2018 Square Enix role-playing game Octopath Traveler centered around its unique job system, with each character starting in one job and later unlocking the ability to equip sub-jobs. In addition to the skills and attacks provided by their job, each character in Octopath Traveler also possessed a character-exclusive ability inspired by their job. While these character abilities are likely to return in Octopath Traveler 2, the game's upcoming sequel, some of them definitely require some tweaking. Octopath Traveler 2 can improve on its predecessor by updating some character abilities or creating brand-new replacements.
Some character abilities in the original Octopath Traveler both worked well as gameplay elements and were well-suited to the character's personality and traveler story. For example, Primrose the Dancer could use Allure, allowing her to seduce NPCs into temporarily joining the party and lending aid in battle. Allure reflects both Primrose's training as a dancer and her natural charisma as the sole daughter of a noble family. Similarly, Tressa the Merchant can spend money to hire allies, while Alfyn the Apothecary can mix healing, buffing, and debuffing compounds mid-battle. While these abilities could easily return in Octopath Traveler 2, other characters' special talents could use a change.
Thief: Pick Lock / Open Purple Chests
Therion the Thief is an expert lockpick who can find his way through every door and into every chest he encounters. In Octopath Traveler, Therion's talent manifested in the ability to unlock special purple chests that could not be opened by any other character. These chests contained some of the game's best shields, weapons, and accessories as well as large amounts of money and level-boosting items called Experience Nuts. Most of Octopath Traveler's dungeons and regions of the map contained at least one purple chest, which could be frustrating for players who encountered one without having Therion in their party. To open the chest, players would have to backtrack to the nearest party, put in Therion, and then return to the purple chest.
Ideally, this character ability should be removed entirely in Octopath Traveler 2. As it seems that the sequel will continue the first game's trend of only allowing four characters in the party at a time, players should not be required to keep Throne, the new Thief, selected at all times. Instead, Throne could have an ability based around stealing from enemies mid-battle. Alternately, Octopath Traveler 2 could draw inspiration from the mobile spin-off Champions of the Continent and give the Thief unique ways to debuff enemies in combat, perhaps even stealing their HP or SP for her own use.
Hunter: Capture Monsters
As a hunter, H'aanit from Octopath Traveler has a special bond with the monsters and other creatures who inhabit the world of Orsterra. Her character ability lets players capture monsters and later deploy them in battle. While this is a unique concept that sets H'aanit's play style apart from the other characters, it falls unfortunately flat in execution. The capture rate for monsters is extremely low, and many bosses and other more powerful foes cannot be captured at all. If H'aanit fails to capture monsters, the only creature she can send out is her snow leopard companion, Linde, who does a very small amount of damage that does not increase as H'aanit levels up.
If Octopath Traveler 2 wishes to retain this character skill, the capture rate of monsters needs to be increased significantly. The new Hunter character Ochette is shown interacting with various beasts in the game's reveal trailer, which may hint that Square Enix does indeed plan on improving monster capturing in the sequel. Hopefully, Ochette either starts out with more than one monster available or has monsters that can level up as she does. Alternately, the ability to capture monsters could be eliminated entirely and replaced with giving a Linde-like companion multiple powerful abilities.
Warrior: Boost Defense
The combat of Octopath Traveler centers around a Boost and Break system. Characters can use Boost Points (BP) to power up their attacks or attack more than once in a single turn. These attacks are then used to target opponents' weaknesses, Breaking them and leaving them exposed. While each playable character can use the "Defend" action in battle, only Olberic the Warrior can use BP to increase the power of his defense. Unfortunately, this is a very situational ability that rarely sees use - Olberic is one of the game's most powerful physical fighters, so his turns and BP are better spent attacking than defending.
Ideally, Hikari the Warrior in Octopath Traveler 2 will have a completely new character ability. He could potentially use BP to boost his other stats in battle, not simply defense. Alternately, because Hikari is a leader for his people, he could have a character ability that enhances the stats or attacks of other characters. Like his predecessor Olberic, it is likely that Hikari will feature in a potential playable demo for Octopath Traveler 2, so his new character ability may be revealed at that time. Other characters will likely have to wait until the full game is released for players to know if Square Enix has made any improvements.
Octopath Traveler 2 will release on February 24, 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.