The prince is cursed. Metaphor: ReFantazio takes you into an extraordinary yet whimsical adventure in the United Kingdom of Euchronia. This latest RPG from Atlus and Studio Zero offers a rich and complex gaming experience that sets itself apart from other titles. It can be overwhelming at first due to its unusual gameplay system, including the archetypes. To ease this struggle, here is a Metaphor: ReFantazio guide for beginners to help you master the essential mechanics!
Master the Fae Sight System
Fae Sight is one of the most crucial early-game mechanics in the game. If you’re familiar with Persona 5, you may find its function similar to Third Eye. With Fae Sight, you can use Gallica’s supernatural vision to determine the enemy’s difficulty ranking through color coding. By regularly using this, you may strategize on the battles you picked up on. Moreover, it will also help you avoid encounters that are too challenging given your current level.
Combat Fundamentals
Combat is a core element in Metaphor: ReFantazio, given the number of encounters you’ll face in the game. That’s why it will be important for you to master the fundamentals to increase your chances of success. Metaphor: ReFantazio combat system revolves around several key strategies.
You may gain a significant advantage in Squad Combat by stunning your enemies in the overworld before engaging. Targeting the enemy weaknesses will also let you maximize damage and conserve Press Turns. Remember, it’ll be better to end the encounter as quickly as possible. Moreover, it is also best to position your partner members using the Formation system for optimization. Fortunately, there’s no penalty in using the Retreat command once the battle becomes too difficult.
Resource Management Tips
It is best to save your money for Idlesday, as the shops will offer special discounts during this time. With this, you may get your desired items at half of their price or less. Also, make sure to stock up your MP restoration items (Magla Pills) whenever it is possible. Besides, do not forget to purchase elemental attack items from Gloamhall in Grand Tad, which is only open at night. It’ll also be important to raise your Wisdom to “Informed” rank to unlock Purification. This will be crucial to your game, so get access to it as soon as possible.
Mastering the Archetype System
Going forward, one of the unique features of the game is the Archetypes. It serves to be the game’s job system that determines various combat specializations of characters. There will be different Archetypes that are available throughout the game. This is why you might need to experiment on it to aid you in crafting your team composition.
However, remember to avoid spreading yourself too thin on the vast choices that you have. It will work best in your favor to have a few key classes with expertise early in the game. These are some of the classes best for beginners:
- Seeker (Protagonist’s starting class)
- Warrior (Strohl’s specialty)
- Knight (Hulkenberg’s specialty)
- Mage
- Healer
Time Management
While time is a fleeting concept in gaming, Metaphor: ReFantazio breaks this idea with their calendar system. With this, you will need to carefully manage your time to maximize opportunities and benefits. Start by planning your activities for shopping around Idlesday to save resources. Then, efficiently use your evening time either by stocking up on elemental attack items or finishing quest deadlines. Further, make sure to balance time on your main story progression and the side activities.
Quality of Life Improvements
Accidental dialogue selection is meant to happen sometimes. However, you may prevent this by setting it up to Auto or Display All at Once through the options menu. Moreover, playing Metaphor: ReFantazio involves getting hooked with the story. Make sure to regularly check the Memorandum to not miss out on any key world-building information and lore. Also, utilize the Bond system to strengthen your party members for encounters.
Early Game Priorities
When starting out, try not to do everything at once to avoid complications. Focus first on completing More’s initial task to access items from Hero. Next, build yourself a recovery supply and elemental items just in case you’ll need them. Lastly, develop the main party members’ primary Archetypes first to maximize them in the game.
Advanced Combat Strategies
Once you’re done mastering the basic mechanics enumerated above, try to work on the advanced game tactics. This includes the efficient use of Press Turns by targeting the enemy weaknesses. Make a consideration of the Archetypes when placing them in the front or back rows during the encounter. Take advantage of the exclusive bonuses you’ll get from Squad Battle like the Unscathed Triumph. Lastly, build on powerful combination attacks with the Synthesis skills.
Conclusion
Metaphor: ReFantazio can appear intimidating at first to the game’s newcomers. After all, it presents a unique and complex gaming experience that raises up the fun of turn-based RPGs. Encounters pose as primary challenges to players in this game. Fortunately, you can freely pick on your matches’ difficulty through the Fae Sight. Moreover, they also let you tap out of the battle without penalty once you think the opponent level is way above.
Studio Zero indeed worked on letting players explore and experience the game on their own with the features they’ve included. With that, may this Metaphor: ReFantazio guide help beginners to quickly understand and adapt to the game.
