Like any massive RPG, Bravely Default 2 contains a game within the game. It’s called Bind & Divide, or B&D (yes, yes, just like the game). It’s an engaging card game you don’t want to miss, but you could easily roll the credits without ever playing a round.
B&D is more or less Bold standard via Gwent. You and a computer-controlled opponent each have a stack of six cards. You place them in turn on a grid of five by five, with the aim of conquering as much territory as possible. Each conquered square is equal to one point. Each map – based on enemies, characters and function classes from the ‘real’ game – has a different layout. For example, an orc will occupy three spaces in a horizontal line, while a sahagin will occupy two vertically. A character card can change the rules of the game by, for example, allowing each monster-themed card to occupy an additional space, regardless of the team. Meanwhile, task cards come with bonus skills. An early one, the Gambler, will randomly trade squares with one of your opponent’s occupied squares.
Staking out your own territory isn’t enough to win, however. You also need to take your opponent’s territory off the board. Most cards have one primary square plus at least one secondary square. The secondary spaces can occupy territory, but placing them on top of an enemy’s occupied space will take them both off the board – wiping out that point for both of you. (The square can then be re-occupied by either player.)
It’s a good strategy, but you have a better chance of victory if you change your enemy’s territory in your team. Clamping an opponent’s square – horizontally, vertically or diagonally – will switch it to your side. A well-placed card can convert a significant portion of the territory, changing the scoreboard by a dime.
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Just like Gwent players practically rent a seat at every tavern The Witcher 3, B & D players can be found everywhere Bravely Default 2When you win a round, you earn points. You can then use those points to buy cards from the hand of a defeated opponent. The good guys, remember, cost more, so every win brings a crossroads. Do you spend your points immediately at that time? Or do you bank them hoping a game-changing card will appear after your next win?
You can assemble three decks. As far as I know, you can only customize your decks in the pre-match menu that appears for each game, but you can view all of the unlocked cards by firing up the Lore menu and selecting ‘Card Binder’.
Okay, I’m sold. Where do I start?
Where else? In the gambling house of Savalon!
B&D is hidden as a side quest, so you will be forgiven for walking right past it. (Generally, Bravely Default 2It’s side quests can be skipped, as they generally range from boring to mind-numbingly pointless.) At one of the card tables by the fountain, you’ll see a side quest offered by an NPC named Shirley. Talk to her to earn a base stack and start a series of tutorials.
I didn’t run into Shirley until well into Chapter 4, about 40 hours into the game, but I can apparently Start the quest line after unlocking the Beastmaster course in Chapter 1. After a few basic fights, all of which you can engage in in the gambling hall, you have to take on Shirley. Compared to the others you run into, she’s a glove. Here are a few tips:
- Try to group your squares so that they cannot be surrounded. By sticking to the corners, you can protect yourself.
- Your first deck starts with the Gambler card, which swaps your placement with one of Shirley’s. Do not use these as you have no control over the result.
- Stack your deck with humanoid and spiritual cards. She plays a card that boosts that card class regardless of team bond, so you’ll get a serious boost if you have a ton in your deck.
- I learned this through trial and error, but more often than not the match against Shirley starts when you make the first move. You are in a better position when you are on the defensive, as you get to make the last move, so you don’t get overwhelmed by a game-changing move in the last minute. If you’re struggling, keep rebooting until you start a defense round.
- If you really If you’re struggling, consider wandering the world a bit, taking on low B&D opponents, earning their cards and building your deck. For example, there is one outside the inn in Savalon. Another hangs out in Rimedahl, also near the inn. You can identify players by looking for NPCs with small map icons above their heads.
Beating Shirley in B&D will basically spark a boss fight Bold standard struggle. Being so over the top at the time, I took her and her cronies out in two turns, but I got the feeling it’s not such a tough fight. (She teams up with the boss behind the Bard asterisk – who you’ve already defeated by then – plus two low-level soldiers. Monk’s pressure point Action!)
Do I get anything for that?
Sure. After defeating Shirley in both B&D and battle, you will get an asterisk for the Gambler job. Without a doubt it is the gambler Bravely Default 2most unpredictable job. With one move, you spin two wheels – one with a number, one with an element – and perform an attack based on the result. Another makes you spin a wheel with the numbers one through ten. If you land on ten, everyone in your group can earn three BP … or maybe your enemies earn three BP. Oops!
What’s more, instead of MP or BP, many of the Gambler’s moves use your in-game currency. As a result, once you’re rich with Rockefeller, it’s better suited as a mid or late game course.
It’s a decent price – one of your primary goals in, after all Bravely Default 2 is to collect every asterisk – but it pales in comparison to the ability to play a great game in an already pretty awesome game. Two for one? Talk about an easy bet.