This is just a very fast summary of what players have discovered so far relating to the new Vision of Abyssea addon. All of this info was collected from what little I've experienced and the pages of information posted to BG Forums here. I'm not going to go into much strategy or evaluation, this is just one big summarized dump of info. I think it makes it easier to read through. The locations listed on the maps are not perfect, they only indicate the general coordinate something is located at. It could be at any spot within that coordinate square, it's still rough going off of player descriptions. All of this info is early and may be inaccurate so take that into consideration.
General Information:
Fighting an enemy in Abyssea begins a process where enemies advance toward you and increase in difficulty depending on your party members levels. For example, if you engage a Clionid enemy near a group of other Clionids, the others will make their way to your party and eventually new ones will begin to spawn quickly. This is not necessarily "linking" it just seems to be normal battle behavior in Abyssea. If the initial enemy you engage less than Incredibly Tough difficulty, the advancing enemies will continue to increase in difficulty until they rate IT.
Defeating any enemies rewards some Cruor points. Anywhere from as little as a dozen to hundreds at a time. Cruor is used to buy rewards, buffs, to travel around, and all kinds of things in Abyssea.
There's 8 Conflux warps in each Abyssea area. The Cruor cost to activate each one increases by 50 points with each one. (e.g. Conflux 2 costs 100 to activate, conflux 3 150, 4 is 200, etc.) Ranging from 50-400. In total activating all 8 will cost 1800 points (I think, unless conflux #1doesn't require activation).
Scraping together 1800 Cruor will allow you to activate all 8 Conflux warps within a zone and is a good first goal to start with. These Conflux warps let you travel throughout the zone instantly. Faster travel is more time you can spend doing other things.
In general, it seems as though regular enemies can randomly drop items to spawn NMs that are similar to that type of enemy. One way to go about this is to figure out which NM you'd like to target, travel to the location where its type of enemies are located, then farm mobs until it's spawn item drops.
Tractoring will cause you to lose visitant status and be placed at the starting camp area.
Pre-spawned chests can be (or always are?) mimic enemies that are significantly difficult so beware.
Abyssite key items that grant the player some effect seem like possibly random drops from any mobs. They grant that player certain effects ranging from extending your visitant status, to reducing the time your traversers replenish, to experience bonuses, and more. These appear to be retained after exiting but it's not yet known if they wear off eventually or remain permanent.
Some of these abyssite buffs can be purchased from the Cruor Prospector NPC under the key items listing:
ivory abyssite of sojourn 6000 Cruor: Extends your visitant time.
ivory abyssite of confluence 4800 Cruor: Reduces cruor cost of using conflux warps.
ivory abyssite of expertise 4800 Cruor: Allows more frequent use of Martellos.
clear demilune abyssite 300 Cruor: ??? Possibly allows for infusing of one Atma???
While in Abyssea players undergo a process of "vivification" where they become stronger by interacting in the event in various ways. You will see status messages in your log indicating your aura colors changing higher or lower. Fighting regular enemies seems to change the "color" status somehow. This is still mostly confusing and mysterious. Some random chests grant upgrades to your players "vivification" status. Some of the stages of "vivification" are ruby, pearlescent, and azura. Needs more info.
Certain regular but glowing "Ephemeral" named enemies grant a bonus amount of exp and possibly abyssite key items. Ephemeral Clionid enemy granted 575 exp, 251 cruor, a Lucid Ether II temp item, and a Viridian abyssite of avarice key item. Ephemeral Limule granted just 355 exp and 17 cruor.
Chests will randomly drop from enemies which can contain augmented equipment, or exp/limit points, or cruor points.
Gold type chests seem to contain augmented equipment.
Blue chests can contain experience/limit points.
Red chests can contain cruor points or upgrade your vivification status.
Main Quests:
There's no explicit "missions" in Abyssea, but some of the quests serve to guide some of the story and are required to advance into the areas. They are very simple and little more than cutscenes.
A Journey Begins - Zone into Port Jeuno and view the CS. Speak to Joachim and accept his offer and a traverser stone.
The Truth Beckons - Travel to one of the 3 crag zone maws and enter Abyssea. Once you've done that return to Port Jeuno and speak to Joachim again.
Dawn of Death - This quest triggers the branch of any of the next 3.
A Goldstruck Gigas, To Paste a Peiste, and Megadrile Menace - Travel to any of the 3 Abyssea maws and examine them for a CS. All 3 can be flagged at once. For each one you're instructed to kill a specific NM in each area.
The Forbidden Frontier - Return to Joachim after triggering one of the last 3 quest CS' at a maw.
Abyssea Konschtat Highlands Info:
Spawn Targets Key:
#1 requires a ripped eft skin
#2 requires a giant bugard tusk, spawns Alkonost a hippogryph NM
#3 requires a square of moonglow cloth
#4 requires a clouded lens
#5 requires a rotting eyeball
#6 requires a tiny morbol vine
#7 requires an oblivisipore mushroom.
#8 requires a clump of snakeskin moss
#9 requires an armored dragon horn
#10 requiresa giant slug eyestalk
#11 requires a vial of eft blood
#15 requires a Murmuring Globule, spawns Ashtaerth the Gallvexed a soulflayer.
#12 requires a key item, twisted Tonberry crown
#13 requires key items, tattered hippogryph wing, cracked wivre worn, and mucid Ahriman eyeball
#14 requires key items, fragrant treant petal, fetid rafleshia stalk, decaying morbol tooth, turbid slime oil, and venomous peiste claw
Notes:
The slime NM Fistule doesnt aggro
Bombadeel is a Gobbue NM
Raskovnik is a Rafflesia NM that uses charmga.
Guimauve a yellow pudding NM at G-4
Murmuring Globule may drop from nearby Clionel mobs? spawns Soulflayer NM Ashtaerth the Gallvexed has aoe stripga move.
Alkonost seems to resist physical damage and takes more certain magic damage.
Augmented items from random chests discovered so far:
Dark Ring with augmented breath damage -2%
Abyssea La Theine Plateau Info:
Spawn Targets Key:
#1 requires a trophy shield
#2 requires a piceous scale
#3 requires a transparent insect wing
#4 requires a dried chigoe
#5 requires a raw mutton chop
#6 requires a bug-eaten hat
#7 requires a winter puk egg
#8 requires a filthy gnole claw
#9 requires key items, pellucid fly eye, and shimmering pixie pinion
#10 requires key items, marbled mutton chop, bloodied saber tooth, blood-smeared gigas helm, and glittering pixie choker
Notes:
Gully Clionids can drop Sanguinets
Gulch Limules drop Limule Pincers
Jaguarandi coeurls can drop Shcking Whiskers.
Pantagruel is a gigas NM. Uses Moribund Hack which might be directional. Gigas' drop Oversized Sock to spawn him. Around F-7
Farfadet pixies dropped Piceuous Scale NM pop item
Mangy-Tailed Marvin around E-6. Drops Adler ring and Marvin's Pelage granted 930 exp and 192 cruor to an alliance of 13.
Piasa bird NM. Drops Seigneur Shield and Divine Log. Damnation Dive move has very long stun effect. Granted 1500 exp and 345 Cruor to a 5 member party.
Killing it gave 1000 XP and 246 cruor to a lvl 80 char and 800 XP and 196 cruor to lv 75 chars.
Some NM drops Navarch's Choker...
??? spawn at carby stonehenge asks for gigas helm, armlet, necklace. It may be that trading certain different items at this one spot can spawn different NMs.
Augmented items from random chests found so far:
Jeweled Collar with augmented conserve MP+2 and HP recovered while healing +1
Rasetsu Jinpachi with augmented resist virus +2
Abyssea Tahrongi Canyon Info:
Notes:
Nearby mobs dropped Eft Egg item. Spawned Abas Eft NM. Drops Maestria Mask and a quivering eft egg. Casts -ga III tier black magic.
Eft egg item is used with some kind of cockatrice meat to spawn NM towards the middle of map.
Bloody Fang from bats and Exorcised Skull used at a ??? spawn target somewhere.
Directly east of the beginning camp a Qutrub NM named Manananggal roams about. Players can't see it directly, it's invisible similar to Shikigami Weapon. Some people have said it blood aggros. Be very careful going near this area, it hits very hard and will probably kill you easily. Drops Corvus Torque, and possibly 2 Manananggal Necklet items. Has a slow and a fast triple attack mode, can use blood weapon many times. Disappears again (not neccessarily despawns) when target with hate dies.
Minhacoa Sandworm NM, possibly the NM required for the main abyssea quest.
Pre spawned NM Chukas, Adamantoise type mob casts black magic, at least a strong Stonega IV.
