Should You Fight The Dragon In Metaphor: ReFantazio?

screenrant.com:

In the early hours of , players will encounter their first optional boss: a sleeping dragon within the Nord Mines. Optional bosses are pretty common in , ranging from wandering mini-bosses who can be defeated in a few turns, to hidden superbosses who lie in wait for players brave enough to challenge them. This one lies somewhere in between.

Resting near the end of the game's second dungeon, Fire Dragon Mauna sleeps peacefully atop a pile of treasure. Strohl and Grius both warn the protagonist against waking it up, but Gallica notices the glimmer of a distant chest, and suggests that engaging it might be a viable strategy — if the protagonist is ready for a difficult battle. So it all comes down to the player's willingness to fight it, with a little consideration for their sneaking skills.

If the player decides to sneak past the dragon, that's precisely what'll happen. They'll have to follow a slightly longer route around the room, circumnavigating the dragon's makeshift bed of treasure. However, it'll only take slightly longer to get through — unless they run directly at it, most players will find it hard to wake the dragon unintentionally, so it's still totally possible to rush to the exit and continue on to the next room.

Metaphor: ReFantazio, Atlus’ brand-new JRPG, has one key advantage over Persona 5 and the whole Persona series that makes it the JRPG of the year.

As a consequence of following this route, though, the player will have to avoid a small group of Homo Tenta enemies. If they're ever spotted, they'll have to start from the beginning of the room. This is entirely possible, but can be a bit annoying. Ultimately, though, the only thing the player misses out on by not fighting the dragon is the treasure and EXP it provides (see below for a full list thereof). There's no impact on their relationships with their companions in , their completion of the dungeon, or their final story outcome.

If the player does decide to fight the sleeping dragon in, all