Update 12: Eclipse




Now we can explore this dungeon properly.










Kazan's heroes against the Bloom... you must not impede them in any way.
Oh? Is our guild that well known?
I suppose word of Stella’s exploits have gotten out already.
I'm sorry, my lord! I meant no offense!
I am Duke Rikken. Of all Aizhen's sons and daughters, I am eldest. We have been entrusted with resolving the situation, and have monitored it. Unfortunately, it seems we need your help to dispose of the Dragons... We can't seem to erase the Bloom on our own.
My Duke! Is this really...?
In our country, even a soldier like you is taught to value his hornor. However, neither honor nor tradition can solve this crisis. We two will suffer this shame, for the sake of all of Aizhen.
We’ll do our best! Let’s go!


This mission is automatically started for us as well.




Darkness hates the light... If you have something to attract light, it may help.
Another hint on how to deal with Eclipse. We’ll do something about that later.




Kraken
Level: 25
LIFE: 78
ATK: 73
DEF: 43
INT: 30
SPD: 33
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Large Animal
Exp: 136
Gold: 50
Item Drops:
-Normal: Sticky Tentacles - 30% Drop Rate.
--Tentacles of a Kraken.
-Rare: N/A
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Lightning: 100%

Skills:

Filthy Ink: Applies a 130% multiplier to the party’s ailment susceptibility multipliers for 5 turns. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Poison Tail: 70% chance of inflicting Poison on one party member. Has a Poison power of 200% (Deals 43 Poison damage.) Has a speed modifier of 85%.
If you see Krakens in a battle, take them out first. Filthy Ink is a pretty nasty debuff to be hit by since it lets other enemies inflict their ailments a lot more easily. Not only that, Poison Tail is really deadly since 43 Poison damage is practically half of our party member’s life at this point.





The map for Hiyoron Grotto is located right here.

This dungeon consists of a bunch of corridors with dragon chains in them.




Skyfish
Level: 24
LIFE: 68
ATK: 76
DEF: 33
INT: 25
SPD: 35
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Large Animal
Exp: 136
Gold: 50
Item Drops:
-Normal: Fish Scales - 30% Drop Rate. 3 needed to unlock the Crow’s Nail. (Dagger, +30 ATK, +5 SPD.)
--Scales of a Skyfish.
-Rare: Fish Meat - Don’t kill with physical damage. 5% Drop Rate.
--Fish meat. For carnivores. Increases magic affinity for the day.
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Lightning: 100%

Skills:

Draw Blood: Deals 130% melee ATK-Based Blunt damage to one party member and has a 30% chance to inflict Bleed. Has a speed modifier of 90%.
They sorta hit hard and inflict one of the most worthless ailments in the game? Yeah, I got nothing.

Anyways, let’s take on one of those dragon chains head on.




Enshentas
Level: 22
LIFE: 680
ATK: 80
DEF: 50
INT: 38
SPD: 30
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Dragon
Exp: 1152
Gold: 66
Item Drops:
-Normal: Dorsal Fin - 30% Drop Rate.
--Fin of an Enshentas Dragon.
-Rare: Blessed Root - 15% Drop Rate.
--Carved from the trees of Hiyoron. ATT + 18 MANA + 10 INT + 5
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 150% Ice: 100% Lightning: 150%
Ailment Susceptibility:
Death: 20% Masked Pain: 100% Skill Seal: 25%
Fear: 25% Curse: 50% Bleed: 25%
Poison: 50% Sleep: 25% Confuse: 25%
Paralysis: 50% Blind: 25% Stun: 100%

Skills:

Ice Edge: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to one party member. Has a base damage of 68. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Ice Wedge: Deals melee 120% ATK-based Blunt damage to one party member. Applies a 120% multiplier to all Ice damage they take for 5 turns. Has a speed modifier of 90%.
Harden Skin: Multiplies the user's DEF by 120% for 5 turns. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Enshentas is not a particularly strong dragon, and the reason for that is that you’re expected to fight them with the rest of the dragon chain. It likes to make itself harder to kill, and then lower your resistance to Ice attacks while pelting you with Ice attacks. But by itself, it’s not that deadly.

It likes to buff its DEF, but Defense Down pretty much cancels that out.





Like I said, not particularly threatening since the party is just chewing through its life.



Though its attacks hit decently hard, I guess.



That was it? Really?
If I may remind you, there are 2 more dragons in front of us!
Honestly, not really a dangerous dragon.

Oh nice, I managed to get its rare drop in the first fight.

Anyways, the problem with those dragons? You’re kind of meant to fight them with the rest of the dragon chain, but if you looked at the bottom screen at the start of the battle, one of them had 3 turns to join in from the start of the battle. Due to how the joining in on battle system works, they’ll only have 2 turns at the minimum to join in, since you’ll always be at least 2 tiles away from a dragon in the dragon chains. Which is more than enough time to either kill or severely weaken one of the dragons, and doesn’t make them much of a threat. Etrian Odyssey FOEs these dragons aren’t.

While I did snag its rare drop, no one in the party can make use of it. I suppose Nila or Edward would appreciate it if they get in the next party. Now while Stella did get a level up, I accidentally exited the menu too soon, and since there was another dragon right in front of the party, I immediately got into another battle.



Only the lead dragon in a dragon chain is an Enshentas. The rest of the dragons in the chain are Faerie Dragons.

Faerie Dragon
Level: 21
LIFE: 400
ATK: 78
DEF: 45
INT: 36
SPD: 35
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Dragon
Exp: 972
Gold: 64
Item Drops:
-Normal: Shimmer Scale - 30% Drop Rate. 3 needed to unlock the Freeze Guard. (Accessory, -30% Ice damage.)
--Scale of a Fairie Dragon.
-Rare: Dragon Kabob - 15% Drop Rate.
--Small dragon meat. For carnivores. Increases quickness for the day.
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 100% Ice: 50% Lightning: 125%
Ailment Susceptibility:
Death: 20% Masked Pain: 100% Skill Seal: 25%
Fear: 25% Curse: 50% Bleed: 25%
Poison: 50% Sleep: 25% Confuse: 25%
Paralysis: 50% Blind: 25% Stun: 100%

Skills:

Icicle Rain: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to all party membes. Has a base damage of 45. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Needle Fin: Deals melee 120% ATK-based Slash damage to one party member. Has a speed modifier of 90%.
You know how I said that Enshentases aren’t that threatening? Yeah, Faerie Dragons are even less so. They’re meant to be fought in groups, but as I outlined before, that’s very unlikely to happen unless you deliberately let them join in. While killing them in 1 turn is a bit unfeasible, killing them in 2 turns is very easy to pull off considering their low offenses and defenses. I mean if there are more than one in a battle, you might want to watch out, but as it stands, they’re very weak.




...For dragons, they sure aren’t that strong.
Judging by the way they behave, I assume their ideology was strength in numbers.
Which might’ve been a good idea for them if they weren’t too slow to join in on these fights!








If the idea behind these dragons actually worked in execution, I probably would have had more to say. As it stands, they’re just really pathetic.



Okay, now I got an opportunity to use up Stella’s skill points. Defense Down deals 126% damage, and applies an 82% multiplier to the target’s DEF.

While clearing out dragon chains, Buront, Ark, and Haru all got a level up at the same time. Been a while since that happened.

Buront’s skill points are spent on Chivalry, which apply a 118% multiplier to his Sword’s ATK.

Ark levels up INT Bonus to 3, which unlocks Act Natural. Which is the skill I want.


"Put more oomph in yer shots! Ya need to try harder! Blah blah blah!" Rrglfarghl. I’ll show him.
Act Natural is one of the Rogue’s bests passives. If a Samurai is in the same party with a Rogue, they get a boost to their ATK. And this is AFTER the boost from their weapon mastery is applied, meaning that it also takes the Rogue’s POW into account. How much of a boost does this result in? It would be enough to let Ark deal outdamage Nila. Though if a Samurai isn’t in the party, this skill does nothing. If you have both a Rogue and a Samurai, this skill should be taken as soon as possible.

At level 1, it applies an 110% multiplier to the Rogue’s ATK if a Samurai is in the party with them.

Thunder deals 142% damage. At this point, I had to leave to heal up my party.


Our target is one of the three delicacies, Mormon Cactus! Yoba Sand Flats grows the largest, used in Morumore Curry. It is said to combine all flavors... I must experience it! The Western Continent, in the Yoba Sand Flats. Mormon Cactus grows there and only there. Make haste!






After encountering the Duke in the cave, this quest becomes available. However, Yoba Sand Flats is not a location we can visit right now, so we can’t get this done yet.

Incidentally, 1/6th of the dragons are dead at this point. Over 100 dragons killed already!

We can also report back to Menas after taking the mission. He doesn’t have much to say.

Back at the grotto, Stella gets a level up but can’t do anything with the skill point.

Starting from this dungeon, a few of the dungeons will have staircases. If you don’t see an obvious exit on the map, look around for one of these.

Next floor of this dungeon.

There’s a really fast chain of dragons at the bottom part of this floor.

Mainly because they’re guarding a healing spring. Meaning that I can pretty much stop going back to town to rest until all the dragons here are dead.

Ark got a level up while I was in the middle of killing off a dragon chain, but I didn’t have time to spend the skill point as I immediately got into another battle.

Which let the other 2 party members play catch up.


You’ll not harm the weak while I’m around!
Guardian is an interesting skill. While this skill is in effect, if a party member under 50% of their maximum life gets targeted, the Knight will take damage in their place, though they’ll take a reduced amount of damage in the process. Guardian also will activate for the Knight themselves. So what you can do is if you know the enemy you’re fighting has access to AOE attacks, you can place the Knight at the very right of the party beforehand, and have them use Guardian, to ensure that it will activate on the Knight when they get hit as well.

At level 1, the amount of damage Buront takes will by reduced by 20%. The skill does have a speed modifier of 100%, but it also has priority.

Act Natural applies an 112% multiplier to Ark’s ATK.

Thunder deals 145% damage.



Oh, and here’s the last new enemy in this dungeon.

Summer Tortoise
Level: 25
LIFE: 100
ATK: 77
DEF: 57
INT: 38
SPD: 26
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Large Animal
Exp: 160
Gold: 25
Item Drops:
-Normal: Aged Beard - 25% Drop Rate.
--Beard of a Summer Tortoise.
-Rare: N/A
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 50% Blunt: 50% Thrust: 50%
Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Lightning: 100%

Skills:

Magic Shell: Applies an 80% multiplier to the user’s magical damage multipliers for 5 turns. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
You know, I wonder if those tortoises were born like that, or if they really change based on the season.
I’m just wondering if they’re born with the beards.

Stella gets a level up later. I completely miscounted Stella’s skill points here, and thought she didn’t have enough to level up Defense Down again. Oops. I don’t realize this for a long while.



I killed all the dragons on this floor, so now let’s explore the place.







A quick shortcut back to this place.

That’s it for the treasures on this floor.

Buront and Ark got another level up.

Guardian now reduces damage by 23% if it activates.

Act Natural applies an 114% multiplier to Ark’s ATK.

There’s another staircase at this part of the floor.



Leading to a very nice treasure.

For Sword Fighters, at least.

Haru got a level up, but he actually couldn’t do anything with that skill point he got. Since I cleared out the whole dungeon, I went back to Aizhen to sell off my loot and restock my supplies.

The Buggy Scissors from the Deathscissor unlocked this. Which is a nice piece of equipment, I guess. But it’s outclassed by the General’s Sword.

Back at the 2nd floor, there’s a staircase down here as well.









A little status update on the party.


Hold on, I believe we may be forgetting something here...
Choose your adventure!
Oh yeah! We totally are!
Nah, I don’t think we did.
Oh yeah! We totally are!
Indeed, I remember seeing a pedestal at the entrance to this grotto. Perhaps we should investigate it first.






We could place the Big Glass Orb on the pedestal, but...



We can also place the True Orb here, which will have a greater effect on the upcoming fight. Oh, and don’t interact with this pedestal too much. If you keep doing that, a bug causes it to eventually not let you interact with it anymore.


Eat light, sucker! Heh heh, come on, let’s go!
Now back to where Eclipse was.










Video: True Eclipse





...An evil rooster? That’s what we’re up against?
It looks more like a few dragon heads trying to writhe out of a shadowy sphere...
The light must have weakened it enough to revert it such a form.
Whatever it is, we need to take it out while we have the chance!
Okay a few things to explain. In the earlier releases of this game, the Those Who Stand in the Way played for this fight. Later releases of the game had Seven Threats play instead. So uh, listen to whatever you like. Also, as for the name of the enemy, Dead Black is the literal translation of the name. The fan translator told me that this was a mistake and the name is supposed to be Eclipse, so that’s what I’ll refer to this Imperial Dragon as. Anyways...

True Eclipse
Level: 25
LIFE: 3200
ATK: 85
DEF: 45
INT: 40
SPD: 30
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Imperial Dragon
Exp: 0
Gold: 190
Item Drops:
-Normal: N/A
-Rare: N/A
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 125% Ice: 125% Lightning: 125%
Ailment Susceptibility:
Death: 0% Masked Pain: 100% Skill Seal: 5%
Fear: 10% Curse: 50% Bleed: 25%
Poison: 25% Sleep: 10% Confuse: 10%
Paralysis: 50% Blind: 25% Stun: 100%

Skills:

Ice Javelin: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to one party member. Has a base damage of 80. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Diamond Dust: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to all party members. Has a base damage of 45. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Dream Edge: Deals melee 130% ATK-Based Cut damage to one party member. Has a 75% chance to inflict Sleep. Has a speed modifier of 90%.
True Eclipse has a couple of elemental nukes on its side, and can put our party members to sleep. Oh, and there’s a bit of a gimmick to this fight. You see, we’re actually fighting the weakened form of Eclipse. Placing either the Big Glass Orb or the True Orb on that pedestal will weaken Eclipse, but it won’t do so permanently. Doing so will also place a time limit on the fight. The Big Glass Orb will give us 6 turns to work with, while the True Orb will give us 10 turns. Once time is up, Eclipse will revert to its true form and we’ll be forced to deal with that for the rest of the battle.

No, I have no idea why the weakened form is referred to as True Eclipse and the actual true form isn’t. It’s not a mistake the fan translation made, it was like that in the Japanese version too.







Standard opening tactics, like always.


Cluck on this!







Ha ha! Your attacks are no good against my shield of justice!



Shadow... uhh, what am I smashing here?



Allow me to prepare myself.



Whatever you are, I won’t let you make trouble for the people of Aizhen!


And I’m just gonna throw out EX-boosted attacks for the rest of the battle.


Caw caw, motherclucker!



I’m not seeing the rooster resemblance, but whatever. Prepare yourself for this!








Some good damage being thrown out.




Ha ha! If that attack didn’t work the first time, what made you... think...



Mmph... Grumblecakes...
Well it’s not like Buront can do much in this fight anyway.



Its AOE attack also doesn’t do that much.

Though Buront and Haru’s life are getting pretty low, so I heal them up.




Mmm... So much money... No, I’ll never go back there... never again...




That’s it for- huh?





AAAAHHHHHHH!
KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT!
If Those Who Stand in the Way was playing in this fight, the track would shift to Seven Threats at this point. Also killing True Eclipse also causes Eclipse to shift back into its true form. It’ll regain 400 HP in this case, so you’ll have to chip that off to finish the fight.

If you’re wondering why we had to weaken Eclipse in the first place, well...


...Huh?
It has access to Perfect Dark. Which is an AOE Instant Death skill! Fortunately it didn’t tag anyone there. But you have to keep in mind that your options for revival at this point are very limited. The only way you can revive someone at this point is if you have a Healer that can do that, or if you got that one Hypno Crystal all the way back in Miross. If you don’t have access to those methods, someone that goes down to that attack is down for good.




And that’s the end of that nightmare.
Though fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with this form for long.



Eclipse isn’t particularly bad when you weaken it. But... what if we didn’t weaken it? It’s not mandatory to do so before fighting it, so let’s rewind a bit, shall we?


Nah, I don’t think we did.
A-are you sure? I’m positive that there was something we missed...
Eh, if we can’t remember, I don’t think it was anything important. Let’s just take on the Imperial Dragon already!











Video: Eclipse



Oh look, it’s Edgelord the Dragon!
So this is an Imperial Dragon. A ferocious looking one indeed!
Hmph, I wonder if we may be a bit out of our league here.
I’ve beaten an Imperial Dragon before, and I’ll do it again! Come on, everyone!
Wait, what? It’s possible to get preemptive strikes on Imperial Dragons? Uh, okay.

Anyways, allow me the pull back the curtain and reveal just how not actually intimidating this boss is. The stuff I’m about to reveal is not something any player is actually supposed to know about, and will greatly deflate the tension of this fight.

Eclipse
Level: 35
LIFE: 3200
ATK: 85
DEF: 50
INT: 60
SPD: 35
Attack Type: Blunt
Enemy Type: Imperial Dragon
Exp: 3330
Gold: 400
Item Drops:
-Normal: Obsidian Shard - 100% Drop Rate.
--Splinter of Eclipse.
-Rare: N/A
Damage Multipliers:
Slash: 100% Blunt: 100% Thrust: 100%
Fire: 125% Ice: 125% Lightning: 125%
Ailment Susceptibility:
Death: 0% Masked Pain: 100% Skill Seal: 5%
Fear: 10% Curse: 50% Bleed: 25%
Poison: 25% Sleep: 10% Confuse: 10%
Paralysis: 50% Blind: 25% Stun: 100%

Skills:

Ice Javelin: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to one party member. Has a base damage of 50. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Diamond Dust: Deals ranged INT-Based Ice damage to all party members. Has a base damage of 45. Has a speed modifier of 80%.
Dream Edge: Deals melee 130% ATK-Based Cut damage to one party member. Has a 75% chance to inflict Sleep. Has a speed modifier of 90%.
Perfect Dark: Instantly kills anyone in the party that is under 60% of their maximum life. Otherwise, 0% chance of inflicting Sleep on the entire party. Has a speed modifier of 60%.
Yeah, Eclipse’s signature skill? It can only inflict Instant Death if your party members are below 60% of their maximum life. Otherwise it does nothing. (If you’re wondering about the Sleep aspect, that’s because the code for that skill gets reused for another enemy skill.) As long as you keep your party healthy, Eclipse can’t touch you. If you make sure to do that, you’ll get a bunch of free turns. Which actually makes this fight easier than if you didn’t bother weakening it. In fact, if you have a Healer with Cure All, you’ve pretty much won the fight. (Unless your Healer gets hit by an incredibly unlucky Dream Edge proc.) And for some bizarre reason, Ice Javelin actually gets weaker when Eclipse is at "full power!"





The strategy for this fight hasn’t really changed all that much. Only now I have to watch my party’s life totals even more than usual. Eclipse always casts Perfect Dark on the first turn, which is pretty much a free turn anyway, unless you came into the fight with a really unhealthy party for some bizarre reason. Outside of the first turn, Eclipse will only cast Perfect Dark after using Diamond Dust.


Pfft, this’ll be a piece of cake!



Dragon cho- ...How many dragons are in that thing, anyway?



I’m pretty sure that only counts as one dragon.



I’m not afraid of the dark!



Ya think I can’t make shots in the dark? Lemme prove ya wrong!



I’ll have to do my best for this fight.






Eclipse’s DEF only increased by 5 points, so the party is still dealing good damage here.



Though Eclipse’s higher INT does give Diamond Dust a bit more of a boost. However, it doesn’t make up for the loss in power for its version of Ice Javelin. Diamond Dust didn’t take off enough HP for anyone to fall prey to Perfect Dark, so I just keep on attacking.




Pfft. Was that supposed to scare us?
I’m not gonna bother healing until Diamond Dust gets used again, and there are party members under 60% of their life at that point. Eclipse’s offenses are pretty lackluster. The only remotely threatening attack is Dream Edge, and that’s because of the Sleep effect it has.



Seriously, why is Eclipse using a nerfed version of Ice Javelin? Its additional INT would only add on like 10 points to the base damage. Instead it loses 20 points of damage in this case.




All bark and no bite!




And that’s it for Eclipse. Just keep your party more healthy than usual and you’ll be fine. Though we don’t get anything more out of killing Eclipse without weakening it. Sure Eclipse is level 35, but the game actually checks for True Eclipse’s level, which is 25. Even though we never fought True Eclipse. So we don’t get any additional exp out of this. Oh, and the rewards are tied to Eclipse, which is why True Eclipse changes to Eclipse after killing it, so you don’t lose out on the exp and item drop.




Another Imperial Dragon down. Good job, team!
Feh, I thought it would have put up a tougher fight than that.
Let us report the good news to the Duke!
Fade to black.

Odyssey walks up the Duke and soldier.
Does this mean that you've vanquished the Dragon Eclipse?
The Bloom is eradicated. It seems likely.
We have eliminated the dragon. Aizhen no longer has anything to fear from it.
Tell His Majesty that Eclipse has fallen.
Yes!


The soldier leaves.
Thanks to you, Hunters, the Dragon is defeated. I thank you. However...The lost hero Doris, and the rise of a new crop of Hunters... I truly envy Kazan its rising strength. In the Mission Office, you'll find your reward. Give my regards to Menas. And feel free to see me whenever you return.


Rikken leaves.

And we’re completely done with this dungeon. Let’s head back to Aizhen.




They're fooling no one.


After killing Eclipse, this quest becomes available. Since we just need an Aged Beard, we can complete this now.


Make sure it's first-class. Don't disappoint me!
Why the heck do ya need a beard?
I’m sure she has her reasons.



That’s us!
Surely, you'd prefer the hospitality of the High District? The slums are full of vulgar poor people. You don't want to go there!
...Piss off.



Not just him, but most people in Aizhen... They don't like Rushe...



If he doesn't change his outlook, his illness will only worsen. What he needs is Water of Life to turn his spirits around...


This quest also becomes available after killing Eclipse. Like with the other quest, it can be completed now.


Oh don’t say things like that! I mean look on the bright side. You’re still alive right now, right?
Alive and probably in a lot of pain, though.
That’s not looking on the bright side.




And time to take on these 2 quests.


Is this really worth my time? They look so unreliable. I suppose there's no harm letting them try. I need an Aged Beard. People of your social standing likely won't appreciate my reasons. Until recently, I had been making waves in society.
So yer not doing so hot now?
Of, of course… I'm by no means saying that I am not doing so these days! One day, I had a flash of inspiration. I don't feel the need to explain the details to you, however. Regardless, what I need is: an Aged Beard, in good condition. Was that clear? Understand what I'm asking for? Then, bring me the Aged Beard already!
One bit of inventory editing enemy farming later...




Hm, merely adequate. I hope this will do.



Your reward is in the Quest Office. Eww... You have a certain... aura... about you. Could you depart?
Yer welcome, ya jerk. Can we leave this place already? I’ve already had enough of these snooty nobles.
Not yet, for we still have one more person to help!
I took the time to unlock a bunch of new equipment at the shops, so let’s take a look at those.











Though most of them are just outdated pieces of equipment at this point, and aren’t particularly spectacular even if you unlock them at the appropriate time. Unlike in say, Etrian Odyssey, unlocking equipment isn’t as huge of a priority in this game compared to just reaching a new city with new equipment. Anyways, onto the next quest.




Actually... it's the person I work for who has taken ill.



Since then, he's done nothing but wallow... Thus, I would like you to collect holy water from Hiyoron Grotto. The Water of Life, they call it, and it is said to cure any disease. So perhaps it will even be able to cure my master's.
So it’s really important, huh? We’ll help out!
If he turns out to be another snooty noble, someone is getting shanked. With an arrow. In the face.
Oh come now, Ark. All people in need must be helped. No matter how rude they may be.
Thank you, Hunters.
Ahem, we’ll be back as soon as we can.



The Water of Life can cure any disease!
This quest is pretty easy to do. There’s only one place in Hiyoron Grotto with a body of water, so we just need to backtrack to where we fought Eclipse.




Huh, well that was simple!
We must hurry back to the diseased noble! Come, let us fly back there with speed!
It really is as easy as that. No surprise boss fight like what happened with the Zenda Bamboo.






Ohh... Water of Life! The same water said to cure any illness?! Although everyone had given up, maybe this can still cure me! Please, give it here... Gulp gulp gulp... ... I'm starting to feel a little better! Maybe there's hope! Traveler, I owe you a great debt for this! Yes, I'm getting better!
Fade to black.


Certainly, it is good for one's health, but it cannot cure disease. Really, the healthful thing about it is the exercise fetching it.
Ah, so it’s one of those situations.
...But, my master never made time to go there himself.



But did you see the joyful smile on my master's face? With his spirits up, I'm sure he'll recover. This time, he'll make enough trips for water. You, who provided him a reason to hope again... thank you. I'll take responsibility for caring for my master in the future. All of you, please be careful about illness on your journey.

And now let’s turn in the quests and receive our rewards.





The Aizhen Mail is a nice armor upgrade for Buront, so I put it on him.


But rather than cede their luxuries, nobles raised our taxes! Many died of hunger. Killed by the Dragons, or killed by people?
Considering they could have prevented those deaths in the first place, I’m gonna go with the latter.



They say tyranny is worse than Dragons...
Um, it’s not like killing it automatically made things better for them.
Yeah, why dontcha go over there yourself and see what the hell they have to deal with everyday!





The strength of Kazan is an enviable thing. The state of Aizhen is a marked contrast...







By knowing history, you can predict the future. Don't forget!


So we got a survey skill and as for what this does? All it does is just let us examine certain spots to get hints. It’s not an actual gathering skill, so we can’t get items from it.


It seems you are those who struck the final blow to Eclipse. My gratitude. Aizhen is a proud nation, but it is still appreciated.
At least he’s grateful for what we did.



So, how much? Do you want money? You've a solid claim.
Ooh! I’ll take-
A reward is not necessary.
Hey!



...For savage work, perhaps savages are best, no? Hoho...
Say that, again.
Ark, calm down. What do you hope to accomplish by antagonizing them?



...How can I help the king to realize what state we are in?
As much as I would love to help, I’m afraid I can’t think of anything.
And that’s all we can do in Aizhen for now. Now that we’ve killed Eclipse, all the towns updated their dialogue. At this point in time, there’s something important we can do in Miross, so let’s head there.




I've been there for research, a while ago. It's an academic city. The Dragon policy seems to emanate from their chief scholar, Emille.
Hmm, interesting.




It's amazing... Something like that... Maybe you'll part with it for 3000 G?


After beating Eclipse, you can sell the True Orb to this trader if you haven’t used it. But after a certain point, you won’t be able to do that and lose out on a decent bit of money.
Thanks! I'm relieved...



What's this?



Hey, not too shabby. I'll pay 300 G for it.


You can actually say no here to raise the price to 500 G (And that’s as high as it goes), but I forgot to do that here. Either way, you’re taking a loss since you had to pay 1000 G to acquire it.
Thank you ♪


But for the record, that wasn’t the important thing I was talking about. We’ll do that in a bit.


Round goes the clock. If time goes awry, set it right to proceed. ...Those are the words that come to mind. Perhaps they're helpful?
The fortune teller also has another hint for us if we talk to them again.
You'll be chasing something soon... When you're in a circle, try doubling back.


Seems like it means, some kinds of things are just all alike. But is that really true? I think that a bigger acorn must provide a better start. Can you try to find a really Big Acorn and bring it to me?


We can’t complete this quest yet.


If you see one, please bring it back.





...Okay, then.



The most famous nowadays is probably Bappagure, who lives in Nevan. More accurately, his wife and children live there, and he visits them...



But it beats not going with anyone at all!
...Someone’s in for a butt kicking later.




And now for the important thing I was talking about earlier. Now that we’ve killed Eclipse, we can start Miross’ sub-event.
Sure! What do you wanna know?
Please tell me... what is this thing they call the Bloom?
Y-you don’t know what the Bloom is!? Um, my apologies for that outburst.
I have heard that it is like a magnificent flower garden. Is it more or less lovely than our own?
Um...
Queen Emerald...
I see... That was frivolous. Please, forgive me.
We’re not done here yet, we need to talk with Emerald again.




Oh I’ve got one alright. Have you been outside of Miross before? Ya know, like just for traveling the world or something?
To travel the world sounds... interesting? Surely, it is great fun. As the Queen of Miross, I have responsibilities and cannot simply leave. But, surely a bit... just a few times, it would be nice to go...
Queen Emerald.
I understand. When the world is at peace, travel will be easier... I just so long to.
And once again, we need to talk to her another time.


But, Grif scolded me immediately... Seen the castle town? It's most pleasant. Everyone living side by side in peace... That's the Miross way.
In order to progress this sub-event, we need to see a few events around town first.


Ooh boy! I gotta get me some of that sweet juicy drama!
Er, uh... Ladies, there's no need to fight over me.
Fight over you? Why? I wouldn't do that... It's nice that we could think the same way.
That way, we can both be happy, right?
...What.
What, really?! I thought for sure I'd have to give one up. I swear, I'll love each of you equally! I must be so sexy!!
I- uh what- um... A-all’s well that ends well?
I’ll be honest, that was not how I was expecting that to end.
You know, I wonder what Dia would have to say if she saw this.
WHAT. I- ARE YOU KIDDING- I DON’T EVEN- AGAHFUDGESTICKLE!
Yeah, probably something like that.



Yes... maybe it's not a standard thing! Maybe I'm just that handsome!




That was one of the events we needed to see. The other event is in this part of the town.




But only one of us can at once. What do we do?



Can’t ya just play Rock, Paper, Scissors or something to decide?
"Rock, Paper, Scissors"? What's that?
It is a classic, but a simple game! Each person will choose one of the three available gestures: Rock, Papers, and Scissors. Rock defeats scissors since the scissors are liable to break when trying to cut rock, but is in turn defeated by paper since the paper can cover the rock in a most humiliating fashion. Paper defeats and dishonors rock by covering it with its papery body, but is horribly bisected by scissors. Scissors defeat paper by way of bladed murder, but will break like waves upon the shore on rock's stony flesh.
Huh?
I don’t think you needed to give that detailed of an explaination.
Pfft, everyone knows that scissors is the best move to play anyway.
I guess we'll just toss the toy and play together.





Hey, at least you solved their problem! Sort of.
Hm, I do have to say this town is indeed quite peaceful. I expected to see more of a squabble in this situation
And now that we’ve witnessed those events, we can progress the sub-event some more.


Do you have a minute? There's... something I want, but I have to whisper it.
What is it?
I want to trade places with a member of your party.
Whoa whoa, what!?


Stella looks around briefly.
Shhh! The guards will hear! Can you keep your voice down?


Okay, so this question? You need at least 2 female party members in your team for her to ask this. If you don’t, she just tells you to come back with a team like that. Don’t have 2 female party members in your team? Better go back to Kazan and make a new party! Yeah, the game actually checks for your party’s genders at certain points. Fortunately, the later games lack such gender locking, even if it’s only for optional stuff in this game. You’re never actually required to choose specific portraits to progress with the main plot. (Though there’s one moment later on that might cause players to think such a thing, but it’s not required there either.) Moving on...
Sure! But, who are you swapping places with?
...
...We are not dressing the queen up in Ark’s attire.
And I don’t wanna stay cooped up in a room!
Fine. Oh, but what about the ears? You’ll have to get the ears perfect!
I’m sure we’ll think of something.
Oh, thank you! Now, in here...



I am merely speaking amongst my ladies. Or do you care to discuss feminine topics?
N, no... If it's just that... This'll have to do. However, please be mindful of Her Majesty's time. She is a busy ruler.
Yes, they know. Please excuse us.
Fade to black.




If they make her restless, they certainly must be removed.
Oh don’t worry, we just had a little talk! Sheesh.





It's refreshing for me. I beg your pardon. Please, see our town.


There are a few events we need to see in town first to progress this sub-event.




Cease this instant! Usury is not permitted in my kingdom!
(Forbearing Lender) But, this guy hasn't paid me back a penny!
(Forlorn Borrower) You can't go saying that! What if word gets around about this?!
...?
(Forbearing Lender) Oh, oh, I see... I can wait a bit longer.
(Forlorn Borrower) Yes, yes! Very sorry! I'll turn over a new leaf!
Just so! It's wonderful we understand each other. There's no need for us to argue, is there?
What in the world is going on here?
It’s like both of them were scared of something.
Fade to black.



And as for the other event we need to see...


(Older Twin, Vee) Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock.
(Younger Twin, Yuu) These people taught us the rules...
You mustn't fight like that, though. In this country, we share.


Once that message pops up, you can head back to the castle.






Please, I hope you will help me another time. As I thought, Miross is a lovely, peaceful place. If we are just willing to talk to the Dragons, there must be a way to coexist. What if we were gearing up for communication, rather than for war? My goal is to continue uniting the world toward a peaceful solution.
...Uhhh, trust me when I say that learning how to communicate with them isn’t the main problem with that plan.
Fade to black.


Ooh, you reaaaally wanna know?
No! No! I certainly am not interested!! However, as a knight of the Queen, I am obliged to know!!



Miross cannot spare you any attention. I expect you to refrain from bothering Her Majesty with whining.



You'll be willing to help me out at a future date too, right?
We’re not done with the sub-event yet. Sometimes in order to progress one, you have to stay at an inn to cause time to pass to the next day. Oh and if you had to change your party to accommodate for Emerald’s request, don’t change it back just yet. One inn rest later...


You can probably guess. I want to secretly trade places again.
Again, really!?


Stella looks around the room again.
Shhh! Grif will hear us at the door! But do you understand?




This time we only need 1 female party member. Fade to black.

There’s only one place where we need to go this time, and that’s at the town’s entrance.

Music stops.




If he finds out I'm here, I'll be dragged back to the castle at once. But, I wonder what Volg's doing here?





Forgive me, Lord Volg! It won't happen a second time! I swear!
The law does not make exceptions. Pain will etch it into your soul. To the catacombs... Rough him up till he gives us a name.
Noooooo! Anything!! Anything but that!!!


The man tries to flee, but...

He gets cut off by the knight, and is subsequently escorted back to the castle by the knight ad Volg.


I suppose such peace was too good to be true after all.
There's no way... Someone like Volg? It's impossible! I'm sorry! I have to go back!
Fade to black.


Be honest with me. Where is the dungeon? What have you been doing without my knowledge or consent?!
... What need is there for details like that?
I heard you talking about it with my own ears, in this town!
What's she saying, Grif? Did you take Her Majesty out of the castle yourself?
No... I guarded her well!
The fault is not Grif's. I slipped out of the castle of my own accord.
This behavior!
I suppose you'll have to toss me in the jails. Volg, explain this to me right now!!
Highness, will you at least allow that it might be a misunderstanding?
I certainly will not! They... Odyssey... saw it as well!
Buddy, yer up against 3 witnesses.



Our eyewitness accounts aren’t enough?
Evidence? I... that is... no, but...
Unless you find some, the matter is closed. I have an urgent matter to attend to... excuse me.


Volg leaves.




I can't imagine Volg saying something like that. You misheard him. You mustn't jump to a harsh conclusion.
Grif... You knew as well...



Can I rely on you to investigate whatever Volg is up to? Right now, I'm not sure what to believe. Please, lend me your power for this nation.
We’ll do whatever we can to help.




Volg is in the garden.
Buddy, we saw you. Don’t try to deny it.
......... It would be nice to be honest. But I am left to deal in complexities. As you have seen, there is peace in this country. Peace based on force. It's unmistakable. However, it is all for Her Majesty! It is based on a wish for a world without conflict, a peaceful world. That is why I have done what I have. Surely you see!
So, you’re using conflict... to make a world without conflict. Don’t you see a problem with that?
...Tell Her Majesty what you deem best. I leave it to you. I will bear her judgement as I have borne these misdeeds. I do not want her to see the world's seedy side… Far better to preserve her beautiful idealism. Don't you think?
Look, ya can’t shelter her like that forever, especially when she’s ruling a nation.
And consider that she doesn’t even know what the Bloom is.
I’m sorry, but we’ll have to tell her about this.





I’m sorry, but he admitted to everything you accused him of...
Fade to black.




Queen Emerald... Surely, Volg has his reasons for this!
...I doubt that. Summon Volg to me immediately, please.
But!!!
Did you not hear me? Bring Volg to me this instant, Grif!!
...Yes!
Fade to black.


Yes. These are the facts.
Is that so? Then Volg... I must order you to leave Miross.
I understand.
I'm sorry... I still believe in you...
I as well, Majesty. I wish that you could understand me.
What is to understand? I cannot comprehend your reasoning at all.
This world is not as beautiful as you think. I meant to hide its ugliness from you... It was my mistake....
I can't hear any more of this. Please leave now.





I shall.


Volg looks back at Queen Emerald one last time before leaving.

Fade to black.






Now I’m wondering if telling her all that was a good idea.
I’ll admit that I might be regretting that decision.
And as a result of all that, Queen Emerald is now in a state of shock. Oh, and we can’t progress this sub-event any further, so she’ll be stuck like that for who knows how long. Good job, Odyssey! You just broke a nation!

That’s all we can do in Miross for now, so let’s move onto Kazan.







Eclipse’s death unlocked a few new quests in Kazan. This one can’t be completed right away, but it’s something we can do soon enough.


On an island south of Kazan, there's a house. Shadowy figures enter every night, and seem to play rock-paper-scissors. But why would they be playing that?



Someone's trying to stage a coup there. Dreadful, isn't it?
Try saying that again after visiting that hellhole.




This man gives out a free Heal Aerosol.


Ha ha, I’m one step ahead there!



Increasing skill level makes skills stronger. Pump up one skill, or balance them all? This is a dilemma...
In all honesty, do whatever you want. This game isn’t particularly difficult. Though focusing on one skill is definitely a better way to go about things than just leveling up several different skills at once.


If you stop by Zeza Port, tell 'em that Rowdy Johnny's still kicking around. But just so you know, this ain't a quest.



Enemies in dungeons are generally harder. If you're having a heck of a time outside, you might want to put off delving in.
If you’re actually having trouble with the game, that’s something to keep in mind.




That’s us! Don’t wear out the name.
I'm glad we met!





Right now, I'm... looking for someone.

They'll be back for sure if I wait here... Will it be a sign? Their firm handshakes? Suddenly... I found my calling.









.........


Penny bumps into the house and gets dizzy.

And then chases after the party.


Nice to meet you too!
Is there a reason you wanted to meet with us?
That... me... I... Odyssey, I'm a big fan of yours! You've done a lot of really great things... I truly respect you! It's because I admired you that I became a Hunter, and now I get to meet you! So, finally... I want to see how good you guys are for myself! This request'll likely be a breeze for you, but can you do it?



We can handle anything that come our way!
Let's do it then! Sorry, I hope that wasn't too rude... I want monsters beat! I want Odyssey to beat them, actually! Oh, this is fun! You'll find out in the Quest Office... Penny the newbie needs your help! Please do my request straightaway!


Yeah, this request? It’s anything but a breeze! You’ll see why soon enough! It can technically be completed now, but the chances of doing so are extremely unlikely.
Okay then! I'll be waiting in front of your house!


Penny leaves.


Please, do my request, nothing too fancy!
Will do! Come on everyone, let’s go!
Ya think we should have mentioned the guard cow?
SIC HIM, GIRL!
NO NO NO NO NO! BAD COW! STOP! STOOOOOOP!
...Yes. Yes we should have.
I-I’m sure he’ll be fine?
So, that quest?

We need to find 3 Bloom Seeds to complete it! And the only ways to acquire those are to get into a fight with a Bloom Seed enemy, which really hard to find and only have a 30% chance of dropping one. Or, getting one from a Sphere Dragon, which has a mere 5% chance of dropping one! There is a guaranteed way to get them later on, but that’s not until near the end of the game!


Bloom Seeds are rare items. Not just anyone can do this. Hope to hear back!
Oh, and trust me when I say that this is a quest that you want to get done. Anyways, coming to him with 3 Bloom Seeds...


Awww, you’re making me blush, hee hee!
You guys are my idols! You're such pros. Oh, I have an idea! I'll teach you a skill not many people know!





But, Odyssey might have a tough time even with this skill... OK! My goal is to be as famous as you someday. Watch out!





You guys are awesome! The strongest around! Odyssey!!




The 500 G is nice, but the real reward is the skill he gave us. More on that in a bit.


Good to see you again. I want to go on a journey, just like yours. I'm sure we'll meet on the way. So, see you around!



At least, that's my aim, but it's been a... learning process.



Yeah, sure thing!






So with that quest done, why don’t we take a look at that skill we got?





Well, there’s now a flower in the top-right corner, and walking around fills it up until it turns orange. And after the flower fills up...

Yeah, it’s an encounter radar! What was a basic feature in the Etrian Odyssey series and the later 7th Dragon games, is locked behind a quest that requires the RNG to be extremely generous, or waiting until the end of the game to complete.

Goddammit 7th Dragon.

Anyways, now that we’ve gotten something that lets us know how close we are to getting into an encounter, I might as well go into a bit on how it works.

Every time you exit a battle, or enter a new location that has random encounters, a counter is set to 100. Each tile you step on in an area subtracts a number from 0 to 6 (It’s random, but certain tiles have certain ranges that could possibly be subtracted.) When the number goes past 0, you get into a battle. Oh and if said number dips past a certain threshold, the petals on the flower fill up. The counter’s numbers corresponds to these number of petals:

100: No petals
99: 1 petal
89: 2 petals
79: 3 petals
69: 4 petals
59: 5 petals
49: 6 petals
39: 7 petals
29: 8 petals
19: Orange petals

So you actually have a bit of time when the petals turn orange before you get into an encounter. Anyways, that’s enough side stuff for now, so let’s go see Menas.



Okay, fine.






Mr. Menas is waiting to talk about the future with you.
Ah, I wonder what he could want?



I wanna visit at least once.



So I'm ordering you to visit countries not yet allied to us.
Huh? What for?
To defeat the Dragons, we need the whole world. The most reliable way to get them on our side is sending you directly.



I need you to visit two places for us. First is west of Aizhen, the scholarly Pleroma. We desperately need their experience, their knowledge, and their arms. Second is across the ocean. The Western Continent... Nevanplace, Rushe Empire. Joining together with Nevan will give us sway over the whole continent. I've sent advance envoys. I expect Pleroma will send someone for you. ...This is going to be a very long journey. Please let me know when you are completely ready.
And I think this is a good point to leave off. Oh, and more importantly, a good point to change up the party. Vote for up to 3 party members you want to see in the new party. Votes must be in bold.



Official artwork for True Eclipse and Eclipse.

Concept artwork for True Eclipse and Eclipse. Eclipse looked more like a legion of shadowy dragons there. I’m not really sure what’s going on with concept True Eclipse there.