Board 8 > My impressions as I play Octopath Traveler for the first time.

(+) Yeah! (+)

man I dunno. I think Therion's story was just a big old dude front to back. Meanwhile I really liked Tressa's. I can't really explain why though.

I think order of completion causes me to look on the stories differently. Like I mentioned a few posts back, if I had done Alfyn's story before Tressa's, I think my opinion of Tressa's story would have left a better initial impression on me.

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Primrose, Chapter 4

Revenge complete, though color me slightly confused about the whole process.

I rather liked Primrose's story as a whole, but I felt like Chapter 3 on kind of added more narrative than I was prepared to assimilate into the story telling process, and in some cases it felt awkward. Chapter 4 even added bits that only further confused me at first, and I just kind of assembled the plot a bit afterwards.

First off... I'm not sure, but I think Simeon might be a pedophile, and I think Primrose might have had a bit of the kool-aid he was offering. She was just a kid when they met, and not once in the narrative have I gotten the impression he was anything but "much" older than her. And he continues to profess his love to her repeatedly.

The only loose end in the story that was wrapped up was the revenge plot, but I still have no idea why Simeon and the Obsidians killed Geoffrey in the first place other than he "found out something he shouldn't have." There was no mention of Graham Crossford, the Gate of Finis, or Galderra in this final Chapter, and there was nothing to explain what the motivation of Simeon and the Obsidians were all about other than they didn't like the law interfering with their dealings.

Chapter 4 felt like it was designed to be confusing too. I kept bouncing between flashbacks, what was happening on the stage, and what was happening with Primrose. I even had to fight two boss battles, the first of which I am fairly certain was the stage version of the play Simeon wrote, and to be honest was the more difficult of the two boss battles. Simeon's motivation for me possibly living was for his play, but if I had died, no big deal? And he continues to go on and on about his love for Primrose, and yet he wants this very abusive relationship I guess. He is definitely a great villain in any regards, albeit mentally unstable and very creepy.

In the end, I repeat the mantra that Faith will be my Shield, defeat Simeon, and then go back to Geoffrey's grave, mission complete. Something felt lacking, like there was supposed to be some self discovery, but Primrose was happy just being herself, and nothing seemed to tie into the other completed tales unless it was the Obsidian group itself, or whatever it was that Geoffrey discovered, but was still left untold to me the viewer.

Not a truly horrible story by any means, but the feeling I had when I did Chapter 1 seemed to slowly disappear as I played through it. It didn't end as high as I had hoped, and I have lots of unanswered questions, but here's hoping I get them answered at some point, or find the musings of my playthrough to inspire my own interpretations.

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Cyrus, Chapter 4

Is this really even a Chapter? The order of operations seemed backwards in Cyrus' final Chapter. We did the dungeon and boss fight first, and then did all the story bits after. Most of the story bits actually felt like lore for the whole game rather than contributions to Cyrus' story as well. The only glimpses of story bits were how Cyrus would wish to treat dangerous knowledge and how he hopes his students will surpass him in knowledge so that he may one day learn from them.

It was an exciting chapter, because I can see where the culmination of all the stories (or most at the very least) are coming together. I suspect I will be going to the Gate of Finis and stopping a sealed away darkness, I assume Galderra, that wishes to bring doom and destruction to the world. I'm not sure how Graham Crossford fits in yet, or how Primrose's story intersects (other than maybe the Obsidians are much like Mattias and want Galderra back or something).

I was a little disheartened that Therese didn't ever get her due and Cyrus should open his eyes. I hope she's not going to feel disappointed at her lot in life chasing this man who is blinded by his studies. His story "fin" wallpaper is probably the best of the bunch so far too, with Cyrus passed out at his desk and Therese watching over him.

This Chapter was so short, and I really feel as though Cyrus' story more or less ended at the end of Chapter 3 and this was more just a lore Chapter, but it was still quite good for setting up the backdrop of what might be to come.

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H'aanit, Chapter 4

Got a Red Eye problem? H'aanit is on it! I purposely saved this Chapter for the final one because H'aanit has become my favorite Octopath Traveler, despite having the weakest path action and trait (imo), and I wanted to end the stories on a high. I was not disappointed.

Playing her Chapter reminded me of Star Wars in a way where a young Jedi Padawan who has lost their master comes into their own to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight. Corny comparison, I know, but that was the similar feeling I had with H'aanit and Z'aanta. H'aanit comes to Marsalim and saves the entire kingdom from a most dangerous foe that only she can fight, while the entire nation rallies to protect her from the lesser enemies that encroach upon the city. It's rather epic story-telling.

The final fight with Red Eyes was great too. I could tell it was definitely meant to be harder than I gave it a run at since by this point all my characters are level 55+ and I have tons of weapons in the 380+ range, but the enemy itself definitely seemed ominous. My best guess is that it must be something that came forth from the Gate of FInis considering it's appearance, and the way that H'aanit reacted after she dispatched it, "What evil is this?"

The reunion with Z'aanta was great. He picks her up as if she is still a child and his daughter figure, and she is embarrassed for it, and then proceeds to walk into the sunset with him. I can't really explain why all of this worked for me so well, but it was just really well done.

Interestingly, H'aanit narrates the final bits as if she is telling someone else, not Z'aanta, but rather her apprentice or even child, the story, also as if it is sometime in the future, and the story I just played through was a retelling of her through the words to that person.

No mention of Graham Crossford, Galderra, or the Gate of Finis, or the Obsidians, or any other cross story topic I can think of exists, and so I surmised that Red Eyes was the common factor and will likely be the tie in to the other stories.

Now to see where the game leads me from here. I have TONS of side stories to clean up, plus I noticed some new ones (Mikk and Makk had a quest in Noblecourt when I finished Primrose's story), so I'll need to revisit towns and re-Inquire townies that I wasn't able to before. Check out any new purchasables or stealables, and challenge any NPCs I wasn't confident with in the past.

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Gonna post a Chapter 4 ratings, Overall Story ratings, and Overall Octopath Traveler ratings later.

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Not really a problem, but the monster is called Redeye, not Red Eyes. Since you kept calling it the latter I was imagining having Red-Eyes Black Dragon as a boss.

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If I recall correctly, you can find some extra lore in Haanit's Ch4 dungeon by searching in the room where you fought Redeye.
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After reevaluating my impressions from finishing all Chapter 4s, here are my Chapter 4 Rankings...

H'aanit - 10/10
Ophelia - 9.5/10
Cyrus - 9/10
Therion - 8/10
Tressa - 7.5/10
Olberic - 7/10
Primrose - 6.5/10
Alfyn - 6/10

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BakusaiTenketsu posted...

I was a little disheartened that Therese didn't ever get her due and Cyrus should open his eyes. I hope she's not going to feel disappointed at her lot in life chasing this man who is blinded by his studies.

This idiot tried to ruin his career and possibly life because she thinks someone not returning her feelings is unacceptable and must be punished

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And stories as a whole...

H'aanit - 10/10

• Honestly, it was just really that good and made use of the time it had to tell a gripping tale about the apprentice hunter rising up and becoming her master's equal.

Cyrus - 9.5/10

• Equally as good as H'aanit's story, with only minor grievances in some delivery.

Olberic - 9/10

• A strong story, very few flaws. The only complaint was the final boss didn't really have a presence in the story.

Ophelia - 8.5/10

• Slow to start, but strong to finish. No regrets as her being my main character.

Primrose - 8/10

• Strong to start, and manages to cross the finish line with a decent revenge story.

Tressa - 7/10

• A very passable story with many heartfelt moments, though Tressa was too much of a Mary Sue for my taste.

Therion - 6.5/10

• A fairly generic anti-hero story, and Therion was very difficult to like.

Alfyn - 6/10

• It wasn't really all that exciting. Alfyn had no antagonist within his story to drive him.

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At first I thought you left Alfyn's blank intentionally but that wouldn't really make sense for a 6/10 rating. >_>
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Character Rankings based on Personality, Travel Banter, and Story interactions...

S Tier
H'aanit
Alfyn

A Tier
Ophelia
Tressa
Cyrus

B Tier
Olberic
Primrose

C Tier
Therion (what a dick)

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Character Rankings based on Combat and Game Mechanics...

S Tier
Therion
Cyrus
Alfyn

A Tier
Tressa
Olberic
H'aanit

B Tier
Ophelia
Primrose

Edit: Moved H'aanit up to A Tier, because she is ridiculously OP in physical attack. Therion as a Thief/Hunter would hit for 17k with Aeber's Reckoning, while H'aanit as a Hunter/Thief was hitting for 33k. I don't know why there was a discrepancy that large, but doubling his damage and being a powerhouse physical dps more than makes up for how terrible Provoke and Beast Skills are.

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I'll keep this bumped as I move into end game content. I don't know what to expect, but I still need to get those advanced jobs, explore some of the 50+ areas, and have a slew of side stories to do.

Total Play Time after all Chapter 4s are completed is - 84 hrs; 37 min.

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Which sub job boss is easiest to tackle?

I've found three of them I think, Starseer, Runelord, and Warmaster so far.

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Well if you get Runelord, giving it to a certain character makes Warmaster a joke. But without any of the others done first.... I dunno. I would think the fourth one that you haven't found yet if you use your super moves well. It's been a while

It's Tressa who you give Runelord to btw

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I unlocked Sorcerer.

I can tell I'm getting a bit more overpowered and trivializing some of these boss fights. I made sure everyone had the priest ability to be healed over their hp limit and in doing so had almost nothing to worry about the entire fight.

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Sorcerer was my first too. Then Starseer and Runelord.
I definitely did Warmaster last since Hooboy, she goes absolutely bonkers on you if you let her live too long.

They have cool music too
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Just got Starseer. These advanced job fights aren't as tough as they once were, that's for sure. They are expensive on the JP though.

I was thinking that I was getting better, then I tried doing the Direwolf in Forest of Purgation since I just got a quest for it as well, and that beastie kicked my teeth in, so I'll come back in a few levels.

Other things I did today... I got a Badge of Friendship in Saintsbridge from finishing a quest, so that will help with JP for these new jobs. I finished a quest for Princess Mary in Rippletide by escorting Paul from Undertow Cave. I also saw Alfyn's Chapter 2 Boss there as an NPC, but don't think she had anything that I could do with her at that moment.

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Got Runeblade. Completed a couple more side stories.

I might be getting to the point where I'll need an actual guide to get some of these side stories complete. I'm also finding new ones it feels like every time I enter towns I've been to before.

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yeah, you might need a guide to actually get the optional super boss. I did.

Got Warmaster. I don't think there are any other subjobs since the job wheel looks pretty complete, plus some of the posts here have insinuated as much.

I'll probably spend some time working on leveling my characters since some of these side quests look to be behind 58+ content, plus there are some NPCs I can't challenge/guide/inquire unless I am 60+. I opted to look up a guide for that to see how best to optimize my leveling process, and found this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/octopathtraveler/comments/91v4ql/a_guide_to_optimized_endgame_grinding/

It suggests that Bewildering Dance is actually a time and efficiency loss, so I might give it a go. I think I sold my Hasty Helmets on accident thinking I would maybe get higher level gear with speed on it at some point, so I may not be super speedy like the guide suggests, but I do have most of the other gear it recommended. I did just get the Captain's Badge today on the subject of this guide as well, so that will help too.

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I haven't played since I got Warblade unlocked. Been hard to motivate myself for grinding.

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Started grinding 4 of the characters... Alfyn, Olberic, Primrose, and Tressa. Got to 65 so far.

Tried the Direwolf again... And got my but kicked again. Tressa Runelord does make things easier, but that Lunar Cry the wolf uses multiple times just foils all the buffing, and then he hits for 5k damage on everyone and then 2.5k damage individual attacks. There's no time to recover.

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hmmm. honestly if you're at level 65 you should be able to beat the direwolf. I know this isn't helpful and it might sound like I'm bragging, but that's not my intention.

I'm probably employing the wrong strategies.

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Random wolf is indeed a big pain
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Got every character to 70 today. I'm going to start using a side story guide so I can finish outstanding side stories, or locate side stories I'm missing.

I did beat the Direwolf today. It was simply a matter of not using my leveling party (ie, no Sorcerer Therion) and doing the fight with legit optimization.

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So I looked at an equipment guide and noticed I sold some unique items that I probably won't ever get again, like my 2 Hasty Helms, which were the only headgear items with Speed.

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So feel free to spoil me on this...

Do I need to have all characters equipped and setup with jobs and skills, or can I pick just an endgame team of 4 and just use them the rest of the game?

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Yeah, you'll need everybody prepared.
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You need all 8 characters.
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Yeah, this is why I said earlier in the topic to keep everyone equally leveled relatively

I mostly stuck with a primary set of 4 characters throughout the game. I had a lot of powerlevelling to do at the end. >_>
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Well, everyone is 70. So I've got them all good there. If I need to grind some more later, it shouldn't be a big ordeal.

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I'm thinking for party setups, assuming I need two...

Alfyn - Warmaster
Primrose - Starseer
H'aanit - Warrior
Cyrus - Merchant

Ophelia - Sorcerer
Tressa - Runelord
Olberic - Apothecary
Therion - Hunter


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Without spoiling, I would save the Warmaster character for the "second team."

Edit: But that's just me!

I knocked about a dozen side stories today, including ones involving Heathcote and Ali, as well as a couple other NPCs from the stories.

Also finding a lot of better gear in some of this Battle-Tested stuff. Before today, I only had a few things over 300 (elem) attack. I've ackrewed a bit of an arsenal now.

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Will get more time in tomorrow.

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Very first Side Story I did featured Alaic. He gave me some backstory that he was an Obsidian sent to kill Susanna and failed, but was redeemed by her. So it's arching the Obsidians from Primrose's story into characters from H'aanit's, albeit very minorly.

I didn't have H'aanit in my party when I did this quest, so I wonder if the dialogue changes if certain party members are active when you do NPCs stories from their past.

I had Therion as an active party member when I did Heathcotes, but I'm not sure if there was any dialogue that would have changed in the side story.

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Also killed the Devourer of Men and rescued Ellie, which at this point is no big deal.

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Cordelia is writing letters to Noa about "The Princess and the Noble Thief," huh? I knew she was sweet on him.

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I think I'm almost done with all the side stories. Most of the ones I was missing involved escorting an NPC somewhere, much of the rest were just going to areas out of order previously.

I'm not sure the best way to go about double checking that I've completed all of them, and apparently I'm still missing something since I haven't unlocked any final dungeon yet either.

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What I did was look up a full list of Quest names and check against the in game list of Quests I had completed.
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There was a way to check sidequests in the game, wasnt there? Or am I misremembering?
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IIRC it just tells you which Quests you have done and doesn't say how many you have left.
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https://bitesizegamer.com/octopath-traveler-how-to-unlock-final-dungeon-and-true-ending/

This explains how to unlock the true final area

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IIRC, having Saving Grace (is that the ability that gives you more than 9999HP?) on all your characters for the final boss is super helpful.
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I was missing the second Kit Quest in Moonstruck Coast.

I'm probably missing other quests if I missed this one.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

IIRC, having Saving Grace (is that the ability that gives you more than 9999HP?) on all your characters for the final boss is super helpful.

It's up to 9999, not above that

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