By now you all probably know that Square Enix’s new RPG Bravely Default has captivated me unlike any game has as of late. You also might know that there are quite a few “Tips for Playing Bravely Default” articles out there. I mean like… a lot. A lot a lot. Something I’ve noticed though about these helpful articles is that, well, not all of them are all that helpful. I mean sure, most of them are great for beginning players. But I’m not a beginning player anymore. I’m needing help in other areas. That is where most of these “Tip” articles fall out of relevance.
For those of you that already have a grasp on the Job system, those players out there that have maxed out the shops in Norende, the gamers who have already awakened the four crystals, I have a few actual end-game (or near end-game, for that matter) tips and advice that you probably didn’t know you wanted/needed.
By using SP (Sleep Points), you can exceed the 9999 damage limit with attacks.
This extremely useful tip is actually given to you as you play the game: I believe one of the little intro-tips that play when you start the game mentions this, but seeing as I’ve been leaving the system in sleep mode for weeks, I rarely see these messages. But nonetheless, this is an invaluable strategy that you need to take advantage of. I’ve been able to link up my special attacks with some other spell-casting buffs in combination with a “Bravely Second” SP move to deal over 30,000 damage! And you can be nice about it and send the attack for others to utilize as well. Aren’t you a nice guy!
Buffs can stack. And this is absolutely lethal.
Increasing your crit rate is grand, but increasing it as well as pumping your attacks per turn, speed, and physical strength can be devastating. This one might seem like a “well, duh” tip, but you have to remember timing. Buff your party in the proper order: make sure a caster casts his or her spell before your brawler attacks so they can fully take advantage of the buff. Also, use this in conjunction with SP/Special attacks and you’ll be laying down some lethal damage in no time.
You can enter the Grandship once you have it.
Call me silly, but I didn’t realize this until way late in the game. Once you have control over the Grandship, the airship/flying fortress, you can enter it to access the shops that are within. To do so, select the Grandship as you normally would, by bringing up the menu on the touch screen and selecting the Grandship icon. Then, while flying on the ship, simply tap the Grandship icon again to gain access to the innards. Here, you can go down and find the shops that were accessible earlier in the game but you may have missed. This is incredibly useful if you are like me and didn’t have enough Pg (gold) to buy the spells that were here. Oh, and the magic shop has all the magic spells in the game for all the mage classes. Very handy indeed!
Use your SP.
It’s common in RPGs to gather items and special stuff and just never use it. But in Bravely Default you absolutely should be using the SP. You can only store 3 SP at a time, it generates fairly quickly (8 hours), and the bonuses are tremendous (see above). It’s there to help you out in a pinch, and you need to use it.
Grinding is easier in certain locations.
You’re gonna need to grind some levels. It’s just something you’ll have to do. As you already know you can pump up the random encounter rate and make the task a bit simpler. But you can supplement the work by doing it in the most effective areas possible. I found that the enemy groups on the overworld map right outside Florem (the northeast city) gave the best return for the grind. Anytime after Chapter 4, these enemy groups can give you upwards to 4,000 EXP per battle, and over 300 Job Points per battle (as well as a hefty chunk of Pg as well)! Set up higher random encounter rates, speed up the actual battles, set your party to auto-battle, and watch the number soar! Seriously… I gained 5 Job levels in one fight with Tiz alone!
Time of day has importance in some quests.
Specifically some side quests, but important nonetheless. If you’re wondering why those blue exclamation marks are guiding you to Ancheim and Florem because you can’t find any indication of a quest, then go there when it’s nightfall. Just run around outside a few seconds and wait for the sun to go down then return. Some quests only trigger when it’s night. This is the only way to unlock the Spell Fencer, Time Mage, and Red Mage Asterisks/Jobs. Alternatively to figuring this out, you can go into Ringabel’s D Journal, look in the notes section, and read that you can enter the towns at night. But who does that?
Don’t be afraid to have multiple party members use the same job.
If you’re like me you’re probably wanting to keep a diverse team: if Tiz is a Knight then Edea can’t be a Knight. But you should throw away that misconception right now. Not only is having multiple characters use the same job a fine idea, it’s also a powerful one. I have Agnes as my main caster (she’s mastered White, Black, and Time magics) and the others are all physical powerhouses. Tiz, Edea, and Ringabell are all master Ninjas. The reason this is cool (and just one way to have a team, and certainly not the only or best!) is because they can use class and support abilities in conjunction with one another. Tiz can direct an enemy attack at Edea, who is already poised to evade all physical attacks from enemies and counter with bonus damage, and Ringabel is buffing each of them. Like I said, it’s just one way to play, but don’t be afraid at all to have the same classes amongst your party.
Be sure to update your friends every day. And use them before you lose them.
When talking to the traveling merchant you can save your game as well as update data. Do that! By updating your data you connect to the internet and receive data from a few other players from across the world. You receive the attacks they have sent as well. Since you can only store 20 of these guests (any more that you receive boots the oldest from the list), you should use these attacks whenever you can. Obviously if the data you have is lower than what you are already capable of then don’t use them, but if it’s over 100,000 damage like one of the guys I got, then you’d better use that!
The Assassin’s Daggers are great when grinding.
Equip a faster character with two Assassin Daggers, the Dual Wield ability, an ability that allows for multiple extra attacks like the Swordmaster’s Multitask support ability, and watch the enemies fall. The Assassin Dagger has a chance to inflict Death on the target, instantly killing them. Most bosses are immune to this unfortunately, but those enemies outside Florem that you’re slaying for EXP/JP/Pg certainly aren’t. Use this to your advantage and make grinding even easier!
The above tips are just a few nuggets of info that can help the ailing Bravely Default-er later in the game. If you were to sum it up in a neat little package sentence it would be this: Use every resource that is given to you. Don’t worry about what you did in other RPGs, or that you only have 3 SP to use and you might need it for a later fight, or that you find it strangely titillating when Edea wears the Bravo Bikini… okay maybe that last one doesn’t fit, but the point is use everything to it’s fullest. That way you’ll not only ensure you can defeat the most fearsome foes that game throws at you, but you’ll get every last bit of enjoyment the game has to offer.
Laters,
Jsick
