Octopath Traveler

[Ultra Mantis]

http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/06/an_official_octopath_traveler_merchandise_range_is_now_available_to_pre-order/large.jpg

All aboard the hype train, this is THE game I'm looking forward to this year, I know Destor and Seph are going to be all over this too. We're looking at a really solid Square Enix JRPG, combat system has elements from all your favourites, unique job classes and intertwining stories abound.

http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2018/06/an_official_octopath_traveler_merchandise_range_is_now_available_to_pre-order/large.jpg

Prologue Demo is available on Switch, which allows you to doss around for 3 hours and carry your progress over if you so desire. I was going to hold out for release but I'm so hype for this I caved and played H'aanit's chapter. She's a gotta catch 'em all style beastmaster / monster hunter, on the search for her missing mentor. H'aanit is really great guys :love:

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/haanit_thumb.jpg

Probably not going to carry over my progress so I might actually start my proper game with one of the others, undecided if I'm going to delve into any other chapters and keep it all fresh for release. But there is also:

Ophilia - A Cleric on a pilgrimage

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/003_thumb-8.jpg

Cyrus - A scholar searching for a lost tome

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/001_thumb-5.jpg

Therion - Sublime master thief doing master thief stuff

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/therion1_thumb.jpg

Primrose - A dancer on a revenge mission against her father's killers
Olberic - A warrior tracking down a traitor to exact justice

http://nintendohall.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/project-OCTOPATH-TRAVELER-Masashi-Takahashi-di-Square-Enix-ci-aggiorna-sul-titolo.jpg

Alfyn - An apothecary on a quest to make his mummy proud

https://assets.rpgsite.net/images/images/000/064/444/original/Switch_OctopathTraveler_char_Alfyn.jpg

Tressa - A travelling merchant embarking on an adventure

http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/001_thumb-4.jpg

Nice.

[Destor]

Square says this will be 80-100hrs btw.

Also do we play each character and then do like a final chapters or are we just picking our protag? If im picking one to stick with for 100 hours im going with the merchant

[Ultra Mantis]

Everyone's quest begins in a different village but they're all available no matter who you start as, the Chapter 1 villages are kind of in an O shape so you could go either route and recruit everyone else by finishing their Chapter 1 or ignore them and head straight to your 2nd chapter waypoint. I'm assuming the story bottlenecks and you'll need to progress different stories to a certain point before later chapters unlock (H'aanits chapter 2 recommends you to be level 35, I got to Lv6 by the end of her first chapter) but that's entirely an assumption, you might be able to solo the game, you might be forced to recruit everyone or somewhere in between. In the demo version, whoever you pick as your protagonist can't be removed from your party but no word on if that will change in the full game.

[Destor]

So if i play other characters opening to they keep the xp or are they separate saves? I should prob play the demo but im trying not to play it it till i have it

[Ultra Mantis]

You can play all the openings on one save, when you meet the others you are asked if you would like to jump back to their story from the beginning or you can choose to skip the back story and join in where the action starts.

However, the only way to experience all 8 stories as a solo character seems to be using 8 different save files (demo only provides one slot, can be overwritten though and New Game is always available), so whoever you don't pick as your main will be a lower level but have an easier time on their introduction. H'aanit's first boss was surprisingly tough, but taking it on one on one was pretty satisfying. No word on if you'll be able to switch your protag / leader on the fly, but it would be nice to be able to do each intro chapter solo on the same save file.

[Ultra Mantis]

Like the next character I've gone to, purely to figure out how that works, is the Thief and it doesn't make any sense why H'aanit, the noble hunter, would want to help this slippery prick she just met break into a mansion and steal treasure. No sense at all :lol:

[Destor]

I need this to be out already

[Sepholio]

Yea this is coming out like 2 days before I go on a several week trip around the east half of the country. Pretty glad its on switch so I have something to relax to at the end of each day while Im sitting in the hotel. Really looking forward to it.

[Destor]

its easily my most anticipated game of the year

[Sepholio]

It's up there for me but I think Dragon Quest XI might be my #1 atm

[Destor]

Im sad there's only 3 of us here into JRPGs

[Ruien]

I am going to get it! So that is 4 thank you very much.

[Ruien]

You are the one who didnt like Lost Sphere! And that game had some amazing gameplay.

[Destor]

It had GREAT gameplay. Other than some really poor difficulty spikes at least. But the story is like...70% of that game...and that was AWFUL

[Ruien]

It became better about halfway through the game.

This game will be fun though. It's sad they have to say it's a complete game but that is the world we live in.

[Destor]

80-100hrs... I was thinking like 30...MAX

[Ruien]

Ima start as.the hunter probably. Big fan of pets. Might go with the warrior though.

[Ultra Mantis]

Haven't decided who to actually start with in the full game yet, maybe Ophilia or Tressa, they seem to fit the "sure I'll help you with whatever hijinks you're up to" vibe. On the other hand, anyone helping Therion seems really out of character so maybe he makes more sense as the first. I'm conflicted between playing more prologue chapters to form a better stance on it or just hold out for release and choose on a whim.

[OssMan]

I have very little interest in this and I loat faith in “retro-style RPGs” after I Am Setsuna promised so much and dropped a shit bomb

[Destor]

Setsuna was very bad imo. Had so much promise. This is very different though this is developed by square and not any indy developer

[Destor]

Setsuna (and spehere) basically made square realize there was a market for this. So now we should see what a seasoned rpg developer can do with a JRPG in 2018

[Ultra Mantis]

Sorry for you loss, man.

[Ultra Mantis]

Decided to try out Ophilia's chapter, I am already tainted so might as well get the most out of buckling early.

Her path seems very Final Fantasy, really enjoyed it. She plays a lot different to H'aanit, you don't feel anywhere near powerful, which is a good sign. Her starter town is also pretty much Irithyll from Dark Souls III and I like that a lot.

[Destor]

3 weeks. I havent been this hyped in ages

[Ultra Mantis]

Same, I'll probably have played all 8 by release day, from a combination of hype and not wanting to start anything else in my backlog in case I have to abandon it half way.

[Destor]

Im deliberately only playing shorter games or games i dont mind jumping out of

[Ultra Mantis]

Finished Olberic, really strong start for him, my only complaint is that he is not voiced by Sean Bean. He's sort of a tank so he's not cut out for solo encounters, despite what his story says. He either needs support or some sort of sustain which I'm assuming he unlocks later. Had the most trouble with his boss of the three I've done, but he comes off as much more of a badass if he's solo.

Again though, he hates bandits and thieves.

I discovered something at the inn in his starting town, unlike the other Inns I've been in (or if they had this I didn't notice), this one had all the options for change party members but also had a feature called "Hear a Tale" which didn't seem to do anything but show a graphic for Olberic. With a little wishful thinking, would be nice if we could use this to change party leader and be able to freely switch to different characters / parties at different parts of the map. It probably does nothing though because that sounds complicated.

[Destor]

To the class convo: dont they unlock secondary classes later?

[Ultra Mantis]

To the class convo: dont they unlock secondary classes later?

Yeah they do, which will give everyone a lot more versatility down the line. I have no idea on when and how. Speculation is there are more than just the 8 starter classes for secondarys too.

[Ultra Mantis]

Finished all the prologue chapters now, the real wait begins. :(

Not really going to go into detail on other chapters, but there are three I think make strong starting points and some that definitely feel like you should meet other specific characters first. Then there's Therion, who still feels like he should be forever alone and I'm not sure how he fits.

[Destor]

I think im going to go with the warrior strictly for tradition #warriorprivilege

[Ultra Mantis]

Olberic is a solid choice, his prologue is the strongest. Cleric or Merchant are the other two choices I like the most as leader.

Anyone but Therion and maybe Alfyn are fine though. Not that Alfyn is bad, he just has the weakest motive.

[Ultra Mantis]

Primrose has a really good opening chapter too actually, she just doesn't suit being party leader imo. Same with Cyrus to a lesser degree.

[Destor]

I always lean toward curency based perks since they limit farming so the merchant speaks to me

[Ultra Mantis]

Merchant is in the next town over from warrior so you could get them as your first two no trouble.

I'm leaning towards starting as Ophelia because that gives me fast access to H'aanit. Not 100% set on it yet though.

[Tom Guycott]

Im sad there's only 3 of us here into JRPGs

This is innacurate.

However, I don't own a Switch, so this is relegated to several back burners for me until quite a few preconditions are met in other areas of my life. By that time, this will possibly be a greatest hits title, and be on sale. Maybe. I mean, this is Nintendo, and they like to charge full retail for shit years and years after the fact.

[Destor]

10 days guys.then the 3 of us can mark out

[Sepholio]

10 days is too much. That's why I invented a time machine. I'm playing it right now.

[Destor]

Oh man. Is it good? Do you still have electricity in a post civil war society?

[Ultra Mantis]

Hopefully Seph doesn't alter the course of history with his time machine until at least next month.

[Destor]

Maybe if he is sly he can get the release date pushed to the 4th

[Destor]

My game has shipped

[Ultra Mantis]

So has mine, but its saying estimated delivery on Monday and I'm really hoping that is WRONG INFORMATION.

[Big Vic]

Is this the sequel to Octodad?

[Ultra Mantis]

Prequel.

[Destor]

So has mine, but its saying estimated delivery on Monday and I'm really hoping that is WRONG INFORMATION.

I read that part of nintendos shipment was delayed...

[Ultra Mantis]

I think it's just Amazon, they rarely get their estimates correct. I still believe!

[Destor]

IT DELIVERED

[Destor]

at work though

[Destor]

Playing the hunter 1st

[Ultra Mantis]

My copy did not arrive today.

https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/ynO4RHoBRpPS9H7NPLeI520-Jb8=/fit-in/1200x9600/http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F07%2FDr.-Who.gif

[Ultra Mantis]

How did you find the Hunter prologue? A lot of people hated the mock-Shakespeare but it didn't bother me, she is the most fun to play as IMO.

[Destor]

The mock Shakespeare isnt bad as a rule its just not well done. Despite that i still found it charming and se comes off as very endearing

[Destor]

I read somewhere that it was a shipment issue on Nintendo's end and a lot of copies didnt get sent out...btw. seeing a ton or reports on delays today

[Ultra Mantis]

Nintendo do have a bit of a thing with understocking so it's possible, my copy was dispatched by Amazon on Thursday, if it doesn't get here tomorrow it definitely will be here on Monday so I guess I can suffer one more weekend.

[Destor]

I know you were hyped though so i get how much that sucks

[Savio]

I got BOTW from Amazon. 2-3 days late. Called em up and complained and they gave me $10.

Luckily I had a family video in my area and was able to rent it.

[Ultra Mantis]

IT HAS ARRIVED WEEKEND SAVED FUCK YEAH

[Destor]

SUCCESS

[Destor]

Is this the best turn based combat ever? Pretty sure its the best turn based combat ever.

[Ultra Mantis]

I love how every character feels different and unique, even Ophilia / Primrose. Not sure if that will remain beyond subclassing, but the best comparison I can make is early game FFX so hopefully it doesn't turn into everyone is everything again. I guess early VI would be a fair comparison but it never really felt like I had to use anybody there.

Started Ophilia, grabbed H'aanit and walked briskly past Therion to get Alfyn. Bosses are actually much harder with a party. Ghisarma actually gave me a game over already which never happened to me in the demo. Guess I will begrudgingly pick up the theif and then loop back the other way to grab Cyrus and carry on in sequence. I love Primrose's prologue but I feel like I need her the least. Not counting Therion obvs.

[Destor]

Doing Ophilias ch.1 now. Really like her. Might waifu a sprite :lol:

Im certain bosses are different if you're solo or not so Ghisarma was tough but im sure a completely different battle for both of us. Ghisarma required me to full heal 2 or 3 times. Once i realised that charge attacks could be prevented if you caused stagger though it was a game changer. I had 2 of the rat archers captured too so i was reasonably equipped for the fight.

[Ruien]

Started with the warrior. Went to the merchant second because I wanted to avoid the dancer lady. Game is a blast so far.

I tried to go exploring though and got 1 shot by some monsters.

[Ruien]

Do you level up your passive? Like does the merchant get better prices the more she buys off other people?

[Destor]

Can speak for he merchant but with the hunter and the cleric their level determins how the level their thralls can be so i would be surprised if theses a mechanism for all classes.

[Ultra Mantis]

Doing Ophilias ch.1 now. Really like her. Might waifu a sprite :lol:

Im certain bosses are different if you're solo or not so Ghisarma was tough but im sure a completely different battle for both of us. Ghisarma required me to full heal 2 or 3 times. Once i realised that charge attacks could be prevented if you caused stagger though it was a game changer. I had 2 of the rat archers captured too so i was reasonably equipped for the fight.

When I tried him in the demo he was one of the tougher solo bosses, he absolutely wrecked me as a duo though. Put up his counter attack, did this 3x multi hit at 150 a pop knocking out Ophilia and then he immediately went into pounce. Defended it but he still did enough damage through guard to wipe me out. Had to get a bit tactical with the guard breaks so he was primed before he entered his counter stance.

[Ultra Mantis]

Do you level up your passive? Like does the merchant get better prices the more she buys off other people?

I think the "Noble" path actions (warrior, merchant, cleric, apothecary) are level based and the "rogue" ones are just always luck rolls with the risk of rep damage. It would make sense for Haggle to improve with level but not entirely sure, skills don't level through usage independantly as far as I can tell.

[Destor]

The Scholar is a must have in any party. The passive of learning weaknesses and being able to HP is huge. Not to mention hes a black mage. Would have made a great protag.

[Ruien]

Agreed.

Only character I think is stupid so far is the healing lady that has the flame. She is the cleric I think? So damn annoying and stupid.

So far my main group seems like it will be warrior, annoying cleric, scholar, and the 4th spot up for grabs merchant is fun but seems replaceable. Hopefully by the huntress..

[Destor]

How dare you mock Ophilia...I LOVE HER

[Ruien]

..... what?

How do I do spoilers to not spoil the tipping point of this clueless lady?

[Ruien]

test

[Ruien]

Olay that worked.

My tipping point was when the kids mom was like 'oh your father talks about how great both his daughters are' and shes all shocked he talks about both since she was adopted..... 15 FN years ago.

[Destor]

Ive only done her 1st chapter. Is it safe to click those

[Ruien]

Yes. I only obtained 4 characters so far.

[Destor]

Thats valid. I find her kindness really charming though. She's an orphan that never felt like she belonged. I think that resonates.

[Ruien]

Kind of scared to get a 5th character. Will mean I have to start subbing people out to ensure they are all a decent level.

[Ultra Mantis]

On the Ophilia thing


I took it as her being surprised at him bragging about them both because she doesn't consider herself of equal importance to Lianna, she isn't his biological daughter or heir to the flame, probably has a bit of an inferiority complex. She definitely knew she was adopted.

[Ultra Mantis]

Cyrus is great, love his chapter and his sleuthing. I ruled him out as party leader though because he seems to live in his own little world, his aloofness makes him more of a great recruit than a great recruiter.

I can't wait to get a 5th, then I can bench Therion :lol:
Will probably have to sub out Alfyn though since his path action seems exactly the same as Cyrus. Gonna miss the axe.

[Destor]

H'aanit has an axe too

[Ultra Mantis]

True, but she doesn't have mad skills like AMPUTATION.

[Destor]

Lol well that is a pretty brutal sounding skill

[Ultra Mantis]

Oh yeah, hardest hitting physical skill I've seen so far outside of Captures.

[Destor]

Cyrus ch.1

#metoo claims another victim :'(

[Destor]

Oh yeah, hardest hitting physical skill I've seen so far outside of Captures.

Well captures dont work on bosses so that auto kill isnt as useful as one would like

[Ultra Mantis]

I meant the summoning aspect of it, forgot what it's called though. I caught a strong variant of the sqirrelly thing from H'aanit's starting area and fully boosted up it did around 1600. Pretty nice.

[Ultra Mantis]

Cyrus ch.1

#metoo claims another victim :'(

:lol:

Hope his next boss is a white knight

[Destor]

I meant the summoning aspect of it, forgot what it's called though. I caught a strong variant of the sqirrelly thing from H'aanit's starting area and fully boosted up it did around 1600. Pretty nice.

I gotcha. Yeah the beasy summons are real powerful if charged/vunerable/weakness etc is in play. Makes H'aanit a single target mage in a lot of ways.

[Destor]

Still dont have a full party btw. Doing back tracking as the sidequest are more open now...love how the side quests work btw

[Ultra Mantis]

I'm at 5/8 and saved in the dungeon before Tressa's boss, I do have the advantage of already doing all this once tbf. Also found a monster that gave me like 10 levels on my 3rd and 4th recruits all in one go.

[Destor]

Speaking of im doing a side quest. Used Cyrus to learn the location of a wild boar. Went into inventory (where the clues are kept...for some reason...) but i have no clue how to actually see where i need to go...

[Ultra Mantis]

Is there not a green map marker? Saw that quest but didn't follow up on it, using RPG logic I'd imagine it's in the place where Ghisarma was.

[Destor]

Solved it. I needed to tell him the location.

[Ruien]

Solved it. I needed to tell him the location.

Huh how?

[Destor]

Once i got the info i just went back to him and spoke with him again. It gave me a prompt to tell him the info.

[Destor]

Therion ch.1

Recruiting Therion now. Good character but i cant think of a reason my party would want to help him, or why seconds after turning down help he would want mine...

[Destor]

First example of bad writing in the game though

[Ruien]

Picked up the huntress. Not sure I am a big fan of her beast lore ability but going to give it time to build on me. Will keep the merchant benched.

No idea who I will bench for the 6th person. Probably the warrior but hes such a badass for me.

[Ruien]

Huntress has a awesome story though. Favorites so far is the huntress and warrior story wise.

[Destor]

The beast skills allow you to have any weapon type in your party adding a lot of diversity

[Ultra Mantis]

Yeah Beast Lore is the most versatile command skill in the game, makes H'aanit valuable in any party because she can cover all weaknesses at no cost.

[Ultra Mantis]

Therion ch.1

Recruiting Therion now. Good character but i cant think of a reason my party would want to help him, or why seconds after turning down help he would want mine...

Exactly my problem with him. He's too much of a scumbag for the others to associate with, in fact some of them directly oppose somebody like Therion in their ch.1 story. He's introduced as a lone wolf, his story backs it up, yet he immediately joins up with whoever just strolled into town. His travel motive is also the lamest and he's just there in battles. I don't like stealing from all the nice townsfolk either, will totally steal if Inquire / Scrutinize shows them to be a dickhead but that's it. Ugh, Therion. I hope he gets better.

With a set story order you could rationalise him using Tressa to get into the mansion, say he steals her diary or whatever and bribes her into getting him in, fully embrace his dickishness. That's the only tenuous link I can imagine.

[Destor]

I love stealing lol

[Ultra Mantis]

I save my stealing for the metaverse.

[Destor]

I am both a phanom and a corporeal theif

[DAMN iNATOR]

I am both a phanom and a corporeal theif

But do you dig holes AND take souls?

[Ultra Mantis]

Get out.

[Destor]

Octopath is sold out basically everywhere. Reports saying it could be 2 months for restock. Likely just means digital sales will go up and the physicals will go unsold

[Ruien]

Damn that is insane.

Took up a side quest in S warkii where a lady said she wants to reunite with her husband in Bolderfall. So I took her with me using the guide thing and cant find her husband anywhere. Just keeping her hoping to run into her husbabd.

[Ruien]

Really glad the game is doing so well. Maybe companies will realize there is money to be had with these games.

[Ultra Mantis]

That is both great for the game and kind of ridiculous that Nintendo have understocked that badly again.

Just finished Olberic ch1, still cool as fuck. Just need to pick up Primrose and then I'm finally on to some new content haha. Saved the best openings for last though so it's all good. Ophilia is nearly maxed out in skills already, H'aanit isn't far behind but I had to sub her out for this chapter to get Alfyn's AXE caught up.

[Ultra Mantis]

Damn that is insane.

Took up a side quest in S warkii where a lady said she wants to reunite with her husband in Bolderfall. So I took her with me using the guide thing and cant find her husband anywhere. Just keeping her hoping to run into her husbabd.

You have to do Therion's ch1 before he shows up.

He's where the two disgruntled merchants were talking.

[Destor]

Damn that is insane.

Took up a side quest in S warkii where a lady said she wants to reunite with her husband in Bolderfall. So I took her with me using the guide thing and cant find her husband anywhere. Just keeping her hoping to run into her husbabd.im doing that one now. Im thinking it will open after i finish Therion. Most towns side quests dont open until you reload after the attached Traveler.

That is both great for the game and kind of ridiculous that Nintendo have understocked that badly again.

Just finished Olberic ch1, still cool as fuck. Just need to pick up Primrose and then I'm finally on to some new content haha. Saved the best openings for last though so it's all good. Ophilia is nearly maxed out in skills already, H'aanit isn't far behind but I had to sub her out for this chapter to get Alfyn's AXE caught up.

Still on Therion...i love his potential. Give SP + SP steal make him a syphon to keep Cyrus casting AoE death for days.

[Ultra Mantis]

Yeah if you unlock those two skills first he's probably a lot more useful out of the gate, I haven't found myself running low on SP so far though so I left them for last. Figure that larger dungeons in later chapters with less quick levelling are probably where he will really shine for sustain.

[Destor]

If you wanna spam his 22 sp skills early game youll def need those skills. Especially when hes low enough that hes gaining levels every other fight. Really abusable early. Think late game when his damage is enough that steal SP gives 30+ youll get a lot out of it

[Destor]

HOLY SHIT

Share SP go go over the characters MAX SP. So a full charge share ap will give double his total SP AND break the characters cap. Thats...broken.

[Destor]

Ohhhhh...but its only good for the battle. After that you revert to max sp, so good for bosses.

[Destor]

Just did my firdt save scamming. Had a 3% chance to nick a SP +80 accessory. Took 10 min but def worth it.

[Ruien]

Haha I am debating doing that. I quit for the night but I am sitting right there.

[Ruien]

Big fan of Therion's gameplay. His story is ehhhh. Love the stealing aspect. I may or may not make him my 4th. Cant replace my warrior since I choose him 1st. Scholar and cleric seem 100% needed. Will have to see what the next 2 characters bring to the table.

Maybe when I can subclass I can get rid of Ophilia. Not a fan of her extra ability in combat.

[Destor]

Items can heal pretty well tbf

[Destor]

Personally though ill use therion in towns most likely long term. But i do plan on doing a lot of party swapping

[Ruien]

Ya but I am one of those people who feels like a item I paid 50 copper for should only be used in extreme circumstance and it makes zero cents.

Plus when the dungeons become longer I should have a healer ready. Dont want to burn through all the items so I cant spend gold on weapons. And maybe armor if anything is left.

[Destor]

Lol like i would ever buy an item! And ive always been that way with items. This past year ive been forcing myself to be more liberal with items. If i have 10+ its free to use. Trying to retrain myself. Im finding items are OP in a lot of games.

[Ultra Mantis]

Collected the whole set and journeying to my first Ch2 town. Prim's opening is so good, she's not my favourite it combat at all but her story is great. Also unlocked my first secondary job!


There are shrines all over the map that give them to you. I'm going to assume they are all in the starting regions since I got Apothercary in the Riverlands, equipped it to Ophilia who gets a nice handbag and green accent on her dress, immediately learned AMPUTATION of course. Naturally.

[Destor]

lol i finally have a full party :lol:

you guys are blowing me away

[Ruien]

Lol like i would ever buy an item! And ive always been that way with items. This past year ive been forcing myself to be more liberal with items. If i have 10+ its free to use. Trying to retrain myself. Im finding items are OP in a lot of games.

Typically I dont buy weapons and just find upgrades in the game but I dont seem to be finding better weapons so far.

I am going to wait to the chapter 2 towns to buy anything more. I only decked out the warrior.

[Ruien]

Plan on putting in like 6 hours tonight on this game with some unhealthy food. Going to be a blast.

[Ruien]

Surprised Seph isnt active in this thread too. Where did he go?

[Destor]

So far best weapons have been from purple chests and scrutinizing better items at the shops. so far. Im sure there's some good boss steals too.

[Destor]

Ive gotten a good accessory or two from stealing in town but no weapons or gear

[Ruien]

So far best weapons have been from purple chests and scrutinizing better items at the shops. so far. Im sure there's some good boss steals too.

What do you mean scrutinizing better items at shops?

[Ultra Mantis]

If you use Scrutinize or Inquire on certain NPCs they give you town perks, one of them makes the shop stock better gear. You can get inn discounts and lower skill level checks too.

[Ruien]

Went back to all the towns and stole a bunch of good weapons and armor.

Just finished Alfll story. Like him a ton. Need to learn the best mixtures but I may use him as my healer.

[Ruien]

Damn. found a side dungeon but have my weakest people in my party. Got crushed by the boss lol

[Ultra Mantis]

Done Ophilia Ch2


Really weak follow up on Ophilia, filler episode, cool boss battle though. Always nice to see the Direwolves south of the wall. The little party banter scenes are cool too, really do a lot to flesh out the relationships without really impacting the storytelling.


& Therion Ch2


Therion Ch2 is a VAST improvement, he's still a prick but he actually seems competent this time. He's a dick to pretty much everyone in his banter scenes and it still doesn't make any sense why they're helping, but at least its entertaining now. That fucking boss took me about half an hour, nearly wiped me towards the end too, that would have been a huge setback. Olberic with 1000 spears seems pretty much a requirement for this one, I had him sat back at the inn.

Of course then it all comes back to that ridiculous motive of wanting to take off a bracelet which nobody else in the whole world even seems to care about haha.

[Ultra Mantis]

Damn. found a side dungeon but have my weakest people in my party. Got crushed by the boss lol

I had a look around the Riverlands cave with Ophilia, Therion, Prim and Tressa as my party. Ran away way before the boss.

[Ultra Mantis]

My Therion still sucks in battle though, got the SP share skills, good equips, lv 22 and everything but he still fights like a little bitch and does no damage. What am I doing wrong here?

[Destor]

He's not a DPS class. He's utility and support. If he has a means to generate multiple strikes faster he'd be good for taking armor down but for me he steals items, sp and is a battery for Cyrus or H'aanit.

Cyrus doing his double cast skills at will or H'aanit casting her second tier aoE arrow skill more frequently is Therions contribution to my dps. I dont have any of the travelers you have in party so i cant speak for synergy but unless there an ACE final skill for him he's never going to directly deal damage.

[Destor]

Maybe with a second job i dunno. I domt know how that effects stats i dont have any.

[Destor]

If you want a dps class in that slot though def sub him out. I do think therion will be a key player in speed runs though.

[Ultra Mantis]

Must be my playstyle, I'm finding Alfyn better at giving me cheap SP sustain, can multi hit every element to break guard. while he also can dish out some hardcore fucking AMPUTATION.

[Destor]

I dont have Alfyn so for all I know he totally out classes Therion in every way.

[Ruien]

Allyn is awesome. Going to be my new healer. Sucks that he only single target hes but I am sure I will be able to subclass into that.

Going to see if I can find anymore side dungeons before going to Prima (dancing lady).

[Ruien]

Found the Jotunn giant. First boss that killed me. Well, when I was with my A team that is. Went away from my normal thinking of taking down adds first thinking I would steamroll the boss. I was wrong lol.

[Destor]

Who's your party

[Ruien]

Currently, Ophilia, Cyrus, Olberic (Main character), and Haanit.

Will change Hannit and Ophelia out for Allyn and Therion. Was keeping Haanit for the axe but Allyn fixes that issue.

[Ruien]

The ape healing from Ophelia is super important but 100% believe Alyn will be able to do that at some point.

Hes also a legit damage dealer atm when healing needed.

[Ultra Mantis]

I'm high enough level with Ophilia and Therion to view their hidden Ultimate (Divine) Class Skills. Seem very interesting.


Cleric gives you a double action buff, which works on any class skill except cleric probably most useful for Double Black.

Thief gives you an AOE dagger attack scaling off speed, so Therion might actually be able to contribute some damage maybe.


I'm close to H'aanit's 3000 skill too so hopefully will get to check that out tonight.

[Ultra Mantis]

Just found and beat the Jotunn, went in there because I thought I had to, there's no obvious path to the second Frostland town. He was a tough battle when he has his elementals doing nukes but once they're gone he's just a HP wall.

My party was Ophilia 29, H'aanit 26, Primrose (w/ Scholar) 23, Alfyn 22. How are your levels Ruien? Don't think I could have done that lower.

[Ruien]

My squad is 26 Olberic, 22 Hannit, 23 Cyrus, and 22 Ophilla.

It was a level 25 dungeon for me.

[Ruien]

Ophilla was crucial for that aoe heal.

[Ruien]

How the heck are you not using Cyrus? Whoa.

I bet that place was crazy hard for you not having a fire damage dealer.

[Destor]

Cryus is king so far for me

[Ultra Mantis]

I have his job unlocked, he's got higher base damage but Prim has higher utility so he's not as necessary as he was. Not until I find him a sub-job at least. I was using him constantly before. Alfyn's Concoct also helped loads on shield breaks and the Elementals are weak to Light / Elec too so Ophilia and H'aanit could break and do decent follow up damage.

[Ruien]

I do not have Prim yet but I refuse to put a belly dancer in my party.

[Ultra Mantis]

Haha appearances can be deceptive.


She's actually an Assassin.

[Ruien]

Lame
Found the path of beasts in the Woodlands but didnt have the knowledge of the boss to engage. Someone told me about a dragon though in the Highlands. Ima look for that dungeon. After that I will pick up Prim and continue the storyline.

[Ultra Mantis]

Midway through Tressa's Ch2, it's great, going to sleep. But first for absolutely no reason, Chapter 1 stories ranked (no actual spoilers)


Primrose
Olberic
Tressa
Ophilia
Cyrus
H'aanit
Alfyn
Therion

Potochat Traveler

[Ruien]

I have Olberic first by a long mile.

After that everyone else was amazing besides Therion. Why cant he just cut the band off? I am sure there is a way.......

If I had to pick a second it would be Hannt. Maybe Tressa.


Just picked up Primrose. Still dont want a belly dancer in my party. Cant wait to do chapter 2 stories now. Olberic here I come! Well tomorrow.

[Destor]

stole a 3% axe on the first try last night. level 20 and H'aanit has over 400 in axe damage. Golden axe +100 crit too

[Ruien]

Wanted to level Primrose so I went to a side dungeon. No boss. Cant find the side quest anywhere for the Flatlands one. Little annoyed.

[Ruien]

Finished chapter 2 of Olberic's story. Almost perfect storytelling.

Did not enjoy how nice the Black Knight was after beating him.

[Destor]

Guys...something occurs to me...

Olberic
Cyrus
Therion
Ophillia
Primrose
Alftn
Tressa
H'aanit


WHATS THAT SPELL

[Ultra Mantis]

Holy shit, either give Merchant to Cyrus or Scholar to Tressa and unlock the last Merchant passive ASAP. Big deal. Mechant's ULT also sounds amazing.

Passive gives you Half SP cost, ULT gives you money equal to damage for the attack. Combined that gives you a 15 SP money maker skill.

[Ruien]

Guys...something occurs to me...

Olberic
Cyrus
Therion
Ophillia
Primrose
Alftn
Tressa
H'aanit


WHATS THAT SPELL

Ha, that's neat.

[Ruien]

Joined a Facebook group for this and people are talking about beating the game and such already. Wtf.

[Ruien]

Found a side dungeon on the way to chapter 2 in the snow area. Got super wrecked lol. Granted it said level 35 and my highest character is 36.

Going to do Tressa's chapter 2 today I think. Since she was the second person I picked up will just try to do then in order I guess.

[Ultra Mantis]

Took a little time out to collect all the sub jobs, and then

Primrose Ch2

Another strong entry, if lacking in length. Totally expected Arianna to die, or at least actually get dragged off as the Archbishop's new plaything, but this time the tale had a, uh, happy(?) ending. The party banter really made this chapter extra good though, Tressa not knowing what a Brothel is, Alfyn becoming totally distracted by thoughts of whores, Cyrus expressing his dream of being a great dancer :lol:


I'm not 100% happy with my subjob arrangements so I'm hesitant to invest in a lot of them, probably will just go for the first two cheap skills and save up for ULTs until I feel more confident in my choices.

[Ruien]

Did Therions second chapter. Arg at his story.

At the end, the lady offers to take off his band and he tells her it is a dumb thing to do. Go. Your supposed to be a nasty thief arg.

[Ultra Mantis]

Therion is a poser.

I bet he likes wearing that band because it gives him something to brood about.

Alfyn Ch2

Alfyn is a badass, I'm not sure where his plot is leading or what his end game is but this episode was awesome, and unlike a certain episode 2 didn't feel like filler. This really did fleshed out his character and showed exactly who this guy is. He's the nicest executioner ever. Therion's party banter was odd, he actually seemed like he cared for a second there.

[Ultra Mantis]

So I've been tinkering and I think I've got my first round of sub-jobs locked in. Spoiler tagging in case you don't want your decisions to be even slightly influenced.


Ophilia - Theif - Ophilia REALLY makes this job shine, Wildfire actually DOES damage and since she's my main she also hits a lot harder than Therion on physical too, which means better HP/SP steal.
Cyrus - Merchant - That sweet last merchant passive is going to really give him a boost
Tressa - Hunter - There are probably better jobs, she looks cool in most outfits but this one was left over and has a funny hat. Pretty much just gives her bow skills and Lightning / Axe coverage.
Olberic - Cleric - I'm sure there is a better class for him but Holy Paladin Olberic was too much to refuse.
Primrose - Scholar - Prim has higher utility than Cyrus thanks to Summon and her Dancer buffs / passives so she became my primary Scholar as soon as I got this unlocked.
Alfyn - Warrior - He hits SO hard now. He's an AMPUTATION machine, and swords and spears help his break coverage even further.
Therion - Apothecary - This job actually makes Therion do decent damage, he's not a DPS machine like Alfyn, Cyrus or Primrose but he's considerably less awful than he was solo Thief. Plus he has AMPUTATION now, which I always appreciate.
H'aanit - Dancer - She didn't really need much help in weapon type coverage so the buffs and Dark damage, which I haven't found anything for with Capture, are nice to have.

[Ruien]

I so went the paladino's route too. Loved Cecil in FF4 so I went off that lol. I only have a few sub classes so far though.

[Destor]

0 sub classes...5 travelers...

[Ultra Mantis]

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/c/cf/TakeYourTime.gif

[Destor]

About to get the final traveler. (Merchant)

[Destor]

I love Tressa

[Destor]

Shocked that only Therion can open purples...

[Ultra Mantis]

I think they gave him that unique skill because otherwise you would never have him in your party once you unlock his sub-job.

[Destor]

Well id rather steal than barter but you arent wrong. He paired great with Cyrus up until i found sp regen gear and then it was just redundant.

[Ultra Mantis]

Finished chapter 2 of Olberic's story. Almost perfect storytelling.

Did not enjoy how nice the Black Knight was after beating him.

Everyone in that tournament was so nice :lol:, the whole "no killing" rule has made our gladiators soft.

[Ultra Mantis]

From what I've seen so far swapping out everyone pretty regularly, Therion is the only character who gets totally outclassed at his own class. I guess if you enjoy the stealing in towns, yeah you would keep him in party there too, but combat ability leaves a lot to be desired.

[Destor]

Sub classing him as merchant would make him the better tessa with the ability to unlock purple and steals> barter

[Ultra Mantis]

There's at least three characters who would really REALLY like that 4th Merchant passive though, and Therion is definitely not one of them.

[Ruien]

I use Tessa the least.

Therion is still in my main party but probably going to put thief on Haant and replace him.

Finished 5 of the chapter 2s now. Going to finish at least one more tonight. Probably Haants.

[Ultra Mantis]

Tressa is definitely down there with Therion, she's decent as a secondary scholar, especially if you invest in her Merchant skills, but I feel like Prim's Dancer skills synergise more.

[Ultra Mantis]

Finished all Ch2s. My ranking:


Primrose
H'aanit
Alfyn
Tressa
Cyrus
Olberic
Therion
Ophilia

Phatcoto Traveler.

They were all really great, except for the ending of Therion's and Ophilia's entire arc stalling out. H'aanit's turned amazing at a certain provoke, but Prim's just edges it I think. The middle four were all solid, Cyrus and Olberic felt a little short. Hope Ophilia gets her shit together in Ch3.

[Ruien]

I cant figure out who to use as my 4th. I think I am using Haanit wrong or something.

[Destor]

I dunno...maybe?

She hits like a truck if you gear her for crits.

She gets extra turns and extra attacks.

She has 3 attack types before you count beasts.

Her base beast has two types taking her to 5 before youve caught your first beast.

Add some nasty bow based AoEs and she's a power house.

Gear her for crits and maybe SP regen if you like the AoEs.

And obviously make sure her gear is good.

[Ultra Mantis]

H'aanit is all about weapons coverage, use the weaker beasts to break guard on anything you don't have a standard attack for. She gets extra follow up attacks on basics pretty frequently. Most important stats for her are crits and accuracy, she has an accuracy buff though which you should definitely apply if you're using the AOE.

Once you break guard fully boost your strongest monster for a good nuke, save the big guns for bosses. Doing this, you don't need to worry about getting weakness bonus because hitting critical should offset the difference.

You just need to keep your roster stocked and you can usually just use whatever is best in the area, elemental damage is rare and not something H'aanit really needs to be dabbling in. You always have Thunderbird if you need it. King-type monsters are all great, prioritise multi-hitters and keep a healer for provoking.

I decided to switch her to Apothercary because why make Therion decent when I can give that extra damage to H'aanit instead. Therion is now a dancing girl.

[Ultra Mantis]

Decided to clear out some of the caves and side quests before going on to Chapter 3, was doing great stomping everything... and then I went in Undertow Cave near Rippletown. I am terrified.

[Destor]

Lvl45 cave?

[Ultra Mantis]

Yeah, thought I could run in, get that purple chest and then fast travel out, a couple of eldrich horrors had other plans.

[Destor]

You are very bold.

Also : Primrose as Scholar is exceptional.

[Ultra Mantis]

Haha, I lasted two turns. The second turn was a failed attempt at fleeing. Prim is amazing, almost completely self sustaining. Might quickly teach her all the Merchant passives when she has enough job points but I don't know if she even needs it.

Started Chapter 3, Alfyn first


Whoa, what a ride. Alfyn is such a good boy. Also a swift executioner. Rest in pieces, Miguel, you son of a bitch. Had so much trouble with this boss, I was running Hunter Therion instead of H'aanit because I wanted to see his party banter (guess I missed it, must have been the first cutscene) and I REALLY could have used her in this fight, dude hits like a truck. I used an Olive (L) on Ophilia and she revived with 9999 health thanks to her passive, that was the only thing that kept me in the fight.

Really enjoying Alfyn's mid chapters, no idea what his last one will bring, unlike the other's he has no clear end game. Hopefully it carries on the trend, real strong episode from the AMPUTATION man.

[Destor]

Prim with half sp, dancer sp regen set to scolar would gain over double the cost of base casting...helluva build.

Mix matching passives has a lot of potential

As far as secondaries i have 3 so far

Tressa as Cleric. Having Tressa in my party is a must. In rpgs i want all the money and tressa is key. Having a healer is also key. Half sp lets her cast the greater heal and she can rest that sp cost back just as easy.

Prim as scholar. Cause its broke af.

Therion as Hunter. I like his sp steal coupled with rain arrows. On top of that its 4 weapons plus two elements and then summons. It work for when im purple hunting.

As for the ones i dont have:

Apothacary- thinking Ophilia. Youd get some decent combat options for her plus youd have cheap single taget heals when you dont need to heal all.

Worrior- Leaning toward H'aanit. Make her beefy and give her all the attack types you could need.

Merchant- cyrus. Half SP. Damage for gill. Would be broken.

Thief/Dancer- Weaker classes on their own. Could go either way.

[Ultra Mantis]

Cleric Tressa sounds like a good idea, I'm using her as a dancer now and she's good in that role too. Ophilia is locked in my party though so I've not really looked into alternative healers.

I've been running Hunter Therion on my purple chest grabs, mainly for the AOE arrows to do fast breaks. Probably the best use for him.

Warrior H'aanit sounds decent, prefer Apothecary to give her a heavy hitting axe nuke but that strength boost passive should be great.

Not sure how good Theif or Dancer would work on either Alfyn or Olberic, they're both heavy hitters and neither job really plays to their strengths. Alfyn already does everything Theif does except steal items and Olberic has half the Dancer buffs in his Warrior set. Olberic's Dancer sprite might be worth it.

[Destor]

Speaking of sprites Tressa hunter is adorable

[Ultra Mantis]

When I first dished out jobs I wanted her to have that one based purely on the sprite. Also a fan of her classic white mage outfit for Cleric and Link cosplay for Apothecary,

[Destor]

I may have already said this but with KH3 being pushed back to 2019 this was easily my most anticipated game of 2018 and yet somehow its exceeded my VERY high expectations

[Destor]

stole a 3% axe on the first try last night. level 20 and H'aanit has over 400 in axe damage. Golden axe +100 crit too

Still using this axe @37

[Ruien]

Have you guys used the nuts yet? I cant decide if they will make the game to easy so I have like 100.

[Destor]

I havent but I will. I want to see what the 4 hidden jobs are like before I decide who needs what stat.

[Ultra Mantis]

I've been using them infrequently, I've been trying to use them on whoever benefits from the stat most, which might not be optimal but I don't want everyone to have even stats anyway. Feel like it would take away their individuality. Fed criticals and accuracy to H'aanit, elemental defence to Ophilia, Physical attack to Alfyn, HP and MP I spread out to whoever needed it and haven't used any evasion, Phys Def or Elem Atk. They don't make a huge difference, I'm still getting a beat down from the Ch3 bosses, but they're a nice boost.

[Destor]

Elm Attack is the damage stat for magic...isnt it?

[Ultra Mantis]

Yeah, it's basically just the magic stat, but healing abilities scale off Elem Def.

[Destor]

looked it up. magic attacks are governed by the highest Elm Dam weapon you have equipped.So its not cumulative. interesting. Still increasing the base WOULD effect the damage

[Destor]

Yeah, it's basically just the magic stat, but healing abilities scale off Elem Def.

NO SHIT???

[Destor]

Thats huge...thought it was a resistance stat....

[Ultra Mantis]

It's both, gives better defence against magic AND better heals.

[Destor]

I MUST BUY SOME THINGS NOW

[Ultra Mantis]

Haha yeah, it's why Paladin Olberic is viable despite his trash Elem Atk stat.

[Ruien]

I wondered why Olberic did so much healing lol.

Finished all my chapter 2 stories. Hannit is probably the best. Had a nice little twist. Ophelia was the worst by far. Prim has a really good story too. Revenge stories always rock.

Olberic would have had the best if it wasnt for everyone being so damn kind and nice.

[Ruien]

Also 40 hours in.

Have no idea where the secret shrines may be but I want to find them now. Are they obtainable for us Ultra or do we need to finish the chapter 3 things if you know?.

[Destor]

I have no clue.

Also after the second restock in japan the game sells out again this time in under 3 hours

[Destor]

Brace yourselves guys this might be the 2nd golden era of jrpgs

[Ultra Mantis]

Also 40 hours in.

Have no idea where the secret shrines may be but I want to find them now. Are they obtainable for us Ultra or do we need to finish the chapter 3 things if you know?.

As far as I'm aware they are accessible on the map right out of the gate like the other shrines, but they must be somewhere in the Chapter 4 zones. Pretty sure they all have super bosses protecting them too.

[Ultra Mantis]

I have no clue.

Also after the second restock in japan the game sells out again this time in under 3 hours

That is insane, I wonder how many units they actually stocked this time.

[Ultra Mantis]

Olberic Ch3 is amazing, love his plot. Alfyn's was hard to top but I'd put them neck and neck. So good.

[Destor]

100k was the initial stock so probably not a huge ammount. Still if the market is that hungry its a good sign.

[Ruien]

There will be more JRPGS after this. Not like they pump out FPS but there is a huge market that has gone untapped far to long. Octopath was the perfect game to bring these games back to life.

[Ruien]

Trying a nuke group..... using Prim :(

Prim with scholar.

Cyrus.

Both have the second wind and whatever the main merch trait is to save 50%. Basically the moves cost 11 now and then usually gain 11 SP after each turn.

[Destor]

Yeah thats def my OP end game party. Everyone will learn merchant to get the half SP passive though. No exceptions.

[Ruien]

Finished chapter 3 for Olberic. Ehhhh

Ehhhhh, everyone being so damn nice is annoying now

[Ruien]

My nuke strat seems straight. Going to keep rolling with it. Went into a high level area (chapter 4 place) and rocked the monsters with ease. Means chapter 3 stories will be a joke though with it so ima switch my comp up.

[Destor]

2 scholars is a no brainer for DPS imo. Like what could come close to that?

[Ultra Mantis]

Finished chapter 3 for Olberic. Ehhhh

Ehhhhh, everyone being so damn nice is annoying now

Haha, I actually liked the twist.

Erhardt being just as empty as Olberic, with Olberic actually being the one forcing a duel to the death even though he fully understands how pointless it is. Erhardt was dead the moment he became kingslayer.

[Ruien]

But it wasnt to the death which is so dumb. Same thing with the gladiator fights from chapter 2

Did Alynns chapter 3 then decided to look for a hidden shrine. Found one. Realized it would be like a 30 minute fight or something crazy like that so I turned the game off. Will try it tonight. Probably going to get slaughtered though.

[Ruien]

Lol got my ass kicked hard. Primrose was getting 2 shotted and the boss kept doing a move that hit her twice in 1 move.

[Ruien]

Oh well. Going to try Olberics chapter 4. Only did 2 chapter 3s so far.

[Ruien]

Dsmn that was an awesome chapter 4. Going to be super hard to beat that storyline wise.

[Ultra Mantis]

I'm getting all my Ch3's done before I go anywhere near the Ch4 zones haha. Tressa's Ch3 is her weakest by far, boss absolutely fucked me up though. Finished with only one character still up.

plot related
That merchant is dumb as fuck, 8k shield sold one street away for a notorious pirate treasure map leading two screens over? Are you serious? Caught my interest again at the end though, that's two characters being stalked by the guys who look suspiciously like the crows. Hmm.

[Ruien]

I wanted to do that but Olberic became to damn op level wise.

[Ruien]

After 10 attempts I finished the warmaster hidden shrine. Was my fault though honestly.

Once I realized the thief lowered armor and physical attacks it was super easy

Going to finish the chapter 3s now.

[Destor]

@mantis

Have you done the "mother of dragons pt2" quest? Puns so cheap teddy would be pleased

[Ultra Mantis]

I haven't even done the first part, but I will check it out before I do my next chapter.

Therion Ch3

There's a cool bit where you get three options of infiltration, but I don't think it really matters which one you pick. Maybe there is, I stole the aristocrats mask and the auctioneer got murdered. Curious if it's different if you steal the list or the guard's mask.

Chapter boss stole my shoot name. Was quite jarring when he got his name called, don't think I've ever heard it used in a game before haha. Still the weakest stories though, was pretty amusing to watch Therion get punted off a cliff. Would punt again.

[Ultra Mantis]

Pretty sure Egg Man is just Teddie in an old man costume.

[Destor]

He was eggxelent

[Ultra Mantis]

Puns to the eggstreme

[Ultra Mantis]

Ophilia CH3

WHAAAAAAAAT. This one seems important. Those cultists look exactly like the crow dudes and also the mysterious stalkers, plus the sewer serial killer. Kind of sussed the merchant was a villainous prick when they lingered on him in Ch1, but damn, that story took a turn. Where was this in Ch2?

Also I just found out there's a run button. Why have I been walking everywhere like a chump? :(

[Destor]

Omg...you poor guy. How many hours??

[Ruien]

Omg so sorry Ultra! I didnt realize that until I was almost done with all the chapter 1s.

So I lied. Taking my main team and finishing their stories and going to the extra shrines. Have Warbringer (toughest one even though it was my fault), Runeblade, and Sorcerer. No idea is what is left but ima kick its ass.

Only have Alfyn's chapter 4 left. Then I will bring my B team out to do their 4 stories.

[Ultra Mantis]

50 hours haha, accidentally pressed B while walking to the dungeon. Biggest plot twist of the game.

Are the extra job shrines easy to find?

[Sepholio]

Finally get more time to play this. I've been on vacation for 2 weeks. Went to DC, Manhattan, Roanoke, Smoky Mountains and Atlanta. Didn't get much time to play while I was gone but I did manage to get through the 1st chapters for everyone. Time to start grinding it out.

[Destor]

Early thoughts?

[Ruien]

50 hours haha, accidentally pressed B while walking to the dungeon. Biggest plot twist of the game.

Are the extra job shrines easy to find?

Ya they are on the mini map. Just like the first ones.

[Sepholio]

Early thoughts?

Pretty good so far. I'm kinda curious about the higher level "dungeons" listed as like 20-25 danger level that are littered throughout the areas between the starting towns. Are they optional places or will I go to them on later quests or something? I went through one that I can't remember the name for, was level 15ish and was a forest, but when I got to the end there was an area that seemed like it was for a boss but it was empty, so I'm leaning towards possible quests.

I like how each character has a solo portion of their backstory to start off as well and that it's laid out like they are explaining what they are doing to your current party members before embarking on their particular quest. Also glad that the bosses for each quest seem to get a tad stronger as you pick up more members since you obviously have stronger members at that point. Would suck if they were all level 1-3 at that point. But some of them come off pretty challenging which is good.

Love the battle system. Absolutely love it. Finding weaknesses and exploiting them for a break is great. Having the scholars ability that automatically detects some of the weaknesses kick in is a big help in that area, but I rather like finding them out on my own.

My favorite thing are all the different character abilities for interacting with townsfolk. Kicking the crap out of that annoying townsperson blocking off a door. Inquiring about their background and getting benefits or finding where they have hidden items stashed. Robbing them blind. Taking them with you as a temporary ally. Those interactions are the best thing. Gives you so much more to do in the towns.

I chose H'aanit as my main. The monster hunter gimmick seemed like it would be fun in this game and it is, although I do seem to rely on my main beast more than the ones I recruit a lot of the time. I've found a few good ones I really like as well too though, but it comes down to saving their limited summons for tougher encounters a lot of the time. After H'aanit though I went straight for Therion. He will ALWAYS be in my party. I need him to open those dastardly locked chests for me without having to go back to areas just for that.

[Destor]

I can tell you how those optional caves works if youre asking. Of course if you want to figure it out i wont spoil.

H'aanit is my main too and shes really versatile. Fits in any party.

[Sepholio]

Just a general idea would be good as to what they are. Like obviously some of them will have the job shrines I know are coming in order to dual-class characters. And I know at least some of them are side quest related as I've gotten a side quest that gave has ended up with me inquiring the location of what I assume is a optional boss and it's located in one of the level 25 optional areas. I just want to basically know whether I will eventually end up going into them on quests or not or if I should go out of my way to traverse them for upgrades/levelling. I'm a whore for things like this, and if they are purely optional and just for upgrades I already know I'm going to go dungeon diving before I progress the story lol but I don't want to go into them for nothing if they are used later on because I hate backtracking.

[Sepholio]

Also yes, I find Haanit to be ultra versatile. The summoning ability basically gives you a way to attack any monsters weakness by stacking a crew of beasts with differing abilities. That's a big plus.