Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth

[Konnor97]

I didn't want to necro the old Etrian Odyssey topic, so here we go.

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth has finally released internationally today!
The demo released a few weeks ago.

What are your teams? What is your guild name? How are enjoying the game?

I personally haven't got the game yet, mainly because there are other games coming out that I want to play, but I plan to probably pick it up holiday time. I have played the demo though, so I have guild Forrester, and the team of Raddy the Pugilist, Cynthia the Dragoon, Harry the Botanist, Pat the Rover, and Anna the Warlock.

[Emeraldfox]

I only have my demo progress so far, but here's my team.

Dragoon/Masurao/(Botanist)
Warlock/Rover(Botanist)

Gonna switch my Botanist between each row because Brounie's are pretty bulky. My guild's name is Emerald4, same name I always had actually. Hopefully I can get my copy today.

[eclipse]

It's out?!

Alright, I'm going to pick it up later today (if I can find that stash of cash I've kept over the years for such things).  I'm pretty sure my party will be the standard healer/mage/front-row beatstick/back-row beatstick/damage absorber.

[Interdimensional Observer]

Nahnahnahnah not listening! 

I just looked at the demo in the eShop you mentioned. I soooooooooooo want it! Gimme gimme gimme!

But I can't permit myself even the demo right now. Video games barring games Stretchmo and like where I can restrain myself to 2-3 puzzles in a sitting, are POISON when I'm in school! How poisonous? An Auto Spread Venom Throw is less toxic. If this or SMO falls into my hands right now, I might as well drop out.

So far I've done a great job of keeping myself in the near complete dark on this game. And I intend to keep it this way, I know no Stratum names but the first (thanks to the demo screenshots), no boss names beyond the knowledge that the good old dragon trio will have a 99% of returning (and at all costs I want to avoid knowing the lord of the 6th Stratum's name). I don't even know all the class names or what they do.

The screenshots on the demo page looked promising though. It appears the mapmaking stuff has taken another small step forward. TEC has been divided into elemental defense Wisdom and elemental attack Intelligence? That isn't a bad idea, it lets classes with a physical offense orientation have a good elemental defense now. The Therian race looks like it was designed with the female version as the base, but looking at it for a little longer, the guy version doesn't look so bad as the first impression suggested. I'd virtually date one.

[DragonFlames]

I've reached the 5th floor of the first stratum and so far, this game is fantastic. I especially love the way character creation works. The music is absolutely great, the new classes are very interesting, as are the races and their unique perks.

It is, however, hard as balls. Even the weakest enemies will kick your face into the dirt if you aren't careful and this time, you absolutely HAVE to stay away from FOEs - yes, even the 'blue' ones - if you don't want to spend your entire SP pool and still not be sure you can actually win. I am afraid of the first boss. Very afraid.
I don't particularly hate the difficulty, the opposite is true, in fact, but I feel they bumped up the difficulty from previous 3DS titles to a shocking degree. Maybe it is me doing something wrong, which let's face it is probably the case, but it is, dare I say, much harder than any game I've played so far.

If anyone who plays it and is a veteran of the EO franchise has any tips for me, they are much appreciated.
My team consists of the following people:
Front row: Dragoon / Fencer
Back row: Harbinger / Botanist / Warlock
To be specific: I have no idea which skills to focus on.

[B.Leu]

A new holy child of year 2017 has come to us !
 

3 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

I've reached the 5th floor of the first stratum

Some people are fast to work. :p

So, Dragoon seems to be good on the front line as well as on the back row.
I wouldn't call myself an expert of EO, espeically not the one that just came out. but a Dragoon should probably focus on the Protector-like skillset. Botanist should focus on healing, but Dark Smoke is good. I picked up Herp Foraging, I'll see if it worth it to keep that skill and if I shouldn't slap my face for wasting SP.

[Sunwoo]

I keep getting stuck at various parts, I only got past the third floor by looking at a map.

That said, I've reached the fifth floor and ... decided to take it easy for a bit. Also, I like how you get a little bit of EXP points for doing random events in the forest.

EDIT: Woo, I just beat one of the F.O.E.s on the second floor. That said, the biggest problem for me was the poison chance more so than the actual damage inflicted.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Sunwoo

[DragonFlames]

17 hours ago, B.Leu said:

A new holy child of year 2017 has come to us !
 

Some people are fast to work. :p

So, Dragoon seems to be good on the front line as well as on the back row.
I wouldn't call myself an expert of EO, espeically not the one that just came out. but a Dragoon should probably focus on the Protector-like skillset. Botanist should focus on healing, but Dark Smoke is good. I picked up Herp Foraging, I'll see if it worth it to keep that skill and if I shouldn't slap my face for wasting SP.

Fast? I wouldn't consider myself to be a fast particularly fast player, but maybe I should take it more slowly then. Thank you!
Figures the Dragoon would be best as a Protector. Luckily, that's what I focus on the most with him. Botanist with healing skills is a no-brainer. I also like the AOE poison ability, especially against stuff with high HP. The classes I have trouble figuring out are Fencer (Chains or Dodging?) and Harbinger (Stat debuffs or Miasma combo?).

What always breaks my neck during dungeon exploration is the rapid depletion of MP. The enemies are too tough to beat with just normal attacks, so I have to use skills against them and halfway through a floor, my MP reaches dangerously low levels. God forbid I accidentally run into an FOE. That's either death or an Ariadne Thread.

But I love my time with the game. It's a fun experience and fully customizing your own party down to the way they look and sound is really awesome.

Edited October 19, 2017 by DragonFlames

[Kazuya]

I love EO5 so damn much. 

Team comp: Reaper, Masarou, Dragoon, Herbalist, and Necromancer. I have an all female team. Fighting the first boss rn, but like the grind is real. 

[Emerson]

Hopefully going to be able to pick up a copy today. I played through the demo (Although tbh I don't even think I finished it, it's a long demo as per usual), and it's probably the best time I've had with an EO game since I first found the series.

Front: Masurao/Dragoon

Rear: Necromancer/Warlock/Herbalist

[DragonFlames]

Just reached the first boss. Holy hell. I did not stand a chance against him. I think I might need to reconsider my entire line up if this keeps up...
Without spoiling anything: He infinitely respawns mooks and has an AOE attack that your healers can't possibly keep up with, since you don't get an AOE heal. Also, he has well over 2,000 HP and you're dealing damage in the single digits, so your TP will run out sooner rather than later. The mooks also have well over 1,000 HP so you can't kill them fast enough.
I know EO has a stigma of being hard, but this? This is just brutal.

[Konnor97]

8 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Just reached the first boss. Holy hell. I did not stand a chance against him. I think I might need to reconsider my entire line up if this keeps up...
Without spoiling anything: He infinitely respawns mooks and has an AOE attack that your healers can't possibly keep up with, since you don't get an AOE heal. Also, he has well over 2,000 HP and you're dealing damage in the single digits, so your TP will run out sooner rather than later. The mooks also have well over 1,000 HP so you can't kill them fast enough.
I know EO has a stigma of being hard, but this? This is just brutal.

What level is your team? 15 is generally the recommended level for the first stratum boss.

Also I read that the body IIRC was weak to Ice, so if you have a fencer/warlock, you can make use of that.

[The DanMan]

Man, I kinda wish I could get this, but with all the games coming out in the next few months I ended up skipping out on it.

If Monster Hunter World ends up being a turd like I expect, I'll probably get around to this instead.

[DragonFlames]

4 hours ago, Konnor97 said:

What level is your team? 15 is generally the recommended level for the first stratum boss.

Also I read that the body IIRC was weak to Ice, so if you have a fencer/warlock, you can make use of that.

I just beat it, actually. My team was level 15 (I rested them), funnily enough. I completely screwed up my skill line-up and didn't have good strategy. Granted, he was still very hard, but I prevailed by saving TP and using Guards and Heals wisely.
Lightning works better since it attacks an entire line and the Chain skills aren't that great, honestly. I spent my Fencer's skill points on Rapier Mastery, the attack that can induce Blind and some union skills (Tri Shield and Resuscitate to be specific) after my first three attempts with Chain attacks failed miserably. It was a fun fight, all things considered. Looking forward to the Second Stratum.

[PeaceRibbon]

I'm currently up to the 5th floor. Having a fun, if fairly tough, time with the game.

The Blossom Guild consists of me the Harbinger, Lavender the Fencer, Susanne the Pugilist, Gunther the Dragoon, and Holland the Herbalist. yes I'm quite aware that's a lot of Earthlains.

[eclipse]

I just hit the 5th floor.

This game is kicking my ass.  I love it.

Current team is Baubles, consisting of Agate the Fencer, Ruby the Bunny Samurai, Citrine the dealer Herbalist, Jade the Dragoon, and Garnet the Warlock.  Fencer skill are what's keeping this party alive so far.

[B.Leu]

Gimme a freaking break you stupid rabbit... Comprendra qui pourra.
Finally hit the 5th floor ! Gosh, I missed drawing maps.

Is it me or is it easier to level up you character in this EO than in the others ? I'm not even talking about those nice little events that give you exp, the battle are a good way.
Food is really an interesting gameplay mechanic. it really saves a lot of money... it's weird you can't sell them though. :p

So, I have have Herb Foraging 2/10, and it it give me 3 TP by take/mine/chope. Eh... I dunno if I should hit my face or not. The HP it gives is decent.
I love how Refreshing Herb's cost drop at a mere 4 TP at 4/5, then whoop, "15 TP for line curing mofo !"

So, since everyone is playing the my team is, I'll play too ! Torche as Dragoon, Verte as Masurao, MeMeMe as Harbinger (Like, with blue hair she look so much like her), Banane a Botanist, and Morte as Necromancer. So much french except for MeMeMe.

Dragoon do her job well, protect and attack. I intend to put some point into Gunmount to see if it's viable or not.

Masurao... I think I made a mistake, I put up to 4 point into Whirlwind hoping it would stack with Peerless Demon, only to discover that it doesn't hit multiple time, only multiple ennemies. Sad is the one who can't freaking read, even moreso if he doesn't pay attention to the fights he did. :(
It's not that bad though, it's a pretty handy skills. And she hit like a truck.
I intend to put at least one point into Swallow Soar. Duel... we all know to what kind of things it will be useful against. :p

Harbinger, aka, the junkie to the dealer... I dunno what to do with her. She is good at damage, one or at line, and sometime, she paralyze things. Miasma armor is so freaking random though.

Botanist. She heals and use Dark Smoke in case a big hitter shows up. Za end.

Necromancer, they are cool. I summon the 3 Wraith in or out of battle, and let them to their devices. if things turn too sour or if there's too much ennemies, Flame Bomb + Whirlwind do a good cleaning.
There mut be a trap somewhere, because all the skills, except Poison Bomb, sounds good. It seems viable to put points into everything. I intend to have Fierce Shield and Life Exchange.

 

9 hours ago, eclipse said:

Current team is Baubles, consisting of Agate the Fencer, Ruby the Bunny Samurai, Citrine the dealer Herbalist, Jade the Dragoon, and Garnet the Warlock.  Fencer skill are what's keeping this party alive so far.

At least, they finally give a reason as to why and how they heal ! It's herbs. No shame in they game. :p

[Koumal8]

What, it's finally out and I missed it? Man, I'm downloading the demo as soon as I can! What would be a good starting team comp?

[eclipse]

22 hours ago, B.Leu said:

At least, they finally give a reason as to why and how they heal ! It's herbs. No shame in they game. :p

His real name is Twisted Fate, and he deals cards.

21 hours ago, Koumal8 said:

What, it's finally out and I missed it? Man, I'm downloading the demo as soon as I can! What would be a good starting team comp?

I like my team (Fencer, Bunny Samurai, Botanist, Dragoon, Warlock).  Warlock hits elemental weakness, Fencer blinds targets and helps out with elemental weakness, Bunny is glassy DPS who can hit the back row, Botanist is the healer, and Dragoon is the shield.  If you want to focus on status effects, Reaper (I think) can go in place of the Fencer.  Haven't really tried the rest.

[B.Leu]

2 hours ago, eclipse said:

His real name is Twisted Fate, and he deals cards.

Bunny is glassy DPS

Double references. LoL and Monty Python, nice !... Bunny is not a reference ? :p

 

Man, screw this boss. I could only go as far as half his HP. Like; you thought how the strong random ennemies were the actual 'Welcome to EO, an actual series with actual challenges. Casuls not allowed.', but the boss did a better job. What an interesting boss that would actually be viable, if it wasn't for the gimmick.

 

Here some things I learned while losing, read it if you want. You might know all of it though, but in the name of Jolly Cooperation.

 

• Be sure to activate the switches at E3 and D5 to activate the pillars, so  that you won't have four more of his buddies. You can't seem to do anything to the two behind you though.

 

 

• The first turn, the boss will act last and will use Explode, a MAGIC attack that damage to everyone in your team. To tank it, and by that I mean, survive it, I recomend Mana Guard from a Dragoon, that conveniently enough protect everyone in your team from elemental damage. I DON'T recomend using Necomancer's Fierce Shield, it will only waste a Wraith and still damage your team, when you could use said wraith for things like fast healing with Life Exchange for everyone or Flame Bomb though I don't recomence using that last one, healing is more important. The rest of the team should Defend to reduce the damage even more, or add their buff like Miasma Armor.The golem will then dissemble itself into four parts: Golem Body, who can't do anything on it's own, White Golem at the right, White Golem at the left, and Black Golem behind. Those can only do one thing, Attack.

 

• Second Turn. time to do some damage and heals up. The Golem will then use Summon Ally, which will force each FOE on the room to move towards you. Finally, one of the 'mini-golem' as it's side will use Fuse with the Main Body.The order Almagolem regain his parts stay the same no matter what, first his legs, then his arms, then his head no matter the turns Then he will use Explode again. At each in-between his form, the Main-Body will either use 'Stomb' (Phys attack) or an Fire or Ice magical attack on one member of your team.

Edited October 22, 2017 by B.Leu

[eclipse]

36 minutes ago, B.Leu said:

Double references. LoL and Monty Python, nice !... Bunny is not a reference ? :p

You have no idea how tempted I was to call her Panne.  But my headcanon is that this party is from a bunch of different game universes, and goes by semi-precious jewels to keep their timelines intact.  For reference:

Spoiler

Fencer - Agate (really)
Masurao - Panne
Botanist - that one kid from Stella Glow whose name I swear is Ewan
Dragoon - Caitlyn (after jacking Garen's shield)
Warlock - Nanashi. . .and he's just as confused as to why he can use magic

 

[Gaia093]

I feel so bad that I still haven't gotten around to this. I've been a fan of the franchise since the very first game and I was anticipating EO5 like crazy, but I just can't find the time for it right now. It's frustrating.

[Emeraldfox]

Piddling around on floor 6 looking for turkeys to kill to make a weapon for my Rover and a hat for my Dragoon. I'm also weighing the pros and cons of Rover vs. Harbringer, only because I want to use the busty Harbringer in my party.

Also to those who haven't fought the first boss; please pay attention to the cut scene and be observant in and out of the fight.

[OakTree]

When i start an EO game, i always end up spending arround two entire days repeating the first few minutes of the game because i keep changing my mind of how i want my party to be. Because while i love the games, im kind of awful at realizing which class combinations have good sinergy.

Anyway, how viable do you guys think a party composed of Pugilist+Harbinger/Botanist+Dragoon+Rover is? Should i switch anyone out?

Edit: Decided to keep my starting party with the exception of the Dragoon, who i swapped for a Necromancer, so my party is as frail as wet paper, but if this works, they'll be able to disable any enemies.

Also, for dumb reasons, i decided to name most of my guild after fruit-related names, the guild itself is named Demeter, the Pugilist is named Cerise, the Harbinger, Vitis, the Botanist, Berry, the Rover, Musa and the Necro, Coco.

Edited October 26, 2017 by OakTree

[B.Leu]

Finally defeated that boss. i'm now at 9F. Phew, things are much more easier when the first boss is gone.

So yeah, pro tips for everyone, grind a little bit, buff your weapons with ice, buy some Nectar, bring all your Amrita/Soma/Hamao, you'll need everything, especially the TP healing items and forge your weapons. Oh, and use the Unions Skills, as much as you can, especially Hygiia's Bowl was VERY useful.
Things were much more easier: Still died once but It was an exam boss.

The second Stratum is so fun, I never imagined it would that kind of scenery.

Also, I got 5000 EXP by giving berries to a squirel !  :p

Edited October 24, 2017 by B.Leu