[Cave of Phantom Mist] Gaiden Compendium

A guide that tries to document various odds and ends specific to the Gaiden DLC, including its achievements.

Preface

I would like to acknowledge 南云归风's equipment guide as a cross-check source for many of the equipment entries:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3160614270
Much of this guide's structure was inspired by KH/TWRoxas' great equipment/KARON guide for Revision; check it out if you're looking for base game information without having to parse the JP wiki through Google Translate.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889115638
The original GROW diagram is sourced from an Anon on dcinside's Astlibra Minor Gallery[gall.dcinside.com]; I've only translated the Hangul notes back to English and did rudimentary typesetting in turn even if sharing this diagram was also the biggest driving force behind creating this guide.
Special thanks to Inarrou for helping me fill in gaps with the Small Metal rewards.

As usual, there will be major spoilers throughout the guide.

Equipment - Intro

The equipment sections will briefly indicate all of the gear available in Gaiden, where to find them, and their corresponding mastery reward (or special effect, if any for accessories).
Equipment functions almost identically to Revision: weapons, shields, and armor gain proficiency as you kill monsters inside the cave, and will either grant a POLIN skill or have their stats boosted alongside producing an item (typically a Magic Crystal). Any mastered equipment can be re-equipped to use its POLIN skill at no Magic Crystal cost while that gear is equipped.
Unlike Revision, equipment enhancement can be performed very early on in Gaiden instead of being relegated to the Postscript. It should also be noted that Postscript Boards are relegated to your Styles and are overall more simplified compared to Revision's approach.

All Master entries with an "EP:" denote Enhanced Performance equipment.

Equipment - Weapons

Weapon Name	Obtained From	Master
Broom	Starter weapon	Polin's Nose
Stump	Weapon Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Gloves	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Ifrit
Wooden Sword	Weapon Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Evil Vision
Barrel Hammer	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Wrestler
Wooden Staff	GROW Tree	Force Magnet
Keyblade	1st Stratum Silver Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Ancient Sword	1st Stratum Gold Chest	Mind's Eye
Frying Pan	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Saw	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Auto Rapid Fire
Garden Fork	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Kitchen Knife	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Soul Eater
Hatchet	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Critical Hit
Paw Stick	2nd Stratum Silver Chest	Seize
Iron Sword	GROW Tree	EP: Magic Crystal
Stone Greatsword	Arena - Defeat Terra Behemoth	Herculean Power
Dragon Head	2nd Stratum Gold Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Dagger	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Iron Hammer	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Rapier	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Kirihide
Battle Axe	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Gumption
Pick Hammer	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Dig, Doggy, Dig
Partisan	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Moonlight Staff	3rd Stratum Silver Chest	LED
Ixion Sword	GROW Tree	Undine
Granteinn	3rd Stratum Gold Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Naginata	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	Snorkel
Battle Hammer	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Magical Girl's Staff	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	Eliminate
Morgenstern	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Katana	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Lindwurm	GROW Tree	Sylph
Fire Crystal Dagger	4th Stratum Silver Chest	Sturdy
Fire Lance	22 Small Metals Reward	EP: Magic Crystal
Feather Sword	4th Stratum Gold Chest	Digger Master's Finesse
Zweihander	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Guardian Axe	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Sumo Attack
Lunar Fan	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Halberd	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Earthshaker	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Shelling
Dark Staff	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Stylish
Azure Crystal Dagger	5th Stratum Silver Chest	Stinger
Kikuichimonji	28 Small Metals Reward	Shuriken Dagger
Princess Sword	5th Stratum Gold Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Angel Baton	Weapon Shop Craft: 6th Stratum	Great Magic
Barbarian Axe	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 6th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Black Sword	Weapon Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	The Art of Thievery
Sword of Slaughter	Weapon Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Burst Hammer	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	Gun Hammer
Thunder Sword	GROW Tree	Magician
Trishula	6th-7th Strata Silver Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Rose Foil	38 Small Metals Reward	Fine Tuning
Dragon Killer	6th-7th Strata Gold Chest	EP: Magic Crystal
Flame Sword	Weapon Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Cursed Sword Hrunting	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Butterfly Axe	Weapon Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	Kamaitachi
Brionac	GROW Tree	EP: Magic Crystal
Ukonvasara	Weapon Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Holy Staff Exodus	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	Sword Energy
Golden Axe	8th-9th Strata Silver Chest	Master Skinner
Hero's Blade	46 Small Metals Reward	Shadow
Dragvandil	8th-9th Strata Gold Chest	Sky Surf
Oni's Iron Club	Weapon Shop Craft: 10th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Caladbolg	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 10th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Axe Bunker	Weapon Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	Fatal Blow
Katana Blade	Weapon Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	Shuriken Sword
Solar Fan	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Caduceus	Arena: Defeat Lieselotte	Thrifty
Ultima Weapon	10th-11th Strata Silver Chest	King of Destruction
Demon Blade Murasame	Arena: Defeat Geraldine	EP: (Bottom) Stone Plate Fragment
Phoenix Blade	10th-11th Strata Gold Chest	Devil's Right Hand
Holy Sword Kutune Shirka	Arena: Defeat Astraea	EP: Iron Bars Key
Divine Sword Ec Stasia	Mokyun's Shop Craft: Endgame (1)	Divine Reversal

Equipment - Shields

Shield Name	Obtained From	Master
Bamboo Shield	Polin Cutscene (2)	Aegis
Wooden Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Shuffling
Buckler	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Spirit World Notification
Craftsman's Shield	1st Stratum Silver Chest	Gladiator
Giant Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Super Armor
Stone Shield	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Gnome
Droplet Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Ice Shield	2nd Stratum Silver Chest	Ranged Master
Feather Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Scale Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Recovery Guard
Skeleton Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Auto-Guard
Phoenix Shield	3rd Stratum Silver Chest	Ice Crash
Umbrella	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Iron Wall	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	Double Reflect
Coral Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	Redirection
Magic Stone Shield	4th Stratum Silver Chest	Gemstone Power
Baroque Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Turtle Shield	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Luna
Holy Knight's Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Item Magnet
Wicked King's Shield	5th Stratum Silver Chest	God's Left Hand
Dark Knight Shield	36 Small Metals Reward	Digging Master's Focus
Hydra Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 6th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Magical Girl's Shield	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Gothic Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	Extra Guard
High Ancient	6th-7th Strata Silver Chest	Artisan
Lion Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	Flawless
Goliath	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	Rapid Repair
Parasol	Weapon Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	Bash Tornado
Crystal Shield	8th-9th Strata Silver Chest	Full Burst
Machine Shield	Weapon Shop Craft: 10th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Princess Shield	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Diabolos	Weapon Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	Demon Rage
Hero's Shield	10th-11th Strata Silver Chest	Maxwell
Holy Shield Elna Saga	Arena: Defeat Beatrice	EP: Sun Stone
Divine Shield Ignition	Defeat Legion (3)	Item Master

Equipment - Shoulder Armor

Armor Name	Obtained From	Master
Thatch Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Coin Magnet
Patchwork Spaulders	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Forested Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	Second Wind
Champion's Spaulders	1st Stratum Silver Chest	Burst Armor
Leather Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Breather
Hardwood Spaulders	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Ritual Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	Drunken Fist
Elf Spaulders	2nd Stratum Silver Chest	Icarus Wings
Scale Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Step
Reinforced Leather Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Barbarian Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	Wise Man
Church Spaulders	GROW Tree	EP: Magic Crystal
Dark Spaulders	3rd Stratum Silver Chest	Berserk
Iron Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Magician's Spaulders	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	High-Speed Incantation
Imperial Knight Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Holy Spaulders	20 Small Metals Reward	Strong Constitution
Battle Maniac's Spaulders	4th Stratum Silver Chest	Energy Drain
Elemental Gap	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Spirit's Blessings
Reaper's Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Shinobi's Shoulder Garb	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	Cicada Shell
The Scream	26 Small Metals Reward	Mach Spike
Rightful King's Spaulders	5th Stratum Silver Chest	Jump Boots
Draconic Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 6th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Ancient Spaulders	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Golden Pauldrons	Weapon Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	Absolute Territory
Thanatos	6th-7th Stratum Silver Chest	Ultimate Medicine
Bladed Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Silver Spaulders	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Dark Knight's Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	Air Tackle
Kronos	8th-9th Stratum Silver Chest	Origin
Machine Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 10th Stratum	EP: Magic Crystal
Apocalyptic Pauldrons	Mokyun's Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	Darkness
Hero's Spaulders	Weapon Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	Gale
Valhalla	10th-11th Stratum Silver Chest	Magical Power Conversion
Great Sage's Robe	Arena: Defeat Al-Khamis	EP: Great Sage Rope
Divine Pauldrons Faxana-du	Chest in Rispadar's palace (4)	Gravity Daze

Equipment - Accessories

Accessory Name	Obtained From	Special Effects
Wooden Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	-
Pretty Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	-
Bone Necklace	Magic Shop Craft: 1st Stratum	-
Fang Amulet	Exchange for 1 tissue	-
Dragon Cup	1st Stratum Silver Chest	Increases time before ST starts draining (stacks with Great Magic)
Iron Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	-
Ball and Chain	Magic Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	-
Ring of Flames	Magic Shop Craft: 2nd Stratum	-
Indio Decoration	Exchange for 2 tissues	-
Dragon Harp	2nd Stratum Silver Chest	Increases combo duration
Pure White Feather	Magic Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	-
Screw Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	-
Blue Gem Pendant	Magic Shop Craft: 3rd Stratum	-
Power Ring	Exchange for 4 tissues	-
Dragon Ring	3rd Stratum Silver Chest	Increases ranged attack power
Gold Necklace	Magic Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	-
Dragon Staff	4th Stratum Silver Chest	Decreases ranged damage received
Ring of Prayer	Magic Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	-
Serpent God's Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 4th Stratum	-
Emerald Earring	Exchange for 6 tissues	-
Floral Wreath	Magic Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	-
Cross	Magic Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	-
Phoenix Feather	Exchange for 8 tissues	-
Dragon Leather Boots	5th Stratum Silver Chest	Adds another jump (stacks with Air Ride)
Ring of Protection	Magic Shop Craft: 5th Stratum	-
Gold Bracelet	Magic Shop Craft: 6th Stratum	-
Ancient Ring	Exchange for 10 tissues	-
Ancient Necklace	Magic Shop Craft: 7th Stratum	-
Flower Ring	6th-7th Stratum Silver Chest	-
Tanzanite Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	-
Power Gloves	Magic Shop Craft: 8th Stratum	-
Elemental Cloth	42 Small Metals Reward	-
Devil's Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 9th Stratum	-
Dragoness Ring	8th-9th Stratum Silver Chest	-
Halloween Belt	Magic Shop Craft: 10th Stratum	-
Magic Gloves	Magic Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	-
Magic Ore Ring	Magic Shop Craft: 11th Stratum	-
Magic Scale	10th-11th Stratum Silver Chest	-
Hero's Hair Ornament	Exchange for 20 tissues	-
Dark Matter	Arena: Defeat Adolphus	-
Ability Goggles	Exchange from Komugi	Boards are more likely to have raw stat pieces
Special Goggles	Exchange from Komugi	Boards are more likely to have non-raw stat pieces
Rare Lithograph	Exchange from Komugi	Boards are more likely to be rarer
Tablet of Detection	Exchange from Komugi	Boards are more likely to drop from chests
Bandit's Gloves	Exchange for 24 tissues	Mobs are more likely to drop items; stacks with The Art of Thievery
Thorn Badge	Exchange for 6 tissues	Increases thrust attack damage
Stone Badge	Exchange for 6 tissues	Increases striking attack damage
Laurel Badge	Exchange for 10 tissues	Increases healing effects
Music Box of Courage	Chest behind the inn	No EXP is gained for levels
Kaiser Ring	Defeat Kai (5)	Increases the damage of additional attacks that proc from normal attacks (e.g. Gun Hammer bullets)
Golden Cogwheel	Clear Leveling Challenge twice	Boards are more likely to match your equipped Styles
Lollipop	Exchange for 99 tissues	Heal HP on defeating mobs
Reflecting Ring	54 Small Metals Reward	Reflected bullets are stronger and Double Reflect's range is increased
Pegasus Feather Boots	Meloo cutscene (6)	No damage from standing on lava/spikes
Eternal Gallia Shin	Exchange for 15 tissues	Always move like Dash is active forever
Coin Emblem	GROW Tree	1.3x Coins
Force Emblem	Chest in Lieselotte's house (7)	1.3x Force
Level Emblem	Destroy the scarecrow in the bakery's backyard	1.3x EXP
KEIZO Emblem	Talk to the Barkeep after defeating him in the Arena	Boards are more likely to have rare pieces

Equipment - Footnotes

1. Divine Sword Ec Stasia requires 20 Primordial Fragments and an Alexandrite to craft.
   Primordial Fragments only drop from the cell enemies that populate Stratum 10. They drop fairly frequently, so give it a run or two if you're short fragments.
   To obtain the Alexandrite, you need the Great Sage's Rope and Iron Bars Key from mastering the Great Sage's Robe and Kutune Shirka. Go to the well past Rispadar's clothing store and use the Great Sage's Rope so you can enter the well. Go all the way to the left (ignore the bottom path for now) to reach the Rispadar prison from Revision chapter 6. Use the Iron Bars Key to open up the Hero's old prison cell. Interact with the bed there to fight Anubis' 3rd phase (in its chapter 8 form).
   Defeating Anubis will drop Soul Balance Collibra...as a key item. Go back to your mother in the bakery and she will barter it in a cutscene for an Alexandrite (all but said to be with the Hero). Return to Mokyun in any Postscript Stratum to craft Ec Stasia.
   
2. The cutscene will trigger after traversing at least one stage in the Cave at the beginning of the game, whether you return safely or die.
   
3. Legion still resides at the bottom of Rispadar's well as in Revision. You only need the Great Sage's Rope from the Great Sage's Robe to access Legion; simply fight through the well's bottom path gauntlet as before and defeat Legion to obtain Ignition.
   
4. Mastering Elna Saga will produce a Sun Stone. The Sun Stone can be traded to Komugi for a Herb, which can be synthesized with Gunpowder to produce chapter 7's Sleeping Aid (note that you need Alchemy Recipes from 44 Small Metals to do this).
   You can then make the guard blocking the way to Rispadar's palace fall asleep with the Sleeping Aid to get through. Hit the target then Air Surf all the way to the other side to obtain Faxana-du in the chest.
   
5. You will not get another chance to fight Kai if you lose, so be sure to reload to before the fight if you want the Kaiser Ring!
   If you're struggling against Kai, try using a magic build to whittle down his health with Dark. You can try to pick off his orbs with Cutter as well. Otherwise, he has the exact same attacks as with his appearances in Revision; don't be too greedy with generating ST on hits if you're on the Magician style.
   
6. This triggers after clearing Stratum 3 and being told to go to the inn.
   
7. This is blocked off by a door opened with the Goblin's Stone Plate. The upper Stone Plate Fragment is rewarded with 32 Small Metals, while the lower fragment is rewarded by mastering Murasame. Note that Alchemy Recipes is also required to synthesize the completed stone plate.

The GROW Tree

Unlike Revision's GROW tree consisting of chapter-locked zones with varying shapes, Gaiden's GROW tree is simplified down to a massive grid with 8 rows/branches corresponding to each stat.
From top to bottom, these branches add to HP, ST, ATC, DEF, MAG, SPD, LUC, and ADA. As before, HP, ATC, DEF, MAG, and SPD will gradually ramp up their stat increases further down the tree, while ST, LUC, and ADA's per point values are static throughout the DLC.
All text written directly on the tree correspond to equipment treasure chests.
The only other commonality with Revision's GROW tree are the center locks, which will disappear after entering the 6th Stratum for the first time in Gaiden's Postscript half.
As noted on the image, the far right locks will unlock for each God defeated in the Arena.
The last point of interest is the upper-right corner at the end of the HP/ST rows: these are the infinite GROW stat nodes, which also function in exactly the same way they did at the bottom of Revision's Postscript section of the GROW tree.

POLIN Skills

The POLIN Skills system is functionally identical to Revision's KARON skills and many of its skills (both base and Board swaps) make their return alongside a handful of new or remixed skills. A few Revision skills, such as Swordsmith or Sub Weapon, have their functionalities replicated by Gaiden's Styles.
Unlike Revision, boards in Gaiden cannot roll pieces that replace skills. What you see here is what you get.

Basic Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Magical Vision	Allows you to see remaining enemy physical strength (HP).	1	Starter
Mind's Eye	Shows what colored Force an enemy will drop.	1	Ancient Sword
Evil Vision	Allows you to see enemy attributes. Also allows you to see the break gauge (green).	1	Wooden Sword
Third Eye	Displays various information such as damage values dealt by you or your enemies.	1	Starter
Dash	When moving, press (the Dash button) to run faster.	1	Starter
Auto Rapid Fire	Hold down the attack button to launch a series of normal attacks.	2	Saw
Coin Magnet	Allows you to collect coins automatically.	2	Thatch Spaulders
Force Magnet	Allows you to collect Force automatically.	2	Wooden Staff
Item Magnet	Allows you to collect dropped items automatically.	2	Holy Knight's Shield
Ranged Master	Significantly accelerates the speed of readying arrows, crossbows, and throwing weapons.	3	Ice Shield
Spirit World Notification	Shows which Magic spells can be used with your current ST. Indicators appear above your HP bar.	1	Buckler
Stylish	Unique Style Techniques charge 20% faster.	4	Dark Staff

• Ranged Master: Cuts the animation lock/reload time of sub weapons by about 1/3. This also affects their attack interval and does stack with LIBRA's Use Speed.

Exploratory Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Snorkel	Allows you to breathe in shallow water.	1	Naginata
LED	Makes torches as bright as lanterns. Must be set before using the torch.	3	Moonlight Staff
The Art of Thievery	Makes enemies and objects more likely to drop material items.	8	Black Sword
Master Skinner	Makes enemies more likely to drop unique items	6	Golden Axe
Polin's Nose	Displays a map of your surroundings while inside the Cave of Phantom Mist. Also displays the number of chests on the current screen.	2	Broom
Sturdy	Greatly increases your adaptability. Makes you less susceptible to environmental effects such as underwater and snow.	3	Fire Crystal Dagger
Dig, Doggy, Dig	Allows you to discover hidden mining points.	3	Pick Hammer
Digging Master's Focus	Stabilizes digging power.	2	Dark Knight Shield
Digging Master's Finesse	Significantly increases digging power.	5	Feather Sword
Icarus Wings	Reduces the speed of falls.	2	Elf Spaulders
Jump Boots	Boosts jumping power.	3	Rightful King's Spaulders
Air Ride	Allows you to jump in midair. Press the jump button while jumping.	4	Starter

• The Art of Thievery: Drop rate increases by about 4-5%; doesn't affect chest drop chance.
  
• Polin's Nose: This skill's map refers to the minimap while unpaused; not having this skill won't affect the Handmade Map Kit's paused maps.
  
• Sturdy: Equivalent to 20 ADA, which grants about +7 to status resistances.
  
• Digging Master's Focus: Prevents low hit rolls (accompanied with a dull "kang!") when mining.

Weapons Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Critical Hit	After your combo is interrupted, your first subsequent attack deals significant break damage.	2	Hatchet
Gladiator	Reduces Shield Bash's cooldown time.	4	Craftsman's Shield
Shelling	Increases the occurrence of critical break.	4	Earthshaker
Wrestler	Increases distance enemies are knocked back by weapon attacks.	3	Barrel Hammer
Herculean Power	Improves the minimum swing speed of heavy weapons, allowing them to be swung more quickly.	4	Stone Greatsword
Fatal Blow	Increases the damage dealt to a broken enemy by 30%.	5	Axe Bunker
Gun Hammer	When hitting with a blunt weapon, bullets are fired diagonally upwards from the point of impact.	7	Burst Hammer
Shuffling	Allows you to move slightly while attacking.	1	Wooden Shield
Stinger	Stops you from moving forward during a thrust attack or a Shield Bash. You remain at a fixed point. Applies to all thrusting motions.	1	Azure Crystal Dagger
Berserk	Attack power increased by 3x, but you will die in one hit. Does not overlap with other damage multiplying skills.	8	Dark Spaulders
Sword Energy	Releases sword energy during normal attacks. The distance sword energy travels is not affected by weapon type.	9	Holy Staff Exodus
Devil's Right Hand	Increases the range of the currently equipped weapon by one level. Range 3 weapons will also be further extended.	10	Phoenix Blade

• Herculean Power: This still makes Kirihide travel farther by one MC's width worth??
  
• Gun Hammer, Sword Energy: Both will stack with each other and appear to scale based on your magical power, as do other weapons' innate sub-attacks (e.g. Thunder Sword, all staves).
  The Thunder Sword will not proc Sword Energy, though Ec Stasia will as of v1.0.4.
  
• Shuffling: Roughly half your walk speed. Also applies to sub weapons' animation locks.
  
• Berserk: A bleed tick will count as a "hit" to kill. Dying Curse and HP burn from Darkness don't count.

POLIN Skills (Part Two)

Defensive Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Aegis	Allows you to hold your shield immediately as well as guard in midair.	1	Bamboo Shield
Extra Guard	Halves the damage sustained when a shield is broken.	2	Gothic Shield
Rapid Repair	Accelerates the guard gauge's recovery speed.	3	Goliath
Auto-Guard	Consumes 30% of your maximum ST to guard you automatically. Only activates when you have enough ST.	6	Skeleton Shield
Redirection	The guard gauge is not expended when a just-guard succeeds. Does not activate if your shield is broken.	3	Coral Shield
Recovery Guard	Just-guard will recover a small amount of HP. Does not activate if your shield is broken.	4	Scale Shield
Super Armor	Reduces the knockback distance to zero when attacked.	1	Giant Shield
Burst Armor	Knocks back surrounding enemies when you are attacked.	1	Champion's Spaulders
Cicada Shell	Ignores the first attack you receive on any screen. Resets when you enter a new screen.	6	Shinobi's Shoulder Garb
Step	Pressing (the Dash button) while moving allows you to move forward at high speed.	1	Scale Spaulders
Second Wind	Increases invincibility duration after taking damage. More likely to avoid combo hits from enemies.	2	Forested Spaulders
God's Left Hand	Allows you to equip a shield alongside a long-range weapon.	10	Wicked King's Shield

• Recovery Guard: Heals about 20% of your max HP. Scales with LIBRA's HP Recovery.
  
• Step: Usable in the air; Air Surf will take priority if using the Dash button, but double-tapping left/right will work just fine if you need Step specifically. And while Air Surf can't be used when walking off an edge, Step will still work.
  Has about a second cooldown before re-use. Using Air Surf seems to freeze that cooldown timer during Air Surf.
  Equip Eternal Galla Shin if you want both Dash and Step as they conflict otherwise.
  
• Second Wind: The iframes extend to about half a second. It's very noticeable if you stand on lava/spikes or get hit by a laser.
  
• God's Left Hand: The ("intentional") loophole from Revision still works:
  
  1. Equip Wicked King's Shield to get GLH for free with a 1 or 2-range weapon equipped
     
  2. Equip whichever desired 3-range weapon
     
  3. Swap to your desired shield
     
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 if swapping to another 3-range weapon

Magic Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Breather	Slows down the speed of decreasing ST.	2	Leather Spaulders
High-Speed Incantation	Shortens the time needed to cast magic.	5	Magician's Spaulders
Absolute Territory	Increases the invincibility time while magic is active.	5	Golden Pauldrons
Great Magic	Significantly extends the time until ST begins to decrease.	4	Angel Baton
Flawless	Slightly increases ST consumption. You won't be affected by any abnormal statuses while using magic.	2	Lion Shield
Darkness	When using magic, consumes HP corresponding to the ST consumed. Skill power is greatly increased.	7	Apocalyptic Pauldrons
Eliminate	Increases ST consumption. Your magic will eliminate enemy bullets when activated.	3	Magical Girl's Staff
Demon Rage	Doubles damage caused by magic. Consumes twice as much ST.	6	Diabolos
Energy Drain	If an enemy attacks you while you are using magic, restore HP equal to one half of what the damage would be.	8	Battle Maniac's Spaulders
Wise Man	Recover ST when landing hits with staves, magic attacks, and throwing weapons.	5	Barbarian Spaulders
Full Burst	Consume all ST when using magic. In exchange, damage is increased in proportion to how much extra ST was used.	6	Crystal Shield
Artisan	The ST required to activate magic remains the same, but the actual ST consumed is reduced.	10	High Ancient

• High-Speed Incantation: Appears to roughly halve the default pre-cast delay of half a second.
  
• Great Magic: Stacking this with Dragon Cup will increase the ST drain grace period to about double its normal time.
  
• Absolute Territory: Appears to be a negligible increase from the default 1s iframe, if at all from testing by casting different spells on top of lava/spikes then frame counting recordings with/without the skill.
  If the NGE reference wasn't clear enough, this is outright called 絶対領域 in JP.
  
• Flawless: Increases ST costs by 10%. Not nearly as useful given the lack of transform-type magic compared to Revision and the above 1s iframe.
  
• Darkness: HP cost is 3x the spell's cast cost without considering Full Burst nor Artisan in exchange for a 60% spell power buff. If you don't have enough HP to pay for a spell, you won't be able to cast it.
  
• Eliminate: Increases ST costs by 10%.
  The ST cost increases of both Flawless and Eliminate are additive with each other.
  
• Demon Rage: The 2x ST cost will not affect Flawless nor Eliminate's cost increases.
  
• Full Burst: The spell power buff is 0.8 x (amount of ST used / original cast cost). It's completely possible to do less damage with FB if you don't use more than 1.25x a spell's original ST cost.
  Darkness, Demon Rage, and Full Burst's spell power multipliers are all additive with each other.
  
• Artisan: The ST consumed will always be 5% less of the final cast cost after considering Flawless, Eliminate, and Demon Rage if they are active.

POLIN Skills (Part Three)

Attributes/ Status Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Ifrit	Increases all Fire damage dealt by 20%.	4	Gloves
Undine	Increases all Water damage dealt by 20%.	4	Ixion Sword
Gnome	Increases all Earth damage dealt by 20%.	4	Stone Shield
Sylph	Increases all Wind damage dealt by 20%.	4	Lindwurm
Luna	Increases all Holy damage dealt by 20%.	4	Turtle Shield
Shadow	Increases all Darkness damage dealt by 20%.	4	Hero's Blade
Drunken Fist	While affected by any abnormal status, weapon damage and defense power are increased.	2	Ritual Spaulders
Strong Constitution	Resistance to all abnormal statuses +10.	3	Holy Spaulders
Ultimate Medicine	Resistance to all abnormal statuses +100. You take 1.5x damage.	5	Thanatos
Origin	Increases damage inflicted by non-attribute weapons.	5	Kronos
Maxwell	Increases damage when attacking with the element an enemy is weak to.	8	Hero's Shield
Spirit's Blessings	Nullifies the damage reduction when attacking a target with the same attribute.	3	Elemental Gap

• Origin: Appears to be a roughly 15% multiplier?
  
• Maxwell: Stacks additively with Ifrit-Luna. Appears to be about a 20% multiplier.

Altered Technique Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Kamaitachi	Sky Sword will now emit vacuum waves while it slashes through the air.	3	Butterfly Axe
Air Tackle	While using Air Surf, deal damage to any enemies you hit.	2	Dark Knight's Spaulders
Shuriken Sword	Extends the flying distance of the Sky Sword.	3	Katana Blade
Bash Tornado	Generates a tornado from a Shield Bash. Launches enemies into the air, and destroys any enemy bullets that hit it.	6	Parasol
Kirihide	Extends the invincibility time of the backstep and generates blast damage at the previous postion.	3	Rapier
Ice Crash	Generates icicles at the end of Armor Slash.	4	Phoenix Shield
Sky Surf	Air Surf will aim upwards.	1	Dragvandil
Double Reflect	Counter Bash will now repel enemy bullets.	2	Iron Wall
Shuriken Dagger	When using throwing knives, 5 will be consumed. Throws special projectiles forward randomly that will destroy enemy bullets.	3	Kikuichimonji
Mach Spike	Places powerful mines when using Shield Charge.	2	The Scream
Sumo Attack	Shield Charge will damage enemies in its path.	3	Guardian Axe
Gravity Daze	Makes the duration of Zero Gravity limitless.	2	Divine Pauldrons Faxana-du

Special Mode

Skill Name	Effect	Cost	Source
Gumption	Boosts the benefits of combo bonuses.	3	Battle Axe
Seize	When you hit an enemy, seize its coins.	5	Paw Stick
King of Destruction	Recover HP and ST when you break an enemy.	10	Ultima Weapon
Magical Power Conversion	Allows you to convert decreasing ST into HP.	5	Valhalla
Gale	Techniques that involve movement will now travel further.	2	Hero's Spaulders
Thrifty	When consumable items are used, there is a 1-in-4 chance they will not be consumed. This does not apply to Force-generating items and Stat Cards.	5	Caduceus
Fine Tuning	Reduces the weight of your shield to 0.	5	Rose Foil
Soul Eater	Force will be gained on hit rather than on defeat. Drop rate increased slightly. Drop attributes can be random.	7	Kitchen Knife
Magician	Increase the swing speed of magic staves.	5	Thunder Sword
Item Master	Recovery item effects increased by 1.5x. Duration of timed tools increased by 1.5x.	9	Divine Shield Ignition
Gemstone Power	The final damage you deal is increased in proportion to how much Corundum you possess.	10	Magic Stone Shield
Divine Reversal	Reverses the divine principals of life and death.	10	Divine Sword Ec Stasia

• Gumption: Damage Cut 10% => 15% at 20 combo, Range 1.2 => 1.3 at 50 combo, move speed 1.3 => 1.4 at 100 combo, Steal Gold at 150 combo and Force Fever at 300 combo are buffed by roughly 20% (denoted with another +)
  
• Magical Power Conversion: Unaffected by LIBRA's HP Recovery.
  
• Gemstone Power: Damage multiplier appears to be (Corundum owned / 2)%. This affects all damage inflicted, physical or magical.
  As implied by the tooltip's phrasing, Gemstone Power is multiplicative with all other damage multiplier sources, including Berserk for physical attacks and Darkness, Demon Rage, and Full Burst for magic.
  
• Divine Reversal: The final boss has two attacks affected by this: Breath of Death, and Breath of Life. Normally, Death hits extremely hard and will likely one-shot you, while Life just heals you. This skill reverses the breaths both ways so Death isn't fatal but Life will kill you. Unequip this as needed during the fight.

The Arena

The Arena will unlock after clearing the 1st Stratum and the following sequence with the Scales. Unlike Revision's Arena, the Gaiden Arena battles are replays of Revision's main bosses; other than all bosses having scaled up stats (including Anulis now that having Polin skills is taken into account), their behaviors remain the same as before.
There are also no hard progression locks between Arena battles beyond the obvious stat spikes every few fights. Thus, Arena progression can be roughly tiered from weakest to strongest as follows:

1. Early first half: Golden Dragon, Terra-Behemoth
   
2. Mid first half: Agni, Meldine
   
3. Late first half: Deus Ex Machina, Marionette
   
4. Beginning of Postscript: Anulis, Mira-Bahamut
   
5. Mid Postscript: Gleipnir, Pure Silver
   
6. Endgame: God fights, The Barkeep

Clearing each fight will unlock the next in the sequence, excepting Pure Silver unlocking the six God fights. These Gods can be fought in any order, but all of them must be defeated to challenge the Barkeep.
As with Revision, Arena battles will produce a reward on the first clear. These rewards are as follows:

Monster	Reward
Golden Dragon	5 Magic Stones
Terra-Behemoth	Weapon: Stone Greatsword
Agni	5 Magic Stones
Meldine	5 Magic Stones
Deus Ex Machina	5 Magic Stones
Marionette	5 Magic Stones
Anulis	Mug
Mira-Bahamut	5 Magic Stones
Gleipnir	5 Magic Stones
Pure Silver	Love
Geraldine	Weapon: Demon Blade Murasame, access to Blizzagan in the GROW tree's ADA branch
Lieselotte	Weapon: Caduceus, access to Magna Flare in the GROW tree's ATC branch
Adolphus	Accessory: Dark Matter, access to Asteroid in the GROW tree's DEF branch
Beatrice	Shield: Holy Shield Elna Saga, access to Dyna Shion in the GROW tree's LUC branch
Al-Khamis	Armor: Great Sage's Robe, access to Zio Cross in the GROW tree's MAG branch
Astraea	Weapon: Holy Sword Kutune Shirka, access to Purely Heart in the GROW tree's SPD branch
The Barkeep	Treasure Encyclopaedia
Full Clear Reward	KEIZO Emblem

Small Metals

You will be able to start showing Small Metals to Meloo once you're prompted to visit the inn at the end of the 3rd Stratum. She will start giving rewards every 2 metals from 10, all the up to 58.

Total Small Metals	Reward
10	Corundum
12	Book of Battle Records
14	5x Magic Stones
16	Golden Ticket
18	Yggdrasil Bow
20	Armor: Holy Spaulders
22	Weapon: Fire Lance
24	Advanced Synthesis Recipes
26	Armor: The Scream
28	Weapon: Kikuichimonji
30	Double Crossbow
32	(Top) Stone Plate Fragment
34	Baker's Recipes
36	Shield: Dark Knight's Shield
38	Weapon: Rose Foil
40	Laser Gun
42	Accessory: Elemental Cloth
44	Alchemy Recipes
46	Weapon: Hero's Blade
48	(10th) Scale Pans
50	Spirit Bow Ushas
52	Decorative Box
54	Reflecting Ring
56	Technique Scroll - Zero Gravity
58	Mysterious Blueprint

Achievements (Part One)

Your Little Sister's Hobby
Gaiden: Get the Handgun from your little sister.
The Handgun requires a Slime Jelly and a Penguin's Egg to purchase from Komugi, both which only drop in the 6th Stratum. Consequentially, you won't be able to get the Handgun until early in Gaiden's Postscript.


Dummy Breaker
Gaiden: Destroy the dummy in the backyard.
The dummy has defensive stats on par with mobs in the later parts of Gaiden's first half. I recommend attempting to destroy it when you can reasonably unlock Zeus at the 4th-5th strata.
Destroying the starter dummy will drop the Level Emblem and spawn in Revision's rock dummies in its place.

Lottery Master
Gaiden: Collect all the grand prizes from the Luxury Lottery.
Mokyun's luxury lottery contains +1 Trinket Slots as its gold ball prize. Collecting all 5 of them will unlock this achievement and replace them with 3 Magic Stones.


Scales' Latent Power (Gaiden)
Gaiden: Strengthen the scales once.
Once you've cleared the 11th stratum, go back to the Yggdrasil interstice in Rispadar and talk to the old lady there. She will unlock scale strengthening at this point.
Unlike the main game, each scale strengthen only costs 20k gold.

A Talented Older Sister
Gaiden: Acquire all Styles
Gaiden has 15 Styles to obtain: Explorer, Swordswoman, Magician, Guardian, Thief, Barbarian, Knight, Lancer, Dancer, Ninja, Samurai, Heavy Warrior, Assassin, Witch, and Hero's Reflection.

• Delivering bread to the clothing store will unlock Explorer.
  
• Swordswoman is inside the weapon store's chest. Use Air Ride to reach it.
  
• Magician is found in Stratum 1 midpoint's chest.
  
• All other styles can be found at a very low chance from chests inside the cave. As far as I know, the styles from Guardian to Ninja can be found in the first half of the game, while Samurai to Hero's Reflection are exclusive to the Postscript half.

A Magical Older Sister
Gaiden: Learn all magic spells.
Below are all of the spells unlockable in Gaiden. Note that spells beyond the fourth row (or fifth in Fire's case) are only accessible in Gaiden's Postscript half. You will also need to defeat Gods in the Arena to complete this achievement; see the GROW tree for more details.

Fire	Water	Earth	Wind	Dark	Light
Flame	Bubble	Clay	Cutter	Black Hole	Pure
Vulcan	Rain	Impact	Storm	Dark	Bit
Burning	Water Ball	Grave	Reflection	Thunder	Eraser
Gatling	Tidal Wave	Impulse	Typhoon	Zeus	Athena
Fire Wall	Bubble Bomb	Comet	Dynas	Spark	Ray
Mine	Jet	Rock Break	Saber	Dark Cloud	Option
Fire Rain	Splash	Stone Fall	Vacuum	Lightning	Purely
Lava	Avalanche	Shooting Star	Tornado	Big Bang	Ray Bomb
Salamander	Jetstream	Earthquake	Parthena	Tesla	Giga Eraser
Magna Flare	Blizzagan	Asteroid	Dyna Shion	Zio Cross	Purely Heart

A Stylish Older Sister
Gaiden: Acquire all outfits.
Simply purchase all outfit items from the clothing store. Without accounting for Golden Ticket discounts, this will cost you up to 300k gold.



Indirect Kiss
Gaiden: Acquire the Lollipop.
The Princess sells the Lollipop for 99 tissues.
If you don't want to gamble all of your normal lottery tickets for tissues, get Alchemy Recipes from Meloo with 44 Small Metals. This will unlock recipes to convert a (luxury) lottery ticket and a Refining Kit into a tissue.

Helpful Dog
Gaiden: Learn all POLIN skills.
Refer to the Polin Skills section for more information. Note that unlike Revision, all of Gaiden's unlockable skills come from mastering equipment.



Satisfied With Just Looking
Gaiden: Show all the small metals to Meloo.
Talk to Meloo again after obtaining the Mysterious Blueprint for 58 Small Metals to make this achievement pop up.



Champion of the Arena
Gaiden: Dominate all the arena battles.
See the Arena section for more details on how Gaiden handles the Arena.
Remember to talk to the barkeep after beating him to make the achievement pop up!

Achievements (Part Two)

My Beloved Older Sister
Save your little sister, while saving the town in the process.
Defeat Geist following the 5th Stratum's boss. This achievement will pop up at the end of the epilogue sequence.



Two Heroes
Gaiden: With two of them around, everything will be fine.
Defeat the final boss at the Lowest Stratum following the 11th Stratum. This achievement will pop up after the post-credits cutscene.



Kaiser
Gaiden: Go against destiny and defeat Kai.
Missable achievement!
You will fight against Kai right after the 2nd Stratum's boss. You will not get another chance to fight him if you lose, so be sure to reload to before the fight if you want the achievement! He will also drop the Kaiser Ring if you win.
Refer to the 5th Equipment footnote if you're struggling with winning against him.

Side Story Master
Gaiden: Do absolutely everything in Astlibra Gaiden.
Despite the achievement's description, this is not actually a 100% completion achievement!

1. A final boss time trial orb will appear at the Lowest Stratum after defeating the final boss. Clear it once to unlock the final boss Leveling Challenge orb.
   
2. Clear this Leveling Challenge twice to unlock this achievement and the Golden Cogwheel once you return.

Changelog

May 03, 2024: Clarified accessing the well by indicating the need to use the Great Sage's Rope.
Mar. 02, 2024: Modified Sword Energy footnote in light of v1.0.4's hotfix.
Feb. 24, 2024: Fixed poor/redundant wording for getting Ignition and introducing Gaiden's Arena.
Feb. 22-23, 2024: Added notes for select POLIN skills, using the JP wiki's KARON page as a main reference.[w.atwiki.jp] Looks like many of Revision's quirks/jank tied to returning skills is still intact in Gaiden.
Feb. 21, 2024: Guide published.

[glassJAw]

thanks i didnt know i could "use" it

[Pyonta]

"Have the items" as in you already got the rope and cell key, right? You need to use the rope at the well so it'll let you go down. Guess I forgot to put that in the footnote...

[glassJAw]

need some help here trying to get the Divine Sword Ec Stasia, i have the items and then it says go to the well but i cannot re enter it, what am i doing wrong please help me out

[Pyonta]

The interstice is "hidden" inside the pulsing tree right before Rispadar's town gates. Kill the trees and you'll notice the magic circle that warps you there.
Hero's Reflection can still drop in the 11th stratum without beating the final boss. Keep farming runs through it; (new) styles have an atrocious drop rate from chests in my experience.

[Paiguy]

I'm having trouble finding the place to upgrade the scales still, I've cleared floor 11 and am right before the final boss but nobody in town seems to let me?

I'm also missing the Hero's reflection style, do I need to beat the game before that appears or something?

[nesoukefka]

I think it's worth noting, for equipment that can be gotten in Silver/Gold chest, it's also possible to get them in Bronze chest in the next stratum of the one they are available to.

[Worg]

Thanks for the super helpful guide :) I managed to complete the game 100%

[Roxas713]

I would like to note for fighting Kai one should get Dragon head (stratum 2), and run magician, as magician allows you to recover sp with both their style skill and when using the dragon head to attack, due to it being a staff, as a magician you gain even more sp, along with the dragon head allowing you to equip a shield.

[stealthycat]

Awesome work!! Now I just wish I understood the damage formulas a bit better, to know the value of my own defenses and offenses. For example I just got to the sub-11 stratum (final?) boss and I'm wondering if it's better for me to glass cannon or if there's a defense/HP threshold I can reach for comfort.

[VertVentus]

Wise Man is pretty flexible. At 1589 Max ST, 22 ST Gain Rate (Libra), and Magician's 20% ST Gain, here's ST values I got based on Handling and number of projectiles from 0 to 5.[list]
[*]1 Handling = 142, 202, 261, 321, 381, 440
[*]2 Handling = 128, 180, 233, 285, 337, 390
[*]3 Handling = 114, 159, 204, 249, 294, 340
[*]5 Projectiles = Dragon Head
[*]0, 2, 4 Projectiles = Gun Hammer, +1 with Sword Energy
[*]2 Projectiles = Magical Girl's Staff, Angel Baton, Caduceus, Dark Staff (2 Handling)
[*]0, 1, 2 Projectiles = Phoenix Blade, +1 with Sword Energy
[*]1 Projectile = Wooden Staff, Moonlight Staff, Holy Staff Exodus, Sword Energy, Thunder Sword (inapplicable with Kaiser Ring), Divine Sword Ec Stasia[/list]
Every other staff but Caduceus does poor damage in Stratum 11 because of the lower rank magic damage penalty. Base game staves were unaffected IIRC while spells could bypass this via The Art of Summoning.