Etrian Odyssey Megathread II: You realize you have no need for a crayfish

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Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

Latest news: Etrian Mystery Dungeon out April 7th in the US; Untold 2 this Summer! :siren:

What is It?
Etrian Odyssey began as Sekaiju no Meikyuu (世界樹の迷宮 or 'Labyrinth of Yggdrasil'), brainchild of Kazuya Niinou. He wanted to make a game that recalled the old first-person dungeons crawlers of his youth, like Wizardry and Bard's Tale. Defying everyone's expectations, including his, the series achieved a quietly prosperous level of success which sustained it through 4 mainline titles (with a 5th in the wings), 2 remakes and, most recently, collaborations with the Mysterious Dungeon and Persona series.

How did it happen? First, because the developers continued to refine and tweak the formula since its inception. Each of the main games have built on the ones before, maintaining the same basic concepts while rebalancing the mechanics and the numbers behind them. People can and do quibble about the details, but each successive entry in the series has worked better as a game than the ones before. Second, because it turns out the combination of a challenging difficulty curve where failure leaves you with the foreknowledge to do better next time, chiptunes and cartography is really, REALLY addictive. The previous megathread ran 200+ pages across several years of goons talking about mapping, party builds and battle strategy.

It's easier now than ever before to get into the series. Getting out is much harder because there's really nothing else quite like it on the market today.

_{Art insert for EOIV bonus booklet by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass (click to view her tumblr)}

The Games:

Nintendo DS:

OG dungeon crawling action! Possibly OG 1.5 since there's so much Wizardry DNA in there. The original trilogy established all the features the series is known for: first-person dungeon crawling, using the bottom screen of the DS to draw your own map; a customizable 5-member party you can develop as you see fit; and of course the F.O.E. Represented in the original games by fuzzy floating orbs of various colors, these are powerful enemies that appear on the map and move with each step you take, or turn that passes in battle. They can also join battles already in progress. Don't be deceived by appearances! Bambi's mum will more than likely wreck your poo poo.

Of the 3 games, EOIII features major improvements in playability as well as the series' most distinctive class list. The first two aren't bad by any means, and many of the posters in this thread owe their addiction to playing them. However, with faithful-but-more-polished remakes of I & II available on the 3DS, there's little to recommend them beyond historical curiosity. If you want to try the series, and you only have a DS, buy EOIII.

Nintendo 3DS:

The great leap forward! Right off the bat, the series' move to the 3DS allowed for many improvements. Better graphics capabilities resulted in far superior draw distance while exploring the labyrinth, as well as actual enemy models so you can tell a a F.O.E's facing and what it is before you fight it. And this is all before you get to the mechanical improvements: EOIV has a smaller class selection than other entries, but it's easily the most balanced. The game can be completed with almost any party composition, and there are no 'traps' in the skill tree resulting in wasted points on useless skills. If you want to give the series a try, start with Etrian Odyssey IV.

'Untold' is the moniker applied to the remakes of the first two games in the original trilogy. In addition to the graphical improvements of EOIV, they also added a Story Mode. Story mode restricts your party composition to the 5 classes you start with, but they're a powerful, flexible mix. In exchange, your characters get, well, actual character: voice acted dialogue, plot, etc. Fairly bare-bones by JRPG standards but for some players that means the difference between trying the series and not, and who can complain about that? Both remakes also feature a Classic Mode, allowing you to explore the Labyrinth with whatever combination of classes you choose.

The remakes do have a downside, however: classic mode eschews the carefully balanced skill & class selection of EOIV for something closer to the original games. There are very clear winners and losers there. Instead of subclassing they introduced the Grimoire system. In theory this is a good way to branch out the story party's skillset and jury-rig subclassing into the classic mode parties. In practice it's a confusing mess at the mercy of the RNG.

Collaborations:

Etrian Mystery Dungeon is another throwback of sorts, a Rogue-like developed under the umbrella of Square's long-running Mystery Dungeon series, which you may already be familiar with in its Chocobo and Pokemon-related flavors. You still make a 5 person party, but now map layout and enemy placement is randomized and you've got to consider each character's position on the map individually. Talking about Rogue-likes in-depth is a little beyond the scope of this thread, but there are alternatives. There is a good chance, however, many of the posters here will buy this one too.

Persona Q is an honest-to-God canonical spinoff/crossover of Persona 3&4. It owes more in gameplay and art style to the Etrian series than Persona (in particular, the mapping and FOE aspects) but this too has its own, dedicated thread where you can discuss super important topics like whether Kanji still counts as a gold-star gay after he fingerbangs the robot. Overall: good game, if you enjoyed it without being familiar with the Etrian series, there's a good chance you'd enjoy exploring Labyrinths in Etria as well.

General F.A.Q

I heard these games are super difficult, and I am a giant baby/a masochistic freak (check whichever applies), will I find EO satisfying?

Their reputation is slightly exaggerated--only the very beginning and the post-game of an Etrian Odyssey game are truly difficult. It's more accurate to say they severely punish failure, but in a way that leaves you better prepared for next time. Nor are they hand-holding. Unlike your average JRPG, there are no tutorials besides the same basic lesson on mapmaking every game provides and you will not get far just mashing attack. You need to make full use of your party's abilities, learn how to manage your resources, and pay attention to the habits of the floor's FOEs to advance. Each game has made its own attempts to smooth out the difficulty curve, and the latest ones do have a 'Casual' difficulty if you're that nervous about it. Or a 'Hard' mode if you're a glutton for punishment...

Do I have to draw my own map? Isn't there an option to turn on auto-mapping and feed me peeled grapes while I play?

No. There's a fairly robust set of mapping tools, including the ability to add notes to an area, & the game auto-fills squares you walk over, but walls, doors, stairs, etc. are your responsibility. If that sounds like too much work, all I can say is that you should at least try it first. There's a surprising satisfaction to looking over a fully-mapped floor of the labyrinth that you drew yourself. And they're useful too--it's not for nothing that you can save changes to the map, even when you lose everything else in a full-party wipe.

An anime killed my parents, and I cannot bear the thought of adding one of those wall-eyed, pastel-haired freak children to my party, what should I do?

Choose a different portrait. You will never see the others again, unless you make a 2nd character from that class. Every class in every game has four options, and I guarantee you can find at least one that will not make all the cool Games posters laugh at you.

Why does so much fanart for this game feature giant orange balls of lint?

The original DS games took up practically all the memory on the cart as it is. They did not have the space or the art assets to assign a separate model to each FOE, so instead they were represented on the top screen as lint balls of various colors. You may ask, "so how were you supposed to tell which way they were facing?" The answer is, "you can't, and that's why you're being hunted down and killed by a flock of pterosaurs." 3D models sound like a purely cosmetic touch, but they were actually one of the big improvements to the 3DS entries. Also draw distance.

How do I beat <enemy>? / What party should I use for <floor?> / How do I earn enough money for <consumerist garbage>?

Gonna level with you here: tracking the changes to party composition, balance and game flow across that many entries in the series was butting up against the post's character limit. If you have a question, ask the thread. We are very helpful, because we want to see as many people as possible get hopelessly addicted like us. Furthermore because the core gameplay holds up well even in the older games, you can get reasonably informed advice for any game in the series~~because the need to satisfy our horrible addiction has made desperate, broken people of us all~~.

Should I check the statues?

Yes.

_{Artist's depiction of a typical F.O.E}

Useful Links

Skill Simulators for Etrian Odyssey III and Etrian Odyssey IV. If you want to plan out a party in advance, plus know just how effective (or not) it will be, then these are the tools to use.
No such resource exists for the first Untold game, but the Japanese wiki is helpful, if awkwardly phrased. Unfortunately, for the first two games the best you can do is check GameFAQs (or better yet, ask the thread).
Etrian Odyssey II LP by Dr. Fetus, currently on 20F. This is the original EOII, extra 'gently caress yous' to players who beat the first game and all. There were other LPs of the DS games, but they ran out of steam due to the scope of the games and fell into the archives.
QR Codes for EOIV's extra quests/treasures, which you're supposed to get by Streetpassing with other people but gently caress that, EO players aren't that common, even in Japan.
QR codes for Goon guilds will go here, if you post a link in the thread. Be sure to say whether it's for EOIV or Untold!

Rangpur fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Mar 19, 2015

# ? Mar 11, 2015 03:53

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 01:14

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

Series Overview:
aka
:eng99:

The Quest for Balance :eng99:

The core of the series' gameplay remains the same across all entries (spin offs like Mystery Dungeon excepted), but Atlus continues to tinker with the math and the overall balance with each new game. Usually for the better, but ocassionally... less so. If you would like to try one of the older games, this will also serve as a way of knowing just how much typical Atlus bullshit you're in for.

Etrian Odyssey
Class List: Landsknecht, Protector, Alchemist, Survivalist, Medic, Troubadour, Dark Hunter, Ronin, Hexer
(For this and future games, the spoiler'd classes are unlocked as you advance the story. These are not considered big secrets when discussing game mechanics, and will not be blanked out beyond this post, but they are spoilered here as a courtesy to those of you just looking for basic information on the individual games.)

As the game that launched the series, almost everything that makes EO distinct has its start in this one. However, it also lacks many of the quality-of-life improvements added later. The mapping tools are bareboned, you can't sidestep while exploring, there's no auto-battle function, or item storage... But its biggest design issue is the utter lack of context when it comes to picking and improving skills. The only reason that information exists is slow and painful experimentation on the part of the more dedicated fans. If you change your mind, respeccing isn't available until level 30, it costs you 10 levels, and there's no good way to speed the grinding process up. This becomes a major problem when you unlock the extra classes, because it requires starting a character from scratch when your main party is already likely to be settled. However, while I am hard on the game (and I really can't emphasize enough how much better EOIII is if you want/need a recommendation for one of the DS games) it does have strong points. For one thing, the classes are all balanced, in the sense they are all good at what they're meant to do. A bog standard RPG party of Landsknecht/Protector in front, and Medic/Alchemist/Survivalist in the rear can meet any challenge in the game. It is also the only game to feature healing springs, which are a godsend for long expeditions and level grinding.

Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of High Lagaard
Class List: Landsknecht, Protector, Alchemist, Survivalist, Medic, Troubadour, Dark Hunter, Ronin, Hexer, War Magus, Gunner, Beast

Etrian Odyssey II was released unusually hard on the heels of the first game. Because of this, it is unfairly criticized as an 'expansion pack.' However it is no smaller than the first game in any measure. On the other hand, it does seem to have been designed to challenge people who already finished the first game, and it entirely fairly criticized for poor QA. The Japanese version was very buggy; the NA version less so, but a couple of skills don't work correctly. Notably, this is also the only game that allows you to tie your old file together via a very, very long password. This imports your Guild's name, a handful of nerfed endgame bonuses, and lots and lots of extra 'gently caress you' events. What else changed?

Landsknecht, Survivalist, & Alchemist all got nerfed in a big way. Why? Who knows. It sure as hell wasn't party balance because Dark Hunters, Ronin, Gunners and Hexers will kill everything even faster. War Magus isn't as good at healing as a Medic, but they're faster, stronger, and tougher.
Side-step with the L/R buttons!! (I know this doesn't sound impressive but imagine checking a long corridor for secret passages without it.)
FOEs no longer give out EXP when defeated. (Why would you do that?)
Most enemies and bosses have considerably lower HP, but do more damage in exchange. As a result the most successful party builds in EOII are also the most aggressive ones.
Healing springs are a thing of the past, replaced with Geomagnetic Poles. These allow you to start from further into the stratum once activated, but you can only have one active at a time. They cannot be used to exit either, so make sure you bring a Warp Wire. In fact, bring two. There are squirrels around, you know...
The old Boost gauge, which let characters use higher level versions of their skills is replaced by Force skills--class specific super moves. These range from heavy damage to enemy mobs to guaranteed stuns, applying all binds simultaneously, etc. Thereby skewing the balance even more heavily towards certain classes. (Why would you DO that?)
Retiring characters has tangible benefits now, ranging from +4 to all stats and 4 extra skill points at the minimum of level 30, to +5 for all stats and 8 skill points at the cap of 70. Hitting the cap then retiring will also raise the cap for that character to 71. (Yes, you can repeat this until you hit 99. No, you should not attempt it.)

Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City
Class List: Arbalist, Buccaneer, Farmer, Gladiator, Hoplite, Monk, Ninja, Prince/ss, Wildling, Zodiac, Shogun, Yggdroid

Third, and most polished of the original DS trilogy. It also has the most content, despite a 25 floor Labyrinth instead of the previous games' 30 floors. Although the class lineup is radically different, most of them are roughly equivalent to a class from EOI&II. Hoplites are tanks, Monks are Medics, Zodiacs are Alchemists, etc. Ninja and Wildling deserve special mention--they both make use of that 6th formation slot that's always gone unfilled until now. But they can't both use it at the same time. Farmers meanwhile, are exactly what they sound like. A party of 5 Farmers is the tradional way of making money in the game until you unlock sub-classing. (Then it's Ninja/Farmers.)

New to this Game:

Sub-classing! This is the big one. Once you complete the second stratum, you can add an additional class' skills to your options at level up. You also get a one-time bonus of 5 skill points to get started. The only restrictions are the unique skill and armor selection of the base class. Everything else is up for grabs, and proper use (or abuse) of this mechanic can break the game over your knee.
Sea exploration! In additional to the traditional labyrinth, you can sail the ocean blue seeking out new trade goods (for extra money) or undiscovered lands (extra bosses and quests). This is best thought of as a giant puzzle that you solve one piece at a time. It can be tricky to wrap your head around at first, but the rewards are very much worth it.
Quest EXP! Not only are the items and money you can earn for completing quests much better than EOII, you also earn EXP for each quest you turn in. This is extremely useful for catching up characters who don't see much use in battle. Like, say, those Farming parties mentioned earlier--switching them in before you turn in a quest is a common trick. You can do the same with the storyline-related Missions.
Equipment forging! Weapons and armor that add bonus effects are nothing new to the series, but EOIII gives you the option to customize your gear for bonus stats, elemental damage or resistance, inflicting status ailments, etc. Each type of bonus requires a different hammer you'll have to locate by playing the game, and not all equipment is equally flexible, but it's one more way to squeeze the system for every conceivable advantage.
Branching storyline! Still the only game that offers this, oddly enough. There's an obvious branching point in the third stratum that determines which of the two spoilered classes you get. There's also a third, 'true ending,' which is accessible on either path (though likely not without consulting the thread to find the obscure flags for it). However it's recommended you do the other two endings first to gather money and equipment for the goddamned nightmare that is EOIII's postgame.
Lift the level cap! Now "easily" accomplished by defeating a series of 3 postgame superbosses. Note that level 99 characters are by no means necessary to complete the post-game, but you'll usually want to raise the cap anyway because beating those bosses also unlocks useful equipment.

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan
Class List: Dancer, Fortress, Landsknecht, Medic, Nightseeker, Runemaster, Sniper, Arcanist, Bushi, Imperial

When it comes to recommending a 3DS title to sample Etrian Odyssey, the reason EOIV gets the nod over either of the Untold games is simple: balance. The classes are all carefully designed to function on their own, and synergize well. Nearly any party composition can work in EOIV, and the solo class challenges exist to prove it. The trade-off is that there are fewer total classes than EOIII, and the real oddities like Ninja & Farmer are gone. The biggest complaint is that the Labyrinths are smaller, and individually they are; but between side areas and the world map itself there's still plenty of ground to cover.

New to this Game:

Airshipppp!!!11 Yes, some 25 years after Final Fantasy did it, Etrian Odyssey gets a flying boat to call its own. Unlike Final Fantasy, you get it at the beginning of the game. Moreover, you are no longer limited by rations as in EOIII. Explore to your heart's content! No, really do it. Because now you must find the Labyrinth before you can explore it. There are also additional, smaller mazes to seek out. And of course the overworld map has its own hazards and FOEs.
Enemies now possess animated 3-D models in battle. FOE models will also appear on the top screen. No more running from unidentified balls of lint!
Introduction of 'rare breeds.' Regular enemies will randomly appear in a glowing, gold form. They're stronger, always act first, and each turn that passes makes them stronger still... but also worth more EXP if you kill them. However, each turn that passes will also increase the odds they run away. FOEs may also show up as rare breeds, but they do NOT retreat so make sure you can kill them quickly.
Enemy mobs may consist of a front and back row as well, with the same effects it has on your party (i.e., reduced melee damage take/given in the rear).
Gathering no longer requires specific skills (though skills to increase the amount and quality you get still exist).
Skill trees are now divided into Novice, Expert and Master tiers--the latter two unlocked at levels 20 & 40, respectively.
A sub-class' skills are capped at half the usual maximum (a character's main class is unaffected)
Respeccing a character now costs a mere 2 levels.

More to come later.

Rangpur fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Mar 20, 2015

# ? Mar 11, 2015 03:56

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

Guys, I have a suspicion that EOU2 might actually be awesome.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:00

Araxxor: Oct 20, 2012; My disdain for you all knows no bounds.

As imbalanced as Story mode might be, I might try that first instead of Classic. Also, the Jack Frost Gunner is the best portrait in the entire series.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:17

Regy Rusty: Apr 26, 2010

Pureauthor posted:

Guys, I have a suspicion that EOU2 might actually be awesome.

Me too. I can't wait to find out what all this squirrel nonsense is about.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:17

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

Dr. Fetus posted:

As imbalanced as Story mode might be, I might try that first instead of Classic. Also, the Jack Frost Gunner is the best portrait in the entire series.

OG Protector 4 life.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:23

Cernunnos: Sep 2, 2011; ppbbbbttttthhhhh~

Should probably be somewhere in the OP. :v:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:28

Reco: Feb 26, 2011; enemy one body to the proximity Zan attack discard the power slap hit.

Here's to another 1000 posts about inputting numbers and getting different numbers output.

Super excited for Untold 2!

Pureauthor posted:

OG Protector 4 life.

Actually I think you'll find that the best character design is
<-- right over here

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:28

PaletteSwappedNinja: Jun 3, 2008; One Nation, Under God.

Just a heads up, Mystery Dungeon is more a Chunsoft thing than a Square thing - Chunsoft created and owns the IP and I think the Chocobo game is the only one they didn't also make.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:46

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

Is Mystery Dungeon gonna have skill point allocation? Because I hate that poo poo and as boring as a lot of Persona Q was at least it got rid of it.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:48

Meowywitch: Jan 14, 2010

Controversial opinion: Untold story is worth playing entirely for the canadian party girl.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:00

Reco: Feb 26, 2011; enemy one body to the proximity Zan attack discard the power slap hit.

Countblanc posted:

Is Mystery Dungeon gonna have skill point allocation? Because I hate that poo poo and as boring as a lot of Persona Q was at least it got rid of it.

It's kind of the core mechanic of the series so uh no

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:01

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

Countblanc posted:

Is Mystery Dungeon gonna have skill point allocation? Because I hate that poo poo and as boring as a lot of Persona Q was at least it got rid of it.

And replaced it with characters who get like 3 skills each. Worse, they frequently get boring, useless skills. I mean, I liked the game for the most part, but I'm not grinding out 14 levels for Teddie so he gets access to loving Mabufudyne. I've had that spell on tap since like the 3rd Labyrinth.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:08

Lakbay: Dec 14, 2006; My eye...MY EYE!!!

I'm excited for EMD, but I think it's a party of 4 max instead of the usual 5. Does anyone know if you control the whole party or just the pointman? Videos of the game make it really unclear.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:09

Reco: Feb 26, 2011; enemy one body to the proximity Zan attack discard the power slap hit.

Lakbay posted:

I'm excited for EMD, but I think it's a party of 4 max instead of the usual 5. Does anyone know if you control the whole party or just the pointman? Videos of the game make it really unclear.

I think you can switch between 1PC/3AI and 4PC turn based but I'm not certain.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:11

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

I am well pleased by the thread title. :getin:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:11

Araxxor: Oct 20, 2012; My disdain for you all knows no bounds.

Lakbay posted:

I'm excited for EMD, but I think it's a party of 4 max instead of the usual 5. Does anyone know if you control the whole party or just the pointman? Videos of the game make it really unclear.

Same as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, You can only control one member at a time.

I have no idea how difficult that game is, but looking at other accounts of the game, it seems like it's easier than Shiren the Wanderer. No idea how it compares to PMD.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:13

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

I'm interested in finding out the 'correct' approach to exploration. During the demo livestream they stuck to using a single character, which goes against all my instincts in an EO game. Trying to control & position a 4 member party in a roguelike was one of the main aspects I found intriguing, so I hope it's balanced around using a full lineup.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:17

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

Hivac posted:

It's kind of the core mechanic of the series so uh no

Sorry I was under the impression that the core mechanic of the game was combat, my b.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:25

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

I am... confused by what you think they'd use as a replacement for a skill point-based system of character growth/customization. That flexibility is nearly always considered a point in the series' favor, if anything. You could replace with Materia, or a License board or any of a number of other systems, I just don't think it would be an improvement.

EDIT: Unless you're referring to EMD specifically? In which case I still have no idea, because I was under the impression most Roguelikes did something similar.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:37

Complexcalibur: Mar 11, 2007; NUOOOOAAAGH

As another take on the difficulty question, I think it would also be accurate to say the games are very difficult at the start because you are so limited in your options. Once your characters have enough skill points to unlock some options worth using, you can start actually responding to the threats the game throws at you instead of running from them.

Etrian Odyssey 4 is often said to be the easiest game in the series, but I think that's just because of how they streamlined the skill trees. Meanwhile 2 is considered to be the hardest, and that game has the most frustrating skill point tax out of all of them.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:40

Cake Attack: Mar 26, 2010

they really should make the return on investment uniform, or failing that not completely retarded some of the time

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:40

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Rangpur posted:

I am... confused by what you think they'd use as a replacement for a skill point-based system of character growth/customization. That flexibility is nearly always considered a point in the series' favor, if anything. You could replace with Materia, or a License board or any of a number of other systems, I just don't think it would be an improvement.

I mean, I guess an auto-levelling option that allocates your skill points for you, maybe based on your choice of one of a short list of build options, would be possible to implement and wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for people who don't want to fiddle with character customisation. Even that would start to get complicated once you introduced features like subclassing, though.

Cake Attack posted:

they really should make the return on investment uniform, or failing that not completely retarded some of the time

EO4 was mostly pretty consistent about that, at least for active skills: small power increases with no downside at most skill ranks, and big breakpoints at 50% and 100% investment with a significant increase in both TP cost and effectiveness. Passive skills still got a little weird sometimes, but in general you got the largest benefit from the first point you invested and smaller benefits with gradually diminishing returns after that.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:49

Araxxor: Oct 20, 2012; My disdain for you all knows no bounds.

The DS games were really imbalanced. EO1 had Defender and Immunize. EO2 has a lot of things, but the Hexer stands out as the most broken class. EO3 had subclassing, which completely shattered any bit of difficulty in the game. And Warrior Might.

Rangpur posted:

I'm interested in finding out the 'correct' approach to exploration. During the demo livestream they stuck to using a single character, which goes against all my instincts in an EO game. Trying to control & position a 4 member party in a roguelike was one of the main aspects I found intriguing, so I hope it's balanced around using a full lineup.

The Wanderer skillset looks like it benefits a lot from using them solo. Some of their skills are terrible to have in a team, like they have the ability to make a getaway from enemies. Which only affects them.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 06:00

LightningSquid: Dec 27, 2013

Thuryl posted:

I mean, I guess an auto-levelling option that allocates your skill points for you, maybe based on your choice of one of a short list of build options, would be possible to implement and wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for people who don't want to fiddle with character customisation. Even that would start to get complicated once you introduced features like subclassing, though.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe in one of the streams it was shown that EMD has exactly that.

LightningSquid fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Mar 11, 2015

# ? Mar 11, 2015 06:28

Crosspeice: Aug 9, 2013

Woo, ground floor. I love this series and I'm really psyched for EOU2, should be great.

I'll probably buy all the DLC though. :negative:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 10:53

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

Smdh if you buy the hot springs DLC

# ? Mar 11, 2015 11:10

woofbro: Nov 25, 2013

Pureauthor posted:

Smdh if you buy the hot springs DLC

Day 1 preorder if possible.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 11:34

Crosspeice: Aug 9, 2013

Doesn't the hot springs one lock off part of the 14th floor, along with one other DLC? Do the unique monsters have spaces in the Codex?

If yes, then drat straight I'm buying all of it, regardless of how terrible it is.

Not all at once though, I'm not that crazy.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 13:10

Araxxor: Oct 20, 2012; My disdain for you all knows no bounds.

The hotsprings DLC does have a unique boss that counts as part of the Codex. If you really want 100% completion, but don't want to deal with the creepy stuff, then play that part in Classic mode. There's no hotspring scenes there, it's just an extra boss you have to fight, like a bunch of the other DLC.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 13:47

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

I just want to fight that frog boss. How can I be finished with the game if I haven't killed everything in the Labyrinth? :black101:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 14:16

Not Operator: Jan 1, 2009; Not A doctor, THE Doctor!

Volt Catfish posted:

Controversial opinion: Untold story is worth playing entirely for the canadian party girl.

The only controversy is whether this opinion is correct or super-correct.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 15:13

Crosspeice: Aug 9, 2013

Counterpoint: Arthur.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 15:26

OgretailFood: Oct 9, 2012; Recommended by 10 out of 10 Aragami

Arthur is the only story-mode character that I like

Pureauthor posted:

Smdh if you buy the hot springs DLC

Except if you play it in Classic. No anime nudes there and 100% codex completition.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 16:05

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Txn posted:

Arthur is the only story-mode character that I like

what is it like being Wrong, eh :canada:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 16:47

Araxxor: Oct 20, 2012; My disdain for you all knows no bounds.

Raquna was the only interesting part of story mode. The other characters were static and uninteresting, and the actual story was a cliche and a much less interesting version of EO1's plot. I hope EO2U's story mode is better, but I'm not holding out too much hope for it. At least there's no moral ambiguity to butcher this time.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 17:17

Reco: Feb 26, 2011; enemy one body to the proximity Zan attack discard the power slap hit.

For as powerful as KoF is, I hope that EOU2's plot focuses more on the actual main character because holy crap while I like Frederica's design she is such a boring character. Also, EOU brought up stuff about the Highlanders early on and to my knowledge it pretty much got dropped and I don't think it was ever brought up again beyond some vague mention later.

Also gruff anime tank is a pretty cool character design.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 17:22

Crosspeice: Aug 9, 2013

I'm currently doing the coolest Untold quest to get five Gold Antlers. I've gotten three in half an hour. Woo.

I kinda liked the Highlander when you could act goofy and get everyone flustered. Thankfully you can do the same for U2, if I remember right from that stream way way back.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 17:47

Cernunnos: Sep 2, 2011; ppbbbbttttthhhhh~

Crosspeice posted:

I'm currently doing the coolest Untold quest to get five Gold Antlers. I've gotten three in half an hour. Woo.

I kinda liked the Highlander when you could act goofy and get everyone flustered. Thankfully you can do the same for U2, if I remember right from that stream way way back.

The best quest in Untold is the "Spend 5 days on the 8th floor" one. Just set an auto walk path in the Wyvern's room and press GO. :v:

Be sure to make the path cross the center spot where the Wyvern shoots lightning cause watching your party ram it's face into it a few times every couple of laps out of the corner of your eye never really gets old. :v:

# ? Mar 11, 2015 19:44

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 01:14

psudonym55: Nov 23, 2014

So I've been playing Etrian Odyssey 3 and just got access to Yggdroids and I know people say they arn't a great class but I'm interested in trying them out.
I was just wondering what people think would be the best subclass for them? I was thinking of going for monk and using Ascetic Deeds and Breakfire Fist
to off set the damage from Overheat and then maybe the Red Bot to chase the fire from my punches.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 20:07

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Etrian Odyssey Megathread II: You realize you have no need for a crayfish

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