Octopath Traveler 2: Inventor Job Guide

The eight base jobs from the original Octopath Traveler all returned for the sequel, Octopath Traveler 2. However, a few advanced jobs were added to the franchise, including the unusual Inventor job.

While the basics of the Inventor job are the same (you still get the same number of job skills and support skills), the way you acquire and use these skills is completely different from any other job in Octopath Traveler 2. Inventor skills are somewhat random in what they can do, but they can be incredibly useful if you understand when and where to use them.

How to Get the Inventor Job

Of the four secret jobs in Octopath Traveler 2, the Inventor job is the easiest one to find. In fact, if you start the game as Throné, it’s possible to get the Inventor job before you discover any of the normal job guilds or encounter any of the other party members.

The Inventor’s house is in the Eastern New Delsta Highroad region of the Brightlands. To reach it, start from the entrance to New Delsta. Turn north at the crossroad, go east after passing the dock, then go south down the ramp and cross the wooden causeway. The house is on the other side.

Once inside, you can speak to the man in the top hat, Arkar, to gain access to the Inventor job. Arkar is only too happy to have a new apprentice, so you can give the job to any party member you want the moment you finish the conversation.

How to Gain Every Inventor Skill

Arkar’s house is full of glass displays, but only two of them have an invention inside when you first meet him. These inventions are the Changeable Catapult and the Springy Boots, which are the Inventor skills you get for free. You can’t get the rest by spending Job Points: instead, you need to invent them.

Luckily, every display has a list of the items you’ll need to build each new invention. Some of the items are easy enough to find throughout the game, but most inventions feature an item or two that you can only find in specific locations. Finishing the Inventor skill list is also part of the Side Story “A Genius Inventor,” but you’ll need to check the displays to see which items you need.

Many of the unique items are only reachable once you complete several story chapters. So while you can get the Inventor job early, you won’t be able to complete it until you’re near the game’s end.

Your reward for completing the five inventions and the Side Story “A Genius Inventor” is 10,000 leaves, the Mechanical Top Hat item, and the Divine Inventor skill: All-Purpose Tool.

By contrast, Inventor support skills use the same mechanics as other jobs: you can access them as soon as you unlock four, five, six, and seven of the Inventor job skills. The only difference is that, since Inventor skills don’t cost Job Points, every character can use Inventor support skills even if only one character has been an Inventor.

How to Use Inventor Skills

Unlike with other jobs, Inventor skills never cost any SP. Instead, you can only use an Inventor skill once during each combat before you have to spend turns on crafting the skill. Once you’ve spent the number of turns required, you can reuse the skill. However, all skills are useable at the start of every battle, no matter how many crafting turns they have left.

Changeable Catapult

This skill is very useful to your protagonist because it gives them a way to deal any type of weapon damage to every enemy at once. The biggest downside of the skill is that you don’t get extra hits when you Boost.

Springy Boots

This skill can make it easier for a low-speed character to go first and Break the enemy before they can take a turn. However, the Springy Boots only puts your target at the head of the normal turn order: enemies who recover after Breaking and allies who Defend still go first.

Critical Scope

Critical damage in Octopath Traveler 2 doesn’t compare to hitting weaknesses or stacking Boost levels, but it does stack with these other damage effects.

Elemental Bomb Bottle

This skill complements the Changeable Catapult by giving the Inventor a way to deal with every kind of elemental damage. It only works if you know at least one of the target’s elemental weaknesses, and it doesn’t deal much damage, but each level of Boost adds an extra hit.

Tin Horn

If you’ve been spending your Latent Power in the dungeon and want a full charge for the boss, remember that you can use the Tin Horn for free once per battle.

Hastening Hammer

A word of warning: the Hastening Hammer only reduces the crafting turns of the invention you most recently worked on. If you haven’t spent at least one turn working on an invention, the Hastening Hammer’s bonus will have no effect. Boosting with the Hastening Hammer will add extra damage, but it won’t hit extra times or reduce the crafting time by extra turns. Still, even with these issues, the Hastening Hammer is worth using for the sheer amount of damage it can deal.

Arkar’s Coil

If you use an ability that lets you target all allies with an effect, such as Agnea’s Latent Power (All Together Now), Arkar’s Coil can completely undo the effects of a difficult boss fight.

All-Purpose Tool

Like other Divine skills, you can only use this one at max Boost. Once activated, the All-Purpose Tool will reduce all crafting times by one turn every turn, no matter what actions your Inventor takes. However, this only works on currently inactive inventions. If you use an invention after activating the All-Purpose Tool, you’ll have to craft it manually to reuse it, or else use the All-Purpose Tool again.