You've beaten the Lords. You've conquered the Wedge. You've learned the truth of the Crown Contest and the Sovereign. And now, as you come to the end of Tales of Arise, it's time to set foot on Rena, the world that once seemed impossibly far away, to quell the Great Spirit that wants to consume all.
It's not going to be easy, and you'll likely see that the moment you drop ship on Rena. You'll find yourself facing enemies many levels higher than your party members, swarming you with Artes and rapid attacks, wearing you down before throwing huge guardian monsters at you to finish you off. It's a significant difficulty spike that can catch some players off-guard. Fear not, however--our guide will help you survive and conquer the final challenges Tales of Arise presents you.
If you need a more rudimentary look at Tales of Arise, be sure to check out our beginner's guide. You might also want to read our Tales of Arise review.
Take It Slowly
Even though you've landed on Rena, you don't need to explore the entirety of the final dungeon immediately. Because of its sheer size and difficulty, it's better to explore it bit by bit. Fortunately, there are a couple of teleporter warps you can activate throughout to give you a shortcut to and from the Renan surface. If your party is exhausted and you're low on supplies, it's best to return to the surface via fast travel and delve back in later. While many enemies will respawn, several key fights (such as large enemies blocking corridors) will not. This will also allow you to make new weapons and accessories with the materials found inside the Renan dungeons.
Now's The Time To Tie Up Loose Sidequest Ends
Rena might be sucking out all of the astral energy from Dahna, but since this game operates on JRPG Standard Time it's not going to kill the planet anytime soon. You've got plenty of time to spend on strengthening yourself... and the best way to do this is by tackling all of those sidequests you've left dangling, recipes you've left uncooked, training quests you haven't cleared, and fish you haven't caught. Not only will they yield lots of EXP, CP, and Gald, but they'll also reward you with very valuable artifacts and skill-granting character Titles.
Several new sidequests will open up all over the world after travel to and from Rena becomes available. Check your map list to see where new quests are lurking (signified by the envelope icon) and find out who needs your help. Some of the requests will be pretty simple, while others--particularly the large monster hunts requested at Daeq Faezol and the "Mixed Feelings" quest--will not. Keep on your toes, too, because some quests like "Phantom Flower of Nevira" (found in the Autelina Palace library) and Beyond the Grave (found on the Tuah Seashore) that seem like simple investigation/gathering missions at first are actually fierce monster fights in disguise!
Fight The Four (Well, Three) Elemental Spirits
Proving yourself in battle against the elemental spirits is a common theme amongst the Tales games, and Tales of Arise puts its own spin on the tradition. When the Wedge first drops on Dahna, lights will appear in various places across the planet. These are special dungeons where a giant elemental spirit resides. You'll fight one, Efreet Malum, during the course of the story, while the other three are optional.
To open these quests, you'll need to progress through the game and complete several sidequests in Elde Menancia, Mahag Saar, and Ganath Haros. (You can actually unlock some elemental quests much earlier in the game, but you'll likely nope out of them very quickly after seeing the high-level enemy opposition you're up against.)
"Spirit Temple" is the quest to fight Grand Gnome in the Earth Spirit Temple. You'll get this quest from an NPC on Traslidia Highway. You'll then discover a huge structure that's emerged in the Tietal Plains. Going inside takes you to a new area.
To reach the boss, you'll have to traverse a massive maze... that also happens to be one giant battlefield! You won't get any post-battle rewards or healing until you've made your way through to Grand Gnome's boss room. You also can't run from enemy encounters, either, so it's best to fight as few foes as possible... which isn't easy when the dungeon's a mess of samey-looking hallways and teleporters, and the battles have you running around and disorienting yourself.
There's not much here in terms of treasures, so focus your attention on making it through the maze. Look down hallways before barging in to avoid encounters and scout for exits and dead ends. Try to make mental notes of room formations--where walls and exits are, how far away teleporters are placed--to keep from getting lost and backtracking accidentally. There's no minimap, so if you want a record of where you've been, you're going to have to pull out pen and paper.
Fortunately, you'll get a chance to heal up and save in the room before you battle Grand Gnome. Be sure to have your best wind-element Artes ready for a very tough fight!
Procella Sylph's dungeon is much shorter and more straightforward. You'll need to accept the quest "Farewell, Mage" in Niez, then travel back to Mount Dhiara. Enter the Tower of the Wind Spirit from here.
You'll find yourself in a huge structure with a spiral staircase going up and down. While the boss lies above, you should head downstairs as well--a chest with a rare and valuable Omega Elixir awaits. Then, go upstairs and get Shionne's guns ready to fight Procella Sylph and a bevy of winged foes.
