How to Increase Eloquence in Metaphors: ReFantazio

Eloquence is one of the five Royal Virtues in Metaphor: ReFantazio. It is also the most difficult to obtain (compared to Courage, Wisdom, Tolerance, and Imagination), because the options for doing so are relatively limited. But not impossible!

In this Metaphor: ReFantazio guide, we will show you how to increase eloquenceand explain what you get for your effort.

Of course, you unlock the ability to check your royal virtues by simply playing the game. During the prologue, you go into the mines with Grius and Strohl and meet your favorite author, More.

From here you can check your royal virtues as you do your thing in the overworld. As long as you’re not in a dungeon or cutscene, you can click the button at the bottom of the screen to see your crown evolve into the role of ruler.

There are two things to keep in mind: You don’t need to check this unless you’re trying to figure out how to best spend your time on a given day. We recommend checking your followers list to see if anyone has a black handshake icon next to them. When you click on this, you usually say something along the lines of, “I don’t think (NAME) will speak to me with this level of eloquence.” That’s usually your cue to consult the proverbial books.

You can also talk to them in the overworld and see the virtue icon with a number next to it. This tells you the unlock condition needed to proceed.

Secondly, don’t worry, there is no such thing as being at eloquent — once the maximum is reached, any Eloquence bonus is automatically converted into MAG for later spending.

Below we describe the ways you can improve your eloquence.

Your first chance to level up your eloquence comes when you leave Grand Trad on your fancy new Gauntlet Runner. If you look into the lounge you will see a bookcase in the back right corner.

As the game progresses and you add books to your selection, new books will appear on the shelves. As it happens, Pride and conviction is one of the first books you automatically collect and is ready as soon as you hit the road.

When moving between towns and dungeons, you can usually complete one action, such as talking to a party member and building their friendship, cooking, cleaning, or reading a book.

Each book requires two or three sessions to read your way through, with completion of the book granting you a massive and free increase in your virtue stats.

The fastest way to increase your eloquence is unlocked shortly after the king’s battle begins. Go to the King’s Rock and look for the raised platform where you would normally see an announcer like Batlin in a video.

During the Brilehaven portion of the game, your fellow candidates for the throne will occasionally jump on this and start preaching to the masses. These are fantastic opportunities for four reasons:

If you see someone on the stage, save the game and then jump on the stage to punch the opponent.

You are asked to choose an answer to what the opponent says. Unlike the Persona games that really test your knowledge of everything from kanji to mathematical theories, the answer here is pretty clear. Read back the conversation log if necessary, but just choose the answer that best suits your character.

For example, if someone says, “Only the strong should live in my society,” you say, “I believe everyone should be treated equally.”

If done correctly, Gallica will praise you for sweeping the floor with your opponent. However, if she collapses and tells you you messed up, just load the game and try again! Your reward is a huge stat boost, a few thousand euros and the pride that comes with defeating your enemies.

It’s also worth noting that if there’s no one to debate against, you can still stand on stage and speak to your adoring masses; you just won’t get the imagination or cash bonus that comes with an extended debate.

Reading books isn’t the only way to increase your eEoquence while riding the Gauntlet Runner. After leaving Brilehaven, you’ll unlock a new party member who is particularly eloquent.

When you stop the Gauntlet Runner for the night, you have the opportunity to spend time with them on deck, increasing your eloquence.

Since this is one of the few recurring ways to increase your eloquence outside of city debates, you should prioritize it over the other virtues when traveling.

If you’re in the endgame and haven’t yet maxed out your eloquence, we highly recommend seeing a show. From the end of September, five propaganda plays will be performed for the Sanctist Church at Altabury’s Opera House. Each will yield a certain attribute for the princely sum of 1500 reeve.

In this case you want to look The boy and his stewards – a story of a smart boy who sets out to exterminate some monsters. By listening to the boy’s skillful negotiations, you can improve your eloquence by seven points.

Isn’t being a great person enough of an advantage? No? Fine. By maxing out your five royal virtues, you become “the heroic embodiment of lost heroes, (with mention of you) scion of a forgotten Hero King.”

More specifically, it unlocks the ability to unlock the Heroic Embodiment for your other party members.

The other two unlock conditions are, of course, getting the party member to friendship rank 8, and then the daunting task of unlocking and leveling up the appropriate archetypes for each character. My goodness, that costs a lot of MAG…

Coincidentally, your party members reaching Rank 8 also depends on your ability to raise your Royal Virtues to the utmost, with each requiring its own level. The last companion to join your party requires Rank 5 Eloquence to become a Rank 8 Follower.

That’s everything you need to know about Eloquence in Metaphor: ReFantazio! For more information on unlocking all followers, archetypes and endings, check out our guides.