Best Characters to Recruit in Star Ocean The Second Story R

You can recruit up to eight characters in your Star Ocean The Second Story R party, but there are thirteen people you meet who could join up. It means there can be some difficult decisions when you choose who to come along, but fortunately a lot of people are great allies.

Who are the best characters to recruit in Star Ocean The Second Story R?

If you want some of the strongest attackers in the game, there are certain people you should try and make space for as you go through the campaign. Now, Claude and Rena are both probably the best characters in the game. Each one is versatile, with strong skill sets and a lot of potential. Since you get both no matter which route you take, you’re set in a way! 

When preparing to make room for others, there are certain people to consider. First, try and make sure you have room for each playable character’s “exclusive” recruit as you go through the story. For Claude, this is Leon. He’s a symbologist who is one of the best mages in the game. In Rena’s story, it’s Dias. He’s one of the strongest warriors. Both are fantastic additions and they’ll ask to join you as part of the story (so long as you have room), so you don’t have to worry about missing them.

As for the other characters, your picks might be more situational. Consider the type of team you want, then try and build around that. After all, you’re limited to eight total characters. Before you even leave Krosse Continent, you could have half of them if you pick up Ashton and Celine.

Chisato is one of the better characters you can get, but you recruit her at the very end of the story and might not have room if you already picked up eight total folks before that.

You should also keep in mind certain characters lock each other out. If you get Ashton, you can’t get Opera and Ernest. You either pick Bowman or Precis, but can’t recruit both.

Here are the recruits I suggest for each route, but keep in mind that this is based on my personal preferences! You might want some other folks for your runs.

• Claude’s Route: Claude, Rena, Celine, Ashton, Precis, Welch, Leon, Chisato
• Rena’s Route: Rena, Claude, Celine, Opera, Ernest, Bowman, Dias, Chisato

I went with these suggestions partially because you get some solid team options, but also because they could result in some entertaining Private Action moments. Leon and Welch have some fun ones, and Ashton and Precis’ can lead to her learning a great special bility. Meanwhile, Celine and Bowman’s relationship is interesting, and it’s fun to see the Opera and Ernest interactions.

So should we do a Star Ocean Second Story R character tier list?

Frankly, a lot of characters in the game are valid. I’m not a big fan of Noel, but I know friends who use him and feel he has value. I don’t feel like you really “need” to make a tier list for the game. Depending on your composition and who you like, you could build a team with pretty much anyone and have a winning party. Not to mention that characters’ usefulness and viability can be determined based on how they are in the main campaign or post-game.

If I was pressed to rank people in general, however, I’d probably suggest folks fall into the following tiers:

• S: Claude, Rena
• A: Ashton, Chisato, Dias, Leon, Opera 
• B: Bowman, Celine, Precis
• C: Ernest, Noel, Welch

Again, depending on who they are on a team with and the investment you put into them, that could change! The only ones I feel are really “locked” into a tier are Claude and Rena, because both are essentially designed to be the best.

Star Ocean The Second Story R is on the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC. The game can also immediately be found on the PlayStation and PSP worldwide and the PS3, PS4, and Vita in Japan.