In Octopath Traveler 2, the hunter protagonist is Ochette, a Beastling from the island of Toto'haha. This is a big departure from the first game, where all eight protagonists are humans.
While other protagonists' stories in Octopath Traveler 2 draw from a wide variety of sources and inspirations, Ochette's story is a fairly classic example of high fantasy: the Night of the Scarlet Moon is coming and will destroy Ochette's home unless she can find and retrieve the three Creatures of Legend. However, before she does any of that, she has to make a big decision about which animal companion she should bring.
Which Companion Should Ochette Choose?
Right as her chapter begins, Ochette has to choose between two animals to be her permanent companion. To do this, the player learns about Ochette's nighttime Path Action: Befriend. By offering a special item or two, Ochette can convince an NPC to become her follower. Followers and Summoning will be discussed later because this decision is actually about choosing between characters and game mechanics.
The bird is a Malamaowl that Ochette will name Mahina. When called into battle, Mahina will automatically target an enemy's elemental weakness, and when attacking a Broken enemy, they'll use a special attack called Arcane Blade.
The mammal is a Lajackal that Ochette will name Akala. When called into battle, Akala will target an enemy's weapon weakness, and when attacking a Broken enemy, they'll use a special attack called Finishing Blow.
- There are six weapon types and six elements, so the variety of attacks each animal gets is equal. The damage they deal is also about the same.
- Both animals are able to speak, and each one has different lines. Akala seems to be more confident, while Mahina seems to be more thoughtful. However, Ochette's responses tend to be similar.
- Akala's voice is masculine, while Mahina's voice is feminine.
With all of this taken together, from a purely mechanical view, Mahina is the better choice. As a hunter, Ochette can use two weapons but only one element. Also, players are more likely to run into enemies with only elemental weaknesses than enemies with only weapon weaknesses. However, the two companions are similar enough that choosing Akala won't make the game any harder. Players should pick the companion with the personality they like best.
Once players pick a companion, the other one will appear to be possessed by a dark force and run away. What happens to them will remain a mystery for now, but at least Ochette has a new friend.
10 Years Later
Ochette has grown up to be a great hunter, and so players quickly jump into a battle with a King Iguana. The iguana is big, but taking it out isn't hard since it only has 1 shield and is weak to axes, bows, and lightning.
Once the King Iguana loses most of its health, players get a tutorial on how to capture monsters. Essentially, Ochette can capture most monsters and use them as special attacks. Her capture chance goes up when the monster is broken, has lost most of its health, has visible vulnerabilities, and suffers from status ailments. Ochette can also increase the odds by Boosting, and she has a passive 25 percent chance of capturing a defeated monster. However, some special monsters will always have low capture odds, and a few are always "Untamable."
The King Iguana has a guaranteed 100 percent chance to capture, and once players have done so, they'll end up in the Path to the Tombs of the Wardenbeasts. The way back to town is on the left, but before then, players should head up the staircase to the right to find a treasure chest with an Unerring Ring.
A Village Divided
As it turns out, trouble is brewing back in the village between the native beastlings and the human colonists. The Warden Juvah isn't much help, so Ochette steps in and uses her daytime Path Action, Provoke.
Provoke lets players challenge NPCs to one-on-one combat with Ochette, but in these battles, Ochette can only use items and attack with captured monsters. If Ochette wins, the NPC will fall, and the party can enter any doors they might have been guarding. If Ochette loses, the party's reputation in town will take a hit, and eventually, she'll have to pay the local tavern keeper to restore it.
For the tutorial, Ochette can only challenge the NPC with the green dialog balloon. He's weak to daggers (the King Iguana's weapon type) and wind attacks.
After that, players get the Prepare tutorial. Ochette can use Prepare on any captured monster (except Akala or Mahina) to create a special type of item. She can then use these items in battle, give them to NPCs to Befriend them, or buy things with them on the beastling side of the village. In this case, players must Prepare the King Iguana into 30 jerky and give one to the beastling with the green balloon.
With that done, players can now try Provoking several of the beastling villagers. However, they may be too tough to fight for now. This is especially true of the beastling standing guard at a door. Players will have to come back much later to see what's back there.
To continue the story, players can find Juvah on the cliff to the west of the beastling village. A cutscene will play, and Ochette will decide to rescue a young girl lost in the Tombs of the Wardenbeasts.
How to Fight with Ochette
At this point, players will get the first proper dungeon with random encounters in Ochette's Chapter 1. Here's how her combat mechanics work.
- Ochette is a Hunter, which means she can use axes and bows. She also starts with Thunderbird, a lightning spell that can target one enemy, and Precise Shot, a bow attack that can hit enemies 2 to 5 times depending on Boost level. Unlike most multi-hit attacks, Ochette can choose exactly which enemies to hit with each attack.
- The learnable Hunter skills include an accuracy buff, an axe, a bow attack, and a skill that forces an enemy to go last during a round.
- Befriend lets Ochette turn an NPC into a follower. She can then Summon her follower into battle, and the follower will act after Ochette 3 times and then leave. Each NPC has a "Summonable" number that shows how many times Ochette can do this before they'll leave the party and go home.
- Followers have no stats and can't be targeted, but they'll sometimes take a blow meant for Ochette. They also aren't affected by Boost.
- Ochette can only have one follower at a time. If players want a new one, they'll have to send back the old one.
- Ochette can also use Provoke to summon a captured monster. Unlike followers, Ochette can use monsters an unlimited number of times, and she can Boost to increase their effectiveness. However, monsters don't stick around for several rounds and can only perform one action each.
- Aside from her permanent companion, Ochette can keep 6 monsters. If she captures a seventh, she must Prepare one of them.
- Akala and Mahina will always target an enemy weakness, even if the player doesn't know what it is yet. Their biggest issues are that they only attack once, no matter how much Boost players use, and (like all monsters) they choose their target randomly.
- Ochette is one of the best characters to start the game with. Monster abilities cost nothing to use, and they can include buffs, heals, elemental attacks, and weapon attacks. Her companion also effectively gives her access to all six weapons or elements, which is especially useful before players get a full party. Her biggest drawback is that she has no healing ability, but she can capture a monster to do that for her.
- Ochette's Latent Power is Animal Instincts. Activating it gives her access to powerful (and free) attacks that can be Boosted to deal extra damage.
The Path to the Tombs of the Wardenbeasts
Now that Ochette is back on the Path, the area is full of random encounters. Both the Island Froggen 1 and 2 are weak to axes and lightning. Be sure to capture a Froggen 2 for their all-enemy arrow strike.
Players can now reach a pair of chests they couldn't before. The first one is across the waterfall pool: simply have Ochette walk down the steps, and a boat will appear beneath her, letting her move across the water. The chest on the far side holds an Inspiriting Plum. The second chest is just past the pool to the right, with a piece of Jerky inside.
The Tombs of the Wardenbeasts
New enemies will appear once Ochette reaches the Tombs. The Lloris is weak to bows, the Shambling Weed is weak to axes, and the Manticore is weak to swords, axes, and lightning. Be sure to capture a Shambling Weed since it can heal Ochette.
The first chest in this area is just past the bridge. Take the path that goes down below the bridge for a Composite Bow, then take the stairs up to get a Bone. The last chest is near the long rope bridge and contains a Sharp Nut.
A young girl is on the far side of the bridge. She doesn't trust Ochette, so players must bribe her with Jerky. If Ochette is out of Jerky for some reason, she can Prepare a Froggen to get more.
On the way back, Ochette will encounter a creature called a Mysterious Fledgling. The monster is weak to bows and wind, but it's untamable. After that, she'll come across some worried beastlings. She can Befriend one of them to bring along for the upcoming boss fight, and there's also a peddler with useful equipment for sale. Once players are ready, they should head back to the village.
How to Beat the Dark Entity
- The Dark Entity has 4 shields and is weak to daggers, axes, and lightning.
- Occasionally, the Entity will utilize Dark Spawn to summon three Mysterious Fledglings. These are still vulnerable to bows and wind, so use the Island Froggen 2 to Break all three at once.
- If players don't take out the Fledglings fast enough, the Dark Entity will eat one to get a buff and charge its special attack. At that point, Ochette should Defend or Break the Entity so it can't take its next action.
- Ochette's Latent Power activates when the Entity reaches half health.
- When defeated, the Dark Entity drops an Inspiriting Plum Basket.
At this point, the immediate danger has passed, but the threat of the Crimson Moon has only begun. So begins Ochette's quest to find the three Creatures of Legend.
Octopath Traveler 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.
