----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------
Sword Art Online
Hollow Realization

Sacrament Invasion Guide

by Xenomanx
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--------

"There's nothing more boring then watching someone else play an

RPG"
- Kirito, Sword Art Online, Vol. 1
Ch. 22

Hollow Realization is the third in a series of (very meta, non-canon

ARPG)
games based on the Sword Art Online series of Light Novels and Anime
by
Kawahara Reiki. The story as always follows Kirito and friends as they
play
yet another new VRMMO game titled Sword Art: Origin.

The story, particularly the antagonist, are well below the level of
quality I
would expect from Kawahara (almost as if to prove the above quote) but
the
gameplay happily makes up for it. Particularly challenging and fun is
the
Sacrament Invasion, a series of optional and increasingly difficult
dungeons.

I was originally planning on only writing a Sacrament Invasion loot

guide for
my own use, but since I had most of the data already I went ahead and
a turned
it into a proper guide.

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--------

Sacrament Invasion Overview:

Sacrament Invasion (SI) is divided into 3 "updates". All dungeons in

update 1
must be completed before you can access update 2 and all dungeons in
update 2
must be completed before you can access update 3. The first dungeon
in each
update must be completed before you can access any of the others.

To reach a SI dungeon, teleport to the area and location listed below.

You can
teleport directly to the dungeon entrance via the teleport stone.
Approach the
large door to start the SI quest.

All SI quests follow the same format:

 - There is a time limit to complete the quest, displayed in the
bottom right.
- There are target enemies that must be defeated in that time limit,
also
displayed in the bottom right. These may be a combination of bosses
and
normal mobs.
- You must navigate a single large map filled with normal mobs that
can be
ignored to reach the target.
- You start at the entrance, and can quit the quest any time by
returning
to it.
- There are 3 defense targets (red, blue and green) scattered across
the map.
- Normal mobs and sub-bosses will periodically attack each defense
target.
You will be notified whenever this happens and an icon will appear on
the map
whenever there is a sub-boss attacking.
- Bosses get powered up for each defense target that is wiped out.
- There are 2 optional treasure chests in each SI dungeon. Each is
guarded by
a sub-boss which must be defeated to claim the treasure. Getting
these chests
does not help the SI quest in any way. Each treasure is a unique
piece of
equipment that cannot be acquired anywhere else in the game. You can
farm the
same piece of equipment by revisiting the chest and defeating the
sub-boss
everytime you complete/fail/quit the SI quest.
- If you run out of time or get wiped you return to outside the
dungeon.
- If you defeate the target enemies within the time limit you will
return to
the entrance where there is a pedestal with a sacrament and,
depending on
your rank, up to 2 treasure chests. You have 30 seconds to claim the
loot
before you are returned to outside the SI dungeon to leave or try
again.
- If you cleared the SI quest with a rank of A or higher a random
weapon
will be waiting in a chest to the right of the sacrament. They can
sell for
about 800 col in update 1 and are comparable in strength to late game
chest
weapons. These will be the best weapons you can find when SI first
becomes
available but are sorely outclassed by the HNM drops, which you
should be
able to get long before finishing SI update 1.
- If you cleared the SI quest with a rank of S or higher there will
be a
piece of armor in a chest on the left of the pedestal. These are
very high
grade and sell for 2000 col or more. There seems to be some sort of
pattern
to what you get from which SI quest but I have yet to figure it out.
 - The rank you get for the SI quest is based on time remaining,
defense
targets remaining, and bosses defeated. The bosses defeated ONLY
counts the
sub-bosses that attack the defense targets. To get an S rank in
Update 1 or 2
you generally need to defeat one sub-boss at each of the 3 defense
points. If
you are really fast 2 is enough.
- Each map has a certain number of barriers (it may be 0 in some
dungeons).
To pass these barriers you must defeat certain defense sub-bosses.
These
sub-bosses may be either normal mobs or NM, but will generally be
weaker then
the chest sub-bosses.
- Target enemies and all sub-bosses (attacking, defending or chest)
will
have a crossed sword icon above them to differentiate them from
normal mobs.

Regarding Equipment:

- The ATK value of a weapon or the DEF value of a shield, helmet,

armor or
boots is predetermined for that piece of equipment. The same is true
of a
shield's damage reduction.
- All other stats and abilities are determined randomly with each
drop.
- Which stats a piece of equipment will increase and what other
abilities it
may have are predetermined, as well as the minimum andmaximum stat
increase.
- All equipment drops with a random number of stars from 1-5. The
more stars
the better the total stat bonus. Sacraments are an exception to this,
as they
can have 5 stars even with minimum stat bonus.
- If a piece of equipment has an additional effect, that effect will
show
up on approximately 30% of drops for that equipment. Some equipment
seems to
not have any abilities. All equipment listed as such has been tested
at least
10 times without abilities.
- The number of stars does not affect the odds of getting an effect.

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--------
Template for SI dungeons data

<Area name>
<Location Name>
<SI Dungeon Name>
<Treasure Chest #1> (<stats, effect>)
<Treasure Chest #2> (<stats, effect>)
<Sacrament> (<stats, effect>)

<guide>
<ascii map, not to scale, or very good>

map key:
1 = Chest #1, 2 = Chest #2 A = Attack Target (non boss), B = Boss,
D = Defense Target, E = Entrance, S = Sub-Boss (defending barrier)x
T = Teleport Stone, X = barrier

Dungeons listed by order in which SI quest can be attempted, with sub

order on
when the area and location can be reaced in story mode.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Update 1:

Update 1 of SI becomes available in the first area of the game. The

recommended level for this area is 50 but the enemies have levels in
the
30s and this dungeon is fairly easy even with a level in the 20s if
you have
a SS with ignore defense (either katana or scimitar). I would
recommend the
scimitar because Dancing Hellraiser has a better AoE. My default
strategy for
all SI in update 1 and 2 is to just run past all normal mobs and make
a bee
line for the boss, getting the chests along the way and rescueing each
defense
point only when a boss is attacking. For almost all bosses in Update 1
and 2
my default strategy is to use put on a bunch of buffs, wield a
scimitar and
spam Dancing Hellraiser. It has a wide area and pierces defense. Be
sure to
have your party build your chain and restore SP as needed. To get an S
rank
you need at least 3 boss repels plus you must be fairly fast. You
have enough
time to get both chests in every update 1 dungeon. Below is a
breakdown of
each SI dungeon in update 1.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------

Rustoria Plains
Fuldum Trail
Shifting Path of Myrtel
Pendant of Divines (HP, DEX, CRT ATK +30%)
Curse Canceler (HP, STR, Defense +10%)
Pure Blue Crystal (STR, VIT, CRT +5)

It is a relatively strait path to the boss, you just have to run past
a bunch
of normal mobs down the U-shaped corredt, off one easy barrier sub-
boss and
youre there. If you want the S rank you will need to wait for some
attack
bosses to show up, so you may as well get the chests while you're
waiting.
 B
D___ |
| | | X
|_| |________|__ D
| | S
|
_| 1
| D-|_______ E
|____________|
|
2

Rustoria Plains
Mimariana Pass
Sodom's Gaol
Girdle of Lightning (VIT, AGI, SP Based ATK UP +5%)
Earring of the Lost (DEF +23, SP, STR, recast time -5%)
Pure Green Crystal (VIT, DEX, Movement Speed +3%)

In order for the boss to appear you need to defeat a bunch of attack
targets,
which are hidden inside of other attack targets. Fortunately these
guys are
easy. If you are using a SS with multiple strikes you can finish them
all in 1
go. For an S rank, work your way CCW around the main loop from west to
north,
getting both treasures and defeating the souther 2 attack targets
along the
way, and the north defense point should be coming under attack at just
the
right time. Rescue them and beat the 3rd attack target, make your way
back
east and pick up the 4th. Protect the east defense target then make
your way
east to the last attack target and the boss. You don't need to
protect the
south defense target for the S rank. This boss is a good bit more
dangerous
then the last as it has some nasty AoE attacks. Be ready to switch or
evade
at any time if your HP is low. Fortunately he goes down pretty
quickly. The
Earring of the Lost is one of the best helmets IMHO.

D
A/\
/ \
/ \
/ \__2
/ \_\
E_________/ A \D_______
\ / \___\________ B
\ / A
\A /A
\ /
\ __/
\/ 1
 D

Oldrobe Forest
Grillim Forest
Litlefoot Forest Maze
Angelic Wristband (STR, VIT, Aggro Gain +5%)
Band of Banishment (DEX, AGI)
Pure Red Crystal (STR, AGI, Max HP +10%)

This aptly named dungeon is particularly annoying because the map

doesn't show
where the walls or paths are, the lighting is poor and it is easy to
get a bit
lost. A general rule of thumb is to follow the torches. Note the
actual
dungeon is a lot more twisty then the strait lined asci map below, but
this at
least lets you know when to backtrack. If you manage to not get lost
you will
probably have overshot the defense targets considerably by the time
they are
attacked by sub-bosses, so you will have to backtrack or wait if you
want the
S rank. Fortunately, this boss is very easy. Just stick to his side
and hit
him with AoE attacks and his head and tail will break as quickly as he
can
recover. So long as you are not directly in front of his mouth all his
other
attacks are telegraphed well in advance and his only redeeming feature
is his
high HP. Note this strategy works on most dragons in this game.

B
|
|
|
___| ___|_
| | |
| | D
D___ |
|_| _D
| |
2___|___|_|
|
____ |
| |
1_________|
|
|
E

Oldrobe Forest
Kark
Chateau Moreas Ruins
Ring of the Dawn (STR, DEX, CRT + 5)
Dire Demon Girdle (VIT, AGI)
Pure White Crystal (DEX, AGI, Recast Time - 3%)

There are a whole lot of barriers in this dungeon, but the mobs are
weak.
The boss isn't that hard either, although it moves a bit faster than
most.
Theres not much to say about this dungeon, just be quick and a S rank
is
guaranteed.

E
|
|
S
X
__XS_|_SX__
| |
S 1
X
D|_____|SX____D
S | |
X D |
| S
2 X
|
____XS__|
|
S
X
|
B

Jeweled Peaks Lakes

Marcieville Water Caves
Gorah Mahazaroh Crags
Repulser Wristband (STR, AGI, Increased SS Damage +10%)
Ring of Twilight's Calm (STR, DEX)
Pure Orange Crystal (STR, DEX, Jump ATK + 50%)

This is probably the easiest of SI dungeons. No barriers, no bosses,

just a
bunch of easy glowing mobs as attack targets. They pop and re pop at
random
all over the map and you just need to kill 12 of them. If you have a
decent
weapon you can drop them with a single SS. If you want the S rank just
rescue
a few defense points along the way. Note that the first chest has
IMHO the
best bracelet in the game, so I suggest farming until you get a good
one.

A____AA
|
|
___|
|
|
 A___|
| |
| |
1 ___A___|D
| | | |
| | | |
|_____A__|___A___|A
A | | | |
| | | |
D|___A___|___|__A
A| | |
A__| | |
| D 2
_|
|
E_|

Jeweled Peaks Lakes

Cranvede Path
Mezul: Corrupted Wastes
Fallen Beast Piercing (DEF + 20, VIT, DEX)
Starshine Necklace (HP, SP, Recast Time -5%)
Pure Purple Crystal (VIT, AGI, Max SP +15)

This is hands down the hardest dungeon in update 1. The dungeon itself
is
straitforward, but the boss is very tough. It is not 1 but 2 very
durable
golems, either of which on its own would be enough to rank strongest
boss in
update 1 and you have to fight them both at once. To top it off they
can
resurrect eachother with full hp so you have to finish them off within
a few
seconds of eachother. Note that all golems, especially boss ones, are
weak to
blunt attacks and strong against slash and thrust. I recommend using a
blunt
SS on your favorite weapon to chain and down one of these then pummel
him to
halfway through his last bar. Next, stop, reapply buffs and replenish
SP as
needed then do the same to his friend. Finally fight them both at
once, AoE
attacks are recommended for this final stage only, and do NOT let one
outlive
the other by more than 10 seconds or so.

__D_____B
|
DSX|___
_|_____| |
| | | _|
E | |______| D
|_| | |
| | 2
|____|
1
Kurjiez Desert
Gebuerno
Ruins of Castle Vassa
Dark Saint Earring (Def + 23, STR, VIT, Max HP +10%)
Hoop of Containment (HP, SP)
Pure Black Crystal (STR, AGI, Dash ATK: +10%)

Its another gauntlet of barriers, not much else to say. Just do what
you did
in Chateau Moreas and you'll be fine.

S_____X_______B
|
X_________S
X |
__| D
S |
D|_|
|
_|
2_|_|_X_ D
S_|_X____S_1
_____|_|
|
E

Oltrum Bastion
Illial Temple: Lift
Oltrum Abbey: Cloister
Divine Embrace (VIT, DEX, Dash ATK: +120%)
Prominence Ring (STR, DEX, Increased SS Damage +10%)
Pure Grey Crystal (VIT, DEX, Parry Time: +10%)

This dungeon has a lot of sub-bosses, each is weak to a single type of

attack.
The first is blunt, the second is thrusting, the third is slashing.
The next
two are 2 sub-bosses at a time and the last is one of each. Before
entering
this dungeon make sure your selected weapon has a SS of each category
in your
command palette. There is ample time to get both chests and all 3
defense
points for the S rank. The boss at any time is impervious to 2 of the
3 attack
types and weak against the third. Which one may change at random, but
so long
as you realize this and keep hitting him with his weakness this fight
is easy.
A couple of dead ends are omitted from the map.

E
|
|
|
___|X__
| | |
1 S |
|
|
 _______|
|
S|X__ 2_
| | __|
D | | |S
S| | |
|X_| D
|
D X
| |
__XS___|
| |
|_
|S
X
|
B

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Update 2:

These dungeons are, at best, slightly harder then those in update 1.

There is
a slight increase in the level of the mobs and bosses, as well as the
quality
of the rank loot. You cannot start this update until you have beaten
all the
update 1 dungeons, which cannot be done until near the end of area 5,
at which
point you should already have access to the best weapons and should
have
plenty of good equipment from update 1 to boot. Most of SI update 2
should be
pretty easy and you can just use the same strategies as in update 1,
although
you may want to consider switching to a hidden EX skill at some point.
The
biggest change in this update is that after clearing the Karmic
Variance Zone
for the first time you get the ability to fuse your sacraments to your
weapons
for a modest boost in power.

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Jeweled Peaks Lakes
One Fall Cataract
Karmic Vaiance Zone
Mirror Shell (DEF +25, Damage Reduction % +40, ATK, VIT, AGI, Parry
Time: +5)
Aegis Bangle (SIR, VIT)
Ancient Onyx (STR, AGI, SP Based ATK UP +5%)

Let me just say that I HATE this dungeon. Despite being the first in
Update 2
it is one of the worst. The reason for this is the entire dungeon is
filled
with tainted water that, if you step in it, you will be inflicted with
'slow'
status. So you cant just run through those long corridors like in
other
dungeons, you have to jump and dash from rock to rock, and you'll
still have
to get debuffed at the boss and chests. As near as I can tell it is
impossible
to get both chests and still get an S rank. To clear this dungeon work
your
way CW from the entrance while air dashing over the water. If you fall
in
anways either treat the debuff immediately or just keep walking in the
water
until it wears off, as you can't get slowed a second time until it
has. The
first chest is guarded by turtle with rather high HP, defeat him if
you want
the shield. Continue CW and beat both sub-bosses, which are poisonous
slimes
with very low HP. If you want the S rank continue CW and rescue the 2
eastern
defense points, then work your way back to the west one, then go
strait to the
boss. You can go to the second chest if you want, it is guarded by a
jellyfish
with very low HP that spams sleep debuffs, but you wont have time for
the S
rank. The boss is a slime that uses wide area attacks and debuffs with
both
poison and paralysis. To top it off he is camping in the slow
inflicting
water, so you WILL be debuffed for the duration of this fight. At
least his
attacks aren't that strong so just keep slashing away and he will go
down
eventually. Once again, I HATE this dungeon.

_____2
|
|
D_____SX_|_SX_______D
| B |
| |
| |
1_|______________|
| |
| D
E

Rustoria Plains
Lake Steschal
Ruined Gates of Lun Puj
Blazing Bangle (STR, VIT)
Resurrection Belt (VIT, DEX, SP Regen +3)
Ancient Emerald (VIT, DEX, Backstab CRT Up +8)

Fist, pretty much everything in this dungeon is a golem and weak to

blunt
attacks. Be sure you main SS is blunt. There are 4 sub-bosses that
must be
beaten to reach the boss. They are very weak but are randomly located
at 4 of
8 possible locations. This level also has a bunch of normal mobs that
block
narrow doorways. They must be defeated to progress, but fortunately
they are
also very week. The boss itself is quite strong. Try to stay behind
him and
hammer him with blunt attacks. You will probably need to save 3
defense
targets to get a S rank.

S____ S
| |
| |
|____|2
| D|
___|__|
| | |__S
S| |
E_____|__D__X__B
|
|
S____ |
| | S
| | |
|__|___|
|D |
___|__|
| |
| |
S 1|____S

Rustoria Plains
Sophinastum Gorge
Middark: Infernal Path
Morion Ring (STR, VIT, Defense +10%)
Joker's Burgonet (DEF + 25, SP, DEX)
Ancient Sapphire (STR, VIT, HP Based ATK +10%)

The boss is waiting immediatly after the barrier, which has only a
single
sub-boss, albeit a moderately tough NM. The only catch to this dungeon
is that
the boss will teleport after fighting him for a while to one of the
defense
points chosen at random. If you are slow enough he can teleport
repeatedly.
Aside from having to fight him twice he is fairly weak, and should go
down
easily to the usual tactics. Note that if you are really fast you can
beat
him before his first teleport, and that he may, on rare occasions, get
stuck
in the wall, in which case just wait for him to teleport again. No
need to
worry about time as you get much more than you need.
2 D__ D
| | |
|___ BXS|____|
| | |
_|__| |
| |___
D _| |_E
_|
1__|

Rustoria Plains
Guban Hill
The Phantom Reach
Fallen Sphere Necklace (HP, STR, HP Recovery +10%)
Earrings of Guidance (DEF + 25, SP, AGI)
Ancient Diamond (DEX, AGI, CRT ATK +20%)

This dungeon is very easy. No barriers or mazes just a strait shot to

the
boss. The boss is a dragon with over 10 million HP so he can take a
bit of
punishment but he is very weak. Use the same strategy as the
Littlefoot
dragon and you can beat him without taking a single hit. One thing to
look
out for is the smokelike 'shadows' around the boss and elsewhere in
the
dungeon. If you walk right into one you get hit with stun and slow,
but they
are pretty easy to avoid. There is also ample time to get both
treasures and
get an S rank.

D
2 __|__
| | |
|______| |
| | |
D-| |_____|___
| |B | |
|______|__| |
| | |
| |______|
| | \
|_____| 1
| \
D |
E

Oldrobe Forest
Teim Valais Estuary
Poisoned Swamp
Inferno Belt (STR, VIT, Attack + 10%)
Wisp Whisperer Earrings (DEF +25, SP, AGI)
Ancient Ruby (STR, AGI, Damage Multiplier: +10%)

Although very linear, this is one of the most original dungeons in SI,
and
despite its name, it is not filled with poison. There are a series of
6
indestructable 'Weak Rocks' (W on my ascii map) and a bunch of mobs
called
explosive eyes (marked with cross swords like a sub-boss, but not on
my map
because they are literally everywhere). After losing over half their
HP these
eyes will blow themselves up in a huge AoE explosion, destroying
nearby walls
and damaging you and your party if you don't evade. You have to use
normal
attacks because SS will probably 1 hit them, and if you accidentally
kill them
just wait for them to repop. The first chest in this dungeon is hiding
on top
of some rocks and you will have to climb up to reach it. The boss is a
giant
version of the explosive eyes aptly called 'Huge Explosive Eye' and
like his
smaller cousins he uses massive AoE attacks. Though he doesn't self
destruct
he can cause pretty hefty damage and debuffs, so try to switch or run
away
when you see a big attack coming. Note that you can walk around the
first rock
in this dungeon.

D
/\ / \
E-W-\ / \
W W W
\ / \
S W W
X / \
\_____/ \___D
| 1 | | B |
|__D| | |
|2__|

Oldrobe Forest
Felldart Passage
Prison of the Forgotten
Ars Guard(DEF +25,Damage Reduction % +40,ATK +138,VIT,AGI,CRT
Resistence +10%)
Slave-King's Helm (DEF +25, SP, DEX)
Ancient Amethyst (VIT, AGI, HP Recovery +5%)

Hordethorne
Pollen Sprayer

To clear this dungeon you need to defeat the boss called 'Pollen
Sprayer' 5
times. The boss will appear at random when you kill his minions called
'Hordethorn' an indeterminate number of times. The minions are marked
with
the crossed swords and pop in large numbers in the open area where the
boss
appears. They are weak and can be killed several at a time using an
AoE SS.
Since the boss may pop behind you and there is no notice when he does,
I
sugget keeping an eye on the map. You will see a dot appear when there
is a
boss. Note that it is possible for 2 bosses to appear at once.
Fortunately,
the boss is also pretty weak, which is good since you need to fight
him 5
times. The only thing to watch out for is his debuffs, but you can
stop him
from using them with a switch hit. The dungeon itself is fairly large
and the
defense points are spread out so time is a serious issue. If you want
the
chests and a S rank you will probably need 4 or more attack bosses
repelled.
I recommend fighting a few bosses until all 3 targets are under
attack, then
rescue them all starting with the west one. You can then rescue the
west one
a second time after a few more bosses, then return to finish the
dungeon.

2
|
_______|___
|
|
|
D |
| | D
|______| /
|B | /
|__|___________/
| |
_______| |
| | |
| |_____________|___
| | |
|__1 | |
| |
E |
|________D

Jeweled Peaks Lakes

Shangil Resevoir
Speagh Callaecia
Luxurious Pendant (HP, SP, Increased SS Damage +10%)
Savage Guard (DEF +25, Damage Reduction % +40, ATK + 138, DEX, AGI)
Ancient Citrine (STR, DEX)

The boss of this dungeon is invincible until you kill his 7 minions,
hidden
through the rest of the dungeon. My map doesn't show it very well but
the
passageways are quite wide and there are plenty of blind corners for
these
guys to hide in. Furthermore, they are not always in the same places.
The boss
is always in the place closest to the entrance, but the minions will
be in 7
of the other A on the map at random. They will probably only take a
few good
SS each to kill off, finding them all is the real challenge. Also, you
can't
see them until you get kind of close. I'm not sure if that is by
design or
due to technical limitations. The boss itself, like most everything in
this
dungeon, is a treant. That means he is slow, has high HP, and like to
use AoE
attacks with stun. Be ready to switch or evade, both of which will
probably
fail so you will lose your chain a few times. Slash and blunt attacks
seem to
work better then thrust. There is ample time so even if you go around
the
whole dungeon 2 or 3 times looking for that one minion you missed you
should
have no problem getting S rank so long as you rescue the defense
points. A
CCW route will take you past the defense points in the order they are
attacked
but you will probably pass the first one before it needs saving so get
it on
the return trip. IMHO Luxurious Pendant is awesome, try to get a good
one.

E A__A________A
| | |
| | |__
A____B____A | A |D
| A | ASX__| |A
|A |___| |__A _A|
| | A A | | A
|_________| |__A_____|2
A A| D D
1

Kurjiez Desert
Remetta Excavation
Fury's Cradle
Helm of Revelation (DEF +26, SP, VIT, Backstab CRT +10%)
Hazardwall(DEF +25, Damage Reduction % +40, ATK + 146, DEX, AGI,
Defense +15%)
Ancient Hermatite (VIT, DEX, CRT Resistence: +15%)

You will notice immediately what kind of dungeon this is; there are
666 attack
targets and you have a whopping 90 minutes on the timer. Fortunately
they are
very easy. You should have not trouble one hit killing them even
without SS,
although a good AoE really speeds things along. They pop in large
numbers in
an open area right at the entrance, and in groups of 2 or 3 at other
points in
the dungeon. The only catch is that the ones in the open area are
accompanied
by a couple slightly annoying normal mobs that spam you with SP drain
debuffs,
who also repop fairly quickly. My best time with B rank and no chests
was
17:20, but I usually took over 20 minutes to clear the dungeon, so be
prepared
for a long grind. If you want the S rank and chests, wait until you
are about
half way through the 666 targets and the room is mostly clear before
you make
a single trip through the rest of the dungeon and you should finish up
before
any of the defense points falls in the second round of attacks. Note
that
since these enemies are so weak and numerous this is a great
opportunity to
train any weapon with an AoE SS that you don't normally use or to
grind
NPC traits.

__
2|
| D__| __
|____/|| |__|
| |D
|______|
|A | |
E__|__| |_
| |
_|_____|
D|
|__1

----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Update 3:

This update becomes available after clearing all the SI update 2

dungeons. Be
forewarned that this is a LOT harder than the previous updates or
anything
else in the game (DLC excluded). I first attempted these dungeons with
my
whole party at level cap with HNM weapons +9 with sacraments and end
game
armor using the same tactics as earlier and in every single dungeon I
either
got massacred or ran out of time with the boss around half HP.
Legendary
weapons and hidden EX skills are highly recommended. If you want to
stand a
chance you will need for farm some traits on NPCs. Also the liberal
use of
potions couldn't hurt

The changes to update 3 are as follows:

 - The NPCs guarding the defense points can be 'leveled up' by farming
traits
on the NPCS from town. This is a tedious process that can take dozens
of
hours, but is really advisable to attempt these monstrous dungeons.
The game
goes into this in further detail.
- As soon as you enter the dungeon all 3 defense points come under
attack.
- Defense points are attacked by 3 attack bosses at once.
- If any defense point falls, the boss gets a lot stronger.
- A teleport stone is added to the dungeon, but it is only activated
once the
sub-boss is defeated and the barrier removed.
- Crystals cannot be used in SI update 3 dungeons (I didn't need them
in 1 or
2).
- SS and SSS rank are added for even better rewards (marginally).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Oldrobe Forest
Valkyr Weald
Withern Badlands
Powerbracers (STR, VIT, Attack +10%)
Suregrip (STR, DEX)
Divine Sapphire (STR, VIT, Defense + 10%)

This level is just sadistic. Let alone the fact that you have to kill
5 bosses
in just 20 minutes while the defense points are being attacked by 3
bosses at
a time, you have to fight without killing any of their minions. The
minions,
who will go down with a single hit, always hover around the bosses and
will
come after you if you are within range, seemingly throwing themselves
into
your attacks if you try to attack the bosses themselves. The only
thing you
can do is luring the boss away from his minions by sheathing your
weapons
and pressing triangle a distance away. Even if you lure him away he
can still
get pushed up on the rocks and cliffs around the dungeon making him
hard to
hit and probably ruining your chain as well. But wait, theres more: if
he
moves to far from his spawn point he will be warped back WITH FULL HP!
Also,
the bosses will only appear at 5 of the boss points on the map, chosen
at
random, but the minions will always be at all of them, and they can
wander
over to the defense points on occasion, making them unsavable. The
only bright
side is that the bosses aren't very strong, so there is little risk of
being
killed in this dungeon.
Okay, enough ranting about the dungeon from hell, here is how to beat
it. The
bosses are golems so blunt attacks might be effective, but I will not
try
that. Instead you should use dual wield and what I like to call the
'dual
wield trick'. Start with dual wield, then open the menu before
engaging the
boss and change to an EX skill with good offensive buffs. Sacred Cross
works
well for this. Next close the menu and thrown on all your best buffs.
Then
reopen the menu and equip a sword to your left hand, this
automatically
changes you to Celestial Blades. Activate your remaining buffs,
including the
normal ones that only last 15-30 secs and begin attacking the boss.
You can
kill him in a minute or less so long as nothing goes wrong (and good
luck with
that). When you repeat this process for the next boss your cursor will
already
remember to be in the right places on the skill and equipment menus so
you can
do this fairly quickly. The ideal order through this dungeon is to
kill one
boss near the entrance, rescue the west and south defense points, kill
the
sub-boss (he will probably debuff you) and teleport to the north
defense
point. You should have enouth time to beat 2 more bosses before
needing to
save the defense points again, then just enough time left on the clock
to kill
the last 2 bosses with a few minutes to spare. You should probably use
some
potions for this dungeon as well.

_D
|
B
T
B__|_B_
___B________| |_
| | |__1
E_______|___|D _____
B | X B
|___B T |____B___2
| S
|________B|
|
D

Jeweled Peaks Lake

Tribei Feireese Lake Way
Lake Mistrock
Bug Repellant (HP, SP, AGI, SP Based ATK Up +5%)
Helm of Mystery (Def +26, SP, VIT, Backstap CRT Up +10%)
Divine Emerald (VIT, DEX, CRT Resistence: +18%)
This is a fairly strait forward level. The only points of note are
that the
westmost defense point is quite a trek from the boss, and that there
are 2
bosses. The boar type sub-boss is so weak he is barely worth
mentioning. The
bosses are lion like beasts, they are usually right next to each other
and
one will attack you while you are trying to chain the other. They hit
pretty
hard so you should try to evade, even though this will make it hard to
build
a decend SSC. Once again I recommend Dancing Hellraiser for these
bosses. To
get a SSS rank in the dungeon take the teleporter to the boss
immediately
after beating the sub-boss and focus on attacking one of the 2 bosses.
Once
the first defense point falls below half HP go and rescue it, killing
all the
attackers, then take the portal back and run to the west defense point
and do
the same. The north defense point should still be fine but since it is
on the
way kill the weaker monsters but don't waste time on the turtles. Make
your
way back to the bosses and focus on the same one as last time. You
will
have to make a second trip to the defense points once they are below
half HP,
probably before you finish the first of the 2 bosses. Once you have
killed the
first boss the second should be much easier to finish off alone, but
it should
go down with a minute or two to spare, provided you didn't get killed
a bunch
of times fighting the first boss. Note that the king has one nasty
ability
that reflects some of the damage he takes back at you. This cannot
kill but it
will reduce your hp to 1 very quickly. If you are not using Righteous
Cross I
would recommend killing the queen first.

D______
2_ | B
| |__|
D | T
|____|_______|
| |
|
|__XS
| |
1_| |
| |__________
| | |
T |__|
D_| |
|
E
Kurjiez Desert
Alle Fioro
Sweltering Tropics
Assassin's Buckler(DEF +26,Damage Reduction % +40,ATK +146,SP,VIT,SP
Regen +3)
Victor's Pendant(HP, STR, HP Based ATK Up +5%)
Divine Amethyst (VIT, AGI, Damage Resistence: +5%)

Here is a level with no cheap tricks, just pure old fashioned brute
strength.
The boss, as well as both sub-bosses, are dragons. Like all dragons,
they can
be downed by damaging their head or tail. But unlike other dragons,
they are
tough. The first sub-boss is actually a normal slow dragon with high
HP as his
only redeeming feature, but the second one is a lot faster so you will
have a
hard time evading his attacks. The boss itself is also fast, but
ridiculously
strong to boot. He can do well over 50000 damage with his 3 bite
combo. If you
see this attack coming I recommend backstepping rather than
sidestepping as he
can turn very quickly. I have only ever been able to beat him with
Sacred
Cross or Warmonger's invincibility abilities. The only good news is
that he is
very easy to run away from because his linear walking speed is so
slow. When
making your way through the dungeon rescue the west and defense points
as you
pass them the first time, fight the boss a bit, then rescue the east
and west
defense points once they get down to about 25%. You will need to
rescue the
south again at some point, but try to get the boss to around half his
hp or
less by then. You may need to rescue the east defense point a second
time
before finishing off the boss.

_E
| ||
| 2--|BTD
__|XTD ||
|S| | ____/
| |_XD/
1 _S|
||

Kurjiez Desert
Trie Modragal Pass
Shifting Sands of Haz'id
Mask of Bravery (DEF +26, SP, VIT)
Ring of Lightness (STR, DEX, Damage Resistence: +10%)
Star Ruby (STR, AGI, Aggro Based Attack Up +15%)
This dungeon is one of the easier in update 3. The sub-boss is weak,
the
defense are easy to reach and the boss is slow and easy to chain. The
boss
is a clone of the second area boss. Stay behind him and take out his
legs
while building a chain, then do massive damage while he is down. He
can be
beaten with the scimitar strategy without too much pain. His worst
attack lets
him summon minions and remain invincible until they are beaten.

1
E__________|___
| |_____2
___|_D |
| | |
D-| | _T_|_D
T___|XS__________|
|
|
B

Kurjiez Desert
Calt Blanc Way
Baltray Frontier
Handy Bracers (STR, VIT)
Bodybracer (HP, VIT, HP Based ATK Up +5%)
Divine Diamond (DEX, AGI, Attack Speed Up +4%)

This is hands down the easiest of the update 3 dungeons, which is to

say it is
only almost impossible with normal methods. The defense points are
easy to
reach, the sub-boss is a joke, and the boss is the easiest in update
3. The
boss's chamber is connected to the rest of the dungeon by an unmapped
teleporter on the floor behind the barrier. The boss himself is a
clone of the
first area boss. To down him and attack his main body you must break
both of
his legs. The legs regenerate rather quickly, but hitting them does
damage and
builds the chain. He also is guared by some weak slime type minions
that like
to debuff. Staying behind the boss and Using SS with good AoE is
effective,
Dancing Hellraiser works well, just be careful you dont run out of SP.
Be
prepared to backstep if you see an AoE attack coming. This is the only
update
3 dungeon I have beaten with normal methods.

D__
T
D |_
| / \___E
| _|_D | 2
|T/ \_S_____|
1 X

Oltrum Bastion
Oltrum Bastion: Cordia
Rogue's Shelter
?
?
Divine Hematite (VIT, DEX, Incresed SS Damage + 10%)

This is a rather unique dungeon. First, there are no treasure chests

as far as
I can tell. Second there are a lot of barriers and sub-bosses guarding
them.
Though not as bad as the dragons of the Sweltering Tropics, these sub-
bosses
are above average strength. Defeating any of the 7 sub-bosses will
activate
the teleporters, and any of the 3 closest to the boss will give you a
path to
him, while the rest can be ignored. The boss and sub-bosses all have
NM in
their names but have 4 health bars like HNMs. The boss is a reaper
type and as
such regularly summons spirit minions that, while weak, render the
boss
invincible. This is a guaranteed chain breaker so expect this to be a
very
time consuming fight. You will probably have to make at least 2 trips
to each
defense point but there is enough time to defeat the boss and protect
all 3 to
get a SSS rank, assuming you maxed the NPC's emotion level. That being
the
case, the best route through this dungeon is through the sub-boss to
the east
or west of the boss, for easy access to the teleporter.

_____________E
| S S
| X X
____S____S____|___
| X X |
| | B T
D_|T___|__SX|___XS___|
X | D
S |
|_______|
|
D

Oltrum Bastion
Oltrum Bastion: Flail
Lievus Retreat
Vital Guard (HP, VIT, Max HP +10%)
Assault's End (DEF +26, Damage Reduction % +40, ATK +146, VIT, AGI,
SP Based ATK Up +5%)
Divine Onyx (STR, AGI, SP Regen +5 / 5 Sec.)

This level is fairly strait forward except for the sizable trek to
reach the north and south defense points. The boss is a pair of clones
of the
horse like boss of the third area. They have some fairly strong
attacks but
they go down easily by breaking their legs. I recommend Dancing
Hellraiser for
its wide AoE. You can keep both bosses down for the majority of the
fight and
build some massive chains. Celestial Blades or Illusion Thorn can help
with
this. You will need to back off and go to the defense points at least
twice to
get a SSS rank.

D
|_ |
| 1_|
| |
__| SXT____B
|_____|
E__T| D
|
|
D___|__
|
|
|__2

Oltrum Bastion
Ilial Temple: Lift
Dracovale Temple
Hem of Composure (DEF +26, SP, VIT)
Defender's Wall (DEF +26,Damage Reduction % +40,ATK
+146,HP,VIT,Defense +15%)
Divine Citrine (STR, DEX, HP Regen + 20 / 3 Sec.)

This dungeon is a series of teleportation circles. They will either be

alone
or in groups of 2 spaced vertically, in which case I will refer to
them as
(N)orth and (S)outh. To get past the barriers between the entrance and
the
boss go SNS. The boss room has a teleport in each cardinal direction,
with
the east one going back to the entrance and the others going to the
room in
that immediate direction. The north and south 'L' shaped rooms both
have a
single teleport at their entrance returning to the boss room and 2 at
their
west end, the N going to the nearest treasure chest room and the S
going to
the nearest defense point room. The empty room in the middle has a
single
teleport in the east going back to the boss and 2 in the west with N
going
back to the entrance and S going to the west defense poitn. At
treasure chest
room 1 N goes back to the entrance and S to the boss, with treasure
chest room
2 being the reverse. defense point rooms each have 2 teleports, with
the south
and east rooms having N going back to the boss and S going back to the
closest
room that leads to them. The north room has the opposite. I could not
think of
any good way to show all that in my ascii map. The boss is a clone of
one of
those bull area bosses from area 4. He has some very powerful attacks
with
massive AoE, and enough power to one hit kill with some of his
attacks.
Fortunately, he is incredibly slow so you should have no problem
evading most
of his attacks. His worst attack hits the entire room for massive
damage. When
this attack is coming you cannot use the teleports and if it hits it
is a
guaranteed one hit kill on the party. It is possible to parry or use
some
similary ability, but I recommend using the Warmonger or Sacred
Cross's
defensive abilities rather than having to worry about timing.

D__ . . __
. |
. |
2__ .
.

|
D__ . . __ . . . _B_XXX__E
|
.
1__ .
.
. |
D__ . . __|

----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Misc. FAQs:

Q: What do I get for doing SI?

A: Update 1 give you access to some end game level equipment very
early on.
Update 2 lets you infuse sacraments, which makes your equipment a good
bit
stronger, plus has some better loot. Update 3, despite being
ridiculously
hard, gives loot that is at best marginally bettern than 1 and 2. If
you
manage to beat every single SI dungeon you get to see a brief
cutscene.
Q: When should I rescue the defense points?
A: In update 1 & 2, once a boss attacks it. That is just because
killing them
is necessary for the S rank, these dungeons can be beaten before any
of the
defense points fall. In update 3, wait until they are at half HP or
slightly
lower, then make a single round, killing everything at the defense
point,
before returning to clearing the dungeon. This will generally leave
you with
just enough time to finish the bosses without any NPCs dying. The
actual magic
number for the SSS rank is 30 bosses, or 5 rescues, with all NPCs
alive, but
the sixth is often necessary to keep the NPCs alive to get a SSS rank.

Q: Why do you say some pieces of equipment have no effect or have an

effect
30% of the time?
A: I could be wrong with some of these. I took a survey of 100 pieces
of
equipment that sometimes did and sometimes did not have an effect and
found
29 did and 71 did not. It is entirely possible that rate varies based
on
factors I hae not yet discovered. In an effort to farm all these
equipment
I got at least 10 of everything before I concluded that they had
nothing. For
some I went as high as 20. This does infact leave the possiblity that
I simply
had bad luck with some of them.

Q: How can I farm the chests more quickly?

A: You don't need to finish the dungeon, just get the chests then
return to
the entrance and repeat until you get the best stats on the loot you
want. For
chests that are a long way from the entrance try farming in
multiplayer mode,
but solo obviously. In multiplayer you can save yourself the walk back
by
logging out to go back to the lobby.

Q: Can I go back for the chests after clearing the dungeon?

A: Yes, although there isn't much need to do so. In multiplayer there
is no
timer after clearing the dungeon so you can go back for the chests.
Also in
single player you can stop the timer and walk around the dungeon by
opening
the menu. You will need to beat the NM guarding the chest in 25
seconds or
leave it to your party though. Again, there isn't really a need to do
that but
you could if you wanted to.

Q: What is trait farming and how do I do it?

A: The game calls it something else, but this is the process of
increasing the
personality traits for NPCs, here is a brief guide:

step 1: become acquainted with a NPC either by completing their quest

on the
message board or by talking to them 15 times in town (will need to
leave and
return twice).
step 2: become friendly with NPC by accepting their email request,
completing
their delivery quest, talk to them 4 times then reply to their email
friend
request.
step 3: add friendly NPC to party go into field and enter combat with
them
until traits appear.
step 4: repeatedly issue orders corresponding to their traits until
they can
grow no more. you can check by facing them and pressing triangle with
your
weapons sheathed and no monsters around. Weapons must be drawn to
issue
orders
step 5: repeat 1-4 with new NPC(s) until emotion level is maxed. You
will
need to go to an update 3 dungeon to check. It took me 45 NPCs with
emotion
values in the teens and 20s, so probably about 10-20 hours of total
farming.
I highly suggest doing this concurrently with other game activities,
such as
farming loot for legendaries.

Q: Do I really need to max out the emotion level?

A: Maybe not but I would definitely recommend it for the hardest
dungeons in
SI update 3. Some of them are a bit easier but you will probably want
to get
the emotion level to 2 or 3 even for those.

Q: What is Dancing Hellraiser and why do you keep recommending it?

A: It is a scimitar SS at 250 skill. It is my favorite SS and I use it
constantly because it pierces defense, which is great for bosses, and
has a
very wide AoE, better than most skills that advertise as AoE. You can
use some
other type of weapon if you want but this is my preference.

Q: What is air dashing?

A: You can dash repeatedly in midair with the R1 button. This lets you
cover
great distance quickly, but with each dash the SP cost increases.

Q: What are normal methods?

A: I use this phrase a couple of times to describe how I fought bosses
in
updates 1 and 2, as opposed to 3. It means no legendary weapons,
potions, or
hidden extra skills, just enhanced chest weapons (up to HNM) and
skills that
can be attained with 250 skill level or less. That includes both buffs
and SS.
I make this distinction because it is sufficient for update 1 and 2
and
anything more can take 10s of extra hours, as opposed to minutes to
get these.

Q: What are legendary weapons and how do I get them?

A: The game's strongest weapons, though only marginally better then
the much
more attainable HNM weapons. Check the gamefaq forums or do a google
search on
how to get them. I did not discover any of this on my own so I won't
include
further instructions in this guide.

Q: What are hidden extra skills and how do I get them?

A: They are the more advanced EX skills and some of them have some
awesome
skills. In all honesty, I have no idea how to get them. Most just show
up on
their own at some point, I had to google the rest.

Q: What extra skills should I use?

A: The basic extra skills are all fairly mediocre, your first priority
should
be sword skills and all the buff battle skills. If you have the skill
points
to spare I would go for buffer or attacker, if just for the passive
skills.
Once you get access to the hidden extra skills they are game changers.
Celestial Blades lets you build some massive SSC either with dual
blades or
without but eats a ton of SP. It is best when you need to do a lot of
damage
quickly and can take some time to restore your SP between rounds of
attack.
Illusion Thorn is almost as good for SSC but sacrifices some DPS to
save a lot
of SP. It is best when you need a sustained assault. Warmonger has
some decent
attack buffs with great defensive buffs. I would recommend it against
those
bosses that can wipe your party with a single hit, and also for the
other
members of your party. Sacred Cross is similar to Warmonger but a good
bit
stronger, but costlier and with greater downtime. It is a great middle
ground
to the others. There are a few more that are all much better than the
basic Ex
skills, but these are my recommendations for SI.

Q: Which buffs should I use?

A: For bosses, all or as many as you can. In general, anything that
increases
attack or movement speed or restores HP/SP. There are a bunch of good
ones on
the 2 handed sword path. Increasing SSC is also great, but only once
you can
get it in the 10s or 20s.
Q: Why do you refer to the defense points by direction rather than
color, like
the game does.
A: I personally find it easier to keep track of their locations rather
than
colors. Also, this make the guide color blind friendly.

Q: Why do you use the 'rhetorical you' so much?

A: Because when you are giving instructions that is how you talk.

Q: Why do you refer to all the bosses with male pronouns?

A: No real reason, that is just how I think of them unless the have an
overtly
feminine name.

Q: Can I quote/post this guide on some other website?

A: Knock yourself out, I really don't care. Just be sure to cite the
source
and author.

Q: Why do your ascii maps look so horrible?

A: Because I'm not going to put that much effort into improving them.