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Like Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse before it,Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceis a massively updated version of a mainline entry in the beloved SMT series. Or, as millions know it today, “the not-Persona ones.” There are some key differences in approach between Apocalypse and Vengeance, but ultimately, that’s the gist.
Every aspect of SMT 5 has been enhanced, including combat. Many will be playing through the story of the Nahobino for the first time, while others will be making a return trip. This guide skews a bit more toward the former, but we’ll point out new stuff along the way.
Spyglasses Are Your Best Friend
It cannot be overstated just how useful one wonderfully cheap item can be.Spyglasses are consumable items purchasable at the Cadaver’s Hollow, and you should buy them in bulk on a routine basis.
With a Spyglass,an enemy’s strengths and weaknesses are revealed, allowing you to plot a course of action without the rigors of trial and error. Just as importantly,you’ll see your foe’s skills.
While you may get by just fine without Spyglasses when going up against run-of-the-mill demons, this is still a nice boon.Against powerful bosses, Spyglasses can shift the tides of battle; knowing what’s coming, and how to whittle down those huge stacks of HP rapidly, is invaluable.
Don’t Sleep On Special Magatsuhi Skills
Magatsuhi Skillsare powerful abilities which can only be activated when the Magatsuhi Gauge is completely full. You’ll build this gauge up throughout the course of battle, and evenfrom one fight to the next.
The original Shin Megami Tensei 5 has a solid number of Magatsuhi Skills to work with, butone of Vengeance’s coolest adds is a slew of new Magatsuhi Skills unique to specific party compositions.
Certain demon combinations are necessary in order to activate these, butmulti-demon Magatsuhi Skills are devastatingenough to be worth the forced lineups. It’s easy to ignore these, but many fights will go more smoothly if you tap into them.
Unique Skills And You
In addition to composition-specific Magatsuhi Skills, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance also sportsa new mechanic called Unique Skills. Every demon has one, andsome provide powerful bonuses for the right party lineups.
The boosts can be substantial. Let’s roll with something showcased in Atlus' official Vengeance overview broadcast for just one of a plethora of spiffy combinations.
Feng Huang hasFiery Melody, which permits allies todeal increased damage to foes with a weakness to fire. Moloch hasKing of Conflagration, which enhances the odds ofcritical hits with fire. Surt sportsFire Enhancer, which revs up other allies’fire affinityto Surt’s high level.
Bringing it all together, then,everyone will deal loads of damage, especially to foes weak to fire, and always with a high crit rate. Again, this is one of many fantastic options available to you. Unique Skills are always worth keeping tabs on.
It’s worth reiterating thatnot all Unique Skills are party-based. Plenty of them are designed more with that one particular demon in mind, so don’t feel obligated to always adjust your entire party to accommodate Unique Skills.
Destroy Abscesses To Gain More Miracles
One of Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance’s best tweaks involvesAbscesses - massive rifts in the Netherworld - no longer needing to be destroyed in order to view certain areas in overworld maps.
This is good stuff, butit doesn’t mean you should ignore Abscesses. Destroying them still provides terrific benefits in the form ofunlocked Miracles, which arepurchasable with Glory and provide many gameplay boostssuch asincreased elemental affinity and stronger demon fusions.
The range of Miracles has been expanded in Vengeance, but no matter how you shake it,ignoring Abscesses means limiting your arsenal of potential Miraclessignificantly.
Speak With Aogami At The Demon Haunt Bench For Stat Boosts
TheDemon Hauntallows players toform deeper bonds with their demonsthrough gradually-unlocked conversations. Not only is the dialogue frequently entertaining, butthe demons will gift you items, and eventually, grow stronger through stat boosts and special attacks.
All well and good, but one particular partner provides especially rad perks.By talking to Aogami,the Nahobino’s steadfast ally, you will sometimes be awarded withmultiple parameter points to spend on stat boosts for the Nahobinohimself.
Never pass up a chance to chat up Aogami at the Demon Haunt’s bench, becausethese three-point gains are thrice as handy as the one-point gains rewarded upon leveling up.
Remember To Recover
You’d be surprised (and maybe a little secondhand-embarrassed) to learn how often we forgot toreturn to leyline founts to recover HP and MPearly on in our Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance adventure.
While the process is nothing new in Vengeance, it bears repeating, especially for total newcomers to the game.Remember to spend some Macca to restore your partyto peak fighting condition regularly,especially before boss fights.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is pretty smart about ensuring thatAogami typically warns you ahead of time when a boss is en route, or when that’s not possible,the game will ask you to savein the lead-up to what, from a narrative perspective, is a surprise encounter.
Going into these skirmishes without full HP is obviously a bad idea, but arguably worse is being unprepared on the MP front. Spending precious turns to recover MP can really pile on the unnecessary pressure.
