Part 23: Exploring Energy Nede

Main Walkthrough

Field of Wisdom - Enemies

  • Controller - 49,500 HP
  • Magic Defender - 35,000 HP - Resists all elements
  • Niquia HG - 13,500 HP
  • Rikka - 78,000 HP
  • Wizard - 80,000 HP - Resists Fire, Water, Wind, Earth

A bizarre structure built out of red and grey cubes, the Field of Wisdom is located on an island to the north of the Centropolis, and ringed entirely in jagged peaks. Take a moment to look around out front and you'll find the An Out-of-Place Artifact Unique Spot, which will earn you three Potions of Merlin and three Holy Mists when inspected.

The enemies of the Field of Wisdom are ones you've likely encountered before. You're more likely to run into them here, so we'll make some notes:

  • The Rikka have a lot of HP, and can Paralyze your characters. Don't let them gang up on you.
  • Controllers won't damage your characters. What they will do is latch on and make a party member amble uselessly around for a little while. Use Special Arts to keep Controllers at a distance so they can't seize control of your party.
  • The Magic Defenders have a tendency to distract you from other, more dangerous enemies. Try to sidestep them, as they really aren't much of a threat on their own. This changes if there are lots of them, in which case AOE attacks will help you stun the things. In any case, attack from behind.
  • The Wizards are less mobile than their witchy cousins, but their Fohn Wind Spells hit quite a bit harder. By far their most annoying ability is their plain 'ol normal attack, which has a chance of Petrifying characters - and will do so often. Pincer them between two characters to halt their Spells.
  • The Niquia HGs don't do anything. You can ignore them. (Though be prepared for the little blighters to grab onto your targeting over other, more important enemies.)

When you enter the Field of Wisdom you'll be faced with a room full of mirrors, as well as a Save Point. The mirrors will zip you to different areas within the Field of Wisdom. The central mirror takes you to a dead-end until you've completed the Field's puzzle, so you can ignore it for now and focus on the paths through the eastern and western mirrors.

Your goal here is to activate six floating cubes, which surround the central platform. You'll need to explore the entire dungeon to activate all six. You can either go through the east or west mirrors to complete the dungeon, as the two paths eventually link up. We'll stick with the eastern path, eventually making our way back to the starting point via the western mirror.


Eastern Mirror Path

Head east from the mirror. You'll come to a glowing, red floor tile, as well as a pale, yellow tile. The glowing tiles will teleport you to another section of the Field of Wisdom, onto one of the faded, colored tiles. Teleporting off of one tile will deactivate another, opening more paths to collect items. 

If you look to the south of the first red tile you'll find a second one. Start here and you'll wind up on a straightforward, westbound path that will take you to a yellow tile. This in turn will bring you to the first of the cubes that you need to activate to complete the dungeon. Wipe out the enemies patrolling the cube, flick it on, and head south to find a red tile. It will take you back to the previous path, which you can use to head back to the starting area.

While doing this you may have noticed two things about the maze:

  • The teleporting pads are adjacent to the spots where you'll end up. Consequently, this place isn't as much of a maze as it appears - though that doesn't mean it can't be very annoying, if you lose track of where you are. Mind your positioning on the map.
  • The tiles will deactivate and reactivate based on the last color you stepped on. If you stepped on a rile tile, for example, all of the red tiles will deactivate at your desination, while the yellow tiles will reactivate. You'll have to fiddle with this mechanic to get around the maze in certain places, especially if you're trying to get all of the treasure.

Return to the red tile that you first spotted when entering this section of the Field of Wisdom. The path through here is pretty complicated, so we'll explore via bullet points. There are a lot of steps to this, so you might want to place something on your screen to keep track of your current step to avoid getting lost. Good luck!

(Apologies if this route gets you lost. I think I went through the dungeon about a dozen times to finesse this explanation. If you have trouble, try going for one objective, then Fast Traveling back to the entrance and starting over. Getting through the dungeon and grabbing isn't that difficult - but it is difficult to describe.)

  • Step onto the first glowing red tile, nearest the eastern mirror at the entrance to the maze
  • Go north to the closest yellow tile
  • Two more tile warps will bring you to a chest containing an Alpha Clip
  • Go south and left to find a yellow tile back to the beginning
  • Step onto the red tile to the north again
  • Head west to hit a yellow tile
  • Head west again to find the second cube that you need to activate
  • Head back east, along the upper path, then use the lower red tile to return to the first area that is connected with the mirror room
  • Use the yellow tile to the south
  • Go east and then north, skipping the first red tile for the second that's further up
  • Step onto either of the yellow tiles in the next area, then use the red tile up north
  • This will put you in the northeast - step onto the yellow tile to your left
  • Go south, then step onto the first yellow tile on your left
  • Look to the north (the red tile along the way won't stop your progress all that much) to find a chest containing two Faerie Elixirs, then wander southwest to find the third cube that needs to be activated
  • Step on the yellow tile to the north and on your left from the third cube
  • Head north and go right to find a red tile, which will send you back to the northeast corner of the dungeon
  • Use the yellow tile far to the east to backtrack to the second cube that you activated, then step onto the tile directly east of the cube - this will bring you to a chest containing a Majestic Puncher for Precis, and the red tile to the east will take you back to the first area that connects to the mirror room
  • Work your way back around until you're in the northeast of the dungeon again
  • Head west, through a yellow tile warp, to find a red tile that's blocking a southbound path
  • Head west until you hit an intersection, then take a left and head towards the next red tile, which is blocking access to a chest
  • Look to the south, ignoring the two yellow tiles on your right, to find the fourth cube that you need to activate
  • Step on either of the two yellow tiles to the north, then step onto the right red tile further north - this will put you just north of the fifth cube that you need to activate
  • Head north and follow the trail of tiles east, until they put you back in the northeast (last time), then use the western yellow tile in the northeast to travel west along the upper edge of the dungeon, until you see a southbound path that will bring you to a red warp that is blocking a chest
  • Use the red tile to jump down into the area with the fourth cube again, then step on either of the yellow tiles to the south to activate the area's red tiles - step onto the red tile on your left as you head north to get at a chest containing a Tiara of the Arc, on your right
  • Step on the yellow tile to your left to return to the previous area
  • Go south of where you appear and step onto the red tile - southeast of here is the final cube that you need to activate
  • Head west to find a yellow tile, which leads to a forced red tile
  • Go south, then take a left to find an active yellow tile - the next tile north of here will bring you to a branched path with a chest containing six Rune Metals
  • Go to the northeast of this area and step onto the upper yellow tile, then take the red tile to your left up a space, where you'll find a chest containing a Twin Tails for Ernest
  • Fast Travel to the entrance, then take the western mirror and check to the northwest for a chest containing three Fruit Syrups, avoiding all the tiles you might see
  • Return to the entrance
Phew. That was kind of awful. You've nevertheless managed to activate all six cubes via this route, and collected all of the treasures in the dungeon in the process. Go through the mirror in the center of the entrance hall - after saving, of course - and you'll find a different kind of glowing tiles. Step onto it to challenge the master of the Field of Wisdom.


Guard Hand

HP:
  • 300,000 (Guard Hand)
  • 105,000 (Guard Boxes)
  • 105,000 (Magic Boxes)
  • 105,000 (Force Boxes)
Weakness:
  • Fire (Guard Box
Resists:
  • Fire, Water, Earth (Guard Hand)
  • Fire (Force Box)
Absorbs:
  •   Fire (Magic Box) 
A quartet of enemies that support one another, the Guard Hand and its four Boxes rely on each other. The Guard Boxes and Magic Boxes supply the Guard Hand with ammo, which it uses to either lob fiery projectiles at a single target or launch an enormous beam attack. Without the boxes, the Guard Hand just sits there and does nothing.

Your objective, therefore, is simple: Take out the four Boxes, one-at-a-time. So long as your characters stay on the edges of the battlefield you shouldn't have to worry about the beam attack, as the beam always hits the same corridor. Smack away at the Boxes until you wipe them out, then focus all your attention on the Guard Hand. It is an airborne enemy, so anti-air attacks work nicely, so long as they have enough height. Otherwise, just standing beneath the Guard Arm and whacking upward works fine.

You'll discover the core of the Field of Wisdom after the destruction of the Guard Hand, and Claude and Rena will experience a vision. (Which vision you get depends on your main character.) You'll receive the Orb of Wisdom once the vision ends, and can move on to the next Field.

Part 24: Field of Courage

Main Walkthrough