Part 30: Getting Lost in the City

Part 29: Getting Lost in the City



Oh there you are, I was keeping this dino still by glaring at it. Where did you go?

...I don't wanna talk about it.

A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes



Come, lest us fell this beast~

Let's see how scared of squirrels you really are.

It's covered in metal, so Fire... or Volt?


Dinolich

Level: 55
HP: 6200
STR: 344
VIT: 124
AGI: 89
LUC: 89
TEC: 59

EXP: 3200

Skills
Charge: Doesn't use a body part. Charges to use Devour next turn. Increases ATK by 100% and has an 80% speed modifier.
Devour: Uses the Head. A Cut attack that deals 130% 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%
125% 100% 50%

Disable Vulnerabilities
15% 25% 1%
25% 25% 25%

Drops
Normal: Sternum. 70% chance. Sells for 1450en.
1 required for Dino Plate (Clothing, DEF+32, Physical Resist Up 5%)

Rare: None

Conditional: Sword Rib (Kill with a non-Bow attack). 30% chance. Sells for 7500en.
1 required for Duergar (Sword, ATK+200, STR+14, AGI+9, must be restocked)

Welcome back, it's a good idea to kill this dino as we'll see soon enough. Dinolichs are pretty scary, especially to a party like this, they'll always Roar on the first turn, then start charging and murdering. The conditional is a bit weird and there's a few of those, so it'll be easy enough to hit. And no, we still won't go to the secret area just yet, plenty of exploring to do after all.

...Non-bow? The hell?

Conditionals in 1 could check for weapons, but this concept never got used again. Probably because it was too redundant with just checking for damage types. Anyways, this thing can hit really hard. Just look at that STR! Hopefully your level is up to par.



AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Your expressions imply different things about what you think of this monster!



Wow, it's so cool, opening its mouth and preparing to murder us with its massive, crushing jaws and piercing yellow eyes and-

Okay, please snap her out of this, I'm trying to concentrate!



I'm on fire today!~

See, this is why I drink.



Aww, and it's even trying to paw at the squirrels with its little claws! Can we keep it?!

Okay, that's a head bind, so we won't die this turn.



Correction, most of us won't die this turn. That was even through Sapping!

344 STR, man.



Sorry, my lovely, but even I cannot resist killing a beast like yourself.



There we go, not too bad to take down since it does waste a fair few turns. But when it attacks, it will kill someone. Or everyone, if you don't bind it. Also, since Charge is bugged and doesn't boost ATK, it still puts up a buff for it, which Sapping removes. That won't stop the enemy from using their attack though, that's never reliant on having a Charge buff active, the AI script doesn't care about that, only that it used Charge previously.

Enemy AI is rather... limited by the engine, in the first two games. It's capable of doing far more interesting things from EO3 onwards.



1 Sword Rib is required for Duergar (Sword, ATK+200, STR+14, AGI+9, must be restocked), sells for 95,000en

Here's the best sword in the game, since the last sword requires a lot of postgame boss drops and costs a metric fuckton. It's almost not worth it. If the stats seem familiar, that's because it's identical to the Flamberge we unlocked last update, except it has +18 ATK. For an extra 83,000en. Well, okay, Lavin's mastery makes the difference wider, giving the weapon 274 ATK overall, making it +78 compared to the Flamberge, but that's still a lot of money.

Ha. Haha. Oh, look at you, thinking 95k en is a lot.

not only did the later games get hit hard with power creep (200% damage would be considered terrible in modern EO games instead of being the strongest moves around), they got hit hard with money creep too! Anyways, the grind is worth it for weapons though, since you really want as much damage as possible.

The Capital of Shinjuku



Alright, with all this out of the way, let's finally start exploring. Strap in peeps, it's gonna be a long one.




As always, getting back to where you were is a bit of a time.



We got some levels, so you have an idea on what everyone's doing. We're really running out of things for Aryll to get, so between ATK Up or Overhead, at least Overhead also gives her a DEF boost, so we'll max that first, I guess. Right now it's a 121% ATK increase and an 89% damage reduction. Lavin will get a 119% STR boost, before maxing out Axes, then Swords. Now that Cheese has Suicide, which we'll see soon enough, they'll get Cranial and Abdomen to level 10.



Now where were we?



Ah, starting off strong, I see~

I never really heard musical sarcasm before I met gramps.


Muskoid

Level: 51
HP: 555
STR: 210
VIT: 116
AGI: 55
LUC: 55
TEC: 55

EXP: 1245

Skills
Sleeper: Uses the Head. Attempts to inflict Sleep on the entire party. Has an 80% infliction chance and a 50% speed modifier.

Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 100% 100%
150% 100% 100%

Disable Vulnerabilities
0% 100% 50%
100% 100% 100%

Drops
Normal: Death Stem. 14% chance. Sells for 100en.
5 required for Dead Whip (Whip, ATK+157)
5 required for Arbalest (Bow, ATK+161)
10 required for Fasces Axe (Axe, ATK+207, STR+11)

Rare: None

Conditional: None

Well don't these assholes seem familiar? Eviloids are basically identical to Petaloids except not as resistant to binds. How nice of them. Everything else still applies, though since we're encountering them fresh, they can murder us when we're sleeping just like the Petaloids could when we first encountered them. Fun.

In EOU, they try to bind heads too, because sleep wasn't bad enough.

They're basically just stronger versions of Petaloids and nothing else. A bit boring.



Elementary.

Still, while they're fast, at least when they go for their skill, we outspeed and kill them no problem.



B23F B1 Mine Point

Crystwall. 50% chance. Sells for 650en.
Required for nothing.

Drywall. 25% chance. Sells for 630en.
1 required for I refuse thee, Death
1 required for Gourmand's request

Shiny Seed. 15% chance. Sells for 550en.
1 required for Medica V (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP, must be restocked)
1 required for Hamaoprime (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP and 1000TP, must be restocked)
2 required for Axcela III (Item, increases Boost by 100 points, must be restocked)
3 required for Angel Harp (Troubadour Instrument, TP+50, must be restocked)

Mining in this stratum is severely uninteresting.



Gah, friendly little guy!

It's nearly the size of Gerson.


Varaha

Level: 54
HP: 555
STR: 226
VIT: 122
AGI: 58
LUC: 58
TEC: 58

EXP: 1849

Skills
Bullrush: Uses the Legs. A Bash attack dealing 135% 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
100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100%

Drops
Normal: Gold Fur. 30% chance. Sells for 103en.
2 required for Fur Boot (Footwear, DEF+7, AGI+14)
3 required for Gold Cape (Accessory, DEF+3, HP+25)
10 required for The gold enthusiast

Rare: Gold Tusk. 10% chance. Sells for 106en.
1 required for Bhuj (Axe, ATK+198)
1 required for Dead Whip (Whip, ATK+157)
1 required for Tormentor (Whip, ATK+175, STR+10)
2 required for Aulos (Troubadour Accessory, TP+40)

Conditional: None

Well you can probably guess what this enemy does. Either it hurts one of you, or all of you. Also we need 10 of the bastard's 30% drop for a quest. So you better hope you enjoy fighting these boring pricks!

boaring pricks

That sprite is kind of a bit scary in this game.



Good to know we can fwoosh them at short notice.

If Varaha go for Bullrush then we can take them out without any damage. Key word if.




More of those weird boxes. There's gonna be plenty of exploration, so get used to these big images.



Couldn't you tell it was looking right at us?

Indeed and I was looking right back!

Ugh, if Kingdiles see you they'll head straight towards you. How do you know which way this one's facing? Well, you walk right up to it...



I've found its blindspot, but perhaps we could-



Alright, fine... your cold, dead eyes have convinced me.



At least once it finished chasing us it will now stare at the wall. We're not gonna fight it.



B23F D6 Mine Point

Drywall. 50% chance. Sells for 630en.
1 required for I refuse thee, Death
1 required for Gourmand's request

Crystwall. 25% chance. Sells for 650en.
Required for nothing.

Shiny Seed. 15% chance. Sells for 550en.
1 required for Medica V (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP, must be restocked)
1 required for Hamaoprime (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP and 1000TP, must be restocked)
2 required for Axcela III (Item, increases Boost by 100 points, must be restocked)
3 required for Angel Harp (Troubadour Instrument, TP+50, must be restocked)

The more I find out about these gathering points and where they are in relation to others and the stairs, the less I understand why they bothered. Anyway, heading up past the Kingdile leads to an optional area we'll cover later. There's a few of those around here.



My work here is done~

But you didn't do anything...



Oh goody, more bears.



Hm?!

What is it, young grasshopper?

I thought... no. I'm probably mistaken.



Encounters are getting a bit mean, but we're quite deep into the stratum. I'm sure it can't be that-




Oh no.



Cheater cheater! Tsk tsk!

Mmph mmrr mmrrph.

MMMRRRMMRRRPH!

Thank the heavens for save states, I make one before every goddamn encounter because this REALLY isn't the best party for one of the hardest parts of the entire game. Use a fucking Medic!!! And a Protector!!! DAMAGE MITIGATION!!!

Alternatively, use a Landsknect and a Troubadour and kill all enemies before they get a chance to kill you.

If, of course, you outspeed and OHKO everything. If not, then get some levels, the only stat that matters.



It's imperative you take these encounters out asap, since we're being chased by a bear.



I was right! There was one hiding in the corner! ...crap.

Correction, bears.



Oh my fucking god.



What in the ham sandwich is going on?

Okay good, it targetted the only person who could survive a sleeping blow. Thank you Wyvernmail.



Some days when I wake up, I wonder what could happen, I could meet a pretty girl and fall in love, or I could be chased by bears through an ancient civilization~



More of these please.



Also notice how the bears are closing in. Going the wrong way is a very bad idea.



Wow you're hot!

O-Oh, I, uh, well, you're, uh, really... REALLY...

See, you're turning red from all the heat your gauntlets are generating. Please be careful with this stuff!

You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart sinks.




No, you're seeing that right. We've reached the stairs, but we're immediately backtracking for something.




Ah, I was so brimming with power that I dropped my katana. Please never tell anyone.

Fine, I won't tell anyone, but Tijcvkmmk is a real gossip, sorry.

Please help I'm bleeding out~

This is all going well.



You having a giggle there m8?

Thanks game.




Still hitting really hard at this point, I see.

Oh it's this thing again~

You could've told me you were familiar with it! Bleh...


Hellbull

Level: 55
HP: 850
STR: 298
VIT: 124
AGI: 48
LUC: 54
TEC: 42

EXP: 1025

Skills
Charge: Doesn't use a body part. Charges to use Rush next turn. Increases ATK by 100% and has an 80% speed modifier.
Rush: Uses the Legs. A Stab attack that deals 120% damage to a single target. Has a 90% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.

Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 100% 100%
150% 150% 150%

Disable Vulnerabilities
200% 100% 200%
100% 100% 100%

Drops
Normal: Gold Fur. 30% chance. Sells for 103en.
2 required for Fur Boot (Footwear, DEF+7, AGI+14)
3 required for Gold Cape (Accessory, DEF+3, HP+25)
10 required for The gold enthusiast

Rare: Gold Horn. 10% chance. Sells for 121en.
1 required for Arbalest (Bow, ATK+161)
1 required for Bhuj (Axe, ATK+198)
5 required for Kuzunosada (Katana, ATK+209)

Conditional: None

It's been a while. Thirteen damn updates since we fought this in a quest and kicked its ass. Now it's just a regular enemy that will kick our ass because we still haven't closed the level gap. At least it'll only kill one person at a time and waste some turns with Charge, but yeah, pretty annoying. We've also encountered both enemies that drop Gold Fur, both at a 30% rate. Thanks game.

Level gap and massive STR stat! On top of having low drop rates for one last fuck you!

These are in Gladsheim in EOU. That's the most I have to say about them.



Poor you, we've only gotten stronger since then.

Well now she can be with her second cousin's great aunt in heaven.



Let's get exploring the next part. Hey, remember the last checkpoint we got? That's right, it's town.



Well at least it wasn't 2 wolves.




That looks like a grouchy crocodile.

Well if my intel is correct, and it always is, it's one of my many wonderful talents, then I think I know why.



We broke into its house and disturbed its nap.

...I'll take your word for it.

That room is for you to dive in and lose aggro from the Kingdile. This is all that's over here. Thanks game.



You, uh, feeling alright?~

Don't look at me, my honour can't take much more of this!

Nothing too noteworthy battle wise, since we wasted time coming over here. Misses are annoying, but hey, can't really fix that.




B22F C3 Mine Point

Drywall. 50% chance. Sells for 630en.
1 required for I refuse thee, Death
1 required for Gourmand's request

Crystwall. 25% chance. Sells for 650en.
Required for nothing.

Shiny Seed. 20% chance. Sells for 550en.
1 required for Medica V (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP, must be restocked)
1 required for Hamaoprime (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP and 1000TP, must be restocked)
2 required for Axcela III (Item, increases Boost by 100 points, must be restocked)
3 required for Angel Harp (Troubadour Instrument, TP+50, must be restocked)

Okay, we need to see other gathering points. Don't think we've encountered a single Take spot yet.



You ever think it's weird that poison quickly fades when we're not fighting something?

Well that's because excessive movement spreads the venom throughout your body and also shut up and don't ask questions.



Finally, something big and mean to kill!

In front of us, bear, behind us, you guessed it, bear. Let's go.

A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes



Ah, I also guard before enemies move~

Oh just let me save all your lives already, sheesh.


Desouler

Level: 50
HP: 4500
STR: 306
VIT: 116
AGI: 81
LUC: 81
TEC: 54

EXP: 3000

Skills
Charge: Doesn't use a body part. Charges to use Slash next turn. Increases ATK by 100% and has an 80% speed modifier.
Slash: Uses the Head. A Cut attack that deals 110% damage to the entire party. Has a 70% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.

Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 100% 100%
125% 50% 100%

Disable Vulnerabilities
25% 50% 10%
25% 25% 25%

Drops
Normal: Space Claw. 70% chance. Sells for 125en.
1 required for Pattisa (Sword, ATK+167)
1 required for Fasces Axe (Axe, ATK+207, STR+11)
1 required for Failnaught (Bow, ATK+181, STR+7, TEC+6)
5 required for Zanmatou (Katana, ATK+170)
5 required for Halo Aspis (Shield, DEF+28, Instant Death Resist Up 50%)
5 required for Blood Gage (Gloves, DEF+8, STR+3)

Rare: None

Conditional: None

This bear is on our direct path, so let's take it down! Desoulers have a wicked name and aren't too notable otherwise. I know it's weird a skill called Slash comes from the head, but I think we can blame the wonky translation. With no real defensive measures, this bear will absolutely fuck us up, but Charge means we have a turn to potentially avoid it fucking us up. So long as it doesn't target and kill Cheese turn 1 of course...

These guys can inflict fear in EOU. And also you can turn Charge turns into two free actions with Sonic Bombs in that game.

It's really funny how Charge is supposed to make enemies into huge threats, but all it does in this game is just give us an automatic free turn.



Woah, okay, that was a little close!

With moves like those we should go dancing sometime.

Ooh, ooh, I do a mean cha cha slide!



Considering how much damage we do in one turn, this just sealed its fate. Also remember that the Space Claw is different to the Space Nail that Mauls drop, but I'm sure we'll face more of these again.

The Capital of Shinjuku




Hey, remember when we got chased by a bear? Wanna do it again? Well, it'll only be the one this time, if you're careful, so we could kill it, but I only have so many healing items left! Use a Medic.

Or don't, if you want to be bold!



Don't want none unless you got Nectars, hun~

He says the weirdest things sometimes.




Appreciated, but don't you love some FOEs that don't lose aggro when you go through a door. Well, the Desouler is one of them, so we might have to kill it anyway!



Bunnies! Aww, they're so cute. I'll name them Pebbles, Chester, Frankfurt, Ren and Steve!



Ugh, I hate rabbits.

Same.

Oh... well it wasn't a dinosaur, so whatever.

Thankfully they all used Charge aside from one, or that would've been the cutest game over I've ever had. Okay, the Pasarans come close.

Only really possible if you forget the Bash Charms like an idiot. (It's an EO3 enemy.)



Oh that was lucky, the bear follows what horizontal plane we're on so we don't have to fight it!




Sneak, sneak, sneak sneeaaaaaaaakkkk~

If he strums that one more time, I'm gonna punch him.

And the rest of the section. The other two bears will pincer you if you go down the right-hand corridor, so don't do that.



B21F F6 Take Point

Angel Wing. 50% chance. Sells for 101en.
3 required for Angel Ring (Accessory, DEF+2, TP+35)
8 required for Halo Aspis (Shield, DEF+28, Instant Death Resist Up 50%)
10 required for Tormentor (Whip, ATK+175, STR+10)
10 required for A sister's parting gift

Life Honey. 25% chance. Sells for 99en.
3 required for Medica V (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP, must be restocked)

Gum String. 15% chance. Sells for 480en.
Required for nothing.

Here's our first look at the Take items in this stratum, the Angel Wings are appreciated. Also letting us finally get Medica Vs, though Medica IVs will last us a little while longer and are also infinite.



Do you ever get that feeling of being mocked?

If it's taken you until this long to realise you don't have a Warp Wire, I dunno what to tell you.



Since B21F is symmetrical, it means we can also ignore a good chunk of it. Yay!



That hurts, but even though I stuffed my pack full of healing items, we're basically out. I still have a few Nectar IIs, so it's more worthwhile to die and be fully healed than stay at medium health for the rest of the floor.



Do you need to talk to someone? We're all here for you.

I... I don't think anything is wrong... maybe there is...?

Poor Aryll. Still, being on the first floor means the encounters ease up a bit.

A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes




Nice to meet you too, gak!

Woo, not me!~


Kingdile

Level: 53
HP: 4500
STR: 333
VIT: 120
AGI: 86
LUC: 86
TEC: 57

EXP: 4000

Skills
Shred: Uses the Head. A Cut attack that deals 120% damage to a single target and attempts to inflict Instant Death. Has a 25% infliction chance, a 95% accuracy modifier and a 10% speed modifier.

Damage Vulnerabilities
100% 50% 100%
100% 125% 100%

Disable Vulnerabilities
25% 50% 10%
25% 25% 25%

Drops
Normal: Royal Hide. 30% chance. Sells for 1200en.
1 required for Failnaught (Bow, ATK+181, STR+7, TEC+6)

Rare: None

Conditional: None

This is one of the longest and most difficult stretches of the game due to going from B21F to B23F and back up again, to facing a bunch of mean enemies, as well as two mandatory FOEs. We're running on fumes taking this monster down and it's definitely pretty scary. Still, like the Hellbull from earlier, it can only kill us one at a time so we can slowly but surely chip away at it. It'll just take a little longer since a major damage dealer kinda fucking died.

Wow, lot of enemies that are just variations on dealing tons of damage to one person, and one person only. Shake it up, game!



I love weakening resolve, it's so bad.

Aww, but the audience demands more OHKOs!



Well, even boosted it's only a 22% chance of landing, those resistances are killer. Still, since it can't one shot anyone at full health, we're in the clear.

The Capital of Shinjuku




Got the strike in... doesn't matter... HONOUR!

Honestly, so dramatic, I've got the Nectar in my hand.



B21F F3 Take Point

Life Honey. 50% chance. Sells for 99en.
3 required for Medica V (Medicine, restores the target by 1000HP, must be restocked)

Angel Wing. 25% chance. Sells for 101en.
3 required for Angel Ring (Accessory, DEF+2, TP+35)
8 required for Halo Aspis (Shield, DEF+28, Instant Death Resist Up 50%)
10 required for Tormentor (Whip, ATK+175, STR+10)
10 required for A sister's parting gift

Gum String. 15% chance. Sells for 480en.
Required for nothing.



The final fight of the update. Going well so far.



I am... reborn! Oh it's over.

Good thing too, cause we just ran out of Nectars.




I wonder what fascinating machine these used to be a part of. Perhaps if I find others like it and trace their shape, I can maybe fit them all together...

He's so absorbed with that little thing he hasn't even noticed the-

What is THAT?!

There we go.



You notice a kind of switch or button within reach on the device's center. You consider the ramifications of turning on an unknown device inside ancient ruins...



Who wouldn't?

Liana isn't here to say no!



The low, dreadful sound echoes through the room, and you hear something moving far away. It seems a device somewhere in these ancient ruins has been activated. But what was it...? You wrack your brain, trying to remember what you've seen thus far. Though whether you recall or not, you're certain to run across it sooner or later.



I think I have an idea, gang. Let's head back to town first.

Excellent, my strumming hand is getting tired~

With that, we have completed B21F and finally, finally have the rest of the stratum available to us. Going through this gauntlet is pretty hard and I'm glad I was able to make it.

The Lounge Where We Speak of Tomorrow





5 Death Stems and 1 Gold Horn are required for Arbalest (Bow, ATK+161), sells for 9350en

1 Gold Tusk and 1 Gold Horn are required for Bhuj (Axe, ATK+198), sells for 8400en

5 Death Stems and 1 Gold Tusk are required for Dead Whip (Whip, ATK+157), sells for 7650en

Technically the best regular whip, since the last regular one is a little pricey, though it's not too bad compared to other endgame weapons. Just something to note.

4 Red Blood, 1 Gold Shell and 1 Red Fur are required for Dyed Boot (Footwear, DEF+8, AGI+15), sells for 2156en

Best regular boot in the game, while the Fur Boot that we've yet to unlock is best for all the squishier classes. It's not a huge deal which one you really pick, honestly, most boots are similar in price and have very slight stat increments. Personally, I'd say the Tiger Boot is the best stat to price one, but it's only 700en cheaper than this one, so it really doesn't matter.

2 Rex Throats and 1 Space Nail are required for Last Estoc (Sword, ATK+151), sells for 6700en

3 Red Blood and 1 Rex Throat is required for Knout (Whip, ATK+136), sells for 6300en

Because of all this floor jumping, there's a lot of equipment out of order. Imagine if we explored B24F on top of all this!



This is what we activated, I was too excited to sleep, so I did some testing. Come on!

Mmm, I feel like I got barely any sleep. You sure it'll be alright with just the two of us?

O-Of course! I need you to be my bodyguard and, uh, to really show you something crazy, hehehehehe.

Well... okay. I am good at that whole guarding thing. So, just press this button?

Yep! Hope you like enclosed spaces.

What do you mean by- w-woah! It's moving down!

This will make travelling so much easier! But that's not what I came to show you.



...okay. That's pretty goddamn cool.

Right?! This feels like the last floor of the labyrinth. We're nearly there.



I, uh, assume there's more to it than this.

I would hope so... otherwise, well, our journey would be over. We'd all have to part ways.

Whaaaat?! That's not gonna happen! Well, maybe some of us might head off to different places, but I hope we all stay together and find more labyrinths to explore!

You mean that? You'd even want to keep exploring with... me?

Uh, I mean, of course. Like, your whole elemental stuff is a bit scary sometimes, but you're so clever and cool and I... I wouldn't want to go anywhere without you! I-I-I mean, you've always got my back, you know, and, well, from when I first met you I- well, what I'm trying to say is- mmph?!



...hehehe, same here. It just took me a while to finally say it. Shall, we, uh, head back?

...y-yeah. We should. Wow...



Going down to the final floor doesn't unlock any new quests, so we'll be spending the last couple updates clearing everything up. Next time.

engage the eyebrows