3DS owners are set to get a brand new RPG adventure in early 2013. As we prepare for the February 26 launch of Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan, we thought we'd give you a sneak peek at the 10 different character classes you can choose to bring along into the unmapped, monster-filled expanses of the game's mazes. Each Wednesday (excluding December 26), we'll be giving you the lowdown on a different class, complete with a summary video showing off what those characters can do. Be sure to check back weekly for a better idea of how you'll go about taming the wilds of Etrian Odyssey IV.
But before we get to the classy stuff, there are a few things you should know about Legends of the Titan. To start, there are three basic components to the gameplay: sky travel, exploration and combat. You'll spend a while on your skyship in each new land looking for dungeons to explore. Once you find one, you can get out and walk around, mapping the new maze as you go. And, of course, your exploration of these mazes will be interrupted by the savage wildlife out to kill you at every turn. Most classes have skills that are applicable in all three areas - but keep in mind that combat is the biggest focus, and will usually be your highest priority when it comes to picking a team.
What you can do in battle depends entirely on the classes you bring and how you choose to spend their skill points. You start the game with three points per character, earning an additional point for every level you gain. It's important to set up party members that work well together. For example, the Dancer class has a skill called Counter Samba that can counterattack any enemy who attacks an ally on the same line in your formation. So one trick is to put a Fortress on the same line as the Dancer and give it the Taunt skill, which draws the enemy's attacks and gives the Counter Samba plenty of chances to trigger.
But before you get to thinking about strategies, take a look at what each of the different classes can bring to your party...
Landsknecht
Characters in this class are straightforward damage dealers who can equip good armor. Their Link skills let you give allies who act after you added elemental attacks. While they're usually slow (making this a difficult synergy to pull off), their Vanguard skill lets you sacrifice your defense for a big speed boost, or you can have a Dancer use Quick Step to give you a free action at the start of a round.
Medic
Are you familiar with the term "healbot"? The monsters in Etrian Odyssey IV's mazes hit hard, and unless you want to spend a lot of your hard-earned income on healing items, a Medic is important to keep everyone alive. Whether it's topping off everyone's HP, curing their status ailments, or removing the binds keeping them from using their most useful skills, the Medic can be the engine that keeps the rest of your party running.
Fortress
The Fortress class is all about defense. Not only can they equip the best armor, but they have both passive and active skills to let you beef their damage resistance up even higher. Even better, they have a number of skills that let you share the defensive wealth: you can choose to guard your line in the formation, your entire party, one particular ally, or simply whoever is in danger of dying. When paired with a Medic to keep their HP up, a Fortress can greatly improve a party's survivability.
Dancer
Dancers have a unique and versatile role in the party. They have a variety of dance skills which, depending on how you spend your points, let them act as a source of buffs for the rest of the team, a dangerous physical attacker, or even as an alternative to the Medic. Most of the Dancer's skills last for several turns after using one, and the lingering effect can be all sorts of things.
Sniper
The Sniper is another damage-dealing class with a few key differences from the Landsknecht. First, they can't equip very good armor, so they rely on their long-range weapons and skills to deal damage from the back line, where they're hit less often and for less damage. Second, they have easily available options to hit multiple enemies: Flank Shot strikes every enemy in a line, while Steel Arrow pierces through the enemy's formation. Third, they have several skills that specialize in binding an enemy's arms, head, or feet, which can be invaluable in neutralizing the tougher monsters' most devastating attacks.
Runemaster
These are the glass cannons of Etrian Odyssey IV. They can't take much of a hit in battle and they won't deal any worthwhile damage with their equipped weapons, but their skills are second to none in taking out a whole group of enemies. They're particularly valuable once you start going up against enemies that resist conventional weapons, since their elemental attacks bypass normal defenses. Each elemental attack has a specific range, so pay attention to which spells target which enemies before you spend your skill points.
Nightseeker
Nightseekers have two main things going for them: they're fast, and they're the initial go-to class for debilitating an enemy. They have a lot of options for inflicting status ailments, and their class specialty lets them do more damage to any enemy who's suffering from one. They're a bit more fragile than most front-line fighters, but their high agility and Shadow Cloak skill make them harder to hit in the bargain.
Arcanist
This class, unlocked a bit later in the game, splits the difference between Dancers and Nightseekers. The magic circles they create on the ground have a lasting effect similar to the Dancer's skills, but in their case the effect is a status ailment that will target everything in the enemy party, every turn. Needless to say, this works very well with a Nightseeker's damage boost in ailing enemies. They can also cancel a magic circle early for a bit of healing or a damaging attack before starting the process over.
Bushi
The second of the specially unlocked classes is a little like the Landsknecht on steroids. They're heavy on the melee attacks, but their unique strength comes from their Blood Surge ability, which provides a significant damage boost at the cost of their HP and TP being sapped each turn that it's active. Because of this, they can be a high-maintenance class, but they're a terror so long as you can keep them alive.
Which classes do you think you'll choose to take along for your odyssey? Let us know in the comments below, and check back each Wednesday for information on this forthcoming RPG.
Audrey Drake is an Editor at IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can keep track of her wild adventures by following Aminka on IGN or @GameOnAminka on Twitter. Game on!
Source : ign[dot]com
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