Players who want an RPG that follows a more traditional turn-based setup might appreciate Octopath Traveler 2 and its approach to gameplay. Serving as a love letter to classic RPGs, the Octopath Traveler sequel not only has a rather deep storyline but also gives players enough opportunities to customize their characters to enable a myriad of gameplay options.
Key to any RPG player’s arsenal is Support Skills, which in Octopath Traveler 2 pertain to skills associated with certain classes that are geared to boost their abilities or even the way other jobs work. Players who love optimizing their playstyles and team setups might want to check just which Support Skills work best to synergize their gameplay strategies.
10 A Step Ahead (Inventor, 130 JP)
Unlike other classes in Octopath Traveler 2 and even most other RPGs, its Inventor class is unique in the sense that it doesn’t require conventional resources like Mana/MP or SP to dish out its skills. Rather, the Inventor simply needs players to complete a set of materials they need to consume in order to set up Inventions, which they can then use as skills once they are invented.
As players may have realized, setting up the Inventor’s Inventions can take quite a number of turns before they’re able to pull them off. This is especially the case with A Step Ahead, a Support Skill that allows the Inventor and its equipped user to go first in battle. When used by the Inventor, this gives them a head-start in setting up their combos, allowing them to unleash attacks much sooner in battle.
9 Evasive Maneuvers (Scholar, 130 JP)
Being a love letter to classic RPGs like Final Fantasy, it makes sense for Octopath Traveler 2 to have its fair share of random encounters. While this can be extremely efficient to level various team members, the presence of these events can become quite a hassle for players. This is especially the case for the Scholar, whose slate of powerful attacks may make them the game’s equivalent of a Wizard but still possess a rather frail constitution.
In that regard, the Scholar of Octopath Traveler 2 can use its Support Skill Evasive Maneuvers to reduce this hindrance. Thanks to this ability, the Scholar can reduce the rate of random encounters the player may witness. However, using this ability on multiple teammates won’t stack the rate of reduced encounters.
8 Vigorous Victor (Apothecary, 130 JP)
One of the most annoying parts of random encounters in games like Octopath Traveler 2 is how healing and maintenance can be pretty exhaustive on the part of players, especially if they’re grinding or traversing high-level areas and have to expend their healing items or go back to town every so often for recovery. Thanks to the Apothecary, players get much-needed convenience with its Vigorous Victor Support Skill, giving players 30-percent of their Max HP and Max SP when winning the battle.
This can be an extremely convenient ability to have, with the Apothecary of Octopath Traveler 2 being able to grant consistent HP and SP heals after combat. While this may not completely have players avoid going back to town after challenging encounters, the 30-percent auto-heal can save the player a lot of time and consumables.
7 Rise Again (Cleric, 4,630 JP)
It’s thanks to the Phoenix Down item that Final Fantasy RPGs have thematically established the idea of an iconic reviving item in the genre. In Octopath Traveler 2, this comes in the form of the resurrection item Olive of Life. While stocking up on Olive of Life can become quite the expensive endeavor in the Octopath Traveler sequel, a Cleric may be able to bestow a similar effect with its Support Skill, Rise Again.
Thanks to this ability, the equipping character or even the Octopath Traveler 2 Cleric will resurrect from death with 25-percent of their Max HP. This ability only works once per battle and immediately triggers upon a lethal hit. While the 25-percent HP “healing” after resurrection might not seem like much, this kind of move can help teams recover from tough combat situations - especially once the Cleric has some recovery combos prepared prior to their death.
6 Hang Tough (Merchant, 1,630 JP)
Of all the classes in Octopath Traveler 2, it’s perhaps the Merchant that serves as one of its more unique offerings. Relying more on obtaining money and spending leaves (money) to call for aid, the Merchant is a flexible yet fun flavor class that players may enjoy. This is especially with Hang Tough, a Support Skill that allows the Merchant to boost the survivability of team members.
When cast, the Merchant of Octopath Traveler 2 grants the equipped character the opportunity to not die immediately from lethal attacks. This only works when the character is not at near death, instead leaving them with 1HP after taking damage from an otherwise deadly move.
5 The Show Goes On (Dancer, 130 JP)
Buffs play an extremely significant role in a JRPG like Octopath Traveler 2, where a well-placed buff combo can lead to highly efficient effects. This is usually the case in MMOs with support units boosting the overall combat performance of DPS characters, with the Dancer being the equivalent buffer in the Octopath Traveler sequel. Interestingly enough, one of its more effective Support Skills would have to be The Show Goes On, which works as a buff extender.
As it stands, buffs in Octopath Traveler 2 only last as long as indicated, akin to other RPGs. However, the Dancer’s The Show Must Go On in Octopath Traveler 2 extends the duration of all the buffs the Dancer will be granted by a single turn. This might not look much at first glance, but longer-lasting battles against tougher bosses can give the team a significant boost in performance with buffs that last even a single turn longer.
4 Salt The Wound (Hunter, 4,630 JP)
The Hunter in Octopath Traveler 2 gameplay is perhaps the game’s equivalent of a long-ranged specialist, allowing teams to make quick work of long-distance foes with its slate of various attacks. And while its high-DPS nature makes it an efficient unit in any team, the game’s tendency to only let them take one turn every round can make their attack output rather reduced.
Interestingly enough, Salt the Wound is one of the Hunter’s most efficient Support Skills in Octopath Traveler 2. With this move, the Hunter gains a 50-percent chance of getting another turn after breaking a foe. While this doesn’t trigger for consecutive times, this move can benefit players with preferred combo rotations - especially with the Hunter’s penchant for high-damage skills.
3 Incidental Attack (Thief, 130 JP)
Fans might remember earlier Final Fantasy games as the trend-setter in rather unique RPG mechanics, in this case with the Thief Job being able to steal items even from monsters. The Thief in Octopath Traveler 2 has a similar setup, with the ability to Steal items from creatures and even deal stronger Surprise Attacks.
However, fans who want to capitalize on the stealthy nature of the Thief might want to consider investing in Incidental Attack. At its core, this gives the equipped character a 50-percent chance of dishing out a physical attack whenever it uses a non-offensive skill. This allows even a non-combat turn to become a contributor to DPS, especially since this ability means every other usage of a buff, a debuff, or a random non-damaging.
2 Master Of Offense (Armsmaster, 130 JP)
Players of RPGs like Octopath Traveler 2 aiming to give their gameplay sessions a bit more flair might want to consider creating optimized builds, ensuring their characters aren’t just “strong” but also properly built based on their stats. While the Armsmaster is a more physically-intensive specialization compared to the Warrior, it’s also more capable of dishing out comparably more DPS depending on the build.
The Armsmaster’s DPS output can be increased much more heavily with Master of Offense, which boosts the overall critical hit rate of the equipped character. While this might seem an ordinary buff at first glance, players can have more use of this ability when fitting this to characters with naturally-high critical stats. When used with the right crit-proccing combo, equipped characters can significantly boost their DPS output.
1 SP Saver (Conjurer, 630 JP)
Gamers who love RPGs with an extensive spell or skill system would understand how complicated resource systems could get, with some of the more ideal spellcaster builds prioritizing ways of lowering resource costs as much as possible to be able to dish out more effective combos. In the case of Octopath Traveler 2 gameplay, the Conjurer as a support spellcaster is actually the most equipped in helping their fellow magic users become more efficient in combat.
This is more apparent in their Support Skill, SP Saver. Thanks to this skill, Conjurers and the skill’s users will be halving the SP required for using their skills. When equipped by a spellcaster with the Conjurer as a sub-class, this can significantly increase their ability to cast powerful magic spells without worrying about their SP. And even if a pure Conjurer equips this Support Skill, they can dish out more buffs to their allies without worrying about a limited SP count.
Octopath Traveler 2 is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC.