One Piece Odyssey doesn’t tell you everything you need to know in its early hours. The game encourages experimentation in its lengthy playtime, but all its random encounters might inspire you to hurry through the grinding and straight to the action-packed boss battles and cutscenes. Here are a few tips and tricks for getting started on your One Piece Odyssey playthrough.
5. Swap characters for type advantages
One Piece Odyssey features a turn-based combat system with three different types: Power, Speed, and Technique. Technique trumps Power, Power trumps Speed, and Speed trumps Technique. Always lean into these type weaknesses when possible, even if it means a couple of turns switching characters. Players can endlessly switch characters without consuming a turn, so you can swap characters between different areas based on which ones have type advantages. Also consider switching characters to take advantage of moves that can take out multiple enemies at once.
4. Turn on speed-up and auto-battle options
Attack animations in Odyssey are extremely cool at first, but they can get old fast. Use the “Speed Up” option (right trigger button for controllers and C for keyboards) to fast-forward through attack animations for both your party and your foes. It’ll stay on until you turn it off, which you can do by pressing the same button again.
Some players even report favorable results with Auto Battle. It’s in the in-battle Tactics menu under the Switch Battle Mode section. There, you should see the option to switch between Manual and Auto Battle. Auto Battle mode won’t switch characters between areas, so you’ll need to do that yourself to make sure type weaknesses align. If you find yourself in a tight spot or about to engage in a boss battle, it might be time to turn off Auto Battle and take matters into your own hands.
Also, just run away from battles if you can tell it’ll be a waste of time and don’t want to consume any more of your resources.
3. Check every corner of the map
It’s easy to get stuck in One Piece Odyssey. Chopper, the healer of the Straw Hats, can fit through small holes in the wall that you otherwise wouldn't be able to access. If you ever find yourself wondering where to go, look out for these holes where Chopper could possibly fit. One time, I even had him climb between a gap in a bent-up bar gate.
Another tip: Check for ledges you can jump off of or backtrack through every corner of the map to ensure you didn’t miss anything.
2. Exploit enemy weaknesses
One Piece Odyssey actually has other type advantages and resistances outside of the Power, Speed, and Technique triangle. Sometimes, a “weak” or “resist” label will pop up when selecting a move from a character’s skill menu. The main type trio will always be the most important, but these secondary weaknesses can help make an attack even more devastating. For example, Nami’s Happiness Punch attack only affects humanoid men and has a higher chance of inflicting them with the “Charm” status.
These weaknesses don’t override the overall type advantage, though. If you attack a Power enemy with a Speed character that has a skill that it’s “weak” to, the attack will likely still be weaker than one from a Technique character. If you run out of characters that are strong against a particular type of enemy during battle, settle with those with neutral damage (rather than resistant). Inly use disadvantaged characters with a “weak” move if they’ve proven they could still do tons of damage because of accessories, or if you want to inflict a status condition.
1. Stack accessories
Each character has an accessory grid instead of the typical “slots” that other RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 have for their characters. You might not find enough accessories or not have enough money to fill everyone’s grid at first, but slot them in as you get them or buy them from Yoisa shops when you have the chance. Also, sell lower stat accessories when you no longer need them.
Accessories become increasingly important because of how much they can raise stats. For example, raising Nami’s ATK high enough can enable her to one-hit KO multiple enemies across different areas with Thunderbolt Tempo. A high enough DEF stat can also help characters survive special attacks during boss battles. Battles start ramping up the difficulty about halfway through the game, so strengthening your characters can help them speed through fights and raise their survivability.
One Piece Odyssey is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
