Yggdroid

An anti-evil weapon made by Yggdrasil and the Abyssal King. Its power is unmatched by any human.

—In-Game Description, Etrian Odyssey III

The Yggdroid (known as Andro in Japan) - is a versatile unlockable class in Etrian Odyssey III. It is unlocked by siding with the Deep City. With many useful options and a number of interesting abilities in their pool of skills, they are unique in that the bulk of their power comes from how they're subclassed.

Yggdroids are unusual in that their primary ability loadout has many unique and unusual options, but relatively few of them are particularly good on their own - every class for the most part has one really effective or utilitarian option no other class does, whether it's the Gladiator's staggeringly powerful self-buffing options, the Farmer's binding and debuffing options, the Arbalist's incredibly potent damage, or the Ninja's raw utility. The Yggdroid has none of these - its draw is instead far more subtle, and make the Yggdroid far more of an art than a science. Correctly used however, Yggdroids are undeniably powerful and one of the better classes available, though they take both practice and patience to get the most out of.

Yggdroids cannot be subclassed into - being machines, a non-robot cannot become a robot. However, it is worth noting that were it possible to subclass into Yggdroid, many of the class's limitations would be circumvented or undermined, whilst many of its advantages would likewise become a moot point.

Olympia is the representative of the Yggdroid class.  There's also the possibility that Seyfried's robotic body is a model of Yggdroid; it's also possible that Angie and the generic Deep City guards are Yggdroids (or humans using robots or even Yggdroids as bodies).

In the official fanbook of the spinoff title "Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth", it was known that there was 12 superior Yggdroids are created along with standard ones. One of them, later proclaimed himself as Zeus, was being summoned by Elizabeth into the Persona Universe (and immediately overwhelms her and take over her body), only being defeated by Persona's party and (seemed) returned to the Etrian Odyssey Universe.

Gameplay Synopsis

On their own, Yggdroids possess a number of useful skills, but very little in the way of heavy hitters at a glance, with its main draw for causing damage being either its ability to generate and utilize bots, its rocket skills that bind itself, or HP Cannon. In truth, this is entirely intentional - with the exception of one ridiculously powerful tactic that will be listed below, Yggdroids do not bring much to the table from their basic class. Additionally, Yggdroids are hard-coded with very limited TP that never improves beyond a very specific point (60 for non-retired Yggdroids), and only TP-buffing items and the TP Boost general skill will provide any improvement in this regard. Additionally, though they can use heavy armor, by default Yggdroids can use only books and knives as weapons. The combination of very limited TP and somewhat-poor internal options cause many players to look askance at the Yggdroid Class, since there are arguably better options that do not require as much care or forethought as the Yggdroid does, though this does not tell the full story.

So what does the Yggdroid have in its favor?

Yggdroids have immensely high natural stats - their Strength and Vitality are among the highest of any class, resulting in very high innate attack power and immensely high physical defense - and their HP is top-notch as well. They also possess a high enough natural Technique stat to allow for excellent support, though both their Agility and Luck are rather low. All of these conspire to make Yggdroids immeasurably powerful physical combatants, and remarkably competent magical ones as well, given the proper subclassing. Furthermore, Yggdroids have some of the best passive skills in the entire game, bar none - and though many are gimmicky and hard to manage, they can, if used properly, result in one of the most powerful characters you can add to a party. Though the Yggdroid has very poor TP, the unique ability it has - Sleep Mode - means that you can replenish a substantial amount of TP without ever needing an Amrita when you pair it with the Yggdroid's self-binding skills. The end result of all of this is that the Yggdroid, fittingly enough, is a class whose power comes from what it subclasses into, and not the other way around as it is for other classes.

Stat Progression

Does not include any stat bonuses from skills, equipment, Books, or Retirement.

Level	HP	TP	STR	TEC	VIT	AGI	LUC
1	55	60	10	6	9	3	2
35	276	60	40	25	38	19	14
70	504	60	70	45	68	35	26
99	645	60	89	58	87	45	34

Skill Tree

Skill	Description	Type	Requires
Virus Scanner	Increases status ailment resistance.	Passive	None
Infravision	Accuracy and evasion is increased during the night.	Passive	None
Data Mining	ATK and critical rate is increased for normal attacks.	Passive	None
Red Bot	Deploys a fire bot in an empty space that chases the fire attacks of all allies.	Bot	Data Mining Lv1
Blue Bot	Deploys an ice bot in an empty space that chases the ice attacks of all allies.
Yellow Bot	Deploys a volt bot in an empty space that chases the volt attacks of all allies.
Resupply	Supplies energy to bots and recovers their HP.	Healing	Data Mining Lv3
All Out	Attacks one enemy with all deployed bots.	Attack
Reflector	Prevent attacks of the same element as a deployed bot and counter with that element.	Support	Resupply Lv3 All Out Lv3
Shoot	Destroys all bots for an strong attack to one enemy. Damage increases with number and variety of bots deployed.	Attack	Resupply Lv5 All Out Lv5
Overheat	Increases ATK but causes HP loss each turn.	Passive	None
EM Barrier	May paralyze or counter volt attacks.	Passive	Overheat Lv3
Defrag	Removes all binds on self.	Healing	None
Rocket Punch	2 bash attacks on 1 enemy, binds arms.	Attack	Defrag Lv1
Rocket Head	Stab attack to all enemies, binds head.
Rocket Jump	Avoids all attacks this turn, binds legs.	Support
Core Dump	Completely binds self.	Support	Defrag Lv3
HP Cannon	Strong untyped attack to one enemy if completely bound. Damage increases with lower HP.	Attack	Core Dump Lv5 Overheat Lv10
Sleep Mode	Restores TP if bound.	Passive	None

Skill Analysis

Yggdroid Skills come in three basic "flavors" - passives, self-binding skills, and bot skills. As such, the bulk of the Yggdroid's power comes from how its unique attributes improve the subclass they're attached to, though there's other options integrated with each skill set that are generally worth looking at as well.

Passive Skills

These are the Yggdroid's biggest selling point, and it has a number of them that are unbelievably powerful, as well:

• Overheat - undeniably the most well-known of the set, Overheat boosts the all of the Yggdroid's damage, but causes damage to the Yggdroid every time it acts - note, however, that this self-induced damage cannot kill the Yggdroid (he/she will be left at 1 HP) and can be either worked around or turned into an advantage (such as for HP Cannon builds). Overheat's extra damage - and the damage it does to the Yggdroid round-by-round - improve with level, and at max level, the damage boost it gives is positively monstrous (50%), as is the damage it does to the Yggdroid in the process (127 HP damage/action). If taken to only certain levels, it provides a much more modest bonus (17% boost, 11HP damage/action), meaning how powerful it is, and how much risk it imparts, is entirely dependent on what the player wants to use it for. Do note, however, that level 3 Overheat is needed for EM Barrier, and Level 10 is needed for HP Cannon.
• EM Barrier - An oft under-appreciated skill, EM Barrier provides a chance of delivering a damaging and potentially paralyzing electric-element counter-attack each time the Yggdroid is struck by a physical attack. Though the damage never gets that high, the reasonable paralysis chance and the fact that it's a passive makes it incredibly handy in its own right.
• Infravision - An incredibly potent and remarkably-overlooked passive, Infravision boosts both hit rate and evade rate, but only at night. How big a buff it gives cannot be underestimated - at max level, it gives a bigger buff than both the Ninja's Senpuku skill and the Arbalist's Proper Form skill 'combined (40% to both, compared to the 35% of its counterparts), albeit only at night.
• Virus Scanner - Uniquely, the Yggdroid can get status resistance in the form of Virus Scanner. At max level, this ability cuts the chance of the Yggdroid succumbing to status effects by half. Simple but effective.
• Data Mining - The in-game text for this skill is confusing, but it increases both the damage done by critical hits and the chance of scoring one. Maxed out, it improves the critical hit damage by 90% and increases the chances of scoring one by 10%. Data Mining is absolutely brutal when put on crit-focused builds.
• Sleep Mode - The Yggdroid's class skill gives it 1 TP/level for each binding it currently possesses if it's bound by the end of the round. 10 TP per bind may not seem like much, but when you consider that the Yggdroid will only have about 60-100 TP under ideal circumstances, the prospect of getting back up to 30TP each round means that the self-bind can be an incredibly useful tactical choice. Sleep Mode can potentially make an Yggdroid a self-sustaining defensive or offensive unit; by binding specific limbs and leaving others usable, it's possible to endlessly order your bots to use the Reflector skill, or perpetually spam offensive or defensive skills.

Self-Binding Skills

The Yggdroid's Self-Binding Skills focus on binding its own parts. Though none of them are terrifically powerful on their own, save perhaps HP Cannon, they all have uses when one considers the general utility of the Yggdroid's Sleep Mode skill:

• Defrag - One of the most unsung abilities of the Yggdroid class, Defrag allows the Yggdroid to completely remove all binds from it for a terrifically small cost. Essential to not only ending the Yggdroid's lockdowns, but in getting rid of enemy-induced binds, this is the cheapest unbinding skill as well, costing only 5 TP at minimum level and 1 at max.
• Rocket Punch - This ability inflicts two blunt-damage attacks on one enemy, but induces an Arm Bind in the user afterwards. At a glance, this ability is hardly impressive, since Rocket Punch doesn't really outshine any other damage-bind abilities and at max level, is somewhat pricey (at 25 TP). The advantage it has comes from Sleep Mode, which functionally cuts the move's price to 15 by the end of the round, and the fact that it can be used with the other self-binding skills, respectively.
• Rocket Head - Rather like Rocket Punch, this ability inflicts pierce damage on every enemy, and then binds the Yggdroid's head. It's slightly pricier TP-wise than Rocket Punch, and strikes only once, but hits all enemies and does more damage. Like Rocket Punch, its main advantage comes from the utility it has paired with Sleep Mode.
• Rocket Jump - This skill enables the Yggdroid to launch itself high into the air, avoiding all damage that round from the moment it takes its action, until it lands and then has its legs bound. Sadly, this isn't as useful as it could be, since it will only cover between when the Yggdroid acts and when it lands at the end of the round, unlike similar skills like the Hoplite's Antifire skill. It is still useful, if only for inducing leg binds on yourself to take advantage of with Sleep Mode, but it should not be relied upon as an evasive maneuver except in times of necessity, particularly because leg binds render characters incapable of dodging attacks.
• Core Dump - Core Dump is very simple in that it completely binds the Yggdroid's arms, legs, and head. There are two critical purposes behind this: Bunkering down to recover TP, and prepping to fire HP Cannon. Because of its low cost in terms of both TP and skill points, Core Dump can be very useful.
• HP Cannon - Only usable when the Yggdroid is fully-bound, HP Cannon is one of the only non-elemental attacks in the game, and is one of the most powerful skills the Yggdroid has that's unique to it. Because it requires both Overheat 10 and Core Dump 5, the strategy behind its use functionally writes itself, with Sleep Mode turning it into a new autoattack, but where it truly shines is when it's properly subclassed. Correctly used, HP Cannon can be a brutally effective offensive force, or an overly-risky disaster waiting to happen, with very little middle ground... By all means, use it, but be careful.

Bot Skills

One of the most interesting aspects of the Yggdroid is its bot skills. These skills focus on the manufacture and use of miniature drones that proceed to act as supporters for the Yggdroid and his/her party. With many possible uses and a number of interesting tactics for their use, Bot Skills can actually be quite potent, though like all of the Yggdroid's innate skills, they take a bit of time and care to use correctly:

• Red/Yellow/Blue Bot - The central bot skill, these three skills each produce a single bot that takes up a single party slot. Unlike the animals used by the Wildling class, the Yggdroid's bots have much higher defense and a much more structured purpose: Each bot will automatically chase attacks of its element (Red: Fire, Blue: Ice, Yellow: Lightning), rather similar to the Buccaneer's chase skills. Unlike Animals, Yggdroid bot damage is based on the Yggdroid itself; as you boost your Technique rating, the bots themselves will do more damage. However, this is offset by the bots being immune to buffs and conventional healing. As you level them up, the Bots will chase attacks more often, do more damage, and have a larger reserve of HP/TP.
• All Out - Rather than send out an attack for the bots to chase, All Out will deliver a single physical attack that all bots currently deployed will chase, irrespective of element. One of only a precious few damage sources the Yggdroid has, the damage from All Out is high only if the Yggdroid is able to employ multiple bots so they can all fire-link on the same target (a situation generally only possible in Yggdroid solo runs); without this, it's no different from simply firing off a basic elemental attack for a given bot itself to chase. A potentially useful, if generally impractical skill.
• Resupply - Bots are immune to buffing and standard healing, which means that Resupply is a very important skill. Putting it simply, it recovers all bots' HP, maxing out at 200HP recovered to all bots at max level. Healing bots this way costs less MP than deploying new ones, so this can be a useful skill.
• Reflector - An unusual skill that can give the Yggdroid surprising defensive capability, Reflector allows a given Yggdroid to counter attacks of a bot's element. When used, all bots will enter a ready stance, completely negate a given elemental attack, and counter-attack with its own element. In doing so, an Yggdroid can provide superior protection to a Hoplite in the extreme long-term, and can do so indefinitely, provided the Yggdroid keeps its Head unbound to keep giving Reflector orders - provided the Yggdroid has a turn to set up. Having multiple bots of the same type increases the power of the counter.
• Shoot - Unequivocally the most powerful attack the Yggdroid has, Shoot consumes every bot the Yggdroid has deployed in order to deliver a devastatingly powerful single strike against one target. The damage starts quite high - 330% at max level, with one bot - but damage triples if there are bots of all three elements out. Suffice to say, at max level, Shoot will very easily hit the damage cap, and can absolutely devastate unprepared foes. Sadly, Shoot is really only useful for delivering single hits of damage as needed or for Yggdroid solo runs, owing to its immensely high TP drain and need for multiple party slots.

Class Options

Again, the Yggdroid's primary strength comes from several locations: Its strong passives, the ability to effectively gain infinite TP if managing Sleep Mode and self-binding skills, and the utility of its bots. All are usable on their own, but only truly come into their own when paired with subclassing. Here, we list some of the best options.

Gladiator

Gladiator is unequivocally the most powerful of the available options the Yggdroid has in terms of damage output. Berserker Vow and Charge alone make even the Yggdroid's generally-modest combat abilities much more viable, whilst access to Swords and Clubs for close-combat means that the Yggdroid finally has an actually good weapon option, as well as several immensely powerful attacks to go with them. Nine Smashes and Blade Rave are much more potent when backed by Infravision, and Overheat is infinitely more potent than Endless Battle in terms of damage-boosting. Whilst the Yggdroid/Gladiator will burn through a phenomenal amount of HP (functionally demanding a dedicated bodyguard), the sheer damage it is capable of is a sight to behold. Self-binding skills and Sleep Mode can help keep it in the fight, and Core Dump and HP Cannon become even stronger with this subclass.

Hoplite

Hoplite is one of the most-popular Yggdroid subclass options - and with good reason - it offers both access to spears, access to shields, and the incredibly useful abilities Recuperate, Parry, and Magic Parry, the former of which is immeasurably helpful for an Yggdroid since it provides them with a bonus for sitting around in a Core Dump waiting for their TP to recharge! The Yggdroid's high strength also means that Long Stride and Blitzritter are stronger, whilst the Yggdroid's very high defense and HP means that they'll stick around through long fights. EM Barrier offers nasty surprises to enemies trying to hit someone the Yggdroid/Hoplite is protecting with Bodyguard. A much more supporting Yggdroid than the Yggdroid/Gladiator, the Yggdroid/Hoplite's biggest drawbacks are mediocre damage-output when not being used to Solo things, and the fact that Defrag basically makes Shrug Off a moot point.

Monk

Monk is surprisingly synergistic with Yggdroid. The Yggdroid's massive strength can make unarmed combat an excellent option, whilst the Ascetic Deeds skill can effectively offset the HP damage taken by Overheat, provided you haven't maxed the latter (at level 9, it does 89 damage, effectively offset by a maxed Ascetic Deeds and its 90-damage heal). This can make the resulting Monk a far better damage-dealer than it otherwise appears, giving Breakfire Fist truly impressive levels of damage. Infravision and EM Barrier on top of this can render it even survivable, whilst being able to bind your own head/legs to provide a TP source via Sleep Mode means you can stay in the fight for that much longer. Further hilarity can be had by throwing out a Red Bot for good measure to chase your own fire punches. The Yggdroid can also act as a healing unit; by binding all but its head, it can throw out Party Heal literally every turn, though this can be a very finicky option.

Arbalist

Arbalist is not for the faint of heart. Whilst the Yggdroid/Arbalist's biggest and most obvious draw - easy Front Mortar use, backed ideally by Overheat - is extremely straightforward, this isn't the best use for the Yggdroid/Arbalist unless you've got both a Zodiac to back this tactic up with Dark Ether, due to its sheer TP drain, which is too much for even Sleep Mode to handle with periodic Core Dumps, and a healer of some sort to offset the HP it will burn off during Overheat. In truth, the best attribute Arbalist offers is the combination of a devastatingly powerful weapon type (Crossbows) and access to Double Action. Doubling off either an HP Cannon or Shoot is self-explanatory, and even being able to double-fire off an All Out can be very effective. The prospect of bots and Elemental Barrages is self-explanatory, and can easily lead to 2-turn kills against even tougher mook opposition, though the Arbalist is better-considered a main class rather than a subclass for Yggdroid.

Buccaneer

Buccaneer is not a bad choice at all for the Yggdroid, provided you use it well. Data Mining, Lady Luck, and Swashbuckling go together beautifully, and are even better when backing up Infravision and Overheat, and used alongside an elemental pistol or rapier and a bot that matches your element of choice. With the ability to fight on the back row courtesy of a ranged weapon option, the Yggdroid/Buccaneer is an oft-overlooked little chase-abuser that can score meaty critical hits and doesn't need much TP - a rarity amongst Yggdroid builds. For those days when damage is far more important, the Yggdroid/Buccaneer can use heavy hitters like Pincushion (which will be only moderately strong because of the Yggdroid's unspectacular speed) and Rapid Fire, potentially backed-up by Eagle Eye.

Zodiac

An overlooked option, Zodiac's good for bot-exploiting builds. Singularity will boost the damage of the bot strikes, whilst Etheric Charge will help crank the damage of All Out and Shoot. Zodiac passives will further bolster the bots, and can make them extremely effective damage-sources in their own right, with the elemental star spells giving the Yggdroid an attack of her own for the bots to chase. The main drawback is that the Star Spells cannot be brought above level 9 without being impossible to recoup the TP of with selective bindings. Arguably the weakest of the Yggdroid's available options, the Yggdroid/Zodiac can nonetheless be very effective if managed well. Another option is to combine 10TP-per-turn with Dark Ether, cancelling TP requirements for your team, though locking the actions of this Yggdroid.