There are a few different dynamics to keep in mind when putting together a team of familiars. The first is the familiar’s affinity. Every character has three compatible familiar types and, when using a familiar from one of those families in battle, the familiar receives a 10% boost in stats. It is important to keep affinity in mind when choosing which familiars will accompany you in battle.
Oliver: Milites, Vermes and Dracones
Esther: Aves, Aquatica and Flora
Swaine: Bestiae, Automata and Mortui
Marcassin: Arcana, Nymphae and Minima
The next thing you should think about is the dynamic between the familiars you field in combat. As you start recruiting familiars you should make sure you keep a balanced party. It does no good to load Swaine with three familiars for doing damage if Esther and Oliver get knocked out because Swaine has no natural healing abilities (other than using the items in your bag). Likewise, you should avoid the temptation to give Esther a full load of familiars built for elemental tricks and healing because you will likely find her running out of MP quite often.
The number one slot for each party member should ideally be a familiar suited for dealing direct damage with physical attacks (a fighter). This gives everyone a free source of damage and can help you burn through battles while conserving MP for tough foes or bosses. It’s also important to spread the tricks around and ensure that every party member has access to a familiar with elemental tricks (a caster) for bosses and for when you are facing enemies that are resistant to physical damage. The last two roles you will want to fill in your party are the support roles (healing and tanking). For bounty hunts and boss fights in particular, it’s important to make sure that you have a tough familiar that can take hits and has a taunting trick like Yoo-Hoo to keep enemies focused. The healing familiar is vitally important when you are using a tank against difficult foes.
You might think to yourself, “Well, Oliver and Esther both have healing abilities so why should I have a familiar heal?” Consider that many familiars have access to more powerful healing abilities than your human party members. They also typically have much higher stats, allowing them to heal more HP and use those healing tricks less often.
For much of the early game you can survive without using a tank or healing familiar, but it is worth it to put some into your party so that you do not get stuck at a difficult fight, forced to train up new familiars just to move forward. Below is a sample breakdown of how to spread out your familiars early in the game (right after Swain joins Oliver and you have a full party for the first time). While every player will eventually develop their own party makeup, we’ve started with a simple line-up that favors offensive strategy while still giving you the backup you need during tough fights.
Oliver – With well-rounded stats and a good selection of support spells at his disposal, Oliver is a good choice to stock up on offensive familiars. His HP is high enough to take a few heavy hits and survive while. Plus, he has enough MP for he and his familiars to throw out some spells and tricks when needed.
Fighter: Mite – This is Oliver’s first familiar and a good standby for a long time. Not only is he a solid choice but he gets the affinity boost with Oliver, making him tough to pass up. (Read the full Mite article here)
Fighter: Little Bighorn – Steady attack and defense growth coupled with an inherent resistance to physical damage make Little Bighorn a great backup tank while still dealing decent damage.
Caster: Oroboros – While they may not look it, they can grow into one of the strongest magical familiars in the early game. Oroboros won’t learn any elemental tricks at first but after you metamorphose it into Chloroboros, it will learn elemental tricks and be able to tear through foes that have high physical defense.
Esther – The ultimate supporter! Her HP and MP are both on the low side and her offensive stats aren’t much to write home about but she has several party-enhancing abilities at her disposal and an affinity for familiar families that are heavy on healing and casting.
Fighter: Danglerfish – You’ll have to backtrack all the way to Ding Dong Well for one of these but they are not only one of the best fighter choices for Esther, but one of the best in the early stages of the game overall. They possess a solid attack score and are strong in both defense and magical defense.
Caster: Drongo – Like Oliver, Esther comes set with a familiar that works great with her. Drongo has decent stat growth and even starts with some elemental tricks.
Healer: Bubbud – It may not look like much but with quick and reliable magical stat growth, Bubbud is a good choice for a healer early in your adventure. The most compelling reason to add Bubbud to your party is its miracle move, New Dawn. Snag a gold glim to unleash this incredible ability and it will restore the HP and MP of your entire party!
Swaine – Possessing the highest HP of any party member, but lacking most useful abilities (status effects are handy but most bosses and bounty hunts are immune to a majority of them), Swaine is naturally suited to field a tank. He also has affinity for automata familiars which possess incredibly high defensive abilities.
Fighter: Thumbelemur – Since you will gain a Thumbelemur early on with Oliver, it will be leveled up and ready for Swaine once he joins your party. Sporting a decent attack score and high attack speed, Thumbelemur will mow weaker enemies down with ease and put a good dent in stronger foes.
Caster: Sprog Cog – Swaine has limited access to strong casting familiars early in the game but once you reach the Teeheeti isles you will run across Sprog Cog. While not overwhelming in offensive power, it has decent physical and magical attack scores coupled with the naturally high defense of Automata familiars. It also can learn several strong elemental tricks as it metamorphoses.
Tank: Monolith – Not much needs to be said about this literally walking slab of stone. Other than a handful of extremely rare and late-game familiars, Monolith is second only to Lumberwood in physical defense. Monolith even has a solid magic attack score, making it a solid (no pun intended) backup caster when called for.
Of course, these aren’t the only options out there. Here’s a short list of some other solid familiars that are available early on:
Inphant – Eventually growing into a physical powerhouse with high attack and physical defense, Inphant and its evolutions make a good second option for a tanking familiar. Plus, they are Bestiae and fit great with Swaine!
Minor Byrde – An Aves family familiar, it may not be a master of any particular stat but features even growth all around. It’s also one of the fastest familiars available and can eventually metamorphose into a fire or storm trick wielding final form.
Sleepeafowl – If you are willing to forgo immediate magical power you can swap out Drongo in Esther’s lineup for Sleepeafowl. It does not naturally learn any offensive tricks until its first metamorphosis but once it does you will find it to be a reliable damage dealer. (Read the full Sleepeafowl article here)
Naja – While lacking in defensive capabilities, Naja is one of the most powerful fighters available early in the game. It has great physical attack growth and an exceptional attack speed.
In the end however, you are encouraged to try things out and find what works best for you. If you have any favorite familiars or familiar combinations of your own, feel free to share them in the comments below!
Learn More: See all of our Ni No Kuni articles.
