Bravely Default 2 is a beautiful return to form for turn-based J-RPGs of old with some quality of life improvements. Optional battle speeds and auto cutscenes make grinding a joy, with Claytechworks showing SquareEnix how to bring the sub-genre into 2021.
For newcomers to turn-based RPGs, Bravely Default 2 is a daunting undertaking. Casual difficulty is there for players who live for story arcs and chilled gameplay, but the real magic is in the challenge of Bravely Default 2. Here are five tips to get players off to a flying start:
5: Scare Monsters Away
Monsters in Bravely Default 2 will run away from you when your level exceeds specific criteria. It’s a great mechanic for showing players when they are getting strong enough but doesn’t always translate into being strong enough for the next boss fight. When players encounter this situation, find challenging monsters for the best XP gain.
4: Experience Multipliers
Monsters chase players when entering new areas. Whilst it’s daunting, this can come in handy for levelling up quickly. By running in front of various monsters, players will grab their attention (or make them run away). When triggering a battle in this scenario, players will gain experience multipliers by facing multiple hoards of monsters. It should be the focus of any players grind. When used on select monster types, there are also food items to attract more of their kin to slay.
3: Match stats to jobs
A good winning strategy in Bravely Default 2 has a balanced team as a foundation. Yes, lightning and fire are cool, but antagonists quickly nerf these abilities using silence or sleep. Also, having a team member with low a low Magic stat using black magic isn’t going to help matters. For example, a high hp and physical attack stats are a perfect match for the monk job. A monk uses powerful physical attacks, which mostly cost a characters HP. Sub-Jobs can also be assigned so players can still use magical abilities from a previous job, making for some creative combinations.
2: Buy Items, Not Gear
Bravely Default 2 will most likely start kicking your arse after the prologue, so it’s best to prepare for it. Players will find better weapons and gear out in the field or via side quests, so don’t worry about that at first. Phoenix downs, potions, tents, ethers and more are your best friend from the beginning. Healing characters might not always get their turn in time or maybe knocked out. It’s where items come in handy to keep the battle going, not to mention tents being excellent tools for parties that have seen one too many fights.
1: Grind
Like other classic J-RPGs, Bravely Default 2 isn’t going to let up on lower-level parties. It will chew up and spit out any player who tries to breeze through its campaign, which is why it’s essential to make a note of reasonable training grounds. Walking in and out of towns and dungeons is the right way of checking for dense monster spawn points. Making use of attacking to initiate a battle always gives players an initial damage advantage.
We hope these tips help players who are new to Bravely Default 2 and turn-based RPGs in general. Whilst they go seems daunting with high difficulty walls and various mechanics, they are so much fun once you get stuck in.
What’s your favourite J-RPG of all time? How’s your playthrough of Bravely Default 2 going? Let us know in the comments or on our socials.
