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The combat inMetaphor: ReFantaziocan feel more than a bit daunting for a while, with strong enemies capable of inflicting devastating damage begin to pop up only a couple of dungeons into the game. There are many ways to press the advantage, however. All you need is a firm grasp of the mechanics.
Those mechanics can and will expand substantially as you unlock more Archetypes, progress your followers' storylines, and more. But especially in those early hours, when harder battles will often be make-or-break on your knowledge of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s combat fundamentals, this guide will aim to keep you up-to-speed.
Stat Buff And Debuff Magic Is Important
In some games, you might occasionally glance at magic thatbuffs allies or debuffs enemies. In Metaphor: ReFantazio,difficult fights can be flipped in your favor with liberal casts of these life-saving spells.
Our favorite might beTarunda, which you can acquire from theFakerArchetypeby initiating thequest with the blue-haired man, Alonzo, in Martira. Tarundalowers the target’s Attack to its three-stage minimum for three turns.
The thing about this is,so long as you recast it on the third turn, it will stick foranotherthree turns, and so forth. And, since Metaphor’s battle UI willhave stat displays blink when a debuff (or buff) is about to end, you’ll always know right when to do it.
Curbing a powerful enemy’s offensive enthusiasm means far less time playing defensively, and far more time beating it to oblivion. Of course,if defense is vital, then the same usefulness applies to buffs of all varieties.
Plot A Growth Course For Your Protagonist
Unlike your party members, whose stat growth upon level-up is automatic,the protagonist will grow partly automatically - but you’ll also have a stat point to distribute as you likeeach time he levels up, too.
This isn’t so important that you’ll experience substantial issues if you always choose whatever, butit can be advantageous to consider what sorts of Archetypes you want him to focus on. Physical powerhouses? Tanks? Magic-slingers? There’s plenty pick between.
Ourselves, wehad the protagonist as more of a magic user, so offensive spells and healing spells in roughly equal measure. This is becausethe first three party members you’ll gain are slanted a bit wayward of that trend.
Thus,we pumped about half our early stat points into the Magic stat, ensuring that the hero’s got more spellpower.
Don’ttotallyneglect your other stats.A few points in Endurancewill help no matter what you roll with.
Never Forget The Retry Option
Sometimes, a fight gets totally out-of-hand. You’relow on HP, low on MP, low on helpful items, and it’s all just a right mess. It happens - especially on hard mode.
Don’t let pride prevent you from seeing the writing on the wall. When things look too dire,it’s best to press the button that reset the battle. That way,you are starting from the fight, rather than a checkpoint or manual save.
Of course, if your entire setup seems unworkable, then resetting won’t work very well. More often than not, though, it’s simply a matter ofapplying what you’ve learned in prior bouts, bit by bit, until you’ve nailed it.
Maintain A Variety Of Attack Types
There’s nothing worse than heading into a battle with only a few attack types - you know,Fire, Ice, Slash, Strike, and so forth - only to realize thatthe enemy composition is collectively resistant to everything you have on you.
Better, then, to haveas diverse an assortment of attack types as possible when first entering a dungeon.
As you grow comfortable with the types of enemies in a given zone, you should nix this idea in favor of strategizing to suit your foes directly.
Knight’s Proclamation Is Fantastic
OnceHulkenbergjoins the party, you’ll unlock the fabulousKnight Archetype. WIth the Knight, you will have access toKnight’s Proclamation. It’s very, very good.
Hulkenberg (or whoever you have equipped with Knight) shoulduse Knight’s Proclamation in many encounters. If your enemies are prone tosingle-target attacks, there’s a good chance (albeit notguaranteed) they’ll focus on your Knight, as this serves as aprovoke mechanic.
Knights havevery high Endurance, so they can tank hits better than most other Archetypes. You see, then, whyit’s advantageous to keep enemies centered on someone who’s less likely to go down.
Passing Your Turn Is Good, Actually
This one will be second nature to you soon enough, but if you’re reading this early enough,you might well be underestimating the ‘Pass Turn’ action.
Shin Megami Tensei fans will be familiar with what that franchise refers to as the"Press Turn" system, which keeps careful tabs onhow many actions you have used, andremoves some action opportunities per turn when you missand so forth.
Passing one’s turn uses ahalfan actionrather than a whole one. What this means in practice is thatyou can wind up with 1.5 remaining actions, or 2.5,or what-have-you.
This can often mean the difference betweenbeing able to use a synthesis skillor having it locked out, or even just getting that one more turn in when it’s sorely needed.
If a party member doesn’t have much to offer on their turn, don’t hesitate to use it.
Equipment Optimization Is Seldom Optimal
Whenever youswap Archetypes, the game willgive you its perceived “optimum” gearfor the new Archetype. This is great… except when it isn’t.
The system willalways prioritize raw attack or defense, which often meansit’s disregarding the (often substantial) stat booststhat can bespecifically useful for that Archetype.
For instance, say you’ve swapped Hulkenberg back to her Knight Archetype, andyou have an accessory that adds a whopping +6 Endurance. If the accessory is even one Defense point lower than something else,odds are, she’ll get the something-else.
It’s a bit of a hassle, butalways double-checkif you’re not fully familiar with the gear you’ve been given.
Formation, Formation, Formation
It should go without saying that, as a rule, more fragile classes should hang back. Butit can be easy to forget to set someone in the front or back rowwhen switching Archetypes. So, be careful!
Evenwithin combat, there are points at which you’ll want to consider altering a character’s row. You might encounter a vicious foe whotargets the front row with an attack that’ll activate the following round.
You can eitherdefend, or - sometimes better -move to the back row. There are still more reasons to consider a mid-battle switch as you progress through the game.
Regularly Restock Stat Ailment Cures
We know money’s not always easy to keep in your coffers, butmake a habit of restocking at least five or so of every status ailment curativewhen you’re in item shops.
You won’t always know what you’re up against. (Well, our guides can help, but still!) You might be deep into a large dungeon when, suddenly,an enemy appears that loves to put you to Sleep, or Poison you,or some other irritating detriment.
Bosses are particularly ruthless about this. So, yes, even stuff likeMalady and Hex- keep that stuff on-hand, always. Even when you havePatraand similarstatus-curing spells, becauseyou might need the wielder to do something else on their turn.
Conserve MP Through Archetype Swaps
The sooner you learn just how important it can be tomaintain your MP through dungeonsfor the fights thatreallyneed it, the better off you’ll be. You can help tremendously in this regard byhanging on to a stock of elemental attack items.
But there’s something even better for those long treks:remember that just because you make someone a Healer, or a Mage, or similar fare, that doesn’t mean you can’tchange their Archetype to something less MP-drainingfor a while.
Say the protagonist is a Healer for the bulk of your exploration session, and you’re starting to feel the MP crunch. Considerchanging from Healer to a more physical-oriented classthat’s less likely to drain you dry untilthe bosses and sub-bosses are on the horizon.
