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Shin Megami Tensei V |OT| Persona heartless version.

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
Like Tinto said, the Demi-Fiend DLC is the only substantial one, Artemis has two battles and the other two demons are just the single boss fight with some light storytelling around it - although you can repeat those fights as many times as you like. I bought the full DLC bundle and turned off the Mitama stuff for my first playthrough.
 
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McCheese

Member
turned off the Mitama

I purchased the DLC about half-way into the game and the Mitama stuff being on by default is pretty game breaking, reduces the number of legit enemies and makes it way too quick to power-level and ruin the difficulty curve. I'd recommend turning it off straight away.
 
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Bkdk

Member
You literally are projecting onto this game with your own hang ups.
Or it's just you who flat out deny the trend. We will never know until the next SMT game to see what trend they go. However there is no deny that they are clearly more effort into making cute demons than keeping the SMT story tradition. They strip the traditional SMT ending paths to barebones with just a few voicelines difference while putting more effort onto create more cute/sexy demons and adding more paid dlcs into letting people pay for it, or fuse and collect them in game.
 

Jsisto

Member
Are there really more cute/sexy demons, or is it just that this is the first mainline SMT game where the models are detailed enough for those features to be noticeable. As a first timer to the series, there’s definately demons that fit that description, but it hardly seems to be skewed in that direction in a significant way. Looking through my compendium theres a vast array of different types of demons IMO.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Or it's just you who flat out deny the trend. We will never know until the next SMT game to see what trend they go. However there is no deny that they are clearly more effort into making cute demons than keeping the SMT story tradition. They strip the traditional SMT ending paths to barebones with just a few voicelines difference while putting more effort onto create more cute/sexy demons and adding more paid dlcs into letting people pay for it, or fuse and collect them in game.
Again if you haven’t noticed the majority of the Demons designed by Doi has unique animation and more detail model. Mostly because those demons never had 3D models before so they made from ground up for SMT5.

Also SMT always had “cute/sexy” Demons.
PN0SKBP.jpg

wtblmzV.jpg

lFSlIK1.jpg

fy8GHCl.jpg
 
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laynelane

Member
Again if you haven’t noticed the majority of the Demons designed by Doi has unique animation and more detail model. Mostly because those demons never had 3D models before so they made from ground up for SMT5.

Also SMT always had “cute/sexy” Demons.
PN0SKBP.jpg

wtblmzV.jpg

lFSlIK1.jpg

fy8GHCl.jpg

To add to your list - there's Hua Po, Pixie, Leanan Sidhe, Lilith, Yaksini, Lady Cybele, etc. There's also cute male demons like Jack Frost. Considering these demons have historically been part of the franchise, I don't see how their design has any impact on the endings of the game. It seems more likely that the open world nature of the game changed the way the story was told or Atlus decided they wanted to try a different approach.
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
I have been hoarding my Gospel supply all game, once I hit level 83 I have enough to boost me straight up to 99.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I'm currently fighting Zeus at level 64, this guy's pierce attacks god damn trouble.
 

killatopak

Gold Member
I have been hoarding my Gospel supply all game, once I hit level 83 I have enough to boost me straight up to 99.
That’s what I’ve been planning to do. I dunno if it levels up the Nahobino as well but I’m not absorbing the demon statues as well.

I wonder how many replays I have to do to max out his stats too. The balms are super rare resource. The incense are kinda rare too so maxing out stats like in P5R seems a lot harder.
 
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Nico_D

Member
What's everybody's playing time? I'm at 70 hrs, nearing the end. All the little guys collected, few side quests done and 74% of the compendium filled.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
What's everybody's playing time? I'm at 70 hrs, nearing the end. All the little guys collected, few side quests done and 74% of the compendium filled.
I'm also 70 hours in and still fighting Zeus, I need some proper demons to buff my teams and defbuff him, his pierce attack are deadly.
 

Nico_D

Member
I'm also 70 hours in and still fighting Zeus, I need some proper demons to buff my teams and defbuff him, his pierce attack are deadly.

Even on normal that was that a challenge - but I was around 65 when I tried him for the first time. Then I built a better team and it was easy. It's funny how simple most of the battles become when building the team properly. Now I'm happy to have a diverse team that in nearly every fight one of them blocks or nulls one of the attacks cutting the enemy's turn short. Megidola is the only problem but you don't run into that that often - and even then vitality helps.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I'm also 70 hours in and still fighting Zeus, I need some proper demons to buff my teams and defbuff him, his pierce attack are deadly.
I did all the sidequests available and explored the whole area before facing him. Ended up fighting hin at lvl 73~, having demons at that levek made the fight much more manageable (but not much easier either).

My playtime is around 95 hours and still have things to do.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I did all the sidequests available and explored the whole area before facing him. Ended up fighting hin at lvl 73~, having demons at that levek made the fight much more manageable (but not much easier either).

My playtime is around 95 hours and still have things to do.
I finally beat him at level 67, the key to that fight was Luster Candy and Debilitate skills, thats the only way you can survive his pierce attacks.
 

Jsisto

Member
For anyone who’s done both, how much harder is hard mode than normal? I’m at the end game on normal with demons in the 70s and it’s pretty easy at this point. Is hard mode significantly harder? Hope so!
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
For anyone who’s done both, how much harder is hard mode than normal? I’m at the end game on normal with demons in the 70s and it’s pretty easy at this point. Is hard mode significantly harder? Hope so!
I'm playing on hard and me and my demons are around level 65-67 and still normal enemies in that area can wipe my entire party if give them the chance but of course it's not as hard as beginning of the game when you had barely decent demons with you.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I finally beat him at level 67, the key to that fight was Luster Candy and Debilitate skills, thats the only way you can survive his pierce attacks.
Kannabi Veil is also pretty useful for those moments when you know a heavy attack is coming.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Kannabi Veil is also pretty useful for those moments when you know a heavy attack is coming.
The problem is that motherf**cker loves to do his Almighty attack that inflect Seal on you and next turn he does his pierce attack, meanwhile I have to recover before I can defend myself against his attack.
 

Nico_D

Member
This is my final build for Nahobino. That said, I haven't tried the boss yet so I may dig into my essence keep if I need to adjust anything - resistances probably.

Pm9B81z.jpg
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
This is my final build for Nahobino. That said, I haven't tried the boss yet so I may dig into my essence keep if I need to adjust anything - resistances probably.

Pm9B81z.jpg
Some essences have high almighty pleroma, so you probably want to upgrade.

Also, how's Freikugel compared to Murakumo?
 

Nico_D

Member
Some essences have high almighty pleroma, so you probably want to upgrade.

Also, how's Freikugel compared to Murakumo?
It feels slightly weaker. But damage output fluctuates a lot, sometimes it is the other. But I'd say Murakamo is stronger and more consistant.

Beat the game. Loved it. Ending was easier than I thought, didn't die once.
 
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Ladioss

Member
I'm currently at the end of zone 2, 25h of playthrought... I need to find more time to play.

Very solid entry, feels like a mix of the best aspects of SMT3 and SJ. I love it.
 

drganon

Member
Just got my copy as birthday gift. Was pleasantly surprised that it was the steel book edition. Doesn't matter much in the scheme of things, but its still pretty cool.
 
only just got to the hydra boss. done the side quest to fight Apsaras and get Leanan. died to Apsaras but got her 2nd time. my party is Leanan, Mermaid, and Tsuchigumo. i'm far too weak for the Hydra. only me and mermaid are doing any damage to it. Need to figure out a new party and grind.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
only just got to the hydra boss. done the side quest to fight Apsaras and get Leanan. died to Apsaras but got her 2nd time. my party is Leanan, Mermaid, and Tsuchigumo. i'm far too weak for the Hydra. only me and mermaid are doing any damage to it. Need to figure out a new party and grind.
What level are you at? I beat Hydra at level 13 on hard and I had Mermaid on my team. My suggestion is play around with your character's affinity and skills through essence, in this game thats gonna be your key to victory rather than just grinding.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
only just got to the hydra boss. done the side quest to fight Apsaras and get Leanan. died to Apsaras but got her 2nd time. my party is Leanan, Mermaid, and Tsuchigumo. i'm far too weak for the Hydra. only me and mermaid are doing any damage to it. Need to figure out a new party and grind.
Never ever grind, this game's not about that. Your Nahobino might gain some exp but the demons take way longer than him to level up.

For the Hydra I recommend Angel for the healing and Daemon to block the fire breath.
 
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What level are you at? I beat Hydra at level 13 on hard and I had Mermaid on my team. My suggestion is play around with your character's affinity and skills through essence, in this game thats gonna be your key to victory rather than just grinding.
i'm lvl 16.

i'm still trying to figure out skills/essence so that's probably where i've went wrong. i think i'm focusing too much on ones that do a lot of damage instead of buff/debuff and i did notice i'm giving myself/demons skills that don't match strengths/weaknesses. for example my mermaid had a fire skill lol. iam dumb but have realised my mistake there. when going into the shadow place there is an option i'm not sure what it does. it might be affinity. i don't know what i'm doing there. also i'm trying to get out the habit of picking cool looking demons.

i'm not smart enough for this apparently lol maybe i should go back to persona :messenger_hushed:

Never ever grind, this game's not about that. Your Nahobino might gain some exp but the demons take way longer than him to level up.

For the Hydra I recommend Angel for the healing and Daemon to block the fire breath.
i'm going to try get an Angel
 
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Ladioss

Member
only just got to the hydra boss. done the side quest to fight Apsaras and get Leanan. died to Apsaras but got her 2nd time. my party is Leanan, Mermaid, and Tsuchigumo. i'm far too weak for the Hydra. only me and mermaid are doing any damage to it. Need to figure out a new party and grind.
Fuse a fire-resistant essence with nahobino (Brute Daemon is a good demon to use as essence fodder for this fight.), bring fire-resistant demons to the fight (such as Aitvaras), use dark dampeners when hydra uses magatsushi, and blast it with bufu.

As a rule of thumb, dampener items are invaluable early in the game against bosses because the new magatsushi mechanism can really bring a lot of pain.
i'm going to try get an Angel
Not a good idea, as Angel is weak against poison/dark. Use items if you need healing.

(I don't remember if Hydra use dark skills outside magatasushi.. oh well)
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Just beat the game. Holy fuck have I liked it. 102 hours and I'm already thinking in doing the optional super bosses, and maybe a NG+ to try to get some other ending.

Not a good idea, as Angel is weak against poison/dark. Use items if you need healing.

(I don't remember if Hydra use dark skills outside magatasushi.. oh well)
But he has a spell that heals all the party, which at that point is pretty useful.

He can also use dark dampener whenever the Hydra starts gathering magatsuhi, so it's not an issue.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Just beat the game. Holy fuck have I liked it. 102 hours and I'm already thinking in doing the optional super bosses, and maybe a NG+ to try to get some other ending.
I think I'm almost at the last dungeon and currently level 77. I definitely doing another playthrough but with all Demon battle DLCs.

This game by far my favourite game I played this year.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I think I'm almost at the last dungeon and currently level 77. I definitely doing another playthrough but with all Demon battle DLCs.

This game by far my favourite game I played this year.
I don't know if I'll be replaying it right away, specially with all the PC port rumors.

That said I might just reload a save from a few hours ago and try to get the other endings, specially one of them.

Btw, how are you liking the game compared to previous entries? I think the writing is worse that III and IV, but everything else is just better.

I have specially enjoyed the difficulty and its curve. In previous games I always had problems at the start but later on I was stomping my way through the game, specially in IV, but here the challenge has remained quite consistant, specially with some of those later challenge quests.

So yeah I'm quite happy with the game. Best one released this year (imho) and one of the most enjoyable and addicting ones I've played in many time.
 

Senhua

Member
Currently on my 4th cycle (NG+) and yup the game is decent.

Plot & characterization is mess (I don't even remember the name the rest of cast outside of Abdiel & Dazai??).
It feel a whole chunk of narrative and plot gone missing during dev (somewhere between 2 and 3 Da'at)

At least the demons graphic and animation show where the majority of the budget gone.
Battle and fusion system difficulty greatly tone down (hard here is normal on prequel). No mention the abundance of dampener and escape items (which I never use even on hard).
I like Essence through it greatly simplify the fusion mechanics.

Conclusion 7/10 SMT Final and Nocturne have a baby - The most mainstream of SMT games out of all in the series (yes more than SMT Final), and It feels that they still continue chasing Persona audience trend started with SMT Final and added some element from nocturne here and there (I hope it sell and works well for Atlus and Nintendo AKA the addition of the new audience make of lost of the hardcore audience)
For me: I will go back to my "retro" SMT and continue to just support modern Persona series (the one who really evolve without losing their indentity).
 

Jsisto

Member
How do you all feel about multi target spells? I've avoided them for the most part unless it's an element that I find useful on the demon and they don't have a single target version. Just seems far more risky and wasteful to have them when the hardest battles are single target bosses, and one wrong use against an enemy party can have serious consequences with the exception of course to omega spells.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Are there really more cute/sexy demons, or is it just that this is the first mainline SMT game where the models are detailed enough for those features to be noticeable. As a first timer to the series, there’s definately demons that fit that description, but it hardly seems to be skewed in that direction in a significant way. Looking through my compendium theres a vast array of different types of demons IMO.
Seems pretty normal for the series.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
How do you all feel about multi target spells? I've avoided them for the most part unless it's an element that I find useful on the demon and they don't have a single target version. Just seems far more risky and wasteful to have them when the hardest battles are single target bosses, and one wrong use against an enemy party can have serious consequences with the exception of course to omega spells.
Yeah for my magic build character I never put multi target spells on him, they used too much MP and it becomes specially bad against bosses when the battles can last much longer.

Edit: you also dont need put concentrate or charge on your character or Demons because you have concentrate/charge Gems to fill that role and they dont use your MP.
 
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Jsisto

Member
Yeah for my magic build character I never put multi target spells on him, they used too much MP and it becomes specially bad against bosses when the battles can last much longer.

Edit: you also dont need put concentrate or charge on your character or Demons because you have concentrate/charge Gems to fill that role and they dont use your MP.
Yeah. I feel like they really try to push these spells on you to the point where I feel like I’m doing something wrong by not using them! Just doesn’t seem practical.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Yeah for my magic build character I never put multi target spells on him, they used too much MP and it becomes specially bad against bosses when the battles can last much longer.

Edit: you also dont need put concentrate or charge on your character or Demons because you have concentrate/charge Gems to fill that role and they dont use your MP.
Yeah, same for blockers and heal spells. TBH if I haven't liked something in this game is demons being able to use items, feels too cheap.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Yeah, same for blockers and heal spells. TBH if I haven't liked something in this game is demons being able to use items, feels too cheap.
The counter balance is buffs and debuffs takes lot of MP to use even with high affinity so using item to heal is not bad thing in this case.
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
I boosted myself up to level 99 with my Gospels and had a crack at Shiva.

Even on normal he did not fuck about. Had to rethink my strategy a few times.

Also decided to start filling the gaps in my compendium. I was going for the high level demons first and the 1m macca I had did not go as far as I thought it would.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
The counter balance is buffs and debuffs takes lot of MP to use even with high affinity so using item to heal is not bad thing in this case.
Do they really? I mean, for bosses you are good with single-target debuffs, and for buffing I just used Luster Candy which costs around 90MP at max affinity, which is not that much if your support demon has Great Mana Spring, which IMO it should since those last boss fights are long as fuck.

Just a minor complaint tho, and tbh I haven't used that many items with my demons, maybe some Amrita here and there and some Ambrosias to avoid using mana. Aside from that I think the combat is as good as ever.

I boosted myself up to level 99 with my Gospels and had a crack at Shiva.

Even on normal he did not fuck about. Had to rethink my strategy a few times.

Also decided to start filling the gaps in my compendium. I was going for the high level demons first and the 1m macca I had did not go as far as I thought it would.
I don't have enough Gospels to reach level 99... wonder how I'll fare agains Shiva on hard. :goog_relieved:

Btw, I think there's some secret sidequest if you reach 75% compendium's completion.
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Amazon and Best Buy have this for $40, but I just can't pull the trigger because I'm drowning in Black Friday switch games at the moment....
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
Btw, I think there's some secret sidequest if you reach 75% compendium's completion.
After one of the fusions Sophia gave a little speech and handed over an item, but I haven't looked at the map for any extra markers. Will have to take a look next time I play.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Do they really?
For example: The boss used Almighty attack that caused the MC to get confusion status and his next turn his gonna use pierce attack, so I need one of my Demon to use the item to heal the MC so he can use Kannabi Veil so we dont get fucked up.
 
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