Bal's Beat Etrian Odyssey I

[Balcerzak]

Current status:

[spoiler=Guild Members]Balcerzk, Lv 39 Landsknecht: (Bardiche, Stud Vest, Cut Charm, Hide Boots) [ATK Up: 10, Axes: 10, Swords: 5, 2-Hit: 10, Crush: 6]

eclipse, Lv 39 Dark Hunter: (Shred Whip, Stud Vest, Cut Charm, Bear Gloves) [ATK Up: 5, Whips: 5, Fury: 1, Viper: 1, Gag: 10, Shackles: 8, Cuffs: 10, Ecstasy: 1]

Integrty, Lv 39 Protector: (Viking, Stud Vest, Heat Aspis, Hide Boots) [DEF Up: 10, Shields: 5, Provoke: 5, Parry: 5, Defender: 10, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3]

Icysnow, Lv 39 Medic: (Gem Staff, Fancy Coat, Gum Helm, Bear Gloves) [TP Up: 10, Healer: 10, Patch Up: 1, Cure: 3, Cure III: 3, Salve: 3, Revive: 1, Refresh: 1, Immunize: 7, H. Touch: 1]

Kiryn, Lv 39 Alchemist: (Gem Staff, Fancy Coat, Gum Helm, Bear Gloves) [TP Up: 10, Fire Up: 10, Scavenge: 1, TP Regen: 1, Fire: 3, Flame: 10, Inferno: 5, Warp: 1]

Snike, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Chain Mail, Hide Belt, Leaf Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 2]

Sirius, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Iron Plate, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 1, Bows: 5, Trickery: 3, Quicken: 3, Multihit: 10]

Merc, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Long Bow, Buffcoat, Red Charm, Leaf Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 2, Take: 10]

Script, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Iron Plate, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [Chop:2, Mine: 10, Take: 10]

Ether, Lv 20 Samurai: (Ohdachi, Stud Vest, Cut Charm, Chain Boots) [ATK Up: 1, Katanas: 10, Iaidou: 1, Kubiuchi: 10]

Nghtmare, Lv 8 Landsknecht: (Shamshir, Iron Plate, Hide Gloves, Hide Boots) [Axes: 4, Swords: 5, Tornado: 1]

EinSilvr, Lv 8 Protector: (Rapier, Iron Plate, Oval Aspis, Hide Boots) [DEF Up: 2, Shields: 1, Defender: 1, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3]

Luka, Lv 8 Bard: (Hindi, Oak Jacket, Flute, Hide Boots) [songs: 10]

Kitten, Lv 9 Medic: (Bone Flail, Oak Jacket, Gum Helm, Plume Boots) [Healer: 7, Cure: 1, Cure III: 3]

Yuki, Lv 8 Alchemist: (Bone Flail, Hauberk, Plumed Hat, Plume Boots) [TP Up: 3, Ice Up: 5, Ice: 1, Cocytus: 1]

???: Hexcaster [notunlocked]

Comments on skills:

Patch Up does not work as advertised. 3% HP my ass. Even on my 200+ HP dudes it's 1 HP, and only 1 HP. :(

Provoke does not work as advertised. 100% draw rate my ass. :(

I completely misread how H. Touch worked. I thought it would be an out-of-battle-only Salve replacement that healed 25% of max health. Not that it would heal you back up to 25% and no further. :(

While I am pleased enough with 1 point in TP Regen, as it greatly extends my TP longevity. I do not think the returns in additional spent points would be worth it. I do wish it would restore TP for battles that only last one turn, but alas.

After being frustrated as hell and trying to kill the Stalker in a variety of different ways to unlock it's third drop, which I suspected had special requirements after my experiences hunting for Insect Eyes, I learned that there is a host of monsters with absurd requirements. One of theses monsters needs to die to a OHKO, hence maxing Kubiuchi.

Once my Item!Survivalists hit Lv 30, I will probably release one of them to make room for somebody new, like an alternate stance Samurai, or a Sword-based Dark Hunter. There's no way I'll need to grab more than 40 of any given Take/Chop/Mine anyways, as quest items+heal items will take up ~10 slots, and there will be ~10 slots of monster drops on the way to get to the points in all likelihood. Two will certainly suffice, and will allow the gathering team to be that much stronger for carrying around an additional combat capable chap (battle medic?).

I need to remember to take out the B-squad with Night and Ein more often, but it's just more fun mapping out new floors than rehashing the same old, same old. Sorry guys, I'll give you a dedicate session sometime soon, I promise!

Progress:

We last left out adventurers just having reached second stratum. I wandered around there for awhile until I found the Clear Crystal Key, at which point I promptly went back to first stratum and fill things out more. I also pushed through this secret passage on B1F that had denied me earlier. Everything proceeded smoothly.

When I accepted the "Last 5 days on B8F" quest, I had yet to learn that I could unblock the spring, and when I entered it sounded like I would irreparably fail the quest if I left for just moment to go back to B7F and do so. This made the 5 days excruciating. I eventually learned the right way to attack each of the enemy groups to minimize damages, and which ones to just run from entirely. At Day 4, I was completely out of TP, and desperate. Discovering that the fountain room doesn't provoke random encounters, I cheesed my way through the last 24 hours traversing those three tiles endlessly, like a coward.

Later, when I was grabbing the Wyvern's egg, just for giggles I tried engaging it to see if I could kill it. Holy shit no, can you say Overpowered? Total wipe. After having finished that mission, I was allowed to find the secret passage out of the wyvern's lair, which led me on a silly romp up and down between B8F and B9F, until finally at the end, making it to B10F. B10F was an amusing network of doors, and it took quite a bit of navigating before I found my way to the boss. I was perhaps overlevelled for him, thanks to the endurance marathon on B8F, and he went down before I was able to get him fully bound for eclipse. :(

At this point, my quest log was starting to fill up with a lot of quests. One of them I thought should be managable, as it sounded like it was just beyond the crystal doors I'd already unlocked. So, I go romping around, until I wander into Golem, who I manage to take down to about a quarter of its health. It then cast Regen on itself, and I ran out of TP, leading to my unfortunate and frustrating defeat. Tabling that quest for now, a lot of my other quests I couldn't complete without mining/etc. and my item!dudes were still hilariously weak. However, I wanted to unlock Samurai and Hexcaster so I could send them along to get trained up simultaneously, and I thought I remember they unlocked at B11F.

Turns out it was only Samurai that unlocks here, but I mapped out all of B11F and B12F. Holy hell that anthole was full of impossibly many respawning Bloodant FOEs. Only when I saw them pop up right before my eyes, did I realize the usual rule of 3 day respawns meant nothing here, and that I had to find and fight the Servants. I made my way to Royalant, and here all went as it should for a boss battle, with Eclipse triple-binding the Queen and giving her unfathomable Ecstacy. It actually took a couple lashes of the skill to lay her to rest.

After ever so briefly stepping foot on B13F, I decided I really couldn't postpone my gathering any longer, so I created Ether the samurai, and geared them up then set them loose. Strategy unashamedly involved Geowarping to a stratum, fighting and winning a single battle, then returning to town, until they were strong enough to venture to an item point, typically weathering 2-3 fights on the way, then warp-wiring back. The training regimen involved visiting each item collection point on every floor before moving to the next stratum and trying again. Eventually Samurai hit Lv 20, so the little sick kid got his request fulfilled, and I gathered the fossils, etc. for the old choker and other item quests. During the long days this took, I would break every so often to go beat up Fenrir with my main squad until I got his rare drop, of White Hide, the item that unlocked by selling it was wholly disappointing however.

Current Quests:

Find lost pearl for lady knight

Find cause behind attacks on B12F

Legendary bandit king's treasure (Golem?)

Current Money: 19770

[Ein]

The pearl item for the quest is bugged and will remain in your inventory even after completing the quest.

What else... Oh yeah. Since you're in the 3rd stratum you can go frog hunting for level grinding. Just get into a random encounter with a Treefrog or two and kill off every other enemy except for 1 Treefrog and let it summon more Treefrogs. Make sure you end the battle after killing around... 40 frogs since the exp you get will max out by then. I usually do this later since you only get around 5000 with a 5 man party and around 20000 with a 1 man party.

If you are gonna try and insta-kill the Golem you may as well have Eclipse learn Climax since that skill is the best instant death skill in the game. If you're trying to use the Ronin's instant death skill on the Golem good luck with that because the Golem's death resistance will practically nullify it.

[Bearissoslow]

When I accepted the "Last 5 days on B8F" quest, I had yet to learn that I could unblock the spring, and when I entered it sounded like I would irreparably fail the quest if I left for just moment to go back to B7F and do so. This made the 5 days excruciating. I eventually learned the right way to attack each of the enemy groups to minimize damages, and which ones to just run from entirely. At Day 4, I was completely out of TP, and desperate. Discovering that the fountain room doesn't provoke random encounters, I cheesed my way through the last 24 hours traversing those three tiles endlessly, like a coward.

I dunno about everyone else, but I didn't do any fighting for the 5 days thing. Shit'd be near impossible if I had.

Also, have fun with the ants.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Bearissoslow

[Emeraldfox]

I think the five day quest made the boss, and all of stratum three easy for me.

[Balcerzak]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Real pathetic quick update here, maybe more later, maybe not.

If you are gonna try and insta-kill the Golem you may as well have Eclipse learn Climax since that skill is the best instant death skill in the game. If you're trying to use the Ronin's instant death skill on the Golem good luck with that because the Golem's death resistance will practically nullify it.

It only took three tries (saving and resetting upon failure) at Golem with Ether and the Survivalists, so maybe 7-9 uses of the skill before it went off. I was disappointed at the 0 XP gain, so I really should have brought my A-team to protect him, but what's done is done. I cannot imagine how I can finance buying that sweet ass axe that I have now unlocked. Hot damn.

Oh, and I will still teach eclipse to Climax. It is only the right and proper thing to do.

[Nightmare]

The quickest way to make money (that I know of) is to just gather a ton of materials, warp wire, sell, sleep and repeat.

Though I'm not sure if it's all that profitable on your current stratum, but you might as well try.

[Ein]

It only took three tries (saving and resetting upon failure) at Golem with Ether and the Survivalists, so maybe 7-9 uses of the skill before it went off. I was disappointed at the 0 XP gain, so I really should have brought my A-team to protect him, but what's done is done. I cannot imagine how I can finance buying that sweet ass axe that I have now unlocked. Hot damn.

WHAT?! But I thought the odds would become 1%! Or is that only in EO2 and 3?

As for the money issue once you reach the 5th stratum there's a mining spot right next to the Geomagentic Pole so just send your gathering party there over and over.

[someonewhodied]

Wanna know how I play? (EO3)

Front: Ninja (Hope for 1HKO, Set up counters, Point enemies to hoplite), Hoplite (Wall), Monk (Heals Prince and Big Damage)

Back: Zodiac (Magic Spam), Prince (Heals everyone and boosts)

Boss battles always go like this:

Ninja: Makibishi to front

Hoplite: Bodyguard to Prince

Monk: Normal Attacks and Healing when needed.

Zodiac: Star Spam

Prince: Guard Order to Front

Ninja: Otori to Hoplite

Hoplite: Defend

Monk: Same as always

Zodiac: Same as always

Prince: Attack order to front

Ninja: Takanoha (Multi hit)

Hoplite: Defend

Monk: Same as always

Zodiac: Same as always

Prince: [Element] Arms to Monk

Repeat till boss is dead.

Works every time flawlessly. Even when I am underleveled.

Sleep is still a problem though.

I need to prevent my front row from getting sleepified. Death isn't a problem since my monk resurrects people.

Edited June 7, 2011 by someonewhodied

[Bearissoslow]

Shit, you're plowing through this game. I'm impressed.

[Balcerzak]

Current status:

[spoiler=Guild Members]Balcerzk, Lv 55 Landsknecht: (Bardiche, Plate Mail, Bear Gloves, Scale Boots) [ATK Up: 10, DEF Up: 1, Axes: 10, Swords: 5, 2-Hit: 10, Hell Cry: 10, Crush: 10, Silencer: 1]

eclipse, Lv 55 Dark Hunter: (Dominator, Brigandine, Cut Charm, Fang Gloves) [ATK Up: 10, Whips: 10, Fury: 4, Viper: 1, Gag: 10, Shackles: 10, Cuffs: 10, Ecstasy: 1, Climax: 1]

Integrty, Lv 55 Protector: (Steelsword, Plate Mail, Body Aspis, Tiger Boots) [TP Up: 3, DEF Up: 10, Shields: 10, Provoke: 5, Parry: 5, Fortify: 5, Defender: 10, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3, Antifire: 1, Antivolt: 1, Smite: 1]

Icysnow, Lv 55 Medic: (Gem Staff, 7 Doublet, Sandy Pin, Moccasins) [TP Up: 10, Healer: 10, Patch Up: 1, TP Regen: 1, Cure: 3, Cure II: 3, Cure III: 3, Salve: 3, Salve II: 7, Revive: 1, Refresh: 4, Immunize: 10, H. Touch: 1]

Kiryn, Lv 55 Alchemist: (Arcana Rod, 7 Doublet, Gum Helm, Flame Boots) [TP Up: 10, Fire Up: 10, Ice Up: 1, Scavenge: 10, TP Regen: 1, Fire: 3, Flame: 10, Inferno: 10, Ice: 1, Warp: 1]

Snike, Lv 22 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Iron Plate, Hide Gloves, Leaf Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 4]

Sirius, Lv 23 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Stud Vest, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 1, Bows: 7, Trickery: 3, Quicken: 3, 1st Turn: 1, Multihit: 10]

Merc, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Long Bow, Iron Plate, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 2, Take: 10]

Script, Lv 22 Survivalist: (Self Bow, Iron Plate, Hide Belt, Hide Boots) [Chop:4, Mine: 10, Take: 10]

Ether, Lv 22 Samurai: (Ohdachi, Tiger Coat, Cut Charm, Chain Boots) [ATK Up: 3, Katanas: 10, Iaidou: 1, Kubiuchi: 10]

Chalis, Lv 13 Hexcaster: (Gem Staff, Surcoat, Moccasins) [Curses: 10, Torpor: 4, Corrupt: 1]

Nghtmare, Lv 8 Landsknecht: (Shamshir, Iron Plate, Hide Gloves, Hide Boots) [Axes: 4, Swords: 5, Tornado: 1]

EinSilvr, Lv 8 Protector: (Rapier, Iron Plate, Oval Aspis, Hide Boots) [DEF Up: 2, Shields: 1, Defender: 1, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3]

Luka, Lv 8 Bard: (Hindi, Oak Jacket, Flute, Hide Boots) [songs: 10]

Kitten, Lv 9 Medic: (Bone Flail, Oak Jacket, Gum Helm, Plume Boots) [Healer: 7, Cure: 1, Cure III: 3]

Yuki, Lv 8 Alchemist: (Bone Flail, Hauberk, Plumed Hat, Plume Boots) [TP Up: 3, Ice Up: 5, Ice: 1, Cocytus: 1]

Comments on skills:

I think I'm going to be one point short on Kiryn maxing Freeze.

Integrity is going to be very crunched for points, and will probably only make it halfway up the antis and smite.

Comment on squads:

Merc is benched in favor of Chalis. I learn that hexes over-write each other, and since I want to avoid taking damage, despite how painful Curse is when it's applied to me, Sleep is undoubtedly better. The Curse one is still a pre-req for higher skilltrees though, IIRC. 1st Turn, Torpor is pretty great.

(Repeat) I need to remember to take out the B-squad with Night and Ein more often, but it's just more fun mapping out new floors than rehashing the same old, same old. Sorry guys, I'll give you a dedicated session sometime soon, I promise!

Progress:

We last left our adventurers just having finished Royalant and cleaning out some quest logs, and doing Stratum 2 item collection points. Since then a whole ton of shit has gone down, and some serious plot has developed. I don't like the feel of the plot, it made me feel icky going up against the fine-looking forest-folk girl, and the foreshadowing that is happening is also making me sad.

Anyway... B14F was the first taste of advanced mapping with very rudimentary lily-pad teleporters. I have no end of complaints to the limit on the amount of "memo" tokens I can place, and the lack of one-sided and two-sided arrows, or any of a number of elegant solutions that would present themself with pencil and graph paper, but I digress (and am told things get better in future installments). B14F was of course, where I first met plot girl (does she have a name? we may never know). Due to the inability to find a stairwell down without ignoring her direct request to stay off of sacred grounds, I pressed on against the prohibition, and fought Cotrangl. Even though I never used any fire attack at all, he did not provide his special drop, which confused me. Oh well, I can always try again later.

Following that the 4th stratum promised more frustration in mapping, with the shifting sands literally begging for arrow tiles, and being denied. B18F was neat, and the dangerous foreshadowing happened here, if I remember correctly. I cannot seem to catch the FOE moving around here, as it always teleports away. I even tried approaching it backwards, and at different times of day. Every trick I could think of. Clearly I missed something.

Anyway, fought and bound Cruella and Diabolix. I was amused that the descriptions on their whip drops were reversed in-game in the Item Compendium, with Cruella's being attributed to Diabolix and vice versa. At any rate, it enabled me to craft Super Whip for eclipse, in what is quite possibly the best whip I will see until endgame. Congrats on your uber dominatrix gear. The flying bird boss on B20F was anticlimactic, although it resisted my best attempts to fully bind it (just barely having head come undone as the other two went up), it did not pose any threat behind a constant layer of Immunize and Defender. The plot resolution of the forest-folk arc left me feeling like I had just finished punching babies and kicking puppies. :(

Briefly stepped foot into the new stratum, do not see the item point next to the geo-magnet. The nearest one is back up the stairs on B20F, maybe that is what is referred too...

I have not yet crossed the bridge, where a little "threat music and popup text" notified me that major shit was about to throw down. And I'm pretty sure I can guess the flavor of the two figures waiting for me.

I am badly in need of cash, as my main team is even sporting equipment two generations out of date, or more.

Current Quests:

Trainee at the Apocathery need Bird Limb

Find lost pearl for lady knight

Crystal Maiden wishes for jewels

Luxurious woman requests Cullinan

Mysterious girl lives in the marshes of second Stratum?

Current Money: 17486

I was amused that the simplest cure for petrification is switching leaving them in the front row to get killed, and then reviving them. I am sure there is a better way that I haven't unlocked (really high-level Refresh?).

[Ein]

You just need to use a Therica A or B, whichever cures status effects, to cure Petrify. >_>

For the mysterious girl quest you have to get there from the 3rd stratum.

The FOE on the 18th floor you couldn't get to requires that you follow a specific path to reach it.

Since you've reached the 5th stratum you may as well money grind on the Mine spot next to the Geomagnetic Pole. You also mine the item that makes Axcela 3 there.

You may as well concentrate on beating the game since you're good to go. I wouldn't worry too much about the other party you have.

I know the Forest Folk girl has a name but I forget what it is. I think it's Kupala but I might be wrong.

[Balcerzak]

You just need to use a Therica A or B, whichever cures status effects, to cure Petrify. >_>

For the mysterious girl quest you have to get there from the 3rd stratum.

The FOE on the 18th floor you couldn't get to requires that you follow a specific path to reach it.

Since you've reached the 5th stratum you may as well money grind on the Mine spot next to the Geomagnetic Pole. You also mine the item that makes Axcela 3 there.

You may as well concentrate on beating the game since you're good to go. I wouldn't worry too much about the other party you have.

I know the Forest Folk girl has a name but I forget what it is. I think it's Kupala but I might be wrong.

Oh, right. I keep forgetting items exist...

I figured as much. Probably in the "Eternal Path of Pain" area, no doubt. (Not exact name, but close enough.)

I see...

I will probably beat the game, and then, play around a little bit with groups B and C.

Kupala it appears it is, though it may only have been mentioned in an artbook, according to a certain source. Regardless! [spoiler=Art of her.]

courtesy of pixiv

[eclipse]

Whee, thank you~! I'm quite amused by all of this!

[Nightmare]

Just a little notice, but you don't really need the Anti[element] skills. Not for the main game, anyway. Smite is a better choice to max out.

That is, if you haven't spent your points yet. Otherwise, good going! You're progressing much faster than I did, and you're going about the game in a much more complete way, too. Kudos to you.

[Bearissoslow]

You can read through guides but tl;dr: Antielement spells are only necessary for fighting three optional bosses, and they must be specifically level 5 each. Any lower or higher will pretty much be an instant OHKO for your party due to each having a unique attack that does an insane amount of damage.

[spoiler=Amount of floors + stratums info]

There are only six stratums, with the last being a bonus dungeon, sort of. Once you beat the fifth stratum boss (who's treated as the final boss), you're pretty much done with the story. aspect of the game. The three optional bosses are never required fights unless you're shooting for 100%, so worrying about the antielement spells is useless if you have Immunize (which is fucking sexy if you didn't already know).

Also, don't max out element spells imo. It's not worth it past level 5 if you're tri-running, especially when you can sink points into Scavenge/TP Regen/Warp (only one point though lol).

Edited June 11, 2011 by Bearissoslow

[Integrity]

I have my legs bound because I NEVER RUN AWAY.

[Balcerzak]

@bear: "Optional Boss" is not a phrase in my vocabulary. This will be 100% or bust. Also, I am very curious about this "exactly 5 ranks" figure, and will be performing tests.

Current status:

[spoiler=Guild Members]Balcerzk, Lv 66 Landsknecht: (Meteor Axe, Demon Mail, Tiger Cap, Tiger Boots) [ATK Up: 10, DEF Up: 10, Axes: 10, Swords: 5, 2-Hit: 10, Hell Cry: 10, Crush: 10, Silencer: 1, 2 points unspent]

eclipse, Lv 66 Dark Hunter: (Dominator, Jazeraint, Tiger Cap, Blood Mitts) [ATK Up: 10, Whips: 10, Boost Up: 1, Fury: 10, Viper: 1, Gag: 10, Shackles: 10, Cuffs: 10, Ecstasy: 1, Climax: 1, 4 points unspent]

Integrty, Lv 66 Protector: (Duergar, Composite, Moon Aspis, Tiger Boots) [TP Up: 3, DEF Up: 10, Shields: 10, Provoke: 5, Parry: 5, Fortify: 5, Defender: 10, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3, Antifire: 4, Antivolt: 4, Anticold: 4, Smite: 1, 1 point unspent]

Icysnow, Lv 66 Medic: (Arcana Rod, Dino Plate, Circlet, Flame Boots) [TP Up: 10, Healer: 10, Patch Up: 1, Scavenge: 5, TP Regen: 1, Cure: 3, Cure II: 3, Cure III: 3, Salve: 3, Salve II: 9, Revive: 1, Refresh: 8, Immunize: 10, H. Touch: 1]

Kiryn, Lv 66 Alchemist: (Arcana Rod, Dino Plate, Scale Cap, Fur Boots) [TP Up: 10, Fire Up: 10, Ice Up: 5, Scavenge: 10, TP Regen: 1, Fire: 3, Flame: 10, Inferno: 10, Ice: 3, Freeze: 5, Warp: 1]

Snike, Lv 32 Survivalist: (War Bow, Jazeraint, Cut Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 3, Ambush: 1, Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 10]

Sirius, Lv 33 Survivalist: (Failnaught, Jazeraint, Tiger Gloves, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 3, Bows: 10, Ambush: 4, Trickery: 3, Quicken: 3, 1st Turn: 1, Multihit: 10, Apollon: 1]

Merc, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Long Bow, Iron Plate, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 2, Take: 10]

Script, Lv 32 Survivalist: (Shigetou, Jazeraint, Cut Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 3, Ambush: 1, Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 10]

Ether, Lv 32 Samurai: (Hachi, Jazeraint, Bear Gloves, Chain Boots) [ATK Up: 10, Katanas: 10, Overhead: 3, Iaidou: 1, Kubiuchi: 10]

Chalis, Lv 30 Hexcaster: (Gem Staff, Azure Coat, Gum Helm, Fairy Boots) [Curses: 10, Stagger: 10, Torpor: 7, Corrupt: 5]

Nghtmare, Lv 8 Landsknecht: (Epee, Brigandine, Tiger Cap, Tiger Boots) [Axes: 4, Swords: 5, Tornado: 1]

EinSilvr, Lv 8 Protector: (Epee, Demon Coat, Body Aspis, Tiger Boots) [DEF Up: 2, Shields: 1, Defender: 1, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3]

Luka, Lv 8 Bard: (Shigetou, Jazeraint, Aulos, Scale Boots) [songs: 10]

Kitten, Lv 9 Medic: (Gem Staff, 7 Doublet, Sandy Pin, Mocassins) [Healer: 7, Cure: 1, Cure III: 3]

Yuki, Lv 8 Alchemist: (Gem Staff, 7 Doublet, Gum Helm, Fairy Boots) [TP Up: 3, Ice Up: 5, Ice: 1, Cocytus: 1]

Comments on skills:

I have points I don't know what to do with on some characters that I wish I could give to the others but I cannot. Still, they need to go somewhere! eclipse, you're the worst offender, you tell me where you want yours.

Comment on squads:

Gathering squad is doing pretty alright for themselves, they survived a skirmish or two on Stratum 5 even...

Progress:

Stratum 5 was probably my favorite stratum to explore. Or at least it would have been had not the bizarre glitches in my game gotten progressively worse. Many of the 'You see a gap between the trees, do you push through' type dialogues, and all of the plot have now been replaced with

!"

and that only. I'm going to need to find a Let's Play or script dump or something to figure out what's going on. I mean, I saw two of the crumbly note things, and reached a position where I assume a third would have been, but it had by that point been infected by !"

Still, there was no effect on the gameplay, and so I fiddled around, exploring, doubling back, re-exploring. In the process of quest-clearing, I had gone back to Stratum 4, and found my way to Manticore. Stratum 2 housed Aluraune right where I thought she would be. I went back and beat Golem for his normal drop, and Cotrangle and the bird for their Rare drops. Eventually I figured out how to get those elevators working, which was the ultimate key for forward progress. I hate those fuckin' 'loids with their sleep-all skill, especially on an "enemies strike first" phase. That causes wipes and makes me a sad dungeoneer.

Etreant was underwhelming. He got triple bound, but due to Ecstasy having low initiative priority, it didn't get a chance to go off before someone kill-stealed. I should have remembered to switch to defend instead...

A series of !" filled the screen before the credits rolled. Luckily the townspeople/npc conversations at the end remained uncorrupted.

Current Quests:

Find lost pearl for lady knight

Crystal Maiden wishes for jewels

Wyvern's cries

Blizzard-breathing Dragon

Ankh-shaped objects on B21F

Monstrous Compendium:

Everyone up to Kingyama complete

??? until Quest animals (Fireater, etc.)

??? after Hextoad and before Ragelope

Orange FOEs complete up to Kingdile

??? until Stalker

Red FOEs complete up to Dinolich [Missing Rare drop for Ogre and Treetusk]

??? after Dinolich and before Skoll

Bosses complete from Fenrir to Golem

??? after Golem

Manticor and Aluraune are missing their Rare drops

four ??? until Sprout and Bud

???

Item Compendium:

??? between Thin Shell and Bird Limb

??? between Oleander and Throb Vine

??? between Throb Vine and Shiny Seed

four ??? after Crystwall

six ??? between Scythe and Harvester

three ??? between Evil Plume and Great Tusk

two ??? between Red Thread and Gator Skin

three ??? between Ant's Jaw and S Leaf

??? between Rose Whip and Statue Arm

??? between Royal Vine and Gold Plume

two ??? between Hex Chain and Sword Rib

ten ??? between Sword Rib and Shroud

eight ??? after Shroud

Current Money: 54342

[eclipse]

Wow, good job! Have fun with the rest~!

[Ein]

The Anti-skills are bugged so if you have them past level 5 they will stop working properly due to the absorb effect. For example. The Drake's 0-Point skill has a 50% chance of inflicting Death and if you use Anitice at level 6-10 the Death status will still take effect. Just leave them at level 5 as that is all you need.

Also... Good luck 100% the game. You'll need it...

I mean just trying to get the items required to make the Shinryuu will make you hate life in such a way that you can not imagine until you actually try to get said items. >_>

Edited June 12, 2011 by Ein Silver Rose

[Bearissoslow]

Exactly what Ein said. 5 just nullifies them entirely, any higher will let them still active side effects. The antielement skills are pretty much a necessity for the fights, no questions asked.

[Balcerzak]

My first attempt at Drake was a hilarious failure. I was actually doing alright until he used his defense buff + Regen. My now 2-5 damage paled in comparison to the health he regained. Is there any way to debuff without using a Bard, like some sort of potion thing I've never used? Dragon was again going fine until he put up his buff. :|

Also, even after Resting and respecing, I cannot kill Wyvern in 3 turns or less. ~200HP remains on turn 4, even with everyone boosted, and Medic Axcela 3-ing someone for a boost on turn 3. Looks like I'll need to finish training survivalist for backrow damage to even unlock Wyrm.

In the meantime, while my main team is now level 70 I will explore Stratum 6 and powerlevel Bard and Survivalist, I guess...

[Ein]

The only way to debuff enemies is with the Troubadour's Nihilo songs or Metopon.

The Dagron is probably the easiest the three dragons which isn't saying much.

To defeat the Wyvern under 3 turns use the strongest attack skills you have. Use Boosted Bravery and let your attacks fly at the thing. Crush/Allslash, Apollon, Multishot, Smite, Caduceus, whatever. The Medic is surprisingly powerful once they gain access to Cadeceus.

[Balcerzak]

Current status:

[spoiler=Guild Members]Balcerzk, Lv 70 Landsknecht: (Meteor Axe, Demon Mail, Tiger Cap, Tiger Boots) [HP Up: 1, TP Up: 1, ATK Up: 10, DEF Up: 10, Axes: 10, Swords: 5, 2-Hit: 10, Hell Cry: 10, Crush: 10, Silencer: 5]

eclipse, Lv 70 Dark Hunter: (Dominator, Jazeraint, Tiger Cap, Blood Mitts) [HP Up: 1, TP Up: 1, ATK Up: 10, Whips: 10, Boost Up: 9, Fury: 5, Gag: 10, Shackles: 10, Cuffs: 10, Ecstasy: 5, Climax: 1]

Integrty, Lv 70 Protector: (Duergar, Holy Armor, Moon Aspis, Tiger Boots) [HP Up: 5, TP Up: 5, DEF Up: 10, Shields: 10, Fortify: 5, Defender: 5, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3, Antifire: 5, Antivolt: 5, Anticold: 5, Smite: 10, Stalker: 1]

Icysnow, Lv 70 Medic: (Arcana Rod, Angel Robe, Angel Helm, Flame Boots) [TP Up: 10, Healer: 10, Scavenge: 10, TP Regen: 1, Cure: 3, Cure II: 3, Cure III: 3, Salve: 3, Salve II: 10, Revive: 1, Refresh: 8, Immunize: 10]

Kiryn, Lv 70 Alchemist: (Sage Wand, Mobius Alb, Town Medal, Fur Boots) [TP Up: 10, Fire Up: 5, Ice Up: 5, Volt Up: 5, Scavenge: 10, Fire: 3, Flame: 10, Ice: 3, Freeze: 10, Thor: 10, Warp: 1]

Snike, Lv 34 Survivalist: (War Bow, Jazeraint, Cut Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 3, Bows: 1, Ambush: 1, Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 10, 1 unspent]

Sirius, Lv 58 Survivalist: (Failnaught, Sylpheed, Tiger Gloves, Speed Boots) [HP Up: 6, AGI Up: 3, Bows: 10, Ambush: 10, Aware: 1, Trickery: 3, Quicken: 3, 1st Turn: 1, Multihit: 10, Apollon: 10, 3 unspent]

Merc, Lv 20 Survivalist: (Long Bow, Iron Plate, Red Charm, Hide Boots) [Chop: 10, Mine: 2, Take: 10]

Script, Lv 34 Survivalist: (Shigetou, Jazeraint, Cut Charm, Hide Boots) [AGI Up: 3, Ambush: 1, Chop: 10, Mine: 10, Take 10, 2 unspent]

Ether, Lv 34 Samurai: (Hachi, Jazeraint, Bear Gloves, Chain Boots) [HP Up: 1, ATK Up: 10, Katanas: 10, Overhead: 3, Iaidou: 1, Kubiuchi: 10, 1 unspent]

Chalis, Lv 31 Hexcaster: (Arcana Rod, Azure Coat, Circlet, Fairy Boots) [Curses: 10, Stagger: 10, Torpor: 8, Corrupt: 5]

Nghtmare, Lv 8 Landsknecht: (Epee, Brigandine, Tiger Cap, Tiger Boots) [Axes: 4, Swords: 5, Tornado: 1]

EinSilvr, Lv 8 Protector: (Epee, Demon Coat, Body Aspis, Tiger Boots) [DEF Up: 2, Shields: 1, Defender: 1, F. Guard: 3, B. Guard: 3]

Luka, Lv 51 Bard: (Arc Drawer, Fairy Mail, Angel Harp, Scale Boots) [HP Up: 6, TP Up: 5, Songs: 10, Bravery: 10, Shelter: 1, Mercury: 1, Erasure: 10, Relaxing: 10]

Kitten, Lv 9 Medic: (Gem Staff, 7 Doublet, Sandy Pin, Mocassins) [Healer: 7, Cure: 1, Cure III: 3]

Yuki, Lv 8 Alchemist: (Gem Staff, 7 Doublet, Gum Helm, Fairy Boots) [TP Up: 3, Ice Up: 5, Ice: 1, Cocytus: 1]

Comments on skills:

I rested Int, eclipse, Icy, and Kiryn in order to redistribute points. They easily made it back to 70 while I've been exploring stratum 6.

Progress:

Stratum 6 is the best stratum ever. The map design here is incredibly tight, and diligent exploration is encouraged. The pits on B27F were perhaps a bit excessive, I eventually gave up stepping into every one of them. This decision coincided when I realized I could just dilly dally and walk behind the FOEs, who follow the solid ground, rather than simply immediately killing them, as was my wont.

B29F obviously has far too many teleporters for memo pads, but I made due, stripping memos from those teleports I deemed "fail", which really just meant they either dead ended, or all decision tree leafs branching off of them would eventually dead end. It was a very logical mapping procedure, and led to full coverage of the foor.

I've only /just/ stepped into B30F, mostly because I decided it had probably been the 14 days or so since the last time I killed Wyvern, and it was time to see if my powerlevelling of the Survivalist would up my dpt enough to make the crucial limit. It did, quite nicely at that. Wyvern team was: Bal, eclipse, Int, Sirius, Kiryn.

With the troub to debuff the dragons, everything became simple.

Wyrm-killers: Bal, eclipse, Int, Icy, Luka

(realizing I ought to have both scavengers for drop hunting)

Dragon-killer: Bal, Int, Icy, Luka, Kiryn

Drake-killers: Bal, Int, Icy, Luka, Kiryn

First round of deaths yielded basic drops.

Second time fighting Dragon I picked up the Volt Scale.

Fought Wyrm somewhere between 7-10 times before getting the Fire Scale.

Currently plugging away at Drake but no luck with his Scale yet. That said, I've been amazingly lucky so far, because even with dual maxed scavenges that only improves 5% drops to 7%, and then it would require roughly 40 battles to secure a 95% chance of having acquired a drop at that rate, if I mathed correctly. The Drake trip + fight takes ~15 minutes as well, so it's not exactly a small investment. But hey, it'll happen sooner or later.

Current Quests:

Bird from fairy tale

Rooster Inn's escaped pet

Monstrous Compendium:

Everyone up to Macabre, complete

???

???

???

Stalker to Dragon, complete

???

Sprout to Clover, complete

Item Compendium:

Everything to Ruby Bone, complete

???

Shroud

L Leaf

???

???

???

Fire Scale

???

Volt Scale

???

Current Money: 490,340

[Bearissoslow]

The Wyrm/Drake/Dragon fights practically necessitate a Troubadour, Protector, and decent points into Scavenge. Grinding Drake without 20 points into Scavenge (on a Medic and Alchemist respectively) was misery for me, but the second I rested for those skills, I got it on the second or third try. It's not nearly as broken in this game as it is in EO2, but it's still mega useful for these fights.

[Balcerzak]

EO Mastered.

Now with Pictures!!!

Status:

[spoiler=Guild Members]

[spoiler=Maps]

Drake only took between 10-14 goes before he gave it up. The reploids were between 1-5. Primevil kicked my ass a few times before I got the gist of the pattern, then another few times until I had all the right medicines (unbind), then another few times with Necrosis (party-wide instakill move :(). I outfitted with death-resist up gear, but then he didn't use it and on round 28 I killed him.

Item compendium complete, Monster codex complete.

Current Money: 372273

Edited June 19, 2011 by Balcerzak