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Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Item Sweep in the Desert

By
Claire Farnworth

We can now scour the desert for every last treasure and Crux. Start from Atomos’s Sands and work your way in a counter-clockwise direction, picking up all treasures and Cruxs. Be diligent and make sure to touch any Cactuar Stones you see because you will need them a bit later on. Make sure to use Chronostasis liberally throughout this section until the appointed time or you may find you do not have enough time to complete everything.

Pick up the Crux in Atomos’s Sands and be very careful of Earth Eaters in that area. There is also a Chaos Infusion nearby that could catch you out and you can find the Loupe (Elmer’s tool) in this area too. Look out for Tobias’s General Store branches around the Dunes and replenish any items you need.

Head into this building and grab the Cactair Notes before you fight it.

There is Libra information for the Cactair (a monster you will be fighting shortly) inside a ruined building just southeast of the sandstorm and Cactair spawn area. Head towards the sandstorm and the Cactair will appear. This is the monster you need to kill to receive the final fragment of Dajh’s soul.

Approach the monument and use a Crux to remove the storm and then attack the Cactair. This is possibly the best designed monster in the entire series and one of the funniest ones to fight. As with most Cactuars, it is highly resistant to all elemental damage and status ailments. Thankfully it only has 200 HP though you will only be doing 1 damage at a time. Its strongest attack is 1000 Needles though a lot of the time, it will get its needles stuck in its ‘fro.

You can stagger it by guarding its attacks and pounding it with spells to drive up its Wave. It has a habit of using Aeroga a lot which can hurt a bit if you aren’t prepared. Guard the attack with a strong guard. Fire attacks generate the most towards the Wave so focus on those. Keep plugging away and you’ll eventually emerge with the Fragment of Kindess . You have now collected all the soul fragments needed for Dajh.

Take advantage of these moments by staggering Cactair.

Pay a visit to the Oasis Lighthouse and collect the Angel’s Headband , three lots of Bhakti’s Oil , the Key to the Sandgate and the Silver Barrette (4 EP needed). If you don’t have enough EP, return for it later. Speak to Zanford to begin “ Last One Standing ”, an incredibly long quest that requires a lot of effort to complete.

Head through the Dry Floodlands, picking up the Crux along the way. Collect all treasure and Cruxs in the Giant’s Sandbox and then head to the Temple Ruins North Gate entrance. Speak to Ramon who is sat in a tent just outside. This is the guy who lost his wife and his business. Give him the Arithmometer you found from the Goblots earlier to immediately start and complete “ His Wife’s Dream ”.

Purchase all the Libra information from Ramon before you head off again. Finally, clear out the Grave of the Colossi for items and then return to Ruffian to complete “Old Rivals” and “Tool of the Trade”. Tobias will now sell more items and Elmer can appraise any unappraised items you find. Always make sure to use his service whenever you need to.

Just a sample of the things you can obtain from Unappraised Items.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS3, XB 360
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    8 April 2014
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    Claire Farnworth

Share this free guide:

The world has moved on. Time is no more. People do not age but they can still die from accidents or murder. And so, the population has slowly dwindled and there remains only four main areas left in the world. Lightning awakes from her crystal slumber with one task: to save as many souls as she can before the world ends in thirteen days.

Join us as we scour every corner of Nova Chrysalia from the Wildlands to the Dead Dunes and back again.

In the main guide:

  • A complete guide as to the best way to complete each main quest, side quest and in what order.
  • Complete side quest and Canvas of Prayers sections.
  • Full Ultimate Lair walkthrough with optimal strategy for Ereshkigal.
  • Aeronite strategy and video.
  • Trophy and achievement guide.
  • HD videos with commentary.

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