Year 3

Platinum Areas	Materials	Monsters	Note
Ancient Woods	Bamboo Blacktree Lumber World Tree Twig
Forgotten Village	Serenity Flower Fresh Mint Fragrant Bug Fertilizer Fluffy Fur	Ghost Scare Phantom Fighting Goat	Chest: World Spirits (both of them) 6 Gather Points (outside only!)
Jade Ruins	Phlogiston Wispstone Bounce Stone
Rolling Hill	Gravistone Star Piece Sage Herb	Ear Puni Green Puni Punincarnate
Runestone Nest	Bless Stone Black Runestone Metal Ore Original Gem Star Piece	Arctic Penguin Basalt Dragon Jewel Element	11 Search Points (one is hard to see, you have to drop down to the walkway just above the boss) Giant Crystal is beyond where the boss is.
Seaside Hill	Cotton Flower Some Egg Isle Amber	Isle Fish Box Squirrel

Try to hit Platinum for Traveler's Tales.

• Make the Traveler Shoes ASAP. Seriously, go to the Forgotten Village, open the chests for the materials you need, and keep trying to make the shoes! And use the crappy World Spirits. Don't waste the good one (make Chim gather it instead). Notice that both of them have Simple L. Even with that trait, you probably will load your save several times. Afterward, you'll run faster on the world map.

• Make sure you're ready to do the event with Mimi that requires you to rank up. Hold off on ranking up to Diamond till you're good and ready for the event. If you already saw it -- good! (Mimi Events)

• Try to hit Diamond in the following months for the Book of Sibyl. That's a really awesome item, but you can't make it yet. Afterward, you can't raise ranks till Year 4, 6/1, so you have true freedom. No new areas will open up. Take your time with any bosses that you can't beat; you have a long time to prepare better equipment/bombs.

• Battle Synthesis
  • At this point, you should have decent traits across several items, or you will soon. This isn't intended to be awesome; just something to hold you over. If you can do better, then do better.
  • For Armor, your goal is to shove traits into two Living Ropes. Try to get as many of the following as possible across the two ropes: Defense +5, LP +20, MP +20, HP +20. Quality M or L is good; you can never go wrong with Quality, especially in the Vita version. Now make a Smelly Liquid or alcohol item so you can afford all those nice traits. Combine those traits with Sturdy (Audra's Tail) and you'll have some good equipment for a while.
  • Weapons are a little different, but if you can get Heavyweight (Metal Ore), Lightweight (Distill Stone), Attack +5, Attack +3, and Quality L, you're going to be okay for now. You will have to play with your ingredients a little to be able to afford those traits.
  • For items, make a Quality L Supplement, then use that on your attack items. You can make 120 quality mid level bombs (Bomber Ice, Mega Bomb, etc.) this way. Be sure to put traits like Solvent, Giant Slayer, and whatever else you have on you. If you're in the Vita version, a little luck and bomb chucking will get you through the toughest bosses you have access to. PS3 players, you might need some extra prep time.

• Arland
  • When you hit Platinum (and after Chim's birth), an Iksel event should pop up. You'll get Iksel Recipe Book. See Cooking Class for more info. These events don't have a time limit, but it would behoove you to finish them off ASAP. (Wealth end, Chim End Requirements)
  • Just a note for the future: Iksel, as part of those events, will give you a lot of good stuff. Take one of the Sage Herbs he gives you and toss it in the basket. Let it deteriorate (so no Rot Prevention Blessed Coins allowed) to 35 quality. This will allow you to make a good Elixir later on.
  • An event with Rorona at Iksel's cafe will occur. You'll get the Unlikely Party trophy. Don't worry if this takes a while to trigger; it WILL happen eventually. (Rorona Events) Cory and Iksy will be recruitable after this point, if you have the DLC or Vita version.
  • Sterk will join the party, but at least a month after Chim's birth. Go outside with Sterk and Rorona in your party for some lulz. His events don't have dates; get his friendship up to 60 and they'll keep coming. See Sterk Events for details. If you're having trouble with Scarlet and Jagd Wolf, bring Sterk along and he'll carve 'em up.
  • After 7/1, go to Artisan's Way for an event between Rorona and Cory (Rorona Events).

• Alanya
  • There'll be an event about the Flauschtraut in Alanya's Square. Synth something in Atelier Totori for another scene about repairing a ship. (Normal end events)
  • If Gino's level is above 15, there will be an event in Atelier Totori. Then go to the Square, then talk to Gino. Don't level him to 25 till you're ready to play with ends. In fact, don't level him much at all. There's an event where he'll increase a level, and you may just get screwed from that. (Gino Events)
  • After 7/1, go to Alanya's Square for an event with Mel. Then talk to Gerhard, Gino, Pamela, Peter. After, go to Cory. In Atelier Rorona, Mimi can also barge in, but it isn't necessary to see this. (Normal end events)

• Tips
  • Get Sterk's friendship up to 50 ASAP for a Water of Life, and thus a Chim (Chim End Requirements). Also, you'll get a Dark Dew.
  • Have Chim gather a copy of the Dark Dew, then follow the advice in both Money and Gathering Better Items.
  • With the Spring Cup mentioned in those sections, you can, at least for your armor, find a liquid with cool traits that you will probably want to equip. So be sure to set aside a Dark Dew or two for your own personal usage. By the way, high (100) quality equipment has a small upgrade in stats (bigger in the Vita version!), so Quality traits are not bad. Also, even if you need to work it into a Blessed Coin (through multiple steps, I might add), try to get Inflict Sleep on your weapons. It's surpisingly helpful. You could also go with Inflict Paralysis.
  • With that money, you should be able to make the Gibate Ankh. Make sure it has Great Learner for grinding justice. One works for the whole party. :D