Part Smash Bros, part Final Fantasy, part sentient loot box, Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia is Square Enix’s latest foray into the mobile gaming market (as well as a valiant attempt to try make Latin words cool again.) All your favorite characters — Cloud, Squall, and Tifa — some of your less-favorite characters — Shadow, Yuffie, and Laguna — and even some of the characters you’ve probably never even heard of before — Rem, Firion, and the Onion Knight — join forces in a kind of Final Fantasy fantasy league to take down the forces of evil and save the world.
Opera Omnia has a fun story and a robust combat system that, surprisingly enough, makes this title more compelling than any free-to-play gacha game has a right to be.
But it’s also confusing as heck.
If you’re a casual Final Fantasy fan like me, and you just want to see Cloud and Squall fight together outside of fanfiction, getting a hang of Opera Omnia might be a little intimidating.
Here’s a quick (sorta, this game is deep y’all) rundown of how the game works, and how to get the most out of Opera Omnia.
Combat
For me, the most challenging element of this game is understanding its combat. 90 percent of your time is going to be spent fighting monsters for quests, dungeons, or events, so you want to have a firm grasp of how combat works. Unfortunately, the tutorial is extremely brief and is only likely to remain in your mind for a mission or two before you forget it entirely. Here’s what you need to remember: Always Be Braving.
Opera Omnia has two critical stats to keep track of: HP and Bravery. HP should be familiar to you, as it works the same as it does across literally every other video game — if your HP drops to 0, you’re dead.
Bravery, however, is a little more unfamiliar. Think of it like attack power, in that the higher it is, the harder you’ll hit your enemies.
Attacks in Omnia are divided into two types: Bravery Attacks and HP Attacks. Bravery attacks increase your Bravery (or BRV as it’s indicated in the game) while depleting your enemies BRV and vice versa. In combat, you want to maximize your BRV then unleash your HP attacks. The higher your BRV, the more damage your HP attack will do.
HP Attacks do exactly that, attack an enemy’s HP. However, HP Attacks drain BRV, so while you can unleash powerful attacks on your enemies, you’ll also leave yourself vulnerable to the same kind of powerful attacks.
Deplete an enemy’s BRV and it enters Broken status. That means any HP attack the Broken enemy (or ally) does will always yield 0 damage, while any BRV attack made against it will be a critical hit. This is why you should be careful when you use HP attacks, because you leave yourself open to being Broken.
Remember staggering from Final Fantasy XIII, that Final Fantasy everyone unequivocally hated, even though it probably didn’t deserve it? The Bravery Attack + HP Attack system works a lot like that. Use BRV attacks until your opponent is Broken (or staggered), then use HP attacks to inflict maximum damage. Be careful though, because afterwards you’ll be susceptible to the same treatment.
Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be 50 percent less likely to spam whatever attack seems fitting in the moment, but it does nothing to help you understand the next bit — character progression.
Character Progression
Omnia is a gacha game, so at some point you’re going to encounter a mechanic that screams ‘please give me your money’. That’s the progression system. Gems, crystals, tickets, keys, all can be purchased in the shop, and all are vital to getting the most out of your game.
Gems
Gems are the basic currency of the game. Gems buy EXP bonuses, inventory upgrades, and — most importantly — draw chances, can be purchased with gems. Earn them through completing missions or quests, or by straight up buying them from the shop.
Consumables
Need to get your Bartz to level 10 in a hurry? Buy a Book of Training and increase his EXP. Need more Gil to upgrade items, or more inventory space to hold sweet loot? Find a corresponding item in the item shop. Anything you think your character needs to level up, it’s there… for a price.