Part 74: Minor Notes: Floors 19 and 20

Minor Notes: Floors 19 and 20

Now this is when the Stratum actually gets nasty. Tons of status effects will get thrown around a lot. I'm talking stuff like high damage poison, sleep, petrification, and instant death. Oh, and the enemies can still hit pretty hard too. There's no more class specific shortcuts in the game, we're completely done with those. Also, a ton of FOEs are gonna bar our way. They can be avoided, but to do that involves exploring the floor at specific times, which can get really tedious. It's just much less of a hassle to kill them than trying to avoid them. They're not too strong at any rate, but they can inflict petrification. There's also a lot of bird enemies in this part of the Stratum, which means that physical attackers who can use bows or guns will shine.

Top Picks

: We're gonna be killing FOEs. Lots of them. Nick (Who will not be keeping the postgame whip) is one of the best party members for FOE extermination thanks to Climax. He can also dish out tons of damage with Bait and Magibait should the opportunity arise.

: You know the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Gilbert pretty much embodies that. He can't outright stop our party from being hit with ailments, but he can heavily reduce the chances with his Health song. He can also increase our party's damage as well. And he's pretty fast since he wields bows.

: Maverick is a top pick in the sense that he's the only one who has the natural ability to cure petrification. Other than that, I'm really hesitant to call him a top pick. He can heal people sure, but he's really slow at it, and if he gets taken out of commission, that screws the rest of the party over. He also has AOE status heals, but so does Fedot. On the other hand, he's the only one who can raise the dead naturally.

Offense

: Now that Pauline has the postgame bow, she can actually deal a good amount of damage now! She's fast, and her stab attacks can do a ton of damage to the bird enemies. In fact, the FOE that can inflict petrification is a bird, so she can whittle it down pretty fast. 1st Turn is also a good support ability for slow party members like Maverick.

: Being a gun user, Fedot can deal a lot of damage to the FOEs and the various kinds of birds in this part of the Stratum. He can dish out some good Stab damage, and elemental damage. He has the highest luck stat in the game, so he's unlikely to get hit by ailments. Which is a good thing since Medishot lets him cure every ailment except petrification. That said, he's pretty slow.

: Ling is probably one of the strongest physical damage dealers in the party thanks to Rampage. Unfortunately, his Loyalty passive makes him a huge glass cannon, since he'll try to tank everything, including AOEs. If the party is made out of paper, he's gonna need a lot of support just to stay alive.

: Bellamy can deliver huge amounts of single target and AOE elemental damage to enemies. That said, he needs TP support or he's gonna run dry fairly fast, especially if he has to spam his spells.

: Ken can dish out a large amount of single target Cut damage, and a decent amount of AOE Fire damage. He's also fairly evasive.

: Emilia has her chasers, but she needs a team built around her in order to function well.

Support

: Aliara's Poison is also pretty helpful here, and Dampen is a huge damage amp for, well, everyone. Her high luck also means that status effects are pretty unlikely to hit her. She can also Curse enemies, which doesn't do much unless Frederik is in the party. If he is, both she and Frederik can provide infinite TP to the party. She's both a great offensive character and a support.

: Frederik can heal the party, and make certain members be able to deal even more damage. He can also erase enemy buffs, and he's fast. Thanks to Cursecut and Transfer, he can restore the party's TP and let them last a long time in the Labyrinth. Unfortunately, that only applies if Aliara is in the party. He also can't heal status effects or revive the dead.

: Aegis can provide some physical defensive support. It's nice because some of the enemies hit hard in this part of the Stratum. He can also dispel status effects on party members, but unlike Fedot and Maverick, he only has access to single target versions.

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