Hidden Gestral Arena Guide

The Hidden Gestral Arena is a secret fight club where you participate in a series of 4 1v1 battles against different Gestral opponents. Each fight is more challenging than the last, and for each success, you're awarded with a powerful Pictos that enhances an Expeditioner's combat prowess when fighting alone.

The Hidden Gestral Arena is located in the first part of the Continent that you explore. You should progress the main story until you enter the Gestral Village and meet Esquie before heading to this area.

You can find the entrance to the Hidden Gestral Arena near the Yellow Harvest. Look for an area on the map where most of the foliage is golden in color. This is near the Small Bourgeon's area and the Red Woods.

Matthieu the Colossus is the weakest foe you fight in the Hidden Gestral Arena. He frequently attacks with his blade arm. His attacks are well telegraphed, and he has less health than the other combatants, making this an easy encounter. After you defeat him, you obtain the Level 6 Last Stand Critical Picto.

This is an incredibly potent bonus for combat challenges where you can only bring one party member. Beat Matthieu first and use Last Stand Critical to make the subsequent fights easier.

Bertrand Big Hands is a bit trickier, using a big, wide swing attack that deals damage late in the animation. Alternatively, Bertrand frequently mixes in a fast swing with a short charge. Since the two attacks have the opposite timing, one being very slow and the other being fast, it's easy to misread Bertrand and take a hit. After you defeat this opponent you obtain the Level 6 Accelerating Last Stand Picto.

When fighting solo, it's important to go first and attack as frequently as possible. Rush increases your speed, making it easy to strike before your foes.

Dominique Giant Feet primarily uses slow attacks that are easy to dodge or counter. This fight is more difficult than Matthieu but easier than Bertrand. After you defeat her, you obtain the Level 6 Protecting Last Stand Picto.

Shell is a defensive buff that reduces your damage taken. When combined with the Defense stat and healing skills, this makes your solo character much tankier.

Julien Tiny Head is the last boss of the Hidden Gestral Arena and has way more health than the other combatants. In addition, his attacks are significantly more complex with a lot of combos, making this encounter more difficult.

• 3-hit Combo, a series of rapid attacks, you need good timing on this, whether you're dodging or parrying.
• 2-hit Combo, very similar to his 3-hit combo but without a third follow-up.
  • From time to time he also throws the first punch from this sequence without any subsequent attacks.
• Jump Strike, the easiest move to counter, Julien jumps into the air before striking with a single slow attack.
• Spinning Punch is another move that's pretty easy to counter. Julien spins before punching once.
• Fakeout Punch, Julien throws an extremely quick jab to bait you into dodging or parrying, followed by a real attack. This is extremely difficult to counter, and the real attack hits very hard. The key here is to watch his hands! He always begins a real attack sequence with his left arm, but starts the fakeout sequence with his right. Ignore the first attack when he uses his right arm, and focus on countering the real strike from his left.

After you defeat him, you obtain the Level 6 Solo Fighter Picto. Having +50% damage when fighting alone is absolutely crucial when playing a Lone Wolf build.

(Coming Soon)

Summary

• Find the Hidden Gestral Arena from the world map to enter a series of 4 1v1 fights and earn special Pictos.
• Defeat Matthieu the Colossus to obtain Last Stand Critical, giving you 100% critical strike chance when fighting alone.
• Beat Bertrand Big Hands get obtain Accelerating Last Stand, activating Rush when fighting alone.
• Defeat Dominique Giant Feet to obtain Protecting Last Stand, giving you Shell when fighting alone.
• Beat Julen Tiny Head to get Solo Fighter, for +50% damage when fighting alone.
• There are several other Pictos in the Last Stand series; combine them to make the ultimate "Lone Wolf" build, a character who thrives when fighting without any teammates.
• The Last Stand Pictos all have low Lumina Point costs, making it easy to wear a different Pictos with better base stats.

Credits

Written by: Tenkiei