Recommended Level: 45
The fifth and final chapter of Agnea's story takes place in Merry Hills, a town in the southeast of the Crestlands. The closest town to Merry Hills is Montwise, though if you've been following Agnea's story and ignoring the others you'll need to travel to New Delsta, head north at Western Clockbank Highroad, travel east from the Eastern Flamechurch Pass to the Western Montwise Pass, and go south.
Upon arrival at Merry Hills Agnea can begin her chapter right away, if she's in the party. If not, or if you decide to wait, you can instead trigger the chapter by visiting the Tavern and choosing Hear a Tale when speaking to the Tavern Keeper. The Tavern is northeast of the entrance to Merry Hills, past the Inn.
Agnea arrives in Merry Hills in time for the Grand Gala, the continent's greatest performative spectacle. She's recognized almost immediately, and not by the best of people. A pair of Hired Men rush Agnea, and you'll need to take them out. They're weak to Daggers, Bows, Wind, and Dark, and are fairly typical enemies that should give your team no trouble. Still, Agnea had best watch her back in this town.
Head north through Merry Hills and Agnea will run into familiar faces from throughout her travels. For the most part this part runs on autopilot, though Agnea will need to do some Alluring halfway through. Once you regain control of Agnea, which will take a while, you can run north, to the Shrine of Ul'sterra.
Shrine of Ul'sterra
Enemies
- Curator Mk. II - Weak to Dagger, Bow, Staff - Drop / Steal Ancient Sentinel Core
- Dark Spiny Shrew - Weak to Polearm, Axe, Dark - Drop / Steal Healing Grape (M)
- Giant Eagle - Weak to Polearm, Bow, Wind - Drop / Steal Energizing Pomegranate (M)
- Guardian Mk. II - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Dagger, Bow - Drop / Steal Ancient Sentinel Core
- Hired Man - Weak to Dagger, Bow, Wind, Dark - Drop / Steal Herb of Clamor
- Horned Fly - Weak to Polearm, Bow, Ice, Wind - Drop / Steal Inspiriting Plum (M)
- Light Curator Mk. II - Weak to Polearm, Bow, Dark - Drop / Steal Light Soulstone (M)
- Light Sentinel Mk. II - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Axe, Staff, Dark - Drop / Steal Light Soulstone (M)
Yes, despite the crowds there are enemies here. You can run right through the Shrine of Ol'sterra, if you like, though there are a few items you should grab first:
- Go through the far-left doorway from the entrance and you'll find stairs down to a chest. The chest contains a Refreshing Jam.
- If you check the wall to the right of the Refreshing Jam chest you'll discover that it's actually a passage leading east. At the end of the pathway you'll find a chest containing an Elemental Augmentor.
- Take a right when you approach the line of columns in the north. A side path will lead you far south, where you'll find a ladder. It will take you to a bridge above the crowds, and up here you'll find a chest containing a Bloodstained Knife. This is an amazing weapon for making any Dagger wielders (who aren't Thieves) self-sufficient, as it drains HP.
- Directly north, and right by the stairs leading out of here, is a chest containing a Resplendent Costume. Unsurprisingly, this is a great piece of equipment for Agnea.
Climb the stairs in the north when you're ready to go. One of the goofiest scenes in Octopath Traveler II will follow, and after it's done you can head to the center stage of the shrine. Save up, as the grand finale of Agnea's story is about to begin.
Dolcinaea
Shields: 6
Weakness:
- Polearm, Dagger, Bow, Lightning, Dark (Dolcinaea)
- Bow, Staff, Wind, Dark (Dolcinaea's Fan)
Drop: Nothing
Steal: Energizing Pomegranate (L)
The leading lady has arrived! Sporting an angelic garb that is presumably not real, Dolcinaea is ready and willing to pepper your party with irritating - yet elegant - attacks. She can use the following abilities in combat:
- A normal melee strike
- Give in to the song!, a melee attack against one target that can knock them Unconscious
- Steal the Show, which temporarily knocks one of your characters out of the battle
- Falsetto, a physical attack against the whole party
- Swallowtail Strut, a Wind attack against a single target
- Stage Etiquette, which temporarily seals any 'attacks' by a single target - they can still use non-damaging moves
- Summon, which brings a Dolcinaea's Fan onto the field
- Endearing Smile, a buff for Dolcinaea's Fan
- Dolcinaea's Recital, a charged attack that can leave your entire team Unconscious for several turns
Dolcinaea begins the battle with two attacks per turn and a large number of annoying attacks. She'll promptly use Steal the Show to kick one of your characters out of the fight for a few rounds, then use a combination of Give in to the song!, Falsetto, Swallowtrail Strut, and Stage Etiquette to knock your characters around. She can also hit characters normally, but uses her abilities far more often.
Break Dolcinaea and continue to heap on the damage and she'll eventually call in a Dolcinaea's Fan whom she'll immediately buff. While the Fan is on the field most of Dolcinaea's weaknesses will be locked, leaving her vulnerable to only Bow and Dark. Defeat the Fan and Dolcinaea will eventually call up a new one to take their place. During this time Dolcinaea will periodically charge up for an attack, and if she follows through she'll use Dolcinaea's Recital, which usually knocks out your entire party, leaving them easy pickings for Dolcinaea and her Fan.
This battle is not the toughest you'll fight, but it can be quite annoying. Dolcinaea doesn't hit especially hard, and it's not difficult to heal away the damage she inflicts, but her ability to knock characters Unconscious can get grating after a while. The Fan locking away her abilities is also a pain. Your best bet is to target Dolcinaea's weakness to Bows, which will always be active, using the Hunter Skill Precise Shot. Hold back BP for this and snipe Dolcinaea whenever you get the chance. Making someone a Merchant to feed the Hunter BP makes this especially easy. Heal away any grievous wounds Dolcinaea inflicts with items or a Cleric.
It's important to note that, while you can (and should) Break Dolcinaea without defeating the Fan, her weaknesses won't be unlocked if you defeat the Fan while Dolcinaea is Broken. If you plan on taking out one of the Fans, make sure you do it before you Break Dolcineaea. The superstar will take more damage when your team unloads their best attacks on her that way.
Defeat Dolcinaea and the battle with abruptly end. You're not done yet, though. Agnea will learn one of her EX Skills, Song of Hope, and the real fight will begin.
Dolcinaea the Star
Shields: 8
Weakness:
- Sword, Dagger, Axe, Fire, Wind (Dolcinaea the Star)
- Varies by character (Love's Marionette Victim #1)
Drop: Energizing Pomegranate (L)
Steal: Energizing Pomegranate (L)
Nice dress. Dolcinaea makes a return, much more powerful than before, and she proves a worthy adversary as you try to put an end to Agnea's final chapter. This battle can get downright aggravating, and will test your ability to quickly Break an opponent. Dolcinaea can use the following attacks:
- Moonstep, which buffs Dolcinaea's stats and gives her two attacks per round
- Crimson Zeal, a Fire attack against the whole party
- Endless Lullaby, which puts a character to sleep and gives them a death countdown timer
- Shooting Star of Fate, a randomly-targeted series of Light attacks
- Silent as the Night, which damages and can Silence one target
- All for Me, which steals all of one character's SP
- Love's Marionette, which steals one of your characters and puts them on Dolcinaea's team, locking away most of her stats
- Encore, which strengthens Dolcinaea's songs in general
- Twilight Waltz, an offensive debuff against your whole party
- Time for a real show!, which increases Dolcinaea's attacks per turn to three
Dolcinaea will begin the show by using Moonstep to buff herself, raising her attacks per round to two. She'll then pelt your team with a wide variety of attacks, inflicting damage, stealing SP, and hitting everyone with status ailments. Having your characters Silenced, put to Sleep, and / or subjected to instant death winds up being the most aggravating aspect of the battle.
Do enough damage and Dolcinaea will use Love's Marionette. This will enslave one of your party members to Dolcinaea, and you'll need them to beat them up to return them to normal. Any damage you inflict on the character will not be reflected on their HP total as a party member. The weaknesses of your characters are hidden, and they're different for each character. Dolcinaea's own weaknesses will be locked away, though she'll still be vulnerable to Dagger and Wind.
Continue to damage Dolcinaea and, as she approaches the red zone, she'll use Encore. Encore improves several her song attacks in some way. Endless Lullaby, for example, will have a one-turn counter rather than three, while Silent as the Night will turn into an attack against your entire party. Dolcinaea will gain an extra attack, as well, so these boosted attacks also come out more often.
As with every boss it's crucial that you Break Dolcinaea and keep her Broken for as much of the fight as possible. Giving appropriate attackers BP to use multi-hitting moves will make this easier to do. Dolcinaea's status ailments can ruin your party, so while you're Breaking her you'll want someone using the appropriate Herbs to heal your team, or just employ Castti's Concoctions to wipe out every ailment at once. Getting rid of Sleep also wipes out the insta-death timer, so don't wait to heal any afflicted party members.
When Dolcinaea uses Love's Marionette it is crucial that you immediately wipe out her new slave and return them to your side. Don't worry about targeting weaknesses, just smash your lovestruck pal with your most powerful attacks. You need all four characters to defeat Dolcinaea, and if she managed to ensnare someone who knows Sidestep they will likely use it, making it very, very difficult to bring the character back to your side.
By the end of the fight Dolcinaea will be putting your party on the ropes on a regular basis. To combat this you'll want to use moves that manipulate turn order, or at least stall Dolcinaea's speed a bit. You have plenty of options for doing this, though if you chose your team poorly Agnea's Stimulate Skill will do in a pinch. As long as you can prevent Dolcinaea from using all three of her moves in a row you can heal away any damage or status ailments, then Break the diva. Agnea's Lion's Dance combined with her Latent Power will help you speed your way through the battle.
Defeat Dolcinaea and, unlike the vast majority of Octopath Traveler stories, things will end well for everyone, not just the good guys. Once the story is played through you'll regain control of the party, and Agnea's story will end. Congratulations! If Agnea was your starting character you can now remove her from the active party at a Tavern, the same as everyone else.