Final Fantasy 15 Chapter 3 - The Sword in the Waterfall, exploring Glacial Grotto, Ronin and Mindflayers boss battles

Final Fantasy XV's Chapter 3 offers yet another dungeon in the form of Glacial Grotto. Once you've done completing Chapter 2, the region of Duscae and parts of Cleigne are open for you to explore, opening up a wealth of side-activities if you wish to pursue them. For now, however, here is the main story beats.

Burden of Expectation

Recommended level: 10

Fuel up the car then head for the first marker at an outpost just inside Duscae. You can get a couple of interesting side-quests here - including the Friends of a Feather quest to help unlock Chocobo rentals, and The Professor's Protege frog locations quest from Sania in the corner - so pick them up and chat to your party to be given a new main story marker at Lestallum - head for that to meet up with Iris.

A Stroll For Two

When you wake up in the morning you'll be given the option of taking a sightseeing tour. It's not compulsory but it can earn you a decent amount of EXP and some AP for very little effort so it's worth the short diversion. Simply follow Iris, and whenever she stops pick the positive answer.

The Sword in the Waterfall

Recommended level: 19

Get back in the car and head for the marker. Park up by the souvenir stand then walk onto the bridge, take the steps down, and follow the path.

There's a huge snake - the Midgardsormr - at the end, and unless you've been grinding then tackling now it is probably suicide, so keep to the edge of the water and work your way around. Once out of danger, keep to the right of the path and climb the slope towards the cave entrance.

Glacial Grotto

This dungeon is something of a warren and easy to get lost in, and it's all too easy to slip off an edge during battle and become disorientated or have to backtrack, so pay very close attention to your map. The route we give here is the most direct to your goal, but there are plenty of offshoots, detours, and long loops you can take if you want to pick up a little more EXP or loot.

Head up the icy slope until you come across a group of Flans. These enemies are resistant to just about everything, so one of your Royal weapons is perhaps the most useful. Slide down the slippery slope and prepare for battle with some Imps at the bottom.

Keep following the path until you reach another icy slide, and deal with the Arachne at the bottom - while you fight it be careful not to drop off the edge into the area below as that will trigger a second fight against more Imps whilst also disengaging from the Arachne and giving it time to heal.

When the giant spider is taken care of, head for the north west corner of the raised area and interact with the thin ledge to shimmy along it.

Bear left, absorb the fire essence, and then follow the path round to the east until you come across more Flans. Head up the slope to the north west and follow the upper level until you come to a Ronin.

Need more help? Our Final Fantasy 15 guide and walkthrough can provide tips on main story, as well as the open-world's many quests and activities. Learning how to get AP fast, EXP fast and money or Gil fast will aid you in many optional dungeons and tombs - including how to open and explore their locked doors. There's also plenty of interesting side-quests, too, such as the Scraps of Mystery and Professors Protege frog locations. And if you want to get around easier, you can rent a Chocobo, learn the infinite sprint trick and later in the game, get the flying car Regalia Type F. There's also more to see and do with DLC, such as Episode Gladiolus and Episode Prompto.

Ronin and Mindflayers boss battles

Ronin is weak to swords, daggers, lightning, and Royal swords, but due to his location it's easy to fall off the ledge into the area below, so if you do find yourself knocked out of the area try to use a Warp Strike to return to the fray as it's a long walk back.

Once the Ronin is out of the way continue along the upper area, shimmy around the end of the ledge until you emerge into an open are.

Here you'll be facing off against a handful of Imps, a couple of Flans, and three Mindflayers. They're vulnerable to javelins, daggers, lightning and Royal weapons and have ice resistance, and they can also cast Confusion on you which causes your directional control to go crazy. There's not much cover in here to use to heal, but you can retreat slightly towards the entrance to get a bit of breathing room if you need it.

Once the room is clear head through the door in the north west to collect another weapon, then return to the entrance and defrost.

The Way of Gods and Kings

Head back to Lestallum and towards the rear of the hotel reception to trigger a cutscene, then head to the outlook for another encounter with the suspicious stranger. Follow him to his car then talk to him again; choosing to ride with him will earn you 2AP. Once done, Chapter 4 will begin.

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