Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Guide: Wildlands Quests and How to Beat Caius Ballad and Cactair

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Need help with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII? You've come to the right place. USgamer has a fully comprehensive walkthrough of the game, conveniently split into multiple parts. Here's where you can find the rest of the walkthrough, including details about each area's main quests and strategies on defeating the bosses there, step-by-step guides to each areas's side quests, plus a full guide to the epic Canvas of Prayers quest line.

Now on with this part of the guide.

Upon zoning into the Wildlands, you will automatically accept the next main quest, The Angel of Valhalla. As you attempt to leave the station, another cut scene is triggered which directs you to Dr. Gysahl. His location is marked on your map southeast of the station.

When you reach the Doctor, speak with him, then you need to find his assistant, Seven. Turn around, facing directly away from the Doctor to see a man chopping wood. That man is Seven. Speak with him and you're directed to the City of Ruins, marked on the map northeast of your present location. Before you go, there's an item sphere in the grass near the northeast corner of Canopus Farms. Examine the sphere to obtain an Imp's Crest.

Upon arriving, you must engage in battle against a Chocobo Eater. If you've already completed the Luxerion Main Quest, you should be strong enough to take down the Chocobo Eater with relative ease. Make sure any magic used is Thunder or Aero-based, but you should rely on physical attacks for most of the fight.

The new location marker on the map takes you back to Canopus Farms. Approach the doctor to initiate another cut-scene, then speak with Dr. Gysahl to begin the side questSaving an Angel. You need to speak with a few people to acquire food to give to the chocobo. There are several ways you can get the items you need.

- Gysahl Greens: Red-haired woman (Sarala) on the west side of Canopus Farms.

- Fuzzy Sheep Milk: Innkeeper in Canopus Farms.

- Chocobull: Hunter Chief west of Canopus Farms.

Once you have fed the chocobo all three items, head southwest toward the Jagd Woods. Speak with the Hunter Hopeful at the entrance to begin The Right Stuff side quest. Completing the quest rewards you with a Mystical Meal.

Head back to Canopus Farms and feed the Mystical Meal to the chocobo. At this point you will be able to ride him around. Your next destination is Jagd Village. When you arrive, speak with Nadia to begin the Chocobo Cheer side quest. Take your chocobo northwest to find the Yeul's Flower. Examine it, then head just north of Jagd Woods to find a second flower. The third and final flower is found to the west of Aryas Village.

Continue with the main quest line, but if you wish to get your chocobo up to full power, collect all three Yeul's Flowers again in 24 hours when they've respawned. The final portion of the Wildlands main quest line is fairly challenging. Use this 24-hour period to complete as many side quests and Canvas of Prayers quests as you can. You should have at least 25 to 30 quests completed by this point in order to make the next set of battles more manageable.

Follow the location marker on the map as you make your way to Poltae. Speak withProfessor Lathom near the Poltae Inn to begin The Grail of Valhalla side quest. Make your way to the location marker to the west to initiate a cut-scene. After the cinematic, use the chocobo to glide over the rocks to the north and make your way onto the roof.

Jump to the adjacent rooftop and over to the rock platform, then glide over to the next platform for another cut-scene. Head southeast to find an item sphere that contains aBegga's Beads accessory, then head back and climb up the ladder. Continue over the bridge and up the stairs for another cinematic.

After the cut-scene, you can find an item sphere to the north, which contains the Ruinga Level 2 spell. Head up the slope to the west, then follow the hallway until you're interrupted by another cut-scene. Use the platforms to reach the top level, then continue northwest until you reach the second Yeul. Quickly make your way up to the balcony, then drop down to the lower level and examine the plaque to begin the Goddess Glyphs side quest.

Speak to Yeul once more to make your way to the other balcony, then head sou

theast to find an item sphere that holds a Firaga Level 2 spell. Head back and continue through the northwest doorway, then speak to Yeul on the west side when you reach the middle level of War's Cage.

Head up the ramp and through the opening, then take a right and speak to the next Yeul. If you're feeling good about your platforming skills, move back outside and drop down to the lower platform to find an item sphere that contains Blizzaga Level 2. Speak with Yeul again to get back to the upper level and jump over to the balcony to the top.

Continue through the doorway and examine the item sphere, which contains a Prophecy of Rebirth with information on the upcoming boss battle. Head into the next room and take down the Aster Protoflorian, then climb up the debry to speak with Yeul again. Head up to the balcony and down the hallway to initiate another cinematic.

Use the platforms to cross the room and examine the item sphere to the right to obtainThundaga Level 2. Head back up and through the hallways to reach the highest level of War's Cage. Examine the plaque to the northwest, then head up the path to the right and speak to the next Yeul.

If you're confident in your platforming skills, there are two item spheres to the south. One contains Elementa Level 2, and the other holds the Tri-Point Coronet. Return to Yeul, then head up the platforms. If you have EP to spare, use Chronostasis to stop time and reach the item sphere containing Aeroga Level 2 before the platform disappears. If you're fast, you don't need to use Chronostasis, but if you have EP to spare, it's the easiest way to gain access to the item sphere.

Move through the hallway and speak with the next Yeul. The three platforms that spawn do not linger very long, so you must be quick if you want to avoid falling. When you reach the Reaver enemy, engage it and see how well you do. If you have trouble taking it down, you probably need to complete more side quests before you can beat the final boss. If the battle isn't all that difficult for you, Lightning is ready for the final battle.

Head into the next room and talk to Yeul one more time. Move up to the balcony and down the hallway to initiate another cut-scene. Talk to Yeul one last time, then continue down the path and into the final room for a cut-scene followed by the boss battle against Caius Ballad. If for any reason you're not prepared to fight him, or you continue to die, you can speak with Yeul at the beginning of the area and get teleported to the room just before the boss battle. You do not have to fight your way through the area again.

Boss Battle: How to Beat Caius Ballad

Reward: Maximum HP +120, Maximum ATB +10, Strength +56, Magic +126, Recovery Item Capacity +1

The best way to engage Caius is by using as many damage litigating abilities as possible.Defaith works well, in addition to any items that lower the damage from elemental attacks. Caius dishes out a lot of damage, so anything you can do negate some of that damage will be a huge benefit. You also need to Perfect Guard as many attacks as possible to further negate damage.

Caius begins the fight in Commando stance, which means he has long attack strings. Depending on your schemata configuration, you may need to switch to a second schemata to continue Perfect Guarding the entire series of attacks. When he uses Eye of Bahamut, it is imperative that you block it or else you'll be littered with status ailments that will make this fight much more difficult than it has to be.

When Caius shifts to Ravager, you'll have to deal with elemental spells that hit multiple times while he charges up. Once the charge is complete, he unleashes extremely powerful elemental spells one after another. Once Caius' health starts to get low, he casts Absolution, which gives him a plethora of buffs. Use Brave Thief if you have it, otherwise hit him with any debuffs you have available.

A great tactic against Caius is to use Curse. This allows you to interrupt many of his attacks with Aeroga, Thundaga and other -ga spells. He can be staggered, but it's not easy. You need to focus on physical attacks when he's in Commando, and elemental attacks when he's in Ravager. If you ease up on your attacks at all, it becomes far more difficult to stagger him. If you can stagger him, immediately Overclock to maximize the damage.

After you defeat Caius, examine the item ahead of Lightning to obtain the weapon Chaos's Revenge. This completes the main quest line for the Wildlands. However, you begin the fifth main quest line before you head to the Dead Dunes for the fourth main quest series.

Head up to the northern point of Eremite Plains and speak with Sazh to begin the quest. Follow the chocobo chick outside to find an item sphere that contains the Fragment of Mischief and initiates another cut-scene. At this point, you need to head back and speak with Chocolina to start the Key to Her Heart quest from the Canvas of Prayers. Complete this quest to obtain the Fragment of Smiles.

To continue this quest line, you must first complete the Soul Seeds and Peace and Quiet, Kupo side quests. With these done, you should have the Moogle Fragment. Speak with any Soul Seed trader to deliver the Moogle Fragment after handing over any Soul Seeds you may have in your inventory. In return, you obtain the Fragment of Radiance.

Your next stop is the Slaughterhouse in Yusnaan. You can only complete this portion of the quest between 19:00 and 03:00. Speak with Slaughterhouse Zoe to participate in a special match against a Zaltys Brimstone. Defeat the monster (which is the same as a normal Zaltys) to earn the Fragment of Courage.

Head to the Dead Dunes to dispel the sandstorm and defeat the Cactair if you have not done so already. To do so, make your way down to the Dry Floodlands. Just before you enter the area, you can obtain a Pilgrim's Crux, which can be used at the altar to the left of the sandstorm to dispel it. You can now battle against the Cactair to earn the Fragment of Kindness.

Boss Battle: How to Beat Cactair

Reward: Fragment of Kindness

The Cactair has less HP than most normal enemies in the game, but no matter what you do, every time you hit the Cactair you will only inflict a single point of damage. Because of this, any attack that uses less ATB and hits multiple times is preferred. Aeroga, Thundaga and other similar spells work well, as does Light Slash. If you have anything that causes Slow, it's also very useful in this battle to slow down the Cactair's attacks. Do not use any Ice-based attacks (they heal the enemy), and staggering has no benefit in this battle, so just focus on attacking as much as possible to whittle away at its health.

With all of the fragments collected, return to Sazh to collect your reward: 5,000 gil, Afro and Yellow Chick x1, Dajh's Patch x1, Maximum EP +1, Recovery Item Capacity +1.

This article was compiled with help from Prima Games

You can find many more hints and tips in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, plus strategy guides and over 65,000 cheat codes, unlocks, achievements, trophies, Easter eggs and secrets at Prima Games.