Hannan Mundia 
Metaphor: ReFantazio has social stats, called royal virtues, and fans will want to know the best ways to max them and which to focus on before diving too deeply into the story.
Atlus-developed JRPGs are known for their immersion. The Persona games, for example, let players interact with NPCs and the world around the player character to level up their social skills. These social skills are then applied in other scenarios, like unique dialogue options and as gates to endgame content.
Metaphor: ReFantazio has its own version of social skills called royal virtues. While various activities allow players to increase these stats, some naturally affect them more than others. Since time is of the essence in Metaphor, it helps to know the best ways to max royal virtues and which ones to focus on first.
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The best ways to raise royal virtues in Metaphor: ReFantazio
Players can raise their royal virtues in Metaphor: ReFantazio by participating in debates, reading books, and completing quests.
Various activities scattered around the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio help raise the player character’s royal virtues. Some activities give players dialogues after completing them, and selecting the right options can raise the royal virtues even more.
The best way to raise royal virtues in Metaphor: ReFantazio is by participating in and winning debates. The game has several debatable NPCs that can help players increase their eloquence stat. While winning isn’t mandatory, doing so is an excellent way to increase the imagination stat.
Similar to the Persona games, raising certain books can also increase the player’s stats. Many books can be read multiple times, giving more opportunities to raise royal virtues. Some books also prompt cutscenes where players can choose between multiple dialogue options. Choosing the right ones boosts the specific stat more.
Finally, most quests in the game are tied to a certain royal virtue. While most side quests, especially bounties and requests are tied to the courage stat, some can raise others. For example, all seven of More’s Archetype’s Tasks increase the imagination stat by +4 each.
How to increase wisdom in Metaphor: ReFantazio
Activities like visiting landmarks, spending time with Neuras and Hulkenburg, and sitting on benches can increase wisdom quickly in Metaphor: ReFantazio. Raising the wisdom stat is fairly straightforward, especially since players can increase it by doing regular activities.
Here are the best options for raising wisdom:
- Travel to landmarks
- Pass time with Hulkenburg and Neuras
- Rest on benches
- Complete certain quests
- Climb Brilehaven tower
There are 12 landmarks scattered across the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio. Visiting them with the gang earns the player character some valuable wisdom points, and it’s one of the easiest ways to quickly raise the stat. It also makes wisdom arguably the easiest royal virtue to max in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Other ways to increase this stat include passing time with Hulkenburg and Neuras on the Gauntlet Runner and resting on benches across the world. The first bench players will find is next to the Igniter Shop on Grand Trad, but Martira, Virga Island, and Altabury have them too.
How to increase imagination in Metaphor: ReFantazio
The best ways to increase imagination in Metaphor: ReFantazio include spending time with teammates on the Gauntlet Runner, speaking with NPCs, and winning debates. Almost every activity that involves speaking in-depth with another NPC or playable character raises the imagination stat.
Here are the best options for raising wisdom:
- Spend time with teammates on the Gauntlet Runner
- Speak with NPCs in towns
- Complete all of More’s Archetype Tasks
- Win debates
Almost every time the player’s party camps out on the Gauntlet Runner, the protagonist can approach a party member to initiate a conversation. These conversations are often thought-provoking and result in an increase in the imagination stat.
Additionally, several NPCs scattered across the various towns have an icon on top of them to show they have something to say. While speaking with them passes the time, some also increase the imagination stat by a good margin. While looking for these NPCs, it might be a good idea to also look for debatable NPCs as winning debates also increases the player’s imagination.
How to increase tolerance in Metaphor: ReFantazio
The best ways to increase the tolerance stat in Metaphor: ReFantazio include helping Fabienne and donating and talking to the activists in Brilehaven and Altabury. The tolerance stat is among the hardest royal virtues to raise, as activities related to it usually require the player to go out of their way.
Here are the best options for raising wisdom:
- Speak with Mustari in each city
- Pass time with Heismay
- Help Fabienne at work
- Donate to the activists in Brilehaven and Altabury
The first chance players will get to raise their tolerance stat will be at the Hushed Honeybee Inn in Grand Trad. Here, players can speak with Fabienne at night to help her with the customers. While helping out raises the tolerance stat, players can take things a step further. Offer to make the Redgrass-Roasted Bidou and turn down Gallica’s suggestion of tweaking the recipe to raise the stat more.
Another quick way to raise the tolerance stat is by donating and speaking to the activists in Brilehaven and Altabury. This activity alone can earn the player as much as seven tolerance points, giving a much-needed boost.
How to increase courage in Metaphor: ReFantazio
The best ways to increase the courage stat in Metaphor: ReFantazio includes completing bounties, passing the time with Strohl, and completing given quests. Fortunately, while courage is one of the more important stats for the mid to late game, players have more than enough opportunities to raise it.
Here are the best options for raising wisdom:
- Complete bounties
- Pass the time with Strohl
- Participate in the Coliseum
- Perform cliff jumping and diving activities
- Clear quests
By far the best way to increase the courage stat in Metaphor: ReFantazio is to clear bounties. The game has an abundance of bounties available to complete. In addition to giving the courage stat a boost, clearing these side missions also rewards players with various in-game rewards.
Activities like passing the time with Strohl and jumping off the cliff in Martira can also give the courage stat a boost. Those who like clearing side quests will likely find the stat passively increasing, as most side quests in the game increase the protagonist’s courage stat.
How to increase eloquence in Metaphor: ReFantazio
The best way to increase the eloquence stat in Metaphor: ReFantazio is by debating NPCs and giving speeches on podiums. The eloquence stat is arguably the hardest to level up as it requires the player to go out of their way to do so. However, things get much easier after identifying the activities that affect this royal virtue.
Here are the best options for raising wisdom:
- Give speeches on podiums
- Debate NPCs
- Pass the time with Junah
Winning debates is by far the best option for raising eloquence, and is the best single thing to do when it comes to maxing royal virtues in Metaphor: ReFantazio. In addition to a boost in eloquence, winning debates gives an additional bump to other royal virtues. The tradeoff is that there’s only a certain number of debates available to players during the course of the game, so these opportunities don’t come especially often.
In addition to debates, players can also perform activities like passing the time with Junah on the Gauntlet Runner and giving speeches on podiums when possible.
Which royal virtues to focus on in Metaphor: ReFantazio
In Metaphor: ReFantazio, players should focus on raising tolerance. The quicker the player gets the tolerance stat to level 2 the better, as it allows the player character’s relationship with Maria to get past level 1.
Maria is easily one of the most valuable companions in the game as increasing her follower rank lets the player save heaps of time. From increasing the EXP earned through fighting to making it so cooking on the Gauntlet Runner doesn’t take time at all, Maria can make the overall game fairly quicker to make time to focus on other virtues.
After leveling the tolerance stat to a comfortable level 4, players can take a more balanced approach to raising royal virtues. Completionists will ultimately want to eventually max out every stat to raise every companion’s level completely.
Which followers require royal virtues to unlock in Metaphor: ReFantazio?
Brigitta and Alonzo require the player to have a certain royal virtue level to unlock them as followers. However, players will need to max all royal virtues in order to enjoy all of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s content.
Like Persona 3, which has eight social links locked behind social skill progression, Metaphor: ReFantazio only locks two.
- Unlocking Brigitta as a follower requires the player to have level 2 wisdom.
- Unlocking Alonzo as a follower requires the player to have level 2 imagination.
Aside from these two exceptions, players can unlock every other follower in Metaphor: ReFantazio without ever touching their royal virtues. However ranking up the followers is a different matter.
Most eventually have a gate where players need to have a specific royal virtue leveled up to a certain point. For example, players should quickly raise their tolerance to get Maria to level two, and Brigitta will eventually require level three courage. Because of this, players need to make sure they raise up all their royal virtues as they progress through Metaphor: ReFantazio.
