Part 23: Field of Wisdom

Main Walkthrough

Field of Courage - Enemies

  • Dark Crusader - 61,500 HP - Weak to Light, resists Water, Dark
  • Fenrir Beast - 114,000 HP - Weak to Fire, resists Water
  • Otiph - 49,500 HP - Weak to Earth, resists Water
  • Rikke - 90,000 HP - Resists Water

A lonely cave on an island in the south of Energy Nede, the Field of Courage is, by difficulty, the second Field you should visit during the second half of Star Ocean The Second Story R. You can come in here first and probably survive, though you'll have a tougher time if your team hasn't earned a few levels from the Field of Wisdom first.

There are two chests you can open on the island, before entering the Field of Courage:

  • One chest is above the entrance to the Field, and there's just barely enough room to land beside it with the Psynard. The chest contains three Strength Bottles.
  • The other chest is behind the Field of Courage, on the north side of the island. It contains a Revival Card.

When you enter the Field of Courage you'll find a guide stone instructing you to 'go forward without hestitation'. This is a hint to the Field of Courage's mechanic, which is new to the remake: If you try to backtrack at any point, your party will take damage. The path through the cave is a straight line, albeit with a couple small curves, so do as little backtracking as you can.

The plus side is that this Field is much easier to navigate than the Field of Wisdom. The negative side is that, as hinted, the enemies inside are stronger. (Statistically, anyway. I think the enemies in the Field of Courage are easier on the whole, since there are no Wizards.) Some notes about your foes:

  • Fenrir Beasts are similar to Salamanders from Expel, though their fire breath can Petrify your characters. The usual rules of surrounding and pummelling apply.
  • A familiar enemy, Rikkes can Paralyze your characters, and just seem to last a long time. Don't let them gang up on you.

Given that the path pushes you straight north, you'll have no trouble picking up the chests in the Field of Courage, assuming you can defeat the enemies that try to get in your way. They contain as follows:

  • Three Sour Syrups (go left at the entrance)
  • Four Medicine Bottles (stick to the left)
  • Luminous Slicers and an Amulet of Flexibility (veer to the right after crossing a bridge over a pit of spikes)
  • Idol of the Warrior - on a pedestal halfway through the cave; make sure you pick this up, as you need to it reach the end
  • Furious Handy Stick (on your left as you head straight down the middle from the Idol of the Warrior)
  • Shield of the Arc (on your left - you'll have to take some damage to get this chest)
  • Mithril Greaves (on your right after getting the Shield of the Arc)
  • Faerie Mist (on your right as the path narrows towards the northern most point of the cave)

As you make your way north you'll see a pair of circular glyphs on the ground, one near the Idol of the Warrior, the other by the Save Point in the north. Both will teleport you back to the entrance. Don't use these if you're trying to progress, as you'll have to start over again.

Reach the Save Point and you'll have reached your goal. Use it, then step onto the final pedestal. The group will put the Idol of the Warrior in place, summoning the area's guardian. (Literally.)

Guardian

HP: 555,000
Weakness: Dark
Resists: Fire, Water, Earth

A stronger enemy than it seems at first, the Guardian has a ton of HP and a hidden second form. When the battle begins it primarily uses punching attacks, none of which are a big deal. Whittle away roughly half of its HP, however, and the Guardian will lose its fists, converting to ranged and AOE attacks. These hit quite a bit harder. Things get even worse during the final quarter of its health, when the Guardian turns into a smaller, immobile enemy with Exterminate, a powerful AOE laser attack.

The first portion of this fight is no big deal. Get on either side of the Guardian and smash its health away. The Guardian's second and third forms will prove trickier, and your ideal approach is to hit it from a range - or get in close, smack it a few times, and then dodge back before it can use an AOE attack. This should at least mitigate the damage, if not outright nullify the danger. Your close-range party members will likely fall a few times as the Guardian unleashes AOE attacks, so you may want to outfit your party with moves that hit at a range to decrease the odds of this happening. Spells and summons are quite useful for the final phase, when the Guardian is stuck in one spot.

You'll receive a Ring of Absorption for defeating the Guardian. Claude and Rena will watch another vision - what you see depends on your lead character - and find the Orb of Courage. If you're following the order of the Fields then you're halfway done. On to the next!

Part 25: Field of Might

Main Walkthrough