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Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City |OT| -- Fight & Heal Sail the Open Seas!

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Farmers have an ability that shuts down all random encounters.

Just need to make sure they have enough levels and defense to run away from blindsided oh shit encounters.
 

Althane

Member
PataHikari said:
Get back to writing the EO1 novelization.


It exists? I would love it!

Actually, a novelization for EO1 would be best, since I never finished EO, and all I know of the story is vague spoilers.

This'll be the first EO I finish. This I swear! (Then I'll go back and finish EO2)

(I lost my EO1 cart. =( =( =( )
 

Althane

Member
Sailing has been profitable lately, although I really wish you could fight the pirates, rather than just get OMGWTFPWNED by them. =(

I've taken the bird down by 2 parties out of 3, and am saving the third for when I want to do it. Got enough cash to upgrade all of my equipment to the best possible, and am now ready to try floor 3 again (actually, I'm ready to start taking down some FOEs on floor 2. First one I fought... I was surprised it wasn't a party wipe. Now, 4 levels and equipment upgrades later, I'm ready to take down my first FOE)

Edit: First FOE... slaughtered. Second FOE... blindsided me (didn't know it counted as a blidside when they walked onto you). And took out my Gladiator in one turn.

Uh. Yeah.
 

larvi

Member
Got my copy in the mail from EBGames yesterday along with the art book. Haven't started yet, going to be out of town on a trip for a few days next week so will probably wait until then. In the meantime are there any good resources online with the classes and skills so I can plan my party?
 

BearChair

Member
I was hoping the Etrian Odyssey fans could tell me if I should buy this game. I loved RPGs since the 16-bit era. I did a neutral and chaos play through of SMT: Strange Journey and just put in about 90 hours at Final Fantasy Tactics A2. I'm just not sure if I want to get this, the new Layton, or DQIX. I beat DQV but never really got into it. I really enjoyed The World Ends with You, though. I don't have a lot of money and only get to buy a game every three or four months. I know that I could sink a lot of time into Etrian Odyssey, but I can't quite get into the mapping aspect of the game. I'm not sure if I would enjoy it. Watching the Quick Look on Giantbomb made it seem excessive. Any suggestions?
 

larvi

Member
I beat I and II without out doing any mapping and I assume III will be the same. So I wouldn't let that be the show stopper for you. I still have folders full of graph paper with hand drawn maps from old dos and apple RPGs so I've done my time. I don't miss that part of the old school RPGs
 
Got my Amazon preorder package today :D The artbook is amazingly well-put-together. I loved the comics in the back, too :lol

The game itself is already a lot more brutal than I remember the first two being. Only on the first floor and I'm running into monsters that can kill every member of my party in one hit! I probably need to tinker with my party some more, my farmer seems especially useless in battles so maybe I'll swap him out for someone who'll actually help me survive long enough to gain a few levels.
 
nincompoop said:
Got my Amazon preorder package today :D The artbook is amazingly well-put-together. I loved the comics in the back, too :lol

The game itself is already a lot more brutal than I remember the first two being. Only on the first floor and I'm running into monsters that can kill every member of my party in one hit! I probably need to tinker with my party some more, my farmer seems especially useless in battles so maybe I'll swap him out for someone who'll actually help me survive long enough to gain a few levels.

Ain't it all GLORIOUS?!? *throws up horns*

Headed to the 3rd floor. Wish me luck.
 

Yaweee

Member
Barbarian said:
The ocean map icons are even more confusing than the dungeon icons! I have attempted to create a key to the EO3 ocean map icons, but I could definitely use some help with some of them.

How could Atlus not include this information in the manual?!!

They mean whatever you want them to mean. It's your own map and nobody else will ever see it.
 

Barbarian

Member
Yaweee said:
They mean whatever you want them to mean. It's your own map and nobody else will ever see it.

Technically, I agree that this is true. The problem is, I am so obsessive-compulsive that I feel an overwhelming need to know that I am using the icons in the way that the developers intended!
 

lyre

Member
Barbarian said:
Technically, I agree that this is true. The problem is, I am so obsessive-compulsive that I feel an overwhelming need to know that I am using the icons in the way that the developers intended!
"The icons is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual symbols. Welcome aboard the Etrian series, Barbarian. "
 

NichM

Banned
Barbarian said:
Technically, I agree that this is true. The problem is, I am so obsessive-compulsive that I feel an overwhelming need to know that I am using the icons in the way that the developers intended!

Do not worry about it. If you can read your map, you're using them correctly.
 
Man, this thing sure seems to run the charge on my DS down pretty quickly. I know I've been playing it a lot but I haven't had one work the system this much since PoR.

B3F now. I beat one FOE back on B2F and now any time I fight that same FOE or another that is the same enemy type it kills me far faster. :lol

Sailing is still fun, but I seem to have hit a blockage on getting further until I can get my ship to be more durable (apparently, though I found the one port and the guy at the port said they would make my ship more durable... and nothing has happened yet) and/or find that cannon for taking care of pirates. I'm tired of it costing so much to go out sailing (Sauerkraut and move+1 essentially gives me 40 spaces to play with) and not returning with anything worthwhile.
 

sundrenched

Neo Member
Got past level 2, doing the fish festival quest now. What a huge pain in the ass! In my last 15 battles in b4f I met 1 (!!) devil fish! How unbelievable. Is there any place where I can grind around for devilfish?
 

Grampasso

Member
I'm wondering if I'm playing this in the right way. First steps into the first floor, after I leveled my party to lv2, I met this fucking tiger which 1-shotted a party member every turn. I barely survived with my arbalist.
When I encountered the tiger again I had leveled and equipped enough to deal with it without any problem, but I went through the first levels with the fear of meeting it again.
Ok, so I finally reach 2nd floor... and the first random encounter is a fucking bird who oneshots any party member? Are you kidding me? This is not funny at all. Party is lv 6 now with the best equip I can have. Will it be this way every single floor, with random encounters potentially wiping your party? It's not my first EO but this is the first one so punishing for no apparent reason unless I'm fucking everything up (which I don't think tbh)
 
The Great Lynx is just there to keep you on your toes.

Having problems with the Largebill is a sign that you're not paying enough attention to the NPCs. :p
 

Totakeke

Member
Grampasso said:
I'm wondering if I'm playing this in the right way. First steps into the first floor, after I leveled my party to lv2, I met this fucking tiger which 1-shotted a party member every turn. I barely survived with my arbalist.
When I encountered the tiger again I had leveled and equipped enough to deal with it without any problem, but I went through the first levels with the fear of meeting it again.
Ok, so I finally reach 2nd floor... and the first random encounter is a fucking bird who oneshots any party member? Are you kidding me? This is not funny at all. Party is lv 6 now with the best equip I can have. Will it be this way every single floor, with random encounters potentially wiping your party? It's not my first EO but this is the first one so punishing for no apparent reason unless I'm fucking everything up (which I don't think tbh)

That sounds more like the EO that I remember, maybe I should buy this game after all. ;p
 

Grampasso

Member
Pureauthor said:
The Great Lynx is just there to keep you on your toes.

Having problems with the Largebill is a sign that you're not paying enough attention to the NPCs. :p
?_? It's not like I can avoid it

Edit: Oh, ok, I still had to unlock the next block of hints when I first ventured in B2F. Still I find it a bit unfair but I can deal with that :p
 
Totakeke said:
That sounds more like the EO that I remember, maybe I should buy this game after all. ;p

On the Great Lynx, just to borrow a quote from the game itself: "Overall responsible for the most novice explorer deaths."

They're quite aware that encountering this thing right away is not something that you're supposed to make it through unscathed.
 
My current favorite is the FOEs from BF2.

"OK, level 9,10 all around now, good buffs, good debuffs, lets try these bad boys with full Limit"

*buffs, debuffs, begins Bindings. FOE hits&poisons one character*

"Only 32 damage? A slow but assured victory"

*poison ticks for FIFTY. character dies*

"RUN! RUN FAST RUN FAR."

:lol
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Hm, okay, on Floor 2 I can't seem to get any further without running into a FOE because of the mud. Do I need to be able to defeat one now?
 

Fishious

Member
sundrenched said:
Got past level 2, doing the fish festival quest now. What a huge pain in the ass! In my last 15 battles in b4f I met 1 (!!) devil fish! How unbelievable. Is there any place where I can grind around for devilfish?

I'm pretty sure random encounters vary by area. I found that devil fish seem to be more prevalent around the rivers. If you go through the first secret passage you reach from the 4th floor entrance (the one by the foe that circles the corridor) there's a good spot there. I usually found 2 to 5 fish in each encounter.

And just to reiterate for everyone else, make sure to check the gather info option in the bistro each time you reach a new floor. Their advice is really helpful.

Now I've just got to find a way to beat Narmer :/

The_Technomancer said:
Hm, okay, on Floor 2 I can't seem to get any further without running into a FOE because of the mud. Do I need to be able to defeat one now?

No, you should be able to reach the next floor without fighting any foes. Is this the one where you first get the warning about mud? You just need to make sure move down the path right after it moves out of the way. There is one FOE somewhere on that floor that you need to kill to pass, but there's only an item behind it.
 
The_Technomancer said:
Hm, okay, on Floor 2 I can't seem to get any further without running into a FOE because of the mud. Do I need to be able to defeat one now?

For the 'main' path, there's always a way around.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Fishious said:
No, you should be able to reach the next floor without fighting any foes. Is this the one where you first get the warning about mud? You just need to make sure move down the path right after it moves out of the way. There is one FOE somewhere on that floor that you need to kill to pass, but there's only an item behind it.
G6dyN.jpg

These two spots. I even tried walking around the loop to offset my walking by a pace or two in hopes that it would buy me the space I need, but no luck.
 
The spot at C1 can be crossed - the FOE has a rather long path to walk, so as long as you time it right you can move. There's a path to the right two steps down from where you left off mapping.

Edit: Also, if anyone is interested, I've updated my character profiles with more backstory and the newest additions.
 

Fishious

Member
The_Technomancer said:
These two spots. I even tried walking around the loop to offset my walking by a pace or two in hopes that it would buy me the space I need, but no luck.

After taking another look at it I've got your answer.
For the foe in C1 take the leftmost branch. Wait until passes in front of you and follow him. After a few steps you'll find a side passage. Take it. Wait for him to pass again, then continue. As for the FOE in 3C, don't even bother with him. There are other paths that will take you around him. You'll find those once you get past C1.
 

Narag

Member
Hooray, this finally arrived. First DS game I've bought in a year. Artbook covering all 3 games was a very nice surprise as I was under the initial impression it was just for the third. :D
 

Althane

Member
The_Technomancer said:
G6dyN.jpg

These two spots. I even tried walking around the loop to offset my walking by a pace or two in hopes that it would buy me the space I need, but no luck.

Here's a tip for FOE passing. Try and make it so you're RIGHT BEHIND THEM.

Of course, only do this if you're sure that there will be a break in the path. Otherwise... you might end up fighting a FOE.

But yeah. The spot at C1 is where you're supposed to be. There's a couple of pathways after that, so you'll not have to worry about that FOE again.

Anyways, I've got the quest to kill Narmer (First boss) on 4F. This'll be interesting, I'm all level 3, I switched it up so my layout now has my Gladiator, Prince, and Monk at the front, and the Arbalest and Farmer at the back.

Thinking if I should raise a character up to about 10 or so to replace the Farmer for the boss fight, but I'm wondering if I should make it a Ninja or a Bucaneer. (Or a Hoplite, and have the Monk move to the back for dedicated heals)

Edit: So I'm trying something out with my farmer: I bought him an Eared Dagger (3 slots), and am forging all Poison into it. The theory being he can at least do damage over time, even if he's not doing a ton of damage per hit.

Other thought was filling it with ATK, but... I wanna try the poison first.
 

sphinx

the piano man
For anyone who may need it, here is a complete list of conditional drops and how to get them. Credit goes to Gamefaqs usermember " Terence ", who posted this in the gamefaqs board. I have spoilertagged most stuff for those who want to discover it themselves.

if it's not listed here, it isn't a conditional drop. Also, some conditionals will prevent some of the monster's other drops from appearing
(unless you use Formaldehyde or Lucky Hammer).

Normal Monsters
==============
Claw Shrimp: Red Tail (80%: Kill with Ice Damage)
Gigapede: Large Jaw (80%: Kill with Slash Damage)
Venomshroom: Pseudopod (80%: Kill in 1 turn)
Starry Slug: Starry Case (80%: Kill with Volt Damage)
Devilfish: Violet Comb (80%: Kill with Fire Damage)
Great Anaconda: Sharp Fang (90%: Don't kill with Slash/Strike/Pierce Damage)

Whorled Puffer: Ebony Liver (70%: Kill with Ice Damage)
Red Starfish: Red Bones (80%: Kill with Fire Damage)
Great Hermit: Flawless Shell (80%: Don't kill with Slash/Strike/Pierce Damage)
Koolasuchus: Thick Throat (85%: Kill with Volt Damage)
King Starfish: Cilial Sucker (80%: Kill with Pierce Damage)
High Walrus: Icicle Fang (80%: Kill while Head is bound)

Dragon Egg: Round Eggshell (50%: Don't kill with Slash/Strike/Pierce Damage)
Rattle Nozuchi: Red Iron Scale (80%: Kill with Volt Damage)
Flame Lynx: Flame Claw (85%: Kill in 1 turn)
Lava Beast: Igneous Rock (100%: Kill with Ice Damage [Prevents normal drops])

Big Snakehead: Dull Chest Fin (100%: Kill with Curse Damage)
Otherspawn: Dryad Statue (90%: Kill with Ice Damage)
Eerie Statue: Holed Rock (80%: Kill with Pierce Damage [Prevents 1st drop only])
Deep Maiden: Wheel Blade (95%: Kill while Arms are bound)
Deep Raider: Damascus Edge (80%: Kill with Strike Damage)
Dementia Owl: Cursed Talon (80%: Kill with Fire Damage)
Venomfly: Scales (80%: Kill with Volt Damage)

Petaloid: Dangerous Bud (80%: Kill with Death Status)
Forest Hare: Rabbit Ear (80%: Kill while Head is bound)
Volt Cat: Sharp Claw (80%: Kill with Fire Damage)

Dragonfly: Dragonfly Wing (75%: Kill with Volt Damage)
Omnivore: Infinite Tongue (95%: Kill while Head is bound)
Hell Pumpkin: Cursed Vine (100%: Kill while completely bound)
Longicorn Beta: Vicious Claw (95%: Kill while Arms are bound)

FOEs
=====
Splitstool: Wilted Shroom (100%: Kill with Mushroom Dagger)
Abyssal Death: Pig Iron Fang (50%: Don't kill with Fire/Ice/Volt Damage)
Mother Dragon: Mother's Horn (90%: Kill with Petrify Status)
Mortal Hunter: Flower Scythe (95%: Kill in 1 turn)
Dreamsmasher: Eye of Insanity (95%: Kill with Poison or Plague Damage)
Divine Judge: Deathly Stone (100%: Kill while completely bound)

Sea Quests
(?? not sure if spoilerish)
=========
Meregho Saeno: Eastern Nest (100%: Kill while Arms are bound [Prevents normal drops])
Hammerhead: Gray Shield (100%: Kill with Death Status [Prevents normal drops])
Ghost Ship: Naval Ram (10%: NOT CONDITIONAL, but [Prevents normal drops])
Corotrangul: Sea King Ice (100%: Kill while Head is bound [Prevents normal drops])
Golem: 3-Lights Gem (100%: Kill while Blinded [Prevents normal drops])
Manticore: Evil Horn (100%: Kill with 5000+ damage attack [Prevents normal drops])
Ruin Caller: Raging Scale (100%: Don't kill with Slash/Strike/Pierce Damage [Prevents normal drops])
King Penguin: Elastic Body (100%: Kill in 5 turns or less [Prevents normal drops])
Scylla: Princess's Fur (100%: Kill with Curse Damage [Prevents normal drops])
Leviathan: Tsunami Fang (20%: NOT CONDITIONAL, but [Prevents normal drops])
Elder Dragon: Divine Scale (100%: Kill while completely bound [Prevents normal drops])


Stratum Bosses
============
Narmer: Trembling Fin (100%: Kill with 1-man Party [Prevents normal drops])
Ketos: Tough Membrane (100%: Kill in 1 turn [Prevents normal drops])
Gatekeeper: Giant's Core (100%: Kill while Arms are bound [Prevents normal drops])
Keeper Head: Magic Circuit (100%: Kill while Head is bound [Prevents normal drops])
Keeper Body: Quake Leg (100%: Kill while Legs are bound [Prevents normal drops])
Shin: Fullmoon Crown (100%: Kill while Head is bound [Prevents normal drops])
Kirin: Crimson Tail (100%: Kill with Curse Damage [Prevents normal drops])

Extra Bosses
==========
Wicked Queen: Execution Jaw (100%: Kill while Sleeping [Prevents normal drops])
Alraune: King's Velvet (100%: Kill with Ice Damage [Prevents normal drops])
Anemone: Blue Bone (100%: Don't kill with Fire/Ice/Volt Damage [Prevents normal drops])
Kraken: Prisoner's Arm (100%: Kill while Legs are bound [Prevents normal drops])
Drake: Ice Skin (100%: Kill with Ice Damage [Prevents normal drops])
Dragon: Thunder Horn (100%: Kill with Volt Damage [Prevents normal drops])
Wyrm: Fire Fang (100%: Kill with Fire Damage [Prevents normal drops])
 

sundrenched

Neo Member
Yeah I got through the level 2 problem. Actually it was easier for me to walk in front of the FOEs :)

According to gamefaqs, the princess/prince is only really worth it if you pair with a hoplite that has provoke. I re-skilled my monk to become a pure healer and he still sits in my first row! Urgh I hope the sub classes are like class change ala ff5, or I'm screwed with my monk. A zodiac/monk mix looks good since my monk is running out of TP really fast.

I really like the Farmer class out of all the new classes! Sure they aren't the most effective class but they have some nice debuffs and loads of skills to make life easier for you. To my surprise, keen eye is really useful though it takes away some of the suspense of not knowing where the FOE is :) haven't decided to go for the debuff route or the gathering route first...

Oh yes, need some advice for my zodiac, what elemental magic should I specialist in/ be more useful? Should I go for the multihit magic or just the solo hits for boss battles?
 

Althane

Member
sundrenched said:
Yeah I got through the level 2 problem. Actually it was easier for me to walk in front of the FOEs :)

According to gamefaqs, the princess/prince is only really worth it if you pair with a hoplite that has provoke. I re-skilled my monk to become a pure healer and he still sits in my first row! Urgh I hope the sub classes are like class change ala ff5, or I'm screwed with my monk. A zodiac/monk mix looks good since my monk is running out of TP really fast.

I really like the Farmer class out of all the new classes! Sure they aren't the most effective class but they have some nice debuffs and loads of skills to make life easier for you. To my surprise, keen eye is really useful though it takes away some of the suspense of not knowing where the FOE is :) haven't decided to go for the debuff route or the gathering route first...

Oh yes, need some advice for my zodiac, what elemental magic should I specialist in/ be more useful? Should I go for the multihit magic or just the solo hits for boss battles?


I'm finding the passive heals for the Prince, at least for the First Stratum, are practically invaluable. They don't cost TP, and it's easy to keep a prince on full HP (and having a team member with Bandage isn't bad at all, since you can heal up with very little TP cost in between fights). Also, with the one where you heal after every battle, minor fights become inconsequential, since you can just auto-battle through it, and all your damage will be healed at the end.

Farmer is really my favorite class of the game, mostly because I love utility classes like that. Harvesting = win.
 
sundrenched said:
Yeah I got through the level 2 problem. Actually it was easier for me to walk in front of the FOEs :)

According to gamefaqs, the princess/prince is only really worth it if you pair with a hoplite that has provoke. I re-skilled my monk to become a pure healer and he still sits in my first row! Urgh I hope the sub classes are like class change ala ff5, or I'm screwed with my monk. A zodiac/monk mix looks good since my monk is running out of TP really fast.

I really like the Farmer class out of all the new classes! Sure they aren't the most effective class but they have some nice debuffs and loads of skills to make life easier for you. To my surprise, keen eye is really useful though it takes away some of the suspense of not knowing where the FOE is :) haven't decided to go for the debuff route or the gathering route first...

Oh yes, need some advice for my zodiac, what elemental magic should I specialist in/ be more useful? Should I go for the multihit magic or just the solo hits for boss battles?

Noticed that after dropping one point in that. Other points have been dropped in buff-boosting and the like.

Also working on a Zodiac (named after every mage I've ever had: Ceilidh)
 

Althane

Member
So I created a hoplite, currently level 5 (everyone else is 15). He's equipped in the best I can buy at the moment, and is a freakin' beastly tank.

My party now is as follows:

Gladiator 15/ Hoplite 5 / Monk 15 (healer)
Prince 15 / Arbalist (15)

So, how should I be building my Arbalist, out of curiosity? What skills should I be most interested and all?

(And is Giant Killer any good?)
 
Got my copy and book today in good shape as usual. It'll probably be shelf-bound for awhile, unless the urge somehow overpowers all the others currently at play versus my large backlog of doings.

But at some point!~:lol
 

Althane

Member
Wipe 1 against Narmer.

I was doing well until Ice Barrage missed his submerged form and... well, then Monk and Hoplite bought the farm in the Earthquake. From there, it was only a matter of time.
 

slayn

needs to show more effort.
For arbalist, giant killer is awesome.
1 point = +20% damage against any FOE/Boss
10 points = +55% damage against any FOE/Boss

over twice as effect as the gladiator's class skill. Except in only works in hard fights which... isn't a terrible thing.

1 point in armor piercing shot is probably worthwhile although I wouldn't add to it any further.
 

Althane

Member
I'll keep that in mind.

Narmer crushed the second time around. I'll update my character profiles to reflect it, when I get the urge to write again.

Pretty much was the Hoplite using Line Protection every time, and everyone else just wailing on the boss, with the Prince keeping buffs up, and the Monk healing the Prince every time he was hurt. Victory was achieved at level 15 (7 for the Hoplite). Hoplite is now level 10, everyone else is 17.

Yay boss+quest XP's.

Is it me, or is this easier than EO1 and 2 by a long shot?
 

slayn

needs to show more effort.
I think I've found it to be harder than 2, but EO2 mattered so much on whether you (purposefully or accidentally) used the broken classes and abilities.

Dark Hunters and (especially) revenge Hexers slaughtered anything in EO2 without a second thought.

edit:
EO1 was kind of the same actually. Medics with Immunize were pretty broken. It was just a 'I would like to not take damage now' button.

I am, at least thus far, unaware of broken abilities in this one.
 

botticus

Member
slayn said:
1 point in armor piercing shot is probably worthwhile although I wouldn't add to it any further.
I've put 4 into it to work towards getting the skill that potentially hits more than your target, we'll see how that works out.
 

Ela Hadrun

Probably plays more games than you
I'm enjoying this sooooo much

I was out drinking with friends I haven't seen in months last night but I was thinking about EO3 <3

And yeah, I always go down the stairs to the next floor, go back up and muck around my current floor until I need my war--pardon me, Aridane Thread. That way you can pick up all the activated quests etc so you can do them as you map.
 

slayn

needs to show more effort.
botticus said:
I've put 4 into it to work towards getting the skill that potentially hits more than your target, we'll see how that works out.
oh I hadn't considered pre-rec's. I just meant that at level 1 it does 170% damage for 11TP while at level 10 it does 215% damage for 15TP which seems not really worth 9 more skill points. But 1 point for 170% armor piercing damage sounds good to me.
 
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