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InMetaphor: ReFantazio, there are over 40 classes spread across 14 lineages. This guide covers the basics of each of these 14 lineages, including the classes they contain, some information on what they’re specifically designed to achieve in battle, and how to unlock them for study at Akademia.
You’ll find Metaphor more enjoyable - not to mention easier - if you learn to branch out. Strohl starts as a Warrior, and like other party members, youshouldfocus on his innate archetype in growth. But, like the rest of them, you should have him study other archetypes that bolster his strengths. This is the cornerstone of Metaphor’s archetype system!
Seeker
TheSeekeris the inherent archetype belonging to theprotagonist. Our hero unlocks the Seekerduring the boss battle at the Northern Border Fortvery early in the game.
For other party members to study the Seeker, you simply need tobegin More’s Bond, which occurs automatically on the evening ofJune 5th.
The Seeker archetype is something ofan all-rounder, albeit with a few noteworthy slants. Seekers learnhealing and wind magic, several useful buffs, and a couple of slash-based physical attacks.
As with allparty member archetypes, the Seeker hasfour stages. The fourth is aprotagonist-exclusive, late-game,class.
Warrior
TheWarriorArchetype is innate toStrohl, the second party member in Metaphor: ReFantazio after the protagonist. He’ll gain ita little after the Northern Border Fort, so quite early in the game.
You needn’t do anything else tounlock the Warrior for other party members, asStrohl’s Bondtriggers automatically onJune 6th- the same day that he gains the archetype, himself.
As one would expect,Warriors centralize on powerful physical attacks. Since they wield swords, these are of theSlashvariety, though theSamurai’s Thunder Bladeis a handymultitarget Electric-type move.
Mage
TheMagearchetype is innate toGallica. Now, Gallica isn’t an actual party member, but rather, serves asupport roleduring battles. Since she isn’t an active combatant, her archetypedoesn’t gain a fourth tier, but itdoesgeta branching third tier.
You can (and should)study both versions of her third rank.
You’ll get the Magethe same day you get the Warrior, onJune 6th. Mages are designed todeal various elemental magic-based attacksto the enemy, with higher ranks learningmore powerful and even multitargetversions.
The downside to Mages is thatthey’re rather fragile. HP and Defense being quite poor, you’ll typically want them in theback rowand accompanied by a robust defender.
Knight
Speaking ofrobust defenders, theKnightclass is the most defensively-oriented archetype in Metaphor: ReFantazio. While that wouldn’t come in handy much in some RPGs,in Metaphor, strong defense can be a lifesaver.
Knights learnnumerous buffs, but their biggest draw is their ability tointercept damage intended for other targets. TheDark Knightgoes in a different direction,focusing on Pierce attacks, but by and large, these are your tanks.
Hulkenbergobtains the Knight archetype, her innate, onJune 11th. to unlock it for other party members, you mustbegin her Bond.
The Knight archetypenot only has a fourth tier, but italso has a split third tier. To reach the fourth (Royal) class, youmustlevel up both third-tier variants.
Healer
TheHealerarchetype can be obtained bybeginning your Bond with Maria. This willoccur automatically, asyou unlock Maria as a follower simply by progressing through the early story.
Healers, well,heal. This is plenty useful, of course, andyou eventually learn resurrection spellsthat areverymuch appreciated. The Healer lineage also provesLight-elemental attacks. When you reach theSaviourclass, you’ll learn things to help youdeflect debuffs, too.
Thief
TheThiefarchetype isHeismay’sinnate. He’ll get it atKriegante Castle during the Martira arc. Thus, it hasfour tiers, all of which center onsky-high Agility and abilities that take full advantage of it. It also allows you tosteal items, unsurprisingly.
Through the Thief, you can learn valuableinstant-kill moves(these have a certain chance of working, and won’t work on big bosses, but they can still help out against those really tough “regular” encounters).
The high Agility also meansevading attacks left and right, and since Metaphor: ReFantazio adoptsShin Megami Tensei’s press turn battle system, evading a hitdiminishes the number of actions the enemy team can take, making it a big deal!
Masked Dancer
TheMasked Dancerarchetype isJunah’s innate. When shejoins the party, she will have it exclusively to herself. To unlock it for the rest of the squad, you need to complete’Save the Mourning Snakes', a side quest thatcommences Junah’s Bond.
Masked Dancer is an interesting archetype. Through theSpecial Experimentsmenu inAkademia, you can take base materials andforge new masks. Each of these masks,when equipped, serve as conduits to use many of the associated archetype class abilities.
In essence, this makes those who follow the Masked Dancer lineagerichly versatile. In practice, we do tend to prefer tostick with a mage-focused build, as Junah herself will be the first party member to really emphasize that role. But the choice is yours!
Summoner
Like the Masked Dancer, theSummonerarchetype taps into theSpecial Experimentsmenu. In the Summoner lineage’s case, youbuild items which unlock various monsters to summon. These aren’t consumables - they’re well and trulyunlockedfor prolonged usage thereafter.
Shin Megami Tensei and Persona fans will note thatmost of these summons are related to recurring creatures in Atlus' franchises.
Eupha’s innate is the Summoner. She joinsnear the end of the Virga Island arc, roughly midway through Metaphor’s storyline. To allow others in your party to study it, complete the’Trials of Malnova' side questto initiateEupha’s Bond.
Royal Summoner
As you’re able to see, the Summoner lineage is tied pretty strongly with theSeekerlineage. To help Eupha reach her exclusiveRoyal Summonerclass ASAP, be sure tospend plenty of time beforehand having her study the Seeker lineage.
Berserker
TheBerserkerarchetype is thefinal archetype tied to a playable character. In this case, that character isBasilio, whojoins rather late in the game.
Berserkers areall about heavy damage, to the point thattheir defense is rather mediocreby comparison. Withhigh HP- Basilio himself hasparticularlygreat HP growth, in fact -they can still withstand some intense hitsby virtue of health pool alone, but still, be careful.
As it’s Basilio’s innate, he’ll come equipped with it. Getting everyone else to learn Berserker meansunlocking Basilio’s Bond.
Merchant
TheMerchantarchetype is unlocked byinitiating Brigitta’s Bond. As Brigitta isn’t a party member, her archetype has fewer tiers -Merchant is one of the few archetypes with only a single upgraded class.
Merchant is one of Metaphor’s odder archetypes, alongside Masked Dancer and (still to come) Faker. Its primary draws aresome great buffs and debuffsand (more importantly)attacks that cost reeve rather than MP or HP and tend to deal rather fantastic damage.
Money doesn’t exactly grow on trees in Metaphor: ReFantazio, at least, unless you’re a certain Human boss. Butthese attacks can be a heck of a Hail Mary in especially challenging encounters.
Faker
TheFakerarchetype is obtained byunlocking the Bond with Alonzo. You can do thismidway into the Martira arc, so about a quarter (maybe less) into the story. You’ll need to complete his follower side quest,‘A Dagger, A Ring, and A Rake’.
It doesn’t specialize in any particular form of attack, but the Faker is stillremarkably usefulthanks to theimportance of debuffing bosses.
Although I wouldn’t say it truly blossoms until theTricksterclass, when you learn the invaluableDebilitateskill thatlowers all of enemy’s stats at once,the Faker still helps plenty withdebuffs that target one specific stat.
Byspamming these debuffs multiple turns, you can lower a given stat byup to three stages. Spam itagainright before it wears off(you’ll see a blinking arrow when targeting the enemy) and you’ll apply it foranother full three rounds.
Gunner
TheGunnerarchetype is obtained viaNeuras, your trustyGauntlet Runner captain. Neuras doesn’t join the party, but he’s such a constant ally that it wouldn’t have surprised us if he had. As he does not, however, that meansno one can use it until you get his Bond started.
Gunner’s classes are all linked tolong-range damage-dealing.Until you reach theDragoonclass, this will virtually always involvePiercedamage, often with the boons ofdebuffs or status inflictions. Dragoon leads to funphysical elemental multitarget attacks.
Brawler
Although theBrawlerarchetype isn’t a party member’s innate, you’ll still meet its owner,Catherina, in a way thatgrants you her Bond by default. This happens at the start of theRegalith Grand Cathedral, the first major dungeon in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The Brawler classes' skills costHP, and withsomewhat lacking defense and nothing like the Berserker’s fantastic HP growth, this means you need to be monitoring their health at all times. Having someone with routine heals mitigates this, but it’s worth mentioning.
That said, theirStrikeattacksarequite powerful. Is the tradeoff worth it? Like many of Metaphor’s archetypes, it’s rather situational. But we wouldn’t recommend taking one to the final bosses, in any case.
Commander
For theCommanderarchetype, you must unlockBardon’s Bond. Bardon is a prominent NPCduring theMartiraarc, but it’ll be a bit later when you can gain him as a follower.
The Commander isone of my favorite archetypes, hands down. It’s kind of like what we said about the Knight - in some RPGs, there’s an easy enough curve that supporting classes don’t matter much.In Metaphor, a solid support system can be a game-changer.
Commanders (and their advanced versions)buff the entire party. As with debuffs for foes,you can buff the party’s stats up to three stages, andreapplying these in their last round of effect keeps it going.
