How to control party members in Metaphor ReFantazio

At startup Metaphor: ReFantazioyou'll find that the game eases you into its combat system bit by bit. This also applies to controlling party members in battle. If you've never played one Persona game or a similar RPG, then you may be wondering when you can start giving commands to your allies, as they will initially act on their own.

Thankfully, it's not too far into the story that you get to choose who and how your allies attack. As soon as you can control them, you can focus on assessing their equipment to make them stronger in battle. For now, though, here's everything you need to know when you can gain control of party members in Metaphor: ReFantazio.

You will gain control over your allies in Metaphor: ReFantazio as they awaken to their archetypal power. For example, while Strohl is initially a guest character who will attack enemies with his sword, he becomes a controllable party member during the boss encounter with Captain Klinger in the mines. He will awaken into the Warrior Archetype and become useful starting with that boss fight.

After defeating Captain Klinger, and after exiting the Akademeia, you will get a prompt saying that you can now give instructions to your allies during battle and take full advantage of Metaphor: ReFantazios unique combat mechanics. From this point, you can manually control your party member's actions by using one of the on-screen buttons for each of the main actions:

• Melee: Use your melee weapon against a single target.
• Archetype: Use a skill from your character's currently equipped archetype.
• Point: Use an item from your supplies.
• Protect: Raise defense temporarily while active.
• Pass: Pass the turn to an ally.

Additionally, you can use the left and right buttons to switch targets for your attacks, while the up and down buttons change your current formation. Some enemy attacks work depending on which row you're in, so it can be a handy way to dodge. Finally, if you need a suggestion on the best course of action, the Assist mechanic will give you a take-it-or-leave-it option.

If you want your allies to act on their own, press the right analog stick on your controller or press 3 on your keyboard to start auto-battle. This will allow your allies to act according to their tactical settings.

To view these tactical settings, press the LB/L1 button on your controller or the Tab key on your keyboard while in battle to bring up the tactics menu. Alternatively, go to the main menu, select Party, then press the X/Square button or the H key to select Tactics and bring up the list of options for each party member. By default, this is set to “Let them decide.” You won't be able to control or set tactics for any party member who is branded as a guest, so keep that in mind if you venture into a dungeon with the intention of training to earn Magla to upgrade your party's archetypes.

Here's a list of all the tactics available to you and what they do:

• Let them decide: The party fights at its own discretion and saves consumables.
• Fight to Kill: The party fights without stopping, including the use of consumables.
• Prioritize Attacks: The party prioritizes attacks that deal damage, conservation of consumables.
• Conserve MP: The party prioritizes actions that do not consume MP or consumables.
• Prioritize health: The party prioritizes healing when HP is low while conserving consumables.
• Attack normally: The party will only use standard attacks while conserving consumables.