The Kingdom of Euchronia is full of many dangers, and as a candidate for the Throne, you’re going to need all the allies you can find. There are 14 Followers to find and rank up in Metaphor: ReFantazio and while some of them are simple to unlock, some will require you to go out of your way. Heimsay is the fourth party member you’ll recruit, so keep reading to learn how to rank up his Bond and what abilities and Archetypes he unlocks.

Table of Contents¶

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Unlocking the Heismay Follower Bond¶

It’ll be quite some time between recruiting Hulkenberg before you get access to Heismay, it’s not until you begin your assault on Kriegante Castle in Martira, on 7/4, that he will join you and you’ll have to wait until after you clear that operation before you can start working on his Bond. Once Heismay does join, you’ll unlock the Thief Archetype, that will allow you to steal from your enemies.

Following this opening rank, the other seven ranks for Heismay are all optional, although the next rank will require you to have Eloquence Rank 2. Unlike Strohl’s Bond, there are no Quests to complete as you rank him up but there are two with Royal Virtue requirements and two events that take place on the Gauntlet Runner.

Heismay Rank up Events and Abilities¶

There is a total of eight Rank Up events for Heismay and as mentioned above, beyond the first rank, all of them are optional. The table below will detail how to get each Rank for Heismay and the ability it unlocks.

Heismay’s the first of the party members that has a bit more to their Bond Rank Ups than the others. A majority of his events happen at night, there are two that take place on the Gauntlet Runner while traveling and you’ll also have to make sure your Royal Virtues are up to snuff. You’ll need Eloquence at Rank 2 just for the second Rank Up event, and then by the time you reach Rank 7, you’re going to need Imagination Rank 4, which is quite the commitment so although you can finish this earlier, unless you’ve been pumping Imagination, you may find a bit of a block here.

Rank 1 Ability - Thief Archetype¶

Considering how you meet Heismay in the story, and his former occupation as a Shadow Knight, it comes as no surprise that Heismay’s Archetype Tree is that of the Thief. This gives you access to the Steal skill, which you’ll always want equipped even when you change him to other Archetypes as it will always be useful. Aside from this, you’ll also get access to useful skills that let you pilfer MP from your foes.

Rank 2 Abilities - Thief Enlightenment and Preternatural Hearing¶

As with all of the other Enlightenment abilities found in the other Bonds, this will make it so that the MAG cost to study any Thief Tree Archetype is reduced. It’s not by much, but it all adds up as MAG is a precious resource used for unlocking Archetypes or skills to be inherited.

Preternatural Hearing is Heismay’s exclusive ability and is a useful one, as it will show on the mini-map what is considered a “Strong” enemy, usually several levels higher than any other in a given dungeon. While exploring, look for a red marker, this indicates it’s a Strong Enemy and one you should be prepared for before launching into battle.

Rank 3 Ability - Thief Archetype: Adept¶

The second Archetype in the Thief Tree, the Assassin, is a powerful Archetype that adds many Dark-based skills to the Thief’s repertoire. Lurking Nightblade will decrease an enemy’s Hit/Evasion while dealing damage which is handy, but both Assassinate and Illusive Dream are powerful skills that have the chance to one-hit kill a target. Although this won’t work against bosses, it can be very handy in other difficult battles.

Rank 4 Ability - Scion’s Skill¶

This is the first of the Scion series of skills that will increase how many skills you can inherit on the Thief Archetypes to two skills. It may not seem a lot, but being able to carry over any skill from any Archetype in the game is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly and as Thieves have a singular focus, they benefit greatly from carrying over skills from other Archetypes.

Rank 5 Abilities - Thief Veneration and Battle Aura¶

This is the upgrade to Thief Enlightenment and as such, significantly decreases the MAG cost to study any Thief Archetype. With this ability, the base Archetype now costs very little to unlock while the higher-tier Archetypes won’t incur such a heavy cost (still expect just under 20,000 MAG for the Elite Archetypes however).

Once you have recruited the next party member, you’ll now have more than the maximum party of four and as such, you’ll have to leave some in reserve (although you can swap them in at the cost of half a turn) where they will get less EXP than the normal rate. This makes Battle Aura very useful, then, as it will increase the rate at which Heismay will gain EXP in the reserves, so try to keep Heismay in your main party until you get at least this ability.

Rank 6 Abilities - Scion’s Merit and Battle Hypnosis¶

Scion’s Merit is the second Scion ability that increases how many skills you can inherit on the Thief Archetypes to three. Heismay can benefit from many useful skills in his role as a Thief, such as some from the Warrior Tree, making this ability very useful.

Battle Hypnosis is the upgrade to Battle Aura from the previous rank where Heismay will now gain EXP at the same rate as the main battle party, even if he’s in your reserves. This makes it much easier to prevent characters from becoming underleveled, especially when you have a large party to deal with.

Rank 7 Ability - Thief Archetype: Elite¶

The Elite form of the Thief is the Ninja, an adept agile fighter that has access to some very important skills. While Hazy Moon Nightblade and Adamant Nightblade are powerful melee attacks, it’s the final skill, Third Eye, that should draw your attention. With this equipped, any attack toward the target will have half the hit-rate, making it one of the best defensive passives in the game. You’ll also get access to a very useful Synthesis Ability, Bloodrain Twin Nimpo which not only deals severe physical Slash damage, but will also remove their status, Repels, and strength buffs!

Rank 8 Abilities - Scion’s Essence, Assassinate, and Grand Fantasy¶

Scion’s Essence is the final Scion skill, this will bring your number of inheritable skills on Thief Archetypes to four, very handy. Assassinate is another Heismay exclusive and not to be confused with the skill from the Assassin, instead, when you ambush an enemy on the field, this will increase the damage that Heismay deals if he performs the opening volley. This alone is a good reason to have Heismay in your starting battle party in labyrinths.

Grand Fantasy will remain a mystery to you until the events on 9/23, where you’ll then gain access to the Royal Archetypes, for which Heismay’s will be the Royal Thief. Alongside Hulkenberg, Heismay’s Royal Archetype is the toughest to unlock, requiring you to max Ninja, and hit Rank 15 on both the Dragoon (which requires ranks in Magic Knight and Seeker to unlock) and Tycoon (which requires ranks in Commander) Archetypes. This is a fantastic Archetype that gives you a better Steal (Plunder), a one-hit kill skill that hits all enemies and at max rank, a Passive that will make an enemy lose all of their turns if an attack is dodged, something that will happen a lot with a Royal Thief in your party.

There you have it; all of Heismay’s Bonds and Abilities in Metaphor: ReFantazio. The Thief Archetype is a powerful one which will make melee combat much easier to deal with, especially as you dig deep into the later tiers of the Archetype.