• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Etrian Odyssey Community Thread: The Ongoing Adventures of Fight and Heal

tuffy

Member
I'm beginning to suspect EO V might be meant for Nintendo's next portable after all. It would explain the lack of a target platform when it was announced. And since a portable itself hasn't been announced, it would explain why there hasn't been anything to show from the game.

If EO V were just a new game on the 3DS engine, it'd be weird for it to take this long without seeing something about it.
 
As long as it doesn't get the BoF6 treatment.

They haven't said anything about EO3 remake either right? Wonder if they're just going to wait to do an EO3 remake with EO5 engine or just never doing a remake for it or whatever.
 

Zweizer

Banned
They haven't said anything about EO3 remake either right? Wonder if they're just going to wait to do an EO3 remake with EO5 engine or just never doing a remake for it or whatever.

Well, everything about EO3U has been speculation so far, but I'd say the former is more likely than the latter, not to mention that EO3 holds up pretty well compared to the 3DS installments.
 

omlet

Member
Landsknecht so mediocre in EO games that aren't EOIV... I'd replace that now before you get too far lol. Take a ronin or alchemist. If you're running a DH you may want to consider a hexer, too, probably instead of the troubadour (troubadours are good but hexers compliment dark hunters as they can assist in getting enemies bound/ailing more quickly than if the DH was doing all the work).

Then again if you're not playing expert a landshark is probably fine. And yes, first couple floors are always the roughest since you have no good gear or skills. Gotta teach you to respect the wildlife up front.
 

spiritfox

Member
Lots of respect for deers. I can't even eat venison now.

Your party's alright, though I agree that Landsknechts are kinda weak most of the time. Since you have so much support you can afford to get a better damage dealer like Alchemist or Ronin.
 

Rizzi

Member
What level are you? Are you using the Flash and Stun bombs the NPCs gave you? It's basically a DPS race to kill Fenrir before the mobs tear you a new one, since Fenrir can be easily shut down.

14-16.
I bought 10 more of each, but I keep running out. Pretty ready to just say fuck it and uninstall the game at this point.
 

spiritfox

Member
14-16.
I bought 10 more of each, but I keep running out. Pretty ready to just say fuck it and uninstall the game at this point.

You shouldn't have to use so many...

What's your strategy? With Protector/Medic/Troub you shouldn't be dying much, so I guess you're having trouble killing it fast enough? DH's Viper is great for damage, and Fenrir is weak to Fire, which your Ronin should have. You can also kill the mobs separately before the fight to get some pressure off, and try to get everyone at least lvl 15.

At worse, just switch to Picnic. No shame doing it in easy if you're struggling.

I really should get back to my EOU playthrough.
 

Rizzi

Member
You shouldn't have to use so many...

What's your strategy? With Protector/Medic/Troub you shouldn't be dying much, so I guess you're having trouble killing it fast enough? DH's Viper is great for damage, and Fenrir is weak to Fire, which your Ronin should have. You can also kill the mobs separately before the fight to get some pressure off, and try to get everyone at least lvl 15.

At worse, just switch to Picnic. No shame doing it in easy if you're struggling.

I don't have Viper, and I can't kill the mobs because they just sit behind Fenrir.
 

omlet

Member
Yeah, IIRC you cannot kill the adds before engaging him because the boss will move to block you if you try to go around him. You will need to dedicate someone to using flash bombs as often as possible (probably your troubadour). I think the stun bombs are for stopping the boss' charged attack? In which case let your medic or protector throw those on any turn needed. You have a party with only 2 damage dealers and that fight is a damage race so it will be a close match if your party is not over level.

What level is your party?

If you have been going with binds (whip) for your Dark Hunter focus on getting head or arm bind to at least 5 for this fight, just for the damage boost more than for needing binds. Your Ronin does have a fire attack it can get, but it's an AOE so its per-target damage multiplier is not the best. If you're a point or two away from getting it, it's worth getting in the long run, but if you have not spent enough points in the prereqs yet, focus on strengthening an attack you already have.

Your Grimoire stone options will be very limited at this time but something to keep in mind is that most weapon mastery passives actually stack in EOU so if you have spare Katana Mastery or Whip Mastery stones sitting around, consider setting those, if you're not using a more useful skill already. Also, a bit of long-term advice for your Ronin... Ronin's STR stat is amazing so due to the fact that you need to burn a turn to activate a stance I highly recommend you give them some kind of grimoire stone with a monster attack on it because there will be times where you can't afford to waste that first turn on a stance activation.
 

Rizzi

Member
I thought I was on Standard. I am actually playing on Expert. >.>
But I beat him in the end. So.. Yay.
I should probably rest some of my party members and figure out wtf I am actually doing with their talents.
 

Anteo

Member
Wait, I'm late to the thread, what party do you have? I remember I had a pretty bad party for EOU and still made it through Fenrir. iirc I didnt have a healer nor a tank, basically I just spamed my Ronin fire AoE and tried to keep everyone at max HP. It was super hard cause my front row was super weak to everything and the Ronin had to move between rows to use Breath (heal skill that targets allies on the same line) in emergency turns to keep the back row alive.

Edit: Grats! Also, expert is no joke, they throw the balance out by just buffing the enemies attack and defense instead of balancing their stats.
 

Rizzi

Member
Wait, I'm late to the thread, what party do you have? I remember I had a pretty bad party for EOU and still made it through Fenrir. iirc I didnt have a healer nor a tank, basically I just spamed my Ronin fire AoE and tried to keep everyone at max HP. It was super hard cause my front row was super weak to everything and the Ronin had to move between rows to use Breath (heal skill that targets allies on the same line) in emergency turns to survive

Ronin, Protector, Dark Hunter, Medic and Troubadour.
 

Anteo

Member
Ronin, Protector, Dark Hunter, Medic and Troubadour.

I see, you are definitely lacking some damage output. I guess with a medic, you can focus on your Troubador offensive buffs instead of heals. My party was Landsknecht, Ronin, Dark Hunter/ Troubador, Survivalist. So basically, I had to rely on items/charms to survive but I could end fights faster than normal.
 

omlet

Member
I thought I was on Standard. I am actually playing on Expert. >.>
But I beat him in the end. So.. Yay.
I should probably rest some of my party members and figure out wtf I am actually doing with their talents.
Good job! Stay on expert :D

As for resting, well, you could, but I would say just wait. I don't have my 3DS on hand at the moment so I can't check my builds but here is some advice for your skill builds based on your party.

Protector - Focus on Front Guard, but don't max it to lv10 until you can afford the TP. Front Guard will be your most used skill. Next, work towards the skill I forgot the name of that you unlock at rank 10 of Shield Mastery, HP boost, and defense up. Parry is also a decent skill to get. Also be sure to get each elemental wall skill to 5 (I think it's 5, or maybe 7?) to be able to nullify attacks of that element to your whole party. This is not critical early in the game but is pretty essential for a low DPS party later in the game.

Dark Hunter - Wipes or Swords. Pick ONE. I much prefer the Whip builds but sword ailment build is solid especially with a Hexer. Ecstasy deals absurd damage so if you go whips then work towards that. Prioritize learning binds Head -> Arm -> Leg. Dark Hunter's TP is not endless so again you may want to hold off going to rank 10 on those skills until later in the game when you can afford the higher TP cost. If you go with whips, you also definitely want Viper. Bait is also a fantastic skill for a 3-man front row party that IIRC works with either weapon choice (I think it requires some points in sword, but it's not exclusive to swords). There is a boss you will fight later that will literally suicide against you if you are using Bait :3

Ronin - Long term you want 1 point in all 3 elemental attacks, just to have the elemental options. Since your party has no other elemental damage dealers, you may want more than 1 point in those attacks. Swallow Strike is monstrous damage at max rank so it is a good skill to work towards. The insta-kill attack is too expensive (TP) and unreliable to use frequently. Highly advised that you get the arm binding attack if you go whip build with your DH. Ronin's binding chance is lower than DH, but you can use that skill to try to get multiple binds on a target quickly (while DH applies Head and Leg bind first). I forget if Ronin has physical chasers in EOU1 or if that's only in EOU2 but in any case for your party build avoid them. In the final dungeon you will probably want monster attack grimoire that hits a whole row for your Ronin to use, and depending on how you tackle the final super boss you may need to max the lightning stab attack. (As much as I like ronins, I ultimately didn't use mine to take down that boss on Expert.)

Medic - Focus on single heal, row heal, delayed heal, status/ailment cure. Depending on what you do with your DH and T, you may want to invest a few points in the M's ailment options. The poison is pretty useful early in the game.

Troubadour - You have a medic so your Troubadour needs to focus on being a 3rd "damage dealer" by way of buffing your two front line attackers. Get attack buff maxed for them for sure, then look into elemental buffing options. Don't worry about the elemental defense songs since you have a protector. For grimoire stones, it would be good to have ailment/bind cure in case your medic is busy or indisposed.

Edit: Grats! Also, expert is no joke, they throw the balance out by just buffing the enemies attack and defense instead of balancing their stats.
To be honest, I found that both Untold games are actually perfectly balanced on Expert (for a decent party, at least; a 'bad' party is gonna have a bad time). You need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at bosses to win the first time, and sometimes you only win with half--or less--of your party alive, but that's what makes it so fun. Almost every boss fight in EOU and EOU2 on Expert was a nail biter for me even as series vet. Frankly I find it amazing how well the boss fights play on Expert.
 

Anteo

Member
To be honest, I found that both Untold games are actually perfectly balanced on Expert (for a decent party, at least; a 'bad' party is gonna have a bad time). You need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at bosses to win the first time, and sometimes you only win with half--or less--of your party alive, but that's what makes it so fun. Almost every boss fight in EOU and EOU2 on Expert was a nail biter for me even as series vet. Frankly I find it amazing how well the boss fights play on Expert.

There is a difference between changing the stats of monsters for the new dificulty curve and just adding a % of damage deal and recieved for everything. That's what I mean.

Also speaking of bad parties, my party in EOU2 is getting worse and worse. It was a fun party for the first 3 stratums, but the DPS feels so low right now...
 

omlet

Member
There is a difference between changing the stats of monsters for the new dificulty curve and just adding a % of damage deal and recieved for everything. That's what I mean.
After playing through on Expert and then trying standard/picnic for alternate game mode NG+ I still think these games feel like they are designed on Expert mode then nerfed into standard/picnic modes, rather than, say, designed on standard and adjusted up for expert. Standard really is easy mode and picnic is "I don't actually want to play the game" mode.

I've always played on Standard (I think?) because I am a scrub. How much harder is Expert? I might try it out when EOV eventually comes out.
You do less damage and take more damage. It's what EO1-3 play like by default (EO4 maybe as well, but I think EO4 on Normal is more merciful than the first 3 games, or Untolds on Expert). Skill selection becomes a lot more important, parties that are poorly planned or gimmicky will not survive (or at least not without a whole lot more effort).

I forget the exact number adjustments, but I think on Normal you deal something like 1/3 more damage and receive 2/3 less damage than you do on Expert. Basically it's just enough extra damage to make a mistake in a fight go from being painful to being deadly (unless you're significantly overleveled or overgeared).
 

Weebos

Banned
You do less damage and take more damage. It's what EO1-3 play like by default (EO4 maybe as well, but I think EO4 on Normal is more merciful than the first 3 games, or Untolds on Expert). Skill selection becomes a lot more important, parties that are poorly planned or gimmicky will not survive (or at least not without a whole lot more effort).

I forget the exact number adjustments, but I think on Normal you deal something like 1/3 more damage and receive 2/3 less damage than you do on Expert. Basically it's just enough extra damage to make a mistake in a fight go from being painful to being deadly (unless you're significantly overleveled or overgeared).

Sounds fun, I played EO3, but I had to grind that dumb penguin a lot. I'll have to give it a try in EO5 or if I ever get around to replaying EO4.
 

tuffy

Member
Sounds fun, I played EO3, but I had to grind that dumb penguin a lot. I'll have to give it a try in EO5 or if I ever get around to replaying EO4.
But EO IV doesn't have a hard difficulty selector, and we're not sure about EO V (whenever it comes out).
 

omlet

Member
Sounds fun, I played EO3, but I had to grind that dumb penguin a lot. I'll have to give it a try in EO5 or if I ever get around to replaying EO4.
EO4 only has Easy and Normal, no Expert mode. Normal mode on EO4 is the "hard" mode which is challenging but it's still not quite as hard as EO1-3 or EOU1-2 on Expert.

Oh my, Expert is harder than I remember. Lost my entire front row in one turn~

How's Bravery's Gift? Should I go that or Parry?

Ah, that's the name, Bravery's Gift... that's the one you get at rank 10 of Shield Mastery, right? The skill that buffs their HP and makes them take all hits for the party. I'd put that one in must-have territory for late game. Just be sure you move to back row when you use it to reduce damage.

Parry is not bad but it's fickle. At max rank I think you are guaranteed 1 parry? So for single-hit skills it is great, but not for multi-hit skills or multi-enemy encounters it's not as good as something more reliable like front guard or bravery's gift.
 
Top Bottom