The story nears its climax as tensions bubble over within BLADE ranks, and the Ganglion make their biggest move yet…
Chapter Prerequisites
- Explore 10 percent of Cauldros.
- Complete the “Nine Lives” affinity mission.
- Complete the “Boot Camp” affinity mission.
- Complete Chapter 10.
- Required Members: Elma and Lin.
- Restricted Members: Nagi.
Story Mission Walkthrough
Eat your dinner—tonight it’s special.
Once the sequence is over, you’re called by Vandham in a hurry—so much so that the mission doesn’t even officially start before you’re given your first objective.
Objective 1
Head to the restricted hangar in New LA’s Administrative District.
Go ahead and fast-travel there to continue the story. The rendezvous point is not far from where Doug normally hangs out.
You have a new, urgent mission now—retrieve the Lifehold Core data at any cost!
New Story Mission: Chapter 11
Respond to Commander Vandham’s urgent request.
Objective 2
Follow Lao to the Ganglion base in Cauldros.
Gather your best and brightest, and then head for Cauldros. Your destination is the O’rrh Sim Gate.
Objective 3
Search for Lao in Cauldros’s O’rrh Sim Castle.
You want good ground gear and personal stats for this, as your Skells can’t fit inside the entrance. Try to have your party members’ levels at least in the mid-40s.
Go inside the castle and follow the passageways and elevators, taking on all comers. Eventually you’ll descend low enough to reach the O’rrh Sim Keep.
Objective 4
Defeat the force Seidr.
Force Seidr
Lv. 44: Boss
You’ve faced multiple Skells on foot by now—this just happens to be one of the most powerful ones. The same strategies apply; the battle will just take longer. If your levels are comparable to or higher than its, then smart debuffing and offense will win the day handily.
The Seidr is also your only target, so four-on-one dogpiling is the order of the day. Topple it whenever you can, and flank it with as much damage per second as possible. Ranged fire works well against this target, as it likes to dart around the room sometimes.
Objective 5
Search for Lao in Cauldros’s O’rrh Sim Castle.
After you beat the Seidr you’ll be able to bring in your Skells for the final act. Go down the elevator to confront Lao.
Objective 6
Defeat the Prog Ares.
Prog Ares
Lv. 45: Boss
The Prog Ares is a formidable machine, but now that you’re in your Skells, it’s an enemy that’s on the same scale as you, that’s (hopefully) of a comparable level as your party, and that’s fighting alone. In other words, this fight will be easier than you think, especially since you can Bind it until the cows come home. Fight it like any normal enemy (albeit a speedy one).
There is a wrinkle to this fight, however: You have to win it twice. The first time, you have to get it down to half HP. Then, after a cutscene intermission, you have to fight it from full strength again.
Get the Prog’s HP low and it starts spamming powerful attacks like the rapid-fire Agni Gatling, the distance-covering Avatara Missile, and the piercing Aghasura Cannon. Defeat Prog Ares one and a half times, and the battle’s over for real.
