How Combat Works in One Piece Odyssey

To keep turn-based combat spicy, developer ILCA, Inc. adds numerous mechanics that ensure a more unique and enjoyable experience. This in-depth system might be a bit daunting to JRPG newcomers, or you might want to know how the battle system works before jumping into the game, so I decided to write a bit of a quick overview guide on how the systems work!

Starting off, let's talk about the most confusing (and one of the most fun) mechanics in One Piece Odyssey: combat areas. Each battle is split into different areas that you can see in the top left of the map. You are stuck in any specific area until you've cleared out enemies, at which point you can jump into the next to help out other characters.

It's worth noting that, with the switch system that One Piece Odyssey has, your character isn't bound to a specific area, but rather your spot is. The difference is that you can swap any character into any spot, but you cannot move one spot from an area until you've killed every foe in that one.

It doesn't sound very clear (and a big reason why I wrote this article), but it's actually surprisingly easy and smooth to manoeuvre, alongside adding a 3D-like system to the turn-based RPG gameplay! Each battle sequence has your team spread throughout the battlefield in different areas, but you'll freely be able to change which characters go where. Managing this properly means swapping the characters strategically so that they aren't paired with someone that is strong against them. This leads us to the rock-paper-scissors mechanic.

Each Straw Hat Crew character has an assigned "attack" type (think Monster Hunter Stories) that is stronger than another in a rock-paper-scissors system — technique beats power, power beats speed, speed beats technique. This system further amplifies the complexity of the battles (in a fun way!), as you'll need to ensure that the correct characters are in a position to receive blows from incoming attacks. If you leave Luffy (a power-based fighter) in the same area as a technique opponent, Luffy will take extra damage once the enemy takes their turn.

Once a character has fought in a specific spot on the battlefield, that character is bound there until the end of the turn; a turn ends when each of your four controllable characters has made their move. Once that has occurred, all characters can change spots again, and the second turn begins, allowing you to bring in benched characters.

Changing characters is very fun and forgiving as you'll be able to change freely without any penalty; I thought I'd be penalised after switching three times recklessly, but thankfully, the game just allows you to do so as many times as you need. This means that although you can only have four characters on the battlefield at any given time, you can swap in the other five whenever needed, allowing you to change with the battle accordingly.

You have two attack options to choose from: normal and special attack. Each normal attack you do stacks up TP for that character, which is your mana for casting a special attack. This TP carries on from one battle to the next, meaning that you can use lesser foes to build it up for the next big fight.