Items and Locations — Recruits and Pickups

Best tools sit off the critical path. Three strong recruits only join if you walk to them — miss once, feel it twenty missions later under the clock.

Hub mission flow: Phase I–II.

Pickup order

#	Pickup	Why
1	Repair Kit	500 HP, after acting — kit rules
2	Shock Whip	Huntsman area — boss whip is unparryable; player whip is still strong — Huntsman
3	Beam Coating	−30% beam taken — matchups
4	Recruit Gus	Aircraft + coating + hit-and-run — aircraft
5	Recruit Destri	Second aircraft for chip rotation
6	Recruit Fencer	Instant Kill passive — bosses guide
7	Blue Dragon	Late location — unique loot/story weight; go when route allows, not day one

Items are static. Recruits have windows — faction and mission state can gate them; confirm on your route before assuming.

Shop overlap

Musketeer (hub Phase II) is shop purchase, not field pickup — beam rifle spike for early missions. Recruit Gus pairs with Musketeer in my opening economy.

Why order matters

Repair Kit before first real fight. Recruits before you need aircraft/capture tools. Blue Dragon last — early detour wastes calendar months you need for rank 9.

Ending route choice can affect which recruits appear — all endings before you hard-commit faction if you are routing multiple runs.