Etrian Odyssey IV announced for 3DS

[Starmongoose]

Use http://crazyuncleivans.com/eo4skillsim/EO4Skillsim.html for character building. It doesn't have all the numbers, but it has most of them.

Why did I not know this existed earlier. Not knowing specific stats has been bugging me for a while.

[Ashton]

I can't believe how powerful Arcanists are late game. Early on they just kept dying and sucking and late game they're basically unstoppable when paired with Imperials. It's like they are Magikarp, but instead of Gyarados it evolves into Mewtwo.

[Cyril]

I had that same experience with Nightseekers.  My Nightseeker died over and over and over until 40ish or so, which is when Fortress gets its boost too, and then all of a sudden it starts pulling out 3k damage a turn with no effort at all.  Paired with an Arcanist who can reset status resistance, it's crazy.

[Fadedsun]

Before I even used them, I knew Arcanist was going to be my favorite class. So much fun to use. Basically, most classes don't show their worth until they hit 40 and up.

I was having a hard time deciding how to subclass my Medic, but I ultimately decided on Fortress and I think it was a really good choice. Now to figure out what to do with my Sniper...

[Cyril]

Sniper/Dancer can pull out ridiculous damage at high (70+) levels, but to do so you effectively need to sacrifice its Bind utility outside of Leg Bind if you want to do the most possible damage with them.  You'll probably need to Rest it, then put all your points into the Critical bonuses and the offensive skills.  You keep Leg Bind because without support skills, the Squall attack has rather low accuracy.

You can also go pure Bind route with both your Arcanist and Sniper and focus on having your Sniper use its level 40 skill where it removes binds, but does a ton of damage (italicized for emphasis) and use Chase Bind/the Bind Crit skill.

Sniper and Arcanist are compliments to each other, what you do with your Sniper probably depends on how you built your Arcanist.

[Nel]

Any advice for getting to the back of the room in the third boss' room? You know, to ice stake his heat source or whatever. I have the little room to the left discovered already, if that helps. Also, is the special drop you get for killing it with fire attacks worth it?

Oh, and thanks for telling me about the respawns, Ashton. Coincidentally, right after you posted that was when FOEs started reappearing on my overworld map. nn;

[Fadedsun]

Any advice for getting to the back of the room in the third boss' room? You know, to ice stake his heat source or whatever. I have the little room to the left discovered already, if that helps. Also, is the special drop you get for killing it with fire attacks worth it?

Oh, and thanks for telling me about the respawns, Ashton. Coincidentally, right after you posted that was when FOEs started reappearing on my overworld map. nn;

Not sure if it's a spoiler, but just in case.

Code:

Enter from the East door and bring about 5 ice spikes with you. If you walk towards the pool of water it will attract him, then walk counter-clockwise around the pool to knock out that first scale (the boss will always be two spaces behind you).From there you need to use a pole stone to return to the entrance. Rinse and repeat until the rest of the ice spikes are gone.

[Nel]

Thanks man. I'm way too impatient to have come up with that strategy. Boss is dead. And the first floor is back in "heat" mode so now it's a pain getting to where I need to go.

[Farron]

While I patiently wait for me copy to arrive I've been reading through some EOIV forums and noticed a lot of people are talking about links.
From the little I managed to gather and understand, you use a Landsknecth, a Dancer and maybe some other classes and when one of your characters attack other follow up without wasting a turn.

So, anyone here have been using this? If so, can someone explain to me as I've been playing a lot of the demo and I do have multiple characters in some classes and I was thinking of trying it out. Maybe I'll like it, maybe I won't but at least I'd like to know what to do.

[Cyril]

You don't really need a Dancer for links, they're just another link class.  Lands use Links in a specific, powerful build.

For a Land Link build, you use Land/Runemaster, and the skills Vanguard, Improved Link, and the level 40 one that increases damage.   Links are basically subsequent added elemental damage attacks added to the base attack.  You get your Land to attack first using the skill Vanguard, and every person who attacks after gets additional elemental damage.  When you're exploting a weakness, this elemental damage can be very impressive, but even when you're not it still adds quite a bit.  For example, it effectively doubles or triples the attack power of a dual-wielding Nightseeker.

You can also do Bind chain parties with Arcanists and Snipers, but it works a bit differently and focuses on the Sniper's Critical abilities and add/remove Binds.

[Nel]

These butterflies in the 5th area are dicks. That poison is brutal.

I like that they made a callback to that blond girl you could use in the first two games with the lookalike in the Imperial class.

[Raze]

I like that they made a callback to that blond girl you could use in the first two games with the lookalike in the Imperial class.

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All four are callbacks. There's also a war magus, a medic, and a landshark. Or maybe more than just callbacks. I still need to go nab the game.

[Nel]

Shows how much I remember the player characters from the first games. XD

Almost done with the fifth area boss, but he keeps using this uber attack that one-shots my entire team. Time to grind everyone to level 70, I guess.

[Cyril]

These butterflies in the 5th area are dicks. That poison is brutal.

I like that they made a callback to that blond girl you could use in the first two games with the lookalike in the Imperial class.

Agreed.  They're horrible.  Until the Sixth Stratum, they were my least favorite enemy.

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The petal mobs in the Sixth Stratum are officially the worst monsters in the game now, though.  I've Game Over'd
so many times because they just so happened to get lucky with an Ambush and mass petrification.   It seems to be level
based, fortunately, as my level has gone up its hit percentage has gone down and they don't hit 4/5 of my characters at
once as frequently.

You don't really need to grind to 70.  Which one are you having problems with?

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If it's the Cursed Prince, you need to kill him fast or he'll start one-hitting you constantly. Otherwise,
he can't attack you constantly. The trick is to watch the color of his Drive Blade.  When it's orange, go all out.
When it's silver, try to Arm Bind/defend so he wastes his turn.  A Fortress really helps.

If you're having problems with the boss after that, I have to say at level 57 that was partially luck for me, but at 60 it
would have probably been safe.  Keep in mind there's an optional dungeon after the final boss that will pretty much
hand EXP out to you if you can survive said above petrification.

[Nel]

It would be the guy you mentioned. I guess I just need a better strategy to take him out faster. I still need to grind a bit though; I'm still trying to get my Imperial up to speed. I love getting new classes, but hand-holding them to catching up with the rest of my team is a bit of a hassle.