Final Fantasy XIII-2 Walkthrough Part 19: Academia 500AF Part 2

After battling Pacos Luvulite and Pacos Amethyst, interact with the floating Chaos Block to change its color to blue. Turn to the left and go up the stairs. You will have to wait until the platform switches to the southern position, so you can walk across it and proceed to the south. There you will find another Cactuar statue, which you should activate. Keep heading south to find another floating Chaos Block. This one you should change to red. This will open up a pathway at the top of the stairs to the north, so turn around and head back from where you came to find the stairs and proceed up the path. Wait for the L-shaped platform to swing around to rotate in your direction before jumping across to it and moving to the left. Allow the platform to move again, and use it to reach the next platform. The next waypoint marker sits to your far right, and with it a Cactuar statue and a checkpoint.

This area contains lots of Yeoman, Pantopoda, and Pleuston enemy types. They provide you with a lot of experience for killing them, so if you feel the need to level up your party a bit more you can pause in this area for a while. These tricky enemies will also drop a lot of items necessary for leveling up your Paradigm Pack, so taking some time out to fight here can actually be very helpful. Otherwise, keep moving onwards.

You will see a T-shaped platform ahead. Jump onto it. Ride it to the left to reach another platform. Activate the Chaos Block to change it to blue, and then hop back onto the T-shaped platform. Let it rotate around 180 degrees then jump onto the nearby platform to find a chest containing the Sisters Gate Seal. You will have to wait until the steps to your right move into proper position before proceeding up them to reach the platform suspended above. Another Cactuar statue rests here, so activate it to get another checkpoint.

You may begin to notice the random enemy encounters becoming more difficult around this point. Of particular note is the new Apkallu enemy, a strange mixture of bird and reptile that will use Power Spritz to buff themselves before attacking for massive damage. If you can’t escape from battle with one of these powerful creatures, bring the battle to a fast close using Relentless Assault.

Jump to the L-shaped platform to your north, and then head west to jump to the T-shaped platform. Allow it to rotate you 180 degrees before jumping off onto the large platform. Wait until the other T-shaped platform to your left rotates into place before leaping over to it. Ride it to get to the waypoint all the way to the left. Another Cactuar statue awaits you here. Change the Chaos Block to red to proceed.

Now go to the north. You’ll have to wait until the L-shaped platform turns to form a path, which you should follow to a small block to your right. Stand on this platform and wait for the T-shaped platform to create a path for you. Jump onto it and use it to reach the platform in the north. Go up the steps, fleeing from the Proto-Behemoth enemy if it spawns, and get onto the L-shaped platform. If you allow the Proto-Behemoth to catch up to you, you are in for a pretty tough fight. This massive enemy has over 52,000 health and possesses Strength and Magic equal to 1,520. For a point of reference, the last bosses you faced had 190 Strength and Magic. Escape while you can if cornered by this beast. Anyways, go to the platform at the top of the stairs to proceed. You may have to wait for it to get into the correct position. Once it’s situated correctly, run across it and up the stairs to begin a cutscene.

After the cutscene finishes, open up the chest that sits near you to collect the Final Battle Gate Seal. Now move to the north towards the waypoint, which will trigger cutscenes and plunge you into the final battles of the game. Before doing this, you may want to take a few things into consideration. The red Cactuar statue by the waypoint will warp you all the way back to the beginning of the area, so don’t touch it if you have no intention of level grinding. If you have been following with this guide and grinding in the suggested spots, you should be fine. If not, as mentioned in the first part of this guide, the area before the Pacos Luvulite and Pacos Amethyst battle makes for a fine grinding area, and the area with the Pantapodas and Pleustens is also a great spot. If you are averse to grinding, collecting the game’s hidden Fragments, which will be covered in a later Post-Game guide, can also prove helpful, as each one bestows a bit of experience upon you once collected.

Also be sure that you have numerous Phoenix Downs, Potions, Remedies, and Wound Potions. Your party should be diverse at this point, but even the manifold talents of your party members will not always be enough to overcome the vicious assault awaiting you. You should also buy some Librascopes if you do not have any yet. These helpful little items will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of enemies, and can be useful in the midst of a tough battle. Finally, you will want to balance the benefits of equipping certain weapons to Serah and Noel. They should currently have some of the most powerful weapons available in the game, but it can also be helpful to switch to a weapon that has passive effects, such as restoring the ATB gauge faster. If you find yourself struggling to beat the bosses based on sheer power alone, try experimenting with different weapons. Having a faster recharging ATB gauge can at times be superior to pure, unbridled power.

Make sure you have saved and activated the checkpoint before activating the waypoint to trigger a series of cutscenes.