Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Trophy Guide & Road Map

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

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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(B), 7(S), 4(G), 1(P)).
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 .

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INTRODUCTION

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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 ライトニングリターンズ神攻略Wiki

FF13ライトニングリターンズ極限攻略データベース

ライトニングリターンズ FF13攻略通信Wiki

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ROAD MAP

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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" (密林の狩人) 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" (団長の挑戦状), in The Wildlands. As far as Magic Garbs are concerned, a few of the best come from the Rare Shop: "Hidden Justice" (ローンレンジャー) and "Witching Hour" (ストリートウィッチ) have Magic +250 and "Vigilance" (タービュランス) 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" (豪刀マッスルチョッパー) dropped by Reaver Omega on my attacker schema with Artemis Arrow, and fully upgraded "Chaos' Revenge" (リベンジオブカオス) 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.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Aeliana
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

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.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Aeliana
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

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.

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TROPHY GUIDE

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Eternal Light

Proof of a true master who has excelled in all things and has collected all possible trophies.

Congratulations are in order, Liberator of Souls!

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/8D1.jpg The Savior's Descent

Proof of one who has mastered the basics of this world and begun a great journey.

It will unlock shortly after the tutorial sections and will be one of the first trophies you earn in Lightning Returns.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/0D4.jpg The Hope of a Promise

Proof of one who has seen through the dark mysteries that lurked in Luxerion, bringing justice.

Awarded upon completion of Story Quest 1-5 in Luxerion, a boss battle with...

[spoiler=noel]

Noel Kreiss. His weakness is Thunder. Look to the Road Map for a one size fits all strategy on how to take down bosses and refer to the video below from MasterLL to see it in action.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC55bRtQt8g]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ 05-Boss Luxerion ~ "Noel" (5â˜…) - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/DE5.jpg Hope at the Edge of Despair

Proof of one who has stood upon the stage in glittering Yusnaan, bringing peace to the Patron.

Awarded upon completion of Story Quest 2-3 in Yusnaan, a boss battle with...

[spoiler=snow]

Snow Villiers. His weakness is Fire. Look to the Road Map for a one size fits all strategy on how to take down bosses and refer to the video below from MasterLL to see it in action.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o0vmGryfHk]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ 13-Boss: Yusnaan ~ "Snow" (5â˜…) - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/C58.jpg The Mystery of the Holy Clavis

Proof of one who has made it through the Dead Dunes to find ancient treasure.

Awarded upon completion of Story Quest 4-5 in The Dead Dunes, a boss battle with...

[spoiler=grendel]

Grendel/Parandeus. His weakness is Wind. Look to the Road Map for a one size fits all strategy on how to take down bosses and refer to the video below from MasterLL to see it in action.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MiT4HW8ViY]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ 18-Boss: Dead Dunes ~ "ãƒ‘ãƒ©ãƒ³ãƒ‰ã‚¥ã‚¹" (5â˜…) [Day 08+] - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/FDB.jpg An Appetite for Chaos

Proof of one who has visited the temple that towers over the Wildlands and touched the great Chaos.

Awarded upon completion of Story Quest 3-3 in The Wildlands, a boss battle with...

[spoiler=caius]

Caius Ballad. He has no particular weakness; magic is all equally viable. Look to the Road Map for a one size fits all strategy on how to take down bosses and refer to the video below from MasterLL to see it in action.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3jYTLTGpJQ]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ 20-Boss Wildlands ~ "Caius" (5â˜…) [Day 08+] - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/FFE.jpg A Legend from Times Past

Proof of the true savior, who overthrew even the god of light to lead the people to a new world.

Awarded upon completion of the final dungeon on Day 13/14 and defeating the last boss...

[spoiler=bhunivelze]

Bhunivelze. He has four forms and the ability to shift his elemental weaknesses; keep scanning him with Libra to ensure you're using the optimal magic. Look to the Road Map for a one size fits all strategy on how to take down bosses and refer to the video below from MasterLL to see it in action.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk0fgR0J6HA]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ Final Boss ~ "ãƒ–ãƒ¼ãƒ‹ãƒ™ãƒ«ã‚¼" (5â˜…) - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/139.jpg Beyond Thirteen

Proof of making the impossible possible by using Eradia to bring the world a 14th day.

Please refer to Monster Bane .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/9B5.jpg A Father, a Son, and a Chocobo

Proof of helping a father and son reunite, bringing back a smile that seemed long lost.

Awarded upon completion of Story Quest 5-1 in The Wildlands, which requires completion of Story Quests 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5 and 5-6 which each involve obtaining a Soul Fragment.

Story Quest 5-2: Follow the baby chocobo outside and open the treasure chest.

Story Quest 5-3: Speak with Chocolina at the Canvas of Prayers and complete the request "Key to Her Heart" (チョコリーナの心の鍵). You need to retrieve the "Beloved Gift" (想い出のコイン) which can be found in a treasure chest in The Wildlands near Aryas Village.

Story Quest 5-4: Bring a Moogle Fragment and a Soul Seed to the Magic vendor in Luxerion. The latter is self-explanatory; the former requires you to visit the Moogle Village in The Wildlands which can be accessed nightly from 19:00 to 3:00. Once there, complete the Side Quest "Peace and Quiet, Kupo" (ちいさな平和のために) which involves defeating a number of Dryads which will spawn in the village. You will be rewarded with a Moogle Fragment.

Story Quest 5-5: Go to the Battle Arena in Yusnaan which is open nightly from 19:00 to 3:00. Participate in a special match against a Zaltys (its weakness is Ice) and win.

Story Quest 5-6: Return to the Dead Dunes and use a Pilgrim Crux to dispel the western sandstorm near the Oasis Lighthouse which will allow you to fight a special enemy, Cactair. All attacks deal 1 Damage to the Cactair and it absorbs Ice, so DO NOT use Ice magic on it no matter what. The easiest way to kill it is via Overclock ---> Scene Drive.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/61E.jpg Deliverer of Salvation

Proof of clearing 5 side quests. It is a fine beginning, but the journey is still long.

Please refer to Angel of Salvation .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/CC6.jpg Angel of Salvation

Proof of clearing 25 side quests. It is a great feat to lead so many souls to salvation.

There are a total of 66 Side Quests in Lightning Returns: 20 in Luxerion, 16 in Yusnaan, 22 in The Wildlands and 8 in The Dead Dunes. The most you can complete in a single playthrough is 65 due to the fact that there is a Side Quest in Luxerion which must be failed in order to access another Side Quest (I'll elaborate on this more in a minute). It's easy to identify when an NPC has a Side Quest you can undertake; there will be 1-3 blue stars next to the NPC's name and the stars represent the difficulty of the quest that he or she has to offer.

Some general advice about Side Quests:

1. Some Side Quests do not appear until you've cleared a certain Story Quest (or often another prerequisite Side Quest) and some Side Quest-bearing NPCs only appear at certain times of the day.

2. Some Side Quests are permanently missable; a couple examples of these include "Fireworks in a Bottle" (酔いどれの花火) and "Fireworks for a Steal" (べらぼうな花火) in Yusnaan, which can only be undertaken from 19:00 to 3:00 while Story Quest 2-2 is active.

3. Some Side Quests have either a time limit or time-sensitive criteria to complete and are failable, one example being "Freedom of the Heart" (心の自由) in Yusnaan. If you do not return and speak to the quest-giver NPC before noon on the day after accepting his request, you can abruptly fail the Side Quest.

The latter two points sound scary I'm sure, but rest assured that these are exceptions rather than the norm; the majority of them are simple and straight-forward. Just be cognizant that although you only need to complete 25 Side Quests for this trophy, 50+ are required in order to access the Ultimate Lair, so it is in your best interest to always keep an eye out for new Side Quests to undertake and to read the requirements of the quests carefully at the time of their acceptance.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Aeliana
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

There is one more Side Quest with particularly unintuitive requirements that deserves a mention: "The Avid Reader" (過去の日記を読む男) in Luxerion from a man named Ranulph. Toward the end of the Side Quest, you will obtain Ranulph's Journal from a woman named Erine in Yusnaan and you'll have the option to either "read" or "don't read" his journal. When you return to Ranulph, if you chose "don't read," you will succeed at this Side Quest. If you chose "read," you will fail at this Side Quest but become able to undertake the "To Save the Sinless" (罪なき魂を救うために) Side Quest which would otherwise not be accessible. In other words, you can only succeed at either "The Avid Reader" or "To Save the Sinless" in a given playthrough - one or the other, not both. The latter has a much better reward (the "Dark Knight" Garb) so I recommend you do it first.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/374.jpg The Chocobo's Savior

Proof of nursing the holy chocobo back to full health among the rich pastures of the Wildlands.

You'll rescue the holy chocobo "Angel of Valhalla" in Story Quest 3-1 and begin nursing it back to health in Story Quest 3-2. You can ride it and it will fight alongside Lightning in battles once it's back on its feet, but it won't be able to hover across far distances (which is required to continue onward to Story Quest 3-3, as well as to begin the Story Quest 5-1 line) until it has recovered further. For this trophy, it needs to recover back to maximum health beyond the scope of what's required to proceed with the Story Quests, which means you need to continue feeding it.

There are a number of sources of food for our feathered friend:

Gysahl Greens: Talk to Sarala in Compass Farm to receive one, feed it to the chocobo, then talk to her again later to initiate the "A Father's Request" (娘の想い、父の願い) Side Quest. Speak with the Wandering Man in the Jagd Forest, then search around for fertilizer/shovels - there's half a dozen or so to be found, and Sarala can make use of up to four of them (bringing back the maximum of four is ideal). Turn these in to her and you'll complete the Side Quest as well as become able to cultivate seeds to grow more Gysahl Greens.

Sheep Milk: Talk to the Innkeeper in Canopus Farm to receive one and feed it to the chocobo. You can obtain another from the Side Quest "Fuzzy Search" (迷えるもこもこたち) in Aryas Village to the south from 6:00 to 18:00, simply herd the three sheep back into their pen. The chef in Aryas Village can also prepare Delicious Dinners to feed the chocobo.

Chocobull: Talk to the Head Hunter at the entrance to Canopus Farm to receive one and feed it to the chocobo. The doctor at the camp in Jagd Forest can make more if you bring her 8x Chocoborel (which can be found all throughout the forest from 6:00 to 18:00) and 6x Slug Sweets (common drop from Rafflesia).

Yule Flowers: Talk to Nadia at the camp in Jagd Forest to start the "Chocobo Cheer" (チョコボのはげまし) Side Quest which requires you to seek out a Yeul Flower to feed to the chocobo. There are four Yeul Flowers in The Wildlands, one in each quadrant of the map, and the easiest one to find is actually located right next to where you defeated the Chocobo Eater in Story Quest 3-1. Yeul Flowers respawn on a daily cycle and note that even if you come across a Yeul Flower before activating this Side Quest, the chocobo won't be able to eat it; activation of the Side Quest is a prerequisite.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/E38.jpg Lizard Lariat

Proof of hunting down more than 30 lizards in the shifting sands of the Dead Dunes.

As you explore The Dead Dunes, you'll notice a lot of little lizards in the sands of the desert; they are not enemies to be battled, you simply press to swing Lightning's sword and kill them. They drop Lizard Tails which can be turned in for a few Canvas of Prayers requests. Simply kill 30 of these lizards and you'll meet the requirements for this trophy.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/2A4.jpg Crimson Rebirth

Proof of restoring a sword, once broken, to its former glory and power.

Remember Lightning's sword that was broken in the opening cinematic? You need to repair it, and it can only be done in the final dungeon on Day 13/14.

The circular room right before the last boss has an altar in its center and four doors leading to "trials" Lightning can conquer. These trials are optional in terms of story progression; you are able to waltz right by them and take on the last boss, but if you want this trophy, you need to beat all four. Three of the four are very easy but one features a buffed Earth Eater enemy; hopefully you got good practice fighting them in The Dead Dunes. Completing a trial rewards you with an Ultimate Magic (Flare, Chill, Surge, Tornado) as well as shines a beam of light down onto the altar in the center of the room.

Once you've beaten all four trials, approach the aforementioned altar and Lighting will receive Ultima Weapon and Ultima Shield. They are extremely powerful and can be used in the battle against the last boss, but don't get too attached to them: they do not transfer to NG+.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/578.jpg Queen of the Arena

Proof of achieving victory in the lists of the Battle Arena 10 times.

As the description states, win 10 times in the Battle Arena - it is located on the west end of Yusnaan and open nightly from 19:00 to 3:00. You'll already have to fight in the arena several times over the course of the Story Quests: 3 times in Story Quest 2-2 for the "Midnight Mauve" Garb and once more in Story Quest 5-5 for a Soul Fragment. The Side Quest "Craftsman's Taboo" (技工士の禁忌) in Yusnaan also has a fight in the Battle Arena, so you can knock out 5 of the 10 wins required en route to the completion of other tasks. Simply fight 5 more matches to unlock this trophy. Battle Arena matches are not particularly hard at all and are almost all comprised of regular enemies you've encountered before.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/812.jpg Seed Collector

Proof of a brave warrior who has managed to claim 50 soul seeds from the Chaos.

"Chaos Zones," dark spheres that engulf the surrounding environment, will appear at set times/locations on each of the four continents. Battles fought in a Chaos Zone will have significantly stronger enemies than usual who reward greater amounts of GP and Gil as well as have the potential to drop better items. Once you defeat an enemy in a Chaos Zone, the Chaos Zone will disappear at that location until its next set spawn time - but before you engage in battle to clear out a Chaos Zone, you have the opportunity to look around for Soul Seeds. They look like bright purple sparkles on the ground and there will be zero at a minimum, three at a maximum available to harvest; you need to collect a total of 50 Soul Seeds for this trophy, and 100 Soul Seeds for Unearthly Apothecary should you decide to use the "Standard (But Slightly Grindy) Method" I described there.

Beyond diligently exploring Chaos Zones as you come across them, there are a couple of efficient farming techniques:

1. The "Death Game" (デスゲーム) Side Quest in Yusnaan. It becomes available after completing the "Gabble Suppression War" (ガッブル討伐大作戦) Side Quest, also in Yusnaan and available once you are on Story Quest 2-2. Completing the Gabble Suppression War rewards you with a Death Game Ticket key item, allowing you to participate in the Death Game. Death Game throws you into a warehouse area *that is constantly under the effect of Chaos Zone* for 4 hours; the goal of the Side Quest is to collect 30 Death Game Points by defeating 30 Chaos Zone-buffed enemies within the 4 hour time limit. You are awarded the Dragoon Garb if you succeed, but you don't want to achieve that goal - at least not right away - because this is an excellent opportunity to farm for Soul Seeds. Run around collecting as many as you can and let the time limit expire without reaching 30 Death Game Points. You will be kicked out, not having succeeded at the quest, but you can continue to retry it and re-enter the warehouse over and over again until satisfied with your haul of Soul Seeds.

2. The bridges connecting the four continents. If you're on Day 9-13 and have met the requirements of Globetrotter , the bridges are an excellent source of Soul Seeds. Chaos Zones spawn on them very frequently and all the enemies are "big enemies" which reward 4+ GP upon defeat. Simply spam Chronostasis and run back and forth across the bridges of your choice, collecting Soul Seeds as you go, and fight a battle or two to refill your GP when it runs low.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/1D3.jpg Perfect Passenger

Proof of riding upon all of the great monorail lines that cross this shrinking world.

As the description states, simply ride on all four of the monorail lines - in both directions - to travel between the four continents:

1. Luxerion <---> Yusnaan

2. Luxerion <---> The Wildlands

3. Luxerion <---> The Dead Dunes

4. The Wildlands <---> The Dead Dunes

Edited March 1, 2014 by Aeliana
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/85C.jpg Globetrotter

Proof of building strong bridges to span the depths between continents, making all the world one.

On Day 9, 3 new requests will appear on the Canvas of Prayers: "Roadworks I" (大街道開通 I), "Roadworks II" (大街道開通 II) and "Roadworks III" (大街道開通 III). Each requires you to retrieve two Key Items and completing them will, as you might've gathered from their titles, open the bridges connecting the four continents, allowing you to travel between them on foot rather than taking the monorail. Doing so is not only necessary for this trophy, but it will assist in the Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary efforts quite a bit.

Roadworks I: Make sure to *accept the quest* from the bulletin board first to receive a key item which will be necessary to obtain the two key items you need for the quest. The two key items are located at the bridge gates in Luxerion and The Wildlands.

Roadworks II: The two key items are located in The Wildlands (Aries Hill, Base of the Tower) and The Dead Dunes (Oasis Lighthouse).

Roadworks III: The two key items are located in Yusnaan (Underground Passage) and The Dead Dunes (Beast Graveyard).

Video courtesy of PowerPyx:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwpMVOjrZJU]Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Globetrotter Trophy / Achievement Guide (Roadworks Quests) - YouTube[/ame]

And, on a fun side-note for fans of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, in addition to connecting continents, the rewards from these three quests are Uldah, Gridania and Limsa Lominsa-themed Swords and Shields.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/C6D.jpg A Helping Hand

Proof of clearing 25 quests that have appeared writ on the Canvas of Prayers.

In addition to Story Quests and Side Quests, Chocolina administers the Canvas of Prayers, a third set of quests you can undertake from a bulletin board. The overwhelming majority of them are extremely easy, simply requiring you to turn in X number of common drops from monsters. The rewards from them also tend to be much less enticing than those from Story Quests and Side Quests, which should place the Canvas of Prayers at the bottom of your priority list in terms of time management. Simply check it now and then when you are in the vicinity of one of the bulletin boards, and if you have the materials required to complete a quest on-hand, feel free to do so, but don't go too far out of your way to grind unless you are a true completionist beyond the scope of the trophy set.

There are a total of 83 Canvas of Prayers requests in the game; you only need to complete 25 for this trophy. 1 request is required for Story Quest 5-3 and another 3 requests are required for the Globetrotter trophy, so that leaves a balance of 21 additional requests you need to complete which should come naturally over the course of normal gameplay.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/0CB.jpg Novice Swordsmith

Proof of improving your first weapon. Did you make something worthy?

Please refer to Expert Swordsmith .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/094.jpg Novice Shieldsmith

Proof of improving your first shield. Use it wisely to guard yourself.

Please refer to Expert Shieldsmith .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/51F.jpg Novice Synthesist

Proof of synthesizing your first ability. Did it prove useful?

Please refer to Expert Synthesist .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/494.jpg Novice Craftsman

Proof of upgrading your first accessory. Did you find the experience thrilling?

Please refer to Expert Craftsman .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/0FD.jpg Novice Stylist

Proof of customizing your first schema. Continue on this path to find your own style.

A schema is simply a combination of a Garb, a Sword, a Shield and a set of Abilities (with optional Accessories/Decorations), so in other words, "equip Lightning." You will have to do this at the beginning of the game - and many, many times thereafter - so this will be one of the first trophies you earn in Lightning Returns.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/31F.jpg Novice Artist

Proof of customizing the color of one of your garb. Let your true colors shine through.

While customizing a schema, you have the option to change colors on the selected Garb; it is purely for cosmetic purposes. This easy Bronze will unlock upon changing colors for the first time and will be one of the first trophies you earn in Lightning Returns.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/632.jpg Expert Swordsmith

Proof of modifying weapons 30 times.

Novice Swordsmith and Expert Swordsmith require you to be in NG+, having defeated the last boss in a previous playthrough. Armory vendors in NG+ will add "Modify Sword" to their list of services; using it requires materials that can be purchased from Information/Rumor vendors as well as found in NG+ chests on The Ark. You need to perform 30 Sword modifications to unlock these trophies; it can be done across multiple Swords or on a single Sword, and it must be done in 30 separate transactions. That is to say, if you are maxed out on synthesis materials and choose to upgrade a Sword from its weakest state to its strongest state in a single upgrade, it will only count as 1 of the 30 required. But if you use the minimum materials required to perform the minimum upgrades and rinse/repeat for 30 times, you will achieve the same result (a strengthened Sword) and earn much more credit toward this trophy.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/BD5.jpg Expert Shieldsmith

Proof of modifying shields 30 times.

Novice Shieldsmith and Expert Shieldsmith require you to be in NG+, having defeated the last boss in a previous playthrough. Armory vendors in NG+ will add "Modify Shield" to their list of services; using it requires materials that can be purchased from Information/Rumor vendors as well as found in NG+ chests on The Ark. You need to perform 30 Shield modifications to unlock these trophies; it can be done across multiple Shields or on a single Shield, and it must be done in 30 separate transactions. That is to say, if you are maxed out on synthesis materials and choose to upgrade a Shield from its weakest state to its strongest state in a single upgrade, it will only count as 1 of the 30 required. But if you use the minimum materials required to perform the minimum upgrades and rinse/repeat for 30 times, you will achieve the same result (a strengthened Shield) and earn much more credit toward this trophy.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/801.jpg Expert Synthesist

Proof of synthesizing abilities 30 times.

Unlike the Swordsmith, Shieldsmith and Craftsman trophies, Novice Synthesist and Expert Synthesist can be earned on your first playthrough. Simply speak to an Ability vendor and perform 30 simple syntheses, ie. combining "Attack" with a second "Attack" or "Fire" with a second "Fire" to increase their respective damage multipliers, to unlock these trophies.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/356.jpg Expert Craftsman

Proof of upgrading accessories 30 times.

Novice Craftsman and Expert Craftsman require you to be in NG+, having defeated the last boss in a previous playthrough. 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 an upgrade).

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.

Refer to the list below for all Head Accessories and their locations; note that a few are contained in "special" treasure chests that require a GP expenditure to open.

Luxerion:

1. Fighter's Emblem (ファイターサイン)

2. Magician's Token (マジシャンシンボル)

3. Zirconia Brooch (ジルコニアブローチ)

4. Stormbane Choker (耐風の首輪)

5. Samurai's Comb (サムライコーム)

6. Soldier's Feather Pin (武人の羽飾り)

Yusnaan:

7. Wolf's Emblem (狼のエンブレム)

8. Promised Necklace (約束の首飾り)

9. Locked Pendant (ロケットペンダント): Requires 6 GP.

10. Corundum Pin (鋼玉かんざし)

11. Demon Earrings (鬼の耳飾り)

12. Fencer's Earrings (剣闘のピアス): Requires 2 GP.

13. Soldier's Tie (ソルジャータイ)

14. Sight Circlet (心眼のサークレット)

15. Frostbane Choker (耐氷の首輪)

The Wildlands:

16. Devil Crest (魔性のクレスト)

17. Witch's Rosary (魔女のロザリオ)

18. Sparkbane Choker (耐雷の首輪)

19. Soul of Thamasa (ソウルオブサマサ): Requires 6 GP.

20. Mage's Turban (メイジターバン)

21. Flamebane Choker (耐火の首輪)

22. Tri-Point Coronet (テトラコロネット)

The Dead Dunes:

23. Corsair Scarf (コルセアバンダナ)

24. Silk Scarf (シルクスカーフ): Requires 6 GP.

25. Spiritual Veil (妖精のベール)

26. Silver Barrette (シルバーバレッタ)

27. Guard's Cravat (衛士のクラヴァット)

Edited March 1, 2014 by Aeliana
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

28. Satin Scrunchie (サテンシュシュ)

29. Cursed Band (呪いのチョーカー)

30. Swallow Comb (つばめのくし)

31. Swift Ornament (はやての髪飾り)

Bosses/Last Ones:

32. Falcon Charm (ファルコンチャーム): Aeronite

33. Ghostly Hood (幽霊頭巾): Story Quest 2-3 Boss

34. Preta Hood (餓鬼頭巾): Story Quest 4-5 Boss

35. Early-Blooming Corsage (早咲きのコサージュ): Gorgonopsid Omega

36. Fighter's Hachikane (闘士の鉢金): Cactuar Omega

37. Wild Crest (野性のとさか): Goblin Omega

38. Devil Crest (魔性のとさか): Gremlin Omega

39. Irondragon Scale (甲竜のうろこ): Niblet Omega

40. Dreamdragon Scale (幻竜のうろこ): Goblet Omega

41. Fireseal Jewel (亡火のまがたま): Zaltis Omega

42. Frostseal Jewel (亡氷のまがたま): Miniflan Omega

43. Sparkseal Jewel (亡雷のまがたま): Hanuman Omega

44. Stormseal Jewel (亡風のまがたま): Zomok Omega

45. Skeleton's Earring (骸骨の耳輪): Rafflesia Omega

46. Warrior Hunter's Mask (武者狩りの覆面): Triffid Omega

47. Mage Hunter's Mask (魔人狩りの覆面): Schrodinger Omega

48. Bandit Scarf (流賊のマシャッダ): Desert Sahagin Omega

49. Toasty Shawl (ぬくぬくショール): Gurangatch Omega

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/976.jpg Expert Stylist

Proof of obtaining 30 different garb.

Garbs can be obtained via treasure chests on The Ark, purchased from a number of vendors on each continent, received as quest rewards, unlocked as you earn trophies, and even bought/redeemed as DLC. At the current time in the Japanese version of Lightning Returns, there are 82 different Garb to collect and at least half of those will come naturally over the course of normal gameplay. Just purchase as many as you can from Clothing vendors when the opportunity arises and this trophy will unlock in no time.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/8F7.jpg Unearthly Apothecary

Proof of obtaining an elixir. It's so rare that it seems almost a waste to use it, doesn't it?

Elixirs are the best consumable items in the game, granting full HP, ATB and GP restoration as well as buffing you with Bravery, Faith, Protect, Shell and Haste.

Collect and turn in a total of 100 Soul Seeds to the Magic vendors. Soul Seeds reset in NG+ so this task is not cumulative and must be done in a single playthrough. Please refer to Seed Collector for more information on Soul Seeds and the best farming locations/techniques.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/27A.jpg Holy Garb of Destruction

Proof of obtaining the ultimate garb, imbued with destructive magic.

Please refer to Monster Bane .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/E37.jpg Monster Bane

Proof of mastering all creation and conquering even the Ultimate Lair.

Complete all five Story Quest lines as well as 50+ Side Quests in order to unlock the Ultimate Lair on Day 13. If you do not complete enough Side Quests, usually you'll be thrust into the last dungeon on Day 13, but unlocking the Ultimate Lair will shift that to Day 14, thus fulfilling the requirement of the Beyond Thirteen trophy.

The Ultimate Lair has 33 Floors: Floors 1-28 each have a battle with a Last One, Floors 29-32 each contain a treasure chest, and Floor 33 has the boss - Ereshkigal - who you must defeat in order to obtain this trophy and Holy Garb of Destruction . This dungeon is unique in the fact that *the clock does not stop during battles* while in the Ultimate Lair, which means you have to get to Floor 33 as well as defeat Ereshkigal in under 24 in-game hours. Upon completing a floor, you'll have the option to proceed directly to the next floor or to jump ahead two or three floors; jumping ahead enables you to reach Floor 33 faster and safer.

Here is a list of what to expect on each floor:

Floor 1: Hoplite Omega

Floor 2: Niblet Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 3: Zaltys Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 4: Gaunt Omega

Floor 5: Gremlin Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 6: Dreadnaught Omega

Floor 7: Gorgonopsid Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 8: Goblet Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 9: Gurangatch Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 10: Ectopudding Omega

Floor 11: Miniflan Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 12: Aster Protoflorian Omega

Floor 13: Schrodinger Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 14: Goblin Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 15: Reaver Omega (Drops the "Muscle Chopper" Sword)

Floor 16: Meonekton Omega

Floor 17: Cactuar Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 18: Triffid Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 19: Cyclops Omega

Floor 20: Skeleton Omega

Floor 21: Desert Sahagin Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 22: Earth Eater Omega

Floor 23: Skata'ne Omega

Floor 24: Hanuman Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 25: Zomok Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 26: Dryad Omega

Floor 27: Rafflesia Omega (Drops Accessory)

Floor 28: Chocobo Eater Omega

Floor 29: Treasure Chest: X-Potion

Floor 30: Treasure Chest: Refresher

Floor 31: Treasure Chest: Phoenix Down

Floor 32: Treasure Chest: Ether

Floor 33: Ereshkigal (Drops the "Ultimatum" Garb)

The fastest and easiest route to Ereshkigal is Floor 1 --> 4 --> 7 --> 10 --> 13 --> 16 --> 18 --> 21 --> 24 --> 27 --> 29 --> 30 --> 31 --> 32 --> 33, though I do recommend trying to farm as many of the Accessory-dropping Last Ones as you can in preparation for Expert Craftsman as well as pick up the "Flesh Render" Sword from Reaver Omega on Floor 15. Floor 22 is particularly tough and should be avoided unless you're up for a challenge. And if you haven't already unlocked them, you should receive Harbinger of Death and Goddess of Death during your time here.

Ereshkigal is a much easier battle than Aeronite and can be approached in a similar fashion (refer to Desert Dragonslayer below) for a definite win: "Soldier of Peace" Garb for Artemis Arrow, Magic schemas with Fira/Thundara, Deshell, Deprotect and Bio, a few revival items (ie. Phoenix Downs) and as many GP recovery items (ie. Elixers, Ethers, Turbo Ethers) as you can carry. Spam him with Thundara, Overclocking as necessary, until you've achieved Knockout four times. At this point, you can either Artemis Arrow him to death while repeatedly Overclocking or simply stick Bio on him and watch his HP whittle itself down to nothing.

Refer to the video below by MasterLL for an excellent demonstration of how to take down Ereshkigal:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4qCiDm6bC0]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ Optional Boss ~ "ã‚¨ãƒ¬ã‚*ã‚·ãƒ¥ã‚¬ãƒ« Ereshkigal - 1st Run Normal" (5â˜…) - YouTube[/ame]

You will receive the "Ultimatum" Garb for your efforts and unlock both Holy Garb of Destruction as well as Monster Bane for completing the Ultimate Lair.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/540.jpg Desert Dragonslayer

Proof of victory over the dragon Aeronite who brought terror to the Dead Dunes.

Arguably the most difficult trophy in Lightning Returns. You must defeat the optional boss Aeronite that spawns in The Dead Dunes from Day 7 and onward. He circumnavigates the desert sands in a counter-clockwise pattern; refer to the image below for his approximate location based on the time of day:

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd512/Shiguma/Aeronite_zpsbbe58f97.jpg

There is an invisible time-limit to defeating Aeronite. If you don't achieve Knockout on him quickly enough, he'll fly away and escape from the battle and it will take several in-game hours for him to respawn in The Dead Dunes. His attacks include -Ga level spells and Ultimate Magic such as Freeze, and he has a number of special moves that can deal 10,000+ Damage and can one-shot Lightning. On Easy Difficulty, Aeronite has somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000,000 HP and you need to achieve Knockout on him *four times* before his defenses are lowered enough to begin dealing a significant amount of damage back to him.

You should be on NG+ to have a decent chance at winning, with at least ~3000 Attack/Magic, 8 GP and 10 Item slots. Bring at least 4 revival items (ie. Phoenix Downs), 4 GP recovery items (ie. Elixirs, Ethers, Turbo Ethers) and 1 item that can grant Bravery (ie. Bravery Potion). The "Soldier of Peace" Garb is a must for Artemis Arrow, and your Magic schemas should have Fira, Deshell and Deprotect among their spells. It's also not a bad idea to equip Fog/Pain-resistant Accessories.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Terminator
Guide Revisions by Terminator, 03/02/2019.

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

Spam Aeronite with Fira, Overclocking as necessary, in order to achieve the first four Knockouts ASAP. Try to stick Deprotect and Deshell on him as well; he'll resist it at the beginning, but as he gets weaker and weaker with each Knockout as the battle progresses, it will become easier to land. Once you've knocked him out for the fourth time, immediately use your Bravery-granting item (ie. Bravery Potion) to increase your Attack, hit Overclock, and go to town with Artemis Arrow. If you continue repeatedly Overclocking (I hope you brought a lot of Ethers!) Aeronite won't have an opportunity to recover from Knockout and you can basically destroy him as he lays helpless on the ground.

Refer to the video below by MasterLL for an excellent demonstration of how to take down Aeronite:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6hZ_apd_D8]ã€ŒLightning Returns: FF13ã€ Optional Boss ~ "ã‚¢ã‚¤ãƒ*ãƒãƒ¼ãƒˆ Aeronite - 1st Run Normal" - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/CF7.jpg Hero of Might

Proof of victory over 100 foes in battle.

Please refer to Hero of Legend .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/F96.jpg Hero of Glory

Proof of victory over 300 foes in battle.

Please refer to Hero of Legend .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/A9A.jpg Hero of Legend

Proof of victory over 500 foes in battle.

The descriptions for these 3 trophies are extremely misleading because you actually have to win 100, 300 and 500 Battles respectively, not kill 100, 300 and 500 enemies respectively. Fortunately, the wins are cumulative and carries over into NG+ so don't fret if you don't get these trophies in your first playthrough.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/ED0.jpg Fatal Impact

Proof of dealing damage so great that it goes beyond all reason or expectation.

Deal over 100,000 Damage in a single hit. This is extremely easy to do - and it will pretty much come naturally - in NG+ thanks to the "Limit Breaker" (限界突破) skill that you can obtain on The Ark, Day 1. It can be toggled On/Off via the Options menu and the only disadvantage to having it "On" is that Battle Ranking scores are not recorded... but since Battle Ranking scores have no relevance whatsoever to the trophy list, there's really no reason not to turn it on and keep it on once you've unlocked it. Limit Breaker removes caps on your Max HP/Attack/Magic which will amplify damage quite significantly; I was achieving hits in the neighborhood of ~450,000 Damage (at ~3100 Attack with upgraded Swords and Accessories) by the end of my second playthrough.

It *is* however possible to earn this trophy on your first playthrough as well; as usual, I recommend the Artemis Arrow ability from the "Soldier of Peace" Garb, the "Flesh Render" Sword from Apanda Omega, and the best Attack+ Accessories you have. Knockout an enemy (and debuff it with Deprotect, also buff yourself with Bravery for good measure) and let loose with Artemis Arrow.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/609.jpg Seeing Stars

Proof of staggering enemies 50 times with fearsome attacks. Do not ever let them rest!

Self-explanatory. Stagger ("Knockout" in the Japanese version) 50 enemies, which will come naturally over the course of normal gameplay. Use Libra with to scan enemies for their elemental weaknesses and repeatedly pummel them with the appropriate magic type; a "wave meter" will grow in amplitude and the color of the wave will intensify from yellow, to blue, to red, and finally you will break through the enemy's defenses which results in a Staggered state.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/536.jpg Miracle of Light

Proof of one who has used 50 EP.

Self-explanatory. EP ("GP" in the Japanese version) is used for special abilities like Chronostasis and Overclock, casting spells such as Curaga, Esuna and Raise, and even using Escape to run from battles. This will come naturally over the course of normal gameplay as managing your stock of EP and mastering the use of Chronostasis and Overclock is a core gameplay mechanic vital to your success. The trophy will unlock once you've used a cumulative total of 50 EP on such spells and abilities.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/D8C.jpg Perfect Timing

Proof of successfully guarding against an enemy's attack with perfect timing.

Mostly self-explanatory. There is a timing element to guarding enemy attacks and the more precisely you activate a Guard ability to coincide with the timing that the enemy's attack hits you, the more effective the result will be. Unfortunately, there is no on-screen indication of when you should hit the Guard button; you will need to observe an enemy's attack animations and try to press it at the exact moment before you get hit. Odds are this will come naturally over the course of normal gameplay, and it can be earned as early on as the tutorial battles on your very first playthrough if you'd like to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/D16.jpg Harbinger of Death

Proof of defeating your first Last One, the final specimen of a species on the verge of extinction.

Please refer to Goddess of Death .

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/1700/DA3.jpg Goddess of Death

Proof of defeating 10 Last Ones, exterminating forever 10 different species of monster.

Lightning Returns features a gameplay mechanic that allows species of monsters to become "extinct" if you kill a certain number of them. The number varies from monster to monster; for "small monsters" that can spawn in packs of 3 or more, the number required tends to be in the 150-200 area, but for larger and more fearsome "big monsters" such as Apandas, Chocobo Eaters, Cyclops and Dreadnoughts that only single-spawn and reward 4+ GP (on Easy) the number is much lower, around ~50 kills. You can get an idea of how close a species is to extinction via the Enemy Report in the main menu.

Once a species' population has dwindled down to its last member, an "Omega" version (ie. Apanda Omega) of the monster will spawn - this is a "Last One," and it is easily identifiable because it will be an extremely vibrant HOT PINK (that's right, HOT PINK. Maybe more like Hot Purple. Either way, they're pretty hard to miss) in color. Last Ones fight in a similar fashion as their ordinary counterparts but are much stronger and can drop rare and desirable Abilities, Accessories and Weapons upon defeat. Killing one will also result in the species permanently disappearing from the world for the remainder of the current playthrough.

Do be careful not to exterminate Goblet (メガッブル) in the Dead Dunes too quickly; there is a Side Quest in Yusnaan, "Spirit Elixir" (魂の仙薬), which requires you to use an item from an NPC while under the effect of Bio and another item while under the effect of 3 or more status ailments. Goblet is the most reliable enemy in terms of getting debuffed w/ status ailments, Bio in particular, so if you exterminate Goblet before completing the Spirit Elixir quest, you might find it hard - if not impossible - to complete on your current playthrough (Earth Eaters are a viable alternative to get debuffed, but they're tough enemies). This, to my knowledge, is the only extermination to exercise a bit of caution with in terms of unintentional adverse impacts on the rest of the game due to a missing monster species.

But, I digress. You might've gotten the impression that the Last Ones will be an extremely grindy trophy, but fortunately, the Ultimate Lair (a bonus dungeon that becomes accessible on the 13th Day if you've completed all the Story Quests as well as 50+ Side Quests) is FULL of Last Ones - 28 of them to be precise, which makes Goddess of Death practically unmissable because you will have to kill 10+ of them en route to Ereshkigal for Monster Bane and Holy Garb of Destruction . Please refer to the former of those two trophies for more information on the Ultimate Lair.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Terminator
Editorial Sweep

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

Reserved Post.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Aeliana

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

Reserved Post. Feel free to comment from this point forward!

Edited December 24, 2013 by Aeliana

Archavia · December 24, 2013

Oh cool, so you did end up doing one! Haven't looked at it in detail, but it looks good (as is to be expected). Look forward to using it in a few months time.

Setsuna · December 24, 2013

I don't know what I would have done if the new FFXIII title wasn't done by Ryan-chan ~! Great job on the guide, I love you <3

-leaves again for like a month or two-

Aeliana · December 24, 2013

Oh cool, so you did end up doing one! Haven't looked at it in detail, but it looks good (as is to be expected). Look forward to using it in a few months time.

I'd be remiss if I didn't have a Christmas present for PS3T! Thanks brother.

I don't know what I would have done if the new FFXIII title wasn't done by Ryan-chan ~! Great job on the guide, I love you <3

-leaves again for like a month or two-

My guide brought CARY-CHAN out of the woodwork! Never leave us again! *clings* <3

Cetra · December 24, 2013

Splendid.

Merry Christmas!

spearsboy · December 25, 2013

i still don't know how I can get the artemis pierce ability for jungle garb. how do you get it? its the one where she dances around rapidly and attacks right?

Is it a bult in ability to the garb? or do i have to equip something to it? thanks

Warbear · December 25, 2013

Wow, what a great guide!

Much more detailed than the challenging guide. Good luck on the sticky. I will use this when NA gets it.

Aeliana · December 25, 2013

Splendid.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks Cetra, that means a lot coming from you, I know you have high standards. Merry Christmas!

i still don't know how I can get the artemis pierce ability for jungle garb. how do you get it? its the one where she dances around rapidly and attacks right?

Is it a bult in ability to the garb? or do i have to equip something to it? thanks

I believe you're thinking of Scene Drive, a special attack from hitting L1 a second time while under the effect of Overclock. It's really only useful for Afro Sabotender.

You need to have the "Heavy Slash" (強斬り) 50 ATB Ability equipped on Jungle Hunter, then that Heavy Slash slot will turn into Artemis Pierce.

Wow, what a great guide!

Much more detailed than the challenging guide. Good luck on the sticky. I will use this when NA gets it.

Thanks Allie-chan, I sincerely hope everyone likes it!

spearsboy · December 25, 2013

Oh okie, so it doesnt actaully show artemis pierce in the equipping menu? Only shows during battle?

Oh and which garb has the hurricane kick move? I see it in some of the aeronite battle videos

Cetra · December 25, 2013

Oh okie, so it doesnt actaully show artemis pierce in the equipping menu? Only shows during battle?

Oh and which garb has the hurricane kick move? I see it in some of the aeronite battle videos

It does show the Auto Ability in the equipping menu but not in one of your slots.

Blaze Naruto Shippuden · December 25, 2013

Nice guide Aeliana.

orthmann · December 30, 2013

Amazing guide Aeliana. Some considerations of mine (sorry for the lack of proper format, using vita):

- Angel of salvation: there are 66 sidequests, 65 that you can clear and 1 to

fail. 20 luxerion, 16 yusnaan, 22 wildlands, 8 dead dunes

- The chocobo's saviour: the description misleads into thinking that youneed the chocobo at full health to get the story quests, that's not true... after the second time it gets better you can already continue the main story quests. After full health what it enables along after finishing the chapter 3 is the chocobo sidequest.

Other thing is that it has at least 4 yule flowers, 1 in evedy side of the map.. I didn't find any other. Also good to point out they respawn every day.

- Perfect passenger: don't know about others but I had to go to the rails in both ways for the trophy

- Expert swordsmith and shieldsmith: materials for upgrade can also be dropped from monters in hard mode, although hardly relevant for the trophy

- Expert craftsman: I have 54 head accessories

- Desert dragonslayer: I think he has 8M HP, 10M is almost his hp on normal. Other point is I would be more worried against his fog attack than the pain attack.

- Fatal Impact: are you sure enabling the limit breaker will amplify the damage? what it does is remove the 5000 stat cap in str and mag and the 50000 hp cap, it will make no difference if you haven't reached that, hardly the case for a second playthrough (also 5000 stat is enough to get 999999999 damage against the shelled lizards)

- Seeing stars: I would suggest to add there are more ways to knockout the enemies besides the usual blaster way. Also as the other guide you mention the color pattern going from yellow, blue, red.... for me I think is more blue, yellow/orange, red

- Goddess of death: about your recommendation over exterminating Megabble, well I always did that quest with Earth Eaters and anyway you can fight megabble in the ark if you exterminated him to procceed with the sidequest in anycase, but it can make the sidequest impossible if you don't have enough days left either way.

Oh and which garb has the hurricane kick move? I see it in some of the aeronite battle videos

The Fatal Monk garb changes the kick ability to the "hurricane kick".

Darth_Krid · December 30, 2013

*Guide stuck*

Thanks for contributing yet another excellent FF XIII guide to the site, Aeliana. You've completed your own trilogy there

I'll definitely be using this when I get round to getting the game...sometime after I start/finish X-2

Roronora_Zoro666 · December 30, 2013

Congrats all you need now is XIV

Gonna be using your guides so thanks.

Aeliana · December 31, 2013

Amazing guide Aeliana. Some considerations of mine (sorry for the lack of proper format, using vita):

- Angel of salvation: there are 66 sidequests, 65 that you can clear and 1 to
fail. 20 luxerion, 16 yusnaan, 22 wildlands, 8 dead dunes

Oops, it is indeed 66. I even had the same 20/16/22/8 quest counts in the trophy description, apparently I just failed to add 4 numbers correctly, hahah. Thanks, I'll fix that.

- The chocobo's saviour: the description misleads into thinking that youneed the chocobo at full health to get the story quests, that's not true... after the second time it gets better you can already continue the main story quests. After full health what it enables along after finishing the chapter 3 is the chocobo sidequest.
Other thing is that it has at least 4 yule flowers, 1 in evedy side of the map.. I didn't find any other. Also good to point out they respawn every day.

I'll tweak the wording a bit there and mention Yule Flower respawn timing.

- Perfect passenger: don't know about others but I had to go to the rails in both ways for the trophy

I'll mention this as well. Truth be told, I didn't keep track of the individual directions I road the monorails, it just unlocked for me as I was playing naturally.

- Expert swordsmith and shieldsmith: materials for upgrade can also be dropped from monters in hard mode, although hardly relevant for the trophy

Yup, although I'm not gonna mention this one because frankly, if your primary goal is to Platinum LR but you start a New Game on Hard, you're doing it wrong. Unless you have a ton of Gil and intend to drop it all on a Hard-exclusive Sword and then Force NG+ back on The Ark to return to Easy, but I didn't personally do that and I don't think it's necessary to beat Ereshkigal/Aeronite.

- Expert craftsman: I have 54 head accessories

I referenced this list for Head Accessories - Are the extra 5 you have Hard-exclusive? If not, could you let me know which ones I'm missing and the continent/enemy that they're from?

- Desert dragonslayer: I think he has 8M HP, 10M is almost his hp on normal. Other point is I would be more worried against his fog attack than the pain attack.

Thanks, I'll mention Fog in addition to Pain.

- Fatal Impact: are you sure enabling the limit breaker will amplify the damage? what it does is remove the 5000 stat cap in str and mag and the 50000 hp cap, it will make no difference if you haven't reached that, hardly the case for a second playthrough (also 5000 stat is enough to get 999999999 damage against the shelled lizards)

Thanks, I'll tweak the wording on this too. What I meant by "amplify damage" is not "damage magically increases on its own" but rather "you'll gain the ability to inflict greater amounts of damage due to the cap increase." Shoulda phrased it like the latter in the first place!

- Seeing stars: I would suggest to add there are more ways to knockout the enemies besides the usual blaster way. Also as the other guide you mention the color pattern going from yellow, blue, red.... for me I think is more blue, yellow/orange, red

I'm not too concerned about this one; Blaster method is what most people will be used to and this is one of those "everyone's gonna get it naturally in the first few hours" trophies anyway.

- Goddess of death: about your recommendation over exterminating Megabble, well I always did that quest with Earth Eaters and anyway you can fight megabble in the ark if you exterminated him to procceed with the sidequest in anycase, but it can make the sidequest impossible if you don't have enough days left either way.

Oh hmm, I never considered Earth Eaters as a viable source of status-crippling for Spirit Elixir. Honestly I avoided Earth Eaters like the plague for the most part, they're tough and annoying.

Thanks Orthmann, this is a lot of excellent feedback and I definitely respect your opinions, beating me to the Plat and all! *shakes fist*

*Guide stuck*

Thanks for contributing yet another excellent FF XIII guide to the site, Aeliana. You've completed your own trilogy there

I'll definitely be using this when I get round to getting the game...sometime after I start/finish X-2

You are most welcome, Mr. Krid. I hope everyone finds it useful upon the English release.

orthmann · December 31, 2013

Congratulations on the sticky Aeliana

I referenced this list for Head Accessories - Are the extra 5 you have Hard-exclusive? If not, could you let me know which ones I'm missing and the continent/enemy that they're from?

Looking at this list I can see it doesn't show the ones from the last dungeon which alone means 4 head accessories. To be more simple I found this other list (ƒAƒNƒZƒTƒŠ - ƒ‰ƒCƒgƒjƒ“ƒO ƒŠƒ^[ƒ“ƒY FF13 U—ª) with 56 head accessories.... can't believe I missed 2 treasure boxes in Yusnaan

InternHertz · January 3, 2014

Don't know if it's something you want in your guide, but I made an Aeronite strategy in the other one and thought it would be cool to have as a second way of beating it.

Link to post

I have a really easy way to beat him, though it only works in NG+ and beyond.

Style 1 : Fatal Monk (フェイタルモンク) - The Ark, Day11 reward
Weapon: Clouds of Heaven (天の叢雲) - Yusnaan, shop on Hard Mode
Shield: Keiron's Gauntlet (ケイローンの篭手) - Yusnaan, shop Day6 onwards
Acc1: Rocket Necklace (ロケットネックレス) - Yusnaan, upgrade 2 times from the accessory in the 6GP treasure box in front of the station.
Acc2: White Strap (ホワイトストラップ) - Dead Dunes, treasure box in the maze

Style 2 : Cyber Avatar (サイバーアバター) - Yusnaan, shop
Weapon: Blade Lance (ブレードランス) - Dead Dunes, reward for completing the All Lost Ones kill quest
Shield: Black-eyed Susan (ブラックアイドスーザン) - Wildlands, survey corps' camp shop on Hard Mode
Acc1: Ghoul's Crown (餓鬼の冠) - Dead Dunes, upgrade 2 times from drop after chapter 4 story boss
Acc2: Rune Ring (ルーンリング) - Luxerion, treasure box

Style 3 : Peaceful Guardian (静かなるガーディアン) - Yusnaan, shop
Weapon: Revenge of Chaos (リベンジオブカオス) - Wildlands, drop on ground after chapter 3 story boss
Shield: Black-eyed Susan (ブラックアイドスーザン) - Wildlands, survey corps' camp shop on Hard Mode
Acc1: Ghost's Crown (幽霊の冠) - Yusnaan, upgrade 2 times from drop after chapter 2 story boss
Acc2: Guard Glove (ガードグラブ) - Luxerion, treasure box

From there, you just need a Deprotect, Deshell, and a few "-ra" type spells like Thundara, Fira, Blizzara, Aerora spells at your disposition. Oh and lots of Ethers plus a few Phoenix Downs of any kind you want.
Aeronite will do phys. damage? go to Style 3. Immune.
Aeronite will do mag. damage? go to Style 2. Immune.
Aeronite will unleash Fog (フォーグ)? go to Style 1. Immune.
Aeronite will unleash Hell Flare (ヘルフレア)? Pray that you'll live (I survived all attacks with 15-20% HP left) or use a Phoenix Down (any variant works)

Pound him hard with "-ra" spells until you break him 4 times (you can use Deshell during this if you want). As soon as he's good, Deprotect him and go to Style 1, spam your kick and you'll in fact unleash Whirlwind Foot (旋風脚).
Go into Overdrive when you can. After a while, he'll die.

Don't forget to still change styles depending on his attacks.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Trophy Guide & Road Map

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