Catchup mechanics?

[Jetter]

Been playing this with a friend, and it seems like both a very long and very snowball-y game. Are there any decent ways to come back from behind?

[Xuande]

Assuming Story Mode, there's a lot of them.

Darkling is the obvious one, being able to gain exp equal to the difference between yours and the player you kill (minus any gained from putting monsters on towns), among various other benefits.

Shop robbery, particularly Item Shops but also the others in a pinch, is a significant part of economy for non-Alchemy builds and a source of death-preventing Deathblock/Revival.

Red Loot Spaces are often worth the risk.

There's a lot of hidden spaces in side maps that give significant equipment upgrades for the price of a Magic Key, buyable from Chapter 3 and findable from Chapter 1's Spring Cave.

The Casino is in the player's favor, so if you've got the ability to get to high stakes, its likely to produce either a big economic boost or even a high-end equipment.

As the game goes on, monsters capable of breaking equipment from their frequently used job skill show up more often.

There's a lot more than these, but I'd need to know your specific circumstances.

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Now if you're playing a long form Normal Mode, there's serious balance issues there, and a lot is going to depending on your starting settings.

[Rainy Skies]

In addition to the above post, the following options are also good.

If all you're concerned about is gold value, then alchemist can catch you up quickly by just hanging around the castle, using alchemize and then striking (or if you're a magic build, using your best spell) whatever enemy you are fighting to earn hundreds of thousands to millions of gold. Once you're doing that, find a magic medicine to duplicate and then start selling your excess. Then if you're comfortable with the gold you've earned, invest that gold into a castle if you have one and then take the gems made to the king to give yourself some permanent value. Personally I think the last step is too much hassle and instead just start grinding gold while everyone else finishes the game.

Then there's things like the Conjure All which will put monsters on every town and then you can use spinners or good rolls to land on them to take the towns for yourself.

If you make it to the end game, there's a shop that sells white arrows and charm potions which will also help with capturing towns if you have a good way to follow up on that.