Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City/Battles

Battles can occur in the labyrinth and are turn based. They are either randomly encountered or triggered by walking into a FOE. An indicator at the bottom right displays how likely a monster will attack. It ranges from blue to red. At the start of battle, there is a chance for either your party to get blindsided (monsters get a free turn) or your party gets a premptive strike (party gets a free turn). If neither happens, then the battle starts normally. At the start of each turn, you can select from the following list.


 * Attack : Normal attack.
 * Defend : Damage is reduced by half.
 * Skills : Use a skill that costs TP or a limit skill.
 * Items : Use a consumable item.
 * Switch : Switch rows.
 * Escape : Attempt to escape from battle.

The current turn number is displayed in the top left corner. Each turn is equivalent to one step. At the end of battle a results screen displays showing experience progress for your party and any items that were found.

FOEs
FOEs are powerful monsters that can quickly defeat an unprepared party. They are displayed as icons on the map and are represented as color balls in first person view. The bottom right indicator displays how close they are to your party. They each have a different pattern to how they move around. If they run into your party while still in battle, they will join it. It is usually best to avoid FOEs initially until your party is strong enough to fight them.

Damage Types

 * Fire
 * Ice
 * Volt
 * Pierce
 * Slash
 * Strike

Status Ailments

 * Bind
 * Blind
 * Confuse
 * Paralyze
 * Petrify
 * Poison
 * Sleep
 * Stun

Limit Skills
Limit skills are more powerful skills that use the limit gauge instead of TP. They are assigned from the main menu under Custom → Limit. Each one requires a different number of party members. When a party member deals damage, their limit gauge fills up. Once it is maxed, they can perform a limit skill. When selecting a limit skill, party members still get their normal action for that turn. The limit gauge retains its amount between battles. If you escape from battle, all party members lose half of their limit gauge. Initially, three limits are available and more can be unlocked by obtaining scripts. Note whenever you change party members remember to reassign their limit skills.