Let's Play Final Fantasy XIII [99] Leveling Tip 5 - Mah'habara

Channel:

JBRam2002

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Published on October 8, 2010 12:54:07 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OMBW53UYA

Game:

Final Fantasy XIII (2009)

Duration: 6:16

2,673 views

3

Minor spoiler alert. Some of the information in this video and description may contain spoilers including gameplay elements, weapons, accessories, and locations.

My previous video - Available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmx9vZeoqs - described how to find a lot of gil, but with relatively slow CP leveling. This video may be the best leveling spot in the entire game. For one, it is an excellent leveling spot as soon as you first reach this area. A second reason it is so excellent is that you will receive vast amounts of CP and a decent amount of gil to boot. When I first got to this area, I stayed until I had upgraded all of my weapons to Tier 2 and nearly maxed out my Chrystarium. Until I realized I could return to Eden after beating the game, I thought this was the best gil-farming spot in the game (I was wrong).

The area is called Mah'habara, or the Maw of the Abyss. It is one of the first areas you explore on Pulse, and is located right next to the other famous CP leveling spot with the Behemoth King and the Megistotherian fighting. The downside to this area is that they are difficult to beat when you first meet them, and you get almost no gil for the spoils. In Mah'habara, only a short walk away, both of these issues are solved.

The two enemies you will meet are the Hoplite and the Cryohedron. The Hoplite will drop Analog Circuits (common - 90 gil) or Solenoids (rare - 420 gil) and will hand out 770 CP. The Cryohedrons drop Bomb Ashes (common - 90 gil) or a Bomb Core (rare - 600 gil) and are farmed for 1190 CP. These numbers may seem low, but you will fight large groups of them in quick succession, making this a prime leveling spot. In less than 5 minutes in this video, I grabbed 8k gil (not nearly as much as in my other video) and a whopping 33k CP. In 2.5 hours, you could get 999,999 CP and as much as 250-500k gil.

On your first run through, you might have a little difficulty, as this is really the first decent leveling spot in the entire game. After leveling up your Chrystarium after one or two runs, it gets an awful lot easier. I suggest using Lightning, Fang, and Hope. Try to unlock Firaga and Thundaga for Hope, and after a little leveling, Hope will be able to one-shot a Preemptived Bomb. I also bought several Whistlewind Scarves from Moogleworks. Upgrade one of them into an Aurora Scarf and give it to Hope to quickly dispatch the enemies. After about an hour or two of leveling, you should be close to maxing out your main roles for each character and start working on secondary roles.

Your party and equipment are largely irrelevant once you return later in the game. I've equipped an Aurora Scarf on each of my secondary members (since the menu takes too long to navigate, an Aurora Scarf is mostly useless on the Party Leader). I would also make sure you've equipped all of the Scavenger Items (Collector Catalog, Connoisseur Catalog, etc). I used my fastest hitters (Fang, Snow, Lightning) to show you the best speed for farming, but any party members will do. Sazh is a little slow to react, and Hope and Vanille will stand still and use Ruin. Even with your weakest and slowest party members, this whole area should take well less than 10 minutes.

As for Paradigms? Well when you first enter, you may want to be a little more cautious. A Sentinel is possibly a good idea until you decide you're faster than the enemies. Start out with Relentless Assault (Rav, Rav, Com) or Delta Attack (Rav, Sen, Com) to build the Chain Gauge, then hit them with Aggression (Com, Rav, Com), Cerberus (Com, Com, Com), or Offensive Screen (Com, Sen, Com). For higher-leveled parties, just go crazy on them with Cerberus. Don't be too disappointed if your party leader never gets out of the starting blocks.

Difficulty: **
When you first get here, these enemies are a little difficult. After a couple rounds and some leveling, you could almost do this in your sleep. I've done several rounds with one hand while surfing the net with the other. A great multi-tasking spot, really..

CP Gains: *****
As stated, this is probably THE best CP leveling spot in the entire game. There are a couple spots that rival it, but this definitely takes the cake for fun and CP.

Gil Gains: ****
As stated, I used to think this was the best gil-farming spot, short of going after Oretoises. It's not as good as other spots, but the fact that you gain so much CP and decent gil gains makes this worth your time for Chapter 13 leveling.

Fun: *****
This is one of the most fun leveling spots in the game. You may get a little bored after a bit, so just mix it up. I've used this area to learn how each character fights, including their animations, speeds, what they say, and what their weapons do. It's one of the most fun areas to farm in.

Overall: *****
Don't pass this area without spending a little time here. It is seriously one of THE best spots in the game. Definitely worth your time!

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