Everything Beginners Need To Know About Octopath Traveler II (2024)

For a lot of gamers out there, Octopath Traveler II is the perfect throwback to the heyday of turn-based role-playing games. It embodies a lot of what made retro RPGs like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger so great while updating some outdated features long associated with the genre for the enjoyment of modern audiences. The sequel is also an incredible improvement over the first game – which had plenty of strengths but also some serious flaws regarding gameplay and writing as well.

However, even those well-versed in the world of RPGs might find difficulty mastering Octopath Traveler II. Taking into account the game’s eight playable characters, there are over 80 hours of gameplay to be had, most of which will be filled with long and difficult battles. Newcomers inexperienced with turn-based battles might also get confused by the game’s guard-breaking mechanic, which is necessary to master for defeating high-level enemies. There are also a lot of great gameplay details and features that might not be apparent in the first playthrough. Whether this is the player's first trip to the world of Octopath Traveler II, or their first experience with a retro RPG, here are some essential beginner tips for the game.

Recruit Ochette

Whether players play as Ochette at the beginning of the game or recruit her right after, they'll want Ochette immediately on their team. This young Beastling has many advantages in combat that are too good to ignore. In particular, it’s her ability to capture monsters right off the battlefield, as players can cover the weapons/elemental weaknesses they might not be able to exploit on their current team.

Or, they’ll have better versions of those exploits, like hitting multiple enemies at once or producing multiple swings for guard breaks. Any enemy players decide not to keep will be turned into jerky, which offers various buffs or health when eaten. There are also the Legendary Beasts that Ochette will gain throughout her quest – which don’t take up an available slot for capturing monsters – that can deal tremendous damage (albeit, once per battle) on a difficult enemy or just make an annoying battle end instantly.

Focus on Multiple Hits to Break Shields

What separates Octopath Traveler II from the average role-playing game is its guard-breaking system. Enemies will have their invisible health bar and their shield points displayed on the screen. Reducing an enemy’s shield points to zero will leave them stunned, opening them up to multiple attacks from party members. Stunning an enemy is far more crucial to winning a boss battle than delivering a sequence of powerful attacks from the get-go, as players can deal those blows right after, as well as use that precious time to heal or apply any necessary buffs.

Utilize attacks that are either capable of producing multiple strikes or can be added with Boost Points earned during battle. Remember, breaking an enemy's shield isn't determined by strength, but by being hit with their highlighted weaknesses over and over again until it reaches zero. Also, take into account that enemies won't stay stunned forever and that their guard points and weaknesses can change mid-battle.

How to Know When an Enemy Is Almost Defeated

With the lack of an enemy health bar on the screen, it’s not always easy for players to determine if they're about to defeat a pain-in-the-butt enemy, or if they still have a couple of rounds left to go (assuming they don’t get wiped out, of course). However, there are ways to determine if an enemy is on its last leg or not. The easiest example of this is the color of an enemy’s name.

Enemies with full health will have their names displayed in the typical white color, while yellow indicates a halfway loss of health. And, as one might have guessed, a red color font indicates an enemy is about to bite the dust. There are also the steal and capture attacks from Throné Anguis and Ochette, as the higher percentage of pulling off these moves means the enemy is extremely weak.

Latent Powers Are Powerful Abilities Players Shouldn't Miss

What separates Octopath Traveler II from its predecessor is the addition of Latent Powers. A Latent Power is a powerful ability that the eight travelers can utilize during battle, with each one being unique to the individual. The player can execute these abilities whenever a character’s latent power gauge is filled after taking damage or inflicting it. The player should pay attention to the Latent Powers of their party members, as they are crucial for defeating the tougher bosses in the game later on.

Osvald V. Vanstein being able to deliver a more powerful magic attack with his Latent Power (Concentrate Spells) is an obvious advantage. However, Castti Florenz using hers (Concoct) to create concoctions that can heal multiple party members or give them multiple Boost Points is something that might go unnoticed by players who skip her introduction.

Ochette’s Latent Power, Animal Instincts, gives her access to three special animal attacks – one of which is capable of reducing an enemy’s shield points regardless of their weaknesses. Throné’s Latent Power, Leave No Trace, grants her an additional turn, which can be very helpful if an enemy is only one point away from having their shield broken. Study up on these Latent Powers when building a team for a particular battle or high-level area.

Don't Be Afraid to Mingle and Steal to Get Ahead

No matter what high-stakes adventure the player is on, they should always make time to mingle with the locals… and take them for everything they’re worth. Depending on the time of day, travelers like Osvald or Castii can gather important pieces of information from the non-playable characters scattered across the vast world of Solistia, revealing the next sequence of the game or a hidden item or discount that’s marked “!” on the compass. By night, Osvald will be able to use his passive skill to engage in battle with a local and steal whatever item they are holding onto.

It’s important to note that only Osvald will be available to fight, so players should make sure to pay attention to the NPC’s difficulty rating, as well as what item the NPC is holding, to determine if it’s worth trading blows for. However, the day and night passive skills of other characters might be preferable to others, as Castii can gather information from locals without the fear of damaging the player’s reputation and Throné is also capable of stealing without engaging in a fight at all. While morally wrong in real life, stealing from NPCs is important for obtaining higher-level equipment and stronger health items that become rarer to find in shops or treasure chests.

Recruit the Locals

Despite what the popular 1977 ABC sitcom suggests, eight is not enough! Sometimes players need another hand to help finish off a chapter or conquer a high-level dungeon. And who better to help than the populace of these various lands? Certain characters like Ochette (which is why she’s so important to recruit early on) can befriend a townsperson to have them follow the player around to summon them during a battle, temporarily turning their four-member party into five.

To be clear, most of these locals won’t be as strong as main characters. Players will need them for their weaponry or elemental advantages against an enemy’s guard, or to act as the healer of their party. As enemies become tougher in the later chapters, players will need all the help they can get to take them down.

Take Advantage of Day and Night Cycle

Day and night cycles have become such a common feature in video games that it’s easy to take them for granted. Especially in the first Octopath Traveller, as the player was at the mercy of the in-game clock. The sequel fixed this mistake by allowing the player to manipulate the time of day whenever they want, opening up opportunities for side quests or rare monster encounters. Enemies are also less frequent during the day but increase their activities at night. If players want to grind to a higher level or want to avoid enemies for exploration, they’ll need to switch out Mr. Sun for Mr. Moon every now and then.

Don’t Waste Rare Heal Items

This might seem like an obvious suggestion, but Octopath Traveler II lures players into a false sense of security with the plentiful health items it offers them at the beginning of the game. While many of these health or buff items will still be purchasable at numerous shops in the game, they will typically be limited to a single use.

Items that affect multiple characters, like the Healing Grape Bunch, will become rarer to obtain and might not be accessible when players will need them the most. So, make sure the situation absolutely calls for the use of these precious health items. Or, players could solve this situation through the use of another traveler’s ability, such as Castti’s Latent Power.

Experiment With Multiple Classes per Character

Although players won’t be able to use all eight characters in the game at once, assigning multiple classes to the various characters can make them feel like they are. The Job system is easily the game’s biggest selling point, as it allows the player to build teams of different skills to address any blindspot in their offense or defense. Throné’s thief skills might not be necessary for this particular adventure, but players can still keep her on their team by giving her the additional job of a healer, warrior, or merchant.

Equipping a character with an additional class also means they’ll be capable of wielding an additional weapon, giving the player a greater opportunity to take advantage of an enemy’s weakness in battle. The game is also pretty generous with its multi-class system, as players can switch back and forth among the characters and quickly level up to use these new abilities. However, to use these additional classes, they'll need to find their associated guilds on the map.

Take Advantage of Prologue Stories

After completing the prologue chapter of the first character, the player might not be in the mood to do another introduction of a different character. Octopath Traveler II allows them to play these intro chapters whenever they want at the local tavern, so there’s no immediate rush to learn the basics of the game again. However, players should do these intro levels sooner rather than later, as level progression and collection of items will carry over to their present game. More importantly, these intro chapters will do a better job of explaining a character’s unique actions and abilities than a quick text explanation on the screen.

When Players Are Feeling Lost, They Should Follow the Light

Or, to be more specific, follow the torches that provide the light. As dungeon exploration becomes more of the norm on the journey, players will find that the pathway to the boss will become more complex as well. If they just want to advance through the story or don’t have a lot of resources to waste, they should just follow the light sources scattered all over the dungeon. They’ll take players to their intended destination. All other routes will lead to treasure chests.

Running Attracts a Greater Number of Combat Encounters

Players should walk, not run, towards their intended destination. Yes, walking from point A to point B is far slower than speeding through the area, but running attracts the attention of beasts far more than their basic speed. Unless the player's goal is to grind, walking is preferable for traversing to the nearest town or for finding hidden pathways to treasure chests or optional dungeons. At the very least, players should save the running for when they open up the fast-travel point to the closest town with a game-saving podium.

Pay Attention to Dangerous Areas

Even though Octopath Traveler II operates on the old-school sensibility of turn-based RPGs, it features a great number of modernizations to keep it on par with today’s video games. After finishing the first playable character’s prologue story, players will have the freedom to travel like it's a 32-bit open-world game. However, just because players can go anywhere doesn’t mean they should.

Among the low-level areas, there will be routes to high-level areas filled with far more powerful monsters. Pay attention to the recommended level for an area that’s displayed at the bottom of the screen. Players will be able to conquer these areas later in the game when they're close to the recommended level or have the right equipment and party members for the job.

Take Advantage of the Quality of Life Features

There’s no shame in speeding up a battle. Especially if it’s a battle that’s playing out exactly as the last 10 battles did. One of the great things about Octopath Traveler II is its quality-of-life features, such as being able to speed up the animation battle of the party and enemies, so the player can quickly move on to the next fight for experience points.

Similarly, players can also automatically equip the best weapons and armor to a specific character or the entire party. While it’s true that this auto-equipped feature will miss out on low-scale weapons with better effects, it’s still a helpful feature for those who are typically overwhelmed by this decision. Also, the fast-travel feature typically allows players to escape any monster-infested areas like dungeons, as long as they activate a travel point by entering a town.

Players Shouldn't Limit Themselves to One Storyline

While the desire to finish a traveler's story from beginning to end is understandably great, players will need to branch out of their path occasionally, as completing one chapter after another won’t be enough to hit the recommended power levels, as they’ll spike around Chapter 3.

Instead, players should use this opportunity to explore the other characters' stories at the recommended level around theirs. It’ll allow them to take a break from any frustrating battles while leveling up their party for the next challenge. Remember, players will need to have the character in question in their party to play through their storyline and to have it activated either by entering a town or by selecting it at the tavern.

Octopath Traveler 2

Franchise

Octopath Traveler

Platform(s)

Switch , PS4 , PS5 , PC

Released

February 24, 2023

Developer(s)

Square Enix , Acquire

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Genre(s)

RPG

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

ESRB

Rated T for Teen for Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco.

How Long To Beat

60 Hours

Metascore

84

PS Plus Availability

N/A

System

Nintendo , PC , PlayStation