One of the final set of challenges you'll undertake in Star Ocean The Second Story R, Raids are a special sort of enemy encounter. Occasionally while exploring the world map you'll see a huge, unmoving, dangerously-red enemy. This is a Raid, and these foes are much more dangerous than the average baddie. You won't be able to make so much as a dent in most Raids until you've traversed the majority of the Maze of Tribulations, if not outright completed it.
This guide will help you track down and defeat all of the Raids in Star Ocean The Second Story R. The plus side of Raids is that, once you reach their ridiculous levels of power (Level 130ish and beyond), you'll realize they're just inflated versions of enemies you've fought dozens of times. Trounce them and you'll receive some awesome gear, making the post-game content quite a bit easier.
Expel / VR Expel
- Ultra Aulbear - 1,200,000 HP
- Located on the north end of the desert behind the Lasgus Mountains, on the west end of the continent
- Prize: Hachimentei (Dias)
- A hefty fighting machine, and one of the harder Raids. Work hard early on to blast through the first two forms, then throttle back on the third one and use ranged attacks and summons to avoid its Extinction AOE. Only go all-out on the third form if you manage to Break it.
- Ultra Untrained Assassin - 300,000 HP, weak to Fire
- Located on a mountainous cape to the south of Harley
- Prize: Scumbag Slayer (all)
- Potentially the easiest of the Raids. He just wanders around and attacks at random.
- Ultra Ghark - 864,000 HP
- Located on an island to the south of Salva
- Prize: Valkyrie's Bracelet (females only), guards a chest containing Gemini (Ashton)
- Another relatively easy Raid. Just wanders around, slapping your characters.
- Ultra Rock Demon - 1,250,000 HP
- Located on an island to the north of Kurik
- Prize: Valiant Shield (males only)
- A Barchian clone. Doesn't do anything until it's just about to die, at which point it uses Pain Release. With sufficient defenses one or more characters should survive the attack.
- Ultra Ogre - 690,000 HP
- Located on the end of an island chain to the west of Linga
- Prize: Roaring Burst Puncher (Precis)
- Hits extremely hard, but moves slowly and can be stunned if you catch it in a crossfire. Use summons to keep it pinned so it can't attack.
- Ultra Phantom Phoenix - 900,000 HP, absorbs all elements
- Located on the cliffs to the northwest of Eluria Tower
- Prize: Battle Suit (all)
- A standard bird-type enemy with rushing attacks. Best handled with anti-air attacks. Can be defeated in a single hit with a Phantom Slayer equipped.
- Ultra Crimson Beast - 750,000 HP
- Located on the north end of the island with the Maze of Tribulations
- Prize: Glorious Thorn (Ernest)
- One of those pesky fire-breathing lizards. Surround it, avoid its breath, and keep your healer well away. Not too bad.
- Ultra Wizard - 540,000 HP, Weak to Light
- Located on the south end of the island with the Maze of Tribulations
- Prize: Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (Leon)
- One of the easier Raids. The Ultra Wizard has access to some painful, high-level Spells, but he's easily stunned by physical attacks. Gang up and demolish him from both sides.
Energy Nede
- Ultra Robinette Captain
- Located behind a hill to the south of the Cave of Crimson Crystals
- Prize: Formation Manual 'Defense'
- A powerful foe whose bow attacks can inflict Petrify, Confusion, and Mute on any characters they hit. You can either equip armor / accesories to negate these status ailments (I suggest getting the Symbol of Antiquity from the Ultra Takikodus, below), use Wonder Drugs on the afflicted, or rely on your healer(s) to use Condition Cure. Either way, fight carefully and try to get out of the way whenever she readies her bow. (If you get tired of bouncing off of her, equip Bloody Armor and you'll have no further problems.)
- Ultra Whelp - 1,500,000
- Located northeast of Princebridge
- Prize: Secret Manual 'Weight'
- A very speedy little creature who hits hard and fast. Equip Bunny Shoes on your attackers and try to hit it from behind, as its defenses may ignore your attacks otherwise. If you find your characters getting put down, attract its attaention with your main character and lead it around while your healer goes to work.
- Ultra Darth Widow - 986,100 HP
- Located in the forests to the west of L'Aqua
- Prize: Soul Helmet (melee characters + Noel)
- A surprisingly nasty customer that will randomly KO characters she hits. Ranged attacks and summons are a preference, though given that she can also teleport you should be sure to bring along lots of items to revive your party.
- Ultra Phantom Knight - 659,000 HP
- Located beside a mountain range to the east of Fun City
- Prize: Ring of the Deep King (all)
- A strong, but relatively basic, knight enemy. Get on both sides and clobber him. The Phantom Slayer can take this guy out in one hit, but you don't really need it.
- Ultra Takikodus - 99,999 HP
- Located behind Phynal, inside the energy barrier
- Prize: Symbol of Antiquity
- A weirdly weak enemy. You'll probably pummel it before you know what's going on.