What does Bewildering Grace do in Octopath Traveler 2?

What does Bewildering Grace do in Octopath Traveler 2?
Images via Square Enix

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

3rd Mar 2023 11:23

The Octopath Traveler 2 Bewildering Grace ability is one of the most dangerous in the game - but perhaps not for all of the reasons that you might think. While it is typical in a turn-based game like Octopath Traveler 2 for all skills to be beneficial, there are some that can painfully backfire on your party.

So, what exactly does the Bewildering Grace skill in Octopath Traveler 2 do? Make sure to check out the rest of this guide below to find out.

What does Bewildering Grace do in Octopath Traveler 2?

What does Bewildering Grace do in Octopath Traveler 2?
Click to enlarge

Bewildering Grace is one of the job skills available to Agnea and the Dancer job, with its official description being 'cause a curious effect one time'. Considering that this costs a whopping 25 SP, we wouldn't blame you if you stayed away - especially in the bigger boss fights.

However, it can actually be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal - and at the very least it is good for a big laugh too.

The 'curious effect' in question is actually a vast number of different boosts, buffs, debuffs, and attacks that have a random chance of happening every time you activate the skill. These can be incredibly strong and can instantly turn the tide of a fight in your favour, but there is a big catch too.

There is also a not insignificant number of effects caused by Bewildering Grace that directly affect your own party, from reducing your SP to zero to wiping your entire party's HP to one. It is then up to you to decide whether each use is worth the risk, adding an extra layer of complexity to each of Octopath Traveler 2's battles.

Bewildering Grace Effects

Here's a list of all of the curious effects that can happen when using the Bewildering Grace skill in Octopath Traveler 2:

  • JP x2 / JP x5 / JP x100
  • XP x2 / XP x5 / XP x100
  • Put an enemy to Sleep for two turns
  • Physical Attack buff to all party members for two turns
  • Recover 400 HP to caster
  • Deals AOE Wind damage to everyone on the battlefield
  • Recover 50 SP to all party members
  • Recover one BP to all party members
  • Fully recover BP for all party members
  • Full recover HP, SP, BP, & Latent Power gauge, remove status ailments
  • Deals Lightning damage to a random enemy
  • Deals AOE Light damage to all foes
  • Deals three hits of non-elemental damage to all foes
  • Gain one charge of Reflective Veil
  • Summon a monster that does a 9,999 damage Exploding Fist attack
  • Random monster is changed into a Cait or Chubby Cait
  • Reduce your entire party HP to one
  • Deals a small amount of fire damage to your party
  • Deals a large amount of fire damage to your party
  • 1,000 / 10,000 Silver Leaves drop from the sky
  • Prevents your party from using items and damage all party members
  • Poison entire party for nine turns
  • Silence entire party for two turns
  • Fully drain SP from the caster
  • Summon a creature that heals and buffs foes
  • 50% chance of instadeath to any party member except from the caster
  • The effect does nothing

As you can see, the effects on offer here are quite wild. If you stack BP when casting, you could go from having your party's HP reduced to one, to taking the boss down with a 9,999 damage attack and getting a 100x XP boost in a single turn.

It can - and often does - go terribly, but you just have to go along with it and enjoy the ride, because when it does work it feels so much better.

How to maximise Bewildering Grace in Octopath Traveler 2

How to maximise Bewildering Grace in Octopath Traveler 2
Click to enlarge

With the staggering effects on offer, you will want to know what the best way to maximise Bewildering Grace in Octopath Traveler 2 is. Unfortunately, many of the best bonuses are locked behind the higher/max BP bonuses - with a low chance of occurring even then - so try and use four BP slots on Bewildering Grace whenever possible.

The other side of the coin you have to consider when using max BP on Bewildering Grace is that the worst negative effects also don't show until the higher BP stacks. This is obviously something you will have to contend with - so make sure to weigh up whether each use is a risk worth taking.

Furthermore, one of the best things to do to ensure that you're using Bewildering Grace as much as possible is to cleverly use Agnea's Allure Path Action. You will want to recruit a townsperson who has Bewildering Grace as their skill, and then any time Agnea uses a Dancer job skill Bewildering Grace will also occur.

So, that should clear up everything you need to know about the Octopath Traveler 2 Bewildering Grace skill, letting you know what it does and how to use it best. Make sure to check out this guide here to see the best job combinations in Octopath Traveler 2.

Harry Boulton
About the author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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