SMT Devil Survivor 2: Help a noob

[Snatch1414]

So I bought the Record Breaker edition of this game never having played any SMT game ever. I thought it looked fun and wanted to see what the hubbub was about. Problem is I don't get some of the nuances. I am familiar with strategy RPGs, but I'm fuzzy on some of the finer points in this one.

-before some battles it tells me I have leaders with skills that aren't set. I can't find these or what to do with them.

-when I fuse demons why is the result often seemingly completely unrelated to the two I fused? It doesn't seem like the result is ever an improvement of either demon, just a different one (and with less HP to boot).

I'm only a few battles in but things like that are confusing. I searched online but I don't want a complete guide that basically tells me how to best play the game. Just want some clarification on details. Thanks!

[Exhuminator]

Usually 3DS games have built in manuals. Just select Manual on the bottom of the touch screen while the game's icon is highlighted on the 3DS menu.

[Snatch1414]

Ah great call. I forget that's even there especially when I'm closing applications. Well, so this thread isn't entirely worthless:

I've only played a few Atlus games but I usually love their art style and Japanese aesthetic. They seem like one of the few higher profile companies that still really embraces this. This game is no different so so far I'm happy with it.

Only problem is I preordered FE: Fates and Project X Zone 2 this month, and I'm wondering if I really need three strategy RPGs in my life right now haha.

[Stark]

Hey, so you need to go into your characters and set your skills, you hit Y to do that. You have to do Skill Crack during the battles to get more skills to set.

Fusing is often more about getting several different skills to the child demon than it is about getting a demon with more HP. The resulting demon isn't random it is a spreadsheet based on race of the demons that are the parents. For example if you have two of the same race, you will always (I think) get an elemental demon.

[Snatch1414]

Hey, so you need to go into your characters and set your skills, you hit Y to do that. You have to do Skill Crack during the battles to get more skills to set.

Fusing is often more about getting several different skills to the child demon than it is about getting a demon with more HP. The resulting demon isn't random it is a spreadsheet based on race of the demons that are the parents. For example if you have two of the same race, you will always (I think) get an elemental demon.

I will check the manual, but the thing is I was warned about the skills thing before a battle, noticed I had a skill unassigned, and fixed it. It happened again a battle or two later and for the life of me I couldn't find anything that wasn't either grayed out or already belonged to another character. Maybe I missed one, but I don't think so.

The fusion aspect I still don't quite fully understand. You mentioned giving the fused demon several different skills. So far (and I've only done a handful) I seem to get a seemingly unrelated demon with skills that don't relate to the "parents."

I'd have to look it up, but long story short I fuse a demon with skills A and B with a demon with skills Y and Z. The demon that results has skills C and D. Like if I fuse a healer with a big brute, shouldn't there be some semblance of a healing skill in there? I guess long story short I just don't see how there's any correlation with the parents and the resulting demon.

[Stark]

I will check the manual, but the thing is I was warned about the skills thing before a battle, noticed I had a skill unassigned, and fixed it. It happened again a battle or two later and for the life of me I couldn't find anything that wasn't either grayed out or already belonged to another character. Maybe I missed one, but I don't think so.

I think if you have a character with no skills set at all it will warn you every time whether you have a skill available to set or not.

The fusion aspect I still don't quite fully understand. You mentioned giving the fused demon several different skills. So far (and I've only done a handful) I seem to get a seemingly unrelated demon with skills that don't relate to the "parents."

I'd have to look it up, but long story short I fuse a demon with skills A and B with a demon with skills Y and Z. The demon that results has skills C and D. Like if I fuse a healer with a big brute, shouldn't there be some semblance of a healing skill in there? I guess long story short I just don't see how there's any correlation with the parents and the resulting demon.

There will be some number of skills that are "hardset" for the new demon, but there should be one or two spaces where you can set inherited skills. Those spaces will be blank and you'll have to click on them or hit A or whatever the button is.

[Stark]

So I just went through it real quick. Click on Fusion then A for Confirm to get to the page where you set skills. There are Sections for Command Skills, Passive Skills, and Racial Skills. If you see a space that has "---" move over to highlight it and hit A, this will bring up what skills you can inherit from the parents. Keep doing this until you've filled in all the "---" and then you hit START to actually fuse the demon.

[Snatch1414]

Ok I see that's starting to make a little more sense. Great info thanks. It's just a little tough because if you skip past a tutorial dialogue bit or it's not as detailed as you'd like you can kinda feel lost haha

[Stark]

Ok I see that's starting to make a little more sense. Great info thanks. It's just a little tough because if you skip past a tutorial dialogue bit or it's not as detailed as you'd like you can kinda feel lost haha

Yeah that would be difficult.

So you can kinda see what kind of demon is coming so you can try and plan for some skills a little bit, like hey give this demon Null Fire, because they're weak to it normally and make more powerful demons with fewer weaknesses.

[Snatch1414]

Ok I see that's starting to make a little more sense. Great info thanks. It's just a little tough because if you skip past a tutorial dialogue bit or it's not as detailed as you'd like you can kinda feel lost haha

Yeah that would be difficult.

So you can kinda see what kind of demon is coming so you can try and plan for some skills a little bit, like hey give this demon Null Fire, because they're weak to it normally and make more powerful demons with fewer weaknesses.

Yeah good point. I think it will come together the more I play, it's just not totally apparent to me so far but I'm starting to make sense of it from your advice.