For more, read Prima’s free Bravely Default walkthrough.
We suggest saving in multiple slots from here on out, just to be safe. For more info, check our alternative ending section at the end of this walkthrough.
When Chapter 5 begins, you awaken as Tiz back in Caldisla. After speaking with Innkeeper Kari, your party has interesting news. You’re all alone at this point, so exit Caldisla and head for Norende Ravine (marked on your map).
A VISIT BACK TO NORENDE RAVINE
The only enemies you encounter are Kobolds, which can easily be dismissed. From Norende’s Trail, take the northwest (top) path and continue west until you reach the Vista. Save if you wish, then proceed through the north exit. There, you’ll be introduced to a cinema and meet up with Agnès, who rejoins your party. Following the scene, make your way back to Caldisla.
CALDISLA RETURN
Arriving back in Caldisla, talk to Ringabel on the lookout balcony (marked on your map). Once he rejoins your party, head over to the graveyard in town to find Edea. Now that you’ve got all your buddies back, enter Caldisla Inn for a cut scene—the Grandship is yours again!
SPELLS WORTH GETTING
Enter the Grandship through the menu icon. Several new magic spells are now available at the Magic Shop, such as Curaga, Dark, Kill, Graviga, etc. We recommend snagging these and building up your job and magic levels—you’ll need them!
REAWAKENING THE CRYSTALS…AGAIN
It seems you’re now required to awaken all four of the crystals again in each temple to progress the story. All of them are marked on your map. Additionally, all the side quests you may have missed are available again. Take note that every boss is a step up in difficulty, with more HP and strength. You should be closing in on Level 60 or higher by now.
You can tackle each temple boss in any order you’d like. We are sticking to the original order here. They are all pinned on the World Map with a yellow marker.
TEMPLE OF WIND RETURN
Make your way to the Temple of Wind (south of Ancheim). Remember to equip your party with Ice Charms, Flame Charms and magic spells that can cast fire and water. More so, it’ll be efficient in switching your special abilities to Beast Slaying, Fire and Water to your weapons. When you’re ready, head inside the Altar of Wind to battle Orthros.
BOSS! HOW TO BEAT ORTHROS AGAIN
- HP: 67,500 (Each Head – Max)
- Weakness: Fire (Ice Head) Water (Fire Head)
- Rewards: Artic Wind, Bomb Arm
As before, concentrate on one head at a time. Use the corresponding magic and offense on the particular head (fire for the ice head, water for the fire head). Although its strength has increased, all your new classes will work here. The Black Mage, Magic Sword ability and or Red Mage will be the most effective. Once one head is dismissed, the beast will attack more aggressively. Make preparation for healing as needed and let loose on your attacks.
Once you’ve laid the smack down on Orthros, release the Wind Crystal as before by tapping X repeatedly until Airy tells you to stop. With the first crystal released, it’s time to return to the Temple of Water, located southeast of Florem.
TEMPLE OF WATER RETURN
We suggest equipping the following for specials: Aquatic Slaying and Lightning to your weapon. Assign Ice Charms on your physical attackers, while Rebuff Lockets on your magic members. For a built White Mage, be sure to equip Abate Water to reduce water damage. Lastly, be sure to set a job command to Miscellany so you can use Examine.
When you arrive in the Temple of Water, head inside the Altar of Water and battle Rusalka again.
BOSS! HOW TO BEAT RUSALKA AGAIN
- HP: 81,000 (Max)
- Weakness: Lightning
- Rewards: Turbo Ether
Rusalka (and its clones) cast Charm, which can damage your members that are not equipped with Rebuff Lockets. This can easily be fixed by casting Esunaga from your White Mage (or Spirit Ward from the Spiritmaster). Attack aggressively early on with all thunder-based spells and attacks.
Rusalka once again performs Seep, resurfacing from the ground and splitting into four forms. Use Examine to determine the correct boss (the one with the most HP). Concentrate on defeating the real form first. If you’ve acquired the Summoner job along with the Dues Ex lightning summon, it can greatly damage all four forms and speed up the battle.
WHERE TO GET THE GARB FIXED
The vestal garb will once again be damage. Fly over to Yulyana Woods and visit Sage. After the cinema, you learn you need to go to Vestment Cave southwest (marked on your map). Upon entering the cave, Agnès will bring Tiz along, while leaving the rest of the party behind.
WHAT TO DO IN VESTMENT CAVE
Make your way to the bottom floor (B3) to find Sage Yulyana. Speaking with him brings some rather interesting news about the Harrowing. More so, he repairs the Vestal Garb for you. Afterward, leave Vestment Cave to reunite with your party.
TEMPLE OF FIRE RETURN
Two more crystals are left at this point. Fly over to the southwest continent and travel through Mythril Mines. Once you reach Underflow, exit via the west passage, then go through the north passage there to reach the Temple of Fire. Make preparation for the Chaugmar with all lightning-based abilities (you should already have this set from the previous boss).
BOSS! HOW TO BEAT CHAUGMAR AGAIN
- HP: 94, 500 (Max)
- Weakness: Lightning
- Rewards: Reflect Ring
Chaugmar has the same base of attacks and spells. It can absorb both your HP and MP, but the biggest problem is its Energy Burst. Avoid attacking while the barrier guards Chaugmar; instead, stay in a default position until he transforms.
Transform releases the barrier, leaving Chaugmar vulnerable. Immediately after Transform, Default all your characters one more time to avoid massive damage from Energy Burst. Then, bring forth all your strongest lightning-based attacks while the barrier is still inactive. Repeat this process to bring Chaugmar down once again.
Reawaken the Fire Crystal by following the button prompt, then release when Airy demands you to stop.
One last Vestal Crystal remains at the Temple of Earth. Remember, this temple is located in the northwest continent of the World Map (east of Eternian Central Command). You must travel through Eternia, the Frost Peak trails and then enter Central Command. From Central Command’s first floor, exit via the north passage.
For a reminder, you need to reach the top floor of Everlast tower to access the Temple of Earth. Ascend the east-central stairs on 1F (second-from-the-top), then use the staircases in these paths by ascending and descending to reach 5F. The final staircase leads to the Temple of Earth.
When you arrive in the Temple of Earth, make sure you have a well built White Mage, Spiritmaster and Templar (the latter if you’ve unlocked it). Equip all party members with Courage Rings and Safety Rings. You will need all the light-based attacks and abilities, preferably Templar’s Holy Arts Radiant Blast and White Mage’s Holy spell. For your specials, set Undead Slaying if you have it.
Once you’re set, enter the Altar of Earth to battle Gigas Lich again.
BOSS! HOW TO BEAT GIGAS LICH AGAIN
- HP: 135,000 (Max)
- Weakness: Light
- Rewards: Giant Axe
Lich will cast fear and doom on a regular basis. His main form of attack is earth magic, which can sometimes nail one member or your entire party. Because of this, you should use the benefit of the Spiritmaster and cast elemental defense. If not, you must heal characters often with your White Mage or Red Mage.
Your White Mage will deal the most damage with cure spells (Holy), along with the Templar’s Holy Arts (Radiant Blast). If you’ve yet to unlock these classes or abilities, you’ll need to rely on the White Mage’s less-efficient cure spells, and multitask as a healer and attacker.
After the battle, follow the button prompt and tap X accordingly to awaken the Earth Crystal. Now that we’ve once again released the crystals, the Holy Pillar emerges on the World Map. Save up and fly over to the portal (marked on your map) for the showdown with Alternis.
BOSS! HOW TO BEAT ALTERNIS AGAIN
- HP: 135,000 (Max)
- Weakness: N/A
- Reward: Dark Shield
Alternis has the same traits as the previous encounter, with all physical attacks a priority. Black Bane increases his attack power. Again, Ninja’s Utsusemi makes all his attacks a guaranteed miss (for one turn). Additional defensive classes and/or abilities will work as well, such as the Knight (Shield Strike, Ironclad), Templar (Rampart), Swordmaster (Nothing Ventured), etc. Have your healer defend the entire fight, supporting the party. Any magic from a Dark or Red Mage will be effective against him, except for healing spells.
You should have your White Mage built up by now with the ability of Arise, which raises a KO member and fully replenishes their health. This will be important towards the end of the battle when sustaining his Minus Strike that knocks 9999HP off each character. Recover your members immediately after they fall, because they’ll drop like flies at this point.
With Alternis defeated a second time, you’re greeted by another cinema, and then introduced to Chapter 6.
HOW TO GET THE ALTERNATIVE ENDING IN BRAVELY DEFAULT (SPOILER WARNING!)
Chapter 5 is the first branch in the story where you’ll need to reawaken all the crystals from each dungeon again. However, you can actually destroy one crystal (in any temple) to shift the story. How do you do it? Keep tapping X during the instructional prompt, disregarding Aries’ plea to stop. This will bring you to the Finale chapter.
We STRONGLY recommend skipping this part at the moment for three reasons: 1.) You won’t be prepared, 2.) You’ll spoil a plot twist and 3.) You’ll miss out on all the goodies and additional chapters. Don’t worry—you will have plenty of chances (and choices) in upcoming chapters. In the meantime, save your game in additional slots to be safe.
