Octopath Traveler 2 is unique among JRPGs because each playable character is the protagonist of their own story. Each tale utilizes the character's unique talents and actions, and the game allows the player to go through each story however they please, making every playthrough different depending on the order picked.
In Octopath Traveler 2, players can to choose which character they start out with among the eight characters. This is an important choice, because this first character will be required to be in the party until their main story is completed. Of the characters in Octopath Traveler 2, here's how they rank in terms of playability as one's starting character.
8 Partitio, The Merchant
Partitio is the representative of the Merchant job, a class that relies on using money to provide support. He can purchase items by day and hire help at night, which can allow him to accrue items quickly and gain business partners that can give the party benefits either in battle, or when buying from shops.
However, Partitio's skills are largely based on spending money, which players might not have from the outset. As a result, they may want to wait until later to pick up Partitio, when they will have more resources to use his unique talents.
7 Agnea, The Dancer
Agnea is the Dancer of Octopath Traveler 2, a largely supportive job that buffs up the party. She can allure NPCs to use them as allies in battle during the day, and entreat NPCs for their items at night.
Agnea has strong talents and abilities, but her role as a support character means she's less likely to be useful when she's on her own. She is best obtained after recruiting one or two offensively-oriented characters that would more easily benefit from the support that she provides, rather than as a starting character that won't be able to fully utilize her kit.
6 Osvald, The Scholar
Osvald's job is the Scholar, which grants him powerful elemental spells that hit all foes at once. This makes him quite the damage dealer in combat, and his ability to reveal weaknesses at the start of battle can ease fights considerably. He can scrutinize NPCs for info by day and mug NPCs for items by night.
Despite his many strengths, Osvald is not a great pick for the starting character. His skills, while powerful, cost a lot of SP, and during the early levels he can quickly run out of SP while fighting a particularly resilient foe. His lack of physical damage also keeps him from being useful without SP, so players should wait until they can field a full party before recruiting Osvald.
5 Temenos, The Cleric
Temenos serves as the Cleric in Octopath Traveler 2, with the incredibly helpful ability to heal all allies at once. He can recruit NPCs at day to help in battle, and challenge NPCs to get info from them at night.
While Temenos has strong utility in his ability to heal, he is hindered by his underwhelming path actions and weak combat ability. Temenos is always a helpful option, especially in tough dungeons, but it is probably better to avoid having him as the starting character. He's better when he has party members to support.
4 Ochette, The Hunter
Ochette is the Hunter of Octopath Traveler 2, a strong physical job that provides a variety of unique abilities. Her path actions aren't particularly strong — she can Provoke NPCs into fighting her monsters during the day, and Befriend them using items at night. More useful, though, is her unique ability to capture monsters and use them in battle.
With monster capture, Ochette becomes an incredibly useful party member, as she can use monsters to hit weaknesses that she cannot hit with her own skillset. She can also turn unneeded monsters into food with various uses, including Jerky, which can be used as an alternate currency in some circumstances.
3 Castti, The Apothecary
Castti is the Apothecary of Octopath Traveler 2, a job that creates mixtures that offer a variety of effects. Castti can create concoctions that heal and provide beneficial effects or deal damage and inflict debuffs on enemies. She can Inquire for information from NPCs during the day, and Soothe them with her medicines at night to put them to sleep.
With the Concoct ability, Castti becomes a jack-of-all-trades. She can deal melee damage with her axe, heal and cure ailments, and hit elemental weaknesses with her concoctions. While her skills do require ingredients to use liberally, they are easy to find and often cheap to obtain. Castti is a good pick for starting character as she can fill a variety of roles with her concoctions.
2 Hikari, The Warrior
Hikari's job in Octopath Traveler 2 is the Warrior, the most physically powerful job in the game. Hikari has a unique talent that allows him to duel NPCs, then learn new abilities from the NPCs he has defeated. At night, he can also Bribe NPCs for information.
This ability to learn new skills allows him to expand his moveset beyond what his job allows, even granting him the possibility to hit elemental weaknesses. In addition, Hikari's strength and durability make him a strong starting character, as he can stand on his own even without a party to back him up.
1 Throné, The Thief
As the Thief of Octopath Traveler 2, Throné is easily the most appealing starting character. With her ability to steal items from NPCs, Throné can quickly amass a large amount of resources and even obtain stronger weapons early for free. While other characters have actions that let them take items for a particular cost, Throne allows the player to take those items for free, with only a hit to reputation on failure. This is her daytime Path Action; at night, she can knock out NPCs.
In addition to her ability to steal, Throné is also fairly capable in combat, with a skillset focused on debuffing the enemy. Throné also provides buffs to all allies when starting a battle at night, giving the party a quick boost to even boss battles. These benefits alone make Throné the best option for starter character among the cast.