18 Oct 2024 9:23 AM +00:00 UTC

9 Hidden Tips For Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a lengthy game, with many players yet to make it past Grand Trad. With its 80-100 hours of playtime, it’s hard not to get lost in its political drama.

As it is such a sprawling game, it's not a surprise that there are plenty of things in this game that are not explicit but can really help you out.

Here are 9 hidden tips you should know about.

Retry Battles

Metaphor’s cheeky new way to avoid gameovers is its ‘Retry’ function. If you start off an encounter with an Ambush, you can simply retry and start over again. This doesn’t take any time at all as it resets the encounter instantly.

Say you failed to Stun an enemy via overworld combat and you’re hearing boss music, that means the enemy successfully hit you. That’s an ambush and it gives the enemy more advantage to its turns.

This is especially useful during tough enemy encounters where you don’t know what their Weakness is. If for some reason you fight against a monster that repels Wind Damage, you can just press the Retry button and not cast Wind again. Simple. Note that Retrying doesn’t take you out of the fight, so you’re really gonna have to eliminate all enemies or use escape.

Pass, Pass, Pass

Passing is an important gameplay mechanic during intense enemy encounters. Unlike the Persona games where we always get an advantage every time we exploit an enemy's weakness, Metaphor doesn’t have that. Instead, it adapts Shin Megami Tensei’s classic ‘Press Turn’ combat system.

Passing is necessary as it doesn’t fully spend the ‘Press Turn’ crystals. It only reduces it to half. Meaning, you can do another turn if you press pass on the selected hero. This rotates to the next member of your team, giving you more options to strategize.

This is helpful for encounters where one member of the party doesn’t have abilities that can exploit the enemy weakness. If Hulkenberg can’t deal physical damage against an enemy, you can pass and give that turn to Strohl with his Warrior Archetype.

Check the Pantry Every Day

Many of Metaphor’s slice-of-life scenarios are found inside the Gauntlet Runner. This is your trusty metallic hulk of machinery that can let you and your party traverse great distances. Every political candidate in the Kingdom of Euchronia should have it, and your party isn’t the only one with it.

It comes equipped with a kitchen, capsule beds, a Teleporter, washrooms, and a Pantry. This repository of cooking ingredients gets restocked every day. Paying close attention to it can get you random cooking ingredients every time you visit it. Perfect for cooking with your followers.

Maintain Good Hygiene

Being King requires more than just five Royal Virtues, cleanliness also leads to kingliness. Maintaining good hygiene may sound crazy for a game with magic and fairies, but it is as important as leveling up.

Your protagonist needs to discharge his waste and clean off his sweat after a long day. The Toilet and the Washroom are adjacent to the pantry, meaning you can just do all three tasks together every day.

Using the Washroom can get you a 100 EXP bonus, while it is not substantial, at least it’s free and it doesn’t consume time.

The toilets, however, are another thing. Your first venture into the toilet doesn’t really mean much. However, if you keep doing it again and again, it grants you a special +1 bonus in your Luck Stat. Making it a habit to check the pantry, taking a bath, and using the toilet every day can give you a massive advantage in the long run.

Debate!

Metaphor is a game about politics. It talks about various social issues such as systemic racism, segregation, poverty, and corruption. For a game with talking bats and magical fairies, it has a mature theme that can resonate with players.

The protagonist is among the many candidates vying for the crown. Healthy political discussions against rival parties can spark interest in the masses. Stepping into any Podium can pit you against your political opponents, and picking the correct response to their arguments can net you points for your Eloquence and Imagination Virtues.

These aren’t everyday occasions. So it’s best if you check the nearest Podium if someone is campaigning on it and simply debate them. If there isn’t, you get to do your own speeches with no intervention.

Merchant Makes Money Trivial

Of all the Archetypes, the Merchant makes the game’s monetary system trivial, especially in mid-game. This can be unlocked after forging a Bond with Briggita, the Rhoag, and the proprietor of the Lycaon Igniter Shop.

The Merchant’s passive ability is called ‘Alchemy’ and it can double the amount of Reeves you get from overworld and turn-based combat. This is ideal for dungeons where you are overleveled and you can simply just take down lesser enemies in the overworld.

By the time you leave the Dungeon, you’re guaranteed 2 or 10 times richer.

Level Up Important Bonds

Similar to Persona’s Social Links, leveling up Bonds in Metaphor can give you beneficial rewards. Each of the twelve major Bonds has its own unique skills that can be unlocked after reaching a specific level.

Getting More’s bond to Level 2 can acquaint you with seamless Archetype swapping. This opens up a new UI in the menu where you can upgrade and swap Archetypes without having to visit the Akademia.

Leveling up Maria’s Bond to Level 3 is important as well. It grants the ability of ‘Speed Cooking’ where time no longer advances. You can only do this once per day, though. But at least it gives more uses to the Pantry and Kitchen, and it doesn’t mess up our schedule.

Idlesday & Metalsday Offer BIG Discounts

The game’s 5-day Calendar System isn’t just a way to check how many days left for your next political campaign. It also acts as a reminder that some days provide huge discounts for select products.

During Idlesday, item shop prices drop to a staggeringly low price during its ‘Big Bargain Day.’ MP and HP Regenerating potions are cheaper than usual, so you can go spend Reeves without a care.

Metalsday has its own unique event with ‘Weapon/Armour Shop Discount Day.’ Every 29th of the month, prices for Armor, Weapons, and select items are greatly reduced. Perfect for buying that one specific Armor you couldn’t get before.

You Can Pet The Cat

And finally for our final tip: You can pet the cat. This isn’t really useful but there’s nothing wrong with petting the Akademia’s resident cat, Plateau. So if you’re visiting the Akademia, make sure to give Plateau your attention. The cat might even give you special items if you check up on him every day.

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