Are you supposed to avoid the FOE's indefinitely in this?

[MarkoftheSivak]

I've beaten EO 1,3, and 4. And it seemed you could usually take on FOE's not too long after entering their floor, but the FOE's in this game keep rick-rolling me.

I'm level 12, maybe higher, and the only FOE I have been able to take down are the furyhorns. A Raptor caught me by surprise and knocked out a back row member to -30 HP like it was nothing. That depressed me and now the labyrinth holds only despair for me.

Or is this just how it is? Is this the hardest game in the series?

[isometric]

[Shousa]

If you're in despair, make yourself a revenge Hexer. Those guys can take pretty much anything down real quick. Yesterday I beat the last post-game boss this way and it strangely felt like cheating. (They can dish out around 2500 damage per turn.)

Even if your not going for revenge, Hexers are there for you to get a break. They also make it possible to hunt the three dragons with a Lv40 Party.

Bottom line, you're in despair, get a Hexer or two, once you want a challenge again leave them back in the guild.

[Wolkenritter]

[WillowWolf]

What I heard, from some other forum, was that when people complained that the first EO was too hard, the creators made 2 harder to prove that they meant for it to be a difficult series. Not sure if that's just something that was passed around, but that made me laugh. II was my first EO, so I don't have experience with the first to base an opinion off of. I loved 2, and every EO after that was just an improvement (though I wish they would have kept some of the classes from 3 in 4. 3's classes were my favorites).

[zamisk]

II was my first and my favorite. I haven't played I and I don't like the feel of EOIII. I like what I've played of IV, and Untold looks like a great direction for a spinoff series.

I didn't like most of the classes for EOIII. They were too flashy and, for lack of a better term, anime for me. Giant bows! Giant swords! I prefer the classic feel of the first two games, and what EOIV seems to be heading back to.

[Liferake]

^I started from 3 and went backwards, I liked all of them. I think most people tend to like whichever EO they picked up first (I know I like 3 most), because its the one that meant most to them and set what it felt like to play an Etrian Odyssey game.

I tend to recommend 4 as the best place to begin the series, due to how easy it is try out and play.