Best Dishes to Cook, Ranked – Guide to Cooking in Metaphor: ReFantazio
Key Takeaways
- Mastering cooking in Metaphor: ReFantazio boosts your party’s strength in battles, enhancing survival and performance.
- Each dish offers unique perks, from instant enemy kills to healing party-wide status ailments.
- Ingredients matter; knowing where to find and use them strategically enhances gameplay depth and efficiency.
Cooking in Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t just an entertaining addition it’s a valuable mechanic to enhance combat performance, conserve resources, and give players the upper hand in dungeons and boss fights. With the ability to prepare unique dishes on your land-based Gauntlet Runner, you can gain temporary advantages, whether it’s buffing your attack power, healing ailments, or boosting your magic points (MP). So, let’s dive into the seven best dishes in the game, exploring their ingredients, effects, and how they can give your party an edge.
1. Finisher Noodles – Instant Kills on the Field
Effect: Instantly kill enemies for 30 seconds
Ingredients: Brocaded Koi x1, Monster Bone x1, Pristine Clearwater x3
Finisher Noodles is a game-changer when dealing with tough enemies on the field. For 30 seconds, players can deliver instant kills, eliminating the need for turn-based battles and reducing the time spent on routine combat. If you’re running low on health or looking to quickly level up without the grind, Finisher Noodles can make your exploration smoother and faster.
How to Maximize Finisher Noodles
Use Finisher Noodles when you’re in areas swarming with lower-level enemies, allowing you to clear out multiple foes quickly. This dish also comes in handy if you’re close to leveling up and want to bypass repetitive fights.
2. Magical Bread – MP Recovery on the Go
Effect: Recover MP for 60 seconds in dungeons
Ingredients: Dreameater Moth x1, Rockbeans x2, Mora Coney Meat x2
In a game that relies heavily on magic-based attacks and buffs, MP management is crucial. The Magical Bread dish allows players to recover MP just by moving through a dungeon for 60 seconds, which is especially useful in extended dungeons where resources might be scarce.
Pro Tips for Magical Bread Usage
Find a safe spot in the dungeon to consume this bread, then circle around for a minute to maximize MP recovery without risking combat. This dish works wonders for mage-heavy party compositions that tend to exhaust MP quickly.
3. Almighty Golden Stew – Stat Buffing for Boss Fights
Effect: Boost attack, defense, hit, and evasion for 3 turns
Ingredients: Limp Goldfish x1, Lumibee x1, Mellow Milk x1
The Almighty Golden Stew offers a critical boost to your stats, making it a perfect choice before engaging in tough boss battles. This dish raises several key stats attack, defense, hit, and evasion giving you an advantage right when you need it most.
When to Use the Almighty Golden Stew
This dish shines in boss fights with high evasion rates. Use the Stew at the beginning of the battle to start strong and take full advantage of the limited three-turn buff.
4. Holistic Whitefish Platter – Comprehensive HP Healing for the Entire Party
Effect: Heals the entire party’s HP
Ingredients: Gauntlet Shrooms x1, Limp Goldfish x2, White Peach Turnip x2
In Metaphor: ReFantazio, not every character is equipped to handle healing magic. The Holistic Whitefish Platter steps in as an all-around HP recovery option for the entire party, which can be a lifesaver in prolonged fights where healing items and MP are in short supply.
Holistic Whitefish Platter: A Party Healer’s Best Friend
This dish is best saved for pinch situations where you lack immediate healing spells or items. It’s an excellent choice for non-healer party compositions, providing a safety net during intense encounters.
5. Steadfast Stew – Prevent Death Once for an Ally
Effect: Grants one ally immunity from death for one turn
Ingredients: Briny Salt x1, Giant’s Rib x1, Pristine Clearwater x3
Steadfast Stew is unique in its function as a “second chance” mechanic, offering one party member the ability to survive a fatal blow with just 1 HP. This makes it an excellent dish to serve up before challenging enemies or in situations where one ally is expected to take the brunt of the damage.
How to Use Steadfast Stew Effectively
Steadfast Stew is most effective when used on squishy but critical allies like mages or healers. If they’re likely to be targeted, this dish can be the difference between victory and an untimely end.
6. Cursed Love Ballad – MP Restoration and Hex Cure
Effect: Restores 100 MP and removes Hex status for the entire party
Ingredients: Briny Salt x2, Dreameater Moth x1, Rockbeans x2
The Cursed Love Ballad is an essential dish for late-game explorations where status ailments like Hex can plague your party. In addition to curing Hex, this dish restores a solid 100 MP to each party member, giving you a magical edge without having to rely solely on MP-restoring items.
When to Rely on the Cursed Love Ballad
Use the Cursed Love Ballad if your party is low on MP and suffering from multiple status ailments. It’s a versatile choice when you’re running low on healing supplies but still need a significant magical boost.
7. Coney Stew – Comprehensive Status Ailment Cure
Effect: Heals all status ailments (Hex, Poison, Malady)
Ingredients: Briny Salt x2, Mellow Milk x2, Mora Coney Meat x1
The Coney Stew is one of the most efficient ways to keep your party in fighting shape. This dish will remove a range of status ailments from your entire party, helping you avoid constant health-draining effects and keeping your MP intact.
Best Situations for Using Coney Stew
Consider preparing the Coney Stew during dungeon dives where ailments like poison and malady are more prevalent. Since the game doesn’t offer as many magical solutions for curing status effects, this dish can provide peace of mind for any player.
Honourable Mentions: Other Dishes Worth Trying
While the top seven dishes provide some of the best boosts, several other recipes offer helpful abilities. Here are a few honourable mentions for players looking to broaden their culinary repertoire:
- Critical Meatballs: Buffs the critical hit chance for three turns, making it ideal for players focused on high-damage strategies.
- Sweeter Than Poison: Restores 200 MP and cures poison, particularly helpful for prolonged dungeon exploration.
- Curative Coney Roast: Heals 250 HP and cures poison, an excellent choice for mid-game players needing both a health boost and poison cure.
FAQs
1. Can I access all these dishes from the start in Metaphor: ReFantazio?
No, players will unlock additional recipes as they progress in the game. Completing certain side quests, leveling up, or advancing in the main story are often required to access new cooking options.
2. Are ingredients easy to find?
Ingredients vary in rarity. Some are more common and can be picked up in shops or dungeons, while rarer ones might require fishing, gathering, or even specific monster drops.
3. What happens if I fail to prepare a dish?
There’s no “failure” in cooking per se, but using the wrong ingredients or not timing your meals before critical battles can impact your gameplay efficiency. Planning ahead can help you get the most out of each dish.
Cooking in Metaphor: ReFantazio not only enhances gameplay but adds a rich layer of strategy. Try out these recipes, experiment with your cooking skills, and find the perfect blend to strengthen your team in every encounter. With the right dish on the menu, your journey through Euchronia will be all the more triumphant!
