Part 86: Vegicide and Regicide (Lumen vs. Frost King and Thunder Queen)

Update 69: Vegicide and Regicide (Lumen vs. Frost King and Thunder Queen)



So where are you and Colette going after everything's done?
Etria! There's some really ancient ruins there that Colette wants to investigate.
Can I go with you and Colette?
...Uh, I wouldn't mind, but she probably would. Why do you ask?
I don't wanna live in the Labyrinth any more. It's boring now.
Don't you have, like, a home to go back to?
Nah, that's boring too.
I'll...ask everyone else if you can go with them. I wouldn't get your hopes too high, though...

Today's update consists of clearing up one annoying loose end and taking on the scrapped Ginnungagap bosses. Let's get to it, then.




That annoying loose end is killing one of these fuckers.


Cursed Pumpkin
HP: 18418, STR: 81, TEC: 84, VIT: 65, AGI: 49, LUC: 67
Skills:

• Terror Pain: Uses the head. Deals 90% ranged TEC-based almighty damage to every party member. Attempts to inflict fear on hit targets, with a 60% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• Absorb Vine: Uses the arms. Deals 25% melee STR-based TP damage to one target. Has no speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.

Drops:

• Normal: Pale Bone. 90% chance. Sells for 6690 en. 1 needed to make Cursed Sword (+189 ATK, +20 HP). 3 needed to make Hex Armor (+100 DEF, +40 TP).
  "Piece of a horn from a Cursed Pumpkin's head. Unnerving to touch, so most keep away."
  
• Conditional: Poison Pumpkin (Kill with poison damage). 100% chance. Sells for 17500 en. 1 needed to make Formaldehyde (Gives all drops of any enemy killed on turn of use).
  "Pumpkin with poison coursing through it. Certain medicine can be made from it."
  
• Ingredient: Blue Pumpkin. 1-3 given. 1 needed to make Pumpkin Pie (Western Food 6; restores 15% damage dealt as TP). 1 needed to make Eastern Nishime (Japanese Food 6; all FOE and boss encounters, with a few exceptions, become preemptives).
  "The innards are blue as well."

Damage resistances:
0% 0% 0% 150% 150% 150%
Disable resistances:
50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 0% 25%
10% 10% 10%
25% 25% 25%

A three-headed pumpkin. Weaken it before you strike!

So, yeah, we've seen a bit of these things already. Purely physical damage is completely worthless against them, so bring along your War Magi, Alchemists, and Fafnir if you have one.

Also, FUCK THAT CONDITIONAL. By this point in the game, it's almost as bad as "kill with curse damage," since even a level 20 Venom Curse with the 2x Poison Damage food can only do so much. I'm going to be blunt here: I do not care about getting this conditional legitimately, so I'm just going to use a Formaldehyde.


Mmmm. It tastes like a candy pumpkin.



At least between Colette, Ranger, and Stardust, killing this thing shouldn't take too long.


Oh, those long arms...are good for something...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA



In case this thing breaks out of the panic, I bind its head to put a stop to Terror Pain. At least Absorb Vine's annoying at worst and pointless at best.



Eh, with a Volt Prelude on Colette, this should take maybe another two turns or so, even with Stardust dead.

Yes, I forgot to pack some Nectars, and can't revive her.




I've talked quite a lot towards the end of the LP about how much I value Stardust, but Sophie deserves special mention too. Creeping Curse just makes inflicting disables so easy, and disables take so much of the pain of postgame FOEs and bosses away.

Fun fact: Creeping Curse makes a return in EO5, kinda. It's a Union skill now (think Limit skills from EO3), only increases inflict chances by 2x, and only lasts for one turn, though. It also requires draining 4 party members' Union gauges.




Anyway, yeah, Cursed Pumpkin drops.

Cursed Sword (+189 ATK, +20 HP) is unlocked by selling 1 Pale Bone.

Formaldehyde (Gives all drops of any enemy killed on turn of use) is made from 1 Poison Pumpkin.




It was at this point that I took the time to do a little grinding, since the rate at which you gain EXP from the Forbidden Wood starts to lag behind a little what the game expects for end-postgame bosses.



Brr.
I k-kinda wish my robes were thicker...

Let's take care of Winter's Harbinger, shall we?

SYSTEM: Normally, the air would be filled with beautiful pink blossoms, but instead a relentless snowfall is drifting down! Gazing around at the curious anomaly, you hear a familiar voice echo from above...


Guild Lumen. It seems you accepted our request.
That we did.
I'm certain you've heard already. The one that brings winter wherever it goes... We have decided to call it the Frost King. The closer one goes to the beast, the fiercer the cold becomes. The plants in this warm forest are even beginning to freeze over. We attempted to banish it ourselves...but we could not even reach the creature.
Y-you guys don't really seem like the fighting kind, anyway.
Is it a matter of how strong this Frost King is, or is it a matter of how harsh the blizzard is?
SYSTEM: Taking note of Canaan's grave and serious demeanor, you inquire as to the severity of the snowfall near the monster.
Well...actually, it isn't necessarily severe. It's just that... We do not...handle the cold well.
W-when you wear as little as I do, that c-can't be helped.
Indeed. I'm glad that you understand... Even now, I... I feel all but frozen.
SYSTEM: He nods to you, appreciating your apparent understanding. Despite his proud posture, you notice he is shivering... He seems very cold.
I have heard that the earthbound ones are strong against the cold. Thus, I believe you can successfully reach the Frost King. May I borrow your map? According to our investigation, it seems it's holding position somewhere around...here.


Well then, I bid you good luck.

Well, that's not a very long walk.



Also, yes, 18F's appearance changes while Winter's Harbinger is active. You have a blue tinge layered over your viewport, and the snowfall particles from the Frozen Grounds replace the falling petals.




SYSTEM: The closer you get, the lower the temperature drops. It is just as Canaan said... This must be the Frost King!
H-how is he even d-doing this? He's just s-standing there.
M-magic.
SYSTEM: When the monster notices your presence, it growls lowly, coldly glaring in your direction! Now, take your weapons in hand and fulfill your duty! Slay the monster that calls forth winter!



VIDEO: Boss Fight: Frost King





Frost King
HP: 32500, STR: 82, TEC: 63, VIT: 64, AGI: 40, LUC: 58
Skills:

• Avalanche: Uses the head. Deals 400% ranged TEC-based ice damage to each party member. Has an 80% speed modifier and 150 base accuracy.
  
• Soul Freeze: Uses the head. Deals 10 instances of 150% (if the Frost Armor is dead) or 600% (if the Frost Armor is alive) ranged TEC-based ice damage to random targets. Can hit the same target multiple times. Has a 50% speed modifier. Has 110 base accuracy if the Frost Armor is dead, 150 if it is alive.
  
• Pile Bunker: Uses the arms. Deals 160% melee STR-based bash damage to one target, with line-piercing effect. Attempts to bind hit targets' heads, with a 50% base chance. Has no speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Buster Arm: Uses the arms. Deals melee 180% STR-based bash damage to one target, with splash damage. Has a 70% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Crystal Scar: Uses the legs. Purges all buffs from one party member, and reduces their physical/elemental defense by 20% for 4 turns. Has no speed modifier.

Drops:

• Normal: King Plate. 100% chance. Sells for 20000 en. 1 needed to make Ice Crown (+41 DEF, -30 action speed, can be equipped by Beasts).
  "Thick chest place of the Frost King. It's so big, carrying it will be troublesome."
  
• Conditional: Bound Ice Arm (Kill while arms are bound). 100% chance. Sells for 41000 en. 1 needed to make Arm Shield (+84 DEF, +50% ice resistance, -50% fire resistance).
  "The bound arm of the Frost King, now still. It can no longer strike down any innocents."

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 125% 0% 100%
Disable resistances:
25% 75% 25% 50% 25% 0% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 25% 50%

A high monarch of frost, wielding ice not only as a weapon but also as his impenetrable defense.

And because we won't actually get to see it, the Frost Armor's stats:

[NO IMAGE]
Frost Armor
HP: 8000, STR: 82, TEC: 63, VIT: 64, AGI: 40, LUC: 58
Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 150% 0% 100%
Disable resistances:
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0% 0% 0%
0% 0% 0%

Frost King is, honestly, a pretty boring boss fight. There's nothing that really stands out about him aside from the Frost Armor having a whopping 1/4 of the Frost King's max HP.

To that end... Honestly, I'm sure you can guess how this boss fight's going to go: Sophie inflicts panic and then arm bind, Milly stacks up the same buffs as normal, Colette, Ranger, and Stardust all unload whatever they have, the Frost King dies in 4 turns.



As much as I like EO2U, I do have to admit that postgame boss fights do tend to boil down to "either disable the boss or run an extreme risk of your party getting killed by extremely high damage you can't do much to prevent."

If you really want to see the actual fight in action, go watch the video.



SYSTEM: In its place, a warm, gentle breeze blows through the area... Sophie calls out in surprise, pointing towards the trees in the area.
Look, they're all turning back to normal!
SYSTEM: As if beckoned by the changing winds, the buds on the trees blossom one by one, and their vivid color returns to them! Wafting on the new winds, the soft aroma of fresh flowers fills the room... As you gaze at the flowers, you hear the familiar sound of flapping wings.


Mm... Yes, this temperature feels most pleasant.
SYSTEM: Canaan inhales, slowly and steadily, then exhales with a satisfied expression. He then turns to face you.
Once again, I must thank fate for your intervention. Some among our clan had already fallen ill due to the cold. We have sent a token of our gratitude to the establishment you call a bar. When you return to town, please find it there... But indeed, this exchange of tokens, and the strange garb you call "clothing"... Earthbound ones truly are bizarre.
I guess if you do look at it from a simple point of view, it can seem strange.
Oh? So you follow a path that even you yourself believe strange. Hmm... The earthbound ones are truly intriguing. Well then, Guild Lumen. May the blessings of Father Sun and Mother Moon be upon you.





Nice goin'. So, a monster was really bringin' winter down on a normally warm stratum, eh...?
That went way beyond winter.
Geh. Makes me shiver just thinkin' about it. I've been through a couple High Lagaard winters--the cold can be real rough. Though if there's a monster that makes things cold...there's gotta be a counterpart that makes things feel warm! Hey, if yeh lot find a monster like that, then yeh gotta let me know, awright?
...Any particular reason why?
Ain't it obvious why? If I get a monster like that in here, I can say goodbye to my heatin' bills! Firewood costs an arm and a leg these days, yeh know. Much cheaper to just get some monster feed! Haw haw haw! Here, take yer reward! Remember, if yeh find a monster that makes it feel like summertime, I've got first dibs!



Nectar IIs are a pretty nice reward, since you have to make them from Profound Fruits otherwise, which are the rare material from Take points in the Forbidden Wood.



Too bad the Frost King's drops don't really make anything good.

Ice Crown (+41 DEF, -30 action speed, can be equipped by Beasts) is unlocked by selling 1 King Plate. Genuinely don't know why you'd want this, since there's even other helmets that outclass it in terms of DEF.

Arm Shield (+84 DEF, +50% ice resistance, -50% fire resistance) is made from 1 Bound Ice Arm. By this point in the game, there's really nothing left where this could even be slightly useful.




Anyway, Thunder Queen's Legacy.

SYSTEM: ...Do you remember the request you accepted at the bar? An unfamiliar monster appeared in the forest, and is now running rampant... According to the request's information, it's extremely likely that this unknown threat is up ahead. If you plan on proceeding on, you will need to exercise extra caution. If you are resolved to confront this vicious monster, then proceed onward!



What a welcoming host.


Perhaps we should move instead of making quips!


SYSTEM: You barely manage to dodge, but you can feel its trailing heat scald you even in passing. Its power must be immense... What shot that arrow... appears to be a grotesquely fused being, comprised of both humanoid and equine form. You've never seen a creature like this before... It is clear that this is the beast you have come to slay! To defeat the monster, you must evade its deadly barrages of arrows! Ready your weapons, and confront the creature!

Thunder Queen's gimmick is that she fires an arrow that pushes you back to the left wall and hurts the party for 100 HP. You have to snake your way through all those piles of rubble that I already mapped out.



Fetus already mapped out the path to her in his DLC update, so I'll just piggyback off it.



VIDEO: Boss Fight: Thunder Queen





Thunder Queen
HP: 58000, STR: 90, TEC: 72, VIT: 62, AGI: 55, LUC: 60
Skills:

• Electric Arrow: Used at the end of a turn. Uses the arms. At the end of the next turn, deals 600% ranged TEC-based volt damage to each party member. Has 75 base accuracy.
  
• Plasma Shot: Uses the head. Deals 4 instances of 180% ranged TEC-based volt damage to random targets. Can hit the same target multiple times. Attempts to inflict paralysis on hit targets, with a 15% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier and 110 base accuracy.
  
• Volt Shot: Uses the arms. Deals 250% ranged TEC-based volt damage to one party member, with line-piercing effect. Has an 80% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• Lightspeed: Uses the legs. Deals 180% melee STR-based bash damage to each party member. Lowers hit targets' non-base evasion by 500 for 6 turns.
  
• Spindrift: Uses the legs. Deals 240% melee STR-based bash damage to one row. Attempts to bind hit targets' legs, with a 50% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier and 110 base accuracy.

Drops:

• Normal: Electric Ring. 100% chance. Sells for 24000 en. 1 needed to make Swift Shoes (+35 DEF, +10 action speed).
  "A wheel used by the Thunder Queen to move. It may be useful for transportation."
  
• Conditional: Confusing Bow (Kill while panicked). 100% chance. Sells for 48000 en. 1 needed to make Thunder God Bow (+190 ATK, +5 Force gain).
  "Bow dropped by the queen when confused. Normally inseparable from the body."

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 125% 0%
Disable resistances:
50% 50% 50% 25% 25% 0% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 50% 25%

A high monarch of thunder, raining lightning bolts down upon intruders at blinding speeds.

Another boring boss. Thunder Queen, if you don't disable her, is a damage race: how quickly can you burst her down before she bursts you down?

Didn't bring a Protector? Too bad, enjoy guaranteed death to Electric Arrow unless you have a Beast use True Endurance. Electric Arrow got used again after that? Too bad, fuck you, enjoy your game over.

I got frustrated enough with dying to random bullshit even through panic that I did the unspeakable:


My mouth feels...tingly...

Yep, I brought out Stigmata again. Ecstasy, too, later in the fight. I make no apologies for this, since the battle's still boring even without it, this just removes the chance of me dying to stupid bullshit I couldn't stop even with Phoebe or Ursa.



Again, if you actually want to see the fight, go watch the video. Dissecting and writing stuff for essentially the same pattern of actions over and over gets really tiresome after a while.



SYSTEM: The Thunder Queen that drove back countless guards and explorers has fallen at your hands. You have successfully completed the request. Return to the bar when you have time and report this in!



Whoa!? Yeh came back safely! Hey, show me yer feet... Good, they're still attached! Haw! I'm damn glad to see yeh come back safely! Still, I wonder why that thing suddenly showed up...? Hope we don't have to worry about anythin' else doin' that... Welp! We'll worry about it when it happens. Besides, yeh lot can take care of it, so we'll be fine! Oh, I almost forgot--yer reward. Here, take it. Don't worry, I made sure the Grand Duchy ponied up somethin' nice for yeh. Ain't yeh gonna thank me? Haw haw haw!



Three Amrita IIs is a really nice reward, and it means I can just set the difficulty to Picnic and auto-battle the Thunder Queen to death instead of having to kill more goddamn Petaloids.

...I, uh, kind of forgot to sell the drops in the raw footage. Oops. You can see the items up there anyway, but I'll give my opinions anyway:

The Swift Shoes are actually pretty damn good, and can help quite a bit with ensuring supports like Hexers act before enemies.

The Thunder God Bow is...less good. Force gain isn't really that great of a bonus for any class that can use bows, in my opinion--you could make an argument that having Illusion Step more in the lategame is good for Survivalists due to the evasion bonus working well with Chain Dance, but eh. It also gives slightly less damage than the Zamiel Bow does, as well as not giving a TP or LUC bonus.

That's all for this brief, repetitive update. Next time: the last major boss of the game before the superboss--Great Dragon.

I will preemptively state: no, fuck that, I'm not fighting that thing fairly. I am going to cheese him like I did Thunder Queen, and when you see his stats and skills and his fucking Red Heart, you will understand why.