uhlan staggered, summoning Odin in
the process. Then try to kill both via Blitzes.
○ Skip the tutorial.
○ Auto-battle but cancel after the first Blitz.
○ Ruin.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Summon.
■ Press Select to skip the summon animation.
○ Auto-chain.
40

○ Auto-chain the other Uhlan twice.
○ Water x4, COM-buffered into:
○ Blitz x2, hit both.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for all four fights in this section.
● Paradigms
Sazh Vnll
COM RAV
SYN SAB ← set default
COM (SAB)
RAV RAV
[RAV] (SAB)
[COM] RAV
● Equipment
○ Sazh
■ Optimize
● Balanced (Vega 42s & Power Wristband).
Dodge 2 encounters.
Examine the bridge machine.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters (head up the right platform at the start of the second dodge).
Grab the Auric Amulet.
41
Dodge 4 encounters (head to the near right opening in the fourth dodge).
Grab the Phoenix Down. Then jump up the nearby platforms and get a preemptive strike on the
enemies there. (If you fail to get the preemptive strike, Retry and run into the back of the
Pulsework Soldier to the left.)
Battle: Bomb & Pulsework Soldier (1)

Overview: Cast Bravery on Sazh, and work on killing the Bomb while Vanille inflicts
debuffs. When the Pulsework Soldier is staggered and Deprotected, kill it with Slash & Burn.
○ Bravery Sazh.
● [3] Divide & Conquer (COM/SAB)
○ Attack x3 Bomb.
■ If Vanille staggers the Pulsework Soldier with her first cast, cancel after
the first Attack and Repeat after Vanille starts casting, to kill the Bomb.
■ If Vanille staggers on her second, cancel after the second Attack and
Repeat after Vanille starts casting, to kill the Bomb.
○ Repeat until victory, with ATB refreshes between [1] and [6].
Activate the nearby keypad.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run counter-clockwise to the next group. Get a preemptive strike by waiting until both Soldiers
are facing away and running into the nearest one. (If you fail, Retry and try again.)
Battle: Pulsework Soldier x2

Overview: Cast Bravery on Sazh, and pay attention to how Vanille inflicts debuffs on the
Pulsework Soldiers. First kill whichever Pulsework Soldier has the shorter stagger, and then
work on the second one.
○ Bravery Sazh.
○ Auto-battle Pulsework Soldier B.
■ If Vanille staggers the other Soldier with her first cast, cancel after the
second Attack; after Vanille starts casting, switch targets and Auto-
battle Pulsework Soldier A.
42
■ If Vanille staggers the other Soldier with her second cast, execute the
entire string; after Vanille starts casting, switch targets and Auto-battle
Pulsework Soldier A.
○ Auto-battle a Deprotected Pulsework Soldier until both are Deprotected.
○ Auto-battle until victory, with ATB refreshes between [1] and [6].
Skip 1 cutscene.
Continue running counterclockwise to the next group. Get a preemptive strike by waiting until
both enemies are facing away from Sazh and running into the nearest one. (If you fail, Retry and
try again.)
Battle: Bomb & Pulsework Soldier (2)

Overview: This fight operates differently from the first due to the different default target. Cast
Bravery on Sazh as before, and then shift to Slash & Burn so that Vanille can kill the Bomb
herself. Maintain the Pulsework Soldier’s chain duration before staggering and debuffing it.
○ Bravery Sazh.
○ Auto-battle Pulsework Soldier.
■ The Bomb should die by Vanille.
■ Be careful if Vanille gets interrupted; in this case, throw an Attack or
two on the Bomb to kill it, and use [3] to stagger the Pulsework Soldier
with enough duration.
○ Auto-chain one Fire to stagger.
○ Wait until Vanille inflicts Deprotect, and Auto-battle.
○ Auto-battle until victory, with ATB refreshes between [1] and [6].
Skip 1 cutscene.
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Continue counterclockwise. Try to get a preemptive strike on the two Bombs. This is tricky, so
use the appropriate strategy:
Battle: Bomb x2 (preemptive strike)

Overview: Follow the steps as outlined, and your victory is guaranteed.
○ Auto-support.
○ Auto-battle Bomb B.
■ Vanille will kill Bomb A; Bomb B will usually self-destruct, but he will
never kill.
Battle: Bomb x2 (normal)

Overview: Cast Faith in Vanille, and use Slash & Burn. Try to get distance between the
Bombs and Sazh via single Attacks. If neither Bomb is self-destructing, try to kill one of them
first. This fight is variable and dangerous.
○ Auto-support (Faith) Vanille.
○ If neither Bomb is self-destructing, Auto-battle.
○ If at least one Bomb is self-destructing, use a single Attack repeatedly to get
distance between Sazh and the impending explosions.
■ If you know you are going to die due to bad positioning, Retry before
you die.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Menu
Overview: Remove Sazh and Vanille’s accessories so that Lightning and Hope can use them
in the next chapter.
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Remove
 Power Wristband.
o Vanille
44
 Remove
 Magician’s Mark.
Run down the stairs.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Turn right at the fork and pick up the Fortisol. Activate a Deceptisol before the next dodge.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the Bombs. Then run forward, grabbing the 300 gil chest to
the right.
Skip 1 cutscene.

Skip 4 cutscenes.
Run to Lebreau in the bar to the far right, speak to her, and mash X to get through her (one)
dialogue. Then run to the pier.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
45
Chapter 5
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for all fights in this chapter before Aster Protoflorian. Pay attention to
whether Hope can afford Water or not; if the latter, you will have to pick it up before the first
Feral Behemoth fight.
● Paradigms
Hope Ltng
RAV COM ← default
(MED) (COM)
SYN (RAV)
RAV RAV
RAV [RAV]
[RAV] COM
● Crystarium
○ Hope
■ Ravager
● Water.
○ If you can’t afford Water, remember to grab it before
Feral Behemoth.
○ Lightning
■ Commando
● Backtrack two nodes and grab Lifesiphon out of ring.
■ Ravager
● Aquastrike.
● Equipment
○ Lightning
■ Optimize
● Balanced (Blazefire Saber, Power Wristband).
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate the elevator.
Dodge 6 encounters.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 4 encounters.
Start camera tricking for the next two dodges.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X to get through the prompt.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Battle: Silver Lobo x2

Overview: Use Libra to prevent Lightning from using Ruins. Stagger and kill them one at a
time.
● [1] Slash & Burn (RAV/COM)
○ Libra.
○ Auto-chain two Fires.
○ Shift after Lightning’s third Attack.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Fira-Fire.
○ Shift after Lightning’s fourth Attack.
○ If Lightning uses Powerchain, shift immediately.
○ Otherwise, Auto-chain.
○ Auto-chain until stagger.
○ Repeat until victory.
47
Dodge 3 encounters.
Try to get a preemptive strike on the Crawlers. It should be easy, but if you fail, just fight.
Battle: Crawler x4
Overview: Use Fira, but wait for Lightning to run forward before doing so, otherwise
Lightning’s AI will focus on single-target Attacks instead of multi-target Blitzes. If you did
not get a preemptive strike, use Fire-Fira instead (and don’t wait for Lightning), and ATB
refresh.
○ Ready Fira. Execute when Lightning starts attacking.
■ If a Crawler jumps forward, that one might survive, in which case Auto-
chain until victory.
(If you haven't yet, grab Hope's Water!)
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Feral Behemoth (Hope lead)

Overview: Use Libra to reveal Water weakness. Get him staggered, and keep him interrupted
to prevent either Hope or Lightning from dying.
○ Libra.
○ Auto-chain two Waters.
○ Shift after Lightning’s fourth attack (Water).
■ Execute early if you need to interrupt Feral Behemoth.
○ Shift after Lightning’s fourth attack (Water).
■ Try to COM-buffer the Water, but don’t shift too early.
○ Auto-chain until victory.
■ Execute early if you need to interrupt Feral Behemoth.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Try your best not to get a preemptive on the next fight.
Battle: Crawler x10

Overview: Use Fire-Fira on Crawler E (he is the best Crawler). Use Potions as necessary to
stay alive. Try to make Lightning target whichever Crawler would result in more Crawlers hit.
○ Fire-Fira Crawler E.
○ Shift after Lightning’s second Blitz.
■ Try to cancel her ready animation.
○ Repeat.
○ Potion.
○ Repeat.
○ Shift after Lightning’s final attack in her third string.
○ Continue the above pattern until victory, if needed.
Run forward.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Battle: Feral Behemoth (Lightning lead)

Overview: Controlling as Lightning this time, you can manually control Lightning’s
Aquastrikes. Try to COM-buffer one of them toward the end of the fight.
○ Auto-battle.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Aquastrike x4.
○ Repeat twice.
■ Execute early to interrupt the Feral Behemoth if needed.
○ COM-buffer the eighth Aquastrike.
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○ Auto-battle.
Run along the right side of the electric fence.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate a Deceptisol.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Grab the Ethersol to the right. Then, cancel the Deceptisol on the encounter in front of you.
After the cancel, fight the same encounter.
Battle: Corps Marksman x2 & Milvus Velocycle

Overview: Focus on staggering the bike first. Get Protect on both characters. When staggered,
shift to Slash & Burn and use Blitzes to hit the bike while taking out the accompanying
soldiers.
○ Attack x4.
● [3] Archmage (RAV/SYN)
○ Auto-chain.
○ Potion.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Auto-chain.
■ Try to COM-buffer the last -strike.
○ Blitz.
○ Blitz x2.
○ Repeat with ATB refreshes with [6] until victory.
■ Try to hit multiple targets; target a Corps Marksman if it would hit more
targets.
■ Use Attack x4 (and Repeat) when one target is left.
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Menu
Overview: Get setup for Aster Protoflorian, giving Lightning the Doctor’s Code and teaching
her Fire for a possible Exoproofing.
● Crystarium
○ Lightning
■ Ravager
● Fire.
■ Commando
● Magic: +6 out of ring.
● Equipment
○ Hope
■ Equip
● Accessory: Magician’s Mark.
○ Lightning
● Accessory: Doctor’s Code.
Activate a Fortisol.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Aster Protoflorian

Overview: The first several steps in this fight are routine: Build chain duration with Ruins,
cast Libra for intel, get Protect on Lightning and Hope, and throw a Potion to recover health
from Efflorescence. You will then work on building chain while maintaining chain duration
and your party members’ HP. Bear in mind that Hope is frail and can only survive a single
attack before needing to potion, whereas Lightning can survive two physical attacks (but not a
physical attack and a seed burst). Pay attention to the Exoproofing Protoflorian uses; the only
bad one is Fire, since Lightning lacks any ice-elemental abilities at this stage of the game. If he
Exoproofs otherwise, you can stagger and damage him with the elemental spell he is weak to.
You will need to utilize Zantetsuken to be able to kill Protoflorian before stagger’s end. In this
fight, Zantetsuken will instant-kill at 999.9% chain if Protoflorian has 42,291 HP or fewer; this
is roughly 1/3rd his max HP, or visually when the green bar ends just to the left of the second T
in TARGET. Zantetsuken will still be able to kill at lower chain, but you will need even fewer
HP to do so. Regardless, the goal is to both chain high enough and do enough damage to
51
Protoflorian so that Zantetsuken will kill. If you are struggling to do enough damage, Hope
tends to do more damage than Odin pre-gestalt, so try summoning slightly later if needed.
○ Ruin x4.
● [3] Archmage (RAV/SYN)
○ Libra.
○ Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder.
○ (Efflorescence)
○ Potion.
○ Repeat.
○ Repeat while paying attention to targets:
○ If the first target is Lightning:
■ Continue while waiting for the second target.
■ If the second target is Lightning:
● Make sure Lightning is distanced from Hope; if not, Potion.
● Potion after the seed burst attack.
■ If the second target is Hope:
● Potion.
○ If the first target is Hope:
■ Potion.
■ If the second target is Lightning:
● Potion.
■ If the second target is Hope:
● Make sure Lightning is distanced from Hope; if not, Potion.
○ ATB refresh whenever convenient.
○ If he uses any attack after the first seed burst, Potion.
● Pay attention to his Exoproofing type.
● (Exoproofing: Fire)
○ Water-Thunder-Water-Thunder.
○ Repeat with [4] and [5] until chain is around 180%.
○ [2] War & Peace (COM/MED)
■ Repeat until the next Exoproofing.
■ Potion if both Lightning and Hope are low on HP.
● (Exoproofing: Ice) or (Exoproofing: Lightning) or (Exoproofing: Water)
52
○ Use the corresponding spells:

■ (Exoproofing: Ice) Auto-chain.
■ (Exoproofing: Lightning) Water x4.
■ (Exoproofing: Water) Thunder x4.
○ Repeat with [4] and [5] until chain is around 180%.
■ Repeat one string of Ruins.
■ Repeat until stagger.
■ (STAGGER)
■ ATB refresh between [4] and [5] after Hope’s third spell (second with
Exoproofing: Ice).
■ After Lightning’s second string after the ATB refresh, summon.
● Press Select to skip the summon animation.
■ Repeat.
■ ATB refresh.
■ Repeat until either stagger is about to expire, or chain is around 810%
and Odin’s HP bar ends just to the left of the second T in TARGET, and
press Square to use gestalt.
● Try to COM-buffer the last spells.
● Press Select to skip the summon animation.
■ Triangle (Zantetsuken)
If Aster Protoflorian does not die to Zantetsuken, Retry.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.

Skip 3 cutscenes.
53
Chapter 6
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Run straight at the fork.
Dodge 4 encounters.
Grab the Belladonna Wand in front of you and go to the save point.
Shop
Overview: Buy 72 Sturdy Bones and 84 Polymer Emulsions.
Goal: 22,560 gil. It is possible to be short. If so, you will underupgrade the Vega 42s.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Belladonna Wand.
o Accessories
 Auric Amulet.
o Components
 Everything except:
 Sturdy Bones (if any; pay attention to the number you have).
 Turbojets (if any).
o Items
 Some number of Phoenix Downs.
 Sell however many Phoenix Downs are necessary to reach the
goal gil. If you do not have enough Phoenix Downs, that is okay;
just sell them all. If in doubt (or just lazy), sell them all.
 If you are still worried about meeting the goal gil, sell as many
Turbojets as you want/have.
 Buy
o Creature Comforts
 Sturdy Bone (up to) x72.
o Lenora’s Garage
 Polymer Emulsion x84 (or however many you can afford).
Upgrade
54
Overview: Upgrade the Power Wristband to max and the Vega 42s to lv20.
 Upgrade
o Accessories
 Power Wristband
 Sturdy Bone x36 (Lv. 2; x3).
 Polymer Emulsion x17 (*).
o Weapons
 Vega 42s
 Polymer Emulsion x(all) (Lv. 19/20).
Dodge 5 encounters.
Jump to the left at the fork.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Grab the Doctor’s Code at the dead-end.
Menu
Overview: Setup for the Enki & Enlil fight.
● Paradigms
Vnll Sazh
RAV COM
(SAB) COM
SAB SYN ← set default
RAV RAV
[SAB] (RAV)
[SAB] COM
● Crystarium
○ Vanille
■ Saboteur
● Poison.
■ Ravager
● Fire out of ring.
○ Sazh
■ Synergist
● Enwater.
55
■ Ravager
● Next node (HP: +30).
● Equipment
○ Vanille
■ Equip
● Accessory: Doctor’s Code.
○ Sazh
● Accessory: Power Wristband.
Backtrack.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Turn left at the fork.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Turn left.
Dodge 4 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run toward Sazh.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
56
Dodge 1 encounter.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Head straight instead of right.
Dodge 5 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Enki & Enlil

Overview: Throw a Librascope to reveal elemental weaknesses. Inflict debuffs on Enki while
waiting for Sazh to Enthunder himself. Then work on staggering. Once staggered, keep Enki
interrupted to prevent him from Bellowing. Once he is dead, follow the same pattern for Enlil,
but be wary of his faster attacks. Throw Potions at any point as necessary.
● (If Enki and Enlil both target the same character, Retry.)
● [3] Tide Turner (SAB/SYN)
○ Librascope.
○ Deprotect-Poison-Deprotect.
○ Repeat the first two spells (Deprotect-Poison).
○ Potion.
○ Shift after Sazh casts Vigilance on Vanille.
● If Enki does not have two debuffs, OR not enough chain duration:
○ [5] Undermine (SAB/RAV)
■ Repeat as necessary.
● When Enki has two debuffs AND enough chain duration:
■ Auto-chain OR Fire-Aero-Fire until stagger.
■ Shift after Sazh’s third spell.
● [2] Divide & Conquer (SAB/COM)
○ Ready Poison x3 and execute after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ Potion.
○ ATB refresh after Sazh’s third Attack in his second string.
○ Repeat after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ If Enki will die to Sazh’s next string, ready Deprotect x2 and cast after Sazh
starts shooting.
○ If Enki Bellows at any point:
■ Deprotect-Poison-Poison.
57
■ Repeat until Deprotect.

● Throw Potions as needed.
■ Kill Enki.
● (Enlil will start attacking more frequently. Potion after every attack unless you are
certain you will not die.)
○ Shift after Sazh has Enwater.
● [5] Undermine (SAB/RAV)
○ Repeat until two debuffs.
○ Poison x3 after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ Repeat two Poisons.
○ ATB refresh with [6] and follow the above pattern until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Remove accessories for the next chapter. Don’t forget this menu!
 Equipment
o Vanille
 Remove
 Doctor’s Code.
o Sazh
 Remove
 Power Wristband.
Run to the destination marker.
Skip 1 cutscene.
58
Chapter 7
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 5 encounters.
Jump down onto the platform.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate the elevator switch (the resulting cutscene is not skippable), and run onto the elevator.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Run onto the elevator as it goes in. (However, if you fail a couple dodges, you might miss it; in
this case, activate the switch to the right beforehand.)
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Pick up the Warding Talisman in the corner in front of you.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Wait for the elevator to arrive and board it. (If it seems like activating the switch would be faster,
go ahead and activate it.)
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Battle: Corps Pacifex x2 & Corps Tranquifex x2 & Orion & PSICOM Predator x2
Overview: Follow the steps outlined below. The steps differ based on which platform you are
on (console vs. PC).
● The strat varies depending on whether you are on console or on PC.
○ If you are on console (PS3 buttons given):
■ Up+X.
59
■ Circle.
■ Up+X until the chain is at least 200%.
■ Triangle.
■ If not dead, Auto-battle.
○ If you are on PC (360 controller buttons given):
■ Right+A
■ Loop three times:
● Up+A
● Down+A
● B
■ Y
■ If not dead, Auto-battle.
34.4% chance of at least one Credit Chip.
25% chance of a Superconductor.
19% chance of at least one Incentive Chip.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Run up the ice platform (the resulting cutscene is not skippable).
Dodge 2 encounters.
Take the right path at the fork.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 4 cutscenes.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Jump up to the left. Run to the end and grab the 2 Incentive Chips in the dead-end. Then
backtrack a bit and jump through the opening to the left.
Dodge 1 encounter.
60
Take the left passage.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Grab the Guardian Amulet to the left.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Head for the far platform.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Jump up and grab the 3 Thrust Bearings in front of you. Turn right and grab the Vidofnir at the
end. Turn around and run right. Activate a Deceptisol just after entering the next battle zone.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Turn around and cancel the Deceptisol on the bike. After the Retry, run forward and activate a
Deceptisol at the corner.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the bike.
Shop
Overview: Buy 21 Potions, 17 Turbojets, 72 Sturdy Bones, and a Power Wristband.
Goal: 22,720 gil. This is guaranteed.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Vidofnir.
o Accessories
 Riptide Ring.
61
 Fulmen Ring.
 Warding Talisman.
 Guardian Amulet.
o Components
 Incentive Chip x(all).
 Buy
o Unicorn Mart
 Potion x21.
o Lenora’s Garage
 Turbojet x17.
o Creature Comforts
 Sturdy Bone x72.
o B&W Outfitters
 Power Wristband.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the Wild Bear to Lv21 and the Magician’s Mark to max.
 Upgrade
o Weapons
 Wild Bear
 Turbojet x16 (Lv. 21).
o Accessories
 Magician’s Mark
 Thrust Bearing x3 (Lv. 5).
 Turbojet x1 (*).
Menu
Overview: Set up for the first Ushumgal Subjugator fight.
● Paradigms
Snow Hope
COM RAV ← default
COM MED
SEN MED
SEN SYN
[RAV] RAV
[RAV] RAV
● Crystarium
○ Snow
62
■ Commando
● Adrenaline out of ring.
● Strength: +10 before the Role Level.
● Equipment
○ Snow
■ Accessory: Power Wristband Lv. 1.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: (Ushu1) Ushumgal Subjugator (Snow lead)

Overview: Do four rounds of Attacks, and then summon to avoid getting hit by Tail Hammer.
After Overdrive, stagger with RAV attacks and shift back to COM. Keep him interrupted and
kill him. Do not worry if Shiva is dismissed before the end of the fight.
○ Attack x4.
○ Shift while mid-air to prevent the long paradigm shift animation.
● [2] War & Peace (COM/MED)
○ Repeat.
○ Shift while mid-air.
○ Repeat.
○ Repeat.
○ Select Summon, and execute when Ushumgal Subjugator uses Tail Hammer.
○ Repeat.
○ Wait for Overdrive. Then, Froststrike x4.
○ Select Potion, and use when Ushumgal Subjugator uses Tail Hammer.
○ Repeat.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Repeat.
■ Don’t worry about the Shiva sisters leaving before the fight ends.
2.5% chance of a Deceptisol.
63
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Take the left passage.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
If you are on console, start camera tricking immediately after the cutscene skip.
Dodge 1 encounter.
If you are on PC, activate a Deceptisol.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
If you activated a Deceptisol for the last dodge, cancel it on the front of the next encounter. In
any case, hug the right wall.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Now hug the left wall. For the next dodge, the area on the very left between the pillars is not
actually a part of the battle zone; use it to your advantage to run past the behemoth and soldier.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Ushumgal Subjugator (Hope lead)

Overview: Get Hope killed as fast as possible, in order to trigger the real fight.
○ Shift immediately.
● [2] Medic (MED)
○ Libra.
○ Delay a short while before shifting.
● [3] Synergist (SYN)
64
○ Hope should die.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Immediately Retry the fight in order to access the menu.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for the real Ushumgal Subjugator fight and the first two Hope’s house
fights.
○ Paradigms
■ Move the first paradigm to the last slot.
Fang Ltng Hope
[COM] COM RAV
COM RAV (RAV)
(SAB) (RAV) RAV
SEN (RAV) (RAV)
SAB (RAV) SYN ← set default
COM RAV RAV
○ Crystarium
■ Fang
● Commando
○ Adrenaline.
● Saboteur
○ HP: +20 right before the Accessory out of ring.
■ Lightning
● Ravager
○ Magic: +10 out of ring.
○ Thundara.
■ Hope
● Ravager
○ Fearsiphon out of ring.
○ Thundara.
● Synergist
○ Accessory out of ring.
○ Next node (HP: +10).
○ Equipment
■ Fang
● Equip
○ Accessory: Power Wristband *.
■ Hope
65
○ Magician’s Mark * → Silver Bangle.

■ Lightning
○ Magician’s Mark *.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: (Ushu2) Ushumgal Subjugator (Fang lead)

Overview: Spam Slow, even after it is inflicted, while waiting for Hope to cast Protect on
everyone. Then work on getting Ushumgal Subjugator staggered while keeping HP up with
Potions. Once staggered, pay attention to Lightning’s Thundaras and time your ATB refreshes
to cancel her ready animation. When the chain is at 999.9%, use Aggression and try to land a
Smite by attacking at the end of stagger while Ushumgal Subjugator is midair.
● [5] Guerilla (SAB/RAV/SYN)
○ Slow x3.
○ Potion.
○ Repeat.
○ Shift after Hope casts his last Protect.
● [3] Smart Bomb (SAB/RAV/RAV)
○ Repeat twice.
○ Potion.
○ Potion.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Auto-battle twice.
○ Auto-battle a single Attack.
○ Shift after Lightning’s second Thundara to cancel her ready animation.
○ Auto-battle twice.
○ Shift after Lightning’s second Thundara.
○ Auto-battle.
○ Auto-battle a single Attack.
○ Shift to COM-buffer Lightning’s first Thundara into:
○ Time your Auto-battle to try to land Smite, if possible.
○ Shift after stagger ends.
● [3] Smart Bomb (SAB/RAV/RAV)
○ Repeat twice.
○ Shift after Lightning’s fourth attack.
● [4] Mystic Tower (SEN/RAV/RAV)
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○ Auto-defend.
○ Potion.
○ If Fang’s HP is green, Provoke x3.
■ Otherwise, Potion.
○ Shift after stagger.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Follow the same pattern as above ([2] → [6] → [2] ( → [1] if needed)) to kill.
Skip 1 cutscene.
If you are short on Phoenix Downs, grab the Phoenix Down to the left of the top of the staircase.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Activate the TV.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Battle: PSICOM Aerial Sniper x2 & PSICOM Scavenger x2

Overview: Build chain duration on all enemies via controlled Blitzes. Summon Odin and
maintain chain duration. Go into gestalt mode and spam Thunderfalls on the PSICOM
Scavengers, making sure both are staggered. Then use Zantetsuken for the win.
○ Blitz x2 PSICOM Aerial Sniper B.
○ Summon.
■ Press Select to skip the summon animation.
○ Repeat one Blitz.
○ Repeat on whichever targets weren’t hit by the first Blitzes.
○ Gestalt when either:
■ everything has sufficient chain duration;
■ Lightning is about to die;
■ Odin’s SP is about to run out.
○ Thunderfalls on either PSICOM Scavenger until out.
○ Zantetsuken.
○ If anything survives:
■ Either Blitz (if multiple targets survive) or Ruins (if a single target) until
victory.
34.4% chance of at least one Incentive Chip.
67
Fight the mob to the right. (If you rotate your camera, it’s the mob to the left of the door; in fact,
it’s the mob guarding the door.)
Battle: PSICOM Bombardier & PSICOM Predator x2

Overview: Stagger the PSICOM Bombardier first. Fang will take care of one Predator while
you finish the Bombardier off, and the second one will soon fall as well.
○ Hover over PSICOM Bombardier, and then shift.
○ Auto-chain.
■ Be wary of interruptions.
○ (STAGGER)
○ Blitz x2.
■ If neither PSICOM Predator wanders close enough to PSICOM
Bombardier, throw Ruins instead.
○ Repeat until PSICOM Bombardier is dead.
○ Shift after Fang’s last attack.
○ Auto-chain with a COM-buffer if necessary to win.
■ If there are two PSICOM Predators, spread the damage as necessary.
2.5% chance of a Fortisol.
Run to the dead-end on the side of the previous mob and grab the Brawler’s Wristband. Do not
dart into the hallway to the side, or else the previous mob will respawn.
Menu
Overview: Optimize Strength on Lightning for the upcoming Havoc Skytank fight.
● Paradigms
Ltng Fang Hope
COM COM RAV
RAV COM RAV
(COM) (COM) RAV
(COM) (COM) (MED)
(COM) (COM) SYN ← set default
(COM) COM (MED)
● Crystarium
○ Lightning
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■ Medic
● Accessory out of ring.
■ Commando
● Three nodes (end on HP: +25).
● Equipment
○ Lightning
■ Equip
● Magician’s Mark * → Brawler’s Wristband Lv. 1.
○ Fang
● Power Wristband * → Magician’s Mark *.
○ Lightning
● Accessory → Power Wristband *.
Activate a Fortisol and examine the door.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Havoc Skytank

Overview: Spam Lightning’s Attacks (and witness gunblade badassery) to eliminate the side
guns. After the side guns are eliminated, stay in Commando roles until Main Cannon activates
a second time; at this point, use Relentless Assault briefly to stagger, and then kill with further
Commando abuse.
● [5] Strike Team (COM/COM/SYN)
○ Attack x4 Portside Turret.
○ Repeat two Attacks.
○ Potion.
■ (Main Cannon).
○ Repeat twice.
● [4] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
○ Repeat with ATB refreshes between [4] and [6] until all Turrets and Hulls are
dead.
● Until Main Cannon:
○ If anyone is not green:
■ [4]/[6] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
● Repeat.
○ If everyone is green:
■ [1]/[3] Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
● Repeat.
● When Main Cannon starts:
○ [2] Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV)
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■ Auto-chain.
○ [1] Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
■ (STAGGER).
■ Repeat.
● Be wary of when Main Cannon will strike; execute early if it is
about to hit, to avoid interruption.
■ Repeat with ATB refreshes between [1] and [3] until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
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Chapter 8
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run left and around.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run to the destination marker.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Run forward and turn right.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward and board the Nautilift.
Board the Nautilift for Nautilus Park? Yes (mash X).
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X to get through the Flight of the Chocobo prompt. Run forward and examine the chocobo
chick in the middle of the sheep.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Examine the chocobo chick in the gift wagon.
Skip 1 cutscene.
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The chocobo chick is in the left side of the structure in front of you.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run right while rotating the camera right, and examine the chocobo chick in the middle of the
group of chocobos.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Grab the Star Pendant in front of you.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for the fights in this chapter. Sazh’s Blitz and Enfrost are absolutely
essential for fast fights in this chapter. (Note: This menu can really be done anywhere before
the first fight of the chapter; I just like doing it here to listen to the music.)
 Paradigms
Sazh Vnll
COM RAV ← default
COM (MED)
SYN SAB
RAV RAV
RAV SAB
COM SAB
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Commando
 Blitz.
 Synergist
 Accessory out of ring.
 Enfrost.
 Ravager
 Two nodes (up to Strength: +7).
o Vanille
 Ravager
 Out of ring grabs:
o Thunder.
o Overwhelm.
o Fira.
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 Role level 2.
 Saboteur
 Quake out of ring.
 Role level 2.
 Medic
 Until out (stop on Magic: +3).
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Equip
 Accessory: Doctor’s Code Lv. 1.
 Accessory: Shield Talisman Lv. 1.
o Vanille
 Tungsten Bangle Lv. 1.
Run toward the destination marker.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Fight the lone Zwerg Scandroid guarding the treasure chest.
Battle: Zwerg Metrodroid

Overview: Attack once, and then Blitz.
○ Attack.
○ Blitz.
○ Repeat if he’s not dead yet.
1.25% chance of an Aegisol.
Open the previously guarded Spica Defenders chest.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Turn right at the fork.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Midlight Reaper
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Overview: Buff Sazh with Bravery and Enfrost for the best damage modifiers. Then alternate
between Divide & Conquer and Undermine for chaining, duration building, and Potion throws
while waiting for Vanille to land Deprotect. Once Deprotected, focus more on Blitzes and
Potion throws while waiting for Poison to land. With all debuffs landed, Blitz as much as you
can.
○ Blitz.
○ Bravery.
○ Enfrost.
○ Repeat.
○ Shift after Vanille’s third spell.
○ Auto-chain.
○ Potion.
○ Repeat.
● While Deprotect is not inflicted:
○ Follow the above [5] and [6] pattern until Deprotect is inflicted.
● Post-stagger, while Poison is not inflicted:
○ [1] Slash & Burn (COM/RAV)
■ Repeat.
■ Shift after Vanille finishes.
○ [6] Divide & Conquer (COM/SAB)
■ Potion.
■ Shift after Vanille’s third spell.
○ Follow this pattern until Poison is inflicted.
● Post-stagger, when both Deprotect and Poison are inflicted:
○ [1] Slash & Burn (COM/RAV)
■ Repeat.
■ Shift after Vanille finishes.
■ Repeat twice.
○ Follow this pattern until victory.
Skip 2 cutscene.
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Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Brynhildr
Overview: Get Enfrost on Sazh. Then use Attack-Blitz for the remainder of the fight. The
preceding Attack is to get the maximum chain boost on Blitz due to conditional modifiers.
Sazh is the biggest contributor to gestalt in this fight. Battle times will vary based on how
Brynhildr positions herself; if she remains close to Sazh, more of Blitz’s bullets will hit, and
gestalt will get a bigger boost.
○ Immediately shift.
○ Enfrost Sazh.
■ Be wary of interruptions.
○ Attack-Blitz (in that order).
○ Repeat.
● Keep shifting between [1] and [2] until gestalt maxes.
○ If things get hairy, throw a Potion.
● Press Square when gestalt is filled to win.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
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Chapter 9
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Talk to Rygdea.
Are you ready to depart? Yes (press Down).
Skip 5 cutscenes.
Battle: PSICOM Infiltrator & PSICOM Raider x2

Overview: Summon, build chain, build chain duration, gestalt, use Thunderfalls until all
things are staggered, and then Zantetsuken.
 [1] Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM)
o Summon.
o Thundara x2 PSICOM Infiltrator.
 [2] Delta Attack (COM/RAV/SEN)
o Blitz x2 a PSICOM Raider which will hit the most things.
o Gestalt.
o Thunderfalls until both PSICOM Raiders are staggered.
o Zantetsuken.
 If there are any survivors:
o [1] Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM)
 Use four -strikes on the survivor(s) until they are dead.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Setup for the next immediate fight, but also for Kalavinka
 Paradigms
o Move the first paradigm to the fourth slot.
Ltng Hope Fang
(RAV) SYN SAB
(RAV) RAV (SAB)
(RAV) (RAV) SEN
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RAV RAV COM ← default

[COM] RAV COM
[COM] RAV COM
 Crystarium
o Lightning
 Commando
 Grab all side nodes EXCEPT Ravage.
 Stop at Smite.
o Fang
 Saboteur
 Accessory out of ring (adjacent to where you start).
 Curse.
 Sentinel
 Next node (HP: +40).
 Equipment
o Lightning
 Unequip all accessories.
o Snow
o Fang
 Power Wristband *.
 Brawler’s Wristband.
o Lightning
 Magician’s Mark.
 Doctor’s Code.
Fight the next encounter.
Battle: PSICOM Infiltrator x2 & PSICOM Raider

Overview: Change the target to a PSICOM Infiltrator and focus on killing them first. Potion
as necessary while you work on staggering both. When both are staggered, use Aggression’s
dual Commandos to have Fang and Lightning take down both simultaneously. When left with
the lone PSICOM Raider, stagger him and Aggression him individually.
o Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder PSICOM Infiltrator A.
o Potion.
o Repeat PSICOM Infiltrator B (Hope will probably keep targeting A).
o Repeat until staggered.
 [5] Aggression (COM /RAV/COM)
o Ruin x4.
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o Repeat until both PSICOM Infiltrators are dead.

o Repeat.
o Thunder-Thundara (or more single-target spells if you otherwise don’t expect to
stagger).
o Shift after stagger (Repeat as necessary).
 [5] Aggression (COM /RAV/COM)
o Repeat until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate the switch in front of you.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Jump onto the lift. When it stops, jump off and run forward, then turn left and run outside.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
After jumping up the platforms, turn left.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Skip 5 cutscenes.
Dodge 2 encounters (run to the right after the second encounter).
Grab the Lifesaber in the far left corner, and then continue forward.
Dodge 2 encounters.
If you know you are short on gil (or otherwise wish to be safe) grab the Ember Ring in the far
right corner.
Dodge 7 encounters.
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Grab the Pandoran Spear on the right after the last dodge.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Menu
Overview: Sets up for the immediate fight and the one in the next Sazh/Vanille section as
well.
 Paradigms
o Swap the first and third paradigms.
Sazh Vnll
SYN SAB ← set default
COM MED
COM RAV
RAV RAV
[RAV] (SAB)
[COM] (SAB)
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Synergist
 Next node (Haste).
 Ravager
 Aero and Overwhelm out of ring.
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Doctor’s Code → Power Wristband Lv. 1.
Attempt to get a preemptive strike on the next encounter by running into a flan when his back is
turned. If you fail to get the preemptive strike, do not bother retrying.
Battle: Flanborg & Flanitor

Overview: If you successfully got the preemptive strike, simply buff Sazh and kill with
Blitzes (with slight pauses to let Vanille attempt to debuff). Without the preemptive strike, get
Haste and Vigilance on Sazh in addition to before, and throw more Blitzes in.
 If preemptive strike:
o [1] Tide Turner (SYN/SAB)
 Bravery-Enwater Sazh.
 Shift when Vanille starts swinging her arm.
o [6] Divide & Conquer (COM/SAB)
 Blitz-Blitz.
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 Repeat single Blitzes, or more, if necessary.

 If not preemptive strike:
o [1] Tide Turner (SYN/SAB)
 Vigilance-Haste Sazh.
 Bravery-Enwater Sazh.
o [6] Divide & Conquer (COM/SAB)
 Blitz-Blitz.
 Repeat, with an ATB refresh to [5] if necessary.
43.75% chance of at least one Vibrant Ooze.
Activate the door they were guarding.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Turn right.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate the door to the right, and run forward.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
As Lightning, run through the door in front of you and touch the save point.
Shop
Overview: Purchase components to upgrade the Brawler’s Wristband, and a Doctor’s Code if
a Fortisol for Barthandelus (1) is needed. Unless you are short on gil, you can also purchase a
Shaman’s Mark and buy some Painkillers and Mallets for a later fight.
Goal: 35,030 gil. This is not guaranteed, but is likely. If you received at least two Incentive
Chips, you should be able to afford this. If you are short, postpone the part of the menu below
the bolded note until after Kalavinka Striker.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Spica Defenders.
 Lifesaber.
 Pandoran Spear.
o Accessories
 Star Pendant.
 If obtained, Ember Ring.
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o Components
 Abominable Wings.
 Superconductors (if any).
 Uraninite.
 Vibrant Oozes (if any).
 Buy
o Lenora’s Garage
 Crankshaft x32.
o Creature Comforts
 If you have a bonus Fortisol:
 Vibrant Ooze (up to) x25.
 If you do not have a bonus Fortisol:
 Vibrant Ooze (up to) x35.
o IF YOU ARE SHORT ON GIL, STOP HERE.
o B&W Outfitters
 Shaman’s Mark.
o Unicorn Mart
 Potion x31.
 Painkiller x4.
 Mallet x4.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the Brawler’s Wristband and catalyze it into a Warrior’s Wristband. If
you are in need of a Fortisol for Barthandelus (1), upgrade and dismantle the open Doctor’s
Code.
 Upgrade
o Accessories
 Brawler’s Wristband
 Vibrant Ooze x25 (x2).
 Abominable Wing x9 (x3).
 Crankshaft x32 (*).
 Uraninite (Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 8).
 If you need a Fortisol for Barthandelus (1):
 Doctor’s Code
o Vibrant Ooze x10 (*).
 If you need a Fortisol for Barthandelus (1):
o Dismantle
 Doctor’s Code (Fortisol, Aegisol, Ethersol, Elixir).
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Run counterclockwise around the outside ring toward the destination marker.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
As Sazh, run to the center platform.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Grab the Phoenix Down on the left side of the area in front of you, and then run down the ramp
to the right of the chest.
Dodge 1 encounter (lure the Thermadon out and run past when he backs to the side).
Keep running forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Thermadon & Vespid Soldier

Overview: Target the Vespid Soldier first; he’s weak to lightning, so buff yourself with
Enthunder and Blitz him to death in Divide & Conquer. With the Thermadon left, buff
yourself with Enwater to exploit post-stagger weaknesses and inflict him with Deprotect and
Deshell as you work on staggering him. Pay attention to HP for his second Photon Burst. Post-
stagger, let him walk forward before unleashing the power of Blitz on him.
 [1] Tide Turner (SYN/SAB)
o Bravery-Enthunder Sazh (watch out for interruption).
 [6] Divide & Conquer (COM/SAB)
o Blitz-Blitz Vespid Soldier.
o Repeat as necessary to kill him.
o Throw a Potion if Aeroga goes off (or Retry if bad things happen).
 [1] Tide Turner (SYN/SAB)
o If Sazh is being targeted by Photon Burst and you have time, throw a Potion to
prevent launch.
o Haste-Enwater Sazh.
o Auto-support (Haste) Vanille.
 [5] Undermine (RAV/SAB)
o Fire-Aero-Fire-Aero Thermadon.
o If Photon Burst is targeting someone who will not survive it:
 [2] War & Peace (COM/MED)
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
Either throw a Potion to prevent Sazh’s launch or keep the
targeted person alive;
 Or Repeat to maintain chain duration.
o Repeat until Deprotect is inflicted (ATB refresh with [4] if necessary).
 [4] Dualcasting (RAV/RAV)
 [2] War & Peace (COM/MED)
o Wait for Thermadon to come close, and then Repeat.
 [3] Slash & Burn (COM/RAV)
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Run past all encounters toward the destination marker, camera tricking the entire way.
Dodge 9 encounters.
Skip 1 encounter.
Battle: Kalavinka Striker (1)

Overview: Open with Libra. Chain to stagger using either Smart Bomb or Relentless Assault.
Chain for a single round post-stagger and use Aggression to kill.
 [1] Guerilla (RAV/SYN/SAB)
o Libra.
o Auto-chain.
o Shift after Hope casts the second Protect (to cancel his ready animation).
 [2] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
o Auto-chain until Slow and Curse are inflicted.
o Auto-chain until stagger.
o Auto-chain once more (try to COM-buffer the last two spells).
 [5] Aggression (COM/RAV/COM)
o Auto-battle, with ATB refreshes with [6] until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Kalavinka Striker (2)

Overview: Throw Potions in response to who is targeted by Kalavinka. Get Protect on
everyone and attempt to get Slow and Curse on Kalavinka. Use Mystic Tower to direct
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Hellstorm Bolt towards Fang. After Hellstorm Bolt, proceed like in the previous fight, but be
wary of your party’s HP.
 [1] Guerilla (RAV/SYN/SAB)
o Potion.
o If Lightning is targeted by Kalavinka Striker:
 Auto-chain two spells.
 Potion.
 Auto-chain two spells.
 Potion.
o If Hope is the target:
 Auto-chain.
 Potion.
 Auto-chain.
o If Fang is the target:
 Auto-chain twice.
 Potion.
 [2] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB) or [4] Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM)
o Use [2] if still waiting on Slow and Curse’s infliction; use [4] if done debuffing.
o In total, Auto-chain twice. Potion if necessary.
 [3] Mystic Tower (RAV/RAV/SEN)
o Auto-chain until Hellstorm Bolt starts.
o During Hellstorm Bolt:
 Cast whatever spells are already queued.
 Time a Potion throw for just after the attack goes off.
 [2] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB) or [4] Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM)
o Use [2] if still waiting on Slow and Curse’s infliction; use [4] if done debuffing.
o Auto-chain until stagger.
o Auto-chain once more (try to COM-buffer the last two spells).
o Auto-battle, with ATB refreshes with [6] until victory. Potion if necessary.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Mash X to get through the Battle Team Formation prompt. If you could not afford the Shaman’s
Mark earlier, go to the shop and sell the Blessed Talisman. Then purchase everything you could
not buy in the previous shop.
Menu
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Overview: Sets up for the bridge fights overall, and paradigms and equipment for
Barthandelus as well. Note that this is the first time you can change your party (though not the
leader)!
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Swap Hope with Sazh (2 ↔ 5).
 Swap Fang with Snow (3 ↔ 4).
o
Ltng Sazh Snow
COM SYN (COM) ← default
(RAV) RAV RAV
(COM) SYN SEN
[RAV] (RAV) (RAV)
COM [COM] COM
COM [COM] COM
 Crystarium
o Lightning
 Commando
o Snow
 Commando
 Role level 2.
 Sentinel
 Backtrack to Fringeward on stage 1.
 Continue to next node (Strength: +5).
 Ravager
 Water & Aquastrike out of ring.
 Three nodes after role level 2 (end on Strength: +3).
 Equipment
o Fang
o Lightning
 Magician’s Mark → Warrior’s Wristband.
o Sazh
 Power Wristband → Magician’s Mark.
 Shield Talisman → Shaman’s Mark.
o Snow
Activate the bridge in front of you. Run down and fight the encounter there.
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Battle: (Bridge 1) PSICOM Destroyer & PSICOM Infiltrator x3

Overview: Straightforward. It is possible to die to bad enemy aggression on Lightning, but
sometimes there is nothing you can do about it.
 [1] Strike Team (COM/SYN/COM)
o Potion.
o Blitz-Blitz PSICOM Destroyer.
o If Lightning is red (or you feel scared), throw a second Potion.
 [4] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
o Potion.
o Thundara-Thundara PSICOM Destroyer.
 [5] Cerberus (COM/COM/COM)
o Repeat PSICOM Destroyer.
o Repeat as necessary until victory.
Activate the bridge to the left. Run across and grab the Librascope on the next platform. Then,
activate the bridge to your right and fight the next encounter.
Battle: (Bridge 2) PSICOM Destroyer & PSICOM Dragoon x3

Overview: Immediately shift to Strategic Warfare to direct the Dragoon’s gunfire to Snow.
Focus your Blitzes on the Destroyer and hope you hit most, if not all, of the Dragoons. Once
Lightning and Snow have Bravery, kill with Cerberus.
o Shift immediately.
 [3] Strategic Warfare (COM/SYN/SEN)
o Blitz-Blitz PSICOM Destroyer.
o Repeat until Sazh casts Bravery-Vigilance on Snow.
o Repeat. If only one target is left, use Attack x4 instead.
Activate the bridge in front and grab the 3600 gil in the chest on the next platform. Then, activate
the bridge to your right and fight the next encounter.
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Battle: (Bridge 3) PSICOM Raider x2 & Thermadon

Overview: Use Quake for chain duration while waiting for Haste on everyone. Use Tri-
disaster to stagger the soldiers first and Thermadon last. Depending on who Thermadon
targets, Potion accordingly. Once Thermadon is staggered, get Enwater on all before using
Cerberus to kill.
 At any point in this fight, if Lightning or Snow get Pained, throw a Painkiller on them.
If Sazh gets Fogged, throw a Mallet on him. If Lightning gets Fogged while still a
Ravager, use Auto-chain instead of Thundara-Thundara.
o Quake.
o Blitz-Blitz Thermadon.
o Repeat a single Blitz on PSICOM Raider A.
o Thundara-Thundara PSICOM Raider A.
o Change targets to PSICOM Raider B.
o Potion immediately if Thermadon is targeting Lightning.
o Time a Potion throw so HP is recovered after Photon Burst’s hit.
o Repeat if needed to stagger PSICOM Raider B.
o Repeat Thermadon.
o Repeat until Thermadon is staggered.
o Auto-battle Thermadon.
o Shift once everyone has Enwater.
o Auto-battle as needed until victory.
34% chance of at least one Credit Chip.
Activate the bridge to the left and fight the next encounter.
Battle: (Bridge 4) PSICOM Dragoon x4 & PSICOM Reaver

Overview: Shift to Strategic Warfare like in Bridge 2. This time, you will need to throw
Potions in between attacks in order for Snow to stay alive while he works on provoking the
enemies. Take out the PSICOM Dragoons before focusing on staggering and killing PSICOM
Reaver.
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o Blitz-Blitz PSICOM Dragoon A.
o Potion.
o Until Snow starts Steelguarding:
 Repeat.
 Potion.
o While Snow is Steelguarding and at least one PSICOM Dragoon is alive:
 Repeat. (If the Blitzes will not hit more than one thing, use Attack x4
instead.)
 Potion if Snow is at red HP.
o Shift when only PSICOM Reaver remains.
o Sparkstrike-Aquastrike-Sparkstrike-Aquastrike.
o If convenient, time your shift to cancel Snow’s ready animation.
o Auto-battle until victory.
Activate the bridge in front of you.
Menu
Overview: Spend some crystarium points to develop the characters from now through the first
couple fights of Chapter 11.
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Synergist
 Enfire.
 Commando
 Finish at HP: +10 at the end of the current ring.
o Snow
 Ravager
 Overwhelm out of ring.
o Fang
 Commando
 Backtrack one node to HP: +20 out of ring.
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 Saboteur.
 Backtrack one node to HP: +30 out of ring.
o Vanille
 Saboteur
 Medic
 Until out (should progress three rings, finishing at HP: +10 at
the end of the third ring).
Run down and grab the Ethersol to the right of the save point. Then activate a Fortisol before
running into the destination.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: (Bart1) Barthandelus (1)

Overview: This fight has two parts to it. First, take out the heads. Second, stagger and kill
Barthandelus proper. In both parts, Potions should be thrown liberally for survival. Do not be
conservative with them—Potions will soon drastically drop in value.
Each head has a unique element they are weak to, which we can exploit via Enspells.
Commandos in Cerberus target three different targets, therefore we want a different Enspell
for each person. This can be accomplished by manipulating the characters’ targets—have
Lightning hover over Right Pauldron before throwing the Librascope, and the three characters
will be targeting different heads and will get different Enspells. Once that is accomplished, use
Cerberus to kill two of the heads. With two heads left, you will need to reset Lightning and
Snow’s Enspells, so use Strike Team to that end. When one head is left, try to manipulate
Snow to target the same head as Lightning by tricking him via hovering over Barthandelus
briefly.
When all heads are dead, Barthandelus’s resistances drop and you can finally focus on him.
Chain in Tri-disaster. His first attack is Thanatosian Smile which you can survive from full
health, but throw a Potion during it so your characters do not die to his next immediate attack.
In general, alternate actions with Potions while you work on chaining. Use Quake at some
point to maximize his chain duration, and subsequently his stagger duration. Keep chaining
after stagger until the chain percentage is roughly 650-700%, and then use Cerberus. Now, the
focus is to keep him stun-locked by alternating attacks between Lightning and Snow. It is
tricky to accomplish this, but if done correctly you should be able to kill before a second
Thanatosian Smile and subsequent Destrudo. Bear in mind it is difficult to get Barthandelus to
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stop doing attacks once he has already started, so once you have found a stun-lock opening
you should try your best to keep him stun-locked.
If Destrudo does go off, you will have to proceed based on his HP. If he does not have much
HP left, just stick in Cerberus and kill. If he has a significant amount, shift to Tri-disaster and
restagger, and attempt to stun-lock him again. If you are using Tri-disaster, go back to single-
target spells for maximum chaining efficiency. Destrudo is weakened the more you reduce
Barthandelus’s HP, so keep attacking him; do make sure everyone’s HP is topped off so your
party can survive the attack, however.
 Use Potions liberally in this fight. Using them after every string of commands is
acceptable.
o Use Auto-battle to hover over Right Pauldron (DO NOT SELECT!).
o Librascope.
o Auto-battle three Attacks on Right Pauldron.
o Input Attack x4 but cancel after the third Attack.
o Repeat the full four Attacks.
o (Note: Sometimes Sazh derps with buffing and will not apply the right
Enspells. In this situation, continue Repeating three Attacks until everyone has
Enspells.)
o Repeat three Attacks.
o Potion.
o Repeat three Attacks.
o Potion.
o Repeat four Attacks.
o Repeat three Attacks until Right Pauldron (Lightning’s target) dies.
o Potion.
o When Lightning has Enwater, Repeat three Attacks on Right Ailette.
o Repeat three Attacks repeatedly until Right Ailette is dead.
 Try to time Right Ailette’s death when Snow is attacking, to help with
timing the next bit.
o Hover over Barthandelus until Snow starts attacking the Left Pauldron, at
which point Repeat three Attacks on Left Pauldron.
o If Left Pauldron is not dead, kill it. (You can have Snow do this by hovering
over Barthandelus again.)
o Potion while Barthandelus’s head is up in the air.
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o Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder.
 Note: Barthandelus resets his chain gauge when he finishes with his
head-raising animation, so try to time your spells, or better yet your shift
to Tri-disaster, so that you do not lose your Ravagers’ chain due to this.
o Quake.
o Repeat.
o Potion.
o Repeat.
o Thundara x2.
o Potion.
o Repeat and Potion until chain is around 650-700%.
 If you are seeing Thanatosian Smile before you can shift, you are
chaining too slow.
o Ready Repeat (Attack x4) and execute in time so that there is nearly no gap
between Snow’s fourth Attack and Lightning’s first Attack.
 If Sazh is Ruining, you can delay a little bit; the goal is to keep
Barthandelus stun-locked.
o Repeat in constant alternation with Snow until victory.
 If you are comfortable, ATB refresh with [6] while canceling Snow’s
ready animation.
 If Barthandelus uses Destrudo and thereby resets his chain:
o If HP is low:
 Continue Repeating (Attack x4) and ATB refreshes between [5] and [6]
until victory.
o If HP is higher:
 [2] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
 Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder.
 Potion if HP is not maxed.
 Repeat.
 Potion if HP is not maxed.
 Repeat with ATB refreshes with [4] until staggered.
 [5] Cerberus (COM/COM/COM)
 Repeat, in alternation with Snow and with Potions and ATB
refreshes with [6], until victory.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
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Chapter 10
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run down the tunnel and past Hope.

Continue into the ruins? Yes.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Bring Sazh back into the party, and set up paradigms for this chapter. The
mnemonic for this menu is “RAV RAV RAV RAV RAV sen RAV RAV RAV RAV.”
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Swap Vanille with Sazh (3 ↔ 5).
o
Ltng Snow Sazh
(RAV) SEN SYN ← default
(RAV) RAV RAV
(RAV) SEN (RAV)
[RAV] (SEN) (RAV)
[RAV] (RAV) SYN
COM COM [RAV]
Run up the stairs.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Pulsework Knight x2

Overview: Use Quake to give nearly maximum chain duration. Back Lightning away from
Snow via single spells, and throw a Potion if Snow fails to provoke both in time. Stagger both
with Mystic Tower and get Enfire with Malevolence (use Libra at some point so Sazh knows
to Enfire). Then kill in Aggression.
 [1] Riot Shield (RAV/SEN/SYN)
o Quake.
o Input Thundara x2 but cancel the second Thundara.
o Repeat a single Thundara twice.
o If Snow has not provoked both Pulsework Knights, throw a Potion.
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 [3] Mystic Tower (RAV/SEN/RAV)

o Repeat.
o Repeat a single Thundara.
o Libra on the non-current target (to switch Sazh’s target).
o Repeat the new target.
o Repeat.
o Target whichever one is not staggered yet.
 [5] Malevolence (RAV/RAV/SYN)
o Repeat on whichever one is not staggered yet (or anyone if both are staggered).
o Repeat if still waiting on Enfire on both Lightning and Snow.
o Blitz x2.
o Auto-battle if still not won.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run toward the destination marker. Dodging all the enemies. There are a lot.
Dodge 8 encounters.
In the giant room, instead of running forward toward the birds in front of you, run along the wall
to your left and continue around the room counter-clockwise. Enter the door at the end and run
straight forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Dodge 5 encounters.
Grab the Alicanto to your right. Then continue running down the stairs forward and left.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Jump up the platform to the left, and grab the Ethersol on the far side. Continue through the
hallway.
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Skip 3 cutscenes.
Battle: Cid Raines

Overview: In his first Offensive Shift, use Quake, get Haste on Lightning and Sazh, and chain
via Mystic Tower. As he shifts to Defensive or Recovery, use Malevolence for Haste on Snow
and Bravery on Lightning, and then chain in Tri-disaster until the second Offensive Shift.
Chain in Mystic Tower and hope to stagger him before he shifts back out. Unless he uses
Defensive Shift, launch him and kill in Aggression. If he goes Defensive, kill time in Tri-
disaster until he gets out of it.
o Quake.
o Fire-Water-Fire-Water.
o Repeat.
o Potion.
o Repeat.
o Repeat.
o Potion.
o If you know Cid’s next attack will be physical, Repeat once more while he
attacks Snow.
o Repeat.
o Repeat two spells.
o Repeat three times total.
o Throw Potions in between Repeats as needed.
o Shift when Cid is in Offensive Shift (canceling Snow’s ready animation if he is
currently attacking).
o Repeat, with Potions and ATB refreshes with [4] as needed until stagger.
o If you are close to stagger and you predict Cid’s next attack is not physical,
shift to [2] to stagger and cancel Snow’s ready animation into [6].
 If Cid is in Defensive Shift:
o [2] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
 Thundara-Thundara (or continue with single target spells until stagger).
 When Cid shifts to Offensive Shift, cancel Snow’s ready animation into
[6].
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 (There is a small chance Cid will Guard twice. In this situation, he will
Guard for the entirety of stagger, screwing up your fight. If this
happens, let me know for posterity purposes.)
o Use Auto-battle after Snow’s fourth attack.
o Continue Auto-battling in this manner until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Equip for the upcoming Eidolon fights. This menu is known as the “accessory
shuffle.”
 Equipment
o Lightning
o Snow
 Power Wristband * → Power Wristband Lv. 1.
o Sazh
 Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 8.
o Lightning
 Magician’s Mark *.
 Shaman’s Mark Lv. 1.
o Fang
 Tetradic Crown.
o Vanille
 Shield Talisman.
 Soulfont Talisman.
o Hope
 Blank → Tungsten Bangle.
Dodge the bombs by running counterclockwise when they land, trying to stay out of their way as
best as possible. Then run forward and continue into the big room. This time, run forward toward
the enemies in front of you.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
96
Dodge 2 encounters.
Grab the Feymark on the right side of the hallway.
Dodge 4 encounters.
Activate the elevator. Prepare a Deceptisol and activate it when the red dots of the birds appear
on the mini-map. When at the bottom, run off the elevator to escape the battle zone, and then run
back in and cancel on the birds.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol at the start of the bridge.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the last group of birds.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Open the door.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Battle: Bahamut
Overview: Try to inflict Slow, and hopefully Curse as well, in Ruthless while Bahamut is not
attacking. Tank all of Bahamut’s attacks in Combat Clinic. When Slow is inflicted, use
Relentless Assault and Attack-Ruin-Attack instead. Throw Potions and Phoenix Downs as
needed; in particular, throw Potions to prevent Fang’s launch from Whirlwind, if you have
time.
o Shift immediately (shifting during Doom cancels the long first paradigm shift
animation).
 [5] Ruthless (SAB/COM/RAV)
o Auto-hinder (Slow-Curse-Slow).
 [4] Combat Clinic (SEN/MED/MED)
o If Bahamut starts with two physicals:
 Time a Potion throw to prevent Fang’s launch from Whirlwind (his
third attack).
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 Auto-cover (Provoke x3) (to prevent launch from Inferno, his possible
fourth attack).
o Otherwise:
 Try to throw a Potion, but usually Fang will be launched.
 While Slow is not inflicted:
o Repeat the above [5] and [4] steps until Slow is inflicted.
 Bahamut will be attacking too fast for full SAB strings, especially if
Fang gets launched in [4], so remember to always go to [4] for
Bahamut’s attacks.
 After Slow is inflicted:
o [1] Relentless Assault (COM/RAV/RAV)
 Attack-Ruin-Attack.
 Throw a Potion if needed and if you have time.
 Repeat until Gestalt, tanking in [4] as necessary.
 Press Square when gestalt is filled to win.
 Press Select to skip the gestalt animation.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Would you like to save the game? No (press Down).
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Chapter 11
Skip 4 cutscenes.
Dodge 7 encounters.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Alexander
Overview: This is a long but repetitive fight. The first immediate goal is to get Fang to run
forward and away from Lightning and Hope, and then to force her to stay that far away. Work
on getting Protect on your three party members across two attacking segments. Get it on Hope
in the first segment, and then on Lightning and Fang in the second segment. When Alexander
is not attacking, you will chain in Relentless Assault for two rounds in Lofty Challenge
segments, one round otherwise. While Alexander is attacking, chain with Hope in Entourage.
You will have to maintain distance between Fang and Hope via paradigm shift manipulation
(shifting into Protection and then Entourage to force Fang to twirl her lance instead of backing
up).
 [1] Entourage (RAV/MED/SEN)
o Shift immediately to cancel the long first paradigm shift animation.
o Shift when Fang has ran forward “enough.”
 If Fang jumps mid-air, you shifted too late!
 [1] Entourage (RAV/MED/SEN)
o Shift after Fang provokes.
 [2] Protection (SYN/MED/SEN)
o Protect Hope.
o Thunder-Water-Thunder.
 If Fang jumps mid-air:
o [1] Entourage (RAV/MED/SEN)
 Shift after Fang provokes.
 [2] Protection (SYN/MED/SEN)
o Repeat Lightning.
o Repeat Fang.
 Repeat the following until Gestalt:
o [6] Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM)
 Repeat.
 If Lofty Challenge:
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 Repeat a second time.

o If Fang jumps mid-air:
 [2] Protection (SYN/MED/SEN)
 Shift after Fang provokes.
o [1] Entourage (RAV/MED/SEN)
 Repeat.
 If Fang gets too close to Hope, you should instead time a Potion throw
to prevent Hope from getting interrupted, or worse, killed.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Mash X to get through the Cie'th Stones and Missions primers. You are now in the Archylte
Steppe.
Menu
Overview: Change your leader ASAP since Hope runs slower than the other characters. Then
change paradigms for the next fight against Behemoth King & Megistotherian.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Hope with Sazh (1 ↔ 4).
 Switch Fang with Snow (3 ↔ 5).
 Switch Lightning with Vanille (2 ↔ 6).
o
Sazh Vnll Snow
COM MED (COM)
COM (SAB) RAV
SYN MED (COM)
[COM] (SAB) COM
SYN [SAB] COM ← set default
[COM] RAV COM
Run across the large map toward the destination marker. Bear in mind that the path to the marker
requires you to run farther to the left than you might think, since a straight-line path hits a wall.
The final encounter before the Mah’habara tunnel is a Behemoth King and Megistotherian
fighting each other; fight them.
Battle: Behemoth King & Megistotherian
100
Overview: This extra fight is for its 6600 CP, affording Vanille her ATB segment before
Hecatoncheir, and Snow both his ATB segment and third accessory slot before Proudclad 1.
Cast Bravery and Enfire on Sazh for maximum damage output. Shift right when Vanille and
Snow start casting to ensure chain maintenance. Kill Megisotherian with three Blitzes. Shift to
Devastation to deal with the Behemoth King. Time your Blitzes so that Sazh does not miss,
and hope that Vanille inflicts Deprotect and/or Imperil for the slightly faster fight.
 [5] Bully (SYN/SAB/COM)
o Bravery-Enfire Sazh.
o Shift after Vanille and Snow start casting.
 [2] Ruthless (COM/SAB/RAV)
o Blitz-Blitz Megistotherian.
o Repeat a single Blitz (Megistotherian should die).
 [4] Devastation (COM/SAB/COM)
o Ready Repeat and cast when Sazh will not miss (wait a bit after Vanille finishes
casting for the best timing).
Now run into the tunnel.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Continue running forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
You are now in the Mah’habara Subterra.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Grab the Hauteclaire.
Dodge 2 encounters.
At the fork, continue forward.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Shop
101
Overview: Purchase a lot of things and components for upgrading the newly purchased
Warrior’s Wristbands and Black Belt.
Goal: 103,680 gil. You can only not afford this if you had a severe lack of Chip drops in
chapter 9. If you are indeed short, postpone the part of the menu below the bolded note until
the Taejin’s shop; if you cannot afford the items above the listed note, either you forgot a chest
or messed up a previous shop. Regardless, let me know.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Alicanto.
 Feymark.
 Hauteclaire.
o Accessories
 Entite Ring.
 Blessed Talisman (if not sold in chapter 9 for backup gil).
o Components
 Superconductors (if any).
 Barbed Tails (if any).
 Buy
o Lenora’s Garage
 Superconductor (up to) x78.
o Creature Comforts
 Barbed Tail (up to) x87.
o B&W Outfitters
 Titanium Bangle (unless short on gil).
 Warrior’s Wristband x2.
 Black Belt.
o IF YOU ARE SHORT ON GIL, STOP HERE.
o Up in Arms
 Pearlwing Staff.
o Unicorn Mart
 Holy Water x4.
 Foul Liquid x4.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the two Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 1’s to *-level and the Black Belt to *-
level.
 Upgrade
o Accessories
 Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 1 (1)
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 Barbed Tail x36 (x3).

 Superconductor x37 (*).
 Barbed Tail x36 (x3)
 Black Belt Lv. 1
 Barbed Tail x15 (x1.75).
Menu
Overview: Slightly adjust paradigms. The new default paradigm is for the next Rust Puddings
fight, but swapping the first two paradigms will result in Guerilla becoming the default
paradigm after Hecatoncheir. Spend the CP collected since late-chapter 9, and swap
accessories to focus on Strength for Sazh and Snow and defense for Vanille and Fang.
 Paradigms
o Move the first paradigm to the second slot.
Sazh Vnll Snow
(SYN) SAB RAV
COM MED COM
SYN MED COM ← set default
COM SAB COM
SYN SAB COM
COM RAV COM
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Commando
 Jeopardize out of ring.
 Role level 3 (end of current ring).
 Two nodes after (finish on Strength: +7).
 Ravager
 Finish current ring (finish on Magic: +3).
o Vanille
 Medic
 Until out (finish on Strength: +4 on the end of the ring following
role level 3).
o Snow
 Ravager
 Finish on the Strength: +5 after the double HP: +80 on stage 7
(the ring after the current ring).
103
 Sentinel
 Role level 2 (end of current ring).
 Challenge out of ring.
 Equipment
o Lightning
 Unequip.
o Hope
 Unequip.
o Fang
 Tungsten Bangle (or Silver Bangle if short on gil).
 Black Belt *.
o Snow
 Warrior’s Wristband *.
 Warrior’s Wristband *.
o Vanille
 Weapon → Pearlwing Staff (unless not purchased).
 Titanium Bangle (or Tungsten Bangle if short on gil).
o Sazh
 Power Wristband → Shield Talisman.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Fight the flans guarding your path.
Battle: Rust Pudding x2

Overview: Buff Enthunder-Bravery on Snow first, and then Sazh. Then kill in Tireless
Charge. If both Rust Puddings target the same person at the same time, that person is dead; if
that person is Sazh, that obviously means game over, and there is nothing you can do to
prevent that. It is rare, but can happen.
 [3] Hero’s Charge (SYN/MED/COM)
o Enthunder-Bravery Snow.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth Attack.
 [2] Tireless Charge (COM/MED/COM)
o Use Blitz-Blitz if a Rust Pudding is close to Sazh or the two Rust Puddings are
close together; Auto-battle otherwise.
o Do the above until victory (usually one more time).
104
Menu
Overview: The main thing for this short menu is Vanille’s ATB segment. More HP on Sazh is
nice, though.
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Commando
 Ravager
 Thunder.
o Vanille
 Medic
 Next node (ATB gauge segment).
 Saboteur
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter (run up the ramp to the left).
You can jump up the ledge in front of you instead of running up the ramp to the right.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Grab the Saint’s Amulet x2 in the hallway after the lone Rust Pudding dodge.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Hecatoncheir
Overview: Shift instantly to Divide & Conquer to cancel the first long paradigm shift
animation. You will typically go back and forth between two rounds in Divide & Conquer and
two rounds in Stumbling Block, casting four debuffs in each round and possibly throwing a
Potion or casting a Renew between the rounds. It turns out reinflicting debuffs contributes
more to gestalt than chaining in Ravager, so stick to Saboteur for the entire fight. Regardless
of the timing, you should always be in Stumbling Block before Hecatoncheir starts attacking,
otherwise he might aim at Vanille. Use Divide & Conquer to maintain distance between Fang
and Vanille. Hecatoncheir typically executes 7 ATB of attacks (Quake counts as 3), but can
terminate early via Counter. Occasionally he will stop early without using Counter, but in
general you should keep track of his attacks and count to 7 so you know when to shift out of
Stumbling Block.
 [1] Slash & Burn (COM/RAV)
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o Shift immediately to cancel the long first paradigm shift animation.

 [3] Divide & Conquer (SAB/COM)
o Deprotect-Deshell-Imperil-Deshell.
o Repeat.
o Shift after Fang’s third action (her second Attack) and cancel her ready
animation.
 [4] Stumbling Block (SAB/SEN)
o Repeat.
o Throw a Potion after Fang has taken at least 300 points of damage.
o Repeat.
o Shift when Hecatoncheir is done attacking (either after Counter, after his 7th
ATB action, or when Looming Wrath appears on screen).
 Until Gestalt is maxed:
o [3] Divide & Conquer (SAB/COM)
 Repeat.
 Renew or Potion, depending on need and TP (skip if you shifted late).
 Repeat.
 Shift after Fang’s fourth action (her third Attack, the finisher) and
cancel her ready animation..
o [4] Stumbling Block (SAB/SEN)
 Repeat.
 Potion (or Renew if dire).
 Repeat.
 Shift when Hecatoncheir is done attacking (either after Counter, after
his 7th ATB action, or when Looming Wrath appears on screen).
o Replace the Repeat string with Deprotect-Deshell-Deprotect-Deshell whenever
Imperil is (re-)inflicted. Deprotect has a higher infliction chance than Imperil,
but you still want Imperil inflicted to maximize a conditional chain modifier on
the opening Deprotect. (For more info, check the Appendix.)
o If you are close to Gestalt, skip a healing step if Fang will survive long enough.
(This is called the “Fang sacrifice.”)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
After the bridge, turn left.
Dodge 2 encounters.
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Grab the Perfect Conductor x3 behind the stairs after the last dodge.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Examine debris
Skip 1 cutscene.
Examine Atomos. Board Atomos? Yes.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
You are now in the Sulyya Springs. Run forward.
Skip 3 cutscenes.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Keep running toward the destination marker.
Skip 1 cutscene.
You are now in Taejin’s Tower (technically just outside of it). Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Activate a Deceptisol during the next dodge.
Dodge 1 encounter.
If your Deceptisol was activated early, cancel it on the mob (Amphisbaena & Mànagarmr) in the
far left corner. If your Deceptisol was activated late, you can keep running forward and cancel it
on the mob (2 Mànagarmrs) before the door. If your Deceptisol was activated super late, you can
cancel it on the other side of the 2 Mànagarmrs.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Run through the literal hallway.
107
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run into the elevator and activate it. Where would you like to go? Second tier.
(Unskippable cutscene.)
Keep running forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X through the Menhirrim primer, and examine the statue in front of you. Accept Mission
21. Turn left and run toward the mission.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Run into Gelatitan’s back to get a preemptive strike. (One good tactic is to run into the battle
zone briefly to lure him closer to the stairs, exit and avoid getting touched by Gelatitan, and
running into his backside once he turns around.)
Battle: (Mission 21) Gelatitan

Overview: Get Haste on Sazh and Bravery-Enthunder on Snow; be careful of interruptions.
Shift to Bully for an ATB refresh and get Bravery-Enthunder on Sazh while Snow launches
the staggered Gelatitan. Shift to Aggression and kill. This fight is made significantly easier
thanks to the preemptive strike.
 [1] Guerilla (SYN/SAB/RAV)
o Auto-support (Haste) Sazh.
o Bravery-Enthunder Snow.
 If Sazh gets interrupted, buff whatever is missing.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth action (an Attack).
o Blitz-Blitz.
 Delay the Blitzes if needed to ensure that the bullets hit.
o Repeat until victory (delays as needed).
Skip 1 cutscene.
108
Menu
Overview: Change the leader and the default paradigm for the next fight.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Sazh with Vanille (1 ↔ 2).
o
Vnll Sazh Snow
SAB SYN RAV
MED COM COM
MED SYN COM
SAB COM COM
SAB SYN COM
RAV COM COM ← set default
Examine the statue in front of you. Accept Mission 22. Turn around and head back whence you
came.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Run into the far hallway and get a preemptive strike on the mission mob. (One good tactic is to
run along the left side—the two Cryptos will not see you—and run into the side of the Ambling
Bellows before it turns around.)
Battle: (Mission 22) Ambling Bellows & Cryptos x2

Overview: Change the target to Ambling Bellows, and Summon either after Sazh’s Blitz
connects with Ambling Bellows, or, if Ambling Bellows charges forward immediately, as
Ambling Bellows swings his arm and tries to hurt Vanille. Cast Aerora-Fira but cancel the
Fira. Then Repeat both spells and Gestalt. Cast four Force Blasters before using Gaian Salvo.
The Cryptos are a non-factor and will be killed by Gaian Salvo, so your priority is getting
Ambling Bellows staggered with sufficient duration and doing enough damage via Force
Blasters.
 [6] Aggression (RAV/COM/COM)
o Select Auto-chain and change the target to Ambling Bellows (DO NOT
SELECT HIM).
o Summon either:
 when Sazh’s Blitz connects with Ambling Bellows;
 as Ambling Bellows’s physical is about to hit Vanille.
o Aerora-Fira but cancel the Fira.
 If Ambling Bellows interrupts Vanille, try again.
o Repeat.
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o Gestalt.
o Circle/B four times.
o Triangle/Y.
o If Ambling Bellows survives the finisher, Retry.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Reset the party leader and default paradigm to those used for the first mission.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Vanille with Sazh (1 ↔ 2).
o
Sazh Vnll Snow
SYN SAB RAV ← set default
COM MED COM
SYN MED COM
COM SAB COM
SYN SAB COM
COM RAV COM
Examine the statue in front of you. Accept Mission 23. Run into the hallway whence you came
and get a preemptive strike on Gurangatch. (He is rather blind, but make sure you run straight
into his backside.)
Battle: (Mission 23) Gurangatch

Overview: The flow is similar to Gelatitan. The differences are to Enwater instead of
Enthunder, and to use Attacks instead of Blitzes depending on Gurangatch’s position.
o Bravery-Enwater Snow.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth action (an Attack).
o If Gurangatch is far from Sazh, or Snow is about to Launch:
 Auto-battle.
o Otherwise, if you think Blitz’s bullets will hit:
 Blitz-Blitz.
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o Repeat the above logic one more time.

Skip 1 cutscene.
Run back to the central area.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Pick up the Simurgh in the middle of the stairs leading up.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X through the text. Then run to the destination marker and activate the elevator. Where
would you like to go? Fourth tier.
On the fourth tier, run to the destination marker and activate the second elevator. Where would
you like to go? Fifth tier.
On the fifth tier, examine the statue. Accept Mission 24. Then get a preemptive strike on
Mushussu. (Lure him and the Yakshinis to the right, next to the ramp back up to the elevator.
When he, or they, get close, exit the battle zone and run along its perimeter to the far wall; this
should force them to turn in your direction and back up into the side wall of the ramp. Run back
along the perimeter towards them (but do not reenter the battle zone!). When Mushussu turns
around, and the Yakshinis are not facing in your direction, run into Mushussu’s back. If
something sees you, get back out of the battle zone and try again.)
Battle: (Mission 24) Mushussu & Yakshini x2

Overview: Quake immediately. Buff Snow with Bravery and Enwater for faster killing of the
Yakshinis. Buff Sazh with Haste and Bravery for damage against Mushussu and faster ATB
recovery for interruption purposes. Then kill all the things.
o Quake.
o Bravery-Enwater Snow.
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o Haste-Bravery Sazh.
 [4] Devastation (COM/SAB/COM)
o Blitz-Blitz Mushussu.
o Try to shift after Snow’s fourth Attack (it can be hard to tell).
 Try to keep Mushussu interrupted, if possible.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Change a paradigm for better use against Vetala. Then spend some CP on your
characters, mainly for Sazh’s Renew and overall HP. Replace Sazh’s Shielding Talisman with
the Soulfont Talisman for Vetala’s sake, and remove everything from Fang to sell them in the
next shop.
 Paradigms
o
Sazh Vnll Snow
SYN SAB RAV ← default
COM MED COM
SYN MED COM
COM SAB COM
(RAV) SAB (RAV)
COM RAV COM
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Ravager
 Role level 2.
 Continue to the node before role level 3 (Magic: +5).
 Vanille
 Saboteur
o Jinx out of ring.
 Snow
 Sentinel
o Push until out (finish on the first stage 8 node, HP:
+100).
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Shield Talisman → Soulfont Talisman.
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o Fang
Run back into the elevator and activate it. Where would you like to go? Fourth tier.
Run to the other side of the tower and into the elevator in the other room.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate the elevator. Where would you like to go? Sixth tier.
Run to the statue in this same room.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Examine the statue. Accept Mission 25. Then run to the destination marker in the next room.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X through the text. Then head towards the destination marker two rooms over.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Pick up the Unsetting Sun next to the stairs heading down. Then head down them and fight the
Vetala downstairs (do not bother trying to preempt him).
Battle: (Mission 25) Vetala

Overview: Get started on buffing and then shift to Smart Bomb. Cast Renew to recover from
Vetala’s devastating opening attack and work on staggering. After stagger, shift back to
Guerilla to finish buffing. Vetala should be inflicted with Imperil, Poison, and Deprotect at
this point. Finish him off in Tireless Charge. Vetala’s attack pattern is entirely predictable: (1)
multiple AoE elemental attacks; (2) multiple single-target elemental attacks on a single person;
(3) multiple AoE debuff spells, and loop back to the start. If you stagger cancel an action, he
will jump to the next. The Renew is to ensure that Sazh and Snow survive the second attack;
Vanille can still die, so revive her if you are not done debuffing.
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o Bravery-Enthunder Snow.
 [5] Smart Bomb (RAV/SAB/RAV)
o Renew.
o Repeat however many spells necessary to stagger.
 It is easier to chain if Imperil is inflicted, but its infliction is random.
 Throw a Phoenix Down on Vanille if she dies to Vetala’s second attack.
If you are out of Phoenix Downs and Vetala lacks Imperil, Retry.
 Throw a Painkiller on Sazh and/or Snow if they get Pained. Throw a
Mallet on Vanille if she gets Fogged.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Make sure Vetala has Deprotect before shifting.
 If Vanille dies (again) and Vetala has Imperil but not Deprotect, do not
bother reviving her.
o Blitz-Blitz.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Set up paradigms for Dahaka that will also be briefly useful for Penanggalan.
Then, change leader to Vanille for Penanggalan.
 Paradigms
o
Sazh Vnll Snow
SYN (RAV) (SEN)
COM (RAV) (RAV)
(RAV) (RAV) (SEN)
COM (RAV) COM ← set default
RAV SAB (SEN)
COM RAV COM
o Battle Team
Pick up the Librascope to the left of the hallway entrance. Then run through the hallway and
examine the statue in the next room. Accept Mission 26. Backtrack upstairs and toward the room
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with the last statue you examined. At some point, activate an Ethersol (the first one you should
have used thus far).
Dodge 3 encounters.
Get a preemptive strike on Penanggalan. (This is a tough one. Enter the battle zone near the
statue and run around the group counterclockwise. Hug the wall opposite the statue and around
the fallen debris. When you leave the battle zone, pay attention to where the bats are—if at least
one of them is not along the wall close to you, run counterclockwise around them again to try
again. Otherwise, run along the perimeter of the battle zone toward the statue (to get the birds to
face you and back into the wall, like with Mushussu), and then head back. Wait for their flapping
to slow; as they start moving away from the wall catch a Chonchon on its back. Do not try for
Penanggalan himself—Vanille is too short. For some aid, refer to this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy8VlZYdLRU (kudos to LeaveTheCoffee for this strategy
and the reference video).
(Alternatively, if you have a bonus Deceptisol, use a Deceptisol for an easy preempt.)
Battle: (Mission 26) Chonchon x4 & Penanggalan

Overview: Quake and Summon. Cast –ra spells on Penanggalan to boost his chain and the
gestalt bar, and then use gestalt. Cast 4-5 Force Blasters and finish him off with Gaian Salvo.
o Quake.
o Hover over Penanggalan via Auto-battle (but do not select him).
o Summon.
o Fira-Aerora Penanggalan.
 Be wary of interruptions.
 Gestalt early if he gets Aeroga off.
o Repeat Penanggalan.
 Same notes as above.
o Press Square to use Gestalt.
o Circle/B (Force Blasters) 4-5 times.
 5 should be safe, but sometimes you can win with 4. Do what you are
comfortable doing.
o Triangle (Gaian Salvo).
o If Penanggalan survives, he will be at low HP. Auto-chain and hope to kill fast.
Skip 1 cutscene.
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Now head back to where you had activated the mission, and head toward the destination marker.
Dodge 5 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Mash X to get through the text. Then run back inside (the room is different) and head into the
elevator (the same one used for Mission 24).
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate the elevator. Where would you like to go? Fourth tier.
Run toward the elevator outside, but examine the save point before it.
Shop
Overview: Buy a Sorcerer’s Mark, a Warrior’s Wristband, and components to upgrade
through the next two chapters.
Goal: 91,320 gil (+800 gil if you still have two Doctor’s Codes). You will have way more
than enough. Enough to make up for being short in Mah’habara, if that were the case.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Binding Rod (do this later if you were short on gil in the Mah’habara
shop).
 Simurgh.
 Unsetting Sun.
o Accessories
 Everything currently unequipped except:
 Warrior’s Wristband Lv1.
 Magician’s Mark *.
 Black Belt *.
 Any Doctor’s Codes.
o Components
 Perfect Conductors.
 Particle Accelerators.
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 Buy
o Lenora’s Garage
 Superconductor x63.
o Creature Comforts
 Sturdy Bone x72.
 Barbed Tail x72.
 Vibrant Ooze
 x86 if you have one Doctor’s Code.
 x96 if you have two Doctor’s Codes.
o B&W Outfitters
 Warrior’s Wristband.
 Sorcerer’s Mark.
o If you were short on gil in the Mah’habara shop:
 Up in Arms
 Pearlwing Staff.
 Unicorn Mart
 Holy Water x4.
 Foul Liquid x4.
Menu
Overview: Switch locations of all three party members—obviously Sazh should be the leader,
but Snow in second position helps in the Dahaka fight. Then replace Sazh’s Soulfont Talisman
with a Warrior’s Wristband, and Vanille’s Doctor’s Code with a Sorcerer’s Mark.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Vanille with Snow (2 ↔ 3).
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Soulfont Talisman → Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 1.
o Vanille
 Doctor’s Code → Sorcerer’s Mark.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the three main weapons to *-level, two Warrior’s Wristband Lv. 1’s to *-
level, and the remaining Doctor’s Code(s) to *-level. Then, dismantle the Doctor’s Code(s).
 Upgrade
o Weapons
 Vega 42s
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 Sturdy Bone x36 (x3).

 Wild Bear
 Sturdy Bone x36 (x3).
 Pearlwing Staff
 Barbed Tail x36 (Lv. 2; x3)
o Accessories
 Barbed Tail x36 (x3).
 Particle Accelerator x3 (Lv. 10).
 Perfect Conductor x1 (*).
 Doctor’s Code Lv. 1 (1)
 Vibrant Ooze x10 (*).
 If you still have the second Doctor’s Code:
 Doctor’s Code Lv. 1 (2)
o Vibrant Ooze x10 (*).
 Dismantle
o Accessories
 All Doctor’s Codes (Fortisol, Aegisol, Ethersol, Elixir).
Run into and activate the elevator. Where would you like to go? Sixth tier.
Head out (in the clockwise direction) and head toward the next elevator. Activate the Ethersol
while waiting for the next dodge.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Activate the elevator. Where would you like to go? Apex.
Head into the center of the top of the tower.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Dahaka
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Overview: RAV-buffer a Blitz for chain duration. Then work on chaining, buffing, chaining
& debuffing, buffing, debuffing, and staggering, in that order. Dahaka has a rather low
resistance to Imperil and a rather high resistance to Deprotect, so sometimes it will take a
while for the latter to get inflicted. Foul Utterance will dispel buffs, so postpone buffing Snow
until after Dahaka uses it on him (though sometimes he just will not use it, or will use it late;
be prepared for these contingencies). You can get Sazh out of the way of Dahaka’s swipe by
using Flamestrikes; Vanille should hopefully be out of the way thanks to party order, but she
may still be hit. Stagger with Relentless Assault, but be careful Dahaka is not doing an attack
during or after the shift. Then use your Aggressions with ATB refreshes for victory.
o Blitz, and RAV-buffer into:
o Flamestrike x4.
 [1] Riot Shield (SYN/SEN/RAV)
o Renew.
 Do this first if Sazh or Vanille are red.
o Libra.
 [5] Matador (RAV/SEN/SAB)
o Repeat.
 [1] Riot Shield (SYN/SEN/RAV)
o Bravery-Enspell Sazh.
o Repeat Snow.
 Delay this if Dahaka is in the process of using Foul Utterance.
 [5] Matador (RAV/SEN/SAB)
o Use your second Renew at any point when needed/useful.
o Repeat.
o If Vanille inflicts Deprotect early, use [3] Mystic Tower (RAV/SEN/RAV)
instead.
o When Deprotect is inflicted, Dahaka is almost staggered, and Dahaka is not
taking an action, shift.
o Blitz-Blitz.
 Your allies should stagger.
o Time your shift so that Snow does not jump up while Dahaka is falling.
 [4]/[6] Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
o Repeat with ATB refreshes until victory.
 Try to cancel Snow’s ready animation whenever possible.
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Skip 2 cutscenes.
Grab the Ethersol next to the auto-jump point, and then jump up towards the elevator toward
Oerba.
Menu
Overview: Get setup for Bart 2.
 Paradigms
o
Sazh Snow Vnll
(COM) (COM) (MED)
(RAV) RAV RAV
RAV (RAV) (SAB)
COM COM RAV ← default
(SYN) (RAV) SAB
COM COM RAV
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Ravager
 Until out (end on Magic: +15).
o Snow
 Sentinel
 Until out (end on Strength: +18).
o Vanille
 Medic
 Two HP: +100 nodes out of ring.
 Saboteur
 First HP: +100 node out of ring.
 If you have at least 6,000 CP, grab the next one as well.
Board the elevator? Yes.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Just run through Oerba toward the destination marker, skipping everything. Be mindful of the
kids (Seekers) and their parents (Vampires).
Dodge 6 encounters.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 6 encounters.
At the Seeker bridge, lure them out to one side (I use the right side) to create on opening on the
other. Then activate a Deceptisol. To get past them with Sazh, run through when they tilt their
arms inward—this puts their hitbox in a favorable position.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the Vetala.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Grab the Ethersol near the save point. Then, activate an Aegisol and an Ethersol before running
into the cutscene.
Skip 1 cutscene.

Overview: This is a tough fight with a lot of RNG. Even experienced runners have difficulties
dealing with dire situations, so be warned.
Start by buffering a Blitz into Guerilla. The buffer part does not actually matter, but the Blitz
adds good chain duration. Then buff Haste-Bravery on Sazh, Haste-Faith on Vanille, and
Bravery on Snow. Pay attention to how Barthandelus targets; if he focuses on a single
character, Renew when they are in red HP. Shift back to Smart Bomb and chain until both
Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted, at which point move to Tri-disaster. Throw a Librascope
when it is convenient, and Renew if you have not done so already (do not Renew twice).
Chain in Tri-disaster for a couple rounds post-stagger, and then do a quick round in Tireless
Charge to heal back up. Then use the Aggressions for damage dealing. If Dazega sticks, throw
a Foul Liquid. If a character is close to dying, use Tireless Charge. If someone dies, consider
Retrying. The goal is to push his HP past the threshold at which he will perform a head split.
The head split resets his chain gauge and starts the second phase of the fight.
Be prepared to Summon. He will either Apoptosis or Thanatosian Laughter. If it is Apoptosis,

Summon ASAP and Gestalt ASAP. In Gestalt, use the finisher immediately. The point of
summoning and leaving the summon is to dodge the dispel effects of Apoptosis on your entire
party—if done correctly, after summon all characters will still have buffs. If timed incorrectly,
you should Retry. He will (usually) use Laughter instead of Apoptosis if you dealt enough
damage to him before the head split. In that situation, try to time your Summon so that some of
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Laughter’s hits go off before the Summon (but not so late that Snow or Vanille die—pay
attention to their HP!). Wait on Gestalt until he finally does Apoptosis—it is still coming—and
use finisher immediately, as before.
After the summon, proceed like before, except this time just rebuff Haste on Sazh and Vanille
instead of rebuffing everything. If he has not used Laughter yet, it will be coming eventually.
Throw an Elixir when several people are in yellow or if he is being aggressive on one
character. Your characters should be in green when Laughter starts in order to have the best
chances of survival. When you see Thanatosian Laughter’s text on screen, ready Renew (or
Elixir if you have not thrown one yet) and time it to go off during the initial attacks (do not
wait too long, otherwise Sazh will get interrupted); this will help keep people alive (and is
basically necessary). After Laughter, either throw a second (or first) Renew or let Vanille heal
if you were in Tireless Charge, and then continue working on taking him out. Be aggressive if
stagger is ending and he is not dead yet.
If the second stagger ends and he has not tried a second Apoptosis, you can stagger him in one
round of Tri-disaster if he still has Imperil. Re-stagger him and try to kill him before
Apoptosis. If it does go off, things get a lot more frustrating—you take more damage and are
more susceptible to debuffs, and have to work on re-debuffing him and possibly re-staggering
him—so Retry if you are inexperienced, or push on ahead and hope to get lucky.
You may use your second Elixir here if in dire emergency, but in doing so you will have to use
an alternate strategy for Orphan 1. You should use Painkillers on Sazh and Snow, and Mallets
on Vanille, if Pain or Fog get inflicted on them. You may throw Holy Waters if Curse gets
inflicted. (This is the last fight where Holy Waters and Foul Liquids will be used; Painkillers
and Mallets have a small chance of being necessary against Orphan 2.)
o Blitz and shift immediately.
 [5] Guerilla (SYN/RAV/SAB)
o Haste-Bravery Sazh.
o Haste-Faith Vanille.
o Bravery Snow.
o Renew at any point if things get hairy.
o Librascope.
o If you have not yet already, Renew when needed and convenient.
o Repeat until:
 Stagger. Use Thunder-Aerora instead.
 Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted. In this case, shift.
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o Repeat (Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder pre-stagger, Thunder-Aerora post-stagger).
o Shift after Thunder-Aerora has been used twice and Vanille has used 5 ATB of
actions in her current string.
 [1] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
o Blitz-Blitz.
 [1]/[4]/[6] Tireless Charge/Aggression (COM/COM/MED)/(COM/COM/RAV)
o Repeat until head split. ATB refreshes as needed. Tireless Charge as needed.
o When debuffed, do the corresponding things:
 Sazh/Snow Pain (At any point)
 Painkiller.
 Vanille Fog (At any point)
 Mallet.
 Daze (From this point onwards)
 Foul Liquid non-Sazh characters.
 Foul Liquid Sazh.
 Barthandelus’s attacks will also dispel Daze at the cost of double
damage.
 Curse (From this point onwards)
 Holy Water Snow (if needed).
 Holy Water Sazh (if needed).
 If stagger is nearly done, do not bother.
o After head split, check Barthandelus’s HP. If his HP is less than 1.3 million, his
next attack is most likely Thanatosian Laughter.
o Ready Summon and react:
 Apoptosis
 Summon immediately.
 Gestalt immediately
 Finisher immediately.
 Thanatosian Laughter
 Wait on Summon until just before Laughter hits.
 Potion.
 Repeat until Apoptosis, and then Gestalt.
o Blitz and shift.
 From this point forward, if he has not used Thanatosian Laughter yet, do the following
when it is relevant:
o Keep your party in green health if possible.
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o When Thanatosian Laughter’s text appears on screen, ready Renew/Elixir and

cast/throw just before it hits.
o Use (another) Renew if not in Tireless Charge.
 Blitz and shift.
 [5] Guerilla (SYN/RAV/SAB)
o Haste Sazh.
o Repeat Vanille.
o When necessary, throw an Elixir.
o Repeat until:
o Repeat.
o Same procedure as before, except this time you should kill.
 If the second stagger ends:
 Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder.
 This should stagger if Imperil is still inflicted.
o [1]/[4]/[6] Tireless Charge/Aggression
(COM/COM/MED)/(COM/COM/RAV)
 Repeat as necessary and hope to get lucky.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Examine the Cie'th crystal.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Board the airship. Are you sure you want to go there now? Yes.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
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125
Chapter 12
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Anavatapta Warmech

Overview: Follow the sequence of buttons depending on which version of the game you are
playing.
 PS3 buttons:
o Down+X. (Pay attention to chain.)
o Side+X until stagger.
o If the initial chain died:
 Triangle.
o Else:
 Down+X.
 Side+X until dead.
 360 buttons:
o Down+A. (Pay attention to chain.)
o Side+A until stagger.
o If the initial chain died:
 Y.
o Else:
 Down+A.
 Side+A until dead.
 PC buttons:
o Down+A.
o Side+A until stagger.
o Y.
Skip 4 cutscenes.
When you regain control of Lightning, activate a Deceptisol and run forward through the small
maze.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the circling Bulwarker ahead (run counterclockwise to best intercept
him).
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Dodge 1 encounter.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol between the two battle zones.
Dodge 2 encounters. (If you fail the last dodge, you can still run past with a Deceptisol—despite
its appearance, you can run between the front Adamantheron and the fence. Alternatively, you
can try to run through without a Deceptisol and get lucky, but you will have to remember to
reactivate it for the next fight.)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Change the battle team and the default paradigm for the fight in front of you.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Lightning with Vanille (1 ↔ 3).
 Switch Lightning with Sazh (3 ↔ 4).
o
Vnll Snow Sazh
MED SEN COM
RAV RAV COM ← set default
MED SEN SYN
(Be sure your Deceptisol is still active, or reactivated based on the last dodge, before the next
fight.)
Battle: Bulwarker & Sanctum Seraph x2

Overview: This is a similar flow to the other Penanggalan-summon fights so far. Quake,
Summon, Fira-Aerora, Gestalt, Force Blasters, Gaian Salvo. There should be no survivors. The
only concern is whether you get interrupted by Sanctum Seraphs.
o Quake.
o Summon.
o Fira-Aerora. If interrupted, cancel and Repeat.
o Press Square to gestalt.
o Circle (Force Blasters).
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Menu
Overview: Spend the boat-load of CP you have accumulated mostly from Bart2. Then setup
paradigms for the next few fights, and insert accessories into newly opened slots. Unlike most
other menus, you should level in the Crystarium before setting the paradigms, so that Vanille
has access to her new Commando role.
 Crystarium
o Vanille
 Commando
 Ruin.
 Medic
 Saboteur
 Grab the side HP: +100 node if you could not get it earlier.
 Push four more nodes (finish on HP: +100).
o Snow
 Sentinel
 ATB segment.
 Ravager
o Sazh
 Ravager
 Up through the node next to Cold Blood (HP: +100).
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
o
Sazh Snow Vnll
COM (COM) (COM)
COM (COM) (COM) ← default
SYN SEN (SAB)
[SYN] RAV (MED)
RAV RAV [MED]
RAV RAV [RAV]
 Equipment
o Snow
 Blank → Warrior’s Wristband *.
o Vanille
 Blank → Magician’s Mark *.
 T. Bangle → Black Belt *.
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Skip 2 cutscenes.
Battle: Behemoth King

Overview: The first part of the fight is focused on chaining. After sufficient chaining has been
done, focus on buffing and debuffing. Once Behemoth King has Deprotect and Imperil, and
your party has Enfire, you can proceed to kill him before his transformation.
o Blitz, and RAV-buffer into:
o Fire x4.
o Attack-Blitz, and RAV-buffer the Blitz into:
o Repeat.
 [4] Coordination (SYN/RAV/MED)
 [5]/[6] Thaumaturgy/Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/MED)/(RAV/RAV/RAV)
o Use [5] if one character is at red health; use [6] otherwise.
o Repeat.
 [3] Premeditation (SYN/SEN/SAB)
o Bravery-Enfire Sazh.
o Repeat Snow.
o Faith-Enfire Vanille.
o Shift after Behemoth King has Deprotect and Imperil.
o Blitz-Blitz.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Get Sazh’s Cold Blood. Invest a little bit into Snow’s Commando for some easy
HP.
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Ravager
 Cold Blood out of ring (the node to the side).
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o Snow
 Commando
Activate a Deceptisol just before you enter the battle zone of the next dodge.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the previous dodge. Then continue forward, grabbing the
Rebel Heart to the right. When the Amphisbaena falls through the ceiling, activate a Deceptisol.
Dodge 4 encounters.
(Your Deceptisol will expire just after you leave the third battle zone. Do not bother canceling
it.)
(Sazh walking forward is a fake cutscene. There are several fake cutscenes in this chapter.)
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: (PC1) The Proudclad (1)

Overview: Follow the steps listed below as they are written and you should be able to
consistently win. New runners frequently make many common mistakes before this point and
have gotten away with it, but this is the first fight wherein a small mistake can fail the fight, so
be careful.
RAV-buffer a Blitz and chain in Tri-disaster for one round. Then buff in Coordination while
Snow chains and Vanille heals. Chain in Tri-disaster for one more round, and RAV-buffer
another Blitz into Thaumaturgy. Carefully time a Cold Blood so that all of its bullets hit post-
stagger. Time an ATB refresh into Tri-disaster so that Sazh has full ATB when you regain
control of him; if this sounds contradictory, remember that ATB refreshing before an attack’s
ATB cost is spent will cause it to be spent from the refreshed string, and doing this with Cold
Blood will take all of your refreshed ATB away, so be careful. After you start the second Cold
Blood, shift into a Cerberus. After that, the rest of the fight is Blitzes with ATB refreshes and a
nicely timed Renew. If you fail to kill him before stagger ends, retry.
The most common issue new runners face is what I have outlined above: Losing your
refreshed ATB due to ATB refreshing too early. Another common issue is Cold Blooding too
early or too late; too early and you will lose chain percentage points due to pre-stagger Cold
Blood bullets having significantly less of a bonus; too late and your stagger will not last long
enough before you can kill him. If you are still struggling to kill him, double-check that you
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equipped the right things to the right people, and check a good runner’s PB for their PC1 to
see what they are doing differently.
o Blitz-Blitz, and RAV-buffer the first Blitz into:
o Haste-Bravery Snow.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Shift after Snow’s fifth strike.
o Repeat
o Shift after Snow’s fourth strike.
o Repeat, and RAV-buffer the first Blitz into:
 [5] Thaumaturgy (RAV/RAV/MED)
o Librascope.
o Ready Cold Blood, and cast when Snow is about to stagger.
 The ideal timing is that Proudclad gets staggered just before the first
bullet hits.
o Shift after Sazh has started shooting.
o Repeat, and shift when Sazh starts Cold Blood.
o ATB refresh after Snow’s fifth Attack.
o Repeat.
o Renew.
o Repeat. Shift when Sazh starts his second Blitz (you do not have to worry about
his ATB this time).
o Repeat.
o Repeat a single Blitz.
o If Proudclad is still not dead, try to Auto-battle a single Attack and hope for the
best.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Change the leader to Snow and change the default paradigm to Tri-disaster.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Sazh with Snow (1 ↔ 2).
o
Snow Sazh Vnll
COM COM COM
COM COM COM
SEN SYN SAB
RAV SYN MED
RAV RAV MED
RAV RAV RAV ← set default
Run into the elevator and activate it. After approximately 34 seconds, it will have landed on the
bottom and you can exit it. Run forward.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Adamanchelid
Overview: Use Froststrike-Blizzard-Blizzard-Blizzard-Blizzard repeatedly; the reason to lead
with Froststrike is to get Snow into the air and dodge stomps. Use one before you stagger, and
several more until Adamanchelid is staggered. If Adamanchelid is using Quake (which he will
use after five stomps), you can use Blizzard x5 instead. Just make sure you gestalt before
Shiva’s SP is reduced to 0. After gestalt, use a Wheelie to get close to Adamanchelid.
Sometimes the bike will swerve to the side, which is bad and warrants a retry; a possible way
to prevent this is to time Wheelie so that Shiva hits Adamanchelid while its head is close to the
ground, but this is not guaranteed. If Shiva remains right below Adamanchelid’s head (or close
enough), use Spin Freezes until you are out of gestalt points, and then finish with Diamond
Dust. If Adamanchelid survives with a very small HP bar, finish him off with Froststrikes.
o Froststrike-Blizzard-Blizzard-Blizzard-Blizzard.
o Summon.
 Time it so the stomp happens pre-stagger, if Adamanchelid is stomping.
o Repeat.
 [5]/[6] Thaumaturgy/Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/MED)/(RAV/RAV/RAV)
o Repeat until stagger, with ATB refreshes when relevant.
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o If Adamanchelid is using Quake, ready and use Blizzard x5 instead (have it go

off after the Quake).
o Press Square to gestalt.
o Up+X (Wheelie).
 Time it so that Adamanchelid’s head is close to the ground when Shiva
hits, for maximum chances of not swerving to the side.
o Down+X (Spin Freeze) until out of summon points.
o Triangle (Diamond Dust).
o If Adamanchelid survives:
 Froststrike x5.
 Repeat if victory is within reach; retry if not.
23.75% chance of a Gold Dust.
5% chance of a Scarletite.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Grab the Punisher forward and to the right. Then head toward the destination marker.
Dodge 5 encounters.
Head toward the stairs on the left side and go down the ones closest to you.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Open the door.
Skip 1 cutscene.
At the fork, turn right. In the circular part, run clockwise around the outer path. Then work your
way toward the destination marker.
Dodge 3 encounters.
In front of you is a Vernal Harvester and Tyrant blocking the path. They will not react to your
leader’s presence, but they can still be moved if your partners bump into them. To accomplish
that, run to the left side of the Vernal Harvester (the Bulbasaur-looking one) just outside of the
battle zone. Wait for Sazh to approach you, and then backtrack across the battle zone to the other
side, finishing outside the battle zone. Sazh should hopefully push into the Vernal Harvester,
creating an opening. If the opening is not big enough, or if Sazh runs at you instead of inward,
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keep running back and forth across the sides of the battle zone until either Sazh or Vanille
manage to create an opening (it can appear on either side of the Vernal Harvester or Tyrant, or
even in between them!). This is slightly tricky, but the method described is pretty consistent.
Skip 1 cutscene.
(The fancy camera movement is a fake cutscene.)
Dodge 4 encounters.
(The party walking up the steps is a fake cutscene.)

Skip 1 cutscene.
(The camera movement is, again, a fake cutscene.)
Run forward onto the glass floor. Grab the Particle Accelerator x6 on the left; grabbing this
item causes the Adamantoise to slam into the floor and destroys the item ball on the right. The
same happens if you grab the right item, and the left item is worth so much more to you.
Anyway, after grabbing the item, run backwards for a faster cutscene.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Open the door.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run through the long hallway, grabbing the Mistilteinn in the middle of it. Then go through to
the end.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Dodge 4 encounters.
(The camera wrap-around is yet another fake cutscene.)

Skip 1 cutscene.
Run up the steps to the side and grab the Power Glove. Then backtrack and use the save point.
Upgrade
Overview: Upgrade the Power Glove and the Goddess’s Favor to * level. Then dismantle the
Goddess’s Favor and the resulting Ribbon. Use the newly obtained Scarletite to catalyze a
Warrior’s Wristband on Snow into another Power Glove.
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 Upgrade
o Accessories
 Power Glove
 Particle Accelerator x6 (*).
 Goddess’s Favor
 Vibrant Ooze x4 (x1.25).
 Perfect Conductor x2 (*).
 Dismantle
o Accessories
 Goddess’s Favor * (Scarletite, Perfume, Ribbon).
 Ribbon Lv1 (Dusklight Dew x6).
 Upgrade
o Accessories
 Warrior’s Wristband * (equipped on Snow)
 Scarletite (Power Glove Lv9)
Menu
Overview: Set up paradigms for PC2. Level everyone for general HP purposes. Give Snow
the most Strength possible, and Sazh the second most Strength possible.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
 Switch Sazh with Snow (1 ↔ 2).
o
Sazh Snow Vnll
(RAV) COM COM
COM COM COM ← set default
(RAV) SEN (RAV)
(COM) (SEN) MED
RAV (COM) (RAV)
RAV RAV RAV
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Commando
 Until out (finish on HP: +70).
o Snow
 Commando
 Until out (finish on HP: +30 at the end of stage 7).
o Vanille
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 Medic
 Until out (finish on Magic: +18).
 Equipment
o Snow
 Warrior’s Wristband * → Power Glove *.
o Sazh
 Warrior’s Wristband Lv8 → Warrior’s Wristband *.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Activate an Ethersol, Fortisol, and Aegisol before finishing with the dodges.
Dodge 2 encounters.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: (PC2) The Proudclad (2)

Overview: I believe this to be the hardest fight in the speedrun to learn. Once you have
learned this fight, it is not that hard to execute; it is just the learning that is hard. Be prepared
to spend hours banging your head against the wall before you understand how this fight works.
Like PC1, this is a test of whether you understand paradigm shifts and timing.
Use Attack-Blitz and RAV-buffer the Blitz. Then, Libra and use Cold Blood. Time a shift to
Relentless Assault so that most of Snow’s Launches happen outside of Cold Blood (enemies in
general cannot be launched during Cold Blood), and use a second Cold Blood. Shift to
Aggression after Vanille finishes casting, and cast an Aero and shift to Cerberus. You will
alternate between Potioning (use Renew the first time) and three Attacks to keep PC2
launched. Stagger will end well before you are able to kill him.
As PC2 drops, use Attack-Attack-Blitz (time these attacks so that Sazh does not miss) and
RAV-buffer the Blitz into Mystic Tower. Auto-chain a single action, and react to what
Proudclad does—most of the time you will use Renew in response to Onearic Maelstrom, but
sometimes you can afford to lead with Cold Blood and stagger and launch him before he uses
Onearic Maelstrom. In the former, time your Renew so that Sazh does not get interrupted and
keeps his feet on the ground. If PC2 is not close to stagger, use Auto-chain for a couple more
actions, and then use Cold Blood; it is fine if only the first few bullets hit pre-stagger. Time a
shift to Relentless Assault like before so that Snow launches, and use a second Cold Blood.
Time a shift to Aggression like before when Vanille is done casting, and use a third Cold
Blood. Time a shift to Cerberus, and time Blitzes so that Sazh does not miss, and also so that
PC2 stays mid-air. If needed, shift to Aggression before stagger ends and use Cold Blood for a
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stagger extend (stagger does not end while Cold Blood is ongoing, so Snow and Vanille can
continue doing damage).
If PC2 survives the second stagger, your best course of action is to kill him when he goes to
aerial phase. How you proceed to deal with him is dependent on how much HP he has; if he
has a lot, you will need to re-stagger and maybe even Cold Blood; if he has little, do not bother
re-staggering.
o Attack-Blitz, and RAV-buffer the Blitz into:
o Libra.
o Cold Blood.
 Time your shift in order to maximize the number of launchable
Launches Snow does in Relentless Assault.
 [5] Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV)
o Repeat.
o Shift after Vanille’s final attack.
o Aero, and shift immediately.
o If Proudclad hits the ground, you will have to coordinate your attacks in
conjunction with Snow and Vanille to maintain interruption until Snow can
launch again.
o Renew.
o Until stagger is close to ending:
 Auto-battle three Attacks.
 Time them in alternation with Vanille.
 Potion. (Skip if everyone is at maximum HP.)
o Ready Attack-Attack-Blitz, and execute after stagger ends, timed so Sazh does
not Blitz.
 RAV-buffer into:
o Auto-chain one spell.
o React accordingly:
 Onearic Maelstrom
 Renew in time to prevent Sazh from launching.
 Auto-chain a couple spells.
 Cold Blood.
 Muon Blaster → Onearic Maelstrom
 Renew in time to prevent Sazh from launching.
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 Cold Blood.
 Muon Blaster → Muon Blaster
 Cold Blood in time to prevent Sazh from getting interrupted.
 Physical attacks are difficult to judge and react to, due to how fast they
are. It may be wise to treat two physical attacks as a Muon Blaster time-
wise, but too many physical attacks will result in Proudclad going to
aerial phase before you can stagger, and even a single physical attack
can offset your timing to the point of impacting stagger duration and the
chain gauge. Be careful.
o ATB refresh after Cold Blood starts and timed well to maximize the number of
launchable Launches.
 [5] Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV)
o Repeat.
o Shift after Vanille’s final attack.
o Repeat.
o If Proudclad lands, ATB refresh after Snow’s fifth attack and cancel his ready
animation.
o If Proudclad is midair, time your ATB refresh so that Snow and Vanille finish
acting just after you regain control of Sazh.
o Repeat/Auto-battle a single Attack.
o Blitz-Blitz.
o Repeat.
o If it is unlikely you will kill before stagger ends:
 [1] Aggression (RAV/COM/COM)
 Repeat and shift immediately.
 Hope for Snow and Vanille to kill before stagger ends.
 If Proudclad survives:
o [4] Solidarity (COM/SEN/MED)
 If Proudclad has not used Onearic Maelstrom yet, react to it as above.
 Potion if low on health; Repeat otherwise.
 React after Proudclad has shifted to aerial phase.
o If Proudclad is low on HP:
 Repeat until victory.
o Shift to Solidarity and recover if things get hairy.
o If Proudclad has more HP:
 Blitz and RAV-buffer into:
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o Repeat until stagger.
o If HP is rather high, Cold Blood.
 Shift to Solidarity and recover if things get hairy.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate the door in front of you. Descend into the heart of Edenhall? Yes.
Skip 1 cutscene.
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Chapter 13
Run forward.
Skip 2 cutscenes.
Run to the save point.
Shop
Overview: Sell almost everything (except for the unequipped Warrior’s Wristband), and buy
shrouds for the next three fights and some dodges. Start with a single Deceptisol, so that it
appears first on your shroud list, and end with whatever Deceptisols you can afford.
Goal: 132,000 gil. This is pretty loose, but the item you would like to buy, a third Deceptisol,
costs 30,000 gil more, which you are only sometimes able to afford.
 Sell
o Weapons
 Everything currently unequipped.
o Accessories
 Everything currently unequipped EXCEPT Warrior’s Wristband.
o Components
 Literally everything.
 Buy
o Eden Pharmaceuticals
 Deceptisol x1.
 Fortisol x3.
 Aegisol x3.
 Deceptisol x1-2 (make note of what you can afford).
Run around the central raised platform.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Jump onto the ramp.
Menu
Overview: Change the leader to Vanille and set up paradigms for the next two fights. Get
Vanille’s Curaja and dabble into stage 9 for some extra HP. Get Snow’s Commando role level,
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and get Sazh’s accessory slot and Adrenaline in Commando. Then give Sazh your last
Strength accessory in the newly opened slot.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
o
Vnll Snow Sazh
(MED) COM (COM)
(SAB) COM COM
(SAB) SEN (SYN)
(RAV) (RAV) COM
(SAB) (RAV) RAV ← set default
RAV RAV RAV
 Crystarium
o Vanille
 Medic
 Magic: +18 and HP: +125 out of ring (adjacent to where you
start).
 Curaja out of ring.
 Role level 4.
 Two nodes afterwards (end on HP: +80).
o Snow
 Commando
 Role level 4.
o Sazh
 Commando
 Both HP: +70 out of ring.
 Adrenaline out of ring.
 Equipment
o Sazh
 Blank → Warrior’s Wristband Lv8.
Run up the ramp.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Go back down the ramp, and counterclockwise around the main platform.
Dodge 1 encounter.
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Head down the next ramp and examine the statue at the end.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Take the elevator in front of Vanille. Activate an Ethersol while the elevator is moving. Head
toward the destination marker, ignoring all side paths.
Dodge 3 encounters.
Examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Hug the left wall.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Take the next elevator down. At the fork, turn left. Activate a Deceptisol during the jump, and
keep heading toward the destination marker.
Dodge 3 encounters.
(Your Deceptisol will expire just after dodging the third encounter. Do not bother canceling it.)
Activate a Fortisol and an Aegisol (and an Ethersol if you have not already), and then examine
the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Bandersnatch & Jabberwocky

Overview: Take out Bandersnatch first via summoning. First inflict Imperil on him for easier
chaining. Then summon and build gestalt via Fira-Aerora. Time your gestalt for when
Jabberwocky is attacking, to make sure he has 0 ATB post-finisher. Use Force Blasters once
before Gaian Salvo. For Jabberwocky, pay attention to his actions and use Renew/throw a
Potion to prevent Vanille from getting interrupted. Inflict Deprotect and Poison while
chaining. Get him staggered before he uses Breath of the Beast, since that attack is not stagger-
cancelable. After stagger, keep him interrupted while Snow and Sazh kill.
 [5] Smart Bomb (SAB/RAV/RAV)
o Imperil x5 Bandersnatch.
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 If you are slow on inputs, hover over Bandersnatch first via Auto-hinder
(do not actually use Auto-hinder) so that Snow and Sazh target
Bandersnatch.
o If Imperil did not inflict, Repeat and Summon.
o Summon if you have not done so already.
o Fira-Aerora Bandersnatch.
o Repeat until Jabberwocky takes an action (either physical or Breath of the
Beast), and press Square to gestalt.
o Circle (Force Blasters).
 Retry if Bandersnatch is not dead, and chain more the next time.
o Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder-Fire (Jabberwocky).
o Shift after Snow’s fifth attack, and cancel his ready animation.
o If Jabberwocky targets Vanille or Sazh, either throw a Potion or use Renew to
avoid interruption.
 If you are unable to react in time, do not bother with the recovery and
move on.
o Deprotect-Poison-Deprotect-Poison-Deprotect.
o (Vanille might get attacked during the paradigm shift, but that is okay.)
o Thunder-Aerora-Aero.
 Make sure the Aerora either staggers or hits after stagger, in order to
launch Jabberwocky.
 If Breath of the Beast (it is not stagger-cancelable), shift to [3]
Premeditation (SAB/SEN/SYN) and hope to survive.
o If Jabberwocky does not have Deprotect:
 Repeat.
o Otherwise:
 Poison x5.
 [2] Devastation (SAB/COM/COM)
o Repeat as needed to maintain interruption until victory.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward some more.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Take the counterclockwise path toward the destination marker.
Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol while jumping.
Dodge 3 encounters. (To get past the Megrim Thresher in the third dodge, run between its legs.)
Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the Megrim Thresher. (If you afforded 3 Deceptisols at the
start of this chapter, skip this cancel.)
Menu
Overview: Change the default paradigm for Wladislaus.
 Paradigms
o
Vnll Snow Sazh
MED COM COM
SAB COM COM
SAB SEN SYN ← set default
RAV RAV COM
SAB RAV RAV
RAV RAV RAV
Activate an Ethersol, Fortisol, and Aegisol. Then examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Wladislaus
Overview: Use Libra immediately so that Sazh can buff Enfire, and then work on inflicting
Deprotect. Before the first Mounting Contempt, use Devastation and be sure to use a Renew at
some point before he starts Mounting Contempt. Mounting Contempt has chances of esunaing
Deprotect, dispelling Snow’s buff, and inflicting Deprotect or Deshell (which will thankfully
only dispel Protect and Shell, respectively). Shift back to Premeditation to rebuff Enfire and
reinflict Deprotect, if necessary. After Mounting Contempt hits, shift to Tireless Charge this
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time and heal Snow first, and then whoever Wladislaus targets. One ATB refresh with ready
animation cancels and Wladislaus “should” be dead… but issues will arise if Deprotect fails to
stick. So, hope to get lucky with Deprotect so that you do not have to deal with these issues.
 [3] Premeditation (SAB/SEN/SYN)
o Libra.
o Deprotect x5.
o Shift after Sazh’s third Enfire.
o If Deprotect is not yet inflicted, Repeat until Deprotect sticks.
o Renew.
o If Deprotect is still not inflicted, try to Repeat again (though it might not
matter).
o Ready Repeat, and cast after Deprotect is removed via Mounting Contempt.
 If Deprotect is not removed, just shift.
 [3] Premeditation (SAB/SEN/SYN)
o If Deprotect is not (re-)inflicted, Repeat.
o Shift after Mounting Contempt hits Snow.
 [1] Tireless Charge (MED/COM/COM)
o Auto-heal. (It will target Snow for you.)
o Auto-heal after Wladislaus’s attack.
o Shift after Snow’s fifth attack to cancel his ready animation.
o Snow and Sazh should kill before the second Mounting Contempt.
o If not, and Mounting Contempt goes off:
 If Mounting Contempt targets Vanille, just retry.
 [3] Premeditation (SAB/SEN/SYN)
 If Deprotect was cured, Repeat.
 Shift after Mounting Contempt’s attack.
 [2] Devastation (SAB/COM/COM)
 If Deprotect was not (re-)inflicted, Repeat.
 [1] Tireless Charge (MED/COM/COM)
 Heal as necessary.
 If he Mounting Contempts a third time, you can repeat the above, but it
is probably a losing battle at that point, so you can just retry.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Run forward.
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Skip 1 cutscene.
Run to the far right corner. It is actually a rising elevator!
Menu
Overview: Put Sazh back in the lead; he will be there for the remainder of the run. Change
two paradigms and reset your default for Tiamat. Do some leveling, the last for Snow and
Vanille, and then shift your Strength accessory priority from Snow to Sazh.
 Paradigms
o Battle Team
o
Sazh Snow Vnll
COM COM MED
COM COM (COM)
(RAV) (RAV) (MED)
COM RAV RAV ← set default
RAV RAV SAB
RAV RAV RAV
 Crystarium
o Sazh
 Commando
 HP: +70 out of ring.
 First node after role level 4 (HP: +90).
o Snow
 Commando
o Vanille
 Medic
 Until out (end on HP: +200).
 Equipment
o Snow
 Unequip all Power Gloves.
o Sazh
 Optimize: Offensive (Best Strength equipment).
o Snow
 Optimize: Offensive (Second best Strength equipment).
Activate an Ethersol while still on the elevator.
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Dodge 1 encounter.
Activate a Deceptisol during the first jump, a Fortisol during the second jump, and an Aegisol
during the last jump.
Dodge 1 encounter. (This is the last one!)
Examine the statue.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Tiamat Eliminator

Overview: This fight will require two staggers, both in different forms.
When Tiamat is airborne, he is immune to debuffs. Tail Hammer will launch everyone (except
Snow or Sazh if they are using physical attacks) and can inflict Imperil. Ice Grenades has a
“small” (debatable) chance of inflicting Slow. He can be stun-locked with physical attacks, but
cannot be interrupted pre-stagger. Cold Blood will be used pre-stagger to help maintain stun-
lock, to help prevent the bad attacks from happening. Use two Cold Bloods post-stagger, and
deal damage via Tireless Charge and Cerberus.
After the first stagger ends, Tiamat will drop to the ground. In ground mode, his attacks will
dispel two buffs for each character it hits, but he is no longer immune to debuffs. He can be
stun-locked like before, but Vigilance may be necessary to do so. Use Cold Blood like before,
but be wary of Pinpoint Beam—if he chains two in a row, the character he targets might die.
Start with Smart Bomb to work on debuffing. If you get a lucky Imperil, use Tri-disaster to
stagger quickly. In any case, use Cerberus to kill once he is staggered and Deprotect is
inflicted.
o Attack-Attack-Blitz.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth strike (which should be timed so that Blitz is RAV-
buffered).
o Cold Blood.
o Libra.
o If Tail Hammer was used, use Auto-chain to make up for the lost chaining time.
o Repeat just before stagger, and shift after Sazh fires his first bullet.
o If Imperil was inflicted or a character is in yellow or worse health:
 Repeat.
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 Shift towards the end of Cold Blood for an ATB refresh.

o If everyone is green and healthy:
 Shift immediately.
 [1] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
 Shift towards the end of Cold Blood for an ATB refresh.
o Blitz-Blitz.
o Repeat, with ATB refreshes with [1] until stagger ends.
o Ready Attack-Attack-Blitz and execute when Tiamat drops to the ground. (Do
not worry about resetting the string if Sazh gets interrupted.)
o Shift after Sazh starts shooting the first Blitz bullet to RAV-buffer the Blitz.
o Repeat until stagger.
o ATB refresh with [6] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV) when possible.
 Cancel Snow’s ready animation when you can.
o If someone was targeted by Pinpoint Beam, Renew.
o If Imperil gets inflicted:
 Shift to [6] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV) and stagger there.
o Shift when Tiamat is staggered and has Deprotect.
o Blitz-Blitz.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Menu
Overview: Final setup. Change the paradigms for the final time, and level Sazh for some extra
Strength and HP points.
 Paradigms
o
Sazh Snow Vnll
COM COM MED
COM COM (RAV) ← set default
(SYN) (SEN) MED
(SYN) RAV RAV
SAB RAV RAV
RAV RAV RAV
 Crystarium
o Sazh
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 Ravager
 Next two Strength nodes.
 First out of ring Strength node (Strength: +20).
 Synergist
 Role level 3.
 Four more nodes (finish on Strength: +5).
Activate the portal.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Shop
Overview: Sell the Imperial Armlet, and buy 2 Librascopes, 1 Fortisol, and 1 Aegisol for the
final bosses.
Goal: 44,000 gil. You are absolutely guaranteed this, since the Imperial Armlet sells for
50,000 gil.
 Sell
o Accessories
 Imperial Armlet.
 Buy
o Eden Pharmaceuticals
 Librascope x2.
 Fortisol x1.
 Aegisol x1.
Pick up the Ethersol in the final stretch of hallway.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Activate all the shrouds: Fortisol, Aegisol, and Ethersol.
Skip 1 cutscene.

Overview: The third Barthandelus fight is perhaps the easiest of the three, but still has
massive bad luck potential. Find the Librascope and RAV-buffer a Blitz into Smart Bomb.
Then chain while looking out for debuffs. You are hoping to see Deprotect and Imperil
inflicted, but unfortunately you are running on a time limit—Barthandelus uses Ultima 30
seconds after the fight starts, and will use a second one 30 seconds after that one unless you do
enough damage to him to trigger Thanatosian Laughter. Therefore, you need to get lucky with
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debuffs. There are contingencies for bad luck, but they result in varying degrees of lost time.
Therefore, get lucky!
Assuming Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted, tank Ultima in Protection. It is important that
you shift to Protection well before Ultima is cast; it must target Snow (as evidenced by where
the growing orb originates) for Snow’s Fringeward to trigger and reduce damage to Sazh and
Vanille. That being said, Ultima has a massive damage range and can do as little as 4% of its
maximum damage potential, so you can stand to get lucky. In any case, after Ultima hits shift
to Tri-disaster to stagger. Renew and Cold Blood, triggering an ATB refresh into Aggression.
At this point, you are racing to do as much damage as possible before he starts Thanatosian
Laughter. Unlike the previous Thanatosian attacks, this one does percentage-based damage, so
it looks a lot scarier than it actually is. Once Laughter finishes, try to finish him off with
Blitzes between Aggression and Tireless Charge to try to kill him before stagger ends.
If you fail, shift to Protection immediately and Renew in hopes of surviving the second
Ultima. Afterwards, either use Tri-disaster and stagger quickly, or just use Aggression or
Tireless Charge and try to stay alive.
o Librascope.
 Pay attention to its location so you can quickly pull it up in the next
fight.
o Blitz-Blitz and RAV-buffer immediately.
o Repeat.
o Repeat two spells if Imperil is not inflicted or was inflicted late.
o Shift no later than 200% chain (no Imperil) or 220% chain (Imperil).
 [3] Protection (SYN/SEN/MED)
o Potion twice.
o If Imperil is not inflicted:
 Potion a third time.
 Shift after Ultima hits.
 [5] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
 Throw Potions until Imperil inflicts.
o If Bart staggers, retry.
 Repeat until Bart is about to use Ultima.
o If Imperil was inflicted in one round, typically this means
three Repeats (six Blitzes).
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 [3] Protection (SYN/SEN/MED)

 Throw Potions.
 Shift after Ultima hits.
o If Deprotect is not inflicted (and Imperil is):
 [5] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
 Renew.
 Shift after Deprotect is inflicted.
o If at least one person is yellow or less, Renew.
o Cold Blood.
o Shift towards the end for an ATB refresh.
o Repeat twice.
o Repeat.
o When Bart uses Thanatosian Laughter, try to time another Attack or Blitz in.
 If Sazh gets interrupted mid-attack, Repeat and cancel immediately to
manually restart ATB.
o Repeat.
o If it is not inconvenient, time an ATB refresh to cancel Snow’s ready animation
(not a good idea if Snow got interrupted mid-air to Laughter).
o Repeat until either victory or stagger ends.
 If stagger ends:
o [3] Protection (SYN/SEN/MED)
 Renew.
 Time a Potion throw for after Ultima (if you survive it, of course).
o If Bart is very close to death:
 Throw a Phoenix Down on anyone dead.
o If Bart is not close to death:
 [6] Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
 Throw a Phoenix Down on anyone dead.
 Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder.
 Repeat until stagger.
 If Imperil wears off, use [5] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
instead.
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If Deprotect wears off, use [5] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)

post-stagger to reinflict it.
Skip 1 cutscene.
Battle: Orphan (1)

Overview: Prepare for the longest and most involved fight of the speedrun!
The first segment of the fight is entirely predictable; issues only arise if you are slow on
inputs. Throw a Librascope and shift to Protection before Merciless Judgment. Auto-support
(Haste) Vanille, Haste-Vigilance Sazh, slap hits, Repeat Snow, shift to Tri-disaster. Fire-
Thunder-Fire-Thunder, Renew just before slap hits (fast inputs may be necessary), Repeat
three spells, shift to Malevolence. Bravery-Enspell Sazh, Renew just before slap hits (fast
inputs may be necessary), Repeat Snow, shift to Protection, shift to Tireless Charge. Blitz-
Blitz, shift to Smart Bomb. Throw a Potion, shift to Protection before Orphan’s next attack.
At this point, Orphan’s attacks will start varying in type and time, so react accordingly. Shift
to Protection after each attack to get Snow to re-provoke Orphan so that Requiem hits him and
not Sazh or Vanille. Use a Quake and throw Potions while waiting for Vanille to inflict
debuffs. Snow will stagger eventually, so use a Cold Blood at some point after that stagger.
When convenient, throw an Elixir as well. Once Vanille has inflicted Deprotect, Imperil, and
Poison, shift to Tireless Charge and Repeat Blitzes for the duration of stagger. Revive Vanille
if Progenitorial Wrath instant-kills her (she will always be the target—Wrath always targets a
Sentinel or Medic its first time used—and Wrath has a 50% chance of instant death); however,
if Orphan uses Merciless Judgment before you can revive her, do not bother.
After the second Merciless Judgment, RAV-buffer a single Blitz into Tri-disaster, and then use
a Renew (fast inputs are necessary for that Renew to go off before someone dies). Use Fire-
Thunder-Fire-Thunder once, and time a Summon so that Vanille’s and Snow’s actions are
finished (but not so late that Sazh dies). Then chain for two more rounds before going back to
Blitzing (the chain should be around 250%). If Orphan uses Progenitorial Wrath or Dies Irae,
retreat into gestalt and start stalling—use the cheapest ability repeatedly, but only when the
current summon point is about to expire; Poison is what is doing the bulk of the damage here,
doing 22,600 damage per second. Otherwise, stay in Commando roles and Blitz repeatedly.
When Brynhildr’s summon health is about to expire, you may opt to gestalt stall if you think it
wise; on the other hand, you can do more damage with Blitzes, even if Brynhildr leaves and
Snow and Vanille return. Stay in Tireless Charge if you opt for the latter.
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This strategy does require an Elixir. If you have used both of your Elixirs in previous fights,
you should instead opt for the Elixirless strat, which can be found in the appendix. Also, note
that Merciless Judgment, like Bart3’s Thanatosian Laughter, does percentage-based damage
and can never kill you.
One final note: Debuff duration is basically one minute times the chain gauge at the time of
infliction. At 300% chain, a debuff will last three minutes. It is important to postpone Saboteur
use until the chain is around 300%, because otherwise your debuffs, especially Poison, will not
last the duration of the fight.
o Librascope and shift immediately.
o MERCILESS JUDGMENT
o Haste-Vigilance Sazh.
o SLAP
o Repeat Snow.
 Pay attention to how many Curajas Vanille does right here.
o If Vanille did one Curaja and Sazh has 1367 HP or less:
 Potion.
 Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder but cancel after one spell.
 Renew. SLAP
 Repeat three spells.
o Otherwise:
 Renew. SLAP
 Repeat three spells (two spells if Renew went off after slap).
 [4] Malevolence (SYN/RAV/RAV)
o Bravery-Enspell Sazh.
o Renew. SLAP
o Repeat Snow.
o Shift after Orphan is provoked (it might be immediate).
o Blitz-Blitz and RAV-buffer the first Blitz.
o Potion.
o Shift as Orphan attacks.
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o Shift after Orphan is re-provoked.

 From now until Tireless Charge, shift to [3] Protection (SYN/SEN/MED)
whenever Orphan attacks, and shift back after Orphan is re-provoked.
o Quake.
o Throw Potions until Orphan is close to stagger.
o Cold Blood when Snow starts a string that will stagger Orphan.
o Elixir.
o Shift after Deprotect, Imperil, and Poison have been inflicted.
 While still waiting for those three debuffs, use Fire-Thunder-Fire-
Thunder instead.
 If Vanille takes way too long to inflict Poison (past the point of 999.9%
chain), you might want to Retry.
o Repeat until Merciless Judgment.
o If Progenitorial Wrath kills Vanille, throw a Phoenix Down.
o If stagger ends, keep Blitzing and pay attention to what appears on screen.
o OPPOSITE EXTREMES
 If this text does not appear, you did not hit the HP trigger for Opposite
Extremes. Orphan is in his Dark form instead. Continue Blitzing and
hope to hit the HP trigger before Sazh dies. You are good if he uses
another Merciless Judgment.
 If he uses a second Merciless Judgment before Opposite Extremes, what
happened was that you had not quite hit the HP trigger for Opposite
Extremes at the time of the first Merciless Judgment, but Poison’s
damage during that Judgment did hit the trigger.
o Repeat a Blitz if you are not currently acting, and RAV-buffer it.
o Renew.
o Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder (or Repeat if it is already queued).
o Summon.
o If at any point Orphan uses Dies Irae or Progenitorial Wrath, skip to the
gestalt stall section below.
o Repeat.
o Repeat.
o Repeat once more if chain is below 250%.
 [1]/[2] Tireless Charge/Aggression (COM/COM/MED)/(COM/COM/RAV)
o Repeat, with ATB refreshes until victory.
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o If Brynhildr’s summon health (not his gestalt bar) is about to expire and you are
feeling scared, feel free to jump to the gestalt stall section below.
o When Brynhildr is dismissed, shift to [1] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
if you are not there already, and stay there Repeating until victory.
 Gestalt Stall:
o Press Square to go into gestalt.
o Wait a few seconds, and press Up+X/A (Chopper Spin).
o If the current summon point is odd, let it expire.
o When the current summon point is about to expire, press Up+X/A (Chopper
Spin).
o Repeat the previous action until there is 1 summon point left, and let it expire.
o If the fight is still not over, shift to [1] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED) if
you are not there already, and stay there Repeating until victory.
 Aggressive Gestalt (a non-stall variant):
o Up+X/A (Chopper Spin).
o Circle (Spark Shower).
o Down+X/A (Caltrop Bomb) until out of summon points.
o Triangle/Y (Muspell Flame).
 If Poison was inflicted at around 300% chain, just let the summon point
expire.
Skip 6 cutscenes.
Battle: Orphan (2)

Overview: This Orphan is almost a victory lap in comparison to the previous Orphan, but do
not drop your guard—he can still cause issues. Use a Blitz immediately and shift after the first
bullet hits Orphan; this timing is different than previous Blitz shifts, where we would normally
wait for the bullet to be fired, because we need to reveal Orphan’s physical immunity before
Snow runs forward and gets hit by Orphan’s proximity Slow. Work on buffing and chaining
simultaneously, with strategic ATB refreshes as outlined below, canceling Snow’s ready
animation whenever possible. (Pay attention to how fast Snow casts! He is the fastest
offensive spell caster of the six!) When you are done with the buffing, use Smart Bomb to
stagger and debuff. You might be tempted to use Cold Blood, but you can chain fast enough
with the good old-fashioned Aerora, and Vanille is likely to finish debuffing before Cold
Blood ends anyway. Once Orphan is staggered, he is incredibly weak, especially so with
Deprotect and Imperil against Bravery and Enspell, so you should be able to make short work
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of him. Just remember you have one Renew in case of bad pre-stagger aggression or post-
stagger Sazh aggro.
There are two attacks to watch out for:

Kaleidoscopic Ray: Roughly a 30% chance of game over if it targets Sazh (slightly higher if
Sazh has taken damage; slightly lower if you shift to Protection for a slight damage reduction).
The general hope is to stagger him before he can use this attack.
Necrosis: Inflicts Pain and Fog on its target (usually Sazh). In this case, just throw a Painkiller
and replace all spells with Flamestrikes. (It does not matter with this strategy, but you are
unable to use Cold Blood if either Pain or Fog are inflicted, so to use it you would have to
remove both.)
o Blitz, and shift after the first bullet hits.
o Auto-support (Haste) Snow.
o Shift after Snow’s fifth spell and cancel his ready animation.
o Enspell-Bravery Sazh.
o Repeat the Enspell on Snow.
o Shift after Snow’s fifth spell and cancel his ready animation.
o If you were interrupted by a slap at some point, Quake.
o Repeat to stagger.
o Aerora-Aero.
o Repeat until Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted.
 If damage is sketchy, use a Renew.
o React to Orphan’s position on-screen.
 If Orphan was just launched by Snow, Auto-battle a single Attack.
 If Orphan is within range of Blitz (i.e., not at the peak of Launch), use
Blitz-Blitz.
 If Snow is about to Launch Orphan during the first Blitz, cancel the
second Blitz and time your Repeat so that Blitz hits.
o Do the above until victory.
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Stop the timer when you press the last button to get through the final results screen (the button
that dismisses “Crystarium Expanded!”).
Congratulations! You have finished the speedrun!
(If you desire to check your in-game timer, skip 2 more cutscenes and save your game. You can
check your time on the Load Game screen. Bear in mind the in-game timer is pretty inaccurate—
whenever you retry a fight, it reverts to the time it was at before you started the fight. If your run
has 0 deaths, the timer is quite accurate; if your run has 10 deaths, the timer is quite inaccurate. It
might also count the time spent before selecting New Game, for some odd reason.)
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Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes Appendix 1/40
Appendix
Again, if you are viewing this on a computer, you can click the text below to jump to its
corresponding section!
Overview of Game Mechanics.................................................................................................... 159

Role Bonuses ......................................................................................................................................... 159
Damage Calculation .............................................................................................................................. 161
The Chain Gauge ................................................................................................................................... 164
Conditional Chain Modifiers ................................................................................................................. 166
Eidolon Gestalt Mechanics.................................................................................................................... 169
Debuff infliction chances ...................................................................................................................... 171
Sentinel Damage Reduction .................................................................................................................. 172
Medic AI Healing Priorities.................................................................................................................... 174
Bonus Shrouds ............................................................................................................................ 176
Deceptisols ............................................................................................................................................ 177
Fortisols ................................................................................................................................................. 179
Aegisols ................................................................................................................................................. 185
Alternate Fight Strategies ........................................................................................................... 189
Chapter 5: Milvus Velocycle with Summon .......................................................................................... 189
Chapter 11: Barthandelus 2 and Elixir(s) .............................................................................................. 189
Chapter 12: The Proudclad 1 and Tireless Charge ................................................................................ 190
Chapter 13: Elixirless Orphan 1 ............................................................................................................. 192
Credits ......................................................................................................................................... 197
158
Overview of Game Mechanics

All the information in this section basically comes from the Ultimania guide (it actually comes
directly from ximaus’s Game Mechanics Guide on GameFAQs, which is itself a translation of
select sections from the Ultimania guide, which is in Japanese). The topics here are all relevant
to the speedrun and should be read at your leisure. Bear in mind many of these topics go even
deeper than what is listed, but I chose to include mostly what is relevant for the speedrun. If you
want to read more, please check out the Game Mechanics Guide!
Role Bonuses
If you have not noticed by now, each role brings with it more than just a collection of abilities; it
brings a specific bonus effect granted to your party members (not just the person in that role).
The higher level the role is, the bigger the bonus granted to the party.
Here are the role bonuses for each role:

 COM: Increased damage. Your party hits enemies harder.
 RAV: Increased chaining. The actions of your party have an increased chain bonus.
 SEN: Reduced damage taken. Your party takes less damage.
 SAB: Increased debuff chances. Your party can inflict debuffs more easily.
 SYN: Increased buff durations. Newly added buffs last longer.
 MED: Increased healing. Your party regains more HP when healing.
You could have easily gathered that from the in-game descriptions of the roles. However,
something you cannot gather as easily is the exact effect each bonus actually does. For that,
reference the following table:
Self bonus COM RAV SEN SAB SYN MED

Lv. 1 +100% +1.0 x0.65 +20% +20% +20%
Lv. 2 +110% +1.5 x0.63 +24% +35% +23%
Lv. 3 +120% +2.0 x0.60 +28% +50% +26%
Lv. 4 +130% +2.5 x0.56 +33% +65% +29%
This table represents the self bonus for each role—the bonus applied to the party member who is
actually in that role. As for what the numbers mean:
 COM: The bonus to damage dealt. A Lv. 1 COM deals an extra 100% damage, i.e., does
x2 (double) damage.
 RAV: The bonus to chain. A Lv. 1 RAV increases chain by an extra 1.0 point per action
(before chain and element resistance are accounted for).
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 SEN: The multiplier to damage taken. A Lv. 1 SEN takes 65% of the damage they would
normally have received.
 SAB: The bonus to debuff infliction chances. A Lv. 1 SAB is 20% more likely to inflict a
debuff.
 SYN: The bonus to buff duration. A Lv. 1 SYN will cast buffs that last 20% longer.
 MED: The bonus to healing. A Lv. 1 MED will cast spells that regain 20% more HP.
In addition to the self bonus, each role provides an ally bonus to your accompanying party
members. The ally bonus table is as follows:
Ally bonus COM RAV SEN SAB SYN MED

Lvs. 1-2 +5% +0.1 x0.92 +4% +5% +3%
Lvs. 3-4 +10% +0.2 x0.89 +8% +10% +6%
Each party member gets their self bonus as well as the ally bonus of each extra party member; no
one gets their own ally bonus. For example, suppose your party consists of Sazh/Snow/Vanille
and you are using the Aggression (COM/COM/RAV) paradigm, where Sazh is a Lv. 2 COM,
Snow is a Lv. 3 COM, and Vanille is a Lv. 2 RAV. Let us consider Sazh’s bonus. Sazh’s self
bonus is +110% damage, from his Lv. 2 COM. His ally bonuses are +10% damage and +0.1
chain, from Snow’s Lv. 3 COM and Vanille’s Lv. 2 RAV, respectively. The damage bonuses
add together, so in total Sazh’s actions deal 120% more damage (x2.2 damage total) and increase
chain by 0.1 points more (before chain and element resistances are accounted for).
It is important to note that the bonuses are only accounted for when the attacks actually hit. For
instance, suppose you start Sazh’s Cold Blood, a RAV ability, but you shift to a paradigm where
he is a COM mid-action. The bullets that hit the target before the paradigm shift get the RAV
role bonus, and thus increase chain slightly more; the bullets that hit the target after the paradigm
shift get the COM role bonus, and thus deal more damage. The latter bullets are an example of
COM-buffering.
In general, role-buffering is when an action started in one role finishes in another role, and
receives the benefits of the new role. The most classical example is COM-buffering Vanille’s
Death against Long Gui, but that is sadly not seen in the speedrun. Some notable examples from
the speedrun:
 Chapter 5—Against both Feral Behemoths, one of Lightning’s Aquastrikes gets COM-
buffered for double damage. This is particularly nice because of Feral Behemoth’s Water
weakness, so that COM-buffered Aquastrike deals twice as much damage as her COM’s
Attack.
 Chapter 7—Ushumgal Subjugator 2. Towards the end of both staggers, one of
Lightning’s Thundaras gets COM-buffered for slightly more than double damage—
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Fang’s Lv. 2 COM provides Lightning an additional ally bonus, so that Thundara does
105% more damage (x2.05 damage).
 Chapter 8—Midlight Reaper. Some of Sazh’s Blitzes get RAV-buffered for extra
chaining. Blitz is a particularly nice ability to RAV-buffer since the role bonus affects
each individual bullet, amplifying the bonus significantly.
 Chapter 12—The Proudclads. Both fights feature some number of RAV-buffered Blitzes.
Damage Calculation
Understanding all the factors that goes into calculating damage is very useful in understanding
efficient gameplay in FF13.
Basically, damage is calculated as the product of the corresponding parameter (stat) and a variety
of multipliers:
Damage = Parameter × Damage Multiplier
× Status Multiplier
× Target-specific Multiplier
× Random Multiplier
Parameter: This is just the Strength stat or the Magic stat, depending on whether the attack
being used is physical or magical. In the rare instance of an attack being both physical and
magical (e.g., Orphan 1’s Dies Irae), one stat is still referenced, either Strength or Magic, for this
number.
Damage Multiplier: This is a specific number tied to the ability being used. For example:
 Attack (non-Sazh characters) and RAV -strikes have a damage multiplier of 1.2.
 Sazh’s Attack has a damage multiplier of 0.6 for each bullet.
 Ruin and RAV single-target spells (e.g., Fire) has a damage multiplier of 1.
 Blitz (non-Sazh characters) has a damage multiplier of 1.8.
 Sazh’s Blitz has a damage multiplier of 0.7 for each bullet.
 Ultima has a damage multiplier of 0.1 for its initial hit and 5 for its big hit.
Status Multiplier: This is the product of factors based on which buffs and debuffs are active on
the attacker and target. For example:
 Bravery/Faith on the attacker provides a factor of 1.4 for physical/magical attacks,
respectively.
 Deprotect on the target provides a factor of 1.89 for physical attacks, whereas Protect
provides a factor of 0.67. This is skipped if the attack does irreducible damage (e.g.,
Thanatosian Laughter).
 Deshell on the target provides a factor of 1.89 for magical attacks, whereas Shell provides
a factor of 0.67. This is skipped if the attack does irreducible damage.
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o If the attack is both physical and magical, these last two factors remain separate.
E.g., if you are attacked by a physical and magical attack, and you have Protect
and Deshell, 0.67 and 1.89 are both factors.
 If the attack is elemental and the target has the correct Barspell, it provides a factor of
0.5.
 Daze provides a factor of 2 while it is active.
Party-specific Multiplier: These factors are specific to party members and not enemies. This
gets skipped if calculating damage from enemies. For example:
 The chain gauge provides a direct factor; e.g., a 500% chain provides a factor of 5.
 The COM role bonus provides a factor based on the sum of the self and ally COM
bonuses.
 If Adrenaline has been learned and the party member has at least 70% HP (green HP bar),
it provides a factor of 1.2.
 Type resistance provides its own factor—Weak is 2, Normal is 1, Halved is 0.5, Resists is
0.1, Immune is 0, and Absorbs is -1.
 If the attack is elemental, an elemental resistance factor is provided, analogous to type
resistance.
Enemy-specific Multiplier: These factors are specific to enemies and not player characters.
This gets skipped if calculating damage from players. Though I have titled this enemy-specific,
the factors are still based on the party members, just in a defensive manner. For example:
 Sentinel damage reduction is calculated based on its own section below, and provides a
factor here.
 If the party member has physical resistance (e.g., a Black Belt is equipped) and the attack
is physical, it provides a factor based on the physical resistance (e.g., 20% physical
resistance equates to a factor of 0.8, since 100 − 20 = 80%). This is skipped if the attack
does irreducible damage.
 If the party member has magical resistance (e.g., a Rune Bracelet is equipped) and the
attack is magical, it provides a factor based on the magical resistance. This is skipped if
the attack does irreducible damage.
 If the party member has damage resistance (e.g., a Royal Armlet is equipped), it provides
a factor based on the damage resistance. This is skipped if the attack does irreducible
damage.
Random Multiplier: This is a random factor calculated based on the attack’s Variance.
Variance is a percentage that is specific to each ability, and is the means of providing the damage
range for an attack. Variance will never increase the attack’s damage; it can only decrease it.
Therefore, the maximum Random Multiplier is always 1. The minimum Random Multiplier is
found by subtracting the Variance from 100%. For example:
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 Most physical attacks from your party have a Variance of 4%. The minimum Random
Multiplier for such attacks is thus 96%. Therefore, most party member physical attacks
always do between 96-100% of their damage potential.
 Most magical attacks from your party have a Variance of 9%. Most party member
magical attacks always do between 91-100% of their damage potential.
 Ultima has a Variance of 96%, the largest in the game. Ultima will always do between 4-
100% of its damage potential. This is why Bart3’s Ultima can sometimes be deadly and
sometimes be tame.
For an example that serves to demonstrate the power of these multipliers, let us consider
Snow/Sazh/Vanille in an Aggression (COM/COM/RAV) paradigm, where Snow is a Lv. 3
COM and Sazh is a Lv. 2 COM. Suppose Snow has 500 Strength and full health, and uses
Attack, an ability with damage multiplier 1.2 and variance 4%.
First, suppose Snow uses Attack on a target with 999.9% chain, but no other bells and whistles.
The calculation proceeds as follows:
 Parameter = 500 (Strength)
 Damage Multiplier = 1.2 (Attack)
 Status Multiplier = 1 (No buffs or debuffs)
 Party-specific Multiplier = 26.9973 (chain = 9.999, COM bonus = 2.25, Adrenaline =
1.2)
 Random Multiplier = 0.96 at worst, 1 at best
Multipying these together, we see that Snow’s Attack does 15550 at worst and 16198 at best.
Second, suppose Snow uses Attack on a target with 200% chain, but this time he has Bravery
and Enfire, the target has Deprotect and Imperil, and the target is weak to fire (perhaps only
because of Imperil). The calculation proceeds as follows:
 Parameter = 500 (Strength)
 Damage Multiplier = 1.2 (Attack)
 Status Multiplier = 2.646 (Bravery and Deprotect)
 Party-specific Multiplier = 10.8 (chain = 2, COM bonus = 2.25, Adrenaline = 1.2, fire
weakness = 2)
 Random Multiplier = 0.96 at worst, 1 at best
Multiplying these together, we see that Snow’s Attack does 16460 at worst and 17146 at best.
The second example, despite the chain gauge being significantly lower, still produces the slightly
better result. Of course, in the second example the chain gauge could still be increased to 999.9%
if desired, and would result in a significantly higher damage result. This proves that proper
utilization of buffs and debuffs can drastically increase your damage-dealing potential, and
thereby make fights faster!
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The Chain Gauge

When we talk about the chain gauge, there are two different, but very closely related, numbers
that we refer to. The first and more obvious one is the chain gauge (or just chain), represented
by the percentage figure. The second and more obscure one is the chain duration. Chain
duration is represented visually by a gold bar laid over a red bar, but it is actually the amount of
time before the chain expires. When the chain expires, the chain gauge resets to 100%. Thus it is
generally favorable to prevent chain duration from reaching 0.
There are many things that the chain gauge affects:

 Multiplier to damage. 400% chain is equivalent to x4 damage.
 Staggering. The enemy staggers if the chain gauge exceeds the enemy’s stagger point.
 Multiplier to debuff chance. 400% chain is equivalent to debuff chance x4.
 Multiplier to debuff duration. 400% chain is equivalent to debuff duration x4.
Each party member also has their own chain gauge, seen when the leader heals or buffs a party
member. That chain gauge affects only two things:
 Multiplier to buff duration. 400% chain is equivalent to buff duration x4.
 Multiplier to healing spells (not Renew). 400% chain is equivalent to healing amount x4.
Party members cannot be staggered. A higher ally chain gauge does not increase damage dealt to
that party member or make debuffs more likely/last longer.
Increasing the chain gauge is obviously a good thing to do. Basically everything you can do
against an enemy increases their chain gauge. However, certain enemies are more susceptible to
chain increase than others. If you check an enemy’s intel screen, you will notice a statistic
labeled “Chain Resistance”; this stat determines how effective your efforts to chain against that
target will be. A higher Chain Resistance equates to more difficulty in raising that target’s chain.
A Chain Resistance of 0 means that chaining is completely unhindered. A Chain Resistance of
100 means that all non-conditional chaining is ineffective. To see how to chain against such
enemies, check the Conditional Modifiers section.
Another thing to note with regards to chaining, of particular interest to Ravagers: Elemental
spells vary in their effectiveness in chaining, based on the target’s resistance to that element. In
general, the more the target resists the element, the less effective that element is for chaining.
Unfortunately, it is not a one-to-one match when it comes to matching elemental resistance to
chaining effects.
 If the target is Weak or Normal to the element, chaining is unaffected;
 If the target Halves or Resists the element, chaining is halved;
 If the target is Immune to or Absorbs the element, chaining is reduced to one quarter.
Recall that Imperil lowers the elemental resistances of the target to the next level. If you inflict
Imperil on a target that Halves all elements, thereby making that target Normal to all elements,
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you have actually enabled yourself to chain twice as effectively as before! (For examples, see
Bart2 and Bart3). On the other hand, if you inflict Imperil on a target that is Normal to all
elements, thereby making that target Weak to all elements, you actually have not impacted your
chaining efforts significantly (technically, more conditional chain modifiers become active, but
your chaining is not directly doubled).
When an enemy gets staggered, a variety of things happen:

 Chain gauge is increased by 100 percentage points (e.g., if the stagger point is 300%,
stagger sets the chain to 400%).
 The enemy’s chain resistance is reduced to 0. This makes it much easier to chain post-
stagger, especially against an enemy of high chain resistance.
 The Keep of enemy actions, except those which are 90 or greater, is reduced to 0. (In
other words, the enemy is more able to be interrupted by your actions.
 Sometimes the enemy’s resistances change. For example, Chapter 9’s Thermadon’s
elemental and physical weaknesses change to your advantage. Chapter 13’s Orphan 2 is
immune to damage pre-stagger, but post-stagger can be damaged.
Myth: You have to stagger before you can deal damage to an enemy.
False. Outside of a few distinguished fights, you do not have to stagger to be able to deal damage
to an enemy. Sometimes you might not want to stagger at all, e.g., if the enemy has a high
stagger point, high chain resistance, but low HP—it is faster to kill this enemy without
staggering, and maybe without chaining either. For early-game examples of non-stagger killing,
check several Chapter 4 fights. For late-game examples, check Chapter 11 Rust Puddings and
Chapter 12 Behemoth King.
Myth: Once you have staggered the enemy, go straight to COM.

False. Note that one of the benefits of stagger is chain resistance drops to 0. This allows for
much more effective chaining post-stagger. In addition, -ra spells (Fira, Blizzara, Thundara,
Watera, Aerora) enjoy an extra chain bonus when hitting a staggered target (with the exception
of Aerora, their chain amount increases from 18.0 to 25.0; Aerora increases from 24.0 to 33.0).
Against a high-HP enemy with a low stagger point, it is generally more efficient to spend a
couple or so rounds post-stagger building chain beyond the stagger point. (Also, if you lack
Enspells but are fighting a target with an exploitable elemental weakness, it is preferable to stay
in a RAV role; you deal approximately the same damage but with the benefit of increasing the
chain better than a COM can.)
Now, a small note about chain duration. As noted previously, it is the amount of time before the
chain gauge expires. Basically every action against an enemy increases chain duration in addition
to the chain gauge. Chain duration is capped at 30 seconds.
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Stagger duration is determined at the time of stagger and is based on chain duration. To be
precise, stagger duration is equal to twice the current chain duration, plus eight seconds (SD =
2*CD + 8). Unlike chain duration, stagger duration is capped at 45 seconds. If you do the math,
you can find that you can attain a maximum length stagger simply by staggering when the
enemy’s chain duration is 18.5 seconds or more. This is a rather loose condition—you have 11.5
seconds of leeway—so you should be able to have a maximum length stagger very easily once
you are aware of this fact.
Myth: Spend lots of time in COM pre-stagger in order to maintain the chain gauge and
maximize your stagger.
False. It is true that COM attacks add more to chain duration than RAV attacks (Attack/Ruin
add 3.33 seconds to chain duration, whereas Fire/Blitzzard/etc. add 0.9 seconds), but you
actually do not need much COM action in order to get a healthy chain duration. Four Attacks
give 13.33 seconds of chain duration, which is nearly half the maximum length; furthermore, if
you use RAV at that point, four RAV spells/strikes add 3.6 seconds to chain duration.
Depending on how many RAVs are acting, it is at least enough to chain for a while before
needing to re-stabilize; in fact, three RAVs with four or more ATB each are capable of
maintaining the chain gauge all by themselves (one round of actions from all three provide 10.8
seconds of chain duration). I would be remiss if I did not also point out that SAB actions also add
a healthy amount to chain duration (2.2 seconds per spell, an additional 8 seconds if the debuff is
inflicted) as well as adding a moderate amount to the chain gauge, so you should consider using
some SAB as a means of both stabilizing chain and chaining.
Myth: RAV speeds up the chain decay, whereas COM slows down/stabilizes the chain decay.
False. As noted above, chain duration is a set amount of time; its visualization as a gold bar over
a red bar gives the impression that it is a speed of decay, but that is just a side-effect. In the
previous paragraph I outlined how three RAVs can actually keep the chain gauge stabilized by
themselves, further busting this myth.
Conditional Chain Modifiers

Conditional chain modifiers are just as they sound: They are modifiers to actions that affect the
chain gauge, but only when the conditions are met. Conditional chain modifiers are special in
that they are unaffected by chain resistance; this makes them especially significant in fights
where the target’s chain resistance is high. For an important example, Cid with an Aegisol is at
least ten seconds faster, because his 90 chain resistance makes the conditional chain modifiers on
RAV with four buffs quite potent.
Each individual chain modifier will be listed here, separated by role. For each modifier, you get
the corresponding chain bonus if all conditions preceding it are met. For simplicity I will group
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together similar conditions. Each modifier can stack, provided that each one’s conditions are
met.
All roles:
Condition 1 Condition 2 Bonus
Current attack different than
n/a +0.2
previous one
Action targets weakness +0.7
previous one
Action targets weakness n/a +0.1
Though it is especially prevalent in the Ravager role, alternating attacks is a common condition.
Note that you can trigger all three of these at once if you alternate attacks and target an elemental
weakness, for a conditional chain bonus of +1.0.
COM role:
Current HP is between 30- +0.2
previous one
70% (yellow bar)
Target is staggered +0.3
Current HP is less than 30% n/a +0.3
(red bar) Target is staggered +0.9
Target is launched +0.3
No other allies targeting this
previous one +0.5
target
Physical attack against a
+0.3
First command in string staggered target
Target has any buffs +0.1
Attack launched enemy n/a +0.1
These are mainly important for the Eidolon fights, where the amount that the chain is increased
affects the increase of the gestalt bar. Namely, Sazh’s Blitz in his Attack-Blitz while he is
Enfrosted grants a +1.0 from the All roles section, potentially a +0.2 or +0.3 depending on the
color of Sazh’s HP bar, and potentially a +0.5 if Vanille is KOed.
RAV role:
Current HP is full +0.3
First command in string Action targets weakness and
+1.0
target is near stagger
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Target has no debuffs +0.1

Character has 0 buffs +0.1
Character has 1 buff +0.2
previous one
Target has 1 debuff +0.3
Target has 2 debuffs +0.4
There are quite a lot of individual modifiers, but it can be mostly summarized as: The more buffs
you have and the more debuffs the target has, the higher the conditional chain modifier will be.
Going back to the Cid fight with an Aegisol, note that the Aegisol grants 4 buffs (Protect, Shell,
Veil, Vigilance) on the party. The conditional chain modifier for 4 buffs (and alternating attacks)
is +0.5. This amounts to +1.5 per string of actions and +6.0 per ATB refresh in Mystic Tower, in
addition to the other applicable conditional chain modifiers. That boost is significant in the Cid
fight due to the amount of time needed in order to be able to stagger.
SEN role:
HP is full +0.5
HP is between 30-70%
+1.0
Physical attack (yellow bar)
HP is less than 30% (red bar) +1.5
Character has buffs +0.5
I am just including this for completeness. It has no relevance to the speedrun. (It can only be
relevant if you SEN-buffer a physical attack, or use a counterattack, neither of which occurs in
the speedrun.)
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SAB role:
Target has 1 debuff +0.3
First command in string Target has 4 debuffs +0.8
This is similar to the RAV conditional chain modifiers, with the exception that only the first
action can be benefited, and only the number of debuffs is relevant. In the Hecatoncheir fight, the
first SAB spell in the string will be given a bonus between 0.2-0.5; the higher number is
obviously preferable, and can only be achieved when Hecatoncheir has Deprotect, Deshell, and
Imperil all inflicted.
Summons:
Condition Bonus
Target can be launched +0.5
Target is near stagger +0.5
Target is staggered +0.1
These only apply to an eidolon once it has been summoned, or during gestalt mode. These can
potentially trigger in a few fights, but the effect is not especially significant.
Eidolon Gestalt Mechanics

This section deals principally with the Eidolon battles. Contrary to every other fight, the goal in
these fights is to max out the Eidolon’s gestalt bar. Usually, an increase in the chain gauge
corresponds to an increase in the gestalt bar, but the actual amount of increase varies.
How the gestalt bar increases depends on which role you are in. The following table summarizes
how each role works in raising gestalt:
Role Action % Increase in Gestalt Bar
COM Raise chain Chain Increase × 4.5 × Summon Multiplier
RAV Raise chain Chain Increase × 0.9 × Summon Multiplier
SEN Receive Level
ATB Cost of Ability × ( ) × Summon Multiplier
damage 100
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SAB Raise chain (Chain Increase × 0.6 + 1.5 × ATB Cost of Ability) × Summon Multi.
SYN Use ability 2 × Summon Multiplier
MED Use ability ATB Cost of Ability × 0.75 × Summon Multiplier
(Note: ATB Cost of Ability references the enemy action in the SEN role, and the leader action in
the SAB and MED roles. Also, these formulas are only used for the leader’s actions; ally party
members are calculated differently.)
Note that each of these formulas are impacted by the Summon Multiplier, unique to each
Eidolon:
Eidolon Summon Multiplier
Shiva 1
Odin 1.45
Brynhildr 0.6
Bahamut 1.4
Alexander 0.84
Hecatoncheir 0.9
With that now said, let’s analyze each Eidolon fight and determine the power of each action
made in the speedrun. The following numbers were obtained from particular videos, and can
vary to an extent based on conditional chain modifiers and rounding.
 Shiva
o COM: Attack-Ruin-Attack to an empty chain adds 1.3% to the chain gauge,
which contributes 5.85% to the gestalt bar.
o RAV: Froststrike-Froststrike-Froststrike to a nonempty chain adds 10.3% to the
chain gauge, and contributes 9.27% to the gestalt bar.
o SEN: Being in this role when Wheel Grind or Pirouette hits contributes 18.31% to
the gestalt bar.
 Odin
o COM: Attack-Attack to an empty chain adds 0.1% to the chain gauge, which
contributes 0.6525% to the gestalt bar. To a nonempty chain, it adds 0.2% to the
chain gauge, and contributes 1.305% to the gestalt bar.
o RAV: Water-Thunder-Water to an empty chain adds 5.2% to the chain gauge,
which contributes 6.786% to the gestalt bar. To a nonempty chain, it adds 7.9% to
the chain gauge, which contributes 10.3095% to the gestalt bar.
 Brynhildr
o COM: Attack-Blitz, with Enfrost, adds 1.1% to the chain gauge per Blitz bullet
that hits, contributing 2.97% to the gestalt gauge per Blitz bullet that hits.
 Bahamut
o COM: Attack-Ruin-Attack adds 1.3% to the chain gauge, which contributes
8.19% to the gestalt bar.
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o SEN: Being in this role when Ignis hits, provided it is targeting Fang and not
Vanille or Lightning, contributes 4.15% to the gestalt bar. Other actions add
1.38% (provided Fang is, again, the target).
o SAB: Ignoring inflictions, Slow-Curse-Slow adds 2.8% to the chain gauge, which
adds 4.452% to the gestalt bar. Each successful infliction adds 1.3% to the chain
gauge, which contributes 3.192% to the gestalt bar.
 Alexander
o RAV: Thunder-Water-Thunder adds 6.7% to the chain gauge, which contributes
5.0652% to the gestalt bar.
 Hecatoncheir
o SAB: Ignoring inflictions, Deprotect-Deshell-Imperil-Deshell adds 2.5% to the
chain gauge, which contributes 2.7% to the gestalt bar. Each successful infliction
adds 0.7% to the chain gauge, which contributes 1.728% to the chain gauge.
As noted previously, ally party members contribute to the gestalt bar differently. For them, their
contribution is a straight multiplication of the chain gauge increase, independent of the role they
are in. Specifically, ally party members contribute Chain Increase × 0.6 × Summon Multiplier
to the gestalt bar. This means you should try to leave them in RAV roles for maximum benefit;
however, you are limited by the default paradigms the game gives you for Eidolon fights. If you
Retry, you should consider changing one or two paradigms to favor more RAV action from your
allies.
Debuff infliction chances

Debuff infliction is a percentage chance, based on the following formula:
100 − Resistance
Chance = (Base Skill %) ∗ ∗ (Chain Bonus) ∗ (SAB Bonus)
100
Base Skill % is a percentage tied to the debuff being cast. For the debuffs seen in the speedrun,
here are the numbers:
 Deprotect, Deshell: 40%
 Imperil, Poison, Slow: 30%
 Curse: 20%
Resistance is a number between 0 and 100 relating to the enemy’s resistance to that particular
debuff. If the resistance value is 100, the target is immune to that debuff and you can never
inflict it. Otherwise, that debuff can potentially get inflicted. Be aware the game does not tell you
these numbers, but you can find them in multiple places online.
The chain bonus is, of course, the chain gauge of the target. If the target’s chain is at 300%, plug
in 3 for chain bonus. The SAB bonus can be found in the Role Bonus section above.
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For example, suppose Vanille, a Lv. 3 SAB, is casting Poison on Orphan 1 at 300% chain.
Poison has a base skill % of 30%, so you plug in 0.3. Orphan 1’s Poison Resistance is 99. Chain
Bonus is 3, since the chain gauge is 300%. Vanille’s Lv. 3 SAB provides a 28% bonus to
debuffing, which equates to a multiplier of 1.28. Thus:
100 − 99
Chance = 0.3 ∗ ∗ 3 ∗ 1.28 = 0.01152 = 1.152%.
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That Poison cast thus has a 1.152% chance of landing.
Now, here is where things get slightly more complicated: Unless the target happens to be
immune to the debuff, Resistance is actually variable! It varies in three situations:
 The target lacks the debuff, you cast the debuff, and it fails to inflict. In this situation,
Resistance drops by 2 points. (This does not affect immunity to the debuff, and
Resistance cannot go below 0.)
 The target has the debuff. Every 2 seconds, Resistance increases by 1 point. This cannot
exceed 99 points.
 The target’s debuff has expired. Every 2 seconds, Resistance drops by 1 point. This
cannot go below the target’s original Resistance value.
So if we re-analyze our Orphan 1 situation above, suppose we cast Poison four times without
success. For the sake of simplicity, we shall assume the Chain Bonus is unaffected (although it
certainly would have gone up, even if Vanille is the only one targeting Orphan). Since Orphan
still lacks Poison, its Poison Resistance value drops by 2 points four times, finishing at 91. If we
then cast a fifth Poison, its chance of infliction becomes:
100 − 91
Chance = 0.3 ∗ ∗ 3 ∗ 1.28 = 0.10368 = 10.368%.
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This Poison is nearly seven times as likely to be successfully inflicted! This example should help
serve to demonstrate the value in sticking with trying to get a debuff inflicted.
As a tangential addendum to this section: You might wonder how long debuffs last when
inflicted on a target. Each debuff has a base duration of 60 seconds. When inflicted, that duration
is multiplied by the chain gauge (for example, a chain of 200% would double the debuff’s
duration to 120 seconds). If a Saboteur with Jinx inflicts a debuff, the durations of all other
debuffs are increased by 5 seconds. In the speedrun, this is mainly relevant for Orphan 1—you
do not want Poison to expire too early, so it is important that the chain is at least 250-300%
before you consider using Saboteur. It is also relevant for Dahaka—early Saboteur action could
see an Imperil or a Deprotect that does not last the duration of the fight.
Sentinel Damage Reduction
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It is important to note the significance of a Sentinel in a paradigm deck. They do more than draw
enemy aggression toward themselves and reducing damage to themselves; they also reduce
damage to your allies through multiple means.
First, the Sentinel role bonus grants damage reduction to all party members. The effect is greatest
on the Sentinel, but allies enjoy a smaller damage reduction bonus as well. A Lv. 3 Sentinel is
featured in the last few chapters of the speedrun; recall that a Lv. 3 Sentinel takes only 60% of
damage dealt to them, and allies take 89% of damage as well. This happens regardless of any
other factors, just as long as the Sentinel is active in the paradigm. This is sometimes why it is a
good idea to shift to a defensive paradigm like Protection (SYN/SEN/MED) when a highly
telegraphed attack is about to hit your party.
Second, Sentinels employ a variety of passive abilities that can sometimes grant additional
damage reduction to either themselves or their allies. The most important one is Fringeward—if
the Sentinel has Fringeward and is the target of an attack that hits multiple people, the other party
members take 65% of the damage from that hit (this can be further reduced by Improved Ward,
which is not featured in the speedrun); note that all actions, including those that attack every
party member, still feature a primary target, so Fringeward is always useful. A secondary one is
Deathward—if the Sentinel has 30% or fewer HP (in other words, their HP bar is red), then they
take 75% damage from attacks until they can recover out of critical HP. Deathward is only seen
in the speedrun on Fang, and can be relevant against Bahamut and Alexander.
Thus far, we have not talked about the guard abilities that a Sentinel has. Guard abilities serve to
further reduce the damage dealt to the Sentinel while providing a bonus effect. The two main
guard abilities are Steelguard and Mediguard. Steelguard adds 20 percentage points to the
Sentinel’s self damage reduction bonus, and adds an additional 1-3 percentage points for each
attack the Sentinel takes. For example, a Lv. 3 Sentinel (60% damage taken) starts using
Steelguard (damage taken is now 60 − 20 = 40%). They take an attack, which adds 2
percentage points to the damage reduction (damage taken is now 40 − 2 = 38%). This
continues several times, until the Sentinel’s damage reduction is a full 100%; at this point, all
attacks on the Sentinel are successfully guarded. On the other hand, Mediguard adds 20
percentage points to the Sentinel’s self damage reduction bonus, and adds a Regen effect on the
Sentinel. In the above example, the Sentinel using Mediguard takes 40% damage while regaining
HP. The Sentinel AI prioritizes Mediguard usage when facing a single target, and Steelguard
usage when facing multiple targets.
There are two other guard abilities that are counterattack focused—Entrench and Vendetta. Both
of them add 10 (not 20) percentage points to the self damage reduction bonus, and involves a
counterattack after a string of Entrenches or Vendettas terminates. Since the damage reduction is
less than that of Steelguard and Mediguard, and since the counterattack damage is extremely
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negligible compared to optimized damage dealing, these two abilities should not be considered
for use. While Snow technically learns Entrench in the speedrun, that is due to it being on the
main ring of the Sentinel tree, and thus forcibly picked up; it is not utilized in the run.
Regardless, Sentinel AI does prioritize Entrench and Vendetta usage in fights where the enemy is
known not to employ powerful attacks (i.e., the Libra screen does not make a note of powerful
attacks).
With that all said, let us consider a specific speedrun example: Orphan 1 using a slap on the
party.
 Ordinarily the slap would do somewhere between 1175-1367 damage to all party
members (for the sake of simplicity, let’s forget Vanille’s Black Belt for this example).
 Suppose before the slap hits we shift to Protection (SYN/SEN/MED). Snow is a Lv. 3
Sentinel, and thus takes 60% of Slap’s damage; Snow’s damage range is thus 705-820.
Sazh and Vanille enjoy an 89% damage reduction from the ally Sentinel bonus, and thus
their damage range is 1046-1216.
 The previous example actually assumed the slap was targeted on either Vanille or Sazh,
and so Fringeward did not trigger. If the slap targeted Snow, Fringeward would reduce
Vanille and Sazh’s damage by 65%; their damage range is thus 680-790. Snow remains
at 705-820, since he is unaffected by Fringeward.
 Suppose Snow is Mediguarding when the slap hits. Then Snow’s damage reduction is
increased by 20 percentage points, so he actually takes 40% of Slap’s damage; Snow’s
damage range in this case is 470-546.
Thus, Sentinel actions can reduce Sazh and Vanille’s damage from 1175-1367 to 680-790, and
can reduce Snow’s damage from 1175-1367 to 470-546. Sentinels are pretty significant!
Medic AI Healing Priorities

Medic AI has been the bane of every FF13 player. Fortunately, they are very systematic in their
healing methods, and so you can optimize their use once you understand their priorities in
healing. A MED will heal based on the following priority list:
1. Do multiple people have less than 30% HP (red HP bar)? If so, cast Curas and/or Curajas.
2. Otherwise, does a single person have less than 30% HP (red HP bar)? If so, cast Cures
and/or Curasas on that person.
3. Otherwise, do multiple people have between 30% and 70% (yellow HP bar)? If so, cast
Curas and/or Curajas.
4. Otherwise, does a single person have between 30% and 70% (yellow HP bar)? If so, cast
Cures and/or Curasas on that person.
5. Is someone at less than maximum HP? If so, cast a single Cure or Curasa on that person.
(Note: Esuna is noticeably missing from this priority list. Esuna’s behavior is strange and does
not seem consistent. Its usage might be based on the number of debuffs, or on whether a
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particularly devastating debuff is inflicted. Generally Esuna will not be used until after (3) on the
list, but sometimes it gets used early.)
These actions do not get overridden mid-action. For instance, say you shift to Tireless Charge
(COM/COM/MED) when Snow is red, and Sazh and Vanille are yellow. Vanille will cast Cures
and/or Curasas on Snow based on (2), since a single person is red. If Sazh becomes red over the
course of the healing, Vanille will still finish her healing string. She will not heal Sazh according
to (1) or (2) until her ATB is refilled. This can be quite dangerous, especially if Sazh is the
leader, since Sazh would be left standing at red HP for quite some time.
Instead, it might be better to hesitate on shifting to Tireless Charge until after either Sazh or
Vanille turn red. That way, Vanille would cast Curas and/or Curajas based on (1). Of course, if
Snow is at risk of dying, you don’t really have a choice, but if you can wait a bit to see whether
HP totals change to your favor, you could potentially benefit from more efficient healing.
The incredibly inefficient healing at (5) (a single Cure?! Really?!) is a reason why you should
not stay in a MED paradigm for longer than necessary. While having full HP bars is a nice sight,
unless you can manually control the Medic and cast Curas yourself, it is not worth bothering for.
In general, burst healing (shifting to a MED paradigm briefly, when you know you can get Curas
and/or Curajas) is more effective in battles than prolonged healing (having a MED out for most
of the fight).
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Bonus Shrouds
It is very likely that, over the course of your run, you will accumulate some number of bonus
shrouds. A bonus shroud is an unexpected shroud dropped from some fight (outside of the ones
in Chapter 2 fought intentionally for the shrouds). The following table summarizes the chances
of having various numbers of bonus shrouds by the end of that chapter, assuming you finish
Chapter 2 with your desired number of shrouds:
Deceptisol Fortisol Aegisol

Chapter
0 1 2+ 0 1 2+ 0 1 2+
3 77.9% 20.3% 1.8% 77.9% 20.3% 1.8% 100% 0% 0%
4 68.8% 26.7% 4.5% 73.2% 23.8% 3% 61% 31.1% 7.9%
5 68.8% 26.7% 4.5% 71.0% 25.2% 3.8% 59.7% 31.7% 8.5%
6 68.8% 26.7% 4.5% 71% 25.2% 3.8% 58% 32.6% 9.5%
7 65.4% 28.8% 5.8% 69.2% 26.4% 4.4% 58% 32.6% 9.5%
8 65.4% 28.8% 5.8% 69.2% 26.4% 4.4% 57.2% 32.9% 9.9%
9 62.2% 30.5% 7.3% 69.2% 26.4% 4.4% 52.4% 34.7% 12.9%
10 62.2% 30.5% 7.3% 69.2% 26.4% 4.4% 51.9% 34.9% 13.2%
11 61.8% 30.7% 7.5% 68.6% 26.7% 4.6% 51.1% 35.2% 13.7%
12 61.4% 30.9% 7.7% 68.6% 26.7% 4.6% 50.7% 35.3% 14%
It is to your benefit to use these shrouds, since in almost all situations they either save time or
make the fight safer. That being said, when it comes to optimal usage there is a certain priority
list that I recommend following. You do not have to follow this list, and in fact you should feel
free to experiment with bonus shrouds in fights not listed here; these are just suggestions.
You can also use this as a reference list for alternate strategies, in case you are struggling with a
particular fight and wish to farm an extra shroud in Chapter 2 to better your success rate against
that fight. (This does not hold true for Aegisols; since they can only be farmed in Chapter 4 with
a 48% drop rate at best, I do not recommend relying on them.)
Here is my recommended priority lists for each shroud:
Deceptisol
1. Chapter 11—Manually preempting Penanggalan (Mission 26).
2. Chapter 11—Manually preempting Mushussu (Mission 24).
3. Chapter 9—The fourth bridge fight (PSICOM Dragoon x4 & PSICOM Reaver).
4. Chapter 5—The bike fight before Aster Protoflorian (Corps Marksman x2 & Milvus
Velocycle).
5. Chapter 11—Manually preempting Gelatitan (Mission 21).
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6. Chapter 13—Fewer Deceptisols to have to purchase.

Fortisol
1. Chapter 11—Barthandelus 2.
2. Chapter 6—Enki & Enlil.
3. Chapter 12—The Proudclad 1.
4. Chapter 7—Ushumgal Subjugator 1.
5. Chapter 13—Fewer Fortisols to have to purchase.
Aegisol
1. Chapter 10—Cid Raines.
2. Chapter 12—The Proudclad 1.
3. Chapter 11—Hecatoncheir.
4. Chapter 10—Bahamut.
5. Chapter 13—Fewer Aegisols to have to purchase.
Now to elaborate on each particular usage:
Deceptisols
Chapter 11—Manually preempting Penanggalan (Mission 26). This saves you from having to
preempt him manually. Assuming you would have gotten the manual preempt on your first try,
this saves 16 seconds. However, potential repeated failures add XX seconds to the savings for
each failure. This is actually a shroud I recommend farming for!
Chapter 11—Manually preempting Mushussu (Mission 24). This saves you from having to
preempt him manually. Assuming you would have gotten the manual preempt on your first try,
this saves 14 seconds. However, potential repeated failures add XX seconds to the savings for
each failure.
Chapter 9—The fourth bridge fight (PSICOM Dragoon x4 & PSICOM Reaver). This
effectively instantly staggers the Dragoons, halving the time spent Blitzing them to death, and
saves you from having to chain the Reaver. This saves 45 seconds. Here is the write-up for the
fight:
Battle: (Bridge 4) PSICOM Dragoon x4 & PSICOM Reaver (Deceptisol)

Overview: Shift to Strategic Warfare like in Bridge 2. Use a Quake to instantly stagger the
Dragoons and give the Reaver enough chain duration. Take out the PSICOM Dragoons before
focusing on killing PSICOM Reaver.
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o Quake.
o Potion if the situation is dire.
o While at least one PSICOM Dragoon is alive:
 Blitz-Blitz (Repeat if already queued). (If the Blitzes will not hit more
than one thing, use Attack x4 instead.)
 Potion if Snow is at red HP.
o Shift when only PSICOM Reaver remains.
o Auto-battle until victory.
Chapter 5—The bike fight before Aster Protoflorian (Corps Marksman x2 & Milvus
Velocycle). This allows you to stagger the Marksmen early and skip having to chain the
Velocycle to stagger. You can then take out the Marksmen first, and then focus on the bike. This
makes Protect not necessary. Here is the write-up for the fight:
Battle: Corps Marksman x2 & Milvus Velocycle (Deceptisol)

Overview: Have Lightning use Blitzes on each of the Marksmen while Hope staggers them. If
done in the order below, they should die to the Blitzes after the paradigm shift. Do be careful
that the Velocycle gets hit by some number of Blitzes, though—otherwise, its chain will expire
by the time you can focus on him. With the Velocycle left, just keep hitting it with Attacks
until victory.
○ Blitz-Blitz.
○ Repeat a single Blitz on the other Corps Marksman.
○ Repeat. (Both Marksmen should die.)
○ Attack x4.
■ If the Velocycle is near-stagger, execute some Attacks early to add to
chain duration.
○ Repeat, with ATB refreshes with [1], until victory.
Chapter 11—Manually preempting Gelatitan (Mission 21). This saves you from having to
preempt him manually.
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Chapter 13—Fewer Deceptisols to have to purchase. Each bonus Deceptisol saves 30,000 gil.
This can potentially enable you to consolidate both Chapter 13 shops into the start of the chapter,
saving a small amount of time.
Fortisols
Chapter 11—Barthandelus 2. Using a Fortisol here is more for safety than time gain. Due to
the nature of the fight, it is difficult to tell how much time is saved if a Fortisol is used; however,
being able to focus on chaining earlier helps to get him staggered faster, which enables you to
use Vanille’s Medic earlier and keep your party leader alive more easily.
Since there is no need for a SYN paradigm, I recommend changing the paradigms to as follows
(with role changes assuming the setup from Dahaka):
Sazh Snow Vnll

(COM) (COM) (MED)
(RAV) RAV RAV
RAV (RAV) (SAB) ← set default
COM COM RAV
RAV (RAV) SAB
COM COM RAV
Only two things change: (1) default paradigm is Smart Bomb; (2) Guerilla is replaced with a
second Smart Bomb. For the fight itself, instead of RAV-buffering a Blitz (since you are no
longer starting in a COM role), you will instead use Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder immediately
and utilize ATB refreshes between Smart Bomb until both Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted.
From that point forward, the fight resumes as normal; after gestalt finishes and you regain
control of your party, RAV-buffer a Blitz into Smart Bomb and proceed as if you had finished
re-buffing Haste on everyone. Basically, you are skipping the buffing part of the fight, since you
already have Haste, Bravery, and Faith via the Fortisol.
For completeness, the write-up for the Fortisol fight follows, but the only differences are listed
above:
Battle: (Bart2) Barthandelus (2) (Fortisol)

Overview: Chain until both Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted, with ATB refreshes between
Smart Bombs as necessary. Once both Deprotect and Imperil are inflicted, move to Tri-
disaster. Throw a Librascope when it is convenient, and use Renew once whenever it is
necessary (do not use it twice—you must save the TP for Summon). Chain in Tri-disaster for a
couple rounds post-stagger, and then do a quick round in Tireless Charge to heal back up.
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Then use the Aggressions for damage dealing. If Dazega sticks, throw a Foul Liquid. If a
character is close to dying, use Tireless Charge. If someone dies, consider Retrying. The goal
is to push his HP past the threshold at which he will perform a head split. The head split resets
his chain gauge and starts the second phase of the fight.
Be prepared to Summon. He will either Apoptosis or Thanatosian Laughter. If it is Apoptosis,

Summon ASAP and Gestalt ASAP. In Gestalt, use the finisher immediately. The point of
summoning and leaving the summon is to dodge the dispel effects of Apoptosis on your entire
party—if done correctly, after summon all characters will still have buffs. If timed incorrectly,
you should Retry. He will (usually) use Laughter instead of Apoptosis if you dealt enough
damage to him before the head split. In that situation, try to time your Summon so that some of
Laughter’s hits go off before the Summon (but not so late that Snow or Vanille die—pay
attention to their HP!). Wait on Gestalt until he finally does Apoptosis—it is still coming—and
use finisher immediately, as before.
After the summon, proceed like before. If he has not used Laughter yet, it will be coming
eventually. Throw an Elixir when several people are in yellow or if he is being aggressive on
one character. Your characters should be in green when Laughter starts in order to have the
best chances of survival. When you see Thanatosian Laughter’s text on screen, ready Renew
(or Elixir if you have not thrown one yet) and time it to go off during the initial attacks (do not
wait too long, otherwise Sazh will get interrupted); this will help keep people alive (and is
basically necessary). After Laughter, either throw a second (or first) Renew or let Vanille heal
if you were in Tireless Charge, and then continue working on taking him out. Be aggressive if
stagger is ending and he is not dead yet.
If the second stagger ends and he has not tried a second Apoptosis, you can stagger him in one
round of Tri-disaster if he still has Imperil. Re-stagger him and try to kill him before
Apoptosis. If it does go off, things get a lot more frustrating—you take more damage and are
more susceptible to debuffs, and have to work on re-debuffing him and possibly re-staggering
him—so Retry if you are inexperienced, or push on ahead and hope to get lucky.
You may use your second Elixir here if in dire emergency, but in doing so you will have to use
an alternate strategy for Orphan 1.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth strike.
o Repeat.
o Librascope.
o Repeat, with ATB refreshes when appropriate, until:
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 If someone ends up in red, or if all three characters have less than half HP, use Renew
once.
o Blitz-Blitz.
o Repeat until head split. ATB refreshes as needed. Tireless Charge as needed.
o When debuffed, do the corresponding things:
 Sazh/Snow Pain (At any point)
 Painkiller.
 Vanille Fog (At any point)
 Mallet.
 Daze (From this point onwards)
 Foul Liquid non-Sazh characters.
 Foul Liquid Sazh.
 Barthandelus’s attacks will also dispel Daze at the cost of double
damage.
 Curse (From this point onwards)
 Holy Water Snow (if needed).
 Holy Water Sazh (if needed).
 If stagger is nearly done, do not bother.
o After head split, check Barthandelus’s HP. If his HP is less than 1.3 million, his
next attack is most likely Thanatosian Laughter.
o Ready Summon and react:
 Apoptosis
 Summon immediately.
 Gestalt immediately
 Thanatosian Laughter
 Wait on Summon until just before Laughter hits.
 Potion.
 Repeat until Apoptosis, and then Gestalt.
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o Blitz and shift.

 From this point forward, if he has not used Thanatosian Laughter yet, do the following
when it is relevant:
o Keep your party in green health if possible.
o When Thanatosian Laughter’s text appears on screen, ready Renew/Elixir and
cast/throw just before it hits.
o Use (another) Renew if not in Tireless Charge.
 Blitz and shift.
 [3]/[5] Smart Bomb (RAV/RAV/SAB)
o When necessary, throw an Elixir.
o Repeat, with ATB refreshes when appropriate, until:
o Repeat.
o Same procedure as before, except this time you should kill.
 If the second stagger ends:
 This should stagger if Imperil is still inflicted.
o [1]/[4]/[6] Tireless Charge/Aggression
(COM/COM/MED)/(COM/COM/RAV)
 Repeat as necessary and hope to get lucky.
Chapter 6—Enki & Enlil. Bravery on Sazh cuts down the number of Attacks he must do to kill
either creature. Haste obviously speeds up the ATB recovery rate of both characters, but be
mindful of the delay on ATB refreshes—two rounds of Sazh attacks with Haste is not 12 or more
seconds of time. It is therefore beneficial to avoid ATB refreshing when dealing damage post-
stagger, unless you are absolutely certain an ATB refresh will occur. Fortisol here saves roughly
20 seconds in ideal fights.
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For completeness, the write-up for the Fortisol fight follows, but there are only two minor
changes, both with regards to the aforementioned ATB refresh note.
Battle: Enki & Enlil (Fortisol)

Overview: Throw a Librascope to reveal elemental weaknesses. Inflict debuffs on Enki while
waiting for Sazh to Enthunder himself. Then work on staggering. Once staggered, keep Enki
interrupted to prevent him from Bellowing. Once he is dead, follow the same pattern for Enlil,
but be wary of his faster attacks. Throw Potions at any point as necessary.
● (If Enki and Enlil both target the same character, Retry.)
○ Librascope.
○ Repeat the first two spells (Deprotect-Poison).
○ Potion.
○ Shift after Sazh casts Vigilance on Vanille.
● If Enki does not have two debuffs, OR not enough chain duration:
○ [5] Undermine (SAB/RAV)
■ Repeat as necessary.
● When Enki has two debuffs AND enough chain duration:
■ Auto-chain OR Fire-Aero-Fire until stagger.
■ Shift after Sazh’s third spell.
○ Ready Poison x3 and execute after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ Potion.
○ Repeat after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ If Enki does not survive Sazh’s next string, Repeat once more after Sazh’s third
Attack.
○ If Enki Bellows at any point:
■ Deprotect-Poison-Poison.
■ Repeat until Deprotect.
● Throw Potions as needed.
■ Kill Enki.
● (Enlil will start attacking more frequently. Potion after every attack unless you are
certain you will not die.)
○ Shift after Sazh has Enwater.
● [5] Undermine (SAB/RAV)
○ Repeat until two debuffs.
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○ Poison x3 after Sazh’s third Attack.
○ Repeat after Sazh’s third Attack until victory.
Chapter 12—The Proudclad 1. The clear use of Fortisol is you do not have to buff Haste,
Bravery, or Faith in this fight. This enables you to spend more time in Tri-disaster at the start of
the fight, and thereby stagger faster. Having those buffs early also gives you a slight boost in
chaining efficiency due to conditional chain modifiers (see the Overview of Advanced Game
Mechanics section below for clarification). Overall Fortisol saves roughly 15-17 seconds in ideal
fights.
Battle: (PC1) The Proudclad (1) (Fortisol)

Overview: RAV-buffer a Blitz and chain in Tri-disaster until the chain reaches roughly 142%.
Shift to Thaumaturgy and throw a Librascope. Carefully time a Cold Blood so that all of its
bullets hit post-stagger. Time an ATB refresh into Tri-disaster so that Sazh has full ATB when
you regain control of him; if this sounds contradictory, remember that ATB refreshing before
an attack’s ATB cost is spent will cause it to be spent from the refreshed string, and doing this
with Cold Blood will take all of your refreshed ATB away, so be careful. After you start the
second Cold Blood, shift into a Cerberus. After that, the rest of the fight is Blitzes with ATB
refreshes and a nicely timed Renew. If you fail to kill him before stagger ends, retry.
o Repeat until chain is ~142%.
o Librascope.
bullet hits.
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o Repeat.
o Renew.
his ATB this time).
o Repeat.
best.
Chapter 7—Ushumgal Subjugator 1. Haste and Bravery on Snow makes him hit harder and
end the fight roughly 15 seconds faster.
Chapter 13—Fewer Fortisols to have to purchase. Each bonus Fortisol saves 12,000 gil. This
can potentially enable you to consolidate both Chapter 13 shops into the start of the chapter,
Aegisols
Chapter 10—Cid Raines. This is one of the few places where the bonus Aegisol actually makes
the fight slightly faster, by about 10 seconds. The reason why has to do with conditional chain
modifiers, which are detailed later in the Appendix. Basically, the more buffs a Ravager has
active on them, as well as the more debuffs the Ravager’s target has on it, the higher the
conditional chain bonus is to each Ravager ability. Conditional chain modifiers are special in that
they are unaffected by the target’s chain resistance; in a fight like Cid, whose chain resistance is
90, thereby reducing the chain boost of spells to 10%, conditional chain modifiers can become
very useful for staggering faster, thereby ending fights faster.
There is a nice side-effect of a faster stagger on Cid—you get to stagger him before his second
non-Offensive Shift. Ordinarily, if that shift is Defensive Shift, you have to waste precious
speedrun seconds waiting for him to shift out of it; with an Aegisol, you do not have to worry
about that random time loss, because you can easily stagger him before that shift happens.
Battle: Cid Raines (Aegisol)

Overview: In his first Offensive Shift, use Quake, get Haste on Lightning and Sazh, and chain
via Mystic Tower. As he shifts to Defensive or Recovery, use Malevolence for Haste on Snow
and Bravery on Lightning, and then chain in Tri-disaster until the second Offensive Shift.
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Chain in Mystic Tower for one round, and then stagger him in Tri-disaster. Shift to
Aggression, launch him, keep him juggled, and win.
o Quake.
o Fire-Water-Fire-Water.
o Repeat twice.
o Shift after Sazh’s fourth spell in his second string.
o Repeat.
o Potion.
o If you know Cid’s next attack will be physical, Repeat once more while he
attacks Snow.
o Repeat.
o Repeat three times total.
o Throw Potions in between Repeats as needed.
o Shift when Cid is in Offensive Shift (canceling Snow’s ready animation if he is
currently attacking).
o Repeat.
o Delay the next shift if Cid is going to attack physically.
o Shift after Snow’s fourth strike to cancel his ready animation.
o Use Auto-battle after Snow’s fourth attack.
o Continue Auto-battling in this manner until victory.
Chapter 12—The Proudclad 1. Like Cid, PC1 has a chain resistance of 90, so conditional chain
modifiers help with staggering faster. However, be mindful that your chaining pattern has to
change slightly; if you follow the standard, non-Aegisol sequence of actions, you will stagger
him much too early, and you will not be able to kill him before stagger’s end.
What you have to do differently: After you finish buffing and shift back to Tri-disaster, Repeat
only the first two spells. Then, throw a Librascope, use Cold Blood, and shift to Thaumaturgy.
Due to the faster chaining, you do not need a RAV-buffered Blitz for chain duration. Proceed
with the rest as usual.
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Battle: (PC1) The Proudclad (1) (Fortisol)

Overview: Follow the steps listed below as they are written and you should be able to
consistently win. New runners frequently make many common mistakes before this point and
have gotten away with it, but this is the first fight wherein a small mistake can fail the fight, so
be careful.
RAV-buffer a Blitz and chain in Tri-disaster for one round. Then buff in Coordination while
Snow chains and Vanille heals. Shift back to Tri-disaster and cast two spells. Throw a
Librascope and start your first Cold Blood. Time an ATB refresh into Thaumaturgy so that
Sazh has full ATB when you regain control of him; if this sounds contradictory, remember that
ATB refreshing before an attack’s ATB cost is spent will cause it to be spent from the
refreshed string, and doing this with Cold Blood will take all of your refreshed ATB away, so
be careful. After you start the second Cold Blood, shift into a Cerberus. After that, the rest of
the fight is Blitzes with ATB refreshes and a nicely timed Renew. If you fail to kill him before
stagger ends, retry.
o Repeat Sazh.
o Repeat two spells (Fire-Thunder).
o Librascope.
o Cold Blood.
 Shift after Sazh fires his first bullet.
o Repeat.
o Renew.
his ATB this time).
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o Repeat.
best.
Chapter 11—Hecatoncheir. Unlike the previous Aegisols, this one is purely for better defense
against Hecatoncheir’s attacks. Protect and Shell will reduce all of Hecatoncheir’s attacks by
33%, lessening the need to Potion as frequently and making the fight less risky. However, there
are no buff-based conditional chain modifiers for the Saboteur role, so the fight will not go
significantly faster. (It can indirectly be faster due to less Potioning and more gestalt-boosting,
however.)
Chapter 10—Bahamut. Like Hecatoncheir, this Aegisol is only for better defense. However,
since Lightning and Vanille do have Ravager action in this fight, they will receive the
conditional chain benefits of the Aegisol; this benefit is not as significant as that of Cid and PC1,
however.
Theoretically, you can modify the menu before Bahamut to not equip the Tetradic Crown on
Fang and the Shield and Soulfont Talismans on Vanille, but you still have to unequip Vanille’s
Bangle to put on Hope, and the time difference is semi-small.
Chapter 13—Fewer Aegisols to have to purchase. Each bonus Aegisol saves 12,000 gil. This
can potentially enable you to consolidate both Chapter 13 shops into the start of the chapter,
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Alternate Fight Strategies

If you are having trouble with a particular fight, try taking a look here. These strats are not
necessarily better or worse than what I chose to include in the guide; they are just different.
Chapter 5: Milvus Velocycle with Summon

The bike fight preceding Aster Protoflorian is not particularly difficult. However, if you are
willing to spare an Ethersol, you may choose to utilize Odin.
Note: Do not use the Ethersol before this fight; you already have enough TP to summon.
Battle: Corps Marksman x2 & Milvus Velocycle (Summon)

Overview: Get some chain stability on the Milvus Velocycle before shifting to RAV roles.
Then chain, summon, and chain until you reach 430% chain on the bike. That is what it takes
to secure victory.
○ Ruin x2.
● [4]/[5] Dualcasting (RAV/RAV)
○ Auto-chain.
○ Summon
○ Auto-chain, with ATB refreshes as necessary, until Milvus Velocycle’s chain is
430%.
○ Press Square to go into gestalt.
○ Triangle (Zantetsuken).
After the fight, do the menu for Aster Protoflorian as normal. Then, when you are activating your
Fortisol, use your Ethersol as well. The Aster Protoflorian fight resumes as normal.
This requires you to use your Ethersol on Aster Protoflorian, thereby reducing your Ethersol
count by 1 for the remainder of the run. The best place to make it up is in Chapter 13 against
Bandersnatch & Jabberwocky. Before the fight, do not use one of your two Ethersols. In the
fight, you will still have 3 TP to summon (although rarely you will have to wait a short while for
that third TP to fully recharge), but you will later not have 2 TP to Renew, so you will have to
throw a Potion at that spot.
Chapter 11: Barthandelus 2 and Elixir(s)
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Barthandelus 2 is certainly one of the most difficult fights in the speedrun, mostly due to the
randomness in which debuffs he inflicts. Here are a few possible things you can try to help
yourself a little bit.
If you tend to have issues killing him with the second stagger, and you get stuck facing an
Apoptosis that you do not have enough TP to Summon to avoid, the easiest solution is to throw
your second Elixir and Summon. This will require you to read up on the Elixirless Orphan 1
strategy outlined further below.
Another approach would be to save 3 TP after throwing an Elixir for Summon purposes. There
are a variety of ways of trying to make this work, some of them more dangerous than others. One
method suggested to me is to try holding off on your Elixir throw for as long as possible post-
Summon—the goal is to throw it just as Barthandelus starts using Thanatosian Laughter, thereby
giving you HP recovery as well as full TP. This is rather risky, and will require some extra MED
use while waiting for that Laughter to hit. Another approach might be to use only one Renew
after that Elixir throw, therefore saving that 3 TP. This is also risky, and you might be forced to
sit in Tireless Charge prematurely just to survive. In either scenario, the act of saving TP as a
precautionary tactic tends to make the second Apoptosis more inevitable.
In any case, if you find yourself in a situation where you are nearly dead and desperately need
that HP recovery, either forego the summon and just Renew, or (if you cannot afford Renew)
throw your second and last Elixir. This does force you to use Elixirless strats against Orphan 1,
but you would be able to get past Barthandelus 2 for now.
Chapter 12: The Proudclad 1 and Tireless Charge

This is just a different strategy for PC1. Some people prefer this one over the one in the notes,
whereas others (like myself) prefer the one in the notes. Note that this strat does not require a
Librascope, so you may choose to either skip the Librascope chest in Chapter 9 (saving a few
seconds) or to buy one fewer in Chapter 13.
Your paradigm deck changes very slightly. In the menu before Behemoth King, here is how your
paradigms should be set up:
Sazh Snow Vnll
COM (COM) MED
COM (COM) (COM) ← default
SYN SEN (SAB)
[SYN] RAV (MED)
RAV RAV [MED]
RAV RAV [RAV]
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The only change is in the first paradigm, and is actually one fewer role change than usual (you
are leaving Vanille’s MED there alone).
For Proudclad, there are two main changes. First, there is no more need to RAV-buffer a second
Blitz; instead, you will use Quake to get chain duration. You will also use Libra instead of
throwing a Librascope. Second, since you no longer have Renew for survival, you will have to
use Tireless Charge and rely on Vanille’s healing. This loses out on Vanille’s Ruins, but you
gain Sazh’s Blitzes instead of mucking with Renew.
Battle: (PC1) The Proudclad (1) (Tireless Charge)

Overview: RAV-buffer a Blitz and chain in Tri-disaster for one round. Then buff in
Coordination while Snow chains and Vanille heals. Chain in Tri-disaster for one more round,
and then shift to Thaumaturgy. Use Quake for chain duration and Libra for physical/magical
intel. Carefully time a Cold Blood so that all of its bullets hit post-stagger. Time an ATB
refresh into Tri-disaster so that Sazh has full ATB when you regain control of him; if this
sounds contradictory, remember that ATB refreshing before an attack’s ATB cost is spent will
cause it to be spent from the refreshed string, and doing this with Cold Blood will take all of
your refreshed ATB away, so be careful. After you start the second Cold Blood, shift into
Tireless Charge. After that, the rest of the fight is Blitzes with ATB refreshes between
Cerberus and Tireless Charge. If you fail to kill him before stagger ends, retry.

o Repeat Sazh.
o Repeat
o Quake.
o Libra.
bullet hits.
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o Repeat twice.
o Repeat, with ATB refreshes with [2] until victory.
Lastly, for presentation reasons, the paradigms before PC2 have to include an extra role change,
to account for the fact that Vanille is not already a COM in that paradigm.
Sazh Snow Vnll
(RAV) COM (COM)
COM COM COM ← set default
(RAV) SEN (RAV)
(COM) (SEN) MED
RAV (COM) (RAV)
RAV RAV RAV
Chapter 13: Elixirless Orphan 1

There are two Elixirs obtained throughout the course of the speedrun, both via dismantling
maxed Doctor’s Codes. The first is almost always used in Barthandelus 2. The second is
ordinarily used in Orphan 2; it makes the first half of the fight faster, safer, and more consistent.
However, you should not fear having to use it in another fight if your back is up against the wall.
Suitable places for the emergency Elixir include:
 Barthandelus 2 (as outlined above);
 The Proudclad 2;
 Barthandelus 3 (geez, this guy can be a jerk!).
My general philosophy is “dying is generally slower than not dying”, so you should not be afraid
of throwing that second Elixir if you know you will not survive without it.
If you do throw that second Elixir early, you are going to need to know how to take down
Orphan 1 without an Elixir. Thankfully, the Elixir only benefits the first half of the battle, so only
the first half has to change to fix the fight. You basically have to accomplish three things at once:
 Buff the party;
 Chain Orphan;
 Keep the party healed.
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This is the same as the normal fight, but now Vanille is responsible for healing the party. For that
to be accomplished, you will need to utilize Tireless Charge and Protection more than you
normally would. Fitting healing in between chaining and buffing makes things quite a bit more
hectic, but the strategy listed below works rather well. You may wish to reference this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTD6g9-HeeY.
Battle: Orphan (1) (Elixirless)

Overview: The first segment of the fight is entirely predictable; issues only arise if you are
slow on inputs. Throw a Librascope and shift to Protection before Merciless Judgment. Auto-
support (Haste) Vanille and Haste-Vigilance Sazh. Now, follow the following pattern:
 After Orphan attacks, shift to Tireless Charge;
 RAV-buffer a Blitz into Tri-disaster;
 Fire-Thunder and shift back to Protection;
 Cast two buffs.
The goal is to have Haste on everyone, and Vigilance, Bravery, and an Enspell on Sazh and
Snow. Most of Orphan’s attacks should be slaps, but he may use Requiem on Snow (usually
when you are finished buffing).
When you are finished buffing, Orphan should be at around 250% chain. Now you will focus
on chaining and inflicting debuffs in Smart Bomb, tanking all attacks in Protection and healing
if necessary. You might want to focus on throwing Potions instead of chaining, especially if
your HP is low (Sazh needs 1367 HP to be able to survive a slap outside of Protection). Once
Orphan is staggered, use Cold Blood once. You are hoping to see Deprotect, Imperil, and
Poison at some point early into the stagger; when you do, shift to Tireless Charge and Repeat
Blitzes for the duration of stagger. Revive Vanille if Progenitorial Wrath instant-kills her (she
will always be the target—Wrath always targets a Sentinel or Medic its first time used—and
Wrath has a 50% chance of instant death); however, if Orphan uses Merciless Judgment before
you can revive her, do not bother.
After the second Merciless Judgment, RAV-buffer a single Blitz into Tri-disaster, and then use
a Renew (fast inputs are necessary for that Renew to go off before someone dies). Use Fire-
Thunder-Fire-Thunder once, and time a Summon so that Vanille’s and Snow’s actions are
finished (but not so late that Sazh dies). Then chain for two more rounds before going back to
Blitzing (the chain should be around 250%). If Orphan uses Progenitorial Wrath or Dies Irae,
retreat into gestalt and start stalling—use the cheapest ability repeatedly, but only when the
current summon point is about to expire; Poison is what is doing the bulk of the damage here,
doing 22,600 damage per second. Otherwise, stay in Commando roles and Blitz repeatedly.
When Brynhildr’s summon health is about to expire, you may opt to gestalt stall if you think it
wise; on the other hand, you can do more damage with Blitzes, even if Brynhildr leaves and
Snow and Vanille return. Stay in Tireless Charge if you opt for the latter.
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o Librascope and shift immediately.
o Haste-Vigilance Sazh.
o SLAP
o Blitz-Blitz, but RAV-buffer the first Blitz into—
o Fire-Thunder.
o Repeat (Haste-Vigilance) Snow.
o SLAP
 If you are interrupted too early, just proceed for now. You can fix the
missing buffs later.
o Repeat a single Blitz, RAV-buffered into—
o Repeat.
o Bravery-Enspell Sazh (it does not matter which Enspell).
o SLAP
o Repeat a single Blitz, RAV-buffered into—
o Repeat.
o Repeat (Bravery-Enspell) Snow.
o Now Orphan will either SLAP or REQUIEM.
 Requiem has a longer delay, so take the opportunity to fix missing buffs
due to interruptions, or to throw Potions until the attack hits.
 (If the chain is significantly lower than 250%, consider using Tri-disaster instead of
Smart Bomb).
o SLAP
o Make sure Snow has re-provoked before shifting out.
194

o Potion twice.
o SLAP
o Make sure Snow has re-provoked before shifting out.
 [5]/[6] Smart Bomb/Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/SAB)/(RAV/RAV/RAV)
o Use [6] only if all debuffs are inflicted early (this is rare).
o Cold Blood.
o Tank further attacks in [3] Protection (SYN/SEN/MED) as needed.
o Shift after Deprotect, Imperil, and Poison have been inflicted.
 While still waiting for those three debuffs, use Fire-Thunder-Fire-
Thunder instead.
 If Vanille takes way too long to inflict Poison (past the point of 999.9%
chain), you might want to Retry.
o Repeat until Merciless Judgment.
o If Progenitorial Wrath kills Vanille, throw a Phoenix Down.
o If stagger ends, keep Blitzing and pay attention to what appears on screen.
o OPPOSITE EXTREMES
 If this text does not appear, you did not hit the HP trigger for Opposite
Extremes. Orphan is in his Dark form instead. Continue Blitzing and
hope to hit the HP trigger before Sazh dies. You are good if he uses
another Merciless Judgment.
 If he uses a second Merciless Judgment before Opposite Extremes, what
happened was that you had not quite hit the HP trigger for Opposite
Extremes at the time of the first Merciless Judgment, but Poison’s
damage during that Judgment did hit the trigger.
o Repeat a Blitz if you are not currently acting, and RAV-buffer it.
o Renew.
o Fire-Thunder-Fire-Thunder (or Repeat if it is already queued).
o Summon.
o If at any point Orphan uses Dies Irae or Progenitorial Wrath, skip to the
gestalt stall section below.
o Repeat.
o Repeat.
o Repeat once more if chain is below 250%.
195
 [1]/[2] Tireless Charge/Aggression (COM/COM/MED)/(COM/COM/RAV)

o Repeat, with ATB refreshes until victory.
o If Brynhildr’s summon health (not his gestalt bar) is about to expire and you are
feeling scared, feel free to jump to the gestalt stall section below.
o When Brynhildr is dismissed, shift to [1] Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
if you are not there already, and stay there Repeating until victory.
 Gestalt Stall:
o Wait a few seconds, and press Up+X/A (Chopper Spin).
o If the current summon point is odd, let it expire.
o When the current summon point is about to expire, press Up+X/A (Chopper
Spin).
o Repeat the previous action until there is 1 summon point left, and let it expire.
 Aggressive Gestalt (a non-stall variant):
o Up+X/A (Chopper Spin).
o Circle (Spark Shower).
o Down+X/A (Caltrop Bomb) until out of summon points.
o Triangle/Y (Muspell Flame).
 If Poison was inflicted at around 300% chain, just let the summon point
expire.
196
Credits
In no particular order:
 MrZwanzig. Not only did he help proofread this thing, but he has provided a lot of
insight into various strategies, even helping me out with improving a few fights.
 KaWaiNL. He helped to proofread, and is not afraid to ask why things are done the way
they are, which helps with figuring out why things are done the way they are.
 Tiornys. He is an excellent resource for all things FF13 (and other topics too!), and is a
great soundboard when trying to figure out improved tactics.
 Destrian. Another excellent resource for FF13, despite never having speedran it, but also
good for helping me write more goodly and has better grammar.
 xJakeDreamerx. He provided various tidbits for the appendix, and offered a lot of
suggestions on how to improve presentation of the Appendix material.
 LeaveTheCoffee. He is very helpful on many fronts. He has used most of my speedrun
material for the past couple years, and always offers possible suggestions or tips for
improvements. He looked into the manual preempt on Mission 26, for better or worse.
And, of course, he helped with proofreading.
 Leonis. He helped to proofread, but also provided a ton of moral support at times when I
needed it.
 Shadowdeathfox. He provided an alternate Bart2 strategy.
 Me. Come on, I wrote the thing! Give me some credit! Or a place in the credits!
 You. Seriously. By having read this, you had to have opened this guide, and by having
decided to open this guide, you have already validated my decision to write this guide. I
hope you found it useful!
One final note: This guide was provided for free, in hopes of being useful to new runners and
potentially get more people to learn the speedrun. Regardless, if you found great value in this
guide and wish to compensate me, you can visit my Twitch channel
(https://www.twitch.tv/lewddolphin) and donate to me via the link found there. For the record,
you are under no obligation to do so! I would already be more than delighted if you found just
one useful thing in here, as it would prove this project was indeed worth it!
197

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Final Fantasy XIII Any% Notes

First, some notes about game setup for speedrunning purposes.

Lastly, here are some miscellaneous notes.

Battle: Names of enemies

 It is important to follow the items in their exact order, and to not

Tips for Success

Battle: Manasvin Warmech (1)

Change the control scheme? No (press Down).

Battle: Pantheron & PSICOM Warden

Start camera tricking immediately.

Dodge 1 encounter (run up the stairs to the left).

Run around Sazh and activate the platform.

Battle: PSICOM Marauder & PSICOM Enforcer x2

Just run forward with Snow.

Battle: Pantheron x2 & PSICOM Warden x2

Battle: Beta Behemoth

Would you like to save progress? No (press Down).

Battle: Pantheron x2 & PSICOM Aerial Recon x3

Continue running to the destination marker (running around Gadot as needed).

Battle: PSICOM Warden & PSICOM Enforcer x2

Examine the motorcycle.

Examine the motorcycle.

Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).

Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x3 (1)

Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x3 (2)

● Select Auto-battle but don’t execute.

As Snow, run forward and fight the encounter in front of you.

Activate the previously guarded switch.

Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x4 (Lightning lead)

3-5 stars: 12% chance of a Deceptisol.

In either case, continue going forward.

Fight the next group.

Battle: Pantheron & Zwerg Scandroid x2 (Lightning lead)

Grab the previously guarded Gladius.

Battle: Pantheron & Zwerg Scandroid x2 (Snow lead)

Activate the switch.

Run to the elevator and access the menu while mid-air.

Battle: Zwerg Scandroid x4 (Vanille lead)

Grab the previously guarded Fortisol and access the menu.

Turn back around and head for the opposite door.

● Auto-battle any survivors.

○ Do this until the Right Manipulator dies.

Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).

Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).

Battle: PSICOM Warden x7

Jump and run up the ramp to the right.

Battle: Manasvin Warmech (2)

Take the left path at the fork.

Examine the machine gun thing.

Run up to the bridge and activate a Deceptisol.

Cancel the Deceptisol on the back of the previous frogs.

Battle: Alpha Behemoth

○ Shift after Vanille’s third Aero.

Run forward to activate the next cutscene.

Activate a Deceptisol before the next dodge.

Run up the stairs to the right.

Battle: Garuda Interceptor

Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).

Battle: PSICOM Ranger x3 (followed by Stiria & Nix)

○ Mash Square in case gestalt gets filled.

Would you like to save your progress? No (press Down).

Mash X to get through Hope's Synergist prompt.

Activate a Deceptisol as you're jumping over the last platform.