Eight characters each with a unique story will cross paths and change the world forever. At least that's what the marketing for Octopath Traveler has led me to believe. While the main story is supposed to take somewhere around 40-50 hours, the first few hours of the game are pretty crucial, because it will mold how the rest of the game feels.
Here are some tips to get you started and set yourself up for a good run when you want to dive into the meat of the game.
Try all the characters first
I know that seems annoying, and like all my tips they are merely suggestions; however, the character you choose first is very important. If you pick a character you don't really like playing or doesn't mesh with your playstyle, it will make the first couple hours of the game a real slog.
Now each character plays slightly differently, but they can be grouped into two basic categories; fighters and magic users.
As you can imagine, fighters excel at using swords, shields, axes, bows, and all sorts of items to engage in physical combat. While magic users, tend to use abilities, magic, healing, and other special talents to cause all sorts of effects to enemies.
As a general rule H'aanit, Olberic, Therion, and Tressa fall into the fighter category, while Alfyn, Cyrus, Ophilia, and Primrose fall into the magic users. Both Alfyn and Tressa kind of cross the line and are a bit of both.
Look for treasure chests everywhere
Octopath Traveler is full of treasure chests out in the open and hidden behind secret paths. Make sure you constantly explore every nook and cranny you can find in towns, out in the world, and in dungeons, for all the loot you can find!
Get some healing items
All characters stories start similarly, they all start in a small town/city. Once you can run around the town, hit up the item shop.
You don't need a ton, but buying five or so Healing Grapes will allow you to be much more hearty when you start getting into some battles.
Break enemies quickly and often
The battle system in Octopath Traveler is relatively simple to understand but to be the best you can be in battles, you'll need to break enemies.
Every enemy in Octopath Traveler is vulnerable to different things, and when you attack a creature with a weapon or element that it's vulnerable too, you'll notice its break meter (the number in the shield underneath the enemy) will go down by one. Once that meter gets too
When you encounter a new enemy for the first time, you won't know what its vunerable too, but once you attack it with something it will let you know. This means you need to attack enemies with lots of different types of attacks and so you can figure out the easiest and fastest way to break your opponents.
Do you have any tips?
Let us know in the comments below!
