Metaphor: ReFantazio – Best Archetype tier list

In a creative twist, Refantazio boasts a diverse collection of 47 unique character types, grouped into 14 distinct lineages. Each type offers varying benefits in combat. Given that every character can master any type (excluding the Royal ones), you’re free to construct your team according to your strategy, providing you with an abundance of flexible choices.

S-Tier Archetypes in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Summoner

The Summoner character tends to be among the final Archetypes you’ll unveil, serving as the main role for your sixth party companion, Eupha. Despite her shy demeanor, the Summoner class stands out as anything but timid.

One unique category in this game requires you to collect items and create Talismans to activate its powers, which aren’t typically unlocked by leveling up. But don’t underestimate the effort; when used alongside Eupha’s impressive Magic stat, it can swiftly annihilate enemies as if they were mere trifles.

Apart from providing comprehensive protection against weaknesses, even the almighty one, Summoner’s outstanding abilities also bring about additional impacts, such as causing status ailments or reducing stats.

Healer

In most role-playing games (RPGs), recovery magic is crucial, yet unlike many others, the Healer character in Metaphor isn’t confined strictly to supportive abilities. Instead, they possess a versatile skill set.

This class is indispensable, capable of restoring an entire team’s health in a single move, and later even clearing everyone’s status ailments and resurrecting any defeated allies with maximum HP. This feature alone makes it one of the top choices, but what sets it apart is its access to potent Light magic spells – extremely beneficial since numerous significant game opponents are vulnerable to this type of magic.

Merchant

Using paid attacks might not sound very enticing initially, but you’ll soon understand its immense effectiveness. In the game Metaphor, money is relatively easy to obtain, and with this merchant character, you can unleash powerful attacks even when other party members are low on MP during lengthy dungeons. This becomes especially useful since MP is your major constraint in such situations.

Beyond that, every assault they launch has a high chance to score critical hits, inflicting Almighty damage which cannot be defended or resisted. Additionally, it increases your chances of receiving additional Turn Icons. Not only that, but its passive skills amplify the effectiveness of items you employ and can even boost the likelihood of obtaining uncommon items from foes, making it an excellent choice for farming as well.

A-Tier Archetypes in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Warrior

When paired with other Archetypes capable of enhancing its power, Warrior will prove to be your most potent damage-dealer within the team. Initially, it boasts impressive skills that attack multiple foes simultaneously before transitioning into incredibly powerful attacks that strike all enemies. These abilities are somewhat costly in terms of MP, but this becomes irrelevant since they swiftly eliminate large groups of adversaries.

Faker

While Faker might not typically serve as the main Archetype for a character, his abilities are undeniably potent. Incorporating these powers into your team’s inherited skillset could significantly bolster their performance.

Manipulating Turn Icons isn’t typically the most effective approach, given its potential risks. However, abilities that weaken enemies (or counteract their strengths) are crucial for defeating the game’s hardest bosses. The strategy becomes more versatile when you can enhance it to the Trickster level, allowing you to redistribute MP among your party members as required.

Knight

The knight is quite intriguing, as although it loses some power near the end of the game, it remains quite potent for most of its duration.

In simpler terms, Knight’s Proclamation and its enhanced versions are highly effective abilities that significantly decrease the number of attacks other team members will endure. This skill seems tailor-made for a character with high endurance like Hulkenberg, but it’s even more potent on characters like Heismay. He can attract damage towards himself, then dodge it, effectively taking no damage and causing the enemy to lose their turn faster.

The challenge lies in the fact that many final-battle foes predominantly employ area-of-effect attacks that strike the whole team simultaneously, thus bypassing the impact of this exceptionally potent skill.

Commander

Similar to Faker, it’s more beneficial not to make Commander your main Archetype, but rather leverage its abilities in the sub-roles effectively. In this scenario, the standout skills are Formation of Vigor and Shelter Formation. The former gathers allies at the frontline, boosting their attack power by two levels, while the latter pushes allies to the back row, increasing their defense by two stages.

By using this, you transform potent damage-dealers such as Warriors and Summoners into relentless behemoths capable of annihilating an opponent’s health gauge. If the opponent manages to gain some fortunate advantages, you can always retreat your team, making them significantly more resistant to harm. In certain cases, it might even be advantageous to have these skills on several party members so you can adjust to various situations.

Masked Dancer

The Masked Dancer offers versatility in its role, adapting to diverse functions based on the masks you select for it. This flexibility enables it to cover any vacancy within your team, whether that’s a healer, status-inflictor, or damage-dealer. Although it may not perform these roles as proficiently as specialized classes, Masked Dancer still excels in them. Additionally, it possesses exclusive abilities, such as the ability to weaken enemies against various elements, thereby bypassing any defense mechanisms like Block/Repel that the enemy has established.

B-Tier Archetypes in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Thief

The Thief class gradually reveals its full potential over time, but when it does, it’s a dependable choice, albeit with certain restrictions regarding applications. At lower levels, Thief is primarily a damage-dealing class that offers the Steal ability as an added bonus. The Drain HP skill can prove beneficial, though the Drain MP skill may not be as useful as expected.

As you progress through the higher levels, the abilities from this lineage start to combine, making it truly powerful. When you’re dealing attacks that simultaneously drain MP and have a chance to instantly defeat an opponent, or even lower their chances of hitting or evading, then it’s definitely worth considering as an investment.

Mage

In the initial stages of play, when your choices for inflicting elemental harm are scarce, choosing a Mage character can be beneficial since it ensures you’re up against an opponent whose vulnerabilities you might not be able to leverage. However, as your arsenal expands, this strategy will soon prove redundant. Nevertheless, there are some skills worth acquiring for inheritance, such as the passive that boosts a character’s maximum MP or magic attack power. Beyond that, once you reach the mid-game, you’ll discover more efficient methods to dish out any type of elemental damage.

Seeker

Initially, the Seeker, as your initial unlockable Archetype, is versatile yet not exceptionally proficient in any specific area, making it less effective for a majority of the gameplay. It offers a mix of magic damage, physical damage, stat modification, and healing abilities; however, these capabilities are generally executed more efficiently by specialized Archetypes that focus on those individual aspects.

What prevents it from slipping into the C-Tier category is the Prince Archetype, which you acquire during the story and is truly outstanding among all available characters in the game. However, it’s disappointing that this excellent character belongs to a lineage that doesn’t fully deliver on its potential final form.

C-Tier Archetypes in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Gunner

Initially, Gunner performs well in specialized roles, yet falters significantly in higher levels, deviating from its intended function. Notably, Gunner’s offensive capabilities are restricted to the back row, reducing the potential damage output. However, this limitation is somewhat offset by the fact that the initial two stages of Gunner’s lineage enhance all its abilities, offering chances to inflict status effects or debilitate enemies.

Nevertheless, Dragoon overlooks this aspect and opts for dealing raw damage instead. The late-game passive that nullifies the back-row damage penalty isn’t sufficient compensation, as it essentially results in an Archetype that prioritizes sheer offense, falling short compared to numerous other Archetypes. It’s a decent initial choice, but avoid relying on it excessively in the long run.

Berserker

In the game, you might assume that the Berserker lineage would be quite intriguing due to being one of the last ones to unlock. However, it falls short of expectations, as it’s essentially just a single-talent pony, and other ponies perform similar abilities more effectively. The Berserker is all about building up energy for massive, powerful attacks, while also boasting high HP to maintain its presence in battles for extended periods.

The issue lies in the Warrior’s ability to inflict greater damage over fewer rounds when adequately boosted, and the Knight’s resilience that ensures its HP is seldom at risk due to its high endurance. Actions that require multiple turns to accomplish the same task aren’t practical or efficient.

Brawler

Investing in a Brawler’s advanced late-game passive skills for inherited abilities can be beneficial. However, much like the Berserker, other physical-attack Archetypes tend to outperform it. The issue lies in the fact that you need to manage your attacks by spending HP, which isn’t ideal because it means you’ll have to constantly adjust these settings, particularly as the attack’s power scales with your HP. This can be problematic, especially in later stages of the game.

At the pinnacle, the Martial Artist obtains several outstanding passive abilities that automatically resurrect a character during a fight and render them resistant to most status conditions. While these traits are undeniably beneficial, the investment required to fully unlock them throughout this lineage might not be commensurate with the rewards in the end.

2025-05-01 17:01