Alright so I've just started. I really like the War Mage's passive healing every turn ability and the Gunner's full power from the back row.

Is the FOE on the first floor NOT meant to be taken on first? Because it seemed MUCH more powerful in comparison with my team (Currently lvl 5-6). I've avoided the FOEs on the second floor as a result.

Don't tackle it now 'til you level and get some nice skills. Besides, there's a quest at the bar later on that requires you to kill it, so I'd recommend waiting until then.

Alright, I figured as much, because an accidental encounter with another FOE on the second floor, while still killing me, was doing much less damage by comparison.

Everyone is level 7 now, and I'm rolling with a Gunner, Medic, War Mage, Landsknecht, and Ronin. I like to be diverse I suppose. I might consider switching out the Landsknecht with a Survivalist, but we'll see how it goes.

My party is currently Ty (Ronin), Warfang (Beast), Chase (Survivalist), Lai (Medic), Ross (Gunner). All are either level 28 or 29. I'm not even sure how they all ended up at the same level since I rested several times.

Has anyone gotten any glitches yet? I was in town and went into the Duke's Palace, but the top screen never loaded, only the bottom screen. I then turned the game off and restarted, only to not have the game recognized (it went to the DS menu screen). It worked fine after I restarted again. I was using my DS Lite (I just got it yesterday), so I I'm hoping it was just a glitch and not a problem with the Lite itself, although I doubt there could be a problem with the system.

Yes actually!

I was in the town when I brought up my menu (Item, Skills, Status, etc.,).

I pressed the Select or Star button to "Save", cancelled, and suddenly the screen was all messed up. The graphics looked corrupted, kinda like the Missing No' bug from Pokemon Red/Blue.

I wish I could have gotten a pic but I was so freaked out that I just exited the menu. I was not able to reproduce it again =\

Ouch, that sounded pretty bad. Good thing it didn't occur again. I guess I can now chalk up my missing top screen as an actual glitch then.

How are you liking the game so far, DN? I'm terribly addicted to it. I even find myself playing it in bed.

I got one of those too, but attributed it to it being on a flash card (and therefore slightly more prone to bugs) than to the actual game.

I seem to recall it happening in town, too, but I didn't save or go into the menu, I just accidentally went to a menu option I didn't want and almost immediately backed out. Maybe the graphics loader is on the slow side? :???:

Also, before I get too far (Everyone's level 7), should I keep my Hexer around, or switch to a Gunner? I've not really felt like the Hexer's had a role to play other than "Cast defense down once than attack".

Because I'm a total dork, my party is:

a lurker (Protector)
Tails (Ronin)
Skills (Hexer)
Mo0 (Medic)
Iwata (Alchemist)

Haha, I had the same dilemma. I had a Hexer originally but didn't find it all too useful while dungeon crawling. I find it easier to just have everyone attack instead of getting it poisoned/asleep, etc first. I hear their Revenge has one of the highest in terms of DMG though.

I dropped my Hexer for a Gunner and I haven't regretted my decision. Their Ricochet skill rocks hard against bosses and they can use skills that deal fire/ice/volt DMG which is great if you don't use an alchemist. They also have some very nice support skills, like Halt Shot (stops FOEs for several steps) and Medishot (cures the entire party of status problems).

Awesome, I'm gonna try that then. Glad to hear that that switch works.

Hexer is the kind of job that works best later in the game, when battles don't go by so quickly. Only Poison has any real use in the beginning (when 25 HP every turn is absolutely brutal), and other classes have Poison abilities.

Gunner is just an all-around good class. It's an important back row attacker, its' Medishot is quick and easy to learn, and it can use 2-Hit.

I have my Gunner in the front row for additional damage. Thankfully, their HP is high enough (and armor DEF okay enough) that they don't get totally rocked by enemies. Still squishy like a Ronin, though, but that's what my Medic is for.

Went and beat the first Stratum the other day, and lololol. Second Stratum is definitely a step up. Invisible (on the map) and physical-immune FOEs? That's a bummer.

I haven't even managed to get past the second floor. :gonk:

Locked doors are for fags. :mad:

Yeah seriously, anyone know what monster or location drops that item? Its on an FOE, right?

Of course it is: even in a fetch quest, F.O.E.!

You can't get past that locked door for a while. Just ignore it and continue moving up floors. You'll eventually return to that door at some point.

Bent Twigs are obtained from Chop points, not monster drops.

Wait, what? I've run out of places to go, I can't go up another floor!

...

I bet my map is fucked up somewhere then. :gonk:

Stairs to 3F ought to be in the southwest corner, or around there. Block F-1 or so?

Sometimes when I go exploring I accidently wall up a path and I don't realize it until I notice the entire map is either a) very small or b) missing the stairs. If that happens I walk throughout the entire map to search for the path I missed.

Or if you don't want to do that, GameFAQs has full maps for the first stratum so you can check there. The stairs to 3F is indeed at block F-1.

Haha, I do that too, it's weird when you come across it by accident. "Hey! There's... No wall here? I thought the... But the map said..."

Anyway, I just started playing this and it's a lot better than the first game, they really fixed almost every annoying naggle about the original game. It's still tough as nails, but that's to be expected. It's just really fun and the art/music is amazing.

I do miss Shilleka though. :(

I think it depends on how you draw your maps. I don't know about you guys, but every time I come to a split, I draw all possible paths at the split. The first game had some weird stuff to draw though, like the lilly pads and the shifting sands.

Anyways, I hope to pick this game up tomorrow. Though I suppose I should beat the first one first. I'm on the 17th floor, I think. Or at least the second floor of the 4th stratum. About the time the story seems like it's about to pick up at least. How much longer is it, for people who've beaten the first game?

Also, what naggles were in the first game? I didn't have any issues with the first game. (Besides skill descriptions being vague, which, if they fixed that, I'd be really happy.)

Some of the things I can think of... In the shop, you can now compare the stuff you buy to what you're currently wearing (as well as who can equip it), and equip your bought stuff right away. In dungeons, you can now suspend-save, and you can leave a memo on any tile, not just tiles that you placed a special symbol on. There are also generally more map tiles and several color floors so it's easier to indicate everything.

There are probably other things but those really help smooth the game out a bit.

And yeah, usually I draw each path too, but I guess sometimes I don't do it.

Yeah, I make sure to scout out on the top screen, then draw open ended points at the paths I don't take the first time through. Sometimes I might overshoot the length of the room or the corridor, but it makes it very clear for me that I haven't explored that area yet.

And, in the event that I have a blank spot in my wall on the other side of the floor, I can simply close that gap without having to walk all the way back over there just to confirm that I'm not drawing a wall where there's a hallway.

I uh, I wasn't paying attention to the guy's explanation, and uh, I activated a

What does that do?

If you go back to town you can warp directly back to the pole you've activated. You can only have one activated at a time.

It

Just remember that those Poles that need to be activated only work one way, and that's from town back into the dungeon; never the other way around.