 |
The Patron's Palace
- After Lightning's grand entrance, you'll wind up in the Hero's Garden. If you take a left you'll find a big batch of Chaos, and you can use it to collect Soul Seeds and get into some more dangerous (but more profitable) battles with the local enemies. Otherwise, take a right and head into the Palace.
- Now you're in the Gallery of Delights. Follow the path up the stairs and through the Gallery until you see something dire ahead: another patch of Chaos, this one unavoidable. Fortunately, the enemies aren't too tough... and that's probably because you're back in the game's very first room. Huh. Use the stairs to your left to get up to the balcony.
- Head northeast. Yep, same way you went last time you came through here. (If you check out the opposite set of stairs, you'll find some Gold Dust at the bottom.)
- Follow the trail through here, as you did before. This time, there will be several patches of Chaos to make the enemies harder - and to provide you with lots of Soul Seeds. Ooo, profit.
- Watch out for the Zaltys! It'll appear in the same room as before, and this one is stronger than the last. Same process for killing it, mind, but still. This is a good spot for farming Fira, if you have time enough to keep killing Zaltys spawns.
- Through to the next door, where you got stopped last time. This time you can get through with your ID Card. Onward!
- After a cloud of Chaos you'll find a locked door. Hit the wall switch to open it up. Run through.
- You'll run into a large room with a ladder to your left. Go up the ladder and you'll run through a cloud of Chaos; on the other side you'll be at the top of the previous room again, beside a sphere containing a Lv. 2 Flamestrike. Get this, as it's reeeeeally good for an upcoming battle.
- Run through the bottom floor of this room and take a right when you have the chance. Eventually you'll come out in a large room full of Chaos, and if you're unlucky a Zaltys will appear. Unless you've been extra training, I don't recommend this fight. Leave and come back in to make something else appear instead, preferably an Anubys or something weaker.
- Climb the crates to your left when you enter. They lead to an adjoining corridor. Follow it south to appear in the previous room; you'll come out beside a wall switch. Hit it to make a gate back on the ground floor lower.
- Hop down and go through. Go right to find a sphere containing a Heavy Guard Lv. 2, then backtrack and go left instead.
- Another large room with a switch ahead. Hop down, then jump onto the next set of crates directly ahead. Behind them you'll find a short hallway leading to a ladder. Climb it to get to the switch, as well as a sphere containing a Frostbane Choker.
- Go through the door. Beyond you'll find a Supplier who's willing to sell you items in preparation for the battle ahead. He sells Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs; you'll definitely want a mix of both, if you don't have anything else.
- Climb the stairs. The door to Snow is frozen shut. Yeesh. Take a right to find aProphecy of Aspiration, then follow the path back west and up the ladder you find.
- You'll soon find a room with a ladder in the middle. Climb it and follow the path it leads to. You'll find a switch to hit to trigger another door gate.
- Beyond are a pair of Chaos-imbued Anubys which you have no choice but to kill. This is understandably a difficult fight, but it's not so bad if you focus more on defense. Watch them closely and wait for the perfect moment to throw up your guard. Staggering will get them off your back in a hurry. It's a lot easier if you can group them together and hit both simultaneously with a second-level spell, such as the Fira that came attached to Femme Fatale.
- Snow's room is up ahead. Check the pendant on the table to enter a cut scene.Serah's Pendant is now yours.
- Hop through the hole in the floor and you'll land in a batch of Chaos. Make your way back to the Supplier, build up your supplies again if you used them up making the trip upstairs (probably), save, and inspect the frozen door.
Snow Villiers
Hoo boy! Like Noel before him, Snow is quite the handful. A lover of icy attacks, Snow spends the fight either stalking around the battlefield slowly or diving headlong towards you to deliver quick, powerful punches. He's a vicious opponent, and one you can't take lightly for a second. Fast timing is essential to your survival.
- He'll zip forward and perform a regular punch. Snow will likely do this first thing in the battle, so be ready to guard.
- He'll use Chaos Geyster, an attack that hits Lightning anywhere on the field. He'll wait about a second and a half before it goes off; time accordingly.
- He'll use Riposte. Don't hit him when Riposte goes up, as it'll trigger a painful counterattack. He also has a magical version of this called Recast, with similar results if you persist.
- He'll use Impact Driver. Snow will draw his arm back, then zip in faster than you can hope to track. As soon as his arm goes back, guard. Otherwise you won't stand a chance.
- He'll perform a three-hit punching sequence, and the end of which he'll use Brutal Bash. Similar to Impact Driver, he pulls his arm back before delivering the blow. Ow.
- He'll cast Blizzara. Pretty simple - watch for the incoming wisp of magic.
- He'll use Chaos Charge. During this short sequence, Snow will stop attacking and spend a few seconds charging up. When he's done he'll have a few buffs attached. This is a fantastic opportunity to sweep in and stagger him, which will also cancel out the buffs.
- After you've taken off more than half of his health, Snow will use Depths of Despair. This will cause him to transform into a more monstrous Cie'th self. Not only will he gain a great deal more attack power, Snow will also start using the Damnation attack, in which he rears his arm up and slams down. If this hits... good luck to you if this hits. Guard just as the arm slows down for a brief second in the delivery.
Snow's name says it all, really: he's vulnerable to fire. Use this to your advantage by staying back and launching a bevy of fiery spells at him. Whenever he gets in close, go on the defensive and pull up an ATB that's nice and full so you can guard against his numerous, swift attacks. Be careful attacking when Riposte and Recast come up, as he'll almost always do them in the middle of their respective targets - and if you're careful, you can take advantage of his temporary lull to use the opposite attack. The same goes for Chaos Charge, though you can use whatever attack you like in this case.
In the end, beating on Snow is mainly a matter of patience and persistence. He has a lot of HP, and his attacks are brutal, but he's not invincible. Keep at him with your attacks and spells and he will eventually go down.
- Trouncing Snow will prompt an emotional cut scene, and once that's done Lightning will be on her way - though she mustn't neglect the Ghostly Hood sitting nearby. Woo!