Like any huge RPG, Bravely Default 2 features a game within the game. It’s called Bind & Divide or B&D (yes, yes, like the game). It’s an attractive card game that you don’t want to miss, but you can easily roll over the credits without ever playing a round.
B&W is more or less Bravely Default through Gwent. You and a computer-controlled opponent each have a deck of six cards. You take turns placing them in a five-by-five grid, in order to capture as much territory as possible. Each captured square corresponds to a point. Each card – based on enemies, characters and working classes in the “real” game – has a different layout. An orc, for example, will occupy three spaces in a horizontal line, while a sahagin will occupy two vertically. A character card can change the rules of the game, for example, so that each monster-themed card can occupy an extra square, regardless of the team. Meanwhile, job cards come with bonus skills. One of the first, the Gambler, will swap squares with one of your opponent’s occupied squares at random.
However, delimiting your own territory is not enough to win. You also need to remove your opponent’s territory from the board. Most cards have a primary square plus at least one secondary square. Secondary squares can occupy territory, but if you place them on top of the space occupied by an enemy, both will be removed from the board – nullifying that point for both of you. (The square can then be reoccupied by either player.)
It’s a good strategy, but you’ll have a better chance of winning if you convert the enemy’s territory into your team. Placing an opponent’s square on a sandwich – horizontal, vertical or diagonal – will move it to your side. A well-placed card can convert a significant amount of territory, changing the score quickly.
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Just as Gwent’s players practically rent a spot on the each tavern in The Witcher 3, B&D players can be found everywhere Bravely Default 2. When you win a round, you earn points. You can then use these points to draw cards from a defeated opponent’s hand. The good ones, you will understand, cost more, so each victory creates a crossroads. Do you spend your points right there? Or do you deposit them in the hope that a revolutionary card will appear after your next victory?
You can curate three decks. As far as I can tell, you can only customize your decks in the pre-game menu that appears before each game, but you can see any cards unlocked by initializing the Lore menu and selecting “Card binder”.
Okay, I’m sold. Where do I start?
Where else? At Savalon’s gambling house!
B&D is hidden as a side mission, so you will be forgiven for going through it. (In general, Bravely Default 2Secondary missions are skippable, as they generally range from boring to numbly futile.) On one of the card tables near the source, you will see a secondary mission offered by an NPC named Shirley. Talk to her to get a basic deck and start a series of tutorials.
I didn’t stumble on Shirley until well into Chapter 4, about 40 hours of play, but you can apparently start the questline after unlocking the Beastmaster job in Chapter 1. After some basic battles, all of which you can face in the game room, you will have to face Shirley. Compared to the others you face, it is a challenge. Here are some tips:
- Try to group your squares so that they are not surrounded. Adhering to the corners will help to protect you.
- Your starting deck will begin with the Player card, which changes its placement to one of Shirley. Don’t worry about using this one, as you cannot control the result.
- Stack your deck with humanoid and spiritual cards. She plays a card that strengthens that card class, regardless of the team’s affiliation, so you’ll get a big boost if you have multiple cards in your deck.
- I learned this by trial and error, but most of the time, the match against Shirley starts with you taking the first step. You will be in a better position if you are in defense, as you will be able to make the last move and therefore you will not be caught off guard by a move that will change the game at the last minute. If you are struggling, keep restarting until you start a defensive round.
- If you are same fighting, consider wandering around the world a bit, facing low-level B&W opponents, winning your cards and building your decks. There is one, for example, outside the inn in Savalon. Another spends time in Rimedahl, also near the inn. You can identify players by looking for NPCs with small card icons hanging over their heads.
Defeating Shirley in B&D will trigger a boss fight in reality Bravely Default combat. As I was so overwhelmed at the time, I took her and her friends out on two shifts, but I had a feeling it was not such a difficult fight. (She joined the chief behind the asterisk Bard – whom you will have already defeated at that point – two more low-level soldiers. Use your Monk Pressure Point move!)
Do I get anything for that?
You bet. After defeating Shirley in B&W and in battle, you will receive an asterisk for the Player’s job. Without a doubt, the player is Bravely Default 2most unpredictable work of. One move makes you spin two wheels – one with a number, one with an element – and launch an attack based on the result. Another makes you spin a wheel with the numbers from one to ten. Land in ten, and everyone in your group can get three BP … or maybe your enemies get three BP. Oops!
Furthermore, instead of MP or BP, many of the Gambler’s moves use the in-game currency. As a result, it is best suited for a job in the middle or at the end of the game, since you are rich as a Rockefeller.
It’s a decent prize – after all, one of your main goals in Bravely Default 2 is to collect all the asterisks – but it pales in comparison to the opportunity to play an incredible game within a game that is already fantastic. Two for one? Talk about an easy bet.