Side missions and chapter deadlines
Side missions are chapter-locked. Advancing forfeits anything open, and the parts they pay are the ones shops charge thousands of rubies for.
Side missions in Resonance of Fate are chapter-locked. Each one is available only during its chapter, the game warns you before you advance, and anything unfinished is gone permanently. That single rule causes more lost content than any boss.
The rule
- Each chapter has main missions and optional side missions.
- After the chapter's main missions are done, you can advance to the next chapter.
- If side missions are unfinished, the game warns you before advancing.
- Advancing forfeits them. They cannot be picked up later.
There is no side-mission log that survives a chapter transition, and no way to return to a completed chapter.
Why bother with them
Side missions are where the custom parts come from. A mid-tier sight costs 3,000 rubies in a shop; the same class of part shows up as a mission reward. Some examples with their published rewards:
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Bridge Restoration (prologue) | 5 Hunter Points, 2,000 rubies, Escape Hex |
| A Father Attacked (chapter 2) | 5 Hunter Points, 1,500 rubies, Compact Scope α |
| The Fashion Check (chapter 6) | 8 Hunter Points, 15,000 rubies, MG Drum Magazine |
| Rebel Termination Order (chapter 16) | 20 Hunter Points, 10,000 rubies, Expander Super Barrel |
| Rare Materials Sought (chapter 16) | 15 Hunter Points, 35,000 rubies, Long Scope Elite |
Two of those are worth more than the money: the Compact Scope α and the Long Scope Elite are parts you would otherwise buy, and the Expander Super Barrel is a late-game barrel you cannot simply purchase early.
Where to find them
Three places, and you should check all three at the start of every chapter:
- The guild bulletin board in Ebel City, which lists new postings each chapter.
- The staffer outside the guild, who hands out a specific mission each chapter.
- The Cardinals' manors in Chandelier, where individual Cardinals post personal requests.
A routine that stops the bleeding
- Check the board the moment a chapter starts, before you touch the main mission.
- Do the missions that reward parts first. They are the ones you cannot replace with money later.
- Leave the pure-money missions if a chapter is nearly done and you want to move on.
- Never advance a chapter while a mission is open unless you have decided to drop it deliberately. The warning screen exists, but it is easy to click through at 2 a.m.
Side missions and the rest of the game
Several optional missions unlock convenience rather than loot: the prologue's Bridge Restoration repairs a route, and chapter 2's Power Station Checkup is a prerequisite for the main mission location being open. Skipping those does not just cost a part, it costs time later.
The Arena is the other optional system with a similar "do it now or lose the window" pressure, but Arena ranks do not expire — only the missions do. If you are choosing between them, the missions are the deadline and the Arena is not.
Mission names, rewards and chapter locks: community chapter documentation, checked 2026-10-31.