Mission 89: Eliminate six giant Heartless

Mission 89 in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days sends Roxas to Twilight Town to defeat at least six giant Heartless.

Summary
Eliminate six giant Heartless.

Objectives

 * Track down at least six giant Heartless!
 * Defeat the giant Heartless!

Story summary
Roxas is sent to clean up Twilight Town by eliminating several powerful Heartless that have shown up, including the mighty Dustflier. He also learns from Axel that Xion is a puppet, but still considers her a friend. Meanwhile, Xion meets with Riku, who tells her to find Naminé.

Mission walkthrough
Equip plenty of Hi-Ethers and Mega-Ethers to retain spellcasting abilities throughout. Bring lots of healing items as well, this is a long mission. Head up to the Station Plaza to battle a Stalwart Blade. Simply avoid its attacks, then counterstrike while it's dazed. Cast Aero spells on it to increase stun time.

Enter the Underground Passage and defeat a Poison Plant near the center. Avoid its head-beating attack, then counter with Fire spells as it recovers. Descend further into the Tunnel and take out a Gigas Shadow. Use any form of magic, especially Aero, to weaken it before finishing the job. Return to the Underground Passage and take the east exit to the Tram Common.

Here awaits an Orcus; stay airborne to avoid damage from most of its attacks. Watch for when it throws its sword; when this happens, dodge the sword slashes, then jump and attack as soon as the Orcus reappears. Once its HP is low, unleash a Limit Break to finish it off.

Take the east exit from the Tram Common and through the Woods to reach the Old Mansion. There you'll fight a Veil Lizard, much as you have done several times before. Hit it with Aero and Blizzard magic to bring it down faster or to make it visible again. If you attack immediately when it turns invisible, then it will easily dispel the invisibility as long as it hasn't moved. Attack and then roll away or block before its spin attack connects to win the battle.

Return to the Tram Common and enter the southeast exit to reach the Sandlot. Although the Powered Armor is a new enemy, it fights exactly like the Guard Armor. Watch for it to jump and drop its helmet, this is your cue to unleash a barrage of attacks before it replaces its head. Attack its dismembered limbs and destroy them before it can put them back on, or it will regenerate their HP. Finally, continue attacking its head until the hollow armor gives up.

Roxas can RTC once the Powered Armor is defeated, but can also choose to remain in Twilight Town to take care of the Dustflier at the Station Plaza, which will fill the Mission Gauge to 100%.

Challenge Mission
As long as you know each boss's strategy and attacks, dodging them can be simple, though practicing against them before handling this mission is useful. It's not an easy mission, but with practice all three Challenge Sigils can be obtained. Equip your movement abilities (Haste, Air Slide, and Glide) to help with dodging. For your magic, you will need Aero, Blizzara, and Fire at LV5 (though still pack some casts for Cura). It is recommended to begin the mission by eliminating the Heartless you find most difficult to defeat without taking damage, so as to know immediately if you'll have to begin again in order to get all three sigils. Fortunately, you're not timed, so take as long as you need. Skip the Dustflier, as you'll only be needlessly risking your Sigils going up against it.

The key here is to take out every Heartless you see quickly to keep the chain going and to nab as many Heart Points as possible. You're not timed so you can take as long as you need, but you have to move fast to keep the chain ring going. Equipping items/weapons that have the Chain Time ability to extend the duration of the chain ring, and take out the bosses quickly. It's possible to complete this mission without facing the Dustflier, but if you know you can beat it, taking it on will nab you more Heart Points, and as long as you defeated all the other Heartless you'll easily nab all three Challenge Sigils. Since Cure spells are banned, pack plenty of Hi-Potions and Elixirs, especially if you need to face Dustflier and don't forget to equip Auto-Life at LV3 since you are going to need it against Dustflier in case you make a mistake.