It just seems like you're being disingenuous with comments. Asking questions in a negative connotation.
"isn't it jarring"
"better be nothing like XB2"
Why do you keep framing things negatively?
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Octopath Traveler: Preview Thread
- Thread starter Meelow
- Start date
"isn't it jarring"
"better be nothing like XB2"
Why do you keep framing things negatively?
Because no party interaction is jarring and the field skills in Xenoblade 2 are done in a very bad way?
Four jobs are actually missing from that planner. Enchanter, Rune Lord, Warlord and Augur.
And it remains to be seen if there is even more that.
So sub-jobs are more "additional" jobs instead of "replacement" jobs? If so then it seems that this combination seems to have every single weapon/spell type covered whilst having 4 different field skills:
Cyrus w/ thief subjob - Sword, Dagger, Staff, Ice, Fire, Thunder - Scrutinise
Tressa - Lance, Bow, Wind - Purchase
Ophelia w/Dancer subjob - Dagger, Staff, Dark, Light - Guide
H'annit - Axe, Bow, Thunder - Provoke
But have you even paid attention to the game to know whether it's done in the same way? You sure have posted a ton in this thread not to know! And there's a way to frame things so it doesn't come off so negative.
"Is it jarring... "
As opposed to
"isn't it jarring... "
But beside that i find it humorous that you're accusing others of trying to shut down negative comments on this game when you were doing exactly that in the 'gow is incomplete' thread.
Is this a serious question? Why the hell do you think I asked if it's done in the same way?
Oh please, I dare you to show me how I tried to shut down negative opinions.
Right. The creator is working on those, I believe, but they lack known sprites and weapon types currently. All we have are their ability lists, IIRC.
Correct, they're secondary jobs in addition to the character's unchangeable primary job. There are also four more jobs revealed but not yet in the calculator.
Do we have an idea how sub-classes work in conjunction with the main classes?
Like for example if Ophelia had Warrior as a sub-class would she have the full set of her Priestess / White Mage abilities while being able to use a Sword and fight in the frontlines.
Because if that being the case it would allow a normally weak fragile character who is more of a back row support type into a middle of the road secondary fighter with some support skills.
I can see how some may not want to get Cyrus and turn Ophelia into a full on White / Black Mage by having her primary Priestess role sub-classed with the Scholar / Black Mage.
The room for diversity is there and because you are limited between your primary and one sub-class this requires a degree of strategy in setting up your team since combat later on in the game can get very challenging.
Like for example if Ophelia had Warrior as a sub-class would she have the full set of her Priestess / White Mage abilities while being able to use a Sword and fight in the frontlines.
Because if that being the case it would allow a normally weak fragile character who is more of a back row support type into a middle of the road secondary fighter with some support skills.
I can see how some may not want to get Cyrus and turn Ophelia into a full on White / Black Mage by having her primary Priestess role sub-classed with the Scholar / Black Mage.
The room for diversity is there and because you are limited between your primary and one sub-class this requires a degree of strategy in setting up your team since combat later on in the game can get very challenging.
AFAIK you get the weapons from the subclass and limited versions of the skills.
That's what some Spanish preview explained, for example the Scholar auto-detects enemy weaknesses at the start of the combat but a character with the Scholar subclass needs to spend a turn to do it.
I think some of you are just crazy. I chose Primrose in the demo, and the writing was fantastic. Her voice actor was also amazing and spot on. Can't say for the other actors because I did only Primrose, but I was surprised by the dialogue and themes ring explored. I was expecting something lighter and I got something that instead explored some adult themes.
Not sure if where is an overarching plot with a "big bad" or not, but if this game does something different and just explored the stories of each of these characters with their own personal agency, I won't complain about that. I think it's an interesting, fresh take on your standard JRPG.
I just think that for some, it's a bit of a shock to the system because we are used to JRPGs following similar tropes, even big budget ones like Final Fantasy.
Not sure if where is an overarching plot with a "big bad" or not, but if this game does something different and just explored the stories of each of these characters with their own personal agency, I won't complain about that. I think it's an interesting, fresh take on your standard JRPG.
I just think that for some, it's a bit of a shock to the system because we are used to JRPGs following similar tropes, even big budget ones like Final Fantasy.
Might also need to be mindful if some weapons hinder spell casting output. I seem to recall an older SE game allowed you cast spells using a Sword but the effect was dulled compared to using a Staff with the full power effect.
There's essentially no open-world JRPGs to use as a template for comparison. Even SaGa is a giant stretch due to how they're structured and balanced (no "high level" zones, weird power scaling, level-less advancement, etc.)
Yeah, during the same preview I noticed that the player changed weapons a lot before doing skills, so it can be the case here too.
Yes, characters have access to every weapon and ability in both jobs, and can equip up to four passives from any job at all.
It's up to you whether you want to shore up their weaknesses or min/max them statistically. Secondary jobs alter their stats to bring them closer to that specialization's needed ones.
Each character has a path action usable in combat to differentiate them, as well.
Really excited after all the previews!
Still can't decide who exactly I'd want to start with, that the first character always has to be in the party is my only complaint about the game so far and it makes my decision so much harder... My favs so far are Primrose (bc of her badass character), Therion (for his stealing ability plus his useful steal & share SP ability), Cyrus (large variety of attacks and insanely cool magic effects), and H'aanit (for her broken and flexible monster abilities). Gonna play the demo extensively to see who I like the best.
Still can't decide who exactly I'd want to start with, that the first character always has to be in the party is my only complaint about the game so far and it makes my decision so much harder... My favs so far are Primrose (bc of her badass character), Therion (for his stealing ability plus his useful steal & share SP ability), Cyrus (large variety of attacks and insanely cool magic effects), and H'aanit (for her broken and flexible monster abilities). Gonna play the demo extensively to see who I like the best.
Mhmm, I'm still in (for that fancier edition I probably shouldn't waste money on...) but it is still a little disappointing to hear about the character interaction stuff (at least, as of 4 pages into this thread).
If the chapter levels really expect you to have all 8 characters for chapter 2s, I'd rather they have not made collecting people optional and just required you to get all 8 for some reason or another before you could move on to the chapter 2s, and have more interactions as a result. Hopefully the skits make up for it, but it's going to be hard to feel a sense of bonding throughout the party if nobody really reacts much as things go on... And there is the chance of later connections/requirements, so we'll see.
Meanwhile, still wondering who to pick as the "main character", since I don't want to play the demo. Not very happy with that restriction either, since it feels so arbitrary...
EDIT:
If nothing else, I appreciate the continued reminders to play Live A Live someday. I only played the Alien scenario when I tried it years ago, and it was super neat. I still remember some vague spoilers I saw but it'd be nice to play the rest.
If the chapter levels really expect you to have all 8 characters for chapter 2s, I'd rather they have not made collecting people optional and just required you to get all 8 for some reason or another before you could move on to the chapter 2s, and have more interactions as a result. Hopefully the skits make up for it, but it's going to be hard to feel a sense of bonding throughout the party if nobody really reacts much as things go on... And there is the chance of later connections/requirements, so we'll see.
Meanwhile, still wondering who to pick as the "main character", since I don't want to play the demo. Not very happy with that restriction either, since it feels so arbitrary...
EDIT:
If nothing else, I appreciate the continued reminders to play Live A Live someday. I only played the Alien scenario when I tried it years ago, and it was super neat. I still remember some vague spoilers I saw but it'd be nice to play the rest.
I think I found my setup.
Olberic with Hunter subclass.
Reasons: Your main front line fighter that has access to Swords, Spears, Axes, and some long range support using Bows. He can also use Thunder skills so that might add some additional utility.
With most of the skills dealing with increasing critical chance such as Eagle Eye, and being able to attack twice with Second Serving. Hunter seems the ideal job to make Olberic the one stop all pure offense super tank on the front lines.
Cyrus with Dancer subclass.
Reasons: Offensive Mage with additional Dark Elemental ability to diversity for even more elemental damage spread with his innate ability to detect weaknesses. Add Second Wind to recoup SP costs for spell casting and Peacock Strut which further boosts Elemental Damage output. Cyrus casts the spells that makes the enemies fall down.
Therion with Apothecary subclass
Reasons: Thief abilities to steal that in turn takes those stolen healing potions into useful support heals. Axe weapon use makes him a secondary fighter alongside Olberic. Skills like Empoison and Armor Corrosive would also take advantage of Insult to Injury which further use of status debuffs.
Ophelia with Merchant subclass
Reasons: Main healer that has some minor offensive support with Wind elemental damage ability. Hang Tough is crucial for Ophelia to stay alive with 1 HP remaining for critical attacks. A dead healer cannot heal anyone else, so her survival is paramount. SP Saver is also useful since she will most likely be using a ton SP for support heals and Wind elemental damage. Donate BP will also be useful as a support role as she can feed BP to Olberic or Cyrus to let them boost into strong physical or magical assaults. Also being able to use a Bow she can stay exclusively in the back row (Is there row placement?) and not endanger herself be being on the front line.
Yeah I like this.
Olberic with Hunter subclass.
Reasons: Your main front line fighter that has access to Swords, Spears, Axes, and some long range support using Bows. He can also use Thunder skills so that might add some additional utility.
With most of the skills dealing with increasing critical chance such as Eagle Eye, and being able to attack twice with Second Serving. Hunter seems the ideal job to make Olberic the one stop all pure offense super tank on the front lines.
Cyrus with Dancer subclass.
Reasons: Offensive Mage with additional Dark Elemental ability to diversity for even more elemental damage spread with his innate ability to detect weaknesses. Add Second Wind to recoup SP costs for spell casting and Peacock Strut which further boosts Elemental Damage output. Cyrus casts the spells that makes the enemies fall down.
Therion with Apothecary subclass
Reasons: Thief abilities to steal that in turn takes those stolen healing potions into useful support heals. Axe weapon use makes him a secondary fighter alongside Olberic. Skills like Empoison and Armor Corrosive would also take advantage of Insult to Injury which further use of status debuffs.
Ophelia with Merchant subclass
Reasons: Main healer that has some minor offensive support with Wind elemental damage ability. Hang Tough is crucial for Ophelia to stay alive with 1 HP remaining for critical attacks. A dead healer cannot heal anyone else, so her survival is paramount. SP Saver is also useful since she will most likely be using a ton SP for support heals and Wind elemental damage. Donate BP will also be useful as a support role as she can feed BP to Olberic or Cyrus to let them boost into strong physical or magical assaults. Also being able to use a Bow she can stay exclusively in the back row (Is there row placement?) and not endanger herself be being on the front line.
Yeah I like this.
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Hah, that's mostly the reversal of what I'm thinking of doing: Alfyn/Thief, Primrose/Scholar, Olberic/Hunter, Tressa/Cleric.
That, or Alfyn/Warrior, Primrose/Scholar, H'aanit/Thief, Tressa/Cleric.
Haven't accounted for the final four jobs yet.
You can't really make a permanent setup, because you have to at least switch one character around every chapter. That change will probably force you to change some other things as the party composition will be different. I think that makes it interesting actually.
Having said that, I kind of want these 2 semi permanently:
Aflyn!Warrior/Cleric (probably as main)
Alfyn is looking like the most versatile character, a jack-of-all-trades and pretty good at most of them. He can pretty much fill any role in a party. To start access to 3 weapons and to all spells types (for shield breaks, not damage) through concoct. Innate single heal and revive (and group heal/revive with concoct). Poison attack, which seems great for bosses. Cures any status ailment. Can tank if necessary just as well as Olberic because he has the second highest HP base. With cleric it could make him the best healer in the game, but hopefully I don't have to have such a dedicated healer.
Therion!Hunter/Merchant
I want Therion mainly for purple chests. I definitely don't want to backtrack into dungeons to get them. Both Hunter and Merchant give him access to 4 weapons. Hunter enhances the core attributes of the Thief better, but merchant allows for both steal and collect. Befelgan's Bounty + Steal SP sounds like a great combo for grinding some cash.
Having said that, I kind of want these 2 semi permanently:
Aflyn!Warrior/Cleric (probably as main)
Alfyn is looking like the most versatile character, a jack-of-all-trades and pretty good at most of them. He can pretty much fill any role in a party. To start access to 3 weapons and to all spells types (for shield breaks, not damage) through concoct. Innate single heal and revive (and group heal/revive with concoct). Poison attack, which seems great for bosses. Cures any status ailment. Can tank if necessary just as well as Olberic because he has the second highest HP base. With cleric it could make him the best healer in the game, but hopefully I don't have to have such a dedicated healer.
Therion!Hunter/Merchant
I want Therion mainly for purple chests. I definitely don't want to backtrack into dungeons to get them. Both Hunter and Merchant give him access to 4 weapons. Hunter enhances the core attributes of the Thief better, but merchant allows for both steal and collect. Befelgan's Bounty + Steal SP sounds like a great combo for grinding some cash.
Here's a link to the characters' stat growth rankings for min/maxing roles:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OctopathTraveller/comments/8tai89/character_stat_ranks/
All pretty self-explanatory except that Cleric's healing is based on Elemental Defense, not Elemental Attack. Concoct values are fixed, I think.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OctopathTraveller/comments/8tai89/character_stat_ranks/
All pretty self-explanatory except that Cleric's healing is based on Elemental Defense, not Elemental Attack. Concoct values are fixed, I think.
Still haven't had a chance to check out the new demo, but I want to get to it soon. I dug Primrose's story in the original demo, but there's part of me that is thinking about starting and exploring a different character's story this time around. Any suggestions on that, especially if there's someone in particular who might make a good starting party member?
There's an argument for making Olberic a Thief (at least part time), since it was discovered that some NPCs you Challenge/Provoke can drop strong equipment, which should also mean they can be stolen. For example, the guard with the sidequest by the manor gate in Therion's starting town drops a sword that's on par with the Golden Axe. The reasons why stealing is important are because, not only is it potentially way faster than waiting on poor drop rates, but one of the Thief's passives allows you to swipe double the items. Thief H'aanit isn't a similar option unfortunately, because Provoke has her only fighting with her monsters.
Heh, this is an interesting idea. I guess we just need to know if those NPCs have good steal items. Theoretically you could even make Olberic an decent evasion tank with that combo.
So, someone on Reddit found out something interesting about the Subclass system:
Subclasses are unlocked by visiting shrines dotted throughout the map and presumably defeating bosses within.
I used to buy hard cover strategy guides because they usually had nice artwork sections. The last one I bought was the Breath of the Wild Book and the one before that was Xenoblade X.
Both books had tons of nice artwork but the guides were not practical at all. The print was too small for me to use. I wonder if an Octopath guide book / art book is going to come out.
Both books had tons of nice artwork but the guides were not practical at all. The print was too small for me to use. I wonder if an Octopath guide book / art book is going to come out.
Any of them are good starting characters, but choose your favorite in the main game (or the file you're importing), because you're stuck with them in your party. None of the prologues are quite as darkly mature thematically as Primrose's, but they're all charming in their own ways.
i cant decide who my main character is going to be. so far my team is gonna be Cyrus, Therion, H'annit, and someone (prob ophelia for path action), but i cant think of who my main will be.... im leaning a bit towards Therion atm but it could swap
If you want to optimise Olberic for physical durability while retaining near-optimal offense, you'll give him the Apothecary subclass.
Which then means that you'll be sending your physically-imposing tank, likely the bedrock of both your party's offense and defense, into battle wearing a purse.
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Which then means that you'll be sending your physically-imposing tank, likely the bedrock of both your party's offense and defense, into battle wearing a purse.
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Passive skills can be equipped even without being a relevant job, so Olberic could still have +HP while having another secondary job. That's really going to be the crux of the customizability: every character is going to want skills from a variety of classes—sometimes their best skills will be the final ones in their least optimal job.
Quoting to ask again, and also ask: where were the subclasses and jobs in the demo?
Probably going to start fresh. You gain access to secondary jobs in Chapter 2, just beyond what the demo gave access to.
Oh, so subclass stat bonuses are only a function of the skills said subclass comes with? I did not know this (haven't played the second demo), but that's good if true.
He's talking about a passive skill Apothecary has that gives +500 HP when equipped. Sub-classes still have separate stat modifiers on their own.
There's no information on that, but I kind of doubt it.
There are tons of things to tinker with, though, since every interactable NPC has unique stats/abilities/inventories and can be fought, summoned into combat, stolen/bought from, or their backstory interrogated. Monsters (and some optional bosses) can be tamed, all with different abilities. Most side-quests have multiple resolutions depending on how you solve them. Etc.
If this is true I'll be thrilled but I'm not holding my breath. I think people who expect a Tales-like level of party interaction in this game are going to be extremely disappointed when reviews hit.
I had been putting off playing the second demo because I know I'm buying the game anyway, but the hype finally got to me and I caved. Started with Tressa, not sure if I'll keep her or start fresh on Friday. I kind of like Olberic as the central character, but it's fun to think that this epic adventure all started with a girl deciding to become a traveling merchant.