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spiritfox

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,626
Worth getting if I'm a newcomer to the series? I'm familiar with the style/genre of game so I know I won't be completely lost on that front, but in regards to story or anything like that?

There's no story, but there's a lot of references and returning characters you might not appreciate unless you've played the other games before. You might want to start with EOIV or EO2U in Classic Mode.
 

tuffy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,513
I'm finding arcanist to be a shitty class, at least early game.
I didn't have much trouble with them. Nerve Circle is reliable enough for shutting down a lot of early encounters, Circle Boon provides a bit of party-wide healing as the circle ticks over from one turn to the next, while Dismiss Heal provides strong (and fast) party-wide healing - and that's just with the first three skill points they give you. Eventually Bracing Walk is enough to top off HP between random encounters, and so on.

I got enough support out of a single Arcanist that I soon traded another support character for more offense.
 

T.Slothrop

Member
Jan 21, 2018
176
The arcanist are pretty OP IMHO. What do you don't like about them?
Heal is pretty solid, but the circles themselves just aren't doing much for me. I probably should've min/maxxed my spec for them a bit more. It just feels like a very limited class pre-20. I'm probably just not getting the synergies out of it that I should.
 

Deleted member 18400

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,585
I really want to play this but I'm not sure I can handle the 3DS screen anymore haha.

I wish they'd bring something like this to Switch, I just don't know how they could handle the map drawing portion.
 

Anteo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,099
Heal is pretty solid, but the circles themselves just aren't doing much for me. I probably should've min/maxxed my spec for them a bit more. It just feels like a very limited class pre-20. I'm probably just not getting the synergies out of it that I should.

yeah you need level 5 for the circles asap. i went for the binds myself as my survivalist was using blind arrow often and the arcanist status effecrs were getting in the way
 

Anteo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,099
Edit: whoops dp

Worth getting if I'm a newcomer to the series? I'm familiar with the style/genre of game so I know I won't be completely lost on that front, but in regards to story or anything like that?

try the demo for Etrian IV, you can carry the progress to the main game if you like it enough
either IV or Untold 2 classic mode are great starting points
There is nothing wrong starting with nexus, except you should be able to get any of the other etrian games cheaper on the eshop right now. also nexus doenst have a demo

in terms of story, each one is a different story though there are some ways in which some of the titles connect. it really shouldnt matter for any other games except Nexus because nexus is more like a "best of" game that gets some of the NPCs, dungeon themes, classes and other stuff form all previous games

I really want to play this but I'm not sure I can handle the 3DS screen anymore haha.

I wish they'd bring something like this to Switch, I just don't know how they could handle the map drawing portion.

I think is fine for etrian, but yeah after the switch i could not get back to MHGen at all, the screen felt too low res, I had to wait for MHGenU on Switch to get my MH fix
 

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
The battle music for the 6th is so fucking great. It has this weird strangely upbeat and fun vibe going to it despite all these damn birds trying to disembowel me.
 

jonjonaug

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,674
Worth getting if I'm a newcomer to the series? I'm familiar with the style/genre of game so I know I won't be completely lost on that front, but in regards to story or anything like that?
All Etrian games other than the Story modes in the 3DS remakes of the first two games have minimalist stories (or a complete lack of a story in EOV's case), so there's not much you'll be missing out on.

This is a "greatest hits" crossover similar to Monster Hunter Generations where there's lots of references to previous games in terms of maze design, a lot of the monsters, some NPCs, and the setting. But the games are loosely connected at best and any entry can be your first entry without missing out on anything. Personally I'd recommend EOIV if you've never played an EO game before, but there should be no real issue just jumping in here.
 

hyouko

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,217
A few options:
  • The Landsnecht is your basic fighter type. Their bread and butter is combo-ing with link skills off of moves (particularly elemental) from other characters.
  • Ronins are stance-based fighters (you set up a stance, which then enables other moves + bonuses). They use katanas, which I think are pretty solid damage dealers in this game.
  • Zodiacs deal elemental damage in various interesting splash-damage patterns. They do very little other than this, at least at low levels (they get some interesting TP-management skills and elemental attack neutralization down the road).
  • Pugilists aren't heavy damage dealers at first, but they can do binds, which are super useful. A ton of their skills have a chance to start a combo, so you can wind up with multi-hit combo attacks from one skill (I've seen One-Two Punch hit 6+ times when the force skill is in play).
I'll let someone else speak to Shoguns and Imperials, as I have very little experience with them - I know Shoguns can dual-wield weapons, and Imperials are supposed to be good in protracted fights against bosses. Oh, and there's Highlanders too, who use HP to power a lot of their attacks... might be best when paired with something that can keep HP topped up at all times.

I'm probably missing other classes that could serve as damage dealers here. Geez, this game has a lot of classes.
 

Anteo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,099
My party is
Highlander/Imperial/Hero
Survivalist/Arcanist

Imperial has huge burst damage but they are not good early game exploring. They are good vs bosses and they get much better later in the game when their mana pool is big enough to sustain their skills more often. They have a break skill to get above 100% of their mana so they can spam moves vs bosses. Their biggest weakness is that their biggest moves are slow, they go at the end of the turn and they have lowered defense for that turn, so sometimes they will die vs a strong mob/boss. They also go into cooldown after using one of their drives (the biggest attack they have) and you have to manage the cooldown with skills that lower it. In the second tier (level +20) they get acces to elemental drives of each type so you can cover more types

Highlander are an interesting class, they have some skills that sacrifice hp from themselves or the party to do focused or aoe damage, a hero and a arcanist can sustain them but it can get rough at expert/heroic. Aditionaly Spear Assist is actually good early game, it consistenly dealt more damage than any of my other magic attacks, they also have a ranged attack so they can poke the enemy backline if needed and they can recover the party hp by killing an enemy or using their burst, so they can provide more sustain, physical/elemental damage and buffs depending of your needs.

In my case, Hero and Arcanist take care of keeping the party healthy, if things start to go bad the survivalist with the item mastery thing can use buffed medicas for the whole line, and the Highlander can activate burst to aid with the healing. Outside of battle the survivalist can revive anyone for cheap and in battle she is in charge of lowering the enemy accuracy and thus their damage output.
 
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Feb 12, 2019
1,429
I'll let someone else speak to Shoguns and Imperials, as I have very little experience with them - I know Shoguns can dual-wield weapons, and Imperials are supposed to be good in protracted fights against bosses. Oh, and there's Highlanders too, who use HP to power a lot of their attacks... might be best when paired with something that can keep HP topped up at all times.

I'm probably missing other classes that could serve as damage dealers here. Geez, this game has a lot of classes.
If there's one kind of class that's definitely over-represented in this game, it's definitely the "Front row glass cannon." You can tell they picked the classes based on popularity, because there sure aren't that many pure tanks or elemental damage dealers. To this game's credit, they all seem pretty useful and fairly distinct from one another and I think you'd be good with any of them SpaceBridge.

Imperials are extremely good boss killers once they get access to the second tier of skills, but until then they basically run out of TP after one or two Assault Drives and can't do a whole lot in random encounters. Let me tell you, as someone who really liked the class in Etrian Odyssey IV, it sure is a different experience bringing one up from level 1 instead of level 40. You also take double damage while prepping a drive skill, which makes them extremely vulnerable to one-shots if you don't have someone tanking or drawing aggro. Now that I've reached the later levels, the Imperial on my team has been pulling her weight, but it was rough going for those first few labyrinths.

I haven't messed around with the Shogun, so I can't speak from personal experience, but it seems like their skillset is a little more esoteric than some of the other frontliners, with a lot of abilities focused around commanding other party members to do things or snowballing damage output as long as they stay alive (while also having skills that make them take more damage or draw aggro.) They seem fun, so I might eventually sub one in for my Farmer if I get tired of a character not hitting things.

I might also make the potential case for a Nightseeker. They overlap with the Arcanist in terms of inflicting ailments, but if you focused on the skills that do more damage to enemies who already have ailments, you could probably get some pretty good offensive synergy going. Of course, you can always have them as a subclass on your frontliners too. Even at half effectiveness, some of those skills seem quite useful.
 

Benzychenz

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 1, 2017
15,389
Australia
Ordered for my backlog.

Own all the 3DS games without playing a single one due to the extremely limited print runs here in Australia.

I'll get to them one day.
 

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,353
Finishing up Etrian Odyssey V first (in the 4th set of floors) so I'm still debating on a party for this, but I had a wild thought. How would Hero, Ninja, Farmer work out? Thanks to the Farmer's XP boost, you'd gain XP over twice as fast as you would with a traditional 5 person party & the empty party slots would mean you could use both Hero afterimages & Ninja clones.
 

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,457
Finishing up Etrian Odyssey V first (in the 4th set of floors) so I'm still debating on a party for this, but I had a wild thought. How would Hero, Ninja, Farmer work out? Thanks to the Farmer's XP boost, you'd gain XP over twice as fast as you would with a traditional 5 person party & the empty party slots would mean you could use both Hero afterimages & Ninja clones.
I feel like a 3 person party is still a bad idea unless you really want a challenge, especially one without any dedicated healer and with a class that is specifically not made for combat
 
OP
OP
Zen Hero

Zen Hero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,633
Finishing up Etrian Odyssey V first (in the 4th set of floors) so I'm still debating on a party for this, but I had a wild thought. How would Hero, Ninja, Farmer work out? Thanks to the Farmer's XP boost, you'd gain XP over twice as fast as you would with a traditional 5 person party & the empty party slots would mean you could use both Hero afterimages & Ninja clones.
Try it and let us know how it goes! Since hero was announced I've been wondering about <5 character strategies, but I've never heard anyone try it actually.

Though if you run into trouble, you could try four characters instead of three. That still gives you two free slots for hero and ninja.
 

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,353
I feel like a 3 person party is still a bad idea unless you really want a challenge, especially one without any dedicated healer and with a class that is specifically not made for combat

True, although the large LV discrepancy will mean that even your Farmer will have good combat stats (and reach their attack all skill faster) & with only 3 character to equip and the item gathering bonuses from the Farmer, you could rely heavily on item-based healing until you can subclass some extra healing.

4 person party isn't a bad idea though since the Farmer bonus would mean that you still get the XP of a 3-person party & could throw in a class with decent healing in the 4th slot.
 
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Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
I'm in the 3rd labyrinth
B3F
. My party have already access to some mid-tier skills, thanks I was saving points since level 15. It feel nice play smart in this game.
 

hyouko

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,217
I'm in the 3rd labyrinth
B3F
. My party have already access to some mid-tier skills, thanks I was saving points since level 15. It feel nice play smart in this game.
I did that for my Nightseeker on his final tier of skills, because I was running out of stuff to spend things on (with him being a back row ailments dealer in my case). Most other classes I've had plenty to chip away at immediately, though.

I may need to rest and reset everyone when subclassing comes along, unless they give you some free skill points for it like in past games.
 

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
Currently on the tenth labyrinth, chipping away at about a floor a day. Does anyone know how many main story labyrinths there are?
 

Sölf

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,940
Germany
I am on 3F in the 9th labyrinth now. Not sure if I will finish that today, I doubt it, but tomorrow at the latest I should be done with that.

I also for the lulz made a new file and started a solo hero. After 1 1/2 hours + 30-60+ minutes of resets I have now beaten the first Labyrinth. The first boss is actually really easy - getting to him is much, much harder.
 

Codosbuya

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,329
Reading everyone parties and comparing to mine I seem to have a low tier party. Mostly status effects/binds with a War Magus to exploit it. No elemental damage. Bosses and FOEs are hard, a lot of innate status resistance.
 

hyouko

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,217
Reading everyone parties and comparing to mine I seem to have a low tier party. Mostly status effects/binds with a War Magus to exploit it. No elemental damage. Bosses and FOEs are hard, a lot of innate status resistance.
I always bring an analysis scope with me to boss fights so that I can see what I should be targeting. Most bosses have at least a status or two they're weak against; not all of them have elemental or cut/bash/stab weaknesses, though.

Are you sure you have no elemental damage whatsoever? Most classes have at least one skill that deals out some elemental damage, though sometimes they are pretty far down the skill tree (see: Pugilist, with a lightning skill that unlocks at the final tier of skills). Hero eventually gets access to all three and the ice + electricity ones are pretty awesome (haven't unlocked the fire one yet).
 

Codosbuya

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,329
I always bring an analysis scope with me to boss fights so that I can see what I should be targeting. Most bosses have at least a status or two they're weak against; not all of them have elemental or cut/bash/stab weaknesses, though.

Are you sure you have no elemental damage whatsoever? Most classes have at least one skill that deals out some elemental damage, though sometimes they are pretty far down the skill tree (see: Pugilist, with a lightning skill that unlocks at the final tier of skills). Hero eventually gets access to all three and the ice + electricity ones are pretty awesome (haven't unlocked the fire one yet).
I have Flame rush from the Cernunos spear and Ice Knife for the Nightseeker, struggling a bit vs the oozes in Primordial Forest.

Hoarding skill points for level 20 also.
 

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,457
Got subclasses finally. It's cool that they let you make custom class names for your main/sub class combination
Team is
Great Hero (Hero/Highlander)-took Highlander for the passives to attack, defense, and hp mainly
Overdrive Blade (Imperial/Zodiac)- Zodiac gives me more elemental damage and tp for the element drives
Binding Fist (Pugilist/Arcanist)-Various passives to increase bind rate and efficiency
High Priestess (Medic/Sovereign)-Now I can use buffs during off turns when healing doesn't seem necessary
Element Sage (Zodiac/Imperial)- Imperial grants element attack up, and absorber to help keep my tp up.
 

toastyToast

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,317
My party is

Hero/Nightseeker/Protector/Gunner/Zodiac.

I'm fairly satisfied with it but I don't know, something seems off. Protector does work sometimes but other times not really. Zodiac is great when there's an elemental weakness but when there isn't the damage output is dreadful and wastes mana. Nightseeker doesn't become the killing machine I remember from EOIV until more skills unlock.

I feel like this happens every game though. All this indecision then you get to around level 30-40 and you feel like a god.
 
OP
OP
Zen Hero

Zen Hero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,633
My party is

Hero/Nightseeker/Protector/Gunner/Zodiac.

I'm fairly satisfied with it but I don't know, something seems off. Protector does work sometimes but other times not really. Zodiac is great when there's an elemental weakness but when there isn't the damage output is dreadful and wastes mana. Nightseeker doesn't become the killing machine I remember from EOIV until more skills unlock.

I feel like this happens every game though. All this indecision then you get to around level 30-40 and you feel like a god.
Yeah, that's totally what happens to me. I think my party is so disappointing, then I unlock the advanced skills and my plans start coming to fruition and I feel a lot better.

IMO protector doesn't become all that great until it gets the advanced skills. I think you need shield flare and line shield to make a complete game plan for protector, giving them a combo where they cover allies and counterattack.
 

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
I have come to absolutely love my Shogun using Swift Justice or Great Warrior on my Hero or Highlander because it makes them so scary.

Currently I am fighting the 6th lab. boss. Not too hard since I quickly figured out what her gimmick is.
 

Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
I defeated the Wyvern and make it to the 4th labyrinth. This place is new to me, it's from EO3 I guess. Battle music theme is nice.
 
OP
OP
Zen Hero

Zen Hero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,633
Has anyone tried making an evasion focused party? I've been trying to think through how to do this.

Ninja-Ronin is the most evasive character I can think of. I could put two of them in the front row and a Survivalist in the back to debuff enemy accuracy. I'm not sure what to do with the other characters though.
 

Anteo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,099
Has anyone tried making an evasion focused party? I've been trying to think through how to do this.

Ninja-Ronin is the most evasive character I can think of. I could put two of them in the front row and a Survivalist in the back to debuff enemy accuracy. I'm not sure what to do with the other characters though.

you probably dont need all of them to be evasion focused. just a couple of agi tanks and skills to redirect focus on them. the rest of the team should be the usual stuff of magic damage, buffs, sustai, etc. like an arcanist, hero, princess
 
OP
OP
Zen Hero

Zen Hero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,633
you probably dont need all of them to be evasion focused. just a couple of agi tanks and skills to redirect focus on them. the rest of the team should be the usual stuff of magic damage, buffs, sustai, etc. like an arcanist, hero, princess
That's good advice, I'll keep it in mind!
 

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,457
you probably dont need all of them to be evasion focused. just a couple of agi tanks and skills to redirect focus on them. the rest of the team should be the usual stuff of magic damage, buffs, sustai, etc. like an arcanist, hero, princess
I wouldn't suggest Hero in a team with a ninja since they both want the 6th slot for their skills
 

Aaronrules380

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,457
That feeling when you're on the 3rd floor of the 10th labyrinth, have done all the side labyrinths (minus a few FOEs and bosses) and you still have less than 60% of the monsters found according to your guild card
 

Boogiepop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,966
Maaaan, I seem to be sucking extra hard here. 4th labyrinth's boss is just rocking me, even after grinding up to level 27, with full proper equipment for my team, and then saying screw it and dropping to basic.

Got a Ronin and Protector up front, then a War Magus, Gunner, and Zodiac in the back. And... I think the biggest issue is that my damage output just doesn't feel great, AND it uses up a ton of TP. Wondering if I need to swivel or respec or something, because I haven't even gotten the damn boss down to 1/3rd health yet and I feel like I'm out of meaningful things to do other than pure grinding...

Edit: Oh, and I of course have its gimmick down too. Still doesn't stop it from wrecking my party.
 

Anteo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,099
Maaaan, I seem to be sucking extra hard here. 4th labyrinth's boss is just rocking me, even after grinding up to level 27, with full proper equipment for my team, and then saying screw it and dropping to basic.

Got a Ronin and Protector up front, then a War Magus, Gunner, and Zodiac in the back. And... I think the biggest issue is that my damage output just doesn't feel great, AND it uses up a ton of TP. Wondering if I need to swivel or respec or something, because I haven't even gotten the damn boss down to 1/3rd health yet and I feel like I'm out of meaningful things to do other than pure grinding...

Edit: Oh, and I of course have its gimmick down too. Still doesn't stop it from wrecking my party.

what i do is use the elemental oils for a few turns to deal damage to the boss weakness in order to save tp for the later part of the fight. i definitelly cant sustain skills for the full fight vs a boss.

it was the same on eo3 and 4. my elemental mage could not spam elemental attacks at level 5 in boss fights. so i had to keep those at level 4 and use auto attacks for like 4 damage haha
 

Boogiepop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,966
what i do is use the elemental oils for a few turns to deal damage to the boss weakness in order to save tp for the later part of the fight. i definitelly cant sustain skills for the full fight vs a boss.

it was the same on eo3 and 4. my elemental mage could not spam elemental attacks at level 5 in boss fights. so i had to keep those at level 4 and use auto attacks for like 4 damage haha
Yeah, I should probably do that, good call.

Still thinking I may try a replacement or two, if only because the Protector and Zodiac aren't doing a ton for me in general, and feel like kind of bland choices at that. Wouldn't mind spicing things up and hopefully getting a little more power out of it...