Having trouble with Ni No Kuni? Did you find out that it isn’t as easy as you thought it was? Are you tired of easily beating random monsters but then a boss wipes the floor with you? Do you keep grinding for long hours and feel it isn’t doing anything? Are some of the battles just too frustrating because of your dumb allies? Well here are five easy tips that will make your playthrough of Ni No Kuni a breeze.
5. Battle Tips
Just a few quick tips to help make those battles smoother, nothing here is major, but the little things add up.
- Did you know that the R2 and L2 can also move the action wheel? This way you won’t have to take your thumb off the joystick as you select actions. Also, it’s a smart idea to memorize where the commands are located, and mix them around in the menu to your liking.
- Always capture familiars and try them out. Don’t judge a book by its cover. You never know when you might stumble upon a familiar that fits perfectly into your team.
- Give your allies the most powerful familiars. I know it sucks not saving the best for yourself, but you have the brains to work with weak familiars, your allies don’t. Give them the familiars’ with high physical/magical attack power because that’s all they’re going to do with them.
- All-Out-Attack and All-Out-Defense should be constantly spammed throughout fights. They are life-savers and once used effectively, they can really make a difference.
- Don’t be afraid to switch leaders in battle a lot, even if it’s just to cast one spell with someone else. Don’t be a passive player, if your allies are doing something dumb, take over.
- Use the entire battlefield. I always kept Oliver far away when I sent out a familiar, so if my familiar got in trouble, I could call them back, and Oliver would be standing at the other end of the battlefield. It gave me time to recover and sometimes dodge attacks if timed right. Your stamina bar can deal with the extra time, don’t worry. You have a big area to use, don’t waste space.
4. Tactics
You can change your allies’ tactics, that much is given. Don’t be afraid to change them multiple times throughout the battle. It’s not as obvious as it sounds. In other games you usually set the tactics once before going into a battle and then leave them alone. Well, it’s wise to constantly switch them in Ni No Kuni. For example: I use to set Esther as “Keep us healthy” which sounds like it would make sense. However, I realized when she was set on that tactic, she wouldn’t use her familiars as often. When everyone had full health, she’d attack the enemy herself, only doing 1 damage. She was on standby in case someone needed to be healed, but it’s still a waste of attacking power. Sometimes she’d use a familiar, but the chances were much lower than when on another tactic. Just like you need to constantly switch familiars in and out, switching tactics constantly can be a huge help.
3. Evade
Always, and I do mean always, have at least one familiar in your arsenal that can evade. It is a ridiculously overpowered skill that can carry you through the entire game. It’s a move that allows you to dodge all attacks – no matter what they are. That’s unreal! If the game gives you something that incredible, abuse it. Preferably someone who has good movement speed and strong magic. This is the standard hit-and-run tactic. Stay away, blast them with magic, and then evade their attacks. Rinse and repeat, and you’ll never lose. It can be a little tricky to pull off at first, but once you get the timing down, every battle is a breeze. I took down multiple bosses with just one familiar because they could evade. Evading makes the bosses pop out all sorts of goodies, and every little bit helps against tough bosses. Mastering this ability will allow you to beat the game while being severely under leveled. So if you don’t like grinding or doing side quests then evade is your best friend. The battles may take slightly longer, but as long as you use evade correctly, you will never take damage and continue to whittle away at the bosses health.
2. Side Quests
Another really obvious one, but side-quests in Ni No Kuni are incredibly important. You cannot think of them like side-quests as you would in other games. In other games, side-quests usually give you a small bonus that may help you in the main game. The unlocks you get from side-quests in Ni No Kuni are so instrumental to the main game, they feel almost necessary, and you’re putting yourself at a major disadvantage by not doing them. Collecting merit stamps unlock some incredibly important abilities – especially the later ones. On top of that, many of the side-quests aren’t even hard, and you can get a lot done without going out of your way. Don’t forget Horace either! Always search for him and answer his riddles, he gives you some pretty great stuff.
1. Toko, Tokotoko, Tokocold
(slight spoilers but only locations)
Find these guys! They are hidden gems and can solve all your problems. Why are they so special? Because they are easy to kill while giving you tons of exp. This is also your warning, if you want this game to be a challenge, don’t look for these Totoro doppelgangers since you will easily become overpowered. In an area where random monsters will give you around 300 exp, a Tokotoko will give you 8,000 exp. That’s a little higher than 26 times the amount of exp! That’s only one spot. I’ll teach you three spots along with the best way to find and kill them effectively since they are shy little creatures.
- The first place to find the Toko is on an island called Ugly Duckling Isle You can reach it once you get access to the boat. Northeast of the Rolling Hills you will see a small cluster of islands. On the southernmost one, you will find the first level of Toko. They will give you 2000 exp, which is pretty amazing at that point in the game. They will run if they see you, so try to sneak up on them. Ignore all the other enemies, and focus your attack on the Toko. Use your most powerful spells and skills to take them out before they run away. If they still keep getting away, try spamming the magic spell Pulse. It knocks the enemy to the ground so they can’t move, and it gives you extra time to finish it off.
- The second location is called Billy Goats Bluff, which is on the way to the village of Perdida. The Toko here are the next level up called Tokotoko. These guys will give you 8,000 exp, which is extremely helpful, since this is another point in the game where the difficulty increases. The best way to farm these guys is to save on the world map. Then, encounter a random enemy, if the tokotoko isn’t there, quit the game, load the save, and try again. It sounds like a hassle, but it really only takes about thirty seconds, which is a lot quicker than fighting random creatures. I only spent a little less than two hours doing this and it could have carried me through the rest of the game, because it boosted my levels so much.
- The last version of Toko is called Tokocold and they are found in the Ivory Tower, which is the last dungeon of the game. These guys are incredibly hard to find, but they give you 25,000 exp, so they are absolutely worth it. The pathways are skinny so it’s annoying to search for them. If you have been doing your Horace side quests (which you should!), you get a spell called Veil. It makes you invisible to random monsters. Keep that on at all times and you won’t have to fight anyone. I usually found the Tokocold on the second floor. They are hard to find, but as mentioned earlier, 25,000 exp is amazing. Even just fighting a couple of them will be enough to make you overpowered for the final boss.
These five simple tips will be a big help in your journey to another world.