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Potential Order
The following is a breakdown of the order of achievements based on my personal playthrough. Note that this is only a potential order for you to follow and not a strict timing on when achievements should be unlocked, especially when mutually exclusive achievements are considered and how you may pair them with the David and Goliath low-level run. The main goal is to minimize the total number of playthroughs needed to two.
This section is provided separately from the main guide to show all achievements without the spoiler guarding dropdowns.
Normal Run Start ➡ The Flower Girl (9/198)
The Flower Girl ➡ A Truly Grave Setback (21/198)
- NOTES:
- The progression toward unlocking Moulin a Cafe starts here
- The search for the treasures toward Deep in the Decadent Backyard begins here but won't be completed until an item is found that allows access to the Sector 5 and 6 slums
- Our first encounter with mutually exclusive achievements. In my playthrough, I went for all three pairs during the normal run by following one path, resetting to an old save, then getting the other path. The following achievements are the pairs that are exclusive from each other:
- Killing Hope/Good Things Happen For Those Who Wait
- A &$#% Moment/Group Bath
- Taking Out the Small Fry/Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
A Truly Grave Setback ➡ Reminiscence ~ Scars Carved by Fire (38/198)
- NOTES:
- The second half of the Killing Hope/Good Things... pair of mutually exclusive achievements is only available after the Sector 7 collapse
- The first part of the Shinra Inc treasure achievement takes place here, but won't be completed until MUCH later
- The reason why Moulin a Cafe is missable is because of the poster in Shinra Headquarters so make sure to get it!
- Your journey toward The Possibility of Elemental Bliss and The Possibility of Beastmastery begins here!
- Another mutually exclusive pair starts here with the invasion of Shinra Headquarters: The Elevator Champion/The Stairmaster. Since taking the stairs is required for David and Goliath, I opted to get the second of the pair during the low-level run instead.
- The treasure for On the Outskirts starts to be found here, but won't be completed until Disc 2 (it's not missable though)
- The journey toward Strago's Tribute begins as soon as you depart Midgar
Reminiscence ~ Scars Carved by Fire ➡ Battleready Stowaways (50/198)
- NOTES:
- Your journey toward The Possibility of Avian Power begins here!
- Unlocking DJ Chubby C. vs. Go Go Boco! is flexible since it relies on the random appearance of Fat Chocobo over the usual attack from the Choco/Mog materia. I'm placing it here first but I unlocked it after Mythril Mine. Your unlock point may vary, obviously.
- Fort Condor missions toward unlocking Tower Defense 101 begins here! I used this opportunity to also get Last Resort in the first mission and then reset to get progress for Tower Defense 101.
- The search for treasures going toward Of Shores and Sea begin here, but won't be finished until much later on.
Battleready Stowaways ➡ The Cosmo Warrior (64/198)
- NOTES:
- The search for the treasures toward the Coal and Gold Miner achievement starts here but won't be completed until a few sections from now
- A lot of these are Gold Saucer minigames that can be completed at any time. With one exception, I tackled the minigames as they became available.
- You'll start to collect the treasures for Forestry and Mountain Travel will start here as well but won't wrap up until near the end of Disc 2
The Cosmo Warrior ➡ Foul Mouth Space Pilot (74/198)
- NOTE:
- This is where I got the first of my character's limit break achievements. You may find yourself getting these achievements earlier or later than I did.
- You start to find the treasures for Nibel Visitors at this point but won't finish until close to the end of Disc 2
Foul Mouth Space Pilot ➡ It is the Key to Something (84/198)
- NOTES:
- This is the soonest that Great Gospel can be learned and Prayer unlocked, and it is important to do so before it is too late
- The Wutai side quest can be performed from now until near the end of Disc 2. I went there pretty soon after getting the Tiny Bronco to take care of it, but you can save it for later if you want. Just make sure to get it done before the Midgar Raid!
- With your trip to Wutai, you'll start to collect the treasures toward unlocking Ancient and Leviathan Goods. You can't finish it until later in Disc 2.
It is the Key to Something ➡ Valse Aerith (91/198)
- NOTES:
- If there are any achievements left requiring Aerith, they must be wrapped up before heading to the Temple of the Ancients
- For Ancient and Leviathan Goods, make absolutely sure to pick up all items and open ALL chests before leaving, to include the monster-in-a-box chests of the Clock Room
- You'll start getting treasures toward At the Heart of Gaea and will wrap it up soon
Valse Aerith ➡ Reminiscence ~ False Relations (101/198)
- NOTES:
- Your first mastered materia could be earlier or later than this, obviously
- You can start working toward Expert Archaeologist here but can't finish until after Cloud restores his personality
- As with other character limit break achievements, Red XIII's could be learned any time. This one in particular is special because it could be learned as early as the first visit to Nibelheim, but I didn't unlock it until this point.
- You'll find the first few treasures for Deep Impact in this section, but won't get the rest until Disc 3
Reminiscence ~ False Relations ➡ Reminiscence ~ The Bitter Taste of Truth (117/198)
- NOTE:
-
- With the completion of the snowboard event and getting the Highwind, the snowboard minigame is now available. This is the exception to the minigames, where I waited to do these achievements until after finishing the normal run. However, you are able to start them now if you wish.
Reminiscence ~ The Bitter Taste of Truth ➡ Under the Sea (140/198)
- NOTES:
- One of the biggest sections, thanks to the chocobo breeding and associated racing and quests
- Buying the house in Costa del Sol can happen anytime that you have the money, I just found this moment to be the most convenient
- The last mutually exclusive achievements in the normal playthrough are here. Since you need to get the Huge Materia for a later achievement in this run (and the benefits it provides) and you need to win the submarine minigame in the low-level run, it's highly advisable to do both of these achievements in this playthrough by getting the red sub first, then resetting and going the regular route.
Under the Sea ➡ Broken Diamond (162/198)
- NOTES:
- Your mileage may vary on when The Needle and the Damage Done is unlocked
- Once you have Cait Sith's Slots unlocked, you can try to get Last Moment at any time
- With completion of the submarine quest, new minigames are available in Gold Saucer
- I completed the first of the snowboard minigames here and did the rest later but you can do them at any time
Broken Diamond ➡ Chemical Mess (171/198)
Chemical Mess ➡ Duel of the Blades (195/198)
- NOTES:
- A lot of cleanup and preparation for the end game requirements in this section
- Getting Madd Forest can happen as soon as you have bred chocobos. I forgot about it until cleanup before entering Northern Crater so that is why it is here.
- This is the end of the normal playthrough!
The Low-Level Run (198/198)
- NOTES:
- The final mutually exclusive achievement is picked up here as we climb the stairs at Shinra Headquarters
- The date with Barret was also reserved for this run
