Etrian Odyssey (+Persona Q) Thread - New EO Games For Everyone!~

[commandercool]

Well yeah, you gotta. You're missing the whole gimmick of Persona Q if you just use the cast from one game (well, one of the two gimmicks, anyway. It's still a three-way crossover with Etrian Odyssey, but you have to seize all gimmicks for maximum enjoyment).

[Garlyle]

Should I train everyone evenly, or train five at a time and level the others up when I need to have everyone ready for something?

You'll never have "x must be in your party" situations other than the MC of whichever route you picked (who can't be removed), and thus can get away with just your main team.  The one exception is the other MC - you'll want to get them to level 55 if they're not part of your party (Quest EXP divides evenly, also there's accessories you can give them).  When you get both MCs to level 55 you get a quest that

Spoiler:

unlocks all the Upgraded Personas for them and any other level 55 characters

.  So just pick a party of five and stick with them; it's a lot easier that way and it's the easiest way to distribute Skill Cards.

Because the main character in Persona games is so flexible I've never bothered to level everyone evenly. Once I find a team of characters I like the rest of them never see the light of day again. That's especially true of Persona games with skill cards, and I assume even more true with sub-Personas. Unless this game is way harder than I expect it to be you can probably get away with doing pretty much whatever. So only bother to level everyone if you want to for some reason, because I doubt you'll ever regret just focusing on your favorites.

Some characters are definitely better for certain purposes than others (Chie, Shinji, Kanji, and Junpei should absolutely be physical attackers for instance), because natural stats only do so much.  That said a healer is the big one and frankly just about anyone can do healer so... yeah.  Creating your own skill cards isn't available until like halfway through the game though (aside from a handful you'll pick up in chests before then).

Also I'm doing Kanji/P4MC/Koromaru/Naoto/Raisins for my first run.  Second run will be Aigis/Yosuke/Junpei/P3MC/Ken because they're my actual favourites and when I go tackle the NG+-only boss... yeah.


Bonus round of advice: Apparently the healing amplifier skill in this game (Divine Hand or something?) affects the entire party for each character that has it; if all five party members have it all of your healing is 3x as effective.  (This also stacks with the 'party gets small healing per turn while a circle's active'... which also stacks per person...)

[Shizumarashi Mayuzumi]

You'll never have "x must be in your party" situations other than the MC of whichever route you picked (who can't be removed), and thus can get away with just your main team.

Well and some sidequests. But those all go pretty quickly (haven't had to fight much if properly explored beforehand) and I've had the cash to gear them out in up-to-date stuff anyway.

[Garlyle]

Well and some sidequests. But those all go pretty quickly (haven't had to fight much if properly explored beforehand) and I've had the cash to gear them out in up-to-date stuff anyway.

Yeah, got the first of those, and it went quick enough.

Also speaking of getting somewhere I'm fighting FOEs and bosses (oh my god that boss track mmmm).  Then I got to the second labyrinth, ended up accidentally fighting an FOE in the second room they show up... and kicked its ass.  WELP we're full on EO here now (except they respawn every time you leave the labyrinth so no easy puzzle skipping... except that I can also kinda now farm them for high level subpersona WHOOPS)

[commandercool]

Oh, is it possible to fight FOEs that early? I just beat the first dungeon and after all of the hype that surrounded them in-game it didn't even occur to me to try fighting one. I assumed I'd have to come back for them in the endgame or something.

[MewMewHeart]

Even my current team can't handle the FOEs so Imma wait until I get proper subs and levels in.

[Garlyle]

Oh, is it possible to fight FOEs that early? I just beat the first dungeon and after all of the hype that surrounded them in-game it didn't even occur to me to try fighting one. I assumed I'd have to come back for them in the endgame or something.

It largely depends on your strategy.  I've noticed most centrally that FOEs have a shitload of HP in this game, and early on that's a crapload of SP to spend on healing which you don't have.  Poison is stupid good though among other things.  For the first stratum ones and the first one on the second stratum their actual damage doesn't seem that severe (although someone with the Taunt+Def Boost self skill is recommended for the second's big attack because it could oneshot someone).  It's just a matter of being able to pump out enough damage to actually kill them before you're out of resources.

Still, as I mentioned, compared to the EO games the FOEs in PQ respawn the moment you leave the labyrinth (instead of staying dead for two weeks) so it's still not ideal to just pick fights with them at random, as you're likely using a Goho-M after them because you're burned out on resources.

For the record, you get some great stuff from them.  The FOEs in the first stratum (specifically the painter?  I'm not sure how different the painter vs non-painter ones are) gave me access to an armor that was well over twice as strong as anything else you can find in the first stratum.  Also they hand you personas that are like ~8 levels above anything else you can get from enemies in the area, regardless of what your MC's level is.

[commandercool]

Huh. Well, I already left the first dungeon and the game won't let me go back, so I guess I'll check it out later.

Edit: Wooooow that was weak. I'm gonna chalk that up to the fact that it was the first one and assume they won't all be that chumpy.

[theshirn]

Just spam poison and heals and pretty much anything goes down.

[Phlegeth]

Yeah, got the first of those, and it went quick enough.

Also speaking of getting somewhere I'm fighting FOEs and bosses (oh my god that boss track mmmm).  Then I got to the second labyrinth, ended up accidentally fighting an FOE in the second room they show up... and kicked its ass.  WELP we're full on EO here now (except they respawn every time you leave the labyrinth so no easy puzzle skipping... except that I can also kinda now farm them for high level subpersona WHOOPS)

I think we fought the same FOE.  That FOE is what cemented my team.  Especially Fuuka over Rise, her HP Regen for one boost level was a real TP saver.  And usually by the time it runs out, you almost regained it.

I think I love the FOE battle music the best.  It really reminds me of the Raidou Kuzunoha music.

[Garlyle]

And now, something terrifying: Etrian Odyssey 3 in 1:11:33.48 (it is obviously a TAS)

[trancehime]

some people elsewhere were curious about some translations for the EO5 teaser video so I obliged to them.

Well, it can serve as some food for thought as to what it could be about.

[MewMewHeart]

Attention Persona Q owners: There is new DLC out that has

Spoiler:

Level 26 Orpheus Telos which is free while Level 70 Thanatos and Level 92 Magatsu-Izanagi are 1.99

that is all.

[Esper]

Are all Etrian Odyssey games this easy, or is Persona Q on Normal really this chumpy? No, seriously. I pretty much grind and kill stuff. The hardest thing I've had to do in this game was the horde of idle basalt turning me to stone.

[Zengar Zombolt]

And now, something terrifying: Etrian Odyssey 3 in 1:11:33.48 (it is obviously a TAS)

Did

Spoiler:

seyfried

get instakilled by the same method that allows scylla farming? Oh god.

[Serela]

Are all Etrian Odyssey games this easy, or is Persona Q on Normal really this chumpy? No, seriously. I pretty much grind and kill stuff. The hardest thing I've had to do in this game was the horde of idle basalt turning me to stone.

While I can't -really- say since I haven't played PQ yet, even the recent EO games have been coming out with difficulty settings that are pretty chumpy on anything lower than max; expert in EOU made enemies do 166% damage and take 66% as much from you! (And that basically just brought it to normal EO difficulty, meaning the "normal" is more like easy mode where enemies do 40% less damage and take 50% more- that's a massive difference) That being said, I hear the balance in PQ can be kinda goofy and let you steamroll the game without too much effort if you abuse certain things... until you get ambushed by enemies, at least.

Of course, not everyone wants to get steamrolled by enemies, especially if they're exactly the best at RPGs, so it's not surprising they want the games to appeal to a larger fanbase. This game being even easier wouldn't be surprising though since the persona-style party building makes it a lot easier for anyone to make a good party, unlike EO shenanigans where someone who isn't sure what they're doing is likely to have a not-very-capable party to balance out the lower difficulty.

[Garlyle]

Are all Etrian Odyssey games this easy, or is Persona Q on Normal really this chumpy? No, seriously. I pretty much grind and kill stuff. The hardest thing I've had to do in this game was the horde of idle basalt turning me to stone.

You're on Normal.  PQ on Hard is a notable step up... although so far I think I'd still put it at about a step below most EO games in difficulty.  On Hard someone getting hit twice in a row KOs them and your damage to enemies is low enough that you can expect to be taking several attacks from most enemies unless you're using some form of supportive skills.

Risky adds the "if your MC dies that is it game over" which was just RNG-based game overs most of the time :/

[notverycreative]

On Hard someone getting hit twice in a row KOs them

This only happens in regular Megaten games if an enemy's hit your weakness and you're underlevelled. Or you're playing something that came out before Persona 2. Usually. Nocturne and Strange Journey are difficult even if you know what you're doing. Strange Journey has some unblockable OHKO attacks, like SMT2 did. Now THAT was a game that'll make you pull your hair out. Your demons don't level up, so you have to upgrade them CONSTANTLY by recruiting new ones and fusing what you have. And there's no demon compendium. Nocturne did have some bastard tactics, but you had to do the right stuff with fusion and be very patient. There was also this "priority" system, which meant that if a demon had seven high-level skills and one low-rank thing, the low-rank thing would almost-always show up. At the very least, you could make yourself not have a weakness. That was frustrating about SMT4. I really did not want my MC to have any kind of elemental weakness, even if it meant not nullifying anything, either. That game also pulled a number on me. Hell, I got stuck. I couldn't kill one of the bonus bosses who was mandatory for the neutral ending. To say nothing of my 3 gameovers where I died before I could act...on the lowest difficulty. Well, blame that game FOR NOT HAVING A DEFENSE STAT LOL THANKS GUYS.

I don't even know where I'm going with this. I've never beaten an EO game because I suck shit through a straw at them. You have so much freedom with party make-up that I tend to mentally shut down and not know what the hell I'm supposed to do. It doesn't help that I didn't play any games like that growing up so I'm not equipped to deal with them. Seriously, my childhood was all narrative-based JRPGs with characters who said stuff in cutscenes with little to no character customization. Also I have the reflexes of a slug so I doubt I could even last 30 seconds in the easiest Touhou game on the lowest difficulty. No joke. Getting nervous and frustrated easily doesn't help.

[commandercool]

This only happens in regular Megaten games if an enemy's hit your weakness and you're underlevelled. Or you're playing something that came out before Persona 2. Usually. Nocturne and Strange Journey are difficult even if you know what you're doing. Strange Journey has some unblockable OHKO attacks, like SMT2 did. Now THAT was a game that'll make you pull your hair out. Your demons don't level up, so you have to upgrade them CONSTANTLY by recruiting new ones and fusing what you have. And there's no demon compendium. Nocturne did have some bastard tactics, but you had to do the right stuff with fusion and be very patient. There was also this "priority" system, which meant that if a demon had seven high-level skills and one low-rank thing, the low-rank thing would almost-always show up. At the very least, you could make yourself not have a weakness. That was frustrating about SMT4. I really did not want my MC to have any kind of elemental weakness, even if it meant not nullifying anything, either. That game also pulled a number on me. Hell, I got stuck. I couldn't kill one of the bonus bosses who was mandatory for the neutral ending. To say nothing of my 3 gameovers where I died before I could act...on the lowest difficulty. Well, blame that game FOR NOT HAVING A DEFENSE STAT LOL THANKS GUYS.

I don't even know where I'm going with this. I've never beaten an EO game because I suck shit through a straw at them. You have so much freedom with party make-up that I tend to mentally shut down and not know what the hell I'm supposed to do. It doesn't help that I didn't play any games like that growing up so I'm not equipped to deal with them. Seriously, my childhood was all narrative-based JRPGs with characters who said stuff in cutscenes with little to no character customization. Also I have the reflexes of a slug so I doubt I could even last 30 seconds in the easiest Touhou game on the lowest difficulty. No joke. Getting nervous and frustrated easily doesn't help.

Ouch. I ordered Strange Journey a few months ago because I had been told it was the most accessible SMT game, but that's the kind of RPG design I despise. I haven't gotten around to starting it yet because I've been suddenly flooded with other handheld games (well, two), but if that kind of thing is a major part of the game I can't see finishing it. Balancing an RPG is hard, especially one with another major gameplay element like EO's exploration. I guess what it comes down to is that I don't really like RPGs that much. Which is weird because I play a relative lot of them.

[Garlyle]

This only happens in regular Megaten games if an enemy's hit your weakness and you're underlevelled.  Or you're playing something that came out before Persona 2.

...Except Nocturne, Strange Journey, SMT IV (all of which you mentioned)... which is the majority of the 'main' style SMT titles since that weren't P3/4 and aren't drastic gameplay spinoffs like Devil Summoner/Survivor (And something something 'not a real shen megumi tensay gaem').  Getting hit without the chance to set up proper buffs is very potentially deadly.

Ouch. I ordered Strange Journey a few months ago because I had been told it was the most accessible SMT game, but that's the kind of RPG design I despise. I haven't gotten around to starting it yet because I've been suddenly flooded with other handheld games (well, two), but if that kind of thing is a major part of the game I can't see finishing it. Balancing an RPG is hard, especially one with another major gameplay element like EO's exploration. I guess what it comes down to is that I don't really like RPGs that much. Which is weird because I play a relative lot of them.

Strange Journey's actually pretty good about it.  There's only two unblockable OHKOs in the game.  One's on the final boss of two of the three routes (Chaos gets a different final boss entirely).  The other one is a late game boss gimmick boss fight, where it's only used as a reaction

Spoiler:

when you hit it with damage skills

.  The rest I seem to remember being able to gear the MC out with resists/nulls for as appropriate.

SJ is actually a pretty fantastic game up until the final boss (There's pretty much no getting around grinding 10+ levels when you reach the end of the game).  There's a lot less RNG murder in that game compared to Nocturne or SMT4.

Should I just rename this the SMT + EO combo megathread and be done with it

[MatsuriSakuragi]

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/03/etrian-mystery-dungeon-coming-us/

IT'S COMING :* :* :* :* :* :*

[MewMewHeart]

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/03/etrian-mystery-dungeon-coming-us/

IT'S COMING :* :* :* :* :* :*

*Green Rupee scream* YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS....

[notverycreative]

I was never into to that kind of game. But I'm not going to be a dick and say bad things like "I HOPE THIS BOMBS". Today's December 3rd, so...22 more days until I get Persona Q.

[MatsuriSakuragi]

Why would you say that anyway? Just ignore it if you don't like it. :v

[notverycreative]

Sorry. Well, it's the internet. People are jerks. That whole "anonymity + place to say it = dickhead" thing. I believe it's called the "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory".

It's my fault for even being on the internet when I'm sick. I tend to say things I don't mean. I should lay down.

[Zengar Zombolt]

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/03/etrian-mystery-dungeon-coming-us/

IT'S COMING :* :* :* :* :* :*

キタ━━━━━━━━━(゜∀゜)━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!!!

[Garlyle]

キタ━━━━━━━━━(゜∀゜)━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!!!

my thoughts exactly

wait no

my next thought is "wait, where's the EOU2 english confirmation"

[commandercool]

Warning: Spoilers for the second dungeon

Spoiler:

Out of curiosity, did everyone get the same destined partner as me in the group date dungeon, or can it vary based on your choices?

I'm playing as Persona 3 Protagonist and my partner was Junpei.

[theshirn]

It varies.  With varying degrees of cringing and/or hilarity.

[Phlegeth]

Warning: Spoilers for the second dungeon

Spoiler:

Out of curiosity, did everyone get the same destined partner as me in the group date dungeon, or can it vary based on your choices?

I'm playing as Persona 3 Protagonist and my partner was Junpei.

From what I've read about the questions:

Spoiler:

The first question cuts it down to boys or girls.  Then the second question cuts that group into half.  I picked girls and the choice was between indoor or outdoor types.  And then the other questions are about picking your soul mate from that group.

I went in blind and answered honestly and got Margaret.