Part 70: Revisited

Revisited



Time to explore the locked areas in the first two Strata. This is the team I'll be going with.



Say goodbye to our big pile of money.



Because I've just purchased Nick's ultimate weapon.

PC-88 Version







These are their regular attacks, for the record. Massive overkill aside, this is the power of a postgame weapon on a good class.





And after just 13 turns, Nick's Force meter is completely filled.



Where everyone else just has a quarter of it filled at this point.

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: Hmm, wonder if it'll fit.

: Put it in! Put it in!



: What do you know? It works.

: Finally! Those doors were bugging me for weeks!



There's a few doors in here.



This one leads to a dead end.



So does this one.

: 10,000en well spent.

: Says the person who spent nearly all our funds on a whip.

: It's a good whip! Perfect for tying things up!

: I wanted to buy more candy.



: Oh hey, more moles. Perfect for-

: I don't think those are ordinary moles!

PC-88 Version





: Gah! Help!





: Grrr...

: Oh. Thanks buddy!

: Mm.


Raidmole
Type: Normal
Behavior: Proximity, Line of Sight
Aggressive: Yes
HP: 1590
AT: 51
DF: 53
Skills: Claws
Item Drops:
-Common: Earth Nail - See Mole bio.
-Rare: Soft Fur - See Mole bio.
-Conditional: Sword Claw - Kill while arms are bound. 3 needed for Purr Claw.
--Blade-sharp fangs of a lethal mole.
Description: This fearsome mole's powerful claws have made mincemeat of many an unwary traveler.
Weakness: Fire (125%)
Resistance: N/A

The secret area FOEs in the first Stratum. These guys are just stronger Moles. MUCH stronger Moles. They can easily rip your party apart if you're not careful.





: GRRR!













: Wow, look at him go!

Rampage is the best physical damage skill in the game. On average, it'll dish out more damage than Midareba and Ricochet. The problem is that it's kind of inaccurate, and that you need to max Loyalty to get the skill. Which turns the Beast into a massive glass cannon.



: I now pronounce you mole and tree.

I picked up the Dominator Whip just so I could get the Raidmole's conditional drop more easily. Unfortunately, unlocking the weapons made from the secret area FOEs' drops are kind of tough to do on the first visit, or just flat out impossible. Sometimes you have to kill every single one, and then wait for them to respawn in order to get enough drops to unlock the weapons. Why yes I could have done it the old fashioned way and waited 50 turns in order for Nick's Force meter to charge, but I consider this whip a bit of an investment. And investment that I hope will pay off soon enough.









For comparison, here's the damage from Fedot's Ricochet.



The other Raidmole entered the battle, but...



: Ling! Shield your eyes!



: Mm?

: Ahhhh... I really needed that.

: Congratulations Nick. You made the panda cry. I hope you're proud of yourself.

: What? All I did was just-

: LA LA LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!





: Come on, attack me! I dare ya!







: Wrong move, sucker!

Bait/Magibait are some of the Dark Hunter's best damage skills. It's a super powerful counterattack that can proc multiple times on AOEs.



Two more to go, but I can only get one more with the way I've built my Dark Hunter. I'll have to wait for the Raidmoles to respawn to get the last one later.

PC-88 Version



It would be reckless to proceed through the door without knowing what could produce such an aura. It may be wise to refrain from passing through until you can gain more information in town.

: OH COME ON! We finally unlock those doors, and we can't go through this one!?

: I wonder if that key really was a good investment.

: We have several more floors left to check. We'll just come back here later. I really don't think opening this door is a good idea right now.

There's a postgame quest we need to take on before being able to open this door. And trust me, you don't want to see what's behind it at this point.



Not much new has been uncovered, but this is all we can explore on the 2nd floor at this point.



Now for the 3rd floor.



Nick was so close to a level up, that killing some of the super weak first Stratum monsters was enough to push him over.



For now, I'm just gonna increase his damage output. His skillset is getting reworked shortly.



However, the wall before you is thick, and passing it will not be an easy feat. You try to think of some way to pass the forest wall.

: I can hear... hmm. No.

Suddenly, your Troubadour hears something and listens intently, trying to make it out. However, the din of the other party members is making it difficult to concentrate...

: You can hear what?

: What's going on, Gilbert?

: Are you gonna do that weird thing with the trees again?

: Oh wow, I heard about that from the others. I wanna see that for myself!

: SILENCE!

:

: ...Oh bother, it's useless. I can't hear a thing!



Yep, Gilbert needs to be solo for this next area. I hope you've been raising a Troubador that can survive encounters with the first Stratum enemies on their own. I'll come back for this one later. Now unless you want your Troubadour to solo three Raidmoles at once, I suggest bringing some Sleep and Lure Bells for this secret secret area.



Could these belong to another explorer? You notice a fur boot along with bloody rags... You're almost certain that you encountered a similar situation on some previous adventure. The choice is yours to reach for the fur boot or leave it where it lies.



This is a call back to the first game. If you've played it, you should know fully well what will happen if you say yes.

: This seems familiar. You guys ready for a fight?

: Tch. Always.

: Good, because the moment I pick up this boot, you'll want your weapons out.

: What for?

: You'll see.

You reach out and pick the boot up from the ground. The dirty boot is heavy with a white stone inside that may have been hidden by its owner.



But while your attention is fixed to the stone, the ground begins to rise unnaturally. A terrible beast that must have killed the boot's owner pounces from below the earth!

PC-88 Version



Unlike the first game, you're pitted against 3 FOEs instead of 3 regular enemies.

: Okay, I wasn't expecting three of those things.

: What were you expecting, if I may ask?

: Just the regular moles.



: Go forth!

: Out of my way!



: Hmm, I think I'll inflict... everything!









: HAHAHAHAHAHA!





: Bullseye!



: Shackled.

I'm not sorry for doing this. Any party would have been eaten alive by this event at this point. Raidmoles aren't too bad by themselves. But in groups, they can cause a lot of deaths.



: Go ahead. Atta- No Ling! Don't!









: Great, thanks for ruining my trap.

: Mm.

Unfortunately, as powerful as the Bait skills are, they don't proc if a Beast decides to take the bullet, or if the attack misses. Loyalty really has a ton of anti-synergy, which is what makes it one of the worst passives in the game. If you're going to use a Rampage Beast, you need to go all in on that build. Defense is pretty much not an option for those builds.



: ...I don't know if this makes up for that.



Despite that, I manage to make it out of the battle okay, and I got the conditional drop.

PC-88 Version





Our reward for exploring this secret area is a really rare consumable that can't be bought until the postgame. Amrita IIIs are very handy items that can make dungeon treks easier, or turn the tide of a fight.



I'll come back for Gilbert's secret area later.



Next stop is the 5th floor, since there's no locked doors on the 4th floor.



But it's just a treasure room.



The Bind Wall is a very good accessory. It can be handy if you really don't want a party member being disabled by binds, like a support.





Acts like a level 4 Salve 2.



And now we're done with the 5th floor.



Time to see what's behind that shortcut.

PC-88 Version





: Please do not interrupt my stroll.





: For you are no match for me.





Thankfully Gilbert can handle random encounters on his own in this Stratum, so that's not an issue..



However, the wall before you is thick, and passing it will not be an easy feat. Your troubadour's ear picks up an almost inaudible sound amidst the silence... It's very faint, but it's definitely a musical scale.

: Ah, there it is!

You hum along with the scale, and something in the area begins to change... Your voice reverberates through the forest, gaining volume and strength as you go! The trees before you suddenly begin to move as if alive, and a path opens up. You stand in awe at the even, before realizing that the way forward is clear.

: I do wonder how that even works, but I suppose that does not matter.





There's three Raidmoles in this room. They all just look ahead. If you're not hugging the edges of the room, they'll spot you and chase after you.

: I shall have to be careful here. Fortunately...



: I came prepared.





: A nice bit of treasure, but I think I shall not wear it.

HP and TP isn't really a problem for Gilbert, but this might be nice on someone else.



And now we're done with the 3rd floor. For real this time.



For the 2nd Stratum, I'm going with this team instead. I need someone to help deal with damage tiles.

PC-88 Version



Here's the 6th floor's locked door.



It's just another treasure room.



Frost Jars act like a level 2 Cocytus.





Nectar IIIs are another really rare consumable that can't be bought until the postgame. They pretty much take out most of the risk of reviving someone, since party members that are revived at low health have a huge chance to die on the turn they're revived without proper planning. This was the last game they were seen in.



We're still not done with the 6th floor, since there's an area at the bottom we haven't explored yet.





At this point I'm going full on offense for Ling's build. A maxed out Loyalty pretty much gets rid of tanking as an option since that skill doesn't really synergize with anything.



No locked doors on the 7th or 8th floors.



The grass here looks to be well-trod. You can tell the path continues to the other side. The beast in your party snorts happily and darts into the opening! However, its exit is too small, and you cannot follow the beast to the other side. It eventually returns and looks at you quizzically, wondering why you didn't follow it.

: There's no way that any of us can fit through there.

: Mmm?

: Sorry Ling. But it looks like you're gonna have to explore that area by yourself. We can't come with you. The exit is too small.

: Mmm...



Yep. This time we need a solo beast. On the plus side, Loyalty won't be in effect, so Ling won't kill himself from trying to defend himself.



Here's this Stratum's secret area FOE.

PC-88 Version









: Gra...


Sonicker
Type: Normal
Behavior: Patrol
Aggressive: No
HP: 1605
AT: 53
DF: 53
Skills: Fangs, Claws
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Steel Beak - See Gryphon bio.
-Drop 2: Pure Quill - See Gryphon bio.
-Drop 3: Ruby Bone - 5 needed for Ruby Gage. 10 needed for Headpiece.
--Wing bones made of a rare glowing substance.
Description: The wind it generates from its wings can boost its speed, allowing it to cut down humans.
Weakness: Stab (125%)
Resistance: N/A

They're basically stronger Gryphons. But a fight with a solo Gryphon always resulted in a blindside, which unfortunately carries over to this FOE. So unless you sneak up on them from behind, you'll always get blindsided. Other than that, they're not really noteworthy. That said, you need to kill 10 of these things to unlock a piece of equipment. Unfortunately, there's only 5 Sonickers in this Stratum, so I have to kill them all, and then wait for them to respawn in order to unlock the Headpiece.





: I'll avenge you, Ling!

: Uh, he's not dead.

: Same difference.









: Since Nick decided to waste all of our funds on a whip, I'm afraid we're gonna have to cut back on buying food, and go back to hunting full time.

: Are you serious?

: I was wondering where all our money went.





: Ow! Have a taste of this!









: Uh...

: I can see that your arrows really did a number on it. Yes, I think it's about to keel over and die right now.

: You don't have to rub it in.

: Shut up Aegis. It's not like you can hit harder.

: Well my job is to protect this team, not to fight. Her job is- ...What the hell is her job?

: Just leave her alone.

Survivalists still have terrible damage. Keep in mind that Sonickers have a Stab Weakness, so Pauline's actually doing more damage than normal.







: Ha! Your claws are no match for my shield and armor!





:

: You idiotic panda! I didn't need saving!

I hate Loyalty so much.





Apollon has a really high damage modifier, but it did barely more damage than a single Ricochet shot. I swear Survivalists were a good class in EO1!



PC-88 Version





An accessory that's nothing but a TP boost. While TP is important, I don't know if it's worth dedicating one whole equipment slot to it at this point in the game, so I don't have anyone put it on.



: Howdy, explorers. Havin' a safe journey?

The guard continues talking.

: Saw a little girl walkin' around alone not too long ago. Hope she's all right... I called out, but she plum ignored me and kept right on marchin' west.

He looks worriedly to the west.

: Think she went behind the locked doors over yonder... Who knows what in tarnation's behind them? Could even lead to another Stratum... Y'all take real good care now if you go lookin' for her.

Having said his piece, the guard begins to walk away. It's up to you whether to listen to the guard and proceed west, or to resume your journey.

: Could he have been talking about Artelind? Der.. Der... That Gunner did mention that she likes to go to this floor.

: It's worth a shot.



Here's the next locked door. This actually leads to a secret area, and it has a really annoying gimmick.



: Hey! It's the stairs down.

: I don't think that's the way forward.

: But...

: Look, I have a feeli-



: AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!

: Uhh...

: Oh no. Our fearless leader is dead. Well it was nice knowing him, but I suppose we better go back.

: I'm going after him! Geronimo!

: ...She could've just taken the stairs.

: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

: Are you a jerk to everyone you know?

: You'd be surprised.

: Whatever.



: Ow my- OH GOD!

: Huh. I must've landed on something soft. Fedot! Oh I'm so sorry!

: Gah. It's fine. Where's everyone else? Oh. There they are.

: Yo! You alright? Any injuries or something? I can carry you up those stairs over there!

: I'm fine. I'll just have to be more careful next time.



Here's the stairs back up. So here's the gimmick of this secret area. Invisible pitfalls. You step on the wrong tile, you fall down to this floor, and have to climb back up. There are several of them. There's not really many ways to tell where these pitfalls are, but it's a really annoying area. Thankfully this is the only place where the invisible pitfalls and the safety net floor is used. They were used in the postgames of EO1 and EO3 and invisible pitfalls were used in far nastier ways there. I'll be going through this area next time.

Equipment. Most completely and horribly outdated!