Well, you've got maxed-out Harvestry, so you've everything pointed out in that post as a starting option (that is, all the skills in green) available to you, plus the ability to put points in Keen Nose (causes rare items like that Palm Trunk to show up more often) or Double Crop (lets you spend TP to refresh some of your chances to harvest).
That would be another reason why I intend to carry 2 going forward, yes.
Admittedly another part of it is that I occasionally forget to restock it, and so it's a wiser idea for me to have more than one on hand just in case I forgot to restock once.
Well, and this is a memo to not only wdango and Illusion but all others who would join our illustrious gang of Farmers (we should have a full team of 5 by the time we're done), here's what a Farmer can get their mitts on.
- Earth's Bounty; the Class Skill of the Farmer; points in it increases the EXP gained by allies if you're alive. Handy, but just the tip of the iceberg.
- Camp Mastery; basically, though we've yet to receive a tutorial on it on account of no campsite being present on B1F, this lets campsites revive and cure Petrify while boosting their recovery rate. More on that when we meet my favorite character, but this skill also unlocks a couple others.
-- Lv3 Camp Mastery nets you Waste Not, a passive that improves the drop rate of items in battle.
-- Lv5 Camp Mastery, halfway to max, provides Slap Awake, an active only usable from the Main Menu that can revive a party member for a small sum of TP.
- Lullaby; The start of the Farmer's dubious career in battle, it puts them to sleep with a chance to take all enemies with them.
-- Lv1 in this unlocks Play Possum, which reduces the Farmer's chance of being targeted for 3 turns. This at Lv3 with Play Possum at Lv5 unlocks Persistence, which gives the Farmer a chance to revive at the end of a turn once in a battle.
-- Lv3 unlocks Strange Seeds, which have a chance to bind all enemies' in all ways -- Head, Arm, and Leg.
-- Lv3 also unlocks Rotten Egg, which debuffs enemy strength for 4 turns, and is made more potent if they're suffering from statuses. Incidentally, this at Lv3 unlocks Sympathy Pain, which lets them share statuses they're suffering from with enemies, and Sympathy Pain in turn if at Lv5 will unlock Brave Heart, which lets them recover TP if their HP is maxed and they're in the front row.
- Harvestry; the selling point of the class. I'll actually discuss it in the main update, but basically 1 point of Harvestry = Chop + Take + Mine.
-- Lv3 in Harvestry actually unlocks Keen Nose, which improves your chances of finding a rare item through ordinary gathering.
-- Lv5, or max level, in Harvestry unlocks Double Crop, which refreshes your ability to gather items by a given amount per use, giving you even more bang for your buck.
- Keen Eye; a skill that tells you where every [REDACTED] on the floor is for a small number of steps. Good for figuring out if it's safe to move somewhere or not. It, too, unlocks some skills, and these are some of the Farmer's best.
-- Lv1 Keen Eye grants you the incredible, amazing 'To Market', a skill that WARPS YOU OUT OF THE LABYRINTH, BACK TO TOWN. Costs 13 TP, but who cares?!
-- Lv3 Keen Eye unlocks Rain or Shine, which nullifies damage taken from certain map tiles for a number of steps.
-- Lv5 Keen Eye gives access to the Farmer's best skill, Safe Stroll. For a limited number of steps, NO MORE RANDOM ENCOUNTERS. AT ALL.
- Horseplay; I've not gone into it too much yet, but there are some important things that happen with time -- among them, that a new day can turn over while you're in the Labyrinth the same as if you had stayed at an Inn; chances to gather refresh with each new day, so Farmers have this simple 2 TP skill to 'Shirk responsibility until an hour passes.' No ill effects, either.
Yup; it's how I managed to get the party stocked proper quite as soon as I did.
Of note, Illusion's apparently (partly by my own doing, partly by Illusion's wishes) going to be getting Safe Stroll, so that's covered at the very least.
Hello.
Willing to sign up as anything, really.
WHO NEEDS FARMERS DID I HEAR FARMERS I CAN FARM YES I CAN
I can be anything else too, but it looks like you got that covered.
Hello.
Willing to sign up as anything, really.
WHO NEEDS FARMERS DID I HEAR FARMERS I CAN FARM YES I CAN
I can be anything else too, but it looks like you got that covered.
In the last update, we managed to win at mapmaking. I'm a happier sonovagun for it, and so should you.
Now, however, comes one of the big changes to the Etrian formula that III made, one of its major selling points (alongside the obvious THEY MADE ANOTHER).
"When the Calamity struck a century ago, the topography changed, and commerce ended.
"Since then, many have worked to reopen trade routes, but nobody can get ships out past these currents." This may sound a bit sketchy, but from having been there I can confirm that to the north there is a high concentration of 'FUCK YOU' in a variety of different flavors that would understandably make voyaging to places like Aeaea and Ugarit a bitch and a half.
"That's why the Senatus and I are aiding explorers to set sail and create new sea charts.
"The rewards are handsome indeed. If you can chart a course from here to the north, it'll be worth it.
"I've even gotten them to lend you a ship, exclusively for Malboro's use. Got a name in mind?"
We then go to the same sort of name entry screen as for the Guild, and sure enough there is a rather appropriate name floating in the wdango thread, considering we're going to be going out on salt water often enough.
Congratulations, you've been volunteered (and were actually surprisingly okay with it when I actually brought the idea up in the thread, go figure). Other suggested names included the Hangwind, the doubleyou, and the Duck Ship (see: our main party's Monk), but somehow the idea of TehChron being our King of Red Lions for what's to come seemed a little appropriate. Particularly given some of the situations that I know will come up.
"You're different, though! We'll be counting on you to restore Armoroad's name as the Ocean City!" And with that he gives us a little scrap of paper that happens to be our Sea Chart. Much like the map of the Labyrinth that we got from the Senatus, it's intended to be filled-out . . . . . . but I hope my memory's not playing tricks on me, nor the emulator for that matter, 'cause I could've sworn I was able to actually do stuff with the map right about now already. Ah well, might as well try going out to sea.
"This isn't very tasty, but it'll keep you going. Use it to learn the ropes of charting the sea."
Obtained Biscuits.
"Also, it's a little threadbare, but you should also take this flag as well.
"It's a good-luck token, commonly hoisted by fishermen praying for a big catch.
"Your objective is to fill in the sea map, but voyages get pretty costly. So, I propose a deal.
"When you notice fish during your voyage, catch and bring them back. That'll bring in a bit of income.
"Just make sure you keep your eyes on the real prize."
Obtained Fishing Flag.
That's right, going out to sea is by no means free, nor is it a free-roaming thing like the airship travel in EOIV (though in that case it kinda had to be free, elsewise the game'd be much more frustrating); the food you pack determines the amount of turns you can take on the sea, which include things like movement or using certain items that we'll acquire later, but the primary concern is that our movement on the sea is limited; every 'step' counts.
Bumming around on the sea without a guide handy is as such predominantly trial-and-error . . . which is why I've unashamedly got a tab open with an actual guide on it (there's an FAQ on Gamefaqs that's not half bad, lemme tell ya). In fact, the guide actually has an alright suggestion for something to show you guys, and thus we'll be setting off on our first few voyages right off the bat (thanks again to wdango for the funds necessary).
Y'see, while you might've gathered that the sea exploration is in part a get-rich-quick scheme (with all the success that entails; unless you hunt a certain beastie, fat chance of you getting much of anything out of it compared to gathering in the Labyrinth), there's another bit about sea exploration that's infinitely more important to our quest.
"Your duty: to chart the boundless ocean, recording its shores and shoals on your map.
"You decide to start with the area around Armoroad to get used to navigating the seas."
Your objective at sea is to explore the seas, filling the map on the bottom screen. I'm prompted to review the controls, which I okay because I'm not the only one following along on this, and which in turn reminds me of something I forgot. No wonder I wasn't able to fill out anything! We needed to SEE it first. Sometimes I curse my memory; other times I'm reminded it's already cursed. Basically, if it's not yet been seen, we can't cartography it up there. A good deterrent to folks who'd be inclined to fill out the entire map using some means or another. For now, however, we're just going to go all the way West to get a feel for the area. (As to why it's suddenly night, time actually passes rather quickly out at sea, which makes sense enough given that it's an actual voyage.)
The giant lighthouse to the west of Armoroad towers over the surrounding seas.
The lighthouse has stood there for ages, its majestic bearing always visible.
You may visit the lighthouse or simply go on your way.
The game then plonks a flag on the map right at the spot of that lighthouse, as if to say how important it is. I quickly take the liberty of marking its position on the map more thoroughly, but despite what the game says we can't actually go there QUITE yet. Y'see, first of all those biscuits have run out on us at this distance (meaning that any move we make will prompt us if we want to return to town), and more to the point . . .
"So not only are sailors forced to go without its light, we can't even get close enough to repair it.
"But maybe it has a blind spot, so to speak. Would you guys be capable of finding a safe route there?
"The marines on a small island to the north have a stock of dried peas they could share with you.
"With those you could sail further. If you can get to the beacon, we can dispatch combat engineers.
"It's a crucial part of restoring Armoroad. I wish you the greatest success."
What our friendly neighborhood harbor master's just told us is all true -- if we had approached that place a tick higher, that bird would have gone and sunk the Chron in a heartbeat; you can't approach the Skandalia Lighthouse from the front by any means. In back of it, however, is a bunch of currents and a friendly whirlpool looking to get buddy-buddy with anyone dumb enough to try going around back willy-nilly, so some caution is required.
Sinking of the ship by any means is bad news, because where we had to pay a sum to begin with in order to set sail on it (equal to however much our food and ship's equipment cost to load up), when sunk one has to pay an equal amount for repairs -- meaning that, again, the Chron sinking by any means is bad news.
However, this introduces the meat of Sea travel: hunting down objectives, getting to them by one means or another, and being rewarded from it in a way that helps you progress further. Now, what actually awaits at the end of this little diversion is an excellent and terrible thing, lemme tell ya, so I apologize if you expected me to be going down to B2F sometime in the near future; today's update is about SAILING.
Incidentally, this fish was en route to (read: adjacent to) one of our main destinations, so I get to show off how fishing works -- if you end up being over a fishy little icon like you see in the tile above us, you can hit A and snag fish. What you end up getting will get sold automatically upon ending the voyage, and fishing doesn't cost any turns at all, so even if you're doing something else at the time (like we are) you might as well if it's in your way -- it's all Entel that goes back into your sailing funds.
Through your spyglass, you can see marines from Armoroad gathered around, seemingly hard at work.
You can disembark here and talk to them or continue on your way. Will you disembark? [YES] [NO]
Well, given what we were told by the man, we ought to -- there's something in it for us.
"Oi, what brings you to this tiny island? I make [Dried Peas] here, as chow for the marines."
You explain that you need Dried Peas to reach the Lighthouse.
"Really, now. Well, if that's the case, I'm more than willing to share some with you.
"They're long-lasting in the hold AND the stomach... Marines and Labyrinth guards both love 'em.
"They ought to come in handy if you're out to explore the sea lanes."
You thank the seaman for his Dried Peas and return to your ship. Alright, everyone with their minds in the gutter regarding a seaman's peas, get it out of there before the salt water cures it.
Soldier B has just given us a very useful item, and while the game isn't incorrect about its usefulness, it IS sort of misleading here; while we do need them for getting to the Lighthouse, they're not good enough for getting to the actual Lighthouse.
The Dried Peas mark the start of another trend of Sea travel -- finding items on this island and that from which you can earn money, or else acquire either improvements for your ship OR -- in the case of many different things you can eat, like these Peas -- increases to the number of movements you can make before you're forced to turn back. In this case, Dried Peas give us 8 compared to the 6 we'd have normally . . .
. . . but you need just shy of double that to be able to reach Skandalia Lighthouse.
As you'd expect from this news, we've a bit more dicking around on the high seas to do if we're going to be coming 'round back of that bird.
You mark the island on your map and attempt to set sail when the trees suddenly sway.
Something may be nearby... You wonder if you should stop to investigate or continue sailing.
What could possibly be on THIS island, hmm? We're prompted in the usual way if we really want to stick our necks out for this, and after we inevitably confirm with a 'yes' . . .
"This here's an island of wild Armoroad sheep. You came by boat, din'tcha?"
An old man emerges from behind the flock. It seems he lives on this island as a shepard. (Along with his son Rolf, no doubt.)
He explains that the sheep's pen has deteriorated and he needs good cedar wood to fix it.
The old man asks if you can bring back some Armoroad Cedar, found west of the ocean city.
You make a note of his request in your logbook, though you can't be sure when you'll get to it.
Our next voyage, in fact. Guess what we needed in order to be able to get any Armoroad Cedar?
Looking closely, you see they are Armoroad Cedars, well-known to yield good-quality lumber.
If you like, you may cut one down. Cut down a cedar? [YES] [NO]
If you guessed 'Dried Peas', your pattern recognition is working tonight.
Each of you takes a saw in your hands and sets to work felling a tree.
After it comes down with a crash, you load it onto your ship and return to your voyage.
Or rather, pick your choice of results:
The saw in Bunny's hand went disused as, upon opening the 'engagement' with their customary Provoke, it was soon found that speaking ill of an Armoroad Cedar's heritage is a great way to harvest one -- the tree felled itself trying to get at the Hoplite, and was quickly subdued and dragged into the ship's hold.
Two men and two women working together can get a job done a lot quicker with Attack Order boosting their strength, though once they and the Prince returned to port the harbor master would quietly wonder if perhaps the indentation of an armored figure in the side of the tree was perhaps not accidental.
It quickly became apparent just how unnecessary the saws were when their resident Monk tried knocking on the side of a Cedar with the intent to see if the wood was good; the impact was enough to fell the tree. As no flaw was found in it, the Cedar was quickly stowed, and the incident to never be spoken of again.
The work progressed simply and swiftly, and everyone played their part. A simple, ordinary affair that would be expected of someone who'd done this before, though there was a distinct sense that something more . . . unusual should have happened. The Cedar was loaded on the ship with no further difficulties than could be expected of a party of adventurers.
Today Guild Malboro received a grim reminder of why the Unmaker is not allowed to play with equipment the guild doesn't even have yet. The results were a crater in the hillside whose formation just so happened to coincide with the displacement of a tree from that hillside and into the hold, as well as a resolution that if the Chron is ever ACTUALLY loaded with a cannon, the Unmaker is not to touch it.
That Cedar nets us a decent 50 Entel, reminding us that apparently two branches of something in the Labyrinth could do just as well. Oh well, a quick trip back to that shepherd's island after retrieving that Cedar, despite us turning it in, sees us actually taking it to him.
On delivering the wood to the old shepherd, he thanks you and gives you a small bag as a reward. (I recall the prior event spelling it 'shepard'. Strange.)
Inside is a hunk of Sheep Cheese, a delicacy beloved of sailors on long voyages! (Of about 16 tiles, but that's JUST what we needed.)
You thank the old man and leave the island in search of more unmapped regions to explore.
Or we would if we had any more turns on that voyage. However, looking at it now, we might have to split this update into two parts . . . but no matter, doing so actually gives me a moment to prepare! For what, you might ask? Oh, nothing in particular.
I just need to grind a little, is all. See you in the next one!
Looking closely, you see they are Armoroad Cedars, well-known to yield good-quality lumber.
If you like, you may cut one down. Cut down a cedar? [YES] [NO]
Today Guild Malboro received a grim reminder of why the Unmaker is not allowed to play with equipment the guild doesn't even have yet. The results were a crater in the hillside whose formation just so happened to coincide with the displacement of a tree from that hillside and into the hold, as well as a resolution that if the Chron is ever ACTUALLY loaded with a cannon, the Unmaker is not to touch it.
On delivering the wood to the old shepherd, he thanks you and gives you a small bag as a reward. (I recall the prior event spelling it 'shepard'. Strange.)
Inside is a hunk of Sheep Cheese, a delicacy beloved of sailors on long voyages! (Of about 16 tiles, but that's JUST what we needed.)
You thank the old man and leave the island in search of more unmapped regions to explore.
Or we would if we had any more turns on that voyage. However, looking at it now, we might have to split this update into two parts . . . but no matter, doing so actually gives me a moment to prepare! For what, you might ask? Oh, nothing in particular.
Also, interestingly enough . . . I have no idea if my saves are taking. The game isn't protesting when I do save, but I've no idea if it's actually able to read the saves made. So far I haven't closed the emulator once. The thought occurred to me whilst doing laundry and it's a little worrisome considering what's due up next.
On the plus side, though, a test performed on my actual copy of the game shows that even at their current levels, Bunny and Lance could potentially take what I intend to show off, but that test battle got hideously lucky with a status effect so this could also end up going rather bad.
Should I grind up a level or two and use Bunny, Lance, and Hadiz, or stick with the current levels and just use Bunny and Lance? I know I'm giving infuriatingly low amounts of detail, but at the core of it the question's more 'should I play it safer or get a little risky?'
Oh, it does reward taking chances. It just isn't afraid to punish stupidity.
You can be an okayish level to fight something, and it'll be tough but not impossible. Don't prepare at all for it, or go in hideously underlevelled? I hope you like the Game Over music.
...unless there's some hidden downside to grinding. I've never seen you talk about that, so I'm sure it's fine.
When we last left off, I was being a bit cagey about what'd be happening next.
Time for me to knock that off.
It's time to do as this says, and finally chart the route to the lighthouse. (Ignore the bit in the bottom there, that was the product of me dicking around after forgetting to catch that title catch.)
First order of business is to repeat the steps that let us spot the lighthouse in the first place: 6 tiles west. Incidentally, this will also give us a good view of the currents we need to be concerned about, as only ONE of the ones behind the lighthouse won't screw us over -- that one, we can even see in this screenshot. For convenience's sake, I'll quickly map out all the currents behind the lighthouse now -- a quick turn to the right and back again can give a good look at the lot of them, nicely enough.
It's pretty clear where we should go now, so I quickly get to that -- going south one, and then west 'til . . .
It's a featureless island, but on close inspection, you see that something has washed ashore.
It looks like one of the Dolphin Statues that were once attached to fishing vessels for luck.
Thinking that it may prove useful, you decide to salvage it and return to Armoroad. (Shit, didn't notice if it said 'return IT to Armoroad' or just 'return to Armoroad'; guess that's a bit more incentive for you guys to play yourselves, ehehe?)
In any case, we've not long now 'til we get there -- just two north, and then I get to explain currents a bit.
Basically, if your ship sails into a current, it's at that current's mercy 'til it reaches still waters again -- so we just moved three west and one north, all by just spending one turn moving west (onto that current).
You can sorta guess where half the other currents behind the lighthouse would've taken us, and thus why we're sure as hell not going west 1.
Particularly as we're finally at the lighthouse.
After noting its location, which none have dared near for over 100 years, you return to Armoroad.
The day of Armoroad's return to glory is now one step closer.
"Paving the way to the lighthouse is the first step restoring our city, and we have you to thank.
"Keep at it and we'll see Armoroad restored to its former glory. Or better, even!
"...Here's your reward. It's a [foremast], great for catching the wind. Try it out on your ship."
By equipping a foremast, the ship's moving distance will always be +1 space.
Obtained Foremast.
Obtained 500en.
But wait, there's MORE!
Requests called sea quests can be accepted at the port.
These quests can be played by connecting with other players and cooperating with them.
If you're attempting the quest alone, bring the adventurers who issued the request to the port.
Try selecting a sea quest from the menu and see what you think.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
IT'S TIME! FINALLY!
Introducing the SEA QUEST! The TRUE purpose of sea travel! There are around 12 bosses available ONLY through this, and there are good rewards for going through this (least of which being one of the postgame superbosses is actually located this way. Go figure).
Sea Quests prompt you to save right before you perform them, so no worries -- if you die to the boss, you can just load up the save and it's all right as rain. (Of course, due to this being emulated, and my having been stupid and not checked ahead of time that I could actually load a save, this'll be the moment of truth on whether or not this goes wonderfully or ends horribly.)
Now, if you're playing these solo? Welcome to the house of fun, 'cause you get to play it alongside NPC party members.
Those of you from the Persona crowd that just cringed a little, don't worry -- Etrian Odyssey is a series that actually treats NPC party members as a help more than an accidental hindrance. Usually. I have special words to say about the Pale Horse guild. But otherwise, the NPC party members are usually anywhere on an ascending scale from helpful to 'wait, did they just--' depending on the situation.
As we can see here, there're three requests we can take, which are pretty much a cross between a difficulty setting and 'who do we get to drag along' -- you end up put with either one stronger NPC ally, two middling-ish ones, or three appropriate-level allies, depending on whether you pick the first, second, or third request.
In this case, Kaguya-hime fans might recognize the first one, the second one stars Castor and Pollux (a Zodiac and Monk duo, which I'd ordinarily love to do this alongside because of who this is), and the third one is none other than a Princess and her retainers. We'll actually be seeing these guys all more than once, so it's nice to meet them all now.
Because it's the fight I tested on my physical copy of the game and things went relatively alright, we'll be diving into this with Bunny and Lance as we take on "A princess' trial".
The temptation is real to have Hadiz or the Unmaker riding alongside Lance, but I should say that the recommended level for this battle is 5 and up, and as it turns out both Benjamin and Albert -- "A knight obediently serving the princess by defending her from harm." (Hoplite) and "A warrior who smashes enemies in the princess's way with his hammer." (Gladiator), respectively -- are Level 4 to Victoria's 6 (her being "A princess from a northern realm. Her orders embolden her allies." -- you can move your cursor over them in party assembly to learn about them, but to my chagrin you can't actually move them around like your own party members).
So Bunny, how's it feel to be the better Hoplite in the party?
As to why Lance's a must-have, we'll see when we actually meet the dread beast.
The next screen is one where you get to select what Limit Skills you intend to bring along ('cause YOU are the only ones carrying them into these battles -- make of that what you will), but as I'm running low on images and my Vector gif did not help, I'll be dedicating the last couple I've got to the pre-battle banter, and the boss itself.
Atop the lighthouse, the bird monster spreads its wings and adopts a menacing stance!
The client's vassals quickly step before the princess, forming a defensive phalanx before her!
In response, you draw your weapons as well!
The princess's valiant command echoes over the commotion and the battle ensues!
