The launch of Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a major moment for the resurgence of classic fantasy JRPGs. We’re talking knights, swords, skeletons, dragons, dungeons, and all the spell-slinging, royal hijinks that fans have been craving.
This new world from Atlas is a significant departure from the modern classrooms of Persona, and these games are not easy to get into owing to the myriad of systems, mechanics, and whatnot. If you’re diving in or planning to, here is a beginner’s guide to ease you into Metaphor: ReFantazio.
1) Using Synthesis Effectively in Metaphor: ReFantazio
Synthesis skills use two or more party members to trigger some of the most powerful abilities you’ll gain access to. These require multiple turn charges to activate, but you can gain a huge advantage by using synthesis attacks that hit the enemy’s weakness since that actually refunds multiple turn charges back to you.
Synthesis skills will consume MP from every party member involved, though, so in some cases, you might want to use a less MP-hungry character in place of another.
However, some archetypes, like the Brawler, use HP instead of MP to power their abilities. Those will drain health from multiple characters, which is obviously a little riskier, but health is more accessible to earn back in the long run compared to your precious MP.
If you toggle over to the Synthesis tab, it’ll show you all possible synthesis skills for that equipped archetype, and below that, the team setup you’ll need to put together to unlock them.
For example, if you put together an entire Warrior team, you’ll get the Peerless Stone Cleaver, which gives you access to an early-game severe rank physical attack that can one-shot the higher-level egg boys, even just your first time through the catacombs. Also, if the Stone Cleaver finishes off the enemy, it’ll refund half of a turn charge back.
Putting together three Mages early on, or two Mages plus a Healer or Seeker will give you access to a severe fire attack instead. This summons a massive meteor from the sky that lands precisely on your target.
2) Purifying Gear
You should increase your Wisdom as soon as possible at the start of your playthrough. Early on, you can do this by contemplating life on a bench or by completing side quests, like the Help the Hushed Honeybee. Once you get to rank two Wisdom, you’ll be able to purify certain gear at the church, improving its properties.
For example, the Dragon’s Indignation Sword, which you can get by fighting the first dragon you encounter (instead of sneaking past it). If you purify the sword, it’ll raise its stats but also imbue it with the fire element, which even alters its outward appearance to reflect that fire affinity. This sword will carry you through most of the catacombs, as its melee fire attacks are highly effective here.
The slower type of sword that Warriors use also has an extra property that can negate getting ambushed during its swings. So, if you’re struggling with dodging attacks during the real-time action, this type of sword lets you hit through them with some protection from surprise turn-based battles.
Another thing you can do after you reach Wisdom level two is take on the first quest for Brigitta in front of the Igniter store. After completing her quest, the Igniter shop will be stocked with new accessories to buy.
These are an easy way to gain a multi-targeted elemental magic spell, Mage Thundersquall, early on in the game. These igniter accessories are useful to have on you because you can change which one you have equipped to exploit the area’s most common weakness.
3) Combat Tips
The best tip for engaging in combat in Metaphor: ReFantazio is to use just a bit of patience and wait until enemies turn their backs to you, the first attack you do on them will drain much more of their Break Gauge. This lets you more safely pull enemies into a turn-based fight with an advantage without having to risk fighting them in real-time as much.
During your first time through the catacombs, Egg Boys can quickly wipe out your entire squad if they manage to pull you into a battle. There are some reasons to stay out in the action combat, though, even if it puts you at risk of getting ambushed by an enemy attack.
Against some enemies, fully depleting their Break Gauge for the first time can recuperate health and MP for the entire squad. Use your dodge to cancel out of the squad attack indicator, and then you can go back to fighting them in real-time. ‘
And if multiple enemies are around, try to break all of their gauges because they might give you some free recovery.
4) Playing Defensive with the Knight Archetype
Effectively using the Knight archetype can be the difference between coming out of a fight barely scratched or getting pummeled into the ground.
Here’s how you can capitalize on this Archetype: before activating the Knight’s Proclamation skill, which draws enemy attacks towards the Knight, use the formation command to move that character to the back line. The Knight will then take most of the next turn’s incoming damage, but it’ll be highly reduced since they’re on the backline.
Even better, if your teammates gain back extra turn charges by exploiting weaknesses or landing criticals, the Knight can act again after they’ve cast Proclamation. That’ll let you input the Guard command before the Knight’s turn is over. This will stack the backline damage reduction with the Guard mitigation, turning enemy attacks into nothing more than an inconvenience.
You can even make a more offensive damage absorber by switching to a Warrior, for instance, and using the skill Inheritance to give them the Knight’s Proclamation skill. Then you’ll have one character that can function as both a powerful physical damage dealer on the frontline or a tanky damage absorber on the backline.
5) Archetype Shortcuts
Another thing you’ll want to do as soon as possible is take a Healer archetype up to level 10. That completes a quest for More in Academia.
One of the rewards of this quest, More’s Magic Igniter, will unlock a new feature in the main menu, giving you access to the Archetype Tree modification screen from anywhere in the game. This lets you unlock new archetypes during dungeon exploration or access the Inheritance skill.
The inheritance skill’s shortcut is a bigger deal than you might expect, as it lets you change up your equipped skills or unlock new ones out in the field. That way, you can jump into the menu and switch up your skills to counter specific enemy types that are right in front of you.
6) Check for Secret Paths
When exploring a new area, beware that the mini-map does not reveal every passageway. You’ll need to scan the environment with your actual eyes to visually spot some hidden paths that lead to otherwise inaccessible areas.
Also, using the Fae’s Sight ability will highlight these passageways with a nice green glow, so keep a lookout.
7) Gathering Extra MAG
You’ll need a lot of MAG in Metaphor: ReFantazio to unlock Archetypes and skills. Aside from completing battles, there are a few other ways to gain an extra supply of this currency.
For one, as you progress through the game, periodically check the giant face statue in town. As you rise in popularity, the statue will randomly spew out some bonus MAG for you at specific intervals.
Another option is to take down Elementas, which will try to flee away from you when you get close. They’ll also escape from battle if you don’t destroy them in one turn or leave them stunned so they can’t act. If you manage to take them down in time, you’ll get a huge chunk of the MAG resource at the end of the battle.
If you instead need more spending money, you can convert MAG into coins at the MAG Broker. The conversion is better for you if it’s raining that day, though, so maybe wait until the weather changes to make the most out of this shady exchange.
8) Time and Condition’s Impact on Merchants/NPC
Speaking of rain, different vendors and NPC interactions will change depending on whether it’s day or night. For example, in markets, more vendors will show up at night with unique wares for sale.
You should keep checking the Calendar too. As you can see above, you’ll notice that on Idlesday, there’s an ongoing Big Bargain Day sale. If you just hold your purchases till then, you might end up grabbing a worthwhile deal.
You can also sometimes get freebie items from random NPCs. Talk to everyone you come across who has a little speech bubble above their head, and they might just give you a nice free gift.
9) Don’t Forget The Gloamhall Shop
In the corner of the central city, adjacent to the Honeybee Inn, you’ll find a shop, Gloamhall, that only opens at night. This place sells a couple of game-changing accessories that you can grab early on if you save up enough money.
The Praetorian Cloth reduces the turn cost to half for activating Guard. The more expensive Phantasmal Doll, sold for a whopping 49,000 coins, has a huge bonus that allows you to perform two consecutive actions.
There are some characters, like the Healer in Metaphor, that really benefit from this effect. You can use that with a caster to heal the team and cast a damage spell or just attack twice before moving on to the next character.
Taking the previous example of the Knight’s Proclamation combo, this double-turn accessory allows you to jump to the back, capture enemy aggro, and guard before moving on to the next party member.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a rich, complex JRPG with unprecedented layers of strategy and customization. You need to boot it up first to understand its unique set of jargon and terminologies, and then look at these best tips in the beginner’s guide to maximize your playthrough and enjoy all the detailed fantasy goodness this game has to offer.