Etrian Odyssey - DS GOTY?

[MrAngryFace]

Yes.

Fun: Check
Good Use of Stylus: Check
Better than Odin Sphere: Check
Fancy 3D graphix: Check
F.O.E.: Check

Required box-art pic for appreciation thread: Check

[Lhadatt]

Please sir, tell us more about this "fun" you speak of.

[Van Cruncheon]

amen. why this game gets low scores from egm and pokeyman gets 8s and 9s is beyond me.

[MrAngryFace]

Pokeyman has weaker gameplay mechanics.
Pokeyman has ugly graphics.
Pokeyman isn't fun.
Pokeyman is completely unoriginal.
Pokeyfans are lame.

[Himu]

That doesn't say much about ds' 2007 line up. Ds' 2007 line up is pathetic.

[MrAngryFace]

Man last night was awesome, I was on an extended F.O.E. hunt on dungeon level B2, you know, just cleaning up the 'hood as it were. Anyway this F.O.E. comes from around the corner and my party is like wtf omg.

OMG!!! WTF BBQ!!!!!!!!1

So immediately im like ok lets take this guy down so my Landsknecht Franc is like OK LETS GO and does his Warcry shit cause he wants to get fucking PUMPED to take this motherfuckin Horned-Pig thing down. My Defender Jolien was like oh shiat I better let Franc get PUMPED so she uses Provoke to piss that big Horned-Pig thing off.

My Alchemist Jane in the back-row knows whats up and whips out her super duper poison potion! Medical Man Dean defends and my Troubador Seele knows that Horned-Pig bastard is gonna hit fuck hard and begins to perform the song of D-FENCE!

OH SHIT Horned-Pig lashes out at Franc. OMG Franc is down already. Song of Defense is not enough! Has the party got in over their heads?!?!?

In a panic Jolien rushes to defend the rear line as Jane tosses her poison potion at the hooves of the Horned-Pig beast. OMG HE AM PZNED! OWNED! Oh shit the pig ignored the rear line and fuckin nailed Jolien in the FACE. Her stats as a Defender keep her upright as Dean casts Cure II to bring her up to full power.

Change of strategy. Seele sings the song of Quickness while Jean prepares a level 4 potion of VOLT. Realizing the Horned-Pig is ignoring the back line Jolien uses her parry skill to negate the Horned-Pig beasts attacks while the Alchemist unleashes potion after potion of Volt. Meanwhile Dean hides and Seele plucks away for extra damage with her ebony bow.

THE BEAST FALLS, but alas poor Franc missed out on the MEGA experience. Maybe nex time Franc -- maybe next time ...

[Himu]

I may give the game a shot whenever I buy a new ds. Whenever that is.

[MrAngryFace]

F.O.E.

[youtube=425,350]Kbnu0NKs86Y[/youtube]

[hyp]

i must admit.. it's been a lot easier to get into Etrian Odyssey than Odin Sphere.  but i still fall asleep playing both.  EO in bed, OS on the couch

[MrAngryFace]

I dunno, the FOE stuff in EO keeps me on my toes, and I love the mapping. Auto mapping for the lose. Manual mapping is a lot of fun.

[Error2k4]

Man last night was awesome, I was on an extended F.O.E. hunt on dungeon level B2, you know, just cleaning up the 'hood as it were. Anyway this F.O.E. comes from around the corner and my party is like wtf omg.

OMG!!! WTF BBQ!!!!!!!!1

So immediately I'm like ok lets take this guy down so my Landsknecht Franc is like OK LETS GO and does his Warcry shit cause he wants to get fucking PUMPED to take this motherfuckin Horned-Pig thing down. My Defender Jolien was like oh shiat I better let Franc get PUMPED so she uses Provoke to piss that big Horned-Pig thing off.

My Alchemist Jane in the back-row knows whats up and whips out her super duper poison potion! Medical Man Dean defends and my Troubador Seele knows that Horned-Pig bastard is gonna hit fuck hard and begins to perform the song of D-FENCE!

OH SHIT Horned-Pig lashes out at Franc. OMG Franc is down already. Song of Defense is not enough! Has the party got in over their heads?!?!?

In a panic Jolien rushes to defend the rear line as Jane tosses her poison potion at the hooves of the Horned-Pig beast. OMG HE AM PZNED! OWNED! Oh shit the pig ignored the rear line and fuckin nailed Jolien in the FACE. Her stats as a Defender keep her upright as Dean casts Cure II to bring her up to full power.

Change of strategy. Seele sings the song of Quickness while Jean prepares a level 4 potion of VOLT. Realizing the Horned-Pig is ignoring the back line Jolien uses her parry skill to negate the Horned-Pig beasts attacks while the Alchemist unleashes potion after potion of Volt. Meanwhile Dean hides and Seele plucks away for extra damage with her ebony bow.

THE BEAST FALLS, but alas poor Franc missed out on the MEGA experience. Maybe nex time Franc -- maybe next time ...

man the second stratum introduces some AWESOME gameplay mechanics to dungeon exploration that I wont spoil. I'm in the third stratum now clearing the logs of quest I had.

but yeah this game is motherfucking awesome and superior to Odin Sphere by a fair margin. the game is extremely well balanced as long as you have a decent party setup, the exploration is also extremely rewarding and while the 'draw map' shit might sound lame it's actually an AWESOME and CLEVER way to use the touch screen without compromising the core gameplay with lame gimmicks. music is ZOMG Koshiro FM which is excellent and fits the game very well. boss fights are omg omg omg R&D1 awesomeness.

I forgot that the game is also crack on cart. I agree with DS goty so far.

[Himu]

Meh. By the time I get another ds it'll probably be rare as fuck .

[MrAngryFace]

Its already kinda rare I think

[Scurvy Stan]

Your definition of fun is a lot different than my definition of fun.

[Vizzys]

weirdest fucking video ive seen in a while

ill try this game.

[The Sceneman]

looks tight, that sceenshot with the zany beast sold me I think. Might grab this next time I buy a DS game

[MrAngryFace]

Grab it soon. If the gamecrazy I go to hadn't accidently lost their shipment in their own back room, I might not even have the game right now.

[Beezy]

I've been to Gamestop multiple times in the past two weeks and I've never seen this game.

[MrAngryFace]

Its a shame the magazines gave Pokemon Donkey/Punch props but slapped stupid ass 5s and 6s on this game just cause theyre fuckin morons.

[The Sceneman]

I try not to think about gaming journalists, their shit pisses me off to the max 

[MrAngryFace]

God damn if EGM subscription wasnt free id never read it.

Looks like Brick stores may not have Etrian in stock, but ebgames.com is still shipping in 24 hours!

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=180273

[Scurvy Stan]

I try not to think about gaming journalists, their shit pisses me off to the max 

There's no such thing as gaming journalists.

[The Sceneman]

Just a pack of dickcheeses who dont actually play games for the right reasons

[tiesto]

I saw a buncha copies at a local FYE, you might wanna try there, it's the same price as EB ($30) and you don't have to worry about gutted stuff. Of course, YMMV.

[MrAngryFace]

I wish FYE was a bit more fair on their prices all around tho. Still EO EO EO

[pancakesandsex]

FYE has it for 30 bucks like everyone else, thats where i got mine

[Vizzys]

I gots the game.

So far the music am good.

Made my party and have yet to enter the labyrinth

[Beezy]

MAF and Error, I bought the last copy of this game at FYE today just because of you two. It better not suck!

[Vizzys]

I liked setting up my party but the game is looking pretty grindfest.

MAP YOUR PROGRESS BY HAND

GENIUS

Auto map - yes please and thank you.

[Himu]

If it's grind fest, I'm not bothering. I want it, but alas, no DS no more.

[demi]

Um, it's been pretty known to be a grinding roguelike type game. Borrrrring.

[Himu]

O rly? Failure.

[Error2k4]

If it's grind fest, I'm not bothering. I want it, but alas, no DS no more.

it's a first person dungeon crawling game... of course grinding is part of the game, but you don't grind like walking back and forth in the same spot. you can do quests, defeat FOEs, bosses (they respawn), go to hidden areas in floors you haven't gone before AND you will of course gain levels in the process while doing some cool shit.

I had to grind for awhile to get 3 dudes up to respectable levels, but that's because I made some shitty decisions while building my old party and I had to replace my old front row.

like I said if you have a decent party setup (like for example my party is built around Bind skills) and if you cover your bases pretty well you wont have to do some crazy powerlevelling in the game often.

[Himu]

So it's basically grinding to the people with no imaginations, but for the people who like to explore and never run away from battles in the first place it won't feel like you're grinding? Kinda like Dragon Quest VIII? People said you had to grind for DQVIII but I never grinded once except at the very very very beginning of the game, because all the other times I was exploring and didn't notice.

[Beezy]

Um, it's been pretty known to be a grinding roguelike type game. Borrrrring.

I liked Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (for the short time that i had it ) and Izuna.

[Himu]

I love me some dungeon crawling, pretty much the only rpgs I fully enjoy these days are dungeon crawlers, but grinding is the bane of my existence.

[Error2k4]

So it's basically grinding to the people with no imaginations, but for the people who like to explore and never run away from battles in the first place it won't feel like you're grinding? Kinda like Dragon Quest VIII? People said you had to grind for DQVIII but I never grinded once except at the very very very beginning of the game, because all the other times I was exploring and didn't notice.

it's kinda like that yeah, I honestly never feel like I had to grind because it's absolutely impossible to make some progress otherwise.

there are also ways to make gaining exp easier, if you take only 2 characters to battle they will gain a lot more exp than if you take 3 for example. also the bard/trobadour class has a skill that lets you gain a lot more exp in battles too. the game does it job trying to make 'grinding' easy and not tedious, it's really up to the player imo.

[Himu]

Sounds good.

[Error2k4]

just got my ass kicked by an insanely strong enemy in floor 3.

to put it into perspective Im on floor 11 now, so even after having long cleared floor 3 there is still new shit and fucking hard enemies there.

[Beezy]

Before I open my copy, can someone tell me what exactly the game is about?

[Himu]

Before I open my copy, can someone tell me what exactly the game is about?

Dungeon crawling and kicking monster ass. If you don't like it, give it to me so I can have a copy when I get a new ds.

[Scurvy Stan]

I love me some dungeon crawling, pretty much the only rpgs I fully enjoy these days are dungeon crawlers, but grinding is the bane of my existence.

Does not compute.

[Himu]

I love me some dungeon crawling, pretty much the only rpgs I fully enjoy these days are dungeon crawlers, but grinding is the bane of my existence.

Does not compute.

What?

[Vizzys]

just got my ass kicked by an F.O.E. alchemists helped a lot

[Vizzys]

Beat that fucker easy after some leveling. Encountered that beast in the above picture and met my demise however.

I've come across 4 F.O.E's thus far, I wasnt expecting this many per level...currently my strategy is to run like a bitch.

Maybe my party is too odd.

[Error2k4]

what's your party?

edit: the 3rd stratum has giving me a lot less trouble than the second one.

[MrAngryFace]

I assume youre supposed to avoid MR BUG?

My main party of

Land-Def
Alch-Med-Troub

am cry at that boss lols

[MrAngryFace]

Um, it's been pretty known to be a grinding roguelike type game. Borrrrring.

I liked Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (for the short time that i had it ) and Izuna.

Right on, Brother.

[Vizzys]

my party is

Protector -Dark Hunter - Survivalist
        Alchemist - Healer

I think I need a landshark or whatever they be called... dark hunter seems mostly useless atm.

Made it to bf3 and got torn to shreds by a stalker in a couple rounds.

[MrAngryFace]

Yeah you went 3 in front I see. I tried training a Dark Hunter for the front line cause Drinky said his does great but mine mostly sucks ass

Protectors are so fucking useful. I'd go 3 in front with 2 protectors to spam protect rear and protect front between them if need be while the Landsnkct whatever the fuck unleashes major damage but the troubadour is crazy useful I think, and has a decent ranged attack amount.

Im trading a fire spec alchemist (my main is volt spec) , survivalist, and dark hunter on the side, but my main team gets the job done pretty nicely.

Also I think on level 3 youre supposed to avoid that main bad guy, cause I tried fighting it and omg slaughter even at level 12 across the board.

[Beezy]

I forgot that I had lent my DS to a friend, so I still haven't played or even opened the game yet. I'm gonna have to take my nephew's DSlite later on tonight.

[Error2k4]

dark hunters are alright, their bind skills are really really useful but I wouldnt recommend using one because you have to build them in certain ways, they are the fastest class in the game iirc.

a good party could be:
- front row: protector, swordsman whatever the name is land something
- back row: trobadour (with defense/attack buffs), medic and alchemist.

oh yeah there are some FOEs that you are not supposed to beat right on, you just wait till you are strong enough and then you try to beat them. the best way is to just avoid them if you are too weak.

[MrAngryFace]

Wow Error, your good party just described my party haha. Seriously tho its a great combination. The protector and troub are awesome support and the alch and lands can dish out DMG and well the healer, why buy potions? lololol

I skipped the FOE's in 1B3 or whatever cause theyre both those weird praying manitis things, dicked around in level 4 for a while killing wolves and mapping a bit. Everyones level 15 right now I think.

Thor is a badass spell

[Beezy]

So I just started playing this a little over an hour ago. What exactly are boost points? And do you have to place a monster icon on the map every time you get into a fight or just when you encounter a new monster?

[Beezy]

At the moment my party is:

Protector - Landwhatever - Dark Hunter
             Medic - Survivalist

I really need an Alchemist though, so I'm gonna change my party to:

     Protector - Landdude
Alchemist - Medic - Survivalist

What exactly do troubadours do?

[MrAngryFace]

I dont place icons for randoms, i'll post monster points in general 'areas' where FOE's show up but thats as far as I go. Ill give you some FOE advice for Floor 3.

When you enter, go straight south until you are one space from the wall, then turn west and head straight without stopping till you get to the door. It may LOOK like the FOE will get you, but it will not. Enter the door and stop.

If your encounter gauge is red move one space north and one space south until you encounter. Fight. Win. I tell you to do this because if you random encounter near a FOE, the FOE still takes movement turns and CAN intrude into a random encounter. This is NOT ideal. Ever.

At this point move north to the wall/face west. Move west until you see the FOE ahead of you and its indicator on the map is red. At this point move east to the wall, then move two blocks south then move straight west to the wall, then north to the wall, then face west to the door, open and enter.

Basically what this will do is completely sidestep the FOE in the first room of floor 3, and in the second room, lure the FOE away from the door to the third room where its relatively safe.

This will get you past the two high level FOEs that you can't beat for a very long time. The rest of the map is fairly standard proceedure, just higher level stuff.

[MrAngryFace]

At the moment my party is:

Protector - Landwhatever - Dark Hunter
             Medic - Survivalist

I really need an Alchemist though, so I'm gonna change my party to:

     Protector - Landdude
Alchemist - Medic - Survivalist

What exactly do troubadours do?

Troubadours sing songs, all of which enhance stats in a fight. Not only do they enhance stats but they also can negate negative stats placed on the party. Their later songs also sound kinda crazy. I mostly buff the song of Shelter for now. I have also found that a Troub with a bow hits as hard as a normal survivalist bow attack. Which makes them useful between songs to a degree.

[Beezy]

Hmm, I'll probably switch my survivalist for a troubadour then.

Thanks for the FOE advice. You forgot one question though. What are boost points?

[Error2k4]

at level 15 you could take out those FOEs on b3f without much problems, btw if you are low on money you SHOULD try to take one of those mantis FOEs on b3f, it's good stuff what they drop.

the boss of that stratum is very cool and the second stratum rocks (although a little rough at first).

trabadours also have a great skill which boost the exp gained in each battle and makes it less tedious if you are going to grind for exp or build up new party members or something.

[Van Cruncheon]

how many levels per stratum, and how many levels total?