The Nord Mines are 's first real dungeon. The Northern Border Fort was a warm-up for this six-map zone that's bursting with new enemy types, as well as something of a mini-boss early on, followed by a major boss fight near the end, and an optional boss after that.

Our gu🔯ide on the Nord Mine will cover all treasure chest locations as well as some adviꦐce on what to buy from a certain vagrant peddler. There's a lot of ground to cover if the party wants to make it back to Grand Tran in time for the funeral, so let's hop to it.

Nord Forest Trail

You'll begin outside the Nord Mines, along a trail leading to their entrance. This first zone is mostly a straight line; there'll be a couple of looping stretches. Take stock of your items and set forth, taking a right at the fork just up ahead. It's a dead end, but there's a Gluemoss item.

Now, take the left route. Do as Grius advises - approach the pack of Feral Mundos and swing your sword at them all. Monsters that are considerably weaker than your current level can be felled in this fashion.

Although you still gain EXP and related rewards this way, you will gain slightly more when you kill them via squad battle. It's a🥂n excellent time-saver, but you may wish to do things the traditiꦍonal way at times, even against creatures such as these.

Continue down the trail, snagging the for-sale items Sturdy Straw and Bouncy Bark between Corvos and Feral Hundos. From here, the trail is almost entirely linear, so follow along until you reach the peddler. Speak with him.

The Nocross enemies, which look like moths, are weak to the Cyc spell. We're singling these out since they can cast Tarukaja, which raises the enemy party's attack greatly. 🥃This isn't an issue on the trail, but it will be when you encounter them with stronger foes inside the mine.

This will be the first time you gain access to a shop. Traveling vendors like this fellow are always worth checking in with. You'll meet this particular man a few times throughout this dungeon. He'll have more powerful items later on.

Be sure to sell the junk you've collected thus far, which shoul𒉰d put you a bit north of 3,000G. Hang on to it for now.

Past the vendor, the trail widens. Grab the items, including medicine, from the outskirts of this wider area while killing the local monsters for more EXP. Corvos will attempt to ambush you as you collect items; swing around and slash them before they strike.

When you near the end of the trail here, a battle will commence against two soldiers. They hit a little harder than other local fare, but will go down almost as easily. Your HP and MP will be fully restored after the fight! ♛Head on into the mine when you're ready.

Dig Site #1

As soon as you enter the mine, two more soldiers will come rushing at you. Thankfully, they'll go down with a couple of sword swings before you even need to enter squad battle. You can defeat other nearby soldiers just as rapidly.

The first little offshoot in this narrow corridor contains a Scrap Metal, but you'll need to destroy the carts and debris in front of it in order to gain access to the item. From now on, expect to encounter other items trapped behind rubble - keep an eye on your map for them.

Dig Site #1 itself is at the conclusion of the corridor. Here, the team encounters Klinger, the guard captain from earlier.

Sub-Boss: Captain Klinger And Two Mage Soldiers

Klinger himself isn't a huge threat. What makes this fight noteworthy is that the Mage Soldiers will cast spells to raise Klinger's stats.

Since they'll each spend their actions each turn doing so, it's advantageous to focus on one soldier, then move on to the other, thus cutting into the total stat buffs Klinger will receive in a givꦦen turn.

Make full use of Strohl's awakened Warrior archetype to cast Diagonal Slash. Once the Mage Soldiers are eliminated, Strohl's Diagon🌃al Slash will make quick work of Klinger.

Arrival In Akademia

When Klinger's defeated, the protagonist and Gallica will enter Akademia. Here, More will explain Metaphor's Archetype system. You'll have to open Grius's lineage chart; we chose Warrior for him and then unlocked Mage for the protagonist.

Whichever you choose, we do recommend unlocking Mage for at least one character. Their fire spell, Bot, is highly efficient against upcoming foes; they'll soon learn Blizz, an ice spell, which is key to still🎉 more enemies throughout the mine.

Search Akademia's many interactive objects to your heart's desire. When you're ready to return to the Nord Mine, interact with the door to More's right.

Back In The Mine

Speak with Strohl and Grius to learn a bit more about their intentions. Remember when we suggested holding on to your money? The merchant's stock has greatly expanded so it's time to spend. Sell off your loot first!

Whoever you've got assigned as Mage, purchase the Acacia Rod for them. Your next priority should be the acquisition of better weapons (either the Bronze Machete and/or the Bastard Sword) for your Warriors and Seekers. From there, focus on gear, then accessories.

Finally, be sure to buy a few Ice Chunks. You may find yourself in need of them if you seek to defeat an optional boss near the end of the Nord Mine. When you're ready to leave, exit north.

Dig Site #2

The first of many monsters you'll now face is Gelatinos, the creature which an NPC in the previous room may have warned you about. Gelatinos is highly resistant to physical attacks, so have a Mage use Bot to target its weakness to fire.

Multiple little offshoots line the southern side of Dig Site #2. The first contains nothing, but the second offshoot has a treasure chest with Miner's Boots. These boost Agility +1, Endurance +1, and increa𒀰se Evasion, so make sure you equip them to someone.

At the northernmost offshoot on this map, there's a treasure chest with three Magla Pills. The 20 MP restoration opportunities are priceless at t🀅his point in the game, as your MP recharge is extremely limitedꦏ.

To progress, crawl through the hole in the rocks to your east. You'll emerge in an area with three branches, each involving crawling through more rocks.

Start with the topmost path, which leads to a chest with Iron Gauntlets. These boost the wearer's Strength +2, making them a snug fit for Warriors. The bottom path has a Grand Iron, which sells for decent coin.

Through the middle path, you'll exit Dig Site #2. Prepare for...

Dig Site #3

The new enemy in this area, Sandworm Valmo, kicks up a bunch of dust as it traverses the zone. Keen timing is required in order to stun it. Once battle commences in earnest, have your Mage cast Blizz if you've ranked up enough for it yet (we did). 🌺Sandwo♏rms are weak to ice.

There's another Magla Pill behind some crates at the first northern offshoot of the area. The next northern offshoot - which is to say to the right of the Magla Pill, has a chest with a Mining Uniform. Its DEF 58 is solid for right now.

Keep east and you'll soon encounter a fork in the path. Whether you choose the north crawlspace or the south one, you'll emerge at the same general area. Choose the south one, however, for yet another Magla Pill.

It's around now that those Nocross enemies we mentioned earlier can become a right proper nuisance. They will come in larger groups now, which makes their attack-boosting party-wide Tarukaja bothersome. Target Nocrosses first when entering battle.

At the bottom-right part of Dig Site #3, there's a treasure chest with Guard's Talisman. This accessory boosts Endurance +3. I equipped it 🍒to Grius to 🎉match his tough-guy, takes-hits-like-nobody's-business, persona.

Now make your way through the scattered enemies until you're heading northeast and approach a curious-looking door. These are Magla Hollows, safe spots where you can save your game and chat with the team a bit.

Once you've saved, exit the Magla Hollow. The merchant is nearby, so sell more loot. His stock is unchanged since last time, but you may have the funds now to buy useful gear and accessories that you couldn't afford earlier.

Boss Battle And Crystal Cavern

Just to the right of the Magla Hollow, there's a door that functions as the separator between Dig Site #3 and the first major boss fight in the game: Homo Fulquilo.

As this fight requires a more in-depth grasp of mechanics, on how to beat Homo Fulquilo.

With Fulquilo done and dusted, return to the Magla Hollow to save your game. Now, head through the door to the far end of the room. You'll reach the Nord Mine's final area, Crystal Cavern. This is a straightforward corridor with a handful of enemies... until it widens considerably.

Here, Fire Dragon Mauna slumbers, and Grius and Strohl recommend sneaking past it. You can do that if you'd like, or you can and earn a sweet sword for Strohl.

Beyond the dragon is a long wooden bridge. When you take a step on to it, you'll trigger a quick sequence involving running forward as fast as you can. I'm not sure that you c🐼an actually die here, but keep running just🍰 to be safe.

When the dust settles, you will be through with Nord Mine!