Sea of Stars Zenith Academy Walkthrough and Character Choice

Choosing your starting character in Sea of Stars determines which hero leads your party on the field, but it does not lock you out of abilities or story content. Both Zale and Valere fight side by side in every battle from the start of the game.

To clear the prologue, complete your training drills at Zenith Academy, defeat Erlina first during your graduation spar, and use your campfire to cook healing meals before climbing the Mountain Path.

Starting Character Choice: Zale vs. Valere

Your opening choice sets whether Zale or Valere takes point while exploring and leads dialogue interactions. Because both heroes participate in battle immediately, your selection comes down to which damage type and attack style you want at the front of your party.

If you prefer opening encounters with direct, single-target blade strikes, pick Zale. If you prefer wide, multi-target sweeping attacks across enemy groups, select Valere.

Zenith Academy Training and Solstice Weaving

Following the opening flashback in Mooncradle, Headmaster Moraine oversees your training inside Zenith Academy. Your objectives introduce the flow of turn-based combat and finalize your graduation gear:

1. Complete Courtyard Drills: Practice regular attacks and monitor the turn bar. Every standard physical strike restores three Magic Points (MP), establishing the cycle of spending MP on active skills and regenerating it with basic attacks.
2. Weave the Solstice Sash: Head to the upper crafting chambers after Moraine dismisses you from the yard. Interact with the large loom mechanism to spin raw celestial magic into protective Solstice sashes.
3. Advance to Graduation: Rest in the academy dormitory to progress the calendar and trigger your final evaluation.

How to Beat Erlina and Brugaves

Before departing on your pilgrimage, you must face senior students Erlina and Brugaves in an exhibition spar. Erlina relies on fast, disruptive ranged magic, while Brugaves functions as a durable front-line fighter with heavy polearm swings.

• Focus fire on Erlina first: Erlina's offensive spells deal rapid damage. Direct both Zale's sword strikes and Valere's staff hits at her to remove her from the battle quickly.
• Refill MP on Brugaves: Use standard physical attacks against Brugaves when your energy runs low. This keeps your MP pool full so you can cast Zale's and Valere's offensive skills whenever Erlina prepares an attack.
• Time your blocks: Brugaves features a distinct wind-up pause before his downward smash. Press your action button just before the impact lands to mitigate incoming damage.
• Maintain party health: Keep both characters above half health by using the snacks provided during your academy inventory handoff.

Once Erlina falls, Brugaves yields. Headmaster Moraine will award your official cloaks and grant passage to the Mountain Path.

Preparing for the Mountain Path

Outside Mooncradle, your childhood companion Garl joins the party. Garl wields a cauldron lid as a shield, dealing Blunt physical damage while providing party support and cooking.

As you explore the Mountain Path, keep these progression steps in mind:

• Solve pillar switches: Push cracked stone pillars onto ground pressure switches to drop ladders, opening direct shortcuts down vertical cliffs.
• Collect gear upgrades: Check out-of-the-way ledges for green chests, which hold early currency and defensive equipment like Adventurer's Armor.
• Gather ingredients: Harvest glowing nodes on bushes and rocks to stock up on raw food like Berries and Wheat.
• Rest and cook at campfires: Interacting with stone fire pits brings up the Camp menu. Resting restores the party's HP and MP completely without consuming items. Enter the camp tent to cook gathered ingredients into recovery items such as Berry Jam. Keep five to six cooked dishes on hand to handle tough encounters ahead.