Most of the fighting in Chapter 1 of Final Fantasy Resonance, “Tailing the Truth”, happens against Reapers inside Grandshelt Castle, and they go down quickly to Fire and Light. The rest are beasts, birds, plants and goblins on the field west of the royal capital, along with two bosses: Belmodar in the Earth Shrine and Hell’s Rider in Grandshelt Castle.
Quick answer: Hit castle Reapers with Fire or Light. Use Fire or Dark on Belmodar (2,000 HP), and Ice or Light on Hell’s Rider (4,000 HP). Cast Libra to reveal any enemy’s weaknesses and drops.
Every value below is what the game shows on NORMAL difficulty.
| Enemy | Where | Lv. | HP | Type | Weak to | Resists | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmodar (boss) | Earth Shrine | 4 | 2,000 | – | Fire, Dark | Thunder | Phoenix Down |
| Steel Bat | Earth Shrine | 1 | 68 | – | Ice, Wind | – | Potion |
| Ivy | Earth Shrine | 1 | 68 | – | Fire, Wind | – | Potion (rare: Knife of Blind) |
| Dire Rat | Earth Shrine | 2 | 68 | – | Ice | – | Potion |
| Hell’s Rider (boss) | Grandshelt Castle | 6 | 4,000 | Demon | Ice, Light | 5 status effects | Mist Potion |
| Dark Skeleton | Grandshelt Castle (with Hell’s Rider) | 5 | 500 | – | Fire, Light | Dark | Mist Potion |
| Wraith Soldier | Grandshelt Castle | 5 | 240 | Reaper | Light, Fire | Dark | Knife of Poison |
| Soul | Grandshelt Castle | 5 | 200 | Reaper | Fire | Ice | Knife of Blind (rare: Ether) |
| Skeleton | Grandshelt Castle | 4 | 200 | Reaper | Light, Fire | Dark | Knife of Poison |
| Fire Wisp | Grandshelt Castle | 4 | 200 | Fairy | Ice, Water | Fire | Ether |
| Sergeant | Grandshelt Castle | 6 | 900 | Reaper | Light, Fire | – | Mist Potion (rare: Ether) |
| Nutkin | Field west of the capital | 4 | 200 | Beast | Earth | – | Antidote Herb |
| Mandragora | Earth Shrine, field west of the capital | 3 | 90 | Plantoid | Fire | – | Antidote Herb |
| Goblin | Field west of the capital, road to Kol | 4 | 200 | Humanoid | Dark, Ice | – | Potion |
| Dive Talon | Field west of the capital | 6 | 850 | Avian | Wind | Earth | Phoenix Down |
| Mammon | Long rope bridge (road to Kol) | 5 | 250 | Plantoid | Fire | Earth | – (rare: Ether) |
| Crawler | Western desert near Kol | 7 | 900 | Insectoid | Water, Ice | – | Phoenix Down |
| Scorpion | Western desert near Kol | 6 | 250 | Insectoid | Water | – | Knife of Poison |
How to see an enemy’s weaknesses (Libra)
Libra is a skill attached to the Vision Leah, so someone in your party needs to equip Visions with Leah first. In battle, open Leah’s skills on that character and cast Libra on a target. It costs 1 MP.
Libra brings up an info screen for the target with these fields:
- Affinities (weaknesses and resistances)
- HP and Type
- Resistances to status effects
- Up to four Traits
- Items Dropped and Rare Drop
- Stealable Items and Rare Stealable
Without Libra, unknown enemy weaknesses appear as “?” icons and remain concealed until you land an attack with the corresponding element. For example, Belmodar begins with two unknown weaknesses and one unknown resistance; a Fire attack reveals that it is vulnerable to Fire.
Earth Shrine: Belmodar and the shrine enemies
Belmodar waits at the end of the Earth Shrine. It’s Lv.4 with 2,000 HP, takes extra damage from Fire and Dark, resists Thunder, and drops a Phoenix Down. Rain’s Fire is the weakness you can exploit from the very start of the fight. The full route is in the Earth Shrine walkthrough, and the fight itself is covered in how to beat Belmodar.
The shrine’s regular enemies are Steel Bat, Ivy, Dire Rat and Mandragora. All four have 90 HP or less. Fire works on Ivy and Mandragora, and Ice on Steel Bat and Dire Rat (values in the table above).
Grandshelt Castle enemies
For the castle layout, see the Grandshelt Castle walkthrough. The enemies inside fall into two groups: the boss fight and the Reapers you run into along the way.
Hell’s Rider and Dark Skeletons
Hell’s Rider is the castle boss. It’s a Lv.6 Demon with 4,000 HP, weak to Ice and Light, resistant to five status effects, and carries the Trait “Uses a special skill when alone in battle.” Beating it gets you a Mist Potion.
Hell’s Rider has three Dark Skeletons alongside it, each at Lv.5 with 500 HP. They are vulnerable to Fire and Light, resist Dark, and attack with Silence. See how to beat Hell’s Rider for a strategy covering the whole encounter.
Castle Reapers and Fire Wisp
Reapers make up most of the castle’s random encounters. Wraith Soldier is Lv.5 and has 240 HP; Light and Fire are its weaknesses, and it resists Dark. Its Trait is “Easily staggered.”, and it drops a Knife of Poison.
- Soul: This Lv.5 foe has 200 HP. Fire is effective against it, while it resists Ice. Its description is “Easily staggered.” It drops a Knife of Blind, and a rare Ether.
- Skeleton: At Lv.4, it has 200 HP and is weak to Light and Fire, but resists Dark. Its Trait is “Easily staggered.”, and it drops a Knife of Poison.
- Sergeant: This knight wields a large halberd and appears alongside Wraith Soldiers. It is Lv.6, has 900 HP, and is vulnerable to Light and Fire. Its Trait is “Uses Paralysis attacks.” It drops a Mist Potion and a rare Ether.
Fire Wisp is the only castle regular that isn’t a Reaper. It’s a Lv.4 Fairy with 200 HP, weak to Ice and Water, “Easily staggered.”, and drops an Ether. It resists Fire, so keep Fire spells off it.
A fight against two Skeletons and a Fire Wisp pays out 51 EXP, 80 gil and 8 MRP, counting the Stagger Finish Bonus, plus a Knife of Poison.
Field enemies west of the royal capital
After the castle, the road west of the royal capital leads toward the long rope bridge. Four enemy types show up here. Nutkin is a Lv.4 Beast with 200 HP, weak to Earth, “Easily staggered.”, and drops an Antidote Herb.
Dive Talon leads the field enemies here in HP, with 850 HP. This Lv.6 Avian is weak to Wind, resists Earth, and drops a Phoenix Down. Mandragora is a Lv.3 Plantoid with 90 HP; Fire is its weakness, and its Trait is “Easily staggered.” It drops an Antidote Herb, while a Potion is its Rare Stealable.
Goblin is a Lv.4 Humanoid with 200 HP, weak to Dark and Ice. It has two Traits: “Easily staggered.” and “Unleashes a powerful skill against targets of equal level.” It drops a Potion and also has a Potion you can steal.
Road to Kol: the long bridge and the western desert
The Mammon is a Lv.5 Plantoid with 250 HP, weak to Fire and resistant to Earth; its Traits are “Easily staggered.” and “Uses Poison attacks.” It has no regular drop but can rarely drop an Ether, and turns up on the eastern deck of the long rope bridge west of the capital. Defeating two Mammons yields 36 EXP and 90 Gil, equal to 18 EXP and 45 Gil per Mammon. Goblins also appear on the approach to the bridge and in the western desert; a battle against two Goblins paid 36 EXP and 40 Gil both times, or 18 EXP and 20 Gil apiece.
Crawler is a Lv.7 Insectoid with 900 HP, weak to Water and Ice and with no traits, and it drops a Phoenix Down. It lives in the western desert past the chasm, near Kol.
Scorpion is a Lv.6 Insectoid with 250 HP, weak to Water, with the Traits “Easily staggered.” and “Uses Poison attacks.”, and it both drops a Knife of Poison and has a Knife of Poison to steal.
A battle against a Crawler and two Scorpions pays 135 EXP, 210 Gil and 16 MRP with the Stagger Finish Bonus, plus a Knife of Poison.
Umbra outside Grandshelt Castle
Outside the castle, Umbra appears at Lv.17 with 99,999 HP. Light is its weakness, and it resists Dark. The story battle is scripted and ends automatically. For more, see Can you beat Umbra.
Which elements to use in Chapter 1
Every Reaper in the castle is weak to Fire or Light, and Belmodar is weak to Fire too, so Rain’s Fire handles most of Chapter 1. Here’s where the other elements matter:
- Reserve Ice (Lasswell’s Blizzard) for Fire Wisps and Hell’s Rider.
- Never use Fire on Fire Wisps.
- On the field, Fire takes care of Mandragora and Ice handles Goblin.
- Nutkin needs Earth, and Dive Talon needs Wind.
Any enemy with the “Easily staggered.” trait breaks quickly, which makes it a good target for building stagger and ending fights faster.
