- "*gasp* Don't do that."
- ―Matt being surprised by Screamer, Epic Battle Fantasy 5
- "?!?!?"
- ―NoLegs also being surprised by Screamer, Epic Battle Fantasy 5
- "WHAT THE- I wasn't ready for that."
- ―Anna being unsurprisingly surprised by Screamer, Epic Battle Fantasy 5
- "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- Okay, it's over now."
- ―Lance being scared out of his wits by Screamer, Epic Battle Fantasy 5
- "Haven't you guys seen any horror films? That was nothing."
- ―Natalie being completely unfazed by Screamer, Epic Battle Fantasy 5
Screamer is a recurring Dark-elemental skill in the Epic Battle Fantasy series. It is exclusive to Matt in the first three games of the series, becoming a shared skill in Epic Battle Fantasy 4 and 5.
Description[]
When cast, Screamer suddenly flashes a negative-contrast image with a screaming sound effect, dealing weak magical Dark damage and debuffing their Magic Defence. Its Accuracy is also higher than normal.
In Epic Battle Fantasy 5, Screamer debuffs Attack instead of Magic Defence, and can also make foes surrender if conditions are right. Its animation was changed; when cast, the background music stops and the screen fades to black with an ominous sound cue before the image appears from the center of the screen.
Screamer is generally a very poor attack due to its low base power; in earlier games, it's also hampered by Matt's low Magic Attack stat. However, its ability to debuff Magic Defence makes it an effective support for Natalie (and later Lance). In EBF5, it becomes a useful asset against foes with strong physical attacks, with Enfeeble taking the role of applying Magic Defence debuffs.
Regardless of game, Screamer tends to be more useful for its debuffing potential than for its damage, and should be used by the player with the best debuffing capabilities. Its low damage output can actually be an asset in some cases, as it allows the player to debuff even Dark-absorbent foes with minimal complications.
Epic Battle Fantasy[]
Screamer deals magic Dark damage to all enemies and lowers their Magic Defence by 25%, and can stack up to 40%. Prior to the EBF Collection update, the description erroneously claimed it could also debuff Magic Attack, and that it debuffed Magic Defense by 20% instead of 25%.
| Screamer | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deals Magic damage to all enemies and lowers their Magic Defence by 25%, and can stack up to 40%. | ||||||
| Target | Type | Element | Status Effect | MP | RdF | |
| All | 
|
|
|
|
75 | 10% |
| Power | Status Chance | Status Strength | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4800 | -- | 25% |
Epic Battle Fantasy 2[]
Before the EBF Collection update, Screamer wasn't actually boosted by the Anarchy sword, it used Natalie's Accuracy (including Blind) instead of Matt's, and the in-game description incorrectly stated the skill had 4500 power instead of 4900.
| Screamer | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targets all foes and lowers their magic defence. Most effective with Anarchy equipped. | |||||||
| Target | Type | Element | Status Effect | MP | Acc | RdF | |
| All |
|
100%
|
|
75 | 150% | 10% | |
| Power | Status Chance | Status Strength | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 [4900] |
150% | 30% | |
| Note: Deals 1.4x damage with the Anarchy equipped. | |||
| Skill Bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Name | Effect |
| Fear Lord | 1.4x damage multiplier |
Epic Battle Fantasy 3[]
Screamer's base Accuracy was reduced in EBF3, although it's still higher than normal.
 |
Screamer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark magic that lowers all foe's magic defence. | ||||||
| Target | Type | Element | Status Effect | Acc | Crit | RdF |
| All |
|
100%
|
|
120% | 10% | 10% |
| Level | Power | Status Chance | Status Strength | MP | AP Cost | |
| 1 | 40 | 100% | 10% | 22 | 1000 | |
| 2 | 70 | 100% | 20% | 33 | 3000 | |
| 3 | 100 | 100% | 30% | 44 | 9000 | |
| Requirement(s) |
| |||||
Epic Battle Fantasy 4[]
Screamer is available at the start of the game, although Fright needs to be learned first. It is now a shared skill usable by Anna and Matt.
 |
Screamer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targets all foes. May debuff targets' magic defence. | ||||||
| Target | Type | Element | Status Effect | Acc | Crit | RdF |
| All |
|
100%
|
|
120% | 10% | 10% |
| Level | Power | Status Chance | Status Strength | MP | AP Cost | |
| 1 | 30 | 90% | 20% | 20 | 1200 | |
| 2 | 50 | 95% | 25% | 28 | 2500 | |
| 3 | 70 | 100% | 30% | 36 | 5000 | |
| Requirement(s) |
| |||||
Epic Battle Fantasy 5[]
Screamer is obtained by completing Goth's quest; it can be learned by everyone except Lance. It has a 3-turn cooldown, and it now lowers the foes' Attack instead of their Magic Defence.
 |
Screamer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deals magical Dark damage to all enemies and debuffs their attack.
| ||||||
| Target | Type | Element | Status Effect | Acc | Crit | RdF |
| All |
|
100% 
|
|
120% | 10% | 10% |
| Level | Power | Status Chance | Status Strength | AP Cost | ||
| 1 | 30 | 100% | 30% [20%] | N/A | ||
| 2 | 60 | 100% | 35% [25%] | 2500 | ||
| 3 | 120 [100] | 100% | 40% [30%] | 5000 | ||
| Note: Stats in brackets (below/right from actual) are for its pre-v2 update version. | ||||||
Trivia[]
- Screamer is named after a colloquial term for "jump scare" Internet pranks, wherein the viewer is encouraged to turn up the volume on their speakers or lean in close to the screen before a frightening image and/or noise is displayed to startle them.
- The image used for Screamer in the first four games is an negative-inverted picture of Matt's dog, Maxi, who has since passed away.
- The alternate Screamer image from EBF1 is actually a distorted screen cap from a Sakura-Con 2009 commercial.
- The image used for Screamer's Epic Battle Fantasy 5 incarnation is Matt Roszak himself.
- When Screamer is used with the Flash option disabled in EBF5, the jump scare image will not appear; instead, the screen will fade to black for a second before returning to normal. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect the move's damage or debuffing effect (or the party's reactions to it).
- In EBF5, Screamer has a variable animation; the length of time between the screen darkening and the image appearing can be slightly shortened or extended in order to make the jump scare less predictable.
- While all of the Playable Characters have a special comment for Screamer's use in EBF5, Natalie is the only one completely unaffected by the jump scare. In contrast, Lance seems to be the most frightened by it, which may explain why he's the only character in the party who can't learn the skill.
- In EBF5, Screamer's icon is based on the visage of Ghostface, the main antagonist of the Scream series.