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[TheBaronOfNA]

Status effects feel so useless in this iteration of SMT.

Or I'm just not lucky enough to get them off. Anyway I dropped most of them in favor of Resistance traits for future fusions.

Dude, can you wait a little before condemn some parts of the game?

Also, status effects becomes way important later.

 

[Dresden]

Some of the artwork in this, though... I dunno. That one shot of Navarre (you know the one) where one eye looks like it's two inches higher than the other... Now I can't stop noticing it. He looks like Quazimodo with a pompadour getting kicked in the balls

Walter's grimace is weird looking, too. It always cracks me up when he goes wat.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Oh, it's not all bad. sdds IV is glorious, especially after 2:00.

The Nocturne remix is also nice, even if it's a tease at 1:32.

It's nice, but for the 20th anniversary of the series(something they didn't honor in any way shape or form), they could have done MUCH more.

KOF13 got a fricking four disc OST.

 

[Laughing Banana]

So many seems like favor Luck huh. Interesting.

Well, I do have equal amount of AGI and LCK (48 IIRC) on my current level 28 MC, with around 60 in DEX. But now I feel like I need to focus on AGI more since missing gun shots/physical skills can be very devastating.

But maybe I should focus on LCK instead? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

 

[nicoga3000]

Should I be working to recruit every demon? Is there any reason to?

 

[CSX]

Should I be working to recruit every demon? Is there any reason to?

Recruiting every single demon is often saved for the second play through. Recruiting and fusing lots of high level demons in late game isn't especially if u rich

 

[Laughing Banana]

Alright, since I have focused my entire app points to secure +1 skill slots now my MC and my demons are rocking full available slots already.

Now, I wonder if that MP regenerating while walking stuff is worth it, since it seems (I tested it then reload) it only affects the MC? Wonder if it's worth it for a fully physical build. What apps to buy? Hmm.

Recruiting every single demon is often saved for the second play through. Recruiting and fusing lots of high level demons in late game isn't especially if u rich

I foresee so many pain in the ass moments for this, since you can't basically farm money by fighting monsters, unlike in Nocturne.

Also considering that there are apparently some demons you can only get through accidents? Now how lucky a person must be to get those?

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Status effects feel so useless in this iteration of SMT.

Or I'm just not lucky enough to get them off. Anyway I dropped most of them in favor of Resistance traits for future fusions.

Sick, Poison, Stun: very useful.

 

[KarmaCow]

Should I be working to recruit every demon? Is there any reason to?

It's easy to get trapped in a hole where you're trying to get every demon but it useful to do it up to a point.

-Having a lot of demons in your compendium lets you see more fusion combinations, which can be useful if you need a specific combination of skills and resistances for a boss.
-With the whisper system and demon evolution, it's useful to have demons levelling up and possibly boosting the MC's skills.
-Also in battle, if you have the same demon in your stock, you can simply skip the battle by talking to the same demon in the enemy party. It's 100% reliable, so it's an easy way to skip annoying battles.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Just got past the first boss fight of the game (

Spoiler

Minotaur

). That was definitely a much tougher fight than anything so far. I beat it at Level 12, but it took several attempts for me to pull it off, mostly because a couple of promising fights were ruined by a late critical.

Story scenes immediately afterwards were pretty interesting, with

Spoiler

the characters discovering the guns and terminals, and getting more look at the technology. Hugo doesn't seem surprised at all, though. That guy seems pretty suspicious right now.

 

[InsaneElite]

Quick follow up to my previous update, spoilering just in case but there's nothing really specific.

Spoiler

Taking back my previous comment on the leveling completely stopping lategame. That was my own fault for not discovering the Bay region, which is full of level-appropriate demons. Onto the quests!

 

[Jinfash]

Here's a nice little thing I didn't realize until I read the manual: pressing start while viewing anyone's status screen switches the portrait for the sprite, even in the fusion app! Silhouette portraits in the Special section turn into silhouette sprites too.

 

[Laughing Banana]

It's easy to get trapped in a hole where you're trying to get every demon but it useful to do it up to a point.

-Having a lot of demons in your compendium lets you see more fusion combinations, which can be useful if you need a specific combinations of skills and resistances for a boss.
-With the whisper system and demon evolution, it's useful to have demons levelling up and possibly boosting the MC's skills.
-Also in battle, if you have the same demon in your stock, you can simply skip the battle by talking to the same demon in the enemy party. It's 100% reliable, so it's an easy way to skip annoying battles.

You know, now that I think about it, for the sake of boosting the MC's skills wouldn't it be far more beneficial to only update the register until just before the demons fully leveled up so the same skills can be whispered over and over again provided you have the money to summon the same demon?

 

[KarmaCow]

You know, now that I think about it, for the sake of boosting the MC's skills wouldn't it be far more beneficial to only update the register until just before the demons fully leveled up so the same skills can be whispered over and over again provided you have the money to summon the same demon?

I'm still early but I find summoning from the compendium to be prohibitively expensive. The slight gain from +1'ing a skill doesn't seem worth it, but I don't have rare spells on the MC at the moment.

 

[CSX]

You know, now that I think about it, for the sake of boosting the MC's skills wouldn't it be far more beneficial to only update the register until just before the demons fully leveled up so the same skills can be whispered over and over again provided you have the money to summon the same demon?

True but the much cheaper method is fuse and have it inherit the skills u want to whisper again

 

[pa22word]

Assuming luck effects Smirk rate, it is pretty worth it. At least as a tertiary stat for Magic users.

If you go physical? I'd say it is an amazing secondary stat since it effects critical hit rate.

Okay, so what stats are worth running per build type? Right now I'm building towards a mana build and leveling agility, dexterity, and magic. Should I be pumping some stuff elsewhere?

I get crits a lot when I do auto battle and all my instant deaths are landing. I think I had only one missed in three days of play

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the response. I may indeed start putting something into luck every other level now just for the hell of it.

 

[Laughing Banana]

I'm still early but I find summoning from the compendium to be prohibitively expensive. The slight gain from +1'ing a skill doesn't seem worth it, but I don't have rare spells on the MC at the moment.

True but the much cheaper method is fuse and have it inherit the skills u want to whisper again

True, but that can be useful for an especially rare skill.

Or maybe combine the both method above: get a powerful demon learn a powerful/rare skill, then fuse with something else to produce lower level demon to reduce level up/money required to summon it... but bah, too bothersome.

Okay, so what stats are worth running per build type? Right now I'm building towards a mana build and leveling agility, dexterity, and magic. Should I be pumping some stuff elsewhere?

Dex is worthless for a 100% Magic-focused build (well, all level up gets the same +HP +MP regardless so there is no "mana build", hehehe) since it affects none of of your Magic-nuking abilities.

Luck can be important, I guess, but personally I wouldn't prioritize it over AGI if you go for a magic nuke.

 

[Urban Scholar]

Boss spoiler

Spoiler

Koga. Yo he goes 1st & wipes us out before I get a shot. Dayum, I love the challenge! Also love his kamen rider like design

 

[Watashiwa]

Now, I wonder if that MP regenerating while walking stuff is worth it, since it seems (I tested it then reload) it only affects the MC? Wonder if it's worth it for a fully physical build. What apps to buy? Hmm.

It's absolutely worth it. The last level restores lots of MP to the entire party. And yes, it's good even on physical main characters. You cast physical skills from MP, so with MP restoration you can open every battle with your favorite physical attack-all skill, then heal your entire team to max HP once you're done.

Boss spoiler

Spoiler

Koga. Yo he goes 1st & wipes us out before I get a shot. Dayum, I love the challenge! Also love his kamen rider like design

All the new demons were designed by Super Sentai concept artists. That's why a few demons look like they belong in Kamen Rider.

 

[PK Gaming]

So Luck DOES affect the hit% for instant death skills.

I'm having a ton of fun one shotting enemies with Mahamaon and recovering up the lost MP with MP recovery 2. (I might have to toss out Energy Drain, since it's not so useful anymore.)

 

[Mupod]

There's an MP restoring accessory, but the app is my new focus now that I've got my skill slots maxed out. There's some accessories that I definitely don't want to miss out on, like increased gun damage.

 

[Laughing Banana]

It's absolutely worth it. The last level restores lots of MP to the entire party. And yes, it's good even on physical main characters. You cast physical skills from MP, so with MP restoration you can open every battle with your favorite physical attack-all skill, then heal your entire team to max HP once you're done.

Ohh, they restore demons' MP as well? I tested the 1st level but my Demons' MP didn't get upped even after walking a while. Or was I imagining it? I could have sworn their MPs weren't restored.

Will it also work on safe areas where there are no encounters? If it does then it will save a lot of time for healing up since I don't have to go to Mikado again to heal in the barracks.

How many levels for them to get maxed?

 

[Watashiwa]

Ohh, they restore demons' MP as well? I tested the 1st level but my Demons' MP didn't get upped even after walking a while. Or was I imagining it? I could have sworn their MPs weren't restored.

Will it also work on safe areas where there are no encounters? If it does then it will save a lot of time for healing up since I don't have to go to Mikado again to heal in the barracks.

It starts out just restoring you main character. The later levels restore MP to your demons. Be warned, the later levels are EXPENSIVE.

And yeah, as long as you're moving around you're getting healed, whether you're in a safe zone, encounter area, or on the Tokyo map.

Also, praise Masakado, my character's neutral again. I have no idea how it happened, but I sided with Walter and now my character's hard to get a read on. Yesssss. Now to balance law and chaos...

 

[Laughing Banana]

It starts out just restoring you main character. The later levels restore MP to your demons. Be warned, the later levels are EXPENSIVE.

And yeah, as long as you're moving around you're getting healed, whether you're in a safe zone, encounter area, or on the Tokyo map.

How much the total cost?

I need at least 4 more level ups to get even the 1st one, hahaha.... ouch.

 

[Watashiwa]

How much the total cost?

I need at least 4 more level ups to get even the 1st one, hahaha.... ouch.

Not sure about the total. The last one is 70 though.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Not sure about the total. The last one is 70 though.

So if I assume that it is like the +skill slot skills that it has 4, then it's 40 + 40 + 50 (maybe? or 60? Let's just say its 50) + 70... that mean I need to level up 20 more levels to get them all.

Holy hell if a person tries to get it as soon as possible it *WILL* damage their compendium considering they couldn't get +skill slots for their demons quickly. The price of convenience, huh.... damn.

 

[IrishNinja]

christ i havent put any real time into this game but i gotta start taking it seriously, im being dominated in the first dungeon here. really should use my allies better.

 

[Urban Scholar]

christ i havent put any real time into this game but i gotta start taking it seriously, im being dominated in the first dungeon here. really should use my allies better.

Just a few reminders brother

Everyone and yourself are a glass cannon. Rethink tactics often. Save often. Dump whole team and fuse up new ones to fit current hurdle.

 

[Laughing Banana]

christ i havent put any real time into this game but i gotta start taking it seriously, im being dominated in the first dungeon here. really should use my allies better.

It gets easier.

...
......

Well, that's my belief early on but I still often get my ass kicked so damn hard I am getting SMT IV-induced-ambient in my anus constantly.

 

[Watashiwa]

So if I assume that it is like the +skill slot skills that it has 4, then it's 40 + 40 + 50 (maybe? or 60? Let's just say its 50) + 70... that mean I need to level up 20 more levels to get them all.

Holy hell if a person tries to get it as soon as possible it *WILL* damage their compendium considering they couldn't get +skill slots for their demons quickly. The price of convenience, huh.... damn.

Not quite. There are other ways of getting App Points. Point cards, for one, though unless you paid for DLC there's not enough to really make a dent in your App expenditures. Another is Streetpassing. Get someone with SMT4 or EO4 and you get a metric ton of App points.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Not quite. There are other ways of getting App Points. Point cards, for one, though unless you paid for DLC there's not enough to really make a dent in your App expenditures. Another is Streetpassing. Get someone with SMT4 or EO4 and you get a metric ton of App points.

I have two 3DS, maybe I should use my other one to play SMT IV or EO IV so that it can be streetpassed to my main XL, hahaha.

Well, I don't think you can really depend on the streetpass method, really.

Also, DLC you mean the Afterlife DLC?

 

[Aeana]

It gets easier.

...
......

Well, that's my belief early on but I still often get my ass kicked so damn hard I am getting SMT IV-induced-ambient in my anus constantly.

It does get easier. Especially as you max out your demon skill slots and start transferring good ones between fusions - you'll find yourself with the skills you need to overcome most of the time after a while. I've beaten the last several bosses I've fought on my first try. But really, that's no different from other SMTs.

 

[IrishNinja]

haha yeah i expect as much banana, looking forward to this game's Matador

Just a few reminders brother

Everyone and yourself are a glass cannon. Rethink tactics often. Save often. Dump whole team and fuse up new ones to fit current hurdle.

yeah, im definitely not catching feelings for any of these demons...totally gotta save more. do ya'll use your play coins to rez much here? dude wanted 12 of em and i only had like a friend or two, fuckouttahere

 

[Dresden]

yeah, im definitely not catching feelings for any of these demons...totally gotta save more. do ya'll use your play coins to rez much here? dude wanted 12 of em and i only had like a friend or two, fuckouttahere

home - x - a - a for life.

 

[pa22word]

Dex is worthless for a 100% Magic-focused build (well, all level up gets the same +HP +MP regardless so there is no "mana build", hehehe) since it affects none of of your Magic-nuking abilities.

Luck can be important, I guess, but personally I wouldn't prioritize it over AGI if you go for a magic nuke.

Hm, thanks. Against my own better judgement I started leveling dex as a failsafe just in case I might need some kind of phys-esque attack at some point in the game. I thought it would be a safer skill to run vs strength as gun skills all seem to pool from your MP anyways.

 

[Jessicat]

Here's a nice little thing I didn't realize until I read the manual: pressing start while viewing anyone's status screen switches the portrait for the sprite, even in the fusion app! Silhouette portraits in the Special section turn into silhouette sprites too.

Push start before loading your game save and it shows the MC doing run and walk animations XD It's a neat little useless thing, hehe

Also lost a demon for the first time, was glad I found him after a few random battles. Wish there was a callback item or something, lol, that's pretty annoying to deal with.

Also I want to slap the map display, is there a way to upgrade it so that it shows more things (like poison on the ground, ladders/tunnels, etc), it's one of the things that bugs me in this game. That and constantly smacking into walls/barriers on the world map because I don't know where I can and can't walk ;>>

 

[CornBurrito]

Dude, can you wait a little before condemn some parts of the game?

Also, status effects becomes way important later.

No? I'm just noting that they feel really useless right now.

But I'll take your word that they improve later. I've mostly neglected them for buffs/debuffs since those always work.

Sick, Poison, Stun: very useful.

Yes yes, if the status spell actually doesn't miss. Which it always seems to when I try to get it off.

Probably doesn't work because my demons have bad luck. I have great luck, but no status spells because I'm a primary damage caster with backup healing.

What does Sick even do?

 

[vall03]

Here's a nice little thing I didn't realize until I read the manual: pressing start while viewing anyone's status screen switches the portrait for the sprite, even in the fusion app! Silhouette portraits in the Special section turn into silhouette sprites too.

I've been wondering on how to view their sprites for a very long time now. Probably missed this when I checked the manual since I was looking for some other thing last time I checked.

 

[Busaiku]

Question about quests and alignment/mid to late game spoilers.

Spoiler

So do quests disappear?
If I get to the point where my alignment is locked, could I do all the quests I skipped, as long as they've been registered?

 

[Laughing Banana]

It does get easier. Especially as you max out your demon skill slots and start transferring good ones between fusions - you'll find yourself with the skills you need to overcome most of the time after a while. I've beaten the last several bosses I've fought on my first try. But really, that's no different from other SMTs.

Well, I am still so far to that point apparently, hahahah.

That is why I prioritize +skill slots first for both my MC and demons. The lack of Defense stat of any kind can be really devastating though even if I carry my level 20 or so demons against foes of much lower levels, especially if they get first strike.

yeah, im definitely not catching feelings for any of these demons...totally gotta save more. do ya'll use your play coins to rez much here? dude wanted 12 of em and i only had like a friend or two, fuckouttahere

Pro tip: just pay one time since afterwards when getting game overs it will allow you to skip the whole annoying zooming and talking scene.

Hm, thanks. Against my own better judgement I started leveling dex as a failsafe just in case I might need some kind of phys-esque attack at some point in the game. I thought it would be a safer skill to run vs strength as gun skills all seem to pool from your MP anyways.

Everything runs on MP right now.

But yeah, I would advise you stay away from DEX if you plan to go 100% magic.

Yes yes, if the status spell actually doesn't miss. Which it always seems to when I try to get it off.

Probably doesn't work because my demons have bad luck. I have great luck, but no status spells because I'm a primary damage caster with backup healing.

What does Sick even do?

It is one part of SMT IV where TeamPHYS can claim superiority since you can have bullets inflicting status debilitation. Basically free status attack at all time by shooting!

Oh, sick lowers your stat significantly. Immediately cure if someone gets it in your team (or toss the infected one to your stock if it's not your MC) since it will very quickly spread across your active party.

 

[suzu]

Just unlocked the first Terminal.

Negotiating is a pain sometimes. Tried to recruit a Pixie, but gave up after like 10 tries. lol

Are any of the demon negotiation apps worth it?

So far, I have Skill Expansion +1, Demon Skill +1, and MP Recovery.

 

[Mupod]

It's certainly got easier for me. I need to be on my toes against bosses still, but I can absolutely recover from a bad situation. I haven't died in a while, I mean having no-weakness demons with Endure and healing knowhow can keep battles going long enough for me to get a foothold. Since there's item limits I'm not afraid to toss out bead chains now and then either.

As for status abilities - I find them as useless as they are in just about any other RPG to be honest. Incredibly annoying when used on me, but the only enemies they work on are mooks I wipe out in one turn anyways.

 

[Dresden]

Just unlocked the first Terminal.

Negotiating is a pain sometimes. Tried to recruit a Pixie, but gave up after like 10 tries. lol

Are any of the demon negotiation apps worth it?

So far, I have Skill Expansion +1, Demon Skill +1, and MP Recovery.

Scout+ is pretty cool. Each demon I recruit invites another in the group to come along, and they each bring a gift and some macca - I get about 4k macca plus some items total.

 

[CornBurrito]

Oh, sick lowers your stat significantly. Immediately cure if someone gets it in your team (or toss the infected one to your stock if it's not your MC) since it will very quickly spread across your active party.

Note to self: Do NOT toss away Poismundi.

Also is a Sword based (STR) phys build any decent? I assume it is cheaper than a gun based phys build, but money probably is a non-issue at a certain point.

 

[Basileus777]

I've been spending way too much time tinkering with and fusion demons and not enough actually moving ahead in the game. SMT games pull out some OCD impulses in me.

 

[Mupod]

Just unlocked the first Terminal.

Negotiating is a pain sometimes. Tried to recruit a Pixie, but gave up after like 10 tries. lol

Are any of the demon negotiation apps worth it?

So far, I have Skill Expansion +1, Demon Skill +1, and MP Recovery.

I really love the scouting apps, I get a ton of money and items from recruitment since I'm constantly recruiting/fusing to fill out my compendium. There's one app that makes demons ask others to join with them, and you can even recruit unintelligible demons without the linguistic app through this method. I never took expert scout though, because I just don't need it.

As for negotiating itself, there's a few things to keep in mind. First is that their reactions to specific answers can vary - for example with a Dwarf if you say you respect the elderly he might yell out YOU'RE AFTER MY INHERITANCE and leave, or he might say that and continue the conversation. Don't get discouraged and you'll eventually learn what phrases demons tend to 'like'.

Second, as I say fairly often, always end talks if their item-begging goes on that long. You can usually pick it safely as soon as the option comes up, but if they're just asking for a life stone or whatever I usually hand it over. You'll be surprised how effective this is at getting them to join up.

 

[Laughing Banana]

...I also get the feeling that this game is a fine example of the computer is a cheating bastard.

I mean, I swear those Lunges/Critical Waves from the enemies always connect constantly, and Mudo seems to strike my team in a staggeringly often occasion considering it is supposed to have a low percentage to hit :\\\\\

Note to self: Do NOT toss away Poismundi.

Also is a Sword based (STR) phys build any decent? I assume it is cheaper than a gun based phys build, but money probably is a non-issue at a certain point.

The major consensus seem to favor Gun/DEX build much more over Sword/STR build.

DEX affects the strength physical skills much more than STR, I mean, more almost more than twice (I believe it's 1.5 per DEX compared to .66 per STR).

Soo... want much more powerful physical skills? Go DEX. And since DEX affects your guns, go guns too while you're at it. Also guns can be fitted with Elemental bullets for weakness exploitation, as well as Status Debilitation bullets--which basically free status attacks every round by just shooting!

 

[Jinfash]

Scout+ is pretty cool. Each demon I recruit invites another in the group to come along, and they each bring a gift and some macca - I get about 4k macca plus some items total.

Wait... How do you get Scout+? Unless it's an upgrade that unlocked after purchasing Scout Gift and/or Negotiate, I'm not seeing it.

 

[Mupod]

Wait... How do you get Scout+? Unless it's an upgrade that unlocked after purchasing Scout Gift and/or Negotiate, I'm not seeing it.

It is indeed unlocked after the earlier scouting apps.

 

[CornBurrito]

...I also get the feeling that this game is a fine example of the computer is a cheating bastard.

I mean, I swear those Lunges/Critical Waves from the enemies always connect constantly, and Mudo seems to strike my team in a staggeringly often occasion considering it is supposed to have a low percentage to hit :\\\\\

Yes yes YES! Lunge FUCKING always crits me. If you saw a couple pages back I was bitching about some midboss Nagas. They used Lunge, and it ALWAYS hit and critted whoever it hit. I raged about it for a good couple posts.