EOIV Rantage!!

[Ninten]

I already like the 2nd Stratum, will most of dungeons there have miasma in its rooms?

[Snowdome]

You forgot the very last floor of the very last dungeon...

[igniz13]

You know when beat a tough boss fairly convincingly, but nearly die on the way out to a random encounter...

Convinced imperials are pretty lame. I have an IR on my team but he just doesn't feel worth it.

[Wendigo]

Igniz, how are you using your imperial? Are you buffing him before your drive hits? Is it the damage or the speed or the lack of versatility that you're not satisfied with?

I think they're kinda meh on random encounters since my imperial's the only one who doesn't have a good AoE since I haven't gotten Wide Effect yet (well, my Fortress doesn't either, but she dances to make up fo it), but my IR is pretty good damage and he's usually busy in a boss battle, even when overheated.
I don't usually skimp on using drives on random encounters, since I can always Impulse the TP back and Overheat status doesn't go into the next encounter. I've done it a few times on the sleeping lions. My I/R's definitely not as great as my R/I and not as versatile as my B/N, but he's useful for pulling out big emergency damage if I need it.

I usually take two turns to set up (well, three now with the power gloves), using my R/I (Hawkeye-->rune of element that I'm gonna attack with), M/A (Atrophic Eye on first or second turn if he needs to lay down a circle), and my I/R (Runic Gleam-->Charge-->Drive). I'm gonna add attack tango into the mix too, but even now I can mostly oneshot the FOEs I'm up against. The great thing about Imperial is their drives usually go last so I can buff 'em up til the last minute.

[igniz13]

I do debuff with Hawkeye and usually a rune and it's okay for a burst of damage but in drawn out fights it's just not worth it, maybe I'm focusing too much on tp preservation and not cooling down but the rotation of damage just doesn't add up.

Add the fact that drives lower defence and seem to miss a fair amount, I think I'd prefer a more consistent damage dealer

[Garlyle]

[Wendigo]

I've had issues with accuracy, I usually try to fix it by either binding the legs or (if you have a sniper) using that accuracy-boosting skill.
I don't really feel like Imperials are supposed to preserve their TP--as much of a miser as I can be for conserving magic energy, I usually let my guy burn it off cause i know it's gonna pay off in damage. Plus, Impulse edge is a pretty great TP recovery method--the only one that's better IMO is Bushi's class skill+Nightseeker Sub. I usually IE instead of heat sinking if I'm getting low on TP, and it doesn't feel ike that much of a waste.

And echoing what Garlyle said: Try to max the drives first.

[igniz13]

I'll try it out tonight, I do need some of the r buffs and passives and he's only 55 so I'll see what I can do.

I can beat everything at the mo except the strata 5 boss (the spirited away reject) but he might be doable with some work

[igniz13]

Doesn't seem to be a huge difference between rank 8 elemental drives and rank 4, but if I'd known how good ignition gets I'd have got it sooner.

How does a RB work? Do they use elemental boosts and the B's elemental attacks?

I beat the strata 5 boss but strata 6 is annoying to say the least. My team relies on elemental damage from the imp too much. An RB might be a good replacement

[Wendigo]

(lol haven't gotten to Stratum 6 yet but)
I've never used a R/B (I prefer R/I for MOAR ELEM PASSIVE plus Hawkeye and the TP regen skills), but AFAIK it's a good combo because Charge and Blood Surge (I think? Someone correct me if I'm wrong) boosts your magic attacks as well as your physical, so you can get some monstrous Infernos out. The Runemaster's rune skills are a thousand times better than any elemental attack the Bushi can put out, Bushi's just there for augmenting damage. Deep Breath is also a good way to regen TP. I/B works mostly the same, I believe.

If you're relying on just your Imperial for elemental damage, you should certainly find another guy who can put it out consistently, and Runemasta's the best one for that. I have my Imperial for strong elemental drives (he was originally I/B and neutral-damage oriented, but I found elemental was a zillion times better), and my R/I for consistent damage. If I'm fighting something that has an ice or fire weakness, my Bushi also has the fire/ice strikes for support.
IDK what other elemental alternates there are to Runemaster, unless it's like...a medic or Arcanist with an RM sub.

[Edit] Here's my level 55 Imperial's build, if you wanted ideas:

[Tumalu]

I think only Blood Surge from the bushi works on Runemasters, but it's still a significantly larger damage boost than Imperials give even at just lv1 surge (and RMs already have enough boosting skills to have no use for using Hawkeye themselves, IMO) and Endure is pretty nifty, especially for a squishy class like them.

Charge/Defiance I'm pretty sure are physical only.

Subbing Imperial gives the R more tp regeneration power and means they don't have to use a turn surging when it doesn't auto-activate, whilst still giving an alright power increase, so there's still decent reasons to use it. RMs don't have good sub options in any other class, except for being competent medics I guess; most damage increase options are only for physical damage.

I think the L's Initiative actually works for RMs, but since Vanguard doesn't and RMs aren't fast, there's not much of a point. Endure is surely more useful than investing a ton of points into all the L's damage reduction passives.

[igniz13]

I wanted to keep my I around for plot reasons during the main game, but post game, I don't think there's any reason for that.

I might try a RB for fun, though that would make my entire front line bushi related.

[Garlyle]

I was worried this entire challenge run how a team of three dancers would possibly handle . Then I absolutely whooped his ass thanks to RNG ensuring never landed and killed anyone thanks to Swordbreaker/Runic Shield/evasion kicking in every time, and Geo Impacted him when he prepared .

I did not expect that battle to be half as easy as it was. (That's basically the story of this entire challenge run by the way: "Dancers are surprisingly OP")

EDIT: can go screw itself.

[Tumalu]

Garlyle:Assuming it boosts Regen Waltz, using a medic sub for Steady Hands+Healing Mastery could make it far stronger. B or L sub should drastically increase your potential damage, and you can manage equipment carefully to avoid even needing to use Vanguard on one of your precious buff slots for a linking build. Erm... a dancer with a fairy boot goes before the boss, right? >_>

Medic also gives you access to debuff curing, which normally in EO4 would be pretty useless, but it sounds like it actually matters here. As for handling the magic attacks... well, L could use Mind Break and you could use an elemental resist food. You'd have to decide between more dances to help with the linking L or not (rune using up 3 potential dances is aghghghg)

If Regen Waltz can be boosted by Steady Hands, then as long as you can avoid 0hkos you should be okay... maybe. Subbing A instead could give you an enemy offense debuff in addition to wimpy circle healing, so with both of those it might work alright too, especially if Steady Hands doesn't work on regen waltz.

[Garlyle]

Rune eating up the dances does hurt, but it's really important. I may end up stacking multiple sources of resist against it. The food thing might happen - it's just that alternatively I can pick up a flat Max HP +80 (on top of +STR/+VIT). It still might be the best thing in this case, though, I'll have to do some investigation.

Yes, Dancer with Fairy Boots outspeeds the boss, at least by level 53.

I did check out Medic more. Heal Mastery, for about 20 skill points (because of all the prereqs), only increases my healing from about 140 to 165; I get Auto-Heal in the process, but that's a lot of points. Steady Hands, however, does impact Regen Waltz and adds about another 100. So... if I don't use Volt Rune, but do bring elemental resist foods/volt accessories into battle, and cure off the debuff (with some luck to not have my party get trashed in one turn by it), I should be able to do this.

I'll have to give it some very specific thought. I may still use Volt Rune because it also allows me to enhance a Link pretty well.

BONUS ROUND EDIT:
Also, Trick Samba on the one performing the Link does cause followup attacks, but DOESN'T trigger links off of those. I think I'll just opt for Bushi instead of Linksknecht and bring Energy Tango along. The good news is, so long as is down I can't be OHKO'd by this boss, because Regen Waltz + Steady Hands + Volt Rune stops its damage from ever exceeding what I can heal. Dis just gonna be a loooooong fight.