In order to clear the second part of the chapter, you will need to clear the following requirements:
- Head from Traveler’s Road to Weissberg Volcano.
- Enter Meteor Castle, then make your way to the top floor.
- Synthesize a Hammer and upgrade your gear.
- Defeat the Old Castle Dragon.
Getting to Meteor Castle
Once you complete the preparations, fast travel to Traveler’s Road – Northern Fork.
Follow the cobblestone road and head northeast, up the hill.
Once you get to the top of the hill, proceed to the next area, Weissberg Volcano – Smoky Mountain Path.
The path will split into two, heading north and east. Both paths will lead to the next area, so choose whichever one you prefer.
The southeast is slightly better, as you will find fewer monsters along the way, and you will also discover the Old Drawbridge landmark.
Once you get to the end of the path, proceed to the next area, Hidden Village.
In the Ancient Village, head east until you get to the fork in the road. Take the path heading south and follow the trail.
Continue until the end of the trail, and then proceed to the next area, Meteor Castle – Heatwave Gate.
Meteor Castle
After entering the castle, read through the dialogue, and then take the path heading south of the gate.
Continue up the stairs and proceed to the next area, Upper Waterway.
On the Upper Waterway, follow the marker until you get to the center of the map.
A cutscene will play, and you will obtain the first of the three Power Reactors for the forge inside the Atelier.
With the forge, you will be able to reinforce weapons, armors, accessories and items by adding new traits and unique effects. While it won’t be particularly useful right now, the forge will be quite handy for the postgame content.
Once you get to the marker, Tao will find a stone tablet from the Klint Kingdom era, which contains some information about the dragon.
Read through the dialogue, and then get ready to face the first boss fight in the game. The fight will start as soon as you walk up the stairway and proceed to the next area, so make sure to complete all preparations first.
Synthesizing a Hammer and Upgrading Your Gear
First of all, you will need to upgrade your gear. Start by synthesizing a Hammer.
Equip the Woodcutter’s Axe, then use it on the dotted stones around Heatwave Gate.
You will collect Ethereal Stones, which are the core ingredient for the Hammer recipe.
After collecting the Ethereal Stones, return to the Atelier and synthesize the Hammer.
Next, fast travel back to Meteor Castle – Heatwave Gate. Equip the Hammer, and use it on the same stones from before.
With the Hammer equipped, you will obtain Cometstones and Pentanite for the next ingot morph – Staltium.
Synthesize a few Staltium ingots, and then upgrade your weapons to their next morphs.
Once you are done with the preparations, return to Meteor Castle – Upper Waterway and proceed to the next area in order to face the boss.
Old Castle Dragon Boss
A cutscene will play as soon as you reach the upper floor of the castle. You will see Agatha fighting against the dragon, as the party arrives just in time to help her.
Read through the dialogue. The fight will start as soon as the cutscene ends.
As the first proper boss fight in the game, the Old Castle Dragon will present you with a significant step-up in difficulty. The dragon doesn’t have any weaknesses for you to exploit either.
Focus on stacking up your AP and on raising your Tactics Lv. up to 5. Make sure to follow up on your party members’ Action Orders to pick up a few extra AP, and to deplete the Old Castle Dragon’s stun bar as well.
Pay attention to the boss’ charged attack. Once the dragon starts channeling, make sure to quickly burst its stun bar down.
The Ice Bomb you synthesized earlier in the chapter will be a great help for this fight, as the Slowdown debuff will buy a lot of time – especially against the charged attack.
After you reach Tactics Lv. 5, the battle will be over in an instant. Make sure to watch out for your party members’ HP bars, and heal through the damage as necessary.
Read through the dialogue after the fight, and then advance to the next part.
