Like every massive RPG, Brave default 2 features a game within the game. It’s called Bind & Divide, or B&D (yes, yes, like the game). It’s a convincing card game you do not want to miss, but you can easily apply the credits without ever playing a round.
B&D is more or less Brave default by way of Gwent. You and a computer-controlled opponent each have six cards. You place it alternately on a five-to-five grid, with the goal of taking up as much territory as possible. Each captured square corresponds to one point. Each map – based on enemies, characters and working classes from the ‘real’ game – has a different layout. An orc will, for example, occupy three spaces in a horizontal line, while a sahagin will occupy two vertically. A character card can change the rules of the game by making it, for example, so that each card with a monster theme can occupy an extra square, regardless of the team. Meanwhile, the worksheets have bonus features. An early one, the Gambler, will randomly swap squares with one of your opponent’s occupied squares.
However, it is not enough to wipe out your own territory. You must also remove the area of your opponent from the board. Most cards contain one primary square plus at least one secondary square. The secondary squares can take up territory, but if you place them on top of an enemy’s occupied space, they will both be removed from the board. (The square can then be occupied again by one of the players.)
This is a good strategy, but you have a better chance of winning if you convert your enemy’s territory to your team. Squeezing an opponent’s square – horizontally, vertically or diagonally – will change it to your side. A well-placed map can convert a significant amount of area and thus change the scoreboard.
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Just like Gwent players virtually rent seats at every tavern in The Witcher 3, B&D players can be found everywhere Brave default 2. If you win a round, you earn points. You will then be able to use the points to buy cards from the hand of a defeated opponent. The good, food, food more, so every victory has a crossroads. Do you spend your points there and then? Or do you bank them in the hope of a card that can be changed to your next victory?
You can put together three decks. As far as I know, you can only adjust your decks in the pre-match menu that appears before each match, but you can see any open cards by loading the Lore menu and selecting “Card Binder”.
Okay, I’m sold. Where do I start?
Where else? In Savalon’s gambling house!
B&D is hidden as a side quest, so you will be forgiven for walking right on it. (In general, Brave default 2The quests can be skipped, as they usually range from dull to insignificantly inconsiderate.) At one of the map tables at the fountain, you see a side quest presented by an NPC named Shirley. Talk to her to earn a basic deck and start a series of tutorials.
I first encountered Shirley in Chapter 4, about 40 hours into the game, but you can apparently start the search line after unlocking the Beastmaster track in Chapter 1. After some basic battles you can tackle in the gambling hall, you have to take action against Shirley. Compared to the others you perform with, she’s a glove. Here are some tips:
- Try to group your squares together so that they cannot be surrounded. Sticking to the corners can protect you.
- Your initial deck starts with the Gambler card, which swaps your placement with one from Shirley. Do not bother to use this one as you can not control the result.
- Stack your deck with humanoid and spirit cards. She plays a card that reinforces that class card, regardless of the team, so you’ll get a serious boost if you have a bunch in your suit.
- I learned this through trial and error, but the game against Shirley starts more often than the first step. You will be in a better position when you are on the defense, as you will make the last move and therefore will not be caught off guard by a game-changing move at the last minute. If you struggle, you have to keep starting again until you start a round in defense.
- If you really struggling, consider wandering around the world a bit, tackling B&D opponents, earning their cards, and building your decks. For example, there is one outside the inn in Savalon. Another one hangs out in Rimedahl, also near the inn. You can identify players by searching for NPCs with small map icons hovering over their heads.
Beating Shirley in B&D will actually cause a boss fight Brave default fight. Since I was so overcrowded at the time, I took her and her buddies out in two turns, but I got the feeling that it was not that hard to fight. (She’s working with the boss behind the Bard star – who you already defeated at that point – plus two low-level soldiers. Use your Monk’s Pressure Point move!)
Do I get anything for it?
You bet. After defeating Shirley both in B&D and in battle, you get an asterisk for the Gambler job. Without a doubt the gambler Brave default 2‘s most unpredictable work. One move allows you to spin two wheels – one with a number, one with an element – and deal an attack based on the result. Another one spins a wheel with the numbers one to ten. Come on ten, and everyone in your party might earn three BP … or maybe your enemies should earn three BP. Oops!
What’s more, instead of MP or BP, many of the Gambler movements use your currency in the game. As a result, it’s better suited as a middle or late job, once you get rich Rockefeller.
It’s a decent price – one of your primary goals in everything Brave default 2 is to collect every asterisk – but it pales in comparison to the opportunity to play a great game in an already pretty awesome game. Two for one? Talk about an easy bet.