Be brave, not stupid.
I mean, I’m sure you’re super excited to get your hands on Bravely Default, the new Japanese role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS (which we liked quite a lot). But don’t just jump into things without a little preparation. Bravely Default is a complex game filled with unique mechanics and a lot of customization.
So, GamesBeat has put together this little guide to help you get started. Again, Bravely Default is a huge game that allows for a lot of strategy, but these tips should get you through the early parts of your adventure.
Grinding
Grinding is that love-it/hate-it RPG chore of engaging in battles solely to gain experience, money, or other in-game currency. In Bravely Default, you don’t just receive experience points from fighting, but you also gain job points which level up your jobs. This makes grinding doubly important (triply when you consider all the money you also earn). Besides, you’ll have a damned difficult time if you try to get by with just the battles you’re forced to fight by completing the story.
But while grinding is a necessary evil (unless you’re a sick freak like me who actually enjoys it), Bravely Default has a lot of options that makes the task easier than it is in most RPGs.
Above: Notice the red and blue numbers? Those show how much BP you have.
Find a place filled with monsters you can beat in one turn
Don’t forget: You can use Brave four times for each character during the first turn, which means each one can attack four times at the start of a battle. Now, if you somehow don’t clear all the enemies after that first turn, then you’re vulnerable for three more rounds while you regain your Brave Points.
Make sure you’re in an area where you know you can win a fight in a single turn. Sure, you may not get as much experience per fight, but you’ll make that ground up with the number of battles you’ll quickly beat. You also earn a little more experience when you win a fight in one turn.
Speed up those battle animations
Those battle animations are pretty and all, but they’re a bit slow, especially when you have to see the same ones over and over while grinding. Luckily, you can push the right button on the d-pad to speed things up. Push it twice to run all animations at four times their normal speed.
Increase the enemy encounter rate
Not running into enemies fast enough? Go into the menu, select Tactics, then Config, and finally Difficulty. You’ll find an option to increase or decrease the enemy encounter rate. Bump it up to +100 percent, and you’ll run into fights twice as often as before. Also, resist the urge to turn it down to 0 percent. Yes, you’ll run through areas faster, but you’ll regret missing out on that experience.
Above: You have a lot of options in battle.
Auto-battle
Pushing the Y button makes your party repeat the same actions they did the last turn. It also toggles auto-battle on, meaning you’ll automatically do that round of actions at the start of a battle. If you have a set of moves that you know will take out any group of enemies you’ll come across, then turn auto-battle on.
Don’t grind before you have a full party
You start Bravely Default with a single character before slowly filling out your four-person party. Try to limit your grinding before those three others join you, otherwise you’ll have a level and job disparity between your characters. Don’t worry, it won’t take too long before your party fills up.