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I hope y'all are happy; between this thread and the LP, I dug out my copy of EO3 and started playing again. And I still can't settle on a party.
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# ? Nov 18, 2012 23:45 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 19:51 |
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Exodee posted:Er, yes it does? Form Qi boosts any healing skill that scales with stats, including Protect Order. It's pretty easy to test too, a Monk/Prince with maxed out Form Qi heals way more with Protect Order than a Zodiac/Monk would, even though the latter has more TEC. I was parroting an old forum thread on Intothelabyrinth because I don't actually have my DS right now. Either way Protect Order owns bones.
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# ? Nov 18, 2012 23:48 |
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Kanos posted:The Prince class as a primary is garbage and should be scrapped as soon as you can be bothered to level a replacement, but as a subclass for Monk or Ninja its skillset is one of the best in the game. Excuse me my Princess is the guild's founder so there's no way she can leave.
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# ? Nov 18, 2012 23:48 |
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Kanos posted:I was parroting an old forum thread on Intothelabyrinth because I don't actually have my DS right now. Speaking of Princes, I've had some success with turning a Prince into a tank of sorts by subbing Hoplite. Their large TP pool/recovery allows them to spam those defensive skills over and over, while still having some pretty solid defense. Kinda moot when you've got a Ninja/Zodiac of course, but it's something at least.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 00:01 |
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Dr Pepper posted:Excuse me my Princess is the guild's founder so there's no way she can leave. Retire her and pretend she took up religion and/or learned to be a ninja.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 00:59 |
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Kanos posted:I was parroting an old forum thread on Intothelabyrinth because I don't actually have my DS right now. I haven't checked ItL in a while. I hope scy's still around for EO4!
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 03:26 |
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Kanos posted:Retire her and pretend she took up religion and/or learned to be a ninja. The alt color of the first female shogun in the perfect blond princess standin.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 03:33 |
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Wait, can someone explain why Prince/Princess primary is bad?
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 04:33 |
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Their unique skill (royal lineage) is lovely.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 04:37 |
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Lotish posted:Wait, can someone explain why Prince/Princess primary is bad? I believe I had 2 princes in my party for my whole first run through the game, don't worry about it too much.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 05:00 |
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Lotish posted:Wait, can someone explain why Prince/Princess primary is bad? If you're going for super optimization, main prince/ss is bad because they have incredibly mediocre stats across the board and their unique skill is garbage that sucks really hard. Their skillset is fantastic but a monk/prince will be a drastically better Protect Order user due to a significantly deeper TP pool, Form Qi, and a really good TEC stat. A ninja/prince will be a drastically better buffer due to much higher AGI to go first, Keburi no Sue to make their buffs cost basically nothing, and if you're feeling saucy, Bunshin to allow you to double your buffing power. Ninjas even make better Protect Order users because even their TEC is better than a main Prince. Really, the only positive things a Prince has going for him is heavy armor access and decent HP, and if your Prince is getting his head smashed in your hoplite is doing a bad job. For the main game, you can pretty much use whatever and win, so if you like the way your prince/ss looks, don't panic. I actually like to use two princes at the beginning to ensure I can stay in the Labyrinth for an infinite amount of time to make the early game go faster, for example. Kanos fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Nov 19, 2012 |
# ? Nov 19, 2012 05:20 |
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Lotish posted:Wait, can someone explain why Prince/Princess primary is bad? fake edit: this is why you don't walk off in the middle of typing a reply
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 05:29 |
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Lotish posted:Wait, can someone explain why Prince/Princess primary is bad? Remember though that sub-classing doesn't change your stats, and it doesn't change the armor you can use. Check the stat spread and you see royals are practically sitting right on the median. They have no outstanding stats, but they also lack glaring weaknesses. They have the stats to do passably well with most jobs, and they can use the heaviest armor/shields. You use a Prince/ss to plant a skill set on the front line that would otherwise be too fragile: Zodiac, Arbalist, Monk, etc. Rangpur fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Nov 19, 2012 |
# ? Nov 19, 2012 05:34 |
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So how's EO4 with regards to that? Is it supposed to be more balanced in those terms (i.e. you can subclass anything and still be viable) or are there still disappointments like the Yggdroid out there?
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 05:56 |
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Everyone seems pretty useful, just looking at the Skill Simulator. Of course, I say this having no real experience with anyone. If nothing else, a lot of the classes have a 'Hits enemy party multiple times' attack, which is basically the best way to deal damage in this series.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 06:55 |
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For those of you new to the series and looking for general advice, I finished my general advice write-up for the first two games in the second post. Those of you who are not new to the series, feel free to point out any stuff I stupidly missed!
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 07:21 |
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Complexcalibur posted:If nothing else, a lot of the classes have a 'Hits enemy party multiple times' attack, which is basically the best way to deal damage in this series. Yay class mechanics! Etrian Odyssey 4 classes are based around a single mechanic a lot more than 3's classes (I want to say more like the first game, but I haven't played it in so long I can't remember). The third game's classes had a lot of overlap on mechanics; the Wildling and Zodiac were pretty much entirely based around binds/status and elemental damage making them exceptions, but pretty much every other class had two or all three of those mechanics at their disposal in addition to their own niche. EO4, among the default classes, the mechanics of the game are a lot more stratified with only 2/7 classes having elemental attacks (compared to 6/10 in 3, not counting Buccaneer's chase skills) and with the exception of the Medic's 'Sleep Blow' skill all the statuses and binds are restricted to Nightseekers and Snipers, respectively. The versatility of EO3's overlapping skill-sets are replaced with a whole lot of physical damage skills and modifying skills (with actives like spread-throw and passives like all the 'pre-emptive [skill]' things). The unlockable classes are each an exception, though I also think Furry/Dancer and AnimeBladegunDude/Nightseeker will be the hep new OP combos, but they both depend on secret classes.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 08:07 |
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Rangpur posted:For those of you new to the series and looking for general advice, I finished my general advice write-up for the first two games in the second post. Those of you who are not new to the series, feel free to point out any stuff I stupidly missed! Only thing I'd add to the advice you gave is a bit of a warning regarding poison in EO1 - it's fantastic at first, but the damage doesn't scale with TEC, or anything beyond skill level, so while it's beautiful throughout the first stratum, it quickly becomes a bit crap later on. Unless you did say that, and I missed it somehow. Anyway, it generally all looks pretty great, otherwise!
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 09:59 |
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Are the unlockable classes in 4 really a spoiler when they showed them off in the Famitsu previews? The only thing they're sort of pussyfooting around with like they did with 3's unlockables is the third one.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 10:51 |
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I'd presume it's for the same reasons. Unlocking the Shogun/Yggdroid class is directly tied to the actions you take in the story. Theoretically, you could complete EO I/II without unlocking Ronin and Hexer/Beast and it wouldn't change anything.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 12:15 |
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I really disliked using Monk/Prince as my healer based on Protect order. In a game where you only have 3 buff/debuff slots, I felt better off saving one for a near permanent use of Prevent Order. Too many times burned in the previous games by a session ending confusion, sleep or petrification, or a bosses instant death move threshold when your party has too many buffs. I still took a monk/prince as my primary healer and then had a Prince/Wildling for Attack Order, Ad Nihilo and Primal Drums. Of course this was to compliment a tankier variant of the Warrior's Might build that used a Hoplite/Ninja, a Glad/Shogun and a gun wielding Shogun/Buccaneer for maximum limit abuse.
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# ? Nov 19, 2012 17:54 |
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So, in EO1 how am I supposed to get my farming Survivalist takers/miners down three/four floors in one piece to get their groove on? There's lots of scary butterflies in the way I'd like a little extra stuff before taking on Fenrir to go with this pretty swell Boar Spear Bellmaker fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Nov 20, 2012 |
# ? Nov 20, 2012 04:27 |
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There are two ways of handling this: one is to limit yourself to 3 survivalists, all in the back row, plus your two strongest frontline characters. That should be enough to handle most random encounters if you're at the point where you think you could take Fenrir. You won't be able to rake in quite as much cash per trip this way, but it's safer. The other way is to go full-on team farmbot, in which case you'll want to run from every non-trivial fight. How feasible this is depends on what level they are and what equipment they're wearing. Thing is, you DO need to upgrade your farmbots' equipment, even if its only hand-me-downs from the main party. Survivalists usually have a high enough AGI that they can flee reliably, but you still want them capable of surviving a hit or two in the meantime. FOEs are a potential problem either way, but if you're unable to avoid them then send your main party in first to wipe them out. Remember: a dead FOE stays dead for an in-game week or so.
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# ? Nov 20, 2012 11:01 |
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This thread made me pick up EO3 again. It surprises me how little I enjoy this genre of game normally, but EO3 is great. I guess it's just the difference that something other than 'GRIM DUNGEON WITH GENERIC FANTASY' makes.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 07:34 |
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Yeah, it honestly isn't much of a change, but 'Dungeon Crawl in the tropics' was a nice spin on things.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 14:48 |
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Dungeon crawl in the tropics while a goofy anime mixup of Norse mythology, Lovecraftian horror, and robots actively going against Asimov's 3 laws throw down in the subterranean Japanese forest underneath the ocean.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 15:02 |
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Managed to kill the boss in F5 (although he took out my Medic and Protector in the process). Is Caudeceus really that good, or is it a 20-point trap? I have my qualms about putting a medic in the front row when the game likes to curbstomp my frontline guys in one round, despite the people I've heard say it's good. How useful are TP Recover and Scavenge for the Medic/Alchemist? I'm using a troubador, so is TP Recover on top of that too much or am I better off snagging more cure/salve and
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 15:27 |
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So, I literally just now discovered (after playing for a good 10 hours or so on two playthrough attempts and reaching B4F) that once you go through a one-way hole in a wall, you can use it both ways as a shortcut. I thought they were just for leaving the dungeon
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 18:24 |
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Some actually are only one way, though. Make sure you check so you can mark them correctly on your map.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 18:29 |
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Falcon2001 posted:So, I literally just now discovered (after playing for a good 10 hours or so on two playthrough attempts and reaching B4F) that once you go through a one-way hole in a wall, you can use it both ways as a shortcut. I thought they were just for leaving the dungeon A lot of floors have a "two way but only openable on this side" sort of thing near the entrance so that you can easily go through that floor next time.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 18:47 |
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Falcon2001 posted:This thread made me pick up EO3 again. It surprises me how little I enjoy this genre of game normally, but EO3 is great. I guess it's just the difference that something other than 'GRIM DUNGEON WITH GENERIC FANTASY' makes. EO is also pretty different from most first person dungeon crawls. Typical members of the genre are more like Dark Spire, i.e. having much more of a focus on puzzle-solving with combat being something of a simplistic afterthought. EO ditches all but the most basic of puzzle solving(finding out how to get from point A to point B) in favor of a really deep and tightly tuned combat system with a lot of options.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 19:45 |
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Though they can get pretty creative in creating FOE based puzzles.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 19:54 |
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Complexcalibur posted:Yeah, it honestly isn't much of a change, but 'Dungeon Crawl in the tropics' was a nice spin on things. Next time you get a chance, examine the bestiary: you see slimes, and spiders, and killer fish, etc. Doesn't sound all that different until you consider what ISN'T there. Across all 3 EO games so far you will not find a single: zombie, goblin, orc, elf, halfling, kobold, or nameless human thug. Hell, every time you have to fight another human it is A Big Deal, and they are far more dangerous than anything else on the floor. The fact that all of those show up in great profusion in Dark Spire is one of the reasons I didn't care for the game. I've played D&D tons already and even back in high school we didn't fuckin' roll for stats, goddamn. Which is a pity since I really did like the art style, but the setting was just incredibly dull to me.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 20:29 |
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I never managed to get far enough into any of the games to know if they already do this, but the "exploring the murderous wilderness" motif really makes me want a "points of light" kind of game that has multiple towns. After clearing so many strata, you find another pocket of civilization and open up a trade route or something.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 20:52 |
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Lotish posted:I never managed to get far enough into any of the games to know if they already do this, but the "exploring the murderous wilderness" motif really makes me want a "points of light" kind of game that has multiple towns. After clearing so many strata, you find another pocket of civilization and open up a trade route or something. EO3 actually does this with the Deep City and to a lesser extent the sailing exploration. In fact, it's completely central to the plot!
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:06 |
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Lotish posted:I never managed to get far enough into any of the games to know if they already do this, but the "exploring the murderous wilderness" motif really makes me want a "points of light" kind of game that has multiple towns. After clearing so many strata, you find another pocket of civilization and open up a trade route or something. The third game has this in the Deep City, where the descendants of the people in the part of Armoroad that was swallowed by the labyrinth live, and it's where you can go to subclass. Also I think the fourth game's concept of having an overworld will probably lend itself to this pretty easily.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:07 |
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Lotish posted:I never managed to get far enough into any of the games to know if they already do this, but the "exploring the murderous wilderness" motif really makes me want a "points of light" kind of game that has multiple towns. After clearing so many strata, you find another pocket of civilization and open up a trade route or something. Yeah, since the dungeon progression is fairly linear for most of the game and the town is just a menu, I've always wanted a little more 'story' to the levels. Like the first three levels of a stratum are exploring a jungle while heading towards a dungeon, and then two levels of ruined dungeon, then you move onto a new town and another mini-progression arc, like two levels of desert, one level of ruined city, two more levels of desert, and then a tower made up of several small maps instead of one huge one. Something more then just 5 levels of green jungle, 5 levels of red jungle, 5 levels of yellow... Although, as pointed out, EOIII is a bit better about this, and hopefully IV does even more.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:11 |
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EO4 release date is February 26, 2013:quote:Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is hitting North America on February 26, 2013. The initial production batch will come will a limited edition art book and music CD.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:18 |
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Kanos posted:EO is also pretty different from most first person dungeon crawls. Typical members of the genre are more like Dark Spire, i.e. having much more of a focus on puzzle-solving with combat being something of a simplistic afterthought. EO ditches all but the most basic of puzzle solving(finding out how to get from point A to point B) in favor of a really deep and tightly tuned combat system with a lot of options. The bonus stratum amps up the puzzle solving a lot more. They tend to save the crazy hard stuff for there.
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:20 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 19:51 |
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Oh god decisions. Do I download it and always have it with me, or preorder for a sweet artbook and CD?
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# ? Nov 21, 2012 21:25 |