Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Bresha Ruins 005AF

Paradox Alpha

This is Atlas but thankfully, you’re only going to be fighting his hand right now. This battle introduces wounding. When you are wounded, a section of your life bar will be cleared out and can’t be restored. Red bar can be restored but the empty section cannot. Later on you will have potions that can heal wounding and some creatures that you tame can heal small amounts of wound damage with their feral link ability. For right now, just keep in mind that wounding damage is very dangerous so when you are first wounded, try to speed up the battle.

For this fight, play conservatively though because this battle is largely dictated by Cinematic Action. Whenever Atlas moves to execute a big attack, change to Twin Shields to absorb the damage and limit the amount of wounds inflicted. Otherwise, chip away at his health. You won’t be able to stagger him through normal means but after a short period, Atlas will attack and you will be presented with a Cinematic Action. The first action is to move the LS to the right. After a little more fighting, he will make another big attack and give you another Cinematic Action. First command is LS right, then LS up and finally that A/X button.

This will inflict stagger on Atlas. From here, just switch between Commando and Sentinel. Once you kill him, you’ll be presented with a final Cinematic Action where you will have to repeatedly tap the Y/T button. After the battle there will be a small misunderstanding and you’ll be taken into custody.

Follow the guards and talk to the leader. After talking to him, you’ll be put in a holding cell. Talk to the guard outside your cell and then talk to him again. After you talk about the Grand Elevator, one of the researchers will come to let you out. You’ll all soon agree to take down Atlas.

Bresha Sights

Hand over your papers to the guard in front of the ruins, but before you head off into them turn around to find a Treasure Orb containing a Black Belt. Head up the stairs just to the left to get to it. From here, if you head E and turn left, you should find a woman dressed up in a crazy Phoenix colored Chocobo costume. Her name is Chocolina and she serves as the shop for the entirety of the game, following you from time period to time period. Feel free to shop if you’d like but be forewarned that she is a rather annoying person. However, she will already have a new set of weapons for you so check it out.

From her, head S and on the right you should see another Treasure Orb with 350 gil inside. Continue SW and you’ll see some catwalks on the S side of the ruins. If you climb up to the top and go E, you’ll find another Treasure Orb with 400 gil. More importantly, if you head to the W side of this platform and round the corner near the terrified man, you should find a Treasure Cube containing the “Leaving” Gate Seal. This will allow you to close and reopen the New Bodhum 3AF Gate, allowing you to play through it from the beginning again. There is a Treasure Orb in the middle of the ruins, above Atlas’ hand and a path that leads to away at the NW corner of the ruins but both are inaccessible at the moment so head to the NE and head into the ruins.

Making your way up the stairs behind the guard who checked your papers, you’ll find a Treasure Orb at the top. Turn left (W), take a few steps and you’ll be attacked by a couple of creatures. They are called the Zwerg Scandroid and Cait Sith. Go for the Cait Sith first because he’s a healer and then go for the Scandroid. Once this battle is over, the two creatures will turn into crystals. You’ve now tamed these two creatures and can use them in battle as your third party member.

In your menu, you can “equip” creatures to your combat party using the “paradigm pack” option in the menu, allowing them to be used in paradigms. You can only have three creatures and each one will have a role that they cannot change from. The Scandroid will always be a Ravager and the Cait Sith will always be a medic. However, you can assign them to paradigms and the creatures will change depending on the paradigm you’re using. While it may seem strange, you will want to base your paradigms around your creatures since these are the limiting factors. Soon, Noel and Serah will be capable of switching to any role while the creature slot will only have three roles to choose from. Set up your Paradigms so that you have each creature in your paradigms because both will be useful.

You can also level these creatures up in the crystarium but they require items instead of CP to level up. You’ll collect Monster Materials and each type of creature will require different materials to level up. Lastly, during battle, as a monster executes actions that are part of its main function (for instance, when Cait Sith heals), they will build up the Feral Link meter. When it is full and reads Synchronized, you can hit the X button to execute an action that is special to each creature. During these attacks, you will have to input certain button commands similar to a Cinematic Action. Each creature has its own Feral Link bar and it can really pay off to have all three of your creatures synchronized before a boss battle. Keep in mind that ending a battle with a Feral Link attack will increase your odds of gaining the enemy creature as a companion.

Paradigm Recommendations:

1. Commando, Ravager, Ravager (default)

1. Commando, Ravager, Medic

1. Commando, Commando, Ravager

1. Commando, Commando, Medic

1. Sentinel, Sentinel, Medic (or Sentinel if you have one)

1. Ravager, Ravager, Ravager

If you want to pick up a sentinel, you can head back to New Bodhum (3AF) to try and get the Pulsework Soldier that you fought earlier. It will set you back some time but having a Sentinel creature will make your life a lot easier.

Creatures:

• Gremlin*

• Nekton

• Meonekton

• Hoplite

• Pulsework Knight

Alright, so you’ve tamed two creatures and set up your paradigms, so go W and then N up the stairs. About half way up, Atlas’ arm will come through a wall but it won’t do anything else. To your right will be a wall that follows the stairs down. You can jump over this later with a special ability or a chocobo but for right now, don’t be too concerned with it. At the top of the stairs, make your way to the W and you’ll come to a small camp with a Time Gate. You’ll also find another Chocolina shop here and one of the guards will give you a side quest to find a couple of experimental drugs that have been lost.

Before leaving this area, turn W. While you’re facing the pathway that leads out of this area, you should see a guard just to the left of that archway. Walk up to him and you should see a faint outline of a Treasure Orb floating in space but you can’t interact with it. Talk to the guard and you’ll learn Moogle Hunt. Hit the RB/R1 button to activate Moogle Hunt and Mog will pull things that are only partially in this world the rest of the way in. In this case, the Treasure Orb will completely materialize so open it to collect a Wild Artefact which is used to open extra Time Gates aside from the Story Gates.

If you would like, you can head back to the excavation area for another phased Treasure Orb. This orb is just to the W of the guard who checked your papers before you entered the ruins behind some crates.

Atlas Stumbled

From the camp by the N most time gate, head W. If you head into the tunnel, it will wrap around to the S and then come to a cavern. If you head left, you will find a Treasure Orb at the dead end and if you follow this cavern to the W, it will go back N and meet up with the other path outside. From here, head N until you see a closed gate to your left, a ramp to the N, and a path to the right. Go up the ramp and into the tunnel. Before you get there, Atlas will appear again and you’ll be asked what you want to do. Choose to use the control device and then head up the ramp.

When you get inside the next cavern, you will see a few platforms above water. The left platform will have Chocolina’s shop and the right platform will have a phased Treasure Orb. Make your way N and then turn right (E) and follow the tunnel. This tunnel will eventually lead to a large room with some kind of device in the middle. Activate the device to be sucked into a Time Paradox.

To resolve this time Paradox, you need to collect all of the crystals without falling. Stepping on a tile will cause it to start to disappear. It’s good to think through how you’re going to get the crystals and get to the gate at the end before you move.

Puzzle 1:

From the starting tile, move forward 4 spaces, go left one space to pick up the first crystal. Go forward one space, right two spaces and then forward one space to pick up the second crystal. From here, go left one space and then forward to the Gate.

Puzzle 2:

Move forward four spaces, move right one, up two spaces (crystal). Move left one space and down one space (crystal 2) then left one space (crystal 3). From here, move up three spaces (crystal 4), right one space and then up to the Gate at the end.

Puzzle 3:

Move up four space, left two (crystal 1), then up 1 (crystal 2). From here, move two spaces right and one space up (crystal 3). Move one space right, one space up (crystal 4), and then two spaces left (crystal 5). From here, just move up to the gate.

Solving this puzzle will grant you the Delicate Crystal Fragment. You can also now use the controls for Atlas. This will slow Atlas down. Head back out of the tunnel and down the ramp. Once outside, keep heading E to fight Atlas. Just before you reach him, you should pass Chocolina’s shop on the right and a Treasure Orb with a tuft of Phoenix Down in it on the left.