Much like the first game, Octopath Traveler 2 features an apothecary, and this time it's a woman named Castti who is found at sea with no memory. In her introductory chapter, Castti rediscovers her skills with medicine and deals with a town suffering from an epidemic.
As an apothecary, Castti is a strong choice for a first character since her Concoctions ability gives her a bag of tricks that's full of both healing items and magic damage types. A non-magic healer might not be an obvious first choice, but in Octopath Traveler 2 it's one of the most versatile classes in the game.
Waking Up on a Ship
The story begins with Castti adrift at sea. While she's eventually picked up by a passing ship, the ordeal has caused her to lose her memories.
When players first get control, they get a tutorial for Castti's Inquire ability. This gives the player information that fleshes out NPC backstories and can point to hidden items that will show up in the radar on the bottom-right of the screen as exclamation marks. However, Castti can't use Inquire on every character until she reaches a high enough level.
To proceed, players must use Inquire on the three NPCs with green dialog balloons. Inquire also works on the captain, but this only gives the player more backstory. After Inquiring with the NPCs, players should descend the stairs to the deck below and pick up Castti's apothecary satchel.
Mixed Feelings in Canalbrine
When Castti arrives in Canalbrine, it turns out her reputation (or at least that of her uniform) has preceded her. Not everyone is welcoming, but thankfully some people are still willing to chat with her.
Use Inquire on a sailor standing next to the ship to learn about a hidden item. Head straight down the road to the church and check the cart to get a Darkdelion. Next, do the same to a sailor who's standing close to the save point. His tip leads to a Grape Leaf, and it's on the railing just behind the sailor. Finally, there's a child standing by the house near the southern exit from town. Use Inquire with him and then run all the way back to the end of the dock to find an Inspiriting Plum.
When players are ready to proceed, they should cross the bridge that leads to the Canalbrine inn. A cutscene will play, and while Castti meets a fellow apothecary named Malaya, she also runs into some trouble. In the middle of it, players will learn about Castti's nighttime action, Soothe. Soothe will peacefully knock out NPCs, which can allow players to move past them into new areas.
Once all the cutscenes and tutorials are over, Castti must find three people in town and use Soothe on them. There's one in the house to the left of the southern exit, one in the middle of the market by the docks, and one in the small house by the church. Once all three people are Soothed, Castti will decide to head south to the town spring and find the source of the illness.
However, there's plenty to do in town before Castti leaves. First, players can now travel on the canal that runs through Canalbrine. Simply walk down a set of stairs to the water and a canoe will appear beneath Castti's feet. Using this canoe, players can reach a remote house on the west end of town. The house is locked, but behind it is a treasure chest with a Resistant Nut inside.
Next, players should paddle north past the armorer to reach the lighthouse. The keeper is standing in front of the door, so Castti must Soothe him to get through. Fortunately, Soothing normal NPCs uses Slumber Sage and not the key item needed for the main story. Once the keeper is asleep, climb to the top of the lighthouse to reach a chest with a Woodcutter's Great Axe inside. This ax is four times as good as Castti's starting axe, so equip it right away.
Castti can also interact with most of the shops in town now. The provisioner is down a staircase from the inn, and they sell both regular items and some of the special materials Castti uses for her Concoctions Talent. The door to the armorer is in the middle of the canal, and it has plenty of weapons and armor for sale. For now, players should buy a buckler and nothing more.
How to Fight with Castti
The Path to the Water Source is where players will first encounter enemies using Castti, so here are a few tips on how her abilities work.
- Castti's unique Talent is Concoction, which includes both Medicinal and Hazardous versions. Medicinal Concoctions can restore HP and SP, remove status effects, and apply buffs, while Hazardous Concoctions can deal elemental damage, apply status effects, and remove buffs.
- Concoction is very powerful since it applies two effects at the base level and one more effect for every Boost players add. Each ingredient counts as a separate effect, so with full boost Castti can hit an enemy's elemental weakness 5 times. This is extremely useful since most boosted spells deal more damage without counting as extra hits, plus Castti can test two or more elements in a single turn.
- To balance out this power, the ingredients spent on Concoction don't come back automatically. Players have to find them or buy them from provisioners, and not every provisioner has every kind of ingredient. Ingredients are cheaper than regular consumable items, but players will need a lot of them to make full use of Concoction.
- Castti has an unlimited supply of one ingredient: Weeds. This is so Concoction is useful even if players run out of other ingredients. However, weeds can only apply a weak buff or a weak debuff with each use.
- One other ingredient deserves special mention: Diffusing Serum. This ingredient applies the Concoction to every ally or enemy instead of just one, but diffused concoctions are weaker since the serum takes up an ingredient slot.
- Another balance for Concoction is that Castti can only wield axes.
- Castti's Job is Apothecary. She starts out with Healing Touch, which can restore health and revive, and Icicle, an ice-damage spell. She can also learn healing skills, ax skills, and poison skills.
- Castti's Latent Power is Every Drop Counts. When active, she doesn't spend her ingredients when Concocting. However, she still needs to have the ingredient in her inventory to "use" it, and she still has to spend Boost to add more ingredients to a Concoction. Players should keep this in mind when deciding to activate this power, and they should always hold onto at least one of each ingredient at all times.
The Path to the Water Source
On the Path to the Water Source, Castti will face Ocean Lizardmen 1 and 2. Both are weak to axes and ice damage. Flying Fish also show up, and they're only weak to ice.
When first leaving Canalbrine, players should turn right to find a chest containing a Darkdelion. Going left involves climbing a staircase, and when the path turns south there's a torch at the halfway point. Go right at the torch to find a hidden path that leads to a chest with an Empowering Ring. This ring adds 200 HP, which will almost double Castti's starting total.
At the top of the staircase is another fork in the road. Go right again to get a Plum Leaf. The left path leads to a ladder that goes up to an aqueduct, but before climbing it players should head down and around to find another chest with a Grape Leaf.
On top of the aqueduct, players should head up towards the town to get a chest with a Guard's Helm. Much like the ax in the lighthouse, this is a vast improvement over the starting helmet and should be equipped immediately. Finally, players will find a save point next to a staircase leading down to water. The way forward is through the broken grate to the right, but if players use the boat to go left they can find a ledge with an Herb of Healing.
The Water Source
Enemies inside the Water Source dungeon include Barnacle Crabs and Barnacle Bats. The crabs are weak to axes while the bats are weak to ice.
Players will have to land their boats right away and start walking down the path. However, when the path turns up players should keep going right to find another secret path. This one has a Diffusing Serum at the end. Later on there's another path that goes up and behind a bridge, and at the end of it players will find a Cleansing Leaf.
Towards the end of the dungeon is a peddler and a save point. Near the peddler is a staircase that leads down to the water, and on the far side of the water is a chest containing Old Armor. Despite the name, this armor is much better than Castti's starting equipment. Finally, there's a very obvious chest just past the save point with an Herb of Healing inside.
How to Beat Doron and Veron
The bosses of Castti's Chapter 1 are Doron and Veron, a couple of very poisonous monsters who are tainting Canalbrine's water supply with their presence. They refuse to leave, and so Castti has to defeat them.
- Doron has 2 shields to Veron's 4, but Doron is only weak to ice and dark energy while Veron is weak to axes, wind, and dark.
- Veron's Venom attack poisons Castti, and this poison can deal over 100 damage per hit. Luckily, Castti can cure poison and heal herself with one basic action thanks to Concoction.
- Once Castti brings one of the two down to zero HP, the other one will eat it and gain a powerful 9-turn buff. It also heals 300 HP. Players may want to target both creatures to avoid the buff, but they also may want to target one creature so the healing won't matter.
- Something else the newly empowered enemy can do is charge its attack. Remember to defend when it starts glowing.
- When defeated, Doron and Veron drop a Healing Grape Bunch.
After the fight, Castti will head back to Canalbrine and tell the locals the good news. She'll also chat with Malaya, and players need to use Inquire on her to learn something interesting. The chapter ends after that and drops players on the Western Canalbrine Coast, but feel free to head back in to pick up side stories, resupply, or take the ship to Toto'Haha.
Octopath Traveler 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.