Octopath Traveler Characters - How to Unlock New Characters in Octopath Traveler

Although you start out as just a single character in Octopath Traveler, you can unlock seven additional characters to journey with you. In this Octopath Traveler characters guide, we'll be walking you through how to unlock new characters in Octopath Traveler as quickly as possible.

Octopath Traveler Characters

As we mentioned previously, there are eight total characters in Octopath Traveler. At the very beginning of the game, you’ll be asked to select a single character to start out with, but don’t worry, it’s this character that you merely begin the game as, and you can go on to unlock the seven other characters out in the world, so you’re not stuck as that one character for the entire game.

Just below, we’ll introduce you to all eight characters in Octopath Traveler, detailing their personalities, as well as their unique character actions.

• H’aanit - A huntress hailing from a small town in the woodlands accompanied by her snow leopard (“F*ck yeah, snow leopard” - Nadia Oxford), H’aanit is on the hunt for her mentor, who vanished right around a year ago. H’aanit can use animals to antagonise citizens out in the world of Octopath Traveler, and she can also summon them to her side in battle.



• Therion - The typical thief character in Octopath Traveler, Therion is working to pay off a debt to some particularly powerful people. His special skill is steal, where he can successfully pickpocket a single item from any that you come across.



• Alfyn - Alfyn is the healer character of Octopath Traveler, and has so far spent his entire life curing sickness and disease in a tiny backwater town, but now he’s on a journey out into the open world. When you press Y in front of another character, Alfyn can inquire about them, asking about special information for a quest, or treasure location.



• Olberic - A former knight for the King, Olberic is now hunting down his former friend, who betrayed him and reduced him to a defender of a small town. Olberic’s special ability is to challenge any character he meets to a duel, and he can increase your standing in a town or village if you’re successful in said duel.



• Tressa - This is our small time merchant character, out to reclaim what’s rightfully hers from the local pirates. Tressa can approach a character and opt to purchase an item from them, and the item in particular varies from character to character.



• Primrose - After her father was killed when she was a child, Primrose became a dancer in the local tavern, waiting for her revenge. Primrose can approach a character out in the world and ‘allure’ them, getting them to follow her for a certain amount of time.



• Cyrus - Cyrus is the scholar character of Octopath Traveler, working tirelessly to uncover new knowledge to the world. If you approach a character out in the open world a press Y, Cyrus can scrutinize them.



• Ophilia - Hailing from a small town in the frozen wastelands, Ophilia serves the Order of the Flame, under the Archbishop (who also happens to be her adoptive father). Should you wish it, Ophilia can approach other characters in the world of Octopath Traveler and ‘guide’ them using her character action.

How to Unlock New Characters in Octopath Traveler

As we mentioned previously, you’ll start out as one of these aforementioned eight characters in Octopath Traveler. If you bring up the map of the game by pressing the Minus button, you’ll see the location of all seven other characters scattered throughout the world. We’d recommend finding your nearest companion as soon as possible, so if you started out as H’aanit, you should go find Therion at your earliest convenience.

When you’re in the same location as one of the other seven characters, a green marker will show up on your mini map. Approach the character and speak to them, and you’ll be prompted to kick off their quest line by ‘hearing their tale’. Once the introductions are done, you’ll find yourself playing as the new character for a short amount of time, but only until you’ve completed chapter one of their story.

After successfully completing the opening mission of a character, you’ll be able to permanently add them to your party of four in Octopath Traveler. These missions are just meant to introduce you to the new character, and rarely last longer than fifteen minutes in total. Keep in mind that all new characters you find will start out from level one, so you’ll need to carry them in battle until they’re levelled up a bit.

This might be the end of our guide to all eight characters in Octopath Traveler, but we’ve got plenty more guides on the game here at USgamer. Head over to our Octopath Traveler map guide for how to traverse the open environment of the game, or our Octopath Traveler combat guide for a walkthrough of how to stun every type of enemy.