Embarking on a new journey is never easy, especially if the road ahead leads to strange, unfamiliar territory. But those who embrace the spirit of adventure will discover that exploration can make for an enthralling time, promising its fair share of triumphs, tribulations, and memorable encounters.
With Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, there will be plenty of that to go around – and then some, this time on the go. The free-to-play mobile title, first released in Japan in 2020, serves as a prequel to Square Enix’s original Octopath Traveler game, set in the same fictional world of Osterra.
But it also packs a handful of new features, which spruces up the experience for returning franchise fans, while offering newcomers a fresh start. While still a turn-based JRPG at its core, the free-to-play adventure stands on its own with a new cast of playable characters, touchscreen controls, up to an eight-member party system, and more.
Here are some tips to get started on your expedition.
1) Interact with people
There are plenty of NPCs to meet in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, from town residents to mercenaries. Those who can be interacted with are indicated by a speech bubble in blue, yellow, or red, corresponding to the theming of each story path (Fame, Wealth, and Power, respectively).
The mechanics for Wealth are the most straightforward, allowing players to purchase items directly from the seller. All they need to do is fork over the required amount of cash, referred to in-game as Leaves, or try their luck at haggling. Picking the Haggle option, however, comes with a chance of failure, which will result in a damaged reputation and relationship. The same system is in place for recruiting – simply pay the price, and they can be called upon to lend assistance in combat.
As the name suggests, those hailing from the house of Power invite players to challenge their mettle in a match. Defeating them grants access to all their possessions, and the ability to recruit them as allies; fail to do so, and your reputation will take a hit. In contrast, the workings of the Fame approach demands some luck and there’s always a chance of failure, be it Entreating for items, or hiring them as extra help.
Not everyone will be available for interaction, however, especially at lower levels. Players have to reach a certain level of Amity before the option is unlocked, so be sure to complete daily tasks, quests, and achievements (called Feats) to gain experience, or EX, for levelling up. Needless to say, the higher the rank requirement, the more powerful these individuals are. Each of them is also equipped with a different skill, from dealing damage to casting buffs and debuffs.
2) See something shiny? Pick it up.
As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The crafting mechanic in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent requires resources and materials that can be obtained by defeating monsters and opening chests, but there’s another way to collect them. Keep your eyes peeled for a shiny blue glimmer in various areas of a town, and interact with it to pick it up. It isn’t a lot, but can be a lifesaver in a pinch.
3) Collect, craft, equip, and explore
On the note of crafting, it’s important to swing by the Smithy often. Having the right materials and resources means access to new and more powerful equipment, including different weapon types for each class: Swordsman, Dancer, Merchant, Scholar, Apothecary, Thief, Hunter, and Priest.
Although party members are equipped with individual skills and abilities, the damage output and absorption are ultimately determined by the loadout, making it crucial for players to constantly upgrade their gear and weapons. It’s also recommended to venture into unexplored territory, as gathering new materials unlocks new crafting recipes, increasing the chances of getting better, well, everything.
4) Use Experience Nuts to level up quickly
Like many other games, levelling up in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is quick and easy – until you reach a certain point, that is. Past that stage, the EXP gain can slow to a crawl, which causes combat to feel repetitive and tedious. This chore-like quality is further exacerbated by the party system, where having eight members means an eightfold increase in effort to build them up even more.
Experience Nuts offer a reliable shortcut to raise character levels. Available in large, medium, and small, they feed EXP directly to the selected character, allowing players to skip out on batting monsters. The consumable proves particularly useful in closing the gap between higher and lower-level party members, or as a quick EXP boost to meet the level requirement for specific equipment.
5) Identify the enemy weakness as soon as possible
Speed is key in combat, and not just in terms of the agility or SPD stat. The enemies in the game come with shield points, which can only be lowered – and ultimately destroyed – by their weaknesses, indicated by the boxes below their HP (Health Points) bar. Here’s the problem: they won’t be highlighted in first-time battles, appearing as question marks, and will remain as such in subsequent encounters until the player identifies them.
It’s thus crucial to suss out the hostile team’s counters as quickly as possible, preferably before your turn ends. Trial and error works best with multi-target abilities and attacks, but characters like Peredir can also reveal weaknesses. That requires a bit of luck, however, as he’s only obtainable through gacha.
In any case, there’s no need to identify every weakness – just a few will be enough to whittle defenses down. Besides, they follow a fixed sequence: Sword → Spear → Dagger → Axe → Bow → Staff → Tome → Fan, so the rest can be deduced based on the order. For instance, if there’s a space in between the spear and axe icons, then it’s weak to dagger attack as well.
The same goes for elements, which are queued as such: Fire → Ice → Lightning → Wind → Light → Dark. While it’s entirely possible to defeat enemies through sheer, brute force, reducing shield points to zero inflicts a temporary stun on them, allowing players to sneak in additional hits.
6) Introduce variety into your party’s frontline and backline
Due to the weakness system, it’s recommended to have various professions and elemental-type abilities in an active party. Unlike the original game, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent features a maximum count of eight members, where four hold the frontline, and the other four line up the rear. The front and backline can be switched out at any point during the individual’s attacking turn, adding a touch of flexibility to combat mechanics.
To that end, most rows should boast a different pairing (e.g. Swordsman + Hunter, instead of two swordsmen or hunters), such that there’s a higher chance of identifying weaknesses as compared to less diverse teams. And in case nobody on the frontline is able to deal weakness damage? There’s still the backline to rely on.
Here’s another quick tip. Assign lower-level characters to the back row, so they can ride on the EXP gained from defeating monster bosses without dying or getting seriously injured.
7) Always keep a healer or party member with regen abilities
Speaking of death, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent doesn’t feature battle or healing items. As such, healing and regenerative abilities are extremely vital in keeping the team alive, prompting more careful use of Skill Points (SP) for support characters.
The alternative solution is to send low-health allies to the back row, where they rest to regain 10 percent of their max HP and SP at the end of every turn. This is an important move, as an ally who succumbed in battle has no way of rejoining the fight until it ends.
8) Double the boost, double the devastation
When in combat, characters gain Boost Points (BP) with every turn passed, which can be used in different ways, such as increasing the number of hits for regular attacks, raising skill damage, improving healing potency, and increasing the buff/debuff duration. The best time to unleash it, however, would be right after the enemy’s shield breaks, allowing party members to deal double damage for that turn and the next.
For maximum devastation, continue attacking with their weakness(es), then swap to the backline. Activate boost again, and watch the action unfold. Rinse and repeat, keeping in mind that no BP will be earned the next turn when it’s being used for the current round.
Every journey has a beginning, and for Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, it all starts from Osterra. True to the formula of the main game, it promises plenty of adventuring and story development to come, but don’t be too caught up in completing the main narrative. The fun of JRPGs, after all, has always been about exploration and getting sidetracked with, well, side quests, and it shouldn’t be all that different here.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is now available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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