Sidequest: In the Ruins of Nelveska Temple

This can be a really tough battle if you're underleveled, and it can be even more difficult if you're trying to take full advantage of the map (and you should, because this is your only shot at it). You can't take out all of the enemies straight away if you want to go for the special items, but you're going to want to take as many of them out as you can because a lot of them can do significant damage to your party before you even get a turn, unless you've brought characters with auto-haste or very high speed. Bring along someone like Orlandeau who can hopefully take out a Hydra or a Cockatrice right away. If you're going to go for the big prizes, you'll need to balance your all-out attack with some characters who can apply debuffs to slow the battle down, as well as someone who is well equipped to dig up rare items.

This battle is special because it has two very well-hidden items stashed on the battlefield - the Javelin II with crazy power for your Dragoons and the Escutcheon II with incredible defense. To get them, you'll need really low Bravery and the Treasure Hunter ability to get the best chance at picking up both - remember, this is a one-time battle so if you want both you have to get lucky enough to get them in one run.

To do this, you can either use Beowulf to cast Chicken on your item-finder, or give that ability to Rapha who has a naturally low Brave stat. Remember that the chance of pulling the rare item from any individual treasure cache is (100 - Unit Brave)%, so get as close to a Brave of 10 as you can. It's easiest to get this set up before this battle, when there's less going on, but remember that if you reduce Brave too much your character runs the risk of leaving the party out of fear.

On top of that, you're going to need a stepping stone to get onto the pillars in the front of the battlefield, where the items are hidden; clearly, the developers of this game did not particularly want these items found. Either Reis or Construct 8 will work as a step up to the pillars, if they stand on a square directly next to one. Having your treasure-finder equipped with a gun or other ranged attack isn't a bad idea either, because after finding both items that character can stay where he or she is and attack from above to help wrap the battle. If you're fortunate enough to get both items here, the last thing you want is to then die and have to do the whole thing over.

You'll have to be quick to see if you get the right version of the item, because the common item in each pillar is exactly that, the version of the item that you can get in the early game. In the game, both versions for both items are named the same, to make it more frustrating; CoN names the upgraded versions differently for display but you won't get that during the battle. If you're quick, you can see the item as it's picked up and see if it's the enhanced version, or if you have a character with the ability to Reequip you can access the menus during the battle and check.

If you're successful, the has an attack power over double that of the best store-bought spear, and a character with the Escutcheon II may never be hit with an attack again (especially if you give them a good cloak as an accessory) - but, again, you have to win the battle first if you want to hold on to them. Target the Hydras first because they can use attacks that target a lot of characters, then the Cockatrice. You can also try to stop them from attacking with any number of debuffing abilities across several jobs. Finally, have someone Rend Speed Construct 7 down to 1 speed so you can get the items without worry, then kill him. Definitely bring someone who can heal with X-Potions, and it might even be safer to bring two or three people who can. Having Auto-Potion on many characters will help but Construct 7 can still take out most single targets in one shot if you're unlucky.

The other two found items on this map are nothing to scoff at, either, but aren't as important as the and Escutcheon II, and are in fact even harder to get to. Feel free to stop after looting the pillars, and focus on survival.

After the battle, you'll get a Auracite - the one you've been looking for! How great is that luck?

Reis will walk into the temple with it and will be relieved of her dragon form and return as a human with many of the same skills, and more to learn too.

Let her rejoin your party because she's awesome in battles where there are enemy dragons and is pretty good on her own as well. Then, now that you have the correct Auracite for the next gadget, return to Goug.