Bravely Default Guide: Easy Money Tricks, PG Farming and Other Ways of Saying Quick Money Making

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So, I fired up Bravely Default the other day and thought to myself, "Man, I hope this won't eat my life." It did. I'm already clocking in ridiculous hours, and I've only just beaten up a certain pompous little ball of a merchant. (Throwing money at a woman is not the way to her heart, you little Parisian toad.) But as delightfully immersive as this throwback to the halcyon days of Final Fantasy might be, there's a problem with Bravely Default. It can take time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I love a game with meat. But, god, it can take forever sometimes to grind for gold/pg/money/in-game currency in order to purchase that shiny new piece of equipment you've been keeping an eye on for hours now.

For those of you who would really, really like to be able to cut a few necessary corners, this guide's dedicated to you.

Choose Your Battles

If you're committed to doing things the right way, well, I have bad news for you. Grinding for cash? It takes time. However, there are ways to make the slog. First and foremost, you need to know how to approach your battles.

As you might have guessed, having a Merchant in the team is never a bad idea. The Merchant's speciality, Obtained Money Up, enhances the amount of pg you receive at the end of the match. And while difficult to perform early game, you'll probably want to try your best to utilize the "Sweeper" finish whenever possible. What's a "Sweeper"? That's when you kill every enemy simultaneously. You will earn an 10% increase in money the first time. The bonus will rise depending on how well you perform. After the first 10 "Sweepers", you'll receive another 10% bonus to pg earned. This continues up till the point you hit a 50% bonus cap.

The Infinite Money Trick

(or, how to be a jerk and rob the same person blind a million times.)

Whoever said that crime doesn't pay? Crime pays. A lot. At least, when know how to do it right. The first thing you're going to want to do is get a thief in your party. No, I don't care if they keep picking everyone else's pockets. Put a thief in there. If you want to be really fancy, make it a point to get said brigand to Job Level 11. They'll get the Rob Blind then, an ability which allows them to steal two items instead of one.

Either way, get a thief. After that, it's a question of either being remarkably lucky, persistent or graced with great friends. Do whatever it takes to get a level 25 Nemesis called Mammon sent to your version of Norende. There are apparently two versions that might visit your little reclamation project: the penny-pinching Mammons who only carry around Ethers and the high-flying variety which cart around Elixirs. Get rid of the first kind. Protect the second like your children's college funds were dependent on it.

Once you've acquired the much-needed Mammon, it's time to get the ball rollling. Get into a fight with Mammon, have your thief use Bravely four times and make sure they have Steal selected on each occasion. As for the rest of your teammates, make sure they're all set to flee. Unless something goes hideously wrong, your Thief will get four chances to snag the much-desired Elixir. Repeat the process as many times as you desire or up till the point the game says you have too much money.

But, wait. Why Elixirs? That's easy. Elixirs are worth an impressive 25, 000 pg. 25, 000 for a minute's worth of work or so? I'm game. What about you?

The Crooked Pharmacist.

This tip comes straight from someone called GaijinHunter. While potentially a death hazard to anyone with blonde hair, GaijinHunter has an interesting recommendation for those looking to pick up an exorbitant amount of cash.

First things first: get a merchant to level 11. You'll need the Big Pharm skill which they pick up then. It's a weird little ability which will restore an enemy's HP before making "the target pay pg equal to the number of HP recovered." Why would anyone want to use that? Because tricks like this, of course. (And making money off silly, silly undead things.) For sanity's sake, you're also going to want to get the Armor Shop in Norende to level 7 so as to be able to purchase a Blessed Shield, an item which allows you to cast Cura over and over again without spending valuable MP.

Watch on YouTube

Perfect. Now, go find a sandworm or something durable that can take a few blows without dying horribly. Have one player attack the monster while the other uses Big Pharm on the unfortunate critter. According to GaijinHunter, he or she managed to have one dude dealing 1500 damage and another one dishing out 1500 worth of healing. Since they're unnecessary, let the other two default and go on auto. Whenever necessary, pull up the Blessed Shield to heal everyone up. Cool? Cool. The Y button actually allows you to repeat the same tangle of commands, making the process even less painful than it already is. Continue until too rich for mortal comprehension.