Complete Guide to Enemies, Bosses and Affinity Weaknesses in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Key Takeaways:

1. Understanding enemy Affinities and weaknesses in Metaphor: ReFantazio is crucial for crafting a strong party and dominating battles.
2. There are nine main Affinities in the game, each with strengths and weaknesses that can greatly influence your combat success.
3. Properly analyzing enemy types and exploiting their weaknesses allows players to maximize damage output and efficiently navigate the toughest fights.

As you journey through the vast world of Metaphor: ReFantazio, you will encounter a wide range of enemies and bosses, each with their own unique Affinities and weaknesses. Success in combat relies heavily on how well you understand these weaknesses and how effectively you equip your characters with the right skills and weapons to exploit them.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the Affinities in Metaphor: ReFantazio, explain how they affect combat, and provide a complete list of enemies and bosses along with their specific weaknesses. Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned player, this comprehensive breakdown will give you the tools you need to overcome every challenge you face in the game.

Understanding Affinities in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Affinities are elemental or physical damage types that play a significant role in combat. Each enemy in the game has an Affinity weakness an element or physical attack type they are vulnerable to. By exploiting these weaknesses, you can deal significantly more damage, turn the tide of battle, and make the game much more manageable.

There are nine Affinities in total:

• Ice
• Fire
• Wind
• Electric
• Dark
• Light
• Pierce (physical)
• Slash (physical)
• Strike (physical)

Each of these Affinities corresponds to a specific attack type, and enemies will have varying levels of resistance or vulnerability to them. The key to success in Metaphor: ReFantazio is knowing which Affinity to use in each fight, allowing you to deal maximum damage to enemies and bosses.

The Importance of Exploiting Affinity Weaknesses

The Affinity system in Metaphor: ReFantazio is similar to the elemental systems you may have encountered in games like Persona or Pokémon. Just like how water-type Pokémon are weak to electric attacks, enemies in Metaphor have weaknesses to specific Affinities. For example, fire-based enemies are vulnerable to ice attacks, while wind-based creatures can be taken down with electric damage.

Using the wrong Affinity can result in reduced damage or even no damage at all, so paying attention to the weaknesses of your foes is essential. By using the “Analyse” function during combat, you can gather information on an enemy’s Affinity weaknesses and resistances. This allows you to plan your attacks and make the most of your party’s skills.

All Affinities and How They Work

Each Affinity comes with its own set of strengths, weaknesses, and potential status effects. Let’s take a deeper dive into each Affinity and how you can use them to your advantage.

1. Ice Affinity

The Ice Affinity is effective against fire-based enemies and certain bosses that have fire-related abilities. Ice attacks also have the potential to freeze enemies, slowing them down and making them more vulnerable to future attacks.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Ice: Fire Dragon Mauna, War Wulha, Grotesque Guptauros, Alpha Rockworm Valmo.
• Key Skills: Blizz from the Mage Archetype is a reliable Ice attack early in the game.

2. Fire Affinity

Fire is one of the most common Affinities in the game, and many enemies are vulnerable to it. Fire attacks have the potential to inflict the Burn status condition, which increases the amount of damage an enemy takes over time.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Fire: Gelatinos, Hyenos, Lina the Machinist, Goborn King.
• Key Skills: Bot is an early Fire skill that deals consistent damage.

3. Wind Affinity

Wind-based attacks are useful against airborne enemies and certain earth-based creatures. They can be critical in battles against more agile foes. Wind is also one of the earliest Affinities you’ll access with the Seeker Archetype.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Wind: Glodell, Papyros, Blue Elmenta, Wild Corvo.
• Key Skills: Cyc from the Seeker Archetype is an effective Wind attack.

4. Electric Affinity

Electric damage is particularly useful against mechanical enemies and water-based creatures. It can also inflict the Paralysis status condition, which can immobilize enemies for several turns.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Electric: Helmsman Cabio, Grand Chief Salva, Sea Horror Homo Sabara, Parasitic Valmo.
• Key Skills: Kande from the Mage Archetype offers a reliable source of Electric damage.

5. Dark Affinity

Dark Affinity becomes more prominent later in the game and is effective against holy or light-based enemies. Dark attacks often come with a chance to inflict the Hex status condition, reducing an enemy’s resistance to Dark damage.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Dark: Roger the Libertarian, Orgas, Pyrite Imitec.
• Key Skills: Dark-based attacks become more common as you unlock advanced Archetypes like the Soul Hacker.

6. Light Affinity

Light damage is effective against undead and dark creatures. It’s a critical Affinity to have when facing certain bosses and tougher enemies that dwell in darker environments. Light attacks can also cause the Fear status condition, reducing an enemy’s effectiveness in combat.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Light: Undead Grius, Bow Captain Malmorta, Curseweight Magileto, Fatolich.
• Key Skills: The Hama attack from the Healer Archetype deals Light damage and is crucial against undead foes.

7. Pierce Affinity (Physical)

Pierce damage involves attacks that stab or puncture the enemy, such as spears or arrows. Many enemies are vulnerable to Pierce attacks, especially armored or tough-skinned foes.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Pierce: Maintenance Chief Ceiba, Kokasados, Wild Corvo.
• Key Skills: Pierce-based attacks are commonly found in physical Archetypes like the Gunner.

8. Slash Affinity (Physical)

Slash damage involves cutting attacks, usually with swords or blades. It’s a versatile Affinity that applies to a wide range of enemies, making it one of the more common attack types in the game.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Slash: Helmsman Cabio, Spekio, Maintenance Chief Ceiba.
• Key Skills: Slash-based attacks are central to the Warrior Archetype, particularly moves like Diagonal Slash.

9. Strike Affinity (Physical)

Strike damage involves crushing or bludgeoning attacks. It’s particularly effective against heavily armored or tough enemies. Strike attacks can also inflict status conditions such as Forget, which prevents enemies from using certain abilities.

• Notable Enemies Weak to Strike: Maneater Manjula, Curseweight Magileto, Fatolich.
• Key Skills: The Brawler Archetype specializes in Strike attacks like Perfect Punch and Skullcracker.

Bosses and Their Affinity Weaknesses

Knowing the Affinity weaknesses of the game’s many bosses is key to overcoming the more challenging fights. Here’s a rundown of some of the key bosses in Metaphor: ReFantazio and their Affinity weaknesses.

• Homo Fulquilo: Weak to Ice.
• Undead Grius: Weak to Light.
• Maintenance Chief Ceiba: Weak to Slash, Pierce, and Strike.
• Helmsman Cabio & Grand Chief Salva: Weak to Electric.
• Fire Dragon Mauna: Weak to Ice.
• Maneater Manjula: Weak to Ice and Strike.
• Grotesque Guptauros: Weak to Ice.
• Roger the Libertarian: Weak to Dark.

For these battles, make sure to bring party members with the appropriate skills to maximize your damage. Using items that align with the enemy’s weakness is also a smart strategy if your party lacks the necessary Affinity.

Common Enemies and Their Weaknesses

Apart from bosses, you’ll encounter a variety of common enemies that are weak to specific Affinities. Here’s a list of some regular foes and their weaknesses:

• Bow Captain Malmorta: Weak to Light and Strike.
• Azure Homo Tenta: Weak to Fire and Pierce.
• Gelatinos: Weak to Electric, Ice, and Fire.
• Curseweight Magileto: Weak to Light and Strike.
• Kokasados: Weak to Fire and Pierce.

These enemies appear frequently, and knowing their weaknesses can speed up your combat encounters significantly, allowing you to breeze through tougher areas.

Maximizing Affinity Advantages in Battle

To get the most out of the Affinity system in Metaphor: ReFantazio, follow these tips:

• Use the Analyse Function: Always analyze enemies before launching an attack. This will help you discover their weaknesses and resistances early in the fight.
• Exploit Weaknesses for Extra Turns: Attacking an enemy’s weakness often grants additional turns, allowing you to chain attacks together and control the pace of the battle.
• Keep a Balanced Party: Ensure that your party has access to a wide range of Affinities. You don’t want to enter a fight with only one type of attack, as some enemies resist entire categories of damage.
• Use Items to Supplement Affinities: If your party lacks a specific Affinity, use items like Ice Chunk or Fire Fang to deal damage. These items can be especially useful in tough boss fights where you need to exploit every weakness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How do I discover an enemy’s Affinity weakness in Metaphor: ReFantazio?

You can use the “Analyse” function during combat to reveal an enemy’s weaknesses and resistances. Alternatively, once you’ve defeated an enemy, their Affinity weaknesses will be recorded in your battle log.

Q2: What is the best strategy for dealing with bosses in Metaphor: ReFantazio?

The best strategy is to identify the boss’s Affinity weakness and focus your attacks around that. Equip your party with weapons and skills that exploit the weakness, and use items to enhance your attacks if needed.

Q3: Can I change my party’s Affinity mid-battle?

While you can’t change a character’s base Affinity during a battle, you can use items to inflict different types of Affinity damage. Items like Fire Fang and Thunderstone are great for this.

Q4: What’s the difference between Pierce, Slash, and Strike damage?

These are the three types of physical damage. Pierce involves stabbing or puncturing attacks, Slash involves cutting attacks, and Strike involves crushing or bludgeoning attacks. Different enemies will be vulnerable to different types of physical damage.

Q5: Are all bosses weak to a specific Affinity?

No, not all bosses have weaknesses. Some bosses, such as Homo Gorleo or Zorba, have no Affinity weaknesses, meaning you’ll need to rely on buffing your own attacks or using status effects to win.