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Now let’s talk about chain and Stagger.

a) By continuously attacking the enemy, thus chaining the attacks together, you’re increasing the enemy’s Chain gauge (evident by the yellow bar being filled from left to right).

b) Physical attacks add little percent to the Chain Gauge, but they also maintain the Chain Gauge making it decrease slowly, allowing you ample time to chain together the next series of attacks.

c) Magical attacks add a lot of percent to the Chain Gauge, but they also cause the Chain Gauge to decrease rapidly, not allowing you to string together attacks easily.

d) Every enemy in the game has its own Chain Gauge and it starts at 100% once battle commences.

e) Once you add enough percent to the enemy’s Chain Gauge, that enemy enters STAGGER. For example, an enemy you fight has a Chain Gauge of 300%. When the battle starts, its Chain Gauge begins at 100%. This means that you have to keep chaining attacks together for so long until you accumulate an additional 200% towards the enemy’s Chain Gauge.

f) In Stagger the enemy is extremely vulnerable, more susceptible to status changes, takes much more damage from attacks, and cannot respond well to your attacks. Additionally, sometimes attack and/or status affinities may change in Stagger.

g) Once the enemy is Staggered, an additional 100% is added to the Chain Gauge. In the aforementioned case, the Chain Gauge would become 400%.

h) The maximum value the Chain Gauge can reach is 999,9%.

i) Percent on the Chain Gauge has another effect; all of your attacks will inflict higher damage affected by the amount displayed on the Chain Gauge. In the aforementioned case, your attacks would inflict 4 times greater damage than usual.

j) Once the enemy is Staggered, its Chain Gauge will start to slowly deplete from right to left. Until the bar is completely gone, all additional attacks by you will keep adding percentage to the Chain Gauge. Once the bar is empty, the enemy’s Chain Gauge returns to 100% and you have to Stagger it again.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PS3
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    24 February 2012
  • Last Updated
    20 February 2021
  • Guide Author
    Damir Kolar

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After the happy ending of Final Fantasy XIII, Serah Farron sets out on a search for her sister Lightning who mysteriously disappeared. No one but Serah remembers what happened that day underneath the crystal pillar and many believe Lightning died. Serah is not convinced however, and along with Noel, a mysterious time traveller from the future, she journeys through time and space to find her sister. Along the way, she uncovers dark and sinister truths that could destroy the timeline and set untold chaos in motion. You must join together to stop that from happening!

Traverse the Historia Crux with our guide, which includes the following:

  • 100% walkthrough to Final Fantasy XIII-2.
  • Accompanied with helpful screenshots and videos.
  • All side quests & post game content covered in detail.
  • How to obtain every collectible in the game.
  • HD videos of key battles and how to beat every boss.
  • Comprehensive Coliseum battle guide.
  • The best places to level and farm XP.
  • A complete Bestiary for every enemy type.
  • DLC guide for “Sazh’s Episode: Heads or Tails?” and “Requiem for a Goddess”.
  • 100% Platinum Trophy / Achievements guide.

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