Bravely Default 2 Combat System Explained: Brave, Default, BP & More

Developed by Claytechworks and published by Square Enix, Bravely Default 2 is the new exclusive JRPG releasing for the Nintendo Switch this week. It brings back the innovative turn-based combat system from the first game on 3DS, but if you’re new to the series, a little explanation might be in order. Here’s everything you need to know about the combat system in Bravely Default 2.

Bravely Default 2 Combat System Explained

While Bravely Default 2 does make use of a classic turn-based combat system, it also introduces a slight twist to make things a bit more challenging. It’s in the title; you can press the R button to ‘Brave’ up to three times, which essentially lets you borrow turns and take three additional actions.

The downside to that is that if you were already at zero Brave Points (BP), Braving three times would put you at a -3 deficit. This means that you’d have to pass three turns to get your BP back to zero in order to act again.

Braving multiple times in a row lets you deal a ton of damage in a single turn, but it can also be extremely risky if the fight doesn’t end within that turn as you’d be leaving that character completely defenseless for the next three turns.

That being said, you can also choose to Default, which allows your character to adopt a defensive stance and save up one BP. If, say, you choose to Default three times in a row, you can save up to a maximum of three BP. You could then choose to Brave three times in a row and have your BP go down to zero, and you’d still be able to act in the next turn.

Knowing when to Brave and Default is important especially in boss battles, and to make things a little more spicy, all enemies have the ability to Brave and Default as well.

By and large, you should have no problem Braving all the time during regular encounters if you already know enemy weaknesses and just want to get through your fights quickly, but you’ll need to be careful during major battles in Bravely Default 2.

Initiative

There are no random encounters in Bravely Default 2; all enemies are visible in dungeons and the overworld, which means that you can choose to engage in battles or just run the other way. However, if enemies that are at your level or higher spot you, they’ll start running after you.

It’s pretty easy to get away from them, but if they manage to hit you while your back is turned, the enemy will gain the initiative and start with one BP each.

On the flip side, if your back wasn’t turned, you’ll both start with zero BP. If you hit them with your sword by pressing the Y button, you’ll get a message saying “Your party is feeling brave” which means that you start with one BP.

And finally, if you hit the enemy while their back is turned, you start with one BP and you get the initiative, meaning you get to act first. In short, whether you get the initiative or not, it’s always a good idea to strike enemies with your sword just for that 1 BP advantage.

Fleeing in Combat

If you enter a battle by accident in Bravely Default 2, it’s possible to flee from battle by holding down the ZL and ZR buttons at the same time. Most times you should be able to get away successfully.

However, if the enemy gets the advantage during a battle, it’s impossible to escape and you’ll need to see the battle through to the end.

Items and Abilities

Finally, the last big thing you need to know about combat in Bravely Default 2 is that you actually have a lot of control over your characters’ actions and items in the middle of battle. You won’t be able to change your main and sub-jobs, but you can change equipment whenever you want to, which is something that’s never explained in the game.

From the combat menu, select Items, and you should see your equipment at the top of the list. You can select your weapon, for instance, and opt to change it to something else on the spot for that character. It doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t use up your entire turn, which makes this a pretty handy feature if you need to switch weapon types in a pinch.

That’s all you need to know about how the combat system works in Bravely Default 2. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game.