Once you’re past the credits of Octopath Traveler, there’s one major hidden dungeon left to find. It’s not obvious how to get there, though, so allow us to give you a guide.
We won’t spoil any of the story here, but we will tell you the nature of this dungeon and how to get there, so if you don’t want to know any of that, now’s your chance to turn around. Just bookmark this page until you’ve finished all eight stories and you’re not sure what to do next.
Octopath Traveler, which comes out today for Switch, is a collection of eight stories based on eight different characters. (You can read my review right here.) Although these stories are all entirely independent—they all have beginnings, middles, and ends, as well as emotional arcs with conclusive resolutions—they do hint at grander lore within Octopath Traveler’s world. Pay attention and you’ll notice a lot of common threads, and maybe wonder if it’s all building to something bigger.
Once you beat all eight stories, however, there’s no indication of how to get to that bigger thing. As it turns out, you need to go find and beat two specific side quests in order to see it. Then you’ll discover a post-game dungeon that’s full of tough bosses and new information about Octopath Traveler’s setting and backstory.
Here’s how to get there: (Shout out to this Twinfinite guide and writer Zhiqing Wan for helping steer me the right way.)
1) Beat all the stories
This one is pretty obvious—get through all four chapters of all eight stories. You’ll know you did this when there are no character icons left on your map.
2) Do Lyblac’s quest
This is an easy one. Go to the city of Bolderfall and head to Ravus’ Manor, where you’ll find a guard named Alphas. Duel him with Olberic or H’aanit to finish the first part of the quest. Then, make your way to Saintsbridge, where you’ll find Alphas moping and writing poetry. Use Alfyn or Cyrus’s path actions to learn his poem, then bring it to a lady named Flora in the cathedral section of Saintsbridge. That’s it!
3) Do Kit’s quest
Kit, a naive blond boy, is one of the first non-player characters you’ll meet in the game. You’ll run into him right after leaving your first city, and he’ll ask you for a healing grape. Give it to him!
Then, later, you’ll want to track him down in the city of Noblecourt. One screen to the right, you’ll find an NPC called “Aspiring Actor.” Use Ophilia or Primrose’s path actions to bring this NPC to Kit and you’ll solve the first part of the quest.
Next, you need to go to Grandport and find the traveling merchant who’s promising rare gems and goods (right outside of the inn and items stores). Use Therion or Tressa to get the Lapis Lazuli from him, then bring it to Kit, who will now be hanging out on the Moonstruck Coast.
Finally, go to West S’warki Trail and find the Impresario. You’ll fight an easy mini-boss and then you’ll unlock the final dungeon: the Ruins of Hornburg. You can fast-travel there via the world map.
Make sure you’re prepared before you go to the Ruins of Hornburg, as when you get there, you’ll have to go through a difficult boss gauntlet. You’ll need to fight shadowy, more powerful versions of all eight final bosses, and you won’t be able to save or leave the area to buy items.
As you beat each boss, you’ll see a big wall of text full of interesting lore about how that villain fits into the over-arching world of Octopath Traveler. There are some interesting, unexpected connections between some of the stories’ bosses, and this dungeon gives you a look at the hands that were pulling their strings. I haven’t yet beaten the gauntlet yet—as far as I can tell, nobody has—but it’s clearly all leading up to a tough final boss fight whose nature I won’t spoil.
Just make sure your expectations are calibrated accordingly. This is a game about eight different stories. This is not the World of Ruin, nor is it some epic plot twist that ties all eight characters together, nor does it change the nature of the game. Nor does it explain why Ophilia the noble cleric is helping Therion the thief steal his way through rich people’s mansions. It’s just a cool final thing that you should definitely know about if you’re going to play Octopath Traveler.