In Octopath Traveler 2, the settings and characters draw from a much wider pool of settings and inspirations. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the town of Oresrush in the Wildlands, the hometown of Partitio.
Partitio's story takes a lot of themes from Western stories. There are settlers trying to start a new life and mine valuable ores, and there are greedy bandits and landowners trying to take all the settlers' wealth for themselves. Partitio may be the merchant of Octopath Traveler 2, but he's one that loves to spread the wealth as far and wide as he can.
A Childhood Flashback
Partitio's story starts with a flashback to a moment 16 years ago, back when Oresrush was first founded. After a conversation between business partners Papp and Roque, players get to control an 8-year-old Partitio.
Partitio may be too young to fight at this point, but he's not too young to use his daytime action, Purchase. Purchase allows players to speak to NPCs and get a list of items they're willing to sell. This can include cheap but useful food items that restore HP and SP, regular consumables like Healing Grapes and Inspiriting Plums, equipment like helmets and bows, and valuable items that players can sell on to merchants.
For now, players start with 1000 leaves and instructions to buy a suspicious silver nugget from one of the people below. The person with the right item has a green dialog balloon, and he'll sell his nugget for 150 leaves. Players can also buy items sold by other people in town, and they'll still have enough to buy the nugget afterward. Papp and Roque, however, don't have anything to sell. Once the nugget is Purchased, head back to Papp to continue the story.
8 Years Later
Time skips forward during the next cutscene, and players get control again as Oresrush is reaching new heights of prosperity. Partitio needs to climb up to the house on the hill to speak with Papp, but there's plenty to do in town before then.
Specifically, this is an opportunity for players to learn about the pros and cons of the Purchase action. Sometimes players will find items through Purchase that are much cheaper than the store price: there's a peddler near where Partitio starts who sells a Shortbow for half the price of the armorer. However, the same peddler also offers a Stimulating Earring that's only 20 leaves cheaper.
Players can also buy sellable items from NPCs that can end up costing them money. Partitio can Purchase a Rare Stone for 300 leaves from a woman standing at the base of the hill on the left, but the price at the shop is just 200 leaves. There's also a supervisor on the way to the Foundry area who sells a Wooden Shield, but Partitio already has a Wooden Shield equipped.
On the bright side, Partitio's Purchase from the first section has really paid off. The sale price for the Silver Nugget that Partitio got for 150 leaves is 2,000, so players should sell it off and buy some equipment from the shops and NPCs.
After speaking to Papp, night falls and players get a tutorial on Partitio's nighttime action, Hire. This is like the Guide and Allure actions from the first game, and it allows players to bring NPCs with them and summon them into combat. However, instead of needing a minimum level or risking the party's reputation, Partitio can simply pay NPCs a fee to get them to come along.
For this section, there are several level 1 NPCs (on a scale of 1 to 10) that will follow Partitio for 300 leaves, level 2 NPCs that will follow for 600 leaves, and a level 3 NPC who asks for 1,200 leaves. This NPC is on the second floor above the inn, and players can get there by climbing the stairs to the left of the building. However, 1,200 is too much to spend at this point since the NPC follower won't stick around after the next time skip. Once players have hired someone, they can head to the east town exit to enter the Silver Mine.
How to Fight with Partitio
The Silver Mine is a combat area, and while it's short this is a good time to explain how Partitio works in combat.
- Partitio's weapons of choice are polearms and bows.
- Partitio's Job is Merchant, which has an unusual set of abilities that offer some variety and a few perks that other classes don't get. For instance, one of the starting skills is Arrow of Fortune, which deals extra damage and also gives Partitio some bonus Job Points depending on how much damage the enemy takes. His other starting ability is Rest, a completely free ability that restores some HP and SP, or more with Boost levels.
- A Merchant skill that deserves special mention is Hired Help. Instead of spending SP, players can spend leaves to hire different allies who will buff the party or deal weapon damage to enemies. Partitio can Boost this ability to summon in more allies, and this doesn't increase the price.
- Partitio's Talent is Business Partners. NPCs he Hires (and not NPC followers for other party members) give the party special bonuses when interacting with merchants. This can include discounts on purchases, better prices when selling, and even a small chance of getting an item for free. But while this is useful, Business Partners has no effect on combat.
- As a starting character, Partitio is a middling choice. He has decent variety since he can use two weapons and one of the unlockable Merchant skills deals fire damage, but players will need plenty of money to spare to use his best skills and his unique Talent doesn't do anything during combat.
- To use an NPC follower in combat, players must spend a turn to Summon them. The follower will act immediately and then stick around in combat for around 3 turns in total. Partitio can then summon the follower back in, but only until the NPC reaches their turn limit. After that, the NPC will go back home and players will need to Hire someone again.
- NPC followers aren't targeted by enemy abilities and choose for themselves which skills they use, but they still give the party a few free actions and a chance to use different attack types or buffs.
- Partitio can only have one NPC follower at a time. Hiring a new follower will replace the current one.
- Summoned NPCs can't be boosted.
- Partitio's Latent Power is Hoot and Holler. All it does is set his Boost stock to 5, but that's plenty. It means players can spend 10 Boost in 4 turns without using items or skills, which is incredibly useful. It also helps that another unlockable Merchant skill lets Partitio donate his Boost to other party members, so anyone in the party can get a big surge of Boost points.
The Silver Mine
There isn't much to the Silver Mine yet, and if players rush they can reach the end without meeting any random encounters. However, players who don't rush should be aware that the Wild Mole 1 is vulnerable to both polearms and bows while the Egglings are only vulnerable to polearms.
There's a chest on the level above where Partitio starts that contains a Healing Grape. That's it for this area, though, so players should head to the top to start a cutscene. Partitio will speak to a man named Giff and then fight some of his Thugs. Thugs are vulnerable to polearms and bows, so this will be an easy victory even if Partitio is still level 1.
Present Day
After the fight, time skips forward another 8 years to the present day. Oresrush has seen better days, and Partitio's father Papp is sick. The current goal is to get some medicine for Papp, but there's plenty to do in the modern version of Oresrush.
First, players should go back inside the house and check out the office on the left. There's a chest in here with a Light Coin Pouch. Partitio can also Purchase a Hairbrush from Papp for 100 leaves and sell it off for 150.
Next, use the stairs to the left of the inn and cross the balcony to a concealed staircase above the provisioner. Open a door and climb down a ladder to get behind the provisioner's counter and open a chest with a Light Nut inside.
The inhabitants also have a few new items for sale, but aside from Papp players should avoid buying any sellable items since they cost too much. One item worth noting is the Empowering Earring being sold by the Tavern Assistant. The tavern also has an Apothecary who sells the Medicine Papp needs for 100 leaves. Players should keep this in mind when deciding what to purchase, and if they need more money they can kill some monsters in the first part of the Silver Mine.
Something else players can do is enter the Foundry area at the back of the town. There are several NPCs here with items for sale, but players may want to wait until later in the game to buy them.
Once players have the Medicine, they'll run into a cutscene in the middle of town. However, players should continue on to Papp once it's over. After a discussion, Partitio will decide to put a stop to Giff and his goons once and for all.
When players get control back, they can Hire one of Partitio's friends at a big discount: 50 leaves for a level 1 follower or 100 leaves for a level 2. Players can also hire NPCs elsewhere in town, but their prices are much higher.
The Abandoned Silver Mine
The mine has fallen on hard times since the last time players have seen it. On the bright side, it's also expanded and filled up with new chests to plunder. The first one is right next to the save point and holds 500 leaves.
After players climb the last ramp there's a ladder on the left. The chest at the top has a Light Soulstone inside. Next, cross the bridge and walk down the ramp on the far side. There's a chest here with an Inspiriting Plum. The only thing left after that is to head up to Giff's Manse.
Giff's Manse
While the Abandoned Silver Mine has the same enemies as the first time players visit, the Manse has some new foes to deal with. Thug 1 makes a reappearance, and he's joined by Thug 2, who is vulnerable to bows but not polearms. There are also more Egglings and Guard Dogs that are vulnerable to both polearms and bows.
After entering the Manse, players should go right and enter the room to get a Healing Grape. There's a fountain area behind the left room, and the fountain room has a chest behind a fence. To reach it, players should go to the door on the far side and then go left between the pillars and the wall. Follow this path around to reach the chest and get a Bronze Shield, which is a big upgrade over the shield Partitio starts with. Players can also open the door in the back to find a Small Silver Ore.
Head up the stairs on the right and enter the second room to get a Leather Helm. The last room up here has a peddler and a save point, which means the boss fight is next. Buy whatever armor and weapon upgrades the peddler offers and be sure Partitio's HP and SP are full, then head into the next room.
How to Beat Giff
- The boss fight against Giff features the man in question and two of his Lackeys. Lackey 1 has one shield and is vulnerable to bows, Lackey 2 has two shields and is vulnerable to polearms, and Giff himself has four shields and is vulnerable to polearms.
- Players should focus on taking out the Lackeys first to reduce the number of enemy turns.
- One of Giff's moves, Take out the Trash, gives a Lackey a speed boost.
- When players see "Giff takes aim" and the boss starts glowing, players should defend before he takes his next turn.
- When Giff reaches half health, a mid-battle cutscene will play. This unlocks a special attack where Giff throws a lot of daggers but has a low chance of hitting, and it also unlocks Partitio's Latent Power.
With Giff defeated, the town is saved, though Roque's whereabouts are still unknown. Still, Partitio's quest moving forward isn't to find Roque, it's to end world poverty.
Octopath Traveler 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.