The combat in can feel more than a bit daunting for a while, with strong enemies capable of inflicting devastating damage begin to pop up only a couple of dungeons into the game. There are m💫any ways to press the advantage, however. All you need is a firm grasp of the mechanics.

Those mechanics can and will expand substantially as you unlock more Archetypes, progress your followers' 💝storylines, and more. But especially in those early hours, when harder battles will often𒈔 be make-or-break on your knowledge of Metaphor: ReFantazio's combat fundamentals, this guide will aim to keep you up-to-speed.

Stat Buff And Debuff Magic Is Important

In some games, you might occasionally glance at magic that buffs allies or debuffs enemies. In Metaphor: ReFantazio, difficult fights can be flipped in your favor with liberal casts of these life-saving spells.

Our favorite might be Tarunda, which you can acquire from the Faker Archetype by initiating the quest with the blue-haired man, Alonzo, in Martira. Tarunda lowers the target's Attack to its three-stage minimum for three turns.

The thing about this is, so long as you recast it on the third turn, it will stick for another three turns, and so forth. And, since Metaphor's battle UI will have stat displays blink when a debuff (or buff) is about to end, you'll always know right when to do it.

Curbing a powerful enemy's offensive enthusiasm means far less time playing defensively, and far more time beating it to oblivion. Of course, if defense is vital, then the same usefulness applies to buffs of all varieties.

Plot A Growth Course For Your Protagonist

Unlike your party members, whose stat growth upon level-up is automatic, the protagonist will grow partly automatically - but you'll also have a stat point to distribute as you like each time he levels up, too.

This isn't so important that you'll experience substantial issues if you always choose whatever, but it can be advantageous to consider what sorts of Archetypes you want him to focus on. Physical powerhouses? Tanks? Magic-slinger꧟s? There's plenty pick between.

Ourselves, we had the protagonist as more of a magic user, so offensive spells and healing spells in roughly equal measure. This is because the first three party members you'll gain are slanted a bit wayward of that trend.

Thus, we pumped about half our early stat points into the Magic stat, ensuring that the hero's got more spellpower.

Don't totally neglect your other stats. A few points in Endurance will help no matter what you roll with.

Never Forget The Retry Option

Sometimes, a fight gets totally out-of-hand. You're low on HP, low on MP, low on helpful items, and it's all just🌳 a right mess. It happens - especially on hard mode.

Don't let pride prevent you from seeing the writing on the wall. When things look too dire, it's best to press the button that reset the battle. That way, you are starting from the fight, rather than a checkpoint or manual save.

Of course, if your entire setup seems unworkable, then resetting won't work very well. More often than not, though, it's simply a matter of applying what you've learned in prior bouts, bit by bit, until you've nailed it.

Maintain A Variety Of Attack Types

There's nothing worse than heading into a battle with only a few attack types - you know, Fire, Ice, Slash, Strike, and so forth - only to realize that the enemy composition is collectively resistant to everything you have on you.

Better, then, to have as diverse an assortment of attack types as possible when first entering a dungeon.

As you grow comfortable with the types of enemies in a given zone, you should n😼ix this idea in favor of strategizing to suit your foes directly.

Knight's Proclamation Is Fantastic

Once Hulkenberg joins the party, you'll unlock the fabulous Knight Archetype. WIth the Knight, you will have access to Knight's Proclamation. It's very, very good.

Hulkenberg (or whoever you have equipped with Knight) should use Knight's Proclamation in many encounters. If your enemies are prone to single-target attacks, there's a good chance (albeit not guaranteed) they'll focus on your Knight, as this serves as a provoke mechanic.

Knights have very high Endurance, so they can tank hits better than most other Archetypes. You see, then, why it's advantageous to keep enemies centered on someone who's less likely to go down.

Passing Your Turn Is Good, Actually

This one will be second nature to you soon enough, but if you're reading this early enough, you might well be underestimating the 'Pass Turn' action.

Shin Megami Tensei fans will be familiar with what that franchise refers to as the "Press Turn" system, which keeps careful tabs on how many actions you have used, and removes some action opportunities per turn when you miss and so forth.

Passing one's turn uses a half an action rather than a whole one. What this means in practice is that you can wind up with 1.5 remaining actions, or 2.5, or what-have-you.

This can often mean the difference between being able to use a synthesis skill or having it locked out, or even just getting that one more turn i🌃n when it's sorely needed.

If a party member doesn't have much to offer on their turn, don't hesitate to use it.

Equipment Optimization Is Seldom Optimal

Whenever you swap Archetypes, the game will give you its perceived "optimum" gear f🦩or the new Arcꦫhetype. This is great... except when it isn't.

The system will always prioritize raw attack or defense, which often means it's disregarding the (often substantial) stat boosts that can be specifically useful for that Archetype.

For instance, say you've swapped Hulkenberg back to her Knight Archetype, and you have an accessory that adds a whopping +6 Endurance. If the accessory is even one Defense point lower than something else, odds are, she'll get the something-else.

It's a bit of a hassle, but always double-check if you're not fully familiar with the 💟gear you've been given.

Formation, Formation, Formation

It should go without saying that, as a rule, more fragile classes should hang back. But it can be easy to forget to set someone in the front or back row when switching Archetypes. So, be careful!

Even within combat, there are points at which you'll want to consider altering a character's row. You might encounter a vicious foe who targets the front row with an attack that'll activate the following round.

You can either defend, or - sometimes better - move to the back row. There areꦗ still more reasons to consꦗider a mid-battle switch as you progress through the game.

Regularly Restock Stat Ailment Cures

We know money's not always easy to keep in your coffers, but make a habit of restocking at least five or so of every status ailment curative when you're in item shops.

You won't always know what you're up against. (Well, our guides can help, but still!) You might be deep into a large dungeon when, suddenly, an enemy appears that loves to put you to Sleep, or Poison you, or some other irritating detriment.

Bosses are particularly ruthless about this. So, yes, even stuff like Malady and Hex - keep that stuff on-hand, always. Even when you have Patra and similar status-curing spells, because you might need the wielder to do something else on their turn.

Conserve MP Through Archetype Swaps

The sooner you learn just how important it can be to maintain your MP through dungeons for the fights that really need it, the better off you'll be. You can help tremendously in this regard by hanging on to a stock of elemental attack items.

But there's something even better for those long treks: remember that just because you make someone a Healer, or a Mage, or similar fare, that doesn't mean you can't change their Archetype to something less MP-draining for a while.

Say the protagonist is a Healer for the bulk of your exploration session, and you're starting to feel the MP crunch. Consider changing from Healer to a more physical-oriented class that's less likely to drain you dry until the bosses and sub-bosses are on the horizon.