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BlackPersona posted:Got some weird tags and a Guild Name to fill in there, boss. loving... I did my find-replace for UntoldUnpack tags before I put those in.  The ways I manage to gently caress up continue to astound me.
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Jul 29, 2016 08:54
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Ragnar Homsar posted:
 Life is simply unfair, don't you think?
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Jul 29, 2016 14:41
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Sophie, 3x Go Nuts
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Jul 29, 2016 18:14
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BlackPersona posted:Don't how many to vote for, but gently caress it, we need Freyja, Nadia, Sophie, and Phoebe. You want binds, have them! Especially with that stupid Mirror Shield I second this vote.
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Jul 29, 2016 21:33
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Dr. Fetus posted:Sophie, 3x Go Nuts Going with this vote here. Because gently caress this coming fight.
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Jul 29, 2016 21:58
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Hobgoblin2099 posted:
There are times when a single snail can make a guild go extinct... Oh, Ragnar's Choice X 4
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Jul 30, 2016 17:03
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What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentation of their dragons. Full humiliation please.
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Jul 30, 2016 17:54
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4x RIP AND TEAR Crap, I already did that as a vote gimmick. But I stand by it.
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Jul 30, 2016 18:23
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Ragnar's choice x4
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Jul 31, 2016 00:42
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The Blizzard King just looks happy to be alive.
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Aug 1, 2016 03:01
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Update 25: Scylla    Dialogue merges here.  Yeah, the chance of waking up sleeping enemies has decreased. What an understatement. What this actually means is that when you attack a sleeping enemy, the chance of waking them up is 25%! Also physical attacks still get a damage boost when attacking sleeping enemies, so that's a pretty powerful food right there. Certainly makes the upcoming boss' conditional easier to grab.    Dialogue merges here.  Useless. I really don't know what the devs are trying to tell us what we're supposed to use imbues for.    Warn Chloe: Warn Bertrand: Spill your chasuke: Dialogue merges here.  Grimoire chances have a 40% chance of being converted into an Enemy Chance. Enemy skills in EO2U are much less useful than the ones you could get in EOU. There are only 4 major exceptions I can think of since most of the good ones from EOU either aren't in this game at all, or just flat out got nerfed.     ...... ......! It is crunchy and sweet!  Dialogue merges here.  Increases Arm bind resistance by 80%. Handy. Okay, that's all the food we can cook for now. Let's head back to the 3rd Stratum. Here's the last audio only conversation that can play there.   The quiver that runs through your entire being is the same sensation you feel when you gain new power. In answer to your friend's serious question, you nod silently. If you think yourself prepared to stand up to the threat beyond this door, then throw it open and face your adversary!    Though the view is breathtaking, you see that you are not alone here...      Any fears or doubts you harbor will get you no closer to your goal... If you are prepared to fight the monster, then draw your weapons and challenge it to battle!                 Here's my setup for this fight. The upcoming boss fight is one of the biggest roadblocks in the game, but fortunately, it tends to be the final roadblock for most parties, including the Story party. Once you get past this boss, it's smooth sailing from there. Now the room has 4 ice blocks, and slamming all 4 of them into the boss will reduce her HP by 40%, which is something you really want to do! Also it lets you get a preemptive attack on her.   Scylla Level: 42 HP: 23700 STR: 39 TEC: 38 VIT: 34 AGI: 31 LUC: 35 Skills:
Disable resistances: Oh boy, the fight against Scylla pretty much has every single problem with EO2U's boss fights in it. Let's take a look at her attack pattern to see what I mean.
First of all, Scylla fights at her own pace. Unlike most other bosses, her attack pattern is not dependent on her remaining HP. Instead, it's all laid out like that. Meaning that if you don't have enough damage, her offenses will overwhelm you. Usages of Cry Soul are meant to emulate phase changes. She also constantly summons adds, which greatly slows the fight down, and they can't be ignored unless you want to get party wiped. Oh and what's worse is that if you decide to take her on without slamming any ice blocks into her, you have to deal with these FOEs as well! Barrier Creeper Level: 39 HP: 3980 STR: 34 TEC: 34 VIT: 29 AGI: 32 LUC: 32 Skills:
Disable resistances: Yeah you really don't want to deal with these things. Oh and if you do the ice puzzle correctly, you won't fight them at all. Which means that you'll have to fight Scylla at full health later in order to register these things in your Codex. These aren't the tentacles that Scylla summons. Those are actually these things. Ruin Creeper Level: 39 HP: 380 STR: 28 TEC: 34 VIT: 29 AGI: 28 LUC: 32 Skills:
Disable resistances: Despite having slightly lower STR, they still hit really hard. I'll go more into these guys a bit later. But all this makes Scylla one of the most reviled bosses in the game.     Just gonna do some setup here. Not really showing how the turn plays out since it's pretty uninteresting. (Totally not an excuse to cover up the fact that I lost those images.)    Let's get this party started.  Ha! Nailed Scylla with Paralysis that time!    One of the key aspects of getting through this fight is damage. You need lots of it, because you really don't want this fight lasting long. If you're playing with a fairly defensive team, this still applies. Unless you level ground to a ridiculous degree, no amount of defenses will save you from her 4th phase.  The other aspect is crowd control. Scylla will constantly summon Ruin Creepers. Dedicate a party member to take them out, or just use attacks that hit multiple targets. Preferably AOEs, as they're the most reliable form of crowd control. If you leave the tentacles alone, they'll overwhelm you, and will cause a game over on a Cry Soul turn.   Ice Shave turns happen to be dangerous for 2 reasons. If you don't have Ice Wall at a high enough level, that usually means your front line will go down. The other reason is that even if you do, you can't use Front Guard to protect the front line against the tentacles, and they deal a non-negligible amount of damage.   It's in your best interests to take them out as soon as possible. Sadly, the Story party's only true AOE is Arianna's Link Order II.   If Knight wasn't transformed right now, that would be half his HP gone. Now imagine there being up to 4 of those tentacles bashing away at your party on top of having to deal with Scylla's attacks and you can see why this boss is so hated.     That's a total of 1495 damage right there. Unfortunately, even after slamming all 4 ice blocks into Scylla, her HP total starts around at 14000, so we're still in for a long fight.  I should note that Chloe is dealing way more damage than Knight right now, and she isn't even the best damage dealer in the game. Yeah in case you couldn't tell, the Fafnir class is really terrible early on. Not only are a bunch of their skills gated by plot, they're really skill point hungry. They're powerful in the late and post-game, but it's gonna be a while before we reach that point.  The skills he does get through the plot do at least prevent him from being the worst class in the game, at least.   May as well get off as much damage as I can.     Since the Paralysis wore off, I'm gonna try to Blind her. The Blind food will make her a non-entity in the fight, and Chloe will be able to continually deal tons of damage with Ailing Slash.  Ugh, didn't even land.     Well, Sagittarius Shot did more damage than Flavio's other skills, at least.   If you're unlucky, Cry Soul can end up killing someone even if they don't have their evasion disabled. If that happens to more than one person, just reset the game and try the battle again.  Won't end the battle, but should make a decent dent in Scylla's HP.    That's barely more than what Chloe was dishing out before! Still, Scylla can't take much more of this.  May as well get some extra damage in now.  Lullaby is coming up soon, and I'm gonna have Arianna block that with Prevent Order.  Aw yeah, time for Chloe to dish out the pain again!   The only thing I have to worry about now are her tentacles and her status moves. This also means that I can use Front Guard on the turns where she uses Ice Shave, to reduce the damage her tentacles deal.   I really hope your team has good crowd control, because dedicating only one person to take out the tentacles won't work unless said person has really strong multitarget skills.  Flank Shot and Illusion Step should soften up the ones currently out in battle a bit.  I also hope you have some TP recovery at your disposal, because this fight can take a very long time to beat. If you've been hoarding all the Amritas you've found, now is the time to make use of them.    Eh. Good thing I've got a surefire way to deal with those tentacles.    If you have a Survivalist, I highly recommend saving their Force Break for when there are too many tentacles on the field, so you can give your team a little breather.   Not happening.   Link Order II is also a really good way to clear out the tentacles. I hope you have that skill at a high level.   Cry Soul misses again. Let's see how much longer this fight is gonna take.  Well then.   The brick wall has been demolished!    This fight is pretty tough, even if you are as prepared as possible. It took me several attempts to get past this fight, and most of those got ruined by a tiny bit of bad RNG. I was really reliant on those ailments landing, as those were the only things that could give me enough breathing room. Don't be fooled by Ragnar's attempt at this boss. She is really tough if your party isn't capable of bursting down her large HP pool. Fortunately for the Story party, it's smooth sailing from here.  You have succeeded in slaying Scylla, the Ice Princess. But before you can say anything, a familiar figure appears. Music stops.  The woman of the Esbat Guild is on the verge of tears as she regards Scylla's unmoving form. Several questions come to mind...  The woman seems to not hear you as she silently approaches Scylla's still body and gazes down upon it.   The man in black arrives soon afterward to see the woman standing in a daze before Scylla's corpse. He sighs deeply. His expression seems pained, and you decide to ask him what's on your mind.  Wilhelm regards the unmoving monster sadly... and then begins to answer your question.  Let's find out about this ruler.  And now about Marguerite.  Once both questions have been asked, a third option pops up. We need to ask about eternal life to progress. An inexplicable loathing spreads across the man's face for the first time. If you were wondering why people were referring to Hellion/Flame Demon as female, this line is why. Yes, an unfortunate woman got turned into a spiked nipple monstrosity. Feel free to barf out of your nearest window. Wilhelm nods quietly at Chloe's question. Wilhelm's tone as he speaks is heavy and detached, and his words are swallowed by the white forest. You know now why Guild Esbat slew so many explorers of this whitened forest. A heavy silence falls upon the room... As you struggle for words, the woman standing before the unmoving monster... her sister... speaks at a whisper.  The woman's voice trembles until it becomes a sob, and her voice quietly echoes through the white forest. The man clad in black mutters sadly and helps the sobbing woman carefully to her feet. As the woman stands uneasily, she looks to you with puffy eyes. She nods. The two members of Guild Esbat vanish from the forest, supporting one another as they go.    Oh boy, this skill. It's probably the most broken skill Knight will get, and is what truly turns him into a powerhouse. What this skill does is that it sacrifices Knight's current turn, in exchange for being able to select up to 3 different actions on the next turn, on top of being given priority! One of the reasons I said that even Scylla is the last true roadblock for a Story party is because of this skill.  Though the mood had been grim, a stirring of excitement passes through the group. You have now gathered all the power needed for the ritual... You decide to leave the forest and head to Ginnungagap.   Okay, now that we're done with this floor, let's head on up to the next Stratum!  Oh come on! Not even a sneak peek? Whatever, let's go back to town.   
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Aug 1, 2016 05:08
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Voting is closed.quote:My choice: 22 Evidently we have a bunch of comic book Doomguys in here. Phoebe, Freyja, Stardust, Milly, Sophie. We've used this party before, and it'll be just as glorious now.
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Aug 1, 2016 05:48
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The Scylla events are handled a lot better in Story Mode, I'd say.
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Aug 1, 2016 05:49
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Update 26: Revelations   Okay, now that we have Scylla's power, we need to complete the next step of the ritual. So we need to head back here.  You step forward as Arianna speaks.  Oh by the way, this warning? In Story Mode, the game lets you know about the upcoming gimmick of the next part of Ginnungagap. In Classic, the game only tells you about the gimmick after you have entered the 3rd floor, and it's too late to leave! Oh and unlike in Classic, you don't have to come here at night to get to the next part.  And the game even lets you go back to prepare. But yeah, if you're not the kind of player that likes to go through floors in 1 go, this next floor can be a very nasty surprise. The game does give you a bit of help to get through it, but I'll get into that later. Anyways, I'm already prepared, so let's get this show on the road. You nod decisively, telling the Black Guardian that your mind is resolved. All at once, a white light fills the room, enveloping your entire guild...!       Chloe's tone is unsure, but the answer is provided by a familiar voice. The voice fades and your party is once more alone in this alien place. You try to think of something to say in response to Arianna's worries...  However, after this, the protector quickly turns serious for once and looks around anxiously. Though he puts up a cheerful front, there seems to be tension underlying it, since this is the final ordeal. In any case, you decide to heed the Black Guardian's warning and press on. And so begins the final step of the ritual. So going through the floor in one go may seem like a daunting task, but there are a few bones that Atlus throws you to help you get through it.   These chests all contain Return Flutes, which are handy because there are a few FOE puzzles on this floor. And it's easy to mess them up and get cornered.  The other bone that the game devs throw you are these little guys. What do they do?  Well here's Knight with a broken Force Gauge. Also I used up Arianna's Force Break to restore everyone's HP and TP.   If you leave Axolotls alone for a few turns, they'll use Blessed Light, which not only refills your Force Gauges, but restores any broken ones too. With this in mind, you can use Arianna's Proof of Nobility Force Break to restore your party's TP, and use Chloe's Fairy Robe Force Break to keep your party's HP topped off. Sustain isn't a problem for the Story party here. But be careful not to kill the Axolotl, as they'll break your Force Gauges instead if you do.  Oh, and unlike in the past EO games, suicides don't deny your party exp, or their item drops. So there's really no good reason to kill them. Anyways that's all I wanted to say, and show off for this floor. Oh and here's an audio only conversation in Ginnungagap I forgot to show off earlier.   As you continue the ordeal, the woman beside you speaks softly.  The group chats idly about their plans for the future as you continue exploring. Okay, now let's skip to the end of the floor here.    You can try touching this Pole as Flavio suggests, or you can leave it alone and proceed onward into the ruins.     Well you can actually save here, but that's about it.   The glow is unearthly... divine, yet somehow also cold.  Wait wait what. The Guardian's shocking revelation leaves you at a loss for words... But there is still more you must know, and so you decide to ask the Guardian another question.   This is referring to the events of Etrian Odyssey Untold's Story Mode. (Not Classic Mode, things play out way differently there.) The voice gives a small sigh before continuing. Even after the Guardian's voice fades, no one dares speak a word. Some are merely troubled by this sudden revelation, while others weep in anguish. None of them, however, seem to have an idea of what to say. Yet it is you whom the world's fate has been entrusted to... If your resolve is clear, then stand before the door. Yeah you know what, screw this, I'm outta here.   You must carefully consider all that has happened, and harden your resolve before approaching the Door of Boundaries. Oh fine.   By shedding your humanity to become the Black Guardian, you can maintain the seal and protect the world from the Calamity. Whereas if you reject the mantle of the Black Guardian, the sealed Calamity will bring great catastrophe to these lands.  Nope. Yet if you elect not to become the Guardian, it will surely mean an end to this world. The companions at your side, and the citizens of the town that has supported you... all will be no more. Knowing this, you cannot conscionably choose this path...  Guess we don't have a choice, then. If you do not become the Guardian, this world will be in jeopardy. Unable to abandon the companions you've come to know, you reach the only answer that you can. You have chosen your own fate... You turn around and speak of your resolve to your guildmates.  The two plead tearfully to try and dissuade you, but your resolve is firm. You speak up to try and convince the pair that it must be done.  Seeing that the two persist with their protests despite your reassurances, the young girl quietly speaks. Chloe then bites her lip and falls silent.  Her countenance is uncharacteristically solemn, with a sternness to it that makes you hesitate to approach.  Bertrand helps the sobbing woman back to her feet, and then puts her arms on yours.  The woman begins to sob as she clings to you... Flavio and Chloe also gaze intently at you, as if rejecting your farewell. Of them all, only Bertrand stands beside you, with that same easygoing smile.  You all watch, expecting Bertrand to be injured, just as Arianna was… But the blue light does not reject the protector's touch, and continues to illuminate the room.     Bertrand takes a quiet but definite step towards the Door of Boundaries...  The protector gives you a troubled smile. You are at a loss for what to say to Bertrand, and simply stare at him...  Seeing the look on the protector's face, it is clear to you that he has already made up his mind. But is this truly how it must be? This ritual that has gone on for hundreds of years... the power that surpasses humankind... It all feels terribly wrong to you...  Bertrand's face grows pained to hear the woman's words, but he shakes his head and responds to her. Bertrand mutters while glancing towards you, and you can see a deep sadness in his eyes.  You once said to Hrothgar... “Don't dwell over past sins. Keep your mind on the needs of those still alive." You once said to the Esbat guild... “Dying is no way to atone for your past." Now, the protector before you seeks to sacrifice himself to his past, leaving a young girl close to him behind. In your view, this would be a serious mistake. As the others stare at you dumbfounded, you quickly stride to the Door of Boundaries and reach towards it.  You pause, hearing the loving voices that call out to you... And then you pass through the Door of Boundaries as the Fafnir Knight, leaving your humanity behind.         
Araxxor fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Aug 5, 2016 |
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Aug 1, 2016 18:05
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Bertrand, you can't reclass from being a Fafnir Knight. Stop modding the game.
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Aug 1, 2016 18:40
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Huh. I wonder if the party's going to have to go on without Knight for a while. Who'd be doing damage in that case? ...Chloe?
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Aug 3, 2016 03:25
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Why is nobody talking about the fact that holy crap Betrand is over a hundred years old ohmygod WHAT
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Aug 3, 2016 06:20
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Just wait and see goons. Just waaaaaait and see what's gonna happen.
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Aug 3, 2016 06:52
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Update 27: Circuit Breakers    Meanwhile...   This is the same hallway that Knight first came through when he got his powers.    A creature is heard roaring.     But the Black Guardian trails off there, shaking their head.       Has the transference of power that the Black Guardian spoke of begun...? Having noticed your awakening, the Black Guardian appears in your sight.  The screen shakes.  The Guardian tenses and looks up at the ceiling.   The Black Guardian seems to stare at you intently.     You nod at the Guardian's echoing words, but just as you are about to begin, you hear familiar voices.  The black-robed girl's expression darkens, and it is then that you notice her constant companion Bertrand is absent.  The woman's face grows somber as she glances at the empty space next to Chloe.  As the others express their bewilderment at Bertrand's disappearance... The Guardian's voice echoes in your mind.   And so, the voice fades...    You tell the others that the problem is another Fafnir coming here while the Black Guardian's power was being transferred. You listen to Flavio's tale of how they could not help but come to you.  Still, you smile at your friends and tell them that you need to search for the missing Bertrand. The three of them nod eagerly, and begin exploring Ginnungagap with you...  This Geomagnetic Pole can be used to go back to High Lagaard in case you need to restock.  All the townsfolk have something new to say as well.          What very interesting and enlightening conversations. Now back to the matter at hand.   We're not allowed to head back into the Labyrinth or Ginnungagap B1F or B2F until we get this done.  This is because we are stuck with 4 party members for the entire floor! Not only that, the one party member that got taken away was our defensive support. To compensate for that, there aren't any new enemies, and the encounter formations on this floor are slightly easier than they were on the 3rd floor. There are still Axolotls on this floor, so feel free to take advantage of Arianna's Force Break is needed. In Classic Mode, the 4 man party gimmick is not forced upon them, and they are allowed to use Protectors if they want to. So there's a bit of a difficulty drop there.   Chloe looks around her, but sees no such device... Though Arianna is perplexed, you sense a mysterious power flowing about the empty air.  The moment you reach out, the power dissipates and silence returns. The other three appear to have sensed the invisible flow when you reached out to it. In response to the young man's uncertain tone, the Black Guardian's voice sounds. With that, the voice fades again. The whole guild, united in purpose, moves on in search of the next circuit.  Oh and after breaking one circuit, some FOEs appear. These guys can immediately teleport to the other side of any walls they run into, so navigating this place can be a bit of a hassle.   You can tell that the mysterious power is rich within this empty space. You nod to your friend, who hides his fears behind a cheerful demeanor, before moving on in search of the remaining circuits.   Chloe speaks out at a dead end where you see nothing, as before. You can tell that the mysterious power is rich within this empty space. You forge onward in order to accomplish your goal of saving Bertrand.   Just as before, Arianna looks to you at a dead end. You can tell that the mysterious power is rich within this empty space. And we're done. When you reach out, the mysterious power disappears, as if banished. The woman smiles to you cheerfully. As you nod to each other, you hear a familiar voice speak to you...     The group's faces harden after hearing the Black Guardian's speech. Your guildmates look to you, and you nod your assent before you hurry to the Hall of Succession as a team.
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Aug 3, 2016 10:47
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And now you can see why this dungeon was balanced around four people.
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Aug 3, 2016 14:32
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Four person dungeon crawling was a neat experience for Story Mode IMO. This was probably one of the cooler parts of Etrian Odyssey for me, just breaking the formula and everything.
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Aug 3, 2016 21:15
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The whole Axolotl thing is a pretty neat way of ensuring the floor's gimmick doesn't screw over the Story team (who can't change lineup to compensate for any problems they might have), since they are guaranteed to have a Sovereign in the party. I just got through this recently myself, and it was honestly pretty cool. Also, bless you for machinegunning these, Dr. Fetus; if I weren't playing along I think the suspense would be pretty brutal.
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Aug 3, 2016 22:01
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Update 28: Demi-Fafnir   As the woman speaks, you hear a familiar voice echoing. Okay, let's rescue Betrand.   With the first step inside the door, an intense heat surrounds you. In the center of the room is the man you have been seeking!  Bertrand's voice turns cheerful as he responds to you. The man's breathing is labored, and he looks to be in so much pain that he might collapse at any moment. The black-robed girl starts to rush to his side, but the man stops her sharply. Though you halt in your tracks, Bertrand backs away, putting more distance between himself and your group.  The unnatural vortex of heated wind continues to whip around Bertrand as he glances about.     Uhh, that's not good.      Akashic Nova is the exact same skill as Ignition Ray, only its targeting type is AOE instead of single. The damage output doesn't even change. But this is the final power Knight will get in Story mode.   Knight actually starts out the fight transformed (And has a new look to boot), which is a bit unfortunate for me since that means I don't have time to set up a Delayed Chase. So, Demi-Fafnir. Demi-Fafnir Level: 43 HP: 10800 STR: 31 TEC: 35 VIT: 35 AGI: 28 LUC: 33 Skills:
Disable resistances: Demi-Fafnir is a... special boss. He's weaker than Scylla in a lot of aspects. Most of his stats are lower than hers, and overall his skills don't deal that much damage. However the reason for all that is pretty clear as we still have only 4 party members to work with, and our defensive support is still gone! Now the fight itself isn't all that bad, it just has to be approached differently. (Assuming you didn't reclass anybody, and don't have a bunch of Protector Grimoires to cheese the fight with.) Demi-Fafnir can't really one shot your party members (unless you ignore the incredibly weak adds for some reason), instead he'll just gradually grind your party down, so unless your existing defense outpaces Demi-Fafnir's offense, going all in on offense is a bad idea. I should note that in Classic mode, Demi-Fafnir is an entirely different fight. And by entirely different, I mean hilariously anti-climactic. The boss itself is exactly the same in Classic mode. But Classic parties are free to bring in 5 people for the fight, and can bring in a defensive support like a Protector or a Beast to reduce Demi-Fafnir's low damage output to pretty much nothing. You think they would have gotten a buffed up version of the boss to fight, but then again, looking at the game files heavily implies that Ginnungagap was a last minute addition for Classic, and not much could be changed there.  Now you'd think that with the cutscene beforehand making a big deal about the heat, that Demi-Fafnir's weakness would be Ice. Nope, it's Volt for some reason. Probably has to do something with the fact that this boss wasn't even intended to be Demi-Fafnir in the first place. (Read Ragnar's update about this guy to find out more about that. Also to see how utterly pathetic it is in Classic mode.)    Gonna risk going on the offensive a bit. If Flavio doesn't land the blind, I'll have to play more defensively.  Bah.   Hm, not a good start.    Only about 600 damage for the turn.  I'll try to have Flavio inflict the blind again, and have Arianna join in on attacking as well.   Well that didn't work, and now Arianna is on the verge of death.    At least we took away a decent chunk of his health.    I don't really like using Guard Order, since I find that skill to be unnecessary when I can just use Front Guard, but as you can see, I don't exactly have access to that skill right now.  Oh and after you take off enough of his HP, he summons adds. Control Device Level: 43 HP: 400 STR: 36 TEC: 35 VIT: 35 AGI: 28 LUC: 33 Skills: N/A Damage resistances: Disable resistances: ...Really? You summon these dinky little things!? Sure they're a bit stronger than Scylla's tentacles, but she summons those constantly. Demi-Fafnir only summons these at set points.  Dispatch the Control Devices fast, as the flames they release will deal a small amount of damage to the party every turn. And since it's an end of turn effect, not even Fire Wall can protect the party against this.   Normally I wouldn't give up 3 turns of guaranteed full damage Ailing Slashes for a party heal, but as you can see, this isn't a normal fight.   This is kind of overkill for the Control Devices, but I doubt the fight will last long enough for Flavio to get a 2nd Force Boost going.  Throughout this battle, I'm also using Arianna's buffs as a way to slightly heal my team. I don't really recommend actually using her buffs for that in other battles, but it's a nice way to mitigate Demi-Fafnir's damage here.   Okay, now I'm back on my feet with everyone fully healed.   Yeah, complete overkill there. Flavio could have done twice as much damage to those things if they didn't die the moment they ran out of HP.  Ready to see Accelerate in action?  Since it's the last turn of Arianna's Force Break and she shouldn't be getting a chance to activate her Force Boost again, I'll just refill my party's TP.  AHAHAHA YES! I don't have the Blind food in effect, so Demi-Fafnir isn't completely out of the fight, but that should make Ailing Slash deal way more damage.   When Knight uses Accelerate, he must sacrifice his current turn.  Everyone's TP pools are topped off.  Ah, now that's more like it.    The payoff for using Accelerate is that Knight is allowed to select up to 3 separate actions on the next turn.     Broken? Pretty much. Knight dealt around 1730 damage on a single turn, which is about 16% of Demi-Fafnir's HP. Ouch.    Unfortunately now Knight can't Transform for the rest of the fight, and we're not even halfway done.  But at least Chloe can pick up the slack now.  And this is Demi-Fafnir telegraphing his super move. If you somehow took too long to take out the Control Devices, it'll pretty much kill you on the next turn. Oh and he sure picked a great time to regain his sight!   And now it's back to using Delayed Chase + Shock Sabre since Knight can't do anything better.  Since Demi-Fafnir isn't blind anymore, I opted to use Artery to help offset his damage. I suppose this fight is a bit interesting in that without a proper defensive support, you have to evaluate when to play offensively and when to play defensively.  Even if the chances of landing the Blind again are slim, I really would like to try since that will make the fight easier, and enable Chloe to hit Demi-Fafnir for big damage again.  Well, I knew the risks anyway.    Nothing I can't recover from.   I'm pretty sure Demi-Fafnir is going to summon the Control Devices again this turn, so I'm gonna have Arianna put a stop to that.     And they went down the instant they got summoned. How pathetic.  Though apparently pulling that off causes a bit of a glitch in that the flames still stick around until he uses Flame Formation again.   Seriously?  Thankfully Demi-Fafnir doesn't have too much HP left, though with things not going as planned, I'm wondering if I can even take him out.  Especially since Flavio can't land the blind again.    Knight's gonna get taken out if I don't heal him up.    This isn't looking good. If Demi-Fafnir gets off one more attack, I'm done for.  UNLESS FLAVIO LANDS A CLUTCH BLIND!   AND HERE COMES THE AILING SLASH TO TAKE HIM DOWN!   Demi-Fafnir is a bit of an interesting fight in Story mode considering that you have to play a bit differently, what with having only 4 party members and not having a dedicated defensive support. Unfortunately he's a complete joke in Classic since they aren't bound by those gimmicks.  Bertrand's monstrous form remains limp on the floor before you... The black-robed girl wears a shocked expression as she approaches the fallen monster with halting steps. Tears flow from the girl's eyes as she gazes upon the unmoving hulk that was once Bertrand. As each of you stands in shock at the sight before you, you notice a figure entering nearby.   The Guardian is sorrowful as she gazes at you, and then what was once Bertrand, collapsed on the floor. The Guardian steps towards the limp figure and kneels to gently touch its monstrous back. As the Guardian softly speaks, the fallen monster begins to glow...!  As light pours off the monster's body, what remains is...   Bertrand lies before you, restored to his human form!  Bertrand's voice drops to a whisper upon seeing the Guardian, as if he cannot believe his eyes. The Guardian he called Violetta smiles a bit bashfully. But in response to Bertrand's cry, the woman only smiles... and turns to you.   With a bright flash, the woman disappears. The moment she disappears, you feel a subtle change in the atmosphere...    Bertrand casts his gaze downward at the Guardian's words, and his shoulders begin to tremble.     People who've played EO1 and EOU should recognize the term.   Ah yes, the monsters of the forst.   The woman receives no answer. The area is blanketed in utter silence. Bertrand listened to all of this with mixed feelings, but then he bows his head low.   As anxious as you all feel, you decide to take the weakened Bertrand back to High Lagaard. Araxxor fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Aug 5, 2016 |
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Aug 5, 2016 01:08
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I really like Bertrand's character. He's got a lot of depth for what seems to be the stereotypical lazy older guy who sometimes comes through in a pinch. Liam O'Brien voicing him is also great. Demi-Fafnir is honestly a really easy fight even in Story mode, though.
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Aug 5, 2016 01:51
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A shame he can't reclass into Fafnir now, though. Although I guess I'm not sure how you'd handle the extra abilities unlocking in that case.
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Aug 5, 2016 02:13
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theshim posted:Demi-Fafnir is honestly a really easy fight even in Story mode, though. Yeah it is. Honestly they probably could have buffed him up. Murphy's Law just kicked in for me throughout the fight.  (Probably doesn't help that I held off on stacking Grimoires until after this fight.) I guess the dev team was a little uncomfortable with designing a fight specifically for a 4 man party. Oh yeah, now that we can explore the 4th Stratum, which party member should Knight hang out with?
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Aug 5, 2016 02:59
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Bertrand. Let the Fafnirs talk about stuff, I'm sure it'll be interesting and Trand's the best anyways.
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Aug 5, 2016 03:52
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Bertrand, obviously. Also my updates have been delayed further because EO5 came out in Japan and I'm playing it even though I don't know the first thing about Japanese. Fetus'll be picking up the pace on Story updates to catch up to me while I'm enamored with EO5, so enjoy.
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Aug 5, 2016 04:04
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This is actually one of the things that Untold 2's opening spoils (well it spoils everything i guess so thats sort of a moot point anyways), with Bertrand holding his hand out to Violetta's reflecting Knight's and Arianna's hands. Thought it was a neat detail, but slightly ruined it for me when I got to this point. Speaking of which, as the Knight, we should be responsible and spent time with our Lady: Flavio
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Aug 5, 2016 04:06
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And people wonder why I'm  about Trand. I really love his character. Shame they hosed up on EOU's story team personality-wise (And the fact the Highlander and gunner is STORY only, which means at least the Gunner equips get wasted on a Classic team unless you can get a Gun equipment grimoire.) Anyways, we listen to Trand again, he's got a lot to say likely.
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Aug 5, 2016 07:53
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Well since no more votes seem to be coming in, guess I'll end it now. Bertrand: 3 Flavio: 1 Chloe: 0 Arianna: 0 Well since there was no way to break the tie between Chloe and Arianna within the thread, I used a random number generator to decide who goes last. Arianna's inn scene will be the last one seen this Stratum again.
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Aug 6, 2016 01:52
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Update 29: A New Plan   Incidentally, Hanna and Quona have something new to say since we brought Bertrand back.   Okay, time to tell Gradriel what's going on.   Fade to black. The conversation ends. Dubois has something new to say to us.    Time passes to the next day. Hanna and Quona have new stuff to say.    Incidentally that little spelling mistake was the result of a coding mistake, not a slip-up on whoever edited the script.  Cass and Marion have nothing new to say.  The conversation ends. Let's see what Dubois has to say.     Well it's certainly nice to see characters actually developing in the Story mode, given how nearly everyone in the first Untold game was as flat as cardboard, and the one character that developed didn't do so in an interesting way. Anyways, let's head back to the Labyrinth. Oh I should note that in Story mode, floor jump for Ginnungagap B3F isn't unlocked until after you beat Demi-Fafnir. Classic can access it the moment they complete the floor though.   Now it's time to head to the 4th Stratum. For real this time.       Though there is no wind here, the petals gently fall, forming an exquisite vision of beauty...  As you chat lightheartedly with each other, you hear a voice call from an unusual direction... above you.  You look up towards the speaker and find what seems to be a person beyond the trees... But you are taken aback by the feathered wings this “person" sports! With this, the demihuman spreads his wings and rises into the air.   You begin exploring the forest that lies before you, on the lookout for the strange winged creature.   Oh don't mind me, just admiring the view and the fact that we're in the sky! I have to say, for all the faults the original game had, the one thing it had over all the other Etrian Odyssey games was that it easily had the best looking Strata (Well, outside of one exception, but I'll get into that later.) Petal Bridge is one of my favorite Strata in terms of aesthetics, and I'm very glad that they did it justice in the 3DS remake. It just looks great. The added detail of showing the sky below you also really helps emphasize that you've been climbing up the tree the whole time. (In the original game, you could only see the sky below you on the 19th floor.)  Oh and there's another thing I want to make a note of. See these enemies? Their conditional drop makes Amritas. How do you get said conditional drop? Oh just by killing them while they're Terrorized, simple as that. Oh wait, the only way the Story party can inflict Fear outside of Grimoires is through Chloe's Random Disease skill, which is by far the worst skill in the game! There's a more reliable method once you get to the 5th Stratum, but until then, yeah have fun with the RNG if you're trying to go for those drops. Oh and as a kicker, they're not even guaranteed to drop 100% of the time. Anyways, now that we've reached the 4th Stratum, let's head back to town.  Later. Let's see what the townsfolk have to say. Well, only Cass and Marion have anything new to say in Story mode.   Onto the Grand Duchy.  Fade to black.   And here's Dubois' talk dialogue.  Before we go back into the Labyrinth, let's take a nap.  As you sit there, you hear a knock at your door. Who could it be at this hour...?  Predictably, people wanted to see more of Bertrand.       Alone again in your room, you have only the silence for company. You think about all that Bertrand told you of his past, and then try to get some rest in preparation for tomorrow.  Okay, now that we've reached a new floor, there's quests to be done. And there's a few things I'm going to show off with these that weren't shown off in Ragnar's playthrough. First up, Law and Order. It's the last quest in the thief questline, and getting the flute changes things up a bit.     However, you will not be fooled again. You realize immediately that this is no ordinary guard! You ready your weapons, and the man disguised as a guard darts back to the bushes!  The man swiftly brings some kind of pipe to his mouth... It's the flute that controls the monsters! The sharp trilling echoes through the Labyrinth, and it is shortly answered by the roars of monsters and quaking ground!   You can scarcely believe your ears... The man intends to set the monsters on the city itself! Though your stomach churns at the man's plot, you remember Cass's words. Carefully, you draw out the sky-blue flute... You blow into the flute, and a gentle tone rings through the surroundings. One by one, the monsters' glares soften. Their snarling fades, and they turn docile, quietly filing out of the clearing.      You adjust your grips on your weapons, and head for the outlaw near the exit upstairs - fighting the monsters on the way. Getting the Tranquil Flute just gets rid of those two ants you saw, letting you go straight to the stairs.   The thief whips the flute to his mouth, and plays a keening, discordant melody that pains your ears to hear...   No worries, we have our own flute. It seems the monster may see you as mere food... it stares with bloodshot eyes, and lets out a gurgle of anticipation. You hastily try your flute, but the feral creature doesn't even register it. It seems you have no choice but to fight... To protect the peace of Lagaard, you must destroy this monster! And that's all the differences between getting the flute and not getting the flute. The party doesn't even attempt to use the flute against the mantis, since it didn't work on the scorpion. Next up, a Clever Ruse. There's actually new dialogue for this on in Story mode.    Oh hey a treasure chest! Don't mind if I do!  BLARGH!    After the battle... You sheathe your weapons. The monster disguised as a treasure chest has been slain.   As Arianna said, the mystery behind the requester's encounter has been resolved! Having uncovered the truth, you may now choose to go back to the bar to report, or continue to explore. I should note that the request was merely to discover what attacked the requester. Defeating the FOE is completely optional, and escaping from the battle will count as completing the task. There's no extra reward for killing it. Next: An outing in the forest. If you collect from an item point with Quona in tow, this happens.   At your suggestion, her face lights up. She eagerly takes the gathering tools from your hands. The girl readies the hatchet, and with a careful swing, she manages to chop off one branch. This is a Ice Branch that you can chop in the frozen forest!  She stares at it happily, delighted with her souvenir. The sight of her so happy puts a smile on your face as well. You return to your exploration. You can only do this once, but if you gather from an item point, Quona will get the rare item from that gathering point for you. You can't do this with any of the other item points once you've seen Quona get one. But that's all I wanted to show off for now. Let's get back to the Labyrinth.   Nothing grows in the cavity, and it is filled with sand. Scattered on top are a few withered plants and flowers. You see no purpose in remaining here either, and so return to your journey.   You look and see for yourself... Near the roots of a tree, the soil has been unnaturally tampered with. It almost looks as though something may have been buried there.  Unlike in EO2 where there was no benefit to doing this, you actually want to dig up this place. You crouch at the tree's roots, intent on digging up whatever valuables may sleep beneath the soil... You turn around to see what Bertrand is cautioning you against--it is a mighty swarm of bees pouring into the area! Countless bees slowly close in on you... You see no chance of escape now. Draw your weapons and fight them! A fight with some Waspiors ensue. After the battle...  Flavio is correct, for an even greater swarm of bees than what you just defeated is waiting to strike at you!  You rue your decision now to dig at the tree's roots... The result is that you must take your weapons in hand and fight to survive this predicament! Yet another swarm of Waspiors attack our party. After that fight...  You finally defeat the swarm of bees... Only to be met with another, even larger wave after them! Fortunately, these do seem to be the last of the marauding bees...  You feel a surge of momentum with the end in sight, as you raise your weapons against the final wave of monsters! One Link Order II later...  With the long, arduous battle behind you, you take a deep sigh, relishing your freedom from the bees. You keep one eye on your surroundings as you begin digging near the roots of the tree. After a while, your hands brush against something hard, and you cautiously wipe away the dirt around it. What you unearth there is a number of small, white shards, and an old, leather-bound book. The white shards are too old to be of any use to you, but the book is still legible...  In the original, you got absolutely nothing because your party gave up on digging to flee from a swarm of scorpions.  As you discuss theories and whether or not to dig deeper, Bertrand, who had been gazing at the white shards, speaks up. Bertrand coaxes you to fill the hole in the earth before returning to your exploration. So the thing Arianna was talking about with stuff being buried under cherry trees? (And by extension, the story the Classic party vaguely remembers about that) That was a reference to a Japanese story “Under the Cherry Trees” where dead bodies were stated to be buried under cherry trees. Yeah, those white shards? In case you somehow haven't understood the implications at this point, we were digging up Apicius' grave (The implications about being grave robbers are still in Classic, but the bone shards aren't mentioned at all.) In fact in the original game, the scorpions that swarm you here are much stronger than the bees, and were meant as a punishment for trying to be grave robbers, and unprepared parties would easily get a game over. Of course that was a bit of a problem for people who weren't even aware of that story in the first place.   It appears to be the mysterious moving plant monster.  At your first step after Bertrand's words, the plant monster begins immediately to shake uncontrollably! You prepare to stand your ground against the monster, moments before it flies at you!   Same enemy as the other 2 plants.  You can follow the elated Chloe's suggestion and return to town, or you can continue your exploration. And that's all for now. Next time, we'll explore more of the 4th Stratum.
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Aug 7, 2016 05:24
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I wonder how he got to the Fifth and Sixth Stratums, but somehow came back and died in the Fourth. Never underestimate the Labyrinth, I guess.
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Aug 7, 2016 08:38
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Maybe he just wanted to be buried in the 4th stratum and died for unrelated reasons.
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Aug 7, 2016 14:04
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The RNG got him.
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Aug 8, 2016 07:23
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 (I got EO5's DLC working after some mishaps with the non-functional FM synth option) In non-dumb thing news, I have recorded the Blizzard King fight, and should have it up by Tuesday evening. How much do you guys like 4 turn victories against postgame bosses? 
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Aug 8, 2016 08:55
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Ragnar Homsar posted:In non-dumb thing news, I have recorded the Blizzard King fight, and should have it up by Tuesday evening. How much do you guys like 4 turn victories against postgame bosses? This specific fucker deserves worse.
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Aug 8, 2016 08:57
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alcharagia posted:This specific fucker deserves worse. You may or may not get your wish.  Also just a heads up, the statement about leg binds stopping Mirror Shield was based off of a faulty assumption. Leg binds do not actually lower priority, so in the end there's no real answer to Mirror Shield! Just hope the RNG doesn't screw you over. What fantastic boss design. Araxxor fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Aug 8, 2016 |
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Aug 8, 2016 09:05
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Ragnar Homsar posted:In non-dumb thing news, I have recorded the Blizzard King fight, and should have it up by Tuesday evening. How much do you guys like 4 turn victories against postgame bosses? Kill the dragons and cook their flesh.  
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Aug 8, 2016 10:38
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It'd almost be better if Trand was a legit coward, but then again I suppose he didn't really argue too hard when it turned out he had to put off Fafniring for a couple days.
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Aug 8, 2016 22:51
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