A big appeal for many role-playing games is the ability to customize the party, with each player having their own preferred line-up depending on their own needs and desires. Octopath Traveler 2 amplifies that customizability by offering secondary jobs and more, allowing any player to clear the game with any party line-up.

Despite this, there are some characters that are better to use over others. While each of the eight main characters in Octopath Traveler 2 has their own strengths and special talents, some characters are better options when it comes to combat. Here are the four characters that, when put together, help make up the best party.

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Partitio, The Merchant

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As a merchant, Partitio might seem like an odd pick for combat encounters, and it's true Partitio plays more of a support role than anything else. However, his utility is not in his defense or in his support skills, but in his ability to function as a battery of sorts. His skill Donate BP allows Partitio to hand over his stored BP to other party members, and his Latent Power, Hoot and Holler, allows to instantly replenish his BP stock. He can then hand off his BP to whoever needs it. His EX Skill is Share SP, which allows him to also pass off his SP stock, making Partitio vital for keeping resources up during long battles.

In addition to acting as a BP battery, Partitio has a few other benefits that make him a strong party member. While his damage output is not as impressive as Hikari's or Ochette's, he can still equip a variety of secondary jobs to help fill out whatever hole the party has, whether it be magical damage with the Scholar job or healing with the Cleric job. His Merchant job also provides him with a variety of unique skills, including using Rest to restore his HP and SP and Hired Help to spend money to use a variety of different attacks.

Ochette, The Hunter

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At first glance, Ochette seems like a basic physical attacker with access to a few decent debuffs. Her utility, however, is based on her unique talents that are only available to her. Her most important ability is Capture, a talent that allows her to capture monsters and use them in battle. This allows Ochette to hit weaknesses she normally wouldn't be able to hit, as well as perform a variety of roles based on the type of monsters she has on stock, such as buff or heal.

Aside from the utility of her monsters, Ochette is a physical powerhouse. Her EX Skill Indomitable Beast buffs her attack, speed, and evasion to make her even stronger. Her Latent Power, Animal Instincts, provides her with incredibly powerful skills as well, with Beastly Howl being the most impressive. Beastly Howl debuffs physical and elemental defense, then reduces the targets' Shield points. A single Beastly Howl can turn the tables during an intense boss battle, as well as set up for more powerful attacks from other characters.

Hikari, The Warrior

Octopath Traveler 2 official art for Hikari the Warrior

The samurai prince Hikari is another physical powerhouse, with high physical stats that allow him to deal massive damage with a variety of weapons. Hikari is the most powerful damage dealer in the game, and his flexibility in battle can be improved through Duels, which allows Hikari to learn skills from the NPCs he defeats. The Warrior's Incite skill also allows Hikari to act as a tank, protecting weaker characters from potentially damaging attacks.

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Being a tank also gives Hikari more chances to charge up his Latent Power, Shadow's Hold, which is easily one of the most powerful Latent Powers in the game. Shadow's Hold grants Hikari three unique skills, and each of them is incredibly powerful. Even the most durable bosses can be taken care of with strategic use of Hikari's Shadow's Hold skills, making Hikari's role in the party almost necessary against the more powerful bosses in the game. While Hikari's utility in battle can seem rather one-note, his overwhelming strength in his one specialization makes him a must-have for any party.

Castti, The Apothecary

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Castti is one of the most flexible characters in the game, though it may not initially be apparent from her main job, Apothecary. Her utility spawns from her unique Concoct ability, which allows her to use a variety of ingredients to create a variety of effects. With Concoct, Castti can not only heal, but also strike elemental weaknesses, inflict debuffs, and grant buffs. Concoct turns Castti into a jack-of-all-trades, and combined with her fairly decent physical damage and equally well-rounded Apothecary skill set, Castti can be easily slotted into any party to serve any role.

Concoct's only drawback is that it requires ingredients to use, which can be detrimental in a long boss battle where Castti might run out of ingredients. However, Castti can easily bypass this with her Latent Power, Every Drop Counts, which allows her to Concoct without using up materials. This completely removes Concoct's only drawback, and Castti can use support skills like Latent Power Plus and Full Power to keep her Latent Power Gauge filled, in order to keep using Concoct for free. This easily turns Castti into the best healer and supporter in the game, even before considering secondary jobs.

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