Star Ocean: The Divine Force is the most recent entry in the science fiction fantasy series published by Square Enix and developed by JRPG veterans Tri-Ace. It's arguably the most ambitious in the series and features a vast map that rivals the Xenoblade Chronicles series.
Players can explore open areas on Star Ocean: The Divine Force's map right after the introduction. After Raymond and Laeticia meet on the field, the first region opens up for exploration. Right off the bat, one can gather resources, money, and DP, represented by green and purple orbs. However, the fast travel feature isn't available until the party reaches Delryk Village and completes certain quests.
Unlocking Fast Travel In Star Ocean: The Divine Force
Upon reaching Delryk Village in Chapter 1, the party will learn of an attack outside the mines. They'll have to investigate the disturbance and defeat the worms outside the mine. With the worms defeated, the party heads into the mine to find the cause of the attacks and rescue Nina's mentor and father figure.
Beat The Worm Queen
Follow the quest marker inside the mine until the party encounters their first boss battle. Unfortunately, the party has a habit of running directly into the worm's area of attack, getting killed in one hit. The best way to beat the worm is as follows:
- Ensure the party has a good stock of fresh sage to revive party members in battle.
- Switch to Laeticia instead of Raymond.
- Laeticia is better suited for the stick-and-move strategy so Raymond can fight in close quarters.
- Albaird should default to attacking the worm with long-range attacks.
With the quest complete and the cutscenes over, the player will have access to Star Ocean: The Divine Force's fast travel feature. However, the party can only travel to locations they have previously visited on the world map. To access the map in Star Ocean: The Divine Force, one needs to press the R2 button twice. All the fast-travel locations will be available on the map.
However, one should be aware that overusing the fast travel mechanic will result in missing out on some skits, cutscenes, and story interactions between the characters. Star Ocean: The Divine Force isn't as long as many modern JRPGs, but It's better to use the D.U.M.A device to travel around the open map for main quests and reserve the fast travel mechanic for side quests and grinding.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.