In the aftermath of the infiltration of Drake's Head - and, oh, five years later - Clive has taken on a new name, and appears to be leading a resistance in a distant city. When you regain control of Clive he'll be in a battle, and he'll have a new power, to boot.
Ramuh
Thanks to the actions of Cid you now have access to a third Eikon, and you can cycle between Ramuh, the Phoenix, and Garuda. This will give you a near-constant stream of Eikonic Abilities, and Ramuh has some strong ones to throw into the mix:
- Blind Justice, which allows you to lock onto targets at a great distance and launch balls of lightning
- Pile Drive, an AOE attack around Clive
- Thunderstorm, a ranged attack against a single targte
- Lightning Rod, a stationary ball of lightning that chains electricity to nearby enemies if anything touches it
- Judgment Bolt, a powerful blast of lightning against a single target
Most of Clive's abilities up to this point have been short-range, so if you prefer long-range combat you'll find Ramuh quite useful. Use them to wipe the floor with the Stone Commandant, the Stone Scepter, and the Stone Scimitars attacking Clive and Jill. Take down two waves of them and something much meaner will show up to ruin your day.
Republican War Panther
Finally, Torgal has some real competition. The Republican War Panther is a swift opponent, far swifter than most enemies you've fought so far, and will spend the battle trying toslash Clive to ribbons. The Republican War Panther uses the following attacks:
- A lunging slash
- A leap into the air, then a diving charge towards Clive
- A whirling AOE attack with its back legs
- Savage, a leaping combo attack that will fling it across the arena at Clive
This fight is a high-speed melee slice-up. It's possible to Parry the panther's basic claw swipes, but they come so quickly that you're better off just dodging to the side most of the time. The same goes for its other attacks. Wait for an opening, then get in a Counter and an Eikonic Ability if you have one ready.
Stagger the Republican War Panther once and it will start using Savage, a brutal combo that can carve lots of HP out of Clive's flesh if you get caught against the edges of the arena. Stay in the middle as much as you can and keep dodging to the left or right to avoid damage. Aside from Savage the battle doesn't change past this point, so if you can get this far you should be okay.
(One final note: I don't suggest messing around with Cid's powers too much during this battle. They're not all that helpful against the Republican War Panther, which is by and large a close-range enemy. Bind Justice in particular will get you mauled.)
You'll receive a Lightning Shard, Steelsilk, Bloody Hides, and a Meteorite for defeating the Republican War Panther. After the battle you'll need to retreat to the Hideaway, which looks... different... these days.