LIGHTNING RETURNS: Getting Started in Nova Chrysalia

The most important thing in Lightning Returns is time management, and since you start the game with only a portion of the remaining 13 days, you will need to make the most of the time you have. Here are some tips to get you started in the right direction.

Sell Your Medals

Currency doesn't come quickly in Lightning Returns, at least not until I realized that all those medals you pick up along the way are worth a decent amount of change. You really don’t need them for any quests that I encountered, so sell those bad boys early and often so you can afford some of the better schema and gear.

Always Be Punctual

Being punctual is a necessity. It can be aggravating sometimes, especially when en route to wrapping up a quest, to teleport somewhere else. Ultimately, though, you should stop what you are doing and tackle the time specific missions first. If you miss them you will have to wait a whole other day, and that can really hurt you in the long run.

Don't Be Afraid To Meddle

Don’t be afraid to mess everything up. Experiment, have fun swapping out powers and gear, merging abilities or starting over and building from scratch. You can get some pretty effective and admittedly unique mashups this way. If you’re hitting a dead end it might be because you don’t have the best schema for the job.

Tackle The First 75% Of The Wildlands Early

The Wildlands are home to some very rewarding quests, and you'll find lots of great items and gear there too. Its a great place to knock out some easy quests on Chocolina’s Prayer Board, and it's also home to a very important set of missions for one of the Final Fantasy XIII fan favorites, or as JDot calls him, Chocofro. So spend some decent time here early, and you’ll be getting a good head start.

Remember To Use Your EP

EP allows you to use a pretty sweet collection of abilities, including Curaga, Arise, Teleport, and of course Escape. It also lets you use Overclock during combat. Overclock is extremely useful, as it slows time down during combat and allows you to use your abilities ad nauseam for as long as the ability lasts. Teleporting will consume 3 EP, but is invaluable in getting to and from quickly, especially when up against a tight deadline.

Do Not Escape

If at all possible, do not use the escape option (also under EP). It gets you out of a battle unscathed and with all items intact, but it costs you an hour of time, and in this game a few escapes add up to half a day wasted.

Have Multiple Saves

This saved me numerous times. You go to a world to complete a quest, but it turns out you can’t get in till 5 hours from now, and instead of wasting EP to teleport, or getting to the train and taking it to a place that is nowhere near your quest of choice, it's better to just reload a save before you started. It will save you precious time.

Pick Up Everything You See

Completing quests is crucial to expanding the amount of days you have available, as you only start with a portion of the 13. Even if you don’t know what it’s for, pick it up. Normally enemies won’t catch up to you when picking up items, even if on high alert and chasing you. You will need it for some quest down the line.

Don’t Wait To Leave Luxerion

You start the game in Luxerion, and in most RPGs, that would be your starting area for the first portion of the game, with the story slowly but surely taking you to each location once you’re done there and so on. That’s not how it works here, and you’ll be doing yourself a disservice by staying here waiting for the game to take you outside of its walls. Explore early and often, and feel free to stop by the other 3 locations at will. You’ll expand your quests, and you’ll get some great gear that will help you in Luxerion later on when taking on the Shadow Hunter.

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