Final Fantasy XIII-2 Walkthrough Part 9: Serendipity

Although Augusta Tower is the next location necessary to advance the story, and you can freely skip over Serendipity to head there with little to no consequence, this area still bears mentioning as it will serve to increase your gil drastically and improve a few of your skills to boot. Serendipity is sort of like the Las Vegas of the timeline; it’s a gambling paradise armed with numerous ways to either make or break your bank account. By playing the various systems at work here in certain ways, you can increase your odds of hitting the jackpot.

To get to Serendipity, access the Historia Crux and select the location from its resting spot underneath Yaschas Massif. You will arrive in an oval-shaped room. Grab a Casino Ticket from the chest to your left, then head to the narrow exit to grab a map of the area. You will also find a building with an NPC mysteriously called Mystic. Speak to Mystic to learn about the Fragment Skills, which will do things like improve your Moogle Throw range at set points in the story. From here, you are free to roam the area and delight in the various gambling minigames.

You’ll have to use gil to purchase Casino Coins, which will be used to win Tickets. You may then exchange these Tickets for prizes, including Fragments and a Wild Artefact. Unfortunately, the only way to exchange Casino Tickets for cold, hard cash is to buy an item in Serendipity and then sell it to Chocolina.

The most basic of the gambling games is Slots. This plays out basically like a traditional slot machine, although the machines in Serendipity have three different modes. Normal Mode costs five coins to play, with the main goal being to align three nines to enter Victory Mode, or three Ochus (the little plant guys) to enter Super Victory Mode. Because Normal Mode is cheap to play, the payouts are appropriately tiny. Victory Mode costs ten coins, and you’ll again have to line up three nines or three Ochus. The difference is that you will lose if you hit three Cactuars or if you roll a bomb in the left column. This makes playing Victory Mode pretty risky. Finally, there’s Super Victory Mode. This mode costs 100 coins, with the only other difference being that your game may end prematurely if you roll a Moogle. If you’re going to go above Normal Mode, you had might as well play Super Victory Mode because the payouts are quite large.

Also of note is the “mood” of the machine. Speaking to the Casino Staff NPC near the slots will display a stock message indicating the odds of rolling certain shapes. If the Casino Staff member says, “Oh, dear. Someone’s not a happy camper,” you are better off walking away as the odds of victory are astronomical. If you receive a positive message instead, absolutely take the time to play the odds.

Chocobo Races are another way of earning gil, and are a rabbit hole down which a shocking amount of time can disappear. Chocobos have both speed and stamina attributes, with speedy birds seemingly performing better in short races and strong ones toughing it out for the long haul. Choose accordingly. Also a factor is the Race Points, or RP, associated with a Chocobo. If your Chocobo has more RP, his racing career is likely to last longer than one with lower RP. Finally, each Chocobo has a set of abilities. A list of Chocobo abilities and their descriptions are as follows:

Attention Hog: Your Chocobo will benefit from increased stats when it is favored to win

Blue Streak: Decreases the cost of boosting

Dark Horse: Higher gambling odds on your Chocobo

Free Spirit: Reduces chances of flagging

Health Nut: Your Chocobo will always be in good condition

Lightning Bolt: Increases boost charge

Limelight: Your Chocobo’s stats are increased in graded races

Marathoner: Stamina is increased in long-distance races

Perseverance: Recharges to boost gauge when you run out of stamina near the finish

Rocket Blast: Increases chances of getting a fast start

Runaway: Makes Lightning Bolt and Supersonic more powerful

Second Wind: Makes Blue Streak and Turbo more powerful

Sprinter: Increases speed in short-distance races

Turbo: Makes boost less expensive

Finally, there are the native abilities that each Chocobo will inherently come with. There are four different types of Chocobos, represented by the different positioning of the Chocobo icon in the lineup. Chocobos with the icon all the way to the left are sprinters who will exert all of their energy all of the time, and have access to Supersonic and Runaway. Chocobos with the second icon to the left behave similarly, but reserve a bit of their stamina just in case. They can use Lightning Bolt and Runaway naturally. Chocobos with the second icon from the right build up speed as the race goes on, and come with Turbo and Second Wind. Finally, Chocobos with the icon all the way to the right will stay towards the back of the pack before making an all-out dash to the finish line when the end comes near. They can use Blue Streak and Second Wind naturally.

Use this knowledge to play the odds and win the Chocobo Races a little bit easier, and before you know it you’ll be rolling in Fragments and cash.