Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard Part #65 - Etrian Odyssey, You're Such a Jerk

Part 65: Etrian Odyssey, You're Such a Jerk

Etrian Odyssey, You're Such a Jerk

This is the party we're going to explore the 1st half of the 4th Stratum with. Yep, 5 classes suited for the back row. Although the Troubadour has enough defenses to be in the front row. As for Maverick, I completely revamped his skillset. He has no healing skills aside from Patch Up. He has Caduceus maxed out. I'm making him a combat Medic. Let's see if it works out.

PC-88 Version

Here's the nighttime splash screen.

You listen carefully and can barely make out the piteous howl of an animal.

: Lady Gradriel's dog!

You remember now the quest you accepted from the Duke's daughter... You agreed to save her lost hunting dog. You're not certain that it was a dog's cry you heard, but it was definitely an animal howl. But be careful... The animal is clearly in danger, and a dog's senses are keen. If you make too much noise, the animal might run from you and never come back.

The game just told us the failure condition for the quest, although it wasn't exactly clear what causes the quest to fail.

A shortcut I missed earlier.

: Er, Fedot? Was this team a good idea? I mean, I really shouldn't be on the front lines.

: I believe I can manage.

: Oh see, I wanted to bring in some front liners. Except some of them were busy, and some of them seemed to be really pissed off.

: Eh heh heh. _Crap.

: I have no idea what the hell happened yesterday, but this team was the best I could go with. So deal with it.

I don't like this next room.

So the path of the FOEs seems pretty straightforward. They all travel through the middle path, and two of them go top, while the other two go bot. Except these FOEs have a movement pattern that can trip up first time players.

Shelltor
Type: Normal
Behavior: Dance
Aggressive: No
HP: 1440
AT: 47
DF: 48

Their movement pattern is taking three steps forward, and then one step backward. If you're mindlessly pressing forward, you'll get into a fight with them, which is not something you want to do at this point. Their movement pattern can really trip up first time players, especially when they don't have their map filled out. As for the FOEs themselves, they're resistant to physical attacks and can increase their defenses. But they have a very powerful physical AOE that will cause a party wipe at this point. If you run into one by accident, hope that it doesn't use Jaws, because that skill is an automatic game over.

And damage tiles make a return in this Stratum.

: Great, more thorns to walk through.

: Alright, you guys know the drill. Put these on. Now.

PC-88 Version

New enemies, and also new battle music! The battle music in the EO games changes after a certain point. In most games, this is after you reach the 4th Stratum. Fun fact: this battle music was originally planned to be in the first game, but it got scrapped.

Okay, let's take our new combat medic for a spin.

And in case that doesn't work out, I have some decent AOEs.

: If I'm gonna be on the front lines, I might as well HIYA!

Eh, a decent amount of damage, but Caduceus eats up a lot of TP.

: A minor inconvenience.

: Speak for yourself, I can't reach my gun.

Ah, right. Our enemies.

Spider
HP: 304
AT: 35
DF: 35
Exp: 2247
Skills: Cocoon
Item Drops:
-Common: Sticky Web - 1 needed to unlock Aquael (Bow.), Bind Wall, and Plum Mail. 3 needed to unlock Gold Beads.
--Moist spider thread. Sturdy when dry.
-Rare: N/A
-Conditional: N/A
Description: A particularly dangerous forest spider that can quickly spin silk to cocoon its prey.
Weakness: Stab (150%)
Resistance: N/A

Spiders aren't really a threat. They'll try to bind your party's arms with Cocoon, but that's the most they can do.

Waspior
HP: 291
AT: 32
DF: 31
Exp: 1800
Skills: Sting
Item Drops:
-Common: Bee Needle - 1 needed to unlock Plum Shoes and Wyrmhunter (Gun.) 2 needed for Kishindaio (Katana.) 15 needed for Poison Axe. 1 needed for the quest Dinner for one.
--Sharp tip that could pierce through anything.
-Rare: Strawberry - See 3rd Stratum Take info.
-Conditional: N/A
Description: A dangerous bee whose needle is tipped with poison. They swarm to attack any intruders.
Weakness: Volt (150%)
Resistance: Physical (75%)

Waspiors on the other hand are a bit more scary. Sting deals a moderate amount of damage, but has a high chance to paralyze, which can be a hindrance in the more dangerous encounters.

Maverick can barely take these hits.

Thor, combined with Poison can take out some encounters at least.

: Score!

: Okay, you're supposed to die after I poison you!

Poison is still a good skill, but at this point you need to follow it up if you intend to abuse it.

PC-88 Version

As you stand in awe at the gently falling petals, a voice rings from the sky.

You turn towards the voice. A winged demihuman is gazing down upon your party!

: Father Ish and Mother Ishsha! Bless the earthbound people with the gift of new life!

With this, the demihuman spreads his wings and rises into the air. Who and what could the winged organism have been...? The whole party feels tense as you investigate further into the Labyrinth.

: Didn't he resemble the messenger we had to deliver the Wind Rock to?

: Now that you mention it...

: So that's how he flew away.

PC-88 Version

Raicho
HP: 297
AT: 33
DF: 32
Exp: 1863
Skills: Strike
Item Drops:
-Common: Gold Crest - 1 needed for Wyrmhunter (Gun), Volt Wall, and Gold Shirt. 2 needed for Gold Wand. 3 needed for Gold Beads.
--Conductive feathers from a lightning bird's head.
-Rare: N/A
-Conditional: N/A
Description: A bird that compensates for its small size by sending a deadly current through its wings.
Weakness: Stab (150%)
Resistance: Volt (0%)

Raichos are one of the weakest monsters in the Stratam. Strike is a really weak Volt attack. They can't really do anything to you.

Aside from their high resistance to Volt, there's nothing interesting about them.

PC-88 Version

Keep an eye on that FOE meter.

Because there's an FOE in the next room that you really don't want to get into a fight with.

Castwing
Type: Normal
Behavior: Patrol
Aggressive: No
HP: ??
AT: ??
DF: ??

This FOE only shows up if you took the Missing Pet quest, and it's the failure condition for it. Killing one (running away is fine) will cause the quest to fail, because the noise from the fight will scare away the dog. Nope, the noise your party would hypothetically be making from fighting the random encounters and other FOEs won't scare away the dog, just killing these birds will. The mean thing about this quest is that it's possible to enter a door, and immediately get into a fight with them. Oh, and in some cases your back will be up against the door, meaning that you can't escape and you'll be forced to kill it. Great quest design, Atlus. They're not tough FOEs in any case.

PC-88 Version

Killpion
HP: 373
AT: 46
DF: 36
Exp: 2363
Skills: Needle
Item Drops:
-Common: Toxic Barb - 1 needed for Plum Mail and Pelta.
--Tail tip turned reddish-purple from poison.
-Rare: Heaven Pin - 1 needed for Executor (Sword.) 3 needed for Sting Maul. 1 needed for the quest Dinner for one.
--Still-undamaged needle from a scorpion's tail.
-Conditional: N/A
Description: A large scorpion that attacks with its long, venomous tail. Those hit may also be paralyzed.
Weakness: Volt (150%)
Resistance: Physical (75%)

Another enemy that's been in every game. And has been a pain to deal with in every one. They're the strongest enemy on this floor. Needle hits very hard and has a high chance of either poisoning someone, or paralyzing them. That said, they're not really a threat on their own. It's when they're in groups or assisting other enemies that you should be worried about them.

It didn't get a chance to do anything. Bellamy fried it instantly.

PC-88 Version

More TP for Fedot.

You can try picking the vividly colored fruit and eat it, or ignore it and press onward.

: Should we eat it?

: Uh, I don't know. I mean, is anyone willing to try?

: I don't know what kind of fruit that is. Maybe it's poisonous.

: Who cares? Someone, eat it! How about you?

: I think not. Perhaps our leader should try it.

After a pitched argument on who will ear the fruit, Gilbert settles the issue unilaterally!

: Cease your bickering, I'll eaOOH MY STAAA

However, in contrast to its lustrous color, the fruit's smell and taste is repulsive!

: Okay, I guess that wasn't safe to eat after all. Uh, here's some medicine.

: Thank yo

: ...I'm gonna have to take a long bath later.

Your first party member loses a lot of HP if you say yes.

Here's nothing but an empty room. Oh who am I kidding? Always search empty rooms.

Because they're usually not empty.

This acts like an Alchemist's level 2 Inferno. There's no item that mimics any of their Tier 2 spells.

This Castwing can pin you to the wall when you enter the room.

: Is there something under here?

: I heard a story about this kind of thing. I forgot how it went.

You vaguely recall a story about something being buried under cherry blossom trees...

Does anyone know what this is referring to?

: If there's something buried here, then we should find out what it is!

: AAAAAHHHHHHH!

: What's wrong?

I immediately regret my decision.

As you prepare to dig beneath the tree, you sense a malicious presence and take up arms. You look around to see countless scorpions streaming from the brush to surround you! There is no escape from the swarm... You must stand and fight!

PC-88 Version