The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
8. Olberic
To be blunt, Olberic’s story isn’t very riveting, and as a character, he’s a bit dull. He does go through a good development arc, and his dynamic with Erhardt was fascinating to watch, but there’s no doubt that he’s got the weakest story in Octopath Traveler. I wonder if Erhardt would’ve made a more interesting protagonist instead.
Even in battle, he’s not even that great when you’ve got another physical attacker who can outclass him in terms of damage. Olberic’s Talent allows him to boost when defending, which lets him become a tank for the party and absorb more damage. But when you reach the late-game phase where you’re putting Saving Grace on everyone to let them overheal, you don’t really need a tank. The only reason why you should have him in your party is if you need to beat up an NPC and you don’t have enough monsters with H’aanit to pull off a quick victory. Other than that, he can chill at the tavern. Sorry Olberic, but you’ve got no place in my party.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
7. Alfyn
Alfyn’s story in Octopath Traveler isn’t bad, but when you compare him to the rest of the cast, he feels aimless. The biggest problem with Alfyn’s story is that he lacks any kind of narrative motivation other than “I want to travel and help people along the way,” and while that’s really nice and all, it’s just not terribly exciting. Sadly, Ogen (who appears in chapters 3 and 4) ends up being the much more interesting apothecary than Alfyn.
Now, when it comes to combat, things are a little different. As an Apothecary, Alfyn has access to cheap healing that can get pretty damn broken once you figure out his Concoct recipes. Late in the game, he can use a Purifying Seed + Essence of Grape combo to heal a party for 9,999 HP. Considering that Purifying Seeds and Essences of Grape are pretty easy to come by in chapter 4, his solo healing output is ridiculous. His group healing output seems to be capped at 3,000, but even that isn’t too shabby when you compare it to a Cleric’s Heal Wounds ability.
Alfyn can also absorb damage and become a tank with passive abilities. And if you really want, you can even give him the Warrior secondary class and start dealing better damage. Why do we need Olberic again?
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
6. Tressa
Tressa is probably the closest thing we have to a classic JRPG protagonist in Octopath Traveler. She just wants to see the world and broaden her horizons. Her story does suffer from the same drawbacks as Alfyn’s in that she doesn’t really have a core reason to travel, but the game pushes her along with the journal she gets from Leon. The main intrigue of Tressa’s story is following the author of the journal and trying to figure out who he is. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Tressa herself is so darn lovable, and her interactions with the people she meets on her journey are heartwarming. The conclusion to her story felt a little rushed, but still heartwarming nonetheless.
In battle, Tressa can turn into a beast if you choose to invest heavily into her abilities. First off, her Talent allows her to find money when she’s in your party. This is extremely useful because more money is always a good thing, and gear can get expensive later on. As a Merchant, she can throw money around and hire people to fight for her, which is a surprisingly useful tactic when you’re facing the game’s true final boss. She can use Rest to heal HP, SP, and remove buffs. She has Sidestep, which lets her dodge a physical attack. And you know what makes her even more broken? Giving her the Runelord class, casting Transfer Rune, and then allowing the entire party to Sidestep along with her.
Tressa might not deal a ton of damage on her own, but she’s a damn good supporting character with the right setup.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
5. Therion
It was a little hard deciding how Therion and Tressa should be ranked, but ultimately we had to give Therion the edge because he just had a more exciting story, the trope-y, cool, edgy personality, and he’s a Thief. Therion’s story is as edgy as it gets. After he was betrayed by his thieving partner, he closed his heart off to the world and only worked alone. When he gets duped by Heathcote and the Lady Ravus into helping them retrieve the dragonstones, he embarks on a journey where he learns that shutting yourself off from everyone else is no way to live. His character growth is fun to watch, and he has a pretty kickass music theme as well.
Another reason why we’ve chosen to rank Therion over Tressa is his ability to steal. Sure, being able to buy items off NPCs is cool and all, but getting them for free is even better. Therion is also great at debuffing the enemy with his Thief skills, and he can lower a target’s defense and damage output. He’s also very versatile, and you can spec him out in a few ways. He can become an off-healer with the Apothecary class, or you can turn him into another strong physical attacker with the Warrior class. He doesn’t have a ton of HP, but he does have high evasion. He doesn’t need to absorb HP when he can just dodge everything.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
4. H’aanit
Admittedly, H’aanit’s story was one of the harder ones to get into because of her whole middle English schtick. It really gets a little tiresome with all the ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s. However, while her story does start off a little slowly, H’aanit actually turns out to be quite the endearing character to root for as well. Despite her tough exterior, her occasional naivete and inexperience with the world outside S’warki lends her a certain charm. She’s also a total badass who just walks around with a snow leopard at her side.
Her Provoke Path Action is essentially the Rogue counterpart of Olberic’s Challenge, and it allows her to fight any NPC at any level. The catch is, she can’t use any of her weapons; she can only use the monsters she’s captured. But if you’re diligent in capturing monsters, you can find some pretty broken ones that will end the NPC fights quickly when boosted. She’s also got very high physical attack, evasion, and critical chance. Put the Warmaster job on her, and you’re done.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
3. Cyrus
Cyrus is easily the best boy in Octopath Traveler because of his personality and utility in combat. His story starts off on a pretty humorous note as well. After getting accused of sleeping with a student, Cyrus is outraged at first but recovers in seconds when he realizes he can just go tour the world in search of a missing magical book instead of being cooped up at school. His personality really begins to develop in the later chapters when we get to see his dedication to knowledge, and how seriously he takes his responsibility to pass on all he knows to the next generation. His painful obliviousness to the girls swooning around him is fun to watch, and Cyrus is just an entertaining character to watch from start to finish.
In battle, Cyrus just kills everything. Pair him up with a Dancer, slap on Peacock Strut, boost his magic spells, and everything just dies. He has the highest elemental attack in the entire game, so if you really want to turn him into an overpowered mage, give him the Sorcerer class.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
2. Primrose
Without a doubt, Primrose has the best story arc in Octopath Traveler. Her chapter 1 antagonist is so evil and detestable, which makes beating the boss fight so satisfying. Her tale of revenge is compelling in the subsequent chapters, and she also displays considerable depth as we learn more about her relationship with her father, and why she’s so hell-bent on tracking down his attackers. Primrose’s story is full of drama and plot twists, and her final chapter wraps things up in such a grandiose and glorious manner. If you’re playing Octopath Traveler for the first time, I highly recommend picking Primrose as your protagonist. The way her epilogue cutscene plays out after the end credits just feels right, and most of the other stories don’t even come close to the level of writing we see here.
Primrose acts as the buffer of the party. Her Dancer skills can augment a character’s physical and elemental damage, and she can also provide some defense for the squishier allies. Primrose also has the highest speed stat in the game, making her a good choice for the Thief secondary class. Alternatively, she can also double up as a Scholar or Cleric due to her high elemental attack and defense stats. And if you really want to, you can also turn her into a speedy physical beast with the Warmaster class. It’s not optimal, but it works.
The Best Octopath Traveler Characters, All 8 Ranked
1. Ophilia
Primrose might have the best story arc in the game, but Ophilia is a very close second. Her story starts off simple enough, as we find out that her parents died when she was a child, and she was taken in by the bishop of Flamesgrace cathedral. Ophilia’s story centers around her relationship with her sister Lianna, and the lengths to which she’s willing to go for her adoptive family. While she can feel a little one-note as a goody-two-shoes character at times, Ophilia is fierce and determined when the situation calls for it, and endlessly compassionate when others need her help. She’s basically what you’d get if you took the best parts of H’aanit and Alfyn and put them together. Ophilia also has an incredible final chapter, with a boss fight that feels appropriately tough in the context of the story.
Ophilia has the highest elemental defense in the game, which automatically makes her the best party healer. Her light magic is also very powerful, and if you want to class her as a black mage, she’s got the second highest elemental attack stat right behind Cyrus. We enjoyed using her as our Sorcerer, as we liked the idea of a dark and light mage who could provide full heals for the entire party, while also nuking enemies at the same time. If you want to go all-in on her healing abilities, she also makes a good Apothecary that can cure status ailments, and become a little tankier as well.
All in all, Ophilia’s just so damn good at being a black mage and a Cleric, which is why she’s a mainstay in our party. Couple that with one of the strongest story arcs in Octopath Traveler, and you’ve got the best character you can get in the game.
And those are our rankings for the best characters in Octopath Traveler. Be sure to check our Octopath Traveler guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.
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