This walkthrough covers the first chapter of Hikari Ku’s story in Octopath Traveler 2. Includes useful Path Actions available, skill and equipment recommendations for the chapter, as well as boss Strategies.
This walkthrough is written so that Hikari is your first and only traveler. As such, additional Path Actions from other travelers will not be present. As a guide for the Main Story, there will be story spoilers present but will be made as limited as possible.
The Battlefield
The beginning of Hikari’s story starts before the present day, during a battle that took place three years prior to the present day. This short section consists of just 3 battles which includes a boss, and takes place with Hikari and chapter companions Ritsu and Rai Mei.
This first encounter serves as a tutorial for Breaking foes and has you facing two Southern Soldier 1s. These guys have just a single Shield Point and are weak to both Sword and Spear. You’re healed to full after this battle, so there’s no need to conserve resources.
Having Hikari boost Aggressive Slash can potentially take out both enemies with a single move. If not, Ritsu’s Wild Cut or basic attacks can easily finish the remaining soldier.
The second encounter consists of Two Southern Soldier 1 and a Southern Officer. The Souther Officer has 2 Shield Points, and is weak to Polearm, Sword, and Lightning. Once again, this fight will heal you to full after, so ther’s no need to conserve resources.
This is just another part of the breaking tutorial, but you’re joined by Rai Mei for this fight adding a third member to your cast. Rai Mei has two skills that help with the next couple fights, Sweep and Thunderous Stab. Sweep is a Polearm attack that hits all foes. Thunderous Stab is a single-target attack that deals two hits, one as Polearm and the second as Lightning.
Depending on the turn order, Rai Mei may get to move before some of the enemies. You can choose to use Sweep to prevent the two Southern Soldiers from attacking, or Thunderous Stab to prevent the Southern Officer from attacking by breaking them.
If Rai Mei attacks after either Hikari or Ritsu, they should hit the officer and Rai Mei should always Sweep to break all three foes. Use Aggressive Slash, Wild Cut, and Thunderous Stab as needed to clean up the enemies.
How to Defeat Southern General
The final encounter of this section consists of Two Southern Soldier 2s and the Southern General. The Southern Soldiers are similar to the Southern Officers, sharing the same weaknesses in Polearm, Sword, and Lightning while still having 2 Shield Points. The Southern General himself is weak to Sword and Lightning while having 4 Shield Points.
This encounter goes much quicker ignoring the boss for the first couple turns, using Rai Mei’s Sweep alongside basic sword attacks from Hikari and Ritsu to break the Soldiers. The second turn Rai Mei can boost her Sweep and defeat both soldiers, leaving only the Southern General.
To deal with the Southern General easily, a basic attack from Hikari and Ritsu’s Wild Cut will break him. Then when he’s broken a full boosted Hachimonjigiri from Hikari’s Learned Skills, or Wild Cut from Ritsu can dispose of him quickly enough.
After this fight a cutscene will play that concludes the war and time skips to the present day, three years later.
Hinoeuma: Ku Castle Town
We’re presented with another cutscene that’s a short flyover of the town surrounding Ku Castle, which then focuses on Hikari practicing his swordsmanship on a hill in the town that overlooks the market. As the scene plays out, a nearby citizen comments on his swordsmanship, asking if he’d be willing to train him, which Hikari accepts.
After a short spar, the nearby soldier steps in and proceeds to talk down to the citizen, treating them as lesser. Hikari steps in, reminding the soldier that he’s no more or less a citizen than the soldier is. Afterward, you’ll be informed of a brawl at the tavern and Hikari will head off to resolve it.
Tavern Brawl
On the way to the Tavern there are merchants you can buy equipment and items from. I highly recommend picking up a Nameless Sword from the merchant to speed up most of the encounters that remain in this Chapter.
The Tavern brawl is a rowdy soldier that serves your brother, General Mugen. He proclaims that Mugen will be the future king, and threatens the tavernkeeper by drawing his sword and demanding more drinks. Hikari steps in and you’ll be required to fight the solider using Hikari’s Challenge Path Action.
Mugen’s Soldier is fairly weak as an enemy, only having two Shield Points. You can defeat him in two turns by using Aggressive Slash and then using a boosted Hachimonjigiri to finish him quickly if you grabbed the Nameless Sword.
You’ll have the option of learning Double Slash as a Learned Skill to use later, but there’s no reason to take it as Aggressive Slash is better in almost all situations. This fight will also level you up, restoring your HP and SP.
Afterward, you’ll be greeted with a cutscene of Hikari running the drunk soldier out of the tavern. You’ll then head outside, where Tsuki will follow you and thank you for helping the town out. You’ll soon be interrupted by Benkei, the King’s guard, who asks you to meet with him on the western keep, or just up the stairs to your immediate left.
Challengers of Ku Castle Town
Before speaking to Benkei, make use of the fact that Ku Castle Town is still daytime. Once you trigger the cutscene with Benkei it will be locked to nighttime instead and you will not be able to Challenge NPCs.
This means making use of your Challenge Path Action, which can get us some very useful skills that can provide healing, debuffs, or additional coverage. Many of these are helpful for future encounters.
Personally, I’d challenge the Carpenter to the south, if only for the EXP. Sever isn’t a great skill but can add Axe to your list of coverage. He’ll go down quickly with just basic attacks.
There are three other NPCs here that are worth challenging right now, with an optional fourth that is a bit more difficult. One has a skill that both adds coverage while allowing us to debuff a foe’s physical attack, two provide self-healing so you don’t have to rely on just items, and the optional one is a multi-target attack with additional coverage.
The first of these is Horse Lender on the East side of town. The Horse Lender rewards Disciplinary Strike which is a Staff attack that also debuffs the foe’s Physical Attack.
This will be useful for a good while, as most of the early enemies here only deal physical damage. It’s also great for the upcoming boss at the end of the chapter, despite it not being a weakness.
The next one up is the Apothecary behind the tavern that gives us First Aid. First Aid is a cheap healing skill that heals a flat amount. With just a single BP and its cost of a meager 2 SP, it can almost fully heal you from the brink of death.
Alternatively is the Ku Solider near the save point to the north. He’s another easy fight that allows you to pick up Doze, which restores 50% HP for a very low cost but puts you to sleep for two turns. It slightly beats First Aid when using it without BP, but is worse when even a single BP is used.
The last one is found by climbing the ladder right next to the save point, you can reach yet another Ku Soldier. This optional challenge will be a tougher fight as he hits quite hard, but the fight is manageable with the Nameless Sword. As a result, you can learn Arrow Volley, a Bow skill that hit all foes once.
While you’re up here, you can also grab the chest to the left of the Ku Soldier to obtain an Inspiriting Plum.
There are other Learned Skills here you can opt for, but these are the ones I found to be the most useful for the early part of the adventure.
Benkei’s Summons
Now that we’re loaded up on Learned Skills, we can go talk to Benkei. As we reach the area where we were requested to meet Benkei, the cutscene will trigger. This cutscene will see us talking to King Jigo. Hikari initially asks why the king has left the castle to speak with him, and the king simply explains that they couldn’t be overheard here.
The King continues to explain that Hikari was tasked with overseeing the town as a way for King Jigo to take measures to see if he’d be fit to be a king. King Jigo does see him fit to rule, and informs Hikari of such, only for Hikari to suggest General Mugen may fill the role better.
He furthers continues that he fears that General Mugen may be plotting something, though he’s unsure of what. So Hikari will take it upon himself to figure out what plots may be going on.
The game transitions to nighttime and is locked until the end of the chapter, as Hikari goes looking for someone that may have heard what’s going on. As such you’ll make your way North to the Castle, where you’ll be greeted by a cutscene of a merchant and a soldier discussing something. Hikari decides this merchant who is able to move freely in and out of the castle may be the best source of information.
Follow the Merchant into the nearby building and you’ll be prompted on how the Bribe Action works. Open the chest behind the merchant for 1,500 money, then bribe the merchant for The Merchant’s Information quest item.
A short cutscene will play out, as the Merchant explains what rumors he’s heard and you’ll be looking to head toward the Crest of Heroes, which lies to the southeast of the town.
Bribes of Ku Castle Town
There’s a bit of optional Bribery we can do that can get us some items before we head out. It’s nothing important, but we do get a couple of useful items from doing so. Though they’re more slightly expensive than just buying them.
As we head back into Ku Castle Town, we can bribe the guard near the save point for a hidden item. This turns out to be a Healing Grape and is found by the western keep stairs.
As we head down the stairs, we can take a left to the house at the far end of this path that has a mother and her two children. You could bribe the Boy for Candy, but that’s some expensive Candy that you’ll never really need or use. Do make sure you take the Healing Grape from the chest here though.
You can Bribe the Apothecary near the water for a Herb of Light which will get placed in a basket in the market.
Finally, there’s the Citizen on the western keep which spawns a Critical Ring you can pick up from their house on the east side of town on the hill.
And that cover’s all the Bribes here with items. You don’t need to take them all now, but most are relatively inexpensive, but still more expensive compared to the shop. It’s worth noting that it may be a while before you can come back to get these items.
The Crest of Heroes
Now that we’ve prepared through Bribes and Challenges, we’re ready to set off for the Crest of Heroes. To do so we’ll be heading south out of town to the Southern Ku Sands via walking. This can also be done by using a canoe and following the water out of the town as well.
Exploring Southern Ku Sands
The Southern Ku Sands has a small variety of enemies, consisting of Desert Ape 1, Desert Ape 2, and Army Ants, which are all weak to Sword attacks. There are also Skull Rollers, which are weak to Polearm attacks. These are the bulk of what you’ll fight on the way to the Crest of Heroes.
If you happen to go by canoe, you’ll be greeted by Jellyfish or Ivory Ammonite, both of which are weak to Polearm attacks. There is a chest that requires you to go across water, so you’ll fight some of these, but very few.
For chests, there are only two here with two being to the west. The first is along the wall of the town, accessible via the water which contains an Energizing Pomegranate.
The second to the west is along the edge of the area. This chest contains a Fire Soulstone. This is an incredibly helpful item for the upcoming boss, don’t skip it!
Further along the path, and just before you head up the Crest of Heroes, is another chest Containing a Herb of Light. This can also be useful for the upcoming boss, but you won’t need more than 2 usually.
Near the peak of the Crest of Heroes, just to the east of the save point is the last chest here, which contains an Inspiriting Plum.
Be sure to save here, as there’s a boss immediately following the cutscene that triggers at the Crest of Heroes. There’s also a handy merchant here too if you feel like you need extra healing items.
As you reach the Crest of heroes, you see no hints of Mugen or the mysterious arms merchant. You’re presented with a cutscene showing what happens in this moment at Castle Ku, which has King Jigo speaking with Mugen and asking him what he wants for the country.
The scene returns to the Crest of Heroes and before long, a familiar face appears in the form of Ritsu. He tells you he’s now a Captain in the army led by Mugen, before speaking of their history together.
Ritsu asks if you were expecting someone else, before giving away that the whole arms merchant dealing was a hoax. As the conversation continues, the entirety of Ku Castle Town is set ablaze as more soldiers join Ritsu on the Crest of Heroes.
Hikari asks Ritsu to step aside and let him pass. Ritsu goes on to state that the nation desires change that only General Mugen can bring as he continues to block him, leaving Hikari no choice but to fight his old friend.
How to Defeat Captain Ritsu
As a Boss, Ritsu has a nearly identical skill set to the one he had as a companion earlier. His skill set consists of basic attacks, Trifold Slash which is a 3-hit attack, Heavy Slash, and Heave Sand which causes Blind. He uses primarily just regular attacks and his stronger single-hit attacks, rarely making use of the 3-hit or Blind.
Ritsu has 5 Shield Points and is weak to Sword, Bow, and Fire all of which you can get through Learned Skills if desired. Ritsu’s Footmen, or his two lackeys, have just one Shield Point and also share the same weaknesses. This makes both Vengeful Blade and Arrow Volley both good options for breaking the foot soldiers.
If you chose to take it early, Vengeful Blade can very easily take care of the lackeys by itself with a couple of uses. I absolutely do not regret taking it as a first skill. If you have yet to pick up or decide on a third skill, I highly recommend this skill for this fight alone.
The main thing you’ll want to try to do is quickly get rid of Ritsu’s Footmen to allow Aggressive Slash to be able to break Ritsu in two turns. Vengeful Blade (with 1 BP boost) or Arrow Volley ensure both foot soldiers’ shield break. Once Broken, use the Fire Soulstone you picked up earlier to dispatch the foot soldiers and heavily damage Ritsu.
Ideally, you’ll have at least three BP by the time you receive your Latent Power in the fight, or are able to build it up as your break Ritsu’s Shield. At which point you can finish him off with a max power Tenretsuzan when he breaks as it will deal over half of his health with ease.
Following the fight, a voice will call out to Hikari and tempt him to end Ritsu’s life, right then and there, which he resists before heading into town.
Back to Ku Castle Town
You’ll reach Ku Castle Town during the cutscene, and come across an injured Tsuki. Hikari will hold her in his arms, as she claims Hikari’s gentle hand is the only way to save their kingdom before passing away.
You’ll regain control for a bit as you make your way to the castle. Make sure you talk to the saying soldier near the castle gates. He’ll give you an Empowering Lychee for doing so, while also remarking that Hikari will be the one to save Ku. Then you can make your way to the castle.
Upon entering the Castle, the scene that started here earlier while you were on the Crest of Heroes will start again, and extend a bit further. This time with General Mugen engaging a fight with King Jigo. Following this you’ll be back in control of Hikari again.
There are just a couple more items here in the castle, prior to the end of the chapter. Immediately as you enter the castle doors head left and make your way past the collapsible walls here to claim a Thunder Soulstone.
As you head up the stairs, the small room to your left will contain a Healing Grape.
There’s also a ladder on the right side that you can use to drop down to a Fortifying Nut.
Additionally, this small area has a hidden item called Oboro’s Journal, which is tied to a side quest. This journal is filled with a nice bit of lore on the writer of the journal that you can read in the process
This cutscene will continue from the previous one, with Mugen striking down King Jigo as Hikari arrives. Hikari rushes to his side, where King Jigo asks him to be king. He then tell him he’s not strong enough to defeat General Mugen, and must gather his strength as well as allies to restore the kingdom to the way it should be.
Hikari, now determined, asks why Mugen would set the homes of the innocents on fire, to which Mugen replies he was merely burning any roots of a possible rebellion, given that he expected Hikari to perish on the Crest of Heroes.
Soldiers then show up to attack Hikari before Benkei also arrives just in time to clear the path for Hikari. With that Hikari is forced to flee the castle, and the town. Days later as he arrives in Ryu, it’s discovered that Mugen spread false rumors of Hikari being a traitor.
The Town of Ryu
The small town of Ryu is a town you get to after the end of Chapter 1, however it’s being included here briefly for the useful Path action you can take should you start your journey as Hikari.
During the daytime, there are not a whole lot of interesting Challenges to take. The most useful one you cna take at this point is the Male Merchant, who has Poison Slash. This at the very least give you access to a move that can inflict status effects decently often. You can however grab the Empowering Lychee found directly behind the merchants.
At Night, however, there are a couple of good Bribe targets here.
The Male Merchant will expand the Equipment vendor with new items, including a fairly strong and extremely expensive Sandstorm Spear, a Crested Greatshield, and the Wargod’s Talisman.
The Blonde Mercency by the fire will reveal a hidden Broadsword near the weapon merchant, which is a fairly good Sword upgrade for the price.
The Peddler near the weapon shop will reveal a hidden Empowering Lychee that gets placed near the Inn.
And that’s all the useful stuff you can get before departing from Ryu and continuing on to collect another Traveler, or on to Chapter 2.
Now that you have completed the first chapter of his story, take a look at the Hikari Character Guide and Warrior Job Guide for more detailed information on how to play this character in Octopath Traveler 2.
Here on VULKK.com we have a selection of guides to help you on your path. From Beginner Guides to get you started, to Character Guides and their unique talents and abilities to the individual Job Guides and which characters and jobs best synergize with each other.
