Summary
The stand-out feature ofMetaphor: ReFantaziois its archetype class system. These archetypes function similarly to a more traditional job system, but are intertwined with the turn-based combat and life-simulation systems of the game to perfectly pace unlocking new abilities.
Similarly to most job systems in RPGs, you can carry over abilities from one archetype to another by spending magla, but some of these abilities are much more useful than others. It’s worth trying out different archetypes purely for unlocking specific abilities.
8Dekunda
Healer Archetype
During some of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s more challenging boss encounters, the enemy can subject your party to some pretty impactful debuffs that can make the fight significantly more tricky. Whether its making you weaker with attack debuffs, flimsier by lowering your defense, or less accurate, this is a corner that is easy to be pushed into if you aren’t prepared.
This is why you want to have at least one party member that has Dekunda equipped at a time. This simple ability has the pretty overpowered effect of removing every debuff on your party, which can wipe the slate clean after an enemy has debilitated your group with layered debuffs.
7Battle Cry
Brawler Archetype
The Brawler archetype that you’ll unlock after your firstmeeting with the Paripus Catherina, is one of the easier classes to overlook, especially if you don’t invest in it early. Even if you don’t want to build any of your party members as dedicated Brawlers, then you’ll want to at least go far enoughin the archetype lineageto unlock Battle Cry.
For an ability you can access quite early on in the story, Battle Cry is useful for imbuing an impactful attack and defense buff at the same time. There are very few archetype builds that will not benefit from having access to this buff, so make sure to have it accessible for inheriting.
6Knight’s Proclamation
Knight Archetype
One of the more confusing archetypes that you’ll have access to early on in Metaphor: ReFantazio is the Knight, but even if you don’t want tobuild a character (likely Hulkenberg)using this archetype, you’ll at least benefit from having access to the starting ability Knight’s Proclamation.
This distraction ability will ensure that for the next turn, the enemies will only target the user (with the obvious exception of multi-target attacks). If you have any characters that have a lot more HP than others in the party, then quickly unlocking the Knight archetype so they can use this ability is a good investment.
5Cyclo
Seeker Archetype
Depending on how you build your characters in the early-game, you can easily lock yourself out of some types of attacks that you don’t want to miss out on. One of the clearest examples of this is the lack of wind magic if you don’t build a Seeker character.
However, you don’t have to get far into the Seeker lineage to unlock Cyclo, a mid-level wind magic attack. Going to the effort of unlocking this skill means you can easily inherit it well into the mid/late-game where it will still be useful. If you find that Cyclo is not being as effective as it had been earlier in the game, just going a little deeper into the Seeker line to unlock Cyclone is recommended.
4Rakunda
Faker Archetype
It’s quite easy to miss out on the Faker archetype thanks to how prickly Alonzo is upon your first meeting with him, but if you go to the effort of getting his archetype, you’ll have access to some useful abilities that you’ll want to transfer to other archetypes.
Almost all of the debuff abilities you’ll unlock with the Faker are viable for inheriting for almost any support build, but one of the easiest to apply to any character that has an empty slot is Rakunda. This ability will lower the target’s defense for three turns, and can easily stack as well. During a boss encounter, you’ll want to have at least one character with access to this ability.
3Marakukaja
Commander Archetype
Similarly to the Knight, the Commander is one of the more tricky archetypes to understand thanks to their mostly passive abilities until later on in their lineage. However, by using this archetype you’ll get access to the Marakukaja ability quite quickly, which is easy to transfer into any support character build.
In spite of how early you can unlock this ability in the Commander skill-tree, it lets you buff all of your party member’s defense in just one move. Again, this is an ability you’ll want at least one character in your party to have access to during boss fights, especially if the enemy is hitting hard.
2Magic Font
Mage Archetype
It’s easy to focus solely on the active abilities that you can inherit, but the passive abilities can be just as useful. However, they’re easy to forget when it comes to inheriting skills since they’re usually more niche, designed specifically for the archetype they’re attached to.
In spite of this, one of the easier passive abilities to pass over to other archetypes is Magic Font from the Mage archetype, which will give the character an impressive 15% bonus MP. Whether the character relies on MP for magic or physical attacks, this passive will ensure they run out of MP much slower during long dungeon trips.
1Patra
Even though the Healer archetype is arguably one of the best classes to build in Metaphor: ReFantazio, you might not want to build a character as a dedicated Healer in favor of a more aggressive build.
However, one ability you’ll want to ensure at least one of your party members has access to is Patra. This skill lets the user cure any status ailment. Having access to this ability will drastically lower your usage of the specific recovery items needed to cure status effects, making it one of the most versatile abilities in the game.
