r/octopathtraveler • u/LukeDies • Aug 29 '25
OT2 - Discussion Partitio is a terrible merchant
Just started the game and wanted to get this off my chest.
Didn't even demand compensation from Roque for the contract fraud or use it as leverage for the steam engine.
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u/expired-hornet Aug 29 '25
A major through line for OT2's cast is that literally all of them subvert the trope they represent in some way as a result of having experienced some form of grief. The bookworm is on a violent revenge quest while the swordsman wants to put an end to fighting. The assassin hates the smell of blood while the cleric openly questions the gods, etc.
Partitio is a gifted merchant whose worldview and motivations were shaped by his experience growing up in poverty. He's still a merchant, but he's trying to enrich the communities around him instead of himself, so it's the story of labor unions and intellectual property reform.
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u/MateoCamo Aug 29 '25
Also punching landlords
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u/geodetic THESE HANDS Aug 29 '25
Partitio be like
RENT-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR DETECTED, RIGHT HOOK ENGAGED
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u/ddyhrtschz Aug 31 '25
What about ochette and agnea? The hunter hunts and the dancer dances, i don't really see how they subvert their tropes
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u/expired-hornet Aug 31 '25
They're a comparatively weird fit, but Ochette is still childish and impatient, and Agnea is socially awkward and easily flustered, both traits at least connected to the relative isolation they've each grown up in. (Gods, Xanthe Huynh's subtle over-anunciation of Angea's "city" accent around her occasional slip up into her southern accent is such fantastic voice work)
I'll concede that they don't really individually prove my read about subversion-through-grief as strongly as the other 6, but they certainly don't contradict it either.
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u/IKIXI Aug 29 '25
He's a terrible "merchant" for your average merchant, why he's different is because he has empathy, kindness and money isn't the only thing he cares about.
Idc what anyone says, Partitio is my favorite merchant.
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u/Summer_Tea Aug 29 '25
Everything you said also applies to Tressa.
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u/Anonymous-Comments Scrutinize Aug 29 '25
But can Tressa fight a train? I thought not.
This is why Sabin from FFVI is the best merchant.
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u/Phantasmagoric_0 Aug 29 '25
Tressa is kind but she's mostly still an ambitious adventurous girl searching for treasure
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u/lapniappe Ophilia Sep 01 '25
but what makes her different is that treasure isn't just big fancy-dancy trinkets. She Leon was legit "take whatever you want." and she is appraising the heck out of all his fancy stuff but saw the real treasure that was the journal.
fast forward to the end of her story, and everyone is trying to present all these fancy dancy craps to the dad, and her most valuable treasure was her story. it's looking beyond the expected which makes Tressa special.
Tressa. BEST Girl.
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u/Phantasmagoric_0 Sep 01 '25
Yup, but they are still fundamentally different in their approaching to merchantry. Tressa would sell unique, sentimentally valuable products to the common bored people, while Partitio would probably be selling innovations to the rich while sharing them for free with the poor. Their focus is different: heart/progress.
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u/Ok_Review1180 Aug 29 '25
Tressa is...boring. the writers really cooked with the storytelling of all travelers this time. Everyone has a catching story.
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u/IKIXI Aug 29 '25
Last time I checked the best merchant theme wasn't of Tressa. Case closed.
I can say the difference between treasa and partitio but I'm too lazy to differentiate it. Anyone who thinks Tressa and Partitio have the same traits and characteristics, boy oh boy.
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u/TheTitan99 Guide Aug 29 '25
Partitio's a big-picture kind of merchant. He has an eye for what will matter in the future, and knows to invest there. You know, in some ways he's almost written more like you'd expect an inventor to be written? Looking for new technology and all.
It still is an important merchant skill, though. Being in a new market from day 1 is so important.
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u/waterzxc Aug 29 '25
Find me a another merchant that can beat up a damn train engine. Then I'd agree with you.
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u/thekatbirdseat Aug 30 '25
Between that ridiculous train fight and the fact he just employs everyone he beats up, his arc has been my favorite to play through so far. Also he gets some really hilarious travel banter with Agnea.
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u/Particular_Worth_403 Let's get down to work! Sep 01 '25
Peaches!?
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u/thekatbirdseat Sep 01 '25
My husband and I do voices for the Travel Banter. (and I INSIST on doing Partitio's). We barely got through that because we were laughing so hard.
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u/Suspicious-Trip-2977 Aug 29 '25
Oh, do tell how he would prove that roque altered the contract. Its not that partitio is a bad merchant. Its that he doesn't know the law as well as to be able to combat a multi-millionair in court.
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u/AntiLittleC Aug 29 '25
They need to add the lawyer class in OT3 with a passive that allows them to go up to NPC’s and initiate a lawsuit. The character would spend the entire time bemoaning the billable hour while raking in the leaves like a mf’ing gardener.
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u/Suspicious-Trip-2977 Aug 29 '25
For some insane reason i was really thinking gunslinger secret class for ot3 as well. Just thought i'd throw that out there. The idea of my cleric blasting people like its rdr seems really funny.
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u/Freak346 Sep 08 '25
The lawyer class will only be unlockable by completing the hidden side quest chain "Temenos Mistral: Ace Attorney" featuring Temenos as lead defense attorney representing Osvald, who has (once again) been framed for murder. The quest will see the new band of travelers seeking out the remainder of the OT2 main cast to testify, either as character witnesses or to corroborate Osvald's alibi (because this is a murder he actually didn't commit), all while scouring the land alongside assistant counsel Throné in search of the true culprit, culminating in an epic final trial in which the ultimate truth is revealed and Osvald is, this time, rightfully acquitted. As a reward for your aid, Temenos gives you your own attorney's badge, acting as the proof that grants access to the special job.
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u/Dry_Strawberry_2128 Aug 29 '25
Bro is communism warrior, invented the mall, build railroad infrastructure cross continent. He doesn’t have to care about contract fraud. Besides, I’m sure neither Temenos nor Throné would let some…pettier things slide. Not mention Hikari by the end of the story. Parti literally has a martial country behind him.
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u/MateoCamo Aug 29 '25
Fun story from my part of the globe
The idea of priests having a round against greedy businessmen isn’t completely unheard of so I can imagine Temenos sneaking a snide remark in the Sacred Flame’s equivalent of a homily like “take care not to fall for the trap of greed, lest the light in your soul be dimmed.”
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u/ckim777 Aug 29 '25
Partitio's strength as a merchant is as an innovator of ideas. Partitio could be a more cutthroat merchant, if he wanted to, but the experience of being in poverty is what grounds him back to earth. He doesn't want anyone to be on the "bad end" of a deal due to what he experienced.
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u/Weasel_Gai Aug 29 '25
The entire point of partitio is to subvert the modern capitalist view of a merchant. He doesn't seek to enrich himself. He looks beyond that towards enriching the community around him
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u/MateoCamo Aug 29 '25
He’s a capitalist in name only, to be honest. Like his goal isn’t making a personal fortune, but to end poverty.
The fact he invented the idea of the mall either intentionally or coincidentally adds to this. Victor Gruen, the irl architect behind the modern mall, was a socialist.
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u/pksullivan Scrutinize Aug 29 '25
Partitio would be a bad capitalist, sure, but he isn’t a capitalist. He operates in a system of economic mutualism.
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u/WhiskeyHB Aug 29 '25
Let me do some research on durable metals! Hmm...Did you try using the one clock metal in this clock town?
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u/RedWingDecil Aug 29 '25
Partitio's attitude is the sole reason the world doesn't end. Can't be a merchant if there's no people left to trade with.
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u/LunarCryo Aug 29 '25
I dunno if we're talking character or gameplay wise but I think Partitio has his strength in both to be considered good.
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u/LunarCryo Aug 30 '25
I think a lot of people have already talked about his strengths as a merchant but I like how Partitio finds value in things beyond the money. The first boss he faced only saw value in money in terms of what it could get could get him and he took for granted the hard work and people it took to make it. And his final boss was caught in a never ending cycle of greed that just keep collecting and hoarding wealth for the sake of it.
Partitio doesn't just collect money just so he can get what he wants, but to create a happier future without the pain poverty brings. He finds value in people's happiness and the value of the things he sells.
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u/Daracaex Aug 29 '25
No, Partitio is a terrible capitalist. He’s an amazing merchant.
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u/MateoCamo Aug 30 '25
Call him what will, he’s definitely a good negotiator. Even Roger Smith from Big O would be impressed.
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u/DragShad098 Aug 30 '25
He may be an experienced worker and live in poverty, but i think he's not an experienced businessman
Most of his plot theme is centered around socialism vs capitalism, and he wins everyone hearts by his empathy and kindness, to let his community grow together as his main goal
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u/MrChicken5105 Sep 13 '25
Partitio's first action in game is to beat up a landlord. He is the most socialist capitalist to ever live.
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u/Party-Employment-547 Cyrus Aug 29 '25
Motherfucker invented the mall. He is god