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Update 80: The Deep Princess and Her Warrior
Before we take on the final boss, there's one last loose end I would like to clean up. We reached the 20th floor, so that means Shin respawned. So I would like to take this opportunity to go after her conditional drop now, which involves killing her while she's head bound. This is the party I'm going to take to that fight.
Huh, I've seen Olympia carry one of those, what is it, a lightning beast or something? One of those things around. Anyways, what's it doing down here?
Faye.
Y-Yeah?
What did you do!? Did you, I don't know, break reality or something when you brought us back!? That thing should not be here right now!
Why are you blaming me!? Maybe it just hitched a ride or something when I did that!
Wait, why's the giant naked clam lady here? I could have sworn we killed it.
It's a ghost!
Oh, okay! ...Let's kill it again! Don't want my fists here to be getting rusty!
So here's the thing with Kirin and Shin. Once you've killed them for the first time, the game will remember that for all future NG+ playthroughs. If you take a different path, both Kirin and Shin will respawn once you reach the 20th floor. So there's no rush to go for all their drops before starting a new playthrough.
These are their patrol paths. Kirin walks around the top pillar, while Shin patrols around the bottom. You can easily ignore them if you wish, as they're just there to be refought. So let's get to it.
Shin is just a joke, so let's get to the relevant parts.
Zip! Zap! Ha ha, can't even see where I'm hitting you from, right?
Look at this, actual damage! After only 4 turns of prepping buffs, Scott has already taken out over half of Shin's HP.
When I said the fight was a joke, I meant it. Shin normally does not take that long to kill. Also, let that fight demonstrate why people don't bother using Farmers on their main team. The upsides of using one is heavily weighed down by the fact that they can't do anything in battle, which matters big time for FOEs and bosses. In fact, trying to use one in the post-game is utter suicide since you really don't want to be fighting with less than 5 people.
Gotcha! Ha ha!
And there's the head bind.
We'll take that.
And that's it! Infinitely easier than trying to make something kill itself through Curse damage.
Let's see what the Fullmoon Crown unlocks.
The Anemo Makagoyumi the ultimate Crossbow. It provides a 15% boost to their TP pool, on top of increasing their hit rate by +15. You'll definitely want this for your Arbalist if you have one.
Moving on...
Here's the team I'll be taking on the Deep City's final boss with, along with my Limit setup.
Faye, I really don't know if you should be here right now...
How many times do I have to say it!? I'm not gonna die this time! I promise! I was just careless last time!
There's a sentence I never thought I'd hear.
Worry not, for they won't be striking us down without a fight!
I dunno if I'm comfortable with the idea of Susan being here eithe-
Oh my gosh, can we just go in there already!?
...So you’ve come. Greetings to you, Guild Tidehunt.
The old woman continues speaking, casting a worried glance around the forest as she does.
I didn’t think you would return to us as enemies... Can anything convince you to reconsider?
My apologies, but I'm afraid nothing will sway us now!
The old woman examines your faces as she speaks, and then sighs.
...I thought not. Well, better to at least make the attempt than stand idly by...
When the old woman finishes her sad muttering, she raises her voice to call the young man.
Ha! You're one to talk!
The Princess wears a melancholy expression as she whispers to Kujura. The young man nods, then slowly steps toward you, his hand resting on his katana’s hilt.
Same here, but... we don't have a choice.
The Princess’ only wish was to be reunited with her brother... And you wouldn’t allow even that...
The young man’s expression remains calm, but his body language subtly projects a threatening manner. Suddenly, the Princess behind him addresses you...
A wicked smile unlike any you’ve ever seen the Princess display creeps across her face.
I only borrowed the Deep Ones’ power to gain immortality... It was all that I might see my brother once more... I dreamed of our joyous reunion... Would you judge me for this? Then try and slay me!
Yeah uh, whatever you did, you're kind of threatening all of Armoroad, and you know, the whole world right about now. So, we got to take you down.
The Princess’ scornful yell prompts Kujura to step forward again.
You must defeat me before harming a hair on her head, mind.
Fine! This is for not believing that we were veterans!
Video: Kujura and the Deep Princess
Incidentally, this is the last time Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart plays on the Deep City path.
Anyways, the final confrontation in the Deep City path plays out differently than in the Amoroad path. Instead of fighting 2 bosses at the same time, this is a 2 wave fight.
Kujura
Level: 57
HP: 10480
STR: 57
VIT: 49
AGI: 51
LUC: 44
TEC: 54
Attack Type: Slash
Exp: 24600
Item Drops:
-Normal: Cursed Shard - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Youtou Nihiru (Katana. Must be restocked.)
--Came from a cursed sword that eats away at its wielder.
-Gold: N/A
Description: A young general sworn to the Princess and the Senatus. Usually serene, but can be impulsive.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 75% Strike: 75% Pierce: 75% Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 10% Confusion: 10% Plague: 50% Poison: 10% Blind: 10% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 10%
Bind Resistances: Head: 30% Arm: 30% Leg: 30%
Other Resistances: Death: LR – 12% Petrification: LR – 12% Stun: 20%
Skills:
Demon Reaper: Uses the Arms. Deals 120% Slash damage to one row. Has an action speed of +0. Has an accuracy of 99.
Falcon Thrust: Uses the Arms. Deals 150% Pierce damage to one party member. Has an action speed of +60. Has an accuracy of 120.
Kujura isn't a particularly difficult enemy. Unlike in the Armoroad path where you had to deal with 2 bosses wearing down your party, you only have to deal with 1 at a time here. And Kujura himself doesn't deal a lot of damage. He's just really here to wear you down for the next fight.
As always, I'll have Cassandra start off by summoning her clone.
Since Cassandra can't defend anyone while she's using Bunshin, I'm not gonna have Scott and Rose cast Berserker Vow, since it's too risky to use right now. Instead, I'll just have them cast Wolf Howl just so that they don't waste a turn doing nothing.
Faye will set up a Protect Order buff on the front row.
While Susan will set up Attack Order on them.
...Is that all you've got?
Yeah, Falcon Thrust is his strongest attack in terms of raw damage, and even ignoring the back row damage reduction, he can only deal around 200 points of damage at most. Just make sure to keep your party members topped off.
Seriously, get out of our way!
We're not after you, so don't waste our time!
Please don't make this more difficult than it has to be.
There is still time to back down, you know.
Besides, are you really going to fight six people all by yourself?
Look, don't say we didn't warn you.
Yeah, look at how much Protect Order heals for. As long as that's up, Kujura can't do any relevant damage to us.
Scott and Rose will use Berserker Vow, while both Cassandras will Bodyguard them. Yeah, there are all sorts of ridiculous things you can do with 2 Hoplites. Which is why Ninja is one of the best subclasses for them.
Ow! What gives, Cassandra?
Sorry, I wasn't expecting him to be so fast!
Something to keep in mind is that Falcon Thrust lets Kujura outspeed your Hoplite's guard skills (Remember, they don't have priority like in the previous games), so it's even more important to keep your party members topped off since he can pick off party members low on health very easily.
I think I just broke everything.
Man, if you all think that's painful...
For this turn, everyone's just applying the same buffs again to extend their duration. Susan will start piling on Eagle Eyes to amplify Scott and Rose's damage outputs even more.
If you want to harm them, you'll have to go through me first.
If you have a Hoplite, Bodyguard and Line Guard can easily deal with his attacks.
Must you be so bothersome?
Now that all that setup is done, I'll have Scott and Rose will Charge up their attacks.
TP pools are starting to run a bit low, so I'm going to toss around a few Amritas.
We're giving you one last chance to back off here.
I don't think he's listening.
Now it's time to actually deal some damage.
Still not giving up?
Scott is now the undisputed king of damage, and he cannot be dethroned. That was only one hit from Pincushion which is only going to get even stronger as he levels up.
I guess he's serious about this.
With that said, our dedicated damage dealers can still dish out respectable amounts of it. It's just that now the only one who can hope to be on equal standing with him is Sidney, because Scott is just so far ahead of the curve.
Once Kujura drops below 76%, he'll throw in 2 new skills.
War Spirit: Uses the Head. Lowers the party's physical damage output by 50% for 4 turns. Has a 5% chance to inflict Confusion and Paralysis. Has an action speed of +3.
Charge: Uses the Head. Doubles the damage output of Kujura's next physical attack. Has an action speed of +0.
War Spirit is pretty annoying, since it debuffs your physical attackers, and has a small chance to disable your party from doing anything as well.
Kujura doesn't get to use Charge at all in this fight, but he'll start using it every 5 turns once his HP gets low enough. When this starts happening, just have everyone defend on the next turn, since Falcon Slash can outspeed stuff like Line Guard and Bodyguard, and he likes to combo Charge with that.
When Kujura drops below 51%, he throws in his most dangerous skill into the mix.
Ouka no Mai: Uses the Legs. Randomly hits the party with Slash damage 3 to 6 times, and deals 80% damage per hit. Has an action speed of +0. Has an accuracy of 90.
Ouka no Mai is the only skill you really have to watch out for, especially if Kujura used Charge beforehand. But he really doesn't use it all that often. The reason I'm talking about this skill now?
D-Did we just...?
He really was willing to go that far for her...
Scott and Rose just blew him up before he even got a chance to use it. Combined with the defensive support Cassandra and Faye brought to the fight, he really couldn't do much to the party.
Behind him, the Princess’ form begins to warp into a hideous monster from sheer despair!
How dare you kill Kujura!?
The Princess’ shape solidifies into a monster worse than the Deep Ones!
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?
A giant squid... parade float?
To think something like this was living in Armoroad...
And here's the final boss of the Deep City path.
Deep Princess
Level: 59
HP: 14720
STR: 54
VIT: 53
AGI: 47
LUC: 45
TEC: 59
Attack Type: Pierce
Exp: 25500
Item Drops:
-Normal: Ominous Scale - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Royal Byrnie (Prince/ss' ultimate Heavy Armor. Must be restocked.)
--Scale from the princess that became an abomination.
-Gold: N/A
Description: Made immortal by the Deep One’s power, she became tainted and lost some of her humanity.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 75% Ice: 75% Volt: 75%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 10% Confusion: 10% Plague: 10% Poison: 50% Blind: 10% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 10%
Bind Resistances: Head: 150% Arm: 150% Leg: 150%
Other Resistances: Death: LR – 12% Petrification: LR – 12% Stun: 20%
Skills:
Thin Ice: Uses the Head. Deals 70% Ice damage to the entire party. Has an action speed of -5. Has an accuracy of 120.
Thunder Wrath: Uses the Head. Deals 120% Volt damage to one party member. Has an action speed of +5. Has an accuracy of 99.
Dubious Mist: Uses the Head. Decreases the party's Ice resistance by -30% for 4 turns. Has an action speed of -6.
Ocean Drop: Does not use a body part. Dispels all binds on the Deep Princess and heals her for 5000/10000/15000 HP if she had 1/2/3 binds at the time of casting. Has an action speed of +0.
So according to the EO3 artbook, the way Gutrune attained immortality was by eating Deep One's flesh. Which is what the whole Ningyo sign on the gates was foreshadowing. Anyways, let's talk about the actual fight.
Gutrune herself isn't as difficult as Seyfried and Olympia. Despite her being stronger than either of them individually, you're only fighting one enemy instead of two, and her offenses are kind of mediocre. For some reason, she also likes to throw in regular attacks into the mix, and she really doesn't hit that hard. She'll stop with those once she drops below 51%.
Now before I talk about the fight in more detail, let me just give you one piece of advice. Do not try to head bind her! Yes she is very susceptible to being head bound, and all of her skills do use the head. So theoretically, that would completely shut her down. Now if she's above 51%, it's okay to do that, since her AI only forces her to use regular attacks in that case. But if she's below 51%, this happens instead.
Gotcha!
...Or not.
If Gutrune is head bound and her HP is below 51%, her AI will force her to use Ocean Drop, which dispels every single bind on her (Ailments are unaffected and don't count for this) and heals her for a large amount of HP. And the healing scales with how many binds she has. Unless your party is capable of dealing more than 5000 points of damage per turn, using binds on Gutrune will just needlessly draw out the fight. If your Wildling can only inflict binds, they're outright detrimental for your team.
From 100% to 76%, Gutrune will mainly make use of regular attacks and Thunder Wrath, though she throws in Thin Ice occasionally. She'll always use Dubious Mist on turns that are multiples of 5.
I decide to make use of Anticold since I plan on using Berserker Vow straight out of the gate, and Thin Ice is the only threat to watch out for at the moment.
Just setting up the same buffs I did in the Kujura fight.
If it helps with taking her down, then sure.
Armoroad shall be free from your reign of terror!
...No one in the city considered her a tyrant.
Oh. Your future reign of terror, then!
Don't be mad at me for this, Charlotte.
Not on my watch!
You're gonna pay for tricking us, squid girl!
Now I decide to have Cassandra use Bunshin.
Of course, I don't want to risk Scott and Rose getting taken out thanks to Berserker Vow, so I have both of them cast Wolf Howl instead.
Gutrune has access to a skill that can inflict ailments later on in the fight, so I preemptively set up a Prevent Order here.
AWOO!
Oof. Good thing Thunder Wrath hit Cassandra here.
You never know what a monster like that will try.
Reinforcements are here!
Yeah, there's no way we can just walk away from this now.
Scott's Limit Gauge is full, so he can cast Aegis Shield to protect the party for this turn, letting both him and Rose get off free Berserker Vows.
Try getting through this!
Oh ho ho! Denied!
Now I'll have Scott and Rose charge up for their assault.
I'm afraid not.
Hoplites are ridiculously durable once they start getting all the skills they want.
A little refresher for you, Rose.
Heh, thanks.
Wait till you get a load of this!
Here goes...
Okay, now let's actually attack.
Stab stab stab!
Not my best work.
Gutrune dodged 2 of those 5 hits, but that's Gladiators for you.
Feels like it got a lot more chilly here.
If you have a Hoplite, you really want to start spamming Anticold when Dubious Mist goes into effect. Thin Ice hurts a lot more. You can use a Mist to dispel this if you need to.
Thin Ice did nothing thanks to Anticold. If you're on the Deep City path, you really want to pick up that skill for your Hoplite thanks to Shin and the Deep Princess.
I think going after the part that looks like the princess would be best.
Yeah, Thin Ice hurts if Dubious Mist is in effect. Otherwise, it doesn't do all that much.
When Gutrune's HP is between 76% and 51%, she will start using Thin Ice a lot more, and doesn't use regular attacks all that often. Dubious Mist will still be used every 5 turns.
Yeah, that took out a large chunk of her HP. Once Gutrune drops below 51%, she throws a new skill into the mix.
Huh, that's a really nice singing voice.
Hey, hey! Focus!
Yes, don't be taken in by her devilish charms!
Sweet Song: Uses the Head. Attempts to inflict Confusion on the entire party with a 20% success rate. Has an action speed of -5.
When the Deep Princess' HP is between 51% and 26%, she tends to spam Thin Ice and Sweet Song frequently. She no longer uses regular attacks, and she doesn't use Thunder Wrath that often. She'll still use Dubious Mist every 5 turns.
And when her HP drops below 26%, she'll throw in another new skill.
Lament: Uses the Head. Attempts to bind the heads of the entire party with a 30% success rate. Has an action speed of -5.
She no longer uses Dubious Mist at this point, and just randomly throws out the rest of her skills. Though she is a bit biased towards Thin Ice and Sweet Song. Oh, and Gutrune never got a chance to use Lament in this fight either.
Sorry about that Flowdia, but it was something we had to do.
Because Scott is now Tidehunt's personal weapon of mass destruction. She's honestly not too tough if you're prepared, but you shouldn't get careless. But again, Scott's massive offenses combined with Cassandra and Faye's defensive support meant that Gutrune couldn't do all that much to us. Honestly, this party setup was kind of overkill.
And with that, we've beaten Etrian Odyssey III... again. This time, going through the Deep City path.
Video: Ending and Credits
Aside from the NPC dialogue, the credits themselves are exactly the same. So I'll just skip straight to those.
Something wrong, Rose? You've been looking down ever since you got back.
I dunno, it's just... what Gutrune said is still kind of bothering me. I mean, yeah it was for the good of Armoroad. So... why does it feel like we screwed up somewhere?
Pfft, she was probably just trying to guilt trip you for killing her. I mean she was a Deep One after all. Don't worry about it! Armoroad might not think of you as heroes, but the Deep City sure does!
I guess. I dunno, sometimes I wonder if we could have done something else.
Like what? We sided with Armoroad last time, and look how well that turned out. ...But if I had to be honest, I don't blame you for thinking that. At all.
Hmm, there's one more thing that's bothering me. What about Charlotte? How are we bringing her back?
You know, I still haven't come up with a way to do that. But I might come up with something eventually.
“Might?”
D-Don't look at me like that! The only way I've thought of doing so is not pretty, and I don't feel like doing that. A-Anyways, how about we all take a nice break after that huh? I promise I'll wake up from my nap this time, hee hee!
And thanks for uhhh, sticking around? Yeah, a New Game + playthrough goes by much faster than a normal playthrough. So if you want to knock out the other path before tackling the post-game, go for it. It only takes like 2 hours at most as long as you don't stop for anything.
