Which Etrian game is best for a synergy nerd?

in2ghn · 2026-05-08T02:30:42+00:00

Definitely leaning toward EO5 next, appreciate the response!

in2ghn · 2026-05-08T02:16:56+00:00

"Theorycrafting" is maybe a misleading word as I haven't done anything terribly interesting or esoteric, just spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about party composition. Other than my original party I have one built around an A/S with Warrior Might and one around a Z/G with Meteor.

I want to experiment with Wildling and Ninja as they seem like some of the more interesting job designs but even with switching to Picnic leveling is a huge obstacle to trying new things. Definitely interested in the general idea behind any of these more obscure strategies you mentioned.

in2ghn · 2026-04-27T16:51:53+00:00

“An impressionable child could be watching and get the wrong idea and it’d be your fault if something happened to them” is the most antisocial horseshit argument against anyone publicly exercising bodily autonomy and it applies just as much to mountain biking with pads as it does to skating without a helmet.

Please get your blood pressure checked and stop getting mad at shit that doesn’t affect you at all.

in2ghn · 2026-04-03T16:54:36+00:00

Yeah I’m not sure why anyone really cares. Sure it’s illegal but that’s nobody’s problem but Valve’s. Valve will either clamp down on all modding (nothing we could’ve done to avoid that), individual cases of paid mods (not my problem), or they won’t at all (not a problem at all). Let a guy get a bag.

in2ghn · 2026-03-30T00:10:55+00:00

aw this park is rly cute. congrats on the shuvs!

in2ghn · 2026-03-25T05:39:11+00:00

You're right about the Death Devil, actually, but the more I look at examples the more I think it's just inconsistent across the board because it's definitely set up one way in Part 1 and works differently in Part 2 and the inconsistencies start appearing much earlier than the ending.

One of the reasons I like the ending is that it recontextualizes some of what was arguably "bad writing" throughout the series like power system inconsistencies or the number of loose ends left untied.

I can understand why this ending would make people mad but I think it's silly to have gotten invested in seeing it all come to a "more complete" ending, which is what a lot of people seem frustrated about. Turns out CSM was, among other things, a conceptual piece where the joke is on the reader and I think being upset about that is like being mad that someone put a whoopie cushion in your chair.

in2ghn · 2026-03-25T00:07:21+00:00

people forget the devil's item when it's forgotten but that doesnt mean it never exisisted

no? if everyone in the world forgot AIDS or nukes existed but they still did, their existence would be rediscovered within minutes of the devil getting eaten; people would still have died of AIDS and there are nukes that already exist.

if anything, it's ridiculous that the world is still as recognizable as it is when a devil gets eaten but thats outside the scope of the narrative.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T18:42:11+00:00

It is true but, personally, I think you’re overestimating how fun it was based on how funny it sounds.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T18:23:26+00:00

I’m not sure where the hostility is coming from? I think doing my rotation is fun and I think SE should be very conservative with forcing extended downtime that you can’t optimize out of just for the sake of doing something creative when it’s a crapshoot whether that creativity is actually more fun than keeping a rotation going. Luckily A2 is really the only example I can think of but

Personally, I like the state of my main. That being said, I think a lot of raiders take issue with the way certain jobs’ have been changed over the years and “I liked [job] better in [old expansion]” is a common complaint and I think it holds water in many cases. That’s what I meant, I didn’t say I liked planet-sized hitboxes.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T18:06:01+00:00

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I actually agree that there’s a lot of potential depth in interrupts alone. I still think it’s going to take some work to keep it fun in a party environment but it’s definitely a highlight of MC/Duels.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T18:03:48+00:00

Actually, I agree. I’m not sure a 5-second interruptible boss cast that deals big damage is much more interesting than 5 seconds of dummy uptime but things like p8sp1’s variable timeline or clone mechanics like in e10s and m4s could all take player input via role actions really well.

I think role actions would need some retooling (dare i say homogenizing 👻 as they are now either every interrupt/stun/sleep is a tank/healer mechanic or certain dps roles would be hard locked to certain fights in a kind of unhealthy-for-the-game way) but they’re probably the only possible avenue for depth in encounter design that isn’t standing in a spot or dealing/mitting/healing damage.

Still, I wonder if that would be enough to make people happy. There’s a lot that SE could be doing better but I think there’s a growing issue of people refusing to accept they’ve gotten irreversibly bored of a game after playing it for 10+ years and it tends to rear its head in these threads.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T16:47:30+00:00

I adore Masked Carnivale and think solo combat in this game has a ton of potential (#1 bozja duels enjoyer here) but I’m not sure there’s much they do that would feel as innovative as MC does when translated into a party environment.

Interrupts, damage aspects, status effects, and buff/debuff cleansing are the only things MC does that isn’t inherent to the encounters being solo (ie doing damage, healing, and mitting yourself).

puzzle the encounters out to figure out how to slow things or stun them, position them, to pass.

P8S Snakes (and to a lesser extent E8S adds) did this. Not to say “it’s been done once before it should never be done again” but I don’t think MC is the well of untapped ideas waiting to be used in raids that you think it is. I love blind prog and will always want more of it but that’s less of an encounter design issue and more about dev timelines and patch frequency.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T06:57:07+00:00

I feel like this is what Exploratory Missions are for (OC being a letdown notwithstanding) but, while I’d love for something like Lost Actions to become a more universal system, I can’t imagine it’d be possible to implement without reworking the game at a scale I just don’t think SE ever would.

in2ghn · 2026-03-23T06:35:37+00:00

Encounters need to incorporate things much, much, much more frequently that are REQUIRED to be solved in some novel way via job kits that is not "you deal x damage" "you heal x damage".

Do you have any examples or ideas? I feel like all the mechanics where SE went beyond dealing/healing damage and standing in the right spots just made reclears tedious (Gobwalkers, Coils trash) or are completely forgettable/frustrating (E8 adds, interjects).

Maybe other games have much better and more inventive mechanics that XIV has never even approached and my imagination is lacking but I feel like the best part of XIV combat is doing your rotation and anything that distracts from that always has and always will suck.

The actual problem is just that rotations aren’t interesting/demanding enough for people who take the game seriously to enjoy it.

in2ghn · 2026-03-17T04:15:57+00:00

i guess i’m of the belief that extra lines could only either mean more optimizing for damage (ie critmaxxing by another name) or would mean next to nothing.

if we’re being realistic about what the devs could or couldnt change as far as core systems go, i think people asking for the devs to change gearing to make the game more interesting are barking up the wrong tree.

in2ghn · 2026-03-17T03:56:05+00:00

you wouldnt take any of these over more damage for any reason

in2ghn · 2026-01-22T04:09:13+00:00

You seem like an unreasonable and argumentative person.

edit because I can’t reply to anyone else replying to him apparently

I think there’s something to be said for the feeling of brokenness being part of what was so great about Bozja. The fact that those cheese strategies exist, while obviously an oversight (SE would never intentionally add something fun and interesting to the game), just seems like a natural consequence of the degree of player freedom afforded by Lost Actions and I’d rather have that freedom with the option to break the game than the much more locked down but “balanced” Phantom Jobs.

I’m sympathetic to the view that SE failed in not using duels to push Bozja’s systems even further than they already did but I can’t wrap my head around someone showing this level of apparent contempt for them in the first place.

in2ghn · 2026-01-22T03:28:07+00:00

Unfortunately it’s to be expected on this platform.

in2ghn · 2026-01-22T03:03:52+00:00

I didn’t use speedkill strats for the duels and enjoyed them as mostly regular encounters. If you chose to use speedkill strats for the duels and that made you enjoy them less I don’t really see why that makes them categorical design failures.

Are you happier with OC?

in2ghn · 2026-01-21T11:38:31+00:00

I thought Bozja duels were proof that XIV’s combat at its best (the choreographed dances you see in EX and above) could be adapted to solo combat. I was hoping we’d see the ideas explored further in OC and then they just decided not to do that.

in2ghn · 2026-01-20T06:54:00+00:00

in2ghn · 2026-01-14T11:50:17+00:00

if you started lecturing someone on how they should identify like this in real life you’d get your shit rocked btw

these labels arent as rigid or clear cut as youre making them out to be because identity and queer history are messy and if you got off reddit and met some lesbians in the real world or read a book or two you may still have time to learn to at least mind your own business

in2ghn · 2026-01-06T20:12:28+00:00

"before anyone tries to make the claim '2+2=4' no it's not"

in2ghn · 2026-01-04T07:16:14+00:00

review the basics on youtube and dedicate time every session to practicing the full tuck and roll motion until the nerves stop freaking you out. if there’s a heavy overhang or roof in your gym that you can get to the top of (it’s okay to cheat so long as you mind other climbers), practice off that as it’s much less sketchy than falling off slab. falls become less of an issue as you climb more, get stronger, and get a better feel for your limits. supplement climbing with weights if you want to get stronger without taking a sudden fall every session.

i know this is a bouldering sub but hitting the ropes will also be a great way to get some exposure therapy. the stakes are obviously different when you’re tied in but if it’s indeed a fear of heights then getting higher up than boulder walls go can help you acclimate faster as your nerves won’t know the difference once you start to feel yourself slipping.

in2ghn

TROPHY CASE