Hey guys! Let's dive deep into the world of Bravely Default and explore a somewhat controversial, yet highly effective strategy: the "Stillness Cheese." If you're new to the game or struggling with some of the tougher bosses, this might just be the game-changer you need. But what exactly is this "Stillness Cheese," and how do you pull it off? Let's break it down.

Understanding Stillness

First, we need to understand the core ability at the heart of this strategy: Stillness. Stillness is a Monk ability that, when activated, renders the character completely invulnerable to all damage and status effects for one turn. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, there's a catch. While in Stillness, the character also cannot act, meaning they can't attack, use items, or cast spells. They're essentially frozen in time for that one turn. Mastering the strategic use of Stillness is what elevates it from a simple defensive move to a full-blown "cheese" strategy.

The Monk class learns Stillness relatively early in its progression, making it accessible for most of the game. To unlock it, you'll need to level up the Monk job. I highly recommend focusing on this early on, as it opens up a plethora of tactical options. Once you have Stillness, the real fun begins. This ability isn't just about avoiding damage; it's about manipulating the battle's flow to your advantage. Think of it as a tactical reset button, allowing you to bypass devastating attacks or set up elaborate combos.

However, don't just spam Stillness every turn. That's a surefire way to prolong battles unnecessarily and drain your resources. The key is to anticipate enemy attacks and use Stillness preemptively. Observe the enemy's patterns: are they charging up for a powerful attack? Are they about to unleash a status ailment that could cripple your party? These are prime opportunities to use Stillness. Effective use requires foresight and an understanding of enemy behavior.

Beyond simple damage mitigation, Stillness can also be used to manipulate turn order. Since the character using Stillness effectively skips their turn, it can allow other party members to act sooner in the following round. This can be crucial for setting up buffs, applying debuffs, or unleashing powerful attacks before the enemy has a chance to react. The tactical possibilities are vast and varied.

Finally, remember that Stillness isn't a perfect solution to every problem. Some enemies have abilities that can penetrate Stillness, such as certain instant-death attacks or abilities that inflict unavoidable status ailments. Always read the enemy's descriptions carefully and adjust your strategy accordingly. With practice and careful planning, Stillness can become an invaluable tool in your Bravely Default arsenal.

What is the Stillness Cheese?

Okay, so now that we know what Stillness is, let's talk about the "cheese." The Stillness Cheese strategy revolves around using multiple characters equipped with Stillness to essentially stall out battles, allowing for specific conditions to be met. Usually, this involves slowly whittling down the enemy's health with status effects or other indirect forms of damage while avoiding any direct confrontation. It's a bit like playing a game of attrition, where patience and strategic timing are your greatest weapons.

The core idea is to have at least two, but preferably three or even four, characters who can use Stillness. This allows you to rotate the ability, ensuring that at least one character is always invulnerable during each turn. While the enemy is wasting their attacks on characters in Stillness, your remaining party members can focus on dealing damage through methods that are difficult or impossible to counter.

Status ailments are your best friends in this strategy. Poison, for example, deals a percentage of the enemy's health each turn, making it a highly effective way to slowly chip away at their HP while your Stillness users keep the party safe. Other useful status effects include sleep, paralysis, and blind, which can further disrupt the enemy's actions and give you more breathing room.

Another common tactic involves using indirect damage abilities, such as the Spiritmaster's Spirit Ward, which reflects a portion of the damage dealt to the caster back to the attacker. When combined with Stillness, this can create a situation where the enemy is constantly damaging themselves while your party remains safe and sound.

However, the Stillness Cheese isn't without its weaknesses. Some enemies are immune to status ailments, and others have abilities that can bypass Stillness altogether. Additionally, battles can become quite lengthy and tedious, requiring a significant amount of patience and focus. But for certain challenging encounters, the Stillness Cheese can be a lifesaver, providing a reliable and consistent way to emerge victorious.

Setting Up Your Party for Stillness Cheese

So, how do you actually set up your party to effectively use the Stillness Cheese strategy? It's all about job selection, ability customization, and strategic planning. Let's go through the key elements.

Job Selection:

• Monk: This is the cornerstone of the strategy, as it's the job that grants access to Stillness. Ideally, you'll want at least two characters with the Monk job, but three or even four can be even more effective. Focus on leveling up the Monk job to unlock Stillness as quickly as possible.
• Spiritmaster: The Spiritmaster job is incredibly useful for its support abilities, particularly Spirit Ward, which reflects damage back to the attacker. This can be a great way to deal indirect damage while your Stillness users keep the party safe.
• Performer: The Performer job provides access to various buffing and debuffing abilities, which can further enhance your party's survivability and damage output. My favorite is My Hero. Great to boost attack and defense of the designated Stillness user.
• Other Jobs: Depending on the specific encounter, you may want to consider other jobs that offer useful support or damage-dealing abilities. For example, the Time Mage can provide Haste to speed up your party's actions, while the Ninja can inflict status ailments like poison or paralysis.

Ability Customization:

• Stillness: Obviously, this is a must-have ability for all of your Monk characters. Make sure to equip it in one of your ability slots.
• HP/MP Recovery: Since you'll be stalling out battles for extended periods, it's important to have ways to recover HP and MP. Consider equipping abilities like Natural Talent (which restores HP each turn) or Invigorate (which restores MP each turn).
• Status Effect Infliction: Abilities that inflict status ailments like poison, sleep, or paralysis can be incredibly useful for slowly whittling down the enemy's health and disrupting their actions.
• Defensive Abilities: Any abilities that boost your party's defense or evasion can further enhance their survivability. Consider equipping abilities like Ironclad or Evasion.

Equipment:

• High Defense Armor: Prioritize equipment that offers high defense to minimize the damage taken when Stillness isn't active.
• Status Ailment Resistance: If possible, equip accessories that provide resistance to status ailments like poison or paralysis. This can prevent your party from being crippled by enemy attacks.
• MP Recovery Items: Carry a supply of Ethers or other MP recovery items to keep your party's MP topped up throughout the battle.

Strategy:

• Prioritize Stillness: Make sure that at least one character is always using Stillness each turn to protect the party from damage.
• Inflict Status Ailments: Use status ailments like poison or paralysis to slowly whittle down the enemy's health and disrupt their actions.
• Maintain Buffs and Debuffs: Use buffs to boost your party's stats and debuffs to weaken the enemy's stats. This can significantly improve your chances of success.
• Be Patient: The Stillness Cheese strategy can be slow and tedious, so be prepared to exercise patience and focus. Don't get discouraged if it takes a while to defeat the enemy.

Example Scenario: The Ba'al Buster

Let's look at a specific example of how the Stillness Cheese can be used to defeat a challenging enemy: the Ba'als. These optional superbosses are notoriously difficult, with high stats and powerful attacks. However, with the Stillness Cheese, they can be taken down with relative ease.

Party Setup:

• Character 1: Monk/Spiritmaster (Stillness, Spirit Ward, HP/MP Recovery)
• Character 2: Monk/Performer (Stillness, My Hero, HP/MP Recovery)
• Character 3: Monk/Time Mage (Stillness, Haste, HP/MP Recovery)
• Character 4: Ninja/Whatever (Poison, Sleep, Evasion)

Strategy:

1. Start by using Haste on all party members to speed up their actions.
2. Have the Spiritmaster use Spirit Ward on themselves to reflect damage back to the Ba'al.
3. Have the Performer use My Hero on the designated Stillness User to boost defense and attack.
4. Have the Ninja inflict poison and sleep on the Ba'al.
5. Rotate Stillness among the three Monk characters to keep the party safe from damage.
6. Continue to inflict status ailments and maintain buffs and debuffs as needed.
7. Eventually, the Ba'al will succumb to the poison damage and reflected attacks, leading to your victory.

Is It Ethical?

Now, let's address the elephant in the room: Is the Stillness Cheese ethical? Some players argue that it's an exploit, a way of circumventing the intended difficulty of the game. Others see it as a legitimate strategy, a clever way of using the game's mechanics to overcome challenging obstacles. Honestly, there's no right or wrong answer. It all comes down to personal preference. If you enjoy using the Stillness Cheese, go for it. If you prefer a more traditional approach, that's perfectly fine too. The most important thing is that you're having fun and enjoying the game in your own way.

Final Thoughts

The Stillness Cheese strategy in Bravely Default is a powerful tool that can help you overcome some of the game's most challenging encounters. While it may not be the most glamorous or exciting way to play, it's undeniably effective. So, if you're struggling with a particular boss or just looking for a different way to experience the game, give the Stillness Cheese a try. You might be surprised at how well it works. And hey, even if you don't end up using it all the time, it's always good to have another trick up your sleeve. Happy adventuring, guys!