For most RPGs, combat plays an essential role in the gaming experience. This rings especially true for Bravely Default II, the latest installment in the series. Its battle system combines classic turn-based fighting with strategic Brave and Default elements to give the game a unique depth.
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Alongside these elements are a wide array of jobs with their own playstyles, as well as passive abilities that augment each character's capabilities. Every ability has its use, but some have the potential to play a large role in any capacity. For this reason, players should always consider equipping these passive abilities before anything else.
10 Better Than Ever Lets Characters Tank More Hits
Better Than Ever is unlockable early on in the game as part of the White Mage job. This passive ability allows party members to heal HP beyond their maximum amount. For example, if a party member heals 1,000 HP when they only have 200 missing, the remaining 800 still carries over.
This makes frailer targets capable of taking a few extra hits before needing healing again. It also makes bulkier members even harder to knock out. Consider using this ability when facing a tough boss that dishes out a lot of damage.
9 Unshakeable Will Prevents Harmful Statuses
The Berserker job, a strong Asterisk granted at the end of Chapter 1, holds this passive ability. Unshakeable Will prevents a variety of status conditions that impede the ability to choose actions. These status effects include paralysis, sleep, confusion, and charm, among others.
Many enemies utilize status conditions alongside their normal attacks, so equipping Unshakeable Will could save players the headache of dealing with them. It also allows players to equip gear that prevents other status effects instead, such as silence or blindness.
8 Counter-Savvy Avoids Extra Damage
Many enemies, especially bosses, have counter abilities that make dealing with them even more difficult. Whether the player uses magic, an item, or a simple physical attack, they may find themselves on the receiving end of a devastating counterstrike.
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Luckily, equipping Counter-Savvy nullifies physical counterattacks. Unlocked via leveling up the Ranger job, this passive ability excels at dealing with bosses that rely on physical damage. Although it isn't available until Chapter 2, it becomes especially useful in the later chapters.
7 MP Saver Lets Players Use Powerful Skills Often
Most abilities and spells require MP to use. MP Saver is a must for those looking to dole out their most powerful skills. Players get MP Saver after investing some time into the Beastmaster job found in Chapter 1.
This ability cuts all MP cost by twenty percent, which is especially useful for jobs that rely on magic. Many physically oriented jobs have skills that eat up MP, such as the Berserker's Amped Strike. Equipping MP Saver allows these skills to see more frequent use.
6 Sub-Job Specialty Allows For Flexibility
Each job, when chosen as the main job, has two unique passive abilities called "specialties". Sub-Job Specialty, however, overrides this by allowing one of the sub-job's specialties to remain active. This ability has two variants, though one is accessible much earlier than the other.
The Spiritmaster job holds the first Sub-Job Specialty, which activates the first specialty of the character's equipped sub-job. The other Sub-Job Specialty unlocks the second specialty instead, and is obtained from the Bravebearer job toward the end of the game. Specialties are rather powerful, so having them in lieu of other passive abilities can work wonders for certain job combinations.
5 Beast Whisperer Allows For Easier Capture
Despite its early appearance, the Beastmaster job has the potential to be one of the strongest jobs in terms of stats. This is largely thanks to its second specialty, which increases stats based on the number of captured monsters.
Of course, lowering a monster's health to capture it doesn't always go as planned. Fortunately, the Beast Whisperer passive obtained late into the Beastmaster job provides some insurance. Monsters have a thirty percent chance of being captured when defeated by anyone with this ability.
4 Full Force Applies Massive Damage
Most offensive spells, as well as some other skills, can hit all opponents on the field. While this is useful for taking out large swaths of enemies, targeting all of them actually reduces the effectiveness of that attack. Luckily, with Full Force, this reduction no longer applies.
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Players gain this ability after leveling up the Dragoon class in Chapter 3. This ability helps out immensely with grinding for XP and JP quickly. Combined with Epic Group-Cast and the heavy-hitting spread moves of the Berserker or mage jobs, its power becomes very apparent.
3 Surpassing Power Removes the Damage Cap
Lord Commander Adam holds the Hellblade Asterisk. Its power, as seen at the end of the prologue, is unquestionable. It's fitting, then, that this job holds a passive ability that unlocks the damage cap of attacks and spells.
Ordinarily, damage is capped at 9,999. Surpassing Power allows for all damage to go beyond this limit. It is incredibly useful during the later parts of the game, when characters should have strong sets of equipment and skills. With the right moves, players can take advantage of this ability to make short work of bulky enemies.
2 Across The Board Creates Widespread Damage
The final job to unlock, the Bravebearer, grants many powerful skills and abilities. Among them is the passive ability Across the Board. This allows single-target skills to hit multiple enemies. This is especially useful for powerful spells like Holy and attacks like Ultima Blade. Oddly enough, it also affects things like the Thief's Steal skill.
Similar to Full Force, this ability lets players make short work of all opponents. It's only fitting that such a powerful ability be saved for the last moments of the game.
1 JP Up/JP Up And Up Increase Leveling Speed
Despite the sheer power of some of the later abilities, nothing comes close to the utility of JP Up. When combined with its more potent form, JP Up and Up, it increases the amount of JP earned by 1.7 times. This includes JP earned by the JP Orb items.
Because all party members start with the Freelancer job, it's recommended to unlock both of these abilities as soon as possible. It makes the grind for job levels much, much easier. For this reason alone, it remains one of the most vital abilities throughout much of the game.