Metaphor ReFantazio starting stats: what do each of the interview questions do and how they affect your build
Metaphor: ReFantazio continues Atlus’ RPG lineage of allowing players to take their character progression in their own hands. Every party member you recruit to help fight for your cause is flexible, but comes with predetermined starting stats that gives you hints at what they’d be best at. Your protagonist however is left in your hands, and you can build him however you want.
When you go into the Recruitment Centre at the very beginning of your adventure, you’ll be tasked to tell Captain Klinger of the royal guard a bit about yourself. He’ll initiate the conversation by asking your reason for enlisting. None of these have a direct effect on your starting stats. His second question does, however.
When asked “So, what can you bring to our beloved corps? Any skills to speak of?” you’ll get the following options:
- "I’m stronger than I look."
- "I’ve got a sharp mind."
- "I can take a lot of punishment."
- "I’m small, but quick."
- "I’ve always been lucky."
It should be obvious, but each of these is associated with one of the game’s character stats respectively:
- Strength
- Magic
- Endurance
- Agility
- Luck
Picking one of these will give you an altered set of starting stats for your protagonist. This won’t make too much of a difference in the long term since you can allocate at least one point per level up to a stat of your choosing, but for those players looking to hone in on a specific build early then you’ll want to choose carefully. If we were to imagine a hypothetical protagonist with a “default” balanced stat spread every single one would begin with a value of 5. Your choice here will take two from that stat’s opposite, with the exception of the Luck stat that works differently.
Strength, “I’m stronger than I look.”
At level one you’ll be given the following stat spread:
St - 7
Ma - 3
En - 5
Ag - 5
Lk - 5
By choosing strength you forgo a few extra points in magic, making you hit hard but deal minimal spell damage. This is great if you plan to have your main character focus mainly on physical skills and basic attacks.
Magic, “I’ve got a sharp mind”
At level one you’ll be given the following stat spread:
St - 3
Ma - 7
En - 5
Ag - 5
Lk - 5
By flaunting your intelligence, your protagonist will start the game being able to cast stronger spells at the cost of your physical damage. If you’re planning to run a magic build in Metaphor ReFantazio this is what you’ll want to pick.
Endurance, “I can take a lot of punishment”
At level one you’ll be given the following stat spread:
St - 5
Ma - 5
En - 7
Ag - 3
Lk - 5
The trade-off for having a more fortified defense is that you’re slower. This will affect how quick your protagonist can attack in battle.
Agility, “I’m small, but quick”
At level one you’ll be given the following stat spread:
St - 5
Ma - 5
En - 3
Ag - 7
Lk - 5
By deciding to be more vulnerable to oncoming damage, you’ve increased your chances at dodging attacks from enemies. A high Agility also makes you faster, allowing your protagonist to act sooner.
Luck, “I’ve always been lucky”
At level one you’ll be given the following stat spread:
St - 4
Ma - 4
En - 4
Ag - 4
Lk - 9
Focusing on the luck stat can give you a slight disadvantage in every single other stat. You won’t hit hard, your magic won’t be as effective, you’ll take a bit more damage, and you’ll be slower but this will give you a considerable head start on your luck stat.
After this all you have to do is choose the name of your protagonist, and your adventure is ready to start. Metaphor Refantazio’s beginning game can be quite a challenge while you’re still unlocking all the systems the game has to offer, so answering carefully could give you a strong head start in tackling the battles ahead.