Thunder Plains and Lake Macalania
There isn’t much to do in Thunder Plains this chapter. You can use the maps to explore the areas and pick up any available treasure chests.
Thunder Plains South
 1 |  Echo Screen ×5 |
| 2 | Hi-Potion ×2 |
| 3 |  Safety Bit |
Thunder Plains North
| 1 | Phoenix Down ×3 |
| 2 |  Dark Grenade ×2 |
| 3 | Ether ×3 |
You can find Cid still moping near the lake in the southern section of the Thunder Plains. Just look for the purple 
icon to find him. Where he stands and what he says depends on your answer in the Zanarkand Ruins, but either way it is the same 0.2%.
Helpful Hint
The Thunder Plains are a great place to catch a Chocobo. Remember that you need to have caught one before the end of Chapter 3. Raising and leveling your Chocobos happens later, in Chapter 5, but you can check out the Chocobo Ranch page in the Side Quests section now if you’d like to read up on it early.
Continue north towards the large structure you can stand under. You’ll find Lian and Ayde loitering around here in the area. Similar to Cid, the Ronsos will only appear if you interacted with them in the Calm Lands in the last chapter. This second interaction triggers some Story Completion Percent, but then you’ll have to decide where to send them: Djose Temple, The Moonflow, or Kilika Island.
Speaking to Lian and Ayde here is worth Story Completion Percent, and allows them to show up again in Chapter 5.
It doesn’t matter where you send them; you will be viewing all three of these locations through the CommSpheres when you get to Chapter 4, so you can pick any of them. This will only impact which CommSphere they appear on in the next chapter (in other words, it has no impact at all).
Warning
The next destination is the Travel Agency at Lake Macalania. You should have paid off O’aka XXIII’s debt back in Chapter 2; if you’re not certain, double-check the cabin on the Celsius now and make sure his counter reads zero before you continue.
Lake Macalania
As soon as you land in Macalania Woods, you’ll be thrown into a Mission that involves defending the Travel Agency.
Mission: Secure the Agency!
This Mission involves defending the Travel Agency from six consecutive groups of fiends. And, as the pop-up message mentions, you won’t be able to heal up between the battles. Generally, these battles won’t be hard, but be cautious, because a couple of Oversoul enemies can really turn the tide and send you hurtling towards a “Game Over” screen in no time.
You will face the following battles in this order:
- Rhyos and Vertigo
- Barbuta x3
- Flan Blanco and Barbuta
- Rhyos and Vertigo
- Barbuta x3
- Flan Blanco and Barbuta
(Yes, you’re reading that right. You’ll face the same three sets of enemies twice, back-to-back.)
Completing this Mission will earn you the 
Pride of the Sword Garment Grid and a brand new Dressphere, the 
Berserker. The Berserker has some niche uses, but it’s generally not considered to be a top-tier Dressphere. Use the links below to read more:
Dresspheres
The Berserker’s ability to counterattack enemies can be really helpful, but otherwise, it’s just another melee-based role that doesn’t stack up to some of the other Dresspheres you have.
Tips and Tricks
An overview of the best Dresspheres in the game and an outline of which Dresspheres carry the most utility over into later chapters. This section includes a tier list.
You’ll also receive 
Al Bhed Primer. Lots of rewards for this Mission! Make sure you step a short distance away from the Travel Agency to trigger another short cutscene with O’aka XXIII, where he will run out and reaffirm his commitment to the shop (and to sell items to his friends). He will actually have a fair number of items in his shop worth checking out in Chapter 5 when his shop re-opens, but you’re done in Lake Macalania for now.
Don’t forget to make a quick stopover, though, to complete the Publicity and Marriage Campaign steps while you’re here. The easiest way is to go back into the Travel Agency, use the 
Save Sphere, then warp back down to Macalania Woods (entrance).
Side Quests
A list of the NPCs that you can speak with to earn Open Air / Argent Publicity points and Marriage matchmaking in Macalania Woods during Chapter 3.
There are also a few treasure chests you can pick up in this area outlined on the maps below:
Macalania Woods - Central
| 1 |  NulFrost Ring |
Macalania Woods - Central (Shimmering Path)
| 1 | Gold Bracer |
The next destination is a new place called “Cactuar Nation.” Warp back up to the Celsius using a Save Sphere, but while you’re up there, speak to Shinra and watch “Crimson Record 4.”
Watching “Crimson Record 4,” which is on the 
Crimson Sphere 4 key item you picked up in Guadosalam, is a requirement for 100% Story Completion. You can complete it anytime, but you may as well watch it now.
After you’ve watched it, warp down to Bikanel.
Checking the “Thunder Plains and Lake Macalania Complete” box adds the Story Completion Percent for the automatic scenes in Thunder Plains and Lake Macalania.