One of the best ways to acquire rare items in Bravely Default 2 is by taking the boat out on special voyages. The player unlocks the boat a few hours into the game, but it will only work under certain circumstances, and there is a way to increase the quality of the items it finds.
The first two games in the Bravely Default series used the Nintendo 3DS Streetpass functionality as part of a minigame, where the player built a village. The player had a village, but they had a finite amount of villagers, and it took a while before they could build structures that were useful to the player. The player gradually earned more villagers for free, but they could earn more by passing people who also had the game and trading data through Streetpass.
Bravely Default 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch, which means that it no longer has Streetpass functionality. The developers have replaced the village building mechanic with one that involves a boat. The player won't have access to this boat until they defeat the first boss encounter. Once they return to Halcyonia, the player must do a sidequest involving an old lady. This will give them access to the boat.
Voyage Of The Stat Boosters
Every major town in Bravely Default 2 has a dock with an old lady who operates the boat. Whenever the player puts their Switch into sleep mode, the boat will start exploring. The boat has the chance to find rare items, which the player can claim by returning to a dock. The longer the boat is out, the more chances the player has to find items. The boat can only stay out for twelve hours of real-time, after which it will stop finding items. Clearing out the item list will reset the twelve-hour counter. If the Switch is connected to the Internet, then the game will connect to other people playing the mode online. It's advised that the player have the console connected to the Internet while exploring with the boat, as connecting with other players gives them a higher chance of finding rare items.
The boat can find rare items that increase the player's stats. These include valuable JP Orbs that can be used to level up the character classes. This is extremely useful when unlocking new asterisks, as the player can acquire all of its early abilities straight away. There are also items that grant free experience points, which cuts down the amount of grind that the player needs to do before boss battles.
Bravely Default 2 will be released for Nintendo Switch on February 26, 2021.