Final Fantasy XIII – Cie'th Stone missions guide

Congratulations! You’ve exited the tubes of Cocoon and are now experiencing the vast, beautiful environments of Gran Pulse for yourself. But you shouldn’t sit here too long just taking in the view – after all, there’s stuff here. Stuff that needs killing, to be precise.

All around Pulse, you’ll find the remains of fallen l’Cie who failed in their Focus – Focuses that usually involved monster killing. A simple touch will net you their sob stories of not being able to take down a particular beast. Many of these missions are optional, netting you items and equipment as a reward, though some are mandatory for the story, and a few unlock additional game features and sealed-off areas once they have been completed. So why not take some time out and help fulfill the last wishes of the dead for fun and profit?

Skip to:
Missions 1 - 10
Missions 11 - 20
Missions 21 - 30
Missions 31 - 40
Missions 41 - 50
Missions 51 - 60
Missions 61 - 64

Above: Click for larger map

Mission 01: Pond Scum

Rank: D
Mark: Ectopudding
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse (beside the pond)
Reward: Energy Sash

Your first mission is a relative pushover. The only thing you really need to look out for with Ectopudding is that he/she/it (do gelatinous blobs have genders?) is completely immune to physical attacks. If you’ve got a strict Commando on your team with low Ravager levels, just have them stick to using Ruin.

Mission 02: Goodwill Hunting

Rank: D
Mark: Uridimmu
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Reward: Cobaltite

Another relatively simple fight, though a bit tougher than Ectopudding due to the sheer number of enemies. Uridimmu’s got an entire pack of Gorgonopsids with him, and if you’re not careful they can gang up and put a bit of extra hurt on your party members.

Mission 03: Massif Contamination

Rank: D
Mark: Ugallu
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Mark location: Yaschas Massif – Tsubaddran Highlands
Reward: Platinum Bangle

Ugallu’s similar to Uridimmu and his friends, but a lot bigger. He also fights solo, making it considerably easier to concentrate your attacks on him. Fortunately, the percentage you’ll need to achieve to stagger him is pretty low. He’s weak to ice and wind attacks, so set up a party/paradigm with spellcasting skills to help stagger him, then send your Commandos to go to town.

Mission 04: A Hero's Charge

Rank: D
Mark: Adroa
Cie'th Stone location: Yaschas Massif – Tsubaddran Highlands (teleport)
Mark location: Yaschas Massif – The Ascendant Scarp
Reward: Pearl Necklace

Adroa and his buddies have a very low percentage needed to stagger. Unfortunately, Adroa is resistant or immune to numerous magic skills, making it tough to damage him by any means other than pure melee attacking – so do just that. The little buggers don’t exactly have huge HP reserves, so taking them down shouldn’t be a huge issue. They’ll be using a lot of water magic against you, potentially interrupting your strikes, so plan accordingly.

Mission 05: Joyless Reunion

Rank: D
Mark: Edimmu
Cie'th Stone location: Yaschas Massif – The Ascendant Scarp
Mark location: Yaschas Massif – Tsumitran Basin
Reward: Sorcerer's Mask

Edimmu has some solid defenses, being immune or resistant to almost every physical or magical attack you can throw at it. Why not send a Saboteur into the mix to help even the odds a bit before going in for the kill? Fortunately, it doesn’t have a huge amount of HP compared to other single-enemy hunts, so with a few debuffs you ought to be able to clip its wings.

Mission 06: No Place Like Home

Rank: C
Mark: Munchkin Maestro
Cie'th Stone location: Yaschas Massif – Paddraean Archaeopolis (Waystone)
Mark location: Yaschas Massif – The Pass of Paddra
Reward: Fulmen Ring

The goblin enemies in FFXIII sure look odd, don’t they? This is the first of several missions you’ll be sent on to take down the big(ger) bosses of the goblin tribe. He’s got a few of his lackeys with him when the fight begins – take those little guys out first before focusing your attacks on the Maestro himself.  He’s immune to thunder but vulnerable to ice and wind skills, so use those to build up a chain and stagger him.

Mission 07: Bituitus, the Pillager

Rank: C
Mark: Bituitus
Cie'th Stone location: Yaschas Massif – Paddraean Archaeopolis
Mark location: Yaschas Massif – Paddraean Archaeopolis
Reward: R&D Repot (access to shop)

Bituitus looks a lot like Edimmu, but is considerably stronger in the hit point and chain percentage departments. Fortunately, his defenses aren’t quite as solid as Edimmu: he’s vulnerable to non-elemental Magic strikes. Get some Commandos out on the field and get to Ruining! Keep in mind that he can also inflict Poison status and other debuffs, so you’ll want to swap in a Medic or Synergist from time to time to keep everyone in top form.

Mission 08: The Eleventh Hour

Rank: C
Mark: Rakshasa
Cie'th Stone location: Vallis Media – Base Camp (Waystone)
Mark location: Vallis Media – Atzilut's Tears
Reward: Collector's Catalog

Rakshasa likes to hit pretty hard, and he’s got some slimy buddies on the scene as backup to boot. Take care of the ooze first before aiming to take down their boss. Use thunder spells to help build up a chain (he’s pretty easy to stagger) and keep a Synergist in tow to help offset his various debuff skills. This won’t be the last you’ll see of Rakshasa, either: he’s roaming around some of the later areas you’ll encounter, sometimes in groups, so keep this in mind for your later travels.

Mission 09: Heave-ho

Rank: C
Mark: Kaiser Behemoth
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse (Waystone)
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Reward: Rhodochrosite

The behemoth enemies in FFXIII have two stages: one on the ground on all four legs, and another that stands upright on their haunches. The latter stage occurs once you’ve reduced the HP of the behemoth past a certain point, and it also restores the creature’s HP to max once it sits up. If you’re careful (i.e. you have the behemoth staggered and launched in the air) you might be able to kill it without it even shifting, making for a much easier fight. If you can, try to land a preemptive strike on the beast and put it in a stagger immediately. If you can’t, well, keep everyone well-buffed and work your magic against him with Earth-elemental spells.

Mission 10: Hollow Hope

Rank: C
Mark: Ambling Bellows
Cie'th Stone location: Archylte Steppe – Central Expanse
Mark location: Archylte Steppe – Northern Highplain
Reward: Super Conductor (x4)

Ambling Bellows is what happens when accordions go bad, apparently. Fortunately, he’s got a handful of weaknesses that can be exploited: thunder, water, and earth magic. Physical attacks aren’t going to be as effective, so keep your Ravagers ready to throw whatever they can spare at him and he’ll be humming a different tune soon enough.

Skip to:
Missions 1 - 10
Missions 11 - 20
Missions 21 - 30
Missions 31 - 40
Missions 41 - 50
Missions 51 - 60
Missions 61 - 64