Etrian Odyssey: Labyrinth of the world Tree

[Maryring]

I recently refound my old Etrian Odyssey gamecard, popped it into my DS and found myself back in one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure of trying. Etrian Odyssey is an awesome game and I want to know who else here has shared the experience of trudging through dungeons of enemies that can wipe you out in one surprise round, drawing detailed maps to navigate incredible labyrinths and felt that awesome tingle of finally winning a difficult battle where you could have lost at any moment.

I've run through the first, second and third, and money permitting I'll be getting a DS3 for no reason but getting the fourth game. I consider the second game my favourite, but it's a hard pick as the first game kept blowing me away as I played it, and the third game threw a real monkey-wrench into your perception of what class fulfills which role, something I greatly enjoy.

Anyone else here that would like to share their experiences, their guilds, or just ideas for how to make the subclassing of The Drowned City work?

[Veridis Quo]

I first got introduced to Etrian Odyssey around 2010 after I played another DS dungeon crawler called "The Dark Spire" also published by Atlus. I've played the first one up to the final boss, and I recently started the second Etrian Odyssey and have just made it into the second stratum. Once I've made enough headway into the World Tree I'll look into getting the third one as well.

I really like the feel and style of these RPG's because their some of the few RPG's to present me with this world where the creatures I encounter match the area I'm exploring. The labryinth's from both 1 & 2 are really beautiful to look at if a bit repetitive towards the middle of some stratums; but overall I never got bored with the enviroments I was exploring.

As for the guilds I used in each game, I've never been a fan of making the maximum 30 guild members I just make 5 and maybe 3 side characters for specialty reasons. When I get EO3, I'll try to branch out and try different party combinations throughout the entire labryinth but here are my two guilds.

Etrian Odyssey 1: Guild Epsilon
Name: Argus
Class: Protector
Level: 60
Description: Argus was the first character I made. He serves as the focal point of the guild, standing in harms way and offering support and counsel to the other guild members. Confident and resolute, Argus has never left my main party, having braved the labryinth many times he's got the experience to do just about anything.

Name: Nexus
Class: Surivalist
Level: 59
Description: Nexus is the groups survivalist, quick witted and light on his feet he specializes on dodging attacks and dishing out the damage to his foes. While never learning too much of the flora and fauna of the labryinth Nexus has learned just about everything there is to know about the creatures that roam the world tree.

Name: Alice
Class: Medic
Level: 61
Description: Alice is a bit of a paradox, she's not really a warrior and usually just sits in the back row and patches up the crew. Why she joined such an outfit and is braving the labryinth isn't completely known. What Guild Epsilon does know is that Alice helps keep the guild atmosphere level and healthy. Dishing out a well places staff blow to break up arguments and sometimes joining in the fray herself when things get desperate.

Name: Nicholas
Class: Alchemist
Level: 59
Description: Quite and withdrawn Nicholas weilds elemental powers to wreak massive damage on his enemies. When not exploring the labryinth looking for new components he can be found sleeping under a tree.

Name: Balus
Class: Landsknecht
Level: 60
Description: Argus's younger brother and an aspiring warrior. Balus looks to prove that he is the strongest warrior and cut down the many threats that wander the labryinth. Definately a hot blooded person but never to the point where he loses focus of protecting those he cares for.
I created other members to represent the other classes but never got around to using them because the core members were too established in my mind.

Edit: I'll post the party from EO2 later, work calls.

[Cogwheel]

I played EO3 once, to the end. Then NG+. Then a new party (since the NG+ one was based on "Make an all-Farmer team! It'll be a challenge! :D") that leveled up to a suitable degree and cleared the postgame.

Fun times. Fun, brutal times.

[Maryring]

I played EO3 once, to the end. Then NG+. Then a new party (since the NG+ one was based on "Make an all-Farmer team! It'll be a challenge! :D") that leveled up to a suitable degree and cleared the postgame.

Fun times. Fun, brutal times.
You... my good sir, are a masochist. The closest I ever got to an all-farmer team was the harvest team with safe-stroll and all the harvest skills. (Well, and Combat Study. >.>) Whom did you side with first? I've only completed the third once so far, and that time I sided with the Deep City. Next I'll side with Armoroad, and finally I'll side with the Eldest One.

Not gonna begin the NG+ just yet though. Going to finish getting all of them to level 99, as well as a few more quests, including defeating the last superboss, then remort them and hopefully pick better subclasses next time around. I learned the hard way that subclassing does not grant you the equipment of the subclass, so my Hoplite, whom I subclassed to Gladiator, found the use of the subclass extremely limited. A pity too, because I wasn't planning to use her for anything but Line Guard and the Antis. Probably gonna sub her into Wildling the next time, as they both equip spears, and the Wildling skills will help with getting conditional drops. At least I made a good choice of subbing the Ninja into Zodiac, to (ab)use 1 tp Dark Ether.

The current party set up is Princess/Buccaneer, Hoplite/Gladiator, Monk/Ninja, Zodiac/Arbalest, Ninja/Zodiac. The Ninja has by far the best subclass. For the monk, Ninja worked decently, but I'll probably go for Princess next time, since their buffs are limited to line, and having two Prevent Order casters is useful.


I first got introduced to Etrian Odyssey around 2010 after I played another DS dungeon crawler called "The Dark Spire" also published by Atlus. I've played the first one up to the final boss, and I recently started the second Etrian Odyssey and have just made it into the second stratum. Once I've made enough headway into the World Tree I'll look into getting the third one as well.

I really like the feel and style of these RPG's because their some of the few RPG's to present me with this world where the creatures I encounter match the area I'm exploring. The labryinth's from both 1 & 2 are really beautiful to look at if a bit repetitive towards the middle of some stratums; but overall I never got bored with the enviroments I was exploring.

As for the guilds I used in each game, I've never been a fan of making the maximum 30 guild members I just make 5 and maybe 3 side characters for specialty reasons. When I get EO3, I'll try to branch out and try different party combinations throughout the entire labryinth but here are my two guilds.

Etrian Odyssey 1: Guild Epsilon
Name: Argus
Class: Protector
Level: 60
Description: Argus was the first character I made. He serves as the focal point of the guild, standing in harms way and offering support and counsel to the other guild members. Confident and resolute, Argus has never left my main party, having braved the labryinth many times he's got the experience to do just about anything.

Name: Nexus
Class: Surivalist
Level: 59
Description: Nexus is the groups survivalist, quick witted and light on his feet he specializes on dodging attacks and dishing out the damage to his foes. While never learning too much of the flora and fauna of the labryinth Nexus has learned just about everything there is to know about the creatures that roam the world tree.

Name: Alice
Class: Medic
Level: 61
Description: Alice is a bit of a paradox, she's not really a warrior and usually just sits in the back row and patches up the crew. Why she joined such an outfit and is braving the labryinth isn't completely known. What Guild Epsilon does know is that Alice helps keep the guild atmosphere level and healthy. Dishing out a well places staff blow to break up arguments and sometimes joining in the fray herself when things get desperate.

Name: Nicholas
Class: Alchemist
Level: 59
Description: Quite and withdrawn Nicholas weilds elemental powers to wreak massive damage on his enemies. When not exploring the labryinth looking for new components he can be found sleeping under a tree.

Name: Balus
Class: Landsknecht
Level: 60
Description: Argus's younger brother and an aspiring warrior. Balus looks to prove that he is the strongest warrior and cut down the many threats that wander the labryinth. Definately a hot blooded person but never to the point where he loses focus of protecting those he cares for.
I created other members to represent the other classes but never got around to using them because the core members were too established in my mind.

Edit: I'll post the party from EO2 later, work calls.

Initially, I did not make a full guild, but I've since relented since I need a full guild in order to fill up the item codex, as my original team had access to neither Instant Kill, nor binds, nor afflictions. I had no idea that in Etrian Odyssey, afflictions would actually be useful, so I avoided the Dark Hunter initially for that reason alone. I did not make that mistake in EO2 though, where I had both a Dark Hunter and a Hexer as my main group.

Having multiple characters become easier in EO3, where they add the skill "Combat Study" as a common skill, so your "stay at home" characters get some xp as well. Anyway, if we're sharing guilds.

Guild Starlit of the North.

Name: Marion
Class: Protector
Level: 70
Marion is the guild leader of team Starlit, and views the team as her very own family. She is a trail-blazer and a pioneer, and the one who always pushes the guild to go forward bravely. In combat, she is an intelligent and effective warrior, and her quick thinking, foresight and skill in leadership has saved the guild many times. The only time she has hesitated was when the guild was sent into the fourth stratum, an action she had difficulties with to begin with, but soon came to realize that it had to be done.

Name: Jeanne
Class: Landsknecht
Level: 70
Jeanne is a hot-headed and spirited warrior specializing in axes. She was the first to sign up with Marion's guild after it was formed and has yet to regret it. Though at first reluctant at her place in the guild due to Marion's cautious nature, she has since discarded such notions after their long and ardorous battle against the wolfpack of the first stratum, during which the two ended up saving one another multiple times. She views Ren as a rival of sorts, and longs for the opportunity of a friendly spar with her.

Name: Ester
Class: Alchemist
Level: 70
Ester appears as a rather haughty woman to those who don't know her. The way she glances disdainfully at all across the rim of her glasses, her careful and precise manner of speaking and the general coldness of her voice. This is not a result of actual arrogance however, but a result of a complete lack of social grace. Given time, Ester is able to show a great deal of empathy for those she has gotten a good read of. And those foolish enough to think her weak and easily subdued will find themselves astonished when she shows them the power of a dragon-slaying Alchemist.

Name: Dani
Class: Medic
Level: 70
Dani is a thoughtful and intelligent young man. He signed up with Marion's crew because he heard of how many guilds who suffered death and loss within the labyrinth, and he reasons that many of those lives could have been saved had the guilds employed a medic to treat their wounds and help prevent them in the first place. For Starlit, the theory has been proven more than correct, as his clever tactics and bag full of curative salves has saved the hide of the guild many times. Nowadays he spends a lot of time near the base of the World Tree, with the deep, nagging feeling within him that the adventure Starlit has had in the labyrinth is just the beginning of something much bigger, and potentially far more dangerous than what is implied.

Name: Leni
Class: Troubadour
Level: 70
Leni is Dani's younger sister. She was originally not supposed to join the guild, as Dani did not want her to place herself in harms way within the labyrinth. Yet this eager young lass refused to sit tight back in Etria and pray for her brother's safety. She snuck into the labyrinth after them, and found them accosted by poisonous moths. An accurate shot from her bow saved the guild from an early grave, and she has been with the guild through thick and thin since then, despite Dani's continued insistence that she stays behind during combat against the more fierce denizens of the dungeon.

[Cogwheel]

You... my good sir, are a masochist. The closest I ever got to an all-farmer team was the harvest team with safe-stroll and all the harvest skills. (Well, and Combat Study. >.>) Whom did you side with first? I've only completed the third once so far, and that time I sided with the Deep City. Next I'll side with Armoroad, and finally I'll side with the Eldest One.

Oh, they inherited the winning party's gear, so I had an advantage in the earlier game.

Sided with Deep City branching into True Ending. Sided with Armoroad for the Farmer run, branching into True Ending.

Eldest One with five farmers is kind of hard, let me tell you.

[Kyrian]

I've run through the first, second and third, and money permitting I'll be getting a DS3 for no reason but getting the fourth game. I consider the second game my favourite, but it's a hard pick as the first game kept blowing me away as I played it, and the third game threw a real monkey-wrench into your perception of what class fulfills which role, something I greatly enjoy.

I am so excited that they're making one for 3DS. I had the first two, and lucked out that someone traded their copies into work with pristine cases. I made generic cases for them so I could have the real cases, and then like two days after someone traded in a nearly new Etrian Odyssey 3, that I bought immediately. Once I get paid again, I'm preordering the 4th one.

Honestly, I've never finished one, but I love that they're like old school RPGs, and that I have to draw the map myself.

[Maryring]

Oh, they inherited the winning party's gear, so I had an advantage in the earlier game.

Sided with Deep City branching into True Ending. Sided with Armoroad for the Farmer run, branching into True Ending.

Eldest One with five farmers is kind of hard, let me tell you.
No doubt about it. At least with farmers you should have plenty of cash to spend on items. Monk is surprisingly easy to replace if you have deep enough pockets. At least the healing aspect of them.


I am so excited that they're making one for 3DS. I had the first two, and lucked out that someone traded their copies into work with pristine cases. I made generic cases for them so I could have the real cases, and then like two days after someone traded in a nearly new Etrian Odyssey 3, that I bought immediately. Once I get paid again, I'm preordering the 4th one.

Honestly, I've never finished one, but I love that they're like old school RPGs, and that I have to draw the map myself.
Oh? You're missing out. For being a game with no story, Etrian still has managed to be the only game in ages that made me go "wow" at the story. The gameplay is fun too, even though the first game was... pretty awful in some aspects. Like Claret Hollows. The Forbidden Forest was nowhere near as vicious as Claret Hollows.

[Kyrian]

Oh? You're missing out. For being a game with no story, Etrian still has managed to be the only game in ages that made me go "wow" at the story. The gameplay is fun too, even though the first game was... pretty awful in some aspects. Like Claret Hollows. The Forbidden Forest was nowhere near as vicious as Claret Hollows.

There's worse than Forbidden Forest??? D:

I can barely get through floor 2 without having to turn back around and heal my team D:

[Maryring]

The first game did have the advantage of Relaxation. Unlike the Cursecut/Transfer combo of EO2 where you need both a Hexer and a Warmage, all you needed was a Troubadour to recover your TP. Toss in an Immunizer Healer and the general combat of the Claret Hollows wasn't that bad. What made Claret Hollows worse than Forbidden Forest was the sheer infuriation of navigating it. One floor full of pit traps. One floor full of acid. One floor of secret passages and one floor with tons of warps.

Could give you a real headache. Especially the pit trap one if you didn't notice the trick to it.

If you feel you can't go far enough into Forbidden Forest, get a Hexer. Torpor should still turn most regular combat into a joke. Team up with a Warmage, and you have a TP battery. If neither is an option, bring more amrita. You should be able to stock up somewhat easy on that, since the drops from the upper levels are great, and the harvest even more so.

[Kyrian]

The first game did have the advantage of Relaxation. Unlike the Cursecut/Transfer combo of EO2 where you need both a Hexer and a Warmage, all you needed was a Troubadour to recover your TP. Toss in an Immunizer Healer and the general combat of the Claret Hollows wasn't that bad. What made Claret Hollows worse than Forbidden Forest was the sheer infuriation of navigating it. One floor full of pit traps. One floor full of acid. One floor of secret passages and one floor with tons of warps.

Could give you a real headache. Especially the pit trap one if you didn't notice the trick to it.

If you feel you can't go far enough into Forbidden Forest, get a Hexer. Torpor should still turn most regular combat into a joke. Team up with a Warmage, and you have a TP battery. If neither is an option, bring more amrita. You should be able to stock up somewhat easy on that, since the drops from the upper levels are great, and the harvest even more so.

I will definitely give this a try (Hopefully soon). Sadly, well not really, my 3DS has been overtaken by Pokemon White 2 :D

[Maryring]

Oh. You lucky guy. I probably won't be getting my copy of Pokemon 2 until Christmas. So looking forward to it though.

[Cogwheel]

No doubt about it. At least with farmers you should have plenty of cash to spend on items. Monk is surprisingly easy to replace if you have deep enough pockets. At least the healing aspect of them.


Really? The lack of a monk was honestly what hurt the most.


And yeah, EO has surprisingly good plot. Though often, the shocking twist is the simple fact that there is a story.

[Maryring]

Madoras heal for surprisingly much. They're very expensive, but they get the job done. On the other hand, I used my Monk to spam party heal every round due to having my Ninja use Bunshin and Dark Ether every turn.

[Maryring]

This thread inspired me to return to Etrian Odyssey 2 and complete it, and I have. The game has been fully completed, with every item, every monster and every single piece of gear registered!

Go me!

[T.G. Oskar]

This thread inspired me to return to Etrian Odyssey 2 and complete it, and I have. The game has been fully completed, with every item, every monster and every single piece of gear registered!

Go me!

Too bad I can't do the same for EO1, given that my DS' top screen is permanently out of commission.

My usual team had Ronin, Protector, Alchemist, Medic, Troubadour (pretty basic), with my Protector, Medic and Troubadour retired and replaced. Ronin can be replaced with Landsknecht, and the Alchemist can be replaced by Survivalist or Hexer in any case. Medic obviously has Immunize (and Caduceus), Troubadour obviously has the TP-restoring ability, and Protector has Smite and all three Anti-element abilities (Antifire, Anticold, Antivolt) at level 5 for immunity (instead of absorption).

Currently trying to trudge through the Fifth Stratum before DS went partially out of commission. Not interested on going through EO2 until I finish the first, though.

Funny bit: I named the successor of my first Medic (both female, by the way) Meredith. Kudos on whom gets the reference ;)

[Maryring]

The main problem with doing the same in Etrian Odyssey is the fact that the drop rates for certain items there is just... sick and wrong. There's like a 5% chance of getting a scale of one of the three dragons. The fight against them is long enough, and it doesn't help that you have to walk a long way to get to Drake and Wyrm. It's a real pity. Even with a Medic and an Alchemist with maxxed scavenge, the chances don't increase by that much. I'm also missing Alraune, Queen Ant and Manticor's rare drop.

[Mirrinus]

I've played the first 3 games, and recently started a new game on EO2, which might have been my favorite. I'm trying out some classes I didn't use much originally for this runthrough, like Beast and Troubadour.

It's a great game series. I was first introduced to it through Labyrinth of Touhou, actually, and people directed me to EO as a game it was based on.