Hi, Im Kaci. I play too much Kingdom Hearts. If you've got questions, I've got answers.

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KH:358/2 Days Manga

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*Spoiler Free

I’ve been collecting a lot of KH manga recently, and I finally managed to get the last book I needed for the 358/2 Days series.  As an avid lover of the game, I am aware of its many weaknesses.  It is very stagnant, drawn out, and lonely.  A lot of what you do is busy work, which makes sense in context but it makes for a very boring game.  So I’m always eager to find alternate ways to tell this game’s amazing, beautiful story.

In 2013, when KH 1.5 was released, I was more excited for the 358 movie than anything else.  Though the HD cutscenes were gorgeous, it really fell short in terms of storytelling.  Boss fights were alluded to at best.  Scenes were strung together with on-screen text blocks.  Side-characters were practically nonexistent (no pun intended!).  It took my favorite thing about the game and trivialized it.  A recent patch in KH 1.5+2.5 on PS4 added a more elaborate scene with the final boss, so that the final moments of the movie have context.  But I still don’t think the 358/2 Days movie is a good medium for the emotion and impact of the game.  It just isn’t… right.  It’s just not all there.

So I went into the five-book manga with skepticism.  I had already read the KH1 and Chain of Memories manga, so I knew what to expect; they are silly and over the top. I came out of them thinking: “These were fun to read, but they definitely don’t replace the games.” They were supplemental.  And with how dramatic and desperate the 358 game is compared to the upbeat optimism of KH1 and CoM, I didn’t think it would translate well to manga.

But wow.  I was wrong.

These books were great.  They were impactful and suspenseful and dramatic, but they were also silly and funny and they had the cutest non-canon art on the opening page!  It addresses things you didn’t even know you wanted.  And I know that it’s technically not canon, but it fills in gaps in the series in such casual, unobtrusive ways.  For example, one of the end-of-book comics is about a dusk that cleans up the castle, and… ugh, it’s just great.

My first point of comparison is the Disney worlds.  As a member of the Organization, you aren’t supposed to be seen or influence the worlds.  In the game, they handle this by dropping you in a Disney world with an objective that doesn’t really culminate in anything.  A means to an end.  In the manga, you spend a few chapters in each world only once.  Roxas always has another Organization member with him and their interactions help shape Roxas’s beliefs and identity.  It’s a much better way of handling the “can’t impact the Disney worlds” trope.

Next is the characters.  One of the things I really loved about the game was how it fleshed out all the Organization members through small interactions and missions.  It made them side-characters instead of background noise.  The movie really failed at highlighting this, but the manga took it above and beyond. Each organization member had quirks and personality, from Xaldin’s interest in nutritional health to Saïx’s irritation when people know words he doesn’t.  Demyx is my favorite!  And though these traits aren’t exactly “canon”, they fill in the characters in interesting and believable ways.  Like in Chain of Memories manga, we learned that Lexaeus likes to solve puzzles.  In the game, we don’t learn anything about him or Zexion at all!  It’s nice to be able to imagine these characters as real people, and the manga nails that perfectly.

My biggest worry that the manga would be too silly to address serious issues, and I wasn’t completely wrong.  The manga is very silly.  But they had this weird way of interweaving silly happy scenes with a panel of a character’s expression that really brings gravity and tone to the moment.  There are a lot of “secrets” being kept and you can plainly see the weight of those secrets.  But even more surprisingly, I found that the silly moments made me enjoy this story even more!  358 has always been about friendship and belonging, but in the game most of what you see is eating ice cream and some nice gestures.  In the manga, the characters joke around.  They do stupid stuff together.  Their friendship is so much richer because of the silly stuff.  You know what’s at risk.  You know how important it is.

The end was very impactful.  I couldn’t put the fifth book down.  I knew what was going to happen and I had to keep reading anyway.  There is very little humor in that last volume.  They sort of “simplify” the final battle the same way the CoM manga did, but I didn’t mind it as much in this.  It really changes the tone of the fight.  In the game, the final battle is about survival, but in the manga it’s almost… a plea.  Begging.  I don’t know which version I like more, but I definitely appreciate the manga’s portrayal.  I can’t even explain this in words.

There were a couple non-canon things that I loved.  Oathkeeper happening was amazing.  The Moogle shop was great!  Roxas going to “level up” was funny.  They really play into it being a video game and I like that.  Chain of Memories did the same thing with the vending machine at the end.  I’m also glad that the manga not only used the “memorable quotes” from 358, but kept them mostly word for word.

One big difference between the manga and the game: the manga really focuses on Axel’s perspective.  You learn things a lot earlier than you do in the game.  I thought this sort of ruined the suspense and mystery, but at the same time I like that they tell you this big “secret” even before the main characters learn about it.  It builds a lot of tension and you really appreciate Axel in a way that you don’t in the game.

There was one omission from the manga that I thought was very important: what Xigbar sees.  This is a lead in for a later game.  The cutscene is in Day 353 and can be watched here.

As I’ve said in my Beginner’s Guide, I wholeheartedly recommend this manga.  Actually, it’s the only manga I consider a suitable replacement for the game.  It isn’t entirely canon - especially the more silly parts - but it covers everything important that you need to know (with one exception).  If the game is too much for you, please consider the KH:358/2 Days manga required reading for the series.

<3 KCM

Org XIII Event Guide ~ Saïx

Idk man.  I don’t even know.  Like.  I can’t help you.  I can’t even help myself.  I’m just going to post this on Reddit and pray to whatever KH gods there are that someone has some crazy off-the-wall back alley cheat for making this even somewhat possible.  Because I’ve been at it for almost two hours and I just don’t care.  I just don’t.

Fucking fuck.

Alright.  Uh.  Saix B does a crap ton of damage.  He’s reverse power.  He’s random target.  So in reference to his KH2 fight where he randomly gets super powerful and slaps you around with his spanking paddle, you get to fight the Werewolf.  The Werewolf waits a certain number of hits before it slaps you (and what little patience you may still have for this game) right into the ground.

So how do you kill it?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I started really having trouble at Round 7.  Then Round 11 really got me.  I finally managed to beat it using a very organized system of EXACTLY ten hits, AOE damage, and +4 Power Defense.  Round 12 would have been an absolute disaster if it wasn’t for my outrageous Nova level.  And Round 13’s combination of paralysis, uneven turn counters, and five thousand health bars basically guaranteed my surrender.

But guess what?!  A party member of mine managed to beat it.  With Axel EX.  So you know.  It’s possible.  You just have to be very rich or very lucky.  Which is how this game sort of works nowadays, isn’t it?

I am so tired.  I’m just so exhausted.  Good luck.

All objectives are “Complete without using a continue”.

[Power unless specified otherwise]

1: HDL
Lv. 25 Werewolf*

2: MM
Lv. 50 Werewolf* & Wicket Wick** x2

3: Saix
Lv. 75 Werewolf* & Green Requiem*** [M] x2 & Emerald Sonata**** [M]

4: HDL
Lv. 100 Werewolf%

5: Saix
Lv. 150 Werewolf% & Large Armor x2

6: MM
Lv. 200 Werewolf% & Gigas Shadow & Poison Archer%% [M]

7: MM
Lv. 225 Werewolf%%%

8: Saix
Lv. 250 Werewolf%%% & Wyvern# x2

9: Hairstyles
Lv. 275 Werewolf%%% & Ringmaster##

10: Saix
Lv. 300 Werewolf@

11: Saix
Lv. 325 Werewolf@ & Armed Warrior@@ x2

12: Saix
Lv. 350 Werewolf@ & Poison Archer%% & Paralysis Archer$ [S] & Sleep Archer$$ [M]

13: Saix
Lv. 500 Werewolf$$$ & Ogre & Dual Durandal$$$$

*50 hit counter
**+2 PSM Def
***Heals all enemies after two medals
****Heals all enemies after three medals
%25 hit counter
%%Poisons every 2 hits
%%%15 hit counter
#+1 Str
##35 hit counter
@10 hit counter
@@+3 PSM Def
$ Paralyses every 2 hits
$$ Sleeps every 2 hits
$$$ 5 hit counter
$$$$ 4 hit counter, paralyses

<3 KCM

P.S. Reddit please save me

Edit: Guys.  Check this Reddit thread.  Because they are so incredibly helpful.  They have so many builds for so many different medal combinations.  It’s just amazing.  Thank all the contributing Redditors so much.

Org XIII Event ~ Zexion Guide

The bad news: this is the worst event since Xemnas.  It’s ridiculously hard and is geared almost exclusively to real-money players.  The only reason I was able to beat it is because I buy VIPs when they do the Tier 5 giveaways.  Honestly, I don’t know if any F2P player can beat this one.

The good news: Zexion B is exciting, compelling content!  +1 Str for one turn??  Random target?!  I’ve been waiting a year for a RAX medal that wasn’t so OP, and finally I have it!!  The real good news?  Zexion B isn’t worth the trouble.

In the spirit of the event, you see a lot of the “Barrier Master”, a Heartless sporting the same book weapon Zexion uses.  You also see enemies you can walk right through without fighting, referencing Zexion’s clones.  All enemies are magic type, since Zexion uses magic as his method of fighting.

Mission List:

Mission 1: Kill Barrier Master ~ HDL
Lv. 25 Barrier Master* & Bunch O’ Balloons** & Shadow Witch x2
The Gigas Shadows without bars above their heads do not trigger combat.

Mission 2: One Turn ~ Magic Mirror
Lv. 50 Blue Rhapsody x5
Lv. 50 Emerald Sonata*** & Wizard x2
Lv. 50 Barrier Master* & Shadow Witch x4

Mission 3: 60 Seconds ~ Zexion
Lv. 75 Barrier Master* & Bunch O’ Balloons** & Shadow Witch x4
The Large Bodies without bars above their heads do not trigger combat.

Mission 4: Two Turns ~ HDL
Lv. 100 Barrier Master* & Wizard & Ring-A-Ding**** x2

Mission 5: Kill Barrier Master x3 ~ Zexion
Lv. 125 Barrier Master*
Lv. 125 Barrier Master*
Lv. 125 Barrier Master*
They are invisible.  One is to the right when you start, at the tip of the crossroads.  Then take the bottom right portal.  The second one is in the bottom corner beneath the portal you come out of.  Go back through the portal, to the room with the four portals where you started.  This time take the upper left.  In the middle of this room, at the top, is the Target.  Again, Neoshadows without bars above their heads do not trigger combat.

Mission 6: One Turn ~ Magic Mirror
Lv. 150 Darkball x2 & Green Requiem# x3
Lv. 150 Shadow Witch x3
Lv. 150 Ring-A-Ding****
Lv. 150 Barrier Master* & Shamanwild x2

Mission 7: 50 seconds ~ Magic Mirror
Lv. 175 Barrier Master* & Bunch O’ Balloons** & Shadow Witch x4
Again, avoid enemies with bars above their heads.  When in doubt - especially with the Darksides - hug the bottom of the screen.

Mission 8: Two Turns ~ Zexion
Lv. 200 Barrier Master* & Emerald Sonata*** & Shadow Witch & Sleep Archer##

Mission 9: Kill Barrier Master x4 ~ Hairstyles!!
Lv. 225 Barrier Master*
Lv. 225 Barrier Master*
Lv. 225 Barrier Master*
Lv. 225 Barrier Master*
At least these ones aren’t invisible.  When you start, go straight to the right.  That’s one.  Then go down and to the right a little more.  That’s two.  Head back to the center and go straight to the left.  The Behemoths won’t trigger.  Go up, that’s three.  Go down, that’s four.

Mission 10: One Turn ~ Zexion
Lv. 250 Sleep Archer## & Ice Plant x2
Lv. 250 Candy Apple x2
Lv. 250 Shadow Magician & Shadow Witch x3
Lv. 250 Barrier Master* & Wizard x2 & High Wizard

Mission 11: 75 Seconds ~ Zexion
Lv. 300 Barrier Master* & Bunch O’ Balloons** & Shadow Witch x4
Navigate rooms one and two, then hug the top of the room for rooms three and four, and finally hug the bottom for room five.

Mission 12: Two Turns ~ Zexion
Lv. 325 Possessor & Barrier Master* x2 & Shadow Magician x2
Your first medal should be a buff, like +3 Str.  Your second medal has to be an AOE cleanse.  This isn’t optional.  iB&B with Extra Attack is the absolute best thing to have for slot 1.  After that, stack your +Str and general defense down.  Then hit it with your best AOE medals and Nova.  And pray.

Mission 13: Two Turns ~ Zexion & Title: No. VI
Lv. 350 Wretched Witch### & Barrier Master* x2 & Sleep Archer## & Emerald Sonata*** & Lv. 500 Chill Blade####
Well, fuck this mission.  There’s just no realistic way to describe this.  Between the Sonata’s healing, the Barrier Master’s buffs, and the Archer’s Sleep… and +50 health bar enemies?  Just.  Ugh.

So what do you do?  Sleeping Lion is a must for this mission.  All enemies are Magic and the multipliers on SL are too good to pass up.  You need an AOE cleanse.  You need +6 Str.  You need either Extra Attack on GDD or some -60% Ground Def.  You need a crap ton of luck with traits or guilted premiums or SOMETHING because damnit this mission is hard.  I really can’t give any advice here.  This game has gotten incredibly complicated and versatile and advice just won’t cut it.  Anything I recommend is going to alienate 90% of players no matter what I say.  So I’ll just tell you what I did:

SL+28:
~iB&B with Extra Attack
~Tieri with DB3
~Mickey&Minnie with SC
~150% KDG with Extra Attack & AB3 Max
~150% iHT Sora with -60% Ground Def & AB4
Share: 150% iHT Sora with -60% Ground Def & AB4

I got all my AB4 procs.  I was put to sleep on the second iB&B and couldn’t use Tieri or M&M on Turn 1.  I didn’t need SC, but I did need DB3.  Though I have a lot of +2000 Def on my medals by coincidence.

A party member who didn’t have Extra Attack on iB&B did this:
~Tieri with DB3
~iB&B
~iKairi with SC
The rest was basically the same.

I know a lot of this probably didn’t help, I’m so sorry. >_<  I can say with sincerity, with utmost honesty, that this is the absolute worst guide I have ever written.  So many new Heartless I had to look up.  So many stupid counters and special abilities.  I am so burnt out.  Please, SENA, do NOT give me another event for like.  Two weeks.

Good luck everyone!

<3KCM

————————-

*+2 Gen & PSM Def, after one hit casts +5 Gen & PSM Def on all enemies
**When health is depleted, it explodes, damaging all enemies
***After hit with three medals, heals all enemies
****+2 PM Def, +1 S Def
#After hit with two medals, heals all enemies
##After hit with two medals, attacks and puts you to sleep.  Unlike other counters in this event, this one resets after it is used.
###+1 S Def
####+2 Def

Edit: Here’s a link to the guide on Reddit.  They’re usually really helpful so you should look at some of the comments if you’re having trouble!

Org. XIII Lexaeus Guide

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Another month, another Organization event.  This time we have one of our most forgettable members: Lexaeus.  I’m never going to remember how to spell this guy’s name so we’re going to call him Lexy.

The formula for this event is as follows:

  1. 3 Single Target enemies, the first two which have the Caution (*C*) warning, which gives them first attack.  No continues.
  2. One enemy, one turn.  This is the easiest one.
  3. One enemy two turns.  These are usually bosses and have lots of health.
  4. Repeat.

In line with Lexy’s fight in KH2, all the enemies are Power type.  A lot of the bosses have defense buffs you have to cleanse off them.  There are also a few hit counters (you get x amount of hits before they attack you), which is maybe a reference to the power levels?  I don’t know.  Unfortunately there aren’t any enemies that “power up” over time, which I thought would be a cool idea!  I feel like less work went into this event versus some of the others (Larxene, Xigbar).  

Enemy List:
*Lexy B missions are bolded*

1: No continues
Lv. 25 Large Body *C*
Lv. 25 Defender *C*
Lv. 25 Gargoyle Knight

2: One Turn ~ MM
Lv. 50 Morning Star

3: Two Turns ~ Lexy B
Lv. 75 Enraged Elk (+3 P-Def, +8 Health Bars)

4: No continues
Lv. 100 Large Armor *C*
Lv. 100 Mega Shadow *C*
Lv. 100 Hammer Frame

5: One Turn ~ Lexy B
Lv. 125 Fat Bandit

6: Two Turns ~ MM
Lv. 150 Cerberus (+2 PSM-Str, +2 Health Bars)

7: No continues ~ MM
Lv. 175 Defender *C*
Lv. 175 Shadow (& Pals??) *C*
Lv. 175 Armed Warrior (+3 PSM-Def)

8: One Turn ~ Lexy B
Lv. 200 Ringmaster (50 Hit Counter, +3 Health Bars)

9: Two Turns ~ Hairstyles
Lv. 225 Behemoth (+39 Health Bars)

10: No continues ~ Lexy B
Lv. 250 Gummi Hammer *C*
Lv. 250 Ringmaster *C* (35 Hit Counter, +3 Health Bars)
Lv. 250 Wandering Spook (23 Hit Counter, +4 Health Bars)

11: One Turn ~ Lexy B
Lv. 275 Gigas Shadow (+5 Health Bars)

12: Two Turns ~ Lexy B
Lv. 300 Dual Durandal (4 Turn Counter, +1 P-Str, +50 Health Bars)

13: No continues ~ Lexy B ~ Title: No. V
Lv. 350 Armed Warrior (+3 PSM-Def, +5 Health Bars)
Lv. 350 Enraged Elk *C* (+3 P-Def, +1 Str, +32 Health Bars)
Lv. 350 Iron Giant (+93 Health Bars)

The first eleven missions are pretty straightforward.  You might have trouble pulling off damage on enemies like the Behemoth.  Remember that enemies at Lv. 225 don’t have a lot of defense, so you should be stacking your Strength and PSM Strength buffs instead of Defense Down.

Mission 12:
This guy is sort of an ass, but it all comes down to luck.  After the first four medals, you’re going to be paralyzed for the rest of the fight.  Remember Extra Attack won’t proc if you can’t use the medal the first time.  He hits a lot for a good amount of damage, so make sure you have at least one (maybe two?) healing medals or a few DB procs.  Paralysis Resist actually has some usefulness!  But in my opinion, you should stack the most damage you can (since you still have to get through 50 health bars in two turns) and just re-run the mission until you get lucky.  It only took me two tries, but it took my roommate thirty.

As for damage, I used Classic Donald and Xigbar B on DR (both F2P medals).  They do a ton of damage and leave room for three buff medals.  Use Single Target stuff like Mickey&Minnie and iB&B is really helpful with the cleanse.  Take a high damage friend medal: KDG works wonders.  This damage wall is going to be what gives players trouble, since Mission 13 is harder but more forgiving.

Mission 13:
There are two problems here.  First, the Enraged Elk has first attack.  If you don’t have good Def +2000 traits, you’re going to really need DB3 or Second Chance.  Like.  He just destroys you.  Don’t have any of that?  Grab a friend medal with SC.  Remember, you CANNOT continue.

Next is the Iron Giant.  He hits like a truck, but there’s a pretty easy way around this.  Pluto B from the last High Score Challenge gives +2 Power Defense.  Stacking two of these (one with Extra Attack) trivializes the fight.  Then you can take your time and whittle him down since there’s nothing he can do to kill you. Pluto B does cost 3 SP each though, so make sure you are bringing SP recovery medals!

An alternative method to Pluto B is Triple Threat.  Paralyze/Sleep/Poison on your friend medal (especially if it has Extra Attack) can really save your butt.  Actually, Pluto B with Extra Attack and Triple Threat is the absolute best share medal for this mission, so if you run out of SP you can just tap and pray for TT to activate.  Alternatively, Pluto B with Second Chance for the elk.

When you finish Mission 13 you get the title: No. V
As for traits, you’re aiming for Str+1000 (generally good) or Aerial Def -60% (situationally better).  Aerial over Ground because a lot of Speed enemies are flying type, specifically the Black Copter Fleet.

Good luck this week!!

<3 KCM

Org XIII Event Guide ~ Vexen

New Org Event!  It’s really easy so this guide is basically pointless.  This time we get Vexen, one of my least favorite characters in the franchise.  You see a lot of themes in this event revolving around the number four, collecting ice crystals, and high defense enemies.  These are references to his Organization number, his ice powers, and his weapon of choice: a shield.

Vexen isn’t a particularly good medal, but the trait of choice you should be going after is Extra Attack.  This means on the fourth turn you can have him at +7 SM Def.  He also only costs one gauge per use.  Still, the medal itself is very specific and not extremely useful.  On the plus side, almost everyone will be able to get it.

All three objectives in each mission are the same, so you don’t have to worry about too much.  Follow this guide - or don’t - and you’ll be done in no time.

1.) 1 Turn ~ HDL
Lv. 25 Defender [P]
Lv. 25 Defender [P]
Lv. 25 Defender [P] x3

2.) Materials ~ MM
Lv. 50 Yellow Opera [M] x5

3.) Low HP x3 ~ Vexen
Lv. 75 Neoshadows [S]
There are six Neoshadows.  From left to right, the third, fifth, and target are low HP.

4.) 60 Seconds ~ HDL
Lv. 100 Defender [P] x2
Dodge all the enemies and head straight for the target.  Follow the materials.

5.) No Continue ~ Vexen
Lv. 125 Wandering Spook [M] (150 hit counter) & Defender [P] x4

6.) Materials ~ MM
Lv. 150 Neoshadow [S] & Armored Archer [S] x2

7.) Mushroom x4 ~ MM
Lv. 175 Gold Tricholoma [P] +2 Def
All four have a counter of 4, meaning four medals before they disappear.  Double Activation takes a second turn.  Two of them are in one group.
Lv. 175 Defender [P]

8.) No Continue ~ Vexen
Lv. 200 Huge Snowman [M] +3 PSM Def
Cleanse.  Xigbar B helps a ton.

9.) Low HP x4 ~ Hairstyles
Lv. 225 Neoshadow [S]
Under the arch, bottom right corner, hidden behind the wall, target.  There’s a material by each one to help identify them.

10.) 1 Turn ~ Vexen
Lv. 250 Armed Warrior [P] +3 PSM Def
Cleanse.  Easier than the Snowman.

11.) 90 Seconds ~ Vexen
Lv. 275 Wayward Wardrobe [M] +3 M-Def & Armored Archer [S] x2
Follow the materials.  

12.) Low HP x4 ~ Vexen
Lv. 300 Neoshadow [S]
Any group with only one enemy.

13.) 1 Turn ~ Vexen & Title (No. IV)
Lv. 350 Armored Warrior [P] +3 PSM Def x2 & Defender [P] x2
Cleanse.  Only +6 health bars.  Str up and Def down are important.

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for you.  Leave comments below if you need anything!  Good luck.

<3 KCM

Org. XIII - Xaldin Event Guide

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New Org XIII event!  For some reason, Xaldin is Speed instead of power, but his Special Attack (stronger in slot 5) makes him ideal for Divine Rose.  His event is pretty easy until you get to the last mission.  

The event alternates between stages with 1v7 battles and mazes.  The 1v7 battles are always one main enemy and six smaller ones - a reference to Xaldin’s six lances he uses in combat.  These battles are always on the Beast Castle bridge where you have the iconic Xaldin fight in KH2.  The mazes are pretty straightforward, just follow this guide.  You might need to restart a few times, but with 0AP this isn’t an issue at all.  It’s a lot easier than the Xigbar mazes.

As for the rounds themselves, let’s break it down: (Any round bolded gives a Xaldin medal)

1.) Magic
Lv. 25 Round Rice Cake & Bag O’ Coals x6

2.) Power
Lv. 50 Shadow - Avoid the Lv. 500s

3.) **Speed - 1 turn**
Lv. 75 Swordsman & Eggs (+3 Def) x6

4.) Magic
Lv. 100 Violet Waltz - Jump on the fountain

5.) **Power - 1 turn**
Lv. 125 Gargoyle Knight & Armored Knight x6

6.) Speed
Lv. 150 Soldier - follow the materials

7.) Magic - 1 turn
Lv. 175 White Rose (+1 S-Def & Sleeping) x6

8.) **Power**
Lv. 200 Shadow - go backwards, follow materials

9.) Speed - 1 turn for Hairstyles
Lv. 225 Invisible & Search Ghost (x2 Str) x6

10.) **Magic**
Lv. 250 Red Bandit - bottom of the screen, follow materials

11.) **Power - 1 turn**
Lv. 300 Armored Warrior (+3 PSM-Def) & Gargoyle Knight x6

12.) **Speed**
Lv. 350 Loudmouth - go backwards, follow materials

13.) **Magic - 1 turn**
Lv. 400 Ringmaster (50 Counter) & Christmas Trees (Sleeping) x6

You get the title No. III for completing Mission 13 within 2 turns.  

Only Mission 13 is difficult, and that’s because the Lv. 400 Ringmaster has +12 health bars and his accomplices have +5.  They are all Magic type, so Divine Rose is the go-to keyblade for this one.  The Ringmaster also has a 50 hit counter before he does a 1-shot kill, but getting to that 50 counter in one turn is pretty hard already.  After a few attempts with Jack&Sally, I’ve realized that without two defense downs (iXion, HD Axel, iAnsem, KA3, Meg, Smee, Owl) you’re going to have a hell of a time with this guy.  You’ll need to bring an AOE, even with a pretty solid Nova.  WoFF medals help a lot here, especially if you can grab a friend’s boosted one.  Xigbar B is a godsend.  But honestly, this last mission will be the make-or-break for the event.

For reference, my 1 turn build was: Olympia +30 - iKairi, iXion, Meg, WoFF Squall (AB3, 100%), TR Sora (AB3, 100%), friend’s boosted WoFF Seph (AB3, 100%), Lv, 364 Nova.

Yeah, it’s a hell of a mission…

Anyway, I lucked into a 93% roll so the full stats are at the top! Leave comments if you need help or if you’ve got advice!

Event ends 3/20!!  Good luck!!

<3KCM

Xigbar B Event Guide

We’re back for another week of Organization XIII medals!  This time - Xigbar, the Freeshooter.  This reversed-speed medal deals crazy single target damage.  With 7306 base strength - over 200 more than Marluxia A - a 3.80 multiplier, two tiers of general defense down for his attack, and super effective against all attributes, he is hands down the best single target medal in the game.  The downside?  He costs six gauges to use. ;_;  But if you’re sitting on some spare SP Gauge 2 skills, this is the guy on which to use them!

So let’s get down to the event.  I really love this one!  It’s not hard, but it’s still really fun.  True to Xigbar’s elusive teleporting, you need to use portals to find your targets.  In addition, there are a good deal of Armored Archers - a reference to his automatic crossbows - especially in Mission 7.  The problem is, with the myriad of portals and different routes to take, writing up a guide just wouldn’t do the trick this time.  So I made a video!

Missions 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 give Xigbar medals.  Mission 9 gives the hairstyle.

Search and Kill: 1, 5, 9, 13
Gauntlet: 2, 6, 10
Dodge: 3, 11
Any Portal: 4, 8, 12

Search and Kill are best explained in the video.  They involve a system of trial and error going through different portals to find the target.  The video shows one way of doing these missions, but I’ve already found other routes.

Gauntlets are one group, one room.  When you kill it, you go through the portal and clear the next room.  Continue like this until you reach the target.

Dodge simply means to dodge all enemies and portals until you get to the end of the room.  Mission 3 is much more lenient than Mission 11 - in the video I actually mess up on M3 but it seems to work itself out.  For M11, stay closer to the top portals than the bottom portals.  Also, for M11, for the bottom part of the screen, you need to stay out of the darkness because there are portals in the darkness that send you back.

Any Portal missions give three pathways.  All three portals take you to the next room, but each portal is guarded by a particular enemy.  You’ll want to pick and choose which enemies to fight to progress.  In particular, avoid Copter Fleets and Gigas Shadows when possible.  

Mission 7 is unique in that it doesn’t fit into any of these categories.  Just kill everything on your way to the target.

That’s it!  You should have your guilted Xigbar B in no time!  May the guilt rolls smile upon you! (On that note, it’s been a long time since a guilt event came up so you might want to wait a few weeks before guilting him!)

<3 KCM

Org. XIII Event Guide - Xemnas

Fuck this event.

So, every mission is timed.  Every mission is a boss.  And they are all terribly difficult.  It’s a little disappointing because the Marluxia and Larxene events were so tailored to the individual members and their personalities, but Xemnas just gets “there are bosses, beat them fast”. Oh well…

Your reward is Xemnas B, a tier 3 guilt AOE Power with x3.10 and PSM down one tier for one turn.  Here’s a picture.  He’s only a bit better than Saïx for five bars instead of four and there’s not a very good place for Reversed Power on keyblades anyway.  Honestly, if I were you, I’d skip the event altogether.

To guilt this medal, you will need a buff clear medal (see Alice, Belle, etc.).  That’s not negotiable.  You will need DB3 or Second Chance and you absolutely, 100% will need iKairi.  If you don’t have at least one GDD (iXion, Meg, etc.) - probably two - you’re not going to get far.  Lastly, you’ll very likely spend jewels since none of the requirements are one-turn.

So let’s get down to it.  The layout is as follows:

Stage number.) Level of enemy Enemy name (Type +Additional health bars) +buffs
Complete in under this many seconds for reward - reward

1.) Lv. 50 Possessors (M)
40 seconds - HDL

2.) Lv. 75 Playing Cards (S +2)
50 seconds - MM

3.) Lv 100 Enraged Elk (P +9) + 3 P-Def
75 seconds - Xemnas

4.) Lv. 125 Queen Bee (M +24)
70 seconds - HDL

5.) Lv. 150 Cerberus (P +2) +2 PSM-Str
45 seconds - Xemnas

6.) Lv. 175 Wretched Witch (M) +1 S-Def
45 seconds - MM

7.) Lv. 200 Savage Spider (P +29) Sleep/Paralyze/Poison
90 seconds - MM

8.) Lv. 225 Guard Armor (S +46) +2 Def
180 seconds - Xemnas

9.) Lv. 250 Huge Snowman (M +43) +3 PSM-Def (+3 PSM-Str on turn 3)
200/230 seconds - Hairstyle

10.) Lv. 270 Behemoth (P +46) (builds P-Str)
180 seconds - Xemnas

11.) Lv. 280 Trickmaster (M +47)
180 seconds - Xemnas

12.) Lv. 290 Darkside Omega (S +64) +1 Def/+1 Str/Poison
180 seconds - Xemnas

13.) Lv. 300 Gummi Hound (S +59) +1 Str/+1 P-Str
180 seconds - Xemnas / 210 seconds - Title: No. I

Specifically, the thirteenth stage, the Gummi Hound uses a one-hit raid mechanic after 35 hits.  You’ll either need second chance or use jewels to beat it, because I don’t see how someone would beat this in 35 hits.

The last three are all going to require an insane amount of luck or a few continues because they all one-hit.  When you’re racing the clock, you’ll want to stack as many GDD and J&S medals as possible on top of iKairi and one hardcore damage medal.  One medal with APP will get you all your SP back, so Key Art isn’t necessary.  Use your friend slot for high damage, even though they don’t benefit from multiplier slots.  Using Sleep+ also works but it’s tenuous at best.

Honestly this whole event is insane.  After so many “for the people!” events like Donald, Goofy, and Larxene, I’m not surprised they made a challenging one.  But this reminds me of that level 500 ghost around Halloween that almost no one completed.  Working around the mechanics of things like the Marluxia event make sense to me as a gamer, but this event and its requirements is very strictly for the best of the best.  It’s a little alienating, especially for such a subpar medal.

People with more in-depth boss strategies, please put them in the comments!  I still can’t beat Mission 12 (I got a lot of this info from my roommate who spent over 1000 jewels), so we’ll see how it goes!

Anyway.  Good luck!  

<3 KCM

Org. XIII Event - Larxene

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So Larxene B is pretty great for a guaranteed Tier 3 guilt medal.  She’s not quite as good as Marluxia A, but she’s free and only costs one gauge!  The event is remarkably easier than last month, so if you weren’t able to get Marluxia B you shouldn’t consider yourself out of the running for Larxene.

Larxene’s abilities have a lot of influence on these missions!  Specifically, four of the missions are “Kill the enemies with little HP”, a play on Larxene’s ability to clone herself when attacking.  Additionally, there are five timed missions where the enemies move around quickly and Larxene is known for her speed and difficulty to pin down.  The rest of the missions are littered with Wizards that pre-cast Thunder on you - Larxene’s element - and finally a showdown with a Behemoth, who paralyzes you with Thunder attacks.  With Square’s dedication to theming these Organization events, I’m REALLY excited for the next one!

You can get a total of 7 Larxenes, which is enough to guilt without a reroll.  Each mission also rewards 20 jewels for 260 jewels total. Here are the missions, their rewards, and the general strategy for beating them.  

Mission 1: Huey&Dewey&Louie
The ones that don’t walk around are the Little HP ones.  Target included.

Mission 2: Magic Mirror
Avoid the dogs.

Mission 3: Larxene
Four groups, all on the path down.

Mission 4: Huey&Dewey&Louie
The groups that only have one enemy are the Little HP enemies, including Target.

Mission 5: Larxene
Avoid the copters.  There are 3 screens.  This one sucks.  Don’t hug the walls.  First screen, the portal is in the bottom right.  Second screen, the portal is in the top right.

Mission 6: Magic Mirror
Two High Wizard groups at the top.  Four Wizard groups at the bottom.  Target.

Mission 7: Magic Mirror
Avoid the dogs.  Hug the walls.  It’s a lot easier than Mission 5.

Mission 8: Larxene
The ones with sparkles by their feet are the Little HP enemies, including target.

Mission 9: Hairstyles
Four unavoidable High Wizards before the final group.

Mission 10: Larxene
Avoid the dogs.  If they are moving too fast, just wait a second.  This is very easy.

Mission 11: Larxene
The groups that only have one enemy are the Little HP enemies, including Target.

Mission 12: Larxene
Avoid the planes and dogs.  Three screens.  This one is pretty easy.  Zig zag through the first two screens.  Then just run from one side to the other in the last screen.

Mission 13: Larxene
Just a Behemoth fight.  He’s got a lot of health bars, but he doesn’t hit very hard.  Bring some buff medals and a really good damage dealer and you should be fine.  J&S is great for this one.  For his first hit he does x1 strength.  For his third hit that goes up to x2 strength.  He has a chance to paralyze you too.

Title: No. XII

Event ends on Dec. 19th!  Good luck!

<3 KCM

XIII Event Guide: Marluxia

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Hey everyone!  New event is up!  Apparently every 13th of the month from now on we’re going to be getting Organization events, which I think is pretty great.  They last a week, so be sure to keep up on those! 

This one is for our flower king Marluxia.  His strength is high, his cost is low, and he’s a free guilt.  He does more damage the more enemies die per stage, which is great for HSC.  He’s a little better and a little worse than Hydra/HT Sora, depending on how many enemies were killed, but definitely worth guilting for the lower gauge cost!

The downside: no rerolls!  Good luck!

In KH2 Final Mix, Marluxia would put a counter above your head to indicate a “death timer” based on how many attacks you’ve used against him.  In keeping with the spirit of his character, the enemy you fight - Wandering Spook - has a counter above his head.  Each attack against him - each attack, not each medal! - lowers the counter by one.  When it reaches zero, you get struck by a killing blow.  Second Chance can mitigate this, however.  So the goal is to use as few attacks to do the most damage!  If a medal goes beyond the number above his head (say you use a 13 hit medal on and he has four hits left) and it kills him, it does NOT kill you!  There are 13 stages, and in each stage the counter goes down by 3 (with one exception).

One turning does not matter at all.  All rewards are “complete without continue” and “use appropriate keyblade”.  The keyblade ones always reward 20 jewels (for a total of 260), so they are more like recommendations.  Additionally, killing every enemy in the room is also pointless (unless you need Special!)

Now that we know the rules, here’s the breakdown:

Stage - Counter - Reward
1: 50 - HDL
2: 47 - MM
3: 44 - *Marluxia*
4: 41 - HDL
5: 38 - *Marluxia*
6: 35 - MM
7: 32 - MM
8: 29 - *Marluxia*
9: 26 - Hairstyles!
10: 23 - *Marluxia*
11: 20 - *Marluxia* - If you’re having problems, use LL instead of Starlight

12: 17 - *Marluxia*
This is where it gets hard.  Instead of one Wandering Spook, there are two, each with a counter of 17.  Both of your enemies are Speed type and are level 180, so you should use Power medals.  

Good medals for this event are obviously buff medals (iKairi, Pooh, Piglet) but avoid J&S.  They use too many hits.  Fully buffed, Meowjesty (two hits) is still crazy strong and staggers hits amongst the two of them, so I recommend him.  Rock Titan (1 hit) and Cid (1 hit) are extremely helpful.  Even Riku Replica (two hits) and BC Mickey (1 hit) are great, even though they don’t have a type-advantage.

Don’t forget to use your Nova with +3 Strength!  

13: 13 - *Marluxia* - Title: No. XI
This time you only have one Spook, but there are nine Red Roses, too.  Everything is Level 200 and Power type.  Additionally, you only get 13 hits this time: not 14.

Same as before, use buff medals and no J&S.  Taking out the flowers is essential, because the Spook himself does very little damage.  A +3 Str. Jack (1 hit) will take them out, or a strong +3 Nova with a swipe or two.  Once the flowers are down, take your time with buffs and medals like Hag (1 hit) and Jack.  Antiform Sora is very useful (3 hits).  SDG (3 hits), Ill. Aerith (1 hit), Vexen (1 hit), CoM BC Riku (1 hit) and Halloween Donald (3 hits) are all great.  Wisdom Form (1 hit) and Magician Donald (1 hit) can be good if you have them guilted.  Though honestly, a combination of Jack, buffs, and good friend medals will do the trick.  It’s not a very hard mission: just takes some strategizing.

If worse comes to worse, Second Chance can save you for a turn and it will reset the counter to 13.  I encourage everyone to put up their best guilted medal with 1 or 2 hits or a Second Chance up for your friends!!

That’s it!  Good luck on your Marluxia rolls everyone!  Event ends 11/20!

<3 KCM