We traveled to Academia -400 AF- through the gate located in The Archylte Steppe -??? AF-, and we entered a zone where humanity evolved beyond imagination.
After the cutscene the Threat Facer achievement/trophy is unlocked, and we are immediately attacked by a group of Cie’th.
While in Academia 400 AF you should know that you are attacked all the time by the Cie’th.
Because of this, you will advance slowly.
The main objective appears after the first fight.
Objective 1: Find out whats going on
From the starting point, go right and when you reach the end of the platform, to the left you will see a red elevator. Use the control panel to switch the elevator and go up, then follow the next platform until a cutscene starts. Watch the cutscene and activate the yellow terminal to get the Map of Academia.
Move forward, then left and you will see Chocolina. Near her is a cube. Pick up the Farewells Gate Seal, then talk to Miss Horizon who has a quest for you and you will get the Academic Rank: Paradox Professor Fragment.
Secondary Objective: Deliver your explored maps!
To complete this quest, you have to give Miss Horizon the maps of the zones you have explored 100%.
Before you continue your journey, you should see the new weapons Chocolina sells. Buy everything you need and switch to a RAV/RAV/RAV formation, because you will have to defeat a horde of Ghoul guards with every step you take.
For the next part, all you have to do is to get to the exclamation mark on your map; however the fact that you will be attacked by so many Ghouls may ruin the entire experience.
This part as well as the entire zone is hated by most FFXII-2 players, because the amount of unnecessary fights is ridiculous.
Remember to push east and dont stop until you reach the zone that triggers a new cutscene featuring Caius. You wont encounter any special enemies except for a white robot, which is not a hard opponent.
Objective 2: Follow Caius
Unfortunately, nothing changes after you receive this objective. You have to follow Caius who vanishes when you get near him and fight Taxims and other weak creatures.
Just keep following Caius and mash the buttons of your controller until you reach the next exclamation mark.
Kill the Cocytus to save Yeul, and now, things should become interesting because a boss fight follows. It is Zenobia and you must defeat her.
Objective 3: Defeat Zenobia
While fighting Zenobia, we have used the SEN/MED/SEN, RAV/RAV/RAV and COM/COM/COM paradigms.
You should be very careful during this boss fight, because Zenobia will not take any damage as long as the tentacles around her are alive. A Vaballathus tentacle is easy to stagger using the RAV/RAV/RAV or RAV/RAV/COM, but keep in mind that the number of tentacles increases with each phase.
When Zenobia attacks, switch to SEN/MED/SEN, then focus on the Vaballathus, by switching to RAV/RAV/RAV until you stagger it, then to COM/COM/COM to destroy it.
When all of Zenobias guardians are destroyed, stagger the boss, and change to COM/COM/COM to inflict massive damage.
Repeat this phase until the boss dies; however, when her health is almost depleted it is a good idea to switch to a Saboteur/ Saboteur/ Medic formation, because she will knock you down. Repeat the tactics presented above and you will win this fight, but stay alert because a Cinematic Action starts. Press the following buttons to get a perfect score and the Crystal Petal fragment:
-Push the Left Thumbstick up
– Push the Left Thumbstick to the left
-Press B once
– Push the Left Thumbstick to the right
-Press B once
-Tap A to fill the circle on the screen
After you defeat Zenobia, watch the cutscene.
Get the Zenobia Fragment and the Tower Artefact.
At this point you should explore the entire area, or if you wish you can use the gate to the north to open a new location Augusta Tower -300 AF-.
