The Let's Play Archive

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight

by Ragnar Homsar, Dr. Fetus

Part 126: Juggernaut

Update 35: Juggernaut





And that's all for floor 22.





Your form surpasses that of any ordinary man... But have you no interest in attaining even greater power? In immortality?

The question rings in your ears as if a corporeal presence had spoken it not two feet away.

Have those who have fallen to earth forgotten the terror of the shadow of death? Influential men, mighty kings... All who gained power shared the same dream in their hearts. Immortality. Countless men yearned for it, and each faced death in turn regardless. The Grail of Kings I have obtained is what gives humans the power to overcome death.



What's the Grail of Kings?
I created the Grail of Kings in order for mankind to overcome their limits. I've had great success in using that power to regenerate life which had faded in human subjects. Through continuous research on the panacea long ago known as Elixir, I have succeeded in creating it.
That's some pretty impressive research, I'll grant you. But if you used it... does that mean no one would have to die?
Unfortunately, no... My research has not yet reached that stage. Even with the heightened vitality the Elixir affords, damage to the body cannot be repaired. Further... even in an undamaged body, the brain deteriorates over time. There is no preventing that.
So... it's not finished?
In the world of research, each has their own specialized field. In my desire for power greater than man could achieve... I created the Grail of Kings and gave life beyond man. But that power warped man into a form capable of containing such might. You should know well of whom I speak...
You mean... the Flame Demon and Scylla?
Indeed. I thought them suitable candidates for an infusion of vitality. They surpassed my expectations and became monsters. But you... since her engineering has reinforced your DNA, you should be able to draw out the Grail's full power! Intriguingly, those of you who have not benefited from her work seem powerful enough to accept my blessing as well.
...Was that a compliment?
Probably. That aside, I think it's about time we got to see your face, Mr. Overlord.
I look forward to meeting you in person as well. However... I must first determine your strength.
Our strength...? What do you mean?
I have prepared a challenge for you on this floor. The prime fruits of my research... They are the guardian machines, and the beastly Juggernaut, set to protect my work! Overcome them, and I will admit that you are qualified to meet me.

The voice ends the moment it has finished making its demands of you.

In other words... we're going to meet some ridiculously deadly enemies up ahead.
Basically. The prime fruits of the creator of this castle's research… I'm interested to see what they might be like.
I've got nothing but misgivings about all this, but... I guess there's nothing to do but face the music.



It'll be simple for Guild.
I wish I could share our leader's confidence there.
If this Juggernaut dwells on this floor... we must exercise caution. What sort of monster do you suppose it might be...?

Despite the woman's anxiety, you begin exploring the new floor of the castle to challenge this unknown adversary.

Before we do that, let's go back to town to see what the townspeople have to say.





Haha... well, isn't this strange. Even after climbing the Labyrinth and discovering the castle, you all still haven't changed. Maybe all heroes are like you. When you actually meet them in person, they aren't quite as grand as you imagined. ...Oh, don't look at me like that! I wasn't saying that you children don't look heroic. Bahaha! You're all just so adorable!

This one isn't exclusive to Story, Ragnar just missed this one in his playthrough.





Hmmm, it's not coming out... You might have to give this one a thorough washing. I got most of the mud off, though you should have Hanna wash this for you once you get back. She'll make it squeaky clean! Oh, there's even mud on your face, too... Um, if you don't mind... There! All clean!



Thanks.
Hee hee, it was really nothing! I can't help you when you're off exploring, so it just makes me happy to know that I can be helpful here... in my own little way. Hee hee... I'm looking forward to seeing you again!

You didn't have to do that.
That's not okay. You're Guild's leader! You're the champion of this city now, so you need to take better care of your appearance! I can't help you when you're off exploring, so it just makes me happy to know that I can be helpful here... in my own little way. Hee hee... I'm looking forward to seeing you again!

There's a quest on that becomes available once you reach floor 23, A girl's best friend, that requires you to have a Beast in your party to complete. Unfortunately, the Story mode party does not have access to that class, and they can't even reclass into one. But there is an alternate solution you can take.



Oh, if it isn't the superstar Guild guild. Was there something you wanted from me? Huh? You want an animal costume...? Well, if I had the materials, I could fix that up for you, no problem. But what am I getting out of this...? ...Oh, actually, hey. Maybe you can give me a hand on my newest project? You see, I'm working on some new clothes. But I can't finish them without certain materials... that you only find in the forest. ...Eheh. Get the picture? Just give me a hand with this, and you'll have your animal costume, I swear. What do you think? Not a bad offer, right?



Sure.

That's the Guild I know! Should've known the top-class fighters would be pretty quick on the draw, huh? Here, I'll tell you what I need for the clothes, so listen up. What I need are 3 Blue Carapaces and 2 Plum Hides. Might be kind of hard to track them down... but hey! You're Guild! It'll be no problem for you, right? Eheh. I'll be waiting here, so just bring them over once you get them. Thanks in advance!

Oh boy. A fetch quest. Everybody loves those, right? A reminder that the drop rates for those items are pretty low. Plum Hides have a drop rate of 45%, and Blue Carapaces only have a drop rate of 35%. Thankfully the later EO games moved away from those (Except for EOU because most of the weaknesses of the original game had to be kept for some reason.) At least EO2U has a lot less than EOU's. Anyways, I managed to get those eventually.

What's up, Guild? Did you manage to get those materials?
I got them.
R-Really!? You got them for me already? Lemme see here... whoa, that's amazing! It's all here! Ahaha! You're really something, you know that? Honestly, I figured you'd just drop the whole thing! Well, now I owe you something back, right? So, what kind of animal costume were you hoping to get? ...As realistic as possible, huh...? Sure! I'll make it right now, so just stand back and feast your eyes on these skills!

Fade to black.

Eheh, there we go! How is it? Can't tell it apart from the real one, can you? I know, I shouldn't flatter myself, but admit it. It's some pretty nice work, eh? Take it-- the costume I promised you.



If there's anything else you need help with, just ask me. I'll gladly help if you need me. Good luck, Guild!



Oh, yeh guys... Gah, dammit, she's here! Make sure nobody steals nothin'! I gotta run! Stealthy, now, stealthy...
Tch, Cass is out again...? Ah! Guild Guild. How goes the request we made? I certainly hope you haven't forgotten. Time is of the essence. Hmm...? What in the world...? An animal... costume? Yes, it looks quite realistic. Remarkably so. E-Er, stop! Halt! I see the point, yes! It's... it's good enough! That'll do! So stop getting closer! ...Hahh... phew... Do that again, and you will deeply regret it... So, someone of adequate skill must wear this costume while serving as the young lady's bodyguard... Wh-What? Me!? You cannot be serious! And… I tried it before, but I just couldn't... Dammit... anyone will do! Hey, you there! Yes, you! There's work to be done...! A-Anyway, I'll borrow this for a while. Someone should be coming to guide us soon. Let's have one of you put it on immediately. ...Wow. The resemblance is truly uncanny--G-Gah, get away! I already told you, I don't like animals! Tch... even though I know there's a person inside it, it still puts me on edge... Well, I'll contact you when the job is done. Tell Cass to pick this thing up afterward. Immediately. And... not a word about any of this. All you need to tell him is that you've taken the job. I knew I could count… ugh... count on Guild.
...Is she gone? Hah, fantastic! But I honestly didn't expect that. Who'd have thought that animals were her weak point? Now that's news yeh can use... Haw! Ahh, come on now, I won't do anything. Yeh know me. But yeh know, I do get a mite lonely here... Maybe it's time I got a dog for the place. Yeah... a big, shaggy dog. He could take care of burglars, rowdy drunks, unwelcome guests... yeh name it. Right? Haw haw haw! Looks like yeh've turned out pretty useful for me again. Almost makes me want to add a little bonus to yer reward. Only almost, though. Why don't yeh and I have a niiiiice long wait until the work's done with? Catch up, have a drink! Haw haw haw!

Fade to black.

Hey, we're back! Now that was a good time! Haw haw haw! When I went to pick up yer friend, that Marion was tryin' to act all calm, but she was pale and sweatin'. Now that's some good craftsmanship! Whenever yer friend moved, she nearly leapt outta her skin! Haw haw haw haw! Ahh, I haven't had so much fun in a dog's age, and it's all thanks to yeh lot! Awright, buddy! See yeh next time! Haw! Ahh... my stomach hurts from laughin' so much... haw haw haw haw haw!

The rewards are the same. It's just that one method to complete the quest is far less tedious.





There are some questions I would like to ask you. Do you have any time to spare?
Questions from Lagaard's minister...? Better not be anything troublesome.
We were just thinking of keeping a record of your achievements here in Lagaard. We can't quite make everything public yet, of course, but you are the heroes of this city for discovering the floating castle. It is only natural that we keep records of our heroes, is it not? Ho ho, I'm certainly looking forward to writing this one.

And now, time for another inn scene.



As you sit there, you hear a knock at your door. Who could it be at this hour...?



Chloe is up next.









It's supposed to help you calm down, so it's perfect to drink at night.

https://gfycat.com/FondUntimelyKawala.webm

It smells nice. I think it's working.
I... actually had a really scary dream. It was about Trand going through those doors again. I always try to stop him, but I never reach him in time. And then Trand's face suddenly changes into yours. ...It really scares me.



I can imagine.
Mm-hm... It was really, really... scary. I got scared it was real, so I came here.
Knight. I don't want you to leave us behind, okay? You can't leave me behind. You're going to be there even when I'm an old lady.



That's a really long time...
It's not long at all. I could last even longer if I wanted.
...... I'm getting kind of... sleepy...



Wake up.
I can't. My eyes are so heavy. They weigh a ton...





That's not your bed.





Hm... I thought she'd be here.



Oh, a nightmare, huh? Man, she never changes... She's been having these since she was little.
*sigh* And of course she brought all her books. Can't she show some consideration for the guy who's gotta carry all this?
But I'm kind of surprised she fell fast asleep here. I always suspected, but it looks like Chloe really trusts you.
...Guess she won't need her old man as much anymore.



You're not her father.
Haha, you got that right. I just felt like saying it.
She's so attached to me that sometimes her folks get upset about it. They say I act more like her parent than they do. You ask me, parents aren't treasures, though. They're more like security blankets.
Well, I'll carry her back. For today, anyway. This is a little weight off my shoulders... Good luck playing the part of security blanket, kid.



Alone again in your room, you have only the silence for company. You decide to rest in preparation for tomorrow.

Let's head back to the Labyrinth.





As you stand stymied by the door, the mysterious voice echoes in your mind...

The door has been locked. Fret not... It is only until the ordeal is done. Slay the Juggernaut and you shall find it unlocked.

With that, the voice subsides again...

So he means to bar our way until we have bested the Juggernaut...
Oh well. We'll just have to get ourselves ready for a fight.

Your only choice is to return the way you came and face the ordeal that the Overlord has lain upon you.

There aren't any encounters in the central part of the floor, but there's a room with a lot of bombs in it.









You cannot help but flinch at its terrible visage, when a voice echoes in your mind...

Behold... the prime fruits of my research. The Juggernaut born from my limitless power!
That's what I thought it might be... That thing looks brutal.
Yes... It's much more vicious-looking than the monsters we commonly face.
Show me what her research has wrought! The power that surpasses human potential! Exert your might to its fullest!

You pause, wondering if you are fully prepared to challenge the Juggernaut to combat. If you are, the time is now... Use all your strength and expertise to stand against it!



Hm. I wonder what happens if I send a bomb right into Juggernaut.



It doesn't seem that hurt. Should we send more at it?
Uh, before we worry about that... Is that thing glaring at us?
Yep... it sure is. It's got murder in its eyes if I ever saw it...



Let's send more bombs at it!
Yeah, let's wear it down with a few more bombs before we fight it.

You decide to plan your next moves to cast more bombs at the Juggernaut.



Bomb number 2!



Uhhh...

It simply crushed the bomb...!
So hitting it from in front won't work. ...That's not fair.

It seems greater consideration must be put into how the bombs strike the Juggernaut...

Okay, so you want to send up to a maximum of 4 bombs into Juggernaut to lower his HP to far more reasonable levels. You probably don't need to do this if you're playing in Classic mode. If you're playing Story, you definitely want to completely solve this puzzle. I'll show you a foolproof way of sending 4 bombs into Juggernaut without taking any damage from them.



Starting from this point, follow these directions:


The first bomb should have hit Juggernaut there, and you should be standing on the same tile I'm on. Now for the 2nd bomb:


Bomb 2 should have hit its mark, and you should be on the tile I'm on. Here's the 3rd volley:


And there's bomb 3. If you followed my directions exactly, the last bomb should be a piece of cake to send into him:
And that's it! No more bombs will spawn, and you're free to get a preemptive strike on it. If you somehow sent a 5th bomb toward it, it won't deal anymore damage.



It's faltering. Now?



Let's fight!

Seeing this as your best opportunity, you take your weapon in hand. Your guildmates follow your lead and make ready to charge at the Juggernaut. The time has come to fall upon the weakened beast and claim your victory!

Before I tackle him, let's check out something else on this floor.



It looks like one, but I don't know...
You should try it out, Knight.



You go along with Chloe's suggestion and reach out towards what looks oddly like a Geomagnetic Pole.



Ah! Thank you very much.
What're you thanking it for...? Wait, never mind, forget I asked.
Looks like this isn't a Geomagnetic Pole, but some kind of healing machine.
We should use it if we get tired.
Hm? Weird. It's not doing anything now...
I guess it can't be used all the time. Maybe the way it works is we have to wait a while before we can use it again.
Hmm. In that case, let us return to our journey until it is ready once more.

Now that you have divined the pillar of light's function, you return to the task at hand.

Once per day, you can use this to fully heal your party. You can also save here, which is handy after solving that puzzle to even the odds against Juggernaut.













Here's my party setup. I changed things around so Flavio's in the front row, mainly so he'll get targeted more often. Bertrand's fine in the back, Front Guard doesn't really care what row the user is in. Juggernaut mostly has Bash attacks, so I put Bash Talismans on everyone, which decreases the amount of damage they do by 30%, so it gives them a bit more survivability in case things go wrong.



Here we go!





Juggernaut
Level: 58
HP: 72000
STR: 60
TEC: 45
VIT: 49
AGI: 28
LUC: 51
Skills: Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 125%
Disable resistances:
50% 75% 25% 25% 0% 75% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 50% 25%

Juggernaut has a lot of HP, more than Classic Mode's final boss even! But don't be put off by that, it's actually a lot less than it seems. So I've been pretty much ragging on most of the boss fights in this game for just being badly designed, and not all that fun. Juggernaut isn't actually one of them. He's actually a really fun fight! (Once you know what to do anyway.) For one thing, he has no summons. It's just your party and him. The other aspect about him is that the fight revolves around a specific gimmick we'll be seeing shortly.



For once, I'm not opening up with Delayed Chase. I'm starting out with Mind Shut to deal with something later. Now I actually don't want it to head bind the thing. It happened one time and utterly derailed everything and forced me to reset.







Just gonna dish out as much damage as I can for now.



And set up an Attack Order with Arianna.







I suppose that's some respectable damage.



Now I'm setting up a Delayed Chase.



A big part of my strategy relies on Blinding Juggernaut. If I can't pull that off, I do have backup plans.



Ahahaha! That was absurdly lucky! Flavio had a 47% chance of pulling that off, but that would have been severely lowered by his 14 LUC disadvantage.



If you think this is good damage, just you wait.





This is the central gimmick to this fight. Berserk Cry doubles everyone's damage for the duration. Utilizing this buff properly is the key to whittling down Juggernaut's massive HP pool.



With Berserk Cry in effect, it's go time!








Time for pain!









That Blind food is seriously overpowered. The important thing to look at here is that Flavio dodged an attack.









Whoahoho, those are some big numbers!





And this is why I wanted the Mind Shut debuff on Juggernaut. Normally he'd raise his defenses by a ridiculous amount, but since there was a defensive debuff on him, all it ended up doing was nullifying the debuff. It's also why Flavio Blinding the thing on turn 2 was really lucky, I would have had to use Ad Nihilo to get rid of the Berserk Cry buff, which also would have gotten rid of the Mind Shut debuff. But since Juggernaut can't hit our party, there was no reason to do that.





The reason Flavio dodging an attack was so important was because it allows him to use Hazy Arrow, which is the strongest damage skill in the Survivalist's skillset.



Admittedly it's less damage than what Knight and Chloe can dish out, but if you're planning on taking the Story party into the post-game, you don't really have a choice there. Chloe's gonna be too busy operating as a support to even get many opportunities to use Ailing Slash, so Flavio is gonna have to take up the role of secondary damage dealer.



And Juggernaut missing again opens up another opportunity to use Hazy Arrow.









Counting Bertrand's Shield Smite (which didn't do much) that was a total of 9669 damage in one turn! If you lowered Juggernaut's HP all the way down to 43200, that's over 22% of his remaining HP!









Poor guy is just getting slaughtered.





Come to think of it, he hasn't even touched the party once! I almost feel sorry for him.





Unfortunately, the fun has to stop eventually. If your party has any buffs or debuffs on them 5 turns after Juggernaut uses Berserk Cry, he'll use Violent Cry, which dispels every single buff on the party. And then he'll follow up with King's Rush, which is pretty much a party wipe at this point. If you can avoid having Juggernaut trigger Violent Cry (disables don't count for that) he won't cast King's Rush. Use a Unihorn to dispel all your buffs and debuffs when you see the timer on Berserk Cry reach 2. That aspect of the fight really could have been communicated better.

Fun fact, in the original game Colossus (Juggernaut's name in EO2 due to space constraints) got a little ticked off if your party had more than 4 buffs on them at any point, and used Mad Rush, which pretty much operated the same way as King's Rush. In that game it was just a screw you if you brought a Troubadour to the fight. But they reworked that screw you into a pretty enjoyable fight gimmick in the remake. Once you figure out what's going on, anyway.











Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.



Please do keep targeting Flavio.



...Never mind. He won't be able to do much next turn since Arianna can't outspeed him.





I decided to go for Juggernaut's conditional, purely for kicks. So I activated Chloe's Force Boost there.


There's not much of the fight left. In fact, I'm pretty confident I can take him out next turn.



But I have to get rid of that Reckless Barrier first. I forgot to do so in one attempt, which turned what was supposed to be a surefire victory into a party wipe.



Denied!





...Okay, that was lucky. And unnecessary overkill.









I missed the timing on that screenshot, but I did manage to leg bind him through Legcut.







Time to end this.











So long, Jugg!

The word for that is breeze.





That was probably the smoothest Juggernaut fight I've had in Story mode. The party didn't even get touched once.





Amazing...! To think I'd once given up on that research... But now we see the birth of a superhuman through our combined skill!

The Overlord's voice is excited and somewhat manic-sounding.

Now come... to the highest floor of the heavenly castle! I shall await you there!

With that, the voice fades...

I know we have to go further in at some point, but maybe we should go back to town first? To be honest... I'm all spent.
Me too. That was really strong.

None of you got touched at all in that fight.

Tempting as it is to press onward, the concerns of your guildmates do have some merit...



And we're done with the 23rd floor!



Normally I would say it's back to town, but there's no new town dialogue in Story mode that hasn't been seen in Classic mode. But there is an inn scene, so I'll show that off.



As you sit there, you hear a knock at your door. Who could it be at this hour...?



Arianna is the last one up.











Haha... I came tonight so that we could share another snack. I prepared cheesecake for the occasion. I bet that you'll never guess who gave me the recipe. Go on, try!



I don't know.
Hahah... It was actually Sir Hrothgar who taught it to me.
As I was discussing what to make with Hanna, Sir Hrothgar stopped by and showed me some things. Apparently, he and Wulfgar are working with the Minister to help new explorers.
Though he did mention that he should like to explore the floating castle for himself one day.



Wonder if he'll join our guild...
If the two of them would join us, our guild would surely become a force to be reckoned with. Though... they seemed unwilling to give up the Beowulf name.
......
When I walk through the city, I tend to run into those we've crossed paths with before. There are so many people who live in this city, and I have so many powerful memories tied to them...
Would that my life in High Lagaard could go on forever... Tomorrow, the next week, the next year, a century hence... I hope that this city will endure. I... have a strong desire to keep this city safe.



By the way, I absolutely love that guild name you all voted for.

We can, as the Guild guild.
Yes, it's just as you say. The Guild guild will not rest until we have defeated it.

https://gfycat.com/EagerUglyGoa.webm

I do love this city. But... Perhaps that is because it's the place you and I have spent so much time together in. All my precious memories of this place... They were all formed because you were here with me, Sir Knight. That's why I... I wish to always remain at your side...



What do you mean?
Ahahah... I'm sorry, but that must remain my secret. I don't feel worthy of saying anything more explicit. Not yet, at least... Sir Knight, let us end this struggle, so that I may tell you my true feelings. Until then, though... could we remain as we are now...?