- Estimated Difficulty: 4.0/10 @ 54 Votes (Platinum Difficulty Rating).
- Estimated Time to Platinum: 40-60 Hours.
- Minimum Number of Playthroughs Required: 2.
- Offline Trophies: 43 (31, 7, 4, 1).
- Online Trophies: 0.
- Difficulty-Related Trophies: 0.
- Glitched Trophies: 0.
- Missable Trophies: Almost all of them, but Expert Craftsman is the most important one to keep an eye on in terms of minimizing the number of playthroughs required to .
INTRODUCTION
This Road Map & Trophy Guide is originally based on the Japanese Version of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. As such, when the English Version is released, there will be inevitable differences in some of the enemy names, item names, location names and so forth. When the time comes, I will need to rely on the community to let me know which names need to be changed. Please leave me a note in this thread or as a Visitor Message and I will make modifications as soon as I can.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII *does not* come with Custom Themes for the XMB, so unlike Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2, you do not need to worry about glitched trophies. You also *do not* need to have Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2 Save Files in order to play (and Platinum) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII... but if you do, you can unlock a couple of extra Garbs, Weapons and Shields as Outworld Rewards.
Finally, please note that this is a Trophy Guide, not a Walkthrough.
Links to external websites with useful information:
English Websites:
Lightning Returns - Collectable Maps (from the Piggyback Guide)
Story walkthrough - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Walkthrough
Japanese Websites:
FF13 ??????????? ???Wiki
FF13?????????????????????
?????? ????? FF13????Wiki
ROAD MAP
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the most non-linear installment of the trilogy; in fact, it might be the most non-linear Final Fantasy ever made (excluding the MMORPG installments). It is also designed to be tackled across multiple playthroughs; almost everything except Key Items and Quest Progress transfers into NG+, so although it can seem daunting at first, Lightning retains her equipment and stats and gets stronger and stronger with each trip through the game. There is a lot of flexibility in terms of how the trophy list can be approached; there are many ways to skin this cat, but my recommendations here are intended to optimize efficiency, getting you to the Platinum in the minimum number of playthroughs required (which is two) and squeeze the most out of your in-game days based on my own experience.
Think of Lightning Returns as something of a hybrid between the style of Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2 and a time management game like the Atelier series or Persona 3/4: There is a countdown timer to the end of the world and Lightning has a limited amount of time to complete the five Story Quest lines as well as many Side Quests and Canvas of Prayers requests as she can until that time limit expires. The clock is constantly counting down by the minute; she starts with 7 Days worth of time (Day 1, with 6 Days Remaining until the end of the world) and Lightning returns to The Ark every morning at 6:00 AM at which time she transfers all her saved souls (via completing the aforementioned quests) to Yggdrasil. If you save enough of them, you can extend the total time limit to a maximum of 14 Days. If you complete the Story Quests and a moderate number of Side Quests required to reach Day 13, the final dungeon will become accessible (and you will be able to fight the last boss and see the game's ending) and if you complete the vast majority of the Side Quests, you will be granted access to the Ultimate Lair bonus dungeon on the 13th Day and the last dungeon on the 14th Day. In light of the time restrictions and the non-linear free roam nature of the game - as well as the number of tasks to be accomplished across the four continents - it can feel overwhelming at first for J-RPG aficionados who are used to a more straight-forward journey, but you will gradually acclimatise to the gameplay system the more you play.
Keep these tips in mind as you begin your journey:
1. At the beginning there are two difficulties available, Easy and Normal, while Hard can be unlocked later. There are no difficulty-related trophies whatsoever, so always play on Easy, on your first playthrough as well as all consequent playthroughs. Enemies drop more Gil on Normal/Hard and there are also Garbs, Weapons and Shields that can only be obtained on the higher difficulties, but it is not required (nor recommended) to play on those difficulties from a trophy-hunting standpoint because the game becomes much harder in terms of boss battles and GP management. Everything you need to do is best and most easily accomplished on Easy.
2. Abuse the hell out of the Chronostasis ability; it "freezes" the time clock for a couple of real life minutes and basically grants you an extra hour or so worth of in-game time. It can be used as much and as often as you'd like, as long as you have the 1 GP (on Easy) required to use it. One of the most critical gameplay mechanics to master is locating where the "big enemies" (that award 4+ GP upon defeat) spawn on each continent and keeping your GP meter mostly full so that you can complete Story Quests and Side Quests while under the effect of Chronostasis. Using Chronostasis skillfully can effectively eliminate the time management mechanic altogether because you will have more than enough time to accomplish everything you need to and then can simply sleep until Day 13/14.
3. Ethers and Turbo Ethers restore GP are the most valuable consumable items in the game, at least as far as my own personal playstyle (and the strategies I will recommend for Monster Bane and Desert Dragonslayer ) are concerned. If/when you obtain one, do not use it recklessly, save it for the aforementioned Ereshkigal and Aeronite boss battles, and buy them whenever you can from blue-named Outworld Service NPCs when the opportunity arises.
4. The "Soldier of Peace" (?????) Garb is one of the best in the game for its ability "Artemis Arrow", which deals a MASSIVE amount of physical damage, even moreso when spammed in conjunction with Overclock. Like Ethers and Turbo Ethers, Artemis Arrow is a critical element to the strategies I will recommend for Ereshkigal and Aeronite boss battles and you should strive to obtain it ASAP. It is a reward from a simple Side Quest, "The Hunter's Challenge" (??????), in The Wildlands. As far as Magic Garbs are concerned, a few of the best come from the Rare Shop: "Hidden Justice" (????????) and "Witching Hour" (?????????) have Magic +250 and "Vigilance" (???????) has Attack +200 and Magic +200. They are well worth the 15,000 Gil price of admission. As for Swords, I used a fully upgraded "Flesh Render" (???????????) dropped by Reaver Omega on my attacker schema with Artemis Arrow, and fully upgraded "Chaos' Revenge" (?????????) from the Story Quest 3-3 boss in The Wildlands on my magician schemas. Shields are a little less relevant, choose whatever ones best fit your playstyle; I personally prefer lighter shields that don't drag my ATB recharge rate down in exchange for HP or better Guarding like a lot of the heavier shields do.
5. As time progresses, Story Quest bosses become stronger; it is highly advisable to defeat them before Day 7 at which time they receive a significant increase in stats. This is especially important for the boss in The Wildlands (Story Quest 3-3) who is the most resilient of the four continental bosses and - even on Easy Difficulty - can be a bit of a challenge on your first playthrough.
All four Story Quest bosses can be easily defeated by the same simple strategy: identify the boss' weakness (use Libra with or simply refer to the Trophy Guide) and hit him over and over with magic of that type until you achieve Knockout. While under Knockout, the boss' defenses will drop drastically and you'll be able to hit him with your strongest attacks for a period of time until he recovers. It's best, however, not to let him recover in the first place; at the cost of 1 GP each use, you can activate Overclock which renders the boss immobile and grants you unlimited ATB for about 10 seconds. As long as you don't run out of GP, you can continue repeatedly Overclocking while pummeling the boss and there won't be anything he can do about it. This is where the Ethers and Turbo Ethers I mentioned earlier come into play; they restore GP and can be used mid-battle, and there isn't a single boss in the game (at least on Easy Difficulty) who will survive a couple dozen GP worth of Overclock spamming and Artemis Arrow.
6. Almost all the trophies in Lightning Returns can be considered missable in a technical sense, but the most missable of the missable trophies is Expert Craftsman which requires you to upgrade 30 Accessories in NG+. In order to upgrade an Accessory, you need to find an Accessory twice, ie. if you find the Accessory "Magician Symbol" in a treasure chest on your first playthrough, you need to find it AGAIN in the same treasure chest on your second (or third, fourth etc.) playthrough in order to upgrade it. To make this a bit more annoying, there are two types of Accessories, "Head" and "Arm" Accessories - Head Accessories can be upgraded, Arm Accessories cannot (if you find a chest containing an Arm Accessory a second time on NG+, you receive Gil rather than the upgrade). Refer to Expert Craftsman for more information, but for the time being, be cognizant of the fact that there are 49 total unique Head Accessories in the game - 31 can be found out in the world and 18 come from defeating Bosses/Last Ones. You *must* obtain at least 30 of those 49 on your first playthrough, otherwise you will be forced beyond the 2 playthrough minimum to Platinum and will need to do a 3rd playthrough.
7. All the trophies except Novice Swordsmith , Novice Shieldsmith , Novice Craftsman , Expert Swordsmith , Expert Shieldsmith and Expert Craftsman can be earned on your first playthrough. Monster Bane , Holy Garb of Destruction and Desert Dragonslayer *can* be earned on your first playthrough (I personally obtained the former two of those three on my first run) but are *significantly* easier in NG+ due to your superior stats and equipment.
8. Remember, this is more-or-less a time management game, which means MAKE MANUAL SAVES FREQUENTLY and in MULTIPLE FILES. You'll undoubtedly make a few mistakes here and there or take a less-than-optimal route to the completion of an objective while acclimatising yourself to the world of Lightning Returns, so it's always nice to have a safety net.
STEP #1: First Playthrough
First and foremost, make sure you read and comprehended the tips above, as well as give the Trophy Guide a thorough read. You'll want to have a high-level idea of all the tasks that need to be accomplished in order to make the most of your time.
Your highest priority is completing all the Story Quest lines, followed by completing 50+ Side Quests, and finally the Canvas of Prayers requests and cleaning up as many of the miscellaneous trophies as you can. Don't stress about the Ultimate Lair and Aeronite at this time, but it wouldn't hurt to check them out in order to get an idea of what you're up against in your second playthrough. Also focus on seeking out at least 30 of the 49 Head Accessories.
Here is a recommended sample schedule for an idea of how to best pace yourself:
DAY 1:
- Prologue 0-1 --> Luxerion 1-1 (~23:45) --> Luxerion 1-2 (0:00~).
- If you have downtime between the aforementioned Story Quests, focus on Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies.
- You'll unlock The Savior's Descent and likely Novice Synthesist , Novice Stylist and Novice Artist at around this time.
DAY 2:
- Luxerion 1-3 (6:00~, 0:00-6:00).
- If you have downtime between the aforementioned Story Quests, focus on Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies.
- I unlocked Deliverer of Salvation , Hero of Might , Perfect Timing and Seeing Stars at around this time.
DAY 3:
- Luxerion 1-4 --> Luxerion 1-5 --> Yusnaan 2-1 (18:00~) --> Yusnaan 2-2 (19:00-3:00) --> Yusnaan 2-3 (3:00-6:00).
- If you have downtime between the aforementioned Story Quests, focus on Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies.
- You'll unlock The Hope of a Promise and Hope at the Edge of Despair . I also unlocked Miracle of Light and Queen of the Arena at around this time.
DAY 4:
- The Wildlands 3-1 --> The Wildlands 3-2 --> The Wildlands 5-1 (Activate 5-2 to 5-6) --> The Wildlands 5-2 --> The Wildlands 5-3 --> The Wildlands 5-4 (Requires visit to Luxerion) --> The Wildlands 5-5 (Requires visit to Yusnaan 19:00-3:00) --> The Dead Dunes 4-1.
- If you have downtime between the aforementioned Story Quests, focus on Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies.
- You'll unlock The Chocobo's Savior and likely Lizard Lariat . I also unlocked Angel of Salvation , Expert Stylist , Expert Synthesist and Hero of Glory at around this time.
DAY 5:
- The Dead Dunes 4-2 --> The Dead Dunes 4-3 --> The Wildlands 5-6 (while in The Dead Dunes) --> The Dead Dunes 4-4 --> The Dead Dunes 4-5 --> The Wildlands 5-1 (Finish it) --> The Wildlands 3-3.
- If you have downtime between the aforementioned Story Quests, focus on Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies.
- You'll unlock The Mystery of the Holy Clavis , A Father, a Son, and a Chocobo and An Appetite for Chaos , and likely Perfect Passenger . I also unlocked A Helping Hand and Hero of Legend at around this time.
DAY 6:
- Buffer day; if you haven't completed all the Story Quests I outlined in Days 1-5, make sure to finish them NOW. Bosses receive a significant boost in stats starting tomorrow on Day 7.
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
DAY 7:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
- Desert Dragonslayer becomes available as Aeronite spawns in The Dead Dunes.
DAY 8:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
DAY 9:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
- Globetrotter Canvas of Prayers requests become available.
DAY 10:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
DAY 11:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
DAY 12:
- Side Quests, Canvas of Prayers and Miscellaneous Trophies (ie. Fatal Impact , Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary ).
DAY 13:
- You'll unlock Beyond Thirteen as the Ultimate Lair becomes available (if you completed all Story Quests & 50+ Side Quests) for Monster Bane and Holy Garb of Destruction .
- Harbinger of Death and Goddess of Death are also easy to obtain at this time.
DAY 14:
- Final Dungeon and Last Boss. You'll unlock A Legend from Times Past and Crimson Rebirth if you repair Ultima Weapon.
Remember, Chronostasis is your best friend in Lightning Returns; the better you are at effectively using Chronostasis and replenishing Lightning's GP, the more you will accomplish in the least amount of in-game time. If you happen to be a time management prodigy and accomplish everything there is to do early on, feel free to pass the time remaining by sleeping at an inn until Day 13/14.
STEP #2: Second Playthrough
I'm assuming you made it to the end of the game in Step #1 and beat the last boss; if not, that's alright, simply NG+ and try again. It will be easier thanks to Lightning's equipment and stats transferring to your next game.
You'll be doing almost all of the same tasks again; complete the Story Quests and 50+ Side Quests (you should be fully familiarized with most of them now) and work toward defeating Ereshkigal in the Ultimate Lair (refer to Monster Bane ) and Aeronite in The Dead Dunes (refer to Desert Dragonslayer ).
You should be able to knock out Expert Swordsmith and Expert Shieldsmith early into this playthrough, while Expert Craftsman will be one of your last trophies since it requires tracking down the same 30 Head Accessories from Step #1 a second time.
STEP #3: Third Playthrough and Beyond (Optional)
Basically clean-up. If there's anything you still haven't accomplished after two thorough playthroughs, finish off whatever's left for the Platinum.
[PST Would Like To Thank Aeliana for this Roadmap]
Further resources: