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Update 51: Wicked Queen
I never want to see another ant in my life ever again!
I took the time to farm up some items from the Chop Points on the 13th floor. I also ground up a lot of money in the process.
The reason is because I want to buy Bash Charms for everyone.
To the point where I replace everyone's armor with them.
If you've played one of the later EO games and wondered why you can't stack accessories in those games, this is why. Right now, everyone has a 10% resistance to Strike attacks, which essentially reduces the damage output of those attacks to almost nothing. In fact, due to how the damage formula works in this game, armor is actually not that helpful. Armor got nerfed big time in EO3, because it was really strong in EO2. In that game it heavily reduced damage far more than the VIT stat did, but that's no longer the case in EO3. When people found out how terrible armor was, they opted to use resistance accessories instead, and that had much more of an effect than buying the strongest armor in the game did. And then accessory stacking was no longer possible in the later games, so armor was the only way to increase your defenses there.
Anyways, we're going to finish up that Ant Agony quest this update. We need to go to the 3rd Stratum for this.
Think I see something over here!
The blood on the wall causes you to notice an outcropping with a hole behind it. You recall the request you accepted to get revenge on whoever lurks beyond here... Ironically, you would never have noticed this passage if not for the bloodstains. If you are prepared, then you can enter this hole and track down the killer.
Hmm. All clear. Let's go.
The stifling atmosphere has an extra feeling of eeriness that puts you on edge. You encourage each other to keep your spirits high as you continue deeper within.
The encounters down here? Ants. Lots of ants.
And anteaters.
Y'know, I wonder why Olympia gave that thing to us. But it does look pretty.
Hmm... Aha! I got it! That was a present to showcase her love for you!
...What?
Yes, I can see it now. The forbidden love between a human and a robot-
I'm just gonna stop you right there, because that's just wrong in so many ways.
Also, she tried to kill us. Lots of times.
Oh. N-never mind then. Hmm, maybe I can still set her up with mumble.
There isn't much to this secret area. Just pathways with damage tiles.
Here's my setup for this fight. Now I actually made a mistake here. I shouldn't have put 3 Bash Charms on everyone. That's actually overkill. I mistakenly thought the upcoming boss only had Strike attacks, but I was wrong. She also has a Pierce attack, so you might want to slap a Stab Charm or two on your characters.
That's a big ant.
She must be the queen.
You see a massive, grotesque monster perched arrogantly in the center of the hall! The huge insect turns its emotionless, inhuman eyes towards you. There is no mistake--this is the master of the nest that wiped out Ricky’s guild! There is no time to lose! You must set your mind to defeating this threat!
Oh, and I might as well shoot down a conspiracy theory now. No, this is not the same Ricky from Etrian Odyssey Untold. The character in question had an entirely different name in Japanese.
Well this queen is about to be dethroned!
Video: Wicked Queen
Scatter About is a song that's been in all the Etrian Odyssey games. It's pretty much the optional boss theme, and EO3's version is actually different from EO1 and 2's version. Normally, I'm not a fan of this song, but I love EO3's rendition of it. I think the drums really add something to the song.
Wicked Queen
HP: 8888
TP: 830
STR: 43
VIT: 45
AGI: 36
LUC: 36
TEC: 44
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 27800
Item Drops:
-Normal: Execution Claw - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Dangosashi (Katana. Must be restocked.)
--Queen ant’s claw, curved into a sharp, blade-like hook.
-Gold: Execution Jaw - Kill while asleep. 100% Drop Rate. Prevents normal drops. Unlocks the Danda-chakra (Dagger. Must be restocked.)
--Queen ant’s jaw known for its ability to chew anything.
Description: This cruel ruler of the ants in the magma caves’ depths uses even its offspring as weapons.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 75% Strike: 75% Pierce: 75% Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 50% Confusion: 20% Plague: 20% Poison: 20% Blind: 20% Curse: 20% Paralysis: 20%
Bind Resistances: Head: 30% Arm: 30% Leg: 30%
Other Resistances: Death: 1% Petrification: 1% Stun: 20%
Skills:
Empress Hammer: Uses the Arms. Randomly attacks the party 2 to 4 times, dealing 120% Pierce damage per hit. Has an accuracy of 70. Has an action speed of -6.
Throw: Limit Skill. Requires a Wicked Queen and an Attendant. Does not use a body part. The Wicked Queen flings an Attendant at the entire party, dealing 130% Strike damage to them. Damages the Attendant slightly. Has an accuracy of 90. Has an action speed of -5.
Throw: Limit Skill. Requires a Wicked Queen and a Pomona Taker. Does not use a body part. The Wicked Queen flings an Attendant at a single target, dealing 210% Strike damage to the them. Damages the Pomona Taker slightly. Has an accuracy of 99. Has an action speed of -5.
Summon: Does not use a body part. Summons 2 Attendants.
Summon: Does not use a body part. Summons 3 Pomona Takers.
So here's another returning boss from the first game. Royalant (Also known as Queen Ant in EOU) wasn't really anything special in EO1, thanks to Defender and Immunize. However, you don't have those in EO3 and the Wicked Queen got much more annoying to take down in this game. First off, take a look at her stats and compare them to Gatekeeper's. Also, remember that we got the quest to deal with her on the 11th floor. There's a reason I put off this fight until now. The Wicked Queen is a massive pain to deal with. Unlike Gatekeeper, she's resistant to physical attacks. And her defensive stats are quite high, so she takes a long time to take down. Also, look at her skillset. She constantly summons minions to help her.
In fact, I could have tried to cheese her the moment I got the quest, but accessory cheese is defensive cheese. It doesn't help me kill her faster, it just stops me from being killed. Meaning that a fight from that early in the game would have turned into a poking contest, and it would have taken ages to kill her.
This is pretty much a preview on what a lot of late-game setups will look like. Essentially, stacking as many damage buffs as possible on the first turn.
Ready? Because here we go!
AWOOOO!
Enjoy your position while it lasts!
Oh, that's great.
Thought you could just incinerate her with Hellfire or whatever? Nope, she'll always summon two Attendants on the first turn, so the damage from random target attacks will likely get diffused. In fact, if the Wicked Queen is alone, she'll almost always summon Attendants or Pomona Takers.
Attendant
HP: 822
TP: 400
STR: 26
VIT: 26
AGI: 28
LUC: 27
TEC: 31
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 0
Item Drops: N/A
Description: A soldier ant mindlessly roaming its nest. Alone, it is no threat, but it has many allies.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 150% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 100% Confusion: 100% Plague: 100% Poison: 50% Blind: 100% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 50%
Bind Resistances: Head: 100% Arm: 122% Leg: 100%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Defend Stance: Uses the Legs. Increases all enemies' physical defenses by 30% for 4 turns.
Throw: Limit Skill. Does not use a body part. Prepares to be flung at the party by the Wicked Queen.
Summon: Does not use a body part. Summons 2 Pomona Takers.
These things are souped up versions of Guardian Ants. And I hope you have a way of dispelling buffs, because the Attendants will make the Wicked Queen even harder to kill with Defend Stance. Not only that, they can be used as ammo in one of the Wicked Queen's attacks. Incinerate them or find some other way to take them out quickly.
Try there.
PUMPED UP!
Neia teia an da ka!
Gonna stack more buffs, and gonna try to have Charlotte build her Limit gauge back up.
Ha! Get ready for-ow, I think I twisted something.
Not really used to one sword.
Don't be a wimp, Scott.
Oh hey, remember these things?
Pomona Taker
HP: 813
TP: 400
STR: 29
VIT: 20
AGI: 28
LUC: 28
TEC: 30
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 0
Item Drops: N/A
Description: This worker ant collects the legendary Pomona fruit. Their nest is thought to be nearby.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 150% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 100% Confusion: 100% Plague: 100% Poison: 50% Blind: 100% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 50%
Bind Resistances: Head: 100% Arm: 122% Leg: 100%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Sticky Acid: Uses the Head. Lowers the entire party's evasion by 50 for 4 turns.
Throw: Limit Skill. Does not use a body part. Prepares to be flung at a single target by the Wicked Queen.
Summon: Does not use a body part. Summons 2 Attendants.
So these Pomona Takers we killed in the preceding quest are back, and they've picked up some new tricks. Also these versions don't give out exp, so you can't just grind on the minions. They still have Sticky Acid, but now its far more crippling to be hit by it, because Empress Hammer has a decent, but not great hit rate. Sticky Acid will turn Empress Hammer from a slightly inaccurate attack to pretty much guaranteed to hit. Not only that, but they also gained the ability to summon Attendants. Like with Attendants, you want to take them out quick.
Oh, and normally Attendants are supposed to summon 2 Pomona Takers, but there wasn't enough room on the screen for all those sprites. Hooray for technical limitations!
And this is why I said I made a mistake in my equipment setup. Empress Hammer is a Pierce attack, and my characters have absolutely no armor equipped. So it's basically dealing the full amount of damage.
No...
You're gonna have to try a little harder than that!
That was a bad idea.
Incidentally, Berserker Vow is an incredibly risky move to use without a Hoplite in the party.
Though Avenger does take Rose a bit out of the danger zone.
Just gonna try to recover, here.
For you, my loyal subjects!
Much appreciated, MEGAQUEEN!
THANK YOU! 
Finally, someone calls me by my proper name.
...Really? You even shouted, ugh, whatever.
I'm not the kind of person to step on someone's dreams.
Hmph. Did you really think you would be able-
Sorry, friends, I let you down...
Wakey wakey!
Back to plunder the seven seas! Or, whatever.
Heh heh heh.
Time for some payback.
What's she doing?
Is she-uh oh. I think she's about to throw that ant at us!
Not if I can help it!
ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN!
And here's another reason I waited to do this fight. Bloody Lance is a really good skill to have for this. Since the Wicked Queen summons minions, you can rack up a lot of Bloody Lance boosts. Unfortunately, I don't have Bloody Lance at max level, so right now Rose only has a 48% damage boost on top of her other buffs. Oh, and Bloody Lance activates the moment she kills something, and you can see that in action in those screenshots. What with her damage output increasing like that.
You shouldn't throw your babies. That's bad for them. You're a bad mommy!
And sometimes the Wicked Queen will also throw her minions at you. There are actually two different versions of Throw. If she throws an Attendant, it'll hit your entire party. If she throws a Pomona Taker, it'll hit only one person, but deal way more damage to them.
I'll make sure that doesn't happen again.
Here, boy!
Not gonna risk another Berserker Vow. No need, Rose has enough of a boost already.
RRRAAAARRRGGHH!
Please keep summoning more ants for Rose to kill. It's not like you're digging your own grave or anything. Right now Bloody Lance is giving her an 80% damage boost. If it was at max level, it would be giving her a 200% damage boost.
Oh man, Bloody Lance would have been an incredibly broken skill in EO2U.
Ready to go!
Not much else to do other than to take her down.
Walk the plank!
Come here for medical assistance!
Not this time.
That's what you get for being a child abuser. 
Oh wow, that's lucky. That'll make her far easier to deal with, and it'll amplify Wolf Howl's defense debuff.
Your time is up!
Time to finish her off.
Um... Let's go? Chaaaaaaarge.
Fang, you have to put more energy into it!
Sheesh, finally!
And it goes down! I really hate this fight. It took me far longer on my previous attempts.
And I get some level ups out of it!
You have succeeded in besting this monster! You set one foot on the monster’s corpse and offer a prayer to those who fell... Your mission of revenge has been completed! Return to the bar to report your deeds.
Ha! Your throne falls to me! I am now queen of the ants!
In your dreams.
Charlotte's offhand attack now deals 23% damage.
Endless Battle increases Rose's physical damage output by 13%.
Berserker Vow is maxed out. It gives a 90% damage boost to physical damage, but costs 90% of Scott's current HP to use. Using this skill without a Hoplite is not advised.
But now, we're completely done with the 9th floor! Let's go hand in that report to Missy.
Oh! How happy am I to be seeing that you are back! I was worrying so much, I was thinking I might get a hole in my stomach! I see... So the ant leader was behind the massacre. I am hoping Ricky will be able to sort things out in her heart now... Still... You are unstoppable, are you not!? I am most impressed! For serious! Here is your reward. Be taking it! Good working as always. Come back again!
We get a pretty nice reward for doing that.
Increases regular attack damage by 5%.
I need to work on defending myself. That can't happen again.
I use up all the Vigor Books on Charlotte because she is easily one of the most fragile front liners we have.
If you don't go for the Mother Dragon's conditional drop, this is the earliest you can get a Katana.
Anyways, I think it's about time to take on some more Sea Quests. So let's see who we'll be working with.
Oh hey, there's the name of the boss we're gonna be fighting.
Cortana
Class: Gladiator
Weapon: Sword
Skillset:
-Stun Attack: Level 5
-Wild Swings: Level 5
-Avenger: Level 5
-Bind Cut: Level 7
-Rampage: Level 5
-Blade Rave: Level 5
-White Flame: Level 5
Supplies:
-3 Amritas
Cortana is a pretty hard hitter and can take care of himself. Manticore loves inflicting ailments, so he has White Flame to deal with that. If you're making use of binds, he'll use Bind Cut, but binds really aren't good against Manticore. Not necessarily a tough Sea Quest, but don't expect him to do all the heavy lifting. Bring whoever you want.
Oh, and if you're wondering, Shoguns and Yggdroids will never be Sea Quest NPCs. Sea Quest NPCs are limited to the initial 10 classes.
Cooper
Class: Monk
Weapon: Book
Skillset:
-Ascetic Reward: Level 4
-Blood Return: Level 3
-Ascetic Deeds: Level 4
-Healing: Level 7
-Line Heal: Level 5
-Party Heal: Level 1
-Refresh: Level 6
Supplies: None
Mettsu
Class: Monk
Weapon: Book
Skillset:
-Ascetic Reward: Level 4
-Blood Return: Level 3
-Ascetic Deeds: Level 4
-Healing: Level 7
-Line Heal: Level 5
-Party Heal: Level 1
-Refresh: Level 6
Supplies: None
Yeah, these two are pretty much exactly the same. They're healers, so they'll patch you up, and try to restore any ailments your party gets. You're given two in case one gets incapacitated. You might want to bring some offensive party members for this one.
Ibahd
Class: Prince
Weapon: Sword
Skillset:
-Royal Lineage: Level 7
-Royal Veil: Level 7
-Reinforce: Level 7
-Nobility Proof: Level 5
-Attack Order: Level 7
-Prevent Order: Level 5
-Protect Order: Level 7
Supplies:
-3 Medica IIs
-3 Amrita IIs
Ibahd will work on supporting the party with his orders. They're pretty handy for the fight. He'll try to keep them alive and amplify their damage output, as well as protecting them from ailments.
Doster
Class: Hoplite
Weapon: Spear
Skillset:
-Recuperate: Level 6
-Parry: Level 5
-Bodyguard: Level 7
-Shrug Off: Level 5
Supplies:
-1 Amrita II
Doster will try to protect his allies, and he has Shrug Off to recover from Manticore's ailments.
Suvaron
Class: Gladiator
Weapon: Sword
Skillset:
-Stun Attack: Level 7
-Wild Swings: Level 7
-Avenger: Level 7
-Crushing Blow: Level 7
-Arm Breaker: Level 7
-Wolf Howl: Level 7
Supplies:
-1 Amrita
Suvaron is a damage dealer, and is decent at his job. He'll try to lock down Manticore, and Wolf Howl is a strong damage amplifier if Manticore has an ailment.
You may want to bring a damage dealer and a support for this. Preferably a support with Prevent Order, as the AI may cause Ibahd to not help you when you really need it.
So now that we've looked at our helpers, let's see how our guild is doing.
Charlotte is a very strong support to bring along. She isn't built for dealing damage, but her ability to fill up her Limit gauge fast can come in handy. Especially if you make use of the Limit from a first time clear, which will make subsequent battles against Manticore far easier.
Rose is our durable physical attacker. Her low LUC and TEC stats make her pretty susceptible to Manticore's ailments, but she's pretty hard to take down due to her natural durability, and Endure. She also has some issues with her TP pool, since her skills are pretty costly. Oh, and despite Bloody Lance doing work in the Wicked Queen fight, don't expect it to help out here.
Scott is one of our faster party members, and hits decently hard. He can provide some utility by lowering Manticore's defenses, and doesn't have as much of an issue with his TP like Rose and Sidney.
MEGAQUEEN is a really good support to bring along to this fight. Not only can she increase our party's damage with Attack Order and Eagle Eye, Prevent Order is a godsend for dealing with Manticore's ailments, as he can do stuff like putting them all to sleep, inflicting confusion, or even petrifying them.
Oh yeah, due to how NPCs can't really revive you or dispel ailments in some cases, if all your playable characters get petrified, it will result in a game over. Even if the NPCs are just fine. So just be aware of that.
Fang isn't gonna be helpful here. Manticore is resistant to ailments and binds. As in extremely. He can only inflict his stuff once before he becomes dead weight. He does have Primal Drums to decrease Manticore's defense, and his LUC and TEC stats make him pretty resistant to his ailments, so it's not all bad if he comes along.
Protect Order now has a skill power of 240%, so it heals for quite a lot when combined with Form Qi.
Faye is another fantastic support to bring. She comes with Prevent Order, so Manticore will have a tougher time inflicting ailments, and she can heal the party with Protect Order. Not only that, she can dispel any ailments that get through with Refresh.
Antivolt now nullifies Volt damage for the turn.
Cassandra is an okay defensive support to bring along. She's not exactly an ideal party member since Manticore's ailments are far more dangerous than his damage. Still, damage mitigation isn't a bad thing.
No matter how good their defenses are, I'll tear them down!
Armor Piercer is the Arbalist's 3rd strongest skill. It deals a decent amount of pierce damage to a single target, but completely ignores any defense buffs they have. At any rate, if you're not using Front Mortar, this is the skill you want to max out. But I'm only taking this because it's a perquisite to a skill I want. At level 3, it deals 180% damage.
Sidney is a bit of a glass cannon, but he's the strongest member of our party. He deals the most amount of damage out of everyone. Though his low defenses aren't a huge downside for this fight. The real danger of the fight is ailments, and with the right setup, they won't be too much of a problem for him. Though he does have a bit of a low TP pool, so that's something to watch out for.
Etheric Return now restores 3 TP per kill.
Let's see. My horoscope says... that FOE just around the corner is going to kill us if we don't RUN!
Horoscope is a field skill. It basically forces FOEs to show up on the map if you're close enough. Not a fan of field skills, but this is a prerequisite to a skill I want. At level 2, Horoscope has a 4 tile radius and lasts for 40 steps.
Asteria is a nice damage dealer to bring along. She can deal a decent amount of damage, and she can deal a lot of damage with Etheric Charged elemental Limits.
Takanoha now hits 3 to 4 times, and deals 105% damage per hit.
Akatsuki is now a fairly cost effective damage dealer. Deals a decent amount of damage for a low amount of TP. Also, he can put any TP woes any other party members have to rest with Dark Ether.
So I'm gonna talk a bit more about this skill here, because its scaling is kind of crazy. Right now, it has a 55% success rate.
Now it has a 60% success rate. But things get a little crazy once it gets to level 9.
Suikyou has a 99% success rate. But it's at level 9. So what could level 10 have in store?
Suikyou now has a 999% success rate. No, I'm not joking. It genuinely is that high. Basically its infliction rate is pretty much guaranteed to hit something as long as the target's resistance to an ailment isn't lower than 10%. But wait, this is affected by both LUC and TEC, meaning that the success rate can jump up to a whopping 2007%! Meaning that if an enemy has a 5% resistance to an ailment, it's guaranteed to be tagged with it.
The catch? Well remember how this ability operates. An enemy needs to be inflicted with an ailment first. Then you target that enemy with this ability, and then it spreads that ailment to other enemies. In short, it's useless in boss fights. Not many bosses actually have minions, so you really can't take advantage of this. It's decent against random encounters and FOEs, especially if you set up in a random battle while waiting for an FOE to get to you. But now Alice is a great partner for Fang in dungeon crawls, since Fang landing an ailment on one enemy ensures that Alice can lock down everything else in the fight.
Unfortunately, Alice is dead weight in these Sea Quests. Aside from providing an exp boost.
Vote for up to 3 characters you want to see take on these Sea Quests. Votes must be bolded.