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[totowhoa]

This has probably been asked and answered, but are there any guidelines for assigning your stats? I see the guy above me is super geared in DEX, AGI, and LCK. So far I've just been assigning them evenly since I figured that couldn't be *too* bad...

I'm only 5 hours in and level 11 so I guess I could still restart and fix it if this was horribad.

Nope. I've seen a few people either restart or talk of restarting... NO need to do that at all unless you're very neurotic about that sort of thing With 5 points per level + incenses, you can easily refocus a build if you're level 15 or below. Probably higher too.

 

[Ylyon]

slightly off-topic. I didn't read the whole thread because I don't want to get accidentally any spoiler or tip but.... in this game is it possible to explore cities? I mean, like classic jrpgs.... go to a city, talk to npcs, enter shops, buy stuff.... which other games allow such a thing on the 3ds? Fire Emblem? Thanks!

 

[Hecatonchires Custom]

I will have this game later tonight.

I've heard the Neutral end is most desirable, does anyone know of a good, spoiler-free guide to obtaining that?

Since the margin for staying Neutral is thin and that one single choice can skew you towards Law or Chaos, most people play through the game once answering what they would normally answer and attempt a Neutral playthrough afterwards.

I don't really think there's a Neutral guide available right now so by the time you finish the game once, there should be one available.

slightly off-topic. I didn't read the whole thread because I don't want to get accidentally any spoiler or tip but.... in this game is it possible to explore cities? I mean, like classic jrpgs.... go to a city, talk to npcs, enter shops, buy stuff.... which other games allow such a thing on the 3ds? Fire Emblem? Thanks!

Yeah, after 6-7 hours, the game opens up and you get to explore a city.

 

[decoyplatypus]

This has probably been asked and answered, but are there any guidelines for assigning your stats? I see the guy above me is super geared in DEX, AGI, and LCK. So far I've just been assigning them evenly since I figured that couldn't be *too* bad...

I'm only 5 hours in and level 11 so I guess I could still restart and fix it if this was horribad.

Well-rounded is not fatal, but you'll probably get better results by specializing your MC and then rounding out the party with demons who can cover his deficiencies. I do not think you need to reset, however, because (1) the game gives you tons of stat-boosting items, and (2) a balanced MC is still going to be perfectly effective in the meantime. Flexibility is good in a character. It's just not as good as a specialized character in a flexible party.

 

[Althane]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

 

[Hecatonchires Custom]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

I use the ones that boost the stats my MC build relies on (Mag, Agi etc) and keep the others as healing items.

 

[Tamanon]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

At my point in the game where I'm first finding them, definitely used as Elixirs. I know later on where I'm not scraping for every MP, I'll just use them.

 

[totowhoa]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

Since level up = MP healed in this game, I say just use 'em personally. I'm keeping one on hand at all times in case I'm ever in a pinch and would rather not use a chakra item.

I use the ones that boost the stats my MC build relies on (Mag, Agi etc) and keep the others as healing items.

Also a good idea.

 

[Tyrant Rave]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

I usually just dump them to my MC immediately, but keeping one or two as a back-up isn't a bad idea.

 

[Ylyon]

Yeah, after 6-7 hours, the game opens up and you get to explore a city.

thank you

 

[insignia16]

After 20+ hours into the game, I'm still jamming out to the shop music in Tokyo as well as the h

Spoiler

unter

a

Spoiler

ssociation

! Yeah-yeah-ah

 

[Mupod]

Incenses: Keep them for use as an elixir, or use them to boost your stats?

they were nice early on so I could keep grinding longer, but once I got the MP recovery ring I stopped saving them.

Also, I just finished looking at a map of Tokyo so I could find out where Suidobashi is. These challenge quests need to give some goddamn directions once in a while.

 

[Flamfas]

Since the margin for staying Neutral is thin and that one single choice can skew you towards Law or Chaos, most people play through the game once answering what they would normally answer and attempt a Neutral playthrough afterwards.

I don't really think there's a Neutral guide available right now so by the time you finish the game once, there should be one available.

Hm, ok, thanks. I don't really have the time to dedicate to multiple playthroughs so I guess I'll just have to be careful, because I want neutral q:

 

[Hecatonchires Custom]

Hm, ok, thanks. I don't really have the time to dedicate to multiple playthroughs so I guess I'll just have to be careful, because I want neutral q:

I'm level 30~ish and I somehow managed to stay neutral so far. Whenever possible, I answered questions with "I don't know" or something similar and when I'm forced to pick something that is obviously Law or Chaos, I pick the opposite the next time I have to do that. That's all the help I can give you regarding that lol.

 

[Mupod]

I was told that delivery quests can affect alignment and even shunt you onto a different route if you spam them too hard. I think I'm in serious law territory if that's true, even though most of my answers have been just the way I'd personally answer that question.

I have a real problem with grinding too much in SMT games because I always want to fuse that one perfect demon. Just one more level and I can get him, etc.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Man, after a certain point, you start gaining levels like crazy. Also, energy drain is a god send.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I really really love how open the game feels once you get to Tokyo. As I said before, I got lost for hours when I thought I was doing the main mission but I wasn't. And even though you have an idea to where you should go next, you have to explore the city if you want to progress. Fantastic stuff.

 

[Flamfas]

I'm level 30~ish and I somehow managed to stay neutral so far. Whenever possible, I answered questions with "I don't know" or something similar and when I'm forced to pick something that is obviously Law or Chaos, I pick the opposite the next time I have to do that. That's all the help I can give you regarding that lol.

Sounds good enough to me, thanks!

 

[totowhoa]

I really really love how open the game feels once you get to Tokyo. As I said before, I got lost for hours when I thought I was doing the main mission but I wasn't. And even though you have an idea to where you should go next, you have to explore the city if you want to progress. Fantastic stuff.

Yep. Game got crazy awesome. (Spoilery if you're still in Naraku)

Spoiler

The whole lead up and transition when moving from Naraku into Tokyo was so fascinating and fun to watch. Terminal... scaffolding... then the city lights. And when you're finally rewarded with that awesome Tokyo music + a huge place to start exploring... it was so great coming from the constrained but fun Mikado portion.

 

[Mupod]

I really really love how open the game feels once you get to Tokyo. As I said before, I got lost for hours when I thought I was doing the main mission but I wasn't. And even though you have an idea to where you should go next, you have to explore the city if you want to progress. Fantastic stuff.

I even found a sneaky little side area in Kasumegaseki

Spoiler

that you can only get to if you backtrack after finding a key later on in the story.

As I said though, challenge quests can be frustrating because you end up having to search the entire world map to find where they want you to go. They often either don't give directions, or give you a very vague ones. Like, it'll say it's in Ikebukuro but that could mean any of several dungeon areas or even the world map.

 

[perorist]

Shinjuku government office plaza:

Spoiler

I said I wouldn't help the ashura kai guy just for kicks and I ended up fighting the alternate harpy horde boss instead of Kuebiko. Guide says that by doing so I've sided with the demons, or vice versa if I hadn't have. Which one gives me chaos points? Or more generally, are the ashura kai chaos aligned? I thought they were but usually in smt when you side with demons it's even more chaotic.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Shinjuku government office plaza:

Spoiler

I said I wouldn't help the ashura kai guy just for kicks and I ended up fighting the alternate harpy horde boss instead of Kuebiko. Guide says that by doing so I've sided with the demons, or vice versa if I hadn't have. Which one gives me chaos points? Or more generally, are the ashura kai chaos aligned? I thought they were but generally when you side with demons it's even more chaotic.

Spoiler

Ashura-Kai is not chaos based I can tell you that much. Once you get to a certain point, you'll know for sure who is chaos.

 

[victvict]

I had a save just after

Spoiler

King Kenji battle

, and found out that I was locked into Law. I went normally, but when I had to

Spoiler

fight Isabeau, and she said that she wanted to be by my side forever, with that beautiful music... I reloaded, got the bad ending and am now trying to get Neutral with a level 75 party.

Can you blame me?

Also, the cynical man told me I'm hard to get a handle on. Does that mean Chaos?

 

[thefil]

So why would I choose to specialize in each stat?

STR: strong regular attacks?
DEX: strong gun attacks?
Magic: strong magic?
Agi: Dodge lots of attacks and act first?
LCK: ????

 

[Totakeke]

20 hours in and 29 levels later, I've reached the point that it definitely feels like a lost cause trying to get all the demons.

It's like you can make the game just "obtain all demons" and you'll have a pretty good game there already. I think I gained 4 levels just trying to obtain ingredients to fuse some demons.

 

[perorist]

Spoiler

Ashura-Kai is not chaos based I can tell you that much. Once you get to a certain point, you'll know for sure who is chaos.

Spoiler

Oh right, it's the gaea isn't it. I forgot about those guys and got them mixed up with the a-k. Guess I'll keep my decision then.

 

[Mupod]

So why would I choose to specialize in each stat?

STR: strong regular attacks?
DEX: strong gun attacks?
Magic: strong magic?
Agi: Dodge lots of attacks and act first?
LCK: ????

DEX also improves physical skills at a greater rate than STR, so if you're going physical you should put points in that.

Magic is straightforward.

AGI is extremely important. You need this in any build, since missing makes you lose turns and dodging makes the enemy lose turns.

Luck is great for physical builds because you get turns from critical hits.

 

[FrontRelinquish]

I had a save just after

Spoiler

King Kenji

battle, and found out that I was locked into Law. I went normally, but when I had to

Spoiler

fight Isabeau, and she said that she wanted to be by my side forever, with that beautiful music... I reloaded, got the bad ending and am now trying to get Neutral with a level 75 party.

Can you blame me?

Also, the cynical man told me I'm hard to get a handle on. Does that mean Chaos?

You should really spoiler tag that boss.

Hard to get a handle on means neutral, I believe. Hot-headed, or something to that extent, means chaos.

 

[thefil]

DEX also improves physical skills at a greater rate than STR, so if you're going physical you should put points in that.

Magic is straightforward.

AGI is extremely important. You need this in any build, since missing makes you lose turns and dodging makes the enemy lose turns.

Luck is great for physical builds because you get turns from critical hits.

Can you crit/miss on magic and physical abilities as well? Also, is there much point in using the physical/shoot "spells"?

 

[Yuterald]

I really really love how open the game feels once you get to Tokyo. As I said before, I got lost for hours when I thought I was doing the main mission but I wasn't. And even though you have an idea to where you should go next, you have to explore the city if you want to progress. Fantastic stuff.

Yeah. It's interesting to me that this game takes roughly 7 hours to get to "that" point. In Nocturne, they cut right to the chase. Within an hour of playing Nocturne you're experiencing how IV feels 7 hours in. Fortunately, the "prologue" in SMT IV didn't feel like 7 hours. It was most certainly not a drag. But yeah, nothing beats that "openness" when you reach Tokyo. It's like a breath of fresh air which is ironic considering where you're coming from, lol!

The further I get the more I realize we won't see another RPG like this for quite some time. Even though I started with SMT III (Nocturne), nothing is going to top mainline SMT for me (aside from an occasional Matsuno masterpiece). Gotta enjoy this while it lasts!

 

[perorist]

Can you crit/miss on magic and physical abilities as well? Also, is there much point in using the physical/shoot "spells"?

You can crit on physical skills, not magical, and can miss on both. There are enemies specifically weak to physical/shot skills just like any other type. The physical skills themselves usually have status effects, multi-hit, or higher critical chances etc.

 

[Mupod]

Can you crit/miss on magic and physical abilities as well? Also, is there much point in using the physical/shoot "spells"?

Dresden seems to be having great success with the regular shoot command combined with elemental ammo and multi-hit guns. I personally just hit things really hard with physical skills I'm not supposed to have yet, gained through skill mutation and leveled to +8 through fusion trickery.

Anyone know how high an MC's skill can be boosted? I think I have a +5 right now on one of my skills. I'm assuming it's 10.

Depends on the skill. +8 is the maximum and seems limited to damaging skills. Some cap out at 3 or 5. Also, you can tell if it's maxed by the color of the number, yellow means maxed.

 

[Yuterald]

Anyone know how high an MC's skill can be boosted? I think I have a +5 right now on one of my skills. I'm assuming it's 10.

Depends on the skill. +8 is the maximum and seems limited to damaging skills. Some cap out at 3 or 5. Also, you can tell if it's maxed by the color of the number, yellow means maxed.

Cool, thanks!

 

[blackflag]

Sorry, but I fuckin' hate the thread title; SMT was hardcore WELL before the DS series was even conceived. I mean, why does every even-semi hard game these days get labeled "The Dark Souls of..." something?

Get over it...good grief.

 

[Mupod]

Also, my method for easy skill leveling -

1. Register your demons in the compendium to ensure you can get them back later. Obviously, this will get real expensive if you're recovering powerful guys, so ideally you'll be getting your skills from trash demons you don't need anymore.
2. Fuse all the skills you want to level onto one guy.
3. Fuse him 'downwards' as cheaply as you can, the demon you put it on doesn't matter.
4. Go as far down as you reasonably can, since that'll make leveling quicker. It won't make compendium costs significantly cheaper since high level skills will influence that. I advise making your final destination demon something with only one skill to learn for simplicity's sake but it doesn't matter.
5. Once you've got your demon put him in your main party and go beat something up. You'll probably get multiple levels from this, once a demon learns all its skills it activates the 'whisper' prompt and your skills will level up.
6. Fuse him to the cheapest demon possible.
7. Go back to 5 and repeat until maxed.
8. After I was done I turned him into fodder for a high level special fusion, in this case a Jack Frost. So my King Frost got to inherit all those badass skills.

Remember some skills don't level up past 3, I've seen some that cap out at 5 (spirit drain), some that cap out at 8 (every normal damage skill I've leveled), and some at 3 (support skills).

This really doesn't have a huge effect other than reducing mana costs a bit and giving you a little extra damage. But I'm crazy and need to be the best.

 

[Chrono Helix]

After 20+ hours into the game, I'm still jamming out to the shop music in Tokyo as well as the h

Spoiler

unter

a

Spoiler

ssociation

! Yeah-yeah-ah

For a tune that loops in less than a minute, it's really catchy.

 

[jello44]

Sorry, but I fuckin' hate the thread title; SMT was hardcore WELL before the DS series was even conceived. I mean, why does every even-semi hard game these days get labeled "The Dark Souls of..." something?

Here, because you missed the joke.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

Best song so far for me is the exploration one.

 

[cj_iwakura]

For a tune that loops in less than a minute, it's really catchy.

Yep, favorite shop music.


Also, does anyone think that guy in the Tokyo weapon shop is a real person rendered as a sprite? He's INCREDIBLY detailed.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Late Game Spoilers:

Spoiler

Is Pluto a Dalek?

 

[PK Gaming]

I really really love how open the game feels once you get to Tokyo. As I said before, I got lost for hours when I thought I was doing the main mission but I wasn't. And even though you have an idea to where you should go next, you have to explore the city if you want to progress. Fantastic stuff.

I couldn't agree more.

Playing through SMTIV makes me feel like a kid again.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Alright. I'm stuck at Ikebukuro and the boss is stomping me into the pavement, so I'm going to try and get some sidequests taken care of.

I can't seem to find the location for "Samurai and Hunters United", which seems to be the only sidequest I'm leveled enough to not die instantly during. Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[Tyrant Rave]

My Bai Suzhen got a skill mutation so I got Dekaja on my MC! So happy.

 

[duckroll]

Alright. I'm stuck at Ikebukuro and the boss is stomping me into the pavement, so I'm going to try and get some sidequests taken care of.

I can't seem to find the location for "Samurai and Hunters United", which seems to be the only sidequest I'm leveled enough to not die instantly during. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Spoiler

After you accept the quest, there's a cafe you can enter in the Ueno side area where there are is a whole row of relics on the shuttered store fronts.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Spoiler

After you accept the quest, there's a cafe you can enter in the Ueno side area where there are is a whole row of relics on the shuttered store fronts.

Perfect. That's exactly what I needed. Thanks, Ducky!

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I got me yesterday a Black Frost, ho. He isn't as powerful as I thought though (Ice Breath sucked, so I forgot it so the Black Frost could learn Mamudo!).

 

[Totakeke]

Did anyone really go into the fundraising apps? Is that a viable way to grind for macca?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Welp, after six retries because my AI partner kept using physical and gun attacks against a boss that Nulls Phys and Gun,

Spoiler

Asura

killed himself when my Karasu Tengu reflected a Maragion back in his face. That's a satisfying way to end a boss fight, especially when the Tengu and Flynn were my only characters left alive.

Now, does anybody know how to damage

Spoiler

Setanta

? He doesn't seem to have any weaknesses.

Also, I just found out you can rotate the world map. Whoops.

 

[coopolon]

I am lost in Tokyo.

I just reached it, explored (very early Tokyo location names)

Spoiler

Ueno underground, the lake, and the other area attached to it

, got to another area where there's a building no one's in.

My quest is to find the (first Tokyo main quest goal)

Spoiler

military base

. Can anyone give me a tip on where to head?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I am lost in Tokyo.

I just reached it, explored (very early Tokyo location names)

Spoiler

Ueno underground, the lake, and the other area attached to it

, got to another area where there's a building no one's in.

My quest is to find the (first Tokyo main quest goal)

Spoiler

military base

. Can anyone give me a tip on where to head?

Spoiler

Talk to everyone in the Ueno bar. One of them will give you a quest to kill a boss at the lake.