I see a market and I want it painted black
One of the newest features in Octopath Traveler II is its day and night cycle. With the press of a button, you can instantly transition between the two times of day. From the moment you finish your protagonist’s initial chapter, this mechanic will become essential to completing quests and uncovering secrets. One notable example of this is the black market.
The black market is a set of secret shops located on the eastern continent. Here you can buy accessories, armor, and weapons that will be major upgrades compared to your starting gear. While not essential, this is a nice location to visit early to augment your party’s performance. Here’s where you need to go.
Here’s the Black Market location
The black market is in the New Delsta Flats. During the day, you’ll notice an NPC standing on an overlook that comments on a black market that opens at night. If you switch to nighttime here, you’ll notice this character will disappear while a torch becomes lit in the distance. Travel to the north side of the zone and you’ll see shop vendors here.
The Black Market items in Octopath Traveler 2
There are four different black markets that can appear in this spot. If you keep alternating between day and night, you’ll reroll which black market appears.
If you’re unlucky, you’ll spot a sole shopkeeper in this location. He’ll only sell a couple of items that are generally useless outside of a few niche cases. Try again if you see this guy.
A more common setup will feature these two merchants. They sell armor and accessories, so their goods are worth perusing. The same armor will be available in another configuration of the black market, so the accessories are the only truly unique goods to buy here.
Apparently nuns also use the black market to sell goods. You can interpret the implications of this however you want. They sell attack items such as Soulstones and bottles that inflict status ailments. Very normal.
If you see the black market bustling like this, you’ve hit the jackpot. Here you can buy armor, weapons, and great items for Castti’s Concoct talent. For how early in the game you can find these vendors, they sell very powerful weapons and armor. There are extra NPCs here that you can interact with via Path Actions, so definitely take advantage of whatever you can grab. Just don’t get in over your head trying to mug the characters, as they’re powerful enough to take you out quickly while you’re at lower levels.
Many of these items will run you a pretty penny, so evaluate what will benefit your team the most. If you want these goods right away, consider bring Partitio with a hired NPC that gives major shop discounts. That said, feel free to hold out for equipment you can get for free via Path Actions. It’s your money, spend it how you want!