Octopath Traveler is already known as a classic JRPG with a gorgeous art style, and it is finally available on Xbox platforms as a part of Xbox Game Pass. It’s taken long enough, but we’re just glad it is here. This JRPG innovates on retro JRPG visuals and tropes to create something entirely new, and one of the ways it innovates is with a party of eight characters you can recruit in absolutely any order you desire. Lovely.
As a result you might be wondering which characters you should be recruiting first, and which characters you should be leaving for the end. Sensible questions, honestly, and it’s those questions we’re here to answer for you today.
In this guide we’re going to outline which Octopath Traveler characters you should recruit first, and how they will set you up for the adventure ahead of you. There are eight characters to choose from, but these are the ones that will lead you to glory.
Tressa
Tressa Colzione is our top pick for an essential Octopath Traveler character, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that has already played the game. Tressa is able to use bows, polearms, and wind magic, and then can also use the Hired Help ability to literally hire mercenary warriors that will fight for you in battle. These warriors will have access to even more weapons, and will assist you in finding your enemy’s weaknesses. That’s all in addition to her Rest ability, which costs 0 SP to use, and will have her heal HP, SP, and cure status ailments.
Hired Help can summon a variety of units onto the battlefield, including clerics, which use powerful light magic, and veterans, which use awesome sword attacks. This makes Tressa incredibly versatile and useful throughout the game, as long as you have the money to fuel her attacks.
Cyrus
Cyrus Albright will be your group’s mage, and his variety of spells will help target the weaknesses of opponents and help you break them down. For most of the game, Cyrus can act as an incredibly powerful Cleric, using light spells, increasing his SP, and allowing him to continually top up the health of your party whenever in a pinch.
Later on in the game Cyrus can be converted into a Sorcerer, which grants him access to every single kind of elemental attack, in addition to a huge boost to his HP and SP. This essentially turns Cyrus into a beast that can tank elemental magic hits, and break any foe with relative ease.
H’aanit
H’aanit is different to most of the other characters in Octopath Traveler, as she doesn’t excel in any particular traditional skill like most of the characters, and is instead a beast master, which allows her to capture and use the creatures you fight in battle. She uses a bow and an axe, lightning magic, and also can wield all of the skills of her chosen creature, giving her a wide range of abilities, and excellent utility in most encounters.
If you choose the right creature to pair up with H’aanit for any particular encounter, then she can become an essential member of the party, especially since she is one of the most powerful characters in the game when it comes to physical attacks.
Alfyn
Alfyn Greengrass is a potion maker, an apothecary, and that makes him an amazing support character. While all of this other characters we’ve mentioned here have excellent utility in taking down enemies and dealing damage, Alfyn is a support character that can keep them all healed and fighting. He can only use axes and deal ice elemental damage, but that really isn’t important.
He can learn skills like First Aid, Rehabilitate, Vivify, and later in the game Dohter’s Charity, these skills will allow Alfyn to restore HP, cure status ailments, revive, and make item uses affect all friendly characters instead of one, respectively. Combine that last skill with Refreshing Jam and it’ll easily heal the entire party, which, needless to say, is a ridiculously strong combination.