Part 11: Up and Down Eight and Nine
Part 10: Up and Down Eight and Nine
The Primeval Hidden Grove
Sick of the 2nd stratum yet? Well too bad, there's still plenty more to go, let's properly continue on.
The ride never ends.
This is probably my least favorite Stratum in the entire game. (And I'm pretty sure this goes for a lot of other people as well.)
This better not be another dead end!
You know, I've almost gotten used to this.
I haven't, since shredding my feet every five minutes isn't that fun.
Single Glowbirds are always good to see, since we need a lot of Feathers. The grind never ends.
Not a square wasted~
Hey, since when could those jump that high? You guard from the front and they get ya from the top!
Getting certain conditionals is an exercise in frustation, so that's why I have that item drop cheat.
Boom, roasted. But I still wanted to get one legit. And hey, I did. Neat. Good jorb! The best way to go for conditional drops that require you to kill an enemy with a damage type that they're pretty much immune to, is to basically make use of composite attacks. Imbuing regular attacks with certain Troubadour songs or elemental oils are very good ways to deal with those sorts of conditionals. So you're techncially using the damage type required, while you're dealing more damage with a damage type that can actually hurt the enemy.
Man my feet hurt. And there wasn't even any spikes!
Allslash is nearly a beautiful monster at 173% damage to 3-4 enemies.
Zzz... sorry Karin, you're cute, but I've only got eyes for that spell slinging stud... but maybe if he's up for it... Zzz... I know you think I'm cute, but I'd never think about you in a million years! Go be with that spell slinging stud... Zzz... my ears are burning...
Aw yeah, more levels into Fire Up, LOVE IT! Cure II is a bit more useful since it saves me having to use Cure twice. It's higher TP, but I don't care, I'm that lazy.
Nothing here. Strange, could've sworn I heard something... You hear the darndest things sometimes.
Oh there we go, the elephant was just hiding. ...what.
Nice little haul, maybe now Simone will stop dying! Ah, who am I kidding, only Level matters.
Heh, that was some nice treasure you were guarding, but don't feel bad, you won't miss it for long. He's becoming a cocky little shit. And I'm loving it. A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes
I had no idea elephants can grin. You'd grin too with tusks like that.
Armoth
Level: 27
HP: 1200
STR: 119
VIT: 57
AGI: 50
LUC: 50
TEC: 33
EXP: 2040
Skills
Charge: Doesn't use a body part. Charges to use Bullrush next turn. Increases ATK by 100% and has an 80% speed modifier.
Bullrush: Uses the Legs. A Bash attack that deals 135% damage to the entire party. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.
Damage Vulnerabilities
75% 
75% 
75%
100% 
150% 
100%Disable Vulnerabilities
15% 
25% 
1%
25% 
25% 
25%Drops
Normal: Great Tusk. 80% chance. Sells for 1400en.
1 required for Tusk Charm (Accessory, DEF+1, VIT+3), Required for The ivory charm
Rare: None
Conditional: None
We've got Ryu, so I'm starting to think we can beat this. We probably could without Poison, it'd just take a bit and I'm not a fan of drawing this out. While you get some free turns while it's charging, Bullrush is going to HURT, so cheese it with Immunize, or Defend, something I should maybe use more often. Anyway, once you've got a handle on a stratum, start considering taking down these "traps". Imagine if Charge worked properly. Then it would be real scary. Anyways, it's a pretty bulky FOE and it hits hard. Not much else to say.
Too bad, you missed all my vital organs. All of them?!
When I put my mind to it, anything's possible. Very impressive. Now stop admiring your handiwork AND GET BEHIND ME!
Man, what do you put in that stuff? You don't wanna know.
Too bad, I'm not going anywhere! Yowch, that's with Defender, F.Guard AND Defend. Of course, Immunize on top of it would just be overkill and that's why it's so good.
That still took a while... even at my best.
Mmm, that exp is pretty nice, as is 110% TP. The Lounge Where We Speak of Tomorrow
1 Great Tusk is required for Tusk Charm (Accessory, DEF+1, VIT+3), sells for 1200en. Required for The ivory charm
1 Carmanite is required for Fire Ring (Accessory, DEF+1, Fire Resist Up 15%), sells for 660en.
3 Feathers and 3 Scent Wood is required for Oak Jacket (Clothing, DEF+8, TP+8), sells for 1250en.
We'll be nabbing this for our back row.
Ah darn, I'd just came up with a new song to help with that... Too slow, old man.
Aha... so you had to fight Firebirds with fire. The stone is supposedly his restaurant's secret ingredient in his recipes. I know he'll be pleased to see you got one. Thanks for your hard work.
It sucks when one character dies a lot, cause they'll lag behind for a while.
Muscles seizing up... time to turtle... That's just your regular defensive position.
Aww, man... Back on the proper path, since that was, of course, another dead end.
...well guess I don't need to buy one for Cheese. Maybe I should check the items I'll get before I buy stuff. Eh, cba.
I'm gonna miss these...
Oh hey, another ambush. Yep, our ambush! For this bird! Cause we're gonna turn the tables on it and- Okay now you're getting too cocky. Only I can do that. A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes
What a big bird, my word. Not exactly the saying I remember.
Moa
Level: 25
HP: 900
STR: 90
VIT: 52
AGI: 47
LUC: 47
TEC: 31
EXP: 729
Skills
Rush: Uses the Legs. A Stab attack that deals 90% damage to the entire party. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.
Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%Disable Vulnerabilities
25% 50% 10% 25% 25% 25%Drops
Normal: Bird Limb. 45% chance. Sells for 350en.
1 required for Biliomg (Axe, ATK+77, STR+3)
1 required for Apothecary's request II
Rare: None
Conditional: None
It's a weaker Armoth, but that's not a fair comparison since you're not intended to fight the Armoth this early. This is, however, the perfect time to fight it, it would've kicked our butt quite handily at the start. But here we are, quite a few levels later, and that's all that matters. The AOE damage is something to watch out for, but as long as you have good defenses, you should be fine.
Man, that's one hell of an injection. Always take your shots, kids! At level 5, Immunize is slightly better than Defender (since that skill has TERRIBLE scaling), so we can use it on occasion instead. Karin prefers keeping her TP for the moment though. Once Immunize is strong enough, you won't have to worry too much about healing, so TP can be saved for Immunize casts.
And that's what you get! Nice parrying, you're my kinda girl, gahahahaha! Rush is the perfect skill to show off how good Bait can be. I could've used this against Bullrush, but using Defend was less of a headache. With this, we don't even have to bother with Poison.
Salve gets everyone to full so we can do it all over again. Beautiful.
Burns up a bit of TP, but Bait can only get better.
...did you not see the massive bear coming round the corner? Would you believe me if I said no? Ah whoops, didn't mean to run into one of these without showing the general area, but I was gonna kill it anyways.
Cutter
Level: 27
HP: 790
STR: 119
VIT: 57
AGI: 50
LUC: 50
TEC: 33
EXP: 973
Skills
Shredder: Uses the Arms. A Bash attack dealing 120% damage to a single target. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.
Roar: Uses the Head. Attempts to inflict Fear on the entire party. Has a 40% infliction chance and a 10% speed modifier.
Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 100% 100% 50% 200% 100%Disable Vulnerabilities
25% 50% 10% 25% 25% 25%Drops
Normal: Bear Fur. 40% chance. Sells for 370en.
1 required for Bear Glove (Gloves, DEF+3, STR+2, TEC+1)
Rare: None
Conditional: None
Being the first FOE you encounter in the stratum means they're not much to fear now. Heh, get it? Well, Fear can be a bit annoying, since it's identical to Paralysis, but it probably won't hit everyone. Otherwise, just mitigate Shredder and you'll be just fine. Cutters are weirdly bipedal and buff in EO1. For the most part, enemy designs were fairly consisten throughout the series, though a few got some makeovers when they appeared in later titles. Such as Cutters, which looked more like bears when they returned in EO4 instead of this... bipedal humanoid thing. Anyways, by the time you can go toe to toe with it, it shouldn't be too bad. It'll be annoying to deal with, but it can only damage one party member at a time.
Oh let me just DRRRRRRRRINK you up! ...I swear that's coming from her sword.
Oh yeah this thing is screwed.
Oh god, oh jeez, oh man, this thing is scary, hold me Gerson! Amazing how you can still attack something while shaking so much.
Okay, I'm done defending you, now... GET OFF ME! Sorry. The Primeval Hidden Grove
Man I completely forgot about this skill point until I was making screenshots, but it's just another point in Allslash, not a big deal until level 10.
Woah woah woah, personal space!
You know how Cutters just walk around their pillar in a very predictable pattern? Well, probably not since I haven't exactly shown it explicitly, but these Cutters do the same, except they reverse direction on the last step and go round the pillar the other way. Surprised the hell out of me.
We could just... go around. Eh, it just tickles now. Your toes are getting sliced up, but I don't mind, ehehehe.
There we go, because of all the dead ends and optional areas, there hasn't been a quick way back to this spot for a while. Now let's continue.
Aw yeah, now that's 113% bonus damage... to the spell's damage boost of... 10. Love how EO1 skills work sometimes. Just love 'em. I have to wonder what the reasoning was behind some of these design decisions. If there was any reasoning in the first place.
Well ain't this just riveting. Well at least map boy's having fun.
Gahhhhh, take cover! I'm raring and ready to go! Sorry for scaring you baby
Gerson really doesn't need all this bonus TP, but I want to set up the anti skills now so I can quickly get them to the right point shortly before I need them, instead of planning it like 10 levels before I reach the right enemy.
You know, we've been walking around for nearly a day in this jungle... I'm kinda warm. I've been fine the entire time, but that's because of proper circulation AND NOTHING ELSE!
Since we're not tired this time around, let's kill a scorpion. A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes
I figured they'd have harder shells than this... Music to my ears!
Assassin
Level: 26
HP: 950
STR: 121
VIT: 54
AGI: 40
LUC: 48
TEC: 32
EXP: 970
Skills
Needle: Uses the Legs. A Stab attack that deals 120% damage to a single target. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.
Venom: Uses the Legs. A Stab attack that deals 70% damage and attempts to inflict Poison or Paralysis on a single target. Has a 50% infliction chance and deals 113 Poison damage. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 100% speed modifier.
Damage Vulnerabilities
90% 90% 90% 100% 100% 150%Disable Vulnerabilities
5% 50% 25% 50% 50% 50%Drops
Normal: Thin Shell. 40% chance. Sells for 300en.
1 required for Hauberk (Clothing, DEF+10, AGI+4)
1 required for Scavenging for Ian I
Rare: Toxic Barb. 15% chance. Sells for 400en.
1 required for Toxic Whip (Whip, ATK+57, STR+4)
1 required for Fashionista II
Conditional: None
It's a Scorpion! No, literally, it has the same skills and everything, so if you can beat those pretty handily, you can beat this. Of course, if you were able to barely survive the Poison from before, Venom now hits harder, so you won't this time. But hey, at least the battle lasts long enough to heal off the Paralysis, so that's different! Otherwise, yeah, same damn thing. It's basically a super Scorpion. Sure this thing might only be one level higher than Scorpions, but it has a lot more STR, so it'll hit significantly harder. Oh and it takes less damage from Volt and physicals. Seriously, only reducing damage by 10%? Really?
Alright, this is an experimental one, so tell me what it's like. Well I don't really feel too differe-
OH GOD YES! So level 10 Immunize is a 40% damage reduction, which when combined with the 68% reduction of Defender, results in some pretty bonkers numbers. And a level 15 Immunize is even more ridiculous, though we'll see that later. The classic "cheese" strat. I put cheese in quotation marks because man is EO1 rough without it. There's absolutely no shame in using cheese strategies in any EO game if the going gets rough. Or if you just feel like utterly dominating the game. Play these games however you wish. Anyways, Immunize is really good since while it's a 40% multiplier mechanically, it reduces damage far more than that due to how armor factors into things. And it'll only get stronger as you get better armor.
Unfortunately Immunize does not stop ailments, but whatever. Pretty much Immunize's only weakness, since it means the likes of Poison will still deal full damage. And that your party can still be shut down through means other than damage, but those opportunites aren't as plentiful compared to just being beat up horribly.
Ah screw this, I'll just zap it.
Shame to waste a Theriaca B on one ailment, but it's better than constantly using Medica IIs.
Woah, nearly got me there, glad there was no one behi- oh. Man... this sucks. Tell me about it.
My fingers feel numb just touching it. Into the bag it goes.
Oh no, not a single Firebird. Ahhhhh.
And we're never too far from the healing point, very useful.
I don't fancy being chased by these things any more than I have to. I'll just zap this from the start.
Having this time delay sucks, either hit me with all you got or don't bother! I would prefer if no one died to Poison, so laying these buffs is really helping.
HIYoh no, someone catch meeeeee- ah, t-thanks Ryu. N-No problem. Humph.
Ah come on! It really likes stinging you. I'm almost jealous.
Another lagging level, another point in Swords, let's move on!
Man, skipping this Scorpion maze was really fun, highly recommend it. It can be fun to just bulldoze through parts of the Labyrinth that revolve around a specific FOE being alive and just getting in your way.
Ah geez, I could really use some of your magic vaccine right now! Only I decide when you get something like that. Hmm, maybe if you beg, ehehehe.
Alright, it was a bit of a long trek, but we're done with both B8F and B9F! There are a few sections in the series where you have to really progress through two floors at once, and that can take longer than just progressing through one regular floor. I like to call them "gigafloors."
Mmm, it's faint, but there's a big ol' lad on this floor. I calculate my Poison will make short work of it. Though that might not be the case anymore... We've been down here for a while, so let's make a plan back at town. The Lounge Where We Speak of Tomorrow
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS You're... hugging... really tight...10 Stingers and 1 Toxic Barb are required for Toxic Whip (Whip, ATK+54, STR+4), sells for 1540en.
1 Bear Fur is required for Bear Glove (Gloves, DEF+3, STR+2, TEC+1), sells for 800en.
5 Gum Vines and 1 Tailbone are required for Long Bow (Bow, ATK+39), sells for 1320en.
I was focusing a bit on Feathers since I need so many that I only just now picked up a couple Tailbones!5 Thick Leaves are required for Leaf Cape (Accessory, DEF+2, HP+10), sells for 500en.
3 Iron Shells are required for Uchigatana (Katana, ATK+55), sells for 1380en.
3 Iron Shells and 3 Stingers are required for Iron Plate (Light Armor, DEF+12, HP+9), sells for 1000en.
3 Iron Shells and 1 Light Wood are required for Heat Aspis (Shield, DEF+10, Fire Resist Up 10%), sells for 550en.
Ooh this looks fun to throw.
Give me that! Th... The reason it's purple is because it's poisonous, right? J-Just put it in the bag over there. I swear... that lady's more trouble than she's worth.
Ah, excellent, we already have this item thanks to our good friend over there.
Oh, uh, thank you, I- You bring it in, you buy it. And not with the guild funds, since you're not an official member. ...r-right. It is the honourable thing to do, that thing is super expensive!
She's always looking for new and wonderful jewelry to enhance her natural beauty. But she's never satisfied with store-bought stuff--she wants jewels from the forest. Her latest desire is an Old Choker made of fossils. I know it's not easy to mine for fossils, so good luck.
Guess I'm having Crabapples for breakfast... again.
It looks pretty odd... but it'll look nice on our client, I suppose. Anyway, thanks. Ooh, that's a nice little accessory. Though, I don't have access to the guild funds so... be a dear and get me one. B-But I don't have any money! Then go get some from the labyrinth, you make it seem pretty easy, which is the only reason I'm keeping you! Gah... fine.
What a shitty quest, just 2000en down the drain. Okay, since we get the Leaf Cape it's only 1500en down the drain. Admittedly exchanging +1 DEF and +8 LUC (which does almost nothing in this game) for +2 DEF and +10 HP is a good trade. Though yeah, it's a pretty bad reward. Festival of Worship
Yeah... ninth. Don't you keep him updated of what we're doing? I forgot, okay? I've been busy! She was quite worried about yo- ow! Shut up!
We know that many bands of adventurers have already fallen to it on the 10th floor... as a result, the Radha is launching an official mission to defeat the fiend. If you believe you can accept such a difficult task, we encourage you to attempt it.
Hehe, we'll take it down like we did Fenrir! Indeed, I'll slice up this king's crown like it was paper!
We are pleased to see you have undertaken the task of defeating Cernuns. We have borrowed an ancient god's name for the monster ruling over the 10th floor... It's been many years since the first adventurers stepped onto the Labyrinth's 10th floor... that is when the monster Cernunos began to trouble our expeditions. Since then, only two explorers have succeeded in reaching the third Stratum. No guesses who. Pah, what is a god to a master? Our great hope is that you will defeat Cernunos and reopen the path before. I wish you luck, adventurers...
With how confident everyone is getting now, I think we'll be just fine. HONOUR! Oh brothers... How difficult will this upcoming fight be? Well we won't find out next time, since the 10th floor is kinda large, so we'll be exploring that!