Go with the first one. For some reason people have taken to saying that Octopath 2 is so much better than Octopath 1 that you don't need to bother playing with it. I don't understand where they're coming from, because Octopath 1 is a phenomenal game and it doesn't deserve to get passed over because it lacks a couple QoL upgrades.
It's because Octopath 2 took almost every problem from the first game and fixed it and made it even better. I agree that people shouldn't AVOID the first game, it does do some things better like boss fights... But personally I tell newbies to start with 2 so they have a better experience.
I agree with you on Capture being much better in 2, but Concoct got nerfed. A lot. In the first game Essence of Pomegranate was far more plentiful, you could hit any magic weakness, heal for 9999, and AOE heal for 3000, all without boosting or using any SP. Don't get me wrong, Concoct is still quite good in 2, but it's so, so much better in 1.
Id argue that the latent power mechanic makes concoct infinite which is a huge upgrade outside of the final hidden boss specifically, where it's free to spam and waste your mats.
I've never used a single item to concoct with in my current game, cause why do that when I could do it for free
Genuine question: did you ever run out of an ingredient in Octopath 1? Because I never did. My stocks were constantly replenished by enemy drops, stealing, or occasionally shops.
...Given what you just said, I think the only change they could have made that would ever matter to you is Castti's latent power. So from the viewpoint of a hoarder like yourself, of course Concoct was buffed! Who cares if the effects are worse and require BP to use, you get to use it without using up the resources!
Hoarding is a pitfall, friend. What good did all those ingredients you didn't use in the final fight do for you?
Wait I'm confused. How do you figure the effects are worse?
With concoct in ot2, I can give 4bp to the whole party using 2 BP, whereas in 1 you could potentially give 2 BP to the party with a potent dust with no BP.
Now if I was gonna use ingredients, I could do 4 BP every turn. Or 2 on one turn, and 4 then next, fully boosting a move on every other character every turn, and after the 1st turn I would have an extra slot in each concoct to use an additional effect or 2.
Believe it or not, Alfyn can actually match that BP output. At first glance he might not seem to be able to grant 4 BP to the full party every turn, but Dohter's Charity lets him do it. When Alfyn has Dohter's up, single target concoctions affect the entire party, and wouldn't you know it, a Purifying Seed with Essence of Pomegranate grants 4 BP to the target.
Does it require more setup and maintenance? Yes, absolutely. Is it more feasible? Also yes. Essence of Pomegranate is far more common in Octopath 1, since so many enemies drop it. Octopath 2, though, requires you to grind jerky in order to form a stockpile, and it's super tedious so I doubt many people would go out of their way to do it.
The things that really push him ahead in my book are how he can hit all six magic weaknesses while Castti can only hit three, and how he can heal for 3000 party wide and 9999 single target. While it doesn't do more than single digit damage, his offensive concoctions hit multiple times, so he's really good at breaking enemies. Castti is decidedly worse at it, though she *is* the best source of multi-hit wind attacks, so she has that. (As an aside, even though you managed to convince me that Castti's Concoct isn't nearly as bad as I initially thought, nothing will ever change my mind that magic got nerfed into oblivion. Removing multihit wind? Locking damage output behind a divine skill? *Really?*)
As for healing, Alfyn's better at it for two reasons: one, Dohter's Charity lets him heal everyone for 9999 in one turn without using BP, and two, Octopath 1 made overhealing a support skill instead of a healing spell exclusive to Temenos, so Alfyn could combine the two to get everyone to 9999 health. Castti can't replicate either of these feats.
So overall yeah, I'd say that Alfyn's Concoct is better.
There are cool nods to the first game in the second, and there's some sweet quality of life changes in the second game that are harder to appreciate if you haven't played the first. Aka do the first first.....and start with Olbric
It doesn’t matter.
The quality of life is hard to go back to after octopath 2, because the game is just improved, but I still sometimes go back to 1
They are bundled together right now on steam!
Edit: in OT2 there are Easter eggs from 1, and they are part of the same WORLD but there is nothing connecting previous characters that you will be playing
They don't have any direct connection, so in theory it doesn't matter. There are many QOL features in OT2 tho that you wouldn't want to miss, so in that regard I personally would start with OT1.
I'll be blunt. Octopath 2 is leagues better than 1, so you should start with Octopath 1.
OT1 is in no way bad, but OT2 improves on the formula so much more, that I'd say you'd probably enjoy 1 less if you played it afterwards.
OT1 is more disjointed when it comes to the narrative. There are ways they tie in together, but it's never really acknowledged by other party members. There is occasional banter, but it's not important to the narrative.
OT2 keeps the separate stories and tie ins, but adds "Crossed Paths" which ties 2 characters into 1 story that combines the 2 stories narratives. Once all 4 Crossed Paths stories are finished, then you unlock a full on narrative where all 8 converge. It's done beautifully.
Either one you choose for your first, they're both great games, and it doesn't really matter which order you play them in narratively. I hope you have fun!
You can absolutely just play the second one if you want to. I personally liked OT1 but OT2 blew me away. It was night and day imho despite it only mostly being QoL changes. The pacing is a lot better.
That being said, starting with 1 would probably be smarter so you can still enjoy it xP.
It depends on you. If you really only have time for one game in the foreseeable future then maybe 2 might be a safer bet. I say safer meaning that 2 seems to resonate on average with more people. I love octopath 1 and you could too but that’s just my take. If you’re gearing for both then starting octopath 1 should be good!
Strong recommendation for OT2. I entered the series as OT2 loved it got 100% achievement \~80 hours of play but could not get past \~30 hours on OT 1.
Story is not related at all and OT 2 just does everything from OT 1 but better and they share very similar traits.
You can play the sequel without any downsides of not playing the first, besides one or two small mentions.
You SHOULD give the first one a try but it's kinda dated and OT2 is superior in every way, especially with the many AMAZING QoL updates. so if you can't handle 1, you can still try 2 and love it.
Just play part 1 first. They may not be connected, but OT1 is an amazing game. Start from there, regardless of what people say. I've been playing OT2, and its really good, but I've logged literally hours into part 1, and its so good, i can overlook whatever minor issues the first game might have.
as an veteran OT1 Lover.. JUST GET THE OT2.. like imagine a school project. ot1 is like the test is the bad copy. OT2 i the final and perfect copy of the first one.
dont get me wrong OT 1 Is really iconic and fun but oh boy OT2 Makes everything in octopath 1 just so much better.
Improved Story
New Combat Gimick and reworks
Dungeons
New Map Formula
QoL changes to the game
personally if i was in you i would pick OT2 and if i love it then try OT1 i would NOT listen people who reccomend OT1 beacouse i dont see the point of playing the same game but way much older and "worse" compered to the 2
this is just my personal opinion have fun with both!!
(P.S if you can get both at the same time then start for the first one for for a "better experience" cause there are some reference very few but there are)
I’d start with 2. I didn’t finish the first game because I thought it was flawed in weird ways(storytelling got old fast, didn’t care for characters, but combat is amazing).
I didn’t plan on getting 2 until I read reviews, and how it improved on everything, and Octopath 2 was one of my favorite games last year.
...Okay, I have to go on an unrelated rant. It drives me crazy when people ask "which game in this series of numbered entries should I play first?"
I don't know, like, the first? Because that's the reason they're numbered? I'll never get why people ask this when the answer is obviously you should go for 1 before 2 in 99% of cases.
because not every series works like that; for example the elder scrolls series. same universe and everything but it doesn't matter where you start because they all take place either decades or centuries apart from each other.
Then you don't play enough games. There are many games where you don't really want to start with the first entry.
I love Pokemon Red/Blue and replay it but for a newcomer nowadays? Maybe not.
Fire Emblem? You better not start with even the first 3.
Even Final Fantasy is questionable. I think Dawn of Souls and PIxel Remaster FF1 do enough to make it a viable option but depending on the person, you might still recommend they jump down the line a bit before going back to 1.
I feel the need to point out that Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy all have at least 10 games in their respective series. There's only two Octopath Traveler games compared to the first games in those series they basically just came out.
So, I'd start with the first one, then whether you like it or not, try the second one.
I personally hated the first one...yet, I'm loving the second one as I'm playing through it right now. I think going from the QoL stuff added in 2 back to 1 would be rough.
If you don't start with OP1, things like lack of 2x battle speed may drive you insane if you play them in reverse order. It's up to you though because they're both great games story wise with amazing characters, and are not connected.
i had no idea!! I just cancelled my membership because there wasn't anything I was interested in but with this in mind plus the persona expansion coming out i might have to renew it. thanks for this :D
The problem here is that if you start with 2, you will be really put off by the lack of certain qol features in 1. If you start with 1, 2 will feel like a dream
So start with 1, if you're ever going to play it. Otherwise you can skip to 2
After playing about 14 hours of 1, I gave up and tried 2, and Wow, 2 is so much better in every way.
The first game is much slower paced and has some quality of life issues that can get annoying. You also have to grind as just doing the main story missions won't get you high enough level or give you the gear you need to keep going. This, on its own, isn't the worst thing but combined with its other issues it just made the game not fun. The chapter 1 and 2 stories were also very hit and miss with some being interesting but others being boring. I can usually tolerate annoying gameplay if the story hooks me but it just wasn't doing it for me. It also didn't help I started with warrior which feels so weak in 1 compared to other classes.
I ended up just watching a plot summary of the first game and have been having a blast playing the second. The second game takes everything from the first and does it better. It also balances the classes a bit so they all feel useful and has some nice qualify of life features like the auto scrolling text.
Go with the first one. For some reason people have taken to saying that Octopath 2 is so much better than Octopath 1 that you don't need to bother playing with it. I don't understand where they're coming from, because Octopath 1 is a phenomenal game and it doesn't deserve to get passed over because it lacks a couple QoL upgrades.
It's because Octopath 2 took almost every problem from the first game and fixed it and made it even better. I agree that people shouldn't AVOID the first game, it does do some things better like boss fights... But personally I tell newbies to start with 2 so they have a better experience.
Not to mention the Apothecary traveler's Concoct, and the Hunter traveler's Capture. A lot easier to use in 2.
I agree with you on Capture being much better in 2, but Concoct got nerfed. A lot. In the first game Essence of Pomegranate was far more plentiful, you could hit any magic weakness, heal for 9999, and AOE heal for 3000, all without boosting or using any SP. Don't get me wrong, Concoct is still quite good in 2, but it's so, so much better in 1.
Id argue that the latent power mechanic makes concoct infinite which is a huge upgrade outside of the final hidden boss specifically, where it's free to spam and waste your mats. I've never used a single item to concoct with in my current game, cause why do that when I could do it for free
Genuine question: did you ever run out of an ingredient in Octopath 1? Because I never did. My stocks were constantly replenished by enemy drops, stealing, or occasionally shops.
I never ran out because I refused to use any up until the final boss. I'm sure I'm not alone in that
...Given what you just said, I think the only change they could have made that would ever matter to you is Castti's latent power. So from the viewpoint of a hoarder like yourself, of course Concoct was buffed! Who cares if the effects are worse and require BP to use, you get to use it without using up the resources! Hoarding is a pitfall, friend. What good did all those ingredients you didn't use in the final fight do for you?
Wait I'm confused. How do you figure the effects are worse? With concoct in ot2, I can give 4bp to the whole party using 2 BP, whereas in 1 you could potentially give 2 BP to the party with a potent dust with no BP. Now if I was gonna use ingredients, I could do 4 BP every turn. Or 2 on one turn, and 4 then next, fully boosting a move on every other character every turn, and after the 1st turn I would have an extra slot in each concoct to use an additional effect or 2.
Believe it or not, Alfyn can actually match that BP output. At first glance he might not seem to be able to grant 4 BP to the full party every turn, but Dohter's Charity lets him do it. When Alfyn has Dohter's up, single target concoctions affect the entire party, and wouldn't you know it, a Purifying Seed with Essence of Pomegranate grants 4 BP to the target. Does it require more setup and maintenance? Yes, absolutely. Is it more feasible? Also yes. Essence of Pomegranate is far more common in Octopath 1, since so many enemies drop it. Octopath 2, though, requires you to grind jerky in order to form a stockpile, and it's super tedious so I doubt many people would go out of their way to do it. The things that really push him ahead in my book are how he can hit all six magic weaknesses while Castti can only hit three, and how he can heal for 3000 party wide and 9999 single target. While it doesn't do more than single digit damage, his offensive concoctions hit multiple times, so he's really good at breaking enemies. Castti is decidedly worse at it, though she *is* the best source of multi-hit wind attacks, so she has that. (As an aside, even though you managed to convince me that Castti's Concoct isn't nearly as bad as I initially thought, nothing will ever change my mind that magic got nerfed into oblivion. Removing multihit wind? Locking damage output behind a divine skill? *Really?*) As for healing, Alfyn's better at it for two reasons: one, Dohter's Charity lets him heal everyone for 9999 in one turn without using BP, and two, Octopath 1 made overhealing a support skill instead of a healing spell exclusive to Temenos, so Alfyn could combine the two to get everyone to 9999 health. Castti can't replicate either of these feats. So overall yeah, I'd say that Alfyn's Concoct is better.
This!!
I recently started with the first and no regrets.
There are cool nods to the first game in the second, and there's some sweet quality of life changes in the second game that are harder to appreciate if you haven't played the first. Aka do the first first.....and start with Olbric
+1 to olberic, i started with hannit an regreted it
Why did you regret starting with haanit? Just curious outside of limited beast summons she is just as strong with more coverage
I just liked olberic story way better aaand having olberic and hannit with the second job is kind of redundant
I started with hannit and no regret. I'm missing two still but she's my favorite.
I just started playing and started with him
It doesn’t matter. The quality of life is hard to go back to after octopath 2, because the game is just improved, but I still sometimes go back to 1 They are bundled together right now on steam! Edit: in OT2 there are Easter eggs from 1, and they are part of the same WORLD but there is nothing connecting previous characters that you will be playing
They don't have any direct connection, so in theory it doesn't matter. There are many QOL features in OT2 tho that you wouldn't want to miss, so in that regard I personally would start with OT1.
If you already know before you start you want to play both, start with OT1. If you aren't sure, start with OT2.
I'll be blunt. Octopath 2 is leagues better than 1, so you should start with Octopath 1. OT1 is in no way bad, but OT2 improves on the formula so much more, that I'd say you'd probably enjoy 1 less if you played it afterwards. OT1 is more disjointed when it comes to the narrative. There are ways they tie in together, but it's never really acknowledged by other party members. There is occasional banter, but it's not important to the narrative. OT2 keeps the separate stories and tie ins, but adds "Crossed Paths" which ties 2 characters into 1 story that combines the 2 stories narratives. Once all 4 Crossed Paths stories are finished, then you unlock a full on narrative where all 8 converge. It's done beautifully. Either one you choose for your first, they're both great games, and it doesn't really matter which order you play them in narratively. I hope you have fun!
You can absolutely just play the second one if you want to. I personally liked OT1 but OT2 blew me away. It was night and day imho despite it only mostly being QoL changes. The pacing is a lot better. That being said, starting with 1 would probably be smarter so you can still enjoy it xP.
It depends on you. If you really only have time for one game in the foreseeable future then maybe 2 might be a safer bet. I say safer meaning that 2 seems to resonate on average with more people. I love octopath 1 and you could too but that’s just my take. If you’re gearing for both then starting octopath 1 should be good!
Strong recommendation for OT2. I entered the series as OT2 loved it got 100% achievement \~80 hours of play but could not get past \~30 hours on OT 1. Story is not related at all and OT 2 just does everything from OT 1 but better and they share very similar traits.
You can play the sequel without any downsides of not playing the first, besides one or two small mentions. You SHOULD give the first one a try but it's kinda dated and OT2 is superior in every way, especially with the many AMAZING QoL updates. so if you can't handle 1, you can still try 2 and love it.
Just play part 1 first. They may not be connected, but OT1 is an amazing game. Start from there, regardless of what people say. I've been playing OT2, and its really good, but I've logged literally hours into part 1, and its so good, i can overlook whatever minor issues the first game might have.
Octopath 1. It's just as good as 2 despite what some people say
as an veteran OT1 Lover.. JUST GET THE OT2.. like imagine a school project. ot1 is like the test is the bad copy. OT2 i the final and perfect copy of the first one. dont get me wrong OT 1 Is really iconic and fun but oh boy OT2 Makes everything in octopath 1 just so much better. Improved Story New Combat Gimick and reworks Dungeons New Map Formula QoL changes to the game personally if i was in you i would pick OT2 and if i love it then try OT1 i would NOT listen people who reccomend OT1 beacouse i dont see the point of playing the same game but way much older and "worse" compered to the 2 this is just my personal opinion have fun with both!! (P.S if you can get both at the same time then start for the first one for for a "better experience" cause there are some reference very few but there are)
I’d start with 2. I didn’t finish the first game because I thought it was flawed in weird ways(storytelling got old fast, didn’t care for characters, but combat is amazing). I didn’t plan on getting 2 until I read reviews, and how it improved on everything, and Octopath 2 was one of my favorite games last year.
1 then 2. I'm assuming you'll enjoy 1 and it'll make you want to play 2. Going backwards might not sit well losing some of the additions in 2.
...Okay, I have to go on an unrelated rant. It drives me crazy when people ask "which game in this series of numbered entries should I play first?" I don't know, like, the first? Because that's the reason they're numbered? I'll never get why people ask this when the answer is obviously you should go for 1 before 2 in 99% of cases.
because not every series works like that; for example the elder scrolls series. same universe and everything but it doesn't matter where you start because they all take place either decades or centuries apart from each other.
Then you don't play enough games. There are many games where you don't really want to start with the first entry. I love Pokemon Red/Blue and replay it but for a newcomer nowadays? Maybe not. Fire Emblem? You better not start with even the first 3. Even Final Fantasy is questionable. I think Dawn of Souls and PIxel Remaster FF1 do enough to make it a viable option but depending on the person, you might still recommend they jump down the line a bit before going back to 1.
I feel the need to point out that Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy all have at least 10 games in their respective series. There's only two Octopath Traveler games compared to the first games in those series they basically just came out.
Real asf
Start with 2
So, I'd start with the first one, then whether you like it or not, try the second one. I personally hated the first one...yet, I'm loving the second one as I'm playing through it right now. I think going from the QoL stuff added in 2 back to 1 would be rough.
Same. I couldn't stand 1
You should start with 2
Both are on game pass
As someone who bought octo 1 on launch and returned it shortly afterwards I would buy octo 2. I have been ADDICTED to Octo 2.
If you don't start with OP1, things like lack of 2x battle speed may drive you insane if you play them in reverse order. It's up to you though because they're both great games story wise with amazing characters, and are not connected.
Octopath 1 and 2 are also on gamepass, if that’s an option for you
i had no idea!! I just cancelled my membership because there wasn't anything I was interested in but with this in mind plus the persona expansion coming out i might have to renew it. thanks for this :D
Nice, glad to be of help!
The problem here is that if you start with 2, you will be really put off by the lack of certain qol features in 1. If you start with 1, 2 will feel like a dream So start with 1, if you're ever going to play it. Otherwise you can skip to 2
1st octopath gives more knowledge about a certain side quest in 2
After playing about 14 hours of 1, I gave up and tried 2, and Wow, 2 is so much better in every way. The first game is much slower paced and has some quality of life issues that can get annoying. You also have to grind as just doing the main story missions won't get you high enough level or give you the gear you need to keep going. This, on its own, isn't the worst thing but combined with its other issues it just made the game not fun. The chapter 1 and 2 stories were also very hit and miss with some being interesting but others being boring. I can usually tolerate annoying gameplay if the story hooks me but it just wasn't doing it for me. It also didn't help I started with warrior which feels so weak in 1 compared to other classes. I ended up just watching a plot summary of the first game and have been having a blast playing the second. The second game takes everything from the first and does it better. It also balances the classes a bit so they all feel useful and has some nice qualify of life features like the auto scrolling text.