The Big Tree (or Farysanian Tree, or The Ark) is a plant sanctuary for the survivors of the destroyed world of Farysa. It also serves as an optional mid-game dungeon.
If you decide for Eric(a) to accept nature's gift from Tilia a second time, the dryad will disappear from camp ? days later, unlocking this dungeon. Large and densely packed with enemies, clearing the Tree can burn through your resources if you arrive unprepared, but offers some useful items and a tremendous amount of lumes to those patient enough to hack their way through. It is also necessary to clear if you wish to further your interactions with Tilia.
Gaining access to this dungeon requires that you accept at least one rank of the Breast Growth Transformation, making it inaccessible if you are trying to achieve a transformation-free playthrough. Additionally, Marianne will destroy the Big Tree if you have not cleared it before your day trip to Earth. This leads to Tilia's death, Isabelle's disapproval, and the loss of all items contained within.
Layout
The Tree is a large map with multiple floors, dead ends, traps, and a tremendous number of enemies. While you'll likely want to fight enough monsters here to clear the Mind Breaker side quest (see below), you may want to avoid fighting once that's done. The enemies here are perfectly capable of downing your weaker party members if you hit a streak of bad luck, and killing them offers little in return beside lumes.
Fooled by Flowers
Upon arriving, you'll immediately see Tilia being accosted by flowers to your left (as well as a chest to your right). Natalie saves her with a show of pyrotechnics, but Tilia refuses to leave until the magico infesting the Tree is defeated. She then disappears into the walls to scout ahead. Follow the path to the left, and you'll soon find her again, standing at a crossroads. Here, she'll tell you about a powerful weapon that can seal the magico's power, located in a red chest on the second floor. Before going after it, head north and explore the branching paths for treasure, including a helpful new friend for Alice.
Once you've finished looting the place, head back to Tilia and climb the root wall behind her.
Betrayal!?
You'll see the red chest almost immediately upon reaching the new floor. Veronica will voice her concern over how suspicious this chest is, but Natalie's faith in Tilia wins out and the party opens the chest, only to get poisoned and damaged by the trap inside. Cure yourself and continue exploring to the southwest, grabbing chests as you go.
Once you've cleared this floor, return to the first floor. Tilia is now hiding in the far right portion of this map. Go north to the topmost area, then take a right to circle around to Tilia. When confronted, she'll claim the magico set the trap when it moved the weapon to a different part of the dungeon. Natalie will believe this wholeheartedly, while Veronica will maintain her suspicions. Regardless, Tilia uses her magic to create a new root wall to climb, granting access to a new portion of the second floor.
Climb up to find a linear path to the south. Grab the chests you find along the way and fight past the monsters. Be sure to head down the pits you come across, as they lead to further treasure chambers. Eventually, you'll find a second red chest. This is also trapped, but you are given the choice of how you want to deal with it. Trusting Tilia and getting blown up will give you a point of affection with Natalie, as well as deal your party 200 (100 for Natalie) fire damage, while siding with Veronica or asking Alice for help will give you affection with the concerned girl and keep you all unscathed. In either case, the blast will blow open a hole in the floor, allowing access to the deepest portion of the dungeon.
Tentacles - Less Fun Than Advertised
Head down the pit, then down once more right after. The trail will lead to a large open room, with a chamber in the middle containing Tilia and more of the flower molesters you encountered before. Search behind the central chamber for two last chests, then enter the central area and defeat the plants. Once that's done, you'll discover that the "Tilia" you've been dealing with all this time was the magico Doom Flower in disguise. Head back to the chamber where you found the second red chest, and Tilia will open one last pathway for you. This leads to the final boss of the area, allowing you to rescue Tilia and complete the dungeon.
Side-Quest
Some of the more powerful opponents in the tree are the Mind Breakers, a type of enemy on par with a mini-boss, who aid the magico in subjugating the inhabitants of the Farysanian Tree. If you continue battling opponents here, you can encounter these creatures up to six times in total. Defeating the sixth one releases the Crazed Elementals from Doom Flower's control, removing both monsters from the Tree's possible encounter list, and making the final boss battle here significantly easier.
Enemies
- Crazed Elemental
- Mind Breaker
- Defeating six of these removes them and the Crazed Elementals from the enemy pool, and prevents Doom Flower from summoning her Wall of Roots.
- Mutant Beetle
- Mutant Plant
- Doom Flower
- Magico boss. Uses various binding moves and confusing moves, along with heavy acid damage. Midway through the battle, summons a Wall of Roots to protect itself.
- Cannot use the wall if the Crazed Elementals were freed from the control of the Mind Breakers.
- Losing results in the Height Reduction Transformation.
- Winning provides the Plant Core.
Treasure
- 100 Lumes (Chest to the back of the bottom floor)
- 200 Lumes (Chest near the hole on the second floor leading to the first)
- 800 Lumes (Chest near the vine to the first red chest)
- 1000 Lumes (Chest in a hole in the middle of the second floor)
- Emerald Talisman (Chest in a hole in the middle of the second floor)
- 4x Fairy's Dust (Chest on the floor below the entrance, through the vine to the left) (Chest on the second floor) (Chest in a hole to the right of the second floor) (Chest to the left of the vine going from the bottom floor)
- Farysanian Flower (Chest on the second floor)
- Ivy Corset (Chest in a hole to the right of the second floor)
- Mind Stone: (Chest near the vine to the first red chest)
- 3x Purple Crystal (Chest to the left wall near the first red chest) (Chest to the bottom wall near the first red chest) (Chest in a hole in the middle of the second floor)
- 6x Seal of Focus (Chest to the right of the entrance) (Chest on the floor below the entrance, through the vine to the left) (Chest near the vine to the second floor) (Chest near the hole on the second floor leading to the first) (Chest in a hole to the right of the second floor) (Chest to the left of the bottom floor)
- Seal of Purity (Chest on the second floor)
- 4x White Crystal (Chest near the entrance) (Chest on the second floor) (Chest in a hole to the right of the second floor) (Chest to the right of the room that Tilia is molested in)
- Witch Doll (Chest on the floor below the entrance, through the vine to the left)