The Beastmaster work of Bravely Default 2 is basically a Pokémon

Creating your party in Bravely Default II it has less to do with the characters you use than with the jobs you equip them with. It is a smart strategy always have basic healers and damage dealers on hand, of course, but when it comes to my party, I never foresee ever having at least one master of the beasts on my wings.

I unlocked the Beastmaster last week, several hours on my Bravely Default II playthrough. Although it was bad to tear off the soft-spoken, animal-loving Asterisk crystal, which provides classes after his battle with the chief (a story for another time, perhaps), any remaining guilt I had was obliterated as soon as I changed main character Gloria away from her duties as a White Wizard for the most attack-oriented archetype.

Beastmasters, which debuted in Bravely Default II, are exactly what they seem: masters of the beasts. During the battle, they are able to capture monsters for later use with special job-specific skills, and each trapped enemy increases the job’s functionality. If used effectively (or, in my case, obsessively), the Beastmaster changes the dynamics of each battle, emphasizing capturing as many monsters as possible, rather than killing them immediately.

As with most of the game’s work, I jumped to the Bravely Default II menu to check the Beastmaster right after it is unlocked. Although his role description and skill progression didn’t catch me, I quickly fell in love with the Beastmaster’s potential after experiencing it in some random battles. I started adding all the killer orcs and bunnies I could find to Gloria’s virtual zoo, each giving her a new ability or spell to use in future battles.

Gloria quickly became the most powerful and reliable member of my party. While fighting Bernard in Chapter 1, for example, the hordes of Minotaurs I captured in the dungeon before the battle allowed it to inflict thousands of points of damage each turn, thanks to Pound’s brutal attack. Depending on the monster, the Beastmaster may also provide access to abilities I haven’t yet encountered with any other class, such as Fresh Foliole’s Aerora wind spell, useful for targeting weaknesses that the Black Wizard cannot, and the Disembodied Souls Disincorporation, that inflicts Stop for several turns. I’m sure that future work will have parallels with these useful skills, but for now, the Beastmaster is proving to be useful in expanding my tactics.

But of all the talents of the Beastmaster, I was most impressed by his ability to transform Bravely Default II in Pokémon. Capturing monsters early on is a balancing act to deplete your HP as much as possible without killing them. The weaker they are, the easier they are to be captured. Raising the level of the Beastmaster with continued use, however, unlocks skills like Mercy Strike and Mercy Smash, which, just like False Swipe at the Pokémon series, never kill targets, but leave them with 1 HP, giving you the perfect chance to add them to your arsenal. Most of the time, turning an opponent into an ally is simply a matter of giving the Beastmaster several actions with Brave mechanics, hitting a monster with some of these safe attacks and then capturing it all in the same turn.

Bravely Default II it is, by all accounts, a massive game. I’ve spent 12 hours exploring your world and haven’t yet completed Chapter 1. With all its complexities, Beastmaster’s work is a perfect microcosm for the Bravely Default II experience, an example of how only one class can open up infinite possibilities in creating groups and refining strategy. And hey, even if the Beastmaster loses some versatility later, the fluffy, furry clothes he gives the main characters must at least boost morale during tough battles.