Hello, and welcome to Frankie Anne's walkthrough and guide for Tales of Arise! This newest offering in the series, for the 25th Anniversary, takes a big leap forward as far as aesthetics and battle mechanics go, but it is also endearingly true to it...
If you look at the Navigation Map, you will see that the gold star points you toward a teal diamond icon, indicating where you can enter a neighboring area. When you're ready, cross north into SANDINUS RAVINE.
Follow the path as it curves west, getting through one cutscene right at the beginning.
ENEMIES: ¨[33/110] Lv. 9 Golem (drop: Strange Core, Stone Fragment), Lv. 7 Wolf (drop: Sharp Fang)
TREASURE: ¨[1/185] Life Bottle x 3
COLLECTIBLES: ¨¨Antidote Rock
Read the Starting and Ending Battles intel card, right about the time Zephyr mentions zeugles, which is the name for the feral beasts in this world with a taste for human flesh. Then, press down on the D-pad to bring up the Help menu (shortcut!). New intel cards include: Party Leader and Recovery (Summary, Recovery During Exploration).
You don't have to make contact with the three Wolf blocking the path, you just have to come close enough to begin a battle—so it is possible to sneak around zeugles if necessary, though if they spot you (the white on-screen indicators turn red) they will chase you for a while. Read the Changing Controls During Combat (Summary, Control Modes) intel card, and then get ready. The game has dumped the training wheels. This is the real thing.
As mentioned earlier, Iron Mask and Shionne are both limited in the number of actions they can take in a row. Normal attacks cost nothing, but you can string together four at most at this time. Artes cost AG. Astral artes (such as healing spells) cost AG and CP (the latter of which is shared among the whole party). What you want to focus on, then, is a nice variety of actions (attack, arte, jump, evade), and mix up healing items (gels and bottles) with healing artes—the goal being, of course, to avoid taking damage as much as possible so you won't need healing at all.
A note on automatic healing during battle: Characters cannot use HP-restoring gels on their friends, only on themselves. Life Bottles and CP-restoring gels can be used by anyone for anyone. Healing artes can be used on anyone but only by those who have access to them in the first place—right now, that's Shionne. So, as far as Apple Gels (and their upgrades) are concerned, it's every fighter for themselves.
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Use Iron Mask to get between Shionne and any enemies targeting her, and she will bust out her healing artes on his behalf. Use Shionne to interrupt enemy attacks (try sniping from the air! Generally, it's safer up there), giving Iron Mask the opportunity to whittle down their HP. Learn the movements and patterns of the enemies you face so you can anticipate what they will do next, and soon you'll be sailing through battles like a pro.
Keep running south. Zephyr will suggest avoiding larger enemies like the Golem pulling itself out of the ground in front of you. You can do that easily: See the fall of yellow-leafed vines pouring over the ledge to your left? These are climbable! You can either approach and wait for the Climb option to appear (press X and then tilt L3 forward to go up), or you can run right into them and Iron Mask will start the climb automatically. Climbing spots (vines, ladders, etc.) show up as a white ladder icon on the Navigation Map.
