The protagonist is going to be in your party the entire time in Metaphor: ReFantazio, so naturally you’ll want him to be as strong as he can possibly be. Here’s the best protagonist build in Metaphor: ReFantazio to help you out.
At the start of the game, when you’re at the Recruitment Center, you’ll have to answer a question that determines your primary stat. Honestly, as long as you pick either Strength or Magic, you’re good to go. Even then, you’re probably fine if you pick anything else.
Throughout my entire time with Metaphor: ReFantazio, I only focused on leveling up Strength and Magic equally as I wanted to prioritize the Captain’s damage output. This works well, especially since his endgame Archetypes are going to be either Prince or Soul Hacker.
So with that out of the way, let’s get into the build proper.
Without a doubt, Prince is the best Archetype for the protagonist in Metaphor: ReFantazio. In order to complete the build, however, you do need some skills from Soul Hacker. Here’s the full skill list:
With this build, you have access to Light, Wind, and Fire skills, as well as very powerful Slash skills. The last slot is a flex slot honestly, and you could swap out Megido for anything else you might need. But aside from that, this build also lets you buff up, prepping you for big damage on your next turn.
Listed below are what I believe to be the best-in-slot gear items for the protagonist:
| Gear | Effect | How to Get |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon’s Legacy | Normal attacks become Almighty affinity. All stats +5. | Complete the Trials of the Dragon request. |
| Cardinal Dragon Raiment | Nullifies Fire. Strength +5, Magic +5. | Complete the Trials of the Dragon request. |
| Aureolin Split Shoes | Repels Electric. | The base Split Shoes are obtained from dungeon chests, and you can get the Aureolin variant by Purifying it at the Church. |
| Aeon Pearl Ring | All stats +5. | Obtained from Junah. |
If you didn’t complete the Trials of the Dragon, you can also consider the Hero King’s Sword which you get from the Tyrant’s Star dungeon, as well as the Royal Finery for the armor slot.
As mentioned previously, as long as you focus on leveling Strength and Magic, it doesn’t really matter which primary stat you chose at the beginning. I ended the game at level 84, but these stats should give you a good idea of how to allocate your points:
For the early game, you’ll want to have the Captain on the Mage or Healer Archetypes. I personally liked leveling Healer until I got Medi, then classing him into Mage for the magic spells. My inherited skills were Cyc and Medi, allowing the Captain to have access to all elements while also being to heal. This is crucial, as Strohl and Hulkenberg are not suited for healing at all, which means that the healer role falls squarely on the protagonist’s shoulders.
As you progress into the mid-game and get Junah and Eupha into your party, that’s where you really start to enjoy a bit more flexibility. At this point, consider the Magic Seeker for the Captain, and level that up until you unlock the Soul Hacker.
Soul Hacker, in particular, excels at AoE magic spells which also grant you a bit of MP recovery. I’d still recommend dabbling in the Healer Lineage for Medica and other upgraded healing spells to keep the Captain as a backup healer if necessary.
And that’s the best protagonist build in Metaphor: ReFantazio.