There are a total of 46 different Archetypes and 14 Lineages in Metaphor: ReFantazio, making it difficult to decide which are best for your party members. While each character that arrives to your group comes with their own signature Archetype, having them level up in others can help add more skills to their arsenal.
Once you find a good Archetype, you can typically keep upgrading it until you reach the next in its Lineage and continue from there. But knowing which party members should take which Archetypes can be hard when there are so many to choose from. We’ll help you decide on the best Archetypes to focus on for each character in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Best Archetypes for the Protagonist
- Seeker
- Mage
- Healer
Metaphor: ReFantazio’s protagonist should more often than not stick with the Seeker Archetype, as it’s his main one that can guide the Protagonist into becoming a magic-focused party member. To aid with that, Mage is the second-best choice as it comes with helpful elemental skills like Electric, Fire, and Ice damage that other Archetypes don’t often cover.
You’ll also find that having the Healer Archetype upgraded for the Protagonist is very helpful during the beginning/middle stages of the game. The first dungeon has many enemies who are weak to Light damage, which the Healer can dish out, and it also comes with helpful recovery skills.
Further into the game, Seeker can become Magic Seeker, then Soul Hacker, while Mage turns into Wizard, then Elemental Master. Fibally, Healer can become Cleric, then Savior. His final Archetype can eventually become the Prince.
Best Archetypes for Strohl
- Warrior
- Brawler
- Commander
Strohl is almost always going to be best sticking with Warrior and its Lineage of Archetypes, which will make him a Strength-focused party member who also helps buff the party. You’ll want to also upgrade the Commander Archetype, which can deal physical Fire damage, alongside the Heartbreak Strategem skill that negates any Repel Magic/Physical skills (which comes in handy at the Skyrunner Charadrius dungeon).
You should also include Brawler in Strohl’s arsenal to unlock skills that deal Strike damage, as well as Battle Cry, a support skill that increases Strohl’s Attack and Defense for three turns. It also gives you the helpful Health Font passive for extra HP, which works well with the Warrior’s Heat Up passive (+10% physical skill Attack) to make Strohl a physical damage dealer.
In the late game, Warrior can become Swordmaster, then Samurai, Brawler turns into Pugilist, then Martial Artist, and Commander becomes General, then Warlord. His final Archetype will then be Royal Warrior.
Best Archetypes for Hulkenberg
- Knight
- Gunner
- Mage
Hulkenberg is both a physical damage-dealing Tank, as well as a bit of a magic user. Her main Archetype will be Knight, which can deal Strike damage and draw enemy attention to herself. Gunner is another great addition to her kit as it grants her some decent Pierce skills that can also inflict Poison or Sleep.
Mage is important to level up at some point since it eventually allows you to unlock her final best Archetype. It can also give Hulkenberg any extra elemental skills you may need in your party alongside the Protagonist’s Mage skills.
Knight will eventually become Magic Knight, then Dark Knight and Paladin, Gunner transforms into Sniper, then Dragoon, and Mage can become Wizard as the prerequisite for the Dark Knight Archetype.
Best Archetypes for Heismay
- Thief
- Merchant
- Gunner
Heismay serves as the party’s most agile and lucky member who will most often maintain the Thief Archetype. This grants him the ability to deal Dark damage to enemies, as well as steal items, HP, or MP from enemies. The Merchant fits well with this build since it can deal Almighty damage (at the cost of Reeve), but it also has a passive that increases the likelihood of receiving items after battles.
It’s also important for Heismay to upgrade the Gunner Archetype so he can eventually unlock his final one. This allows him to sit in the back row more often to steal items and deal Pierce-damage skills that can inflict Poison or Sleep on enemies.
Thief will soon become Assassin, then Ninja, Merchant can turn into Tycoon, and Gunner into Sniper, then Dragoon. Heismay’s final Archetype, Royal Thief, requires both Ninja and Dragoon to unlock.
Best Archetypes for Junah
- Masked Dancer
- Healer
- Faker
Junah is best used as the Masked Dancer and will rarely switch, but the other Archetypes are good for Inherited Skills to add on top of the masks you choose for her. Masked Dancer is flexible, allowing you to switch masks on the fly to mirror other Archetypes. On top of that, having Junah as your new main Healer is perfect to allow your Protagonist to use other skills instead.
Faker is another important Archetype for Junah to upgrade. Not only because it’ll lead to her unlocking her final Archetype, but because it allows her to debuff the enemy team. Keep her in the back row to mainly debuff enemies and heal the party.
Masked Dancer can eventually become Persona Master, Healer can turn into Cleric, then Savior, and Faker becomes Trickster. Eventually, you’ll unlock Royal Masked Dancer, which requires Trickster and Persona Master at max level.
Best Archetypes for Eupha
- Summoner
- Mage
- Seeker
Eupha’s main Summoner Archetype uniquely makes her a heavy magic damage dealer who uses up a ton of MP with the small amount of abilities she has. For this reason, she should also have the Mage Archetype so she can have options for dealing lower magic damage at a lesser MP cost to keep her useful.
You’ll also want to upgrade the Seeker Archetype to eventually unlock her final Archetype. It also grants her a few useful skills that can buff (Tarukaja can increase Attack) and heal (Dei grants weak HP recovery) the party alongside some Wind damage skills.
Summoner can turn into Devil Summoner, Mage can become Wizard, then Warlock, and Seeker will become Magic Seeker, then Soul Hacker. Eupha’s final Archetype, Royal Summoner, requires Soul Hacker and Devil Summoner.
Best Archetypes for Basilio
- Berserker
- Warrior
- Brawler
The final party member, Basilio, is most useful as the Berserker Archetype and should be used as a physical damage dealer, specifically Strike damage. On top of Berserker, having Warrior on hand can be useful for different physical skills, including Slashing damage.
Brawler is important for leading into Basilio’s final Archetype, as it can grant him extra Strike damage skills, as well as helpful passives like Diligent Desciple (increases critical hit rate) and Health Font (raises max HP).
Berseker will become Destroyer, Warrior can be Swordmaster, then Samurai, and Brawler will be Pugilist, then Martial Artist. With the Destroyer and Martial Artist Archetypes at max level, Basilio can unlock his final Archetype, which is Royal Berserker.
