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

Edit: Oops, wrong skill. It's her buff that's timed (Turn X0) ;__;

You have a Runemaster, correct? You are using Ice Rune, right? It with a +Ice Resistance Food should cut most of the damage from the fight in half.

I havent even figured out how to use food...
 

scy

Member
Collect it on the overworld, B and then ->, select food with appropriate bonus, cook. Hooray! The buff will last until you return to town.
 
Holy fuck. I beat the boss, and my Sniper was only level 16 (rest of the party at 28). His binds went off on every single attempt. I maxed them out of course. Now I don't want to dump him... maybe I could dump the Runemaster for an Arcanist and keep my Sniper. Bind/Crit focused Sniper, and then a poison/dismiss Arcanist.

Only had one party member die, and that was my Fortress who gave her life for the entire back row.
 

tuffy

Member
I wouldn't leave home without a Sniper. Even against the endgame story boss, my Sniper was still shutting down attacks, binding legs and launching Squall Volley for hundreds of points of damage. Wandering monsters are even easier to disable.
 
I wouldn't leave home without a Sniper. Even against the endgame story boss, my Sniper was still shutting down attacks, binding legs and launching Squall Volley for hundreds of points of damage. Wandering monsters are even easier to disable.

Yeah. I decided to give up my Runemaster.

So my party right now is L/F/D + S/A

Can't wait to unlock the I and B. I'll probably do that silly configuration of like... two or three I in the front, and then an Arcanist and Sniper in back.
 

KarmaCow

Member
You can set up a link party with a Linkshark and and swapping your A/R for R/A. Otherwise, you can also let your A sub Medic, letting your Dancer be more focused on dances and Misting people to oblivion. Imperials are cool, but they would really benefit from a main R support, as she has no time to set up and refresh the element runes with her combos. Sub R for element I, or B for non-element.

Fortress's shield skills are better in the late game, with AOE skills reducing the viability of Taunt and your F getting access to HP boost and Rampart. Dancer sub pretty much makes her the best tank in the game.

Bushi are really good with sustained attacking. They also have access to elemental attacks if needed. They can also pretty much sustain themselves with maxed HP and TP recover per hit. Either sub L or N, L for Vanguard/Initiative and Swordbreaker, N for 2 attacks and Follow Trace, which is hilarious with Charge (Charge affects both attacks).

So with this in mind I've decided to go

I/R | L/I | D/M
R/A | S/B

Not quite sure about the I/R, I haven't tried out Bushis but I am really liking the burst damage with the Imperial. I'm assuming Imperial is a good sub for Landsknechts because of the TP restore hitting weakness.

Also is there any way to get more scrolls? This current plan would require 3 scrolls to boost the L, I and R to 45 to match the rest of my party. I really hate having uneven parties and I don't like grinding either.
 
That's the same party I settled on for the third maze. Maxed Arcanist poison combined with Dismiss Heal and the Healing Stroll worked on random encounters, while the rest of my crew worked to tackle FOEs and bosses.

How much did you put into Dismiss and Healing Stroll? I have 3 and 2 points in them for now. I might invest a small amount into the bind circles or maybe other status effects. Currently at level 27.

Also what did you put into your Sniper? I'm not sure what to do except for max arm/leg bind (eventually head bind too) + squall volley for wonderful link damage. How's the "party +hit" skill?

Also when do I unlock I and B?
 

Boogiepop

Member
Got to the third floor in the 6th maze
set up the shortcuts back and saved, and then decided to give the boss in the center a try. I managed to kill off about half its half and was only wiped after a couple turns, so I can only assume that this is not the proper final ultimate boss yet, heh. Just not unbelievably hard enough.

Also,
god damn petrify flowers! And to a lesser degree those dragonflies and thunder things that can make a pain of themselves pretty easily, especially when paired with the aforementioned flowers. Just barely hanging on in battles with them thanks to my dancer's refresh skill.
(6th maze enemy spoilers/whining).

Oh yeah, and I hit my first double rare breed fight earlier, but unfortunately the second one just BARELY got away before I could kill it. It also got me wondering... can summoned enemies be rare breeds?
 

tuffy

Member
How much did you put into Dismiss and Healing Stroll? I have 3 and 2 points in them for now. I might invest a small amount into the bind circles or maybe other status effects. Currently at level 27.
I maxed out Healing Stroll as soon as I got it, but only put 3-4 points in Dismiss Heal right away. Maxed Stroll is 10 HP per step. So with ~14 steps between encounters, I rarely have to spend any potions on healing once a random fight is over.
Also what did you put into your Sniper? I'm not sure what to do except for max arm/leg bind (eventually head bind too) + squall volley for wonderful link damage. How's the "party +hit" skill?
I maxed out all the binds at about the same rate, then went for Squall Volley afterward. The main function of my Sniper is to shut down special attacks, but getting off a Volley is good bonus damage.

I actually just got done beating a dragon with a sub-optimal party setup, but I was able to pull it off thanks to my Sniper. By subclassing an Arcanist with master-level Ailment Boost and Release Resistance, I was able to keep its head and arms bound for much of the fight. So I took little damage while my Imperials kept blasting away at it until it went down. I hadn't expected my level 63-64 team to be able to do it, so I was quite surprised when it worked out.
 
I cannot beat the King Baboon.

That healing throw bullshit always completely descimates my back line if I don't defend through it. Even if I do defend through it, he heals back all the damage I've already done to it.

My Medic's Arm bind circle never works, my NS's sand throw never works (even with maxed arcanist ailment boost).

I'm getting angry. :(
 

tuffy

Member
I cannot beat the King Baboon.
I know that feeling. I first tried bringing in a dedicated Sniper to bind his arms, but that didn't really work either. So I eventually threw up my hands, went back to the main maze and gained 3-4 levels. When I came back, I had little trouble mopping the floor with him. So I think the quest came up before my team was ready to handle it.
 

Anteo

Member
I know that feeling. I first tried bringing in a dedicated Sniper to bind his arms, but that didn't really work either. So I eventually threw up my hands, went back to the main maze and gained 3-4 levels. When I came back, I had little trouble mopping the floor with him. So I think the quest came up before my team was ready to handle it.

Same here. I could not deal with him at first so I just went back to the main game.
 
I think what's so frustrating is that apparently, I'm supposed to be using binds/ailments on bosses.

If so, why do they never work? I mean, I get it, when I get a Sand throw off, my NS is doing close to 800 damage per turn with Shadow Bite. But I'd just like some more consistency. :x

Even though I'm angry, I'm still having fun. This is the most challenging game I've played in awhile.
 

vall03

Member
I seriously feel stupid not using the Squads/Muster feature throughout my first playthrough when its one of the best new additions in the game lol
 

tuffy

Member
If so, why do they never work? I mean, I get it, when I get a Sand throw off, my NS is doing close to 800 damage per turn with Shadow Bite. But I'd just like some more consistency. :x
If the difference in level between your party and the boss is too great, binds/ailments just won't land. Or if they do land, they won't stick for long enough to do any good. But unlike the wandering FOEs with their color-coded auras, there's no way to know whether your about the right level to take the baboon quest boss until you've tried all possible battle tactics and none of them work. Which is what I wound up doing.
I seriously feel stupid not using the Squads/Muster feature throughout my first playthrough when its one of the best new additions in the game lol
These almost seem like a vestigial addition from when EOIII had Farmer parties. I use them once in awhile, but never more than one squad.
 
Squads?! Wtf you talking bout Willis?

Also
how do I defeat the hollow queen? I'm level ~25 and I cannot beat her, she does way too much damage
 

Anteo

Member
Squads?! Wtf you talking bout Willis?

Also
how do I defeat the hollow queen? I'm level ~25 and I cannot beat her, she does way too much damage

Use binds! Bind the head to prevent magic attacks, bind the arms to lower physical damage. Also use the Burst skill that makes binds and ailments last longer.
 

Boogiepop

Member
Beat the
Thunder Dragon! So just one more of those to go! Also took down the bird that ends up in the Moth Garden for that one quest. Guess I'll go back to shoving my way through the 3rd floor of the 6th maze step by step once again. Maybe try taking out an FOE or two.
 

Roubjon

Member
Can someone tell me how to upgrade my ship after beating the Lush woodlands and entering the second field? I'm told to talk to the red and blue ships that fly around by the guy in the Cargo Wharf, but they just give me items. I'm honestly stuck lol.
 

scy

Member
So which is the step up dungeon from miasma in map 2? I need to do some grinding.

You can always just use some Sleep Protection and kill the Dream Eaters. Otherwise, just use the actual dungeon to grind in.

Can someone tell me how to upgrade my ship after beating the Lush woodlands and entering the second field? I'm told to talk to the red and blue ships that fly around by the guy in the Cargo Wharf, but they just give me items. I'm honestly stuck lol.

Go to the Miasma Forest. The map itself is a puzzle of a sorts and your goal is the mining node at A2.
 

ohlawd

Member
I cannot beat the King Baboon.

That healing throw bullshit always completely descimates my back line if I don't defend through it. Even if I do defend through it, he heals back all the damage I've already done to it.

My Medic's Arm bind circle never works, my NS's sand throw never works (even with maxed arcanist ailment boost).

I'm getting angry. :(
The Flame Wall Burst Skill is your friend against the Baboon King.

Use that Burst when the Healing Rollers spawn. He can't use his super strong party attack when those guys aren't there.
 
I maxed out Healing Stroll as soon as I got it, but only put 3-4 points in Dismiss Heal right away. Maxed Stroll is 10 HP per step. So with ~14 steps between encounters, I rarely have to spend any potions on healing once a random fight is over.

So you didn't invest any in the Alchemist binds or dismiss blow/blast?
 

spiritfox

Member
So with this in mind I've decided to go

I/R | L/I | D/M
R/A | S/B

Not quite sure about the I/R, I haven't tried out Bushis but I am really liking the burst damage with the Imperial. I'm assuming Imperial is a good sub for Landsknechts because of the TP restore hitting weakness.

Also is there any way to get more scrolls? This current plan would require 3 scrolls to boost the L, I and R to 45 to match the rest of my party. I really hate having uneven parties and I don't like grinding either.

Imperial sub is good, make sure to take power and element boost to increase your damage. I wonder if Wide Effect links can tag more enemies for links?

There are only 2 scrolls per instructor. The only way to get more is NG+. Just go slaughter some golden sheep with your new recruits.
 
The Flame Wall Burst Skill is your friend against the Baboon King.

Use that Burst when the Healing Rollers spawn. He can't use his super strong party attack when those guys aren't there.

Can I hug you?

I didn't even consider this. I've been using Ice Coffin so long I forgot I actually had it.

Going to try this immediately.
 

balddemon

Banned
the golden lair b2f scales are annoying me. I have 4 ice stakes, that should be enough right? I really don't like collecting them all, especially when the 1st floor could unfreeze at any time.
 

scy

Member
@Subs - I/R isn't bad but there's better options, really. I/B is basically an improved version in all ways. L/I gets you the extra TP which is neat but L/R does better damage.
 
Oh god, Alchemists have made me impatient I can just tell. If I ever stop using one I'll be all like "its been two fucking turns, why isnt this group of 5 enemies dead?!?!?"

Dat poison circle.
 

scy

Member
Wait until Nightseeker with Auto Spread + Venom Throw. First turn 700 damage poison and a 5.6x damage multiplier (Shadow Bite up to a, what, 2464% multiplier?) on anything that lived.

Good times.
 

balddemon

Banned
what's a good nightseeker build? right now I have all the throws up to curse maxed (I'm lvl 36), 5 speed boost, spread throw maxed, 1 ice knife, maxed proficiency/expertise, and maxed herbology. I take it I should use the points from here until 40 to unlock the ice knife line?
 
Wait until Nightseeker with Auto Spread + Venom Throw. First turn 700 damage poison and a 5.6x damage multiplier (Shadow Bite up to a, what, 2464% multiplier?) on anything that lived.

Good times.

But.... but I just dumped my Nightseeker for a Sniper. :(

Whatever.

Q. How good is: I/B + I/B + F/D (front row) along with A/? + S/? (back row)?

what's a good nightseeker build? right now I have all the throws up to curse maxed (I'm lvl 36), 5 speed boost, spread throw maxed, 1 ice knife, maxed proficiency/expertise, and maxed herbology. I take it I should use the points from here until 40 to unlock the ice knife line?

Honestly it sounds like you want to ignore the other status effects except for venom, so only invest prereq numbers in the other status things. Spread throw for sure, and same with prof/expertise.

You can probably ignore herbology.
 

Anteo

Member
what's a good nightseeker build? right now I have all the throws up to curse maxed (I'm lvl 36), 5 speed boost, spread throw maxed, 1 ice knife, maxed proficiency/expertise, and maxed herbology. I take it I should use the points from here until 40 to unlock the ice knife line?

I don't see the point of speed boost, as it doesn't actually give any evasion, ns generally goes first as is and is accurate enough in fights. I say save for Venom and get the arcanist sub to increase your chances of landing a debuff

Honestly it sounds like you want to ignore the other status effects except for venom, so only invest prereq numbers in the other status things. Spread throw for sure, and same with prof/expertise.

You can probably ignore herbology.

Well actually you want venom and another status (like blind or paralize) to fight bosses, and Shadow Bite of course for maximun damage. In the long run you want to have the skill that makes you cast spell twice.
 

Boogiepop

Member
Finished off the last of the
normal 3
Dragons.

And now I'm left confused as hell. The 3rd floor of the 6th maze has been prodding me and saying
hey look at these gases and canisters, you should totally use them on the boss. But the green one definitely isn't on an accessible part of the map. And the only way forward seems to be through the boss, but that doesn't sound right because the puzzle is set up right in front of him. I could PROBABLY take him with a little more grinding, but still. Bleh.

Sooo.... what exactly am I supposed to do now?
 

scy

Member
Q. How good is: I/B + I/B + F/D (front row) along with A/? + S/? (back row)?

I/B + I/B is basically going to aim for the first turn one-shot. I'd say to probably do F/M (Star Drop is ever so slightly better than Attack Tango) + A/R (Runes) + S/X (Eagle Eye primarily) with Charge Order Burst.

Well actually you want venom and another status (like blind or paralize) to fight bosses, and Shadow Bite of course for maximun damage. In the long run you want to have the skill that makes you cast spell twice.

Swift Edge is better than Shadow Bite for raw damage, I believe.
 
I/B + I/B is basically going to aim for the first turn one-shot. I'd say to probably do F/M (Star Drop is ever so slightly better than Attack Tango) + A/R (Runes) + S/X (Eagle Eye primarily) with Charge Order Burst.

Will look into this all. Also I was thinking F/D if only for Refresh Waltz against bosses that might toss up status.

For A+R, I suppose I want Free Energy and then the same basic rune spells? Or by runes do you mean go full elemental rune (not spells) for resistance lowering?

S/X... hmm I struggle to think of a good sub.
 

scy

Member
Will look into this all. Also I was thinking F/D if only for Refresh Waltz against bosses that might toss up status.

Well, the plan is to not actually have the Status Effects ever be relevant :x

Attack Tango is fine. It actually might be better anyway since you have less buffs to stack compared to debuffs anyway.

For A+R, I suppose I want Free Energy and then the same basic rune spells? Or by runes do you mean go full elemental rune (not spells) for resistance lowering?

Skip Free Energy. Arcanist has enough TP restoration as is. Runemaster is just for the 9 points of the Elemental Runes for the +Resistance buff / -Resistance debuff.

S/X... hmm I struggle to think of a good sub.

/Arcanist to get Binds to land better, /Nightseeker to get a double shot of their Binds, /Bushi for more raw damage. I'd say to try and get more utility from the slot with /Arcanist and Binds honestly but up to you.
 
Well, the plan is to not actually have the Status Effects ever be relevant :x

Attack Tango is fine. It actually might be better anyway since you have less buffs to stack compared to debuffs anyway.



Skip Free Energy. Arcanist has enough TP restoration as is. Runemaster is just for the 9 points of the Elemental Runes for the +Resistance buff / -Resistance debuff.



/Arcanist to get Binds to land better, /Nightseeker to get a double shot of their Binds, /Bushi for more raw damage. I'd say to try and get more utility from the slot with /Arcanist and Binds honestly but up to you.

1. I'll look at Star Drop vs Attack Tango. I don't even know what Star Drop is yet since I have no medic!

2. How do I even get good TP restore on my Arcanist? I'm running out because Poison kills everything before the circle effect ends.

3. Wait Arcanists have a +bind rate skill? Or do you mean invest in bind circles along with the precision binds?

Speaking of snipers, what is Bind Chase about at all? It says if an ALLY binds an enemy you follow up with an attack. But why would I invest in all the binding skills to unlock Bind Chase if I wasn't planning on having the Sniper himself do the binding?

Thanks for all the help scy. You're awesome.
 

spiritfox

Member
1. I'll look at Star Drop vs Attack Tango. I don't even know what Star Drop is yet since I have no medic!

2. How do I even get good TP restore on my Arcanist? I'm running out because Poison kills everything before the circle effect ends.

3. Wait Arcanists have a +bind rate skill? Or do you mean invest in bind circles along with the precision binds?

Speaking of snipers, what is Bind Chase about at all? It says if an ALLY binds an enemy you follow up with an attack. But why would I invest in all the binding skills to unlock Bind Chase if I wasn't planning on having the Sniper himself do the binding?

Thanks for all the help scy. You're awesome.

1. Star Drop lowers def of the enemies for that turn.

2. Dismissing your Circles also gives you back TP. A low level Dismiss Blow is actually free cause it gives you back TP!

3. It's the Ailment Boost at the Master level. It also boost bind rate.

Snipers will also chase their own binds, so it's kinda cool to snipe and get another shot off. But it's not really that useful, since it's only 1-3 shots per turn, and not a lot of damage.
 

scy

Member
1. I'll look at Star Drop vs Attack Tango. I don't even know what Star Drop is yet since I have no medic!

Target takes 140% Damage.

Edit: At max rank. It's 115% at Level 1 and 130% at Level 4 (of 8).

2. How do I even get good TP restore on my Arcanist? I'm running out because Poison kills everything before the circle effect ends.

TP Return gives them back TP every time they inflict a Status Effect or Bind (once per turn). This counts Status Effects from weapon procs too.

3. Wait Arcanists have a +bind rate skill? Or do you mean invest in bind circles along with the precision binds?

Ailment Boost increases the chance of landing Status Effects and Binds. Just to note, it's a flat chance added after resistances so it'll always be helpful. Well, unless you have a capped chance.

Speaking of snipers, what is Bind Chase about at all? It says if an ALLY binds an enemy you follow up with an attack. But why would I invest in all the binding skills to unlock Bind Chase if I wasn't planning on having the Sniper himself do the binding?

"Ally" in this case refers to anyone on the team. The Sniper can chase their own binds.
 
TP Return gives them back TP every time they inflict a Status Effect or Bind (once per turn). This counts Status Effects from weapon procs too.


Ailment Boost increases the chance of landing Status Effects and Binds. Just to note, it's a flat chance added after resistances so it'll always be helpful. Well, unless you have a capped chance.


"Ally" in this case refers to anyone on the team. The Sniper can chase their own binds.

1. Ah TP return must be a level 40 thing. Because Dismiss skills are free right now, but don't alone give me back anywhere near 16 that PCircle costs.

2. Guessing this is another 40+ skill. I assume it is useful on the Arcanist/Rune as well as the Sniper/Arcanist?

3. Gah this game sure can word skills badly. Do I even want to invest in the skill or should I just go for Squall Volley?
 

Boogiepop

Member
Does anyone know how you get to the back half of the 3rd floor of the 6th maze without fighting the boss? I'm just straight up lost, so a map/advice would be super helpful. Thanks.
 

tuffy

Member
So you didn't invest any in the Alchemist binds or dismiss blow/blast?
I didn't put any points into the binds (or any other circle, really) since I have a Sniper for that duty and there aren't enough points to go around. I only put the minimum number of points into Dismiss Blow since Dismiss Blast is a better attack skill with a wider attack coverage and more damage. I do use Dismiss Blow often since it's a cheap way of ending a circle early in order to return some TP, but only at the end of random encounters that are all but decided.
 

spiritfox

Member
...What the hell is an uncanny sensation anyway??

Man this floor is really messing with my "must walk every single tile" mentality.
 
Top Bottom