Octopath Traveler 2, like its predecessor, does not have an overarching plot to it. The game is instead comprised of eight separate stories and players can choose where to begin. One example is Throné, a Thief who is bound to an organization known as the Blacksnakes and desperately wants to get out.
Unfortunately, she has a bomb collar strapped to her neck. That’s just one exciting story awaiting players in Octopath Traveler 2. Who else do players get to interact with, and how exactly does the gameplay? Is it different from the original? Let’s jump in to find out more in this handy guide.
6 Eight Characters On Solo Paths
Every character has a specific class, which is standard in many Square Enix RPGs. Castti is an Apothecary, Partitio is a Merchant, Agnea is a Dancer, Osvald is a Scholar, Temenos is a Cleric, Throné is a Thief, Ochette is a Hunter, and Hikari is a Warrior.
However, no matter who they choose first, these characters cannot interact with one another. Secondary characters will introduce themselves, but the original character won’t say a thing back. Agnea will not have a different interaction between Castti and Partitio, for example. It creates a weird series of plot holes in the narrative, but that is not important right now. All players need to know is that characters will not have unique interactions with other party members, unlike other RPGs with grander dialogue choices and character dynamics.
5 Who To Start With
So, who then is the best character to start with? Well, Throné may not be the strongest of the bunch, but she can allow players to break the game early on with her Path Action. She can steal from most NPCs in town with varying degrees of success. More on that later. Now, after starting with her, Octopath Traveler 2 players should then head north to get Temenos for some decent offensive and defensive magic.
Further north they will acquire the better mage via Osvald. Once he is acquired, players should warp back to New Delsta, and then head Northwest along the coast until they hit a harbor. Sail from there to the southern island to get Ochette and players will then have their first full party of four.
4 Unlocking Secondary Jobs
There are things players should do in between getting Temenos and Osvald. On the eastern side of the map, on the road to Flamechurch, players will come across a house. Inside they will meet Arkar, who will bestow the first Secondary Job to players aka the Inventor. Give this class to Temenos once he is unlocked to allow him to access better melee weapons besides his staff. Get Osvald and then warp back to New Delsta as instructed.
Before going along the coast, head further east past Arkar’s house toward Cloudbank. In this region, enemies should be twice as strong, meaning one hit could prove fatal. All players have to do is unlock Osvald’s skill, Evasive Maneuvers, to reduce enemy encounters. Even if enemies do spring up, players can just run. Players just have to make it past a couple of screens before they will arrive in Cloudbank wherein they can learn the Thief class as a Secondary Job. Give that to Osvald and then go see Ochette as originally told.
3 Battle Tactics
There are a few easy rules to follow which will keep players alive longer in battle. First, level up all-new characters to about eight. That should be enough to make it through their bosses. On the subject of bosses, it’s a good idea to eliminate all minor enemies before fully whipping the head honcho.
Breaking enemies is an obvious way to take advantage of any dire situation; however, there is something about breaking that players should know. For instance, let’s say an enemy is weak to fire and has four shield points before they break. Players might try to boost a fire spell, like through Osvald, four times to take it out in one hit, but this will not break the enemy. An attack must hit a set number of times before a shield breaks, no matter how much it is boosted. It sounds odd, but that is the case.
2 Play Around With Time And Path Actions
One of the newer features of Octopath Traveler 2 allows players to play with time easier. This will add new NPCs to the scene depending on the time of day. It will also change the aforementioned Path Action of characters. Throné, for example, can steal in the daylight but knock out enemies at night. Osvald can mug people at night instead of observing them, which is sometimes easier to steal from NPCs depending on success rates.
Now, to make a powerful party early, all players have to do is find an NPC with good equipment. Sometimes the success rate will be impossible at like 8%. Anything above 20% will not be that hard. Simply save at a checkpoint, try to steal the item and if things go sour, reload the game. It may take some time, but it will save a lot of money this way and unlock powerful gear early on too which is always the goal in an RPG.
1 Leveling Up Skills
Every character will earn experience points to level up their overall structure in Octopath Traveler 2. They will also gain JP, or Job Points, which can unlock skills in the game in both passive and active capacities. Osvald’s Evasive Maneuver skill is an example of a passive ability. That, to reiterate, should be unlocked as soon as possible.
Every time players unlock a skill they should know that the cost for everything goes up. Make sure to choose skills wisely then, and it’s also not a bad idea to wait on some characters if nothing initially jumps out. The further players get in the game, the more some of these skills may seem appetizing.
Octopath Traveler 2 was released on February 24, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.