4:1 Rustling Bacteria
I just reached episode four, Yellow, Rabbit, and Curry, which is home to the second map suitable for pre-endgame grinding, 4:1 Rustling Bacteria. Once cleared the first time, the enemies are replaced with Shrooms, who are a bit of a pushover.
I’ve been grinding by stacking everyone into a tower with Killia at the base, and following the tower around with April, my healer. Last night I got to the point where I could bump the enemy strength up to 16 stars, which makes the Shrooms all level 99. Due to a little quirk of how EXP is calculated, level 99 is a great sweet-spot for grinding. I also took the time to go recruit Valvatorez and make a Prinny Squad, so my EXP gains are also much improved.
I’m going to stick to grinding here for a little while longer, until I unlock the Sage class.