Welcome back, adventurers! This guide dives into some of the more overlooked, advanced, and game-changing mechanics in Bravely Default 2. These are the kinds of tips that can massively accelerate your progression—whether it’s farming monsters at night, chaining battles, getting rare loot, or managing your party more efficiently. Let’s jump right into it.
Passive Power: Ship Exploration for Easy Rewards
One of the first features you’ll unlock is the ship exploration system. This allows your vessel to sail while your Switch is in sleep mode for up to 12 hours of real time. When you return, you’ll often find XP orbs, JP orbs, and stat-boosting items like permanent HP upgrades.
Before putting your Switch to sleep, always dispatch your ship to explore. These rewards are free, repeatable, and scale well into the midgame.
Beware of Rare Monsters – Save First!
While exploring, you’ll occasionally see enemies that look… off. Maybe their shape, color, or texture stands out—like a tree that seems too brown or a static rock in an odd spot. These are rare monsters, and they’re much tougher than the average mob.
Always save your game before approaching one. Some may be manageable, but others—especially those with bluish tints—can demolish your party if you’re not prepared. They’re worth farming, but only once you’re confident in your level and setup.
Auto-Heal for Quick Recovery
After battle, instead of manually healing each party member, simply press X to auto-heal. This restores your team’s health and cures status effects in one click. It’s a simple yet vital QoL feature that saves you tons of time during long exploration runs.
Divining Rod: Essential Dungeon Tool
Freelancer comes with a key ability: Divining Rod, which displays how many unopened chests are left in an area. This is a must-have for dungeon delving. Equip it on any party member (not just your main), and you’ll never miss out on powerful loot hidden in corners.
Some treasures may not even show up on the tracker count—so always keep an eye out for off-path chests. Items in these can include unique weapons and accessories that don’t appear in stores.
Nightfall: Risk and Reward for XP and JP
Monsters at night are stronger and appear in greater numbers. This makes nighttime the best time for JP farming—especially if you know how to initiate chain battles. Group two or more monsters together and touch them (don’t swing at them!), and the game will queue them up as consecutive battles with JP bonuses.
You can get 10%, 20%, or even 70% JP increases depending on how many chains you create.
Monster Treats: The Secret to Chain Farming
Monster treats can draw specific enemy types to you. For example, using an Insect Treat causes bugs in the area to rush toward you. When paired with chain farming, this is an excellent way to stack multiple fights back to back.
- Treat effects last several minutes
- You can earn them via Forage or as enemy drops
- Use the right treat for the area (e.g., don’t use an Insect Treat where there are no insects)
- Generic treats for all monsters exist, but are rarer
When used well, monster treats turn farming into a high-efficiency, high-reward loop.
Guest Characters: Use Them Before They’re Gone
Throughout the story, you’ll temporarily gain guest characters. They’re often overpowered for your current level and operate independently. When they’re with you, grind like crazy—farm dungeons, chain battles, and complete side objectives.
Once they leave the party, they’re gone for good, so use this opportunity to push your stats.
Forage: Free Items During Combat
The Forage ability, unlocked at Freelancer level 4, lets you search for items during combat. These can include:
- JP orbs
- XP orbs
- Monster treats
- Potions, ethers, and status cures
To use Forage effectively:
- Defeat all but one enemy in the fight
- Avoid guest characters, as they might end the battle early
- Spam Forage while the last enemy is alive
It’s a low-risk way to rack up valuable resources without spending gold.
Battle Automation: Speed and Precision
Farming takes time, but Bravely Default 2 includes two tools to make it easier:
- Press Y during battle to repeat the last set of actions (perfect for grinding)
- Press + to speed up the battle animation
Just note: repeating actions with Y removes targeting control. For manual targeting (like aiming spells at weaknesses), you’ll need to input commands the traditional way.
Combat Advantage: How to Preemptively Strike
If you sneak up on a monster and strike it from behind, you gain preemptive advantage—your team starts the fight first and with +1 BP. This allows you to unleash combos immediately, often clearing weak mobs before they act.
This is especially useful when using high-BP-cost skills like Monk’s Pressure Point to take enemies down in a single turn.
Weight Matters: Don’t Overload Your Gear
It’s tempting to immediately equip the best weapon or armor you find—but check your equipment weight. If it exceeds your character’s limit, their speed and performance drop significantly.
Use X to auto-equip the recommended setup for your current job. It’s a good way to stay optimized and balanced without overloading your stats.
Slash the Grass – Seriously
As tedious as it sounds, cutting grass can yield great loot. Sometimes you’ll find powerful weapons or gear that aren’t available in shops. When exploring new areas, take time to slash patches of grass—it’s often worth the effort.
How to Know You’re Ready to Progress
A reliable sign that you’ve out-leveled an area: enemies run away from you instead of attacking. This tells you it’s safe to move forward in the story or tackle the area’s boss. Still, don’t be overconfident—bosses can be tough even on Easy, so make sure you’ve leveled multiple jobs to remain flexible.
Final Thoughts
From night-time chain battles and Forage loot farming, to using guest characters and optimizing job passives—Bravely Default 2 rewards players who dig deep into its systems. Mastering these mechanics turns the game into a rewarding loop of smart grinding, rich customization, and high-impact combat.
So, go out there: slash the grass, bait the monsters, and always keep your ship sailing.
Good luck out there in Excillant!
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