In Metaphor: ReFantazio, Archetypes serve as the class of each of your party members. You can swap Archetypes freely, but learning new base-level Archetypes and their advanced versions will occasionally require you to have leveled other Archetypes. Sometimes it’s from the same tree, and sometimes you must achieve levels in entirely different trees. To help you plan ahead, we have collected every Archetype and listed their requirements, so you can focus on unlocking these advanced Archetypes.
Having each member of the party master multiple Archetypes is incredibly important to combat strategy, since you can have up to four learned abilities from other Archetypes, depending on how far you’ve advanced your Follower rank with the relevant person. The starting Archetype for each tree is unlocked upon achieving the first rank of the corresponding Follower and doesn’t have any prerequisites, with three exceptions, which are noted.
If an Archetype requires another Archetype to be at a certain level, this requirement must be met with the party member you want to learn that Archetype. Unlocking an Advanced Archetype with one party member does not unlock it for other party members.
Unlocking new Archetypes requires MAG, which comes from defeating enemies and picking the correct response during Follower hangouts. The MAG costs are not listed below because most followers offer multiple decreases in MAG cost for their tree at certain bond levels, so it shifts pretty frequently, but you will likely have an abundance of MAG by the time you can study an advanced Archetype.
Seeker
The Seeker is the protagonist starting Archetype.
The Seeker Archetype is the starting class for your character in Metaphor: ReFantazio and is tied to More’s Follower status. The Seeker wields a sword and primarily learns Wind abilities, with some healing and buffs mixed in as well. In order to reach the advanced Archetype’s in the Seeker tree you will need to improve your relationship with More, as well as maxing out the level of preceding Archetype.
Magic Seeker requires More Rank 3 and Seeker Level 20Soul Hacker requires More Rank 7 and Magic Seeker Level 20
Mage
The Mage uses a variety of magical attacks.
The Mage Archetype wields elemental damage to hit a variety of enemy weaknesses. The three main elements are fire, ice, and electric, although one of the Advanced Archetypes in this tree can also learn dark abilities as well. This tree has a ton of versatility, but it is attached to Gallica’s Follower level, which is entirely tied to story events and can’t be advanced outside of that. There are three total advanced Archetype in the Mage tree.
Wizard requires Gallica Rank 3 and Mage Rank 20Elemental Master requires Gallica Rank 8 and Wizard Rank 20Warlock requires Gallica Rank 8, Wizard Rank 20, and Assassin Rank 10
Warrior
The Warrior dishes out physical Slash damage.
The Warrior class comes from Strohl’s Follower rank, excelling in physical Slash attacks focused on dealing high damage to a single enemy. The advanced Archetypes in this tree maintain that focus on Slash attacks, but offer multi-target abilities and buffs to attack damage. The final Archetype in the tree, Samurai, also gains an electric attack, which can be beneficial for targeting enemy weaknesses.
Swordmaster requires Strohl Rank 3 and Warrior Rank 20Samurai requires Strohl Rank 7, Swordmaster Rank 20, and General Rank 10
Knight
The Knight serves as a tank class, soaking up damage.
The Knight tree is focused on defense, serving as a tank for your party in combat. The initial skills available focus on either buffing your health or getting enemies to focus their attacks on them. The advanced Archetypes feature more defense buffs and eventually the option to reflect physical or magical attacks, depending on if you choose the Paladin or Dark Knight (or both if you unlock both and inherit the ability.)
Magic Knight requires Hulkenburg Rank 3, Mage Rank 10, and Knight Rank 20Paladin requires Hulkenburg Rank 7 and Magic Knight Rank 20Dark Knight requires Hulkenburg Rank 7, Magic Knight Rank 20, and Wizard Rank 10
Healer
The Healer can keep your entire party healthy.
The Healer tree is great at two things; healing and using light elemental attacks. While other trees can learn some healing abilities, the Healer tree has access to the most powerful versions, including abilities to resurrect fallen party members. The Healer tree is unlocked from Maria, who you will need to fully max out to use the most advanced Archetype in the tree.
Cleric requires Maria Rank 3 and Healer Rank 20Saviour requires Maria Rank 8 and Cleric Rank 20
Brawler
The Brawler punches enemies into submission.
The Brawler tree is all about using HP instead of MP to deal devastating physical blows. As you advance through the tree the Brawler Archetypes will increase their critical hit chance, improve strike damage, and even resist critical hits from enemies. This tree comes from Catherina, who you will need to fully bond with in order to use the most advanced version of the Brawler Archetype.
Pugilist requires Catherina Rank 3 and Brawler Rank 20Martial Artist requires Catherina Rank 8 and Pugilist Rank 20
Merchant
The Merchant class can increase your battle rewards, earning you more items.
The Merchant class comes from Brigitta and is one of the more unique trees in the game. The Merchant uses Almighty attacks, which can’t be resisted or blocked by enemies, but at the cost of money. In exchange though, it has abilities that increase your chances of getting items from enemies and the advanced Archetype even offers a small chance of receiving money for defeating enemies or stunning enemies in the overworld. Using the advanced version of the Merchant tree requires a max level bond with Brigitta in addition to leveling an Archetype from another tree.
Tycoon requires Brigitta Rank 8, Commander Rank 10, and Merchant Rank 20
Gunner
The Gunner fires powerful shots from the back row.
The Gunner Archetype tree comes from Neuras, your trusty pilot and engineer. It is one of the few physical ranged classes, excelling at dealing piercing damage. Both the default Gunner and the advanced version also learn various attacks that either inflict status effects or deal elemental damage so you can hit weak points. You will need to max out your bond with Neuras, which requires you to complete his artifact hunt, to use the elite version of the Gunner.
Sniper requires Neuras Rank 3, Seeker Rank 10, and Gunner Rank 20Dragoon requires Neuras Rank 8, Magic Knight Rank 10, and Sniper Rank 20
Thief
The Thief uses high agility to avoid damage.
The Thief tree is unlocked via Heismay, focused on dealing Dark magic damage and inflicting status effects. It also gains abilities that allow you to steal MP from enemies and even try your hand at stealing rare items from enemies as well. The more advanced versions have abilities that can potentially result in one-hit kills, along with an emphasis on avoiding attacks, causing enemies to lose turns.
Assassin requires Heismay Rank 3 and Thief Rank 20Ninja requires Heismay Rank 7, Sniper Rank 10, and Assassin Rank 20
Faker
The Faker excels at dishing out debuffs.
The Faker tree comes from Alonzo and is focused almost entirely on buffs and debuffs. The Faker Archetype has almost exclusively abilities that focus on applying debuffs to enemies attack, defense, and evasion/accuracy. While the Faker does use powerful throwing knives for combat, it’s meant to be a support class. To use the advanced version of this class you will need to reach max bond with Alonzo.
Trickster requires Alonzo Rank 8 and Faker Rank 20
Commander
The Commander provides buffs to your other party members.
The Commander tree comes from Bardon, and it utilizes elemental attacks and buffs for your team. Each tier of the Commander Archetype gets a different elemental attack, providing more options for hitting enemy weaknesses, but its real power comes from moving your teammates between the front row and back row while applying powerful buffs to attack and defense. Using the most powerful version of the Commander tree requires maxing out your bond with Bardon.
General requires Bardon Rank 3 and Commander Rank 20Warlord requires Bardon Rank 8 and General Rank 20
Masked Dancer
The Masked Dancer can utilize other class abilities if you equip the corresponding Mask.
The Masked Dancer comes from Junah and is her default class. This Archetype has fire attacks and passive abilities that restore MP each turn, but most of its power comes from special accessories called Masks, which you can create using monster materials. These Masks change the users weakness and resistances and provide abilities from a different Archetype tree, making it a versatile class to use. The advanced version of the class has multiple abilities that give enemies weaknesses, making it incredibly useful against tough enemies with limited resistances.
Masked Dancer requires Junah Rank 1, Mage Rank 15, and Thief Rank 10 (unlocked by default for Junah)Persona Master requires Junah Rank 6, Faker Rank 10, and Masked Dancer Rank 20
Summoner
The Summoner calls upon powerful monsters to deal damage.
The Summoner tree comes from Eupha and similarly to the Masked Dancer tree, many of its abilities come from special items. For the Summoner tree, these powers come from Vessels, which allow the user to summon monsters for special attacks. A key difference is that these don’t have to be equipped, so you have access to every Vessel you have crafted up to that point. The advanced version can make use of advanced Vessels, allowing you to use even more powerful summons.
Summoner requires Eupha Rank 1, Faker Rank 10, and Seeker Rank 15 (unlocked by default for Eupha)Devil Summoner requires Eupha Rank 6, Magic Seeker Rank 10, and Summoner Rank 20
Berserker
The Berserker uses a battle axe to deal powerful physical blows.
Berserker is the final tree to unlock and comes from Basilio. The Berserker tree is good at two things; increasing its own attack power and using powerful Strike physical attacks. While much simpler than some of the other trees, the Berserker Archetype deals incredible damage and the advanced version can even inflict a weakness to Strike attacks, further powering its own attacks.
Berserker requires Basilio Rank 1, Knight Rank 10, Brawler Rank 10, and Warrior Rank 10 (unlocked by default for Basilio)Destroyer requires Basilio Rank 6 and Berserker Rank 20
