When you enter the area, examine the screen in front of you to start a cutscene. Immediately head to the outer walkway after it ends. From here you can get to the room in the south, which contains – you guessed it – another control panel. Examine the control panel to trigger a Live Trigger Event, the answer to which is 9261. Another cutscene will play out after you enter the code, after which you will finally receive the Map of Augusta Tower. Go back to the inner walkway now.

Before heading to the waypoint, move to the northern side of the room and collect the contents of the chest. You will get a Wild Artefact. Now go to the waypoint. You will be told that you need an Augusta Tower Key, which you will get somewhere else. Luckily, you should have already visited Augusta Tower 300AF and obtained the Access Key 50, so you are good to go. Simply examine the control panel a second time and it will recognize that you have the key in your inventory and move the necessary platform into the correct position.

Alyssa will be waiting for you at the next waypoint. Use the platform to move over to her and speak to her. After your conversation, turn around and move to the south, where you’ll find another panel waiting for you. Don’t activate it just yet, though, as there is a hidden chest nearby that you should grab first. Once you’re in the south area, look to the right to find another room. Chocolina will be waiting for you inside. Go into this room and look up into the corner to Chocolina’s left. You should just barely be able to make out a chest in the darkness. This chest contains the Paradox Agent Type A. Go back to the previous room and head to the exact opposite side, high on the northeastern corner of the map. Examining the control panel here will begin the Idea Circuit side quest, which you can complete now that you have the Paradox Agent Type A. You will receive the Idea Circuit Fragment and 400 experience points to boot. Activating the second control panel in the room will start up the Enigma Codex quest, which you can’t complete yet, but you’d might as well add it to your log while you’re in the area.

Now you can safely activate the panel in the south end of the room. Talk to Alyssa one more time, which will initiate a cutscene, then level your party up. Walk into the elevator and speak to Alyssa yet again. You will be attacked by a group of Vespid Soldiers and Zwerg Metrodroids, along with an Orion. These will be new enemy types to you, and they can be fairly tough, especially given that you’ll have to fight many groups of them in succession. The next wave consists of four Vespid Soldiers and one Orion, and the third and final wave is made up of four Zwerg Metrodroids and one Orion. This encounter will mark the presence of enemies throughout the rest of Augusta Tower.

Before worrying about enemies, however, you’ll have a puzzle to contend with.

Rotating Room Puzzle

In this puzzle, you must use the control panels to rotate the different rooms, creating a path through the level. Rotate the rooms in this order:

The lower right room, once.

The lower left room, once.

The left room, three times.

The other room you should leave in its original position.

Move to the waypoint and search the screen to get Access Key 52. Now you can access the next level from the elevator.

Upon reaching the next level, you’ll be dogged by frequent enemy encounters with yet another new monster type, the Dragoon. These enemies attack quickly and fiercely, making them a great addition to your Paradigm Pack. They won’t hold up over the long haul, as these monsters have the Early Bloomer trait and thus max out their capabilities very quickly, but for a little while they will be a good asset to your party. Fight a few until you capture one. Be careful when engaging them, though, as they tend to attack quickly on the overworld map and don’t leave you much time to strike before your Mog Clock is emptied out.

After you’re comfortable with your Paradigm Pack configuration, go into the southwestern room and use the control panel to rotate it one time. Now go to the left, to the far west room, and rotate this one twice. A thin walkway will lead to the east; follow it and hit the panel at the end two times. Now return to the room on the west and hit the switch twice again. You now have a clear path to the waypoint. The most challenging part of the dungeon is now over. From this point, it’s simply a matter of moving to the waypoint and making sure that you are ready to fight a tough boss.

Interact with the screen at the waypoint to get access to the Top Floor Access Key. Enter the Crystarium and level your party up before getting into the elevator and riding up to battle the Greater Behemoth.

Mini-Boss Battle: Greater Behemoth

The Greater Behemoth can be an incredibly annoying foe if not dealt with properly. It hits hard, and it can restore its health in the blink of an eye. Additionally, once you’ve lowered its health below the 40-50% threshold its attacks increase in strength. Attaining an early stagger in this battle is the key to victory. Use an all-out offensive Paradigm such as Relentless Assault to drive the Greater Behemoth’s Chain Gauge up. Once it’s staggered, don’t let up. Use any Feral Link abilities you have after it’s staggered to increase their effectiveness manifold. The Greater Behemoth should fall fairly quickly after that.

If you had trouble surviving against the Greater Behemoth, turn around and go down the elevator to level grind for a little while. The true boss of the tower awaits just up the stairs after the Greater Behemoth, and it’s no picnic. When you’re ready, go to the top floor and proceed upstairs.

Boss Battle: Proto fal’Cie Adam, Left Manipulator, Right Manipulator

You can’t damage Adam as long as the Left and Right Manipulators are active, so your first priority should be to take them out. If you’re leveled high enough, you should be able to use the Relentless Assault or Diversity (Ravager, Commando, Medic) Paradigms to drive up their Chain Gauges and kill them quickly. Go for the Relentless Assault tactic unless you are having lots of trouble staying alive. When the Manipulators fall, launch an all-out assault against Adam. This isn’t particularly the most tactical battle, so just worry about dealing damage and driving the Chain Gauge to its maximum.

Adam will fall. Just as you think to yourself that it was easier than expected, the boss will rise again, only stronger. This is where things get difficult, as you must contend with a stronger Adam and the two Manipulators, which will have risen again with him. Again, destroy the Manipulators before working on Adam. You will have to stagger him at least two times in order to whittle his large health bar down. Upon finally killing him, you’ll have to complete a Cinematic Battle Action to finish the job. Press right, up, right + O/B, X/A repeatedly + right, X/A repeatedly.

Even after the Cinematic Battle Action, Adam will still be ready for more. In a tense sequence, you’ll enter into a Live Trigger Event in which you must make the right decision or Adam will resurrect himself again and the battle will begin anew. Select “Scream at Hope” and the battle will end.

You will receive 6,000 experience points for your efforts, as well as the Proto fal’Cie Adam Fragment. A treasure chest will appear, which you should loot. Go to the waypoint and examine the control panel. Now you can go to the Gate and use the Artefact of Rebirth to head back to Academia.