Greenpanda
Banned
OK, I just finished SMT III and since the characters are so customizable, I was curious what party set-ups other people are using - whether you've finished the game or not.
My "main" team (that I used against the final bosses) was:
Main - Lv.97 Spirit
Skils: Glacial Blast, Endure, Magma Axis, Bolt Storm, Mediarahan, Javelin Rain, Freikugel, Megidola
Lv. 93 Seraph Gabriel
Skills: Samrecarm, Maziodyne, Tarukaja, Dekunda, Might, Prayer, Blight, Radiance
Lv. 96 Deity Vishnu
Skills: Prayer, Maziodyne, Mana Aid, Tarukaja, Might, Prominence, Hades Blast, Radiance
Lv. 75 Fiend The Harlot
Skills: Death Lust, Maziodyne, Tarukaja, Megidola, Debilitate, Might, Dekunda, Beast Roar
The Harlot isn't at a high level as the others, but I kept her because she has so many immunities, which are great for sucking up all the enemies' turns. My usual strategy (against bosses, at least) is to buff/de-buff with Tarukaja and Debilitate and then just use physical attacks. Having Might on 3 of the characters gives me quite a few critical attacks, allowing me to deal more damage and cram in extra turns. Main uses Freikugel instead of physical attacks, of course. The HP cost of Freikugel isn't a big deal because I've got Prayer on 2 of my characters - so healing is easy. Bad status doesn't really matter either; Gabriel goes first and she can cast Prayer to remove it. (And if she's taken out, Vishnu has it too.) Main goes after Gabriel, so if one of the other demons get killed, I can quickly Samrecarm them (with Gabriel) and then immediately summon them back into action (with Main). I dumped most of my MP boosting/replenishing skills (save Vishnu's Mana Aid) once I got the Chakra Elixir (infinite-use MP restoration item) - which might not have been the best strategy, because Main actually has to spend a lot of his turns using the Elixir to restore magic
.
This isn't the greatest team. I need more diversity in elemental attacks; I have three characters with lightning attacks and none with "force" (Zan) attacks. And too many of the support skills are duplicated... if Vishnu gains another level, he'll learn Physical Repel, and I'll swap out the unnecessary 3rd Tarukaja. One of those Dekundas should be replaced with Dekaja (which I don't have in this team), too.
So it's not the greatest team, but since I was playing on Normal, it was more than enough to let me steamroll over the last boss. I haven't done
edit: I would upgrade Gabriel to
Other demons I had but didn't use as much:
Lv. 91 Tyrant Mot
Lv. 88 Vile Mada
Lv. 86 Night Lilith
Older characters I still had around:
Lv. 60 Brute Shiki-Ouji
Lv. 71 Snake Yurlungur
Lv. 61 Fiend Daisoujou
Kept in the party just to cast Diarama between battles:
Lv. 68 Entity Albion
Bought in the Labyrinth and kept for all his support skills (Estoma, Lightoma, Liftoma, Riberama):
Lv. 61 Haunt Pisaca
My "main" team (that I used against the final bosses) was:
Main - Lv.97 Spirit
Skils: Glacial Blast, Endure, Magma Axis, Bolt Storm, Mediarahan, Javelin Rain, Freikugel, Megidola
Lv. 93 Seraph Gabriel
Skills: Samrecarm, Maziodyne, Tarukaja, Dekunda, Might, Prayer, Blight, Radiance
Lv. 96 Deity Vishnu
Skills: Prayer, Maziodyne, Mana Aid, Tarukaja, Might, Prominence, Hades Blast, Radiance
Lv. 75 Fiend The Harlot
Skills: Death Lust, Maziodyne, Tarukaja, Megidola, Debilitate, Might, Dekunda, Beast Roar
The Harlot isn't at a high level as the others, but I kept her because she has so many immunities, which are great for sucking up all the enemies' turns. My usual strategy (against bosses, at least) is to buff/de-buff with Tarukaja and Debilitate and then just use physical attacks. Having Might on 3 of the characters gives me quite a few critical attacks, allowing me to deal more damage and cram in extra turns. Main uses Freikugel instead of physical attacks, of course. The HP cost of Freikugel isn't a big deal because I've got Prayer on 2 of my characters - so healing is easy. Bad status doesn't really matter either; Gabriel goes first and she can cast Prayer to remove it. (And if she's taken out, Vishnu has it too.) Main goes after Gabriel, so if one of the other demons get killed, I can quickly Samrecarm them (with Gabriel) and then immediately summon them back into action (with Main). I dumped most of my MP boosting/replenishing skills (save Vishnu's Mana Aid) once I got the Chakra Elixir (infinite-use MP restoration item) - which might not have been the best strategy, because Main actually has to spend a lot of his turns using the Elixir to restore magic
.This isn't the greatest team. I need more diversity in elemental attacks; I have three characters with lightning attacks and none with "force" (Zan) attacks. And too many of the support skills are duplicated... if Vishnu gains another level, he'll learn Physical Repel, and I'll swap out the unnecessary 3rd Tarukaja. One of those Dekundas should be replaced with Dekaja (which I don't have in this team), too.
So it's not the greatest team, but since I was playing on Normal, it was more than enough to let me steamroll over the last boss. I haven't done
the last 2 Kalpas or Maskados's shrine with the ultimate Magatama, so I don't have Beelzebub/Metatron/Dante or some of the other best skills.
edit: I would upgrade Gabriel to
Michael, but because of how much experience all 3 Seraphs have, the resulting fusion of them (into Michael) would be lv. 99 ... so I can't create Michael until Main advances another few levels.
Other demons I had but didn't use as much:
Lv. 91 Tyrant Mot
Lv. 88 Vile Mada
Lv. 86 Night Lilith
Older characters I still had around:
Lv. 60 Brute Shiki-Ouji
Lv. 71 Snake Yurlungur
Lv. 61 Fiend Daisoujou
Kept in the party just to cast Diarama between battles:
Lv. 68 Entity Albion
Bought in the Labyrinth and kept for all his support skills (Estoma, Lightoma, Liftoma, Riberama):
Lv. 61 Haunt Pisaca
. Maybe next time through!