Bravely Default 2 is a fantastic JRPG full of tough boss battles with unforgiving skills and abilities up their sleeves. If that’s not enough, the monsters your party encounters in dungeons are also a force to reckon with, and careless moves are punished swiftly. The game encourages players to explore and experiment with their party composition and strategy to find new and clever ways to defeat the enemy.
One aspect that might get overlooked is the variety of items available for purchase in shops throughout the game’s world. They offer more than just potions, and many of the items can help improve your chances when facing fearless foes in ways that may not seem so obvious at first.
10 Warding Lights Help Avoid Unwanted Battles
The enemies wandering the map in Bravely Default 2 react based on how strong your party is. If your party is much stronger than them, they’ll avoid you. Otherwise, enemies will run right at your party and attack them.
Sometimes, you might not be in a situation where you can risk running into combat, or you just want to explore without running into enemies. Warding Lights help with that, saving you time and resources for more important fights. With this item, enemies don’t notice your characters for a period of time. This way, you can engage in combat when you’re ready and be smart about it.
9 Ethers Are Helpful Especially During Long Battles
Whether fighting enemies in a dungeon or engaging a tough boss at the end of one, there is no doubt that players will rely on their magic casters to exploit elemental weaknesses and make sure they’re dealing the most damage possible.
Ethers are invaluable here, because they’re relatively cheap and the MP costs for many spells is rather great. The worst feeling is being stuck in a long boss fight with no MP or Ethers, so remember to stock up and use them in combat.
8 Tents Save Time And Resources
Tents may not seem like they would be particularly helpful for combat, but they provide all the benefits of spending a night at the inn with the added benefit of being portable. Sometimes, the trip back to town can be arduous and not worth the risk, or you simply might not have the time.
During times like these, tents can be pitched right outside a dungeon, allowing your party to heal up their HP and regain their MP. They can be refreshed and ready to go back to fighting sooner with a Tent.
7 Phoenix Downs Lessen The Load On Your Healers
Players may think that Phoenix Downs are an unnecessary expense, especially once their healers learn Cura and Raise, or even Arise, but it’s always a good idea to have some Phoenix Downs handy.
If you’re facing a particularly challenging enemy, your healers may already have their hands full with healing and maintaining their MP. Using another character who can afford a turn to use Phoenix Down to revive a downed ally saves MP and lessens the pressure on your healer, ultimately benefitting your characters in combat.
6 Weapon Items Help Exploit Weaknesses
An overlooked category of items in the item shops of Bravely Default 2 would be the weapon items. These come in a variety of types with varying descriptions, such as the Throwing Knife, which deals dagger type damage, and the Shuriken, which deals sword type damage.
These may seem redundant at first, but they are very powerful and deal damage against all the enemies you’re facing in combat, making them exceptionally powerful. The weapon types allow you to exploit the weapon weaknesses of your enemies, which couples well with exploiting their elemental weaknesses.
5 Elemental Attack Items Hit Hard When Used Right
The other type of offensive items that players can find in the game’s many shops are elemental attack items. These attack items are very powerful, because they don’t cost MP to use, and they deal damage to all the enemies involved in battle. Any party member can use them, too, which can lessen the pressure on your offensive magic users if needed in the heat of battle.
Plus, at the Thief job’s 7th level, players unlock the “Attack Item Amp” skill, which increases the damage done by offensive items by 50%, making these items even more viable in combat.
4 Echo Herbs Will Save Your Casters
One of Bravely Default 2’s many status effects is the especially hindering Silence affliction, which prevents your party from performing magic abilities. This can prove to be deadly if it affects your healer, preventing them from curing or reviving your other party members.
While it’s best to have the White Veil accessory equipped for combat when you risk getting silenced, sometimes you may not have it equipped, or the status effect may be unexpected. Fortunately, Echo Herbs provide a quick fix to this problem. Using this item on any party member will cure them of their silence, letting your mages keep attacking and your healers keeping their support ongoing.
3 Wakeup Bell Prevents Losing Precious Turns
The Sleep status effect is one that players will be introduced to early on in the game. It remains prominent throughout, so it’s important to know how to prevent it and exactly how it can affect combat, especially since there’s an item, the Wakeup Bell, which can cure it in a flash.
When your characters are affected by Sleep, they essentially “sleep” through their turn, unable to act. Their BP adds up over turns, but this can be a problem for characters such as healers, who need to be ready to act. Fortunately, either attacking the sleeping character or using the Wakeup Bell item will rouse them. Ideally, you’d want to use the item and nor hurt your own party member, though.
2 Remedy Cures Most Afflictions
The many enemies of Bravely Default 2 have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, including countering various sorts of damage and causing status effects and ailments to your party. These moves can turn the tide of battle, so it’s best to be prepared for them.
While there are items that can cure a party member of specific status effects, the Remedy item is useful as it can cure many different effects, including common ones such as Blindness and Poison, and more obscure ones such as Charm and Berserk. When fighting tough enemies, it’s a good idea to always bring a moderate stock of Remedies with you into combat and expect the unexpected.
1 Shields Help Make The Most Of Your Abilities
While technically not an item but rather an equipment type, shields are used by some job skills as items, and each shield can have its own unique perks, so they should be considered as items. They can be used at will like items, and have the ability to seriously alter combat and help players win tough fights. Plus, some shields have added resistances, such as the Gaia Shield, which has Earth Resistance.
For example, one of the first classes that players unlock is the Vanguard. Some of the Vanguard’s skills involve using the equipped shield to attack the enemy and delay their next turn, which can be a godsend in intense battles. However, these skills only work if your character has a shield equipped, so make sure to bring an appropriate one to the boss fights.
NEXT: Bravely Default Vs. Fire Emblem: Which Game Is Better?
