LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII

LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII

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How to get the Achievements in Lightning Returns
By Alexiel アレクシエル
A quick guide on how to get the Achievements that you don't already get from finishing the game. That being said, if you havent finished the game already, you should do it without worrying about them and enjoy the game, but that's your call.
   
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Harbinger / Goddess of Death
For this Achievement you'll have to extinct 1/10 Monsters. There are 2 ways to do that. You can either kill them all via random encounters, or kill them all in the Ultimate Dungeon as each last one you haven't already slain will spawn. Those last one (Omegas) are stronger, cast higher-classed spells and/or are more difficult to stagger. Here is a list of the Monsters you can extinct, and how many you have to kill to make the Last One spawn.


Hoplite
80
Nib let
120
Zaltys
30
Gaunt
60
Gremlin
120
Dreadnought
30
Gorgonopsid
80
Goblot
80
Gurangatch
30
Ectopudding
60
Miniflan
100
Aster Protoflorian
30
Schrodinger
60
Goblin
90
Reaver
30
Meonekton
65,535
Cactuar
30
Triffid
80
Cyclops
30
Skeleton
60
Desert Sahagin
80
Earth Eater
30
Skata'ne
60
Hanuman and Vali
100
Zomok
30
Dryad
100
Rafflesia
100
Chocobo Eater
30
Arcangeli
30
Chimera
15
Sugriva, Neela, and Wendigo
30

Important Notes :
  • - Don't forget to loot the items they drop ( the small shiny thingy on the ground), it can be a powerful weapon or accessoire.
  • - Meonektons can only be extinct inside of the Ultimate Lair, as it's impossible to kill all those 65.535 ones during the course of the game.
  • -The summoned Dryads also count to your process.
  • - If the last ones don't spawn and the type of monster doesn't spawn either, then there's a fixed encounter you haven't already fought with that monster. Noteable examples are the Arcangeli, Sugriva and Chimera.
Lizard Lariat
Did you noticed the small Lizard in the Dead Dunes? You can kill them, do that 30 times and that achievement is yours. Near the lighthouse and the place with the arithmometer are always many of them.
Queen of the Arena
Just win 10 battles in the Yusnaan Arena. You can win the same battle over and over again, it still counts towards the achievement.
Fatal Impact
For this Achievement you'll have to deal 99.999 Damage (or more) with a single hit.
If you haven't got that one already, here's a quick and easy way to setup and get it.

Schemata 1:
Garb : Soldier 1st Class (remember, all DLCs are included in the Steam release)
Weapons, Shield, Acessoire : Grab as much damage you can get (don't use double-blades)
Abilities : You don't need additional ones, you will just abuse Slayer :)

Schemata 2 & 3:
Equipment : Nothing required. If you have stagger boosts or ATB boosts (Chaos Blade), use those.
Abilities : DeProtect, DeShell, Imperil, 2x Aerora.


Search for a Gurangatch in the Dead Dunes.
Cast DeProtect, DeShell and Imperil in any order. Then switch between Schemata 2 and 3 and spam Aerora. Once your foe is staggered, switch to Schemata 1 and use Slayer. Profit.
Crimson Rebirth
For this achievement you'll have to do the 4 trials on your last day before deafeating the final boss.
There's nothing much to say about it, run through the 4 tunnels, activate the altars. Then go to the shrine in the middle of the room and get your reward. Good luck defeating the final boss :)
Beyond Thirteen
For this achievement you'll have to unlock a fourteenth day. To make that happen you'll have to do
a number of sidequest.
The exact number is not known, but the calculation to get it looks like somewhat like that.

You need 1.0 to unlock the extra day on the end of day 12:
(it won't unlock earlier even if meet the requirments)
  • ★ sidequests are worth 0.02
  • ★★ sidequests are worth 0.04
  • ★★★ sidequests are worth 0.08

Notes:
- the day is made from the lost hours, as the world usually had 26 hours a day.
- the Ultimate Lair is open this day
- the last day will then be day 14, if you play a new game + , that makes the final boss stronger
Monster Bane and Holy Garb of Destruction
Both are completed by defeating the superboss in the Ultimate Lair. So first you have to unlock that. Check the section "Beyond Thirteen" above this one.
Once you've done that you will face a dungeon full of the Last Ones you haven't killed already.
On the last floor you will have to face Ereshkigal, the hardest boss in Lightning Returns.
There are many strategies to beat him, but you should try out your style a few tries first. As like the rest of the game you can beat everthing your style and how you want to play.
If you have no success try Slow and Poison ( you have to cast both twice so it sticks),
and if you are too lazy or still have trouble , search youtube for cheap and easy strategies .
Desert Dragonslayer
You have to slay the other superboss, Aeronite, to earn that one.

He spawns in the Dead Dunes from Day 7 onwards, the Giant's Sandbox to be more accurate.
Outside of the battle he looks like a swirling orb of chaos with lightning effects. Just like the space-time distortions in FF13-2.
Unless you want the challenge don't let it reach a Chaos Infusion.
I actually had a harder time beating him then the other superboss, but that's probably because i did it on Day 7 at 6:00 AM.
So take your time,try your style and slap this thing :)
If you have trouble, use Silent Guardian/Cyber Jumpsuit and accessoires to get a schemata thats immmune to magical and the other one to be immune to physical attacks.
Like Ereshkigal there are many ways to beat him cheap and easy if you can't pull it off or are lazy, just look them up.

Remember to get the item he drops!

You also will be rewarded with the Questitem for "What Rough Beast Slouches".
Globetrotter, Seed Collector and Unearthly Apothecary
To get Unearthly Apothecary, you will have to collect 100 (80 on NG+) Soul Seeds and hand them over to any of the "sould traders" you want. Since Seed Collector requires you to collect 50, you will get it along the way.

The fastest way to do farm the seeds are the highways. You can unlock them via the Canvas of Prayers from day 9 onwards, if you open up all you will also be rewarded with Globetrotter.

Now, unless you have done everything else in the game , make a savestate, and run the highways from one area to another. Once a chaos infusion appears, start the fight and escape !
Collect every soul seed spawnedd and then continue your travel. Just repeat those steps until you have enough seeds.

The reason why you wanna escape is simple. On normal or hard, soul seeds can only spawn once every hour. Escaping from a fight skips an hour, and since seeds don't require you to win the fight, that's fast and easy profit.

Althought you can get this achievement very quickly in real time, it can easily cost more then 1 or 2 days of ingame time. Since you can only start this method on day 9, theres not much time left. Either load your savefile after you unlocked the achievements, or make sure you finished everything else in time.
Expert Shield- / Swordsmith
To upgrade your Swords and Shield you'll have to be in a New Game+.
The rest is simple. With the right materials you can upgrade your items.
You can either get them from cutting down enemies or buy them at an Adventurer Essentials.
With them, head to your trusted forge and get started.

Important notes:

  • You can upgrade more steps then one at a time if you have the materials. For the sake of the achievement tho, you don't want to do that as it counts a one upgrade. Just upgrade one grade after another
  • It doesn't have to be a single sword or shield
  • Because of that, just buy the cheapest material and upgrade everything you can do with that
  • As always if you are short on money make savestates before the attempt, then sell everything you don't need. Just reload after getting the achievements
Expert Craftsman
This one is slightly more difficult then the other "Expert" achieves.
But basically, to upgrade an accessoire, you have to get it again in a new playthrough (and again on the next).
If you get 30 accessoires again you'll unlock "Expert Craftsman".
If you are still on your first playthrough, make sure to collect as much as you can get (check out the link at the end of the guide), so you can get it on your next playthrough.


If this achievement is the last thing you'll have to do, follow these steps.
It lists a way to get it as fast as possbile, grabbing the acessories you can get early in the game. ( Not made by me )

Because you can upgrade each accessory twice you do not actually need to collect 30 for the achievement. Just make sure you have these 15 during your first playthrough as they’re the quickest to acquire in New Game+ and then again in NG++.

After starting your second playthrough complete the opening sequence (investigating the murder in Luxerion) while grabbing Fighter’s Emblem. After telling the inquisitor that the Children of Etro are responsible for the murders sleep at the inn in North Station Plaza until 00:00. Next follow the Children of Etro to the Graveyard. Once this sequence is complete the gates to the Avenue open and you can go collect Twist Headband and Magician’s Token.

Use the remaining time until 6AM to travel to the Wildlands. Grab Imp's Crest from Canopus Farms and then head to the Dead Dunes. You will need a Pilgrim's Crux to dispel the sandstorm near the lighthouse. I found the easiest one to get is on the beach along the Eastern portion of Giant’s Sandbox. Take a right from the monorail station, hop down to the beach and follow it north until you reach the Crux. Once you have the Crux head west and then north through the Dry Floodlands to the Oasis Lighthouse. Use the Crux to clear the sandstorm and grab the TS containing Angel’s Headband and Silver Barrette.

If you still have time (and EP) travel to Yusnaan and grab Promised Necklace, Locket Pendant, and Wolf’s Embrace. Once 6AM rolls around you’ll be sent back to the Ark and you can quickly skip the cutscenes. The only thing you must do before you can leave is talk to Hope about Main Quests and Side Quests. The game will alert you when you’ve unlocked the warp device.

Warp down to Luxerion North Station and sleep at the inn until 00:00. Go to the graveyard entrance and enter whatever code you want into the phonebooth. The game will give you the option to “Force your way through” and you should take it. After a quick cutscene and easy fight against a Dreadnaught you can access Sinner’s Corner and grab Stormbane Choker and Zirconia Brooch. Continue along until you reach the Children of Etro, skip the cutscenes and get back into the city. Sleep at an inn until 6AM and then at the start of the next day start in Yusnaan.

Go to the Auger’s Quarter entrance (grabbing Promised Necklace, Locket Pendant, and Wolf’s Embrace if you haven’t already) and follow along with Main Mission 2. Once you’ve learned about the Sneaking-In Special buy the ticket from the Tour Guide (the one-man band near by playing classic Final Fantasy battle music in a terrible new way) and then head to the Industrial Area entrance. Talk to the ticket-taker and opt to wait until 6PM. Continue following along with Main Mission 2 grabbing Fencer’s Earrings, Soldier's Tie, and Sight’s Circlet.

Once you've grabbed the ID from the Warehouse District head to the Auger’s Quarter and finish up by getting Demon’s Earrings. You now have all 15 accessories upgraded. Sleep at an Inn until 6AM and then use the crystal in the ark to restart the game from the beginning. Run through these steps again and you’ll have all 30 upgrades and your achievement.


Fighter's Emblem - Luxerion North Station Plaza; Treasure Sphere (TS) on top of the scaffolding next to station entrance

Twist Headband - Luxerion "The Avenue"; TS on the scaffolding to the left as you head toward the South Station

Magician’s Token - Luxerion “Gallery Steps”; TS on a small platform seen as you go up the steps towards South Station

Stormbane Choker - Luxerion “Sinner’s Corner” (The Graveyard); TS, take the entrance near North Station and follow the path through the graveyard

Zirconia Brooch - Luxerion “Sinner’s Corner” (The Graveyard); just up the path towards South Station from the Stormbane Choker

Promised Necklace - Yusnaan, “Harker’s Row”; go right from the monorail station towards the area of the city with 6 restaurants, TS to the right of the stairs you go down

Locket Pendant - Yusnaan, “Banquet of the Lord”; go up the first flight of stairs leading to the restaurant (to the left coming from the monorail), jump over the small wall onto the platform below and then over to the awnings in front of you. There’s a TS that requires 6 EP to unlock.

Wolf’s Embrace - Yusnaan, “Aromatic Market”; from the TS containing the Locket Pendant go left and follow the path towards the Industrial Area. Before the stairs leading down to the entrance to the Industrial Area (the same stairs where the Soul Seed merchant is located) there are boxes to the left. Jump up on them and follow the wall until you reach the TS on the ledge

Fencer’s Earrings - Yusnaan, “Industrial Area” (gain access via the Sneaking-In Special Ticket required for Main Mission 2); climb the large tower at the center of the area. Once at the top look down and to your left. Jump the the platform below and collect the TS.

Soldier’s Tie - Yusnaan, “Supply Line”; just after entering the area (pass through “Industrial Area” and “Cargo Station”) there will be some boxes you can climb on that give you access to an elevated platform. The TS is on this platform.

Sight’s Circlet - Yusnaan, “Warehouse District”; from the starting point (where you fall down after fighting the Cyclops boss) stay to the right and enter the 1st warehouse. Climb the crates and obtain the TS on the platform above.

Demon’s Earrings - Yusnaan, “Auger’s Quarter”; after entering the Auger’s Quarter take an immediate right and go up the stairs. Towards the back left is a break in the buildings behind the platform. Jump over the railing and down between the buildings. The TS is hidden there.

Imp's Crest - Wildlands, "Canopus Farms"; TS in the forest surrounding the farms, on the northern side

Angel’s Headband - Dead Dunes, “Oasis Lighthouse”; TS next to the lighthouse (important, this costs 4Ep!)

Silver Barrette - Dead Dunes, “Oasis Lighthouse”; TS right by the Angel’s Headband
Useful Links
Final words
Thanks for reading my guide!
If you have questions, links to add, tips, need help, found grammar issues / mistakes or just want to share your love for the game, feel free to comment it, or add me here on Steam.

This was my first guide, and it was fun to make. I'll probably add stuff like pics, depending on whats needed. Maybe a "Tips for beginnners" section even. If needed i can also translate it to german.
I really had a blast playing Lightning Returns and it's sad that it's so overlooked because of FF13 and FF13-2. If for whatever reason you are reading this guide without owning the game, gtfo and buy it. Come back later once you need help with the achievements :P
19 Comments
Cosmo 16 Mar, 2022 @ 10:29pm 
Thanks for the resources!
Alexiel アレクシエル  [author] 2 Nov, 2020 @ 9:22am 
Yea would have liked it aswell, as the game dpeth easily allows it and would make hard mode really entertaining.
SotiCoto 29 Oct, 2020 @ 10:02am 
Yeah, I figured it out in the end by process of elimination.
I was almost disappointed that the achievements didn't actually cover completing the game in Hard Mode. I didn't even try Hard Mode as I managed to get the accessory upgrades a few days into NG+ and stopped playing.
Alexiel アレクシエル  [author] 29 Oct, 2020 @ 2:54am 
@SotiCoto

sorry wasnt online for a while! Congrats to completing the game! :3
The monstername NIB . LET wasnt censored until recently, and i wasnt aware of it, sorry :x
SotiCoto 14 Oct, 2020 @ 10:36am 
What is the monster on the list between Hoplite and Zaltys? The one that Steam has mysteriously opted to censor? Can't its name be somehow censor-bypassed so we have some clue what it is supposed to say?
Xande 1 Mar, 2018 @ 7:41pm 
wow nice guide!
Martin 2 Jul, 2017 @ 2:03pm 
Oh i get it now lol, thought you could only get those 15 by pick up so i've been killing monsters like a manic for about 20 hours total. :trazz: I'm currantly at 29 of 30 accesories. :luck:
The guide has been a great help.
Alexiel アレクシエル  [author] 2 Jul, 2017 @ 1:39pm 
@Tholen You can actually upgrade most accesories, that's just a guide to get the achievement fast and easy ^^

"If this achievement is the last thing you'll have to do, follow these steps. " I'll add a short note to make it more clear, tho. :)

IIRC to get to the statue you have to do MainQuest, and if that's the last achievement you wanna get quickly without caring about anything else, this "timewaste" is not needed. (It's been a while, and the "mini guide " ends there does it? So it would jsut be item 16, you can grab it if you want to, but it's not needed. Again , it's been a while, sorry)

Thanks a lot, tho. Hope you enjoy the game and my guide can help you. If you want to upgrade ALL acessoires, check the at the end of the guide :)
Martin 2 Jul, 2017 @ 11:58am 
I just found an accessoire you can upgrade that wasn't in your list.
The Corundum Pin, it's located under the gold statue in Yusnaan.
Nimmy 19 Feb, 2017 @ 12:37am 
Thanks for the guide. Wolf's Embrace is actually Wolf's Emblem