My Deserted Etrian Odyssey Thread [Archive]

Shrinn

04-27-2009, 04:00 PM

My party consists of:

Front Row: Landsknecht (x2), Protector
Back Row: Survivalist, Medic

I'm currently on the 4th floor. I'm just looking to hang around and gain a few levels before hitting the 5th floor.

Are your Ls axes, swords, or one of each? What kind of goals are you going for?

My group:
Front: Protector, Axesknecht
Back: Medic, Troubadour, Alchemist

I just cleared the 20th floor and it was an exciting marathon of fights. Everyone is 46 except my Protector who is 42 (rested because I royally messed up my skills). I'm currently debating switching my Alchemist out for a survivalist because I'm not really running into Phys immune monsters and 1st turn would be very nice to have.

SilentScreams

04-27-2009, 04:11 PM

I still need to play a little more EO2...I played for a couple of hours and got fed up of the constant town trips. Do they ease up a little later? Either by way of becoming more convenient or by your party being able to last longer before running out of mana etc?

Evil Avnovice

04-27-2009, 06:22 PM

Oh, heck no, I've heard EOII is even more punishing than the original. :)

Heavens no.:p The 5th stratum is extremely tough, both in encounters and FOE, but nothing that I ever felt was frustrating.

I still need to play a little more EO2...I played for a couple of hours and got fed up of the constant town trips. Do they ease up a little later? Either by way of becoming more convenient or by your party being able to last longer before running out of mana etc?

When your party can physically last longer as you increase in level, you'll return to town less and less, save for selling off items when you reach your capacity.

Purple Santa

04-27-2009, 06:39 PM

Oh, heck no, I've heard EOII is even more punishing than the original. :)
I guess this means if I ever finish EO II, I should go play EO I then. Damn you EA...i'm now thinking about this game again...
I still need to play a little more EO2...I played for a couple of hours and got fed up of the constant town trips. Do they ease up a little later? Either by way of becoming more convenient or by your party being able to last longer before running out of mana etc?

EA is our resident EO expert...so follow his words. I'll just add, it does get easier...although define what "easier" is in EO II is paradoxical. I'd stick with it. The challenge of the game, becomes addicting as you make it further and further along, you say to yourself one more floor..until something flattens you and lose it all. Despite that, you go back asking for more. I rarely like games where the challenge is that severe (the learning curve as you are finding out...a bit large) but EO II really charmed me. That, and I had EA and Spigot cheer me on as I eventually learned how to play.

And now EA will scold me for mixing EO II talk with his EO thread...

Evil Avnovice

04-27-2009, 06:42 PM

Are your Ls axes, swords, or one of each? What kind of goals are you going for?

My group:
Front: Protector, Axesknecht
Back: Medic, Troubadour, Alchemist

Similiar to how I played Ronin in Etrian Odyssey II (Front row tanks, HP/DEF/ATK fully maxed, single "Sword/Stance" skill of my choosing, with TEC maxed out for high-damaging skills in exchange for low TP), Landsknechts will play the exact same role. Only where I can't forsee my development like you could in part II as all skills had a description for the requirements needed, I'm finding that it's a small matter of guesswork.

For my pair of said Landsknechts, I'm allocating skill points to HP/DEF/ATK. I've put a solitary skill point into "Swords" and "Axes", as the current plan is not for how much damage I can do, though I'm thinking of leaning towards Swords as there are some skills associated with that that I'm interested in, but mostly for the ability to wield said weapons. I have a skill point in a basic sword/axe skill for them, though whether I'll have use for it remains to be seen.

My Protector has her skill points in HP/DEF/Shields. A few skill points have gone into the "F.Guard" skill, which is pretty useful as long as what I'm going up against isn't too strong in physical attacks. Until I see another skill I'm interested in, I'll keep this current route for her.

My Survivalist has her skill points in AGI/BOWS. I've put some into "Ambush", and a few into "Multihit".

My Medic works the same as in her EOII counterpart: She does absolutely nothing but heal and remove status ailments. I've noticed that she doesn't have AGI to funnel skill points in, as I did that in Etrian Odyssey II, so she could act faster in battles when I needed to heal/cure someone. Besides that, I have skill points in TP/Healer. I only put 2 skill points into cure, as while my TP for her is low (66TP), even if her Cure costs 4TP to cast, that burns up pretty quickly before you know it. And finishing that off, I've just unlocked and am looking to level up "Refresh" while increasing her other stats throughout rotation.

I just cleared the 20th floor and it was an exciting marathon of fights. Everyone is 46 except my Protector who is 42 (rested because I royally messed up my skills). I'm currently debating switching my Alchemist out for a survivalist because I'm not really running into Phys immune monsters and 1st turn would be very nice to have.

I tried out and kept an Alchemist as I loved that class' damage with spells. It took a little work with a pair of Ronin on the front row, and a Gunner and Medic in the back, but busting out those spells on a troublesome or pesky monster was worth the effort.

Evil Avnovice

04-27-2009, 06:45 PM

And now EA will scold me for mixing EO II talk with his EO thread...

Nah. Etrian Odyssey (regardless of which installment), is always welcome here. :p

For EOII, I still haven't completed the bonus 6th stratum, so that's something I could pick up in the future.

Shrinn

04-27-2009, 07:33 PM

Only where I can't forsee my development like you could in part II as all skills had a description for the requirements needed, I'm finding that it's a small matter of guesswork.

If I'm understanding you right, you're saying that there's nothing showing you the prerequisites for skills? If you hit a on a skill you can't put points into yet, it will show you the skill levels needed before it becomes available.

For my pair of said Landsknechts...Protector...Survivalist...Medic...

Seems like you're well aware what you're getting into, so I'll try and curb my comments away from advice and more toward sharing what I'm doing. But your strategy is completely different from mine. Though I guess my reliance on skills as opposed to stats can be faulty.

SwordLs have multi-target skills, AxeLs have single target skills.

so she could act faster in battles when I needed to heal/cure someone.
Funny how a female medic just seems to work better. Mine's female as well.
That's a big enough problem that I am thinking about leveling a survivalist for 1st turn just for my medic. In some situations that heal is crucial and even with optimizing AGI in her equip it's not fast enough to get her to have a first turn, even with salve (or whatever skill I'm using) at 10 for the most speed.

I only put 2 skill points into cure, as while my TP for her is low (66TP), even if her Cure costs 4TP to cast, that burns up pretty quickly before you know it.

That's the entire point of my Troubadour. She's a badass TP battery, her one skill, relaxing, lasts until death of the party member and restores 5% max tp per turn. I don't have quite as much damage in one turn, but the ability to be spamming TP (especially my medic) at all times without items taking up valuable slots is too good to pass up.

Purple Santa

04-28-2009, 05:07 AM

Nah. Etrian Odyssey (regardless of which installment), is always welcome here. :p

Thank you kind sir :cool:. I'm hoping we can spur great conversation once again about EO as we once had. I am going to do my part...or maybe deterrence...by playing this again since I have lots of time on my hands now. What better way to spend that time than screaming in pain as my party dies once again because I chose to "go one more floor" instead of choosing to wisely go back...

nnanji

04-28-2009, 06:32 AM

I would strongly recommend working your medic towards Immunize, which was a strong defensive buff for my group. It was a great spell to cast 1st turn before healing was needed.

Shrinn

04-28-2009, 10:30 AM

I would strongly recommend working your medic...

This is what I had in mind when I decided against giving advice. That skill really changes the way the entire game is played and I didn't want to prejudice EvAvNov toward one build if he didn't wish to go that way since he seemed to know what he was doing.

SilentScreams

04-28-2009, 02:31 PM

Okay, so somehow I got confused and thought I had EO2, when I actually have EO1. I don't think EO2 was available in the UK when I went looking, so I bought 1 instead.
And 2 is harder, you say? :eek:

I loaded it up and my team is apparently 2 Landsknecht and a Protector in the front row and an Alchemist and a Doctor in the back. Is this a decent combo or should I maybe restart?

Purple Santa

04-28-2009, 02:39 PM

SilentScreams

04-28-2009, 02:42 PM

Hawkzombie

04-28-2009, 02:47 PM

I loved EO, and bought EO2 as soon as I saw it...have yet to play it though as I want to finish the first one and get that code to transfer over your guild name to the second one :P

Apparently that's all that gets transferred, (Am I wrong?) but I'm a sucker for 'unlocking' things in previous titles. For a dungeon crawler, I had a ton of fun with it...especially covering every inch of the map.

Purple Santa

04-28-2009, 03:40 PM

Shrinn

04-28-2009, 04:03 PM

I'm only on the second floor. All my guys are level 4. It seems like every 10 minutes I'm heading back to town to get healed. I simply don't make enough cash to buy all the healing items I'd need for a longer dive, and I definitely don't make enough to buy mana items.
Also all my guys are woefully slow at the moment, especially my Protector. He can never get his guard up before all the enemies have acted and usually dished out some punishment to the ones my Protector is supposed to be guarding.

Healing items aren't as cost effective as sleeping in the inn at first. You should have one or two for survival, always have a warp wire, and try to save your money for equipment and inn healing. Try not to let someone die, it uses money you just won't have. Don't be afraid to create the other classes to try them out now. Better you change your party now then agonize over it at level 50 like I am.

Certain skills always go first. I think F.Guard and B.Guard, Parry, the anti-spells are examples. Be aware that F.Guard and B.Guard only help reduce damage, not a cover skill (protector taking damage) like I originally interpreted.

Don't feel guilty sitting on the first and second floor for a long time. Don't feel bad running away from F.O.Es, as the game progresses you'll be able to stay in longer and longer, and you'll have excess money to run in with consumables to keep you going (especially TP restoring items).

Apparently that's all that gets transferred, (Am I wrong?) but I'm a sucker for 'unlocking' things in previous titles. For a dungeon crawler, I had a ton of fun with it...especially covering every inch of the map.

From GameFAQs answers, spoilered just incase The above is incorrect, a password only gives you either the Town Medal (for completing Etrian Odyssey) or the Town Crown (for completing Etrian Odyssey with a full Monstrous Codex and Item Compendium). You can't get the two, just one. Also, their effects aren't as high as they were in the first game (if they were so good, the game would be way easier since the beginning).

The name of your guild is also carried to Etrian Odyssey II, but you can change it. I've heard the password contains data of your old characters and their equipment, but you CAN'T use it.

Also, there some minor events in the Labyrinth (most are just nods to events in the first game), and the people around Lagaard recognises your guild for their work at Etria when you start the game.

In a nutshell, there aren't a lot of changes and you don't get anything actually good. Some things are even harder, considering that at the start of the game, the guard doesn't give you those free Medicas when you're mapping the 1st floor.

Keep in mind that there are a ton of shortcuts all over the place, completely hidden. GameFAQs has excellent maps if you're not against using them. I do, because I can't be arsed to run along every wall facing it waiting for a "check" prompt.

I just hit the 5th Stratum. Whoa. They definitely ramped up the difficulty with FOEs doing 100 through my immunize. I've only walked around floor 21, but I think I'll be okay to press on next time I play.

Evil Avnovice

04-28-2009, 06:36 PM

If I'm understanding you right, you're saying that there's nothing showing you the prerequisites for skills? If you hit a on a skill you can't put points into yet, it will show you the skill levels needed before it becomes available.

Correct. I worded it poorly, but I was trying to say that in Etrian Odyssey when you look at a skill you're interested in, it doesn't show any details as to what's needed to unlock that skill (ex: I might need Swords5/Axes5 to unlock an uber skill) , whereas in Etrian Odyssey II, it was added and allowed for an easier route to plan for your unit's progress in stats and skills.

Seems like you're well aware what you're getting into, so I'll try and curb my comments away from advice and more toward sharing what I'm doing. But your strategy is completely different from mine. Though I guess my reliance on skills as opposed to stats can be faulty.

I use a conservative playing style. For my front row warriors, I want them to physically withstand damage, occasionally treating myself to some skill usage every now and then.

Funny how a female medic just seems to work better. Mine's female as well.

Dude, my 5-man team are all female. I did that out of preference. And you know, female Medics are more pleasing to the eye. :p

Evil Avnovice

04-28-2009, 06:39 PM

I would strongly recommend working your medic towards Immunize, which was a strong defensive buff for my group. It was a great spell to cast 1st turn before healing was needed.

This is what I had in mind when I decided against giving advice. That skill really changes the way the entire game is played and I didn't want to prejudice EvAvNov toward one build if he didn't wish to go that way since he seemed to know what he was doing.

I've looked at it. I think that for the moment, I feel pretty good with "Refresh". I would only need it [Refresh] for mostly poison and the occasional sleep/confuse status ailments.

Evil Avnovice

04-28-2009, 06:53 PM

I loaded it up and my team is apparently 2 Landsknecht and a Protector in the front row and an Alchemist and a Doctor in the back. Is this a decent combo or should I maybe restart?

It's up to you. You should experiment with all of the classes to see which ones you would feel comfortable in using for the long haul. A Medic is an absolute necessity. Period.

To offer a suggestion of my own, you could try and use Landsknechts as your tanks and put skill points into HP/DEF/ATK early on so they can take and dish out damage as needed. Your Protector could have skill points placed in HP/DEF/Shields, as it's primary role is to defend, not attack.

In my personal opinion, Alchemists are very useful to have. Pick an element of your choice (Fire, Ice, Volt) and focus on just that one element. Toss skill points into TP and damage output to really maximize that unit.

I'm only on the second floor. All my guys are level 4. It seems like every 10 minutes I'm heading back to town to get healed. I simply don't make enough cash to buy all the healing items I'd need for a longer dive, and I definitely don't make enough to buy mana items.
Also all my guys are woefully slow at the moment, especially my Protector. He can never get his guard up before all the enemies have acted and usually dished out some punishment to the ones my Protector is supposed to be guarding.

1. For your Medic, toss some skill points into "Scavenge". The more you toss into that skill, the more frequent item drops become. For everyone else, they have a skill called Mine/Chop/Take. If you find item points in a floor of the Labyrinth, you can get some additional items to sell. Scavenge is a better method though.

2. A Protector's F.Guard/B.Guard skill isn't meant to completely nullify damage to your party for an entire turn. It's meant to block the first attack directed at a unit in the front/back row.

Evil Avnovice

04-28-2009, 06:58 PM

And finally: Me. :p

I just completed my first mission in which I had to defeat Fenrir before progressing to the 6th floor (2nd Stratum). I was wiped out at first, so I figured I needed to level up a bit. The Wolves/Skoll FOE that patrolled the 4th/5th floors were very useful in gaining an extra bit of exp.

The second time, it hit me after my first turn in battle was finished: Defeating Fenrir was a matter of speed, as I needed to hit the beast with everything I had within a certain number of turns before reinforcements arrived, thus resulting in me being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and Skolls whose ATK were boosted with "Evil Cry".

After that, onward to the 2nd Stratum!!

Shrinn

04-28-2009, 09:50 PM

1. For your Medic, toss some skill points into "Scavenge". The more you toss into that skill, the more frequent item drops become. For everyone else, they have a skill called Mine/Chop/Take. If you find item points in a floor of the Labyrinth, you can get some additional items to sell. Scavenge is a better method though.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. I'd much much rather (and did) put scavenge on the Alchemist. My medic is my team's life, and if she isn't strong enough to keep everyone alive it doesn't matter if my Alchemist can do some more damage.

My biggest weakness is that I only have 2 uses of Mine/Chop/Take per day, so the going is annoying when I'm trying to see if I can get an item out of selling the results or doing a quest.

Correct. I worded it poorly, but I was trying to say that in Etrian Odyssey when you look at a skill you're interested in, it doesn't show any details as to what's needed to unlock that skill (ex: I might need Swords5/Axes5 to unlock an uber skill) , whereas in Etrian Odyssey II, it was added and allowed for an easier route to plan for your unit's progress in stats and skills.

Again, hit the A button on the skill you're trying to get to and it displays the prerequisites in a pop up. For example, if you hit A on a grayed out "2-hit" a window will pop up saying it requires Axes5 and Swords5. I wish it showed percentages and such as opposed to "Attack uparrow uparrow" maybe "Attack +30" or "Attack +x%". Does EOII add that in?

Dude, my 5-man team are all female. I did that out of preference. And you know, female Medics are more pleasing to the eye. :p

Heh, I actually made my team around my best friends and myself, but it just made total sense to have the only female in that group be the medic.

I tried playing today, got really frustrated with a quest on the 18th floor, and decided to ragequit and play something else. No further advancement than the 21st floor.

Evil Avnovice

04-29-2009, 01:36 PM

I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. I'd much much rather (and did) put scavenge on the Alchemist. My medic is my team's life, and if she isn't strong enough to keep everyone alive it doesn't matter if my Alchemist can do some more damage.

My biggest weakness is that I only have 2 uses of Mine/Chop/Take per day, so the going is annoying when I'm trying to see if I can get an item out of selling the results or doing a quest.

I prefer keeping Scavenge on my Medic since she's a permanent fixture of my party formations. And while I could put a skill point into Chop/Mine/Take, I find that it's easier for me to simply rack up loot from baddies, and I didn't bother much with item points in Etrian Odyssey II.

Again, hit the A button on the skill you're trying to get to and it displays the prerequisites in a pop up. For example, if you hit A on a grayed out "2-hit" a window will pop up saying it requires Axes5 and Swords5. I wish it showed percentages and such as opposed to "Attack uparrow uparrow" maybe "Attack +30" or "Attack +x%". Does EOII add that in?

Now I understand what you're saying. I tried it out this morning and now know what you were referring to yesterday. I may have wasted a couple of skill points here and there, but now I know what to go towards. Thanks.

To answer your second question, Etrian Odyssey II does shows status/percentage increases for any stats/skills you're interested in.

Evil Avnovice

04-29-2009, 01:58 PM

As I currently reside on the 6th floor, the enemies here are tough (Sleep/Venomgels and Sloths in particular) and the encounter rate here seems to be very high.

My party is now at level 25, and I'm becoming adjusted to this floor, thanks to new weapons for my Landsknechts. Sleepgels don't give me much trouble now, though Venomgels continue to take some damage before going down.

Shrinn

04-29-2009, 10:47 PM

I prefer keeping Scavenge on my Medic since she's a permanent fixture of my party formations. And while I could put a skill point into Chop/Mine/Take, I find that it's easier for me to simply rack up loot from baddies, and I didn't bother much with item points in Etrian Odyssey II.

Very good point, and equally good reason to keep it on the medic. As for the gather skills, I'm beginning to regret the 1 point in each I used on my party. It's much easier to get 9 survivalists to level 7-8, max out chop on 3, mine on 3, take on 3. Once a stratum, I just bum rush a point a few times with my protector, 3 survivalists, and a medic. Grab 45-50 of the point a trip, warp out and sell. That way I'm sure I get everything available. (Money is gathered easily enough anyway, so I don't feel bad about my huge excess of that).

However, in the sixth stratum there's something from Take points that leads to the apothecary selling an amazing healing item. Very cheap for what it does and very early in the game. Info spoiled below:

Hamao, 1400 en heals 300hp 50tp. Sell Amber Lumpx10 Mint Leafx2

To answer your second question, Etrian Odyssey II does shows status/percentage increases for any stats/skills you're interested in.

That's very very good.

To me, anything that can poison the whole party causes my medic to go into immediate pre-casting refresh mode. I think the game actually gets a bit easier once you trade the sleep and poison gels for monsters that just hit hard a couple floors down.

I tried the 23rd floor today. Got ate by a Kingdile one hitting my back row one at a time. Warped out. Figured I'd try to kill a boss for a quest. Got beat down. Ragequit. This game rocks so hard.

Sorry I talk so much!

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 12:54 AM

That's very very good.

To me, anything that can poison the whole party causes my medic to go into immediate pre-casting refresh mode. I think the game actually gets a bit easier once you trade the sleep and poison gels for monsters that just hit hard a couple floors down.

I tried the 23rd floor today. Got ate by a Kingdile one hitting my back row one at a time. Warped out. Figured I'd try to kill a boss for a quest. Got beat down. Ragequit. This game rocks so hard.

That's what I've been doing as a result of Medics lacking an "AGI" stat. I've made the most of it by letting her cast it since she's dead last in turn priorities.

I have reached, and can hit the 8th floor, but I want to level up once more before going any further. :)

Sorry I talk so much!

Not a problem friend. I enjoy the company, and it was pretty lonely in my Etrian Odyssey II thread back at Evil Avatar. :p

SilentScreams

04-30-2009, 05:56 AM

What level should I be to tackle the first FOE?
I just took it on at level 5 and it one shotted my front row one by one.

Shrinn

04-30-2009, 10:18 AM

That's what I've been doing as a result of Medics lacking an "AGI" stat. I've made the most of it by letting her cast it since she's dead last in turn priorities.

Most monsters that do have mass status effects get to use them first turn anyway, it seems. But for the purposes of healing I've been stacking her with AGI+. She has AGI+28 from equipment right now. But the turn order still seems weird to me, because my Bard and Axeknecht usually end up going before her with much less agility.

Not a problem friend. I enjoy the company, and it was pretty lonely in my Etrian Odyssey II thread back at Evil Avatar. :p

I'm certainly enjoying it, and maybe when I go through EOII you can be giving me a ton of advice too :D.

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 07:49 PM

What level should I be to tackle the first FOE?
I just took it on at level 5 and it one shotted my front row one by one.

You'd want your party somewhere around level 10-15.

FOE are best left avoided unless you're R-E-A-L-L-Y sure you want to take one on.

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 08:14 PM

Most monsters that do have mass status effects get to use them first turn anyway, it seems. But for the purposes of healing I've been stacking her with AGI+. She has AGI+28 from equipment right now. But the turn order still seems weird to me, because my Bard and Axeknecht usually end up going before her with much less agility.

I went the opposite route and have a few pieces of equipment that boost TEC/TP. I recently maxed out my Medic TP stat, so "TP Regen" is next on the priorities list.

I'm certainly enjoying it, and maybe when I go through EOII you can be giving me a ton of advice too :D.

Sure thing. I doubt CoG could handle a second Etrian Odyssey thread. :D

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 08:40 PM

I have made it to and am partially plugging away at the 10th floor. A new main mission has opened up in which I need to take down another FOE before being granted permission to access the 3rd stratum. It's actually gone pretty well for me, as I picked up some sweet armor for my party and some choice weapons for my Landsknechts.

I will comment that earning experience points and gaining levels seems to be really easy. I'm only on the 10th floor, and my crew is around level 35. I guess it feels somewhat odd, as working backwards from Heroes of Lagaard, I was deep into the 3rd stratum and the first floor of the 4th stratum when my party in that title was at the exact same place level wise. It's not bad, it just feels a little different.

Shrinn

04-30-2009, 09:12 PM

I have made it to and am partially plugging away at the 10th floor.

Congrats on reaching the 10th floor! =) I really liked the mission F.O.E's dynamic. Sounds like your party is moving along nicely without much trouble.

I meant to ask, with all those stat boosts on top of the many skill choices, do you get more than one skill point per level in EOII?

I've reached the boss. He's making me cry. There's literally no way to beat him with my current party, but stubbornness tells me to continue as I am and just level up. Once I was sure I had his pattern figured out and just didn't have the stats to beat him I checked a guide. The recommended levels are Mid 60s, my guys are 52, 54, 54, 54, 54. That might explain it.

If I had a Survivalist instead of an Alchemist I'm pretty sure I could win easily enough. I'm not sure if I want to change my party. I mean.. Jason the Alchemist has been with me since Day 1, do I really want to abandon him now at such a crucial time?

Purple Santa

04-30-2009, 10:01 PM

Heh, I actually made my team around my best friends and myself, but it just made total sense to have the only female in that group be the medic.

I used my cats for my team. I have 5 of them...plus ADDGirl as my medic ...
What level should I be to tackle the first FOE?
I just took it on at level 5 and it one shotted my front row one by one.
FOE=Run like hell. You come back later for them when you know you are buffer. But that happens later. They are always there..best to be safe than getting wiped out..uless you like the pain and risk of the pain...
You'd want your party somewhere around level 10-15.

FOE are best left avoided unless you're R-E-A-L-L-Y sure you want to take one on.
What EA said. We should put that advice in bold on top of the thread :)

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 11:33 PM

Congrats on reaching the 10th floor! =) I really liked the mission F.O.E's dynamic. Sounds like your party is moving along nicely without much trouble.

Thanks! :)

I won't say it's completely a breeze. There are the occasional monsters that I need to be careful with, and it's simply a combination of:

1. Leveling up on floors where monsters are somewhat handleable.
2. Leveling up on floors where monsters are tougher, but the experience gained gives me incentive to journey a floor deeper, only retreating if I feel the opposition is a little too tough.

I meant to ask, with all those stat boosts on top of the many skill choices, do you get more than one skill point per level in EOII?

Nope. Just like you get a skill point per level up in Etrian Odyssey, you also only get a skill point per level up in Etrian Odyssey II. Sorry.

Evil Avnovice

04-30-2009, 11:57 PM

What EA said. We should put that advice in bold on top of the thread :)

What if I bold and toss this in the OP?:p:

Purpley needs to:

1. Get a copy of Etrian Odyssey.
2. Get his ass in here with said game and join in the discussion.

Purple Santa

05-01-2009, 05:01 AM

@EA: My next post will be of my playing. Right after this one...I promise :D

Evil Avnovice

05-01-2009, 05:45 AM

I have defeated the Royalant FOE and successfully mapped both the 11-12th floors (main mission), effectively killing two birds with one stone.

What I will say is that the 12th floor was extremely annoying in one part. After I couldn't map along the eastern side of the floor, it didn't take long to figure out that I needed to fall in a couple of select pits to access new areas to advance. The problem was dealing with the numerous Evil/Guard/Servants that kept popping up and joining the fray after I killed one of them. The Servants in particular I noticed, that when you engaged them, if you didn't make short work of them, they'd just keep on comin'. Still, that was only problematic in two spots when charting the western/northeast part of the floor.

After that, I think I might lay off the game for a few hours and take a well deserved breather. Even then, and similarly getting swarmed when taking on the Royalant FOE boss fight, it felt extremely rewarding. Exhausted as I am right now, I still want to jump back in anyway. :p

And this is the perfect opportunity to just relax a bit and gain a few levels on the 13th floor until I feel like pressing forward again.

Purple Santa

05-01-2009, 09:13 AM

As promised, I have my EO II update. Having found my cartridge (it was actually in the box, in my bookshelf/gameshelf...what it was doing there I don't know :)) I turned on my continued game and found...me and my part on the 10th floor. I am dead apparently and that is where I saved. I hightailed back to town and my party consists of:
Ronin lvl 30 (front)
Survivalist lvl 29 (front)
Landsnecht (front)
Alchemist 31(back)
Medic Lvl 30 (back)

Back to mapping the 10th floor...

Shrinn

05-01-2009, 09:30 AM

I gave in. The monsters with mass sleep and the my extreme slowness at leveling now is getting frustrating. I'm leveling a survivalist so I can beat the last boss without trying to gain ten levels first.

Purple Santa

05-01-2009, 11:01 AM

Diving back in EO II, I remember why I loved the game..and why I put it down. I still love the crawl through the dungeons, collecting and earning stuff. Especially since my party does quite well with the enemies. But where I am dungeon wise...ugh. The 9th and 10th floors have various entrances and exits to get to each part of those floors. What a pain ...I finally got to the 10 floor where I hadn't explored...then I was eyeball to eyeball with a floating FOE...who couldn't move because I was in a corner. A choice...to chance and fight...and beat it...or lose everything I had gained. I went with the running away...

Evil Avnovice

05-01-2009, 03:41 PM

Oh my god! Not only has Purpley joined the discussion, but he's playing the wrong installment to boot! Shocking, I say!! :eek::p

Purple Santa

05-01-2009, 05:02 PM

Oh my god! Not only has Purpley joined the discussion, but he's playing the wrong installment to boot! Shocking, I say!! :eek::p

You are young to be getting forgetful:
Nah. Etrian Odyssey (regardless of which installment), is always welcome here. :p
For EOII, I still haven't completed the bonus 6th stratum, so that's something I could pick up in the future.

I might be "purpley" but at least i'm not senile...yet :p

Evil Avnovice

05-02-2009, 02:34 PM

So this is what it's like to be owned by Purple Santa....

I kinda like it. :D

Evil Avnovice

05-03-2009, 10:51 PM

I spent all of yesterday grinding and getting lost on the 13th-14th floors. While I got some nice leveling and new skills out of it, it turns out that I missed a flower petal that led to the stairs leading to the 15th floor. :o

I'm now on the 17th-18th floor. My crew is in the mid 50's and I'm quite pleased with their development. Though I know that the level cap is nearing, it's now time to funnel the last of my skill points into skills that I can now access.

Also Shrinn, I've been mulling over your question about stats for Etrian Odyssey II. So when I answered, it just hit me as to what you were referring to: Etrian Odyssesy II doesn't have stat bonuses when you start to allocate skill points into certain skills/stats. I actually love them myself (gaining 10-30%TP/HP bonus from your first skill point, etc.), but I'm guessing Atlus may have removed those to provide more of a challenge the second time around.

But then in exchange for that, if you were to ever play the sequel, you would still feel the effects of your character development. Even moreso after Atlus streamlined it so that you no longer waste skill points like you do in the first game.

Shrinn

05-04-2009, 06:25 AM

I spent all of yesterday grinding and getting lost on the 13th-14th floors. While I got some nice leveling and new skills out of it, it turns out that I missed a flower petal that led to the stairs leading to the 15th floor. :o

I'm now on the 17th-18th floor. My crew is in the mid 50's and I'm quite pleased with their development. Though I know that the level cap is nearing, it's now time to funnel the last of my skill points into skills that I can now access.

Wow. I'm in the mid-50s and I'm currently trying to beat the boss of floor 25! I guess I rushed a little?

...But then in exchange for that, if you were to ever play the sequel, you would still feel the effects of your character development. Even moreso after Atlus streamlined it so that you no longer waste skill points like you do in the first game.

That's interesting. I was just wondering because it seemed as if there were so many more options in EOII.

I'm still unable to beat the last boss. I've switched out my Alchemist for a Survivalist because of the benefits of 1st Turn. Leveling him up to my other characters was slow, but I've devised a way to fight a never-ending stream of enemies and be infinitely alive. I figure, since I built my team around surviving forever and I figured it out myself, I take no shame in using it. =)

EDIT: So I guess it didn't work as well as I thought. After so long, the enemies stop spawning and you're left with a FOE stuck to the ground where the battle took place, able to be fought seemingly infinite times (I fought him 3 or 4 before just saying "eh") because it's not a lot of exp in that manner.

BlackPete

05-04-2009, 10:31 AM

Nah. Etrian Odyssey (regardless of which installment), is always welcome here. :p

For EOII, I still haven't completed the bonus 6th stratum, so that's something I could pick up in the future.

I'm with you on that. Finished the main story, but haven't completed the bonus stratum.

Largely because it's still locked, and my first attempt at unlocking it failed :( Then I got called away by Disgaea DS, which I also forgot about later...

Evil Avnovice

05-04-2009, 01:35 PM

Wow. I'm in the mid-50s and I'm currently trying to beat the boss of floor 25! I guess I rushed a little?

Sounds like you've jumped a little too far ahead in floors. :p

A general rule I use for myself in both games is that when I can defeat most monsters in battle using two members at most to the point where I just begin to steamroll 'em, only then do I feel that I'm ready to progress to the next floor. Also, selling off my newest spoils to gain new equipment, I'll see that my party is also well stocked before going any further.

That's interesting. I was just wondering because it seemed as if there were so many more options in EOII.

Definitely. In Etrian Odyssey II, everyone has the same basic stats, in addition to their class-specific skills, where they were only class specific in Etrian Odyssey (Protectors only have DEF/Shields, Landsknechts don't have TEC, etc.).

So for example, you have a Protector in EOII. You can still go the HP/DEF/Shields route, but now you can benefit from TEC and ATK to balance that class' shortcomings. Or the coveted Medic. With AGI and TEC, she can both cast earlier [AGI] and her healing spells are doubly effective [TEC] when coupled with a maxed out "Healer" stat. It makes a world of difference.

Evil Avnovice

05-04-2009, 01:53 PM

I'm with you on that. Finished the main story, but haven't completed the bonus stratum.

Largely because it's still locked, and my first attempt at unlocking it failed :( Then I got called away by Disgaea DS, which I also forgot about later...

Heh. It's the exact opposite with me. Back when I picked up Etrian Odyssey II, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 was released on the same week, and as I was supposed to have played Square Enix's title, I ended up playing Etrian Odyssey II instead.

To this day, FFTA2 is still waits for me. :o:(

Evil Avnovice

05-04-2009, 02:40 PM

Let's see: I'm on the 18th floor, and found the path that will take me to the next floor. At this point I could go, but I want to hang around and gain another level or two. My party is currently at level 58-59, and I just gave my Medic "Revive".

I've gotten what weapons/armor I've needed for my party, so it's not like I have to remain here on the 18th floor if I don't want to.

Purple Santa

05-04-2009, 03:39 PM

A general rule I use for myself in both games is that when I can defeat most monsters in battle using two members at most to the point where I just begin to steamroll 'em, only then do I feel that I'm ready to progress to the next floor. Also, selling off my newest spoils to gain new equipment, I'll see that my party is also well stocked before going any further.
Well I have a new way of grinding now. EvAv advice on EO is always golden...

So for example, you have a Protector in EOII. You can still go the HP/DEF/Shields route, but now you can benefit from TEC and ATK to balance that class' shortcomings. Or the coveted Medic. With AGI and TEC, she can both cast earlier [AGI] and her healing spells are doubly effective [TEC] when coupled with a maxed out "Healer" stat. It makes a world of difference.
You need to teach a class on EO theory/strategy. Or write a FAQ or something...I would read it...

Evil Avnovice

05-04-2009, 05:52 PM

You need to teach a class on EO theory/strategy. Or write a FAQ or something...I would read it...

I'm a Nintendo fanboy Purpley. I'm incapable of logic and reasoning. That's what CoG always tells me. :p

On-topic: Hit the 20th floor and my party is at level 60. Of course, the floor is swarming with FOE, so I'll have to manuever my way around and try to avoid as many as I can. They're most likely Diabolix and Cruella FOE. Maybe.

Shrinn

05-04-2009, 07:55 PM

Sounds like you've jumped a little too far ahead in floors. :p

A general rule I use for myself in both games is that when I can defeat most monsters in battle using two members at most to the point where I just begin to steamroll 'em, only then do I feel that I'm ready to progress to the next floor. Also, selling off my newest spoils to gain new equipment, I'll see that my party is also well stocked before going any further.

I've never had trouble with anything. I was able to take out FOEs as soon as I descended the floor. Then, all the sudden, the boss can dispel immunize and kill me before I can recast it. It kind of sucks for a strategy to work the whole game and then suddenly become useless, but I thems the breaks. That's why I'm leveling a Survivalist for 1st Turn (currently 36).

On-topic: Hit the 20th floor and my party is at level 60. Of course, the floor is swarming with FOE, so I'll have to manuever my way around and try to avoid as many as I can. They're most likely Diabolix and Cruella FOE. Maybe.

Heh. That's a fun floor. Good luck with the Ogres, let alone the boss. Those Diabolix and Cruellas are huge pains though.

Evil Avnovice

05-05-2009, 02:51 PM

I can just save myself some post padding and segue into this as it's related to what I'm going to say next:

Heh. That's a fun floor. Good luck with the Ogres, let alone the boss. Those Diabolix and Cruellas are huge pains though.

I managed to kill it. Nevermind every single FOE in the room zeroed in on me while I was engaged in battle. And as soon as I take a step to try and escape (which wasn't happening), it respawns! :eek:

I went back a few other times, mostly to map out the rest of the floor to see if there was anything I might have missed. I'm guessing there's something that I need to figure out before moving on. Not a big deal, I can gain a few more levels for my party as experience points are still plentiful here.

Purple Santa

05-05-2009, 06:24 PM

I finally found the exit for the 10th floor. Just the matter of battling the "Hellion". If battling means being beaten to a pulp with a game over screen...yeah. I'll be licking my wounds grinding some more before I battle once again...

Evil Avnovice

05-05-2009, 06:31 PM

Come on Purpley, hang in there!

Shrinn

05-05-2009, 07:07 PM

I managed to kill it. Nevermind every single FOE in the room zeroed in on me while I was engaged in battle. And as soon as I take a step to try and escape (which wasn't happening), it respawns! :eek:

That's exactly how I felt! I fought him twice before I figured out how to finish the floor. I'm not sure if they even hint at the solution at all, but I kinda accidentally got through it.

Edit: I'm having a hard time leveling. I'm going to get my Survivalist to 50 every other member 60 and try the last boss again. I hope I can prevent this required party rearranging when I do play through EOII.

Purple Santa

05-05-2009, 08:49 PM

Come on Purpley, hang in there!

How can I refuse anyone who calls me Purpley...EO II wasn't going anywhere. I am just trying to level up my party a bit more before I take on the Hellion.

AversionFX

05-06-2009, 11:59 AM

I gave up on EOII because I just couldn't force myself to play the hidden stratum. Not to mention that retiring / grinding bosses to level characters literally made me go insane. Kill bosses, rest 14 days, repeat, crazy.

And then, in my retardation, I picked up The Dark Spire (which is even MORE tedious), and am further into the rabbit hole.

Shrinn

05-06-2009, 12:22 PM

I beat EO today! I beat EO today! Woo! Now I have to decide if I want to do the bonus stratum or not. Party was 60 P, 60 AxeL, 60 M, 60 T, 50 S.

Evil Avnovice

05-06-2009, 01:35 PM

That's exactly how I felt! I fought him twice before I figured out how to finish the floor. I'm not sure if they even hint at the solution at all, but I kinda accidentally got through it.

I think you may have dropped a hint when I mentioned I hit the 20th floor, but there's a tactic I intend to try and see if that isn't a solution.

Edit: I'm having a hard time leveling. I'm going to get my Survivalist to 50 every other member 60 and try the last boss again. I hope I can prevent this required party rearranging when I do play through EOII.

If it includes farming FOE in Etrian Odyssey II for exp, it ain't happening. Atlus tweaked it so the only thing you get from killing an FOE is an item.

And congratulations on completing Etrian Odyssey! :)

Evil Avnovice

05-06-2009, 01:37 PM

Shrinn

05-06-2009, 03:49 PM

I think you may have dropped a hint when I mentioned I hit the 20th floor, but there's a tactic I intend to try and see if that isn't a solution.

Heh, I tried not to reveal anything. Either way, running around trying to figure it out gave some decent experience.

If it includes farming FOE in Etrian Odyssey II for exp, it ain't happening. Atlus tweaked it so the only thing you get from killing an FOE is an item.

And congratulations on completing Etrian Odyssey! :)

Thanks for the congrats =) It was certainly a taxing last battle.

I did not farm FOEs to gain exp, it's far too annoying to rest up to get them to respawn. I found a monster that summoned allies and just beat the crap out of them a lot.

I'm more worried about having a party and then suddenly having that party not work. For example, I'm thinking about:
Front: Ronin, Dark Hunter (War Magus?)
Back: Hexer, Medic, (War Magus? Gunner? Survivalist?)

and I'd hate to go through the entire game with this party, handling everything decently, and then suddenly be unable to complete the game unless I switch my party around. Having to start a new character at the last boss's door was frustrating.

I should add that the later FOEs give frustratingly small amounts of experience. Armoth was able to be killed at 20-30 (IIRC) and gave all my members around 480 experience. Dinolich is a very hard FOE present on the last floors, is much much more difficult than the Armoth, but gives 600 experience or so. The difficulty wasn't balanced with the experience reward.

AversionFX

05-06-2009, 04:42 PM

Hey! Welcome aboard, AversionFX! Great to see that you made it here. :D

Hey, hey! I found that of all the things I missed in the mass-exodus from EA was your activity in the realms of handhelds. So here I am.

:D

BlackPete

05-07-2009, 10:19 AM

Heh. It's the exact opposite with me. Back when I picked up Etrian Odyssey II, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 was released on the same week, and as I was supposed to have played Square Enix's title, I ended up playing Etrian Odyssey II instead.

To this day, FFTA2 is still waits for me. :o:(

I say let FFTA2 keep waiting! :D I beat it a while back and thought it had a story, but to be honest, it felt a bit like a let down after playing EOII because it just seemed far too easy by comparison.

This thread keeps reminding me that I still have that bonus stratum to deal with... but then I also was reminded of having to rest 14 days each time I farm the bosses... not to mention retiring members so I can raise the level cap... ugh.

Gorvi

05-07-2009, 10:21 AM

To this day, FFTA2 is still waits for me. :o:(
Woah, hold on now. You. You haven't played FFTA2? Man, that was in your sig back on EvAv for a good 8 months that you were looking forward to it, wasnt' it?
Hey, hey! I found that of all the things I missed in the mass-exodus from EA was your activity in the realms of handhelds. So here I am.

:D
Another welcome for ya! Good to see you. :)

AversionFX

05-07-2009, 01:13 PM

Another welcome for ya! Good to see you. :)

Thank you :) You guys are too kind.

Evil Avnovice

05-07-2009, 02:01 PM

Thanks for the congrats =) It was certainly a taxing last battle.

I did not farm FOEs to gain exp, it's far too annoying to rest up to get them to respawn. I found a monster that summoned allies and just beat the crap out of them a lot.

I understand. I just wanted to give a small warning about FOE tweaks in Etrian Odyssey II in advance is all.

I'm more worried about having a party and then suddenly having that party not work. For example, I'm thinking about:
Front: Ronin, Dark Hunter (War Magus?)
Back: Hexer, Medic, (War Magus? Gunner? Survivalist?)

and I'd hate to go through the entire game with this party, handling everything decently, and then suddenly be unable to complete the game unless I switch my party around. Having to start a new character at the last boss's door was frustrating.

I should add that the later FOEs give frustratingly small amounts of experience. Armoth was able to be killed at 20-30 (IIRC) and gave all my members around 480 experience. Dinolich is a very hard FOE present on the last floors, is much much more difficult than the Armoth, but gives 600 experience or so. The difficulty wasn't balanced with the experience reward.

1. I have been thinking about swapping either my Protector or Survivalist for an Alchemist. Of course, that throws off the balance of my party. I want to keep my Protector as F.Guard, Enguarde and Defender are all useful for tough encounters or the occasional FOE I'll engage. Couple with my Survivalist, my party are mostly bruisers, though my Protector and Survivalist will never have the attack power of my Landsknechts.

Plus, if I had to take either one away, I'd:

-Have to move my Survivalist to the Front Row, where I don't want her.
-Move my Protector to the Back Row, which I'd like here up front, attracting baddies her way and soaking up a majority of damage directed at the party.

2. You think that's bad? Try fighting an FOE in the follow up. They are now insanely powerful, and you encounter them as early as the 3rd floor in th 1st stratum. A majority of them don't go down as easy as the first game, and just about all of them will lay your party out within 1-2 turns tops.

But that's what I've come to love about FOE. I'm such a sick bastard sometimes. :p

Evil Avnovice

05-07-2009, 02:03 PM

Hey, hey! I found that of all the things I missed in the mass-exodus from EA was your activity in the realms of handhelds. So here I am.

:D

Pssh. No need for the praise. It's good to see someone I've talked with at EvAv make it here. That's good enough for me. :)

Evil Avnovice

05-07-2009, 02:10 PM

I say let FFTA2 keep waiting! :D I beat it a while back and thought it had a story, but to be honest, it felt a bit like a let down after playing EOII because it just seemed far too easy by comparison.

When I played the first game on GBA, I was hooked for months. Easy as it was, there were so many abilities and job classes to merge and mix up. I played and hour or two before Etrian Odyssey II consumed my soul. And thus, it'll continue to sit to the side alongside The War of the Lions. :o

Woah, hold on now. You. You haven't played FFTA2? Man, that was in your sig back on EvAv for a good 8 months that you were looking forward to it, wasnt' it?

For as long as I was pimping it back then, yep. I maybe played the first few missions when I got it. But switching between that and Etrian Odyssey II was impossible, so I went with Atlus' title instead. And I still want to play it, only I have past titles I want to catch up on alongside Grimoire of the Rift, and there are future games I'm looking forward to as well.

Shrinn

05-09-2009, 10:05 PM

I've begun my venture into the bonus stratum. Difficulty jump ahoy. I'm keeping up, but the FOEs have gained at least 3x as much hp! They take forever to kill, and then I have to spend a battle defending and letting my Troubadour heal up my TP.

Shrinn

05-12-2009, 12:50 PM

Holy shit. This bonus stratum's layout is absolutely ridiculous. I would not be doing it at all if I didn't have maps available to me online. Absolutely ridiculous.

Evil Avnovice

12-17-2009, 09:10 PM

Granted, this is seven months after the fact, but I finally found success on the 20th floor. And one that could be frustrating for anyone who attempts(ed) it.

From what I've managed to accomplished, it seemed that the way to defeat the boss FOE here and proceed to the 5th stratum involved me killing damn near every other FOE in the area. But I did take note that as I killed more of them, specifically two of the four Ogre FOE, the boss started to move and disappear and reappear on the map. I figured I'd try engaging it again, and re-slaughtered it. No dice.

I kill the rest of the FOE around and re-engage it again. Poof! No more, and the path to the 5th stratum is open to me. Now at level 67 (I was stuck, so I grinded for additional levels), I'm making my way from floor 21 and down. I will say that the level here is very cool. :cool:

Purple Santa

12-18-2009, 02:29 AM

This only reminds me that I need to go back, no, man up, and pick up EO II again to try to get further. I'll add EO II to the winter break gaming marathon.

Evil Avnovice

12-19-2009, 11:02 AM

Mapping along the 22-24th floors. Opposition's not too tough here, save for the Armorrolls on the 24th floor.

Evil Avnovice

12-20-2009, 11:05 AM

Completed. Took some doing on the 25th floor, but I put away Etreant on my first try. I lost my Medic in the final moments of the battle, and I had to get around Etreant's "Twigs" skill, but this, like Etrian Odyssey II has been squashed. :cool:

So I go back to where I defeated him and uncover the secret passage to the 6th stratum. Messed around there for just long enough to find the warp back to town, and a particular monster that's impervious to physical attacks. Guess I'll come back when I have an Alchemist or someone with elemental attacks. :o

Note: I tried to retiring a unit after saving, and WOW. Not much in terms of benefits to work with as compared to the sequel. :eek: