Neoseeker : Kid Icarus: Uprising : Kid Icarus: Uprising FAQs : Kid Icarus: Uprising Treasure Hunt Completion Guide

Kid Icarus: Uprising Treasure Hunt Completion Guide

by Sturm_the_dark Updated to v1.4 on Sep 14, 2015

Introduction
1. Are there spoilers?
2. How are the panels sorted?
Glossary
Version History
Chapter-Specific Missions
Non-Chapter Specific Missions
General Advice
Palutena's Treasure Hunt
Viridi's Treasure Hunt
Hades's Treasure Hunt
Rewards
FAQs
Legal
Contact
1. Contact Info
Credits

Introduction

Hi there! And thanks for taking the time to read this guide. This guide is designed for those who aim to complete some or all of Kid Icarus: Uprising's in-game treasure hunts, and in the process gain some valuable rewards. Or you could read it for your own enjoyment. Or indeed anything else - the choice is yours.

The treasure hunts are entirely optional. Although you will unlock some panels during your first playthrough, it is completely up to you whether to attempt the remaining achievements. Most panels offer rewards in the form of powers, weapons, idols, music and hearts. However, a few do not and are there purely for satisfaction or completion purposes.

The difficulty of the achievements range from extremely easy to insanely difficult, but unsurprisingly, the tougher the achievement, in general the greater the reward.

Are there spoilers?

Since giving details about some panels requires naming characters that are not revealed until late-game, and subtly describing aspects of the plot, then in that sense yes, there will be. Put another way, it would be very difficult to write this guide if every spoiler character or implied late-game plot event was put in spoiler tags. This all means that...

...FOR EASE OF READING, POTENTIAL SPOILERS WILL BE UNMARKED.

However, in terms of more direct spoilers, such as transcripts and descriptions of key late-game events, there are none. In essence, it depends on whether you mind knowing the names of spoiler characters and references to some late-game events.

If you do find major or more direct spoilers, please contact me.

How are the panels sorted?

In this guide, the panels are first sorted by their respective treasure hunt (Palutena's/Viridi's/Hades's). They are then sorted into the following categories:

Panels requiring specific chapters
Panels requiring a specific 'area' of the game (outlined in the "Non-Chapter Specific Missions" section), and
Any miscellaneous others.

So for example, if you wanted to look up the panel "Defeat Cragalanche with the Poseidon Cannon", it would be under Viridi's Treasure Hunt > Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon] (Viridi).

If you're not sure what panels a certain category of mission, like "Item-acquisition based missions", covers, see its description in section 4 and 5.

Glossary

I know this usually goes at the end, but this will help in understanding the abbreviations and terms specific to this FAQ.

Achievement/Mission/Panel
- These terms basically mean the same thing. An achievement usually refers to your overall goal, a mission the process in which you attempt to accomplish it, and a panel the actual 'thing' you're unlocking (if this confuses you, treat it as the same thing as an achievement). They should all make perfect sense in the guide.
Dash Shots
- Forward, side and backward-dash charged shots or bursts of continuous fire; all shots that involve dashing.

Dashing repeatedly
- Also known as "nudging the control pad", "dash-dodging" and other phrases. This is the technique of repeatedly nudging the control pad (basically spamming the dodge manoeuvre) to avoid any following attacks. It sounds clumsy, but becomes quite useful on high intensities where enemies/bosses are attacking you from all angles. Outside this FAQ, this has also been called "foxtrotting".
Sacrificial Missions
- These missions will require you to accomplish something that is generally not something you want to do, like getting finished. See its entry in the "Non-Chapter Specific Missions" section for more details.
Dodging and counter-attacking
- A strategy for dealing with enemies on high intensities. This is waiting for an enemy to attack first, dodging it and following up with an attack of your own. Very useful for making sure you are not counter-attacked when left open by your own attacks.
Power Attack
- The Mega Laser, Heavenly Light, Explosive Flame and Meteor Shower powers. This is used where any combination of these powers will do. Named after the weapon modifier that affects the damage of these powers.
[Power X] (Lv. 3+)
- When describing a recommended power, the "(Lv. 3+)" part refers to the suggested level for that power. If a power does not have this, any level is suitable. However, as a general rule, try to equip the highest level you can (unless stated otherwise).
Recommended Attributes
- This will be used when you need to use a specific weapon to unlock the panel in question, and will recommend good attributes to have on that weapon.
[Stage/Item] Unlocked
- In Together mode, this means you can choose a new stage to play on or use a new item during matches.
[Weapon/Power] Unlocked
- You can now obtain the weapon or power that has been unlocked, although it is not given to you outright. For example, if you 'unlocked' the Viridi Palm, you are not given one automatically, but you would now be able to obtain it through fusion, buying it in the shop, or finding one in Solo/Together mode.
[Weapon X] (4/2.5, Overall defense +2, etc.)
- When describing a weapon reward, the "4/2.5" part refers to the number of stars it has in ranged/melee respectively.

Version History

The biography of this guide.

Version 0.8 (2013-05-27)
- First uploaded version. Everything until Chapter 20 in Hades's Treasure Hunt is now done, except for the "Complete all chapters on 9.0" achievement, which is fairly close to being finished. FAQs partially complete. Still need to finish Hades's hunt and revise current content.

Version 0.81 (2013-06-03)
- Minor rewrites of content and formatting. Contributions by mwohldmann added.

Version 0.82 (2013-06-11)
- Major overhaul of spelling and grammar. All spelling errors should now be fixed. Some other rewrites of current sections, such as the FAQ and introduction. This should be the last minor update for the foreseeable future; all further updates will be significant additions of content covering the remaining panels in Hades's treasure hunt.

Version 0.9 (2013-08-15)
- All remaining panels except the three Boss Battle ones and "Complete all chapters on 9.0" in Hades's treasure hunt now complete. More minor rewrites of current content. Rewards section added, but yet to start on it. Some of the new content needs rewriting - mainly for spelling and grammar - but the information is there.

Version 1.0 (2013-09-09)
- It's finally here! Everything in this guide is now officially complete. I may still update it from time to time, but only with rewrites of current content or additional contributions from emails. Also added a few new sections, among them a "High Intensity Advice" for some universal advice you can apply to all high-intensity runs.

Version 1.1 (2013-09-22)
- Rewards section and advice for a few panels changed slightly. Contributions by Thrasher698 (Shattercoin) added.

Version 1.2 (2014-01-13)
- Implemented Andy251153's (Austin's) suggestion of recommending certain levels for some recommended powers. Minor rewrites of some sections. Restructured the categories slightly, merging "Other Solo missions" with "Other missions". Updated the FAQ section. Changed the advice regarding SpotPass to reflect the end of the weapon gem delivery service.

Version 1.3 (2014-08-21)
- Another major spelling overhaul; almost all errors should now be fixed. Formatting errors fixed. Rewrites of content throughout the guide, mainly shortening sentences and making things clearer. Strategies updated in some sections. Categories slightly renamed. Added a request for additional information for the Chapter 10 missions in Hades's Treasure Hunt. Other minor changes throughout the guide.

Version 1.31 (2014-08-22)
- Well the new FAQ editor threw up a whole load of other formatting errors, so hopefully these are now all fixed. The main problem was that it's no longer possible to have more than one heading with the same title, so I had to rename all the sections with Palutena, Viridi or Hades in brackets after them to distinguish them apart. Please contact me if you find more formatting errors or problems with the guide.

Version 1.32 (2014-11-15)
- Corrections by Fawie42 added. Other minor corrections.

Version 1.33 (2014-12-15)
- Contact info updated; you can now message me on Twitter if you like. Besides that, various other corrections, clarifications and shortening of sentences throughout the guide.

Version 1.34 (2015-02-25)
- Contributions by Brad added. Paragraphs shortened and some hyperlinks added to make navigation easier.

Version 1.35 (2015-05-31)
- Images added to the start of the guide and the Boss Battle section. New content added in some sections of Hades's hunt, mostly in regards to unlocking multiple panels, and more hyperlinks added. The vast majority of spelling errors should now be fixed. More shortening of sentences and making them more 'to the point'. Some formatting changes to bullet-pointed sections since the size of the line breaks have changed. Minor changes to paragraphing.

Version 1.4 (2015-09-12)
- Final finishing touches to the guide. Corrections by Michael S added. Hopefully this will be the last update in a long while, unless I get more suggestions by email or PM.

Chapter-Specific Missions

The types of panels that require a specific chapter.

Time-Based Missions

Examples:

Chapter 2: Clear this chapter within 10 minutes
Chapter 10: Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Also referred to in this guide as "speedruns". These panels are all about completing a chapter under a certain time, set in minutes. However, the vast majority of these panels also have no intensity requirement, meaning you can set it to 0.0 and blast through the level.

You cannot alter the time taken in air battles, so a fast land battle is crucial. Naturally claws are the best weapon choice because of their speed boosts, but in most cases any weapon with a decent speed modifier (except for clubs, staffs and cannons) will do. This mainly applies to the speedruns in earlier treasure hunts, as later speedruns will require weapons that are extremely fast.

For powers, Lightweight is often the best choice because of its speed boost and long duration, but Tirelessness and Super Speed work as well. Brief Invincibility and Super/Aries Armor can also be useful for minimising damage when running past groups of enemies. The "Power Attack" powers - Mega Laser, Meteor Shower, Explosive Flame and Heavenly Light - are ideal for taking out bosses quickly.

Kill-Based Missions

Examples:

Chapter 8: Destroy 200 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)
Chapter 14: Destroy 230 enemies and clear the chapter

These achievements require you to kill a minimum number of enemies, sometimes at a minimum intensity. Quite straightforward really; just equip your strongest weapon and shoot everything in sight. Remember to take every optional path possible and let nothing escape your wrath. Instant Death Attack is often helpful since it enables you to defeat many enemies in a short space of time, but beyond that no powers really stand out in terms of usefulness. You are usually free to equip what you like.

Also, if you are struggling with a particular intensity, you can actually start the chapter on a higher intensity (at least 1.0 more than the minimum) then allow yourself to get finished at some point. You will lose some hearts and loot, but the number of enemies you defeat will remain unchanged. This means you can purposefully die near the end of a section and respawn back with the same enemies, getting you more kills. This can be a perfectly valid strategy providing the higher intensity isn't too difficult for you, and you don't mind losing the hearts and better quality weapons.

Heart and Score-Based Missions

Examples:

Chapter 16: Collect 40,000 or more hearts and clear this chapter (Intensity 9.0)
Chapter 18: Clear this chapter with a score of 180,000 or higher

Similar to kill-based missions, these panels require you to earn a certain amount of hearts in one chapter or to achieve at least a certain score. For heart-based missions, just equip a weapon with a heart bonus modifier and use the Heart Booster power, then use similar tactics to kill-based missions. For score-based missions, you must play at a certain intensity to have any hope of achieving the said score. This can be anything from roughly 3.0 right through to 9.0. End-of-chapter bonuses, such as Melee Dash Attack or Max Health, can be pivotal in nudging your score past the requirement, so if you feel you have underperformed, achieving these bonuses should be a high priority during the boss fight.

However, in contrast to kill-based missions, it is vital you do not get finished. You'll lose a ton of newly acquired hearts and your score will be halved, so make sure you can handle the intensity or you may as well kiss the challenge goodbye.

Clear the Chapter using [Weapon]

Examples:

Chapter 2: Clear this chapter using orbitars
Chapter 16: Clear this chapter using a cannon (Intensity 7.5+)

Exactly what it says on the tin. In fact, all of these achievements will only require a specific weapon type (such as a club or cannon) to be used, leaving you with 12 different weapons to choose from. The only difference between the easier and harder missions is how high the intensity requirement is.

Similar to kill-based missions, if this chapter has an intensity requirement, you can opt to play on 1.0 higher than the minimum and get finished. It doesn't matter where you respawn since you're just trying to finish the level, but providing you can last a fairly long time on the higher intensity, this can be quite useful for replenishing health and powers. Obviously, the main drawback to this is losing a ton of hearts and having lower-quality weapons, but if this doesn't concern you, feel free to try it.

Crisis-Based Missions

Examples:

Chapter 6: Defeat Dark Pit while in Crisis Mode (Intensity 5.0+)
Chapter 17: Defeat Aurum Pyrrhon while in Crisis Mode

These tough missions require you to clear said chapter in crisis mode by defeating the boss at the appropriate time. This can be very difficult, especially if the minimum intensity requirement is fairly high and/or the boss in question is quite aggressive. Weapon choice doesn't matter too much, but a good selection of powers is vital. Brief Invincibility and Playing Dead are the go-to powers once you hit crisis mode. Trade-off is risky, but can be a great way to leave the boss with almost no health once you go into crisis mode, and can be coupled with Brief Invincibility/Playing Dead for extra protection. Libra Sponge is a great way to ensure the boss will die quickly after getting into crisis mode, but the space it consumes may negate its usefulness.

The crux of the difficulty comes in judging when the boss is about to die, letting yourself take enough damage to get you into crisis mode and quickly finishing them off before you recover or get finished. It can get very frustrating if you fail, especially after clearing the whole chapter on whatever intensity, but with practise you will definitely hone the required skills.

Defeat [Boss] with a Melee Dash Attack

Examples:

Chapter 13: Defeat Arlon with a Melee Dash Attack (Intensity 5.0+)
Chapter 23: Defeat Hades's Heart with a Melee Dash Attack

There are two main ways to go about these missions. The first is to use a similar strategy to crisis-based missions - whittle the boss's health down until you think it is almost dead, then rush in with a melee dash attack or two to finish the boss off. The second is to equip a weapon like the Upperdash Arm (i.e. something with a strong melee dash attack) and just spam them for the entire fight. It's not quite as tricky as a crisis-based mission, but performing a melee dash attack while a boss is constantly moving and trying to shoot you can be far from easy. I have had many occasions where I have tried to perform one, only to have the boss move at the last second, meaning I fired off a charged shot instead which killed them instantly. Sadly, this can happen quite easily.

For extra insurance, equip a weapon that has at least a decent melee dash attack so you don't have to whittle the boss's health down to insanely low levels, or use many dash attacks to kill it.

No Damage Missions

Examples:

Chapter 11: Clear this chapter without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)
Chapter 18: Clear this chapter without taking any damage

UGH. Behold one of the most frustrating missions you'll ever come across in the treasure hunts. These panels require you to complete a perfect run of a chapter and not take a scratch of damage. This can become an infuriating task, especially if you're near the end of a chapter and a lonesome Monoeye shoots you in the back, ruining your entire mission. Thankfully these missions aren't too common and only appear in the later treasure hunts, but when you come across them, be warned.

Other Missions (chapter-specific)

Examples:

Chapter 16: Clear this chapter without switching grind rails during the Aurum Generator battle
Chapter 21: Capture the Chaos Kin 5 times with an electro trap

Miscellaneous achievements specific to a certain chapter, usually involving a quirk of the boss fight or other part of the level. Obviously, they vary a lot in difficulty. See each chapter section for more details.

Non-Chapter Specific Missions

Panels that do not require a specific chapter.

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon]

Examples:

Defeat Cragalanche with the Poseidon Cannon
Defeat the Aurum Core with the Ancient Staff

Pretty straightforward: you must defeat said boss using said weapon, either in their chapter or Boss Battle mode. However, Boss Battle is usually a far better choice (on easy mode) as it is often much, much quicker than playing through the entire chapter.

Note that the chosen weapon will never have any limitations on modifiers or value, meaning you can choose a version of the weapon that is as overpowered as you like.

Multiplayer-Based Missions

Examples:

Rank 1st in a Free-For-All match 5 times
Perform weapon-gem trades with 30 people

This category covers panels that can only be unlocked by playing with other players (i.e. in Together mode or via StreetPass). Panels that can be unlocked by playing Solo or Together are listed under "Other Missions".

The best way of unlocking these achievements is often to play Together mode offline. This can be done by selecting Nearby and setting up a match the usual way - if nobody else is connected, bots will automatically fill all remaining places and the match will begin. Since you'll be deciding your own rules, you can set a huge time limit and make the CPU difficulty 1 which makes it very easy for you to do what you want to do.

StreetPass achievements, however, can be a much bigger problem. This is because the majority of people with a 3DS outside of Japan rarely receive StreetPass hits. So, unfortunately, you may have to give in to a few of these and use a feather.

Zodiac Chambers

Examples:

Find the Virgo Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Collect all Zodiac Chamber powers

You may have heard of some so-called "Zodiac Chambers" that each hold a unique weapon or power. These weapons and powers can only be unlocked by entering their respective chamber (each named after a zodiac sign), with there being 12 in total. Finding and entering a Zodiac Chamber unlocks a panel in one of the treasure hunts, and more panels will be unlocked once you collect every weapon and power from these chambers.

Although each chamber is found in a specific chapter, to avoid spoilers, they are not listed under their respective chapters (as done in the game).

Item Acquisition-Based Missions

Examples:

Acquire 5 blades
Collect 350 different idols

These panels vary quite a bit, but they all share the common objective of acquiring a certain item or items. The easier achievements tend to have more flexible requirements, whereas the harder ones will be much more specific. For example, a panel in the earlier treasure hunts might require you to acquire a certain weapon type (e.g. "Acquire an arm"), whereas a harder panel might require a specific weapon with a specific modifier (e.g. "Acquire a Bowl Arm with an in-peril autododge modifier"). Note that this category includes acquiring powers, hearts and idols in addition to weapons.

Vehicle-Based Missions

Examples:

Charge through and defeat 5 enemies with the Exo Tank before disembarking
Defeat 20 enemies with the Cherubot's melee attack before disembarking (Intensity 5.0+)

Only featured in Palutena's and Viridi's treasure hunts. These panels require you to defeat a number of enemies in a certain way, sometimes on a minimum intensity, whilst using each of the game's three vehicles. More specifically, you must defeat enemies using the Exo Tank's prongs, the Aether Ring's shield and the Cherubot's melee attack. However, there is one exception to this list. More details in the specific strategies.

Sacrificial Missions

Examples:

Get finished 5 times
Have a weapon stolen by a Pluton

As stated in the glossary, these missions require you to accomplish something you generally want to avoid, like getting finished. Unfortunately, unless you've been playing on really low intensities or are just insanely good, you will unlock the majority of these just by playing through the game. For example, although you'll obviously want to avoid getting finished 5 times, it's almost inevitable you will at some point. For the few possible exceptions, more detailed advice is given for each panel.

Other Missions (non-chapter specific)

Examples:

Defeat 100 bosses
Play for more than 50 hours

Miscellaneous panels that require you to achieve something else during your gameplay, usually in the longer term. The majority of these panels are quite unlockable just by playing through the game. The ones that aren't (which are almost entirely in the later treasure hunts) have more detailed strategies below.

General Advice

Other general advice to keep in mind when attempting the treasure hunts.

High Intensity Advice

As you progress through the treasure hunts, the intensity requirements for missions will rise, even as high as 9.0. Doing well on high intensities is not just about having better skill, but very much better weapons and powers as well. Of course, if you're stuck on a specific panel, you should look at the strategy for that panel. However, if you'd like some more general advice for handling higher intensities, you've come to the right section.

To get started, below is a list of things that will be very helpful on high intensities:

Weapons with:

4+ ranged stars, preferably 5+
0.5 or fewer melee stars (to leave more room for ranged damage/modifiers)
Overall Defense +5 or higher
Recovery Effect +3 or higher
Range of 25m+ for all ranged shots (and good damage at this range)
Something you can use well!

Powers:

Health Recovery (Lv. 4)
Super/Aries Armor (Lv. 3+)
Crisis Recovery (Lv. 2+)
Effect Recovery (any level)

Excellent dodging skills
Excellent aiming skills
A skilled use of dash shots to evade enemy attacks
A good memory of the positions of enemies, particularly in air battles
Having a detailed knowledge of enemies
Some awareness of food/Recovery Orb locations, and
Being able to manage your stamina to avoid tiring out

How do enemies change?

In virtually every aspect. Enemies and bosses have much more health, hit harder, hit more frequently, hit more accurately (and with better homing abilities), are more agile, cause more status effects and sometimes gain new attacks altogether. This is why the skills listed above become very important. For example, if your dodging skills are just good enough for 7.0, you'll be taking a lot more damage on 9.0, because enemies hit harder and more frequently.

Why use overall defense and recovery effect?

Both these modifiers are insanely useful on high intensities. A high overall defense massively reduces damage taken, and recovery effect will make you recover tons of health with food or powers. Unless you want to bear the full brunt of 9.0, when a Monoeye can take out a quarter of your health with one attack, you will need these modifiers. Also note that in air battles, Recovery Orbs provide you with less health than before, making recovery effect even more important.

Note that having a health modifier does not make a good substitute for overall defense. This is explained in the FAQ section.

Why should I use 'dodging and counter-attacking'?

Dodging and counter-attacking is a defensive style of play which is very useful for reducing damage on high intensities. Dash shots leave you open for a long time, and that can be deadly. But by only using dash shots after enemies attack, you're significantly reducing the risk of being hit. While it can be effective to constantly fire dash shots, and rely on their evasive power, it only takes a few hits before you're in serious trouble. However, when fighting enemies who aren't that dangerous, feel free to use dash shots more liberally. These are all pointed out in the guide.

When dealing with groups of enemies, side-dash shots are particularly useful as counter-attacks, since they are the most helpful evasively. If you're waiting for the enemy to attack, try using standing shots, as they have a much shorter recovery time.

How does having a good memory help?

On land, it enables you to know exactly what's coming (enemies, bosses, stage hazards, whatever) and what the best strategy is against it. It also means you can use Health Recovery powers more wisely, since you'll have an idea of food locations throughout the level. You don't want to use a Health Recovery just before three items of food turn up. In air battles, a good memory is even more important, as memorising the positions of enemies will save you a lot of time aiming and moving the reticule. It also helps you remember when to save up charged shots to destroy upcoming groups of enemies.

This derives from how the weapon fusion system works. For more details, see the FAQ section or BabyRyoga's "Weapon Fusion Mechanics Guide".

Unlocking Multiple Panels

This should seem fairly obvious, but try and unlock multiple panels in a single run of a chapter or match in Together mode. For example, if there are two panels saying "Complete this chapter within 15 minutes" and "Clear this chapter using an arm", you should try to complete the chapter within 15 minutes whilst using an arm. This not only saves you the effort of re-doing the chapter or match multiple times but gives you more opportunities to unlock at least one panel. In other words, even if you don't manage to clear the chapter in 15 minutes, you'll still have been using an arm.

In the later stages of the treasure hunts this becomes much more difficult, but take full advantage of this in the earlier stages. Good combinations of panels to unlock for each chapter (or other selection of panels) are described in the blue "Unlocking Multiple Panels" boxes.

Using Feathers

Each treasure hunt except Palutena's has five panels that each unlock a "feather". These can then be used to unlock any panel without meeting its requirement (the only exception being "Complete all chapters on 9.0"). Palutena's hunt only contains four 'feather' panels because you unlock your first one by default.

Unlocking a panel with a feather will also obtain its reward if it contained one. However, the square will remain marked with a feather until you complete the mission legitimately. This does show you weren't able to get that achievement the 'proper' way. But if this doesn't bother you, feel free to use all five. After unlocking all 120 panels in a treasure hunt, it is still classified as "complete" even if you used feathers.

Also bear in mind that some achievements include weapon gem and StreetPass use (for example, "Fuse weapon gems 10 times"). Unless you receive StreetPass hits often, it is impossible to unlock these panels legitimately. This means that unfortunately, you may be forced to use feathers to unlock them. The five feathers you have in every treasure hunt are enough to cover all these kinds of achievements, though.

Palutena's Treasure Hunt

Palutena's Treasure Hunt is the first one you unlock and the easiest overall to complete. You should unlock a fair number of panels just by playing through the game once, although some may take a couple of tries.

Chapter 1 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 7 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything except staves, clubs and cannons (unless Super Speed is equipped)

Recommended Powers: Super Speed, Lightweight, Power Attack

Reward: Autoreticle Lv. 1

There are some recommendations here, but this panel is far from difficult to unlock using anything. Just run past all the enemies once you hit the ground with Super Speed/Lightweight and unleash a torrent of powers on Twinbellows. You can play on a higher intensity to earn better rewards too.

Clear this chapter within 4 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything except staves, clubs and cannons (unless Super Speed is equipped) that can deal high damage

Recommended Powers: Super Speed, Lightweight, Power Attack, Trade-off

Reward: Crisis Recovery Lv. 1

This speedrun is much more difficult than the one above. Since the land battle is so short, the best option is to equip either Super Speed or Lightweight (you won't have time to use them both), activate them as soon as you land, dash past all the enemies and keep them active right until you reach Twinbellows. Once in the coliseum, unleash all of your "Power Attacks" (Mega Laser, Heavenly Light, Meteor Shower etc.) on Twinbellows and aim for its head with your weapon. If you're having trouble, intensity 0.0 and a decent weapon should be able to do it easily. Trade-off works very well, but you probably won't have unlocked it yet. This is definitely one of the harder achievements in Palutena's hunt, but still very doable. Perhaps this is reflected in the useful power you get as a reward.

Destroy 100 enemies and clear the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a good homing ability

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Energy Charge

Reward: Land Mine Lv. 1

This is a really easy achievement. You can do this with almost anything equipped; just take the level slow and destroy every enemy you see on the land battle. You can also set the intensity to 5.0 and defeat the enemies in the intensity gate to ensure you kill 100 total, which also nets better weapons and more hearts. However, there are about 130 enemies in the level even if you avoid the intensity gate, so there is plenty of leeway.

Collect 1,000 or more hearts and clear the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a "Heart Bonus" modifier

Recommended Powers: Heart Booster

Reward: Mik (Idol)

This is tough on 2.0, but with the intensity just a little higher it becomes much easier. This is especially if you use heart-boosting equipment. However, this challenge is more than possible on about 4.0 with no heart-boosting stuff at all. Destroy all enemies in sight, don't get finished and you are near-guaranteed to achieve this. Besides, 4.0 will be good practice for future missions.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Go for both timed missions in one run and the other two missions in a separate run. The strategies for both sets of missions are very similar, and these panels are easy enough to unlock the first time you try to unlock them.

Chapter 2 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 13 minutes

Reward: Lightweight Lv. 1

See below for the strategy on how to unlock both these panels.

Clear this chapter within 10 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Power Attack

Reward: Fortune Bow (1/1, Shot Range +2)

This chapter has a comparatively much longer land battle than Chapter 1 does, making Lightweight the best power to use. It lasts much longer and is easier to control than Super Speed, and the defense reduction won't affect your chances of dying on a low intensity. Tirelessness also makes a good second option if Lightweight runs out.

You can run past the majority of enemies in the level, so take full advantage of that. This is particularly important in the areas with the Fire Wyrm and the walkway leading to Gaol's lair. Save at least one Lightweight/Super Speed/ Tirelessness for these sections. Obviously don't take any side-paths; be warned though because there are plenty in this level! Gaol can be a bit more annoying than Twinbellows because of her dodging abilities, but overall this is an easy panel to unlock. I completed the chapter in just under 10 minutes using no powers and a palm with no speed modifiers on 2.0 intensity, which shows just how lenient the time limit is.

Clear this chapter using orbitars

Recommended Weapons: Orbitars of choice

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Eyetrack Orbitars (0/0, Shot Homing +1, Standing Ch. Shot +1)

If you didn't use orbitars to complete the chapter your first time round, just complete it again using your favourite ones. Since this mission is so easy I recommend doing it alongside another (details in the "Unlocking Multiple Panels" box).

Defeat Gaol without letting Magnus die (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Magnus's Theme (Music)

This is one panel you probably won't have unlocked first time round, as it's unlikely you played on 5.0 for your second level. Still, it's pretty easy once you get used to those middle intensities. It doesn't matter what weapon you choose as long as it can take down Gaol quickly. The same applies to your selection of powers.

The hardest thing by far about this achievement is the intensity. I didn't start regularly playing on 5.0 until Chapter 15, so feel free to leave this one for a bit until you get used to the higher intensity (now I find 5.0 on any chapter quite easy). Magnus has a fair amount of health, so he'll last for quite a bit before dying, even on 5.0.

Clear the chapter with maximum health (Intensity 2.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any ranged-based weapon with good offense

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: Stealth Claws (Idol)

Now this is a challenging mission. This plays out similarly to a crisis-based mission, except when you think Gaol is about to die, you must be at maximum health and not take any damage before finishing her off. Health Recovery is a must since it allows you to heal any damage done. The melee approach is too risky, so use a weapon with a decent range and let Magnus do the legwork while you dodge her attacks. Only attack her when it is safe, and don't be aggressive. Then, when she is about to die, activate Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility and go all-out. Equip both powers at decent levels so you can activate them one after another. Because the chapter is so easy on 2.0, you should refrain from using any of these powers before Gaol; especially Health Recovery. Remember to stay still when playing dead, as the effect will last much longer.

The most annoying thing about this achievement is that even if you take a scratch of damage at the end, you'll have to play through the entire chapter again. On top of that, Gaol is pretty aggressive even on 2.0, and her Skuttler minions will be quite troublesome. You should probably take care of the minions yourself so Magnus concentrates on delivering damage to Gaol. Don't attempt this mission until you get quite skilled at dodging, and even then it might take a few tries.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

The last two missions are quite difficult, but it's fairly easy to complete the chapter in under 10 minutes using orbitars, especially if you use powers like Lightweight and/or have speed modifiers, so do that. It's best to unlock the other two panels separately; clearing any chapter on 5.0 with maximum health is not easy.

Chapter 3 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 13 minutes

Reward: That Burning Town (Ch. 3) (Music)

See below for the strategy on how to unlock both these panels.

Clear this chapter within 10 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Power Attack

Reward: Brief Invincibility Lv. 1

This is very easy if you take the most direct route (not a hard task) and play on a low intensity. There are very few enemies in this level you must defeat, so if you want to guarantee a good completion time, just run past them all. Super Speed isn't so useful here because the layout of the level is fairly complex (lots of twists and turns), but Lightweight remains a great choice. Tirelessness makes a good backup power if your Lightweight runs out. If you equip enough "Power Attacks", you can afford to unleash a few on the first Hewdraw head in the coliseum, then save the rest for Hewdraw Reborn.

Defeat Hewdraw Reborn while in Crisis Mode (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+), Health Recovery

Reward: Weak-Point Reticule Lv. 1

At first this may seem quite difficult. On 5.0 Hewdraw Reborn will be no slouch, actively firing its purple rock-things and lasers at you. However, the trick to making this challenge much easier is only shoot Hewdraw Reborn while it is on land. This is because Hewdraw will take damage on land but will not die there. So you can reduce him to the tiniest fraction of health and once he gets back into the water, you can get into Crisis Mode, then kill him in one hit.

Weapons don't really matter here but a good selection of powers is crucial. Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility are useful for finishing off Hewdraw. You can also equip Health Recovery in case you struggle with an earlier part of the level. Trade-off works well, but isn't necessary, and does more to save time than anything else. It's already easy to reduce Hewdraw to a silver of health, then get into Crisis mode, without using Trade-off.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

The only multi-unlock for this section are the two timed missions, as explained above. Defeating Hewdraw Reborn in Crisis Mode takes way too long (although it is possible if you blitz through the chapter), so unlock this separately unless you're feeling really confident.

Chapter 4 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Reward: None

See below for the strategy on how to unlock both these panels.

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Transparency, Lightweight, Tirelessness, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: Meteor Shower Lv. 1

This speedrun is all about getting around the "reaper" sections of the level in the fastest way possible. Most enemies on the fastest route through the level have to be defeated, so the mission is won or lost in the other sections.

You can go about the reaper sections in two ways. The first is to use Transparency (or Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility, but they don't last as long), and dash past the Reapers quickly before it runs out. You can also simply run past them if your weapon has insane speed. The second is only viable on a seriously low intensity (i.e. below 1.0), which is to just defeat the reapers themselves. If your weapon is strong enough, the reapers will go down very quickly at that intensity. This is a slightly safer but slower way of tackling those sections. The Great Reaper won't stay alive for long if you target his weak points (toes and head).

Clear this chapter using a club (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Club of choice

Recommended Powers: Any, defensive powers are good (e.g. Super Armor)

Reward: Reaper Fortress (Ch. 4) (Music)

Clubs are difficult weapons to use in solo, so unless you use clubs and/or play on 5.0 regularly this might be tricky. Since there is no time limit, take as long as you want avoiding the reapers (which I advise you do), who will do some hefty damage if they spot you. As with all clubs, use your charged shots wisely. They do not recharge quickly, with the exception of the Capricorn and Magnus Clubs.

However, once you get the hang of 5.0 intensity and using clubs fairly well, this becomes a breeze. You can even start on 6.0 and afford to get finished, meaning your powers and health will all be restored, if you're still struggling.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It is possible to unlock all three panels in one run, but unless you want a challenge just do the timed missions and the club mission separately.

Chapter 5 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes

Reward: Into the Labyrinth (Ch. 5) (Music)

See below for the strategies on how to unlock this panel and the one below.

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness

Reward: Health Recovery Lv. 2

This might be difficult to achieve on your first playthrough, if only because the layout of the level is so confusing. However, once you know which paths to take, it becomes much easier. When you reach the "Exo Tank Arena", just drive past all the enemies to save yourself an easy few minutes. In fact, you can ignore a large proportion of enemies in this chapter altogether, so don't waste time shooting large groups of enemies or enemies with lots of health who aren't very aggressive.

Clear this chapter using a staff (Intensity 2.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Staff of choice

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Somewhat Staff (1/0, Standing Cont. Fire +2)

Staffs have relatively few weaknesses in solo, so completing a chapter using one is pretty easy. This panel is so easy I would recommend unlocking it alongside other panels (details below).

Defeat Pandora without letting Dark Pit die

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Confuse Attack Lv. 1

Another really easy panel. To be honest, you should have really unlocked this on your first playthrough. You can easily unlock this panel and a few others in one run of the chapter.

Clear this chapter without dying (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Crisis Recovery

Reward: Predator Cannon (1/1, Stamina +1, Backward-dash ch. shot +2, Melee Combo +1)

The hardest thing about this challenge is the range of pitfalls and traps in the labyrinth. You probably won't have played Chapter 5 on 5.0 for the first time, but that means you'll know the layout of the level more clearly. Unless you take some side-paths, the enemies shouldn't be that much trouble at all (except for the Ornes, though they won't have changed).

Unlocking Multiple Panels

If you didn't complete the chapter in under 18 minutes your first time round, I'd recommend doing the speedruns in one run and the staff/not dying challenges in another run. It is very possible to complete the chapter in under 15 minutes on 5.0 (albeit slightly tougher with a staff), so if you feel confident enough then by all means to this. If you plan to use a staff as well, for extra insurance either use one with a speed modifier or equip Lightweight/Tirelessness.

Chapter 6 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Reward: Explosive Flame Lv. 1

See below on the strategy on how to unlock this panel.

Clear this chapter within 12 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: Tirelessness Lv. 1

This speedrun is all about finding Dark Pit as quickly as you can. Once you reach the fountain area, it's vital you keep the underworld troops alive so you can follow them to Dark Pit. It's a long walk to get to the three separate battle grounds where you fight him, which makes Lightweight an excellent way to get there quickly and not tire out. On 0.0 this is really easy, which you can do if you're struggling, but you can easily play on 2.0-5.0 and still complete the challenge.

Defeat Dark Pit while in Crisis Mode (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a good homing ability/fast shots

Recommended Powers: Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+), Libra Sponge, Crisis Recovery, Trade-off

Reward: Ch. 6: Dark Pit (Music)

This is probably one of the hardest achievements in Palutena's hunt. Dark Pit has low health but is very agile and an offensive powerhouse, so once you hit crisis mode you have little room for error as you try and quickly finish him off.

First things first, how do you prepare yourself for this? You should definitely be skilled at playing on 5.0 or similar intensities, and know Dark Pit's attacks and how to dodge them (i.e. his continuous fire and charged bow shots). For weapons, pick something that deals decent damage and fires shots that are either fast or have a good homing ability. This is because Dark Pit will be moving around a lot and can be hard to hit. For powers, Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility are very useful for when you hit crisis mode. Libra Sponge is useful if you want to play it safe, since you can use it to finish off Dark Pit more quickly once you're in crisis mode. Crisis Recovery might seem like the complete opposite of what you need, but an unwanted crisis mode is extremely dangerous in this fight and dying would screw up your entire run.

Luckily, the actual level is not too difficult on 5.0. Dark Pit's initial appearances might cause you some grief, but there is plenty of food, so your health will remain high. In the final battle, Dark Pit has three main attacks: a continuous fire barrage of three arrows, a charged single arrow, and a melee attack where he attempts to collide with you. All of these attacks can be easily dodged. His "rain of arrows" attack can easily screw you over if you can't escape the platform quickly, so if you find yourself at low health and trapped, be prepared to use a power. It's better to be alive and have another shot at completing the mission than get finished. If your health gets critical before his does, only attack after dodging one of his attacks, and attack briefly. However, the best way to avoid this situation in the first place is to not use dash shots too liberally.

The easiest way to complete this challenge is to generally be offensive until he reaches critical health, then get into crisis mode, activate your powers and fire off a few dash charged shots to finish him. As long as you use Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility and a weapon with high homing or fast shots, this shouldn't be too difficult.

An alternative method is to use Trade-off and attack Dark Pit once it is active. Your attacks will do a ton of damage and you'll be invincible. You must ensure his health is low once Trade-off wears off though, or you'll have to complete the rest of the fight with virtually no health. However, it's more likely you'll be at risk of dealing too much damage and defeating him before Trade-off wears off. This is best avoided by knowing your weapon's damage inside-out (you can find out on the Practice Range), and if necessary, fighting Dark Pit on 5.0 beforehand and making an educated guess at his total health during that fight.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Completing the chapter in under 12 minutes on 5.0 and defeating Dark Pit in crisis mode is quite unlikely to happen, so do the speedruns in one run and the crisis-based mission in another. The speedruns are easy but the crisis-based mission took me about 4 or 5 tries, so don't be surprised if it takes you a similar amount of time!

Chapter 7 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes

Reward: At the Seafloor Palace (Ch. 7) (Music)

See below on the strategy on how to unlock this panel.

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Effect Recovery

Reward: Super Armor Lv. 1

The one section you must watch out for is the part with the platform that takes you across a bottomless pit. If you fall here, the platform will reset, which means wasting a good few seconds or even minutes of time, depending on how many times you fall and where. Other than that, this speedrun is easy. Very easy, in fact. Most of the level is straightforward, and even if you get lost you've got a leisurely time limit. Take a few Effect Recovery powers as well in case you get frozen.

Clear the stage using claws (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Claws of choice; Beam/Artillery are good

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Stealth Claws (1.5/1, Dash Ch. Shot +2, Forward-dash cont. fire +2)

Beam/Artillery claws are a good choice because of their better ranged abilities, but in reality you can use anything. The speed boost you gain from using claws helps you in getting past the balls of electricity later in the level. The only place where you need to be extra careful is on the platform that carries you across a bottomless pit. Dashing and dodging everywhere is very likely to result in you falling off. Instead, stick to walking at all times, dodging when necessary. Other than that, this is pretty easy.

See all of Thanatos's forms before clearing the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Pisces Heal, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: Bowl Arm (2/0, Shot Cancellation +1)

Thanatos has 6 different forms: his normal self, a bat, a matryoshka (Russian) doll, a sword and spears, an atlas foot and an urn/vase. During the fight you can mentally keep a note of how many of the 6 other transformations you have seen. To make sure you see all the transformations, play on a higher intensity (something like 3.0+), although you may well have unlocked this your first time round.

Defeat Thanatos while in Crisis Mode

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility, Trade-Off

Reward: Darkness Lv. 1

There's no intensity requirement for this challenge, so you can afford to play at something slightly lower than the 5.0 norm. However, don't play on anything less than 1.0 since the intensity will be so low you won't take much damage, meaning it takes an insanely long time to get into crisis mode (unless you have Trade-Off).

Since Thanatos won't actually die until he transforms back into his normal self after all the other forms (and will then die pretty easily), just attack Thanatos normally until he reaches this stage, when you should then do the usual procedure of getting into crisis mode, activating your powers and finishing him off. Only this time, it should be a lot easier. You can also use Trade-off to deal tons of damage and blast through his previous forms.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

You can actually unlock all the panels other than the speedruns in one run - it's quite easy to defeat Thanatos in crisis mode and see all his forms - and still not that much more difficult with claws on 5.0. In fact, if you're feeling really ballsy, and have a decent pair of claws, you can use the claws' speed boosts to race through the level and unlock all of these panels in a single run!

Chapter 8 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 20 minutes

Reward: Poseidon Cannon (Weapon Unlocked)

See below on the strategy on how to unlock this panel.

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, any weapon with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness

Reward: Jetstream Orbitars (2/0, Shot Defense +1, Standing Ch. Shot +2, Dash cont. fire +2)

Another easy speedrun. The layout of the level is straightforward and the time limit is very leisurely. Really you can complete this just by equipping a non-heavy weapon (i.e. anything except most staves, clubs and cannons) and taking the level at a decent pace.

Clear this chapter with a score of 180,000 or higher

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Heart Booster

Reward: Ch. 8: The Space-Pirate Ship (Music)

For this challenge, 2.0 won't be enough to get you a score of 180,000, but something a little higher will. It's possible on 4.0 but if you want to play it safer, go for 5.0. As usual, it's vital you don't get finished, and try and go for those extra bonuses at the end of the chapter. This is stuff like a Melee Dash Attack and health-related bonuses (i.e. Crisis Averted/Max Health/No Damage). These bonuses may not seem like much but they are pivotal in nudging your score that little bit higher, especially if you're on a lower intensity.

Destroy 200 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack

Reward: Lancer Staff (2/0, Walking Speed +1, Standing Ch. Shot +2, Dash Ch. Shot +2)

This is something you probably won't have got your first time round. But anyway, if you play on 5.0, equip a decent weapon and shoot everything in sight, you should be able to achieve this. It's not a cakewalk, but this is Palutena's hunt so nothing is that difficult.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Since the speedruns are quite easy, you could try and unlock all four panels after a single run, but unless you want that unnecessary extra bit of challenge then just do the speedruns in one, and enemies/score missions in the other. Fortunately the other two missions in this chapter go hand-in-hand, since if you achieve one you should achieve the other as well.

Chapter 9 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 36 minutes

Reward: Underworld Castle (Ch. 9) (Music)

See below on the strategy on how to unlock this panel.

Clear this chapter within 28 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything except staves, clubs and cannons

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Super Speed

Reward: Palutena Blade (Weapon Unlocked)

This is much, much easier on your second playthrough. This is because you'll know what to expect (which helps a lot, considering how monstrous of a level Chapter 9 is), enabling you to approach the level with more confidence and/or run past more enemies. You can also save a lot of time on the Chapter 1 portion of the level, since you can run past nearly all of the enemies there. The Chapter 5 (labyrinth) portion will also be much easier. It's quite easy as long as you take a decent pace, you only have to ignore a few enemies and you'll still complete the chapter in under 28 minutes.

Collect 8,500 or more hearts and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Three Sacred Treasures (for killing Ornes), anything with a Heart Bonus modifier

Recommended Powers: Heart Booster (Lv. 3+)

Reward: Bumblebee Lv. 1

Surprisingly not that easy, especially for Palutena's hunt. Heart Booster is very useful - equip as high a level as you can for maximum uses. You may even want to equip a weapon with a Heart Bonus modifier, although this is not totally necessary. Remember that Ornes drop a ton of hearts when killed, so if your weapon with Heart Bonus is difficult to use or not that good, it's probably a better option to just use the Three Sacred Treasures.

There's not really much to say apart from "shoot everything" as far as enemies are concerned. Keep an eye on what enemies have just arrived and ones that are about to leave (of course, focus on killing the ones that are leaving). If you shoot everything and use Heart Booster two or three times, that should be enough. However if you're still falling short and can't defeat enough enemies, then try playing on a slightly higher intensity. 6.0 isn't really that much different from 5.0; sure it's slightly harder but if you're good on 5.0 then you won't exactly get finished after a few hits on 6.0, especially if you have defense or recovery effect modifiers on your weapon.

Destroy the Underworld Gatekeeper's guns and clear the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Three Sacred Treasures, anything powerful

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Underworld Gatekeeper (Ch. 9) (Music)

Since this is an air battle-based mission, equip powers that would be suitable for unlocking another Chapter 9 panel. The same goes for weapons if you're not using the Three Sacred Treasures, unless it really lacks offensive power (and even then, you should probably be using the sacred treasures anyway).

This isn't hard at all. Just keep shooting the guns that are marked with purple arrows (like all underworld enemies) with continuous fire until they're destroyed. As usual, move in large, circular patterns to avoid incoming fire. You should have a good 10 seconds to spare before Dark Pit's cutscene triggers; i.e. when the Gatekeeper gets destroyed.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

To make your life much easier, just do the speedruns and the heart mission separately. Attempt the "Underworld Gatekeeper" achievement in both runs, since it neither affects your time taken nor hearts received.

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon] (Palutena)

Achievements that require you to defeat a certain boss with a certain weapon, either in their respective chapter or Boss Battle mode.

Defeat Twinbellows using the Insight Staff

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Spike Ball (Idol)

The easiest way to unlock this panel is to select Boss Battle mode -> Easy difficulty (if you've unlocked the option) -> defeat Twinbellows. If you haven't unlocked the option, don't worry - the default difficulty of Boss Battle mode is easy (you unlock normal and hard after you complete it). Easy on Boss Battle is equivalent to 3.0, so Twinbellows will be more than easy to take down.

If you haven't unlocked Boss Battle mode, but want to unlock this panel, then it's not too much trouble doing a quick Chapter 1 run, right?

Defeat Dark Lord Gaol with the Burst Blade

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Magnus (Idol)

The easiest way to complete this mission is to do it via Boss Battle mode on easy. The Burst Blade is a pretty easy weapon to use, so you should have little trouble defeating Gaol on 3.0 intensity with it.

Defeat Hewdraw Reborn with the Bomber Arm

Recommended Attributes: Shot Range

Recommended Powers: Power Attack

Reward: Energy Charge Lv. 1

This is still an easy mission, but not quite effortless (unlike the above two). Since the Bomber Arm has very short range, a shot range modifier will help immensely. Otherwise, you'll be forced to stand at the very edge of the water, leaving you vulnerable to Hewdraw's attacks. Use dash continuous fire to shoot the orange balls of light (as the Bomber Arm's standing ranged shots travel slowly) and once Hewdraw's on the ground, let loose with your melee attacks on his head. Power Attack will also help with dealing damage from a distance, which is something you can't easily do with the Bomber Arm. Hopefully defeating Twinbellows and Gaol beforehand should not have been difficult with both the low intensity and a full heal after each fight, even if you hate using arms.

Defeat the Great Reaper with the Cursed Palm

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack

Reward: Great Reaper Palm (Idol)

Boss Battle mode is still quicker for this than playing through Chapter 4. The Cursed Palm is not difficult to use, and on easy he will go down pretty quickly.

Defeat Pandora with the Stealth Claws

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Counter

Reward: Girin (Idol)

Spam your melee combo in this fight (and the ones before it). Just activate Super/Aries Armor or Counter to avoid being knocked back, and hit L as fast as you can when you're close to Pandora. She will go down very quickly on easy in Boss Battle mode, which is a quicker option than playing through the whole of Chapter 5.

Defeat Dark Pit with the Paw Pad Orbitars

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack, Trade-off

Reward: Ore Club (Idol)

This is probably the hardest "Defeat Boss X with Weapon Y" mission in Palutena's hunt, but that's not saying much. Anyway, the Paw Pad Orbitars' shots are annoyingly hard to aim in this fight, what with Dark Pit prancing around the arena while bombarding you with arrows. However, remember this will also be on 3.0 intensity. If you can get just a few well-aimed charged shots to hit him, as well as possibly attack him with Power Attack or even Trade-off if you feel confident, he'll go down quickly.

Defeat Thanatos with the Volcano Arm

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack

Reward: Thanatos Staff (0.5/0, Melee defense +2, Burning +2, Backward-dash ch. shot +2)

Although you'll have to face six different bosses before you get to Thanatos, Boss Battle mode is still the quickest option. Use a Drink of the Gods after almost every fight to make sure you don't die in the process of getting there.

In the fight with Thanatos, try and keep your distance but on easy (3.0) this won't really matter. Spamming melee attacks is usually risky but the intensity is low enough to make it worthwhile. The Volcano Arm's ranged attacks are not as powerful, but still work fine on the low intensity.

Defeat the Kraken with the Bullet Blade

Recommended Attributes: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 500 Hearts

Unfortunately, as of March 31, 2013, you are no longer able to receive gems via SpotPass. This means your only option is to receive them via StreetPass. Of course, if you don't live anywhere near someone with a 3DS and the game, this will be impossible. You may have to resort to using a feather for this one.

Fuse Weapon Gems 10 times

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: None

It's weird that fusing gems once gets you 500 hearts, whereas fusing them 10 times gets you nothing. Anyway, just do the cheapest fusions that you can and be prepared to sacrifice a fair number of hearts unless you use a feather.

In Palutena's and Viridi's hunts, there are three panels that unlock by accomplishing certain feats in the game's three vehicles - the Exo Tank, Aether Ring and Cherubot.

Charge through and defeat 5 enemies with the Exo Tank before disembarking

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Mega Mussel (Idol)

The Exo Tank has three prongs on its front that can be used to ram and charge through enemies. Simply use these to defeat 5 enemies on any intensity to unlock this panel. This should not be difficult.

Defeat 5 enemies with the Aether Ring shield before disembarking

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Collin and Phil (Idol)

This one is a bit tougher than the Exo Tank one, since the Aether Ring shield doesn't do as much damage and can't charge quickly towards enemies. However, on a low intensity this is more than possible. Just activate the Aether Ring shield (touch the button on the bottom-left of the bottom screen) whenever you get close to an enemy and you should unlock this easily.

Defeat 10 enemies with the Cherubot's melee attack before disembarking

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Effect Recovery

Reward: Eggplant Attack (Power Unlocked)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: 1000 Hearts

All this panel takes is courage. 9.0 on Chapter 1 costs 2,960 hearts, so in essence it's only costing you 1,960 since this panel rewards 1,000 hearts. It's also quite good to get a taste of 9.0, as you'll be playing on it a lot if you want to have any hope of completing the final treasure hunt...

Exceed 3,000 points on the Air Battle counter

Recommended Weapons: Anything except clubs

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 1000 Hearts

An interesting challenge. You see the counter on the bottom-left of the top screen in the "Air Battle" option on the practice range? That's what you need to get to 3000. The counter resets if no damage is dealt after a few seconds (about 4), so the task is to continually deal damage rather than deal large amounts of it infrequently. The Komaytos (jellyfish) are your best friend here - as soon as one comes across the screen, spam it with melee attacks. When you're busy doing this, more Monoeyes will spawn, which you can then defeat after the Komayto disappears and deal more damage. Simply rinse and repeat this process.

You can actually keep attacking the Komaytos even after they appear off-screen (for two melee attacks), which is extremely helpful in keeping the counter from resetting. Lastly, do not use your special attacks unless you're close to 3,000, as they will destroy all on-screen enemies and you'll have none left to shoot.

Use a Centurion Assist item

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Counter Lv. 1

Centurion Assists are small centurions of Skyworld that help you by flying around you and firing arrows at enemies. They are quite rare but you will get to use them, and you get a pretty nice power as a reward.

Use a Centurion Assist item 10 times

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: 1500 Hearts

Centurion Assists are pretty sparse, so this won't be unlocked right away but it will be eventually. Just keep on opening treasure boxes, and eventually you'll find 10 of them.

Open a treasure box

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: 100 Hearts

Self-explanatory.

Narrowly avoid 5 shots in air battles

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Feather

This will probably be one of the last few remaining panels in Palutena's hunt. "Narrowly avoiding" a shot in air battles really means narrowly - you need to be literally pixels away from the shot for it to count as being narrowly avoided. You don't need to be in a gliding stance for this to occur.

The best way of unlocking this panel is to do Chapter 1 runs on about 4.0 intensity. 4.0 is high enough to ensure that you're getting fired at regularly, so you'll have plenty of chances to avoid shots, but low enough to ensure it's not mayhem and a few hits will not get you finished. Just stand as close to the shots as you can (the ones from Monoeyes are best) and hopefully you'll be close enough to narrowly avoid them. If you do, there is a quiet sound effect that plays and Pit's body will flash blue, similar to after he performs a dodge.

Play for more than 10 hours

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Feather

This does not include time you've spent with the system in sleep mode, but regardless 10 hours is not a particularly long time to spend on a game in total, especially if you're trying to complete the treasure hunts. It's not worth leaving your 3DS on charge using full battery just to unlock this.

Viridi's Treasure Hunt

Viridi's Treasure Hunt won't be unlocked for some time, and contains achievements that are significantly harder than most of the ones in Palutena's hunt. Some are guaranteed to take to a few tries, and some maybe even more than that. Unlocking most of the panels is relatively easy, but unlocking every one is not.

Chapter 3 (Viridi)

Take out two of Hewdraw's heads at once

Recommended Weapons: Anything with strong special attacks and large projectiles

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Tirelessness Lv. 2

For this challenge you need to be extremely precise with the timing of your special attacks, as they are crucial to taking out multiple Hewdraw heads. Weapons that fire large projectiles (such as clubs and cannons) can also help, but in reality the Hewdraw heads move about so much it's quite difficult to hit two heads with a single projectile.

First things first, set the intensity to 0.0. Note that when you're flying around Hewdraw before the battle you can't damage him. Anyway, on 0.0 Hewdraw will deal almost no damage (if he feels like attacking at all) so take as much time as you need. He will also have very low health, so be wary because even a single charged shot could be enough to kill one of the heads, depending on how powerful your weapon is. Try and attack all three heads evenly. After a few charged shots or a fairly long stream of continuous fire to all three heads, fire off both your special attacks. Each attack will deal significant damage (you can check this in the air battle practice range), and as long as your attack deals around 200 damage, you'll take out the heads easily. A stronger special attack also means you can afford to deal less damage to Hewdraw, which reduces the risk of killing some heads accidentally.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's possible to do this in conjunction with some other achievements in Palutena's hunt, so try and get this along the way as well. However, don't be surprised if it takes a separate run on Chapter 3 just to unlock this panel - it's quite difficult to do.

Chapter 10 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Brief Invincibility, Playing Dead

Reward: Feather

All in all, not too hard. There are many areas in Chapter 10 where all the enemies are entirely optional to kill, so take full advantage of that. This mainly includes the Exo Tank section of the level, where you can freely drive past a huge number of enemies into the next area. You can also skip enemies in the area with the gaps between the rocks (near the end), the very last area before you fight the Phoenix, and the areas where you traverse rocky paths on lava. In the latter, you can afford to take shortcuts straight through the lava if you're playing on 0.0, since the damage will be minimal.

Clear this chapter using a staff

Recommended Weapons: Staff of choice

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Phoenix Mountain (Ch. 10) (Music)

Very easy. There's no intensity requirement for this panel so feel free to play on 0.0 if you're not bothered about rewards. You can even try doing this in the same run as the above speedrun, but it will be quite difficult because of the heavy nature of most staffs. See the 'Unlocking Multiple Panels' box for more details.

Clear the chapter with a score of 200,000 or higher (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Heart Booster

Reward: Burning Palm (0.5/1, Shot defense +2, Standing ch. shot +2, In-peril attack boost +2)

This is moderately difficult on 5.0, but if you play on anything slightly higher it becomes much, much easier. You don't even have to go all the way to 6.0 to unlock this panel, although doing so will almost guarantee you do unlock it (providing you don't get finished) and earn some better rewards along the way. There are a lot of enemies in Chapter 10, so just shoot everything in sight and you should be able to achieve this. As usual, take as many side-paths as you can and go for those end-of-chapter bonuses. You should have gotten fairly used to 5.0 or similar intensities by now; if you haven't, make sure you do because you'll be playing on it a lot.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Whether you'll be able to complete the chapter in under 14 minutes using a staff entirely depends on your choice of staff. All staffs decrease your movement speed to some degree, so your best bet would be to use a staff with a decent speed modifier and/or equip a high level Lightweight. However, a better alternative is to use a staff and get a score of 200,000 or higher on Intensity 5.0+, which certainly fits the skill sets of staves more.

Chapter 11 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: Ch. 11: Viridi, Goddess of Nature (Music)

Straightforward enough. Viridi's speedruns are more like actual speedruns than those in Palutena's hunt, but this is still very doable. Just take the most direct route through the level on 0.0, don't obsess about defeating every enemy you see and you'll unlock this easily. The only part that might give you some problems is the maze, but it is still far from difficult. You can even afford to have two or three attempts at navigating it if you've been quick enough through the rest of the level.

Clear this chapter without taking damage (Intensity 2.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a decent range (20m or more) and good homing

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge (Lv. 1), Transparency, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: 8000 Hearts

You read that right, folks. Taking a scratch of damage in this chapter will cost you this mission. This will probably be the first "no damage" mission you come across, and is one of the most frustrating panels to unlock in the whole of Viridi's treasure hunt.

First off, set the intensity to 2.0. In terms of powers, Energy Charge is extremely useful (as with all no damage missions) as it allows you to wipe the floor with enemies you come across. It also shows whether you've taken minimal damage, which you may not notice otherwise. Besides that, equip a good selection of invincibility powers for emergencies and that's about it. Transparency is useful because although it does not provide invincibility, it has a long duration, and most importantly stops enemies from targeting you. Playing Dead and Brief Invincibility help as well, but their short duration (unless you stand still whilst using Playing Dead, or have a good effect duration modifier) means you need to time their uses effectively, otherwise you'll end up wasting them. Anything else can be used as filler.

A decent ranged weapon is vital because the melee approach is way too risky. However, because of 2.0 and Energy Charge, it doesn't need to be that powerful. You certainly won't find much use for any extra power besides during the boss fight. In a similar vein, a full-health boost modifier might seem perfect, but with Energy Charge active you don't need the extra offense, and the speed boost is fairly useless anyway. Instead, consider using a weapon with a longer range and good homing, and modifiers like shot range, shot homing, evasion and effect duration.

The air battle is quite easy until you reach the forest created by the reset bomb. You encounter a number of aggressive enemies here, chief among which are the Parashooters (the paratroopers that shoot yellow oblong projectiles) whose fast-moving projectiles can be hard to avoid. Feel free to use your special attacks. However, they have very low health, so if your aim is good or your weapon has a strong homing ability, you'll deal with them easily.

The land battle is where the challenge really starts. Activate Energy Charge as soon as you land. The land battle is roughly the same difficulty throughout, so just keep your distance at all times and shoot any enemies you see immediately. By now you should know the most direct route through the maze and through most of the level itself, which is incredibly important if you want to save yourself a lot of hassle. Keep a constant watch on the 9 different yellow borders that flash around your screen, as these indicate the position of enemies - sometimes enemies will spawn behind you. I would suggest dodging and counterattacking, but on 2.0 enemies will attack you so rarely it's not worth it. Instead, just use dash shots and keep moving. And finally, take the chapter slowly. It may cause you more frustration if you take damage, but if you rush through the level you're more than likely to take some kind of damage at some point, which isn't worth it after the hassle of the air battle.

Once you get to Cragalanche, he shouldn't be too difficult as long as you know his attacks fairly well and how to dodge them. Energy Charge combined with a couple of charged shots to his butt will be more than enough to take him down. Don't risk attacking his actual body - you'll want to focus on dodging all his attacks, then hitting hard once his butt is exposed.

Alternative Strategy

Thanks to mwholdmann for the section below:

I would like to suggest another method for this. Although those strategies worked for Chapter 8 and 14, I used a slightly different method with Chapter 11. I used a Black Club - 3 Range/3 Melee - with +4 Speed and +3 Petrification (though the latter is useless with clubs at this difficulty). For powers I used Transparency Lv. 4 (5 uses) and Quick Charge (I forgot which level). I did this challenge before I finished the game, so I did not even have some of the more useful powers like Energy Charge or Playing Dead for this. If you time your Special Attacks well and just hold the L button while moving in circles (except for two times when I would advise using a nice charged shot) the air battle is a breeze. Use Transparency strategically and you are at Cragalanche. Save one or two Transparencies plus maybe one Quick Charge and he is done. It was difficult to master the land battle, but the easy Air Battle may just be worth trying it. My only major concern with recommending this strategy is that it is very specific in structure with the +4 Speed to overcome the club's natural movement cost, and the fact that the Black Club's charged shots can plough through multiple enemies but charge slowly, meaning you will need to time them well. I have also found the Halo Club (which naturally offsets the slow movement) to be a bad substitute.

Defeat Cragalanche without any damage to its butt

Recommended Weapons: Anything that deals high damage

Recommended Powers: Any offensive powers except Power Attack

Reward: Paralyze Attack Lv. 2

Surprisingly frustrating. The main problem is not the limited damage you'll be dealing, as this can easily be countered with powers and a low intensity, but actually hitting Cragalanche's butt by accident. This may sound simple, but in reality there will be plenty of opportunities to shoot it on a low intensity. You can always try this on a higher intensity, but the fight becomes much longer which means you stand a greater risk of hitting it anyway, as well as getting finished in general.

Power Attack is not recommended because if Cragalanche turns around while you're firing Mega Laser, for example, or have Heavenly Light activated, you will hit his butt and be forced to do the entire chapter again. So just choose any other powers you like.

Try firing off charged shots instead of continuous fire, ensuring that you'll have fewer opportunities to strike Cragalanche's butt whilst dealing significant damage. As long as you time them correctly, just keep at it and he will eventually go down. Obviously, the best time to fire one off is right after he finishes an attack and is facing you. It also helps if your weapon fires fast-moving shots. You could even try the melee approach with a Taurus Arm or Upperdash Arm, for example, though obviously be careful to not accidentally strafe around to his butt.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Unfortunately, you'll probably have to do all three separately unless you unlocked one of them on your first playthrough. It might be possible to clear the chapter in under 14 minutes and defeat Cragalanche without any damage to its butt, but you put yourself at risk of spending extra time in the boss battle which may take you over 14 minutes, unless you're timing yourself and you know for sure (in which case, feel free to do this). If you manage some other combination of these achievements, then well done. Seriously.

Chapter 12 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 20 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: Shake Attack Lv. 1

Even though Chapter 12 is a relatively long level, 20 minutes isn't pressing at all, especially if you're using a fast weapon and speed-boosting powers. The best time to use your powers is once you reach the underground complex of the Reset Bomb depot. However, feel free to use some in the earlier stages of the level too - it's unlikely you'll use them all underground.

The layout of the level is very straightforward, with the exception of some underground areas. But if you've played the level before and know which ones to take, you'll be fine. If you can't remember, then I suggest learning which ones to take, since you can easily spend ages in the underground complex taking numerous side-paths. Try doing a few other Chapter 12 missions before you try this speedrun. If in doubt, follow the guide arrow. It can be quicker to not use the Cherubot on 0.0 if your weapon has decent enough range, but it won't make much difference either way.

Clear this stage with full health

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+), Playing Dead (Lv. 2+), Transparency

Reward: Reset Bomb Depot Interior (Ch. 12) (Music)

Not too easy, but not too difficult either. Since there's no intensity requirement for this panel, feel free to play on 0.0. Equip a few Health Recoveries and use a wepon with relatively high defense and you're good. I would recommend Super/Aries Armor, but on 0.0 the guards deal so little damage you can heal off their attacks with Health Recovery.

Once you get to the boss fight, attack from a good, safe distance unless your weapon has insane melee power, in which case go for some well-timed melee dash attacks. The distance approach means you have more time to see and react (dodge) to what's being fired at you. After you knock the guards into the trench, heal off any damage done with Health Recovery, activate Brief Invincibility, Playing Dead or Transparency, and go all-out on the core. Depending on how powerful your weapon is, you might defeat it before it recovers. However, if you expose the core a second time, it will definitely be destroyed then, so heal yourself to full health and activate the same powers. This is of course assuming you're on a low intensity.

An alternative strategy is to knock all the guards into the trench simultaneously, which means you'll be completely safe from taking damage (albeit briefly) and allows you to freely attack the core. This is best done with a club, although cannons work too. What's most useful about doing this though is that it unlocks a later panel in Hades's treasure hunt.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's quite possible to unlock both these panels in one run on 0.0 intensity. I would actually recommend doing so if you haven't unlocked either of them on your first playthrough. Try and clear the chapter with max health, and if you've done that in under 20 minutes then that's a bonus. Otherwise, just do the speedrun in a separate run.

Chapter 13 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 22 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: Ch. 13: The Lunar Sanctum (Music)

Another leisurely speedrun. The time limit is long, the level is straightforward, and on 0.0 no enemies are going to be challenging. The only parts that might cost a bit of time are the areas with the invisible platforms before you fight Dark Pit, where if you get careless you could fall off multiple times, and the Exo Tank and jump ramps where you could also fall off a few times. But really, these are not hard.

Clear this chapter without dying (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Viridi (Idol)

This can be challenging if you're new to 5.0, as there are plenty of opportunities to get finished during the chapter. These arethe last portion of the air battle, the Dark Pit fight and the Clobblers to name a few. If this applies to you, consider using a weapon with some overall defense and recovery effect. These are two of the best modifiers for solo (in my opinion, THE two best), minimising damage taken and maximising health recovery. Since this is a straightforward mission, if you're new to 5.0, I'd recommend you attempt this panel before the majority of other 5.0 missions. Save your Super/Aries Armor for Dark Pit and Arlon, and use Health Recovery when needed (though not right before some food or a hot spring!). Saving a Health Recovery or two for either boss is also very useful.

Defeat Arlon with a dash melee attack (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Upperdash Arm with a speed/stamina modifier

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Bumpety Bomb (Idol)

Chronologically this is your first "melee dash attack" mission, and actually isn't that easy. The most annoying part of this challenge is getting to the boss fight in the first place, since it'll take you a good 15 or so minutes, and can be gruelling on 5.0. Of course if you fail the challenge, you have to go through the entire chapter again. Overall this mission plays out similarly to a crisis-based mission, except instead of being on the brink of death, you'll need to perform a well-timed, well-executed melee dash attack. This sounds easy but in reality is far from it.

Arlon is going to be quite annoying. He will enthusiastically dance about the arena, rarely staying in the same place for more than a couple of seconds, and often you'll have little idea of where he is. All this is happening while you're being blasted by Arlon's impressive array of lasers, land mines and melee attacks. If you're using the Upperdash Arm, as soon as the screen lights up again, start charging towards Arlon (though not recklessly) and when he finishes an attack, let loose with a melee dash attack for some insane damage. Rinse and repeat until he's dead. It may also help to use Tirelessness, or a weapon with a speed/stamina modifier, since you'll be running around a lot. A speed modifier in particular allows you to close in on Arlon more quickly, which comes in very handy.

However, if you're using a different weapon, then you'll just have to do the mission the normal way - whittle Arlon's health down until he's almost dead, then start performing melee dash attacks.With either method, it is vital you make sure Arlon is relatively still before executing your dash attack. If he isn't, there's a large chance that you'll end up firing off a charged shot instead, which will finish off Arlon if it hits him and ruin the entire mission.

Performing the final melee dash attack is the hardest part. There are many things that can go wrong: you could fire off a charged shot or even start a melee combo, you could kill him accidentally before even trying to perform a melee dash attack, or you could actually get finished, which will also ruin your challenge unless you're playing on 6.0 intensity or higher. Be prepared to try this one a few times.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's possible to do all three, but this is unnecessarily difficult. If you're playing on 5.0 and trying to defeat Arlon with a melee dash attack, you'll unlock the "without dying" panel in the process anyway. You can choose to complete the level as fast as you can on 5.0, but you may prefer to shoot more enemies, open more treasure boxes and gain more rewards instead. The choice is up to you.

Chapter 14 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: Phosphora (Idol)

This is quite easy. You may have even gotten this your first time round, depending on how enthusiastic you are in exploring side-paths and destroying enemies. The layout of the chapter is quite straightforward, so this is mainly about destroying enemies quickly enough, although if you speed through the level with a fast weapon you should have saved enough time anyway. Phosphora also has quite low health for a boss and will go down quickly. Anyway, if you didn't unlock this your first time round, playing on 0.0 will almost guarantee you unlock this panel. You also get lovely little Phosphora as an idol...um...let's move on.

Destroy 230 enemies and clear the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Anything except clubs; palms/weapons with high homing are good

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Ch. 14: Lightning Battle (Music)

First of all, that's a lot of enemies. But fortunately, there's no intensity requirement, so you can play on 0.0 and destroy a ton of enemies in the air battle stage, where this will probably be won or lost. There are about 170 enemies in the air portion alone which will be incredibly easy to kill on 0.0, especially if your weapon has continuous fire with a strong homing ability. Remember that defeating a small enemy still counts the same as defeating a larger enemy! If you destroy a good number of enemies in the air battle (aim for 150+), the rest of the mission will be cake. And even if you didn't, it's still very possible providing you take most of the side-paths.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Providing you defeat enough enemies in the air, it is quite possible to do both in one run. The time limit is quite leisurely so you can afford to equip something that has average speed but can defeat enemies quickly as well - even by just equipping Lightweight you should be able to unlock both in one run.

Chapter 15 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Super Speed, Tirelessness

Reward: Aurum Club (Weapon Unlocked)

The easiest speedrun ever. Well, not ever, but the fact that you can run past every single enemy in this chapter helps a lot. That's right, with the exception of the Aurum Core, you don't need to defeat ANY enemies. If you're having any difficulty with this panel, try running past a few enemies...or everything. Even the 17 minute time limit is very leisurely - you can easily defeat all enemies in sight and still finish the chapter in time, even on 5.0. This makes this panel perfect for unlocking alongside other panels.

Clear this chapter with full health (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense/recovery effect/effect duration and good offense

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Playing Dead (Lv. 2+), Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Energy Charge

Reward: Aurum Island (Ch. 15) (Music)

Unlike the Chapter 12 panel, this "max health" achievement is much harder. This is mostly due to the 5.0 intensity, but the boss is also more annoying as it has more ways to attack you. Remember that in addition to during the boss fight, the intensity also makes it harder to conserve health and therefore Health Recovery powers. If 5.0 is a threat to you, consider using a weapon with some overall defense and/or recovery effect.

A decent level Health Recovery is a must, since you will take damage during this fight. This means you should refrain from using it during the level unless you're on the brink of being finished. Playing Dead and Brief Invincibility are useful for keeping you invincible while you're recovering health (since taking damage during Health Recovery will stop you regaining health), and when you're finishing off the Aurum Core. Super/Aries Armor is good if your weapon's defense isn't that high. Of course, instead of saving these powers, the other option is to start the chapter on 6.0 then get finished towards the end, which replenishes all your powers. If you don't mind sacrificing the hearts, loot and score, it is always an alternative.

Chapter 15 isn't particularly difficult on 5.0, so getting through the actual level, despite taking a while, should be easy. Once you reach the Aurum Core, start by attacking its guns rather than the core itself. If you don't, the guns will fire at you from all directions and unless you're a master at dodging and/or have a really good evasion modifier, some shots will hit you. Having said that, the first half of the fight isn't too difficult - you only really need to destroy about 5 or 6 guns. Don't bother with the rest and focus on the core, since they'll all respawn in the second half of the fight anyway. Keep an eye on the (damaging) floor as well and you'll be fine. This is easier to do in this half of the fight.

The second half is where the real difficulty comes in. The Aurum Core won't have much health left, but some of its guns will respawn and it will gain a new Black Hole-type attack that pulls you towards the core itself. This deals significant damage if you get pulled all the way there. Plus, there's the floor to worry about too. Start by destroying the core's guns again, although they will respawn quickly, so be as fast as you can. Again, once about 5 or 6 of the guns have been destroyed, activate Health Recovery followed by a chain of Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility powers, and quickly take the core down. If the invincibility runs out, you'll most likely take damage, which depending on how many Health Recoveries you have left, may well ruin your entire mission. Charged shots are probably better if you have decent aim, as continuous fire will often hit the panels that surround the core. If your aim is not decent, then stick with continuous fire. As long as you have sufficient firepower, and activated invincibility shortly before the core goes down, you should be fine. You can even equip Energy Charge whilst invincible to gain a significant boost in power.

Lastly, you get the music to what is possibly the jazziest alien invasion ever.

Destroy 8 of the Aurum Core's guns

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Aurum Blade (Weapon Unlocked)

Eight guns is quite a lot, but because the guns all respawn after a short while this is quite easy to achieve. Just destroy the three guns in the center and a couple around the outside during the first half of the fight, then repeat in the second half and you'll destroy eight easily. You can do this challenge on 0.0, but it's better to play on a higher intensity and earn some better rewards along the way, or unlock this with another panel.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

This chapter's a tricky one. Destroying 8 guns puts your max health challenge at risk and vice versa, and you may edge past spending 17 minutes on the chapter if you attempt either of those challenges as well (unless you time yourself). Since the speedrun isn't very difficult it's probably best to rush through the level and destroy 8 guns on 0.0. However, you could equally try to unlock as many panels as you can on 5.0, guaranteeing at least one (destroying 8 guns) with the others as a bonus. You'll probably come back for the max health one, though.

Chapter 16 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 16 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness

Reward: In the Aurum Hive (Ch. 16) (Music)

Another standard speedrun, except it's not really a "speedrun" with a time limit like that. It doesn't make much difference whether you equip a speed-boosting weapon or not, as Chapter 16 is full of grind rails, rooms of enemies and cramped corridors, so you won't be able to maximise your speed boost. Avoid the platform below the three parallel grind rails near the end - if you take the leftmost rail, you'll fall onto the platform and fight around 4 waves of enemies, which will waste a good chunk of time. Feel free to play this on a higher intensity or unlock it alongside another panel.

Destroy 230 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything except clubs

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack

Reward: Laser Staff (2/0, Shot defense +3, Dash cont. fire +3)

The intensity and kill requirement for this mission are pretty equal in terms of difficulty. Luckily, it is far from taxing overall. There are a ton of enemies in the air; it's quite possible to defeat 150 or more. In contrast, most of the enemies on land are compulsory to defeat. This means if you do well in the air battle, you're usually sorted. But just in case, take the leftmost grind rail on the three parallel grind rails near the end of the level. There are about 15-20 enemies in the area you drop into, which should be plenty to take your overall kill count above 230. The total number of enemies in the chapter is way above 260, so there is a lot of leeway.

If anything, the focus is more on survival on the intensity, rather than how quickly you spot and defeat enemies (like with most kill-based missions). As always, if you're having difficulty, you can always start on 6.0 and get finished near an area with lots of enemies.

Clear this chapter using claws

Recommended Weapons: Claws of choice; Artillery is good

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Aurum Orbitars (Weapon Unlocked)

No intensity requirement, so feel free to choose whatever claws suit you best. If you're awful in close combat (like me), set the intensity to 0.0 to blitz through the level. The Artillery Claws are particularly good because of their range, which will be used a lot in this chapter. But it won't matter much anyway on 0.0.

Clear this chapter without switching grind rails during the Aurum Generator battle

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a decent range (30m+ is good)

Recommended Powers: Super Armor, Aries Armor, Libra Sponge

Reward: Aurum Palm (Weapon Unlocked)

This is a unique mission, but an easy one. As in really easy. You're free to play on 0.0, but this is pretty easy even on 5.0! All you need to do is ensure your thumb doesn't accidentally slide the circle pad when the grind rails are parallel, and keep firing. You will take some damage, which is why you could use Super/Aries Armor and Libra Sponge, but it'll be far from enough to kill you, even on 5.0 (and probably all the way to 9.0, if you play the fight well and have good defense).

Unlocking Multiple Panels

This sounds like the most insane "treasure hunt" run ever, but as long as you have a good pair of claws (Artillery is excellent) you can get all four achievements in one run! Provided the bulk of your defeated enemies come from the air battle (which doesn't affect your completion time) and you know the layout of the level fairly well, this actually isn't too difficult. You even have the option of not taking the left grind rail (before the Generator battle) if you feel you're behind on time but have defeated enough enemies, and vice versa. This run will take some skill though; especially in aiming. If this sounds (and is) too difficult for you, then do everything except the "defeat 230 enemies" panel and come back for that. This means you can play on 0.0, which makes the level laughably easy.

Chapter 17 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack

Reward: Ch. 17: The Aurum Brain (Music)

This is a unique speedrun in that you can't rush through the level with claws, since the entire land battle of Chapter 17 is spent on different rocks that move at a set speed. Instead, your finishing time is affected by how quickly you defeat enemies. The faster you defeat a wave of enemies, the sooner the next one will turn up and the faster you'll progress. This is probably the only speedrun where a staff, cannon or even club might be suitable if you're a master at using clubs, so long as it can defeat enemies and the boss quickly. Instant Death Attack can also be very useful, especially if you're having trouble defeating larger, tougher and meatier enemies such as the Dohz.

Destroy 280 enemies and clear the chapter

Recommended Weapons: Anything except clubs

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack (unless on 0.0)

Reward: 2000 Hearts

I'm sorry, how many enemies? Fortunately though, this challenge has no intensity requirement, meaning that you can set it to 0.0 and sail through. You can even die as many times as you like to ensure you defeat enough enemies, although you probably won't need to, seeing as though there are well over 370 enemies in total. Most are in the air, but there are still a huge number on land. Quite a few are "background enemies" that don't directly attack you but rather just fly across the screen in the background, and another fair few are Aurum Quoils (spring-like enemies) that just fly past you. If you can defeat most of these enemies, who will die after you so much as touch them on 0.0, you'll have no trouble defeating 280 in total.

Defeat Aurum Pyrrhon while in Crisis Mode

Recommended Weapons: Anything with Effect Duration

Recommended Powers: Trade-off, Playing Dead, Libra Sponge

Reward: Aurum Bow (Weapon Unlocked)

Although there's no intensity requirement, this is a crisis-based mission so you can't really play on very low intensities unless you have Trade-off.

The main difficulty in this challenge is similar to most crisis-based missions - getting Aurum Pyrrhon's health down to a sufficiently low level, taking enough damage to get into crisis mode, and finishing him off before you recover. Pyrrhon himself shouldn't be too hard on a lower intensity; he'll attack quite often but his attacks won't deal much damage, so you're free to go on the offensive until his health is critical. Trade-off makes things a bit easier, although you'll have to be careful not to accidentally defeat him when you have Trade-off activated, due to the insane power boosts it gives. If you have really a hard time gauging how much damage you're doing, try fighting him in the same way on similar intensities on other missions. This will give you a good idea of how much health he has.

Whether you have Trade-off or not, start by destroying the four green lights around Aurum Pyrrhon, which will then expose his body. Striking his body (his weak point) deals significantly more damage, so aim for that. You're going to have to make an educated guess on Pyrrhon's health based upon the damage of your weapon's different shots and how your powers affect that. If anything, go into crisis mode earlier so you make sure you don't just defeat him outright, and use Libra Sponge if you have it. Playing Dead is very useful if you stand still, as the invincibility lasts for much longer, and has the added bonus of making Pyrrhon not know where to shoot. Brief Invincibility's duration is often just too...brief to be useful, but can be helpful if you have Effect Duration +3 or more. However, with Trade-off, simply activate Playing Dead once in crisis mode and hopefully, after the insane damage you'll have dealt, you can quickly finish him off before it runs out.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Since your completion time isn't really affected by movement speed in this chapter, you can quite easily do both the speedrun and defeat 280 enemies in one run. Alternatively you could try and defeat 280 enemies and Aurum Pyrrhon in crisis mode, but attempting all three at once is harder because of the hassle of the crisis-based mission. Still, you should at least attempt to unlock two in one run if you haven't unlocked the panels already.

Chapter 18 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 16 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Claxis (Idol)

As Magnus, you can't equip your own weapons or use any powers for the land battle, and you can't affect the speed of the air battle. Even so, this is easy on 0.0. The Juggernauts (the long cannons that fire explosives at you) will be completely inactive, the Centurion Strongarms will go down in about three hits, the Centurion Knights even less than that, and Pit's Body will be defeated after only around 9 melee combo hits. Furthermore, you can run past a good number of enemies in this chapter, including the huge two-storey area full of centurions. Don't waste time charging up to enemies you can ignore! If you do this, you'll easily complete the chapter in under 16 minutes.

Clear this chapter using orbitars (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Orbitars of choice

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: None

The orbitars will only come into play in the air battle phase, so keep in mind what attributes are better there. Standing cont. fire is very useful, as well as any kind of defense if you don't find 5.0 easy. In all honesty though, the air battle isn't difficult. You'll probably have more trouble completing the land battle on 5.0. Just time your melee attacks and dodges well on land and voila.

Clear this chapter with a score of 180,000 or higher

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Dog's Theme (Ch. 18) (Music)

An intensity of about 6.0 will be suitable for this challenge. This should get you around 10,000 more points than the minimum, which is low enough to ensure you can ignore enemies if you have low health, but high enough to not make you rely upon destroying every enemy and getting as many end-of-chapter bonuses (e.g. Crisis Averted, Melee Dash Attack, Max Health) as you can. 6.0 might be tricky if you're not great as Magnus, but it's better than playing on 5.0 and having to defeat many more enemies, or going for difficult end-of-chapter bonuses. If you can play on 5.0 confidently, you'll be able to play on 6.0 without getting finished.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

I highly recommend doing the orbitars and high score challenges in one run. This is mainly because of their similar intensity requirements and easiness in unlocking them simultaneously. Additionally, the orbitars you choose do not matter for half the level, so you can afford to equip something you're not too fond of and only use them in the air battle. Besides, the majority of points will come from the land battle anyway. The speedrun is best done on 0.0, since it will put immense pressure on you if you attempt to unlock all three.

Chapter 19 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 25 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight (Lv. 2+), Tirelessness (Lv. 2+)

Reward: Lightning Chariot Base (Ch. 19) (Music)

Chapter 19 is as much about the ability to defeat enemies quickly as it is about speed. The ramps connecting each floor are where speed mainly comes into play, but it is on the actual floors where your skill in defeating enemies quickly is tested. Still, 25 minutes is an extremely long time, and providing you play on 0.0, run past all the enemies on the outside ramps and don't fall off a lot, you'll clear the chapter in way under that. Put it this way: Hades's hunt has a panel that requires you to complete this chapter in under 17 minutes, which is still very doable.

The main difficulty in this speedrun comes from the chapter's variety of skills it tests - you have to use all three vehicles (Exo Tank, Aether Ring and Cherubot), run in winds, time jumps carefully, defeat enemies quickly and defeat a huge variety of underworld enemies, amongst others. Luckily on 0.0 only a few of these will realistically affect your completion time, since enemies do so minimal damage. Still, a speed-boosting weapon comes in very handy.

Defeat the Chariot Master and clear the chapter in Crisis Mode

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Trade-off, Playing Dead (Lv. 2+), Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+)

Reward: Centurion Orbitars (Weapon Unlocked)

This can be anything from mildly frustrating to a real pain depending on what powers you have and how you tackle the challenge. There's no intensity requirement, but there are many reasons why you might be spending quite a bit of time on this one.

The first of these reasons is the length of Chapter 19 itself. You need to spend a good 20 minutes just getting to the Chariot Master, which makes failure very painful. Secondly, the controls of the chariot are far from easy to use. You can dodge and perform dash shots, but it is much more difficult than normal to say the least. It's very hard to see what you're doing, and you must constantly move the chariot to avoid the Chariot Master's mines and lasers. It can even be hard just to hit the Chariot Master. Both you and him are moving about a lot on a course with lots of sharp twists and turns, so firing off a well-aimed, well-timed charged shot is not easy.

There are two main ways to go about this mission. The first, and probably easiest, is to play on a low intensity and use Trade-off, dealing very slight damage to the Chariot Master while it is active (he will have really low health; one charged shot with Trade-off active is likely to kill him on 0.0). Once it wears off, take some damage and once in crisis mode, activate Playing Dead and stay still, then finish him off. He should die after taking very few hits. The second is the hard way, where you'll have to play on a higher intensity so the Chariot Master actually deals some damage, and fight him the usual way (with Libra Sponge if you have it). This means attacking him until you think his health is critical, then getting into crisis mode, activating Playing Dead and finishing him off. If you choose to do the challenge this way, it will probably take more than a few tries. Most of the difficulty with this method stems from estimating his health, getting into crisis mode without dying and quickly finishing him off before you recover - the usual stuff really, for a crisis mode mission. However, this is all made much harder by that godforsaken chariot you ride and the ridiculous length of Chapter 19.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Just do them separately. This crisis-based mission is way too much hassle for it to be done with a time limit, and you'll have to equip powers like Trade-off and Playing Dead, which take up a hell of a lot of space, so there'll be no room left for Lightweight. It's possible, I guess, but only if you're prepared to put yourself through it.

Chapter 20 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness

Reward: Ch. 20: Palutena's Temple (Music)

This is much easier if you know your way around the dungeons, but it's still a piece of cake even if you don't. Chapter 20 is very straightforward except for the underground section, but even that isn't too complex and shouldn't slow you down past 15 minutes. Unlocking this panel is almost guaranteed on intensity 0.0.

Clear this chapter without dying (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense/health/recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Effect Recovery

Reward: Igniot (Idol)

Fortunately this chapter shouldn't pose a high risk of dying. The main threat you might have to watch out for is the Tempura Wizard near the end of the level, so equip and save Effect Recovery for him. This chapter is generous in terms of the amount of health-restoring items you get, which should be plenty to keep you from getting finished. The very last area before fighting Palutena might be a little tricky, but activating Super/Aries Armor here is effective, and the X-Bomb and Paralysis Card you get are both useful. Overall, this is far from hard.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's quite possible to do a 5.0 run on Chapter 20 in under 15 minutes, especially if you use claws or some other speed-boosting weapon. If you feel confident on 5.0 and know the chapter well, give it a try.

Chapter 21 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything that can defeat enemies quickly at decent range

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Tirelessness, Lightweight, Homing Boost, Angelic Missile(?)

Reward: Item Vacuum Lv. 2

You fight the entirety of Chapter 11 on a single platform, so your movement speed doesn't make much difference unless it is extremely slow. On the other hand, how quickly your weapon defeats enemies makes a huge difference, similar to Chapter 17. Once you finish a wave of enemies (Viridi points out there are 13 in total), the next one spawns immediately after, so defeating enemies quickly is crucial to getting a fast completion time. Obviously, Instant Death Attack is extremely useful for doing this. A decent range and homing also helps to save time, especially when coupled with Instant Death Attack, so you don't have to move around as much and can target enemies more easily. However, if your weapon's offense is very good, you might not need it. If so, substitute it for Tirelessness or Lightweight (unless you don't mind equipping all three), to make moving around the platform and getting in range faster. For a laugh, you can equip Angelic Missile, which has a similar effect.

Also, unlike most speedruns, the boss has a fairly large impact on your completion time due to its cowardly nature. If your weapon has short range and/or slow shots, it will probably be difficult enough just to hit the Chaos Kin. Keep this in mind when selecting a suitable weapon.

Destroy 240 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything that can defeat enemies quickly at decent range

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack (Lv. 3+)

Reward: Ch. 21: The Chaos Vortex (Music)

Like many kill-based missions, the air battle is crucial. You need to destroy most enemies on land anyway, so equip something with good continuous fire and preferably a high homing ability to kill aerial foes as efficiently as possible. Chapter 21 can be challenging on 5.0, so you may want to consider practising the chapter before attempting this. Of course, you could also play on 6.0 and get finished. Instant Death Attack is as useful as ever for killing tough land enemies.

Capture the Chaos Kin 5 times with an electro trap

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Doom Cannon (1.5/0, Melee defense +2, Paralysis +2, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash cont. fire +1)

This is actually quite a challenge. You may well have captured the Chaos Kin once or twice your first time round, but it's unlikely you'll have done it much more than that.

The best strategy for this mission is patience. Even if you stand inside an electro trap, it's not likely the Chaos Kin will charge at you immediately. Furthermore, being patient will mean Viridi has time to increase the number of traps, and make it more likely the Chaos Kin will stumble into a trap by itself. Dark Pit won't be able to defeat the Chaos Kin on his own, so you have all the time in the world. It is a very cowardly fighter (as noted by the other characters), and will run around the edge of the arena while firing its projectiles from a distance. Occasionally, it will also rush up to either you or Dark Pit and perform a melee attack - this is what you need to take advantage of. Unless you get lucky and it collides with a trap on its own, you need to stand on the opposite side of the electro trap and hope it comes charging at you. Things become a bit easier once Viridi creates more traps, but stick with the same tactics. There's no 100% reliable method of getting the Chaos Kin to approach you, so this is your best option.

It is possible to complete this on 0.0, but it's actually better to play on something slightly higher (I did this on 5.0, but anything above 2.0 should be suitable). This means that the Chaos Kin will be more aggressive and therefore move around a lot more, and hopefully towards you with a melee attack.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

You will simply not be able to do the speedrun and capture the Chaos Kin 5 times. Although it may be possible, it is completely not worth the hassle and pressure you'll be facing. It's much better to destroy 240 enemies on 5.0 while trying to unlock either other achievement.

Chapter 22 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 12 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Power Attack, Libra Sponge, Aries Armor, Trade-off, Tirelessness

Reward: Ch. 22: Scorched Feathers (Music)

This unique speedrun is all about the fight with Amazon Pandora. The air battle will take approximately 9 minutes, which leaves you with 3 minutes in which to defeat her. Although that doesn't sound like much, her health is quite low, and you have a whole power board to unload. However, she makes up for it by teleporting all over the place, even on low intensities. You'll have to stay on the offensive and keep the pressure on her, as you won't have time to take a more defensive approach - this is where Libra Sponge may come in useful. Use well-timed dodges against her heart projectiles, ignore her mirrors and keep an eye on where you're dashing, and after a couple of minutes of intense fighting, she should go down. Use Power Attack and, if you have stamina problems, Tirelessness as needed. Obviously, play on 0.0 unless you're unlocking this panel alongside another one. Trade-off is also a viable, if risky, option, but works great if your weapon's offense is good and you can hit her reliably.

Clear this chapter without dying (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate-high overall defense/recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Viridi Claws (Weapon Unlocked)

This shouldn't be too difficult at all. The boss fight is easy because you can use as many powers as you like. As for the air battle, just use old-fashioned, battle-hardened air battle tactics (mainly moving in large circles) to complete the mission. You might want to save a special attack or two for near the end of the stage, when the fighting gets a bit more intense. If you're finding this panel hard, some overall defense and recovery effect goes a long way.

Destroy 3 mirrors in the fight with Amazon Pandora

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate-high overall defense/recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Power Attack

Reward: Sio (Idol)

This is similar to the "Capture the Chaos Kin 5 times" achievement in that you may well have destroyed one or two mirrors during your first playthrough, but it's unlikely you'll have destroyed more than that. There is also a good reason for that - Amazon Pandora will create these mirrors very rarely.

First of all, if possible do not play on 0.0 or even anything up to about 4.0. This is because on extremely low intensities she will create mirrors less often, unless you stay very close to her (thanks to Brad for this - see the section below). An intensity of 5.0 is good, although if you find the mirrors aren't spawning fast enough, try 6.0.

During the fight, Pandora actually won't start creating mirrors until she fakes her death, which is once she reaches about 50% health, so attack freely until then. The "heart-shaped crystal barrier", as described by Palutena, is the "mirror" you need to destroy. Avoid attacking aggressively because you may well defeat her in the process, so focus on dodging. Once you see her create a mirror (it's quite small), dispose of it ASAP, preferably with a melee dash attack. This will cause you to take minor damage, but nonetheless make sure you have Health Recovery to heal it off. The other option is to unload Power Attack (e.g. Explosive Flame, Meteor Shower) on the mirror, which works well if you don't mind the space they take up on the power board. On 5.0-6.0 she will continue attacking you frequently, so just try and minimise the damage as best you can, by dodging her heart projectiles and whatever else you can manage (the hearts are easy to dodge but quite dangerous, so it's crucial you avoid them). It will take some time before she creates three mirrors. After you destroy three of her mirrors, she should have little health left unless you've not touched her at all, so finish her off quickly.

Alternative Strategy

Thanks to Brad for the section below:

I noticed that you mentioned that it's not worth playing Chapter 22 on less than intensity 5.0 for the achievement where you need to break three mirrors as it greatly affects the frequency with which they will spawn. From my experience, if you stay close to Pandora and just dodge her melee attacks, it will force her into creating mirrors much more frequently (about a mirror every 8-12 times she teleports). Using this strategy, you can play the chapter on any difficulty and still get the achievement relatively easily.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Completing the chapter within 12 minutes on 5.0 is entirely possible. There is even a similar panel in Hades's Treasure Hunt that combines the two and makes it harder...but anyway, although it is possible to destroy 3 mirrors on 5.0, it will usually take so long you'll pass the 12-minute mark with ease. Attempting to unlock the first two is much easier.

Chapter 23 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws, anything with average speed

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness

Reward: Ch. 23: Lord of the Underworld (Music)

Chapter 23 is quite compact and features a lot of fighting at close quarters. Therefore, although speed-boosting weapons do help, they're not completely necessary. Just equip something that is fairly balanced in terms of attack power and speed, since you'll need both of these attributes for a fast completion time. You can also ignore a good number of enemies in this chapter, mainly in the second area and the areas with the grind rails. However, the level's crowded nature means that you might prefer to defeat some of them.

Clear this chapter using a club (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Magnus Club

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Power Attack

Reward: Ore Club (2/2, Standing ch. shot +3)

The Magnus Club is highly recommended here. Most of Chapter 23 is fought in tight spaces, and the Magnus Club can devastate enemies with its melee attacks and pull off many charged shots in quick succession, which are also pretty powerful. The short range for its charged shots won't matter that much due to all the close-quarters fighting you'll be doing. It also gives you a good shot at completing the chapter within 14 minutes, thanks to its movement speed. It can be quite difficult to use in the air, but in return the land battle will be so much easier. The one area you may have trouble with is Hades's Heart on 5.0: using a club that can shoot through walls will make the fight easier, but whether it justifies sacrificing all the other useful features the Magnus Club offers is up to you. However, Health Recovery, armor powers and Power Attack are all very useful if you're having difficulty with it, so maybe use the Magnus Club and save your powers until the boss.

Defeat Hades's Heart with a melee dash attack

Recommended Weapons: Upperdash Arm

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Hades's Belly (Idol)

Touted by some as the hardest boss in the whole game, Hades's "Heart" is not an easy fight. This is due to its long periods of invincibility and confusing nature, which becomes a nightmare for first-timers. Of course, it's easy enough on something like 0.0, but the whole game is practically a joke on that kind of intensity. There are some strategies to this challenge, however.

On your first playthrough, you will have enraged Hades's Heart a certain amount of times, depending on the intensity and how much damage you dealt. If you have a good idea of how many times this was, then the best way to complete this challenge is to simply enrage the heart one or two fewer times, then start attacking it with melee dash attacks. As ever, it's better to be safe and use melee dash attacks earlier to ensure you get the achievement. This does not apply if you're using the Upperdash Arm, in which case spam them throughout the entire fight.

If you cannot remember how many times you enraged the heart, then it's probably best to do a run on Chapter 23 on any intensity and find out. Of course, this is best done while you're trying to unlock another panel at the same time. Try to memorise how much damage your weapon does. A charged shot of 200 damage will be enough to enrage the heart, but charged shots can do anything up to about 500 damage.

As usual, one of the most difficult things about this challenge is performing the final melee dash attack. This is in no small part due to the clones it makes, which are quite difficult to get around, as well as (mostly on higher intensities) the mines they lay. Your visibility may also be quite limited, which doesn't make anything easier. For these reasons, try and ambush the heart once it's on a straight or coming round a corner, so you can dash right into it rather than having to chase it (which also puts you at the risk of firing off a charged shot, if it just moves out of your range at the last moment). It's safest once the clone has self-destructed, but if there is a melee dash attack opportunity sitting right in front of you, it's worth taking the risk.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Any combination of these panels is not easy. Still, if you're using the Magnus Club (which boosts the user's speed) on 5.0 or higher, you are guaranteed to unlock at least one panel, so why not try and unlock another while you're at it? Attempting all three is very hard, but if you're not sure how many times you enraged the heart, try to complete the chapter in under 14 minutes and take note of how many times you did it. If you do know, then go for the melee dash attack achievement - you never know, you may have even done it within 14 minutes (though this is unlikely). You can always come back for an easy 14-minute speedrun on 0.0, doing the hard stuff the first time round.

Chapter 24 (Viridi)

Clear this chapter within 16 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Artillery claws, most other claws, anything with a decent speed modifier

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Instant Death Attack

Reward: None

Not too easy on a moderately high intensity, but easy on 0.0. A speed-boosting weapon does matter in this speedrun, but note that it must also be able to defeat enemies and bosses quickly. However, everyone except Pit will have insanely low health on 0.0, so only a couple of stars in ranged and/or melee will be sufficient.

During the level, ignore all the enemies on the stairs between each platform, activate Instant Death Attack once you get to a platform (it is particularly useful when fighting the Mimicuties) and use a combination of dash continuous fire and dash charged shots against the bosses. You don't need to worry about leaving yourself open to attack because you'll receive hardly any damage. The Artillery Claws are useful because of their long range, speed and damage, which means you don't have to get as close to bosses. However, you can afford to use virtually any speed-boosting weapon with a decent range.

Clear this stage with full health

Recommended Weapons: Anything with recovery effect/effect duration

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Playing Dead (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Brief Invincibility (Lv. 3+)

Reward: Ch. 24: The Three Trials (Music)

The Great Sacred Treasure is one of the most relentless bosses in the game, so defeating it with max health is not an easy task. Having said that, though, it will be quite tame on 0.0 - it will not attack anywhere near as often as on "normal" intensities, it will deal less damage (except for its insta-kill move) and its shots will be slower, far less accurate and not home in as sharply. In fact, the vast of majority of its shots can be easily avoided with some basic dodging skills, and even then you have your powers if you take damage.

If you do take damage (which is admittedly quite likely at some point), don't use Health Recovery right away. Instead, go on the offensive until you take a fair amount of damage, at which point activate Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility and use it. This will maximise the damage you deal as well as the amount of health you recover. Just be wary of the GST's extremely low health, and once it is roughly at the point of dying, activate Playing Dead/Brief Invincibility and go all-out. Providing you stay still whilst playing dead, you should defeat the GST before you lose your invincibility, even if you didn't whittle its health down to a critical point.

Beat Gaol before Magnus, without hitting Magnus (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with long-ranged, fast-moving shots

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Gaol Blade (4/3.5, Overall Defense +4, Paralysis +4)

Not as hard as it looks. Because Magnus can only use melee attacks, he will be charging up to you a lot, but this also means he often leaves wide open spaces for you to target Gaol with. On 5.0, he leaves you alone for some time between his melee combos, especially if you keep chasing Gaol around the arena. As you'd expect, the hardest part is not being able to hit Magnus at all. Accordingly, it's much better to stick with using charged shots and firing them off once the coast is clear. Weapons with fast-moving charged shots (such as the Flintlock Staff) are ideal because of Gaol's adept dodging abilities, who will avoid most slow-moving charged shots.

So overall, the best way to attack Gaol is to wait until Magnus has finished a melee combo, charge towards her, wait until she finishes an attack and then hit her with a charged shot. She may well dodge it, but the only time limit on this challenge is your patience, so don't let it run out and ruin the whole mission. The two also share a life meter, meaning that once you defeat her, Magnus will go down almost instantly after.

The only other thing you need to achieve is completing the rest of Chapter 24 on 5.0, which in fairness is not that easy, but it becomes much more manageable with practice. After attempting it a few times, you'll have a good idea of the level's layout and know what you'll be doing. You could also start on 6.0 and get finished if you're not bothered about rewards, which is useful if your powers need replenishing.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

The best combination would be to do the speedrun and "clear the chapter with full health" mission together. Once you reach the Great Sacred Treasure, you should have enough time left to play a little more defensively, in order to conserve health. You could even equip Playing Dead or Brief Invincibility if you have room on the power board.

Chapter 25 (Viridi)

At last, the epic finale! This chapter is also uniquely different from the rest. Thankfully, in Viridi's hunt there's no intensity requirement on any of these panels, so you're free to play on 0.0 which makes everything a whole lot easier.

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Boom Orbitars (Weapon Unlocked)

This is easy on anything up to about 6.0. As always, nearly all aspects of the chapter will change with the intensity: each of Hades's forms will have different health, deal different amounts of damage and attack more or less aggressively. Even keeping the reticule on Hades before Medusa's appearance depends on it. However, as you'd expect this all becomes painfully easy on 0.0, so all you have to do is replay the chapter on 0.0 if you didn't unlock it the first time round. If you do this, as "effortless" difficulty might suggest, it's so incredibly easy you'll have basically unlocked the panel already.

Fully charge the gauge that causes Medusa to appear within 25 seconds

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Medusa vs. Hades (Idol)

This is a unique and quite difficult challenge. Charging this gauge (you can see it at the top of the screen) within 25 seconds is not easy, even on 0.0, and requires a unique kind of skill that's not found anywhere else in the game.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of depth to the strategy for this panel. It's important to keep your reticule focused on his "weak spot" (the glowing part of his lower body that you shot at in the fight before), because this charges the gauge slightly faster than normal, but other than that there's not much to say other than "keep trying". The reticule will be much more steady on 0.0, but it's still quite hard. If you're timing yourself and have passed the 25 second mark, or if you reckon you've spent way too long, then it's actually better to get finished and try again (you'll respawn in the same area) to save you from replaying the entire chapter. On 0.0 the intensity will not change, and the losses will be so minimal they won't matter.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

These two achievements go hand-in-hand, but you may have to come back for the "Medusa gauge" one as it is difficult to pull off. Just focus on completing the chapter as fast as you can.

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon] (Viridi)

Defeat Cragalanche with the Poseidon Cannon

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode)

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: Reset Bomb (Idol)

Despite Cragalanche being 11 bosses in to Boss Battle mode, it's still quicker than a 0.0 run on Chapter 11 and yearns better rewards as well. You may need some overall defense and recovery effect, and a few uses of Health Recovery, if you're not too good at Boss Battle though. However, with five full heals and bosses only on 3.0 intensity, getting there shouldn't be difficult. Once you've done that, unless you harbor a special hatred for Cragalanche and have always been hopeless against him, he's easy enough.

Defeat Arlon with the Guardian Orbitars

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode)

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: None

Again, although Arlon is 12 bosses in, it's still quicker doing Boss Battle mode than playing through Chapter 13, which is an especially long chapter. The Guardian Orbitars are quite useful for blocking many of the bosses' attacks throughout the run, so get used to using their charged shots to provide defensive cover. However, this might not even be necessary on 3.0 and with five full heals to use before Arlon.

Defeat Phosphora with the Meteor Bow

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode)

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: Phosphora Bow (1/0, Health +2, In-peril attack boost +4)

The Meteor Bow is not a difficult weapon to use with its balance of strong charged shots and high homing continuous fire, so you should be able to wipe the floor with most 3.0 bosses with a decent one. Phosphora has quite low health and although she is quite agile, on 3.0 she is nowhere near fast enough to pose a real problem. The bosses start to get a little trickier from around this point onward, but Phosphora is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the difficulty of completing Boss Battle mode, so it's nothing to get worried about.

Defeat the Chaos Kin with the Angel Bow

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode), any shot damage modifier, high ranged value

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

It's funny how simply playing 10 LvD matches will get you 500 hearts, but winning 10 will get you nothing. Anyway, if you play LvD at all then you should definitely be able to achieve this; either through having amazing teammates or just being amazing yourself.

If you can't manage this against other humans, then just set up some easy CPU matches which you can then dominate.

Rank 1st in a Free-for-All match 5 times

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Ball Cannon (Idol)

If you ever play Free-for-All then you should definitely be able to achieve this. If you're not, then either you've constantly come up against amazing players or you need to practice...but anyway, if you don't play Free-for-All, unlocking this panel is as easy as selecting nearby in Together mode, setting CPU difficulty to 1 and match time to 1 minute. After five minutes this panel will be unlocked.

Create 30 weapon gems

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Optical Blade (1/0, Status resistance +2, Shot homing +2)

Since you can use the same weapon to create multiple gems without losing it, feel free to select any number of weapons and create 30 gems.

Perform weapon-gem trades with 30 people

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Fighter (Idol)

Unfortunately unless you live in Japan, or perhaps another large city, you're going to have to use a feather on this one. Annoying, I know.

Get over 3,000 hearts by converting weapon gems

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Aries Armor (Power Unlocked)

Found in Chapter 18. After the section where you defeat the Underworld Crawler (the tank), go left at the hot spring and descend down some stairs to reach this chamber. Do not chase the Souflee as it will take you the wrong way!

Find the Capricorn Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Capricorn Club (Weapon Unlocked)

Found in Chapter 20. This chamber is in full view providing you go examine the jail cells. However, it is located inside a cell which seems to be completely enclosed...so how on earth do you get in there? First, release the Skuttler Mage by standing on the button near its cell. You can ignore it, but its spells are quite annoying and it has fairly low health, so it's probably better to just defeat it. Inside the cell there is a carpet hanging on the left wall - hang on, doesn't this one look surprisingly similar to the fake one in Chapter 2? That's because it is! Simply walk through the fake wall to access the Capricorn chamber and unlock this panel.

Find the Aquarius Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Aquarius Chamber (Weapon Unlocked)

Found in Chapter 23. This one is quite cleverly hidden. Once you reach the section with all the grind rails, you will eventually ride one that starts off as singular but then becomes parallel to another rail, which you then have to switch to so you don't fall off. Or, this is simply the second grind rail of the chapter, if that makes it easier to remember. But hang on...doesn't the grind rail on the left seem to extend further back beyond where the two run parallel? That's because it goes somewhere! If you ride the left grind rail back the other way once you land, it goes on past the "switching point" and straight to the Aquarius chamber.

Find the Pisces Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

In Palutena's and Viridi's hunts, there are three panels that unlock by accomplishing certain feats in the game's three vehicles - the Exo Tank, Aether Ring and Cherubot.

Charge through and defeat 15 enemies with the Exo Tank before disembarking (Intensity 5.0 or higher)

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 3000 Hearts

This is a big step up from the respective achievement in Palutena's hunt. In fact, it is so much of a step that it may be one of the last panels remaining in Viridi's hunt. There are a number of factors that make this difficult. First of all is the 5.0 intensity, which makes enemies much more durable and (annoyingly) evasive. Secondly, there is the amount of enemies you need to defeat, as finding 15 enemies inside one Exo Tank area is rare. Despite the Exo Tank's durability, it will take some punishment when you're charging at enemies, and may even get blown up in the process. Driving into a pitfall will also mean you lose the Exo Tank and therefore the challenge, since the game still counts this as "disembarking" the vehicle.

The best chapters to accomplish this tough achievement on are 13, 15 and 20. All of these chapters have an Exo Tank section with more than 15 enemies to defeat, being the "surface of the moon", the long slide and the first Exo Tank area respectively. Chapter 13 has more enemies but it is much more difficult to defeat them, thanks to the layout of the Exo Tank section, where there are a lot of pitfalls and enemies are sparse. Chapter 15 and 20 are safer bets but you can't afford to let virtually any enemies get away. Whatever you choose, it's very likely to take you more than a few tries. For this reason, try and unlock some other panels while playing through these chapters, so your mission doesn't turn out to be a complete waste of time.

Defeat 10 enemies with the Aether Ring shield before disembarking (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Halo Club (1/1.5, Overall defense +2, Dash ch. shot +3)

This mission isn't much easier than the Exo Tank one. Although you have to defeat 5 fewer enemies than with the Exo Tank, the intensity means enemies will have significant health, and the Aether Ring shield is far from damaging by itself. You also have the added difficulties of the Aether Ring being slow and difficult to control, and the evasive actions of enemies.

There are two main ways to go about this. You can either do the Aether Ring section in Chapter 11, which is much quicker but has fewer enemies, or the long Aether Ring section in Chapter 16 which has a ton of enemies but takes forever.

In Chapter 11, the areas where you can defeat enemies are along the initial slide (the ones here are really easy to defeat), in the open area at the bottom of the slide, and the underground "cellar" to the top-right of the open area. Most of the enemies are basic grunts that have low to average health, but a few (such as the Boom Stomper or 'big tall rock thing') are quite well-armored, so it will take you many rams with the shield to defeat them. Memorise their health as best you can, and shoot them with the gun before finishing them off with the shield. A few others can also fly, which can also be annoying, but hopefully nothing more than that.

Chapter 16 starts with the area with a conveyor belt that travels in a circle, before doing along the passage with crushing walls and finally the area with two saws that go round in a square shape. There are about twice as many enemies in total, but defeating 15 of them and keeping your Aether Ring alive is quite a challenge. The first area in particular has some very tough enemies to defeat with the shield, specifically Kolmas (the Aurum wheels of cheese) and Aurum Urgles (the mobile trees in the Forces of Nature). Fortunately the last area contains Quoils (spring-like enemies) which are very easy to defeat, but sadly there aren't that many of them. For this reason you're going to need not only patience but skill to avoid your Aether Ring getting blown up, since the resilient enemies in the first area will be dealing some significant damage.

Either chapter is fine really; it just depends on what suits you. Chapter 11 is less frustrating since it's much quicker to complete, but if you prefer the insurance of having a lot of enemies, then go for Chapter 16. Personally I found Chapter 11 easier, but you'll probably be attempting the challenge many times whichever option you choose.

Alternative Strategy

Thanks to mwohldmann for the section below:

Chapter 9, though long, features an Aether Ring section with Shemum and Ziks (plus a Zak); at least enough to fulfil the mission objective. It is considerably easier than Chapter 16's Aether Ring section, and at least on par with Chapter 11's.

Defeat 20 enemies with the Cherubot's melee attack before disembarking (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Atlas Foot (Idol)

In contrast to the other vehicle achievements, this one is fairly easy. The Cherubot itself is fast, powerful and very durable, so there's little risk of it being destroyed on 5.0. There are also loads of areas where you can defeat 20 enemies with melee attacks. Because of this, all you need to do is find one such area (Chapter 12 is particularly good), run up to enemies and spam L like crazy. You might even unlock this unintentionally.

Destroy a vehicle with another vehicle

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 1000 Hearts

This is quite the odd achievement. Doing the actual destruction is easy; by far the hardest part is actually finding somewhere where it is possible. Chapter 20 is a good choice because it has two Exo Tanks that are in close proximity to each other. But on the whole, it's probably best to just leave this achievement until an opportunity presents itself to accomplish it.

Sacrificial missions (Viridi)

As said in the glossary, these panels require you to accomplish something you generally don't want to be doing. There's not too many of these in Viridi's hunt, but it might be worth trying to unlock the odd one intentionally.

Get turned into tempura

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Effect Recovery

Reward: Tempura Bomb (Item Unlocked)

This is obviously more dangerous than getting turned into an Eggplant because if the Tempura Wizard catches you, it's an instant kill. Fortunately this will rarely happen except on high intensities (at least 7.0+), but it's always better to be safe so take Effect Recovery along with you. If you haven't already been turned into tempura, the next time you see a Tempura Wizard let it attack you and use Effect Recovery straight after.

Get turned into tempura 5 times

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Effect Recovery (preferably Lv. 3)

Reward: Tempura Attack (Power Unlocked)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

This has certainly been stepped up from Palutena's hunt; by 20 times to be exact. But just keep playing through the game and you will unlock this.

Exceed 8,000 points on the Air Battle counter

Recommended Weapons: Anything with decent range except clubs

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 3000 Hearts

An interesting challenge. You see the counter on the bottom-left of the top screen in the "Air Battle" option on the practice range? That's what you need to get to 8000. The counter resets if no damage is dealt after a few seconds (about 4), so the task is to continually deal damage rather than deal large amounts of it infrequently. The Komaytos (jellyfish) are your best friend here - as soon as one comes across the screen, spam it with melee attacks. When you're busy doing this, more Monoeyes will spawn, which you can then defeat after the Komayto disappears and deal more damage. Simply rinse and repeat this process.

You can actually keep attacking the Komaytos even after they appear off-screen (for two melee attacks), which is extremely helpful in keeping the counter from resetting. Lastly, do not use your special attacks unless you're close to 8,000, as they will destroy all on-screen enemies. 8,000 points is a moderate challenge, so this may take a while, but it shouldn't be too hard.

Open 50 treasure boxes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Electroshock Arm (1.5/1.5, Shot defense +3, Shot homing +2)

This includes all treasure boxes, including Tiny Boxes, Speedy Boxes, Pandora's Boxes and Mimicuties. Opening 50 in total is not that tall of an order.

Narrowly avoid a total of 25 shots in Air Battles

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Guardian Orbitars (0/0, Overall defense +3, Knockback defense +3, Shot cancellation +1)

A panel that is sure to be one of the last ones remaining in Viridi's hunt. It's the exact same mechanic used for the achievement in Palutena's hunt, where you have to literally be pixels away from the shot for it to count as "narrowly avoided". Since it's quite unlikely you'll narrowly avoid any shots under normal conditions, let alone 25, just do 4.0 runs on Chapter 1 to unlock this panel and hope for the best. You might narrowly avoid as few as two or three shots per run, but you just have to keep trying.

Clear all chapters on Intensity 5.0 or higher

Recommended Weapons: Any well-rounded weapon with some overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: 50000 Hearts

Perhaps the greatest achievement in Viridi's hunt, being able to unlock this panel clearly shows your skill and prowess, and the reward shows. The earlier chapters won't be too difficult, but some of the later chapters really step it up (19, 21, 23 and 24 are perfect examples). Because of this, it might be worth trying to get a weapon that has at least some overall defense and/or recovery effect.

If you've been able to unlock most of the panels in Viridi's hunt that are worth attempting (some require 5.0 intensity anyway), then you should now have the skill to accomplish this feat. Just be confident, use your powers wisely and you will succeed.

Play for more than 50 hours

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: 5000 Hearts

Putting 50 hours into a game may be something completely normal or completely alien to you, but if you're actively trying to complete the treasure hunts then you will unlock this eventually. Don't worry if this looks sad to you, I have known people who have put more than two thousand hours into games (*cough* Pokemon *cough*).

Hades's Treasure Hunt

Thankfully, Hades's Treasure Hunt won't be unlocked until you complete the game by defeating him in Chapter 25. Why is this? You'll be needing every ounce of skill you possess to have any hope of completing this insanely difficult treasure hunt. Thought Viridi's one was hard? Seriously, this one is in a whole league of its own.

Chapter 1 (Hades)

Defeat Twinbellows before it can roar once

Recommended Weapons: Anything that hits very hard; staffs are good

Recommended Powers: Trade-off, Power Attack, Energy Charge, Quick Charge

Reward: 8000 Hearts

This challenge involves you blitzing your way through Chapter 1 on 0.0 before defeating Twinbellows faster than you can blink. Staffs are a good choice because of their range, shot speed and exceptional power of their charged shots. This will make mincemeat out of Twinbellows when combined with the powers you'll be using. Trade-off is useful because of its insane power boosts, which you can then combine with Energy Charge (which won't dissipate due to the invincibility from Trade-off) to deal insane amounts of damage, then use Quick Charge to deal this damage more quickly, and finally use Power Attack to deal additional damage. There's no reliable way to stop Twinbellows from roaring, so you just have to defeat him as fast as you can. Just ensure your charged shots actually hit him and aren't fired randomly; preferably his head as he will take additional damage there, and hope for the best.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Depending on your luck, you may have already unlocked this panel from your earlier Chapter 1 runs, such as during the 4-minute speedrun in Palutena's hunt. If you haven't, then although you can unlock some other panels before you get to Twinbellows (e.g. kill as many enemies as you can, or open all the treasure boxes for more hearts and so on), this is easily one of - if not the - hardest Chapter 1 achievements, so you may just end up doing it in a separate run.

Chapter 2 (Hades)

Defeat Gaol with a melee dash attack (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Upperdash Arm

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Magmoo (Idol)

One of the easier achievements in Hades's hunt. 5.0 intensity means neither the chapter nor the boss fight will be too difficult.

Gaol is surprisingly agile for a dark lord in full-suited armor. On 5.0 she will waste no time in dodging your ranged shots, and up close she will frequently use her "area blast" and "ground beam" skills. These knock you into the air and paralyze you respectively, although the latter is easier to dodge since Gaol can only fire it in front of her. By now you should know how to dodge most of her attacks, especially her huge laser. This is one of her favourite moves and can easily catch you off-guard if you're busy performing a dash shot.

Fortunately, Magnus is going to be a huge help in this challenge. This is because whenever he is attacking Gaol with his melee combo, she cannot move an inch, which leaves her wide open for a melee dash attack. Magnus also can't deliver the finishing blow to her on his own, so you can let Magnus do most of the legwork once you deal enough damage to the dark lord.

The Upperdash Arm is a great choice because it's so easy to spam melee dash attacks during this fight, and since you can deal 200+ damage with a relatively weak one, she will go down after very few. If you don't have a decent Upperdash Arm, you'll have to attempt the mission the usual way - whittle her health down until it's relatively low, then start hitting her with melee dash attacks. However, this is all made much easier thanks to Magnus's help.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Unless you're trying to unlock the speedrun and/or keeping Magnus alive achievements in Palutena's hunt, which are incredibly easy, this is pretty difficult to do in conjunction with anything. Palutena's achievement of using orbitars is not ideal when doing a "melee dash attack" mission, and clearing the chapter with maximum health on top of this is far from easy. Save yourself the hassle and do it separately.

Chapter 3 (Hades)

Clear this chapter using a blade (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Blade of choice with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Feather

Welcome to the real Hades's hunt. This challenge turns a usually easy chapter into a nightmare, especially if your weapon has low defense. This is the first of several 9.0 missions in Hades's hunt, as well as one of the easiest, so it acts as a good indicator to the difficulty of later missions. If you're dying way too often, then you may want to consider fusing a "specialist" weapon for high intensities, with sufficient offense, defense and shot range to see you through.

The air battle is quite brutal for an early chapter, containing many aggressive enemies and a mini-boss. On 9.0 almost every aspect of the battle will be made harder: enemies will hit harder, attack more often, take more punishment and have much better homing abilities, among other things. It's therefore essential to always move in large circular patterns, have a decent weapon equipped, and have a good memory of enemy positions. Your special attacks should be used very wisely, as they are essential for clearing out groups of enemies and incoming fire. Against Hewdraw, try and focus your fire on a single head, keep moving in circles and pray that its attacks don't hit you. It will be a much tougher opponent than the joke it usually is on lower intensities. Each head will usually have enough health to pull off an attack before being defeated, and said attacks are all very hard to dodge and deal a ton of damage. If you have difficulty avoiding Hewdraw's attacks, save your special attacks to nullify incoming fire.

Fortunately, the land battle is fairly easy for 9.0 standards. There are plenty of items to restore health, which is a godsend with recovery effect, and the enemies are not too tough. Watch out for the Komaytos (jellyfish): their immunity to ranged attacks and aggressiveness make them especially annoying. The Hewdraw Head is fairly tough but nothing too challenging. However, you should try and save some kind of armor for the last area before the boss, which contains three waves of brutal 9.0 enemies and no healing items.

The final hurdle in this challenge is Hewdraw Reborn, who becomes very aggressive on 9.0. It now fires its rocks much more frequently, making it much harder for you to attack and dodge. Each one also deals significant damage. All blades have a decent range, so hitting Hewdraw shouldn't be a problem, but to defeat him efficiently you'll have to force him onto land. This can be a real pain considering the difficulty of being constantly attacked by rocks and accurately aiming for an orange (i.e. not purple) ball of light. Additionally, Hewdraw's lasers now hover in mid-air briefly before homing in on you like a swarm of bees. Though not too deadly, it does make dodging them all much harder. An evasion modifier will help, but if you don't have one, dodge frantically whenever an attack is about to hit you and never lose focus of those orange/purple balls. For more details on this fight, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

After you hear the sound of Hewdraw being defeated, relax and breathe again. Collect your well-earned rewards and perhaps return to something a bit easier. If you manage to unlock this panel, you are well on the way to completing many future 9.0 missions in Hades's hunt.

Beat Hewdraw Reborn without hitting any purple balls of light (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with fast shots and long range

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Underworld Gatekeeper (Idol)

If you can handle the intensity, this challenge mainly requires good aim and some well-timed dodging. On 7.5 there will be many purple balls obscuring the orange ones, making it difficult to shoot just them. Using a weapon with both fast shots and long range is ideal, but make sure you equip something that has at least one of those attributes, or the mission will be very tough otherwise. Powers don't matter too much; I would suggest equipping your usual solo setup (Health Recovery, Super/Aries armor etc.) and using them to ensure you survive the rest of the chapter. However, if you can handle 7.5 easily, take some offensive powers (e.g. Power Attack, even Trade-off) to defeat Hewdraw as fast as possible.

Once you get to Hewdraw, generally try to stand at a moderate distance from him: close enough to hit the orange balls accurately, but far enough to see and dodge incoming attacks. It's a safer bet to only attack the orange balls after Hewdraw finishes attacking. This window may only last for a couple of seconds, so seize it with a well-timed charged shot and be prepared to dodge immediately after. However, these opportunities occur frequently, meaning it's the best approach to take. When Hewdraw is on land, stand up close or far away (depending on where your weapon deals most damage), and attack his head as much as you can. Usually, after knocking him onto land twice, he'll die on the first hit he receives once he's back in the water.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Trying to unlock both these panels in the same run is very difficult and probably not worth your time and effort, unless you are insanely good. The same goes for defeating Hewdraw in crisis mode (a panel in Palutena's hunt) in conjunction with anything else. Unless you haven't unlocked the speedrun panels in Palutena's hunt, just do each mission separately.

Chapter 4 (Hades)

Destroy 200 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high offense except clubs (Palms are good)

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: Suit of Skuttler (Idol)

Fortunately, Chapter 4 has a ton of enemies. There are over 300 in total, so defeating 200 shouldn't be much of a challenge. The majority should come from the air battle where you can easily defeat 150+ enemies, and even 180+ is quite possible. Keep in mind the later stages of the air battle are quite hectic, so manage your special attacks well and try to memorise the positions of enemies. The 'hecticness' stems from the high durability and short "screen time" of enemies - most will only appear for a short time and take a lot of punishment before dying. This means equipping a weapon with good offense (or a mix of good offense and homing ability) is a high priority.

Providing you've defeated at least 150 enemies in the air, the land battle is a piece of cake (for a 9.0 mission anyway). Even if you haven't, Chapter 4 contains a ton of side-paths, which you can use to find extra enemies. Defeat the Reapers if you can, but obviously on 9.0 they won't be easy opponents. If you can't fight Reapers confidently, don't worry, as there should be plenty of other enemies you can kill to reach 200.

The main challenge in this mission comes from facing multiple waves of land enemies with little or no healing items. Most enemies aren't too tough individually, but you'll often be attacked from all sides by groups of enemies. When this happens, dodge frequently and attack infrequently (preferably with side-dash charged shots or continuous fire). Focus on taking out enemies one by one, targeting those with lower health first, to reduce the size of the group quickly and use Health Recovery/Armor powers if necessary. Also, if you can, try and memorise the placement of healing items. This allows you to manage your Health Recoveries effectively, as you don't want to use one just before a huge cluster of food comes your way.

The Great Reaper is also not a particularly tough 9.0 boss. Besides the usual stuff like his attacks doing more damage and having more health, he will now swing his scythe around more times, shoot his "eye beam" with much greater speed and accuracy, fire his purple projectiles with improved homing, and stomp you much more aggressively on the ground floor. However, all of these attacks (save for the eye beam) are still fairly easy to dodge through. As long as you don't leave yourself open by attacking aggressively, you should be able to avoid nearly everything. However, the Great Reaper is very relentless on 9.0, so keep in mind that if you leave yourself open just once, he may unleash a barrage of Reapettes and other attacks which will deal a lot of damage. Stick to a solid dodging-and-counterattacking strategy. For more details on this fight, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Defeat the Great Reaper without climbing to the second floor

Recommended Weapons: Anything with long range; staffs are good

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

This is not hard at all. Assuming you're on 0.0, the first half of the fight is easy since you can fire at the Great Reaper's feet, but once his head is exposed his feet will become invulnerable to damage. This is where your weapon's range comes in - if it is particularly short, you'll have no hope of hitting the head from the ground floor. However, hitting it with a staff or other long-ranged weapon is quite easy. You can also afford to play as offensively as you want, since he will deal virtually no damage.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's very possible to do both these achievements in the same run. You'll have to fight the Great Reaper on 9.0 but he is not exactly a difficult boss, and if you have a good grasp of dodging and his attack patterns, it won't be a hard fight for 9.0 standards.

As for Palutena's achievements, don't attempt to do the "club" mission in Palutena's hunt with the kill-based one here, but apart from that you can choose any combination you like. However, if you cannot stand 9.0 and can't tolerate more than one 9.0 mission at a time, then just leave the kill-based mission for a separate run. The other Chapter 4 achievements are nowhere near as hard, so you can do a few easy Chapter 4 runs then attempt the 9.0 one. It may be worth practising against the Great Reaper in Boss Battle mode (on hard) if you want to fight him on 9.0 more confidently.

Chapter 5 (Hades)

Destroy 220 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with good offense/high homing

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack

Reward: Ninja Palm (Idol)

The air battle phase is crucial in this kill-based mission. Most enemies on land are isolated and easy to kill, so how many you destroy on land won't change much. This all means that the deciding factor is the air battle, which contains a ton of enemies, but many of which are "background" enemies. Said enemies don't charge up to you and don't stick around for long; instead they tend to just fly in the background. Obviously, this makes them harder to kill. 9.0 certainly makes things tougher as well, as you'll be fighting hordes of aggressive, durable enemies who can run away with half their squads still intact. You'll need to shoot down enemies quickly and accurately (a weapon with long range/high homing helps a lot), and have a good memory of what enemies appear when. There will probably be a ton of instances where you could use your special attacks, so save them for the largest clusters of enemies. But in the context of Hades's hunt, this mission isn't too difficult. If you're having major problems, try leaving it for a while and coming back once you've improved. Trust me, you will.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

There are five other Chapter 5 panels in Palutena's hunt: two incredibly easy speedruns, a "use a staff" mission, not letting Dark Pit get finished against Pandora, and not getting finished yourself. You can easily do any number of them in conjunction with this mission.

Chapter 6 (Hades)

Clear the chapter using a bow (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Any bow with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor (Lv. 2+), Aries Armor

Reward: None

This is tough, but not impossible. The hardest part about this mission is the duels with Dark Pit, who is a deadly opponent on 9.0. Though nothing can be classified as "easy" on 9.0, the air battle isn't that hard at all (especially if you have a good memory), and the enemies on land are fairly sparse and non-threatening. Most bows are also quite useful as solo weapons anyway, with their long range and high damage at that range.

Don't worry too much about Dark Pit in the air as he is much less threatening there. Overall, providing you have a decent bow, and remember the attack patterns of enemies, the air battle shouldn't give you any headaches. Most enemies will attack you in small groups, which can be taken down easily. Just use tried and tested air battle tactics (mainly moving in large circles) to succeed.

On land, Dark Pit spawns in two out of four possible locations: the underground area to the east, the northern temple, the summit of the mountain to the north-west, and the Cherubot area to the south-west (assuming the direction you face when you first enter the fountain area is north). To find out where he has spawned, follow some underworld monsters that appear to be going in one of those directions. Do not shoot them! They will not attack you, even on 9.0, so you are perfectly safe.

The underground area may be a tough fight because Dark Pit uses the Ogre Club, which not only fires projectiles that hurt a lot, but has the strongest melee power of any weapon in the game. More annoyingly, he will dodge about 90% of your ranged shots perfectly, and often counter with his own projectiles. Unless your bow has amazing melee power (which it probably shouldn't), don't risk close-quarters combat, for obvious reasons. Your best bet is to wait until he fires a projectile, then quickly counter with a charged shot. You can just randomly fire at him too, but this leaves you more than open to a projectile hitting you. It's always better to take the fight slowly and receive less damage than risk getting finished. The club's projectiles are actually quite easy to dodge on their own (although Dark Pit will fire them very accurately), so don't go all-out and take damage that you could have easily avoided.

In the northern temple Dark Pit uses the EZ cannon, which can be annoying, but hopefully not deadly. He will use a mix of three-shot continuous fire that has quite a strong homing ability, and charged shots that deal more damage. Again, his ability to dodge your shots and counter with his own is also near-perfect, so timing your shots is crucial to avoid getting constantly blown up. However, the underworld enemies in this fight will actually help you quite a bit, since Dark Pit will avidly focus on destroying them for periods at a time. This often leaves him wide open to your attacks. There will, however, inevitably be times where you'll fight one-on-one, so play defensively and dodge his shots until he either gets distracted or fires off a charged shot that leaves him open.

Luckily the mountain fight is not that hard. Here Dark Pit uses his signature staff (the Dark Pit Staff) and plays sniper while you hike your way up the mountain path. He only fires charged shots, but each one does a ton of damage. However, you can avoid most of them just by sprinting up the mountain, and stopping to rest after he's fired one. Another good technique to use is if your bow has enough range, firing a shot at Dark Pit will cause him to retreat, which buys you a fair amount of time. Just ensure your shot is accurate, as he will not hesitate to blast you once you're open to attack. There are a few underworld enemies, including a Merenguy that fixes your attention, but the rest are lowly Miks and Monoeyes that hardly present a threat. Once you reach the top Dark Pit has very low health and will go down very quickly.

The Cherubot area is by far the easiest one and makes your whole mission a lot easier if Dark Pit decides to spawn there. This is because the Cherubot easily overpowers Dark Pit's combat capabilities. There are some other enemies as well, but nothing is a match for the Cherubot. Furthermore, there are even some explosive crates that you can hit when Dark Pit is nearby, which cause significant damage. As long as you don't lose the Cherubot, which is pretty unlikely, pray he spawns here.

The final boss fight between you and Dark Pit is definitely challenging. Pulling off any kind of charged shot seems to get you blasted, Dark Pit's relentless attacking patterns are a real pain, he has an uncanny ability to dodge your shots perfectly, and all of his attacks do a ton of damage. Hopefully you'll have saved a few powers for this fight, as you'll probably need them. Start by activating Super/Aries Armor and dodging Dark Pit's first attacks. Once the fight gets underway, be patient and wait for the right moment to attack instead of fighting more offensively. You will take many more hits if you do, causing a ton of damage on this intensity. Even worse, this could even leave you open to his "rain of arrows" attack, which seriously hurts. It may take you a while, and it may be frustrating, but as long as you can consistently dodge and counter-attack (dodge and attack straight after when he is vulnerable) you'll outlast him. Just make sure you're able to reliably dodge his attacks. For more details on this fight, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Beat Dark Pit without jumping onto any platforms (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything that can deal high damage, anything with effect duration

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 4), Aries Armor (Lv. 2+), Playing Dead (Lv. 3+), Brief Invincibility (Lv. 2+), Libra Sponge, Power Attack

Reward: Dark Pit Staff (Idol)

This is an all-out assault where you have to defeat Dark Pit before he gets to inflict serious damage. You can choose to take the more cautious approach (dodging his attacks and only attacking when it is safe) but the main obstacle stopping you is his "rain of arrows" attack, which you cannot avoid in this challenge. For this reason, unless you have a lot of defensive abilities (i.e. lots of invincibility, armor and/or health recovery powers with effect duration), it's usually better to take the offensive and less frustrating approach.

The intensity requirement is quite high, but try to save as many powers as you can - you will need them to complete this challenge. Once you reach Dark Pit, activate your armor ASAP (Aries is a great choice) and don't hesitate to start attacking. However, that doesn't mean to say dodging is irrelevant; you should still try and dodge his arrows and melee charges until a relatively safe gap appears (although this will matter less with the amazing defense of Aries Armor). This is also where your weapon's offensive capabilities come in - something that can deal major damage with a single, fast charged shot will be much more efficient than a stream of continuous fire. With enough powers, you'll take little damage, hopefully manage to regain some health and perhaps avoid the "rain of arrows" attack altogether through invincibility. Despite how it might seem, this shouldn't be overly difficult. If you're feeling gutsy, Trade-off can work wonders, but unless you have Pisces Heal or multiple Health Recovery uses to spare, you're done for if it runs out.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Completing the chapter on 9.0 using a bow, and not jumping onto any platforms against Dark Pit is technically possible, but immensely difficult. Since doing Palutena's crisis-based mission alongside these is also near-impossible, the only other panels that can be considered are the easy speedruns. By all means attempt those with these achievements, but as for everything else it's separate runs.

Chapter 7 (Hades)

Clear the chapter with a score of 450,000 or higher (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Effect Recovery

Reward: Dynamo Cannon (Idol)

Or in other words, just complete the chapter on Intensity 9.0. You get 50,000 points for completing the chapter anyway on 9.0 (25,000 for no deaths and 25,000 for the intensity), and 450,000 is a low score for 9.0 standards. As long as you shoot all the enemies in sight and don't get finished, it's quite likely you'll achieve it.

Neither the air nor land battle is particularly hard for a 9.0 run. There are a lot of enemies that can cause freezing, which can be a pain, but you can always equip Effect Recovery if you're having trouble. You can also take the intensity gate at the very start of the chapter, which contains a fair few enemies and an "electric" floor (one that alternates between hurting you and not hurting you), but also a fair few health restoring items. Be careful during your ride on the platform over the bottomless pit, as the enemies here will attack aggressively, and you'll have to dodge their attacks without falling off. Fall damage cannot be reduced by any kind of defense, so even with Overall Defense +8 you'll still take huge damage. It also bypasses crisis mode, making it particularly dangerous.

Luckily, Thanatos isn't difficult at all on 9.0. If you have a few powers to spare, you will be fine. For more details on the fight with him, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

In regards to the panels in Palutena's hunt, most claws (the main exception being Artillery) are quite risky to use due to their reliance on melee attacks, but if you're a keen claw user there's nothing to stop you from attempting to unlock the respective achievement in Palutena's hunt (clear the chapter using claws on 5.0+). The crisis-based mission isn't actually too difficult either, since Thanatos clearly indicates how much health he has left.

Overall, you can pretty much choose any combination of the Palutena's hunt achievements with this one.

Chapter 8 (Hades)

Clear the chapter without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a combination of decent speed, high homing, substantial offense and medium-long range (Palms are good)

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge (Lv. 1), Transparency, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: None

Remember the earlier Chapter 12 no damage mission in Viridi's hunt? Well, this one is about three times harder. It is extremely easy to take damage in the land battle, and on occasion in the air too, even if you know the chapter inside-out. This will probably take you many tries, and could be one of the most frustrating missions you do.

Overall, the air battle shouldn't pose much of a problem. The Corals' (red rocks that explode with flying debris) blasts may hit you, but thankfully they only appear at the very start of the level, so you can just retry if you take damage. Most of the aerial enemies are very tame and only a few will actually bother to shoot you. Simply move in large, circular patterns (as you would in any air battle) to avoid incoming fire and succeed. There are a few Komaytos (jellyfish), but they are easy to defeat with standard melee attacks or special attacks. However, I would recommend saving your special attacks for barrages of incoming enemy fire. They will always cancel out enemy shots, and as such are very useful for ensuring you don't get hit.

On land, however, things get a lot tougher. Activate Energy Charge immediately (Lv. 1 to leave more room for other powers) and above all, take the level slowly. The last thing you want is a space pirate to shoot you from behind when you come charging into a room. On the whole, the space pirates are very dangerous: their roll attacks are fast and hard to dodge, they have a fair amount of health and they will often attack in groups. The commandos' grenades also have a large blast area. However, the snipers will probably be the largest threat to the challenge, due to their 'waves' of shots that have to be dodged effectively. This often means that if you're ever left open after a dash shot, the snipers' shots are almost guaranteed to hit you owing to the wide range they cover. The underworld enemies in the storage room pose a slight threat, mainly because they fire from long range and can be hard to spot, but in general are nothing compared to the space pirates.

Against the space pirates, adopt a similar strategy for fighting them as on a 9.0 mission - dodge everything, and only attack when it's safe. In particular, take extra care before firing off any dash shots, as these leave you the most open. You could even consider using a weapon with a standing cont. fire modifier if you're playing the mission very cautiously, which would also help considerably in the air. Besides that, don't take any side-paths, keep your distance (you do NOT want to get into melee range) and memorise enemies' locations as best you can. It'll also help if you memorise how many enemies are in a given area. That way, you'll know when enemies are still lurking somewhere in a given room, or you've defeated everything and can (briefly) relax.

Fortunately, the Kraken can be defeated quite easily without taking damage, mostly because with Energy Charge active it'll go down at light-speed. For extra insurance, you can use Playing Dead when fighting the head (remember to stay still). If you make it past that, breathe an epic sigh of relief and collect your well-earned reward of...nothing? Oh well. We all know how much of a troll Hades is, after all.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

If you haven't unlocked all of Palutena's Chapter 8 panels by now, then they should be unlocked anyway just by unlocking this panel.

Chapter 9 (Hades)

Clear the chapter without using the Three Sacred Treasures

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Ogre Club (0/2, Melee defense +2, Melee combo +2, Melee dash attack +2)

The lack of an intensity requirement makes this mission a piece of cake. In fact, on higher intensities it's easier to not use the three sacred treasures as they give no bonuses to defense or recovery effect. The only thing to realistically watch out for on a low intensity are Ornes. But apart from that, nothing should be even mildly threatening, including the Tempura Wizard who will hardly attack you. The chapter is quite long, but the difficulty is nothing compared to most achievements in Hades's hunt. Just equip your favourite weapon and allocate a good 10/15 minutes of your time to complete this.

If you prefer, because you'll probably be using your own weapon when you complete this chapter on 9.0, you can leave this mission until then. Though depending on your skill, it may take a while before you're able to accomplish it.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

If you're playing on 0.0, then you should easily be able to unlock Palutena's panels of completing the chapter within 28 minutes and destroying the Underworld Gatekeeper's guns due to your newfound skill. You can also play on 5.0 and collect over 8,500 hearts as well, which should not be a challenge.

Chapter 10 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 9 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed) and good range

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Trade-off

Reward: Spite Lv. 3

If you're new to Hades's hunt, you read that right. Hades's hunt increases the difficulty on everything up to eleven and the speedruns are no exception. These speedruns will often feature time limits five or six minutes shorter than those in Viridi's hunt, meaning that enemies must be dispatched quickly and the layout of the chapter should be known like the palm of your hand. Very little room is left for error. Decent speed-boosting weapons and powers are an absolute must, and even on 0.0 the challenge is still huge.

I'm not sure whether taking the tunnel or direct (volcano) route affects the time you take in the air, but the mission is still perfectly possible either way. As usual, the success of the mission rests on land.

First of all, do not be afraid to walk across the lava - it can save a huge amount of time, and on 0.0 the damage taken will be minimal. Just as importantly, run past all the enemies you can. In actual fact, nearly all the enemies (barring the 'waves' of enemies you get indoors) can be ignored in this chapter, which is crucial to getting a good finishing time. If your weapon is fast enough, you can even opt out of using the Exo Tank and run on foot!

In terms of combat, don't focus too much on offense because everything has such low health on 0.0, and any half-decent weapon will be sufficient offense-wise. A longer range is often more useful than dealing more damage, so try and pick something with at least a moderate range (Artillery/Beam/Pandora Claws are excellent due to their sizeable range and shots losing no power over distance), since less time will be spent trying to get in range. Providing you can aim accurately, which should be a given on this level of difficulty, enemies will be defeated quickly and should not be your main concern. If you're not confident with aiming, try using a shot homing modifier if your weapon has homing, but don't prioritise it over speed or shot range.

The Phoenix may cause some trouble due to its agility, but its health will be so low a single burst of Trade-off will pretty much finish it off. Do not attempt this, however, if your weapon fires slow shots (which you should preferably not be using), as hitting it will be much trickier and increases the risk of wasting your Trade-off. The main problem you should have is getting in range, but your weapon's speed boost should counteract this quite effectively. Attack aggressively - it gives you much more opportunity to get shots in, and you will hardly receive any damage on such a low intensity. This goes without saying if you're invincible from Trade-off. If you manage to KO the Phoenix, he's basically done for.

The power reward you get is essentially a self-destruct feature, which can be quite fun if you're battling with friends but not too useful otherwise.

Destroy 220 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Anything (except clubs) with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Instant Death Attack

Reward: Phoenix Arm (4/2, Shot defense +4, Standing cont. fire +4, Power attack +1)

A fair challenge in terms of the number of enemies you need to kill, but combined with 9.0 this achievement can prove very challenging indeed. You may well find yourself scraping through by less than 10 kills. Furthermore, not only are many enemy squads quite deadly (the 'waves' of enemies can easily wipe you out), but they are frequently hidden in side-paths. You're going to have to know the locations of nearly all hidden enemies to give the best possible shot at unlocking the panel, and even then killing 220 of them in total will not be easy. That said, with a clear sense of direction and good 9.0 skill, you should be able to meet the requirement quite reliably.

Once again, the air battle plays a crucial role in this mission. There are many enemies here, and you will have to kill a lot number of them (destroying all enemies except 10 or so is a good benchmark) to give you any chance of reaching the requirement on the ground. Above all, take the path into the tunnel, not the direct route through the volcano. Not only are there more enemies here, but they are much easier to kill thanks to the small width of the tunnel, and the route is less dangerous overall. Memorising the positions of enemies is very helpful (even vital) in completing the mission as well. Save at least one special attack for the tunnel; it's unlikely you'll be able to destroy all the enemies there and special attacks help a lot in defeating them quickly. Finally, remember to shoot the enemies on your exit from the tunnel!

The land battle can be both long and difficult if you want the best shot at unlocking the panel. This is because owing to the layout of the level, there is a lot of exploring to do, and the more exploring you do the more risk you have of getting finished. The lava (and subsequent burning effect) hurts a TON on 9.0, so avoid it at all costs, and remember this when dodging enemy attacks! In regards to exploring, memorise the layout of the level and take all side-paths; some of which are quite well-concealed (such as the Zodiac Chamber). Try to memorise the position of food, as you can take a lot of damage in this level and potentially waste precious Health Recovery powers. It may also be a good idea to equip Effect Recovery if you find yourself getting burned a lot, due to the insane damage it does on 9.0. The best time to activate the "armor" powers - except for against the Phoenix - is when facing waves of enemies, particularly the ones near the end of the level. Lastly, be wary of the very last section before the Phoenix as the enemies here will be very aggressive, so dodge frequently and take them out quickly with charged shots. You should know enemies' attack patterns quite well by now, so anticipate the kind of attack the enemy will use, dodge and counter-attack from a safe distance. If this sounds like too much hassle, you can always run past them and grab the Drink of the Gods before the boss battle too - just make sure you have enough health, speed and earlier kills to do this.

The Phoenix can be a large threat to completing this mission. The main sources of difficulty come from the bird's amazing agility and attacks; many of which are very likely to cause burning and difficult to dodge. Aries Armor is a great power to use here, so if you have it, save it until you really need it (for example, if you're close to tiring out). The central jump pad is fairly useful, but dodging is often easier and leaves better chances for counter-attacking, even if it is hard to do correctly. The best way to beat it is to wait until it fires its projectiles, which are easily dodged, then hit its head with a charged shot. The "fire breath" and "meteors" are comparatively much harder to dodge, so generally avoid attacking during these attacks unless your weapon has a high evasion bonus. You may well find yourself in an all-out skirmish, where you are desperately trying to reduce the Phoenix's health faster than it can reduce yours. If this happens, there's not much you can do except go on the offensive, as the difficulty in dodging the Phoenix's attacks means you won't have any time to play defensive. Once it gets KO'd it will be almost dead, so hang on for those last few seconds before breathing a huge sigh of relief. For more details on this fight, see its entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Defeat the Phoenix high in the air above the platform

Recommended Weapons: Anything that deals high damage from a long range; staffs are good (preferably with a Standing ch. shot modifier)

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge, Trade-off, Jump Powers

Reward: 10000 Hearts

In theory, this sounds simple and easy. In practice, it's often much more frustrating unless you get lucky. This is because unless you have remarkable patience, you're not going to be attacking the phoenix in the air constantly. This subsequently puts you at risk of defeating it whilst on the ground, which is very frustrating.

The first thing to note is the lack of an intensity requirement, so go ahead and play on 0.0 unless you want some decent rewards. For any intensity below roughly 7.0, getting to the Phoenix should not be difficult, even without usual 'solo' powers (Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor etc.) as your power board may be filled with offensive powers. Once you get there, don't hesitate to start attacking on the ground; preferably with a few powerful charged shots aimed at the head. It will still take quite a bit of punishment, even for 0.0 standards - more than enough to withstand about 400 damage. Actually hitting it might be difficult, as Pit comments partway through the battle, but as long as you avoid taking enough damage (which is incredibly easy on 0.0) you have an infinite number of attempts at landing a shot.

You can use your powers in two main ways. The first is to equip Energy Charge and/or Trade-off, then start attacking from the air once they're activated to land some devastating hits for about quadruple damage. This is done by activating Trade-off then Energy Charge. The second way is to equip Super/Aries Armor and Health Recovery and prolong the battle, ensuring you don't get finished. Typically the first method is more suited to lower intensities and vice versa. You may also like to take along a few jump powers, since you get a lot of uses for them in Solo, although they are somewhat difficult to use.

Do not be deterred if you defeat it whilst on the ground. It is very easy to do for a number of reasons: dash charged shots typically deal far more damage than standing ones (and may just seem instinctive) which you can only do on the ground, you essentially only have one charged shot in the air and it is easy to miss, you could land a shot just as you land, or you could wrongly estimate its remaining health. Note that this is also a great mission to do whilst unlocking other Chapter 10 panels, since you have to defeat the Phoenix anyway and might get lucky, as explained below.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Viridi's panels will be naturally unlocked if you attempt Hades's ones. Clearing the chapter in 9 minutes will obviously unlock Viridi's 14-minute speedrun panel, and clearing any chapter on 9.0 is guaranteed to get a score of more than 200,000. You can even use a staff to defeat the Phoenix in the air. However, try and defeat the Phoenix in the air on every Chapter 10 run you do, and if you don't succeed you can always come back for it on 0.0 (or a higher intensity for better rewards).

Chapter 11 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 9 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Power Attack

Reward: None

For this speedrun, knowing the layout of the chapter is crucial, so a step-by-step guide has been provided here. There are many places where you can waste precious time, and the most direct route is quite well-concealed. As for powers, if your weapon is fast enough (claws with a +2 speed modifier is a good benchmark) I would suggest skipping Super Speed, as you'll be racing through the level so fast you won't have time to use it. A good replacement would be Power Attack or other offensive powers; mainly for when you fight Cragalanche.

Once again, the air battle time is fixed, so the mission basically starts when you land. Grab an item of food if you need it, then rush in and start destroying the enemies in the first area. Try and be near the vine gate when you defeat the first wave, as the second wave will spawn near here. Once that's done, run past all the enemies in the second area right until you're in the underground area with the Smart Bomb. Use it on a Hugworm (a worm buried in the ground) and quickly defeat the other from a distance to unlock the next area. Do not get distracted by the treasure chest! Instead turn immediately to your left to find a jump pad, then run past all the enemies on the branches. Once you reach the top, take out the Lethinium (flower laser) and ignore the other enemies as you climb the wooden structure. If your weapon is insanely fast, you may want to consider walking or dashing intermittently to avoid falling off, which will cost a fair amount of time.

Take the next couple of grind rails whilst ignoring all the enemies (be careful to not use powers, as they will be wasted on the grind rails) and eventually you will land at the start of the Aether Ring section. Do not take it, as running on foot is much faster (feel free to use speed powers here). Ignore all the enemies at the bottom of the "slide" and head straight for the jump pad, which is north of the direction you're facing. Drop down and run straight through the hot spring, grabbing the grenade from the treasure box if you wish, and jump up into the maze.

There are two main routes through the maze. You can either turn left and go straight on until the next left, or take the jump pad, run past the next few enemies and take the jump pad at the end, turn 180 degrees and take the path on the right. From here the layout is pretty straightforward; just remember what attacks work on the Jitterthug (the monster that has switching immunity to ranged/melee attacks) and you'll easily get to Cragalanche.

Against Cragalanche, go all-out and attack him whenever you can. His health will be so low on 0.0 you don't need to wait until his butt is exposed, since you can deal significant damage just by attacking anywhere. Obviously still try and attack his butt as it deals major damage, but don't bother running around him just to shoot it. He should be defeated in less than 30 seconds. Providing you've blitzed through the rest of level, this should be enough to finish the chapter in under 9 minutes.

So after all that, what's your reward for completing this very difficult speedrun? Absolutely nothing. That's right, Hades doesn't even cough up some hearts or a half-decent weapon for your trouble.

Clear the chapter using an arm (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Compact/Phoenix/Kraken Arm with good ranged stats and high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor

Reward: Thanatos (Transformations 2) (Idol)

With their focus on close-quarters combat, arms are not easy weapons to use on high intensities. You can easily get clobbered whilst trying to get in range, and even then most arms' ranged shots lose power as they travel, meaning at the tip of your range you'll only be dealing minor damage. Furthermore, the opportunities to harness the devastating melee power of most arms will be few and far between, let alone risky. An arm with decent ranged abilities is therefore vital, as well as the usual defensive modifiers and powers for 9.0 missions.

The first half of the air battle is nothing extraordinary, but it really heats up once you enter the reset bomb. Remember that melee attacks can reflect enemies' shots, and with the short range of most arms this is often a useful defensive tactic. Memorising the positions of enemies is a near-must, as there are a lot of them. There are two types of enemies that generally cause most problems - the Lurchthorns (long fish-like thing, similar to Underworld Fire Wyrms except they have cannons) and Parashooters (paratroops that fire yellow "blade"-like projectiles). Against the Lurchthorns, try and take them out quickly by shooting the head, but if your arm is lacking in ranged power, take out the cannons instead. The Parashooters are extremely annoying due to their projectiles, which travel fast and are hard to dodge. Once you've memorised their positions, prioritise taking them out as soon as you can, since they will fire their projectiles near-instantly. Your special attacks are potential lifesavers, so use them very wisely, such as against large groups of enemies.

The land battle doesn't get much easier. Many enemies will fly all over the place, which is a real nightmare if your arms' shots are slow. Since charged shots tend to travel more quickly than continuous fire, try playing defensively: dodging enemies' shots then counter-attacking with a charged shot once they've stopped moving. The second area in particular can be a right pain due to all the enemies only appearing briefly above ground, which means you'll usually be attacked constantly with no way of taking out enemies quickly. For this reason, it might be better to run past them instead, although it will be quite hectic. When you get the chance to do melee attacks, try and use strong melee dash attacks instead of repeated combos, as the latter leaves you completely still and very vulnerable. Utilise dash shots as much as you can - especially forward-dash ones, as they put you in closer range - but timing them correctly is essential, and you'll get punished if you get too reckless. Besides that, just remember that some enemies spawn behind you and there are two Aether Rings in case your first one gets destroyed. Save a Super/Aries Armor or Health Recovery for the section just before you fight Cragalanche as well, as you'll be facing two deadly waves of enemies.

Cragalanche will be a very tough opponent, and in no small part due to the weapon you're using. On 9.0 he will roll about and attack relentlessly, meaning you'll have to time your dodges carefully to avoid getting hit by either his current attack or the next one. Strafe around his "glide and crash" attack, dodge forward through his "wave" projectiles (they're the ones fired in groups of three) and "rock shield" (where he creates a shield of rocks then launches them in all directions) attacks, dodge sideways through his "tail whip", and dodge to the side from his "earth shatter" (where he creates a fault line in the ground then explodes it) and roll attacks. The best time to target his butt is after his "tail whip" attack, when it will be fully exposed. Mostly, though, focus on dodging his attacks and strafing around him once you're in range. Attack his butt with melee attacks if your arm can deal more damage that way, but be warned as he will always recover with a counter-attack (one that involves him jumping up and crashing down) that deals quite a bit of damage, so don't spam melee combos whilst ignoring what he does. The chances to deal major damage will be quite rare - mainly due to his agility and the difficulty of making him topple over - so be prepared for a long fight. Hopefully you'll have saved a few Super/Aries Armor and Health Recovery powers in case you hit trouble. For more details on the fight with him, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Besides the obvious method of doing this and Viridi's speedrun together, it's just best to do everything separately. Not dealing damage to Cragalanche's butt will prolong your finishing time and is out of the question on 9.0. The latter also goes for not taking any damage. Unless you want some serious bragging rights, it's going to be a fair number of difficult Chapter 11 runs.

Chapter 12 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Trade-off

Reward: Trailtail (Idol)

You'll need a good memory to navigate the underground section, which is quite complex, but mostly this challenge is about pure speed as the enemies are sparse and the layout is otherwise straightforward. Lightweight and Tirelessness are probably more useful than Super Speed, since there aren't any long straight sections, but feel free to equip both if you can afford the space.

Once on land, the first section (overground) shouldn't present much of a problem. When you get to the Cherubot, ignore all the enemies on the upper platform and drop down as soon as possible. Once you clear this section, the enemies in the following areas - right from the Lethiniums to the area just before the underground section - can all be completely ignored! This is crucial to getting a good finishing time. You can destroy some enemies if you really need to, but if you want to be strict with yourself, you'll hardly take any damage on 0.0 and can safely ignore them altogether. Plus, if you lose any health, there are a ton of food items scattered around this section and a further ton in the following section (more than enough on 0.0). This is also a great opportunity to use Lightweight, or alternatively Tirelessness/Super Speed if you're concerned about the huge knockback you receive if you're hit whilst using Lightweight.

In the following underground section, dash as soon as the elevator lands and keep going until you reach the two-tiered section with the Toxiecap (plant that shoots poison balls) and Pew Pew (cannon). The quickest way to get there is to simply take the guided path, since the side-path at the first junction leads to a dead end. After that, ignore the Boom Stomper (tall rock thing) and head straight for the grind rails. The enemies you'll face next shouldn't take long to defeat, so after you're done with them, ignore the enemies on the upper platform and turn right, leading you to the last underground section. Here you have two grenades and an explosive pink plant to use, so dealing with the remaining enemies will not take long.

During the final short overground section, you first have to clear a number of enemy waves with the Cherubot. Most of them are Nutskis and will be mown down by the Cherubot. It might be more difficult to simply target the enemies, as they'll spawn all around you, but this isn't a huge problem. You can also subvert this by memorising the locations of enemies. Once you clear the area, ignore the other enemies and head straight down to the Reset Bomb Depot. Consider leaving the Cherubot and running on foot if your weapon is fast enough, especially if you have leftover Lightweight powers.

Against the Reset Bomb Guards, focus on one or two at a time and generally go all-out. Keep knocking them back with dash shots or melee dash attacks towards the trench. This ensures that you'll expose the core as quickly as possible. If you can find the space on the power board, Trade-off can be a great power here; especially if your weapon is not particularly powerful. Ideally you want to defeat the core as soon as it's exposed - if it shields itself a second time, it'll be a lengthy process to knock another guard into the trench. But with Trade-off, it's likely you'll defeat the core after it's only exposed once, even using a 200-value weapon.

Overall, this speedrun isn't too hard considering that the chapter is quite straightforward, meaning it's unlikely you'll get lost or waste a lot of time in certain areas. Remember to ignore all the necessary enemies, take the fastest paths and ensure you don't tire out, and you'll do fine.

Destroy 220 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything that deals high continuous-fire damage from a decent range with a strong homing ability, most cannons

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Rose Staff (3.5/0, Weakening +4, Evasion +2, Dash ch. shot +2, Backward-dash cont. fire +2)

Although this mission permits a "low" intensity, 220 enemies is an extremely tall order. There are a lot of enemies in the air, but you will have to destroy nearly all of them to have any hope of killing 220 in total. This will require an excellent memory of the battle and pretty accurate aiming. It is more than possible to screw up on one part of the air battle that screws up the entire mission, since you won't be able to destroy enough enemies overall. It's that difficult.

First things first, set the intensity to 7.5 unless you're planning to get finished and then respawn - if so, I would recommend doing it during the air battle, since there are many more enemies there. The air battle mainly consists of small convoys of enemies (usually of about 3 or 4) that come at you in quick succession, mixed in with some individual enemies and large convoys. You should aim to defeat about 150 enemies here, which basically means shooting almost everything except a few "background" enemies and a couple of "foreground" enemies. Aside from memory, which is usually the best way to deal with all the enemies, deal with the small convoys with charged shots if you can. This is especially effective with cannons, as they might take out some other enemies as well. However, because they will come at you constantly, the time you'll have to build up charged shots will be rather limited, so resort to continuous fire if you find some enemies are about to disappear off-screen. If you still can't defeat them quickly enough, resort to special attacks.

The individual enemies shouldn't pose too much of a problem; just use standard continuous fire against them and as long as you've memorised their positions they will be defeated quickly. The larger convoys, however (such as the two swarms of Nutskis near the end) can be much harder to defeat effectively; simply because you're faced with lots of enemies to defeat in a short space of time. Special attacks seem like the obvious choice here, and they certainly work, but this is also where homing ability comes in - a stronger homing ability means more shots will hit enemies, and it is in these large convoys where every hit counts. For example, you could be firing away into a cluster of enemies with a weapon that lacks in homing, but suddenly a few enemies break away and you might not be able to react in time. Because the margin for error is so small on this mission, every extra enemy you defeat in the air (I'm not even kidding) will be a huge bonus on land.

If you've managed to defeat 150 enemies, well done! That was the hardest part of the mission. On land, since most of the enemies are clearly visible, the focus now shifts slightly from defeating enough of them to survival. This really isn't too difficult considering you're on 7.5 intensity - although enemies still hit quite hard, there is plenty of food throughout this level, and even the smallest defense (or recovery effect) should be more than enough to keep you alive. If you're used to 9.0 runs, you can probably afford to use a weapon with no extra defense at all! Furthermore, there are two Cherubots you can use for a good proportion of the level, which are near-indestructible on any intensity.

There are only a few things to note on land about defeating enemies. Most importantly, once underground, take every side-path possible. You may well have memorised their locations already, but if you haven't, the simplest way to find them is to merely go against the direction of the guide arrow at a junction. The only place where this doesn't apply is the Virgo chamber, where there aren't any extra enemies. None of the side-paths are particularly difficult, especially if you've unlocked some of the harder panels in Hades's hunt. There is one "side-path" overground - after you exit the underground fortress - that contains a reaper (to access it, drop down from the second platform), which you can also take, but it's slightly tougher than the others. Fortunately, there's a jump pad you can use to escape if you're low on health. Remember to let the Belunka (whale-like Underworld enemy transporting enemies) spawn its enemies before defeating it, and kill either all the Underworld or Forces of Nature enemies when faced as a group first (otherwise they will destroy each other, lowering your number of defeated enemies). Also keep in mind Reset Bomb Guards do not count towards your kill total. This means that if you go into the boss fight with less than 219 defeated enemies (the boss itself counts as one), you will experience the frustrating feeling of knowing you have to try again.

Don't be discouraged if this mission takes you a few attempts. There's nothing stopping you from completing it first time, but because the requirement is so high even the slightest mistake has a big impact. If you are really stuck, try using a weapon that is better offensively. On 7.5 you'll probably find this goes a long way, since enemies won't have nearly as much health as on 9.0, and it's likely your current weapon is just doing slightly less than ideal damage.

Knock all the guards into the trench simultaneously

Recommended Weapons: Clubs with high projectile damage, cannons with large high-damage explosions

Recommended Powers: Quick Charge (Lv. 2+), Energy Charge (if lower projectile damage), Trade-off, Power Attack

Reward: Kraken Arm (Idol)

This is a unique achievement where you'll have to defeat the four Reset Bomb Pod guards in quick succession. Clubs are a brilliant choice due to their large projectiles and high damage, which are perfect in taking out multiple guards quickly. The hardest part is actually getting to them since clubs are difficult weapons to use in solo, but if you're playing on 0.0 you can pretty much use anything. Cannons can also work quite nicely if you're not a fan of clubs.

Once you get to the pod, you will be approached by all four guards, who will be bunched tightly together. You can even accomplish the achievement as soon as the fight starts - simply activate Quick Charge and fire off a club projectile! This should hit all four guards, and taking into account their health on 0.0, will mean that they are all knocked into the trench. If you weren't so lucky, however, the best strategy is to wait until two or three guards are bunched together, who you can then hit with a club projectile. Why not all four, you ask? The achievement description is actually a bit misleading - the guards will not respawn for a good few seconds after being knocked into the trench, meaning that you can still defeat all four guards within a roughly five-second window and get the achievement. This means as long as the other guards are within shot range, and you have Quick Charge activated if necessary, you can destroy the first few then rush up and destroy the next few. Even if you don't succeed, you still have unlimited tries, so don't lose patience and accidentally complete the chapter without achieving this.

In terms of other powers, Energy Charge is useful if your weapon deals slightly subpar damage, with Trade-off being a useful alternative if its invincibility will outlast the fight (and even then, on 0.0 you can survive for a fairly long time with only a silver of health). Power Attack might also be useful for finishing off a few guards if they avoid your other attacks.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

In Viridi's hunt, clearing the chapter with max health is possible in any of these missions, so try and go for it as long as it doesn't affect the 'primary' objective. This also goes for knocking the guards in the trench - if your weapon is very good offensively, you can defeat them all within a short enough window. Do the speedruns in one run, destroying 220 enemies in another, then attempt the others you haven't unlocked.

Chapter 13 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 13 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed) and decent offensive capabilities

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Instant Death Attack, Tirelessness, Power Attack, Trade-off, Autoreticle, Weak-Point Reticule

Reward: Mudrone (Idol)

This speedrun is more of a balance between speed and power. There are many parts where speed comes in handy, but there are also a lot of enclosed spaces where enemies must be defeated to progress. However, assuming you're playing on 0.0, you won't need to focus too much on your weapon's damage thanks to the minimal health of enemies. Instead, focus on range. A longer range means less time is spent charging up to enemies and generally running around, saving more time than dealing unnecessarily high damage. Therefore, your powers should be a mix of speed and power-type ones, such as the usual Lightweight and/or Tirelessness mixed with Instant Death Attack, Auto/Weak-Point Reticule or even Power Attack.

As usual, the air time is fixed (at 4 minutes 35 seconds) so it's all about the land battle. Fortunately, you shouldn't have any problems getting lost since most of the level is quite straightforward. The main challenges therefore are sprinting through the level as fast as you can, and defeating enemies as fast as you can. Overall, the latter is the more important one simply because your speed should be good enough already, especially when combined with powers. Just go all-out offensive since the many healing items throughout the level will easily negate any damage taken. Because you'll be fighting in tight spaces, you should get a fair number of opportunities to perform melee attacks, so take full advantage if you have decent melee power. You may also want to consider sprinting instead of taking the Exo Tank if your weapon is fast enough. Avoid sprinting with a very fast weapon over the invisible floors though, as you can easily not stop in time and fall off. Lastly, know which sections have optional enemies; chief among which is the Lunar surface, where all the enemies can be ignored. And don't worry about Dark Pit at all. He is a pushover on this kind of intensity, especially if you get the chance to melee him.

On the other hand, Arlon has the potential of being a slight threat to completing the chapter in time due to his cloaking device. However, on 0.0 he will move about quite infrequently, so finding and hitting him shouldn't be too much of a challenge. If you are skilled enough, you can activate Trade-off to deal insane damage and pretty much finish the fight within half a minute. If you're not this confident, or don't have the space on the power board, don't worry since Arlon's health will be extremely low anyway, and it's more than possible to leave enough time for him.

Clear this chapter using a palm (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Any palm with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery, Super Armor (Lv. 2+), Aries Armor

Reward: Midnight Palm (4/1, Overall defense +4, Standing cont. fire +3, Dash cont. fire +3, In-peril autododge +2)

Chapter 13 is a very hard chapter to complete on 9.0, and certainly one of the hardest in the earlier stages of the game. This is due to its long length, the large number of enemies, the large number of tough enemies and the two difficult boss fights you must endure. A high overall defense is strongly recommended, with recovery effect if at all possible. Additionally, if you find using palms difficult, then consider doing some 9.0 runs on easier chapters with them. This is a better option than wasting hearts on many 9.0 attempts at Chapter 13. You should also have the level memorised quite clearly, to help with knowing enemies' positions alongside using your powers and Special Attacks.

The difficulty starts right from the outset. Well, not entirely - the first section of the air battle (before the set of recovery orbs) is simple enough, but the long, gruelling section following that will be a real test on 9.0. This is due to a combination of large clusters of enemies, lots of tough enemies and lack of recovery orbs. As always, moving around in large circular patterns is vital. I would suggest taking out the groups of Nutskis (basic Forces of Nature grunts) with charged shots once you break the shields with continuous fire, and possibly use your special attacks against the Bladers that fly up close if you find them particularly annoying. Their attacks travel fast, cover a wide area and deal significant damage, which will all be cancelled out by a special attack.

The toughest air battle section is up next. Once inside the Lunar Sanctum's "corridor", you will face a deadly trio of Lurchthorns, Flages and closing 'gates' surrounded by enemies. Focus on taking out the Lurchthorn's guns instead of their heads; they will bombard you with fire otherwise. Thankfully the Flages aren't too difficult to deal with, since they can only use melee attacks. Take out the ones closest to you first, and ignore any others if necessary. If you see your reticule turn to melee, unless your palm has good melee stats, run away from the flage as fast as you can - they will survive your weak melee attacks and deal a lot of damage with their own. The final hurdles are the three gates. The enemies here will probably survive a special attack, but use them anyway as they are immensely useful for dealing extra damage and cancelling incoming fire. Don't get carried away with shooting enemies; keep moving in circles and concentrate on breaking through the gates. Smacking into any gate will inflict significant damage. Charged shots help immensely in defeating the enemies here, but unless your weapon has a very short charge time, stick to continuous fire. Once you get through there, keep moving in circles and quickly deal with the Captain Flare and Pew Pew. Don't ignore them, as they can easily finish off what silver of health you may have left! Use any remaining special attacks against them.

Unfortunately, the land battle is a real test of endurance, so be conservative with your powers - as you will need them - and try and memorise the locations of health-restoring items. Although there is a fairly generous amount, some sections of the level are far more dangerous than others (such as the end section and Dark Pit), so keep those in mind whilst conserving powers and considering how defensively to play. For example, if you know a load of food items are nearby and your health is high, you can afford to play more offensively than usual.

The main threat is the marathon nature of the level - individually, each section isn't too difficult, but in the long run if you take more damage in one area than you should have done, or use a few powers too early on, it may have large consequences later on. This can easily happen if you get hit by a few powerful attacks or not eliminate groups of enemies quickly. Never leave yourself open through firing too many dash shots, as many enemies in this chapter are able to deal tons of damage. Try to keep a safe distance from everything, ensuring you're always able to dodge/strafe enemy attacks. You shouldn't be afraid to use dash shots as a means of simultaneous attack and evasion however, as they are very effective when timed correctly - just make sure that they are! You can use them more liberally if you have good overall defense and recovery effect.

On a final note, try and leave all Clobblers alone. Each of their arm swings will take out 1/3 of your health with Overall Defense +8. As for the one you have to defeat, quickly run to the top of the ramp and shoot down below. The Clobbler will hilariously not be smart enough to go around and walk up the ramp. Instead, it will charge straight at you and swing wildly at the wall beneath you. Conveniently, this also gives you a clear shot at its critical hit location (the top of its head).

Against Dark Pit, activate Super/Aries Armor immediately and focus on avoiding his attacks instead of going on the offensive. This is because when he is not attacking (i.e. not vulnerable), he will dodge the vast majority of your attacks and counter with one of his own. You should follow the same strategy. Dodging his attacks and following up with your own is not only safer, but is more likely to result in actually hitting him. He leaves himself wide open after firing a dash charged shot, although he is less vulnerable when using continuous fire. I highly recommend using charged shots during these small windows of vulnerability, since Dark Pit will dodge most continuous fire, whereas you can hit hard with a single, well-timed charged shot before he has time to dodge. As an alternative, the melee approach can be rather effective and is surprisingly easy to time correctly. However, remember that ultimately, you'll be in Dark Pit's face where he can easily blast you, so only attempt it if your palm's melee stats are very good (about 100 damage in a melee combo is a good benchmark). Fortunately he doesn't have too much health, so after dealing about 1000 damage he should go down. To deal with the Control Center core, repeat the pattern of side dash charged shot -> single side dodge. You can dodge its blasts multiple times, but it's easier and practically as safe just doing it once. Thankfully Palutena was kind enough to place a Drink of the Gods after this tough fight, so enjoy full health while you can.

To top off the mission, Arlon is a formidable opponent. He's not among the most difficult 9.0 bosses, but is still a big challenge thanks to his cloaking and fast attacks that, due to the darkness, often come out of nowhere. Hopefully you'll have saved a few armor and Health Recovery powers - although they're not absolutely necessary unlike some other 9.0 battles, they provide a great 'safety net' in case you take a lot of damage. Unfortunately, this can quite easily happen. Many of Arlon's attacks are not easily seen and a few are very hard to dodge perfectly. To avoid this as best you can, the tactic of dodging and counter-attacking very much applies. Although Arlon does not attack too relentlessly, a few of his attacks hit very hard (mainly the laser beam and homing-type lasers; the latter is also difficult to dodge). To have the best chance of dodging everything in good time, you don't want to be left open after a poorly-timed dash shot with a laser heading straight towards you. For offense, stick to continuous fire as Arlon moves about a lot, meaning that it's quite easy for charged shots to miss. Luckily most palms have some sort of homing ability, so providing yours does, it'll be quite easy to hit Arlon. This means you can focus more on avoiding his attacks, which is the only particularly tough part of the fight. For more details on the fight with him, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It might be possible, if very difficult, to attempt both these panels in a single run, but the ideal abilities you'll need (i.e. high defense, speed, range, damage etc.) will massively exceed the limitations on weapon value and powers on the power board. Because of this, you would have to compromise, making both of these missions much tougher. For example, if you wanted to defeat enemies quickly on 9.0, you might have to sacrifice a higher defense or faster speed.

This all means that unless you really want a challenge, or haven't unlocked the panels in Viridi's hunt beforehand, just do them separately. The only panel you may have not unlocked is the "melee dash attack" mission; if so, you can attempt it whilst doing either mission but make sure to focus on Hades's achievements. Trying to finish off a boss with a melee dash attack is risky, and you don't want to gamble a Hades achievement in the hope of getting a Viridi achievement and then lose.

Chapter 14 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: 15000 Hearts

Another blazingly fast speedrun. Remember to have at least some idea of the layout of the chapter, as well as the enemies you'll come up against and particularly which ones to run past. But overall, this isn't too difficult (for Hades's hunt standards anyway).

The path through this level is quite straightforward, and the vast majority of enemies can be completely ignored, so take full advantage. For example, you can run past all the enemies from the last grind rail all the way up to Phosphora! Resist the urge to destroy all enemies that cross your path. The only times when the most direct route is fairly well-concealed are in the "air current" and "electric current" areas (the area with the steel balls and three levels connected by stairs respectively). In the steel balls section, only go up to the second floor as it is much quicker than pushing a third steel ball all the way to the current. In the section with the rotating electric currents/barriers, you can generally ignore the electric barriers and focus on taking out enemies. This can be done by quickly running along each level to ensure all the enemies have been destroyed, making the next wave spawn as quickly as possible. The damage you'll receive from the electric barriers will be minimal on 0.0.

Since there is relatively little fighting in this speedrun, offense isn't too important, meaning you can afford to sacrifice it for speed or, possibly better, stamina. Tiring out is always a threat in speedruns and although you have Tirelessness/Lightweight, there's always the risk of not activating it in time. If your speed is "maxed out" (i.e. something so fast any extra speed is kind of unnecessary, like Brawler Claws with Speed +2 or higher), stamina is often a great choice. If you hardly ever find yourself tiring out though, feel free to use the extra value on more speed or something else you particularly like.

Save your Lightweight for the very last area (the route to the temple center) and another area of your choice. Some good places to use it are the blue walkway, the very start of the chapter and even the electric currents room, as you may be running around a fair bit trying to find enemies. Use Tirelessness in the areas that don't give priority to Lightweight. Super Speed can also be used as a great alternative to Lightweight, since many parts of the level are quite straight and lengthy. This mainly relies upon whether you run faster with Lightweight; if this is not true then feel free to use it. Even if it is true, you won't exactly waste years by using Super Speed instead.

On 0.0 Phosphora will, as you expect, be little more than a tougher enemy you might see on higher intensities, and will be defeated very quickly. If your weapon is good at a distance then that's great, as you don't need to waste time in charging up to her. Don't be worried if it's more melee-based however, as it will be very easy to approach her (...not in that way). She will be very docile and hardly attack you. Melee combos should be slightly quicker than using dash attacks, but by and large do whatever deals most damage. Hopefully having blazed through the level, and taken down Phosphora quickly, the land battle will be finished in under 6 minutes and you'll get a sizeable 15,000 hearts as a reward.

Clear the chapter without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a combination of average speed, high homing, decent offense and medium-long range (Palms are good)

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge (Lv. 1), Transparency, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility, Lightweight

Reward: Shock Orbitars (4/0, Shot defense +4, Standing ch. shot +3, Dash ch. shot +3)

This no damage mission is very hard like the rest of them, although I found this one easier than Chapter 8. Memorising the locations of enemies will help immensely, since a good number of them spawn both near to you and outside of your view. Thankfully, the enemies themselves aren't too threatening. The vast majority are just regular Forces of Nature grunts, and many of them can be ignored. As usual, the difficulty stems from actually finding the enemies and destroying them before they get the chance to attack. However, there are many places where you can quite easily take damage, as explained below.

There are a lot of enemies in the air, so a weapon with good homing ability is very useful for taking out enemy squads quickly. By far the largest threats in the air are the 'static' obstacles you manoeuvre around. These are the Lethiniums (i.e. plant lasers) you encounter on the ground, the few 'storm clouds' that fly at you, and the electric barriers inside the storm cloud tunnel. The first two can be easily avoided by flying low and keeping to one side of the screen respectively. The electric barriers may be slightly trickier to avoid due to the difficulty in judging which side they will fly to, as well as the presence of other enemies in the tunnel. Keep left for the first barrier, right for the second, and left for the third. Phosphora's laser at the end can be easily avoided by keeping to the top of the screen. I would recommend saving your special attacks for the storm tunnel, although the intensity is so low you should hardly need them. Do this and keep moving in large circles and you should avoid taking any damage.

Once you land, activate Energy Charge as always. The land battle is fairly easy until the Jitterthug/Blader you encounter outside the elevator. The Blader (flying bird thing) can be quite hard to hit, and the Jitterthug might require you to use melee attacks against him, which puts you at much more risk of getting hit. It's quite possible to destroy them both with the Mega Marble, but you might get unlucky. If you do get unlucky, quickly destroy the Jitterthug before it turns green, then focus on the Blader. Once they're taken care of, remember that inside the elevator there are two Skreetles (insects that stand up) on another elevator to the right, who can be easily defeated.

In the next room, the Trynamites (exploding rocks) can be a real threat. This is especially if you hit them with dash shots, since it's quite likely they will explode and hurl rocks towards you, which you cannot avoid after being left open from dashing. To combat this, simply avoid hitting them - after destroying the power source, they will all disappear, and on 2.0 they are not going to self-destruct for ages.

In the following room, quickly turn to your right and take out the two Nutskis and Trynamite - they are very prone to attacking you and are initially unseen. For extra insurance, attack while standing and (if you wish) wait for them to attack you, since they will only fire shots very occasionally.

To combat the Flages and Jitterthug you meet in the next area, take out the Jitterthug whilst it is red, then focus on defeating the Flages from a distance. If one suddenly appears beside you, either counter with backward-dash continuous fire or even use an invincibility power.

The next part can be one of the most dangerous in the whole mission, so be careful. As you climb up the blue walkway taking out Bumpety Bombs, two Nutskis will actually spawn behind you, and will attack you sooner or later. A similar thing happens later in the same area, when two Dibble Dops (water plants) spawn underneath you when you're close to the end of the walkway. Here you can either anticipate where the enemies will spawn (which isn't that difficult really), or use Transparency/Lightweight powers. Using powers means you're extra safe, but obviously costs you space on the power board. I'd say overall it's not worth it and just anticipate where the enemies spawn, but if you've got nothing else to fill the power board with, go ahead.

After you finish this area, you are high invulnerable on the following grind rail, so take it with ease. When you land, avoid getting hit by the Toxiecaps (poison plants) by hitting them from a distance, and get lifted to the second floor by pushing in two balls (going to the third floor involves dropping down onto the second floor anyway). Quickly take out the Lethiniums (plant lasers) here as they fire without hesitating, and continue forward.

The electric currents room that follows is usually one of the hardest points in the mission. The first section isn't too hard, however. Quickly take out the Nutski and stand well away from the electric current, then grab the grenade to the right. Two Lethiniums should have spawned on the next floor, so use it to destroy the one next to you. Then carefully traverse your way to the second floor, taking out the Lethinium and two Dibble Dops on the way. Remember to grab the Dodge Token, as it can be a lifesaver in this area. Now comes the hardest part - a Dibble Dop and two Flages will spawn on the tiny third floor, all putting you at high risk of getting hit. You can either quickly take them all out or retreat to the second floor. I would recommend retreating, but if the electric current is away from you and you can see all three enemies, then by all means do the former.

The last hurdle in this difficult mission is the route to the center of the temple, and to a smaller extent Phosphora who follows. You can take this area slowly and destroy every enemy you encounter, but it's actually quite possible to just use Lightweight and run past them all! For extra security you can always couple this with Transparency or some form of invincibility. However, only attempt this after you reach the first jump pad, as you don't have much space before then and the enemies there will attack you if you leave them alone. Take extra care to take out the Lethinium just before the jump pad, as it will start shooting after only a few seconds, which can be really hard to avoid. Once you're past these enemies, though, feel free to sprint. The only real threat comes from two Nutskis who attack you from quite a long distance, so keep a close eye on any incoming shots when you first land. However, these can easily be avoided by sprinting.

Phosphora is deceptively easy if you follow the right tactics. On 2.0 all of her infrequent attacks have little homing ability, so just keep a moderate distance and if it suits your weapon, rely more on continuous fire. Alternatively, you could rely purely on the evasive power of dash attacks to defeat her, which is actually nowhere near as risky as it sounds. This may have been a harder challenge if the fight was longer, but her low health combined with Energy Charge should make it last no longer than 30 seconds (which, incidentally, is another Chapter 14 panel!). Activate Transparency, Playing Dead or Brief Invincibility for extra insurance. Once she's done, finally breathe again and enjoy that epic feeling of satisfaction.

Defeat Phosphora within 30 seconds

Recommended Weapons: Anything that deals high damage

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge, Trade-off, Power Attack

Reward: Angelic Missile Lv. 3

Quite possible on a low intensity. Simply race through the level (unless you're doing the no damage run) and once you get to Phosphora, spam powers and go all-out. She will hardly be a threat so there's no danger of taking enough damage to get finished. Furthermore she will be much less agile, meaning that it's much easier to hit her or charge and use melee attacks. You should have some kind of weapon that hits hard (200+ damage in a charged shot/melee attack is a good benchmark) by now, so just use that. Even if you don't, though, it's possible to deal insane amounts of damage with the Trade-off/Energy Charge combo (i.e. activate them in succession so you have insane power boosts and invincibility whilst using Energy Charge, which effectively means about quadruple damage).

Lastly, although often not too useful, the power you unlock is great fun. It's also a great way to finish off an angel in Light vs. Dark.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

I highly recommend trying to unlock the "Defeat Phosphora in 30 seconds" panel alongside another one. Both panels are suitable choices - the speedrun will ensure you have to defeat her quickly, and on the no damage run Energy Charge will be active meaning you'll be dealing tons of damage. If the Chapter 14 panels in Viridi's hunt aren't unlocked by now, then the speedrun is guaranteed to be, and destroying 230 enemies should be very easy to accomplish; especially on the no damage run.

Chapter 15 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 10 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed

Reward: None(!)

Well as always, speedruns are won or lost on land, and Chapter 15 has a really straightforward layout with few time-wasting obstacles. This means that despite the short time limit, as long as you can run quickly, this is one of the easier speedruns in Hades's hunt. The main challenge comes in knowing what enemies you can run past.

Although you might be able to afford a slightly higher intensity than 0.0 here, it won't yield any rewards except a measly few hearts and very marginally better weapons (still largely junk), so keep everything easy. As above, knowing which enemies to run past is the crux of this challenge. The answer is: everything. Yes, you can run past every single enemy right from where you land to the final path descending down the control tower. The only obstacles that stop you are the red Aurum gates (the ones you have to shoot in order for them to go down), but they are incredibly easy to destroy...so overall, you can absolutely storm this speedrun. Since the layout is also straightforward, you will waste no time in getting lost either. Believe it. The Exo Tank section in this chapter is rather long, so opting out of using it can save a fairly significant amount of time as well, but other than that just use all the usual speed-boosting powers and take the guided route through the level.

Perhaps Hades thinks the challenge is so easy you don't deserve a reward?

Clear this chapter with a score of 350,000 or higher

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Heart Booster

Reward: Roz (Idol)

As long as you can avoid dying, this challenge is basically just completing the chapter on about 8.0+ intensity. For this reason, since it's almost certain you'll achieve a score higher than 350,000 by completing the challenge below, save yourself an extra run and unlock both panels simultaneously. Therefore see the strategy below on how to unlock both these panels.

Clear this chapter using a cannon (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Twinbellows/Poseidon/Rail/Cragalanche/Predator Cannon with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Instant Death Attack

Reward: Rail Cannon (4/2, Shot defense +4, Power attack +1, Full-health boost +4)

Not overly difficult if you know what you're doing. The main problem with cannons are their movement speed, which is approximately on par with clubs and staves, but in perspective this is hardly disastrous providing you can still dodge and dash effectively. Overall the chapter is very straightforward and short. There are a few enemies (or clusters of enemies) that present a fairly major threat, but as long as you dodge and counter-attack them effectively it's quite manageable overall. However, I still recommend a high overall defense and recovery effect if at all possible here, since some Aurum enemies hit very hard (and/or fast) and even the basic Tribytes deal significant damage with their projectiles. The choice of cannon doesn't matter too much; the recommendations are some good choices but if you have a favorite cannon by all means equip that.

The air battle will be very hectic, and can quite easily kill you if you take just a few hits with a lower defense. The recovery orbs appear quite late on, and surviving until then is not easy. It can also be difficult surviving even after you get the recovery orbs, unless you have recovery effect. Moving around in large circles is again crucial, but be ready to move or even dodge in a different direction at all times, as many enemies' shots home in very sharply and deal significant damage if they hit. The Tribytes' shots in particular can be quite troublesome, owing to their strong homing ability, oscillation (vibrating) and the large number of them you'll be facing. The best way to deal with them is to simply not let the enemy fire at all, so try and memorise the positions of enemies as best you can. Remember that most cannons' charged shots create large explosions which are effective at taking out many enemies, so consider using more charged shots than you normally would if your weapon has this ability. There's no hard and fast rule for using your special attacks, so just use them whenever it suits you; mainly since the battle is quite consistent in terms of difficulty.

The land battle is similarly fairly challenging but again, it's nothing to give you headaches if you play well. Food and the hot spring are placed at pretty regular intervals throughout, meaning you can reduce the number of times you use a Health Recovery and therefore save it for more desperate situations. You are able to run past quite a few enemies, but with most cannons' slow movement speed and 9.0 intensity, it's quite likely you'll get clobbered if you try to, so don't attempt it unless your speed is good.

The main enemies to watch out for are the Sios, (the enemies that create black holes) which have an extremely strong pull on 9.0 that is magnified by the slow speed of cannons, and are followed up by either a laser or spinning attack which deal very high damage. The other main threat comes from groups of enemies since most Aurum enemies attack very frequently, and when melee attacks are thrown into the mix (such as those from Xonemes, the core with rotating panels, and Kolmas, Aurum-like "giant wheels of cheese" as said in the Idol description), you will have to watch all around you and dodge effectively against said attacks. To do so, dash repeatedly and quickly get dash charged shots/continuous fire in until the field is well cleared. However, this is where the explosions of cannons can really come in useful, as they will deal significant damage to a wide area - perfect for dealing splash damage to large numbers of enemies.

Aside from that, just remember to take the Exo Tank up the spiral ramp at the junction since there are two items of food across from the jump, not attack the Baglos (they are deadly on 9.0 and hardly worth the risk), and not take the elevator near the beginning with a Mimicutie.

The Aurum Core certainly ranks among the easier 9.0 bosses. Besides the usual stuff such as increased health and damage, its attacking patterns are nothing new, and the aspects of the fight that are new (such as the use of rotating balls and a stronger pull towards the core) are not too threatening at all. For this reason, you can simply use the same tactics you used to defeat the core the last time, whatever those were. I would recommend activating Super/Aries Armor in the second half and using Health Recovery as and when needed, but if you prefer something else then do that. Strategy isn't overly important in this fight because of how comparatively easy it is to other 9.0 fights. For more details on this fight, see its entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Aside from unlocking the "use a cannon on 9.0" and "achieve a score of 350,000" panels simultaneously, you can easily destroy 8 of the Aurum Core's guns in the same run if you haven't already done so. The same applies to the "clear the chapter with full health" panel in Viridi's hunt - although it's not as easy, there's no reason why you can't at least attempt it. The only other viable combination is the two speedruns. Anything else is likely to be extremely difficult and an unnecessary challenge.

Chapter 16 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Power Attack, Trade-off

Reward: 15000 Hearts

The layout of the level is complex, but the path is actually quite straightforward, with few side-paths, mazes and the like to slow you down. Furthermore, on 0.0 the obstacles you face (such as the crushing walls, electric floors and rotating purple blades) will deal low enough damage for you to ignore them. You can therefore run into all the obstacles and not bother waiting until the path is clear.

Your weapon's offense (particularly range and homing) comes into play too in this mission, as much of Chapter 16 has you fighting enemies in enclosed spaces, which need to be defeated very quickly to finish in time. Memorising what enemies spawn where will help greatly in this. However, equipping Instant Death Attack won't be worthwhile if your weapon's offense is anything above abysmal, due to the minimal health of 0.0 enemies. For other powers, if you frequently get hit Tirelessness is a better choice than Lightweight due to the huge knockback you receive whilst using the latter. Super Speed isn't too useful thanks to the lack of long straight corridors or passages. Offensive powers may also prove useful - Power Attack helps for tackling large groups of enemies, and Trade-off is very effective for ensuring the Aurum Generator is defeated in record time.

So overall, ignore obstacles, equip something with decent offense, range and if possible homing, memorise enemies' positions and use Tirelessness, Lightweight and Trade-off (in descending priority order). If you do all this at blazing speed, which is not that hard, you should blast through the chapter in under 11 minutes.

Collect 40,000 or more hearts and clear this chapter (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense and recovery effect, good offense and a heart bonus modifier

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Heart Booster (Lv. 2+)

Reward: Sonic Cannon (4/0, Shot defense +4, Confusion +4, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash cont. fire +3)

This is hard without any heart-boosting modifiers or powers, but becomes much easier with them. Intensity 9.0 doesn't mean much since you'll practically need it anyway to collect 40,000 hearts. Without heart-boosting equipment, on 9.0 you should be able to collect a minimum of about 35,000 hearts. This makes it fairly easy to collect an extra 5,000 or so with equipment. If possible, try to equip something with a good homing ability and higher-than-average damage for a 9.0 weapon, as this will help target and defeat enemies in the air that can be crucial for gaining those precious last few hearts. However, high overall defense and recovery effect is still the priority. You definitely don't want to frenzily collect hearts then get finished. In terms of powers, you can equip Heart Booster Lv. 4, but you probably only need Lv. 3 or even Lv. 2 depending on how many enemies you can defeat (especially in the air).

There's only one set of recovery orbs in the air battle, so recovery effect helps a lot here. The enemies will usually come in tightly-knit groups and attack very aggressively, but only for a short while (they either disappear off-screen or stop attacking after a few seconds). Use charged shots whenever you can, as they will be very useful in dealing with these groups, but don't bother waiting for them if there are many enemies harassing you - by the time you fire one off, it's likely you could have used continuous fire (or special attacks, if you prefer) and defeated them all anyway. Also, be weary that the usual tactic of moving in large circles might not always work here; especially against the Rozzes as they will come at you at insane speeds. In reality, though, all this means is that you might need to make a few dodges here and there to avoid the barrage of incoming fire you'll be facing. You could even use melee attacks to deflect incoming shots, although this won't work on the Rozzes. Lastly, don't forget to shoot the green targets on Aurum ships (they contain a fair number of hearts) and the Souflee after the recovery orbs!

You should aim to get at least 15000 hearts from the air battle. If you're using a weapon with a heart bonus modifier, this should be significantly more. Even 18000+ is far from impossible. If you've achieved this, then you can afford to relax a little bit once you land, but if not then don't panic as you should still be able to do it with heart-boosting equipment. Since the vast majority of enemies are on the main path and clearly visible, collecting the remaining hearts should be quite easy providing you can stay alive. The last few crucial hearts are gained by using Heart Booster effectively, defeating a certain Souflee and taking an optional path near the end.

Starting with the first, activate Heart Booster whenever you're facing hordes of tightly-bunched enemies; particularly the enclosed rooms where you face a series of enemy waves in quick succession. The Souflee is encountered just after you complete the section with the Aurum train, and can be missed if you are too hasty about taking the elevator. Finally, the optional path is specifically the lower platform you reach whilst taking the left grind rail in the series of three parallel grind rails. This area contains three waves of enemies and therefore is very useful for getting more hearts, but be warned as the enemies here are quite tough (the Sios - or spinning things that create black holes - especially) and you'll probably need a power or two.

Unfortunately you can't collect any hearts during the Aurum Generator battle, but if you've done these three things with heart-boosting equipment, you should have collected more than enough of them. For more details on this fight, see its entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Clear this chapter using a cannon (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Twinbellows/Poseidon/Rail/Cragalanche/Predator Cannon with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: Fairy Orbitars (Idol)

You might notice that the intensity requirement is lower for this panel compared to its sister panel for Chapter 15 (complete the chapter using a cannon). So what makes this chapter hard enough for the intensity to be lowered?

First of all, you can't run past every single enemy in the chapter. The layout of the level is also more complex, but even this shouldn't cause many problems since the path to take is still relatively straightforward. Apart from that, there's really not much else that presents a significant challenge. The air battle is certainly more difficult, but nothing to make you change equipment or tactics; especially on the lower intensity. Because this mission is quite modest in terms of difficulty, there's no real need to play on 8.5 and get finished as you should be able to survive anyway.

There's only one set of recovery orbs in the air battle, so recovery effect comes in very useful. The enemies will usually come in tightly-knit groups and attack aggressively, but only for a short while (after a few second they either disappear off-screen or stop attacking). Use charged shots whenever you can, as they will be very useful in dealing with these groups, but don't bother waiting for them if there are many enemies harassing you - by the time you fire one off, it's likely you could have used continuous fire (or special attacks) and defeated them all anyway. Also be weary that the usual tactic of moving in large circles might not always work. It won't be as important as on 9.0, but due to the aggressive nature of enemies and amount of incoming fire you'll be facing, be prepared to make the occasional dodge or two.

On land, you will face quite a diverse range of enemies, including Aurum copies of Underworld and Forces of Nature mooks, but there is plenty of food and a hot spring for you to use. As long as you don't make any major blunders, you should be fine. Furthermore, since the enemies are often bunched up very tightly in this chapter, cannons can actually be very useful. The Aether Ring you use for a good proportion of the level also serves as great protection.

Generally save your powers for any major blunders (e.g. if you lose a ton of health in one section), as there are no sections where they are truly 'necessary'. I would recommend using Super/Aries Armor for the optional section which the left grind rail leads to in the last set of grind rails before the Generator battle. However, since you only gain an extra weapon/power from there whilst having to battle some tough enemy waves, leave it unless you're confident.

The level finishes with the Aurum Generator, one of the easiest bosses ever. As long as you avoid the reflector shields when firing, it will be hard enough to even take enough damage to get finished.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's quite possible to complete the chapter on 9.0, collect 40,000 hearts and use a cannon simultaneously. Providing the cannon has high enough offense and defense for you to handle, simply sacrifice a bit of power board space for Heart Booster and you should be able to do it. A cannon with a heart bonus modifier also works well. The challenge certainly isn't harder than many other 9.0 missions within Hades's hunt. If you're struggling to find powers you want to get rid of, keep Health Recovery, some kind of Armor power and Effect Recovery (just because of how little space it uses), then consider removing some of the rest.

The speedrun however is much better suited to a separate run.

Chapter 17 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with good offense and some overall defense/recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Aries Armor, Super Armor, Crisis Recovery, Tirelessness

Reward: Upperdash Arm (1/3.5, Shot defense +2, Paralysis +4, Forward-dash ch. shot +2, Forward-dash cont. fire +2, Melee dash attack +2)

Remember that Chapter 17 is a unique chapter for speedruns, where you spend the entire land battle on a series of rocks that traverse the chapter at a constant speed, which changes depending on how fast you defeat enemies. This means that you can't rush through the level with claws. Instead, your finishing time is affected by your ability to defeat enemies quickly, as the next wave will spawn directly after the preceding one, and once all the waves have been defeated the rock platform will move forward. This also applies to Aurum Pyrrhon, who you'll have to defeat as quickly as possible.

This is probably the only speedrun where a staff, cannon or even club might be suitable if you're a master at using clubs. If you can use the weapon to defeat enemies and the boss quickly, you'll finish the level in time, regardless of movement penalties. This is also why Instant Death Attack can be very useful, especially if you're having trouble defeating larger enemies such as the Dohz, and conversely why Lightweight/Super Speed will be near-useless.

A weapon that is good offensively therefore is a near-must. On 7.5 enemies will have a sizeable amount of health, and thanks to the little leeway you have on completing the chapter within 18 minutes, you'll need all the precious seconds you can get by defeating enemies as fast as you can. A good guideline would be about 5-6 stars in ranged and preferably with some attack modifiers (usually dash continuous fire, although dash charged shot is good if your weapon has a short charge time or deals large splash damage), or slightly fewer ranged stars but with higher attack modifiers.

Defense isn't such a high priority, but don't forget about it - a swarm of 7.5 enemies can still easily overwhelm you! You should only need about +4 to overall defense, or a good recovery effect modifier, if you're confident on 7.5 intensity (hopefully from all the 9.0 practice you've had!). If you are very confident, feel free to largely ignore defense (but equip Health Recovery and maybe Super/Aries Armor just in case), relying on your dodging skills to see you through.

In terms of the level, although some areas are quite tough, on 7.5 the challenge is much more relaxed (at least compared to 9.0 missions) and unless your defense is incredibly low you're unlikely to get finished by anything in particular. Going on the offensive is usually better than anything else - not quite all-out offensive, as this could get you killed, but certainly aggressive, firing off frequent dash shots with less dodging. If you find yourself dashing around a lot and tiring out, consider using Tirelessness instead of a more offensive power. Side and backward-dash shots provide most of the evasion you'll need.

Against Aurum Pyrrhon, after quickly destroying the green crystals, either use Super/Aries Armor and continue attacking aggressively or, more riskily, use Trade-off and pray you defeat him within your invincibility timeframe. On balance, Trade-off is probably more effective, but only use it if your weapon's offense is extremely good.

Clear this chapter using claws (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Claws of choice with high overall defense and recovery effect; Artillery is good

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Instant Death Attack

Reward: Beam Claws (3.5/3.5, Overall defense +3, Speed +2, Stamina +1, Dash cont. fire +2)

Claws might seem like a redundant weapon choice here due to their focus on speed and melee attacks, which aren't that useful at all in this chapter. However, there's still a lot to be gained from using them. First of all, their speed ensures you're able to dodge more easily and attack more aggressively. In addition, their shorter range isn't a hindrance as nearly all the enemies will be right in your face, which also means you can maximise ranged damage as most claws' ranged shots decrease with distance. If you utilise these strengths, this mission becomes a lot easier.

Chapter 17 isn't too hard to complete on 9.0, as you should generally have enough food, items and powers to keep you alive, despite the small-ish arena you have to fight on. For facing barrages of attacks from all directions, try dash-dodging. This should ensure you dodge the vast majority of attacks without having to time each dodge perfectly. Thanks to the speed of claws, stick mainly to using dash attacks even if you're not directly dodging an incoming attack, as you'll be able to perform many in succession and recover rapidly. You should be able to keep the Centurion Strongarms alive, but if you're having trouble, use Instant Death Attack or Super/Aries Armor to take out enemies quickly or attack more aggressively (due to the decreased damage you take) respectively.

Aurum Pyrrhon's attacks are pretty much the same besides being much more frequent and more damaging. Play more defensively as his frequent attacks can quickly drain your health. Focus on dodging incoming attacks and quickly counter-attacking the ones that leave him open (the single 'wave' and 'fire dragon' are some of the best), as well as disposing of any 'bombs' he leaves lying around on your platform. Remember that his weak point is his body, so target it whenever you can. For more details on this fight, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Clear the chapter without losing any Centurion Strongarms (Intensity 5.0+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with very good offense

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Power Attack, Quick Charge

Reward: Angel Cannon (Idol)

Fortunately, the strategy for this is quite simple. You lose Palutena's centurions whenever they take too much damage. This just means that to keep them alive, destroy all the enemies you see as quickly as possible.

Weapon choice isn't too significant: equipping something you're used to will be far more beneficial than choosing one with slightly more suitable characteristics. In other words, the benefits offered by choosing other weapons will be outweighed by how well you know your current weapon, whatever it may be. Powers, however, are quite important. Instant Death Attack is very useful for obvious reasons, and Power Attack and Quick Charge can be used if too many enemies start to show up.

Once you get to the right point during the level, activate Instant Death Attack instantly - you only need around two uses - and go all-out. 5.0 should hardly present any threat at all now (remember the times when you dreaded 5.0? Look at how far you've come!), and you should be able to survive pretty easily. Focus on the two strongarms at the front, as they are by far the most vulnerable to damage, taking out anything that comes anywhere near them. If you get overwhelmed by enemies, don't be afraid to activate some other powers, as you won't need them anywhere else. One of the easiest habits to slip into is to defeat one enemy squad before moving onto the next. Do not do this in this mission! If you do, there's every chance that whilst you are attacking enemies that are targeting you, there will be others that are targeting the strongarms. Leaving some enemies alone is not very threatening at all on 5.0, and is a great way to keep your strongarms alive. Keep moving between enemy groups and focus on what's important.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

The speedrun is possible using claws on 9.0, and is only moderately more difficult than doing the two achievements separately, so I would recommend completing the chapter as fast as possible whilst using claws on 9.0, ensuring that you'll at least unlock one panel. The Centurion Strongarms achievement can be got in pretty much any run, so just keep it in mind when you get to the relevant section of the level. However, if you doesn't unlock it simultaneously, it can fairly easily be done on 5.0. If you still haven't unlocked Viridi's panels, do Viridi's speedrun in conjunction with the "Claws on 9.0 in 18 minutes" multi-mission, destroying 280 enemies with pretty much anything, and the crisis mission separately (it isn't worth the risk).

Chapter 18 (Hades)

Aren't you glad Hades hasn't included a 9.0 mission for this chapter? Unless you're hoping to complete Hades's treasure hunt and get 999,999 hearts, of course...

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: N/A

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 15000 Hearts

A unique speedrun in that you can't choose any of your land battle equipment, which, like every speedrun, is where the battle is won or lost. Instead, the main factors affecting your completion time are knowing what enemies to run past and how to defeat enemies quickly. Conservation of stamina also plays a small part, as getting tired out clearly wastes precious time, but is relatively easy to avoid and doesn't have a huge effect on your completion time.

The first section (with the little girl and dog) won't have changed on 0.0, and can't be completed any faster than normal. If you get lost or waste lots of time during the dog section, just restart the mission. Likewise, although you can equip one of your own weapons during the air battle, it too does not affect your completion time, so equip anything as 0.0 ensures enemies will be harmless.

The areas where you can ignore/run past the enemies are as follows: the 'street' with lots of alleys after the first area where you face lots of Centurions, the long path following the area with the electric fence (from the first Juggernaut right up until the area with the Underworld Crawler), and lastly the hot spring area. None of the side-paths are shortcuts, so avoid them. Out of these areas, the section after the electric fence is by far the most important due to its length: you can save massive amounts of time by ignoring the Juggernauts and multi-storied area containing a variety of centurion enemies. Since the Juggernauts will not fire at all, and the centurion enemies will be extremely docile, there's almost no chance of being attacked either. In the first area (the long 'street'), all you need to do is ignore all the enemies flying around and just head straight on directly to the next area. All you need to do for the hot spring area is avoid the left turn and go straight for the boss arena.

The second aspect of the mission is dealing with enemies effectively. This is usually less important than the above, as the extremely low health and docile nature of 0.0 enemies means you're able to destroy everything very quickly anyway. Therefore, except when fighting Pit's Body, this doesn't affect your finishing time that much. The main challenge should be rushing up to them, but again this is far from difficult. If your melee dash attacks keep missing, use more melee combos as they always hit and are generally more reliable.

Really the only difficult enemy you face is Pit's Body. Despite his low health (he will go down after two or three melee combos), some time can be wasted in targeting him (usually with melee dash attacks, as they are more likely to miss) and being flinched with arrows whilst approaching him. Melee combos will be much more efficient since they deal more damage and are nearly guaranteed to hit him on 0.0. If you're struggling to use them, all you need to do is to walk (gently slide the circle pad) up to Pit's Body rather than dash, as this will enable you to perform a melee combo from a longer distance (if this doesn't make sense, try it in the practice area with claws or an arm). Being flinched by arrows is more annoying, but can be dealt with by approaching him with dash-dodging (repeatedly nudging the control stick). Although this might seem contradictory to walking up to him, all you need to do is keep dashing until he attacks, then walk briskly (he won't attack for some time) and melee combo him. Of course, if you get the chance for a melee combo or dash attack as you're dash-dodging up to him, seize it.

Overall then, though Magnus may take some getting used to, there's nothing particularly difficult about the mission itself. As long as you can be consistent throughout you'll be able to complete the chapter in time with little difficulty.

Clear this chapter without taking any damage

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Spin Attack Lv. 2

First of all, the good news: there are literally only two (or a very loose three) threats in this mission that can realistically ruin the challenge. That's it. Two obstacles. The bad news? They can be incredibly frustrating to overcome. Namely, these are Pit's Body and to a lesser extent the Underworld Crawler, with the electric fence also counting if you wish. The rest of the level is easy, even not by Hades's hunt standards. Besides those two enemies, hardly any will actually attack you, most are virtually stationary and they can all be taken out by one melee combo or dash attack. You can opt to defeat these enemies if you want, but since the risk:reward ratio is probably not in your favour (if only because the 'reward' part is near zero), it's usually best to just ignore them.

So to start with, let's deal with the least threatening obstacle: the electric fence, encountered about halfway during the level. Here you face two waves of enemies; both containing a Centurion Strongarm (the muscular enemies) and a few Centurions (the basic archers). They won't attack you for some time, so calmly and coolly take them out before they get the chance to. All you need to watch out for is the electric fence. This can be tricky if some enemies are lurking right next to it and refusing to move. If this happens, attack them with either a melee combo or dash attack on the opposite side. What you want to avoid is to accidentally strafe around the enemy, charge erratically at it or attack it from the wrong angle and end up hitting the fence. But as long as you don't forget the docile nature of enemies on 0.0, you can stay calm and avoid the fence quite easily.

The first 'serious' obstacle comes not soon after: the Underworld Crawler. When you get here, quickly dispose of any remaining Centurions (it's unlikely they'll attack you, but they will attack the crawler, so you may get caught in the crossfire) and focus on the Crawler ASAP. It will go down in two melee combos, which are the best way to deal with it since they deal more damage and leave you less vulnerable afterward. It therefore doesn't present a large challenge in terms of health. But unlike other enemies, it is likely to attack you, and simply touching its treads will cause you to take damage. Luckily, it is still relatively docile, and all its attacks can be dodged easily even whilst dash-dodging. Therefore, the best way to deal with it is to dash-dodge around towards its heart (its only weak spot), and once you get there, quickly melee combo it twice before it spins around or attacks in another way. Needless to say, if you have any suspicion that the Crawler is about to spin, stop attacking and run away immediately. Whether it was a false alarm or not, approach the weak spot again using the repeated dash-dodging technique. Once it's defeated, remember to dash away as it will explode after a few seconds, then breathe again.

Finally, you face Pit's Body, who is by far the biggest challenge of all. Although he will be defeated in a mere two or three melee combos, his agility and aggression even on 0.0 are very threatening to the mission. Not only are his shots fast, accurate and often come out of nowhere, but he will continue to dodge, strafe and roll all around you, gaining invincibility as well as the opportunity to counter-attack you. For this reason, you should primarily use dash-dodging to move around, as this ensures you'll be able to dodge almost anything that's thrown at you.

However, you should use well-timed dodges when facing attacks at slightly longer ranges, when you have more time to react. This is where your offense comes in - dodging 'intentionally' often sets you up nicely for a melee combo, so try and do this when at all possible. This doesn't always work, as Pit's Body could be too far away, dodge your attack or even attack again himself, but more often than not it will. It is also perfectly possible to get melee combo opportunities whilst dash-dodging; especially if you've just dodged an attack as he will be left vulnerable.

Once you successfully pull off a melee combo and knock him back, instead of rushing up to him, keep a fair distance and once he rolls in a certain direction, pursue that direction immediately. This ensures he doesn't attack you from close range where you'll have very little reaction time to dodge. For example, this could happen if he rolls behind you (when you're close) and then attacks you with a melee combo. However, once you see the direction of his roll, stick fairly close to him, continue to dash-dodge and attack ASAP before he has a good chance to. When he rolls, he will get some invincibility just like Pit, but this will soon disappear and is not of too much concern. If he manages to pull an attack off after getting up, dodge it using the dash-dodging technique and quickly mash L for a melee combo if he's within range. If he escapes your melee range, don't be disappointed - just go back to dash-dodging, with well-timed dodges if you're at a good distance (or are sure he is about to attack), and keep looking for melee combo opportunities.

If you get into a weapons clash, just keep pressing L as it's almost certain you'll break through on 0.0. If he strafes/dodges around you then it's vital you go back to dash-dodging, as you won't be able to see what he does next (you won't be able to adjust the camera in time). Therefore if he attacks you, you should be safe. Keeping a close eye on him and predicting his behaviour is a difficult but extremely useful part of the fight, and the more you can do it, the better.

If you reach the air battle with still no damage taken, you've practically won. Honestly, even if you're overly relieved at defeating Pit's Body and playing worse than usual, hardly any enemies will fire anything at you (you can literally count the shots fired at you on your fingers), and you can avoid everything by moving in large circles. For extra insurance, you could equip a weapon with a strong homing ability to defeat enemies quickly. However this will probably make little difference, especially because you have your special attacks anyway.

You might find this mission to be quite difficult. Very difficult, in fact. Don't be surprised - the no damage missions are some of the hardest in the game, and with Magnus's limitations to melee combat, it goes without saying that you'll be taking a lot of risks. Hell, even the developers thought the standard 'Intensity 2.0+' requirement for no damage missions was too harsh here, allowing you do play on 0.0. But at the end of the day, there's only two real hurdles in this challenge, and all it takes is a set of well-timed dodges (either intentionally or 'unintentionally' through dash-dodging), melee combos/dash attacks and even camera swivels (with possibly a bit of luck) to complete.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

This is, if not insanely, inexplicably, unfathomably, exceptionally, mind-blowingly difficult, somehow possible. Both missions have no intensity requirement and you'll be running past enemies a lot on the no damage mission, so there are some things in common. If you choose this very difficult combination, focus on either achievement as a primary objective (i.e. aim to accomplish at least that one), so even if you didn't unlock both panels, you'll still unlock one. By all means attempt it, but actually accomplishing it will take some incredible skill.

Chapter 19 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed and stamina modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed and stamina)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight (Lv. 2+), Tirelessness (Lv. 2+), Instant Death Attack, Trade-off, Super Speed

Reward: Skyscraper Club (2.5/2.5, Melee defense +4, Recovery effect +4)

This speedrun is nearly as much about stamina (in Kid Icarus terms) as it is about speed. Although a good movement speed is always essential, in this mission stamina also becomes very useful during the pathways between floors in addition to on some floors themselves. This is because you'll be running around constantly to get in range to defeat enemies. Therefore, equip a weapon with both decent speed and stamina if you can. However, speed is still the overall priority, so if faced with a choice between the two, sacrifice stamina for adequate speed (note "adequate" speed: if your speed is already insanely fast, such as Brawler Claws with Speed +3 or more, you'll benefit more from increased stamina and a decreased risk of tiring out). Lightweight and Tirelessness are still the most useful powers, although Instant Death Attack is an option if your weapon's offense is quite low. Super Speed is useful for the pathways between floors.

Most of the land battle should be quite straightforward: each floor has a simple layout, and the enemies on them will be harmless on 0.0. Even the so-called "maze" is really easy to navigate, especially if you've memorised it from your previous runs. First, charge down the enemies that appear out of the holes on the first floor. Take little note of the alternating electric floors on floor three. Don't use the jump pads on floor five, as you can run the entire length of the boulder runway before a boulder drops down again. Most importantly, do not fall off when running across the windy passages on floor nine. With a fast weapon, it is very easy to sprint through a windy section only to carry on sprinting right off the edge, especially if you're using the Speed Boots, and falling off wastes huge amounts of time. I actually recommend you don't use the Speed Boots, as you're already fast enough in the windy sections and they only put you at greater risk of falling off. After that, lower the gemmed pillar ASAP on floor eleven, ignoring any enemies that spawn here. Lastly the Chariot Master's minimal health and the negligible damage of his attacks means he won't be a large threat. Go all-out on him, as the damage you take won't finish you in the time it takes to finish him. You could also use Trade-off to defeat him in seconds, although don't sacrifice speed-boosting powers if you decide to equip it.

Clear this chapter using a club (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Magnus/Capricorn Club with very high overall defense/recovery effect and strong standing charged shot

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 4), Aries Armor, Super Armor, Crisis Recovery, Effect Recovery

Reward: Raptor Claws (Idol)

Wow. Put simply, this is probably the hardest 'use a weapon on 9.0' mission in the whole of Hades's hunt, and certainly one of the hardest missions overall. This is a gruelling endurance test of dodging, counter-attacking, timing, control and memory using one of the most difficult weapon categories in solo. In particular, you will need to time your charged shots near-perfectly, especially your dash ones. This is because their weak evasive power (they hardly move you at all) and long recovery time are very punishable. Unfortunately, melee attacks - one of the most devastating characteristics about clubs - are far from useful in this mission, mainly because they are far too risky (particularly when facing groups of enemies), and you won't be close enough to use them most of the time. This means you'll be primarily using charged shots, so finding a weapon with good ones is absolutely key.

The majority of clubs are actually not that suitable. Many have extremely long charge times for their shots, which will make the mission much tougher, and those with a large reliance on melee power (such as the Ogre Club) are similarly far from ideal. Although obviously your personal preferences come first, overall the best clubs to use are the Magnus and Capricorn Clubs. The Magnus Club has strong charged shots as well as a very fast charge time, meaning you can defeat enemies quickly and not have to spend ages dodging everything until your next shot charges up. It also has a good movement speed and decent melee power if you need it. The main drawback is the pitiful range of the charged shots, but as long as you're constantly moving and dodging (strafing is a great way to do this), you'll avoid the majority of enemy attacks. Conversely, the Capricorn Club's main advantage is its standing charged shot, which although is fairly weak, has a range of 50m, a decent homing ability and a slightly faster charge time than the Magnus Club. It also lacks almost any kind of movement penalty and has a decent melee power. If your choice is between these two clubs, it ultimately boils down to choosing between range and damage. Unfortunately, because high overall defense and recovery effect (by far the most useful modifiers to have for this mission) take up so much value, there won't be much room left for others, so you won't be able to improve the club's other stats that much.

Powers are a simpler issue. Be as defensive as possible, similar to most solo missions. Health Recovery Lv. 4 is an absolute must, and Super/Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery and Effect Recovery are all very useful. If you have any remaining room, fill it with whatever you like. I used Brief Invincibility for extra protection when using Health Recovery, since if you take damage while using Health Recovery it stops, but your personal preference will matter more.

The air battle, at least, should be relatively simple. This is mainly because of clubs' ability to deflect shots with melee attacks. Although you might not destroy many enemies, you should still avoid taking lethal damage. With so many shots flying at you, it's pretty easy to deflect the ones coming your way by pressing L repeatedly and reflecting them. Clubs also have a remarkably fast charge time for their special attacks, so use them more liberally. All in all, although you may take some or even a lot of damage, there should be little threat of getting finished, and recovery effect will restore virtually all your health when you land.

Since the land battle is conveniently divided into individual floors, the strategy for this mission will deal with each one in turn. Next to the floor's number is a brief description. As for the enemies on the ramps connecting the floors, just ignore all of them. They are completely optional and you risk losing valuable health by taking them on, especially on 9.0.

Floor 1 (holes)

Even the first floor can be frustrating at times. Thanks to all the holes in the floor, enemies will only appear briefly, meaning that defeating them before they disappear can be difficult. This is often the case if your club's charged shots don't have much range. To get around this, grab the dodge token at the beginning, and take out the Octos (flying octopus thing) and Wave Angler (thing that fires wave-like shots) as quickly as possible. Hopefully you'll have enough time of the dash token remaining to take on the Miks. They are particularly annoying thanks to the sheer number of them, the short time they appear, and the aggressiveness at which they attack you. Prepare to dodge like crazy and avoid shots from all angles when they appear. The Dodge Token will come in very useful for this.

Floor 2 (moving platform over bottomless pit)

Dodge the shots fired by the Skuttler Cannoneers when the platform is moving across the pit, which should be easy. Once you reach the other side, destroy the switch ASAP, open the treasure box on the enemies' former platform (it's on the ledge closest to where you came in), and grab the food. Nothing too difficult.

Floor 3 (alternating electric floors)

The Shelbo (flying shell with lips) here can be a pain because it can draw you in so powerfully. If it does this you risk taking damage from both its attacks and the alternating electric floors. Try to hit its lips with a charged shot if you can, but if not, wait until it shows its eye and hope you can defeat it with a single dash charged shot. Other than that, just keep an eye on the floor at all times - it's easy to get distracted!

Floor 4 (destructible pillars)

This is not so much difficult as it is aggravating. The Zurrets (stationary enemies in pots) will be attacking you constantly, meaning that it will be very difficult to avoid taking some damage. To avoid both Zurrets attacking you, run behind the first pillar you plan to take down (you should be near the wall) and start attacking from there with standing charged shots, whilst dodging incoming attacks. When the Zurret hits the ground, strafe around him and melee like crazy. Rinse and repeat for the other pillar. Remember to open the treasure box atop another pillar on your way out.

Floor 5 ("Donkey Kong"-style platforming)

I would suggest waiting for the Miks to approach you, and taking them out with charged shots then. But apart from that, it's all just a matter of timing. The boulders will cause significant damage if you hit them, so take great precision when timing your jumps. If you are fast enough, you can ignore the jump pads and run on foot, but since clubs' movement speeds are about average at best, only attempt this if you're confident your speed is fast enough.

Floor 6 (ice rink)

Pretty easy thanks to the Aether Ring you are given. Not much to say here; the Aether Ring should have more than enough health to take out all the enemies in this area.

Floor 7 (mines and floating enemies)

Again, more of a minor nuisance than something majorly difficult. The first wave shouldn't be too troublesome, but the combination of the Shelbo and Komaytos (jellyfish) can be really hard to avoid taking damage from. The Komaytos will charge at you very aggressively and will latch onto you from every angle. They can even be floating safely high in the air, only to descend upon you as you take on the Shelbo or another Komayto. I would suggest taking out the Komaytos ASAP, ignoring the Shelbo as much as you can. If the Komaytos prove to be a huge pain, you can try running away from them and taking out the Shelbo from the other side of the arena.

Floor 8 (bowling alley)

More a bit of fun than anything else. Just make sure you hit the bowling ball from the right direction so it doesn't rebound and hit you, and either wait for it to move away from the exit or make a dash for it. There is also a treasure box to the south-east of the bowling alley if you are interested in rewards.

Floor 9 (windy walkways)

This floor can get incredibly frustrating, for the sole reason that if you fall off, you will take huge damage regardless of defense. Take out whatever enemies you can first, leaving you with an unobstructed path. The first passage isn't too difficult, and the second one is similarly relatively easy. But the third passage - thanks to its enemies and narrow walkway - is by far the most difficult. Again, take out as many Monoeyes as you can, and carefully manoeuver yourself to safety by dashing in a north-east direction. Once you make it out, stop as soon as you can. It is very easy to carry on sprinting and completely miss the jump pad at the end!
In case you haven't done so, defeat the rest of the Monoeyes, as doing so gives you some much-needed food. If you miss the food here, the next health-restoring item (a Drink of the Gods) won't appear until Floor 11, which makes the mission much harder.
The Speed Boots here can actually be detrimental, thanks to the huge burst in speed which can make you run straight off the edge after exiting a windy section, and not allow you to stop in time. Feel free to ignore them.

Floor 10 (Exo Tank racetrack)

Nothing too challenging here. Take out the Skuttler Cannoneers first as they have less health than the Shelbo, then it's all very straightforward once you get the Exo Tank.

Floor 11 (tall central gemmed pillar)

This can get quite challenging as the enemies here can quickly overwhelm you. The first few enemies are easy enough; you can even afford to ignore them until they approach you. The tough part is when the pillar collapses fully. You'll face two waves of enemies: the first contains a Tortolunk (turtle-like spinning top enemy) and Snowman, the second a Snong (elephant head) and a couple of Handoras (conjoined hands), and the third a Vakloom (floating thing that fires a single powerful laser) and a couple of Miks. Attack mainly using standing charged shots like always, as you can easily get clobbered whilst recovering from a dash shot. In the second and third waves, try and take out the smaller enemies first, but if the Snong on the second wave gets too troublesome you can concentrate your attacks on him instead. You can afford to leave the Vakloom alone if it finishes firing its laser, as it will not be able to attack again. Providing you keep moving, dodging and strafing when necessary, this section should be manageable. Feel free to activate an Armor power or two if it's too tough - the level largely gets easier from now on. However you should avoid using a Health Recovery unless you're about to get finished, as there is a Drink of the Gods at the end of this section.

Floor 12 (first area after loading screen; upper section of Floor 11)

Once you've taken out the Syrens (flying women), destroy the shield generated by the Shildeen ASAP and target the Handoras. If you're using the Magnus Club, you could try using a backward-dash charged shot. The only other enemies are a lone Mik and Igniot (petrifying cannon). Defeat the Igniot first to avoid getting petrified and subsequently left vulnerable to the Mik. If you get petrified, use an Effect Recovery immediately, as the Mik will inflict a lot of damage.

Floor 13 (maze)

Not only is this maze very easy to navigate, but the enemies here are far from threatening and there should be enough food to fully restore your health. Even if the Igniots manage to hit you, the only other enemies are Girins (ant lions buried in the ground), which are stationary and won't be able to reach you. You can safely deal with them by firing charged shots at their exposed claws from a distance.

Floor 14 (shiny floor)

The first wave is simple enough; the Eggplant Wizard's attacks should be easy to dodge and will be completely harmless once you defeat the lone Wave Angler. For the second wave, take out the Guttler (purple blob that eats other enemies) first before it can gobble any Shemums (small snakes), which should then be easy to defeat. Do NOT use the Smart Bomb - leave it until the end of the wave and use it on the Underworld Crawler. Alongside the Crawler spawns a couple of Skuttler Cannoneers and a Pluton (thing that steals items). Try and ignore the Crawler as best you can and focus on the cannoneers first. Thankfully the Crawler doesn't attack too frequently so this should be quite possible. The Pluton is annoying but doesn't deal damage, and since staying alive is always a priority over rewards, generally ignore it until there aren't many enemies left. The Speedy Box (moving treasure box) contains a Boom Spear, which you should try to use on the Crawler, but if you can't get a clear shot then unleash it on the cannoneers. The same goes for the Smart Bomb, as mentioned above.

Floor 15 (Cherubot area)

Despite the toughness and number of the enemies here, the Cherubot's remarkable endurance should be enough to defeat them all with it still intact. The Fort Oink (exactly what it looks like) in particular will be very tough to take down, and your Cherubot may take significant damage from all the enemies it spawns. Try and focus most of your attacks on the fort itself, as you'll just keep destroying endlessly respawning enemies otherwise until the fort runs out of them, which needless to say will take a very long time. But overall, this floor isn't difficult at all providing your Cherubot survives everything.

Floor 16 (hot spring)

Enjoy your well-deserved hot spring. Defeat the Bumbledrop if you wish.

Floor 17 (Chariot Master)

The final twist in this very hard mission. You may have found the chariot difficult to control in your previous runs, and it doesn't get any easier on 9.0 thanks to the Chariot Master's constant attacks, making it much more difficult to dodge everything, and higher chance of inducing status ailments. Activate Super/Aries Armor immediately and attack mainly using standing charged shots, as the long recovery time from dash shots still means you can get counter-attacked easily. Remember that you can dodge normally like always, which is vital for sustaining minimal damage, but keep in mind you will also have to move the chariot to avoid any incoming land mines and lasers. If you get the chance for a melee attack, don't be afraid to seize it! The melee power of most clubs and the chance to unlock another panel (see below) will often mean it's worth it. Overall, although this fight is tough, it shouldn't beharder than what you've already gone through, and providing you're good enough at dodging on the chariot and/or have enough powers left, you should definitely make it. For more details on this fight, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

If you're still alive by now on Intensity 9.0, relax and breathe again. Congratulations! There aren't many achievements that are harder than this one.

Defeat the Chariot Master whilst in the lead on the chariot track

Recommended Weapons: Anything that deals high ranged damage

Recommended Powers: Trade-off, Energy Charge, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: Lightning Chariot (Idol)

You might have noticed that whenever you take the lead on the track, the Chariot Master pauses and then suddenly speeds forward, pulling ahead of you again. This means that you won't have much of a window to defeat him when you're in the right position. Therefore, something that can deal very high ranged damage is your best option. Attack him a few times from any position, then once you reckon he is on the verge of death, attack him only when you are in the lead. If you have room on the power board, powers like Energy Charge (which you can keep active with Brief Invincibility/Playing Dead), Trade-off and Quick Charge are great for dealing massive damage in a short space of time. The intensity doesn't affect this challenge too much, but instead of playing on 0.0 just for this panel, try to unlock it alongside one or two others.

Defeat the Chariot Master with a melee attack

Recommended Weapons: Anything with insane melee power; clubs and arms are good

Recommended Powers: Trade-off, Energy Charge, Libra Sponge, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: None

Although the Chariot Master is hard to reach with melee attacks, you should still get a fair number of opportunities to use them if you keep moving the chariot towards him. Since you'll probably only squeeze in one melee combo, weapons that deal insanely high melee damage are the best choice; especially clubs and arms. Start attacking the Chariot Master from anywhere, then once his health gets low, switch to using melee attacks exclusively. Generally, the higher your melee damage, the more you can play it safe. Powers that give massive damage increases, such as Energy Charge, Trade-off and even Libra Sponge, are useful. Brief Invincibility/Playing Dead are also good for protection whilst Energy Charge is active. Intensity has a slight effect in that the higher it is the more health the Chariot Master will have, resulting in either more time spent attacking exclusively from melee range (playing it safe) or using more ranged attacks to whittle his health down, putting you at greater risk of defeating him using them. However, if you can accurately estimate his health on either 0.0 or 9.0 (due to the intensity requirements of the other panels), then I strongly recommend you unlock this panel alongside another one on these intensities.

If you're playing on 0.0, one option would be to use Trade-off and just use melee attacks to kill him really quickly. Keep moving the chariot around and get into melee range aggressively, since he will deal negligible damage. The main threat to this mission is accidentally killing him with a ranged shot (especially charged ones) if he moves away at the last second. If you're not confident with the chariot controls and getting into melee range, try using the 'traditional' method instead, unless you're really frustrated with this mission and want to guarantee you unlock it.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

You should definitely attempt to unlock the latter two (defeating the Chariot Master whilst in the lead and with a melee attack) in conjunction with either the speedrun or 'use a club on 9.0' panels. On the speedrun, unless you're timing yourself and know you have plenty of time left, you won't have enough time to exclusively attack whilst in the lead or with melee attacks. It's more a case of making an educated guess on the Chariot Master's health, then switching to attacking aggressively only whilst in the lead or with melee attacks and hoping for the best. Conversely, you can attack exclusively from these positions during the 9.0 club mission, but this puts you at greater risk of taking more damage, being inflicted with ailments and ultimately getting finished. Therefore, unless you can effectively dodge the vast majority of incoming attacks or have sufficient Super/Aries Armor uses, you might have to opt for a similar strategy (i.e. not playing it totally safe and hoping for the best).

If you don't manage to unlock these panels during the speedrun or 9.0 club mission, unlocking them individually on 0.0 with Trade-off and/or Energy Charge is definitely doable.

Chapter 20 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 8 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Super Speed, Trade-off, Power Attack

Reward: 15000 Hearts

Though at first that time limit seems very daunting, remember that the air battle for this chapter consists of the Lightning Chariot arcade-style game which only lasts about two minutes, unlike the usual five. Still, six minutes isn't exactly leisurely for completing the level on the ground.

When you land, avoid the path to the right (the enemies it spawns are harder) and continue forward, ignoring all the enemies. Continue defeating the enemies down the succeeding corridor until you reach the room before the jail. Nothing should present too much of a threat. Once inside the jails, ignore the enemies there and drop straight down into the hole in the center of the room. Proceed towards the hot spring (i.e. down the corridor that does not contain the 8.0 intensity gate), defeating the weak enemies here. Take the first right on the flight of stairs upwards for a quick hot spring stop if you need it, then run along the edge of the passage out to avoid the trap door and use the key on the bridge. The Juggernaut and Centurions in the next room are little more than punching bags on this intensity, so quickly sweep them aside and proceed upstairs outside.

Take the grenade and take out the Eribus (since the Tempura Wizard never attacks you), then quickly dash across the windy passage to reach the Exo Tank area. It is often faster to avoid the Exo Tank altogether as it cannot turn as quickly as you, and its damage output will not matter on such a low intensity. Instead, quickly climb in and park it next to the gate leading forward, ensuring you can immediately climb in and start driving down the ramps. Now defeat the enemies in the ring on foot. Once you're in the last area, go all-out. There are lots of enemies here but they will hardly deal any damage (if they attack you at all), so just defeat them however you can.

The fight with Palutena can be mildly frustrating, but hopefully nothing beyond that. Largely ignore her attacks and focus on the Chaos Kin. She will actually take quite a bit of punishment on 0.0, so you can afford to be more offensive than usual and hit her a few times with your attacks. However, exposing the Chaos Kin just once should be enough to finish it off, especially if you have offensive powers like Trade-off or the Power Attack powers. Overall, she should not be anything to worry about.

Clear this chapter using a bow (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Bow of choice with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: Clobbler (Idol)

Chapter 20 is actually a great chapter for 9.0 intensity - the enemies are not too difficult, there is plenty of food, it is quite short and the rewards (both weapons and hearts, but mostly weapons) are immense. Therefore you may want to keep replaying the chapter if you're interested in acquiring high-value weapons to use in fusion. In terms of this challenge, bows are very suitable given their strong ranged abilities, although you will probably want some overall defense and recovery effect as the enemies still deal significant damage. Your power selection should just be your standard solo setup.

Hopefully you'll have a decent memory of the air battle, which is the best way of getting through it. As always, keep moving, except move along the bottom of the screen instead of the usual large circles. This way you should avoid the vast majority of enemy fire, even if you don't manage to defeat as many enemies. During the section with the Fire Wyrm, it is easy to focus on defeating it and ignore the other enemies, but they are far more threatening here so focus on taking out them first.

On land, use your bow's ranged power to defeat enemies safely from a good distance. From there you should be able to dodge most of the Centurion Strongarms' attacks (charges and barbell hurling), Centurion Knights' attacks (both melee and ranged) and Centurions' arrows. You'll also take much less damage at longer rather than shorter ranges, so stick with this attacking approach whenever possible. If you get caught at closer quarters, retreat as fast as you can via backward-dash charged shots and continuous fire. If you get surrounded, couple this with frantic dodging and quickly getting your shots in directly after dodging. Usually your charged shots will be able to pierce through multiple enemies, so consider attacking 'lines' of enemies this way rather than the usual continuous fire. This is also slightly safer as you'll be timing your shots carefully and firing less frequently, leaving you open less often.

In terms of power usage, save Effect Recovery for the Tempura Wizard, as it will charge at you very aggressively if you're turned into tempura. You can be more liberal with Health Recovery uses overall since the boss is quite easy. Lastly save your armor powers for the final area before Palutena. The Juggernaut and various Strongarms make this a tough area to beat and it's likely you'll take a lot of damage. After disposing of the Centurions, focus on taking out the Juggernaut. This will ensure you won't have any annoying explosions or 'machine gun' fire to dodge when dealing with the Strongarms, who will attack you aggressively. I like using armor powers against the Juggernauts. Use the X-Bomb and Paralysis Card on it as well to help you further.

Against Palutena, start by dodging all her attacks whilst waiting for the Chaos Kin to appear. You can do this either by regular dodging or a combination of dodging and strafing, with the latter being slightly safer. The best time to attack the Chaos Kin is in between Palutena's attacks, which on their own are quite easy to dodge - by far the most likely time they'll hit you is whilst you are attacking and left open. As long as you can avoid hitting Palutena, which should be quite easy given the homing abilities of most bows, this should not be a difficult fight. For more details on this fight, see her entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Defeat the Chaos Kin without hitting Palutena

Recommended Weapons: Anything except clubs and cannons

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

The best strategy for this mission is patience. Only attack the Chaos Kin once you have a clear shot to minimise the risk of failure. Preferably use charged shots as they have stronger homing abilities and stand less chance of hitting Palutena than a string of continuous fire. However, feel free to use continuous fire when the Chaos Kin is out in the open. Generally, as long as you don't take risky shots, this mission is a piece of cake. Even if you don't succeed the first time, you'll have another attempt in conjunction with another Chapter 20 panel (see the box below for more details).

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Do the "avoid hitting Palutena" mission alongside either the speedrun or 9.0 run, making it a secondary objective (i.e. focus on the other mission and achieve this as a second priority). This way you'll be able to try and unlock it again with the other mission if you don't succeed. In other words, if you accidentally hit Palutena your first time round, you'll be able to try and accomplish this achievement the second time round, as there are two missions (the speedrun and 9.0-with-a-bow mission) to try and unlock this with. Hopefully this makes sense.

Chapter 21 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Anything with a combination of good speed, average homing, decent offense and medium-long range (Palms are good)

Recommended Powers: Instant Death Attack, Power Attack, Lightweight, Energy Charge, Tirelessness, Homing Boost

Reward: Aurum Bow (Idol)

Chapter 21 is similar to 17 in that your focus is more on defeating enemies quickly than raw speed. However, the main difference is that you're given a much larger platform to fight on. This means speed still plays a part as you'll be chasing after enemies, as well as shot range. If your weapon's offense is anything but abysmal you'll be able to defeat enemies quickly enough on 0.0, so prioritise simply being able to get in range. Aside from a good speed and range, a good homing ability may be useful too, since many enemies will be moving constantly and you'll be able to hit them more easily. Weapons that fire a 'spread' of side-dash continuous fire (such as Artillery Claws) could be useful for the same reason.

In this mission, powers actually aren't that useful. Instant Death Attack is marginally helpful, Power Attack sometimes helps clear out clusters of enemies and Lightweight could be used if you're having difficulty chasing some enemies (or Tirelessness as an alternative if you hate the huge knockback it gives), but there's not much else. You could activate Energy Charge/Trade-off before or during the Chaos Kin fight to defeat it more quickly. Even Homing Boost might be an option.

The main thing to remember is how enemies respawn. Within each wave, if you just keep destroying one type of enemy without touching any of the others, that enemy type will keep respawning meaning you'll never be able to finish the wave! Therefore, destroy all the enemy types you see. Lastly, unlike most speedruns the boss has a fairly large impact on your completion time due to its cowardly nature. If your weapon has short range and/or slow shots, it will probably be difficult enough just to hit the Chaos Kin. Keep this in mind when selecting your weapon. Use speed-boosting (e.g. Tirelessness, Lightweight) or offensive powers (e.g. Energy Charge, Trade-off, Homing Boost) to make this a bit easier.

Collect 35,000 or more hearts and clear this chapter

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense, recovery effect and heart bonus/evasion if possible

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Heart Booster

Reward: None

First off, you will need at least Intensity 8.0 for this mission, and I would recommend 8.5 or even 9.0 without heart-boosting equipment. A standard 9.0 run produces around 37,500 hearts, so clearly there's little room for a lower intensity. This means there's also little room for heart-boosting modifiers or powers, as your weapon value will be taken up by the usual overall defense and recovery effect, whereas your power board will be filled with defensive powers. Therefore, this mission is more about simply completing the chapter on 9.0 than collecting hearts per se. However, you should still defeat as many enemies as possible to maximise your chances of success. This especially applies if you're not playing on 9.0.

After the gruelling air battle, quickly dash and collect the food before the Corals (orange spiky plant things) attack you, and you're under way. There are two main things to keep in mind: how to dodge and counter-attack effectively, and how different enemies respawn.

Starting with dodging and counter-attacking, since enemies will often be attacking you from all directions, dodging and counter-attacking becomes extremely important. This is because with so many enemies, it's incredibly likely something will hit you if you are left vulnerable after your own attacks. Therefore, be inclined to attack enemies after dodging their attacks than whenever you get in range. If you ever face a huge barrage of fire, which could possibly come from the groups of lowly mooks (Monoeyes, Miks, Tribytes etc.) that attack you, then try dashing repeatedly to dodge as much as possible, followed by a standing charged shot or two. Standing shots leave you much less open, and should be powerful enough to destroy a Monoeye or similar enemy. When enemy melee attacks are thrown into the mix (such as with the Urgles - the flipping trees in the Forces of Nature), focus on dodging or strafing around them and follow up with a backward or side-dash charged shot, depending on the location of other enemies. If you attack them for too long, especially with dash shots, it's highly likely another enemy will hit you as you are left open.

The respawn mechanism is more directly related to collecting 35,000 hearts. It might seem subtle at first, but in fact enemies will keep endlessly respawning if you don't destroy all the enemy types within a wave. For example, in the wave with the Underworld Crawler and Urgles, if you keep destroying the Urgles but don't touch the Crawler, they will keep respawning and you'll never finish the wave! This is actually pretty useful if you're ever falling behind on collecting hearts. However, as this clearly puts you in more danger, only attempt it if you have sufficient health and/or skill (namely in taking on enemies whilst dodging the attacks of several others). If you're unsure whether to take the risk, on balance it's probably best not to - the threat of getting finished and basically failing the mission is usually too great.

Aside from the various groups of enemies you deal with, your main threats will usually be the Underworld Crawler, Aurum Dohz (troop transport) and Ornes. As the Crawler spawns alongside numerous Urgles, it can be quite difficult to get round to its weak spot whilst being constantly charged at. But by and large, if you just focus on dodging everything (and not attacking the Urgles - your priority is the Crawler) you should get there eventually. The best time to move is just after the Crawler attacks you, as you only have the Urgles to worry about. For the Dohz, destroy any snowmen it spawns ASAP and adopt a solid dodge-and-counterattack approach against it, as its lasers seriously hurt and its ridiculously high health ensures you'll take a lot of punishment if you fail to dodge its attacks often enough. There's not much you can do against the Ornes, but thankfully they are fairly easy to avoid in this chapter. Don't dash about madly within their orbiting area and they can be largely ignored.

The Chaos Kin will probably be more of a nuisance than anything else - its attacks don't do much damage, but its cowardliness means the fight could drag on. But on the other hand, Dark Pit makes good cannon fodder, so you won't be bombarded with attacks as you usually are against 9.0 bosses. Overall, the fight should definitely be easier than what you've just gone through. For more info, see its entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

There's no denying Chapter 21 is a very hard chapter to play on 9.0 or a similar intensity. You're nearly always surrounded by enemies, and it's easy to take a lot of damage from a particular wave. But the majority of the time, getting left open from dash shots will be the cause for taking too much damage. The best way to avoid this is a mainly evasive, defensive approach (dodging and counter-attacking) as explained above, and though it might seem frustrating and long-winded at first, it is certainly much safer. Also don't forget about the jump pads - they are very useful for getting out of dangerous situations, such as whilst being attacked by several enemies or on the verge of tiring out. It's tough, but far from impossible owing to the fairly generous amount of food you're given and Dark Pit's appearance from wave 9 onwards. If you're still finding Intensity 8.5+ too difficult, I highly recommend equipping Heart Booster (preferably Lv. 3 or above) and possibly a weapon with heart bonus if it still has sufficient offense and defense. Overall defense, recovery effect and good ranged damage are your main priorities, and you can't afford to sacrifice them too much due to the risk of getting finished.

Defeat the Chaos Kin without letting Dark Pit being taken down

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Slip Shot Lv. 2

A very easy challenge. It's unlikely Dark Pit will get taken down even on 9.0, unless you really struggle to hit the Chaos Kin, so just play the fight as you would normally. In any case, there is literally no chance of this happening on 0.0 during the speedrun.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Don't attempt the "keep Dark Pit alive" mission on its own - you will unlock it anyway when you do the speedrun. In terms of Viridi's panels, you'll probably destroy 240 enemies on Hades's heart-based mission, and obviously you'll complete Viridi's speedrun if you complete Hades's. However it will be difficult to capture the Chaos Kin 5 times in an electro trap during any of Hades's panels. If anything, it would be easier during the heart-based mission, but the high intensity means you'll need to be confident at fighting the Chaos Kin. If you've unlocked all of Viridi's panels, seeing as though collecting 35,000 hearts in under 14 minutes is probably impossible, it's two separate runs here.

Chapter 22 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense and very good offense

Recommended Powers: Aries Armor (Lv. 3+), Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Power Attack, Libra Sponge, Effect Recovery, Trade-off, Playing Dead, Pisces Heal (with Trade-off)

Reward: Virus Lv. 3

In this hard speedrun, as the air battle takes around 9 minutes, you have to defeat Amazon Pandora in only two minutes. You're going to have to sacrifice a good defense for a very good offense, as in addition to the two minute time limit you need to have leeway in case something goes wrong (for example, if you get captured) and you lose a lot of time. Therefore, it's best to leave any defensive abilities to your powers. Aries Armor makes a great defensive substitute in this mission - as well as the amazing defense boosts, its ability to prevent status effects (mainly the paralysis from Pandora's hearts) also comes in very useful. Health Recovery remains a good choice, but with a high level Aries Armor it might not be needed. Any remaining space can be used for offensive powers - Power Attack and Libra Sponge are probably the best choices. Although Trade-off is incredibly risky, it works very well if you're able to defeat her before the invincibility runs out. If you go down the Trade-off route, it would be an idea to also equip Playing Dead, Pisces Heal or Health Recovery, to ensure you're not completely doomed if your invincibility runs out.

Amazon Pandora is actually not too tough compared to other bosses in the later chapters. Most of her attacks are easy to see and dodge, she sometimes pauses for a few moments allowing you to deal some damage (such as when she makes the items around the arena reappear), and although she teleports everywhere, she usually teleports behind a bomb which is easy to dodge when thrown at you. Most importantly, use a series of well-timed dodges against her heart projectiles, as they are very likely to paralyze you otherwise (i.e. remove your dodging abilities), causing you to take damage from the successive ones she fires. Her other attacks can generally be avoided by using dash shots, which should be your main method of attack. If Aries Armor is active then you can afford to forget almost completely about dodging (by evading using dash shots instead), but if not then mainly use dash shots alongside a few dodge-and-counterattack moves. If you have stamina problems, equipping a low-level Tirelessness should be worth the sacrifice made from removing other powers.

Defeat the Soul-Eating Monster

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

Very easy. If you somehow haven't unlocked this yet, then all you need to do is attack the monster instead of anything else. It sticks around for so long you have more than enough time to defeat it, unless your weapon has pitiful offense.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

A perfect combination would be the speedrun in conjunction with the two Viridi's hunt panels (Clear the chapter within 12 minutes and clear the chapter without dying on 5.0+), but this is unlikely as you'll probably have unlocked them already. If you haven't defeated the Soul-Eating Monster yet, then by all means do that alongside the speedrun. In fact, it would be quite surprising if you didn't manage to accomplish it.

Chapter 23 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws with a speed modifier (or any other weapon with equivalent speed)

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Trade-off

Reward: Brawny Claws (Idol)

This is surprisingly easy. Chapter 23's land battle is quite straightforward, but moreover there are only three areas where you must defeat enemies in order to move forward (outlined below). This means that you can bypass huge sections of the land battle and save huge amounts of time. The only section that might screw you up is Hades's Heart, who you'll have to chase and defeat quickly. This is why Trade-off is listed among the recommended powers - with it, providing your weapon's offense is quite good, you should only need to attack it twice at most (i.e. it should only get into rage mode once) before it goes down.

Once you land, quickly defeat the Handoras and Bluster in the starting area and run past all the enemies you see until you reach the area where Pit exclaims "I'm trapped!". This area contains a single Snong, the elephant head-like enemy. Feel free to destroy some enemies if they get in your way, but generally you should just avoid them and save precious time. After this area, again run past all the enemies you see until you reach the area where Hades punches his own belly. The only exception is the Shildeen (shield generator) you encounter during the grind rail section, but on 0.0 you can more than easily dispose of him. Once you reach this area, go all-out on the enemies you see. You may want to consider using Tirelessness or Lightweight to avoid stamina problems. Hopefully by now, you should have saved enough time to comfortably defeat Hades's Heart (a good guideline is about two minutes). Quickly chase it down using Lightweight or Tirelessness, activate Trade-off when you reach it, then attack with all your might. If it goes into rage mode, the invincibility from Trade-off should outlast it. Once it calms down, you should only need to attack it once more before it is defeated.

Destroy 150 enemies and clear this chapter (Intensity 9.0)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense and recovery effect and evasion if possible

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Aries Armor, Super Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: Rock Bomb (Idol)

Unfortunately, Chapter 23 gets very, very tough on 9.0, and so you might have a hard time just completing it. Fortunately though, that is pretty much all you have to do with a requirement as low as 150 kills. You can easily finish the chapter with 175 or more, and there are plenty of enemies in total (over 200), so thankfully you're not forced to destroy as many enemies as you can. You can therefore simply use your usual 9.0 equipment and just focus on getting through the chapter.

First off, do not equip the Three Sacred Treasures unless you are very confident at the air battle, as their lack of defense and recovery effect makes it very risky for you (you can hardly afford to get hit at all). But if you have the usual high defense, the air battle is not too tricky. In particular, you won't have to worry about destroying all the enemies you see because the requirement is so low, which means that you can just focus on destroying the enemies that pose the greatest threat. The only time this doesn't apply is if you have several very low-HP enemies (such as Handoras) and one high-HP one, when you should quickly destroy the former first to get several more kills. A good benchmark is about 75 or more kills for the air battle, which allows you to run past a few land enemies if they cause too much trouble. However, you can even get as low as 50 and still be able to destroy enough enemies overall.

The land battle is hard, but again as you're focused on survival rather than killing as many enemies as possible, you can play more defensively, which is very useful. Not only can you avoid most enemies in this chapter (albeit very riskily), but some enemies such as Monoeyes will disappear altogether if you leave them for long enough. When facing groups of enemies, mainly stick to dodging and counter-attacking with standing charged shots/continuous fire unless it is safe. You can opt for simply using dash shots all the time and avoid incoming fire that way, but this is far more risky due to the high-damaging nature of enemies and stamina problems it causes. However, be inclined to use dash shots at longer ranges or when dealing with smaller groups of enemies. Side-dash shots will be more useful than forward or backward-dash ones as they have better evasive power. The Handoras (hand-like things) are a real pain in this chapter, as they can deal a ton of damage with a single attack, and you will often face them in groups. If you spot them as part of a group, take them out quickly with dash shots, which their low health allows you to do easily.

The final area (Hades's "stomach" with several waves of enemies) is likely to be the toughest part of the land battle, so save one or two armor and Health Recovery powers for it, and focus even more on playing defensively. A recovery effect modifier helps a ton as although there is a fair amount of food, the enemies here can deal huge amounts of damage; far outweighing the natural recovery you get from food. Against the Crawler, keep a close eye on its attacks (they are very punishing) and take it out first, as the Skuttler Cannoneers will keep endlessly respawning otherwise.

If your air battle didn't go so well and you are lagging a bit behind on kills, there are a number of things you can do on land. The first is to leave the plant things that spawn underworld enemies for a while, so more can spawn. In this situation, also remember to take out any other enemies first. Similarly, when fighting the Crawler, you can opt to take out as many Skuttler Cannoneers as you need as they will keep respawning. There is also an optional "tree elevator" that will be behind you when you reach the area with the three tree elevators. Taking it will lead you to some Gyrazers up top and cause a convoy of Komaytos and a Skuttler to spawn below.

Lastly, let's look at the (probably very tough) fight against Hades's Heart. If your weapon has enough homing ability, shooting over the walls is by far the best method of attacking. Shooting through the walls is equally viable, if you're using a club or Slip Shot. If this does not apply, stick to a combination of mostly ambushing with chasing as a last resort. A good speed comes in very useful for doing this. The reason you won't be able to always ambush Hades's Heart is because it will constantly try and avoid you. Conversely, its clones will chase you aggressively, meaning you'll have to avoid or destroy them en route to ambushing the heart. The best time to ambush it is along the long straights around the edge of the maze, but these are by no means ideal and you should generally focus on ambushing constantly rather than wait for a 'good' opportunity. When you get there, go all-out and attack aggressively using dash attacks, as you should have enough time to dodge the heart's first charge after it goes into rage mode. For extra insurance, attack from a good distance.

Now comes the difficult part - you're going to have to dodge the best part of four or five charges, alongside a clone also charging at you and blowing up. Your priority should be avoiding the heart's charges with a series of well-timed dodges, as a badly timed one can quite easily get you hit. If clones are around, this will all be made much tougher. I would advise trying to get onto the central straight if you can, as there is more space here to move around and see what's coming, or if not stay in an area with many corners so you can at least avoid the clones' blast more easily. Avoid staying along the edges and outer corners of the maze. Hopefully with some good dodging and locations, you'll come out of the assault without too much damage. Regardless, you should still save as many powers as you can for this fight. Even the invincibility powers - Brief Invincibility and Playing Dead - can be used to negate the dangers of rage mode charges. Finally, if you are having serious trouble with this section, I would strongly advise equipping a weapon with an evasion modifier. A longer invincibility period after dodging is incredibly useful when dodging the charges, and even just dodging frantically will make you avoid most attacks.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

For Viridi's panels, if you haven't defeated Hades's heart with a melee dash attack yet, then by all means attempt it in either of these missions. It will probably be easier during the speedrun, as you can use Trade-off to bring the heart to near-death, then defeat it with a dash attack after it exits rage mode for the first time. You could also try destroying 150 enemies using a club on 9.0, although it is likely to be very difficult unless you love clubs. But if you've unlocked all of Viridi's Chapter 23 panels, it's two separate runs here.

Chapter 24 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 11 minutes

Recommended Weapons: Claws (or any other weapon with equivalent speed) with very good offense

Recommended Powers: Lightweight, Tirelessness, Trade-off, Energy Charge, Power Attack

Reward: Palutena Bow (Weapon Unlocked)

This is probably the most challenging speedrun in the entire game. In this mission, you have to defeat six bosses in record time as well as dispose of the regular enemies very efficiently to complete the land battle in under about seven and a half minutes (the air battle makes up the remaining few minutes). For this reason, a weapon with not only good speed but very good offense is crucial. If anything, offense probably comes into play more in this chapter, as you can use powers to overcome any slight lacks in speed you might have.

Powers like Lightweight and Tirelessness are best used along the stairs between arenas and on the arenas themselves to avoid tiring out. Any remaining uses can be used during boss fights, but you should generally not be doing this as it is a sign of equipping too many speed-boosting powers. Offensive powers - such as Mega Laser and Heavenly Light - are best used against bosses. As far as weapons are concerned, there's not too much restriction providing your weapon can deal very good damage, but if your aiming is not great or even average, some homing ability will definitely help in defeating enemies more quickly.

After you land, once you've taken the first elevator up, activate Lightweight or Tirelessness right off the bat and sprint up the first flight of stairs, ignoring all the enemies here. Fighting these enemies wastes precious time, and the rewards on 0.0 are far from worth it. In the first arena, you'll come up against three Flages and a Captain Flare, or in other words the "stealthy" units of the Forces of Nature. The Flages should be pretty easy to spot and take out, but the Captain Flare may take slightly longer as he remains completely invincible whilst invisible. Just walk around the same spot to avoid tiring out and once you spot him, he will be taken out after a single attack.

Now comes the first boss fight: the Phoenix. You should be spending no longer than 15 seconds on this guy. In fact, you should definitely be able to defeat all bosses in under 30 seconds, and ideally 15 for everything except the Great Sacred Treasure and Space Kraken. Anyway, grab the Boom Spear as soon as you land, launch it at his beak, follow up with a dash shot or two and he should go down as soon as that. It can be quite hard to hit him due to his agility, meaning that it's paramount you end this fight quickly as it can easily drag on. Do not try any fancy stuff like taking the central jump pad, dodging and counter-attacking or even just dodging too often - it wastes too much time, and you'll have more than enough food to recover any lost health after the fight ends.

Activate Lightweight or Tirelessness again as soon as you come out, grab any food you need and sprint up the next flight of stairs, again ignoring all the enemies here (and avoiding the Orne by not sprinting too madly). This next arena contains the three Mimicuties followed by a Reaper and Reapettes. First, run up to each Mimicutie as you can't damage them from afar and either melee combo them if this deals decent damage, or use backward or side-dash continuous fire. Just be sure if you are attacking from a distance, you keep an eye out for any kicking, as getting caught in one of their attacks wastes a fair few seconds. Your weapon should be good enough to deal with the Reaper without using the Medusa Head, as the combination of waiting for it to petrify the Reaper and dealing half damage (your damage is halved against petrified enemies) wastes a lot of time. Simply use consecutive bursts of backward and side-dash continuous fire against it to avoid its scythe swings. Dispose of Reapettes with bursts of side-dash continuous fire.

Cragalanche comes next. Again, your guideline for this fight should be roughly 15 seconds. Focus on getting round to his butt, either by pure speed (i.e. sprinting around to it, probably with Lightweight or Tirelessness active) or dodging/strafing around his attacks. I would suggest a combination of the two: initially start sprinting and try and hit it that way, but if Cragalanche attacks you with an attack that easily exposes his rear end, take the dodging approach. If this does happen, dodging/strafing through it is usually more reliable than standard sprinting. Once you hit his rear end, he should go down before he is able to recover. Similar to the Phoenix, you could end up spending ages on this fight if you aren't able to get to his weak spot. However, all it takes is one hit to his butt and he's basically toast.

On the next and last flight of stairs, activate Lightweight or Tirelessness again (you should have enough uses) and sprint past all the enemies. In this last arena, you face a Juggernaut and Fort Oink, followed by a Space Pirate, Nutski and Claxis, followed by a unique Monoeye with very high health. The Juggernaut and Fort Oink are nothing more than sitting ducks as neither will attack you, so just use forward-dash continuous fire against them, switching to standing if you start tiring out. The ragtag bunch of the Space Pirate and co. are a bit more agile, but they should not be giving you any problems. Similarly, the final Monoeye is nothing challenging; it will fly around a bit but you'll be able to hit it easily enough. It too will hardly attack you, so feel free to use forward-dash shots against it. If you have extra offensive powers (i.e. too many to use against the remaining bosses), now would be a good time to use them.

As for the Space Kraken, take out its tentacles with forward-dash continuous fire - each one should be defeated after a single burst - and proceed to attack the head using the Grenade and a couple of bursts of dash continuous fire. This should be pretty straightforward. Offensive powers don't help too much here as you'll be attacking different targets that all have low health, except for maybe Meteor Shower/Mega Laser/Explosive Flame if you can hit more than one tentacle with them.

Magnus and Gaol, despite what they might seem, are still very much a pushover on 0.0. The 15 second guideline applies fully here. Focus most of your attacks on Gaol as she tends to be more stationary and dodges less than Magnus, but it doesn't matter too much. Feel free to use melee attacks on her as well if they deal decent damage. In fact, this is actually one of the easier fights during the speedrun, as unlike the Phoenix or Cragalanche, you should not have any problems dealing enough damage to the pair.

Next up is Pseudo-Palutena, who is similarly very easy. There should be no problems here; just all-out attack with dash shots and some melee attacks if you wish. The 15 second guideline does apply but really she should be defeated in under 10 or even 5 seconds. Her attacks are virtually harmless as you'll get a Drink of the Gods after the fight anyway, healing off any damage taken.

Finally comes the toughest fight of the six - the Great Sacred Treasure. This thing has (at least for 0.0 standards) a lot of health, good agility, frequent, wide-ranging attacks and even a period of long invincibility whilst it fires its insta-kill laser. This should be what you save most of your offensive powers for. Trade-off might seem risky but in reality the damage boost and invincibility duration will be so extreme, it'll be almost guaranteed you'll defeat it in time. If you are still worried about the risk, take along either Energy Charge (for the Energy Charge/Trade-off combo where you use Trade-off's invincibility to keep Energy Charge active, resulting in quadruple damage) or Power Attack to make it work for definite. You could even take along Pisces Heal if you're really worried about getting finished. In reality though, unless something goes horribly wrong (such as not being able to hit it for a long time) or your weapon has truly awful offense, you shouldn't need these powers alongside Trade-off. A combination of Trade-off and a few bursts of dash continuous fire with the occasional charged shot should overcome the GST with ease for a good finishing time.

As a reward, you unlock the 'cover' weapon of Kid Icarus: Uprising, namely the bow that Pit is holding on the box art: the Palutena Bow.

Clear this chapter with a score of 500,000 or higher

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery

Reward: 8000 Hearts

This basically amounts to clearing the chapter on about 6.5-7.5, with the top end obviously achieving higher scores but being more difficult and vice versa. Chapter 24 will not be a pushover on these intensities but at the same time, it is quite manageable and serves as good practice for 9.0, which you will tackle later on if you intend to complete all chapters on 9.0 and get 999,999 hearts. In fact, this is pretty moderate in terms of difficulty for Hades's hunt, and as such you should not have any real problems completing it. This mission can actually serve as quite a useful "stepping stone" from Viridi's to Hades's hunt if you've just completed the former, so consider tackling this panel as one of the first you attempt to unlock.

If this presents a challenge to you - usually if you are transferring from Viridi's to Hades's hunt - try taking a weapon with some overall defense and recovery effect alongside the usual defensive powers, and remember what you can about the bosses' attacking patterns, who you've played against on similar intensities. There's little need to provide a detailed strategy here; if you're relatively new to higher intensities then you might find this tricky but, ultimately, it's the only way to improve your skill.

Beat the Great Sacred Treasure without taking any damage

Recommended Weapons: Anything that can deal very high damage, with effect duration if possible

Recommended Powers: Energy Charge, Playing Dead, Brief Invincibility

Reward: Great Sacred Treasure (Pursuit) (Idol)

You can choose to do this in two main ways: either play defensively and focus on dodging all the GST's attacks, or activate some form of invincibility and go all-out, trying to take it down before the invincibility runs out. You should generally opt for the latter, as it is much less risky (despite the somewhat short duration of invincibility) and easier to do. The only main drawback is how much room the powers required take up on the power board, meaning it can be difficult to do this alongside other missions. However, if you're trying to achieve this on a separate run from anything else on 0.0, you'll survive the rest of the level easily with no powers.

Once you finally reach the GST after the marathon that Chapter 24 is, activate Playing Dead followed by Energy Charge and just stand still whilst attacking it. Playing Dead lasts much, much longer if you're stationary, which is worth the extra damage lost by not using dash shots. This is where a very good offense and effect duration come in - dealing more damage and having a longer invincibility duration reduces the risk of running out of Playing Dead uses. In case this does happen, bring Brief Invincibility as a last resort. With a good offense, decent range and just some effect duration, your invincibility should outlast the GST by a fair margin.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

You could certainly attempt the speedrun and mini no damage mission together, although you would have to be very fast throughout the land battle before you reach the GST. The score-based mission is mostly incompatible with anything, but if you're planning to complete the chapter on 9.0, with any sanity you'll attempt a few 'practice runs' first on slightly lower intensities. During these runs, as you'll be playing on the required intensity to achieve a score of 500,000 or higher, you'll unlock this then. And even if you are insane and decide to skip the practice runs, you'll achieve much more than 500,000 with a successful 9.0 run.

In terms of Viridi's panels, you'll clear the stage with full health if you beat the GST without taking damage. Beating Gaol before Magnus without hitting Magnus would be ideal during the speedrun, but sadly you need intensity 5.0 or higher. Therefore, just keep attempting this challenge on any Chapter 24 run you do on 5.0+, such as during the score-based mission.

Chapter 25 (Hades)

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense and recovery effect, and strong standing continuous fire

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Knuckle Staff (Idol)

Despite what this might seem at first - a tough, high-intensity speedrun similar to Chapter 22 - this is actually quite a bit easier. This is mainly thanks to the leisurely time limit, which allows you to make a few mistakes and still get a good finishing time (you can easily finish in 13 minutes or less). Furthermore, you'll only be affecting your finishing time in a minimal number of places throughout the chapter, as much of it consists of cutscenes and pure on-the-rails shooting (where you have no control over how fast it progresses). This means there's not too much you have to do in order to successfully complete the speedrun. If anything, the intensity and just staying alive is probably the hardest thing about it.

The reason why certain weapons are recommended is because your weapon's stats do affect the Great Sacred Treasure's stats, so the usual high defense and recovery effect to get some decent health from Recovery Orbs helps a lot here. A strong standing continuous fire is essential for not only getting a good finishing time but destroying Hades's other 'cannons' and projectiles quickly.

There are only a few key points to consider during the chapter. Firstly, remember to aim for Hades's head when he starts sprinting "like an elephant" at the beginning. After this, once you reach the target on Hades's back that triggers the next cutscene, target this exclusively and ignore all the surrounding cannons. Your extra defense will not make this too costly. The same principle applies to attacking the target around his heart (before Pit slices his legs off) and weak spot around his legs (before Pit falls to the ground). The last area that affects your completion time is the 'Medusa' gauge you charge whilst on land. This can be difficult to charge quickly, but the time you save or lose depending on how fast it's charged will be only seconds. Besides, Hades will hit you with his ultra-powered attack thing if you take too long, finishing you instantly.

The only thing that could make this mission much more difficult would be a low offense. Dealing low amounts of damage drastically decreases your margin for error, and will make success dependent on perhaps seconds, so ensure you equip something that can usually handle high intensities.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

It's quite likely you'll unlock both of Viridi's Chapter 25 panels with this mission, and even if you don't manage to charge the gauge making Medusa appear within 25 seconds, you're still guaranteed to accomplish Viridi's speedrun.

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon] (Hades)

These are much harder in Hades's hunt, namely because you'll be using a weapon not suited against the boss in question.

Defeat the Phoenix with the Doom Cannon

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode), shot homing

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: Feather

Boss Battle mode is still the best choice for this achievement, unless you're planning to defeat to defeat 220 enemies on 9.0 with the Doom Cannon and unlock two panels in the same run. It is a particularly difficult choice of weapon due to its slow-moving shots that make it hard to hit the agile Phoenix. Unfortunately there's not much chance of defeating it whilst in the air either (another Chapter 10 panel in Hades's hunt) with the cannon's pitifully slow standing charged shot and gravity-affected standing continuous fire. However, defeating it on 3.0 during Boss Battle should not be that hard. Its low health ensures you only need to land a few hits, and its attacks will be relatively harmless.

Defeat the Aurum Core with the Ancient Staff

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode)

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: None

There's no real way to unlock any Chapter 15 panels whilst using the Ancient Staff, so it's going to be a 15-boss run on Boss Battle mode. However, this is still quicker than completing the chapter. This staff slows down movement more than any other weapon in the game, making movement around the core and dodging its "harmful" floor panels a real pain. Thankfully, 3.0 intensity makes these panels relatively harmless. Most of the time you can safely ignore them and just focus on attacking the core.

Defeat Aurum Pyrrhon with the Magnus Club

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode), shot range

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: Boogity (Idol)

The difficulty here stems from the Magnus Club's incredibly short range for all its shots - 15m for its forward-dash charged shot and barely 10m for the rest - and the distance between your platform and Aurum Pyrrhon. This practically forces you to stand on the front edge of the platform, making it much harder to dodge his attacks.

Overall I highly recommend doing this on 3.0 during Boss Battle mode, as not only is it quicker than completing Chapter 17 on 0.0, but you'll also be able to defeat Magnus with the Magnus Club later on (see below). If you're having difficulty, use the standing charged shot much more than dash charged shots (a shot range modifier helps significantly). Any dash charged shot from a club leaves you very vulnerable, and is often not worth the extra damage, unless you can time them impeccably.

If you haven't unlocked all of Hades's or Viridi's Chapter 17 panels, then you could use the Magnus Club and clear the chapter within 18 minutes on 7.5+, not lose any Centurion Strongarms on 5.0+, or even try and defeat Aurum Pyrrhon in crisis mode (on any intensity). However, this means you'll need to use the Magnus Club to complete Chapter 24, to defeat Magnus (see the panel below). Note that if you use the Magnus Club to complete Chapter 17, it would be pointless to defeat Magnus with it on Boss Battle, as you'll have to defeat Aurum Pyrrhon anyway en route. So unless you are really confident with the Magnus Club, don't bother making the above missions tougher than they already are.

Defeat Magnus with the Magnus Club

Recommended Attributes: Overall defense, recovery effect (for Boss Battle mode)

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery, Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery (for Boss Battle mode)

Reward: Boss Fight 2 (Music)

Oh the irony...defeating Magnus with his own club. Except yours is better as it fires charged shots.

Anyway, you can only defeat Magnus when you fight him alongside Gaol as you did in Chapter 24. Because Magnus and Gaol share health, you can simply target Gaol for the whole fight and once she is down, Magnus will follow as soon as you touch him. Gaol is an easier target due to her idleness, unlike Magnus who will dodge most of your ranged shots. On easy in Boss Battle mode, feel free to use charged shots and melee attacks against her - when she occasionally attacks, they will be virtually harmless. As stated above with Aurum Pyrrhon, I also recommend defeating him during Boss Battle mode because you'll be able to defeat Pyrrhon with the club as well, unless you have other Chapter 24 panels to unlock.

If you do have other Chapter 24 panels, you could use the Magnus Club to clear the chapter within 11 minutes, take no damage from the Great Sacred Treasure, or beat Gaol before Magnus without hitting Magnus. The speedrun will be very difficult though, due to the club's moderate speed and tiny range, so it's probably not worth it. It is possible to use the club and defeat the GST without taking damage, as long as you use invincibility powers, Energy Charge and a good effect duration modifier, although again its short range will be a hindrance. The easiest combination would be to use it and defeat Gaol without hitting Magnus. However, since this panel is in Viridi's hunt you'll have probably unlocked it already. If you decide to complete Chapter 24 with the club, then it'll still be quicker to defeat Aurum Pyrrhon with it in Boss Battle mode. The only exception to this is if you've got other Chapter 17 panels to unlock, and you feel confident using the club. If this applies to you, skip Boss Battle altogether and use it to complete other achievements on a Chapter 17 run.

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Warp (Power Unlocked)

Hopefully you should be able to achieve this in the long run, even if the competition you face is often quite tough. However, the power you unlock is incredibly useful, so if you are extremely desperate you could set up 30 matches with bots on Nearby.

Unlocking Multiple Panels

As with Palutena's and Viridi's hunts, just get as many as you can in every Light vs. Dark and Free-For-All match you play. It's easier when you play bots because you can choose the settings, but playing against humans is so much more satisfying!

Zodiac Chambers (Hades)

Collect all Zodiac Chamber weapons

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Fortune's Jukebox (Power Unlocked)

The reward is the second "joke" power in the game; the first being Celestial Firework that is available at the start. Fortune's Jukebox changes the game music randomly, but it won't affect other players on Together mode.

Collect all Zodiac Chamber powers

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: None

There are three Zodiac powers: Libra Sponge, Aries Armor and Pisces Heal. You can find them in chapters 14, 18 and 24 respectively.

Item-acquisition based missions (Hades)

Panels that require you to acquire a certain item or items. Hades's hunt contains the hardest and most comprehensive of these achievements.

Acquire a First Blade with an in-peril-attack-boost modifier

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Burn Attack Lv. 3

You can either wait and try and get lucky (acquire one from a chapter, Together mode match or the shop) or attempt to make one through fusion. However, it's not worth wasting a lot of weapons in the fusion process if there is no obvious way to fuse such a weapon.

Acquire a Dark Pit Staff with a full-health boost modifier

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Black Club (Idol)

Acquire Raptor Claws with a status-resistance modifier

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Cellular Skuttler (Idol)

Acquire a Palutena Bow with a heart-bonus modifier

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Girl (Idol)

This panel is ridiculously hard to unlock. You will have to collect every single power at every single level to unlock it. Although some powers do not have four levels, this will still take ages to unlock legitimately. Put it this way: I only unlocked it after about 170 hours of play time at the absolute earliest (I'm pretty certain it was closer to the 180 mark).

If your luck is bad and you don't unlock the last remaining powers for a long time, you may have to resort to using a feather. But with how stupidly long it can take to unlock this legitimately, there's little embarrassment in using one.

Have 300,000+ hearts in your possession

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Dark Fighter (Idol)

Recommended Weapons: Anything with decent range except clubs

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: 9000 Hearts

An interesting challenge. The counter on the bottom-left of the top screen in the "Air Battle" option on the practice range is what you need to get to 15,000. The counter resets if no damage is dealt after a few seconds (about 4), so the task is to continually deal damage rather than deal large amounts of it infrequently. The Komaytos (jellyfish) are your best friend here - as soon as one comes across the screen, spam it with melee attacks. When you're busy doing this, more Monoeyes will spawn, which you can then defeat after the Komayto disappears and deal more damage. Simply rinse and repeat this process.

Also, you can actually keep attacking the Komaytos even after they appear off-screen (for two melee attacks), which is extremely helpful in keeping the counter from resetting. Lastly, do not use your special attacks unless you're close to 15,000, as they will destroy all on-screen enemies and you'll probably have none left to shoot. 15,000 points is actually quite a challenge, so be prepared to retry a few times, but hopefully nothing beyond that.

Open 150 treasure boxes

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: Feather

This includes all treasure boxes, including Tiny Boxes, Speedy Boxes, Pandora's Boxes and Mimicuties. 150 is nothing in the long run.

Narrowly avoid a total of 50 shots in Air Battles

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Thanatos (Transformations 1) (Idol)

This might be one of the last remaining panels in Hades's hunt, depending on how bothered you are about unlocking it. It's the exact same mechanic used for the achievements in Palutena's and Viridi's hunts, where you have to literally be pixels away from the shot for it to count as "narrowly avoided". Since it's unlikely you'll narrowly avoid any shots during regular gameplay, let alone 50, try 4.0 runs on Chapter 1 to unlock this panel and hope for the best. You might narrowly avoid as few as two or three shots per run, but you just have to keep trying.

Score 100 or more hits during the game credits

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: N/A

Reward: Final Strike (Idol)

A unique but very easy mission. At the end of Chapter 25, during the credits roll you are equipped with a First Blade and can hit the staff names with ranged and melee attacks. It will be in air battle format. Getting 100 hits total should be pretty easy.

Play for more than 100 hours

Recommended Weapons: Any

Recommended Powers: Any

Reward: 20000 Hearts

Although this seems a huge amount of play time - which it is, in fairness - if you're aiming to complete Hades's hunt and play Together fairly often, you will probably pass the 100-hour mark. But don't be embarrassed by it! Take it as a sign of a great game! However, if this is your last remaining panel in Hades's hunt, then there's obviously no embarrassment in using a feather to unlock it.

Clear Boss Battle mode on EASY, NORMAL and HARD

Boss Battle is quite a lengthy challenge, so these achievements needed a section of their own.

Clear Boss Battle mode on EASY

Recommended Weapons: Anything with moderate overall defense, shot defense, health, evasion and/or recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 4), Aries Armor, Super Armor, Crisis Recovery, Effect Recovery

Reward: Boss Battle Intensity Unlocked

For those unfamiliar with Boss Battle mode, below is a quick outline of how it works:

Boss Battle Mode Structure

Your objective is to defeat 26 of the game's 27 bosses (everyone except Hades) without getting finished.
You will face them all on either intensity 3.0, 6.0 or 9.0 depending on the difficulty chosen.
You can equip any weapon and power board.
To help you, you are given five "Drinks of the Gods" (full heals) to use between battles at your choosing, as well as any allies originally present during the fight. So for example, against Dark Lord Gaol, Magnus will fight alongside you.

The only exception to these rules is when you face Pit's Body, when you'll be playing as Magnus without any powers or weapon choice.

To unlock Normal and Hard you must first complete Boss Battle on Easy, so if you're stuck completing it for the first time, you'll be playing on Easy.

The intensity for Easy mode is 3.0. Although you might laugh at such a low setting, you'll need to have excellent dodging skills and knowledge of each boss's attacks to accomplish the challenge. This is because despite taking relatively little damage on average every round, you'll only be able to replenish even less, thanks to the lack of God Drinks and Health Recovery uses over 26 bosses. For example, if we say Pit has 100 health and you take 25 damage on average per round, you'll take 650 damage across 26 boss fights with only 500 health maximum available to recover (the five God Drinks). This makes conserving health and good management of the drinks essential to the success of the challenge, as well as rendering Health Recovery an extremely useful power to bring along.

You should only use a God Drink on average once every five fights, which allows you to make a few mistakes (i.e. take more damage than you should have done) and takes into account the increased difficulty of the later bosses. In addition, you should use them when your health is as low as possible. For example, if you enter a fight with 30 health but only take 20 damage, you would have gained 70 health if you used the drink beforehand, compared to 90 health afterward. Over the course of the challenge, this could amount to significant amounts of health 'lost'. Of course, you can be more liberal with drink use in certain situations. This includes when you're about to fight a particularly hard boss, have many drinks left for only a few remaining fights, or just want to get as far as possible for practice.

In terms of fighting the bosses, stick to using well-timed dash shots alongside dodge-and-counterattacks. To an extent on 3.0, you can rely on the evasive power of dash shots. However, you should always lean towards playing defensively rather than offensively, for the problems associated with recovering health explained above. Despite the low intensity, with a low defense it is very easy to take significantly more damage than you'd like during one battle, which could leave you with serious problems later on. Get into the habit of keeping a good distance from the boss, enabling you to dodge any incoming attacks, and dodging/strafing through attacks rather than just using dash shots to avoid them. This also means melee attacks are not recommended. Thus overall, although you can still rely on dash attacks from a good distance being your main source of offense, they can easily be the main source of failure also. You should only fire off a dash shot when you reckon the boss is not going to attack you. It sounds basic, but is nothing less than fundamental and easily forgotten in the frenzy of a boss battle. Using dash shots recklessly is a perfect way to leave yourself open and take a ton of damage! If you ever feel the risk is too high (for instance, if your stamina is low), just stick to dodging and counter-attacking, where you really can't go wrong on such a low intensity.

Clear Boss Battle mode on NORMAL

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense, shot defense, health, evasion and/or recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 4), Aries Armor, Super Armor, Crisis Recovery, Effect Recovery

Reward: Hades (Battle) (Idol)

To unlock NORMAL mode, you must first clear Boss Battle on EASY.

This is quite the step up from its easy mode counterpart. To successfully defeat 26 bosses on 6.0, you'll need to switch to using dodging and counter-attacking as your primary method of attack, mixed with dash shots at the right times. Needless to say bosses will now deal significant damage and attack you frequently, making a strategy reliant on dash shots incredibly risky. You should only use them at good distances, and mainly for either avoiding incoming fire or offensive power when it is safe (for example, just after dodging a boss's attack).

You should still try and conserve your health as you did on Easy, using a God Drink on average once every five fights. Due to the more aggressive nature of bosses on 6.0, you could opt to use a God Drink whenever your health gets low, but remember that the less health you have before you use a drink the more you recover. For example, you might have 20 health after a fight and decide to use a drink to recover 80, but if you survived the next fight with 5 health remaining you would recover 95, comparatively gaining an extra 15 health. A strong defense and is very useful for reducing the risk of getting finished when you enter fights with low health levels.

A good time to attempt this challenge would be after clearing all chapters on 5.0, as the bosses will behave in very similar ways. However, it may not be a good idea to attempt it straight after, mostly because you won't be as skilled as you will be once you start completing chapters on 7.5 and 9.0. Conversely, you could choose to attempt this as late as possible so you have the skill, experience and weapons/powers to maximise your chances of success. Besides, if you're planning to complete Boss Battle on Hard, the difficulty of Normal will seem a million miles away.

Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD

Recommended Weapons: Anything with very high overall defense and either health, evasion or recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 4), Aries Armor (Lv. 3+), Crisis Recovery (Lv. 3), Effect Recovery (Lv. 3)

Reward: Great Sacred Treasure (Mech Armor) (Idol)

To unlock HARD mode, you must first clear Boss Battle on EASY.

There is one word that describes this achievement: insane. Or more bluntly, INSANE. This is a very strong contender for the toughest achievement in Hades's hunt, and would have won by a long margin had it not been for "Clear all chapters on 9.0". You will have needed to have mastered dodging, strafing, aiming, timing dash shots, knowing bosses' attack patterns, managing stamina and, to a certain extent, playing well as Magnus to accomplish this feat. I only say the latter because Pit's Body can be by far the most damaging boss thanks to Magnus's lack of defense, and not using him well often ends in disaster.

First though, you'll need a good weapon. An incredibly good weapon. In fact, you may need to fuse a "specialised" weapon, such as one with Overall Defense +8 and Evasion +4, which would be different from your standard 9.0 weapon (which should hopefully have high overall defense and recovery effect). Recovery effect is still useful but it will only come into play when using Health Recovery, so the other recommended modifiers (evasion/health) are generally more favourable. The ideal weapon will have 6 ranged stars, 0 melee stars, Overall Defense +8, another recommended modifier (e.g. Evasion +4) and deal good damage from a decent range. This means about 100 damage with a dash charged shot or burst of dash continuous fire from around 30-40m. If your weapon fits this criteria, as long as you know it inside-out, it should be perfectly usable.

Below is a guide for dealing with each boss in turn. Difficulty is my opinion on how tough the fights are (based upon at least five 9.0 encounters with each of them; some much more), and threats specify any aspects of the fight that are particularly difficult or dangerous. Lastly, I'll finish by saying exactly when I used each Drink of the Gods and Health Recovery in my successful run, and how this worked for me (and hopefully you too).

Twinbellows the Ferocious

Difficulty: 5 / 10

Threats: Melee charge attack, burning

Twinbellows is more aggressive than ever, and very different to the weakling you faced as your first boss. Thankfully you can be pretty liberal with your attacks during this fight, since if you ever take significant damage, you can just start again.

You can easily dodge most of his attacks and follow up with dash shots to his head (his weak spot). If he roars, quickly get in three or four bursts of dash continuous fire. The only hard-to-dodge attacks are his multiple melee charges, which you should always dodge at least twice. If you get hit with burning, don't waste an Effect Recovery and start over instead.

Dark Lord Gaol

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: Gravity ball

It's fortunate you get to face Gaol early on. The Dark Lord has the potential to deal some very serious damage - much more than her successors - and her Skuttler minions will keep Magnus occupied and you annoyed. Keep a good distance (about 20-30m) and use dodging and counter-attacking almost exclusively. Avoid getting in close, as her close-range attacks are harder to dodge and particularly deadly.

Dodge her sliding charge, when she attempts to collide with you, by strafing and follow up with a backward or side-dash charged shot if you can. However, by far her most damaging attack is her "gravity ball" that behaves much like a high-level black hole in Together mode, which can easily reduce your health to zero even with Overall Defense +8. If she releases it, stay away from the pull at all costs, and if you get caught inside the pull, prioritise sprinting over dodging any further attacks. Basically, start running for your life. But if you lose a ton of health during this fight, you may want to start again instead.

Once she summons her minions, she will start using her laser beam a lot. This is usually easy to dodge and allows you to follow up with a few bursts of dash continuous fire or charged shots. However, sometimes she fires it directly at you, and when she does it's much harder to dodge. So keep moving and make yourself a difficult target. You can either keep Magnus busy with the minions or get him to attack her with you: it's nice if you can attack as a team, but usually she'll summon her minions immediately after you defeat them, making it relatively pointless trying to attack them.

On a final note, Magnus may die late into the fight. Hopefully when this happens she'll be almost dead, but beware the difficulty really increases once you're the only target.

Hewdraw Reborn

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: Laser cluster

A pretty straightforward fight - you shouldn't lose too much health here. The general strategy is to dodge or destroy any incoming rocks, shoot down a yellow ball of light, get near Hewdraw's head and unload a few bursts of dash continuous fire on it from optimum range. When he becomes beached, position yourself between his body and the sea so you can attack his head, which is his weak point.

His only attack which is hard to dodge is his cluster of lasers. On 9.0 these will briefly hover around you before homing in sharply. If you don't have an evasion modifier, wait until just after they stop hovering, then dodge like crazy. If you do have an evasion modifier, you can afford to dodge less frantically. Hopefully you will avoid most of the damage, although you may still get hit by the odd laser or two.

His other attacks can be a little annoying, but they are generally slow and predictable, and can be avoided easily by dash-dodging (nudging the control stick in one direction repeatedly as you would if you were dodging). Evasion +3 or +4 makes this a whole lot easier. After the balls of light reappear, simply rinse and repeat what you did at the start. If you beach him twice, he'll die after a single hit when he re-enters the water.

Great Reaper

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: None

This fight isn't too difficult. Though some of the Reaper's attacks are fast and require well-timed dodges, you should be pretty used to this by now. If not, this fight's a great way to practice.

In the first half of the fight, start by attacking his feet and go to the second floor if you find he's charging at you too aggressively. He will nearly always use close-range attacks on the ground floor, which are easier to avoid than the variety of ranged second-floor attacks. All of his attacks except his eye laser are predictable and easy to dodge. Even the eye laser can be seen coming before he executes it, and is far from impossible to avoid.

Once his head is injured and you advance to the second floor, use a solid dodge-and-counterattack approach to targeting the head. However, if your weapon's range is insane enough to reach it from the ground floor, I'd recommend staying there. Unless you are counter-attacking, use standing shots as they leave you far less vulnerable. If he summons Reapettes, try and take them out quickly with a burst of dash continuous fire. However, if him and his Reapattes are attacking you simultaneously, focus on dodging his next attack whilst advancing away from the Reapettes, then destroy them after he has finished attacking.

Pandora, Goddess of Calamity

Difficulty: 4 / 10

Threats: None

This is a really easy fight; probably the easiest in the whole of Boss Battle. During both parts, just stand a good distance away and attack using side or backward-dash shots, mainly after she attacks.

When she uses her "suction" attack, get behind her and unload 2-3 bursts of side-dash continuous fire on her. Don't worry too much about sticking to solid dodging and counter-attacking. An offensive approach with lots of dash shots to keep you moving should work fine. With Dark Pit also around as cannon fodder, she will be cake.

Dark Pit

Difficulty: 7.5 / 10

Threats: "Rain of arrows" attack

The best way to deal with Dark Pit is by dodging and counter-attacking primarily with standing, not dash charged shots. Because he recovers after firing his bow so quickly, it's very difficult to pull off any forward or backward-dash shot without getting hit, unless it is impeccably timed. Therefore if you do use dash shots, I strongly recommend you stick to side-dash shots. Forward and backward-dash shots won't put you in any less danger, as moving to the side of an arrow is much more effective than moving towards or backwards from it. You can also attack with standing continuous fire, although charged shots are generally more efficient.

Dark Pit has four main bow attacks: a charged shot, a single 'normal' shot, a short burst of dash continuous fire and a longer burst of standing continuous fire. The standing continuous fire is the one you need to watch out for, as it contains twice as many arrows as the regular dash continuous fire and may catch you out. As such, you'll need to dodge repeatedly to avoid all of them. Throughout the fight always be prepared to dodge multiple times, and never dodge once then automatically follow up with a counter-attack, even with an evasion modifier.

Stay on the outer arenas and not the large main one, as if he unleashes his "rain of arrows" attack there, it can be very difficult to escape in time. Even if you prefer the increased space of the central arena, the risk of taking damage from this attack isn't worth it. If you find yourself on the central arena, stick close to the edges at all times until you can escape.

Thanatos, God of Death

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: None

Thanatos isn't as easy as Pandora, but he is still very easy and predictable overall. This is especially true if you've fought each of Thanatos's forms multiple times.

His only slightly dangerous form is his bat form, where his "bat attack" will require a successive two or three dodges to avoid. The urn may also be a little annoying. Use a combination of keeping a moderate distance and attacking from there, and hitting back the non-explosive bombs with melee attacks. Doing the latter is somewhat unreliable though, so if you get frustrated, stick with conventional shooting.

For his Atlas Foot form, retreat using backward-dash shots and once he gets close, get ready to dodge twice or three times, then rinse and repeat. Adopt a similar strategy against his matryoshka (Russian doll) and sword forms, except you won't need to worry about him getting close as much, so just keep retreating. Backward-dash shots should provide most of the evasive power you'll need. His original form can be defeated with ease by standard dodging and counter-attacking.

Galactic Fiend Kraken

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: Paralyzing lasers

The Kraken shouldn't be vastly different from your battles with him on lower intensities. The greatest change comes once his head is exposed, when he'll be attacking much more relentlessly. But thankfully, he'll still leave you some good counter-attacking opportunities.

Start by attacking the tentacles with dash continuous fire and charged shots. Note that they will try and smack you pretty often. Always keep an eye on their movements and dash repeatedly if you see one coming crashing down.

When the head appears, things get slightly trickier. It will usually chain its attacks in quick succession, giving you little time for counter-attacking. You may only be able to squeeze in one dash charged shot between attacks. Its yellow eye lasers are particularly deadly as they are fired shortly after its previous attack, are hard to dodge, deal significant damage and induce paralysis. The best time to attack it is during/after its massive blue laser that sweeps from either side-to-side or ground-to-air. This attack takes ages and you can usually get in one or two bursts of dash continuous fire. For this reason, just play it safe and wait until it starts using this attack before hitting hard.

Medusa, Queen of the Underworld

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: Hard-to-dodge attacks, unhealable poison

Most of this fight is just knowing what Medusa does, which you should easily remember after you've fought her a few times. Some of Medusa's attacks are very hard to dodge, but luckily you will only encounter them if you don't deal enough damage within each phase. So as long as your weapon deals decent damage, you'll avoid them.

In the first phase, quickly shoot Medusa to deal some extra damage, shoot at the rocks that come flying towards you (they are destructible) and position yourself in the center of the red laser barriers. You can try and avoid them around the outside, but the screen is deceptive as usual. It definitely helps to memorise the safe positions of the screen.

Next, attack Medusa with a charged shot followed by continuous fire as she hurls the rocks that hover around your screen. Remember to destroy the lightly coloured rock she fires from her body, as this will turn into an immobile rock if it reaches you. Moving around with three rocks in your way is nothing short of infuriating. As she repeats this a few times, attack her each time she reappears with charged shots.

Once she becomes stationary and you start to orbit her body, use continuous fire and aim at her face when you are able to. If you don't defeat her before she disappears, she will reappear beside you and swipe her claw at you. This attack is incredibly difficult to dodge. If you still don't manage to defeat her, it gets worse - she will restart the whole phase. That's right, you'll be transported back to the initial rocks and red laser barriers that come at you. This is why dealing enough damage is so important, as it could make the difference between a short, painless fight and a long, punishing one.

The second phase, when Medusa gets tied down, is trickier. The yellow shots Medusa fires from her head travel very fast and are hard to dodge just by moving in circles. I would suggest moving in wider circles horizontally across the screen so you'll have more room to move around, and make the shots more spread out. If you are still taking too much damage, you'll have to resort to dodging. There's no easy way to time air dodges to avoid attacks, so just dodge frantically. If you don't deal enough damage during this section, Medusa will open up her hand which works like a black hole in Together mode, and once you are sucked in (it's almost impossible to avoid) you will get poisoned. Poison deals a ton of damage on 9.0 and it cannot be cured in air battles. She will then follow with her other hand, dealing even more damage. Hopefully you'll deal enough damage to never reach this section.

Her final phase is when her head reverts to her original form and leaves her body, chasing you until she replants it back again. Poison is another major threat in this section, which is induced by the slow-moving purple skulls she fires. She mixes them with other fast-moving shots and a huge purple laser that deals significant damage. This is when you should use your special attacks. Each one makes all of her onscreen shots disappear, allowing you to deal some damage safely before she attacks again. Once there are many shots filling the screen again - particularly purple skulls - use your second special attack. By doing this, you should bypass this section without taking much damage at all. As long as your weapon has a decent offense, her head will retreat to her body before the central "wall" (if she doesn't, you'll have to fight it in the same way again), meaning you can finally defeat her once and for all.

The Immortal Phoenix

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: Lava rocks/fireballs combo, flame breath, burning

The Phoenix can be a tough adversary. He is very agile and many of his attacks cause burning, deal major damage and are hard to dodge. He also has a tendency to "chain" his attacks in quick succession, giving you very little time to counter-attack (if at all) between them when he does so. Luckily his health isn't too high, and you'll get some free hits if you knock him out by targeting his head, so you should be able to defeat him quickly.

He will begin the fight by firing off a lava rocks/fireballs combo; in other words either his rocks that create a mini pool of lava or three fireballs, followed instantly by the other attack. This might be something you encounter multiple times, so when you do, remember not to counter-attack between them. Counter-attacking during this period is extremely risky and very likely to get you hit by the following attack, both of which cause burning and major damage. His other attack to watch out for is his "flame breath", when he breathes fire for an extended period of time that also causes burning. You'll have to dodge repeatedly to avoid the attack entirely.

Now you know how to defend against his most dangerous attacks, let's switch to offense. The best times to attack him are after his "shockwave", "tornado", "twin blast" and "flaming charge" attacks. The "shockwave" is when he fires three vertical waves that travel along the ground in the same directions as his fireballs (roughly north, north-east and north-west assuming he's facing north). His "tornado" attack is simply when he fires the successive tornadoes. The "twin blast" is when he lines up two laser-type things and shoots them both at you like an orbitar charged shot, and his "flaming charge" is when he swoops across the ground aflame directly at you. These attacks are easy to see coming, easy to dodge and often leave him open for a few seconds, giving you a good opportunity to counter-attack. Use a single burst of forward-dash continuous fire or charged shot, followed by more defensive side/backward-dash continuous fire. This is to position yourself to dodge his next attack, which will come shortly. Overusing forward-dash shots puts you right in front of him, where you definitely don't want to be.

Lastly, remember to aim for his head for maximum damage and a possible KO. However, if he gets KO'd, be warned he won't stay down beyond a few seconds. Seize the opportunity and hand it to him!

Cragalanche

Difficulty: 6.5 / 10

Threats: Highly damaging attacks

Cragalanche is very fierce and aggressive on 9.0, but despite this, if your dodging skills are very good (which they should be) you should come out of this fight relatively unscathed. This is because he is very predictable, and many of his attacks give you ages to prepare for as well as leave his butt exposed. However, if he does hit you, he'll usually be hitting for a ton of damage. Crucially, many of his attacks must be dodged multiple times to be avoided completely, unless you have Evasion +4 (but even then, it's still a good idea to dodge repeatedly just to be safe).

Trying to simply sprint around to his butt is far too risky, so stick with dodging then counter-attacking when he exposes it after he attacks. Strafing is particularly useful in this fight, as it both dodges and sets up an easy counter-attack to his butt (but be careful not to do a melee strike by mistake). However, strafing constantly and staying in close range is very dangerous, as you won't have enough time to spot incoming attacks. The best strategy is to wait until his rear end is clearly exposed for a good few seconds after certain attacks (such as his "float and crash" and "rock whip") then attack aggressively. By doing this, you're maximising your chances of knocking him over. This is far more effective for dealing damage than occasionally hitting it with dash continuous fire. When his butt isn't exposed, focus on dodging, although you can afford to fire off the odd charged shot or continuous fire burst. After you knock him over three or four times, he should die.

Reset Bomb Pod

Difficulty: 5 / 10

Threats: None

This is another easy fight. In essence, all you have to do is knock two guards into the trench, which is very easy with dash charged shots, then go all-out on the pod. Start by firing one straight at the guards, which may be enough to knock them in the trench. If it isn't, follow up with another charged shot or melee dash attack.

Once they've been knocked in, attack the core using bursts of dash continuous fire in different directions. This should be enough to avoid all incoming fire. Ignore low stamina to maximise damage, unless you're certain you're about to tire out. You can easily regain stamina after the core re-shields itself by walking around and dodging any incoming fire.

Knocking in the second guard may be less straightforward, due to where they might be. But as long as you focus on one guard this should be pretty easy. After the pod is exposed a second time, it should be nearly dead. When attacking the core, try and save up a charge shot between knocking in the guards and exposing it.

Arlon

Difficulty: 8 / 10

Threats: Darkness, stamina problems

Arlon's power of darkness makes this a very frustrating fight. On lower intensities, it may have not bothered you that much as he was more idle, attacked less often and dealt less damage. On 9.0 however, these unsurprisingly do not apply. He will be attacking you constantly and moving around like a child with ADHD. This is what makes this fight so difficult: you have to constantly dodge attacks (often from out of nowhere), track his movements around the arena and find some opportunities to counter-attack. Furthermore, the combination of constant dodging and chasing destroys your stamina, meaning you'll have to resort to walking at times in order to avoid tiring out. This is obviously not ideal when you're being assaulted from all angles.

Throughout the fight, primarily focus on dodging. The last thing you want to do is to get frustrated and start attacking whenever it suits you, as you will end up taking a ton of damage. Luckily, the vast majority of his attacks only need one dodge to be avoided completely. What makes them deadly is the surrounding darkness, as they can come from almost any distance and any angle. The best way to avoid attacks beside or behind you is to listen for an aural cue, usually either his own grunts/shouting or the sound of the attack itself, then dash repeatedly. Sometimes though you may have time to adjust the camera. You can even perfectly time a dodge without looking! (This is easier than it sounds if you know Arlon's attacks inside-out.)

Once you've got the hang of dodging, you can focus more on tracking his movements and attacking. This is not easy. Arlon can move across the arena in seconds and prance around in the same area, making him unpredictable and difficult to hit. As Palutena advises, the best way to track him is by using the visual and, to some extent, aural cues of his attacks. As an added bonus, many of them glow quite brightly in the dark and illuminate his silhouette. However, the majority of the time he will barely stay in the same place for a second or two, meaning you'll have to act fast to deal any damage. Sometimes you can anticipate his movements and prepare in advance for a counter-attack, such as when he flies in an arc-like shape and lays down three mines, but this won't happen often.

Generally, focus on dodging his attacks and counter-attack as quickly as you can. You may only get a few hits or even miss entirely, but it's still better than taking pot-shots in the dark. Some good opportunities for counter-attacks include after his giant laser attack, where he charges up a beam and unleashes it vertically, and the "flashing lasers" he charges around him before firing them at you. These attacks are relatively easy to dodge, but more importantly leave him wide open for a good few seconds. Just ensure you don't go too crazy and keep attacking when he's about to hit you.

If you do feel like taking pot-shots, take them with standing and not dash shots. Standing shots leave you far less open and are a much safer bet, especially when you have little idea where he is. You should also resort to using standing shots if your stamina gets low. You can use dash shots more freely after he finishes attacking, though.

Lastly, I would advise entering this fight with at least moderate health. This ensures that if you do take a lot of damage, you won't be dodging frantically in the dark in crisis mode, which is not fun at all. Believe me, I've been there.

Phosphora

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: Paralysis, relentless attacks, stamina problems

Phosphora attacks and moves at lightning pace (groan) but she shouldn't be among the hardest opponents you face. You'll need consistent dodging, well-timed dash shots, and good conservation/usage of your stamina to beat her effectively.

Her attacks by themselves, though relentless, are usually quite easy to dodge. Strafing is useful, although you'll want to rely mainly on conventional dodging. However, the paralysis her attacks cause is a big threat. With so many attacks flying at you, you're almost certain to get hit once paralyzed. Therefore, although they might not be too damaging on their own (for 9.0 anyway), you could potentially receive a real beating from consecutive attacks.

To counter this, make sure you stand a decent distance away from her, and only use dash shots directly after she attacks or moves. Quite often you could be firing off a dash shot, only for her to move at the last second and blast you, which is easily avoided by taking the measures above. I would also suggest using more side-dash rather than forward or backward-dash shots, because their evasive power is so much more useful. A great compromise is what I like to call the "diagonal-dash" shot, where your dash shot is somewhere between a side and backward-dash one (south-east or south-west on a compass, assuming your enemy is north). This combines the extra distance of the backward-dash shot and the better evasive power of the side-dash shot. This may be something you might want to consider using as you face tougher opponents, when the standard backward/side-dash shots may become more ineffective.

So overall, only use dash shots in relatively safe spots and when you have enough distance to comfortably see and dodge incoming attacks. Fortunately, they are quite easy to dodge. If Phosphora looks poised to attack, stay focused on dodging it or carefully use standing shots. If there's not much distance between you and her, focus on increasing the gap. Squeeze in a backward-dash shot if you can.

With Phosphora moving around so much, and so many attacks flying towards you, your stamina may also get quite low from constantly chasing her and/or dash-dodging. The best way to regain stamina is during the 'breathing spots' she has in her attack pattern, such as when she executes her "electric ball" attack (generating a spherical electric ball around herself, similar to the Dynamo Cannon's charged shots) that leaves her standing still for a good few seconds. This particular attack also has a short range, making it easy to escape from and leaving her vulnerable when you do, as she will be completely still whilst performing it. Sadly, she doesn't use this too often.

Your main other option to recover stamina is walking and using standing shots until it recovers. It'll be harder to avoid attacks than when dashing, but it's still fairly easy providing you keep your distance. If she gets close, walk backwards and be ready to dodge whatever she throws at you.

On a final note, paralysis can be so damaging here you may want to consider using Effect Recovery if you get inflicted. Although Effect Recovery is an incredibly useful power, and accordingly should only be used in the worst situations (for example, if you're inflicted with burning and your health is low), the fact is you may lose a quarter or third of your health whilst paralyzed. Be more inclined to sacrifice a use if your health is low or a huge attack is heading your way.

Aurum Core

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: None

This is certainly a breather after the fights you've just gone through. You should be able to defeat the Aurum Core quickly without taking much damage.

Start by taking out at least two of the central guns. This will reduce the amount of incoming fire and make the fight slightly less risky. Once that's done, just spam side-dash shots and work your way around the core. This is all you need to do. The outer guns may shoot at you, but the reality is you'll avoid nearly all incoming fire just by using side-dash shots.

When the core gets enraged and enters its second phase, avoid the harmful floor panels by using dash shots (they cover enough distance), and reduce the effects of the core's "gravity pull" by using backward or "diagonal"-dash shots; the latter being halfway between a backward and side-dash shot. This combines the greater distance put between you and the enemy of the backward-dash shot and the better evasive power of the side-dash one. But mostly, you should be able to rely solely on side-dash shots.

Try and keep attacking if you show signs of tiring out, but if you feel really pushed for stamina (or have not reached the second phase) you'll have to resort to walking and playing super defensively until it recovers. Usually, after doing little else besides solid attacking, you should be able to defeat the core before you tire out.

Aurum Generator

Difficulty: 4.5 / 10

Threats: None

The Aurum Generator is even easier than the Core. Because grind rails remove your dodging abilities, all you have to do is avoid shooting the wrong thing, cancel out the shots that do come at you and, occasionally, switch grind rails at the right time.

Initially, focus on taking out the Aurum enemies flying around the generator. If you leave them alive they will bother you relentlessly. Once they're down, shoot nothing but the core. Pyrrhon will still make his entrance and heat things up (groan) a bit, but the fight remains very easy. Just make sure you avoid hitting any of the side panels, as they will unleash some purple shots that home in very strongly on you and deal significant damage. You really do not want to waste any precious health during this fight.

If you have a choice, I would suggest staying on the central path, but usually you'll be forced to continually switch paths anyway, in order to avoid the electric barriers when you go round. It doesn't make a huge difference, unless your weapon is suited to a very specific range.

Aurum Pyrrhon

Difficulty: 7.5 / 10

Threats: Flame dragon, circular flame wave, burning

Pyrrhon's back and is hammier than ever ("Receiving pain...OW") but this conceals his toughness as an opponent. Burning is a major pain as usual, which is inflicted by nearly all of his attacks. Many of them are also hard to dodge and cause significant damage by themselves, but thankfully he won't attack as relentlessly as most 9.0 opponents.

Start by taking out the green targets with dash shots after dodging one of his attacks, when it is safest. He has a few annoying attacks, namely his "flame dragon" (the long fiery thing), "circular flame wave" (the circle that appears around the platform before enclosing on it, which cannot be dodged) and the exploding rocks he hurls that briefly form pools of lava. All of these attacks need to be dodged multiple times, except for the circular wave, which you need the jump pad for. Even if you get hit once, it's likely burning will be inflicted and cause significant damage, unless you use a precious Effect Recovery. This is where an evasion modifier comes in very useful, but if you're stuck without one, dodge repeatedly to the side against the "flame dragon" and away from the cluster of rocks.

Always be inclined to stay away from the front of the platform, as it is very difficult to see and dodge incoming attacks from there. This especially applies to the "lava rocks" attack, which may 'trap' you at the front and result in you taking quite a bit of punishment. It also makes it much harder to reach the jump pad if he decides to use the "circular flame wave".

The best way to avoid his attacks is to simply use well-timed dash shots and never leave yourself open. Dash shots should be used sparingly during this fight, due to the limited room you have to move about, how difficult his attacks are to dodge (they cover a wide area and have a strong homing ability) and the burning they cause. If you've just counter-attacked but have not been attacked again for a while, use standing shots until you are, ensuring you're always able to react quickly to incoming attacks. He may have even initiated his "circular flame wave" without you noticing!

Overall, Pyrrhon might be a pain (whether in the general sense or just during this fight), but he is quite beatable with a more defensive strategy, as outlined above.

Pit's Body

Difficulty: 8.5 / 10 to 10 / 10 (depending on skill as Magnus)

Threats: Very high damaging attacks, Pit's dodging/strafing abilities, weapon clashes, the camera

First off, you'll want to enter this fight with as much health as possible. This means using Health Recovery if your health is moderately high, and a Drink of the Gods if it is low. This is because Pit's Body deals so much damage you'll need a healthy life bar just to ensure you're not finished in one or two hits. Unfortunately Magnus's lack of defense carries straight over onto Boss Battle, providing huge problems when it comes to conserving precious health.

The general strategy is as follows: walk for movement (avoid running), keep a moderate distance between you and him, then once the reticule changes to melee shape, press L as quickly as you can for a melee combo. If it hits, continue for the whole three-hit combo. Once he lands from being knocked into the air, dash-dodge towards him in order to avoid his next attack, then try and quickly get in another melee combo. If it misses, DO NOT press L again and dash-dodge to avoid his follow up attack, then return to walking and restart the process. This is all explained in more detail below.

Overall, Pit's attacks deal a ton of damage but are not particularly difficult to dodge. He'll realistically use only three attacks, and you'll recognise them from your fights with Dark Pit. These are a charged shot, three shots of continuous fire, and a melee combo. Therefore, because you can easily dodge his attacks from a distance, it is absolutely crucial you know when to approach Pit, and when to stay away in order to dodge. Besides swinging Magnus's sword around wildly - which is a really fast way to die - being constantly in Pit's face is probably the next most dangerous thing.

The trick is to only approach him after he's attacked, preferably after a dash shot (he is just as vulnerable after using them as you). When he's left vulnerable, walk towards him - as dashing may result in executing a melee dash attack - and start a melee combo once in range. This is because whilst walking or standing still, you're able to 'lock on' to a melee target from a considerable range. You can try this with a Taurus Arm against the practice Monoeye. Walk towards it, keep pressing L and see how you 'glide' into a melee combo from a certain range. By walking, you're able to target Pit's Body accurately with a melee combo from a considerable range. Always feel free to use a melee combo if one seems possible however, but focus on using this approach (walking) instead of mindlessly charging at him all the time.

Note that melee dash attacks should be avoided almost completely. They are much harder to hit with and leave you very vulnerable afterwards, which is something you cannot afford against such a hard-hitting opponent.

There is a possibility he will avoid your melee combo altogether by dodging, strafing or just moving away, and if he does, he will always follow up with an attack of his own. This often comes from behind or beside you, since your camera will probably be pointing in the wrong direction, and obviously will cause massive damage. As noted in the general strategy, if your attack misses, it is vital you do not press L again and continue with the combo, as you will be left standing still and a sitting duck. Instead, dash-dodge repeatedly, avoid his next attack, adjust the camera and start your approach again. If he targets you with a melee attack and not a dash shot, try strafing around him, although if you're still swinging your sword in the middle of a combo, there's often not much you can do. You are able to escape it sometimes, though, and it won't deal as much damage as his ranged shots. If you see him swinging his bow for a melee attack and you're not hit, waste no time in charging up to and melee comboing him.

If you get into a weapon clash, it's usually just better to keep pressing L and pray you're able to win the clash. Strafing around him can be effective but is very risky, as you can easily get caught in his melee combo during your brief pause in attacking. He will also attack you the moment you finish strafing with another melee combo, meaning there's almost no room for error. In reality, it's probably best to just avoid strafing altogether in these situations.

In conclusion, Pit's Body is actually quite predictable, due to his limited variety of attacks. What makes it so difficult is how much damage he causes and to a lesser extent his agility. The slightest mistake can cost you a quarter or third of your health, which is equivalent to a huge number of attacks with Overall Defense +8. If you find yourself consistently losing a lot of health during this fight, besides practising against him in Chapter 18 or on Normal/Easy, you could also focus on improving fighting those earlier bosses to reduce your overall damage taken, so you'll have more health to spare for this fight.

After the fight, you should have at least three drinks left (before consuming one, which you will probably do). Yes, this means that between Twinbellows and Aurum Pyrrhon, a good guideline is to use just two drinks, along with a possible Health Recovery or two. You could use three and intend to fight Pit's Body without taking much damage, but because the smallest mistake in this fight has huge consequences, this is a very risky strategy. You will definitely need a drink - either in-game or in real life - before the Great Sacred Treasure, and at least one more between then and now. But if you do have three left, you can relax (well, briefly) as you are doing well. One of the most dangerous opponents is now behind you, with only a few seriously tough fights to go before completion.

Chariot Master

Difficulty: 7 / 10 to 9 / 10 (depending on skill controlling chariot)

Threats: Clunky controls

This fight is frustrating purely because of the chariot controls. Even though you are still able to dodge and use dash shots, it can be very difficult to know exactly what you are doing and time dodges/dash shots effectively. This is then combined with the task of controlling the chariot. The chariot controls are sluggish at best, but you will have to use them well in order to avoid all of the Chariot Master's mines and "laser pillars" (tall stationary beams that cause shaking) that he lays down. This is what makes the fight so challenging: you have to focus on dodging, timing dash shots, aiming effectively and moving the chariot constantly.

Overall, dodging and counter-attacking is still the best approach to take. Quite a few of his attacks need multiple dodges to avoid, which is obviously made more difficult on the chariot, but dashing repeatedly (spamming the dodge move) should be enough to avoid the vast majority of damage. Bear in mind that you will also have to move the chariot itself quite often; not only to avoid the mines and similar projectiles he lays down but to avoid melee clashes as well. Unless your weapon has decent melee power (which it shouldn't, as it should have been exchanged for greater ranged power), you will want to avoid close-range clashes for the same reason as normal - it drastically reduces your reaction time to dodge incoming attacks. The fact that he also has a melee attack of his own, involving a swipe of his sword, also increases the threat when getting in close.

After he attacks, you should try to follow up with a dash shot or two. You can stick to using standing shots to be completely safe, but doing so makes the fight last much longer, which may be something you want to avoid if your chariot controlling skills are not great. One of the best times to use dash shots is when you start to pull away from him, which he follows up with a charge to put himself in front of you again. As he is charging to get ahead, he will not attack, allowing you to get in some free hits. But mainly, as long as you stick to using dash shots as part of counter-attacking, making it easy to dodge at the right time, you won't take major damage.

Possessed Palutena

Difficulty: 6 / 10

Threats: None

A fairly easy fight. Palutena's attacks can be dodged easily and despite the high intensity, it is still more than easy to hit the Chaos Kin. Just stick to standard dodging and counter-attacking, which is quite easy given how long Palutena pauses between attacks. You can choose to avoid most of her attacks by dodging or strafing. Both are perfectly viable.

Once the Chaos Kin is left lying on the ground, attack it with dash shots to avoid incoming fire and maximise damage. You can generally ignore what Palutena does. When it conceals itself again, simply repeat the dodging and counter-attacking you did before.

If she summons a Centurion (either an archer or knight), focus on taking it out first. It is always better to deal with lone enemies rather than groups on high intensities, and dealing with Palutena and her Centurion is no exception. Don't forget that Centurion Knights have ranged attacks on 9.0, so you're not completely safe from a distance.

Lastly, beware that Palutena's health is much lower than on lower intensities. She will die after barely taking a few hits. Keep this in mind when rooting out the Chaos Kin - you do not want to shoot wildly and kill Palutena 20 fights in!

Chaos Kin

Difficulty: 6.5 / 10

Threats: None

This cowardly foe might be annoying with all the chasing it makes you do, but luckily isn't that hard. For a start, you have Dark Pit, who isn't so great at actually dealing damage but makes superb bait. Viridi's Electro Traps are as useful as ever, although the Chaos Kin won't stay in them for too long. Furthermore, the jump pads make an excellent way to escape the fighting when you're low on stamina. Most of the Chaos Kin's attacks are relatively easy to dodge, but more importantly they deal little damage.

You can afford to approach this fight a bit more offensively than normal, mainly thanks to Dark Pit also being a target. If you see the Chaos Kin clearly going after him, feel free to use dash shots and attack offensively. From a decent range, you should have enough time to dodge any attacks that may come towards you. You can also be more liberal about using dash shots when the Chaos Kin is running away from you. However, when it is targeting you, it is still best to stick with dodging and counter-attacking. If your stamina gets low and it is still harassing you, use a jump pad to escape the action. This will allow you plenty of time to recover. Throughout the fight, also keep trying to bait it into Electro Traps by standing behind one, and hope it targets you with a melee attack.

Amazon Pandora

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: Paralysis-inducing hearts

On one hand, unlike Chapter 22, you won't have a whole power board to unload in this one fight, so you may find it more challenging. On the other hand, Amazon Pandora is not particularly hard even without powers. This derives from her general lack of aggression, easy-to-dodge attacks and predictability.

Her most dangerous attack remains her heart projectiles, which cause paralysis. This makes it very difficult to dodge the subsequent hearts she fires at you, resulting in a lot of damage. But even this attack can be comfortably dodged under normal circumstances. In fact, by far the most likely reason for screwing up this fight is using too many poorly-timed dash shots, leaving you open to a barrage of hearts or another attack. This can be easily avoided with a solid dodge and counter-attack strategy.

To deal with Pandora in her initial form, spam side and backward-dash shots and keep retreating. She will be defeated very quickly, making dodging and counter-attacking a waste of time.

Most of Amazon Pandora's attacks will come at regular intervals with a significant pause between each of them, allowing for some great counter-attacking opportunities. Usually, you can safely get in one or two dash shots after dodging an attack of hers. Furthermore, she has a tendency to occasionally stand around for a few moments - either when summoning more objects or just doing nothing at all - which leaves her a sitting duck. If you see her doing this, fire off a forward-dash shot as quick as you can. Her constant teleporting may be a nuisance, but if she disappears from view, you should be able to rotate the camera fast enough, spot her and subsequently see any incoming bombs or other attacks she sends your way. You may even be able to dodge an incoming bomb from behind you! (This is much easier than it sounds). As for her non-ranged attacks, use backward-dash shots if she swings her sword, and carefully shoot her whilst she creates her "heart-shaped crystal barrier" (as Palutena calls it). This acts as a mini-reflect barrier and is best left alone, as destroying it is very difficult, and even more difficult without having your shots reflected for serious damage.

Overall, a fairly straightforward (or should I say "inadequate"? Cue Palutena and Pandora making fun of Viridi's cup size) fight. As for the ones that follow however...

Hades's Heart

Difficulty: 8 / 10 to 9 / 10 (depending on evasion and homing)

Threats: Successive enraged charges

If you equipped a weapon with an evasion modifier, now is the time to breathe a sigh of relief. If you didn't, this fight may involve some of the hardest dodging you'll do across all 26 fights. Needless to say this refers to the multiple charges Hades's Heart makes when enraged. You will need to dodge each charge multiple times and consistently well.

The rest of the fight, by comparison, is pretty straightforward. Avoiding the clones is easy enough if the heart isn't enraged, and besides laying mines it has no other means of attack. This allows you to freely use dash shots and maximise the damage from your weapon, whether it means a forward-dash charged shot at close range or backward-dash continuous fire from as far away as possible.

If your weapon has enough homing ability, shooting over the walls is by far the best method of attacking (shooting through walls works equally well if you're using a club). If your weapon does not though, stick to a combination of mostly ambushing with chasing as a last resort. A good movement speed comes in very useful here. The reason you won't be able to always ambush it is because it constantly tries to avoid you, deliberately taking paths that lead away from your location. Conversely, its clones will chase you aggressively, making it even harder to approach the heart. However, once they find a spot to self-destruct, you should have no problems getting away from the blast. The best time to ambush the heart is along the long straights around the edge of the maze, but these are by no means ideal and you should generally focus on ambushing constantly rather than wait for a 'good' opportunity. When you get one, go all-out and use dash shots, maximising damage. You should have enough time to dodge the heart's first charge after it goes into rage mode, even after a dash shot. However, for extra insurance, it may be an idea to avoid point-blank range.

What follows is the difficult part. You have to dodge through four or five charges, probably alongside one or two clones also charging at you and blowing up. Your priority should be avoiding the heart's charges with a series of well-timed dodges, as a badly timed one can easily get you hit. Each charge will need to be dodged at least two or three times. If clones are around, this will all be made much tougher. I would advise trying to get onto the central straight if you can, as there is more space here to move around and see what's coming, or if not stay in an area with many corners so you can at least avoid the clones' blast more easily. Avoid staying along the edges and outer corners of the maze. Hopefully with some good dodging and locations, you'll emerge from the assault without too much damage.

Magnus and Gaol

Difficulty: 7 / 10

Threats: None

Despite their supposed toughness, Magnus and Gaol are actually quite beatable. For a start, Gaol is much less aggressive than when you faced her before, and Magnus is slow and easy to run away from. But on top of this, they share each other's health, so you can just focus on the easier opponent for the whole fight. To explain, instead of Magnus and Gaol having for example 100 health individually, they have 100 health shared between them, which goes down regardless of who you attack. This means that if you find Gaol easier than Magnus, you can attack her for the whole fight, reduce their combined health to near-zero and then defeat Magnus instantly.

As you start a fair distance away, initiate the fight with a good few bursts of dash continuous fire. At this range any of Gaol's attacks can be comfortably dodged even after a dash shot, and Magnus will be too far away to worry about melee attacks. Once the fight gets underway, I would suggest ignoring Magnus and attacking Gaol very aggressively. This essentially means using dash continuous fire with the occasional dodge and counter-attack. Although this sounds suicidal, Gaol is so passive you can get away with it. Furthermore, most of her attacks are actually among the weaker ones she uses back in fight #2, so there is little risk of her using, for example, her "gravity ball". Therefore, you can rely on side and backward-dash shots to do most of the evading or setting yourself up for evading (i.e. retreating and using the extra distance to dodge an incoming attack). If Magnus pops up, either retreat if he is still running or use backward-dash continuous fire if he initiates a melee combo. Generally, if he is doing anything but attacking he will dodge your shots, much like Dark Pit in Chapter 6 on 9.0. Once Gaol goes down (it should not take that long), keep using bursts of backward-dash continuous fire against him until he follows.

All in all, this should be a pretty safe fight. Although you are now nearing the end, avoid the urge to use up powers during this fight. This is for one very good reason: fight #26. Any spare Health Recovery uses should be used between fights as always, unless you're about to get finished. Hold your nerve!

Pseudo-Palutena

Difficulty: 8 / 10

Threats: Mini "turrets", relentless attacks

You may have found Pseudo-Palutena to be nothing too difficult during Chapter 24. This, however, was probably due to the kind Drink of the Gods you were provided with, allowing you to play more offensively and use dash shots more freely. Unfortunately, you will not have any such luxury here (you'll want to lose as little health as possible as always).

Pseudo-Palutena is a nightmare to play defensively against, chiefly because of how few counter-attacking opportunities you'll get in. This is because of the extremely annoying turret-like things she creates (the blue things that float near her and fire at you), which in conjunction with her own attacks, mean you'll be dodging almost constantly. Thankfully these can be destroyed, although they will regenerate quickly. You're going to have to stick with far more dodging than counter-attacking, with destroying the occasional turret if you can. However, as you should recognise most of her attacks from fighting Possessed Palutena, you may have an easier time dodging since you'll know how to precisely avoid each attack. Strafing works well too. After dodging one of her attacks, hit her with a side or backward-dash shot to avoid any turret fire, then either repeat if it is safe or stick with standing shots if not. The turrets are best taken out with a side/backward-dash charged shot or burst of continuous fire, although not a backward-dash charged shot if it travels slow, as it will probably get cancelled out. You should be able to squeeze these in at fairly regular intervals.

By themselves, her attacks are not too threatening. Besides her "flying tractor beam" (where she surrounds herself in a beam, levitates and moves across the screen), most of them do not deal too much damage, and the worst status effect she causes is weakening. Although weakening sounds deadly, it does not last for long, and since her attacks are easy to dodge, all you have to do is play more defensively until it wears off. What does make her attacks threatening is the possibility of taking consecutive hits. This makes it particularly risky to fire off poorly-timed dash shots. With both her attacks and turret fire coming right at you, leaving yourself open after a dash shot could easily result in getting hit four or five times. This is deadly with weakening in effect. Therefore, no matter how frustrated you might get from not attacking, it is vital you time your dash shots well. You should also rely less on forward-dash shots, as unlike other dash shots they have no evasive power and are very risky during this fight.

Finally, even if your health is high and you have a Drink of the Gods left, you should still avoid going all-out and attempting to defeat her before she defeats you. This is because playing this fight with low health is extremely challenging. With so many shots flying around, it's highly likely you'll get hit and be quickly reduced to crisis mode, and swiftly get finished once in it. But more threateningly, many of her attacks have the ability to bypass crisis mode by damaging you in the air. This is because whenever you enter crisis mode you'll be knocked into the air, and many of her attacks do that and damage you in the air simultaneously. So crisis mode is definitely a situation you want to avoid, especially after defeating 24 other bosses!

So overall, dodge often, counter-attack using side or backward-dash shots, take out turrets when needed, use standing shots if there is too much incoming fire, time your dash shots well and rely less on forward-dash shots. Oh, and avoid low health at all costs, even if it means using powers.

Great Sacred Treasure

Difficulty: 10 / 10

Threats: Highly damaging, wide-ranging and hard-to dodge attacks, various status effects, stamina problems

This is it - the last hurdle before completing one of, if not the hardest challenges in Hades's hunt. Unfortunately, this is also probably the biggest hurdle you'll have to overcome. There is a reason powers (excluding Health Recovery) have not been mentioned until this point in the guide - you'll need them all for the Great Sacred Treasure. It is an insanely difficult boss, with high-damaging, hard-to-dodge and frequent attacks, good agility and a range of status effects to boot. Whilst saving all your powers - chiefly Aries Armor and Crisis Recovery - may seem a bit extreme, the fact is the GST will be the hardest opponent you face with powers, and there's no better time to use them unless you really struggle against an earlier boss. You can attack it using dodging and counter-attacking, but since its attacks do tons of damage (or cause burning) the slightest mistake can be deadly. To put this into perspective, with Overall Defense +8, the damage you'll be taking is slightly less than that from Pit's Body.

Assuming you have full health from a Drink of the Gods, right from the start, activate Aries Armor - hopefully you'll have equipped Lv. 3 or 4 - and attack aggressively, using mainly dash shots alongside dodging and counter-attacking when possible. Side-dash shots are the most effective (Palutena even says in Chapter 24, "Wait until it finishes attacking, then use a side-dash charged shot") due to their evasive power, so use mainly these alongside a few backward or "diagonal" (halfway between a backward and side-dash shot) dash shots to gauge a better distance. The exceptions to this strategy include when it melee charges at you and fires a massive laser from ground-to-air. Its 'melee charge' is comparable to Dark Pit and Gaol's charges, only much faster and stronger. Similarly, the laser is comparable to the Kraken's and Arlon's huge lasers that 'sweep' across the ground in a straight vertical line. The melee charges are best avoided by strafing, whereas the laser deals huge damage and should just be dodged normally to be safe. To prove this point, it will easily take out a third your health with Overall Defense +8. When Aries Armor runs out, activate it again (yes, you should have both uses intact) and repeat the same strategy of using side/backward-dash shots with some dodging and counter-attacking, making exception to the two attacks listed. The duration of two Aries Armor uses should be enough to see it defeated, even if you are on the verge of crisis mode (as I was). Hopefully you'll also have some Effect Recovery uses left in case you are hit with burning, paralysis, spinning or other status effect.

However, there is obviously a chance you may be in a less fortunate position. This could be for a number of reasons. You could have used all your drinks, leaving you with moderate or low health, used the majority of your powers, or even both. Needless to say this will make the fight ten times tougher. Many of the GST's attacks come in 'waves' - multiple consecutive shots of the same attack - which will all need to be dodged impeccably, and those that don't are generally the ones that deal huge damage, such as its laser. Your counter-attacking opportunities are limited, but by no means zero. As Palutena advises in the story, your best bet is to counter-attack using side-dash shots after it attacks, then dodge like crazy as soon as you fire one off. This essentially means dash-dodging to avoid incoming attacks. If the GST briefly pauses attacking, continue attacking with standing shots, but do not fire off any more dash shots. Even if it looks safe, the risk of it firing and you taking damage is too high, especially when your entire Boss Battle progress is at stake. Plus, there's always the possibility of it simply moving out of the way, making the whole move worthless and leaving you vulnerable. Also remember that, unless you regularly 9.0 Chapter 24 - and kudos to you if you do - you'll also have little experience against the GST on 9.0, making it even more dangerous and unpredictable. For these reasons, continue dodging consistently and using side-dash shots to counter-attack throughout the entire fight, avoiding risks. Assuming your dodging skills are consistently superb, you will hold up against its attacks.

Lastly, because the GST is so relentless, you may well drain your stamina very quickly. When this happens, you're in a really tough spot. Walking is about the only thing you can do, but you'll still have to dodge very frequently, and to avoid tiring out you can't afford to dash any more than you need to. This is clearly an extremely difficult thing to pull off. To avoid being in this situation, try to use 'conventional' dodging more and rely less on dash-dodging, which destroys your stamina. Easier said than done, but the more attacks you recognise, the easier this becomes.

Don't be disheartened (well, try not to) if you lose at this point. Remember that the GST is leagues above other 9.0 bosses in terms of difficulty, and beating it requires a level of skill much higher than what you need to complete most chapters on 9.0. If the game had an intensity of 10.0, this would be it.

After you hear the wonderful sound of the GST being defeated - relax. Breathe. Blink. Then, punch the air with your 3DS and scream "YEAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" at the top of your voice. Or however else you want to celebrate...but anyway, that's what I did. Congratulations! You have truly accomplished something remarkable; possibly the hardest and most brutal mission Hades has to offer. You are a Kid Icarus: Uprising master! (unofficial title)

Once Boss Battle is over, an ending screen will appear showing your completion time, hearts you've acquired, the intensity you've played at and Hades himself next to a fittingly huge "CONGRATULATIONS!" (I guess he felt this was so difficult he wanted to thank you personally). You will then collect your rewards in the same way you do after chapters. The weapons you get are actually pretty good, and are equivalent to 9.0 weapons from later chapters.

And your legendary reward for such a difficult mission is...an IDOL?? Oh well. Maybe Hades just wants you to take away the epic satisfaction from completing the challenge. Or maybe he's just trolling us. Who knows?

Boss Battle Drink and Health Recovery Use

My uses of the drinks and Health Recovery powers were as follows (the "/" represents which two bosses I used the item between):

Drink #1 - Dark Pit / Thanatos
Health Recovery #1 - The Immortal Phoenix / Cragalanche
Health Recovery #2 - Arlon / Phosphora
Drink #2 - Phosphora / Aurum Core
Drink #3 - Aurum Pyrrhon / Pit's Body
Health Recovery #3- Pit's Body / Chariot Master
Drink #4 - Hades's Heart / Magnus and Gaol
Drink #5 - Pseudo-Palutena / Great Sacred Treasure

The most important drinks are #3 and #5. Pit's Body and the Great Sacred Treasure are fights you won't want to begin with anything but near-full health. Even if you feel quite confident against them, the risk of taking too much damage is too high in these fights. The more drinks you can save in the early fights, the better, as the later fights are generally more dangerous and you're more likely to lose a lot of health during them. Also bear in mind that, unless you regularly 9.0 the respective chapter, you'll have practised a lot less against the later opponents, making them more unpredictable.

On a final note, my health was flashing (i.e. low) when I used all five drinks, and for two of them I had just recovered from crisis mode. While I'm not advising you to enter fights with just a silver of health, you should enter them on fairly low health to maximise the drinks' health recovery (this is explained in the "Clear Boss Battle on EASY" section).

Clear all chapters on Intensity 9.0

This achievement is so difficult it needed a section of its own.

Clear all chapters on Intensity 9.0

Recommended Weapons: Anything with high overall defense and recovery effect

Recommended Powers: Health Recovery (Lv. 3+), Super Armor, Aries Armor, Crisis Recovery, Effect Recovery

Reward: 999999 Hearts

This has got to be the ultimate Solo goal, and the reward shows. Although this might not be the hardest achievement in the game (Boss Battle on Hard, I'm looking at you), you will undoubtedly need to have mastered the game to accomplish this. Fortunately, the 9.0 missions in Hades's hunt actually cover the majority of chapters, so a fair amount of the workload is cut out. Furthermore, you'll have played other chapters on similarly high intensities, like 7.5 or even 8.0, making the jump to 9.0 easier.

However, some chapters without any panels requiring 9.0 are among the hardest in the game to complete on it. Because of this, each chapter that does not have a 9.0 mission has its own strategy detailed below. (Greyed out chapters are those with other 9.0 missions).

Note that the recommended weapons and powers above apply to all chapters, unless stated otherwise.

Chapter 1

Unsurprisingly, the easiest chapter to complete on 9.0.

You can equip almost any weapons and powers, so feel free to try out new combinations. The most dangerous part of the level besides Twinbellows is the Underworld Crawler area, but it can simply be avoided if it's not worth the time and effort. Even Twinbellows is, by 9.0 standards, cake.

Chapter 2

Generally, this chapter isn't hard. The difficulty is roughly equivalent to the hardest achievements in Viridi's hunt, and certainly should be easier than the majority of 9.0 missions in Hades's hunt. Because of this, there is more leeway in terms of weapons and powers here, much like Chapter 1. Accordingly it's also a good opportunity to try out new combinations.

If you have any trouble with Dark Lord Gaol, Aries Armor and Health Recovery come in very useful. However, note that if Magnus dies, the fight gets much more difficult, so finish him off before this happens.

Chapter 3

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a blade (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 4

Completed with the mission "Destroy 200 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 5

Since you will have completed this chapter on Intensity 7.5+ already, it's not much more of a step to 9.0. Plus, the earlier chapters are quite easy on high intensities anyway.

The layout of the chapter might be confusing, but it'll probably come back to you as you go on. If not, you'll definitely know it better on a second attempt. Just ensure you don't fall off, as fall damage is unaffected by defense. Falling off is actually one of the main threats in this chapter, since most enemies are rather docile (for 9.0 standards) and Pandora is a really easy boss.

If you're still struggling, using Super/Aries Armor and Health Recovery will almost certainly keep you alive.

Chapter 6

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a bow (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 7

Completed with the mission "Clear the chapter with a score of 450,000 or higher (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 8

Providing you can deal with the Space Pirates, this chapter is quite easy. Admittedly, they will be aggressive, but if you've dealt with enemies in the later chapters they are nothing to worry about. Note that the Clubberskull (large purple thing with two swinging arms) can also be ignored completely, which I would definitely suggest doing on 9.0.

The Kraken is a moderate challenge, but can easily be overcome with a few powers. Armor powers, Health Recovery, Power Attack and even Reflect Barrier (when fighting the head) all work well against it. For more details on this fight, see its entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Chapter 9

This is the first significant 9.0 challenge chronologically. The difficulty mainly arises from the air battle, which is one of the hardest in the game, and the marathon length of the land battle (specifically, the last section after defeating the three bosses). The rest of the level is hard, but certainly beatable. Even in succession, the three bosses should not be that difficult, thanks to the Drinks of the Gods and hot spring that are provided.

First, I would strongly advise against using the Three Sacred Treasures. This is because of their lack of defense, along with other modifiers such as evasion, if you rely on them a lot as well. Therefore, only use them if you are very confident at dodging and know the equipment inside-out.

In the air battle, the best strategy remains to keep moving in large circles. However, there are some areas where you'll have to change tactics. The first of these is the section with the Trailtails. You should try and destroy them before they can finish 'drawing' their line, but you won't always be able to, and the Komaytos (jellyfish) here are more dangerous. Therefore, focus on taking them out and avoiding the Trailtails' lines, unless you are able to destroy them quickly. Following this is the Shootfly section, which is straightforward enough. Seriously, just don't shoot. Getting attacked by the Shootflies can reduce your health to zero even with Overall Defense +8 and frantic dodging. The third section is the area with the Boogities (mummy-like things that pop out of their tomb). Defeating them is very difficult, so instead focus on taking out the easier surrounding enemies, who are usually able to deal equal amounts of damage.

The Underworld Gatekeeper is extremely dangerous if your health is low. Its attacks fly very fast and are very accurate; not just in aiming but with their homing ability as well. This means you cannot easily avoid them just by moving in circles. Your only other option is to dodge, which is not easy. If you can, use some well-timed dodges just before any attacks connect. This may be very difficult but if your health is low, you are nearly guaranteed to take damage just by moving in circles. Use your special attacks to cancel incoming shots, and focus on taking out the most threatening guns first. I find these to be the central-left and central-right orange guns, but do whatever suits you.

The land battle is split into four segments. There is one segment each leading up to the fights with Twinbellows, Hewdraw and Pandora (based upon the chapters which you fought them in), followed by the long final segment stretching from the starting arena to Medusa herself. For dealing with the bosses, see their entries in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section. Each segment is dealt with individually below:

Twinbellows's segment is not that difficult, despite the two Clubberskulls you face. Most enemies can be dealt with using simple dodge-and-counter-attack tactics. You can also afford to liberally use dash shots against melee-based enemies, such as Skuttlers. When you encounter the Reaper, just ignore him and stay out of his line of sight. Dealing with Reapettes and his scythe swings is a real pain, and causes serious problems if you're ever backed into a wall or corner. Save the Stone Card you get from the Treasure Box for the upcoming Clubberskull. Once you meet it, retreat using backward-dash continuous fire towards the Lightning of Judgement. If you petrify it, continue using dash shots, but if not, use the Lightning. A single burst should kill it providing all the bolts hit, but if not then dodge through its attacks and go back the way you came, since it will respawn after a short while. Against the second Clubberskull, if your Exo Tank gets destroyed, attack using backward-dash continuous fire and stop if it gets too close, in order to dodge its swings. The range of its swings is so large, you won't be able to move back in time just by using dash shots. It's also crucial you stop using dash shots when you're about to tire out, for obvious reasons.

Hewdraw's segment is even easier. You face little more than basic mooks. They are mostly in small groups, but still easily disposed of by dodging and counter-attacking. If you want extra hearts and rewards, only use the Aether Ring once you clear the area in which you find it first (the enemies are easy), as it may well get destroyed. Riding the Aether Ring into the sewer enables you to collect all the lovely red hearts and Treasure Box at the end of the pathway.

Pandora's segment can be a little annoying. A number of enemies attack you from long range , which can be a little difficult to dodge and counter-attack. However, this should still be quite possible with forward-dash shots, as they have the longest reach, and being left open isn't a worry if you can spot incoming shots from a mile away. There is, however, a dangerous Orne that appears after you activate the switch for another "anti-gravity teleporter". Take extra care to map and track its movements before carefully stepping onto the teleporter. Dashing has every chance of colliding with the Orne! An easy Cherubot section follows and after that you've reached Pandora.

The final segment is by far the toughest, mainly owing to its marathon length and the array of dangerous enemies you face. But fortunately, since you fight Medusa in the air, you should have nearly all your powers to unload during it (keep this in mind when selecting powers).

In the first room, take out the flying Skuttler Cannoneers first as they are far more threatening than the Collin and Phil. Next, take out the Specknose followed by the Igniot (petrifying laser-firing thing), and lastly take out the Suit of Skuttler with melee attacks to avoid distracting the Shootflies. If your melee damage is absolutely pitiful however (something like a Flintlock Staff with 0 melee stars), you may have to shoot the Shootflies first. This is actually less risky than it sounds - they have little health, and should avoid you if you use side-dash shots. You can always use one of your many powers if you find trouble.

Next comes the long corridor with the flames that alternate on/off. These do a TON of damage on 9.0 and cause burning, so avoid them at all costs. However, the enemies you fight are quite easy. You can safely defeat the Monoeyes and Handoras from a distance, and as long as you avoid the Clubberskull and Orne you should take little damage. If you plan to collect the Treasure Box behind the Orne, remember to collect the Speed Boots from the Treasure Box on the left path at the junction before it. The "Treasure Box" next to the Clubberskull and Souflee is actually a Pandora's Box, so either dodge frantically when you open it or use an invincibility power.

After the flame corridor comes a party of three Skuttler Cannoneers. Deal with them using side-dash shots with some dodging and counter-attacking mixed in. Next comes a lone Suit of Skuttler, who is easy to defeat on its own.

The next room features four successive lone enemies, each one coming from each hole in the room. The first is an Eggplant Wizard, who is actually completely harmless since there's nothing else to attack you when you're an eggplant. The second wave is similarly very easy - a lone Skuttler Cannoneer. Next comes another Suit of Skuttler, who should be just as easy as the lone one you faced before. The last enemy is a nasty surprise in the form of a Clubberskull. Needless to say you should save your Atlas Foot and Power-Up Drop for this guy. Start by using the Atlas Foot when he spawns, as he should stay still for long enough to receive all three hits, then use the Power-Up Drop and go-all out, attacking using dash shots at your most effective range (if this means getting in his face, go for it - just listen out for when your invincibility starts running out). After all this he should be nearly dead, so finish him off with a few bursts of backward-dash continuous fire.

The following grind rails section is not too tricky. You are almost completely safe on the grind rails as enemies will hardly attack you, if at all. On the first landing there are some Shootflies, who you can simply ignore (but you may want to shoot down the Treasurefish, in which case take it out and dash repeatedly/nudge the control pad continuously to avoid them). The second landing only contains lowly, standard enemies such as Handoras and Magmoos who are not in groups, making them easy to defeat. Lastly you face two Boogities alongside two "flames", who can be a bit more of a problem. Their invulnerability can get quite frustrating, and their attacks deal loads of damage (about 1/3 of your health with Overall Defense +8). Keep away from the flames and just stick with dodging and counter-attacking to be absolutely safe.

The final section contains the series of invisible paths leading to Medusa. Besides the Tempura Wizard, the biggest threat here is falling off. Fall damage is unaffected by defense, and it is huge on 9.0. However, the enemies here are not particularly difficult, and can be dealt with using a combination of distance shooting and dodging and counter-attacking. It is vital you save an Effect Recovery for the Tempura Wizard. On 9.0 it will pursue you very aggressively, and you hardly have any room to spare between moving away fast enough and tiring out. The other major threat is the very last line of defense, where you face an Eggplant Wizard and the all-new Erinus (thing that splits into head and legs) alongside a looming Orne. The Eggplant Wizard is completely harmless so just focus on avoiding the Orne, but the Erinus is much more aggressive and there is a greater risk of colliding with the Orne whilst fighting it (for example, by getting frantically firing many dash shots, and dashing into the Orne). Unload all your remaining powers on it and try to keep the Orne in front of you at all times to track its movements.

Once you're past this nail-biting section, all you have left is Medusa (who is fairly easy) and you're done. As stated above, for advice on how to defeat her, see her entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Chapter 10

Completed with the mission "Destroy 220 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 11

Completed with the mission "Clear the chapter using an arm (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 12

This chapter is not too easy, but if you've defeated 220 enemies on intensity 7.5+, simply completing the level on 9.0 might actually be easier. The focus shifts greatly from offense to defense; namely avoiding all the optional enemies (unless you feel confident enough to defeat them) and using standard dodge-and-counter-attack tactics for dealing with the majority of foes. Although the level is quite long, there is plenty of food, and with recovery effect you'll have plenty of health.

The Reset Bomb Guards might cause some trouble as they tend to gang up on you, and the last thing you want on 9.0 is to deal with groups of tough enemies. The best way to counteract this is to use Super or preferably Aries Armor (as the latter provides insane defense boosts), ensuring that you can attack sufficiently without worrying too much about taking damage in return.

Chapter 13

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a palm (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 14

This chapter is a moderate challenge. There are no particularly tough enemies - including Phosphora - and the enemy groups are generally quite small, but many have the potential to dish out some serious damage. Fortunately, the air battle is relatively easy and most enemies on land can be taken out with a charged dash shot or burst of continuous fire before they get a chance to attack. This saves you the frustration of waiting for counter-attacking opportunities, and potential risk of getting hit whilst you do it.

The air battle is fairly tough but thankfully, moving in large circles will get you through it cleanly. At first there seems to be a lot of enemies, but many of them are actually quite docile, preferring to fight Underworld/Forces of Nature troops or just stare at the surroundings. For this reason you won't have that much incoming fire to avoid. Sometimes you will have to stop moving in circles (and move in a different direction) to avoid other shots coming your way, but this is easily done and should be fairly routine on high intensity air battles. The most dangerous enemies are the Parashooters (paratroop-like things that fire wide yellow projectiles), whose projectiles are fast-moving and wide-ranging, and the Lurchthorn (Fire Wyrm-like enemy), which is tough to take down and attacks you frequently. Take out any Parashooters as quickly as you can, resorting to special attacks if you have to, and against the Lurchthorn, focus on taking out any surrounding enemies before attacking it itself. You'll be able to take it down anyway later on when you have the chance to shoot its head. The toughest segment is the 'path through the storm clouds', where you'll encounter Flages (invisible green assassins) alongside a range of other agile, aggressive enemies. Save your special attacks for this section, as they are very useful for dealing with multiple agile enemies at once, which may take too long otherwise.

The first area on land is quite easy. Destroy the Nutskis and Pew Pew with dash shots before they attack you, taking the optional side-path with a Treasure Box if you wish. For the Jitterthug (the monster with switching immunity to ranged/melee attacks), quickly shoot the kindly provided Mega Marble and its fragments should seriously damage it if not kill it outright. Take care of the Skreetles on the elevator with standing shots, then grab the food to the left, collect the Happy Trigger to the right and move on.

In the next room, destroy the Trynamites first or they will explode (flinging near-impossible to dodge shots that cause significant damage), followed by the Zerts and finally the actual power supply itself. Defeat the following Urgle with a dodge-and-counter-attack, and keep attacking the train car. Next, take out the Trynamites and finish off the train car to give you a nice power-up. Defeat the next few enemies with dash shots. Then, once you reach the bottom area with the Flages and Jitterthug, take the Jitterthug out ASAP followed by the Flages. Backward-dash shots are particularly effective in doing this.

You should now be in the area with the long blue, transparent spiral path. As you enter two Nutskis will spawn behind you, so deal with them quickly before they attack you. Continue forward, repelling the Bumpety Bombs with charged shots whilst dealing as much damage as possible to the train car. Destroy the remaining enemies (they should be easy enough) and after the grind rail, destroy the Urgle when you land with a dodge-and-counter-attack and attack the Toxiecaps (toxic plant things) from as far away as possible. Now, melee combo all three spheres into their holes, with the third being along the path behind the sphere on the right. Then take out the Skreetles with a grenade, eat any food if you have to, and take the other grenade with you. Lob it at the Lethiniums (plant lasers) to the right, then defeat the Clobber from behind the separating bridge for some free hearts.

Now comes the area with the moving electrical currents. As long as you pay attention to where the currents are, this is quite an easy room. Take out the majority of enemies with dash shots, unless they look poised to attack; in which case resort to dodging-and-counter-attacking. Remember to grab all the power-ups in the different corners of the room.

After the grind rail comes the last segment before Phosphora, which Palutena refers to as the "route to the temple center". Defeat the initial Megonta (giant ball-like thing) if you wish, but just be prepared to dodge/strafe around it when it rolls at you. Take out the following enemies with forward-dash charged shots. Once you reach the Lurchthorn, either ignore it or take out its guns with a mix of dash shots and dodging and counter-attacking. Do not just attack the head! Its guns have the potential to inflict massive damage, and can reduce you from full to 'flashing' health even with Overall Defense +8. It might pay off, but it's not worth risking your whole mission on it. Once you've decided what to do with him, collect the food, take out the two Nutskis firing at you, then run past all the remaining enemies. The Blader, Meeba and second Lurchthorn you encounter are generally not worth the trouble, unless you really like killing everything.

With a Drink of the Gods and (hopefully) most of your powers still unused, Phosphora should not be too difficult. This is especially true if you have Aries/Super Armor and one or two Health Recovery uses left. On Boss Battle, you'd have to worry much more about dodging her attacks well, but with powers and full health you can mainly rely on dash shots to deal damage, mixed in with relatively frequent dodging and counter-attacking. Hopefully you'll also have a few Effect Recovery uses left, as paralysis can be highly damaging in this fight, setting you up to take damage from consecutive attacks. Overall, just mainly stick to using side and backward-dash shots from a good distance, using dodging and counter-attacking when you feel you can't avoid the incoming attack with a dash shot. For a more detailed strategy, see her entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Chapter 15

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a cannon (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 16

Completed with the mission "Collect 40,000 or more hearts and clear this chapter (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 17

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using claws (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 18

This chapter can be anything from difficult to an absolute nightmare depending on your playing style. Sadly, if you've been using ranged-based weapons with high overall defense and recovery effect for 9.0 runs, this mission is going to lean more towards the "nightmare" side. This is because Magnus embodies almost the exact opposite of these things. He has no ranged abilities whatsoever, no extra defense and to top it off, no powers. It's also perfectly possible to find using Magnus a nightmare anyway, regardless of what weapon you've been using. This is 9.0 at its cold, cruel core, with no powers or weapon modifiers to make it any easier for you. It's just your basic stats and the raw health restored by food.

The first section of the level (with the girl and dog) has not changed at all, so enjoy the scenery, story developments and music. Go exploring as the dog if you feel like it.

When you start out as Magnus, you immediately have two options: move forward, or collect the Treasure Box in the abandoned hall through the doors behind you. Unless you are very confident as Magnus, move forward to avoid any extra enemies. This should be a general rule that applies throughout the level; i.e. don't take any side-paths.

As for the rest of the chapter, because there are so few types of enemies, the best way to advise how to complete it is to explain how to deal with each one, detailed below:

Centurion

The basic troops of Palutena's army. They are the small archers that will often attack you in numbers. Although hardly a threat on lower intensities, on 9.0 the difference is huge.

They deal more damage, but even deadlier is the fact that they fire many arrows at once (either 3 lots of 3 arrows or a flurry of arrows fired in very quick succession) which home in on you very strongly. To put this in perspective, it is roughly equivalent to Shot Homing +3 on a pair of Centurion Orbitars. Because of this, if you ignore the arrows when attacking, they are almost guaranteed to hit you, even if you avoid a few while executing a melee dash attack (they will hit as soon as you are left vulnerable).

Additionally, apart from causing damage outright, they will also make you flinch and interrupt your movements or attacks, leaving you open to follow-up attacks from other enemies. This further means that dodging them is crucial, especially if you are facing more than one Centurion, which is likely. Two or three well-timed dodges should be enough to get through the "waves" of three arrows, but against a flurry of arrows, I would suggest dodging like crazy towards the Centurion(s) and quickly taking them out.

These guys, though they can seem unthreatening at first, can easily make your mission a nightmare if you ignore them.

Centurion Knight

The guys with shields and axes.

They are tough customers - mainly because of their shield and long-ranged attacks - but fortunately, you will need to fight very few (if any) of them. This is because all of them are completely optional to fight, and can be sprinted past in every instance. Obviously, this is what you should do. Resist the urge to fight them and embrace your inner coward!

The only thing you need to watch out for is any swinging of their axes whilst running past them. It's possible they could hit you with their long attack range, so always be prepared to dodge. You might want to fight them under some rare circumstances, but avoid them if at all possible.

Centurion Strongarm

If the regular Centurions are the annoying archers, these guys are the frontline troops, and the next most common enemy you'll face.

They have two attacks: a wrestling body slam (by far their most common) and lobbing a set of barbells that magically pops up from nowhere. Dodging the barbells is fairly easy - you might have to dodge twice because of their size, but otherwise they should not be too difficult to handle. The body slam, on the other hand, can be harder due to the positions you might be in. For example, if you repeatedly melee combo a Centurion Strongarm, he will eventually grab and body slam you, and since you're so up close it'll be almost impossible to avoid.

The best way, therefore, to deal with them is to wait until they attack, avoid it, follow up with two melee combos and then dash away like crazy. You can avoid the attack in three main ways: performing a melee dash attack through it, dodging through it, or strafing (circling) around it. Doing a melee dash attack is a great way to deal additional damage, but means you cannot counter-attack as quickly, and vice versa for dodging/strafing. Overall I would recommend strafing, because it provides invincibility (unlike melee dash attacks) and allows quicker counter-attacking then the other two methods. However, if you are not confident strafing, using a melee dash attack is definitely safer and the drawbacks are relatively minimal. Having said that, strafing or dodging through the charge should not be any more difficult than regular dodging. After your two melee combos, dashing away ensures you have enough reaction time to easily avoid the next body slam or barbell.

Juggernaut

The stationary catapults that block your path. You face three in total.

The first you encounter is after the section with the electric fence, and fires the basic rocks. It is possible to run past the rocks all the way to the Juggernaut, but more often not it will result in getting hit. You can also dodge all the way, but the best method is to simply dodge one or two rocks, then run for the rest of the distance.

The second one is a little different (it's the one that fires the bullet-like things), but to get around it, simply make it start firing by walking into its range (the Back Shield will protect you), dodge back into the safe zone, then wait until it stops and advance.

The last one is encountered in the area just before Pit's Body, and is more troublesome since it attacks you in conjunction with the Centurion Strongarms that are also there. In this area, dodge through their "barbell" or "body slam" attacks, and quickly get behind the Juggernaut to be safe from them. From here, use melee dash attacks to hit them if they are close, since the attack will hit both them and the Juggernaut. Once the latter is down, you can deal with the Strongarms with some well-timed strafing and counter-attacking (detailed above).

Underworld Crawler

You only encounter one of these, but it can be quite troublesome with your limited range and its high damage output.

I would advise to actually leave the Centurions (basic archers) alone, since it's likely the Crawler will take them out quickly. Once against it by yourself, keep moving towards its heart (the weak spot at the back) whilst focusing your camera on it to prepare for any incoming attacks. If you are attacked, simply dodge like crazy by repeatedly pushing the circle pad in one direction. Once at the heart, use melee combos as they deal more damage and leave you less vulnerable, and run away at the first sight of danger. Usually, this is the Crawler's spinning attack which not only deals massive damage but has quite a long range, so you will need to be well out of the way.

If you're not sure whether it will attack, retreat! It's always better to be taking longer and alive than taking risks and getting finished. Also don't forget to retreat after you kill it, as it will blow up with a surprising range.

If you deal with the enemies like this, you should be fine. However, one of the largest problems you face is groups of enemies. If they contain Centurions (archers), take them out ASAP, followed by the Centurion Strongarms. This is because of how easy it is for them to interrupt your attacks and leave you open to follow-up attacks. However, only attempt this after dodging/strafing/melee dash attacking (see above) the Strongarms' attacks, as you can easily be body slammed when you're attacking. Generally, dodge like crazy and carefully take out enemies one-by-one in the above order, as this reduces the amount of attacks thrown at you compared to dealing with groups of enemies.

The only other challenge in this chapter is Pit's Body, but the scale of the one he provides is absolutely huge. This is mainly because, quite simply, all his attacks do a ton of damage. You'll only be able to take a few charged shots or continuous-fire bursts before you hit crisis mode. That is, if you enter crisis mode at all, since Pit's attacks can do enough damage to bypass it and finish you instantly. His charged shots and continuous fire can sometimes damage you in the air or on the ground as well, also bypassing the mode, since you won't have a chance to properly recover.

However, the fight also tough because of how difficult it is to not only approach Pit's Body, but make sure you are not left vulnerable. He can very easily dodge or dash away from your melee attacks, and when he does, he will always follow up with either a charged shot, continuous fire or melee attack of his own. The ranged attacks will often come from behind or beside you, since your camera will probably be pointing in the wrong direction, and cause massive damage. To counter this, keep a moderate distance at all times (this is very important, as it allows you to dodge his attacks effectively), then once he is left open - usually after firing off one of his attacks - "glide" up to him (you will if you are close enough and press L whilst not dashing) and melee combo him. He will only let you do it once, so after you finish, immediately nudge the circle pad like crazy in order to dodge his counter-attack as well as point the camera towards where he rolls. This is to merely see where the attack is coming from. After pulling this off, simply rinse and repeat.

If he targets you with a melee attack, try strafing around him, although there's often not much you can do since you're probably up close already. Thankfully, this won't deal too much damage. If you see him swinging his bow and you're not hit, waste no time in charging up and melee comboing him (or using dash attacks if you're worried about weapon clashes). For more details, see his entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section.

Thankfully, the air battle is a cakewalk compared to the land. Just equip a weapon with high overall defense and recovery effect and you'll be fine.

If you have serious difficulty with this chapter, try out Magnus on slightly lower intensities (about 7.0-8.0) to get the hang of him and not lose hearts. You could also just play on 9.0 repeatedly, but doing so is incredibly stressful and if it's certain you're doing to get finished on 9.0 anyway, you save hearts as well as stress. It is extremely hard. This may well be the hardest chapter in the game to complete on 9.0 for you, depending on your playing style. Once you get the hang of Magnus though, you'll have a very good shot at completing it.

Chapter 19

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a club (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 20

Completed with the mission "Clear this chapter using a bow (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 21

Although you don't need 9.0 intensity to collect 35,000 or more hearts, you will have needed at least 8.0 (if not 8.5+). This means it's hardly a step up to 9.0, which you should be able to handle. Furthermore, you won't be focused on collecting hearts, so you can afford to attack slightly fewer enemies, put yourself in less dangerous situations and so on.

For how to complete the chapter on a high intensity, see the "Collect 35,000 or more hearts" achievement in the Chapter 21 section of Hades's Treasure Hunt. The advice is virtually the same, save for the 'collecting hearts' aspect.

Chapter 22

Your experience with Intensity 7.5 will definitely come in handy here. As with all tough 9.0 air battles, a lot of enemies will simply have too much health for you to destroy the whole squad, so you'll need to prioritise your targets. These vary depending on the situation, but you should generally be more inclined to destroy more lower-health enemies than fewer high-health ones, the reason being they will probably be just as aggressive and damaging as each other.

If you're still taking too much damage, you may have to adopt the advanced technique of air dodging instead of just moving in circles all the time. It is quite difficult to time and direct a dodge in the melee of an air battle, but there are no other real ways to avoid incoming fire. Also, recovery effect is a near-must. Recovery Orbs are scarce, and on 9.0 the health they restore will be pitiful; especially in comparison to the beating you'll have taken.

Once you get to Amazon Pandora, it's basically a case of spamming powers. You have your whole power board to unload in one boss fight, so use them very liberally, perhaps unlike other 9.0 boss fights where you'll be waiting for the perfect opportunity to use your one remaining Health Recovery or Aries Armor. Because of this, take a few strong rather than many weak powers. Aries Armor is a great choice because of its insane defense boosts and protection against status effects, and Health Recovery is still a solid option if you're ever hit by a barrage of hearts, particularly when combined with recovery effect. But really, as long as you have a high level Aries Armor you're free to choose whatever you like. You could even opt for rarely used but strong powers like Pisces Heal or Playing Dead.

Overall, she isn't that different to when you fought her on 7.5. Her heart projectiles are still the main thing to watch out for, most of her attacks are still relatively easy to avoid, and she will still teleport behind bombs which you can easily follow up with a dodge and counter-attack. In any case, with two uses of Aries Armor, you'll be nigh invincible. For more details, see her entry in the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section, although this fight is much easier since you have all your powers and full health.

Chapter 23

Completed with the mission "Destroy 150 enemies and clear this chapter (Intensity 9.0)".

Chapter 24

Unlike Chapter 18, this chapter is a nightmare for everyone. In fairness, it is more expected being the penultimate level in the game. The main difficulty stems from facing five bosses on 9.0 (the last two among the toughest in the game) in a single chapter, but there is also a very significant threat presented by the regular enemies you'll be facing. This especially includes the "waves" of enemies you face with no healing items in between. On top of this, it's likely you won't be able to use powers nearly as much as you normally would. This is because you'll need to save them for the toughest fights (namely the Great Sacred Treasure, and possibly any others you find particularly difficult), which makes the other fights - that are not much easier - even more difficult.

Overall then, this chapter requires excellent dodging and counter-attacking skills, the ability to time dash shots without getting counter-attacked, in-depth knowledge of enemies and particularly bosses, good power management and near-flawless stamina management (with so much dashing around, it is very easy to tire out).

In terms of weapons, having something with very high overall defense (at least +6, preferably +8) and recovery effect (at least +3) will be incredibly useful. A ranged-based weapon will also help massively in reducing the damage you take, since melee attacks are far more likely to get you hit. However, offense in general is also a crucial factor. Bosses and regular enemies will all have a ridiculous amount of health, and you will take damage when fighting almost anyone. Logically, the longer you spend attacking, the more damage you're likely to take. A good guideline for offense is about 100 damage with a burst of dash continuous fire from a realistic range (i.e. about 20-40m), with not too much variance in damage from short or long range. All this is very likely to push the weapon's value over 300, so be prepared to spend some time fusing a decent one. This also means there won't be much room for other modifiers.

Powers are more straightforward. The best ones are simply the usual Solo powers: Health Recovery, Super/Aries Armor and Crisis Recovery. Despite the extra room it takes, I would recommend Aries Armor, since it lasts much longer, gives much better defense boosts, and overall is incredibly useful for fighting the toughest bosses. However, if you don't find any boss particularly difficult, go with Super Armor. Instant Death Attack is a very good second choice after your priority powers, but you might want to consider using higher-level priority powers instead. Effect Recovery also makes great filler since status effects are deadly on 9.0 and they are everywhere in this chapter.

Thankfully, the air battle is relatively easy-going. Providing you've memorised the positions of enemies, there should be no major problems. You might be worryingly low on health during the last section (after the last set of recovery orbs), but if you keep moving in circles and know how to dodge the giant weapons, you should survive. With recovery effect, you'll make a full recovery when you land.

Now the real challenge starts. The first thing to note is that since you'll have defeated the Phoenix and Cragalanche on 9.0 already, just repeat what you did since you'll know their attacks and adjust to your weapon if it has changed since then. Because of this, a strategy for defeating them will not be listed here - for a detailed guide see the "Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD" section. With recovery effect, the food you receive shall be enough to fully heal you.

You first encounter a junction, which is the only optional path in the whole level (located on the right). This doesn't lead to any shortcuts or extra food, so just skip it. However, when you take the main stairs, you can actually run past all the enemies on them and straight to the arena at the top (this is where a decent speed helps quite a bit). This actually applies to all the stairways between arenas, so make the most of it.

The first arena contains three Flages and a Captain Flare, or in other words the "stealthy" units of the Forces of Nature (i.e. the ones that disappear). Try and take out the Captain Flare first because of his ranged attacks, but because you'll only be able to target a few enemies at any one time, just attack anything that is vulnerable. If you see a Flage appear in front of you, either strafe around them or dash away instantly - they will attack you after barely a second. Due to this, take extra care to ensure you're not left vulnerable by any dash shots. You're quite free to use them since you won't be attacked too often, but just keep a close eye on the enemies around you.

After defeating the Phoenix, feel free to defeat the Plixos (colourful sets of tiles) to spawn a Treasure Box and weapon. Then ignore the enemies on the stairs, run past the Orne and defeat the Nutskis outside the arena, to ensure you're not near a Mimicutie when they spawn. Now you have to defeat three Mimicuties by "activating" them when you approach them whilst being harassed by Bumpety Bombs. Most importantly, whatever you do, do not activate more than one Mimicutie. Dealing with two alongside a Bumpety Bomb is a nightmare, and three...let's not go there. But against them individually, use backward-dash continuous fire to retreat as far as you can, then follow up with a dodge-and-counterattack once they start to kick you. Remember not to dodge or strafe twice, as this could put you back in the kicking range. Rinse and repeat for the following two Mimicuties. When the Reaper spawns, first deal with any Reapettes (they deal significant damage if they hit you) then once he's petrified by the Medusa Head, go all-out but keep a moderate distance. When he recovers, use backward-dash continuous fire and keep retreating until he gets petrified again.

After Cragalanche comes the last land battle in the game, excluding the upcoming boss fights. Defeat the Plixos if you wish, collect the food and continue forward to encounter a Dohz (Aurum troop transport). This thing is a real pain to deal with, thanks to its highly damaging, frequent and fast-moving attacks as well as Dyntos's injection of speed. If your weapon has a decent speed, and you feel less than confident against it, I would suggest running past it, dodging any incoming attacks whilst you do it. If this does not apply, use a mix of mainly standing shots and some very well-timed dash shots (as counter-attacks) until it goes down. Further up the stairs you face an Aurum Shemum that spawns Porcuspines and a Space Pirate, followed by a Trynamite (floating rocks that fling three shards toward you when left) and Gloomerang (mask-wearing things that fire boomerangs). If your weapon has sufficient speed, continue running past these enemies as well. If not, after the Dohz has gone, attack the Porcuspines and Space Pirate from as far away as possible, then quickly destroy the Trynamite with standing shots and dodge-and-counterattack the Gloomerang.

On the last arena, you face a Fort Oink (which spawns Trynamites) and Juggernaut, followed by a Space Pirate, Nutski and Claxis, followed by a unique Monoeye with very high health. Unfortunately, they will all be very tough customers. First off, grab the Back Shield, run behind the Juggernaut and attack its weak point (the underside of its "head" from the back) using forward-dash continuous fire. This may get you hit once or twice, but dodging and counter-attacking is near-impossible with both Trynamites exploding and the Juggernaut attacking you, so it's generally a better idea to just defeat it as quick as you can. Once it's down, attack the Fort Oink with dash shots but reverting to standing shots when it releases Trynamites. Thanks to the short recovery time from standing shots, this means you can destroy them as soon as they appear. Against the next wave of the Space Pirate and company, try and take out the Nutski as soon as it spawns, then focus on destroying the Claxis as it will attack you the most. If the Nutski survives, dash-dodge (repeatedly nudge the control stick) towards it and fire off a standing charged shot followed by continuous fire. The Space Pirate will usually charge towards you and use melee attacks, which are relatively easy to see coming and dodge, but nonetheless use dash shots sparingly to ensure you're not left open. Lastly, although the Monoeye has a lot of health, its attacks remain the same, so just dodge and counter-attack everything it throws at you until it dies.

The Space Kraken shouldn't be that hard. Use the Grenade on the tentacles and try to take out more than one, then proceed to attack them using dash shots, halting when a tentacle is about to attack you (i.e. when a yellow border appears around your screen). Against the head, stick with solid dodging and counter-attacking. Its attacks are very hard to avoid with dash shots, and usually come in quick succession. Fortunately, because you get a Drink of the Gods after this fight, you can lose any amount of health as long as it doesn't get you finished.

For strategies on how to defeat the final three bosses (Magnus and Gaol, Pseudo-Palutena and the Great Sacred Treasure), see their entries in the "Clear Boss Battle on HARD" section. Note that the strategy of saving all your powers for the Great Sacred Treasure (except Health Recovery) also applies here. However, because you'll have a full life bar during the first two fights from the Drinks of the Gods, they are significantly easier than their Boss Battle counterparts. This means you can take slightly more risks, such as firing more dash shots and so on. The strategy for the Great Sacred Treasure fight remains the same, as you should enter it with full health during Boss Battle anyway, as well as have the same powers equipped.

Once you hear the sound of the Great Sacred Treasure being defeated, relax and WELL DONE. Honestly. Chapter 24 is often cited as the hardest 9.0 chapter in the game - what you've just done is no mean feat.

Chapter 25

At first, this might seem similar to Chapter 18 (and by deduction, a nightmare). You are using a vehicle that has completely different attacks and controls to Pit, meaning you appear to have little protection against the brutalness of 9.0, much like Magnus. But in actual fact, the Great Sacred Treasure reflects the stats of your equipped weapon, which means that you can equip something with high overall defense, recovery effect and other useful modifiers. But don't think that means you can take the chapter lightly!

Fundamentally, this mission remains an air battle, and doing what you normally do in air battles remains the best path to take. This means moving in large circles whilst using continuous fire, sometimes moving in different directions to avoid incoming fire. Although you are able to dodge, it is generally not worth it for how difficult it is to pull off, and with a high defense, moving in large circles should avoid enough damage already.

Although Hades will have obviously changed on 9.0, his attack sequences and weak points remain the same. However, due to the high damage he causes and the lack of a time limit, be more inclined to remove any incoming fire or sources of incoming fire before attacking his weak points. Do not do this too extensively though, as you'll be destroying other targets all day long and not defeat him quickly enough (in the long run, you'll be taking more damage than you deal).

The controls for lining up Pit with the landing and the following "Medusa gauge" have been made harder too, but both remain quite possible. Hopefully you'll be used to the landing sequence controls from earlier chapters (such as 17), and the Medusa gauge from earlier attempts in Viridi's hunt (the panel where you have to charge it in less than 25 seconds).

Lastly, Hades's "Final Strike" sequence (the very last fight) remains very similar to lower intensities, except the lasers deal much more damage. You can therefore adopt the same tactics - stay in the bottom-left corner, and move in a clockwise direction when the central laser gets close.

Rewards

A list of all the rewards obtainable from the treasure hunts. They are sorted into weapons, powers, hearts, idols, music and others.

"Unlocked" weapons and powers refer to ones that you are now able to obtain, but are not given to you outright.

Weapons

Sorted by value.

Weapon	Value	Ranged	Melee	Attributes	Hunt	Panel
Phoenix Arm	306	4	2	Shot defense +4, Standing cont. fire +4, Power attack +1	Hades	Clear chapter 10 and destroy 220 enemies (Intensity 9.0)
Rail Cannon	303	4	2	Shot defense +4, Power attack +1, Full-health boost +4	Hades	Clear chapter 15 using a cannon (Intensity 9.0)
First Blade	302	4	2.5	Overall defense +3, Speed +2, Stamina +3, Forward-dash ch. shot +2	Hades	Collect all in-game idols
Sonic Cannon	300	4	0	Shot defense +4, Confusion +4, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash cont. fire +3	Hades	Clear chapter 16 and collect 40,000+ hearts (Intensity 9.0)
Gaol Blade	292	4	3.5	Overall defense +4, Paralysis +4	Viridi	Chapter 24: Defeat Gaol without hitting Magnus (Intensity 5.0+)
Beam Claws	292	3.5	3.5	Overall defense +3, Speed +2, Stamina +1, Dash cont. fire +2	Hades	Clear chapter 17 using claws (Intensity 9.0)
Midnight Palm	289	4	1	Overall defense +4, Standing cont. fire +3, Dash cont. fire +3, In-peril autododge +2	Hades	Clear chapter 13 using a palm (Intensity 9.0)
Shock Orbitars	288	4	0	Shot defense +4, Standing ch. shot +3, Dash ch. shot +3	Hades	Clear chapter 14 without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)
Upperdash Arm	271	1	3.5	Shot defense +2, Paralysis +4, Forward-dash ch. shot +2, Forward-dash cont. fire +2, Melee dash attack +2	Hades	Clear chapter 17 within 18 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)
Earthmaul Club	259	3.5	0	Overall defense +3, Shot range +3, Dash ch. shot +2	Hades	Clear chapter 8 without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)
Rose Staff	250	3.5	0	Weakening +4, Evasion +2, Dash ch. shot +2, Bkwd-dash cont. fire +2	Hades	Clear chapter 12 and destroy 220 enemies (Intensity 7.5+)
Skyscraper Club	248	2.5	2.5	Melee defense +4, Recovery effect +4	Hades	Clear chapter 19 within 17 minutes
Brawler Claws	235	0	0	Overall defense +8, Speed +4, Stamina +1	Hades	Acquire all claws
Knuckle Staff	222	1	4	Overall defense +2, Evasion +1, Melee dash attack +2	Hades	Buy 100 weapons
Black Club	220	2.5	0	Health +4, Forward-dash ch. shot +4	Hades	Acquire all clubs
Ninja Palm	217	3	0	Health +3, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash cont. fire +2	Hades	Acquire all palms
Electroshock Arm	216	1.5	1.5	Shot defense +3, Shot homing +2	Viridi	Open 50 treasure boxes
Babel Club	216	1.5	1.5	Shot defense +2, Dash ch. shot +3	Viridi	Defeat 25 bosses
Laser Staff	208	2	0	Shot defense +3, Dash cont. fire +3	Viridi	Clear chapter 16 and destroy 230 enemies (Intensity 5.0+)
Cutter Palm	205	1.5	0	Item attack +4, Effect duration +2	Hades	Use 100 items
Halo Club	203	1	1.5	Overall defense +3, Dash ch. shot +3	Viridi	Defeat 10 enemies with the Aether Ring shield before disembarking (Intensity 5.0+)
Guardian Orbitars	198	0	0	Overall defense +3, Knockback defense +3, Shot cancellation +1	Viridi	Narrowly avoid a total of 25 shots in air battles
Burning Palm	192	0.5	1	Shot defense +2, Standing ch. shot +2, In-peril attack boost +2	Viridi	Clear chapter 10 with a score of 200,000+ (Intensity 5.0+)
Doom Cannon	191	1.5	0	Melee defense +2, Paralysis +2, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash cont. fire +1	Viridi	Chapter 21: Capture the Chaos Kin 5 times with an electro trap
End-All Arm	191	0	1	Health +1, Burning +2, Shot cancellation +1, Knockback recovery +1	Hades	Recover onto your feet from a knockback 100 times
Ore Club	189	2	2	Standing ch. shot +3	Viridi	Clear chapter 23 using a club (Intensity 5.0+)
Crusher Arm	189	0	2	Overall defense +2, Stamina +2, Melee dash attack +2	Viridi	Get over 3,000 hearts by converting weapon gems
Fireworks Cannon	188	0.5	0	Power Attack +4	Viridi	Acquire a cannon with an evasion modifier
Jetstream Orbitars	187	2	0	Shot defense +1, Standing ch. Shot +1, Dash cont. fire +2	Palutena	Clear chapter 8 within 17 minutes
Paw Pad Orbitars	186	2	0	Weakening +2, Standing cont. fire +2, Dash cont. fire +2	Viridi	Acquire orbitars with a modifier for a backward-dash charged shot
Lancer Staff	185	2	0	Walking speed +1, Standing ch. shot +2, Dash ch. shot +2	Palutena	Clear chapter 8 and destroy 200 enemies (Intensity 5.0+)
Stealth Claws	184	1.5	1	Dash ch. shot +2, Forward-dash cont. fire +2	Palutena	Clear chapter 7 using claws (Intensity 5.0+)
Bowl Arm	182	2	0	Shot cancellation +1	Palutena	Chapter 7: See all of Thanatos's forms
Artillery Claws	182	2	0	Melee defense +2, Dash ch. shot +1, Dash cont. fire +1	Viridi	Acquire claws with a shot-defense modifier
Crystal Bow	182	1	1	Evasion +3, Full-health boost +4	Viridi	Acquire a bow with a shot-cancellation modifier
Drill Arm	179	3	0	Standing ch. shot +3	Hades	Fire a total of 50,000 shots
Predator Cannon	177	1	1	Stamina +1, Backward-dash ch. Shot +2, Melee combo +1	Palutena	Clear chapter 5 without dying (Intensity 5.0+)
Fairy Orbitars	173	2	0	Standing ch. shot +2, Heart bonus +2	Palutena	Put over 10,000 hearts into the Fiend's Cauldron
Ogre Club	173	0	2	Melee defense +2, Melee combo +2, Melee dash attack +2	Hades	Clear chapter 9 without using the Three Sacred Treasures
Phosphora Bow	169	1	0	Health +2, In-peril attack boost +4	Viridi	Defeat Phosphora with the Meteor Bow
Thanatos Staff	165	0.5	0	Melee defense +2, Burning +2, Backward-dash ch. shot +2	Palutena	Defeat Thanatos with the Volcano Arm
Atlas Club	165	0	1.5	Shaking +1, Running speed +3, Heart bonus +2	Viridi	Defeat 20 Souflees
Fortune Bow	163	1	1	Shot range +2	Palutena	Clear chapter 2 within 10 minutes
Optical Blade	163	1	0	Status resistance +2, Shot homing +2	Viridi	Create 30 weapon gems
Dynamo Cannon	163	0.5	0.5	Weakening +1, Stamina +1, Bkwd-dash cont. fire +1, Melee combo +1	Viridi	Achieve a high score of 500,000
Hedgehog Claws	155	0	1	Poison +2, Speed +2, Recovery Effect +2, Self-injury -1	Viridi	Have 50,000+ hearts in your possession
Royal Blade	151	1	0	Speed +1, Backward-dash ch. shot +1, Bkwd-dash cont. fire +1	Palutena	Rank 1st in a Free-for-All match
Angel Bow	147	1	1	Heart bonus +1	Palutena	Collect over 10,000 hearts
Crusader Blade	147	0	2	Melee defense +1, Knockback recovery +1	Viridi	Recover onto your feet from a knockback 50 times
Ball Cannon	142	0	0	Petrification +2, Backward-dash ch. shot +1, Dash cont. fire +1	Viridi	Play Far Away in Together mode 10 times
Somewhat Staff	136	1	0	Standing cont. fire +2	Palutena	Clear chapter 5 using a staff (Intensity 2.0+)
Darkness Bow	132	1	0	Standing ch. shot +1	Palutena	Fire a total of 1,000 shots
Pudgy Palm	124	0.5	0	Standing ch. shot +1	Palutena	Use 10 special attacks
Cursed Palm	124	0	0.5	Item attack +1	Palutena	Dismantle 10 weapons
Eyetrack Orbitars	121	0	0	Shot homing +1, Standing ch. shot +1	Palutena	Clear chapter 2 using orbitars

Unlocked Weapons

Weapons that when unlocked can now be obtained (such as through fusion), but are not given to you outright. Sorted by type, then alphabetically.

Zodiac Weapons

Weapon	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Aquarius Blade	Viridi	Find the Aquarius Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Cancer Claws	Palutena	Find the Cancer Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Capricorn Club	Viridi	Find the Capricorn Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Gemini Orbitars	Palutena	Find the Gemini Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Leo Cannon	Palutena	Find the Leo Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Sagittarius Bow	Palutena	Find the Sagittarius Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Scorpio Staff	Viridi	Find the Scorpio Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Taurus Arm	Palutena	Find the Taurus Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Virgo Palm	Viridi	Find the Virgo Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure

Aurum Weapons

Weapon	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Aurum Blade	Viridi	Chapter 15: Destroy 8 of the Aurum Core's guns
Aurum Bow	Viridi	Chapter 17: Defeat Aurum Pyrrhon in crisis mode
Aurum Club	Viridi	Clear chapter 15 within 17 minutes
Aurum Orbitars	Viridi	Clear chapter 16 using claws
Aurum Palm	Viridi	Chapter 16: Defeat the Aurum Generator without switching grind rails

Other

Weapon	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Boom Orbitars	Viridi	Clear chapter 25 within 15 minutes
Centurion Orbitars	Viridi	Chapter 19: Defeat the Chariot Master in crisis mode
Palutena Blade	Palutena	Clear chapter 9 within 28 minutes
Palutena Bow	Hades	Clear chapter 24 within 11 minutes
Poseidon Cannon	Palutena	Clear chapter 8 within 20 minutes
Viridi Claws	Viridi	Clear chapter 22 without dying (Intensity 5.0+)
Viridi Palm	Viridi	Acquire 5 different palms

Powers

Sorted alphabetically.

Power	Level	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Angelic Missile	3	Hades	Chapter 14: Defeat Phosphora within 30 seconds
Autoreticle	1	Palutena	Clear Chapter 1 within 7 minutes
Black Hole	3	Hades	Acquire all blades
Brief Invincibility	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 3 within 10 minutes
Bumblebee	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 9 and collect 8,500+ hearts (Intensity 5.0+)
Burn Attack	3	Hades	Acquire a First Blade with an in-peril-attack-boost modifier
Celestial Firework	1	Palutena	Perform an idol toss
Confuse Attack	1	Palutena	Chapter 5: Defeat Pandora without letting Dark Pit die
Counter	1	Palutena	Use a Centurion Assist item
Crisis Recovery	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 1 within 4 minutes
Darkness	1	Palutena	Chapter 7: Defeat Thanatos in crisis mode
Effect Recovery	1	Palutena	Play Far Away in Together mode
Energy Charge	1	Palutena	Defeat Hewdraw Reborn with the Bomber Arm
Explosive Flame	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 6 within 15 minutes
Freeze Attack	2	Viridi	Acquire 5 different bows
Freeze Attack	3	Hades	Perform 100 idol tosses
Health Recovery	2	Palutena	Clear chapter 5 within 15 minutes
Heart Booster	2	Viridi	Acquire 50 different weapons
Heavenly Light	2	Viridi	Acquire 5 different claws
Homing Boost	1	Palutena	Acquire an arm
Interference	3	Hades	Defeat 100 opponents in Together mode
Invisible Shots	2	Viridi	Acquire 5 different clubs
Invisible Shots	1	Viridi	Execute 500 dodges
Item Vacuum	2	Viridi	Clear chapter 21 within 17 minutes
Jump Glide	2	Viridi	Play Nearby in Together mode 10 times
Land Mine	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 1 and destroy 100 enemies
Lightweight	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 2 within 13 minutes
Mega Laser	1	Palutena	Acquire 5 different blades
Meteor Shower	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 4 within 14 minutes
Paralyze Attack	1	Palutena	Acquire 15 different weapons
Paralyze Attack	2	Viridi	Chapter 11: Defeat Cragalanche without hitting its butt
Playing Dead	1	Viridi	Acquire 5 different staffs
Poison Attack	1	Palutena	Defeat 500 enemies
Power Thief	1	Viridi	Collect 100 different idols
Quick Charge	1	Palutena	Acquire orbitars
Quick Charge	3	Viridi	Acquire 5 different cannons
Random Effect	2	Hades	Play Far Away in Together mode 50 times
Reflect Barrier	2	Viridi	Use powers 50 times
Shake Attack	1	Viridi	Clear chapter 12 within 20 minutes
Sky Jump	1	Palutena	Perform 100 melee attacks
Slip Shot	2	Hades	Chapter 21: Defeat the Chaos Kin without letting Dark Pit die
Spin Attack	2	Hades	Clear chapter 18 without taking any damage
Spite	3	Hades	Clear chapter 10 within 9 minutes
Super Armor	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 7 within 15 minutes
Tirelessness	1	Palutena	Clear chapter 6 within 12 minutes
Tirelessness	2	Viridi	Chapter 3: Take out two of Hewdraw's heads at once
Transparency	2	Viridi	Acquire 5 different arms
Virus	3	Hades	Clear chapter 22 within 11 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)
Weaken Attack	3	Hades	Acquire all arms
Weak-Point Reticle	1	Palutena	Defeat Hewdraw Reborn in crisis mode (Intensity 5.0+)
Weak-Point Reticle	2	Viridi	Acquire 5 different orbitars

Unlocked Powers

Powers that when unlocked can now be obtained, but are not given to you outright. Sorted alphabetically.

Power	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Aries Armor	Viridi	Find the Aries Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Eggplant Attack	Palutena	Get turned into an eggplant 5 times
Fortune's Jukebox	Hades	Collect all Zodiac Chamber weapons
Instant Death Attack	Viridi	Defeat 3,000 enemies
Libra Sponge	Viridi	Find the Libra Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Pisces Heal	Viridi	Find the Pisces Zodiac Chamber and take its treasure
Random	Viridi	Acquire 100 powers
Super Speed	Hades	Clear chapters 30 times
Tempura Attack	Viridi	Get turned into tempura 5 times
Trade-off	Viridi	Defeat 50 bosses
Warp	Hades	Achieve 30 victories in Light vs. Dark

Hearts

Sorted by quantity.

Quantity	Treasure Hunt	Panel
999999	Hades	Clear all chapters on Intensity 9.0
50000	Viridi	Clear all chapters on Intensity 5.0 or higher
20000	Hades	Play for more than 100 hours
15000	Hades	Clear chapter 18 within 14 minutes
15000	Hades	Clear chapter 16 within 11 minutes
15000	Hades	Clear chapter 14 within 10 minutes
15000	Hades	Clear chapter 20 within 8 minutes
10000	Hades	Chapter 10: Defeat the Phoenix high in the air above the platform
9000	Hades	Exceed 15,000 points on the Practice Range (Air Battle) counter
8000	Viridi	Clear chapter 11 without taking any damage (Intensity 2.0+)
8000	Hades	Defeat Twinbellows before it can roar once
8000	Hades	Clear chapter 24 with a score of 500,000+
5000	Palutena	Use fuse weapons to create 20 weapons
5000	Viridi	Acquire 50 weapons
5000	Viridi	Play for more than 50 hours
5000	Hades	Acquire a Hewdraw Club with a melee combo modifier
4000	Viridi	Defeat your first Rare Treasurefish
3000	Palutena	Get finished 20 times
3000	Viridi	Exceed 8,000 points on the Practice Range (Air Battle) counter
3000	Viridi	Charge through and defeat 15 enemies before disembarking the Exo Tank (Intensity 5.0+)
3000	Hades	Acquire Guardian Orbitars with a health modifier
2000	Viridi	Acquire an arm with a knockback-defense modifier
2000	Viridi	Clear chapter 17 and destroy 280 enemies
1500	Palutena	Use a Centurion Assist item 10 times
1000	Palutena	Exceed 3,000 points on the Practice Range (Air Battle) counter
1000	Viridi	Destroy a vehicle with another vehicle
1000	Viridi	Acquire a club with a stamina modifier
500	Palutena	Fuse weapon gems
500	Palutena	Clear chapters 5 times
500	Palutena	Play Free-for-All
500	Palutena	Achieve a high score of 100,000
500	Palutena	Use 10 items
500	Viridi	Play Light vs. Dark 10 times
300	Palutena	Successfully perform a melee attack on a grind rail
300	Palutena	Acquire a club
300	Palutena	Use fuse weapons to create a weapon
100	Palutena	Use a power
100	Palutena	Acquire an idol
100	Palutena	Open a treasure box
100	Palutena	Create your first weapon gem
100	Palutena	Get finished
100	Palutena	Play Nearby in Together Mode

Idols

Sorted alphabetically.

Idol	Hunt	Panel
Angel Cannon	Hades	Clear chapter 17 without losing any centurion strongarms (Intensity 5.0+)
Atlas Foot	Viridi	Defeat 5 enemies with the Cherubot's melee attack before disembarking (Intensity 5.0+)
Aurum Bow	Hades	Clear chapter 21 within 14 minutes
Aurum Brain	Hades	Acquire a weapon valued at over 300
Aurum Cruiser	Hades	Play Together mode 200 times
Ball Cannon	Viridi	Rank 1st in a Free-for-All match 5 times
Black Club	Hades	Acquire a Dark Pit Staff with a full-health-boost modifier
Boogity	Hades	Defeat Aurum Pyrrhon with the Magnus Club
Boom Spear	Palutena	Achieve a total score of 500,000
Brawler Claws	Palutena	Acquire 20 weapons
Brawny Claws	Hades	Clear chapter 23 within 11 minutes
Bumpety Bomb	Viridi	Chapter 13: Defeat Arlon with a melee dash attack (Intensity 5.0+)
Cellular Skuttler	Hades	Acquire Raptor Claws with a status resistance modifier
Centurion Orbitars	Hades	Execute 2,000 dodges
Claxis	Viridi	Clear chapter 18 within 16 minutes
Clobbler	Hades	Clear chapter 20 using a bow (Intensity 9.0)
Collin & Phil	Palutena	Defeat 5 enemies with the Aether Ring shield before disembarking
Crusader Blade	Hades	Defeat 50 Souflees
Dark Fighter	Hades	Have 300,000+ hearts in your possession
Dark Pit	Hades	Acquire a Leo Cannon with an item-attack modifier
Dark Pit Staff	Hades	Chapter 6: Defeat Dark Pit without jumping onto any platforms (Intensity 7.5+)
Daybreak	Hades	Acquire every weapon
Dog	Hades	Dismantle 100 weapons
Drill Arm	Hades	Achieve a high score of 1,000,000
Drink of the Gods	Viridi	Play Free-for-All 20 times
Dynamo Cannon	Hades	Clear chapter 7 with a score of 450,000+ (Intensity 9.0)
Fairy Orbitars	Hades	Clear chapter 16 using a cannon (Intensity 7.5+)
Fighter	Viridi	Perform weapon-gem trades with 30 people
Final Strike	Hades	Score 100 or more hits during the game credits
Girin	Palutena	Defeat Pandora with the Stealth Claws
Girl	Hades	Acquire all powers (note: every power at every level)
Great Reaper Palm	Palutena	Defeat the Great Reaper with the Cursed Palm
Great Sacred Treasure (Mech Armor)	Hades	Clear Boss Battle mode on HARD
Great Sacred Treasure (Pursuit)	Hades	Chapter 24: Defeat the Great Sacred Treasure without taking any damage
Grenade	Palutena	Acquire a staff
Hades (Battle)	Hades	Clear Boss Battle mode on NORMAL
Hades's Belly	Viridi	Chapter 23: Defeat Hades's Heart with a melee dash attack
Igniot	Viridi	Clear chapter 20 without dying (Intensity 5.0+)
Juggernaut	Hades	Acquire all cannons
Knuckle Staff	Hades	Clear chapter 25 within 15 minutes (Intensity 7.5+)
Kraken Arm	Hades	Chapter 12: Knock all the Reset Bomb Guards into the trench simultaneously
Light Fighter	Palutena	Play Light vs. Dark
Lightning Chariot	Hades	Chapter 19: Defeat the Chariot Master whilst in the lead on the chariot track
Magmoo	Hades	Chapter 2: Defeat Gaol with a melee dash attack (Intensity 5.0+)
Magnus	Palutena	Defeat Dark Lord Gaol with the Burst Blade
Medusa (Battle)	Viridi	Acquire a staff with a running-speed modifier
Medusa (Monster)	Hades	Collect 350 different idols
Medusa vs. Hades	Viridi	Fully charge the "Medusa gauge" in chapter 25 within 25 seconds*
Mega Mussel	Palutena	Charge through and defeat 5 enemies before disembarking the Exo Tank
Mik	Palutena	Clear chapter 1 and collect 1,000+ hearts
Monolith	Palutena	Defeat your first Souflee
Mudrone	Hades	Clear chapter 13 within 13 minutes
Ninja Palm	Hades	Clear chapter 5 and destroy 220 enemies (Intensity 7.5+)
Nukleen	Hades	Use powers 100 times
Ore Club	Palutena	Defeat Dark Pit with the Paw Pad Orbitars
Orne	Hades	Use 150 special attacks
Palutena	Hades	Acquire all bows
Palutena Blade	Hades	Defeat 10,000 enemies
Parashooter	Viridi	Put over 50,000 hearts into the Fiend's Cauldron
Petrified Palutena	Hades	Collect over 1,000,000 hearts
Phosphora	Viridi	Clear chapter 14 within 17 minutes
Pit	Palutena	Achieve victory in Light vs. Dark
Raptor Claws	Hades	Clear chapter 19 using a club (Intensity 9.0)
Rare Treasurefish	Hades	Defeat 10 Rare Treasurefish
Reaper	Palutena	Defeat 10 enemies with the Cherubot's melee attack before disembarking
Reset Bomb	Viridi	Defeat Cragalanche with the Poseidon Cannon
Rock Bomb	Hades	Clear chapter 23 and destroy 150 enemies (Intensity 9.0)
Roz	Hades	Clear chapter 15 with a score of 150,000+
Shadow Pit	Hades	Acquire all orbitars
Shock Orbitars	Palutena	Acquire a bow
Shulm	Hades	Acquire a Palutena Bow with a heart-bonus modifier
Sio	Viridi	Chapter 22: Destroy 3 mirrors in the fight with Amazon Pandora
Snong	Palutena	Have a weapon stolen by a Pluton
Somewhat Staff	Palutena	Play Together mode
Souflee	Hades	Acquire an Aurum Palm with a shaking modifier
Space Pirate Captain	Palutena	Defeat the Kraken with the Bullet Blade
Spike Ball	Palutena	Defeat Twinbellows with the Insight Staff
Stealth Claws	Palutena	Clear chapter 2 with max health (Intensity 2.0+)
Suit of Skuttler	Hades	Clear chapter 4 and destroy 200 enemies (Intensity 9.0)
Thanatos (Transformations 1)	Hades	Narrowly avoid a total of 50 shots in air battles
Thanatos (Transformations 2)	Hades	Clear chapter 11 using an arm (Intensity 9.0)
That First Town	Palutena	Acquire a palm
Three Sacred Treasures	Viridi	Perform 300 melee attacks
Trailtail	Hades	Clear chapter 12 within 11 minutes
Treasurefish	Viridi	Defeat 5 Rare Treasurefish
Underworld Gatekeeper	Hades	Chapter 3: Defeat Hewdraw Reborn without hitting any purple light balls (Intensity 7.5+)
Vakloom	Hades	Achieve a total score of 15,000,000
Violet Palm	Hades	Acquire a Bowl Arm with an in-peril autododge modifier
Viper Blade	Palutena	Buy 30 weapons
Viridi	Viridi	Clear chapter 13 without dying (Intensity 5.0+)
Volcano Arm	Palutena	Perform a total of 50 dodges
Wrecking Ball	Palutena	Acquire a cannon

* Refers to the gauge that makes Medusa appear.

Music

Sorted chronologically (in chapter order).

Song	Treasure Hunt	Panel
That Burning Town (Ch. 3)	Palutena	Clear chapter 3 within 13 minutes
Reaper Fortress (Ch. 4)	Palutena	Clear chapter 4 using a club (Intensity 5.0+)
Into the Labyrinth (Ch. 5)	Palutena	Clear chapter 5 within 18 minutes
Ch. 6: Dark Pit	Palutena	Chapter 6: Defeat Dark Pit in crisis mode (Intensity 5.0+)
At the Seafloor Palace (Ch. 7)	Palutena	Clear chapter 7 within 18 minutes
Ch. 8: The Space-Pirate Ship	Palutena	Clear chapter 8 with a score of 180,000+
Underworld Gatekeeper (Ch. 9)	Palutena	Destroy the Underworld Gatekeeper's guns and clear chapter 9
Underworld Castle (Ch. 9)	Palutena	Clear chapter 9 within 36 minutes
Phoenix Mountain (Ch. 10)	Viridi	Clear chapter 10 using a staff
Ch. 11: Viridi, Goddess of Nature	Viridi	Clear chapter 11 within 14 minutes
Reset Bomb Depot Interior (Ch. 12)	Viridi	Clear chapter 12 with full health
Ch. 13: The Lunar Sanctum	Viridi	Clear chapter 13 within 22 minutes
Ch. 14: Lightning Battle	Viridi	Clear chapter 14 and destroy 230 enemies
Aurum Island (Ch. 15)*	Viridi	Clear chapter 15 with full health (Intensity 5.0+)
In the Aurum Hive (Ch. 16)	Viridi	Clear chapter 16 within 16 minutes
Ch. 17: The Aurum Brain	Viridi	Clear chapter 17 within 18 minutes
Dog's Theme (Ch. 18)	Viridi	Clear chapter 18 with a score of 150,000+
Lightning Chariot Base (Ch. 19)	Viridi	Clear chapter 19 within 25 minutes
Ch. 20: Palutena's Temple	Viridi	Clear chapter 20 within 15 minutes
Ch. 21: The Chaos Vortex	Viridi	Clear chapter 21 and destroy 240 enemies (Intensity 5.0+)
Ch. 22: Scorched Feathers	Viridi	Clear chapter 22 within 12 minutes
Ch. 23: Lord of the Underworld	Viridi	Clear chapter 23 within 14 minutes
Ch. 24: The Three Trials	Viridi	Clear chapter 24 with full health
Magnus's Theme	Palutena	Chapter 2: Defeat Gaol without letting Magnus die (Intensity 5.0+)
Hades's Infernal Theme	Hades	Defeat 100 bosses
Boss Fight 1	Palutena	Defeat your first boss
Boss Fight 2	Hades	Defeat Magnus with the Magnus Club

* The jazziest alien invasion ever.

Other

Sorted by type, then by treasure hunt.

Feathers

Treasure Hunt	Panel
Palutena	Play for more than 10 hours
Palutena	Narrowly avoid a total of 5 shots in air battles
Palutena	Dismantle 50 weapons
Palutena	Have 5,000+ hearts in your possession
Viridi	Clear chapters 50 times
Viridi	Collect over 150,000 hearts
Viridi	Acquire a blade with a weakening modifier
Viridi	Clear chapter 10 within 14 minutes
Viridi	Use 50 special attacks
Hades	Defeat the Phoenix with the Doom Cannon
Hades	Play Nearby in Together mode 50 times
Hades	Open 150 treasure boxes
Hades	Clear chapter 3 using a blade (Intensity 9.0)
Hades	Perform 1,000 melee attacks

Multiplayer Stages Unlocked

Stage	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Spiral Tower	Palutena	Acquire 10 powers
Rail Temple	Palutena	Become an angel in Light vs. Dark
Cave of Spirits	Palutena	Defeat an angel in Light vs. Dark
Forgotten City	Palutena	Recover onto your feet from a knockback 10 times
Twilight Stratosphere	Palutena	Play Free-for-All 10 times
Large Arena	Hades	Play Light vs. Dark 30 times

Multiplayer Items Unlocked

Item	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Eggplant Bomb	Palutena	Get turned into an eggplant
Capture Circle	Palutena	Defeat an opponent in Together mode
Chomp Trap	Viridi	Defeat 10 opponents in Together mode
Tempura Bomb	Viridi	Get turned into tempura

Other

Reward	Treasure Hunt	Panel
Boss Battle Intensity Unlocked*	Hades	Clear Boss Battle mode on EASY

* Unlocks NORMAL and HARD mode on Boss Battle (intensities 6.0 and 9.0 respectively).

FAQs

I don't know what _______ means.

Please see the glossary at the start of the guide. If your word isn't there, try looking at the surrounding context or for the same word in a different context. If this still doesn't help you, contact me.

Also note that there are boss, item and power list FAQs, which you can refer to if you don't know what a certain enemy/item/power is called, or what said thing does. Needless to say there's also your ever-helpful friend Google.

Your strategy/advice for _______ is no use/does not make sense/needs more detail/needs less detail etc.

I'm completely open to constructive criticism - after all, how else do you make a better guide? Feel free to email me saying exactly why, and if your reason is sensible enough, I will gladly re-write the section and credit you where due.

I'm not sure what the category _______ covers.

See its description in section 4 and 5. It will state exactly what kinds of missions the category covers. For example, if you're confused by what an "Item-acquisition based mission" is, its description in section 5 states that these "share the common objective of acquiring a certain item or items". If you find a panel that is clearly in the wrong category though, please contact me.

You spoiled _______ during the _______ section!

Please refer to the "Are There Spoilers?" section located just after the introduction to see the 'policy' on spoilers. However, if the spoiler violates that policy, feel free to contact me.

You missed out the reward "_______" in the Rewards section.

Please contact me as soon as you can. I will credit you in the relevant sections.

What weapons did you use for Solo?

On my first playthrough, I mainly used a Midnight Palm which I fused at around Chapter 10. This lasted me until the end of Viridi's hunt, including for completing all chapters on 5.0. For higher intensities, I fused a specialised Violet Palm and for Boss Battle on Hard, I fused an even more specialised pair of Artillery Claws. They are listed below:

Weapon	Value	Ranged	Melee	Attributes
Midnight Palm	208	1	1	Overall Defense +1, Poison +4, Speed +1, Standing cont. fire +4
Violet Palm	302	5	0	Overall Defense +7, Knockback defense +1, Recovery effect +3
Artillery Claws	304	4.5	0	Overall Defense +8, Evasion +4

What weapons do you use in Together mode?

If you are really interested, my main ones are listed below (maybe you'd like to double check whether you encountered me online):

Weapon	Value	Ranged	Melee	Attributes
Palutena Blade	304	5.5	0	Shot range +3, Shot homing +2, Dash ch. shot +4, Melee combo +1
Sonic Cannon	318	5	0.5	Shot defense +1, Knockback defense +1, Shot range +3, Shot homing +2, Dash ch. shot +4
Eyetrack Orbitars	305	6	0	Poison +2, Shot range +2, Shot homing +3, Dash ch. shot +4, Speed +1, Status resistance -3
Predator Cannon	307	5	0	Shaking +2, Shot range +3, Shot homing +3, Dash ch. shot +4, Evasion +1, Melee dash attack -2

I do have some knowledge about how the fusion system works (see below), but if you're trying to fuse your dream weapon, the best advice I can give you is read the "Weapon Fusion Mechanics Guide" FAQ by BabyRyoga, keep trying and be prepared to compromise. As you can see, none of the above weapons are perfect - all are compromises to a certain degree.

Occasionally you do see players sporting "perfect" weapons online, but don't get carried away in your quest for one. It's likely they spent many hours (probably much, much more) fusing it, and unless you're really committed to playing online, it won't be worth the extra effort.

How does the weapon fusion system work?

The answer is not simple. You could probably write a thesis for how complicated the system is.

In short, each ranged/melee star and each modifier adds a certain amount of 'value'. So for example, a modifier of "Dash ch. shot +4" adds 44 to a weapon's total value. All weapons have a base value of 100. Therefore, a 0 ranged 0 melee weapon with Dash ch. shot +4 and no other modifiers would have a value of 144. Also bear in mind that the maximum value of any weapon is 342, and fusing any weapon above a value of 300 gets very tricky.

However, how the game decides which modifiers and ranged/melee stats to pass on is where it gets really complicated. It's almost impossible to calculate what would happen for any given fusion, and even then, it would take far too long to be effective. Instead, take educated guesses and abuse ejecting the game to quit without saving (if you power down, the game will save automatically, whereas ejecting it means you can try out sequences of fusion combinations and restart if you don't like the outcome).

For more details, see the "Weapon Fusion Mechanics Guide" FAQ by BabyRyoga.

Have you completed the treasure hunts?

Yes. I have unlocked all panels legitimately except for the StreetPass achievements. I can also safely say it was insanely difficult. Clearing Boss Battle mode on Hard ranks among the hardest things I've ever done on a video game (and that's saying a lot).

Have you got 101% completion?

Yes.

Does completing the treasure hunts ensure 100% completion?

Yes.

Does completing the treasure hunts ensure 101% completion?

No. To get the elusive "101%" completion you need to complete the treasure hunts and get Gold Laurels on every chapter. You are awarded a Gold Laurel (instead of the regular green one) by opening every intensity gate and Zodiac chamber in that chapter if it contained any. HugDaddy has written a FAQ on exactly how to do this, so I would suggest reading that if you have any more questions on the topic.

In my case, after completing Hades's hunt I had exactly 100.0% completion and three Green Laurels. After getting a Gold Laurel, my completion percentage went up by 0.3%. After getting my third and last Gold Laurel, it jumped from 100.6% to 101.0%.

What is the quickest way to get the best rewards from the treasure hunts?

Put simply, there isn't really one. Most panels containing valuable rewards are unlocked by hard graft, and not luck, equipping a 340-value weapon or any other 'shortcuts'. For example, obtaining 999,999 hearts is only possible if you complete all chapters on Intensity 9.0, which is far from easy using any equipment. Of course, there are always strategies you can use to improve your chances of obtaining these rewards - which is what this FAQ intends to explain - but just don't expect these rewards to be unlocked easily unless you're just insanely good. You can, however, take a look at the Rewards section and see whether you like the look of anything, then attempt to unlock those panels in question.

Is it worth completing the treasure hunts?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Depends on a number of things. Firstly, it's crucial if you want to achieve 100% completion. However, if you're only concerned about the rewards, an option would be to simply only attempt those panels that contain those valuable rewards. On the other hand, since many of these panels are extremely difficult to unlock (getting 999,999 hearts is a perfect example), it is comparatively not that difficult to attempt the remaining panels and complete the treasure hunts anyway. Unless you really can't be bothered or just absolutely hate a select few missions, I would suggest doing this. This is partially because of the extra rewards you'll gain, but mainly because of the replayability. The treasure hunts offer a massive amount of replay value; many many times more than what you'd get just by playing through the game once. For example, my first Solo playthrough took barely a few hours, but completing the treasure hunts took well over 50 hours - and remember these are hours of enjoyment! The treasure hunts really allow you to experience the whole game, which is something spectacular. And it goes without saying that the satisfaction you gain during and after completing them is immense.

Why do you always advise using Overall Defense and not Health for defense?

This is best illustrated with an example:

Let's say Pit has 100 health by default. Let's also assume that every point of Overall Defense decreases damage taken by 10%, and every point of Health adds 10 health to the 100 Pit already has. So for example, with Overall Defense +5 Pit would only take 50% damage, and with Health +5 he would have 150 health. Simple enough.

Now let's compare what happens when Pit gets attacked. This attack by default deals 40 damage. With Overall Defense +5, this is reduced by 50%, so it deals 20 damage and reduces Pit's health from 100 to 80. With Health +5, Pit still takes 40 damage and his health is reduced from 150 to 110.

The difference comes when Pit recovers health. If an apple recovers 20 health, on one hand Pit fully recovers from the damage of the attack, whereas with extra health he only recovers half the damage. Although these numbers aren't accurate, the actual modifiers do make a very noticeable difference, and one that isn't great enough to warrant Health a more valuable choice over Overall Defense.

I would like to suggest my own strategies that worked for a particular mission or missions.

Awesome. Email me and I will gladly add your contribution to the guide and credit you in the relevant sections. Alternative strategies are always welcome as they approach a problem from multiple perspectives, and ultimately lead to a better, more insightful guide.

I would like to suggest something else to add to the guide.

Again, please contact me using the address below. If your suggestion is sensible enough, I will add it as soon as I can and credit you in the relevant sections.

What is your friend code?

4339-3119-0814. Feel free to add me (don't forget to send me your friend code too).

How many hours have you played this game for?

Oh, I wouldn't want to tell you that.

Legal

This guide is mine and is protected by copyright. Any unauthorised use of this guide is illegal. If you would like to use this guide elsewhere, send me an email first and I will consider your offer.

This guide is hosted on GameFAQs. It can also be found on Neoseeker.

Contact

Only contact me if you fulfil at least one of the five reasons listed below:

You would like to contribute additional information to a section of the guide.
You want to point out something that is wrong or hard to understand.
You would like to give other feedback/improvements (constructive criticism, please).
You would like to send me your friend code.
You would like to use this guide elsewhere.

E-mails saying things like, "Dude, this guide is the SUXXORZ" will just be ignored and deleted. Do not try to start arguments, debates or other long conversations, as they just waste time. Please give your email a subject of "Treasure Hunt FAQ" or something else logical so I don't recognise it as spam.

That said, always feel free to contact me providing you fulfil the conditions above, even if you are writing long after the guide's release about the most minor of issues. Any feedback is very welcome, regardless of time or significance. I check my email inbox quite frequently when I'm at home and always reply to anything sensible.

If you prefer, you can also leave a short comment in the "Would you recommend this FAQ?" box above. Simply pick Yes or No and explain why. I see all comments every time I check this FAQ's hits/recommendations, which is pretty often. Note that I'm not able to reply to them, though. If you have a GameFAQs account, I would suggest sending me a PM instead.

You can also message me on Twitter, if that's how you roll.

In the below section are the contact details you need.

Contact Info

Email: alexsheng1 (at) gmail (dot) com

Twitter: @alexsbradford

That should be everything you need.

Credits

mwholdmann, for contributing to the 'Chapter 11' and 'Vehicle-based missions' sections in Viridi's Treasure Hunt, and providing feedback.

Thrasher698 (AKA Shattercoin), for pointing out that Overall Defense and Health modifiers do not stack and the 'flashing' portion of the health bar actually contains more health, making food and the Health Recovery power seem less effective when used at low health.

Andy251153 (AKA Austin), for suggesting that some recommended powers should have an advised level for that power.

Fawie42, for correcting the rewards for some panels in Viridi's Treasure Hunt.

Brad, for pointing out that Amazon Pandora can still create mirrors on low intensities if you stay close to her.

Michael S, for correcting the reward for "Defeat Thanatos with a Volcano Arm".

Project Sora, for creating this great game.

GameFAQs, for hosting this guide.

Me, for writing this guide.

You, for reading this guide!

This document is copyright Sturm_the_dark and hosted by Neoseeker with permission.

(0.0748/d/www1)

Kid Icarus: Uprising Treasure Hunt Completion Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction

Are there spoilers?

How are the panels sorted?

Glossary

Version History

Chapter-Specific Missions

Time-Based Missions

Kill-Based Missions

Heart and Score-Based Missions

Clear the Chapter using [Weapon]

Crisis-Based Missions

Defeat [Boss] with a Melee Dash Attack

No Damage Missions

Other Missions (chapter-specific)

Non-Chapter Specific Missions

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon]

Multiplayer-Based Missions

Zodiac Chambers

Item Acquisition-Based Missions

Vehicle-Based Missions

Sacrificial Missions

Other Missions (non-chapter specific)

General Advice

High Intensity Advice

How do enemies change?

Why use overall defense and recovery effect?

Why should I use 'dodging and counter-attacking'?

How does having a good memory help?

Unlocking Multiple Panels

Using Feathers

Palutena's Treasure Hunt

Chapter 1 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 7 minutes

Clear this chapter within 4 minutes

Destroy 100 enemies and clear the chapter

Collect 1,000 or more hearts and clear the chapter

Chapter 2 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 13 minutes

Clear this chapter within 10 minutes

Clear this chapter using orbitars

Defeat Gaol without letting Magnus die (Intensity 5.0+)

Clear the chapter with maximum health (Intensity 2.0+)

Chapter 3 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 13 minutes

Clear this chapter within 10 minutes

Defeat Hewdraw Reborn while in Crisis Mode (Intensity 5.0+)

Chapter 4 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Clear this chapter within 14 minutes

Clear this chapter using a club (Intensity 5.0+)

Chapter 5 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Clear this chapter using a staff (Intensity 2.0+)

Defeat Pandora without letting Dark Pit die

Clear this chapter without dying (Intensity 5.0+)

Chapter 6 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Clear this chapter within 12 minutes

Defeat Dark Pit while in Crisis Mode (Intensity 5.0+)

Chapter 7 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 18 minutes

Clear this chapter within 15 minutes

Clear the stage using claws (Intensity 5.0+)

See all of Thanatos's forms before clearing the chapter

Defeat Thanatos while in Crisis Mode

Chapter 8 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 20 minutes

Clear this chapter within 17 minutes

Clear this chapter with a score of 180,000 or higher

Destroy 200 enemies and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Chapter 9 (Palutena)

Clear this chapter within 36 minutes

Clear this chapter within 28 minutes

Collect 8,500 or more hearts and clear the chapter (Intensity 5.0+)

Destroy the Underworld Gatekeeper's guns and clear the chapter

Defeat [Boss] with [Weapon] (Palutena)

Defeat Twinbellows using the Insight Staff