"The trader and iconoclast, Brigitta... Within her dwells the virtue of the Merchant. Nurture thy bond with her, and a new power yet slumbering within thee may awaken..."
Merchant, known as Dealer in Japan, is an Archetype in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
History[]
"In times of yore, there lived heroes who eschewed the blade, but won their fortune through masterful negotiation. Their souls together form the power of the Merchant. Among them, the Elite who seeks to control the world of profits and losses, finding victory in superior deal-making, I dub the Tycoon. The Merchant Archetype attacks with money rather than mind or body, and bears the power to gain rewards beyond victory in battle. But viewed in another light, it is only as powerful as the war chest that funds it, and without coin, it has nothing. Let no Merchant forget this truth."
Profile[]
"The Origin Merchant Archetype. With skills that consume money rather than MP, the Merchant takes a unique approach to assisting the party via non-combat means, such as increasing item effectiveness and drop rates."
Merchant is the among the first of the Request-locked Archetypes to appear in the game alongside Brawler, awakening within the Follower bond the protagonist forged with Brigitta Lycaon after completing her Hunt request "A Bullish Embargo," though to be able to unlock this quest, the protagonist must have a Rank 2/Informed Wisdom. Progression with the Merchant lineage is maintained with the protagonist's bond with Brigitta, with said bond also allowing his party to access the Archetype for themselves as well.
The Merchant is a unique role, as it revolves around out-of-combat usage. Not only does its highly increased Luck better the chances of item drops, but it can also stack with Lucky Find, which artificially increases the same odds. It can also increase the effectiveness of consumables, especially early on, and as a reward for ranking up the Archetype to Master, it can steal MAG from enemies for use in Akademeia. It can also deal damage and Critical hits to conserve Turn Icons, but it strictly costs money rather than MP: the attack, however, can distract certain enemies and waste their Turn Icons; such enemies include the Imitecs encountered in various areas and the bandits in the Disgraced Ruins.
However, though it has offensive utility in combat, it is poor defensively, starting with having two weaknesses to Fire and Light and no positive resistances. Also, not only is money important to use in many other utilities outside of battle, such as making various potentially important purchases, but running out of money makes the Archetype ultimately defenseless, making it important to strike a proper balance so as to not overspend. As such, it is vitally important to use responsibly and consider switching out between that and other Archetypes from time to time. It can also be used as an emergency Archetype, generally one that doesn't use up MP by paying with reeve in its place.
Its Synthesis skills can remove nearly all beneficial effects from the enemies, and for the cost of 777 reeve deal guaranteed Critical hits at a low hit rate. The Archetype has most chemistry with a 2nd Merchant.
In supporting other allies' Synthesis skills, the Merchant is categorized as a rogue (alongside Thief and Faker,) which unlocks negation skills, such as Tetrabreak and All Reset, and a gambler (with Brawler and Summoner,) which involves skills relating to luck.
Once mastered, the Merchant grants a permanent +3 Luck to the character.
Stats[]
Rank 1[]
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Rank 20[]
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