Best Skills to Learn from Challenges

Hikari can learn different skills using his Challenge Patch Action on NPCs in Octopath Traveler 2. Read on to check our list of all the best skills Hikari can learn from NPCs, and learn how to increase your skill's damage and win challenges effortlessly.

Best Skills to Learn From Challenge

All Best Challenge Skills

Skill	Details	Explanation
Right Hook	SP Cost: 60 Effect: Unleash a powerful physical attack on a single foe, and reduce their Shield Points by 2 regardless of their weakpoints. Location: ・Safe Keeper in New Delsta: Game Parlor, Brightlands	・Effective against enemies with numerous shield points ・A strong skill that shreds 2 shield points of an enemy, regardless of their weaknesses. ・High SP Cost but can be halved by the SP Saver support skill. ・Cast Dancer's Divine Skill Sealticge's Seduction so that the skill will hit all enemies.
Level Slash	Type: SP Cost: 25 Effect: Unleash a powerful sword attack on all foes. Location: ・Theater Doorman in New Delsta, Brightlands	・A powerful sword skill that is effective against several enemies.
Upheaval	Type: SP Cost: 25 Effect: Unleash a powerful axe attack on all foes. Location: ・Former U Carpenter, Inside the Tavern in Canalbrine, Harborlands	・A powerful axe skill that hits all enemies. ・Hikari mainly uses swords and polearms, so having another weapon type will widen your arsenal for discovering enemy weaknesses. ・Helpful when farming several enemies for EXP.
Hornet's Nest	Type: SP Cost: 45 Effect: Unleash a bow, dagger, and polearm attack on a single foe. Location: ・Tutor in New Delsta, Brightlands	・Covers 3 weapon types when using this skill, helping expose weaknesses easily. ・Cast Dancer's Divine Skill Sealticge's Seduction to extend its reach to all enemies.
Twin Serpents	Type: SP Cost:19 Effect: Unleash a polearm attack on all foes 2 times. Location: ・Beastling guarding the food storage in the Beastling Village, Toto'haha	・Polearm attack that hits all enemies twice while only using 19 SP.
Frenzied Fire	Type: SP Cost:30 Effect: Unleash a bow attack on all foes 4 to 8 times. Location: ・Elderly Soldier in Timberain Castle, Leaflands	・Multi-hit bow skill that targets all enemies. ・Moderate SP Cost but can be halved by the SP Saver Support skill.
Divine Protection	SP Cost: 100 Effect: Grant a single ally 1 turn of invincibility Location: ・Cleric inside the church in Canalbrine, Harborlands	・Effective against bosses with lethal attacks. ・Can be used with Dancer's Divine Skill, Sealticge's Seduction to affect all allies. ・Requires a lot of SP but can be manageable using Conjurer's SP Saver. ・Boosting will increase the skill's effect for 2-4 turns.
Meditate	SP Cost: 1 Effect: Restore 10% of your SP. Location: ・Youth near the Eastern New Delsta Highroad Entrance in New Delsta, Brightlands	・Can increase the SP restoration from 20-40% depending on how much your boost. ・Only requires 1 SP to use.
Deep Analysis	SP Cost: 6 Effect: Reveal the HP and 2 weak points of a foe. Location: ・Scholar south of the library outside the Flamechurch Catherdral, Crestlands	・Able to reveal 2 weaknesses of an enemy with 6 SP only. ・Useful if you don't use Osvald in your team.
Merciless Blade	SP Cost: 80 Effect: Unleash a sword attack that deals 3,000 damage to a single foe. Location: ・Young Man in Tropu'hopu, Toto'haha	・It's possible to deal 9,999 amount of damage at max BP regardless of how much defensive stat your enemy has. ・Particularly effective against Caits or Octopuffs, since it will always deal a fixed amount of damage, killing them instantly.
Shield Thief	SP Cost: 80 Effect: Reduce the Shield Points of a single foe by 1 regardless of their weak points. Location: ・Thief in Winterbloom: Thieves' Quarter, Winterlands	・Very effective against bosses since it can reduce shield points regardless of their weakness up to 4 times. ・SP can be lowered to a manageable cost by equipping Conjurer's SP Saver.

Hikari can only learn up to 5 skills, so the skills you want to give him will depend on how your team is set up. Some of the best skills within the game cost a lot of SP, so it is important to equip the SP Saver support skill, which can get from the Conjurer secret job.

If you're going to go for Armsmaster, equip equipment and accessories that increases Hikari's SP.

List of All Learned Skills

How to Beat Challenges Easily

Use Bottled Nightmares Against NPCs

It's recommended that you use Bottle Nightmares if you're having trouble fighting against NPCs to get the skills. This will inflict poison, blindness, confusion, and sleep on the one you're challenging, allowing you to cheese through the fight.

However, getting Bottled Nightmares comes at a great cost as they're sold at the Black Market for around 3,000 per leaves. It's not really ideal to use these bottles on weaker NPCs at the early stages of the game, and you're better off leveling Hikari up.

Money Farming Guide: How to Get Money Fast

How to Increase Learned Skill Damage

Wear Equipment Related to the Skill's Weapon Type

You can increase the amount of damage a skill can do to an enemy by equipping the correct weapon type for that skill. If a skill uses the dagger to attack, then the amount of damage it will do is relative to your dagger's stat.

Since Hikari can learn different types of skills that require different weapon types, it's recommended that you give him the Armsmaster as his secondary job to improve his learned skills since it allows Hikari to wield all weapon types.

How to Unlock Armsmaster Secret Job and Class

What are Learned Skills?

Skills Obtained via Hikari's Challenge Path Action

Learned Skills are obtainable skills that Hikari can acquire by using his Path Action Challenge on NPCs during day time.

This means that Hikari is one of the most versatile characters of the party as he can learn different skills that are separate from the Warrior skillset and the job skills of a second job.

All Path Actions Explained

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Octopath Traveler 2 Tips and Tricks