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Torment: Tides of Numenera is the direct evolution of these tabletop games that started the genre, so one would expect it to follow in their footsteps with teams consisting of warriors, spellcasters, and healers. While it’s possible to build one’s party that way in Torment, the complexity of the game’s story means that isn’t necessarily the best course of action. Here’s what every player needs to know about composing the best party.
Party Member Basics
Torment: Tides of Numenera includes six recruitable party members, but only three of them can accompany the Last Castoff at any one time. All party members can be found in Sagus Cliffs, the game’s first hub, and during the main story, the player will find a Bronze Sphere which can be used to dismiss and summon companions, making it easier to change party composition, a system unlike most other tabletop RPGs and the games they inspired.
Players interested in composing the best party should know that party members don’t continue to gain experience when they aren’t in the group. Letting a character fall behind and then trying to incorporate them into the group later typically doesn’t go well, which can be hard for beginners to get used to.
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All companions fall into one of the game’s three classes, with one exception: Rhin. Aligern and Callistege are Nanos, Tybir and Matkina are Jacks, and Erritis is a Glaive. Rhin has no class on account of her being a child. Knowing companions’ classes is useful for deciding what kind of party the player wants to form, since a party that doesn’t include one of the classes may lack certain crucial abilities. Thankfully, the player’s own choice of class can make up for this, and unlike some games in which party composition is a life-and-death decision, the player can get by with an imperfect group.
Party Composition
Two major factors determine the ideal party composition: the player’s own build and their level of interest in the story. If the player’s build is a spellcasting-focused, mind-reading Nano, including other spellcasters becomes less important. Similarly, if the player isn’t super invested in the story, it’s okay to pick party members who don’t open up as much story-wise. Given how important the story is to Torment: Tides of Numenera, however, players should think carefully before dismissing a character on that account. The game might not be one of the longest RPGs, but it is one of the deepest, and ignoring the story is a disservice to its artful world-building.
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In general, the player should bring one of the two Nano characters (either Callistege or Aligern), as they provide useful skills in and out of battle and have interesting stories that make them compelling for roleplaying purposes. Tybir’s sneakier combat style is useful, but he’s underwhelming overall compared to other choices. Rhin is one of the most fascinating and divisive characters in the game. Her usefulness in combat is basically nonexistent, but her storyline ranks amongst the best. Erritis is a good tank and solid all-around choice, and Matkina is useful in battle as well as being one of the most interesting characters in terms of story.
For players who want the best composition for fights, the combination of Erritis, Matkina, and either Aligern or Callistege is probably best. Players who want to learn more about the bizarre world of Torment and see some of the most interesting story arcs should add Rhin to their party, perhaps replacing Erritis if the player is a Glaive or Aligern/Callistege if the player is a Nano.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is available for PC, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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