Octopath Traveler 2 trailer introduces the game’s new Merchant and Scholar

Octopath Traveler was a surprise hit when it arrived in 2018, weaving together eight different stories in a sprawling RPG adventure. When Octopath Traveler II was announced, fans started getting ready for a whole new set of heroes, stories, and quests. The latest trailer provides a deeper look at two new characters, aka one quarter of the team.

The Merchant & Scholar trailer highlights Partitio and Osvald, respectively. Partitio is a wheeler and dealer from a pioneer town that’s fallen on hard times, so his goal is to travel the world and make some real money. Osvald starts out in a pretty bad spot, having been sentenced to prison for murdering his wife and daughter. Based on the typical RPG tropes, we expect there’s a lot more to that story.

The first Octopath Traveler had, appropriately, eight different classes — Apothecary, Cleric, Dancer, Hunter, Merchant, Scholar, Thief, and Warrior — represented by the same number of unique heroes. The sequel has the same character count and classes but with some additional abilities this time around. Partitio the Merchant can purchase items from NPCs as expected, but he can also buddy up with business partners and recruit additional characters into the party as mercs. NPCs for hire were part of the first game, so it’s interesting to see this specifically attached to Partitio in this trailer. As for Osvald the Scholar, he can scrutinize NPCs for new information and analyze enemies to learn their weaknesses as expected, but he can also mug characters for their items. That’s an action one would probably associate with the Thief class first.

In any case, Octopath Traveler II is shaping up to be another special adventure. Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder when the release date is: the RPG is scheduled for February 24, 2023. While the original took a while to reach multiple platforms, the sequel will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam at launch.