Let’s find out together, in this dedicated guide, a list of tricks and useful tips to start living the world of Shin Megami Tensei V to the fullest: the Afterlife will certainly not be a pleasant place, we give you the tools to take the first timid steps
Our return to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise was even more brilliant and captivating than we might have expected, despite having always been a fan of the brand. We told you about the game in its entirety in our review, rather verbose and not very digestible we admit it, you can find it by clicking here if you are curious. And just like Persona 5, albeit in a completely different way, Shin Megami Tensei V has catapulted us into a parallel world that is difficult to face, with decidedly stronger and more meaningful themes than its spin-off (although not as much as in the past chapters, too bad).
A world apart
In this beginner’s guide we would like to briefly list you some of our tips and tricks to start playing Shin Megami Tensei V better. We will deal with basic issues, such as rapid travel, save points, we will explain broadly how to make the most of the fights and we will talk, in general, about Essences and Fusion of Demons. In short, everything you need to understand how to start venturing into the afterlife: one step at a time.
The importance of Energy Sources | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
The Energy Sources are bright blue points (both in the minimap and in the game world), which you can use for a long series of functions, which will gradually expand in the very first hours of play. They are practically the focal points of exploration, as they will allow you to quickly move between them, visit the in-game store, heal your team and take advantage of the basic mechanics of Shin Megami Tensei V.
Specifically, the functions available to each Energy Source are the following:
- Save progress: as the name suggests, this is where you can save your game progress;
- Energy Source: this function will allow you to make the rapid journey between your position and an Energy Source already visited;
- Lair of the corpse: the shop of Gustave, the game merchant, where you can buy and resell consumables. You can also resell him the Relics and receive rewards for the Mimans;
- World of shadows: the realm of Sophia, where you can learn Miracles for the Nahobino (permanent passive buffs), play with the Essences (to teach new Skills or Resistances to your protagonist) and perform the Demon Fusions, which we will discuss in the next paragraphs;
- Recovery: by paying Macca (the game currency) you can make your team recover HP and MP.
Don’t forget to save! | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
The difficulty level of Shin Megami Tensei V, especially in the very first hours of the game, is particularly high and often and gladly you will find yourself, even at normal difficulty, to leave your feathers in a simple fight with a mob that is a little too stubborn. It will then turn out It is of the utmost importance to save whenever possible, although it can often pass your mind. This is because, in case you lose the Nahobino in battle, there will be no automatic saves to save you: you will resume from the last save made.
Watch your wallet: what are the Macca for? | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
As mentioned earlier, at the Energy Sources you can take advantage of the function of Recovery to completely cure your party, at a variable Macca cost based on how many HP and MP they actually have to recover. We admit that, as tempting as it may be to heal your team with the various objects that are scattered around the game world, these could be more useful in the combat phases, especially against the bosses. To fully recover the Nahobino and the demons that follow him, Recovery is much more useful.
Macca are also essential for recruit the demons that you will meet on your path and with whom you will gradually go on forming your team of four. To recruit them you will initially have to talk to them and try to convince them to follow you, subsequently the creatures may require large amounts of HP, MP, Macca or particular objects to follow you. It will almost always be worthwhile to please them, actually, especially in the early stages, as they will guarantee you a power that is certainly different from what you have handled up to that point.
The basis of combat | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
We continue our short list of tricks and tips to approach Shin Megami Tensei V by scratching the surface of what is the combat system of the latest ATLUS title. The clashes in this chapter, as well as in the previous ones and actually also in the Persona spin-offs, are based on a tried and tested system of weaknesses and resistances of the party and enemies. AND the Press Turn system is also back with which, at the top right, you will find the number of actions that you can perform in a turn (generally starting from 4 and you can reach a maximum of 8, but you can also go down).
To increase the number of actions you can take on your turn, you’ll need to learn to recognize enemy weaknesses (or have enough luck to land a Critical hit). This is because, if you can effectively hit an enemy’s weak spot, you will gain an action. On the other hand, if you hit its stamina in full, you will lose one. Once discovered, enemy affinities will be shown in a bar under the creature’s name. The symbology will be as follows:
- Horizontal section: neither weakness nor resistance, you will carry out a normal attack whose damage will be the result of the difference between your attack and the enemy defense;
- Exclamation point: weakness (weak);
- Half shield: resistance (resist);
- Shield: complete immunity (block).
The essentiality of the Essences | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
From the first hours of play in the world of Shin Megami Tensei V, and perhaps even before you know how to use them, you will often find yourself collecting Essences, real spirits of Demon. In fact, each Essence contains the attacks, abilities, weaknesses and resistances of a specific creature. In the World of Shadows accessible through the Energy Sources you can exploit the power of these Essences through the selection “Fusion of Essences”. In this way you can teach the Nahobino and the Demons in your party new Skills and new Affinities.
You can also take advantage of this option for transfer weaknesses and resistances from the Essence of the demon to your protagonist. And we assure you that, especially against the toughest bosses, it will be of great help to you.
Never become attached to anyone | Shin Megami Tensei V: tips and tricks to start playing!
No, it is not one of the many life tips that you will feel buckled by your parents, but it is part of the tricks that you can use to play Shin Megami Tensei V at your best and right away. The World of Shadows, in fact, in addition to exploiting the Essences will allow you to perform the Demon Fusion. You can take two of the creatures in your possession (or select one or two from the Compendium of Demons, but pay an adequate sum of Macca) to combine them and create a new Demon.
Usually, the creatures born of the Fusion are stronger and of a higher level than the two used as raw material. A great way to gain powerful new allies. In this sense, the idea of recruiting as many medium-low-level demons as you encounter on your path becomes even more important, so that you can use them as material for mergers.
Good fun!
Here ends our guide dedicated to the tricks and tips to start playing Shin Megami Tensei V at its best. Let us know what you think of the new ATLUS title below in the comments, we will continue to keep you updated with all the news, the guides and gaming and tech themed reviews! And if you are interested in game keys at advantageous prices, we recommend that you take a look at the InstantGaming catalog!