Choosing the best starting skill and items in Octopath Traveler 0 is tough without the full context of what awaits you in the game. Nonetheless, the game presents you with a bunch of starting choices right at the start of the game, before you even have time to see Wishvale. Should you go for the attack skill or recovery? Grab a nourishing nut, a crested key, or something else?
Let’s have a more detailed look at each skill and item so you can make the best starting choices in Octopath Traveler 0.
Which learned skill to choose in Octopath Traveler 0
- Attack skill: Deals damage twice.
- Recovery skill: Grants HP recovery to an ally and restores SP by 10%.
- Enfeebling skill: Lowers the physical attack and physical defense of a foe for eight turns.
Although the recovery skill might sound very handy, your first companion in Octopath Traveler 0 already comes equipped with a healing skill, and you will gain an “ultimate” ability with HP restoration not long after. As none of the early game companions come with a decent debuff ability, the enfeebling skill is far more useful compared to healing.
That said, the best option is actually the attack skill. Although every companion has at least some attack abilities, note that this one hits twice. In Octopath Traveler 0, you must hit enemy shields a certain number of times to remove them, so hitting twice in one turn (instead of once) is very useful. In early game, you won’t have many other options to deplete more than one shield stack per turn.
Which favorite dish to choose in Octopath Traveler 0
Not only will you receive one stack of your chosen dish, you will also get to rename it. The name is just for fun, but it’s arguably the most important part of this Octopath Traveler 0 starting choice, as your choice of dish doesn’t matter that much since it can only be used once. Of course, you can make more dishes later in the game.
Use your chosen dish during a battle to gain +10% max HP/SP for 15 turns. Each dish also grants a +5% bonus for one other stat: Speed, physical attack, accuracy, etc. Since you probably haven’t developed a specific playstyle yet, it’s best to pick the dish that boosts your physical attack — you’ll likely hack away at your foe a few times during those 15 turns, so this buff will never be wasted.
The physical attack dish is the one in the top left, the grilled beef.
Which belongings to choose in Octopath Traveler 0
After selecting your favorite dish, you can choose three of the following items:
- Promise charm: Elemental attack +10%
- Fighter’s wristband: Physical attack +10%
- Sacred flame charm: Physical and elemental defense +10%
- Crested key: Rare item.
- Letter fragment: Rare item.
- Ratatouille: A dish that grants +20% elemental defense, +15% physical defense, and +15% fire/ice/lightning/wind resistance for 15 turns.
- Nourishing nut: Greatly increases max HP.
- Embershroom bed: A mushroom bed that can be used to yield mushrooms at a later date.
For a moment, forget all other items on this list and grab the nourishing nut; this hefty HP boost will instantly raise your HP from 300 to 450, and better yet, it’s permanent. This nourishing nut won’t be the only one in the game, but gaining more HP is always a good thing.
Although none of the items on the belongings list are unique (you can still obtain the ones you don’t pick), you might want to grab the two rare items, the crested key and mysterious letter fragment, as they’ll be much harder to find compared to equipment pieces or a dish like ratatouille. Keep in mind, however, that dishes and equipment provide immediate benefits, whereas you’ll have to progress through the game before you can do anything with crested keys and letter fragments.
If you therefore only wish to take one rare item, make it the crested key, as companion Viator will instantly join your company when he sees you carrying one. Viator appears when you speak with the green-hatted man in Valore’s tavern (woodlands).
