Tales of Vesperia Part #85 - Confrontation with Alexei, Second Try

Part 85: Confrontation with Alexei, Second Try

Two more things to do before actually going to the previously inaccessible section of the castle.

First is restocking at the shop.

I also synth a few things:

OVL Taunt: Taunt during Over Limit to recover HP.
Vitality 2: Increases Max HP by 400.
Spirits 2: Increases Max TP by 50.

Convert Absorption: When finishing off an enemy with a spell, occasionally absorb the enemy's remaining HP as TP.

Aerial Step: Backdash in mid-air by holding the Guard Button and pressing backwards.
Combo Force: Mitigates damage from a basic combo attack.

For the second one, we have to go back to jail.

Remember how Raven was chilling in that far right cell in the beginning of the game? Well, if we go in and check around...

Item Pro: Decreases the amount of time a character is unable to move after using items.
Strength 2: Increases physical attack by 10%. Increase due to equipment not affected.
TP Condition 2: Increases physical defense when TP is less than 25% of the max amount.

We can find some pretty good equipment for him!

Alright, now for the new part. By going left here, which is the same corridor with the kitchen,

we end up here. There's a path on either side of the room, but first, we should go through that upper door in the middle.

Watch the cutscene!

Meet Khroma, special advisor to the Imperial Knights... Alexei's personal assistant.

Then she's an enemy?!

No, I am not. ...For the time being, in any case.

If you're here to fight, fine. If not, maybe it could wait until later.

Who is it you would fight for?

What do you mean?

That poor, pathetic young girl?

She doesn't need your pity!

You are bein' really vague. Come on, spit it out already!

I cannot know what that one saw in all of you... But I wish for you to stop him.

Maybe she wants us to stop Alexei?

Hmm, maybe. It would add up, I guess.

Yes. Estelle should be just up ahead.

Maybe it was more like, "go nail that guy's butt to the wall."

I could handle that. Come on!

Now, of course, we can't just walk through that giant door in the back.

We have to solve a puzzle first!

It's not a particularly complicated puzzle, but you have to have triggered that cutscene with Khroma before actually doing it. I'm not sure why.

Within this castle, there's four rooms with angel statues. The first one is to the right here.

At least one of them is even accessible on the first visit to the castle, the one near the prison.

It's possible a second one is too, but I'm not entirely sure about that.

Anyway, the puzzle is really easy. You just need to shoot the statues with your sorcerer's ring in the correct order.

The order can be figured out by checking the floor of each room.

The second room is here, next to the statue we used to exit the castle early in the game.

As you can see, the moon symbol in this room is filled more than the one in the first. That's the order.

Sadly, the game spoils that kinda-clever puzzle by spelling out the room's number when you check the statues. Oh well.

The third room is back here, to the left this time.

If, at any point, you shoot them in the wrong order, you need to start over.

And the fourth and final room is the one next to the prison.

And done with that puzzle.

Now, before we actually go through that huge door and challenge Alexei, let's prepare something for later, since it's kind of a dick move by the game.

One of the chests in this castle has Raven's Breaker Bow in it. The Breaker Bow has Crucible and Athenor as two of its skills.

Crucible changes Rain into Rainsong.

Instead of the arrow bomb simply exploding after a set amount of time, Rainsong allows you to manually trigger it by taunting... at least according to the description. I couldn't get it to work for whatever reason.

Now, why is this a dick move? Well, the next boss after the one coming up has a really annoying secret mission that requires Rain -- not Rainsong! -- in particular. Come into the battle with Crucible equipped? Well, you're fucked, try again. Or grind out a hundred uses of Rainsong during the fight I guess. Makes an already incredibly annoying secret mission even worse.

So what I did here is grind out those 100 uses, so it can't happen to me. Just in case.

And with that done, it's time to climb the Sword Stair!

Notable Loot from the castle:

Item Pro 2: Increases the duration and effect of Items used during battle by 20%.
Scanning: Displays remaining HP over enemies that have been analyzed with a Magic Lens.

Special: Mystic Arte skill.
Crucible: Altered Arte skill.
Athenor: Altered Arte skill.

(dropped by enemies)
Alembic: Altered Arte skill.
Gale: Altered Arte skill.
Evade 2: Increases agility by 10%. Increase due to equipment not affected.

Running up to Alexei takes a while.

Watch the rest of the update!

If we hadn't been lucky, you just might've gotten your wish.

Sorry to be a bore, but let's say I refuse both of those?

I'd be happy to decide for you.

The Princess was splendid. Her power equals the ancient Children of the Full Moon.

If she's done her part, then we'll take her back right now.

Estelle!

Hey!!

Estelle! Snap out of it!!

Wait. It looks like she's being controlled.

What would you do with the Princess now? Her power has subsumed her will entirely. Her power has finally been controlled, by a system I have put into place.

Oh, but the Princess was a tool most crucial to my plans.

We all have a role to play, but each person has a say in what that role is.

If they choose that life, then so what? That's what deciding for yourself means!

How unfortunate. We will never see eye to eye.

Estelle, don't do this! Damn it!!

Direct link to here.

Apart from the higher HP/MP, this is pretty much Estelle as she would be in your party, maybe with a few less Artes.

Since you outnumber her by three people, this is easy.

Listen to the full conversation!

Estelle, cut it out!

Careful, she's strong!

I can't... I can't hurt her!

I really don't wanna do this...

Estelle, come on!

Ugh... aaaah!!

Estelle!

Estelle, snap out of it!

I guess we don't have a choice.

Grr, that damn commandant!

Estelle... I'm sorry we have to hurt you.

Direct link to here.

Thanks to you, this new key to replace Dein Nomos is now complete. As a show of my appreciation, I will allow you to witness the fruition of my plan.

Direct link to here.

Ugh... What is...that...?

We...saw that...at Myorzo...

Behold, the greatest remnant of the ancients! The Enduring Shrine of Zaude! The ultimate blastia which once obliterated the catastrophe that threatened our world!

That's a blastia?!

Now, Princess, do your friends the favor of separating their heads from their bodies.

...!! Bastard...!

Oh, how the poor girl will feel when she comes to her senses... Farewell.

Alexei!

...! Estelle...don't...!

Yuri evades and turns around here, but even going frame by frame there's no good shot of this.

...Yaah!!

Please...before I can hurt anyone else... Please... Kill me.

Yuri gets pushed away by Estelle.

Direct link to here.

If you're not watching the video, this music, a very simple and calm remix of Ring a Bell, plays throughout the entire fight.

Oh boy, this battle. This is a fun one. Remember how I said the enemy Estelle in the last battle was pretty much the same as the party one except for HP/MP? Well, if you only have one character, that can get pretty damn tough.

Her damage output is much higher than you'd expect, and since you have no good way to heal except Gels, well.

This can easily happen. Have fun rewatching the cutscenes.

There's one way to make this a bit easier. Estelle, for whatever reason, has this weak physical attack repelling barrier that some big bosses have, which makes this battle even more annoying than it already is. You can do something about that.

Remember this thing from a sidequest in Mantaic? If you picked it up, you can use it to get rid of that barrier.

If you didn't, well, tough luck. And say goodbye to your Secret Mission (and all-secret-missions-in-one-playthrough reward), because this is it.

Apart from that, there's not too much to say here. Hit her with your best attacks, don't be afraid to (ab)use items and Over Limit, and try not get too close to her when she's attacking.

Listen to the full conversation!

What the hell do you think you're doing?!

I... I... No- No more, please...

Do you really plan to die here? You think it's okay to die?!

Aaaaah!

Look me in the eye! Estelle!

Ugh...

Oh, and she can heal herself too, so try to interrupt any magic she casts. Unless she's in Over Limit that is.

She can even use her Burst Arte during Over Limit! Although she kinda aimed in the completely wrong direction here.

Estelle, snap out of it!

Special: Mystic Arte skill.
Combination 2: Increases damage and OL Gauge once for a combo: 3-hit normal → base → altered → arcane

Secret Mission Reward:

Achievement/Trophy:

Secret Mission 16 (360) / Secret Mission 17 (PS3)

Direct link to here.

Somehow this clears the entire capital up? I honestly don't know.

Direct link to here.

*Huff*...*huff*...

Ah...uhhh...

It was being kept in check by Alexei's sword! Without that...!

Graah!!

I can't...I can't stop it now... Everyone, run...!!

Don't worry, we're not gonna lose you!!

Rita. It's up to you!

It's synchronized with Estelle. Interference deactivation data, a formula to isolate surplus aer. But what could possibly take the place of the apatheia...?