Overview
You will first encounter Boneheads while wandering through the Shimmering Sands Desert. They are hardy familiars from the Mortui family. Boneheads are also likely one of the first familiars you will recruit who have an average stat growth. The other familiars in your party will grow strong at a much faster rate than a Bonehead but once they slow down, a Bonehead will continue getting stronger. They make great physical attackers and if you are willing to put the time and effort into raising one you will have a familiar capable of keeping up all the way into the late game and post-clear tasks!
Proper Care and Feeding
A Bonehead is good for just one thing: beating up your enemies. Fortunately it very, very good at it! Like Thumbelemurs, Boneheads have “Psych Up!” and “Go Wild!” instead of defend which will maximize the amount of damage they can do, especially during boss fights when the boss becomes stunned. They are also naturally resistant to physical damage and this resistance increases as you metamorphose them. This allows them to take a surprising amount of punishment even without having the ability to defend. With this in mind, our example spread of bonus points is very straightforward.
Attack +30
Magic Defense +20
With Bonehead’s natural physical resistance, it’s as if it has a higher defense to begin with. Since it will ideally be switched out for a familiar with the defense command during tough fights, the intent is to shore up a slightly lower magical defense then load everything else into Bonehead’s powerful physical blows.
Metamorphosis
Because of the lower rate of stat growth, it is advisable to hold off on Metamorphosing Bonehead as long as possible to ensure that it grows significantly stronger. It can be hard to do, especially with the promise of even more potential strength, but with an average growth familiar it can make a whole world of difference. Bonehead’s final metamorphosis choices are Bone Brigadier and Bone Baron. This is one of the more interesting choices you will have.
At level 1, the Bone Brigadier is much stronger, boasting nearly double the stats of the Bone Baron. This is because the Bone Baron has a slow stat growth. It takes a lot of leveling up but eventually the Bone Baron will exceed its counterparty by as much as 50 points in each stat!
Both forms learn a solid amount of tricks naturally and can learn from a good variety of gems, so your choice for your final metamorphosis comes down to your long-term plans for Bonehead. Do you plan on beating the game and moving on? Then you should choose the Bone Brigadier. If you want to continue past the story and participate in the post-clear content, you will be much better off choosing the Bone Baron and putting a little extra time into raising it.
Best Buddies
Being a Mortui familiar, Boneheads are best suited working for Swaine and enjoying their 10% affinity bonus. This is another natural fit as well since Swaine’s affinity for Automata familiars means he can easily swap out for a strong tanking familiar if the need arises, saving Bonehead from soaking up too much damage.
Try pairing your Bonehead with a Monolith and Girlfiend with Swaine and enjoy strong attacks, a powerful defense and a solid magical assault. It’s also worth giving both Esther and Oliver a healing familiar with Bonehead, as strong enemies and bosses tend to exploit its lack of the defense command.
Tips and Tricks
While it can be tricky to see Bonehead’s true potential, putting in the effort to raise one can pay off handsomely in the long run. The long-term payoff of their slower stat growth will give you an impressive attacker that can help turn the tide of battle in the late game. While your other familiars may eventually seem to be growing slower, a Bonehead will soldier on and prove to be a sturdy companion.
Do you have any favorite tricks or tips for using a Bonehead in your party? Or perhaps you’d like to see your favorite familiar spotlighted in the future? Just scroll on down and let us know in the comments below!
Learn more: Read all of our Ni No Kuni articles here.
Published: Feb 19, 2013 09:06 am