Bravely Default 2 is now out and providing players with both joy and frustration. Its review scores reflect this, with mostly positive scores that fail to reach exceptional status due to a few frustrating elements.

One of the frustrating elements in Bravely Default 2 is actually encountered early on in the form of a roadblock boss: Bernard. The holder of the Thief asterisk, Bernard is not exactly sneaky, and hits more like a truck than a thief. In both the demo and the game proper, Bernard has proven quite frustrating, so here's a quick guide to making the fight easier and more doable.

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Anyone familiar with the Job List, even from the previous Bravely Default games, knows that Thieves can steal more than just belongings. They can actually steal stats, HP, and MP from other characters as well. That HP stealing makes Bernard tankier than many might expect, and draining MP leaves mages decidedly less than useful. With this in mind, the fight can be played as either an endurance match or a rushdown, but the rushdown strategies often prove more satisfactory. They require some serious preparation though, so prepare to gear up.

First, go adventuring for a bit. While this will make the game take longer to beat, it's a grind worth adventuring in. This is partially a grind for levels, as 20 is probably the best one to fight Bernard at, but there's more to get. First, in the desert area, players should hunt for an Ice Staff that gives a bonus to Ice magic. This should be given to whoever has black magic equipped, and their magic should be kept high. Next, give someone the Beastmaster job and have them tame a bunch of Minotaurs. Not easy, but the payoff is huge. 10 Minotaurs will do the job, with a few less still being acceptable.

Don't focus on Bernard at first. Instead, focus on defense and on taking out his henchmen. Wide-cast spells are good for this, so have the Ice Staff wielding mage use Blizzaga when there's an opening. Keep said mage healed, cleared of status ailments, and filled with MP (bring lots of items). JP farming helps set them up effectively, which should also have been accomplished before coming here. Don't be afraid to use special attacks to heal and deal wide damage.

It's important to defend against Bernard's attacks at first, but once some BP has been built up, have the Beastmaster party member (or members, preferably two of them) unleash as many Minotaurs as they can with Off The Leash. The damage they do to Bernard is truly astounding, dropping him from full health way, way down. This will skip right past the part where his stealing HP is a problem and have him attack more recklessly. With his HP so low, more Blizzagas can finish him easily. Just like that, the demon of the Bravely Default 2 demo will be down.

Bravely Default 2 is out now for the Nintendo Switch.

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