You'll begin Partitio's chapter as the man himself... during his days as a wee lad. An aspiring merchant, this Partitio is promptly sent off by his father to try and scrounge up some silver. Head down into the fledgling settlement of Oresrush to discover that Partitio has a Path Action to test out.
Purchase
Partitio's daytime Path Action is Purchase. Using this he can buy items off of certain NPCs during the day. Simple as that. There are several NPCs with items that you can purchase right off:
- The Merchant near the wagon has an Herb of Healing. The woman a little ways south of the wagon has an Energizing Pomegranate and a Handkerchief.
- The two fellows near the campfire have a Healing Grape, an Inspiriting Plum, two Stones, and a Tree Nut.
- The two men in the north, by the tends, have a Light Coin Pouch, an Old Cloth, and a Stone.
- The Merchant in the north has the Dubious Silver Nugget you need to progress the story, as well as a Stone.
Partitio starts out with 1,000 leaves, which is more than enough to buy whatever you like. You'll earn a modest return on the Light Coin Purse later, but the rest of the junk items aren't worth buying. Report back to Papp once you have the Dubious Silver Nugget and you'll endure a time jump...
... to Partitio's teenaged years. The town has grown up substantially by this point. Partitio will haggle away silver for Earnings, at which point you can explore the town. There's plenty to see before you report in with Papp again.
Oresrush
- There's an inn, a saddlery, and an item shop where Partitio starts out. A woman in the inn will sell you Wheat Bread and a Raspberry if asked. You can use the item shop to sell any items you picked up earlier, including the Lump of Silver that is now in Partitio's inventory. It sells for a mighty 2,000 leaves, if you're willing to ignore sentiment.
- Just south of the item shop is a Peddler who will sell you a Shortbow and a Stimulating Earring. South of the saddlery is a Laborer who will sell you a Fire Soulstone and a Thunder Soulstone. South of the inn is a Carpenter who will sell you a Healing Grape and a Cloth Hood.
- A Supervisor to the west of the inn has an Inspiriting Plum, a Worker's Jacket, and a Wooden Shield for sale.
- In the northeast of Oresrush is a weapons shop, a tavern, and the chapter's first save point. If you sell the Lump of Silver you can afford to outfit Partitio with some better equipment. Just keep the Peddler near the item shop in mind if you want a Short Bow, as his is cheaper. The Laborer in the tavern has a Light Coin Pouch and a Tree Nut for sale.
- A Townsperson on the path up to Partitio's home, in the southeast of Oresrush, has an Energizing Pomegranate, an Olive of Life, and a Rare Stone for sale. You'll lose money on the Rare Stone, so don't bother grabbing it.
In the northwest of Oresrush is the path to the town's foundry. You can head that way to have a look, but there's nothing to do there yet. Head up to Partitio's house once you're done looking around and, after a quick word with his father, Partitio will hear of a gang stirring up trouble. He agrees to help, and day turns to night. This brings out Partitio's second Path Action.
Hire
During the night Partitio can Hire NPCs to follow him around. These characters each have unique skills and can be Summoned by Partitio to join him in combat. You can only have one character with you at a time. Summoned NPCs will only remain in battle for a limited time, and can be Summoned a finite number of times before they leave the party. You can Hire the same characters again and again, though you'll need to trek back to their original place in the world.
There are five characters you can Hire right now, two in front of the item shop / inn, one on the roof of the inn, and two inside the tavern. Any of them will do. If you spent all your money earlier you can save up for a helper by fighting in the next area. Once you've got a helping hand, take the southeastern path out of town to the next stop, the Silver Mine.
Silver Mine
Enemies
- Laughing Hyena - Weak to Bow, Fire - Drops Healing Grape
- Thug I - Weak to Polearm, Bow - Drops Healing Grape
- Wild Mole I - Weak to Polearm, Dagger, Bow - Drops Inspiriting Plum
- Wild Mole II - Weak to Polearm
The entrance to the Silver Mine consists of a series of slopes, along with a save point. Partitio will not proceed any further without Hiring help, though if you're short on cash you can run around on the lowest level, killing monsters. Gaining a few levels never hurt anyone. Partitio starts off pretty weak, so purchasing a few Healing Grapes before heading too far into Silver Mine is wise.
The chest on the second level of the mine contains a Healing Grape. Keep climbing past here and you'll find a bunch of townsfolk who are prepping to take on the gang. Said gang will show up moments later and attack, and you'll need to fight off a pair of Thug Is. Partitio's spear and bow will do just fine. Giff, the leader of the gang, will swear revenge and retreat.
After another lengthy time skip Oresrush will endure a terrible financial beating, and Partitio's father will fall ill. Better get him some meds. Check the office of Partitio's home for a chest containing a Light Coin Pouch, then head into town. There are some new things to see and do.
- There are now fewer people living in Oresrush, and they have new items to purchase - most of them at inflated prices that make them not worth the bother. The three folks out front of the southern stores have an Old Cloth, a Healing Grape, and a Handkerchief. They also have silver items that aren't for sale.
- If you climb up onto the roof of the inn - look for stairs near the rear of the building - you can enter the item shop and get behind the counter. A chest back here contains a Light Nut. A guy across the stairs to the inn's roof has a Stone to sell.
- If you head up to the foundry you'll find more people with things to sell. Collectively the three people in this area have a Bottle of Sleeping Dust, Fool's Leaf, a Stone, a Sharp Stone, a Fumbling Flower, a Healing Grape, and an Inspiriting Plum.
Your last stop is the tavern. The Tavern Assistant inside will sell you an Empowering Earring, if you want, and the Apothecary will sell you Papp's Medicine. If you don't have the 100 leaves for the medicine you'll need to go kill monsters at the Silver Mine for a bit.
Head back to Partitio's house. On the way he'll run into his buddies, who are doing poorly... as well as Giff, who works for the current owner of the silver mines. Things do not go well. Return to Partitio's home and you can drop the medicine on his father's side table to trigger the next cut scene, which steels Partitio's resolve to do something about the whole sorry situation.
Next stop: Giff's place. You can now Hire Partitio's band of friends at the tavern for a low fee to help out. Joe and Harry are likely your best choices, since they can use Dagger and Axe attacks which Partitio cannot. There are also a few decent candidates elsewhere in Oresrush, as well as several that are waaaay outside your price range at the moment. Prep your team, then head to the Abandoned Silver Mine, where the old Silver Mine used to be.
Abandoned Silver Mine
Enemies
- Eggling - Weak to Polearm, Fire
- Laughing Hyena - Weak to Bow, Fire - Drops Healing Grape
- Thug I - Weak to Polearm, Bow - Drops Healing Grape
- Wild Mole I - Weak to Polearm, Dagger, Bow - Drops Inspiriting Plum
- Wild Mole II - Weak to Polearm
This place has seen better days. Save, pop open the nearby chest for 500 leaves, then ascend to the top of the ramps. This spot looks a bit different than the last time you visited. Go up the ladder on your left to open a chest containing a Light Soulstone, then head east across the train tracks. You'll find a mining tunnel on the other side. Go down the ramp at the end of the tracks to find a chest containing an Inspiriting Plum, then enter the tunnel. On the other side you'll find your destination, Giff's Manse.
At this point you should have enough JP to purchase one of Partitio's Skills. If you're still considering your options, you should go for either Ember or Hired Help. Ember will grant you a method for exploiting Fire weaknesses, while Hired Hand allows you to summon a variety of different types of NPCs for single attacks in exchange for money. Both are great choices. (Sidestep is a fantastic Skill in Octopath Traveler in general, but you don't need it yet.)
Giff's Manse
Enemies
- Eggling - Weak to Polearm, Fire
- Guard Dog - Weak to Sword, Polearm
- Ice Sentinel - Weak to Polearm, Axe, Fire
- Thug II - Weak to Dagger, Axe, Bow, Fire
Of course Giff has a portrait of himself in the entry hall. Of course. Take a right from the entrance and you'll find a room with a chest containing a Healing Grape. The door on the left will take you to an opulent courtyard, complete with fountain. Check the double door in the northeast of the courtyard for a chest containing Small Silver Ore, then head west of the doors and south to find a chest containing a Bronze Shield. The Small Silver Ore sells for 1,200 leaves, and you can use it to buy better gear if you find you're struggling on what's to come.
Head up the stairs on the east side of the courtyard. The second room to the west on the upper floor has a chest containing a Leather Helm, while the room at the far west end of the upper floor contains a save point and a Peddler. If you have any experience with Octopath Traveler you know that this is the sign of an incoming boss. Purchase a few Healing Graples, at a minimum, then head up the stairs to the north.
Giff
Shields: 4 (Giff) / 1 (Giff's Lackey I) / 2 (Giff's Lackey II)
Weaknesses:
- Giff - Polearm, Dagger
- Giff's Lackey I - Bow, Fire
- Giff's Lackey II - Polearm, Dagger
- Giff laughs, wasting a turn
- A normal melee attack
- Hit the Mark, a higher-damaging melee attack
- Hasty Throw, a melee attack that hits multiple times
- Burn to Ash, which hits for Fire damage
- Take out the Trash, which buffs one of his minions' speed
- Special Bonus, which buffs one of his minions' attack power
- Bluster, which lowers Partitio's attack power
The first part of this battle is pretty straightforward. While he still has two minions Giff will spend most of his time either laughing or using buffs on his buddies, occasionally striking out at Partitio himself. Defeat one of them and Giff will attack more often. Defeat both of them and Break Giff to begin the second phase of the battle, where Giff will start charging up and using Hit the Mark to inflict high damage if you don't Break him first.
This battle isn't too complicated, though it can prove a little overwhelming if Partitio is at level 5 or below. Pick off the minions one-at-a-time, then just go after Giff. Heal as needed. Hold back Partitio's BP so he can unleash a multi-hitting move on Giff to stop him from using Hasty Throw. If you learned Hired Hand you can summon in a Mercenary to both hit the enemy team and raise Partitio's defenses, and since almost everything Giff's team throws at you is physical this makes the fight much easier. Once you unlock Latent Powers you can use Hoot and Holler to Break Giff with tons of multi-hitting attacks and swiftly end the fight.
Giff will show his yellow belly once the battle is over, and he'll reveal the true mastermind behind the town's woes. Things nevertheless end well for Oresrush, despite how close everyone came to ruin, and Partitio will depart to make the world a better place, one deal at a time. Chapter complete!