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Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan |OT|: Fight & Heal Brings 3D To Europe!

made it to the 3rd world (the second world final boss was great :) )...

very impressed with eoiv. the game feels very tight & well-balanced, & the open areas & multiple mini-dungeons are very nice. these guys have really figured out the secret of how to make something very old feel fresh & fun again...
 

scy

Member
I tried taking on one with a yellow aura, and didn't make it very far.

I also have no idea how many points to invest in any skills. How do I get detailed information on what a skill point will do? Right now I'm getting things like "Next level: +ATK!" which isn't particularly helpful.

For the time being, this Skill Sim is your best resource. I want to try and get the missing data when I get the chance.

My Runemaster for example, do I put all her points into one element? Or is 5 in each good? Or do I split it between 2?

My suggestion is to pick two Elements (ideally, Volt and Ice but it's your choice) and unlock their respective Damage spell and then stop leveling them. The gain in Damage per point isn't that big of a deal. Instead, I'd go and level other things to flesh out your pre-requisites.

So, for instance, a sample Level 15 (17 points) setup:

Proficiency 1/1
Ice Rune 1/6 -> Ice Lance 2/10
Volt Rune 1/6 -> Lightning Rune 2/10
Runic Gleam 3/6
TP Boost 6/8
1 point free

So I went dual-type Volt and Ice here and stopped at 2 points for their respective Runes since that's their pre-reqs. Ice gives you a nice ranged spell (@75% Damage) for nuking their back row and Volt gets you a line target with the best damage of the first Tier (@107% Damage).

Runic Gleam was stopped at 3/6 so the TP Cost does not increase (8 TP, jumps to 12) and three turns of +37% Damage is worth the 8 TP cost. TP Boost is stopped at 6/8 since it's 130% and I like the round number; realistically, you could stop at 5/8 since that's when it slows down (last three points are only +3% each, for instance).

16-19 can be used to max out Runic Gleam and TP Boost or, again, you can hold them; my recommendation is to sit on them but it's up to you. So, let's go to Level 25 (27 Points):

Proficiency 1/1 -> Expertise 1/1
Ice Rune 1/6 -> Ice Lance 2/10 -> Glacier Rune 2/8
Volt Rune 1/6 -> Lightning Rune 2/10 -> Storm Rune 2/8
Runic Gleam 3/6 -> Runic Shield 2/4 -> Runic Guidance 2/6
TP Boost 6/8
Free Energy 1/6
Runic Flare 1/10

Same logic as before. We're filling out spells to fulfill pre-reqs. Glacier Rune and Storm Rune fulfill similar roles so you'll basically just use them depending on the weakness. Glacier Rune is a random all-target spell and Storm Rune flat out replaces Ice Lance for your ranged single target damage. Runic Shield is there as a pre-req requirement (not that it's bad, mind you, just don't need more yet) and Runic Guidance is free bonus damage on targets with a weakness. Runic Flare is just a nice flat damage passive. For 26-40, I'd just recommend maxing out Runic Guidance and getting Runic Flare at least to 5/10 (116%, maxes at 125% so up to you if that last stretch of 9% Damage is worth 5 more skill points).

I can do a 40 and end-game one if you want, just feel like this is enough for the general philosophy of it all. Of course, since Resting is only -2 Levels, this isn't THAT big of a deal at all.

tl;dr: Few points in many skills > Many points in few skills. If you do pump a skill, take it to half for ~65% of the effect and then debate if the last ~35% bonus is worth it. If all else fails, don't worry since you can rest for so cheap.

When can you start subclassing? Also what level do most people beat the game at, and I'm guessing there's a new game+?

In the middle of the 3rd Dungeon.
 
Do I actually need a balanced party?

I'm liking my N/N/F + M/R setup. At least for now since I am killing most of the main enemies without taking much damage.
 

scy

Member
Tank + Healer + 3x DPS is a balanced party.

You'll hit a trouble spot with the double Nightseekers if only due to their limited damage potential in their mid levels; nothing major, just that the 20+ period is when it's obvious that you need to be utilizing their passive and it's rough sometimes here. Though, Landsknecht has a similar issue with not much in the 20+ range but at least they have access to Improved Link + Vanguard + Initiative by then.

Landsknecht's big thing for the early game is that they are just relatively solid damage that can take a hit in a pinch while also providing some utility via their Class Passive (-Defense / - Evasion on targets they hit) and can provide a Damage debuff via Power Break if needed.
 

Ala Alba

Member
Is it necessary to subclass? My group is a F/L/N S/N and I'm not sure what to subclass for my guys.

Subclassing anything gives you a free 5 skill points to use however you want, so if you don't see the need for any particular subclass, just choose whatever and use the points on your main class. You can rechoose the subclass by resting, so it's no big deal if you change your mind later.
 

Cactus

Banned
My party has managed to decimate the majority of FOE's and bosses that I've faced, but I have a lot of trouble making it through dungeons and caves since I don't have any healing magic at the moment. I've had to take a defensive approach, and an oft-used strategy of mine is to defend and let the magic circle heal me when my health is low while the enemies slowly die from poison. Anyway, I just reached the fourth area, and I've really enjoyed my time with the game so far.
 

scy

Member
Is it necessary to subclass? My group is a F/L/N S/N and I'm not sure what to subclass for my guys.

As said above, it's a free +5 Skill Points so you might as well; it's not permanent either (Rest lets you change it) so it's really not a big deal to choose one and swap later if needed. Here's some suggestions though:

F/D is just the general defensive Tank option. Fan Dance for Evasion and maybe some of the buff Tangos.

L/R (if using Links) or L/B (once you finish the 3rd Dungeon, anyway).

N/A or N/B, depending on that other N; N/A gives you Ailment Boost and TP Return for powering your Status Effects and N/B is just better raw damage.

S/A if you need them to be more reliable with their Binds, S/N for Follow Trace for the chance to double use skills.

Is that really a back-row N? If so, I guess N/A and let this one be the status effect dealing one.
 

Anteo

Member
*starts to wonder what he needs to do to be able to change airship elevation*

Didn't the game tell you? You need to get some kind of mineral that generates lighter gases than your current one.

1)
Explore that one cave you can get in
2)
You should be able to mine something there.
2)
It's the rare item from the mine spot.
 

tuffy

Member
I'm really liking the Bushi class, especially when subclassed as Nightseeker for dual-weilding. They're really low maintenance and provide a hefty amount of physical and elemental damage. I thought they might be somewhat squishy at first with two slots occupied by weapons, but that's not the case in practice. HP running low? Ferocity coupled with one round of normal attacks tops them back up again. Killed outright? Endure brings them right back. Someone else using Refresh Waltz even lets them use Fierce Strike without the paralyze penalty. My only mistake was putting points in Deep Breath with the mistaken notion that I'd ever need to trade Blood Surge for healing/TP, but with only one point in Blood Surge there's no reason to ever leave it since the HP/TP cost per action is so small.

At this rate, most of my party will be unlocked classes by the time I'm done.
 
Didn't the game tell you? You need to get some kind of mineral that generates lighter gases than your current one.

1)
Explore that one cave you can get in
2)
You should be able to mine something there.
2)
It's the rare item from the mine spot.

*thinks he might be doing something wrong. Let's try again...*
 

JoeFu

Banned
As said above, it's a free +5 Skill Points so you might as well; it's not permanent either (Rest lets you change it) so it's really not a big deal to choose one and swap later if needed. Here's some suggestions though:

F/D is just the general defensive Tank option. Fan Dance for Evasion and maybe some of the buff Tangos.

L/R (if using Links) or L/B (once you finish the 3rd Dungeon, anyway).

N/A or N/B, depending on that other N; N/A gives you Ailment Boost and TP Return for powering your Status Effects and N/B is just better raw damage.

S/A if you need them to be more reliable with their Binds, S/N for Follow Trace for the chance to double use skills.

Is that really a back-row N? If so, I guess N/A and let this one be the status effect dealing one.

My Nightseeker is in the front, not sure why I would have it in the back. Thanks for the suggestions, really helpful!
 

scy

Member
My Nightseeker is in the front, not sure why I would have it in the back. Thanks for the suggestions, really helpful!

Well, the party you listed was: F/L/N S/N

Was that second N supposed to be Medic then? In retrospect, that makes a lot more sense ;_;

F/D
L/B (L/R if using Links)
N/A

S/N
M/A

That would probably be my suggestion if that's the party you have.

ok so I don't really wanna do a link landshark since I'm not using a dancer, is that viable?

It's fine. Link Landsknecht is just their goto build since it's just so powerful. Their Weapon Skills aren't that bad, really, and you'd be fine with them.
 

scy

Member
I'm pretty sure it's not that simple.

I'll just take the direct answer. Is that OK?

In that case:
Go to the Miasma Forest. Your goal is the Mining Node at A2 (2,1). You're limited to 10 steps in the main room, however, so you need to start at the upper-left door at A1 (5,4) and head to the door at B1 (5,4). From there, you'll go to the door at C3 (1,2). From here, you need to open the passageway from the East side at A2 (5,4) and go back to starting room at A1. Finally, you can make it to the upper-right door (via the two-way passageway you just opened) to reach a door at A3 (2,2). The Mining node is then off to the west
.

The game tells you when you get the item you need. You then just take it back to town to proceed.
 

balddemon

Banned
Assume thanks. Another question, is there a way I can skip walking through he first 2 floors of a dungeon to ge back to the 3rd? I mean I already have all the shortcuts unlocked to get through, I just don't like fighting monsters on the way to the bloodbears.
 

Anteo

Member
Assume thanks. Another question, is there a way I can skip walking through he first 2 floors of a dungeon to ge back to the 3rd? I mean I already have all the shortcuts unlocked to get through, I just don't like fighting monsters on the way to the bloodbears.

Nope =(
 

Ndayday

Neo Member
I'd just like to reinstate how much I love this game. In the 3rd land
I finally beat the Boiling Lizard.
Love games that aren't just fun, but satisfying!
 
I got a lot of the conditionals this weekend. All I really have left is 6th maze boss. I think might have missed some weapons. Not sure I have the best bow- tristans or something. Pretty fun.

Actually it's probably as good as every other endgame weapon.
High atk with 6 slots. Each class has their own armor as well.
 
In that case:
Go to the Miasma Forest. Your goal is the Mining Node at A2 (2,1). You're limited to 10 steps in the main room, however, so you need to start at the upper-left door at A1 (5,4) and head to the door at B1 (5,4). From there, you'll go to the door at C3 (1,2). From here, you need to open the passageway from the East side at A2 (5,4) and go back to starting room at A1. Finally, you can make it to the upper-right door (via the two-way passageway you just opened) to reach a door at A3 (2,2). The Mining node is then off to the west
.

The game tells you when you get the item you need. You then just take it back to town to proceed.

Looks like I've misread text. Oops xD

Anyway, thanks.

The second maze is... Well, it kind of drags.

How do you get close the stationary Hollow that is part of a quest? Specific party member class required?
 

tuffy

Member
The second maze is... Well, it kind of drags.

How do you get close the stationary Hollow that is part of a quest? Specific party member class required?
Getting information in the quest bar will give you a hint, and probably make you feel a bit silly about not guessing it sooner.
 

KarmaCow

Member
So I've been taking it kinda slow with this game and only just beat the 3rd Land's boss. It was a weird fight because I was really struggling against it, barely managing to get it to the red once in about 5 attempts. I was kinda worried that I would have to grind but I did have a few unfinished quests. So after after taking a short break from the boss to try out some of the subdungeons and levelling up just once to 30, the fight was a complete push over. No one even came close to dying. How does character level play into the calculations because it seems odd that the planets would align for that single attempt.
 

balddemon

Banned
My team is arranged like so:
lvl 13 Fort / lvl 16 Night / lvl 15 Landshark
lvl 16 Sniper / lvl 16 Runemaster

Battle strategy is to Taunt with Fortress, and then defend. Nightseeker will blind and then use Ice Knife. Landshark will Power Break, Vanguard, and then switch between Sonic Raid, Double Slash and Ice Coffin bursts. Sniper is constantly trying to Arm Bind, while Runemaster makes the dude weaker to ice and then Ice Lances the crap out of him. Just curious if this will work without a Medic or Dancer (I had a Dancer at first but I'm not doing a Linkshark soooo I dropped her).

Thanks!
 
How are the Inn Prices determined? It seems to be going up with use... and I've been overusing it early on. I sure hope it isn't purely based on usage.

Also I switched back my party to

L/F/D + N/R


Not sure how to build them though.

Currently have Power Break + Power Boost on Landsnekcht.

Fortress has holy smite + taunt.

Dancer has 4 in Regen Waltz and 4 in attack tango. Not sure if I want to try out counter samba/chase samba/etc... I'm also putting some in Fan Dance. I think that might be a mistake though since Fort covers most of my needs. But hey, I can rest so w/e.

Nightseeker is maxing out the status branches and just throws status effects from the back. Might replace with a Sniper but I've yet to hear good things about Snipers.

Runemaster is putting some into lightning + ice branches. And +TP.
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
Finished the main game, time for the post game content!

Overall, I loved it and although it was easier than the other 3 EO games this one is my favourite. I loved the new subdungeons and balloon exploring, and the story was decent as well.
 

C_V

Member
Beat the main game fairly decently, no real casualties. First thing I do postgame is try to take on the Fire Dragon. Got my shit pushed in on turn 2. THIS IS THE EO I KNOW AND LOVE
 
At the 3rd Boss:

How am I supposed to get around him to use an ice shard to stab the big fire scale?

I can't see a logical path around it or any hidden passageways to wrap around, and keep running into double heat squares which push back.
 

KarmaCow

Member
At the 3rd Boss:

How am I supposed to get around him to use an ice shard to stab the big fire scale?

I can't see a logical path around it or any hidden passageways to wrap around, and keep running into double heat squares which push back.

He wont follow you out of the room, so slowly take out the scales and try to leave the room when he's too close. The scales will respawn in a day so make sure you have enough Ice Stakes, there should be more than enough on the floor.
 
He wont follow you out of the room, so slowly take out the scales and try to leave the room when he's too close. The scales will respawn in a day so make sure you have enough Ice Stakes, there should be more than enough on the floor.

Figures, I didn't even consider a hit and run style staking. I basically was looking for a path I could take that would result in me getting to it with enough squares to spare for the rest of the run.

Does the main stack respawn after a day, or can I get to it, stake it, and then thread out if required?

Thanks, by the way. I appreciate it.
 

Anteo

Member
Figures, I didn't even consider a hit and run style staking. I basically was looking for a path I could take that would result in me getting to it with enough squares to spare for the rest of the run.

Does the main stack respawn after a day, or can I get to it, stake it, and then thread out if required?

Thanks, by the way. I appreciate it.

It should take a while untill it respawns, a few days, like all the others stacks in the other floors.
 

KarmaCow

Member
Figures, I didn't even consider a hit and run style staking. I basically was looking for a path I could take that would result in me getting to it with enough squares to spare for the rest of the run.

Does the main stack respawn after a day, or can I get to it, stake it, and then thread out if required?

Thanks, by the way. I appreciate it.

Hmm, no idea I went right for him after getting the big scale down. Also when I say a day, I mean it will respawn at midnight, just like harvesting points. It doesn't take that long to get to it when coming straight from town anyway.
 

BearChair

Member
Need some help with the final boss, hope someone can help:

First, I'm assuming the big lady hovering above the fifth maze is the final boss. My party is L/F in front and A/M/R in back. Landsknect and Runemaster has Imperial as subs, Fortress has dancer as sub and Arcanist has medic has sub. No sub on the Medic. All of them are level 70, except for the Landsknect who is level 69.

I made two attempts at the boss tonight. First time, I went all-out trying to take the arms out first and then focusing on the head. That really didn't work. I ran out of TP just has the Head's hp entered the red.

Second time was much more successful. I focused on the head with the L and F. The Arcanist kept poison circle up. Medic basically waited around and Runemaster focused on the head.

I was able to break her mask twice and had the large eye underneath to about half power. Then I ran out of TP from the Landsknect and Runemaster, and it will went downhill.

Can anyone give me some tips or things to try?

Hope someone has some advice.
 

Anteo

Member
Need some help with the final boss, hope someone can help:

First, I'm assuming the big lady hovering above the fifth maze is the final boss. My party is L/F in front and A/M/R in back. Landsknect and Runemaster has Imperial as subs, Fortress has dancer as sub and Arcanist has medic has sub. No sub on the Medic. All of them are level 70, except for the Landsknect who is level 69.

I made two attempts at the boss tonight. First time, I went all-out trying to take the arms out first and then focusing on the head. That really didn't work. I ran out of TP just has the Head's hp entered the red.

Second time was much more successful. I focused on the head with the L and F. The Arcanist kept poison circle up. Medic basically waited around and Runemaster focused on the head.

I was able to break her mask twice and had the large eye underneath to about half power. Then I ran out of TP from the Landsknect and Runemaster, and it will went downhill.

Can anyone give me some tips or things to try?

Hope someone has some advice.

Go farm some tp recovery items! If that's the only thing stopping you, get like 4 or 5 amrita II.
 
It seems like the Landshark's link skills just are not working. I have no idea why, but there's no indication of the link attacks working. I'm having the same problem with Chase Samba. It seemingly never activates. Ever.
 

tuffy

Member
It seems like the Landshark's link skills just are not working. I have no idea why, but there's no indication of the link attacks working. I'm having the same problem with Chase Samba. It seemingly never activates. Ever.
Are you starting with Vanguard before using links, to ensure your Lardsnack always goes first? Otherwise, you're liable to be too slow and everyone will have already attacked.
 
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