Chapter 2 - No Turning Back
Contents
Walkthrough
We kick off chapter 2 with the knowledge that Noctis is now the new king of his city, and that his father is sadly no longer with him. It doesn’t help matters that the imperial nation is slowly starting to build its presence amongst the land.
Legacy
You start the chapter on your way back to Hammerhead Outpost to have a word with Cid and see what can be done from here on out – it’s even revealed to you a little bit about Cid’s past with regards to king Regis. Once that conversation is finished, you’ll be told that Marshal Cor is waiting outside some nearby tombs, just past the Prairie Outpost.
Before you get to the tombs, you’ll need to have a quick stop up north in Prairie Outpost, where you will be told to go and meet with Cor, as he has something to show you all.
On the way up to the tomb, you’ll be treated to a small ambush from a group of large birds, but they’re not anything you can’t handle in comparison to everything else. Warp-strikes are a very effective way of dealing with them, especially when you recall that the more distance between you and your opponent there is – the more damage you will deal to them in one strike. Just do be aware on how high you go, as Noctis does still succumb to gravity and will take a lot of fall damage if you’re not careful.
These birds will come for you a couple of more times before you catch up with Cor, but they’re not much of a challenge after you face them for the first time. Cor will proceed to tell Noctis that it is as feared the king is dead and Noctis will need to take his place from here on out. Cor teaches Noctis to embrace his new role, as he will need to learn to take up the power of the Royal Arms – weapons that have been passed down generation to generation. These weapons are incredibly powerful, but they come at the cost of the user’s health whenever in use; so it’s best not to keep them out 24/7 after you get the first one.
The Power of Kings
This quest kicks off by telling Noctis that there is another Royal Tomb nearby that he will have to visit to acquire the second of his Royal Arms. Before you head out, speak with Cor because he will reveal to Noctis that are in actual fact 13 different Royal Arms for him to acquire throughout these tombs and that if he wishes to be the king this world needs, he will need to collect every last one of them.
While this might be a lot to take in all at once, you’ll be pleased to know that Cor chooses to tag along with you for a little while and when you consider that he is about 50 levels higher than you are, you don’t need to worry about him being a liability to the team. Along your way to the next waypoint, be aware that you’re about to be ambushed by some lowly level 2 Sabertusks, but they won’t be much of a task for the lot of you.
Shortly after that ambush, a couple of imperial dropships will fly over and drop a couple of Magitek groups on top of you. Cor won’t let them do much damage with his large level gap and will knock down pretty much anyone you come in contact with as you make your way up to the next tomb. Do be aware that as soon as you reach the entrance to that tomb, Cor will be on his way, so be sure to make the most of him and his abilities before he heads off.
The second Royal Tomb in the game will be the first real dungeon you come across in the game, but that doesn’t make it a complicated one. Simply explore around and you’ll come across a number of new items and resources for you to pick up along the way, but none of them are paramount to the game or your success. Keep an eye out for any potential crawl spaces, since they’re a pretty good indication of you going in the correct direction.
Before long you’ll come across a spider demon: Arachne. Arachne isn’t much of an imposing enemy this early on, but a few daft mistakes will be sure to cost you. It doesn’t exactly enjoy being hit with greatswords – combine yours and Gladio’s all into one barrage of attacks and Arachne will be going down before too long. After Arachne is down and out, head inside the Royal Tomb and acquire your new Royal Arms: the Axe of the Conqueror. You can simply choose to fast-travel out of the dungeon instantly and make your way onto the next major and final quest in chapter 2; all with your new weapon in toe.
Declaration of War
On your way out of the tomb, Cor will ring you up and mention that the imperial army are setting up bases around the country and it’s going to make things incredibly difficult for the group here on out. It’s revealed to you that there’s a nearby blockade that you will need to take care of, seeing as it’s the only potential opening for the group after they deal with the surrounding imperials.
Meeting up with Monica will inform you that Noctis is going to be part of the insurgence team with Cor and everyone else will affectively be the distraction while they make their way deeper and deeper into the blockade. With Cor with you once more, it’s pretty difficult to find yourself struggling at any point during your time with the combatants, just don’t play too recklessly and you should be fine.
The real challenge doesn’t come into it until Loqi shows up in his quite menacing, giant mech-suit. Similar to how Arachne was, he’s not a very big fan of greatswords and after a few good swings you’ll be able to disable it to some degree and deal some considerably big damage to the thing. He does manage to telegraph his attacks fairly well, but if they do manage to land they will do a considerable amount of damage to Noctis, so do what you can to keep your eyes open for them.
Of all the combatants you’ve faced so far, Loqi is definitely one of the most challenging – it’s definitely best to keep your wits about you. Even after you’ve defeated him, be aware that the mech will explode and can knock your health bar to nearly 0 in that one explosion – for that reason keep some space between you and that explosion!
- Rewards: Circular Saw
With Loqi defeated and his blockade in complete tatters, you can make a move onto Duscae and the next part of the adventure!
Plot
- See also: Plot
Chapter 2 – No Turning Back
In an aside, it’s shown that Lunafreya has the Ring of the Lucii. Noctis and co. go to Hammerhead to meet Cor. He is not there, but Cid the mechanic says that Cor went further north at the tombs past the Prairie Outpost. He also shares that the Empire was after the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii using the peace talk as a pretext for gaining them. Regis was aware of this, but agreed to the peace talk anyway, as the best thing he could do was engage the empire head on…and die, sending the Ring of the Lucii to Lunafreya.
Knowing Cor’s actual location, the gang continues on to the Prairie Outpost for further info. There they meet up with Monica of the Crown’s Guard who tells the gang that she and Dustin transported Gladiolous’ sister Iris to Lestallum further north for safety. Noctis’ party, then continue on to the tombs where they meet Cor. The Marshal tells Noctis that the tombs of kings are home to Royal Arms – powerful weapons embodying the strength of former kings of Lucis that can be summoned at will by living kings of Lucis, provided that the king has “claimed” the weapon from a ruler’s tomb. There are 13 known royal arms spread across the land, and of those thirteen, the location of only a few is known. Since Noctis’ father has passed, he has now inherited this power and is “duty” bound to collect them. Cor then decides to escort Noctis to another nearby Royal Arm. Upon doing so, he gives Noctis the key to open the Royal tombs then leaves to go gather intel on the Niflheim forces.
After claiming the Royal Arm from the tomb, Noctis receives a phone call from Cor asking him to take out an imperial base so that they can access the Royal Arms in Duscae. The gang work out the specifics of the plan with Monica, then begin their assault. Some brief fighting later, they succeed and Cor leaves to watch Niflheim feeling confident that Noctis’ party is strong enough to continue alone.