Bravely Default 2 Beginner’s Tips and Guide

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Basic Navigation

• Any key locations you need to visit to progress the story forward will be marked on your mini-map with a yellow diamond-like icon.

• If you ever get lost during the story, press and hold R to quickly check on your current objectives.

Your very first treasure chest is on your bedside—don’t skip it!

The Travelogue

The Travelogue is your friend. If you find yourself with questions, you can peruse the ‘Tutorials’ section by opening your main menu and selecting ‘Travelogue’, ‘Memories’, and ‘Tutorials’.

The Travelogue section of the menu also gives you access to:

• Details of any quests you’ve undertaken
• Settings related to quest markers
• Events and party chat scenes you’ve previously come across
• Any tutorials you’ve unlocked

It’s always a good place to go if you need guidance throughout your travels.

Beginner Battle Tips

• If you find a member of your party affected by Confusion or Charm, use the ‘Attack’ battle command of another member on the afflicted party member; preferably someone who has a weak physical attack like Black Mage or White Mage.

• Save your Phoenix Down’s and frequently rest at an Inn to restore HP and MP over using items. You can also pickup some Tents at the Item Shop to recover HP/MP and heal combat Status Ailments while out in the field or at a save point.

• Don’t be stingy when stocking up on Potions, Ethers, and Phoenix Down!
  

• Additionally, as you progress the story and complete side-quests, new items will become available in the shops, so check back often!

• Your first instinct may be to pickup the biggest, most dangerous-looking weapon in the item shop, but you have to think about how heavy they are first. If you overload yourself with equipment that’s too heavy for your character, you’ll run into all kinds of trouble. Check your Weight stat in your attributes page, and take note of the Overloaded notification on any weapons or armor you equip.

• In addition to weapons and armor, you can also equip accessories. Some accessories boosts stats and even create a barrier against spells and combat status ailments, so choose wisely.

• Don’t sell anything. Horde it all. You never know what might come in handy. Be sure to stock up on healing items before heading out! You never know what you may need on your adventure.

Dungeon and Exploration Tips

• When you’re in a dungeon, you’ll occasionally come across a bright blue circle on the ground. These are special portals that can whisk your party to and from the dungeon entrance in an instant. This can be really useful if you need to pop out to the open field and rest up in a tent, or travel back to town and upgrade your equipment. Use them as checkpoints to help you progress safely through dangerous dungeons.

• In dungeons, you will also come across save points where you can save your progress and rest up with a tent. If things get difficult in a dungeon and there isn’t a save point or portal close at hand, you can use a teleport stone to escape to the dungeon entrance.
  

• Talk to everyone—you never know who will give you items or what tips NPCs may have for you. By talking to NPCs with blue dialogue boxes above their heads, you can even begin special side-quests to receive rare items or even rarer Asterisks!

• When in a new place, go in to every store and crevice—there are treasure chests everywhere!
  

• If you find yourself in a particularly difficult dungeon, you can use a Teleport Stone to quickly escape to the entrance.

• Pickup a few Magnifying Glasses at the Item Shop! You can pinpoint an enemy’s weakness by using the Freelancer ‘Examine’ ability to uncover HP and weakness. If you don’t have a Freelancer in your party, use a Magnifying Glass from your inventory on an enemy during battle. If you want to see these vulnerabilities displayed again, press the ‘Battle Info’ command during a fight.

Beginner Controls Tips

• For a detailed overview of various controls in the game, open the main menu and go to Options > Controls.

• Save often! To quickly save, press – on your left joy-con controller to quickly bring up the save game menu. You can save your game any time when you’re in a town or out in the field by opening the menu and selecting ‘Options’ then ‘Save”. There’s also an auto-save function which can be toggled off or on. By default, it is turned on.

• Swing your sword at enemies on the open field to gain the upper hand in battle by engaging with ‘Y’ on your right joy-con! Who knows, you might even get a BP boost. You may also find treasures in grassy areas on the open field when swinging your sword—items, pg, weapons—give it a try.

Battle Tips

• When you’re out on the field and you don’t care to encounter anymore enemies, use a Ward Light. These can be purchased in Item Shops, and they make it harder for enemies to spot your party.
  

• When up against a powerful enemy, build your BP (and defenses) by starting the fight off with Default, and then unleash your attacks when the enemy’s defenses are down. Keep in mind that saving BP (Brave Points) and unleashing them all at once will send your BP into the negative leaving your defenses open, and you will be unable to perform more actions until your BP has recovered.

• You’ll never know what enemies you run in to, so it’s always a good idea to have a variety of Asterisks leveled to take on any job that comes your way. A well-balanced team is ten times as effective as any gaggle of one-trick ponies. With that being said, the members in your party have their own unique set of attributes. Mix and match characters with different jobs to figure out what each character excels at. You can find quick tips on all jobs available in the Tutorial section within the Travelogue.

• As you travel in the open field, bear in mind that more monsters will appear at night, and nastier ones, too! If you want to make it to your destination with the minimum of hassle, traveling during the daytime, and if you’re looking to gain more battle experience or if you’re just looking for a challenge, night time is the right time.
  

• You’ll occasionally come across certain rare breeds of monster when wandering on the open field. They’re much stronger than their fellow creatures, and wading into battle with one of these nasties unprepared will land you on the title screen. So when you spot one, save your game, and only approach if you’re sure you’re ready to take it on.

• Monsters will sometimes drop ‘Monster Treats’ that will lure specific monster types to the player on the open field. Look in your Items menu, and go to the ‘Monster Treats’ section to view what you have on hand. As mentioned above, more monsters will spawn at nighttime on the open field. If you’re looking for an even extra challenge, try luring even more monsters out with Monster Treats!
  

• You can equip Passive Abilities on the Abilities page to make your life easier as you progress through the game. Trying equipping the Freelancer’s ‘Diving Rod’ ability to see how many treasure chests are waiting for you to open on the map! The number of available chests will be displayed next to your mini-map.

• In major cities, Wagons will enable you to travel quickly from one city you’ve already visited to another—for free! It’s always good to check and see if the last place you visited has any new side-quests available.