CotC Guide Pt.3: Battle, Leveling, & the Skill Board [Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent]

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Timestamps for the mobile users: 0:00 Intro 0:33 Battle Interface (Party) 1:08 Boost/BP 1:58 Weaknesses/Break 3:00 3 Quick Tips 4:46 Turn Order/Speed 5:46 Battle Interface (Bottom) 9:38 Battle Interface (Party) (2) 10:13 Swapping, Front/Back Row 10:47 Where are the Items? 11:49 The Importance of Levels 12:27 Level Caps 13:13 Experience Points/Nuts 14:21 The Skill Board/Job Points 14:55 How to Perform Class-Up 15:13 Moving Across the Skill Board 15:48 Nodes on the Skill Board 17:40 Skill Board FAQs 20:10 Outro

[@frabricesamuel6613]

Hey, I just wanna know, there's hoods, caps and helms, vests, robes and armor. Which class equips what? Or should they all just equip the strongest after optimization? Please help

[@DeviSerene]

Your guides are incredibly useful and interesting, thank you for creating them. I'm looking forward to the english release!

[@iDroiD-Gaming]

I recommend watching this guide before playing, then returning to this guide after some time. Very strong guide indeed. One point about fleeing is that it sometimes does not work, meaning your characters won't be able to escape, and the enemy will have their turn, but you can still try again and it works (Just like FF/Chrono Trigger/Other Square Enix games)

[@spookyohsll590]

Thanks for listing what guides are coming next! the daily and weekly guide will be a life save for new players (like myself) who want to be s ure we don't miss anything.

[@Silverado881]

Thank you very much ! Your videos are simply the best for this game !

[@elhugo13]

Great info as always. Gonna rewatch all the videos today before playing.

[@jwei444]

Some Swords Do A Big Slash To Foes - SSDABSTF Just how ive always memorized the octopath weaknesses.

[@mack8125]

Thanks for the great guide, really answered one of the questions that I was slightly stressing over (if there was enough JP to get the whole skill board 👍)

[@DaSa1nts]

Fantastic guide. THANK YOU for covering all the basics. Liked and subbed.

[@156892]

Glad to see you picking up subscribers! Keep up the good work!

[@Delta584]

Brilliant guide and a brilliant content creator I will be tuning in to more of your videos in the future keep up the great work.

[@Virus-rd4dq]

Thanks for this awesome guide! I wasn't sure how to boost my healing skills... now i know! I need more magic to get it stronger!

[@DogiTheWallcrusher]

Those early nodes for influence are also nice to get more early gacha pulls. Only gotta level a character to 16 or so for 30-40 influence. I got several hundred gems in the beta doing that

[@DrunkenDemon]

Wahahah! I started binging some of your vids because the game downloaded itself today. I Was sad that there was no Part 3....now there is xD

[@layachaz7318]

Very useful beginner's guide

[@romuloventuracesario7661]

Excited for the L A U N C H of the global!!

[@marcea01]

I love this game! Even I am not a native English speaker. Your guides are clear and really useful. I hope you could make a guide about the BT NPCs. I tried to get down one but he beat me once his healt turn out in yellow hahaha. Great content!!

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Glad you're enjoying the game and my videos! For help on Battle Tested NPCs, I actually think checking out Rabo らぼちゃ on KZbin would be a good resource. They have really good guides on Battle Tested NPCs that you can learn some strategies from!

[@TheToruk]

that timing about breaking and weakness icons are really helpfull,, im not a hardcore rpg, but i really enjoyed rpg,, well im really confused how to maximize timing about battle,, and this is really helpfull.. thanks a lot

[@Celegus]

Loving all the guides, very useful getting my bearing in the game. Only discrepancy I've noticed is that I've definitely failed fleeing a few times. Took on a too high level elite, and it took a few turns for flee to succeed.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Yea that's been pointed out to me by other folks as well ^_^" That's my bad, I think it might've just been sooooo long (like actually well over a year) that I failed a Flee that I just assumed it wasn't in the game xD

[@EnriqueTDL]

Oh, so 4*s can't even get to "max" level in this! Good to know. A bit sad as I love seeing the clutch lower rarities shine in this game, but the equipment limitation alone will make that tough in the long run.

[@Elks123]

Today is the day that octopath traveler gets released. Thanks so much for these guides. They will help me so much when I play the game Edit: I can't find it in the play store. This is sad

[@goenawanarief4027]

Thank you. wow, your subscriber raised so much. I am hyped for this game. since I don't have the console so I can't play the ori octopath.

[@Dilesmavis]

cheers! stellar content

[@thetab4324]

Great Guide and overview. Thank you ;)

[@mateuscm]

Great guides! Subscribed.

[@mauriciopena409]

Thanks! This is very helpful!!

[@adnaanahmad]

FYI flee was not guaranteed for me. On a harder enemy I failed the first time before successfully fleeing.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up! I'll look into it.

[@Iskander_IA]

Muy buen video, Greetings from Chile South América.

[@silverflamingegg]

I have noticed that when enemies are higher level than you in cotc you can fail to run away from them.

[@Leondragon06]

Pretty neat to learn specific weakness order! =) Lol I am so bad at remembering that the turn order is actually available to see as not every TB game does that and it is at the top of the screen I have been starting to pay attention more to though at least.

[@Ryan-sj2rl]

hey, just wondering if you'd be able to make a video on teambuilding? I've been loving these guide videos, keep up the great work! also, what is the yellow bar above each character that fills up when you boost attacks?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

I didn't address it as it's not a feature that will be in EN anytime soon, but that's a character's Special Move meter. It charges by using BP and can be used 1x per battle.

[@Ryan-sj2rl]

@@ShizukatzCotC cool, that's what it looked like. thanks for the quick response!

[@soapwater_tastesfine]

Cool, answered my question about being able to complete the whole skill tree. Now i just gotta find out about limit breaking 3.5 and 4.5 units. Like if i limit break a 4.5 unit to 61 and THEN class up, is the limit 80 or 81?

[@Oscar_Milde]

Me, a Pokémon vgc player, watching the speed mechanics section. Speed is absolute: Oh? All abilities are locked-in at the start of the turn: OH?? Speed boosting moves aren't dynamic: oh. Looks like it's Octopath x Gen 7 Pokémon, rather than Gen 8. Shame there's no dynamic Speed, but it still looks like a lot of fun

[@sriramn1809]

Hmm. Running away doesnt seem to be guaranteed for me. Especially if i go to a higher level area, theres a good chance i fail to escape and get hit before i can try to escape the next turn. Not sure if it relates to levels.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Yea other people pointed it out in the comments LOL It's been probably over a year and a half since I've failed a run away on JP so I think my brain just forgot it exists. My bad xP

[@sriramn1809]

@@ShizukatzCotC ah ok, so i assume it isnt a big deal as u go further into the game? Thats a relief

[@nibu8743]

Is there still bo way to reset nodes? I uear Odio I doesn't want any of his speed nodes and i want to go back and remove them

[@switchboxplays]

1:40 what’s that orange bar underneath the character, that goes up as you spend BP? I’m using the English release and I’ve never seen it.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

That is the meter for the character's Special Move. It's a mechanic not currently implemented in the English Release. Think of it like an Overdrive or Limit Break.

[@Nugnez]

Awesome video, really helpful! Just one correction during battle interface-you said fleeing is guaranteed in COTC, but that’s incorrect, unfortunately. I’ve gotten the “you were unable to escape” message in random battles several times; I have a screenshot as well, just in case. Keep up the great work~

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Yea dw you're not the first person to point that out. Turns out when you haven't failed a flee in over a year and a half, you forget that it's possible to fail

[@PsychTheory]

Maybe it's different in JP but on Global flee is not guaranteed, I've failed to run away before.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

It's not different, it's just been so long so I've failed a Flee in JP that I forgot they existed LOL That's my bad.

[@raiden895]

What is the best place to gain experience nuts / best place for exp?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

In addition to EXP Nuts and killing Caits every day, the next big source of EXP will be Hunts, which are unlocked after completing all three initial storylines (that is, you have to complete ALL the chapters of those stories). For more details, you can check out my latest video (Dailies/Weeklies) where I go over Hunts a bit!

[@raiden895]

@@ShizukatzCotC Thank you, you are very helpful

[@TheSagitis]

Just wondering how much attributes does awakening can contribute vs raising lvl limit. Some how after getting Fiore 2nd awakening （a 4.5* Forie at the begining game pulled 2 during at lvl42 in master chapters) in lvl 42 and she is almost one shoting anything armored broken 57 foes in death valley. So will this be the same at 4 stars awaken characters

[@ShizukatzCotC]

I personally advocate for 4*s to go to Lv70 first before Awakening, as the +60 Influence from Lv65 and the +1 BP from Lv70 are both very high value to me. Even though the stats from Awakening can be quite helpful, I think that the traits I mentioned are more important in the long-run.

[@lamonbibbs7360]

How do you actually use the experience nuts to level up characters?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Check your character's Status Screen, and next to their Level, there is a + sign that lets you use Experience Nuts on them! Sorry for forgetting to point that out in the video xD

[@Nakashaki8230]

damn so no auto battle ? that is a very good news for me

[@dima8744]

cool video

[@piershanson1784]

Thanks for the guide. I was wondering, when you choose to swap out a character, does the swap occur immediately at the start of the turn, or when the character is scheduled to act in the turn?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Characters swap out when they are scheduled to act. So for example if I want to try to swap to Gilderoy, who's pretty slow, he might not swap in until the very last action of the turn.

[@zvaon6497]

Apart from nuts and the very essential grind and cats is there another way of attaining exp faster?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Once you unlock Hunts, those become a pretty large source of daily EXP moving forward. If you want to know more about Hunts, I just posted a video about Dailies/Weeklies that has some of the details on that!

[@zvaon6497]

@@ShizukatzCotC thank you so much appreciate it all!!

[@RealmWaffen]

how long was it until they released the auto upgrade system to the skillboards would be really convenient for all these 3 and 4 stars lol

[@gab4315]

I wanted to ask if there was a priority in unlocking certain nodes in the skill boards? If nodes should be skipped to advance and unlock a stronger node. Or do we just unlock everything beforre proceeding to the next board? Also, wanted to ask about a priority in leveling up characters? And where would be a good point in the game to think about changing your starting team cause leveling seems to be a a pretty difficult thing to do?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

I typically try to avoid the smaller bonuses on the earlier boards if they aren't needed to progress. I also have Crit as a very low priority stat.

[@phases782]

im trying to figure out, maybe you know, is your level included in the damage forumula? I found a level multiplier table but it was for regular OT not cotc. Just curious if leveling does anything for your power other than the 1 or 2 points p.atk up you see in your stats, for example, or whatever you buy with JP.. ? Thank you,

[@ulast7606]

Great explanation. One question tho and maybe it’s for another video but: how do class up works, do you need dupes? Or is there a way to farm items to do it? Thanks!!

[@ShizukatzCotC]

4.5* Characters can be raised to 5* in one of two ways: - Pulling the 5* version outright in the gacha (obviously this is random and you never PLAN for this, but it's a thing that can happen) - Using a series of items called Holy Marks to perform a "Class-Up". Holy Marks come in three different colors: Bronze, Silver, and Gold, with a 4.5* requiring a Gold Holy Mark of their specific class in order to Class-Up to 5* (along with like 50 Bronze Holy Marks). The Bronze ones are fairly common once you get going, Silver ones are Uncommon and used for 3.5* Class-Up to 4*, and Gold ones are quite rare.

[@ulast7606]

@@ShizukatzCotC thanks a lot! Totally answered the question. I guess these gold ones dont come as often? Or are they farmable?

[@evan-gi8cd]

When a tank taunts then switches to the back row, will the taunt still be active?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

They will not!

[@JeidelacruzUK]

Is there an area to level at the start of the game? or do i just keep walking back and forth caves

[@ShizukatzCotC]

If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out the Elite Cait enemies for extra EXP! There's one outside each of the main three starting towns, and they give 1000 EXP apiece! Additionally, while using the Find function does require watching ads, it gives access to more Caits and items to help you get off the ground running.

[@darkj22]

It seems that fleeing isn't guaranteed. Tried to flee an Elite enemy on my chapter 1 and it took 3 tries unfortunately. I guess its different with elites?

[@ronnymahendra9035]

Just like standard JRPG, escape is not guaranteed

[@ShizukatzCotC]

dw I'm just a bozo who hasn't failed a Flee in JP for over a year so I forgot they existed LOL

[@darkj22]

@@ShizukatzCotC haha but thanks so much for all of the content! Gonna watch your new vid on Hunts and Class up now!

[@Tio.Maneco]

Hey bud, great video. I have one question that I haven't seen answered anywhere online. It pertains specifically to 4* characters: should I focus on awakening them or raising their lvl caps? as of now, I'm getting them to A2 first, then focusing on rasing the cap.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

I'm of the opinion that A2 is low value for most 4*s as their kits don't have as many good options, so I recommend going to either A1 or A3 first based on how durable you need them to be, then going up in Level from there. Lv70 is an especially important threshold as it gives 1 extra starting BP.

[@Tio.Maneco]

@@ShizukatzCotC Glad to hear that, because that's what I've been doing. Thanks.

[@DarkestSamus1]

Hello! Before the game releases, can I ask for a basic summary of how many Awakening Stones can be used on a character? So far my understanding is... 1. Stat increase 2. 4th Skill Slot 3. HP increase 4. Unique Accessory (future feature, not currently available) 5. Special Lv10 Is that it? Thanks so much!

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Correct! Characters can use up to 5 Awakening Stones for the benefits you listed, and then after that there is no more use for Awakening Stones on that character (at least at the time of writing this).

[@Djeeoo1]

Hi, unsure if that has been answered anywhere in ur videos, I've been using devin's taunt on an elite bull, to my surprise he was still doing aoes and skills while taunted. what exactly is taunt in this game? im used to taunt being forced auto atk on the unit that taunted

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Taunt doesn't influence what moves the enemy can use. It just makes it so that IF they use a Single-target move, it'll target the Taunt character.

[@austinish]

Ah, memorizing the weakness order in octopath brings back memories. Thankfully, I remembered it from the base game for the most part, and the two new weapons are right where I thought they would be. Anyway, actual question. In Another Eden (another gacha with a lot of similar systems to CotC), there were similarly three slots on each character to equip skills, but you could unlock a fourth through dupes. However, the general consensus is that these extra skill slots are unnecessary for clearing content. Is that also true in CotC, or are there characters who get major boosts in effectiveness from getting that second dupe?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

The fourth skill is pretty unnecessary on like 90% of characters in my opinion. It's more of a "nice thing to have" if anything.

[@austinish]

@@ShizukatzCotC That's good to hear. I find locking strategic options behind dupes can wind up being a lot worse than pure stats, because sometimes characters won't work without those options, whereas lower stats can often be played around with the right strategy. Follow up that is slightly less related to the video. As far as I know, dupes unlock character awakenings for stat buffs, that fourth skill slot, and later down the line, an accessory with high stats and a slight buff to their ultimate skill. How impactful are those?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

The A4 Accessories are kinda massive cuz they give a TON of stats, have powerful passives, and can be equipped to anyone, not just the unit associated with them. That being said, the game isn't balanced around them and I do not think that players should feel like they need to actively aim for them. The +1000 HP is really nice, and so are the other stats. The fact that 4*s can also benefit from the stat boosts imo is the REAL boon of Awakening, and it keeps 4* units extremely relevant.

[@austinish]

@@ShizukatzCotC Interesting how one of the most useful bonuses from pulling dupe 5* characters is boosting your 4* characters. Sounds like my kind of strategy lol. Anyway, thanks for answering these questions. Seriously looking forward to this game, only three hours to go. (Four? Maybe? I dont know, daylight savings is weird)

[@ShizukatzCotC]

@@austinish I don't believe I mentioned it in the video, but Awakening on 4* units is actually just accomplished by using Guidestones, the same resource used to increase Level Cap. It's pretty simple.

[@LarsGuerra]

Great guide. I was wondering how does the linking account thing work? can you roll on android and then play on ipad? or are android and IOS separate in terms of linking the account?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

You link to a Square Enix account, which I assume means you could jump between the two if you wanted. However, I do not know how it affects paid rubies (some games you can't take your paid currency with you when you cross from Android to iPad or vice-versa).

[@LarsGuerra]

@@ShizukatzCotC really hope that is the case, i just fixed 8x octopath rerolls instances on emulator will be so much easier to go through this pain than doing this rerolling on the ipad only xD

[@peterfabell154]

Are there any free characters we should be focusing on? Characters who come with the story? Or are all the characters gained through the gacha?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

The only free characters so far that are guaranteed are the initial few 3*s - Nanna, Jose, and Conny. Everyone else is from Gacha. That being said, it shouldn't take too long for the average player to have a good collection of 4* units that they can use in lots of different situations. Starting out, you can just go ahead and use whoever you like best, but later on it will take a bit of optimization and strategy to get through some of the harder fights :)

[@peterfabell154]

@@ShizukatzCotC I pulled Viola and Sofia. I really wanted Viola, Lynette and Theo but the best I was able to get was Lynette and Theo so far (already deleted that account though). Do you think I should keep going with the rerolls to try for all three of them or is Viola and Sofia ok? I pulled Aslyte so I’ve got that pair down but still missing a good team buff or good heals.

[@MikahHattaf]

This might sound stupid., but is there the option to defend or guard in battle?

[@zurielarts4650]

Nope

[@MikahHattaf]

@@zurielarts4650 Thanks

[@lijojay563]

Hey man can you clarify something as far as character usage? How does a level 80 Awakened 4*compare to a stock level 80 5* in stats? Obviously the investment to get a 5* to 100 is rewarding but i'm still playing through the story and have a few awakened 4*s and freshly pulled 5*s that i don't know if i want to swap now or invest in later.

[@ShizukatzCotC]

5* characters are still stronger than Awakening 4*s, but obviously it's still good to have those 4* units with how party building and emphasis on exploiting weaknesses works in this game! :)

[@evildoses2428]

Is there any ultimate skills for 5 star characters

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Special Skills will be added in a future update!

[@User-sk5zf]

I have a question, how do you get awakening stone?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

Pulling dupes of 5* characters you already have! Sounds P2W, I know, but this game is not balanced around having Awakening so don't feel too bad about not having any 5* Awakenings :)

[@User-sk5zf]

@@ShizukatzCotC thank you for the reply.

[@zerom.7642]

I only have 4 characters no 8 for me, because i am waiting for nier collab 🤔

[@ShizukatzCotC]

I would highly recommend filling out a team of 8. The Nier Collab is probably quite a ways off and you'll have plenty of time to accumulate Rubies in the meantime! :)

[@zerom.7642]

@@ShizukatzCotC so should i reroll ? I mean that is so a pain and I know my luck 🤔 Are two 5 stars enough or do i need 4 ?

[@linxzta]

How do you get guidestones especially silver ones?

[@ShizukatzCotC]

The main source of Guidestones in playing the game is Hunts!

[@elli27]

hey is the first character you get predetermined? I got Millard

[@ShizukatzCotC]

From what I hear, it's a guaranteed 5*, but not necessarily predetermined. You should be able to get 5*s other than Millard.

[@elhugo13]

2 am utc is when the game goes live? Google said that is 9 pm central time, is this correct?

[@ulast7606]

I believe it’s 8pm central time

[@ShizukatzCotC]

9pm Central sounds right to me (and apparently Google!)

[@ulast7606]

@@ShizukatzCotC youre right. I saw a web page that said it’s a six hour difference, but 5 on daylight time.

[@Sapporo979]

how do you unlock that yellow thingy on the skill board? i presume, it is an ultimate skill?