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[Seriyu]

INTRO
Do you remember wizardry? Those old PC games where you got eaten alive by trolls and goblins and shit while the game kicked sand in your face and called you a nerd? Those games where they never actually told you what stats the weapons and armor have, and just presumed you knew/decided you needed to figure out on your own what stats each equipment piece had/if it was better then what you had?

Etrian Odyssey is like Wizardry's long lost japanese child. There are three games in the series with a fourth on the way (there's another game that uses the same engine, called shin megami tensei: strange journey, feel free to discuss it here), and all of them are excellent, and as perhaps a first for a video game series, every game in the series has improved on the previous one in some way.

SETTING
The setting for the games is a dungeon inside of a giant tree, Yggdrasil, basically filled with various wild animals in both fantasy world and real life flavors, and some other surprises. You are a person that has rolled into town with the intention of starting a guild, a small group of warriors (30 max, five in a party at one time) that is dedicated to exploring the labyrinth and discovering its' mysteries. That's about all, while there is a plot they don't lay it on you very quickly, and it basically comes in three sentence blurbs on every few floors. The characters are just portraits, feel free to characterize them as you like, have fun with it! Or just play the meaty, numbers part of the game. It is not a talky game, and mostly lets you do what you want.

ENEMIES
It is however, a brutal game. For instance, the first floor of EO3, (out of 30) most of the enemies? Not too bad. Reasonable. They can wear you down over time, and probably will, (another bonus, generic enemies can actually damage you and typically have at least one nasty surprise they can spring on you in later floors, that may well end your life if you're not ready for it) HOWEVER. There is one monster on that floor, called "The great lynx". In any other JRPG you'd steamroll over it and be on your way, but in etrian odyssey this thing is a fight for your damn life. A best case scenario on finding a great lynx on your first runthrough of the dungeon? (you can leave and come back to it at any time) I would say at least 2 party members dead, and that's if you know what you're doing. So what's the reasonable response? RUN THE HELL AWAY. This is a game that will actively punish you for not taking the hint and getting out of dodge if something is kicking your ass. One hit kills are common, one row kills are less common but still not impossible. The next floor has similar enemies, and basically every floor past has one "big" enemy that will wipe your party if you're not careful and just run in spamming the attack option. Some of them have gimmicks, like going to sleep during the night/day (the game also has a day night cycle), being weaker during certain times, etc. Mostly time based.

And we haven't even gotten to FOEs yet. Standing for "Formido Oppugnatura Exsequen" (translated as nature's ancient and terrible warriors), FOEs are visible on the map screen at the bottom, and in the normal first person view, as giant fuzzy orange balls. Appearances can be, and often are, deceiving in the labyrinth, however, and thse FOEs are truly among the nastiest stuff you'll ever have to deal with. Generally the strength of an enemy a couple of floors below where you are now, they are to be AVOIDED first and foremost. As you progress through the game, coming back and hunting them for the precious item drops and experience is a common activity, and a great way to get new guild members up to speed. The first time you go through a floor, there is bascially no way you will beat a FOE barring cheesing it with status effects somehow and even then I have my doubts. Again, to be avoided.

TERRAIN
But of course, the enemies aren't the only issue. The labyrinth itself has many long hallways, prime areas for FOE ambushes (you can never succeed in running away if you are facing a wall when attacked by a FOE), often damage tiles are in the way, and mud that slows your movement can be found on some occasions too. Many events you can find can also backfire, sometimes in a big way. The labyrinth itself is not as dangerous as the wildlife, but certainly it is not to be underestimated either.

GOAL
So what's the goal of all this you might be wonderin, as a prospective guild leader. Why, to get to the bottom (or top, in one case) of the labyrinth and hopefully find something amazing that will make you a hojillion dollars. It's a tad optimistic I'll admit, but I'd like to think we value the journey as much as the destination. And this journey is filled with Lynxes and giant sentient durians. 30 floors in every game, although the last five floors are often post game and as such 100% crazy. You don't have to finish them, seriously, don't feel compelled. They've broken more then a few men. But if you do, man, you have got some set of bragging rights, I'm not even joking.

BUYING IT
"Why do we need a section to buy a game I know how to go to a walmart (Or walmart analogue) and spend money", you may be wondering. Well, these are atlus games, well known for limited print runs.(They litterally said, "Buy it now, or get price gouged on Ebay later!" in one of their newsletter emails) Generally you can find them used at GameStop, Amazon, Ebay, or some other used game dealer in your area, and again, you will need a DS, none of them require DSi for those of you with an old DS kicking around or a unwillingness to spend more then you have to. They're usually not terribly expensive. If you absolutely must have it new, occasionally atlus runs limited reprints of their games on amazon, so keep your eyes on the horizon I guess. I reccomend getting etrian odyssey 3 as again every game has improved on it's predecessor and there isn't so much of a plot that you won't be able to follow it.

END
That's about it. The next post has a crash course on actually surviving the labyrinth. If you're new to the games, I'd reccomend giving it a read, but if you want to figure this out on your own, feel free to skip it. Mostly numberchat. And as always, please feel free to ask for advice in thread. I would be happy to help. As this is a fairly nasty game to the unprepared.

Spoiler: Screenshots up in here (click to show/hide)

Combat screen, from EO III, although the GUI doesn't change much between games, so. It's a little grainy as the shot is much bigger then the DS screen obviously. Most of the enemies in the game are animals or monsters, and when you fight another human it's usually a really big deal and is quite hard. It's a nice touch, it fits with the theme.


Explorin. EO III again, the enviroments don't look terrible for 3D on the DS, and there's some neat stuff in these games. Spot the hidden passage! There is a difference to note where it is, I think that's only in EOIII, in other games they are completely hidden. Dungeon map at the bottom, the red arrows are the "autopilot" for when you need to get six floors down but don't want to manually do it. Still gotta fight obviously, but for early floors you can just hit L (autoattack) and clean em up anyway.


Sea travel, only in EOIII, acts like a puzzle and a dang neat one at that. It doesn't act as an overworld (that's in EO4). The bottom is the map, you fill that out as you go. Dungeon maps look similar although they're obviously more cramped and don't have fish markers.


The skill up screen. Also featuring the best monk portrait. Also EOIII, EOIII uses different classes so monk is only in that game.

And remember.

Never underestimate the labyrinth.

[Seriyu]

SO. You've got a game, or had a game, or are dragging yourself out of the first floor of the labyrinth the fifteenth time since you started playing. You are out of ideas and out of patience. I am here to help.

This is all general advice, if it only applies to one game, I'll label it as such.

First of all. Plan out your character builds. There are character calculators on the internet. There's no such thing as a bad build, except for a build that tries to do everything. Generally you want a build to be able to either: kill singular targets, disable targets, support other members in some way, Kill multiple targets, or tank. You don't have to have all of them in a single party and in fact feel free to have several of each type! Just be sure to play to your party's strength. If you have 3 protectors/hoplites and two ninjas, that is a very defensive party, the protectors tank, and the ninjas disable shit. PLAY TO THAT STRENGTH. If there is anything even mildly threatening, tank up and tear it down slowly.

Second of all. You have room for more then one party. Use it. You will need at least 3 parties, an "explorer group" that will go through generic enemies, this will generally be your first party, a cash raising party (5 survivalists with all the gathering skills/5 farmers with harvestry/various encounter reducing skills), and a boss/FOE killing party. I'll leave you to decide what those entail, because again the game is very open about character builds as long as you remain reasonable.

Third of all. Keep your gear up to date. If you are having trouble keeping your entire party alive (Party members dying singularly is fine, the entire party wiping is not), make sure your gear is up to date. Bust out the money gathering party and go to town on those gathering spots.

EO3 addendum: Certain gear has different "speed modifiers". Wearing heavy armor will slow down your turn order, wearing, for instance, shoes, will speed it up. The chart is here.

Dagger: +3
Rapier: +2
Katana: +1
Sword : +0
Fist : +0
Gun : -1
Book : -1
Crossbow: -2
Spear : -3
Hammer: -4

There's one exclusive suit of armor that's a conditional drop (more on this later in this post) called bikini armor that gives +10.

Some classes depend on this more then others. Hoplites it's nice on, to get stuff like provoke off early (guard skills always go first), wildlings, also nice to get those status effects off early, etc. Giving them to DPS characters that are already fast will help them outspeed fast enemies. Basically a good pair of shoes, despite being statistically worse in defense, is nothing to sneeze at.

GRINDING
Now. To get new parties up to speed, grinding is nessecery, but the games make it fairly painless.

EO1: Hunt FOEs from previous stratumses with your now buff characters, and some new guys. FOEs give a ton of exp and will level up your new recruits in a hurry.

EO2: Well, nothing much. FOEs no longer give exp, so you basically have to grind the old fashioned way. Bring new guys to a low stratum with some vets and go to town.

EO3: Pasanas. They appear on the map screen as an orange FOE icon (little arrow), and go through walls. If you can catch one, and kill one (easier said then done), they will give a boatload of exp. You'll generally need a special party to deal with pasanas as they have a bad habit of exploding, and have high defense stats. They're basically metal slimes. If you are not opposed to exploits, google "The Scylla exploit EO3" and you should find a handy little trick, that requires access to a specific boss.

CONDITIONAL DROPS

Not terribly important, but good to know, if you kill certain enemies in the game in a certain way, they'll drop a special item. For instance, in EO3, if you kill a blowfish looking enemy with an ice elemental attack, you will get it's liver. Looking these up with guides for EO1 and 2 isn't a bad idea, and EO3 isn't terrible either, although there's ways to find out about them in EO3, by a bar patron specifically. These drops usually unlock pretty good weapons at the shop, and sell for more to boot.

ATTACK TYPES

Every weapon has an attack type. Some enemies are weak to certain types, conditional drops sometimes demand a certain type, they're good to know, but again, not vital. The way to tell them apart is by the animation/ sound. The weapon type will usually tip you off too. Here are my terrible descriptions. They look much nicer in game, I promise.

a \ slash mark is slash type. A kind've upside down C mark is also slash type. Daggers use the former, swords the latter.
Blunt, a "clean edged" circle with a thwack noise, and a box moving down the middle of the enemy. Fists use the former, maces/books/axes the latter.
Pierce, a circle with jagged edges, with a "slash-ey" noise. Spears/guns/bows/crossbows use them.

Elemental types are fairly obvious, being fire/ice/shock etc.

There are exceptions, some use different types then what their weapon type would entail, so always keep an eye out for that. If an enemy is taking drastically less damage for no apparent reason, damage type is probably the reason. Try some different types.

STAT GROWTHS

Prince
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT* AGI_ LUC_
5.00 3.20 0.46 0.65 0.83 0.61 0.72

Warrior
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
6.40 1.60 0.78 0.42 0.75 0.52 0.53

Phalanx
HP__ TP*_ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
6.00 2.10 0.48 0.58 0.86 0.58 ODD?

Pirate
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
4.80 2.50 0.62 0.64 0.57 0.77 0.44

Shinobi
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
3.50 2.20 0.59 0.68 0.35 0.87 0.61

Monk
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
4.00 4.10 0.64 0.82 0.56 0.68 0.40

Zodiac
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
3.70 4.50 0.44 0.85 0.52 0.66 0.64

Beast King
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
3.70 3.30 0.56 0.80 0.58 0.47 0.75

Ballista
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
3.80 1.50 0.82 0.45 0.48 0.42 0.62

Farmer
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
3.90 2.40 0.36 0.40 0.54 0.56 0.85

Prince VIT is off by +1 point at level 51
Phalanx TP is off by +1 point at level 36
Phalanx LUC growth seems to go up and down every 10 levels or so(?) and averages ~0.73 for levels 1-70 (+4, +8, +9, +9, +7, +7 every 10 levels for levels 1-61 and +6 for 61-70)

Spoiler: and the unlockable classes (click to show/hide)

Shogun
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
4.60 2.00 0.72 0.60 0.55 0.74 0.45

Andro
HP__ TP__ STR_ TEC_ VIT_ AGI_ LUC_
6.50 0.00 0.87 0.57 0.86 0.46 0.35

Notable odd translations that you might not get immediately are phalanx = hoplite. Rest should be fairly self evident.

SKILL SIMS

EO: None here.
EO2:Didn't work for me, but it's there so maybe someone can figure it out?!?!?
EO3:Yep.
EO4:Here.

More to come? Maybe!

[Sirus]

Kinda watching. I've been looking for a classic-like RPG to play

[Mech#4]

I, unashamedly, have nothing further to add... but this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM5MMqNgUzM

[Catastrophic lolcats]

I was quite turned on with the whole "party based rougelike" aspect. I've been missing party based RPGs for so long. I was however rather turned off when I saw the paragraph on grinding. My favourite RPGs, like Baldur's Gate, make grinding have extremely low benefits. I've always hated grinding in RPGs and it what turned me off the whole aRPG genre.

Still looking for that magical real time roguelike that uses AD&D and a party system.

[Seriyu]

I was quite turned on with the whole "party based rougelike" aspect. I've been missing party based RPGs for so long. I was however rather turned off when I saw the paragraph on grinding. My favourite RPGs, like Baldur's Gate, make grinding have extremely low benefits. I've always hated grinding in RPGs and it what turned me off the whole aRPG genre.

Still looking for that magical real time roguelike that uses AD&D and a party system.

I know what you mean, but grinding isn't.... too bad. For instance, you'll probably never have to "grind" a character you made as a member of your initial party, as you'll keep up just by virtue of filling out your map. Also generally a level up indicates a pretty big boost, a new skill point, several stats (stats from what I can tell are huge in this game, although I can't find any info to back up my suspicions).

You only grind to "catch up" someone rather then to keep up with the game, I guess. With that said, if you just can't stand grinding at all, yeah, prolly not gonna mesh.

I, unashamedly, have nothing further to add... but this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM5MMqNgUzM

For serious? I was trying to think of a way to put this in the OP, but I couldn't find a place where it'd be relevant, so, I'm glad someone got it out there. It's catchy as hell.

 

this is pretty much the reason i've never started playing the game (i have both actually)

man

i am too lazy

i just want to kill things

maan

I've honestly never beaten one of these games, they're very long and I can't stop restarting RPGs.

Kinda watching. I've been looking for a classic-like RPG to play

Have a video! Specifically this is a boss enemy from near the end of the game, and it shows off a typical "boss fight" trying to slug it out with it is an exercise in frustration. I'm spoilerin the next part because I love spoiler tags and also because I know that I, at least, like working out some of this stuff on my own, so maybe other folk do too. It's honestly kind've obvious when you look at what kind of beasty it is though.

Spoiler: If you'd like a breakdown of specifically what's happening, it's not too long. (click to show/hide)

The boss is kind've devious, in that it's "weak" to every element/attack type, so if you're somehow still under the impression that the game is going to go easy on you, you might think you're just supposed to hammer on it, which works until you realize it has a full heal it can use whenever it wants. What's the solution?

If you notice, after the first couple of minutes, the kraken stops attacking entirely, and that's because at about 1:20, they bind it's legs. It's a kraken, it's basically all leg, so naturally, binding it keeps it from using any of it's attacks, including the full heal.

It's kind've an extreme example of the game encouraging you to exploit weaknesses, rather then duke it out, but it's certainly there. You rarely get a way to disable all of an enemy's attacks with one status effect, but disabling skills via binds is a common theme. 

[lordcooper]

You can't call it a megathread when it's on page 1

[dei]

I traded in three games just to get Etrian Oddysey for the Nintendo DS. I'm still trying to figure out my builds and thus have restarted the game I think six times now. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though. My party is pretty much LP/SMA and I'm on floor two so far, grinding away for some experience and loot.

My last time through with some messed up builds I almost defeated the first boss but in the end I failed miserably. That's why I'm trying to build a certain way now in order to be able to grind before said boss when I couldn't before.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Damn Clawflies were resistant to Fire and weak to Ice and I didn't realize it was because they were red. My Alchemist didn't even have Ice 1 by that time so I couldn't grind to a point where I could overpower Fenrir. Luckily now I can work on that.

[Darvi]

I never got a full party in these games iirc. I suck at naming characters.

[The Darkling Wolf]

Just start naming them Drone #.

[dei]

I made my entire party female. I'm better at coming up with girly or feminine names than masculine names. Plus I'm kind of nostalgic about the whole strong female role-model bit.

Plus female characters just look nicer. I would rather use the male character portraits for a group of Survivialists I will use to farm resources by putting all of their skillpoints into Chop, Mine, Take, TP Up and Scavenge.

I'll probably name them names that go well with miner or lumberjack stereotypes or just call them Arobar, after a character in House Redoran. That might work out somehow, I think.

[Culise]

One more thing I want to add.  Being Atlus games, these can sometimes be fairly difficult to find, with limited print runs and thus limited availability, especially given that the most recent release, EO3, is still three years old.  With Etrian Odyssey IV coming out at the end of this coming February, however, Atlus has decided to drum up some hype by reprinting the entire trilogy at the end of January, a month before EO4.  In other words, if you're having trouble finding it, you can always wait a little bit. 

For my own part, I absolutely love this series, too; it's probably my favourite DS game.  I'll definitely try to pick up EO1 once it gets reprinted (I missed it, having started with 2), and absolutely definitely grab EO4. 

[Seriyu]

You can't call it a megathread when it's on page 1

Nonsense!

I traded in three games just to get Etrian Oddysey for the Nintendo DS. I'm still trying to figure out my builds and thus have restarted the game I think six times now. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though. My party is pretty much LP/SMA and I'm on floor two so far, grinding away for some experience and loot.

My last time through with some messed up builds I almost defeated the first boss but in the end I failed miserably. That's why I'm trying to build a certain way now in order to be able to grind before said boss when I couldn't before.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Damn Clawflies were resistant to Fire and weak to Ice and I didn't realize it was because they were red. My Alchemist didn't even have Ice 1 by that time so I couldn't grind to a point where I could overpower Fenrir. Luckily now I can work on that.

I'm unfortunately not very well versed in etrian odyssey 1, but I think survivalists are pretty awesome, bow skills particularly, stuff like apollo, etc, and that the alchemist poison damage skill (the one that causes damage and a status effect, not the passive, it actually doesn't do anything besides unlock new skills) will destroy the first stratum and then quickly drop off in usefulness.

One more thing I want to add.  Being Atlus games, these can sometimes be fairly difficult to find, with limited print runs and thus limited availability, especially given that the most recent release, EO3, is still three years old.  With Etrian Odyssey IV coming out at the end of this coming February, however, Atlus has decided to drum up some hype by reprinting the entire trilogy at the end of January, a month before EO4.  In other words, if you're having trouble finding it, you can always wait a little bit. 

For my own part, I absolutely love this series, too; it's probably my favourite DS game.  I'll definitely try to pick up EO1 once it gets reprinted (I missed it, having started with 2), and absolutely definitely grab EO4. 

Ooh, didn't know about the reprint, I'll definitely put that somewhere in the OP, been meaning to put the release date of EOIV somewhere anyway. And yeah, definitely among my favorite RPGs, coming from someone that absolutely hated wizardry. It's amazing what just adding stat "readings" to gear can do, came in on EO2 myself, actually!

well when I mean I'm too lazy, it's mostly regarding the whole "need to plan character builds" thing, which is the same reason I put off Final Fantasy Tactics, actually.

It seems really backwards. I am expected to research the inner workings of this game and plan out what I want to be as competent as possible in the future, when I have yet to really experience it. I can get playing a game, figuring things out as you go along with your ragtag party, and then maybe restarting somewhere down the line/after you've beat it, THEN planning shit out to get the most out of your party and stomp the game, but not the very first time.

That just gives me all the wrong feels.

I understand what ya mean, and you're not really wrong, it really is just the sort of game you either love or hate.

There are usually themes, and the later games do a pretty good job of warning you about particularly bad stuff (FOEs, floor hazards), so if you started on EO1 or something along those lines, you might give the newer ones a try, but yeah, there's no real shame in googling stuff ahead of time (like, just going to gamefaqs and checking out the new stratum) to see what's coming up. (although some people dislike having to do that, and I can respect that too.)

I am off to update the OP, I'll be keeping new developments in the series at the top of the first post, although etrian odyssey is a pretty niche series so don't expect that to change tooooooo often, and I feel like I was going to update the second post with some more advice but I seem to have forgotten exactly what I meant to do with it, so that may not happen after all.

[SirAaronIII]

La dee da, skipping through the forest, dodging giant orange fuzzballs, go down some stairs...
Suddenly this music plays.

As you descend into a new floor, a premonition of bloodshed sends a chill down your spine. Even new adventurers such as yourself can clearly feel the overwhelming sensation...  It is the specter of death, looming over you as you prepare to face unknown dangers. Take heed! Beasts red of tooth and claw run rampant here! Fleeing from these creatures is no shameful thing. In these depths, survival is paramount!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And this is.. only... floor....... 3? Jesus.

[dei]

I traded in three games just to get Etrian Oddysey for the Nintendo DS. I'm still trying to figure out my builds and thus have restarted the game I think six times now. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though. My party is pretty much LP/SMA and I'm on floor two so far, grinding away for some experience and loot.

My last time through with some messed up builds I almost defeated the first boss but in the end I failed miserably. That's why I'm trying to build a certain way now in order to be able to grind before said boss when I couldn't before.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Damn Clawflies were resistant to Fire and weak to Ice and I didn't realize it was because they were red. My Alchemist didn't even have Ice 1 by that time so I couldn't grind to a point where I could overpower Fenrir. Luckily now I can work on that.

I'm unfortunately not very well versed in etrian odyssey 1, but I think survivalists are pretty awesome, bow skills particularly, stuff like apollo, etc, and that the alchemist poison damage skill (the one that causes damage and a status effect, not the passive, it actually doesn't do anything besides unlock new skills) will destroy the first stratum and then quickly drop off in usefulness.

My Survivalist right about now is built to lower preemptive strikes against the party while raising the party's chances of ambushing opponents. The Alchemist is being built along the lines of Fire and Ice right now and will probably branch out into Volt sometime soon. I just wish the Protector would stop dying all the time as she's almost two levels behind the rest of the team and I'm trying to get Defender to 5.

La dee da, skipping through the forest, dodging giant orange fuzzballs, go down some stairs...
Suddenly this music plays.

As you descend into a new floor, a premonition of bloodshed sends a chill down your spine. Even new adventurers such as yourself can clearly feel the overwhelming sensation...  It is the specter of death, looming over you as you prepare to face unknown dangers. Take heed! Beasts red of tooth and claw run rampant here! Fleeing from these creatures is no shameful thing. In these depths, survival is paramount!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And this is.. only... floor....... 3? Jesus.

That floor is hell in a handbasket.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Do not, I repeat, do not challenge the Stalkers. Their attacks will one-shot your party by the time you get to Floor 3, and they will chase you until you get past a door of some kind.