Luca

After the opening concert cutscene, you’ll find yourself in control of two of the three main characters of Final Fantasy X-2: Rikku, whom you’re already familiar with, and a new character named Paine.

The opening battle at center stage involves defeating two Goon enemies and someone identified as “????” in the battle menu. The Yuna lookalike will start by buffing the Goons, and then will move on to casting Thunder on your party members. Because this is the opening fight of the game, it’s very easy, and all you have to do is select the Attack option. Using Paine’s Swordplay abilities is overkill, but you can have Rikku steal a Hi-Potion from “????” if you want.

Rikku and Paine will follow “Yuna” down the stairs at the entrance and around to the Docks.

Dock 1

“Yuna” (or “????”) will immediately run forward into the next section of the Luca docks. Don’t linger in this area too long because the Goons will continue to spawn and respawn as you make your way into the next dock area.

Dock 2

You’ve reached the second set of docks, and you have already reached the first important stopover point for players who are looking to achieve 100% Story Completion. The Story Completion elements of the guide will be identified in alert windows like the one below throughout the walkthrough and as you progress through the game:

Keep the chase going around the corner to the next Dock area.

Dock 2

After a short cutscene, you’ll automatically be thrown into battle against Logos and Ormi, but not before the real Yuna joins you.

At the end of the fight, another short cutscene will play. Yuna will get her Songstress Dressphere back, along with the First Steps Garment Grid, and then it’s right back into another fight.

A short cutscene with some dialogue will take place after the fight before Brother and Buddy swing by to pick up the team in the Celsius, the airship used to transport the team between locations in Final Fantasy X-2. That’s right, you get it much earlier in this Final Fantasy game than you might be used to if you played… almost every other Final Fantasy game up to this point!

Celsius (Interlude)

There is a bit more dialogue as you arrive with your team on the airship. There’s a lot that you can cover over such a short period of time, but here are a couple of key takeaways that are worth completing before you head on to the next Mission:

Start by saving your game at the Save Sphere. Speak to Buddy and Brother, and you’ll get your introduction to “Learning Al Bhed.” Learning Al Bhed is quite a bit different in Final Fantasy X-2 compared to Final Fantasy X, but it’s far less important to focus on the Al Bhed language in this game. That being said, if you’d like to learn more about it, check out the link below:

Interacting with both of them will get you four Al Bhed Primers. Brother will also give you the Festivalist Dressphere if you’re playing the HD Remaster after he shouts, “Let’s go! Party! Party!” You can read more about this new Dressphere later in this section of the guide.

Make sure to speak to Rikku and Paine for a brief bit of narration from Yuna (and some Story Completion Percent). You should also speak to Shinra, where you can watch your first Treasure Sphere. Select “Treasure Spheres” on the menu, and then select “Journey’s Start” to watch the sphere.

Head towards the elevator, past the Save Sphere, and into the cabin. Speak to “Barkeep,” the Hypello behind the counter, and select the option to “Rest.”

Head down to the engine room and open the four treasure chests near the engine. They contain four Phoenix Downs, an Ether, three Remedies, and four Potions. Get used to doing this every single chapter because these treasure chests will somehow refill themselves.

Next, speak to Buddy to start the next Mission, but before you do, it may be worth reading up on some battle mechanics and tips. You can have Shinra explain them, and watching his tutorial will award you the Vanguard Garment Grid. You can also head over to the Tips and Tricks to learn some additional advanced tactics.

Most importantly, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the Garment Grids you have and the Dresspheres you can access.

After that, you can learn a bit more about the Dresspheres you have access to, which include the Gunner, Warrior, Thief, and Songstress roles that you’ve seen already. If you’re playing the International HD release, or the HD Remaster version of the game, you’ll also have access to the Festivalist Dressphere. It’s not necessary to bog yourself down reading each of the sections below; however, there are a couple of important recommendations:

Dressphere Tips:

• The Gunner role that Yuna briefly occupied, before she switched over to Songstress, may not have left a great first impression if you attempted to use her Trigger Happy ability during the last fight; it tends to do very little damage, especially if you’re slow pressing the button, or if the prompt catches you off guard. However, the Gunner role is much more powerful than it first appears, and it’s worth swapping Yuna back to this role and using it for the next fights. Have her begin learning the Trigger Happy Lv. 2 Ability by going into the Abilities menu and selecting it down at the bottom of the Abilities list.
• Keeping Rikku in her Thief role isn’t a bad idea, but consider swapping the ability she learns to First Strike. This lets her use Steal early in a fight and, depending on your play style and Dressphere preferences, you could move her into a different Dressphere. Stealing items is not nearly as critical in Final Fantasy X-2 as it is in other entries in the series, but stocking up on items early in the game is never a bad idea.
• Keep Paine in her Warrior role as it’s fairly powerful well into the game; in fact, you may want to consider moving Rikku and Yuna into this role from time to time.
• Lastly, don’t forget to equip your party members with accessories. You should have a set of Silver Glasses, an Iron Bangle, and a Silver Bracer in your inventory.

If you’d like to read up on each of the Dresspheres to understand a bit more about their use, their strengths, and their weaknesses, check out the following pages:

It’s now time to proceed to the next Mission, but there’s one last item it may be worth reading up on if you missed it previously, and that’s how to double-check the current “Story Completion Percent” against the Story Completion Tracker. You can actually review your Save File at the Save Sphere to make sure that you have the proper percent for where you are in the game. Use the link below to learn more:

For reference, your Save Game file and the NavMap should be showing 3%. Make sure you save your game before initiating the next Mission, though, because it involves a timed event that you only get one shot at.

With all of that covered, it’s time to speak to Buddy. You’ll be able to see a list of locations on the map, but you’ll only have one option available, and that’s to travel straight to Mt. Gagazet.