Part 34: Chimaera: The King of Beasts

Chimaera: The King of Beasts

Video: Boss Fight!



Alright, let's do this!











Right off the bat, we're going to launch every force skill we have at Chimaera. Except for Frederik's, I'm saving that for later.



The unfortunate thing about Caprice is that when using it against a boss, it's pretty much a roulette since they have a pretty huge resistance against status effects. I was hoping it would land on Poison, but I guess sleep is fine too.





We already took out a huge chunk of Chimaera's health.



And now it's locked down and pretty much helpless.





Nick's damage is pretty low, so I use Warmight on him.



I mean look at Ken, he's cutting through Chimaera just fine.



Landing Poison is pretty much a crapshoot in boss battles, but if it does land, a huge portion of the battle is over.









Dominate is ridiculously broken. It's by far the best lockdown move in the game.



The binds are starting to fall off, so I have Frederik use Invoke.





Also because that happened. I admit I wasn't paying attention to my map screen there. But it's not an issue at this point.



It's almost dead anyway.







Oh crap, this is bad.





Or not. Invoke also increases physical defense. It acts kind of like Immunize from EO1.



And we win!

PC-88 Version

: Wow, that was easy. How pathetic.

: Aliara.

: Yo! Aliara! You there?

: Mmhmm. Huh? Wait, what's going on? Did we kill Chimaera?

: No, we were just about to go in when you started staring at the door.

: You just wouldn't snap out of it until now.

: Aw.

Yeah, that's how powerful Force Skills are. Lots of damage, and makes any boss practically helpless. So let's do this for real. Before we start, here's a little lesson from GeneralYeti on the Chimera.


Anyways, here's what our party members are going to be doing for the fight.



Ken's gonna be our main physical damage dealer. I gave the Life Belt to Nick, and gave the Town Crown back to Ken to help him deal more damage.



Nick's damage is way too low to help contribute. He's mainly gonna be supporting in this fight and making sure everyone stays alive. I gave the Life Belt to him to make that job easier.



Frederik is gonna be boosting Ken and Fedot's attack so they can get some good damage in on Chimaera. He's also gonna make sure everyone stays alive.



Fedot is our other attacker. He's gonna help chip away at Chimaera with Ken.



Now Aliara here is our trump card for the fight. If we can land Poison on Chimaera, we've pretty much won. The problem is that Aliara's luck is lower than Chimaera's so her Poison skill has lower than a 21% chance of landing. Not good odds, I'm pretty much hoping the dice rolls in my favor here. I could try turtling the fight out, except the Slaveimps won't let that happen.

: Okay, so what are we gonna do about those Slaveimps? What if they join in and help out Chimaera?

: Oh I've got an idea.



: COME ANY CLOSER, AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE TONIGHTS DINNER LIKE YOUR BUDDY OVER HERE!



: Well, that should buy us some time.

: I don't think those two in the back heard you.

: But they are far away. It will take them a while to come to us.

: How long were you carrying that thing?

: Oh, it was supposed to be yesterday's dinner, but I forgot with the whole Flausgul thing.

I just bought myself 3 extra turns to deal with Chimaera. A more permanent solution in a sense would be to use a luring skill, or a Lure Bell to get the Slaveimps to come to a spot where you can reach them, and then take them out. But I find that to be unnecessary.



Bosses show up as black fuzzy balls. Well, let's get this started. Oh, and I recommend clicking on the music link below. I don't like it as much as Dyed in Blood or Hoist the Sword, but I still think it's a nice piece.



Video: Chimaera

PC-88 Version







Right at the start I have Ken and Nick attack.



Frederik gives Ken a Buff.



Fedot's just gonna pelt Chimaera with Iceshots.



Not gonna have Aliara use Poison just yet, I'm gonna have her help chip Chimaera's health down a bit before using that.



A warmighted Ken is doing a decent amount of damage, but that's not gonna be fast enough to kill it.

: I can already tell we're in for a rough fight.

: Yeah, I don't think we're doing much to it.



And that's pretty much the last time Nick's gonna be attacking. Don't be fooled by that other fight, Chimaera hits hard. It's the main reason I gave Nick the Life Belt.

: Oh damn! That thing's the king of beasts alright.

Fortunately Chimaera can't one shot any of us unless it decides to use Blaze on the back row. At which point Ken and Nick would be the last ones standing.



: I think it doesn't like ice!

: Yeah, that seems to be the best plan so far!







Just so Frederik can use Warmight on Fedot, I have Nick and Aliara heal up Nick. You really want to make sure all your characters are alive at the end of the fight.





Fedot's dealing some respectable damage now, but that's still not enough.

: Uh, guys? I think Chimaera's calling them over!



It'll take a while for those two to reach us, but we want to finish up this battle fast.



: Ha ha! Got him!





And the battle's pretty much over.







: Hot hot hot hot hot!

: Oh quit crying you big babies.





: Uh, I think those things aren't scared anymore!

: Well Chimaera's looking pretty weak. I think we got it on the ropes.



Agh. Poison can last up to a really long time in this battle if you're lucky, but most of the time it only lasts two turns. Thankfully this isn't like EO3 and beyond where that was my only chance to inflict the status effect. Problem is, it's still hard to inflict it anyways. While I can finish off this battle now, I really want that conditional drop.







I heal up using the items we got from the Labyrinth much earlier. Yes I'm using up these items that are overkill on healing, I need them now. Hoarding items in the Etrian Odyssey series will just get you killed where they could have saved you. Besides, you can get more of them later.





: Just let me kill you already!





:

I'm just lucky Chimaera didn't decide to use it on the back row. Ken and Nick can actually tank that unlike everyone else.



: We need to kill that thing now! Those Slaveimps are getting closer!

I keep Ken and Nick topped off while I have Aliara attempt one last Poison cast.





: Aaaaaaand, you're dead!





Make sure to watch the GIF below.

PC-88 Version



Look at all that exp. Just look at it! The enemy that gives out the highest amount of exp in this stratum is the Raflesia with 831 exp. Which means each member of a 5 man party gets 166 exp. Chimaera on the other hand? It gives out 21000 exp, which divides out to 4200 exp in a 5 man party! Bosses are by far the best way to grind in the game. It's super easy to grind up any party members you want through boss fights, which is the main method I'll be using to grind up our other guild members. EO2 has the fastest method of grinding in the entire series, along with EO4's golden sheep and QR party members. No need to hunt down rare enemies or stuff like that, just kill bosses over and over. This was basically Atlus' way of making up for the fact that FOEs no longer gave out exp. Unfortunately for them, all this accomplished was making sure that people grinded on bosses instead. This got nerfed in the later games by tying the big exp rewards to completing missions.

Oh and yes, bosses do respawn in every Etrian Odyssey game, aside from a few story specific bosses. Usually the final bosses are the ones that can't be rematched. It takes 14 days for a boss to respawn, although the timer won't start until we go up to the next floor. This is done to prevent you from being screwed over and have to fight the boss again in case you slept for 2 weeks after the fight for some reason. Each game has a different condition on when stratum bosses can respawn. For example, in EO3, you have to reach the final floor of the next stratum before you can fight the boss again.

PC-88 Version



Well done! You have defeated the loathsome Chimaera!

: Nice work everyone! You especially, Aliara.

: Hee hee, thanks.

: Ha! Look! Now that their leader's gone, they're just flying away like cowards!

All the Slaveimps out on the field will disappear once you kill Chimaera. However, if any joined in on the fight, those have to be killed before you can win the fight.

A sense of accomplishment wells up within you, as a beast's howl reaches you from far away. The howl nags at you. It seems familiar somehow. If you can remember what it is, you can try returning to the place where it emanated.

: That's right, Kurogane.

: We should let him know that Chimaera's dead now.

Sadly I didn't get the regular drop from the fight. Unlike the other games, you can get the normal drop even if you did get the conditional drop. The normal drops from a stratum boss don't have 100% drop rates, but their condtional drops do, with one exception.



But before we go back to Kurogane, I make sure to level up my party since they were so close to one. I hope you enjoyed seeing even exp bars, because this is the last time you'll be seeing them.





Overhead is finally maxed out, and now we unlocked Ken's big damage skill, Midareba. It's ridiculously powerful. If you ever wanted to see some big numbers, oh, you'll get some later.



Climax gets leveled up twice. It kills at 31% and 38% at those levels.





Now I want Frederik to get Salve 2. There's no reason to go for Salve 1, it isn't a perquisite to anything. So I level up Cure 2 twice. It heals 134 base HP. Cure 1 gets outdated fast, and there's no reason to take any more levels in that skill since it's just a perquisite to Salve 1.



Fedot just levels up Guns twice. Still working towards Richochet.



Aliara now levels up Topor. There are some enemies immune to poison, so I want some backup options if she gets voted into the 2nd stratum party. It has a 21% of putting all enemies to sleep at level 2.

PC-88 Version



There was a lonely beast here with pleading eyes before... Upon your return, you see the beast standing here unchanged, like a bronze statue. He seems to sense that his long-time enemy has been defeated, and wears a peaceful expression.

: We killed the beast that took your master's life. You can rest easy now.

Kurogane barks quietly in thanks, and paws off his collar as if offering it as a gift.

: Oh, is this for me? Well, thank you.





: Rest in peace Guild Beowulf.

: Well, at least he's with Flausgul now.

PC-88 Version



You'll see what the Trust Band is for soon enough.



Mostly done with this floor. Sadly, we won't be able to open those locked doors for a long time. Anyways, say goodbye to the first stratum.

PC-88 Version





Welcome to the second stratum, the Auburn Thicket.

: Oh goodness, the trees are on fire! Run for your lives!

:

: What? No, the leaves are just red!

: If you guys are done being dumb, there's something over there.



A violet light rises from the center of the room, surrounded by poles. You think back to the protector Flausgul's words... The Geomagnetic Field he spoke of must be this light! You consider touching the pole of light to see how it works, though you could also move on.

: Hey, is that the field thing Flausgul was talking about?

: Yep, that's it alright. I'll show you how it works. Just touch the pole here and...



Geomagnetic Fields are found at the beginning of every stratum, aside from the first one. You can save your game at these points, or teleport back to town. It's a two way teleporter so we can also start right back here. These do not override the Geomagnetic Poles, so don't worry about that.



Ah, yes. You still need to report to the Duke's Palace on your completed mission. Before you can go any further, you must file your report with the Minister.

: GODDAMMIT!



PC-88 Verison



: Whoa! It really works!

: And you said we can teleport back there?

: Yep, but first, let's report our success.

PC-88 Version



PC-88 Version





: Allow this old man to thank you with all his heart for your exquisite work! Well done, well done! On the Grand Duchy's behalf, I present you with this reward.



:

Well let's see what he has to say.



: There's red trees everywhere in there!

: The forest of red trees... Yes, I know it. It took us several months to discover. Legions of guards fought pitched battles against monsters before we made it that high. It was a difficult period in High Lagaard's history. And now your guild has reached it... Mmm. In those excursions, we would abort the mission when we lost over half the team.

: Sounds like you need to get better guards.

: Shush.

: But you overcame all obstacles with a team of only five. That in itself shows your strength. I expect great things from you.

PC-88 Version



: Its leader was very affectionate with beasts, and trained them to fight against monsters. You hold the collar he used in his training routine. With that, perhaps you too can tame wild animals and teach them to fight with you. Why don't you try inducting a beast into your guild?



This is what the Trust Band unlocks. We can now use a new class. Let's take a look at it.

Beast



Protect their owners with teeth and claws.

Force Skill: Salivall
-Heals the Party's HP and status ailments.

Fierce creatures best used in the front.

Beasts are an alternative to the Protector. They have some defensive abilities, but unlike Protectors, they have some pretty decent offenses. They also have some aspects of the Medic, in that they're able to heal the party as well. Their base stats are pretty high, and they tend to be pretty tanky. However, they can't wear stuff like gloves or boots, but they can still wear armor. They can still wear accessories though. In order to make up for that fact, their armor has really high defense. However, there's one aspect that makes Beasts much less useful than they could be, which is the fact that their main class skill causes them to block attacks for other party members, which you have absolutely no control over. And that skill causes them to take more damage than they normally would. The worst part is that you can't skip that skill either, since it's a mastery skill. As the final nail in the coffin, they don't have access to the Anti Skills, which means that a Protector is far better than a Beast in the postgame.



: What's the second Stratum like? They say it's an autumn-colored forest. I'd like to see it...

: Oh it's very pretty. You should see for yourself when you have time.

: But stay on guard. The monsters there aren't in the same league as those in the first Stratum. That's all the advice I have for you. Never underestimate the Labyrinth.

PC-88 Version



: Told ya.

: I heard that place is filled with burning trees! How do the critters there survive?

: Wha- No no, the trees just have red leaves. They're not on fire.

: Eh? It's not true? Ahh, I see. The trees are red, but they're not on fire... Hmm. Anyways, the Firefly Guild is getting to be famous now. But don't get a swelled head! I'll be counting on yeh... G'luck!



: Excellent work! Aha... So this is the memorial flower, is it? That's dainty, that is.

: Uh yeah, it's a flower.

: Oh, I knew it would be small. I'm just surprised yeh found it in that great big Labyrinth. I'm sure it'll bring the old girl joy. Here's yer reward. I'll be counting on yeh!



: Man, the minister gave out a lot more than this.



: Ah, now there's a worthy quest. Lagaard Hospital's developing some new medicine right now. Yer job is to bring them some ingredients, but there's more to it... Oh, so yeh wanna know? Yeh'll have to talk to the lad at the hospital. Yeh know where it is, right? Well, g'luck to yeh!



: Ah, mulling that quest oever, are yeh? The client's one of those eccentric nobles. He's famous in the Grand Duchy, Lord Gascoyne is. He's got a powerful love for animal hide... Not that I blame him, what with the bitter cold we see in winter, but the man's obsessed. His mansion's full to bursting with furs lining the walls, the floors, even the ceilings! It's men like him I'll never claim to understand. Anyhow, our Lord Gascoyne went in the Labyrinth to hunt for some new kinds of fur... Says he found a rare beastie no one's ever seen before. Naturally, he wanted the hide. But no matter how fast he ran, the monster just wouldn't be caught. He had a nasty spill while giving pursuit, and banged himself up pretty badly. But that hasn't dampened his desire for that hide one jot. And that brings us to the quest on the board now. G'luck out there! The monster should appear on the 6th flor. Don't forget to bring back the hide!

: Mm, oh, now that's a climax. Wha- huh!? Oh, he's done?

: I thought he would never shut up.

As much as I like Cass' dialogue, he rambles a lot before giving you the quest.



: That's so, so amazing! Congrats! People ask me all the time about you all...

: Really now? What do they ask about?

: Like, “What weapons did they just buy?” or “Can I get some armor just like theirs?” I always tell them the truth: It's not your weapons or armor that make you so great! Even though we'd sell a lot more equipment if I stayed quiet, it wouldn't be right... My father agrees, too! We both think being honest is more important than being rich! So go ahead and shop here as much as you want!

Let's sell off our stuff. Now the Brute Tail, Chimaera's normal drop, sells for 776 en. Not a bad amount of money. As for the conditional drop, the Brute Wing...





:

: Mother of god.

: Holy fu-

: Language! There's two little girls here.

: Really? Anyways. We're rich! WE'RE RICH!

: We can buy actual food now!

: I CAN BUY SO MUCH CANDY!

: I'm having another heart attack!

Boss conditional drops sell for a ridiculous amount of money, and are the main reason why gathering isn't the money maker of choice anymore. Just selling one of these will get rid of your money problems for the rest of the main game! Yeah, stratum bosses? Really good to grind on. They all sell for 30,000 en, except for one much later on.





Selling that unlocked this bow for the Survivalist and Troubadour. It's the third best bow in the game, and one you were supposed to unlock postgame. Boss condtionals were meant to be gotten later, when your party was much stronger, but Atlus made most of them really easy to get. Atlus learned their lesson, and boss conditionals are much tougher to get in the later games. They can involve killing the boss with a one man party, or on the first turn, which can only be accomplished much later into the game. They also made the conditional drops worth a lot less, 10,000 en compared to 30,000 en. And the 4th game made it impossible to buy the equipment that got unlocked before you got into the postgame. I won't be grinding for the bow, although it is really easy to do and a Survivalist can help stomp on the main game with this. But because it's a postgame bow, once postgame comes around, the Survivalist is trash again.

PC-88 Verison



: You've talked to us before. You know who we are. Also we need to know more about that.

: Oh, did they not tell you the details at the bar? Well, remember when you found the Pale Bloom some time ago? Our current medical research is based on the same flower. Since it was you all who were the ones that started us down this path... I wanted you to be the ones to help us finish it. Now, we're all set as far as flowers, but there are other things we need as well. And they can only be found in the Labyrinth. So I need you to retrieve them for us. We need one Mint Leaf. I've heard that you can find them around the 6th floor. Once you collect it, just sell it to Sitoth Trading. That's all we need to finish the medicine. It'll come in real handy during your journey! Well, take care out there!

: Wait, that's it?

: Hey, it's an easy one for once.

A really simple, but short fetch quest. Let's talk to him and see what he has to say.



: We haven't left.

: They say you've reached the next Stratum! Congratulations. Tell me, are the trees in this new area really on fire? If so, the temperature must be a lot higher in that region of the forest.

: No. The leaves are just red.

: Keep yourselves hydrated, watch your body temperature, and... Oh? The rumor isn't true? I see. It's a good thing those trees aren't really on fire--it could be a serious health issue. Even so, you should be careful. Red is a very strong color. Stare at red things for too long, and you may experience impaired vision or nausea. You're fine for now, but I'm concerned about long-term exposure. Be careful out there.



: No, the trees are not- oh. Yes, they're red.

: It's so strange how the colors change on the different Strata. Yet it's the same tree all the way up... It's beyond me! Aren't you the ones who go in there every day? Does it give you a scare every time you go between Strata?

: Nah, we haven't explored the second Stratum that much yet.