Ni No Kuni 2 may be a sequel, but the development team at Level 5 has changed and added quite a bit to the game. For people just getting started or who played the first game and need a bit of explanation on the new stuff, our Ni No Kuni 2 tips and tricks article should get you up to speed so you can hit the ground running without having to figure everything out. Of course we’ll be adding more in-depth Ni No Kuni 2 tips that you’ll come across later in the game, so keep checking back if you need more Ni No Kuni 2 tips and tricks!
Weapons and Combat
Soon we’ll have a separate, more detailed article on combat, but to give you a quick overview, each character has three melee weapons, one ranged weapon and up to for magic skills. The ranged weapon and magic skills use your MP and can be charged by holding down the corresponding attack buttons. The longer you charge these abilities, the more damage they inflict.
Your MP recharges as you attack enemies, so if you run out of MP be sure to switch to melee attacks to replenish your MP so you can attack from a distance again. Due to how MP works, even your mage-style characters need to be equipped with melee weapons so they can attack without using magic.
If you’re looking to make the game as easy as possible, your primary focus should be on weapon damage and good armor. Your character level mainly impacts your HP and MP, as well as learning some new skills. However, damage output is almost entirely based on your weapon and magic damage. Therefore, if you put a lot of time into building up the weapons and armor facilities in yoru kingdom and track down as many powerful weapons as possible, the game becomes much easier.
Loot
The sparkling items on the map are loot. It’s very rare to find anything of real significance here, but all the items you find can be used for something, even if it’s not something that’s very important. These items respawn after battles, or if you walk far enough away or change areas. If you’re trying to farm a specific item, just get into a nearby battle and the sparkling item will appear again in the same place.
Defeating enemies will almost always result in loot being dropped. If you encounter an enemy on the overworld map, any loot dropped will be visible when you return to the overworld map after the battle. If you don’t get to collect it before the battle is over, don’t worry as you can still get it after the fight. In most cases loot will be basic items that are used for healing or crafting (once you start building a kingdom), but occasionally an enemy will drop a small chest. Chests are always gear or weapons, so make sure you collect them when they’re dropped.
Higgledy
The Higgledy are small creatures that will assist you in battle. You can have up to four Higgledy in your party at once, and they will automatically attack enemies and drop green and blue orbs to help you out. Occasionally a Higgledy will create a circle around them. At this point you can run into the circle and press X to activate the Higgledy skill, which varies depending on the indivdual Higgledy. Some skills will attack an enemy, while others will heal your party. You can find new Higgledy at Higgledy Stones or via the Higglery once you’ve started building a kindom. We’ll have a full Higgledy guide coming that will offer a more in-depth look at these little creatures, so stay tuned!
Enemies
You won’t have to fight any of the enemies you see on the overworld map unless you directly touch them. Most enemies will run toward your party if they see you, which means you can walk behind them so they don’t see you and avoid a battle. These enemies generally pace back and forth, so you’ll need to be careful if you’re trying not to get spotted.
If an enemy spots you and you don’t want to fight, start moving away immediately. Almost every enemy you encounter will move faster than your party, but they won’t chase endlessly. If you can stay away long enough, they will stop chasing and turn around. Be careful because if you get caught from behind (the enemy touches your back) it counts as a surprise attack and you will start with your weapon Zing at zero percent.
Once you’re roughly five levels above an enemy, they will no longer be aggressive toward your party. At that point the only way a battle will begin is if you go out of your way to touch the enemy. Keep in mind, some higher level enemies can be mixed into a group which will cause them to attack if you pass through (in dungeons). On the overworld map being higher level allows you to pass through areas with ease, but enemies do change over time and higher level enemies may appear in low level areas later in the game.
Enemy Name Color
- Blue = Weak Enemy
- Red = Strong Enemy
- White = Normal Fight
Pay close attention to the color of enemy names. These colors indicate how difficult a fight with that enemy or party will be. If an enemy’s name is blue, it means the enemy is weak and you should be able to defeat them with ease. If the name is white it means the enemy is roughly equal to your level. An enemy with a red name means you’ll likely in for a much harder battle. The level of the enemy matters more than anything else if the color is red because an enemy three levels above you will be red, while an enemy nine levels above you will also be red. An enemy nine levels above you is much harder to defeat compared to an enemy only three levels higher.
Escaping Battles
You can escape most battles by running away until a blue circle appears on the ground. When this happens keep running out of the area and a circular gauge will appear. Once that gauge fills up you can escape the battle. If you take damage or attack an enemy while the gauge is filling up it will reset and you’ll have to start the escape all over again.
Items in Battle
You can use items in battle by pressing the touchpad on PS4 to pull up the item menu. From here you can use any combat items you have in your inventory. Unfortunately, you won’t have access to your entire inventory. This is mainly because there’s no limit on your inventory items, and if you went into a fight with 100 Three-Leafed Soreaway items, the fight would be significantly easier. Just remember your battle inventory is limited and don’t use items unless you have to.
Chests
There are two types of chests in Ni No Kuni 2. Red chests can be opened at any point in time, and blue chests are locked. If you run into a blue chest in a Dreamer’s Maze, you can open it with the required number of pink orbs. However, blue chests out in the open must be opened in other ways. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to open blue chests until later in the game, but remember their location so you can come back to them once you have the ability to open blue chests.
Charge Attacks, Magic and Combat Skills
Almost all ranged and magic attacks in Ni No Kuni 2 can be charged to create more powerful attacks. The longer you charge, the more powerful the attack becomes (until you reach full charge). However, if you take damage while charging an attack you will lose the charge completely. Fighting against normal enemies you won’t have to worry too much about charging these attacks, but you’ll find boss battles to be much easier if you charge your attacks to get maximum damage.
All charged and magic attacks require MP to use. This also goes for skills, which is the equivalent of magic attacks for characters who don’t use magic as a primary source of damage (such as Roland). You can’t use skills without MP, but you can use them even if your Zing isn’t at 100 percent. However, unless your active weapon is at 100 percent Zing you won’t get as much damage out of the skills. This is one of the reasons why it’s best to save skills until you’re at a boss battle or have all three weapons at 100 percent Zing.
Zing
In combat, the percentage next to your weapon is known as Zing. You need 100 percent Zing in order to perform the skills assigned to Triangle, Square, X and Circle. Attacking enemies will slowly increase the Zing if all three weapons at once, until they reach 100 percent. If you wait until you have 100 percent Zing before using a skill, that skill will inflict more damage and may even change into a completely different, more powerful skill. However, using a skill will reset the Zing back to zero. It’s best to keep your weapons at 100 percent Zing until you’re ready to really dish out some big damage.
HP and MP
Every character in your party has a green HP bar for health and blue hexagons that represent MP or mana. There are a multitude of items that replenish health and mana in and out of combat, but when you defeat and enemy they may drop a green or blue orb. Collect these orbs to replenish your HP and MP. As you attack enemies your MP will automatically replenish, but it’s much faster to collect a blue orb instead. In addition, some Higgledies will throw green or blue orbs toward you in the midst of combat. You can check the Higgledy descriptions in the party menu to see which orbs Higgledy will drop.
Guilders and Kingsguilders
The currency in Ni No Kuni 2 is known as guilders. Once you start building a kingdom you will also be able to acquire kingsguilders. Guilders are dropped from defeated enemies, found while traversing the land, earned by selling things at shops and more. They are used to buy just about everything in the game. Kingsguilders are earned by building up your kingdom influence and can be spent on kingdom building ventures, as well as Skirmishes.
Trip Doors
Trip Doors are sleeves of blue light that you’ll come across while venturing through the world of Ni No Kuni 2. If you step into a Trip Door and access it, you essentially create a warp point. At any point in time you can press Option (Start) to pull up the map, then press Option again to show all Trip Doors you’ve activated. From here you can immediately teleport to any Trip Door you’ve activated. Think of it like a fast travel system in other games.
Save Points
There are a few different ways you can save your progress in Ni No Kuni 2. The game auto-saves before major encounters and after story quests have been completed. However, you can manually save your game by access the menu (Touchpad on PS4), then pressing Option (Start) and going to save. You can also save your progress at a Waystone, which also replenishes all health and mana. Waystones are generally found at the beginning or end of areas, or right before a boss battle.
If you’re looking for assistance building your kingdom or anything else, be sure to check out our Ni No Kuni 2 game hub!
