You’ll want to head N. If you don’t have the mini-map in the upper right then hit the back/select button to open it. You can adjust the settings for the map in the options menu by hitting the Y/triangle button. By default, the map is stationary and always points N. Jump over the broken fence and head for the wooden ramp that leads up and to the right. When you get close to it, you’ll be given the tutorial about the Mog Clock.
Enemies in this game can already be present on the map or (more frequently) they can appear through a rift in time. These rifts will be quite sudden and when the enemy appears it will be disoriented for a second. If you manage to swing your sword and hit them (using A or X) then you will begin combat with an advantage. You will deal a small amount of damage, all enemies will start with their chain gauge at 120% and your party will start with the haste status effect which makes your ATB gauge fill more quickly.
Immediately after you finish the tutorial, an enemy will appear. Hit it to start combat with your advantages. This enemy is a Pulsework Soldier and is a prime example of why staggering is important. In some cases, staggering does more than cause extra damage or cause the enemy to stumble, it will change the enemy. In this case, without staggering the enemy, you will do very minimal damage but once he is stagger, his midsection will open up revealing his core. When you attack him while he’s like this, he will take significantly more damage. Use the Slash and Burn paradigm to cause stagger and then change back to Double Trouble.
In Double Trouble, both characters will be Commandos which do more damage than Ravagers but can’t build the chain gauge nearly as fast. They do have an important role in gauge building though because they slow the speed at which the gauge drains and resets itself. Ideally, you want one commando in the party while building the gauge OR at least have one attack the enemy every few turns (through paradigm shifting) to keep the gauge from draining too quickly. Also keep in mind that after staggering, if the enemy is tough, it may benefit you to keep Ravagers in the party because the higher the chain gets, the more damage you will do.
However, in the case of the Pulsework Soldier, once he is staggered, he will fall with probably a single turn with two commandos. Once he is defeated, hop up onto the ramp and then onto the giant root and piece of land beyond. As soon as you hop off of the root, turn right and you should see a treasure orb at the corner of this platform.
Walk forward a little ways and you’ll be able to talk to Noel about Cocoon. After you are done talking, you can wander around the area and talk to all of the NORA troops in the area, including the leaders. This will lead to Live Triggers and possible rewards (as well as some fun dialog). Watch out for monsters on the way and enjoy the Live Triggers as you like.
You’ll only actually be able to take one route through this section for now. Head down the stairs to the N, take the path that goes slightly NW to come to a settlement area. On the way to the settlement, you’ll pass a Treasure Orb on the right. From here you will U-turn to the left and head back SW. You’ll see some kind of distortion ahead and just to your right. You’ll take another U-turn to the right and head N again. Along the outside of this turn will be another Treasure Orb.
Follow this path N and it will curve to the NE. Eventually it will curve back N and then W. You’ll come out to be over water and the path snakes back around to the crater site. The path will split with a high road to the left and a low road to the right. At the point where the road splits, you’ll find a Treasure Orb. When you are done here, take the low road to meet up with your first Boss, Gogmagog.
Gogmagog
| 4200 HP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Vulnerability | Status Immunity | Misc |
| Fire | Normal | None | Chain Resist: 90 |
| Ice | Normal | None | Stagger: 120% |
| Electric | Normal | None | Phoenix Down |
| Wind | Normal | None | Power Wristband |
| Physical | Normal | None | Untamable |
| Magic | Normal | None | No Role |
After you get a tutorial about Paradigm shifting, you also need to take note of the Items command. This allows you to use items like potions and phoenix down. Since it’s a little bit tougher of a fight and you haven’t unlocked the Medic role yet, it’s important to keep the items command in mind.
For this fight, you need to watch for when Gogmagog goes to execute his Swipe attack. He will make a big wind up and the word Swipe will appear in a red box. When you see this, switch your paradigm over to Twin Shields. Even if you don’t manage to activate any of the abilities, a character in the sentinel role will automatically take less damage anyway. The more people in that role, the stronger the effect for everyone.
Whenever he isn’t using Swipe, you should try and raise his stagger bar. He staggers quite easily. He’ll stagger at 120% and you will likely be able to kill him before the stagger effect wears off. Just use Slash and Burn to raise his stagger bar and then switch back to Double Trouble to finish him. For defeating him, you will be rewarded with your first Fragment. Fragments are pieces of an ancient era that will unlock certain abilities like the ability to use Time Reversal on a specific area allowing you to replay it from the beginning. Some of them will get you bonus abilities from someone in a place called Serendipity which you won’t be able to visit for a while. Collecting fragments is optional but there a large benefits for it.
After Gogmagog is dead, continue on to the crater, open the Treasure Orb on the second small island and then there is another Treasure Orb on the rim of the crater to your left. It can be hard to see but grab that before hopping into the crater. Go down to the meteorite and inspect it.
