There are a ton of good, great, and incredible Accessories, Aux Cores, and Core Chips exclusive to specific enemies, so as such, you’ll want to coax as many of these items as you can possibly get to beef up your party. The problem is that enemies won’t just hand over huge heaps of their treasures, and wailing on them over and over is rolling an RNG. Luckily and thankfully, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a built-in workaround for this dilemma, which is what this guide will be going over. The below strategy, shamelessly stolen from Enel, explains how to net you the most quality goods, as well as the best quantity.
Do note that the minimum level for completing these steps is ~60, with some options accessible only once you’ve seen the story’s finale and others best done with maxed-out levels on your party. Mild character spoilers and major story location spoilers ahead. *Refers to content exclusive to the Expansion Pass DLC. The cliff notes version of this guide is all the way at the bottom.
The Step-By-Step Process
Whichever enemy you’ve selected to grind against, Unique Monster or regular mob, these are the steps necessary to pinch them for as much treasure as is reasonable:
Step 1: As Tora, inflict Break with Poppi QTπ.
Step 2: Rex will Topple with Pyra/Mythra.
Step 3: Launch with QTπ.
Step 4: Rex will Smash with Roc or Corvin*.
That’s literally it. Complete a Driver Combo: Break, Topple, Launch, Smash. And simply repeat until the cows come home. Then once they die, simply respawn them via the tombstone, if they’re a Unique Monster, or skip-travel for common enemies.
But performing the Driver Combo is the easy part, and it’s only made easy because of your kits. The rest of this article, almost, will detail the prep work necessary for grinding anything from any enemy.
Required Drivers & Blades
1.) Tora – Poppi QTπ
2.) Rex – Pyra/Mythra & Roc or Corvin
Adenine (her Treasure Wisdom Skill increases item drop rate)
3.) Common Blades with Treasure Sensor (same effect as Treasure Wisdom)
You third Driver doesn’t matter. I prefer using Nia for just-in-case healing, but Zeke makes for a decent back-up in case Tora or Rex fail at their step in the Driver Combo. Zeke can Topple with the Greataxe and Knuckle Claws and Launch with Pandoria. He can’t adequately cover Smash in the base game, because his only two Smashes are Corvin and the Megalance, the former locked behind DLC and the latter taking so long to activate that the enemy will almost certainly drop back to the ground first. Mòrag has more reliable Smash Arts with a Chroma Katana, but due to the AI’s programming (female Drivers emphasize Blade Combos, while male Drivers emphasize Driver Combos, which is what we’re after), she herself is less reliable to conclude the Driver Combo. If you load her up with Chroma Katanas, she might be more apt to use Smash. Same footnote on relying on Nia for backup. She has a great Launch Art with the Knuckle Claws but won’t prioritize it.
Alternatively, Adenine can go on your third Driver, and Rex can have Blades to suit his needed roles in the Driver Combo. This might mean, along with Pyra/Mythra, Roc and Corvin both covering Smash or either pairing with Pandoria. Whatever you find that works is a-okay.
Treasure Sensor is a random Battle Skill, so awakening a Common Blade with it is a matter of luck. If you don’t have any or run out of Core Crystals, no worries. Simply executing some Driver Combos on most enemies will earn you Common Core Crystals for awakening. And if your luck is so rotten that you can’t find a single Common Blade with Treasure Sensor, let alone Adenine, don’t worry about that, either. The skill isn’t critical to this build. It just makes drop items more likely to drop. But if luck plays in your favor, an easy way of unlocking their Affinity Chart and filling in the Treasure Sensor nodes is by sending the Blade(s) on Merc Missions.
And just as one final check, make sure that your Drivers have the correct Arts equipped so that they can carry out a Driver Combo. On Tora, this means Speedy Sword and Swooshing Slash on Poppi QTπ.
Required Loadouts
Gold Chip—Ideally, you’ll have this on every Blade. If you don’t have that many, equip what you do have and farm them from Vampire Bride Marion in the Dragon’s Stomach in Uraya. Even Gold Chips on two or three Blades can earn you some serious dough. Generally, the more Gold Chips equipped, the better.
By the numbers, you can increase your item drop output by affixing Poppi’s latter forms with the Treasure Sensor Skill RAM (Poppi α can’t equip it). However, obtaining the best version of the Skill RAM, Treasure Sensor V, will cost you a hefty 8,640 Ether Crystals, which do not come by the Titanful, so dumping your finite stockpile into a handful of grinding sessions can be a hard sell. I forewent altering Poppi’s loadout, except maybe removing damage enhancements, and still came by more money and drop items than I knew what to do with. But if you want to go ahead with maximizing item drop rate, you’ve got a few options. At Abble’s Fountain in Torigoth, Gormott, in New Game Plus is a Traveling Bard who’ll give you 20,000 Ether Crystals in exchange for 200,000 Bonus EXP. Else, crystallizing inferior or unwanted Poppiswap components can refund you some decent lump sums. Treasure Sensor IV, despite being 2.5 times cheaper, is just 10% less effective than Treasure Sensor V, so two IVs will ring less than a single V and be almost as helpful.
Narcipear Jelly—A must-have for any battle situation, and just as helpful when grinding. It recharges your Arts at a rate of 0.4 per second. Have one on Tora, one on Rex, and one on your third Driver if you’re relying on them for backup. You can buy them from Honeycomb Sweets at the Argentum Trade Guild.
Sparklesugar—Also available for purchase at the same shop. Yielding an Arts recharge effect of 0.3 per second, you can stack these with the Narcipear Jelly. Also a lot cheaper, though the effect only lasts twenty minutes compared to the Narcipear’s seventy.
Fruity Rice Ball—A slightly better and slightly more expensive alternative to the Sparklesugar if you have it available. Requires completion of the Long-Awaited Work Merc Mission, which unlocks automatically once the Argentum Trade Guild reaches one star in Development Level. By interacting with the Guild as you normally would—shopping, selling items, completing side quests, and talking to NPCs—you should have attained a one-star ranking already, but in case you haven’t, simply do any of the four actions between the above hyphens. The quickest and easiest is to buy and sell goods. By chance, if you have a five-star rank for another Titan, you can rapidly bolster your rank by purchasing Golden Cylinders from the five-star Titan and selling them at break-even at Argentum. Along with the same rate of Arts recharge, the Fruity Rice Ball decreases physical damage by 2%. Lasts for thirty minutes.
Beta Scope/Master Scope*—A must-have on Tora in general, and especially helpful here, since you’ll be spamming Break endlessly. The Legendary version is best, providing the greatest decrease in enemy Break resistance, but aside as a reward for two DLC quests, Corvin’s Approach and Midnight Feasting, both of which aren’t available until Chapter 7, the least no-fuss enemy to get them from are Drub Sovereigns, which are found in the Colossus Hanger in the First Low Orbit Station. Other enemies do drop them sooner, but it’s touch-and-go on spawning them. I’ll list earlier enemies below for completion’s sake, but each comes with a note on why they’re more of a pain to get Beta Scopes from. I’ve omitted those tied to the DLC, as their drawback is the same as quest-exclusive enemies in the base game.
Ambush Hassic & Veteran Saffran: Quest-exclusive enemies in Marvelous Mercenaries, which unlocks only once you raise your Merc Group level to 5. Once you complete the quest, or if you’ve completed it already, you lose your chance of getting Legendary Beta Scopes from either.
Nilhez Squood: Salvage at the Jubilee Gate at the Cliffs of Morytha. Use higher grade tanks and nail the quick-time event to increase the likelihood of them following Rex up. Don’t count on them to come up too often, though.
Vay Taos: Found at the 7th Perimeter Skyport on the World Tree. The issue with these is that they’re flying enemies who mostly circle away from the Skyport, which is a narrow strip. You have to wait for them to fly over and lure them into battle, and even then, you have to mind that they’re over solid ground when they drop their spoils or else they’ll fall into the Cloud Sea below.
Voracious Aspar: Another quest-exclusive enemy. Not available until Chapter 8, you’ve awakened Vale from a Core Crystal, and you’ve raised her Affinity to Lvl. 5. In the event this is your target for obtaining a Legendary Beta Scope, I wrote a guide on how to grind a DLC item to quickly raise a Blade’s Affinity, and it comes with a note at the start of how you would grind Affinity sans DLC.
The above enemies have a greater chance of dropping a Rare Beta Scope, too, which, while not as quality as the Legendary version, is still a decent substitution. To note, there is one Unique Monster you can grind Rare Beta Scopes from: Insectivore Malcom, found in the subterranean passage in the northwest pocket of Coolley Lake. It’s level 75 and appears in clear or cloudy conditions. Do mind, though, that the land available to fight it on is limited, being surrounded on three sides by water and a wall of tree roots on one. But, being a Unique Monster, it’ll drop all items upon first defeat, guaranteed.
The easiest source of a Beta Scope is from a treasure trove at Battlescar Cove in Temperantia. It’s a Common variant. The quest Uncover the Truth also rewards a Common Beta Scope, though completion of this first requires completion of The Nopon Murals and The Riddle on the Wall.
Three enemies drop them, none of which is an easy grind. Amost Igna and Norgam Igna, found at the Bastion of Varrac in Temperantia, require that you negotiate a pool of poisonous water, which requires you positioning yourself on a specific ledge to shorten the distance to the Bastion as much as possible, because staying in that water for more than a few seconds is lethal. Be careful, because at the crest of the Bastion is a huge swarm of enemies, topped off with a Unique Monster. Let a fight with the Amost or Norgam get too close, or let a weakened Igna run off for help, and you’ll have a major charlie foxtrot on your hands.
The more accessible enemy is the Unique Monster Evileye Mambor, located on the Path of the Believer at the Cliffs of Morytha. The benefit to this enemy is that it’ll put itself into Launch, so time your attack right and you can get a free Smash in. The downside is that it has a healing attack that not only restores its HP, but raises its level tenfold. A real nightmare if you let it run rampant. But drop its health to 0 and it’s a guaranteed Beta Scope your first battle.
If you’ve got the DLC, you’ve got the skill, and you’ve got the patience, then you have the path to getting the Master Scope. Where a Legendary Beta Scope lowers enemy Break resistance by 35%, a common Master Scope lowers it by 40%, and the Legendary by 50%. It’s an insanely good item to have on Tora. The upshot? Incredibly rare. The one and only way of getting any varient is in the Land of Challenge, by opening up Treasure Troves awarded for completing certain Challenge Battles, and the odds of getting any variant are less than 1%, and they only pop out from white chests. However, bringing up the Land of Challenge is putting the cart before the horse, since a reason you’ll want to grind Accessories and such is so that you can steamroll its challenges. The information’s here just so it’s available, but the Land of Challenge, true to its name, isn’t a cake walk, so going for a Master Scope over a Beta Scope is climbing Everest without first climbing your local hill. Skip for mere grinding. But to satiate curious minds, below are the challenges, as well as their percentages, that have a chance of rewarding a Master Scope:
9th Imp. Armored Div. – 0.82%
Chickenheart Challenge – 0.35%
Cloud King’s Revenge – 0.90%
Dino Drama – 0.60%
Fiercest Faction – 0.90%
Humanoid Alliance – 0.90%
Mk. VIII – 0.35%
Reinventing the Gogol – 0.83%
Overclocking Bangle—Equip to Rex. It reduces the cooldown between Blade switches, and the reduction depends on how many Arts were fully charged upon switchout. The Legendary Overclocking Bangle’s stats are 30% per Art, so if you switch out with two Arts fully charged, the delay until you can bring that Blade back in is reduced by 60%. You can also equip Tora with the Overclocking Bangle so that he can quickly swap between Poppi forms, notably QT to Smash, but if you’ve got your other party members set up to nicely cover all Driver Combo stages, you can stay on QTπ the whole fight.
The Unique Monster that drops the Legendary variant is Skyfist Remington, who walks the grounds and pathway up to Ysheva Harbor at the Leftherian Archipelago. Fight him on the island and not the pathway, which is narrow, so it’s easy for you to go flying off the edge or lose your spoils to the Cloud Sea. Common enemies that drop them are the Snowdol Bunnit, Kilm Anlood, and Supporter Tirkin, found at the Litharia Snowfield, the Litharia Snowfield and Sacred Ice Caverns in Tantal, and Tirkin Turf and Varnax’s Plunge in Gormott, respectively.
Optional Equips
The below Accessories and Aux Cores are optional. The first three extend a particular stage of a Driver Combo. Our given setup, you shouldn’t worry about a Topple or Launch expiring before Tora or the AI can advance to the next stage, but should you find yourself having repeated trouble getting a proper Art off in time, you may consider equipping any of the below Accessories to assist in whatever stage is giving you problems:
Quantum Scarf/Tachyon Scarf*—Extends Break. On top of Gold Chips, Vampire Bride Marion also drops the best version of the Quantum Scarf. The Tachyon Scarf, as is the running theme with DLC Accessories, is exclusive to the Land of Challenge. Most Challenges might reward one in a white chest, but three provide the best odds: Cloud King’s Revenge, Fiercest Faction, and Humanoid Alliance.
Platinum Belt/Rainbow Belt*—Extends Topple. I normally recommend Unique Monsters first and foremost for grinding Accessories and such. The issue with this particular Unique Monster is that it’s a Superboss—Pernicious Benf. Level 109. Unless you’re bringing your S game, it will stomp you into dust. It also doesn’t spawn until you step into the First Low Orbit Station. So, you’re better off getting Platinum Belts from Shungle Igna and Snide Igna at Badfella’s Cave Fort in Uraya, probably. I say probably because, like with the Amost Igna and Norgam Igna, there’s a Unique Monster right around the corner, so if you’re not careful, they’ll run crying for it to make necklaces of your tarsals. If either of those options sounds like too much, you can find a Common Platinum Belt in a Treasure Trove behind Megrez, Elevator #1 in the World Tree. It’s also a quest reward for School is in Session, though this sidequest can’t be started until, same as Benf, you’re almost done with the game, at Chapter 10. The Rainbow Belt is restricted to the Land of Challenge, and the same three Challenges have favorable percentages for yielding one.
Berserk Ring/Tyrant Ring/Goliath Ring*—Extends Launch. Same deal here as with the Belts: best non-DLC Accessory, the Tyrant Ring, is found only on a Superboss, Cloud Sea King Ken, most enemies are unreliable for drops, and the one somewhat reliable one is the Faros Igna in Badfella Cave. Faros Igna themselves won’t run for help, but their brethren will. If you’re up for the challenge against Cloud Sea King Ken, he spawns at Genbu Drifts, Tantal, during foggy weather, and is level 110. While you’ve got that weather up, Zardl Laia at Amphoret Pillar also drop Tyrant Rings. Common variants are available, but their prerequisites are fairly steep: nearly finishing the game and achieving Development Level 4 at the Argentum Trade Guild, respectively. One is found in a Treasure Chest to the north of the Old Temple in the First Low Orbit Station, and the second is a reward for the Merc Mission Sunken Ship Survey, which you obtain by talking to Smismi, who hangs out in the Goldmouth Wheelhouse. Else, you can settle for the Berserk Ring from Enlightened Morris at Pippito’s Haunt in Tantal. Getting here is tricky, mind, because you have to access it from a frozen spring to the northeast. You’ll need to pass a Level 4 Fire Mastery and Wind Mastery Field Skill check, then a Level 5 Water Mastery and Level 3 Fortitude Field Skill check to dive into the water. If that’s too much trouble, Conlnicas Ropl, Lindwurm Müller, and Wendel Gogol at the Isle of Sleeping Remains, the Island Base Lindwurm, and Godsford Isle, respectively, at the Leftherian Archipelago are easy kills. For the Goliath Ring, it’s the same song and dance as other DLC equipment.
Comet Choker/Sunlight Choker*—Increases Luck. If you want to go all-in on Tora with Break, pair this with the Beta Scope to improve his odds of inflicting the status. In New Game Plus, where you can have a third Accessory on Drivers, you don’t need to sacrifice for Luck. Accessory Expansion Kits are purchasable from the Traveling Bard outside Lemour Inn in the Argentum Trade Guild for 200,000 Bonus EXP a pop. The Legendary variant of the Comet Choker is dropped by Soul-Eater Stanley, which chills at the Collapsed Roadway in the Land of Morytha, as well as the Brionac Madadh, which is found at the Brionac Occupied Zone on Mor Ardain. As for the Sunlight Choker, the Challenges with the best odds of spitting one up are, as always, Cloud King’s Revenge, Fiercest Faction, and Humanoid Alliance.
Holy Necklace/Saint’s Necklace*—Increases effectiveness of healing Arts. Many of the enemies you’ll want to grind against are tough puppies, and this Driver Combo loadout strips you of most of your offenses. In theory, you can Combo-lock an enemy, barring them from doing a thing, but the tougher Unique Monsters have Break resist stats that can, even with the Beta Scope or Master Scope, resist Tora’s Speedy Sword. In case luck is being a finicky entity, a Holy Necklace, found on Soothsayer Gerald at Loska’s Gap in Uraya’s Stomach during Petal Rain weather, on Nia can give you more health per Healing Halo or Healing Circle. You know the story with the Saint’s Necklace: same as the previous Accessories.
Rebirth Amulet—Increases potency of HP Potions. Same story as with the Holy Necklace, except that where you recover more HP differs. Since Rex will be spamming Grapple Shot to Topple, the HP Potions will be flying this way and that. Haywire Phoebus, at the 7th Perimeter Defense Post in the World Tree, will drop this.
Titanium Vest/Twin Trunks Vest*—Boosts maximum HP by 32%. The safer, more reliable defense than enhanced healing, though you can combine the two effects to make your party extra durable. The cap on HP is 9999, so if a Driver is at or near that number, this Accessory will go to waste. The easiest source of these is from Aatoban Garlus at the Sacred Grove in Tantal. For once, the DLC item has best odds in Challenges aside from the ones I’ve been listing. In this instance, they are Panic at the Seaside, Serious Showdown, Temperantian Standoff, and Tiger! Tiger! IRL.
The following Aux Cores come under the same recommendation that the last three Accessories do. There’s no shame or drawback to dying to an enemy, so long as you can squeeze them for what you need, but if you want your battles to last or luck really isn’t blowing your way, these Aux Cores can alleviate your woes to some degree or another via conditional healing or flat-out defensive buffs. The locations for all refer to their V rank. The Poppiswap equivalents come with the same caveat I’ve already mentioned: Ether Crystals are rare and pricey. You may or may not be in a position to create any Skill RAMs. ‡Refers exclusively to a Poppiswap part. Poppiswap figures are for both IV and V ranks.
Affinity MAX Barrier—At max affinity, the whole party gains a barrier that nullifies damage up to 35% of the Driver’s maximum HP. Rephrased so the numbers make sense, if Driver A has 100 HP and the enemy lands an attack that deals 100 HP, this Aux Core, once activated, will reduce the enemy’s attack to deal just 65 HP. Shungle Igna and Snide Igna drop these on top of the aforementioned Platinum Belts.
Damage Heal—Upon taking damage, you have a 1 in 4 chance of healing 12% of your max HP. Getting hit isn’t ideal, but you work with what you have. Better to heal some damage than none. Growsa Aspar at Mor Ardain’s Chansagh Wastes drop these, as does Leonine Sadie outside the Titan Weapon Dig Site. Relentless Arduran at the Kloom Farm does, too, but that requires raising it up and not killing it on first sight.
Physical Defense Up—A 20% boost to Physical Defense. Can’t ask for much better. Knick these from a Jadde Driver at the Old Factory after Chapter 10 starts, and at the same time, in the same area, specifically the Work Observation Tower, Unflinching Saxton will drop one.
Ether Defense Up—A 20% boost to Ether Defense. While you’re inside the Old Factory perusing for Physical Defense Up, might as well stop by Artificial Blade Adjustment to face Antecedent Xiaxia. Gefillon Behemoth, at this same point of the game, after entering the First Low Orbit Station, appear at Aegishammer in Temperantia carrying this Aux Core.
Critical Restore‡—Absorbs 25-30% of critical damage dealt as HP. You won’t be aiming for crits, and likely won’t be dealing that many, but you’re bound to land a few here and there—the Variable Saber given a Gold Chip yields a 10% chance of criting—so it won’t hurt to heal from them.
Continuing with our present theme, the two Pouch Items below shore up defenses and healing properties on top of recharging Arts and can be great replacements for the Narcipear Jelly and Sparklesugar. Do note that the Development Level requirements to purchase these Pouch Items is quite steep.
Hot Ruby Steamed Bun—Recharges Arts by 0.4 per second, adds 15% to Party Gauge gain, and reduces physical damage by 3%. Lasts for 70 minutes. Purchase them from Salter Sweets in Alba Cavanich, but they only come in stock once you finish the Merc Mission Cold Storage, which doesn’t become available until the Development Level for Mor Ardain is 5.
Victory Smoothie—Recharges Arts by 0.3 per second, increases Party Gauge gain by 20%, and you gain an extra 5% when healing. Lasts for 60 minutes. Purchase from Café Savvy in Torigoth after completion of The Water City. This Merc Mission unlocks once Gormott reaches rank 4 in Development Level.
Some Notes
Avoid Blade Combos. Your objective is to milk as much as is possible from enemies, so it’s counterintuiative to nail them with the extra damage from a Fusion Combo. The only instance I would recommend using a Blade Special is a Level IV to avoid a devastating attack, e.g. Tyrannotitan Kurodil’s Ultra Annihilation Flare or Murder Ray.
On that notation, remove damage-enhancing Aux Cores, Accessories, and the like. While enemies do respawn and you can resurrect Unique Monsters, it’s simpler to have a single battle where you get a good groove going rather than two or three that require a warm-up at the start.
A trick you can employ, if you so choose, is fiddling with Custom Difficulty. This option is locked behind DLC, but if you have it, increasing enemy HP to max will extend your time in battle, letting you wring as much treasure from enemies as you can in a single fight. It’s particularly helpful if you’re targeting normal enemies, which can die from just a few Driver Combos. And if you can’t focus on your Driver Combos because you have to focus on maintaining your health against a high-level Unique Monster, turn down the Enemy Attack Power and Enemy Attack Frequency sliders so that the battle’s much more manageable. In addition, if you’re grinding in New Game Plus, you can level down to shrink or eliminate a level gap between you and your target, allowing battles to last longer.
Increasing your Blades’ Trust will reduce the cooldown time for switchouts. At S+ Trust, that figure is -6 seconds. If you at least complete their Affinity Chart and get them to S-rank, you’ll see a -4 second decrease. Two seconds doesn’t sound like much, but it can mean the difference between Rex getting a Blade out in time to continue the Combo and starting over because the status wore off. You have to mind your time if a Blade’s Trust is on the low side, meaning waiting to execute a Break or Launch, until Rex’s Blades are prepped to come back out. If your Blades’ Trust is maxed, you can certainly rush through Driver Combos. Getting Trust up that high is a tedious mashing of buttons, so if you have the DLC, you can refer once more to my guide on rapidly increasing Trust.
Which Enemies?
Now that we’ve gone over how to grind goods and the prep work for grinding goods, there’s just one final question at hand: Which enemies do we grind against? The most excellent question, since there are hundreds of enemies peppering the game, each dropping gold and treasures galore upon death or Smashing. No two items are created equal, naturally, so below is a list of the enemies with the best Accessories, Aux Cores, and Core Chips in the game, so you can pick and choose what’s worth your time. Every item is of Legendary quality.
†Refers to a Unique Monster
Aatoban Garlus, lvl. 50-56 (Sacred Grove, Lower Level, Tantal)—Titanium Vest
Antecedent Xiaxia†, lvl. 99 (Artificial Blade Adjustment, Old Factory, Mor Ardain; after entering the First Low Orbit Station)—Saber Attachment, Ether Defense Up V, Block Rate Up V, Ultimate Shield, Legendary Core Crystal
Armored Brennan†, lvl. 86 (Chansagh Wastes, Lower Level, Mor Ardain)—Beast Hunter V, Affinity MAX Evade V, Ceramic Belt, Legendary Core Crystal
Acute Melvyn†, lvl. 25 (Twin Trunks Hill, Upper Level – Right, Gormott)—Lance Attachment
Bagoan Sovereign, lvl. 49-55 (Highway 8, Streets, Land of Morytha)—Saber Attachment
Beast-Hunter William†, lvl. 99 (Olethro Playhouse, Olethro Ruins, Uraya; after entering the First Low Orbit Station and completion of Farewell, Good Friend)—Affinity Max Atk V, Legendary Core Crystal
Boss Igna, lvl. 19-23 (Tardy Gate or Drillbore Bridge, Stomach, Uraya)—Hammer Attachment
Brial Rhinon, lvl. 44-46 (Toxbloom Spring, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Edge Attachment
Brionac Seàirdeantan, lvl. 59-63 (Brionac Occupied Zone, Upper Level, Mor Ardain)—Specials Lv 1 Plus V, Ester Shoes
Brionac Tanca, lvl. 63-65 (Brionac Occupied Zone, Upper Level, Mor Ardain)—Aquatic Hunter V, HP Attack Boost V
Burrig Parisax, lvl. 63-65 (Dragon’s Stomach, Head, Uraya; begin The Titan Scholar sidequest to unseal location)—Block Rate Up V, Graphite Greaves
Chickenheart Dagmara†, lvl. 120 (Industrial Zone, Upper Duct, Old Factory, Mor Ardain; after entering the First Low Orbit Station)—Preon Chip, Master Attachment, Legendary Core Crystal
Chibal Peng, lvl. 38-40 (lower level central lake, south of the Great Pillar Passage, Lower Level, Tantal; during snow)—Knuckle Attachment
Climber Crustip, lvl. 13-16 (Coolley Lake, Upper Level – Right, Gormott)—Axe Attachment
Cloud Sea King Ken†, lvl. 110 (Genbu Drifts, Lower Level, Tantal; during fog)—Moon Matter Chip, Ether Defense Up V, Tyrant Ring, Legendary Core Crystal
Damodan Crustip, lvl. 40-44 (Daridan’s Stack, Rigitte Waters, Leftherian Archipelago)—Whip Attachment
Demon King Gilbert†, lvl. 80 (Badfella’s Cave Fort, Stomach, Uraya)—Jet Pauldrons, Legendary Core Crystal
Docel Sentry, lvl. 55-61 (Lv. 2, Mizar: Lower Deck, Lower Level, World Tree)—Scimitar Attachment
Doryu Riik, lvl. 22-24 (Acid Gullet, Head, Uraya)—Cannon Attachment
Drub Sovereign, lvl. 65-67 (Colossus Hanger, Lower Level, First Low Orbit Station)—Beta Scope
Evileye Mambor†, lvl. 64 (Path of the Believer, Upper Level, Cliffs of Morytha)—Graphite Greaves, Legendary Core Crystal
Familion Sovereign, lvl. 56-64 (Sky Bridge or Mizar, Elevator #8, Lower Level, World Tree)—Scythe Attachment
Funcel Garlus/Noigan Garlus, lvl. 49-53/49-55 (Sacred Grove, Lower Level, Tantal)—Critical Symbol
Gast Urchon, lvl. 31-33 (outside Cargo Transportation Zone (Lower Level) & Jelidorend Highlands (Upper Level) during sandstorms, Mor Ardain)—Ball Attachment
Gefillon Behemoth, lvl. 94-96 (Aegishammer, Central Plain, Temperantia; after entering the First Low Orbit Station)—Ether Defense Up V, Affinity MAX Acc V, World Tree Drop
Gladiator Orion†, lvl. 100 (Hallowed Godswood Shrine, Lower Level, Cliffs of Morytha)—Affinity MAX Barrier V, Fusion Combo Up V, Legendary Core Crystal
Haywire Kustal†, lvl. 60 (On balcony near Nuclear Dump Facility, Lower Level, World Tree)—Carbon Gloves, Legendary Core Crystal
Haywire Phoebus†, lvl. 66 (7th Perimeter Defense Post, Mid Level, World Tree)—Rebirth Amulet, Legendary Core Crystal
Haywire Radclyffe†, lvl. 58 (Sky Bridge, Lower Level, World Tree)—Avant-Garde Medal, Legendary Core Crystal
Heroic Edwin†, lvl. 44 (Pillar City Ruins, Upper Level, Tantal)—Burst Symbol
Immovable Gonzalez†, lvl. 90 (Nocclia Woods, Upper Level – Right, Gormott)—Critical Symbol, Hunter’s Chemistry V, Legendary Core Crystal
Impassable Edgar†, lvl. 60 (Declessa Altar Hill, Lower Level, Tantal)—Specials Lv 2 Plus V, Critical Up V, Optical Headband, Legendary Core Crystal
Incandescent Marcus†, lvl. 54 (Pillar City Ruins top, Upper Level, Tantal)—Ester Shoes, Legendary Core Crystal
Leonine Sadie†, lvl. 95 (Titan Weapon Dig Site entrance, Ruins of Judicium, Temperantia)—Titanium Vest, Legendary Core Crystal
Mk. VI Familion†, lvl. 62 (Lv. ,2 Mizar: Central Deck, Lower Level, World Tree)—Hi-Tech Eyepatch, Legendary Core Crystal
Mk. VI Gerolf†, lvl. 66 (Alioth, Elevator #3, Mid Level, World Tree)—Sword Attachment, Legendary Core Crystal
Mk. VI Margot†, lvl. 64 (Data Processing Room, Lower Level, World Tree)—Ancient Banner, Legendary Core Crystal
Mk. VII Arek†, lvl. 114 (Lv. 4, Megrez, Upper Level, World Tree; after entering the First Low Orbit Station)—Sunlight Chip, Specials Lv 1 Plus V, Legendary Core Crystal
Nelva Pippito, lvl. 47-51 (Runo Cave-in, Upper Level, Cliffs of Morytha)—Male Loincloth, Charming Swimsuit
Parasite Aplacus†, lvl. 58 (Womb Hollow, Decaying Titan, Land of Morytha)—Fiber Hat, Legendary Core Crystal
Pernicious Benf†, lvl. 109 (Aegishammer, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Shining Star Chip, Machine Hunter V, Platinum Belt, Legendary Core Crystal
Ranger Igna, lvl. 31-33 (Old City of Teddim, Upper Level, Mor Ardain)—Katana Attachment
Reeking Douglas†, lvl. 104 (Brigands’ Hideout, Upper Level – Right, Gormott; after entering the First Low Orbit Station)—Physical Defense Up V, Block Rate Up V, Legendary Core Crystal
Rook Arachno, lvl. 71-73 (subterranean passage in northwest pocket of Coolley Lake, Upper Level – Right, Gormott)—Humanoid Hunter V
Rowda Igna, lvl. 49-53 (Bastion of Varrac, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Arms Attachment
Runaway Train Bool†, lvl. 55 (ramp west of Ardainian Garrison, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Ceramic Belt, Legendary Core Crystal
Snide Igna/Shungle Igna, lvl. 76-78/71-73 (Badfella’s Cave Fort, Stomach, Uraya)—Machine Hunter V, Affinity MAX Barrier V, Platinum Belt
Soothsayer Gerald†, lvl. 78 (Loska’s Gap, Stomach, Uraya; at night during Petal Rain)—Outdoor Attack Up V, Insect Hunter V, Affinity MAX Evade V, Holy Necklace, Legendary Core Crystal
Soul-Eater Stanley†, lvl. 56 (Collapsed Roadway, Streets, Land of Morytha)—Comet Choker, Legendary Core Crystal
Skyfist Remington†, lvl. 39 (Ysheva Harbor, Fonsett Waters, Leftherian Archipelago)—Overclocking Bangle, Pentagon Chip
Sparda Igna, lvl. 48-53 (Bastion of Varrac, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Shield Attachment
Stonic Urchon, lvl. 40-43 (Isle of Urchon, Fonsett Waters, Leftherian Archipelago)—Ring Attachment
Territorial Rotbart†, lvl. 81 (Plains of Evening Calm, Upper Level – Right, Gormott)—Specials Lv 3 Plus V, HP Attack Boost V, Legendary Core Crystal
Tyrannotitan Kurodil†, lvl. 130 (Profaned Place, Central Plain, Temperantia)—Tachyon Chip, World Tree Drop, Legendary Core Crystal
Unflinching Saxton†, lvl. 99 (Work Observation Tower, Old Factory, Mor Ardain)—Specials Lv 4 Plus V, Physical Defense Up V, Hero Vambraces, Legendary Core Crystal
Vagrant Baldr†, lvl. 62 (Brionac Occupied Zone, Upper Level, Mor Ardain)—Aerial Hunter V, Fusion Combo Up V, Hi-Tech Eyepatch, Legendary Core Crystal
Vampire Bride Marion†, lvl. 65 (Dragon’s Stomach, Head, Uraya)—Gold Chip, Titan Hunter V, Indoor Attack Up V, Quantum Scarf, Legendary Core Crystal
Farming Legendary Core Crystals
No doubt the item you’ll be farming the most for. Unique Monsters on the upper end of the levels have a percentage of dropping them, and the community favorite for farming is Relentless Arduran, though any of the Superbosses drop Legendary Core Crystals at the same rate. Personally, I farmed from Vampire Bride Marion, whose attacks I found manageable. There are a few I would advise against, such as Ravenwing Skull, which spawns in the middle of an acidic pool, but otherwise, who you wail on and resurrect is a matter of personal preference.
Farming Money
An auxiliary benefit to this strategy is that it’s as well an excellent way for making extra cash, not just from the straight gold you’ll be getting, but also from the many unwanted goodies you’ll be scooping up. Just from Vampire Bride Marion, I had loads and loads of Aux Cores and Quantum Scarfs I had no need for, so whenever I filled up on inventory space, I sold off my extras. Simply selling off so many items is a great way of boosting a particular development rank, and lining your pockets goes a long way toward purchasing Sheba’s Core Crystal and unlocking her Affinity Chart, for which the total is 1,500,000 G (1,250,000 if you get a rebate from Margia’s Odds & Ends after awakening Sheba).
TL;DR
1.) Make a party consisting of Tora, whom you’ll control, Rex, and someone else to heal or act as Driver Combo backup. Tora should have Poppi QTπ, Rex should have Pyra/Mythra, Roc or Corvin*, and Adenine, and your third Driver should have Common Blades with the Treasure Sensor Skill.
->Put as many Gold Chips as possible on your Blades, ideally all of them.
->Give Tora a Beta Scope and Rex an Overclocking Bangle, preferably Legendary variants.
->Give Tora and Rex (and your third Driver if they’re Driver Combo backup) Narcipear Jellies and Sparklesugar.
2.) Pick an enemy to grind against.
3.) Execute a complete Driver Combo.
->Break with Poppi QTπ.
->Rex will Topple with Pyra/Mythra.
->Launch with Poppi QTπ.
->Rex will Smash with Roc or Corvin.
4.) Collect the items that drop out.
5.) Repeat ad infinitum.
6.) Resurrect the enemy via tombstone or skip-travel and go back to step 3.
CCC Yabbering 