| x13 | x8 |
Upon entering the Parlor in Beast's Castle, Sora & Co. are immediately surrounded by Shadow Heartless. This is a good opportunity to level up Valor Form by striking as many enemies as possible; you can also damage all Shadows near you by using Fire magic repeatedly. If you don't defeat enough Heartless, this fight will end after 90 seconds or when Sora's HP falls to critical level.
After
If you visited The Land of Dragons before this world, now is a good opportunity to equip your newly-acquired Aerial Sweep ability - it will soon come in handy when fighting airborne enemies!
To the Undercroft
After talking with Belle, Save your progress at the nearby save station and exit the room. Return to the Entrance Hall and travel up the opposite staircase to reach the West Hall. After the short cutscene, approach the wardrobe along the west wall and attempt to Move it.
NEW HEARTLESS: Hook Bat, Large Body
You can destroy the suits of armor in this area to release Drive Orbs! Pick these up to replenish the Drive Gauge and allow the use of Valor Form.
Press the Move Reaction Command repeatedly to push the wardrobe away from the door while it's sleeping, but you'll need to stop pressing the command when it starts to wake up. If you accidentally use the Waken Reaction Command, the wardrobe will knock Sora away and move back into place. After moving the wardrobe, equip Potions to Sora and enter the Undercroft through the door the wardrobe was previously blocking.
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Thresholder / Possessor |
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HP: 137 / 98 DIFFICULTY: When you approach the Thresholder at the start of the fight, a Gargoyle Heartless will jump out from both sides. For the Gargoyle holding the sword, use Guard to deflect any of its attacks to halt it momentarily; that’s your moment to use the Release command to defeat it instantly. For the gargoyle with the axe, the Release command only becomes available at the end of its spin attack if it never damages you. You can use Guard to avoid being hit, but it won’t stop it in its tracks. 
After defeating both Gargoyles, a group of four Hook Bats will appear. Strike any Hook Bat once to make the Bat Cry command available; use it while near the Thresholder to deal a good amount of damage (Sora will remain invincible while using it). When the four Hook Bats are defeated, another group of five will appear, then one more a few seconds later. 
The Thresholder will use its attacks depending on which area of the room you’re standing in. Its first attack is a set of three slams with both arms. It often uses this attack when Sora is standing in the back half of the room, and it has two variations. You can use Guard to deflect the attack, or you can avoid it by staying near the back of the room or directly in front of the Thresholder. Striking the door during this attack will cause it to stagger and allow you to deal a complete combo. You can use Slide Dash to quickly reach the Thresholder and stagger it while it slams its fists, but your timing and positioning need to be precise. It’s usually safer to just run toward the Thresholder to avoid its fists and attack it up close. 
If you stick around the front half of the room, it will often wildly wave its arms around in different directions. You can Guard against it, but striking the Thresholder will not stagger it until it finishes waving its arms. It’s best to wait it out from a few steps away, or run around the attack near the walls to get closer and deal hits after it stops moving its arms. 
As you strike the Thresholder at close range, it might let out a roar that damages Sora and party members - and it can knock you as far as the upper balcony. Use Aerial Recovery to quickly regain control again. Keep an eye out for when it slowly raises and crosses its arms; that’s your cue to back away to avoid damage. If you stay close to the Thresholder without attacking, it will punch down with both arms three times in a row, with each punch reaching a bit farther than the last. Using Guard will prevent you from taking damage, but you’ll need to wait until after its third punch to move in and deal hits yourself. If you’re struck by one of the punches, it will knock you back, so quickly use Aerial Recovery to regain your footing. 
When you fully deplete the Thresholder’s HP using a combo finisher or magic, it will release lots of HP orbs and freeze in place for a short time. Approach quickly and use the Release reaction command to expose the Possessor; it's completely harmless in this form and will float around the room until you deplete its HP with air combos. There are no threats to the party at this time, so it’s a good opportunity to heal up using items if you need to. Lock on and strike the possessor with complete air combos. This is a great opportunity to use Valor Form to quickly deal damage to the Possessor and earn experience for the form. When half of its HP is depleted, it will drop Drive Orbs and return to animating the Thresholder, and the fight will move into phase two. 
Starting in phase two, the Thresholder will create a dark orb and release it into the air, creating a group of smaller orbs that track you. These are pretty tough to dodge, but if you position Sora in front of the Thresholder and attack after the orbs are released, you should only have to worry about one or two stragglers. And if you set Donald and Goofy’s battle style to Huddle Attack, having them close by will sometimes shield you from incoming orbs. Strike the Thresholder in between its attacks and use the Release command when it becomes available. Once you’ve released the Possessor a second time, the fight is pretty much over - just land air combos on it until its HP is fully depleted. 
REWARD: Sora learns Upper Slash | Donald learns Donald Fire | Goofy MAX HP +4 |
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Through the Secret Passage
Enter through the door to reach the Dungeon. After the cutscene, open the large chest along the wall to acquire the Basement Map. Save your progress and exit the Dungeon to continue. Jump on to the furniture in the corners to reach the Undercroft's balcony and approach Cogsworth to Ask For Help. Enter the newly accessible passageway to proceed.
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Light the Secret Passage |
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INFORMATION: Light all the lanterns! Approach each lantern and use the reaction command Sprinkle to put it out.
REWARD: None |
Into the West Wing
After lighting the lanterns, travel through the new passageway to reach the area of the West Hall behind the suits of armor. Continue up the stairs on the opposite side to access the West Wing, then travel north down the hallway to reach the Beast's room.
NEW HEARTLESS: Gargoyle Knight, Gargoyle Warrior, Lance Soldier
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Beast |
HP: 156 DIFFICULTY: Beast consistently approaches you and strikes with his claws; you can use Guard to defend against these attacks, but doing so will not cause the Beast to stagger. When Cogsworth is nearby, use the Wake Up! reaction command to temporarily daze Beast - this will give you an opportunity to strike with complete combos. Beast may dismiss Cogsworth for a short time; continue using the reaction command when he returns. When Beast's HP is fully depleted, use the Charge reaction command repeatedly, followed by Get Up! to finish the fight. 
REWARD: Sora gains Armor Slot | Donald MAX HP +3 | Goofy learns Defender |
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If you typically don't equip items to Donald or Goofy, I recommend that you unequip Goofy's Item Boost ability and instead equip his newly acquired Defender ability at this time.
Belle's Room & The Ballroom
After bringing him to his senses,
Travel across and up the opposite staircase to reach the East Wing. Enter Belle's room at the end of the hall and Approach the Wardrobe. Save your progress in the Belle's room, then return to the Entrance Hall. After the brief cutscene, enter the ballroom through the tall double doors on the staircase's first landing.
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Shadow Stalker |
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HP: 176 DIFFICULTY: The Shadow Stalker has four different attacks, and you’ll typically see them used in this order: the first attack has the Shadow Stalker possess the tall windows at the back of the ballroom - a few seconds later, it will send several lines of fissures out from the windows. You can dodge these by positioning Sora in between the window panes - if you’re not sure about where to stand, you can pause-buffer as the fissures are released to gauge where to move. It will reappear out of the center window pane after the fissures are gone, giving you a brief moment where you can land a few hits in the air. 
Next, the Shadow Stalker will float to the ceiling and bring the chandelier crashing down in the center of the room. The shockwave doesn’t deal any damage, so you won’t have to worry about jumping over it. You’ll need to strike the chandelier until its HP is depleted - and while you do this, the chandelier will spin and send out lines of flame on both sides. These flames are too tall to jump over, but you can wait just outside of their range until they stop spinning, then close in and attack relentlessly with air combos. Having your team members set to Target Attack will help you quickly cut down its HP. When the chandelier’s HP is depleted, use the Release reaction command to reveal the Shadow Stalker. This is a great opportunity to deal two complete air combos to it. 
When it recovers, the Shadow Stalker will descend into the floor and appear under Sora. If you don’t react in time, it will pull Sora into the floor and damage him. When you see the floor turn bright purple under Sora, perform a jump at the right time to avoid the attack. This gives you a small opportunity to deal a few hits when the Shadow Stalker reappears. 
For its fourth and final attack, it will possess one of the ballroom’s columns, causing them all to attack repeatedly with a scratch attack. You can Guard against this attack by facing in the right direction, but I find it easier to stay out of range until the scratch attack is finished, then move in and deal air combos to the column that the Shadow Stalker possesses. When the column’s HP is depleted, use the Release command to expose the Shadow Stalker, then attack relentlessly with air combos. The Shadow Stalker will then possess the window panes again, and this attack pattern will repeat until it’s finally defeated. Your current stats will carry over into the next fight, so if you find yourself low on HP, use a Potion before dealing the final blow. 
REWARD: None |
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Dark Thorn |
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HP: 390 DIFFICULTY: Dark Thorn is aggressive and can move around the room much more quickly. It also has the ability to camouflage itself. You’ll need to use a Reaction Command to make it visible, but until that becomes available, be sure to lock on so you can follow it around the room. It starts by summoning possessors that rise from the floor and fly towards you. Run in wide circles while locked on to avoid these; guarding against these possessors will negate damage as well. If it stops moving around and lets out a roar, it will typically use a stationary spin attack. Either keep your distance to avoid it or use Guard to deflect it. If you’re struck by the spin attack, use Aerial Recovery to quickly regain control. 
While you dodge the possessors, close in and strike with a complete combo. If you land a combo finisher while it’s not in the middle of an attack, Dark Thorn will stagger - making the Vault reaction command available. This reaction command can only be used in the few seconds that it’s staggered, but you can sometimes deal a couple more hits before activating it. Using Vault will send Sora to the ceiling for another reaction command, but if you use the command under the ballroom’s balcony, it will prevent Sora from reaching it, so be sure to land your combo finisher on Dark Thorn when it's out in the open. When Sora reaches the chandelier, use the Catch command; and when prompted, use Pendulum Round to damage Dark Thorn and make it visible. 
Lock on to Dark Thorn and intercept it while it's running around. After dealing three complete ground combos, it will counterattack with a spinning grab. If you’re caught by this attack, Dark Thorn will throw you toward one of the ballroom’s columns to damage you. But if you use the Slingshot reaction command just before you make contact with the column, Sora will use a spinning attack that deals heavy damage and reveals Dark Thorn again if it was cloaked before the attack. If you want to use this reaction command, release your lock on when Dark Thorn grabs you so you can more easily gauge when Sora is near the column. 
Dark Thorn can also leap to the ceiling and bring the chandelier down for a spinning attack. If you Guard against the chandelier with good timing, Dark Thorn will stagger giving you an opportunity to close in and deal more combos. If you’re struck by the chandelier, use Aerial Recovery to get back on your feet quickly. 
Dark Thorn’s desperation move is a series of five attacks, and each attack is randomly selected from three options: a forward spiraling lunge, and vertical spin in the air and a stationary spin on the ground. You can Guard against all of these attacks with good timing, and I recommend doing so. If you’re struck by any of these attacks, Sora will get knocked back, and using Aerial Recovery at the wrong time may lead to Sora being continually knocked into the air by incoming attacks. After a while, Dark Thorn may reactivate its invisibility. You’ll need to use reaction commands or guard against the swinging chandalier to make it visible again. If you find yourself running low on HP, don’t forget to use one of your Potions in your shortcut menu. You can also activate Valor Form to restore your HP and deal quick hits to Dark Thorn at close range. You’ll need to make sure that Goofy is in the party and active. 
REWARD: Sora learns Retaliating Slash & MAX HP +5 | Donald MAX HP +4 | Goofy learns Goofy Turbo | Beast MAX HP +35 |
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After defeating Dark Thorn, Sora will open a new pathway with the Keyblade and receive the Cure magic spell. After the cutscene, you'll be taken to the world map. Before landing in a world, take note of its BATTLE LV in the top-right corner of the world menu. It's recommended to visit worlds in ascending order of battle level. Clearing the Phantom Storm gummi route will allow you to Land in Olympus Coliseum.
If you have completed the first story episode in at least two Disney worlds, the party will be automatically directed back to Hollow Bastion for the next story episode there.
