Star Ocean The Divine Force has just recently released. While it may not have the same level of hype that other JPRG’s garnered (i.e., Persona 5 Royal on PC and Xenoblade Chronicles 3), it is still a very solid JRPG to try out. You don’t even need to play the other Star Ocean games. Just like with the Persona series, each Star Ocean game has their own story (unless specified that it is a sequel) and are self-contained. But you do need to know a few things. Which is why we have this Star Ocean beginner’s guide for you.
Beginner’s Guide – Star Ocean The Divine Force
There will be a ton of things you need to learn about how to play Divine Force effectively, so pay close attention to what we have to say.
First off, if you need to heal one character, switch to another one. When your character heals, they will stop what they are doing completely and stand still until the healing is complete. It breaks the momentum of the fight and will leave you open to attacks. It is much better to switch to another character and continue the fight rather than wait till your character has healed.
You should also stop focusing on the Blindsiding mechanic. While the Blindside mechanic offers a ton of damage output during fights, it also can be a hassle to perform, especially in tight corridors. It’s okay to charge head on to an enemy and fight face to face. The enemies aren’t that hard if you are a couple levels above them.
Speaking of combat, select the difficulty you are comfortable with. That is an essential step when playing any kind of JRPG. You will be spending plenty of time with them, as JRPG’s are well-known for their long playtime. So be sure to select a difficulty that’s not too easy to avoid being bored, and not too hard to avoid raging all the time.
If you are focused on doing story, it’s important to do Private Actions. These neat little cutscenes showcases our characters outside of the main story. It shows their personalities fleshed out and developed more so that players can understand these characters. You can do Private Actions by visiting towns or outposts. The party will split up, and finding them can lead to Private Actions.
If you want to immerse yourself deeper into the story, you have to avoid fast travel as much as you can. After major story points and when the game requires you to backtrack to a location you can fast travel to, avoid fast travel and take the scenic route. Along the way, you will get some story beats that will further develop the characters.
One last thing we recommend you doing in terms of items is to visit Welch as soon as possible. This character is a staple of the Star Ocean franchise since her first appearance in the very first game. Some say that she is a Fourth Dimensional Being. But that’s another rabbit hole you can jump into when you dive into the Star Ocean Wiki.
Welch is usually the NPC you go to when you want to do item creation. You can get some powerful items through this method. So it’s always a good idea to talk to Welch and unlock item creation as soon as possible.
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