Who to Recruit / Unlock First?

Need some advice on what character to recruit and unlock first or next in Relink? Don't worry - your Crewmate Card will never really go to waste!

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So, you need help with who to unlock next in Granblue Fantasy: Relink? There's no answer that's correct for everyone, but if you're here - I'll give you my 2 cents.

First off: Unlock your "main" or whoever you wanna try!

Yeah, this answer is a little unexciting but honestly true. Since you'll easily be able to unlock them all anyway: unlocking whoever you "like" first, or wanna try out is really the only reasonable answer here!

Aye, I hear you. You probably came here for some ideas, right? I'll do my best to help you out!

Wanna try before you buy? You can trial a character before unlocking by:

  • Turning off autosave, then save the game before recruiting.
  • Recruit the character you wanna try, and go to the "tutorial" zone.
  • Load the game and try another if you don't like them.

Weird that they don't have a default "trying" system. Anyway, I'll list down my ideas for recruits below.

After that, who else should I unlock?

Well, that depends on your goals - IMO after you have whoever you want to try, you should recruit a 3 or 4 member AI Support Team.

Here's the "flowchart" on what to think of when recruiting.

  • Other character you want to try as your "main".
  • Characters you can build as an AI Support Team!
    • Mahiko San Tip: Cagliostro is an amazing AI teammate!
  • Characters you can build in the near future with a unique purpose.
    • Mahiko San Tip: Vane is insanely useful for open play!
  • Unlock everyone else (Try to wait until you reach Maniac Difficulty).

Not enough? Okay - here's some SPECIFIC ideas!

Cagliostro

Hands down Cagliostro is the best AI Support Unit, "when it counts". What do I mean? Cagliostro can actually help you clear difficult missions solo, or in 2/3 man parties. How?

She has a revive spell - that's all I need to say... it alone can prevent potential wipes. She also has a Healing spell, a "+ATK +DEF +CRIT" party buff, and a DEF- spell. Needless to say, these are all amazing and useful.

So yeah, while there are many AI units that can make your runs faster or buff you - Cagliostro is the ultimate AI support unit to boost "success chance".

Vane

Aside from being a general badass, Vane has a very special and unique skill - PARTYWIDE INVULNERABILITY. Yes you read that right.

Either in open play or with friends, you can always have the option to bring Vane along to drastically increase your teams success chance by "Invulling" the Bloodthirsty phases. You don't even have to build support, just simply existing helps them out. Your teams DPS also indirectly improves - they can just keep DPSing during these otherwise "throwaway" phases!

He's even a decent AI tank. Slot in Provoke Sigils, some defense, and call it a day!

3rd Suggestion? Hmm...

Well, it's really difficult to come up with a recommendation that I feel can apply to many players. I'll try to think of something, or provide some kind of "playstyle summary" or something to help you choose. I mean, sometimes it's just simply "Oh, this characters seems cool". Meh. Typically speaking, the desire to try other characters is far greater than the upgrade resources to meaningfully play them (early on).

So, if that's the case, why not wait?

Who else? Should I "wait"?

Again, aside from these two, or characters you wanna "Try" or "Main", you have nothing to gain (and actively LOSE VALUE) by unlocking characters early and often. Why?

  • Characters unlocked early are low level. You get a ton of free mastery points by waiting until Maniac to unlock, where they come at the max possible recruit level.
  • If you're willing to wait a LONGER time... Unlocking characters prematurely before using them dilutes the drop chances of Terminus Weapons for characters you're actually using.

How many characters can you realistically use anyway? The only upside to unlocking them early is that they slowly gain EXP in the sidelines, but that's pretty minor. HOLDING OFF from recruiting all is a good idea, at the very least until Maniac.

Useful default Characters

Since you're probably building some kind of team, or looking to branch out, here's a few notes on characters with a niche use that you DON'T have to recruit! Namely Io, Eugen, and Rackam. They're part of the base unlocked roster!

Io

Io is amazing as an AI support. Why? She provdies Healing, ATK-, DEF-, while ACTUALLY DOING HUGE DAMAGE. There's really not much else you can ask for! Oh wait - she can Paralyze, or "suction" enemies too!

Eugen

Long range DPS / Support unit that's literally a blend of Io and Rackam. Another part of the useful as AI group.

Rackam

Rackam is the go-to "ranged autoplay autoassist" "main" character for AFK farming. You'll never be sad to own an upgraded Rackam. Even if you're not using him as a the active character, he makes a decent generic "ranged DPS" party member. While not particularly great at being AI, Rackam is an amazing AFK farmer!

Gran / Djeeta

The captain is "theoretically" a great choice for AI. Buffs, Debuffs, a Healing spell - a super flexible unit. The problem? You'll rarely have the "space". Let's say you use your "Main", then you Cagliostro, and Io are your main supports. Then you have to choose between Eugen and the Captain. Eugen is ranged - so he has a slight edge in terms of AI battle.

Maybe I'll experiment a bit more - the captain has all the makings to be a godly flexible support unit... I'll try them out a bit more. I feel like they could be super useful once you get godly sigils but Eugen's Paralysis and utility is gonna be hard to beat.

Summary, Related Info

Excited to unlock them all ey? Yeahp, I remember the feeling! Well, I hope I gave you some inspiration regarding which characters to unlock first in Relink! Also, if you're wondering how to get Crewmate Cards, check that out. Hopefully, you find the character that's right for you!