What Is Abyssea?
Abyssea is a realm composed of battle areas created with characters level 75 and above in mind. There, players may enjoy myriad rewarding activities such as leveling, engaging in thrilling battles against fearsome foes, and collecting powerful equipment.
*Characters must be level 30 or above in order to play "Vision of Abyssea." Furthermore, users must have installed and registered the Rise of Zilart and Wings of the Goddess expansions.
Vision of Abyssea Areas
Traveling to Abyssea
Entering Port Jeuno with a character level 30 or above will trigger an event scene, after which players will receive their first mission offer along with a "traverser stone" key item required to journey to Abyssea.
Traverser Stones
Traverser stones can be obtained from the Port Jeuno NPC "Joachim," who will have an additional stone in stock every 20 hours (Earth time). Adventurers may call on Joachim at their convenience to collect their due amount of stones that has accumulated over time.
Three stones will initially be the maximum amount you may possess at one time, but this number can be increased to five through the acquisition of certain key items.*
*The key items for increasing your carrying capacity may be obtained, one each, in the following add-ons:
Vision of Abyssea / Scars of Abyssea
How to Enter Abyssea
With a character level 30 or above in possession of a traverser stone, examine a cavernous maw located at one of the areas listed below. You will subsequently be transported to the corresponding area in Abyssea.
La Theine Plateau (E-4) / Konschtat Highlands (I-12) / Tahrongi Canyon (H-12) / Buburimu Peninsula (F-7) / Valkurm Dunes (I-9) / Jugner Forest (J-8)
Cavernous Maw Transport Service
The NPC "Horst," stationed beside his compatriot Joachim, will be able to transport adventurers to any of the cavernous maws leading to Abyssea areas that they have already visited. The fee for this service will be paid in cruor.
*Making use of this teleportation service requires that you have triggered a certain cutscene at the corresponding cavernous maw.
Necessary Preparations
Visitant Status
The "visitant" status is essential for those wishing to journey within Abyssea. You will be permitted to remain there only while this status is active. Upon arrival in Abyssea, speak with a "Conflux Surveyor" NPC posted nearby to be granted visitant status in exchange for traverser stones. One stone will allow you a 30-minute stay (Earth time), with 120 minutes being the maximum permitted duration. Methods exist that allow players to extend their visitant duration.
*Players must acquire visitant status within five minutes (Earth time) of arriving in Abyssea. Failure to do so will result in automatic expulsion.
*Visitant duration continues to decrease even after log out. Players who log in to Abyssea when their visitant status has already worn off will find themselves instantly expelled.
*Be warned that the Visitant status will wear off if you are affected by the black magic spell "Tractor."
Reentry
Players will automatically be transported out of Abyssea when their visitant status wears off. To reenter Abyssea, you must first obtain more traverser stones. Please note that 60 minutes (Earth time) must elapse before your next visit to Abyssea. Those who voluntarily leave Abyssea with greater than five minutes of visitant duration remaining, however, are not subject to this wait. Since a character's visitant duration and waiting time is common across all Abyssea areas, you may move freely between areas so long as the effect duration permits. Upon reentering, however, even those with carry-over visitant duration must have the status reissued by a conflux surveyor. Be warned: leaving Abyssea at this point without reacquiring the status will render your remaining time invalid.
*Players who are expelled from Abyssea for failing to acquire visitant status within five minutes are subject to the abovementioned 60-minute waiting time.
Journeying Within Abyssea
Abyssea can be considered a collection of expansive battlefields the entry to which does not require claim; it can be accessed by any character fulfilling the requirements. Encampments and teleportation devices have been established throughout all areas to facilitate continuity of progress from one visit to the next, allowing rewarding adventuring without the need for large time investments.
Quests
Several quests can be undertaken in Abyssea. At first only a limited number of NPCs will offer quests, but others will come to trust you with their plight as you continue to prove your worth.
Notorious Monsters
Abyssea is inhabited by hordes of fearsome notorious monsters, and dauntless adventurers can arrange a confrontation through any one of several methods such as defeating certain other creatures, or using trigger items. Such monsters are known to have weaknesses which, when exploited, will allow adventurers to impair their foe's movement and abilities. Striking at a foe's weakness may also cause the creature to yield additional treasures in defeat, but the probability will decrease if the same strategy is applied repeatedly.
Items
The creatures of Abyssea yield unique items found nowhere else in the known world. As before, players may cast lots on treasures dropped by felled enemies. Treasure chests are also known to appear on occasion.
Cruor
"Cruor" is a versatile substance which serves as the currency in Abyssea. It can be obtained by defeating monsters or as rewards for quest completion. There are NPCs who will accept your cruor and offer equipment and key items in exchange. Cruor is also the power source needed to activate the aforementioned teleportation devices.
Bases, Encampments, and Facilities
Upon arriving in Abyssea, you will find yourself at a central base of sorts. These strongholds are home to helpful NPCs who will grant visitant status (as described above) and assist your cause in countless other ways.
- Conflux Surveyors
- Ever working to unlock the mysteries of inter-dimensional travel, these NPCs will afford players with visitant status. Besides allowing you to remain in Abyssea, visitant status also makes you eligible for experience point bonuses and other benefits available upon fulfilling certain conditions.
- Cruor Prospectors
- These enterprising types will provide you with items, temporary items, key items, and status benefits in exchange for some of the cruor that you've amassed.
- Atma Infusionists
- Adventurers who possess one of the many varieties of "atma" key items and have fulfilled certain conditions may speak to one of these alchemical adepts to unlock its powers. Atma may be acquired by exploiting the weaknesses of the notorious monsters that inhabit Abyssea. The powers granted by infused atma will only be effective while you are in Abyssea.
Veridical Confluxes
The world of Abyssea is vast and often intimidating. To traverse the realm with greater ease, players will want to make effective use of the "Veridical Confluxes" scattered about each area. First, a conflux must be activated by examining it and paying a nominal fee in cruor. Once a conflux has been activated, you may spend additional cruor to warp instantaneously from it to any other conflux that you have activated in the area. The central base of each area contains a conflux (Veridical Conflux #01) to which players may teleport free of charge.
 Martellos
Another device you will find throughout the Abyssean landscape is the martello. These curious metallic contraptions allow players to restore their HP or MP and cure themselves of status ailments. Martellos are powered by a magically endowed fuel that will gradually be depleted with each use.
A martello whose fuel tank is empty must be replenished before it can be used again. Replenishment of martellos is handled through a quest that may be undertaken by speaking to the "Machine Outfitter" NPC at the central base. This NPC will also offer another quest by which players may install spare tanks to increase a martello's maximum fuel capacity.
*Players may not carry both the martello fuel and fuel tank key items at once; the two quests must be undertaken separately. Furthermore, leaving the area, logging out, or getting expelled from Abyssea will cause the loss of these key items, requiring the quest to be restarted.
Battling the Abyssean Hordes
Upon commencing battle with an Abyssean fiend, the attacking party or alliance will lay claim to that foe, and other adventurers will be unable to participate in the fight thereafter.
The strength of Abyssean monsters and the frequency with which they appear will vary based upon the party's level and the speed with which similar foes have been dispatched. High-level parties will draw the attention of even more formidable fiends, and slaying foes in short order will see the equally rapid arrival of reinforcements.
Adventurers in Abyssea will face a challenge that is constantly adapting in accordance with their abilities.
*The EXP bonuses afforded by Dedication and Corsair's Roll will not apply within Abyssea.
Bastion
Bastion is the name given to defensive battles waged by the Resistance and its adventurer allies against the ever-encroaching Abyssean hordes. Bastion battles take place in the areas below introduced in Scars of Abyssea:
Abyssea - Attohwa / Abyssea - Misareaux / Abyssea - Vunkerl
Stout-hearted adventurers who lend their sword arms to Bastion can expect to earn handsome rewards in experience or limit points, cruor, and Resistance Credits, the last of which can be exchanged for Empyrean Armor and useful temporary items. As evaluation for Bastion battles is conducted on a per-enemy basis, even those with limited time can earn rewards commensurate with their contributions.
Participating in Bastion
1) Proceed to a Bastion Area.
Adventurers can confirm the status of Bastion battles by speaking with either the Port Jeuno NPC "Horst," or the Bastion Prefect overseeing each area's outpost.
- Please be aware that system messages indicating the commencement of a Bastion battle will not be displayed for those who have switched on the chat filter for Campaign-Related Data.
2) Sign Up for Bastion
Each of the three Scars of Abyssea areas is home to a military outpost, within which a "Pulse Martello"—the cornerstone of the resistance effort—is stationed. Adventurers must help to repel the Abyssean hordes that storm the outpost, seeking the destruction of the Pulse Martello.
The outpost can be conveniently reached by teleporting to Veridical Conflux #00.
During a Bastion battle, the Bastion Prefect NPC will issue the "Pennant" status to participants. Only those who have received this status will be able to attack Bastion foes and earn rewards. Similarly to Besieged and Campaign, characters belonging to different parties and alliances can cooperate in felling the same enemy.
- Pennant Status
Characters under the effect of the Pennant status will be subject to restrictions on certain other activities. Players who wish to engage in activities such as ordinary leveling and NM battles must first speak with the Bastion Prefect to have the status removed. The Pennant status will automatically wear off upon the conclusion of a Bastion battle, but you may choose to have it removed at any time.
Under the effect of a Pennant:
- You cannot engage in battle with non-Bastion foes. Similarly, non-Bastion foes will be unable to attack you.
- You cannot have healing and enhancement magic cast upon you by characters not issued with the status.
- You cannot receive or complete quests offered in the Abyssea area in question.
- You will not be subject to an experience penalty if incapacitated.
*The Pennant status does not prevent you from being ejected from Abyssea should your Visitant status wear off.
*Both Pennant and Visitant statuses will wear off if you are affected by the black magic spell "Tractor."
3) Repel the Hordes!
The fiends will relentlessly hone in on one target: the Pulse Martello that forms the keystone of the Resistance's defenses. To protect this vital but highly vulnerable target, makeshift searing ward replicas known as "Clone Wards" have been constructed in the immediate vicinity. The Pulse Martello will fall quickly if subjected to direct assaults from the enemy, so soldiers of the Resistance would do well to keep the Clone Wards functioning at full capacity at all times.
When an enemy is felled (regardless of whether the killing blow is struck by an adventurer or a Resistance NPC), adventurers will receive experience points, limit points, cruor and Resistance Credits commensurate with their contributions to the fight. Enemies will also, on rare occasions, yield purloined "martello cores," items which may be used to upgrade the Pulse Martello.
*Players level 59 and below will be limited in the amount of experience points, cruor, and credits they can obtain.
- Resistance Credits
Adventurers who battle bravely on behalf of the Resistance will be rewarded with credits, which may be traded to the Bastion Prefect NPC to receive the legendary Empyrean Armor, useful temporary items, and various other goods.
- Martello Cores
Upon acquiring these potent power sources from your foes, they will be automatically outfitted to the Pulse Martello. They will then grant a wide range of favorable effects across the entire area, from increased experience points to a greater likelihood of receiving valuable spoils, and more.
4) Laying Down Arms
You may withdraw from combat at any time during a Bastion battle. You will, however, need to speak with the Bastion Prefect NPC to have your pennant status removed if you wish to engage in other quests in Abyssea. Pennant status will also wear off automatically when the battle ends, be it in victory (annihilation of the enemy) or defeat (the fall of the pulse martello).
Resistance Ops
Adventurers may also aid the Resistance by undertaking special missions to upgrade and repair the traps that serve to hinder the progress of the enemy. Speak to a "Resistance Sapper" NPC to register for these operations, for which you will be rewarded in cruor and Resistance Credits upon successful completion.
*After reporting successful completion of an operation to the Resistance Sapper, you will have to wait one full day (Vana'diel time) before undertaking another.
*Please be warned that changing areas, logging out, or disconnecting while an operation is in progress will result in the mission being abandoned and all related key items being lost.
*Resistance ops may not be undertaken or completed while you have the Pennant status in effect.
Enemy Sighted!
Bastion battles will arise in all three Scars of Abyssea areas: Abyssea - Attohwa, Abyssea - Misareaux, and Abyssea - Vunkerl. The more adventurers distinguish themselves in their exploits, the sooner the hordes will take notice and commence their attack. Amassing considerable quantities of martello cores will also serve to attract the attention of formidable fiends.
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