[PS2] SMT: Persona 3 (The RPG to keep talking about, since :awesome:) Now with more PEZ.

Just bought the game yesterday and played it for about 5 or 6 hours straight. It's certainly addicting, but I can't really pinpoint just how much I like it. There are certain times when I think that if it didn't have the amazing amount of style that it did, I'd feel a bit disappointed with it. I don't know if the other Persona games work this way, but I'm struggling to find the point of NOT being able to command your entire team in a turn based game. And I can't really tell yet if the amount of time you have to do things is balanced yet or not. It just seems like the game could be a tad more generous is all.

Besides the amazing art direction of the game, my favorite thing about it has to be that your main character seems to just be dying to be a prick but forces himself to be nice because he knows it benefits his late night monster fighting.

It's easy to forget to save in this game too, at least for me it is. Had some bad luck in battle and all of the sudden I had lost three whole days ;_;

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I imagine many people are farther than I am at the moment, so it's probably not surprising or news to you, but I just love this.

Floor 25:

I get the distinct feeling that I was not meant to beat the three tables while at level 10. And I'm sure I wouldn't have if the game wasn't designed so that the enemy can always have there turn skipped entirely.

With the right element or physical attack, enough patience and luck, sp restorative items, relenting on all out attacks, and employing the stand by option, I imagine you could conceivably take out any boss while way under leveled as long as they have a weakness to begin with.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I wasn't too far into the game and decided due to my inefficient use of time towards boosting my academics, charm, and courage, I could stand to start again from the beginning. My first real night in Tartarus, climbed up to 5 and warped back down. Everyone was tired by then but I had some additional goals. I wanted to hit level five so I could make a Nekomata, I wanted to build up enough yen so I'd be funded for the week's donations and karaoke, and I wanted to leave with Orpheus, Nekomata, Pixie, Apsaras and Angel. One problem I'm having and one odd thing I've encountered.

It seems like the only way to obtain Angel right now is to fuse Orpheus and Apsaras. I've had no luck seeing a single Angel tarot; I suspect they do not drop until after the fifth floor. I'd like not to lose Orpheus but it wouldn't be the biggest blow as Nekomata has agi and better stats for the most part. Thing I'm worried about is, do I need Orpheus with me by the time I have access to the compendium for him to be in it? Will he be at his default level or the one he was at when I fused him? And are there any story or bonus consequences to not retaining the original? For example, in Nocturne, if you kept the Pixie you get early in the game to a late point, there was a certain door you'd be able to open, if not, you were out of luck. Anything like that?

The odd thing I encountered was at a certain point, there were no access points for two floors in a row. I'm sure of it, it was a small area that I went over like mad looking for it. I have not come across that in this game until now. I don't know if it was because of how many times I had already entered and warped down to ground level, because I've done it a lot in this single run, or what. It's bizarre and kind of fear instilling to think that, when I need one the most, I could possibly be searching in futility.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

They return in the order they flew up in from left to right.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Tower boss spoiler, floor low 100s.

Spoiler:

I cannot believe anybody hasn't bitched and moaned about the Natural Dancer on 110 yet. I just got through with the guy and I feel like jumping out a window. At least in other SMT games there are sure fire ways of dealing with charm. Uhg, this asshole seemed to use Sexy Dance every other turn, and in this game, it hits like gangbusters. And the Tetrakarn! The only way to hurt the fucker is with physical and he/she seems to spam that at times too!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Oh blah, just hit the 135th Floor...

oh moi gawd:

That table boss is pissing me off. Any tips?

Spoiler:

135 is absolutely ridiculous. The tower boss I fought before the Sleeping Table, my main was at 37, the rest, a few levels lower, around 33 to 35. To beat this boss, I bought everyone fire evasion equipment and and brought along the persona Kikuri Hime. Kikuri Hime is strong to fire, has a high magic rating and mediarama. Kikuri Hime is a level 47 persona user. THAT IS A TEN LEVEL JUMP OVER THE COURSE OF 13 FLOORS. And it wasn't a breeze to level to that point. I'd say, that even constantly hitting wand cards, that my average fight took in no more than 250 against the enemies of that floor. The average level was around 7000 exp. or so. It took forever. Oh, and also, level Yukari up to 43, she will also have Mediarama by that point.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Anyone else exploit that you can register a persona with an item very close to the level they acquire their final skill, dump them once they cough up the item, and buy them back as many times as you like? I'd be doing that tons if I actually fused more than two that carried something in a 70 hour play time so far, heh.

FELIPE NO

floor 135:

Well, I've already shared how I did it earlier. But the big key to this fight has to be mediarama. You could bring an only Yukari at level 43 with you but the cpu can be a nitwit at healing sometimes, so to make it less frustrating, you're going to need it too. You'll want that healing spell, and fire resistance at least. Hama protection would be nice too, but not necessary if you've been lucky enough to find enough homonculus items (during my fight with the table, one of my members got hama'd only once, my main, no times at all).

The lowest level persona I found that fits the bill was Kikuri Hime. Maybe there was one at a lower level that gained it as their last skill at a lower level and I never discovered it. Maybe (most likely) a particular persona produces a fire null/drain equipment. That'd make things easier, but again, without mediarama, would require the table not to use the almighty spell twice in a row, which he will, and with just media and diarama to fall back on, you will most likely end up with two surviving party members after a double burst of it.

Maybe the damned thing is susceptible to panic, but I doubt it. Or other ailments, but that'd be the one that would really help.

The only party that makes sense is Yukari for her healing and higher magic rating, Junpei for his fire resistance, and Ken for his light resistance. Any buffs/debuffs they might have aren't that useful for this fight if I remember correctly, so that means all would be on the main's shoulders but healing is definitely more important. It throws another requirement into the mix of healing/fire resistant/light resistant/high magic rating, and that's already hard enough to come across as it is.

The only other tactic I can think of is to exhaust your supply of bead chains and somas in place of mediarama, but I wouldn't recommend it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Finally beat the game this past weekend.

Spoiler:

Last boss fight was pretty satisfying, if never really that difficult. Just keep every soma the game gives you and you've got your mp well. Without those, it might have just been a chore. Finished at level 90. Monad really lets you level up quickly! I jumped 15 levels in only about 3 to 4 hours of playtime. I did follow an S Link guide so I could obtain every persona. Seeing each one's artwork was my favorite thing about the game (shuffle time, a close second). Wish those images were floating around the internet.

Question, because I'm not going to try to beat Elizabeth. Is any information about her and Igor given to you for beating her or maybe in Fes?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

floor 59:

If it's the group of three I think you're talking about, charm is your best friend. Try to make an apt persona for the fight with sexy dance carried over. If that's not what you're talking about, sorry, I dunno.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Spoiler:

Ah, well just keep that tucked away for later then. If he's using charges, you should try to debuff him throughout the fight and you may be able to tough it out that way.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Yeah, and even if they were, it then did extreme almighty damage to them and had a chance of giving them fly status if I remember correctly, heh.

Dealing with instant death spells in this game isn't too bad. Just approach all enemies from the back and you can escape 100 percent each time you get the drop on them. If your enemies spam mudo/hama and you can't quickly dispatch of them, flee. I ran more in this game than probably any other I can think of. Plus, homoncu-whatevers for back up in case you get bum rushed. I only collected about 10 of them all game, but I hardly had to use any either. Always keep a dark and light strong/null persona on you at all times.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm pretty sure by the end of the game, about half my banked personas and the ones I used most often were resistant to both light and dark elements. Thing is though that before you reach that stage of the game, it's only usual to find a hama strong or a mudo strong enemy. I found that, by the time you hit block three, you'll be dealing with mudo constantly, but block 4 switches that to hama almost exclusively, and then back to dark intensive in block five. Honestly, an enemy made me much more weary to see a skill like deathbound or arrow rain on them. Because while there's a few measures of back up against instant death, endure is the only shot you have out of getting simply beat down with high damage.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Trance Machina

In the beginning they are bothersome (LOAD FASTER I AM ALMOST OUT OF TIME!!!) but I didn't really notice it as much about 3/4 through the game. It's just annoying to wait seconds just for the menu to load up.

EDIT: Sigh, I'm stuck on the 228th floor boss. Only because of it using a SUPER CHEAP version of Life/Spirit Drain. Life Drain takes up a fucking 200hp from you while the latter takes 120sp. DO NOT WANT 3X ON YUKARI GOD DAMNIT

I still do not know how to beat that one without using this super cheap trick.

Spoiler:

The snakes will default to use fire break on any member with fire protection. First thing, always. You can use Dekunda to remove fire break. Bring three members that null fire and use Dekunda every round, you have them stuck in a loop. Bring Junpei and the dog. The hard part is coming up with a persona that has fire protection and Dekunda. I ended up with an Incubus that did this through fusion, but I cannot remember the exact combinations that landed me there. A legitimate strategy for that particular boss still eludes me.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Joining clubs is nearly identical to any other normal friendship (read: s. link). You just have certain days you can build them. Not certain days you have to. Although, many of the non clubs are also only available certain days of the week.

You should max out all the social links you can, but to get the better ones at the end, at the beginning you should definitely work on your academics/courage/charm, and do so almost daily in the most efficient way you can find. You can choose not to think too hard and not be so calculating about it and still get along to the end of the game, but once you see the max level s. link experience boost during fusion, you'd be happy you'd chosen a more focused approach.

You can feel safe to leave Tartarus alone under these conditions.

- You've reached the tallest point available to you in the tower.
- You've fulfilled all current quests given a time limit
- The most lucrative enemies for experience take a long while to raise your and your party members' levels (but mainly you).
- You're satisfied with your current cash level
- You're satisfied with your current roster of persona

All that being said, you should know that the night before a full moon, none your characters will get tired at all. So, if you don't mind a long grind session, you can put off most everything until that day.

FELIPE NO