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

Originally Posted by Guest

Do Block Sections only unlock once after a full moon? After Block 3 opened I went through the first section on the first night. Now I'm kinda bored.. Am I stuck playing with trash mobs until the next full moon?

Only when you get the call from Elizabeth, which is only after the full moon events. So yes essentially you are stuck playing with trash mobs.

Originally Posted by LS

The problem is there are some bosses that doesn't have any weakness, good example is the guardian on 59th floor, Having a hard time against him.

Based on what seems to be a common "strategy":
Agilao Agilao Agilao Tarunda Tarunda Tarunda (whenever it buffs itself), etc.

No real strategy... just use the strongest spell you have + heal up + hope you don't get hama'd + carry revival beads + use a Persona that doesn't get raped by Wind. Beware of the reflection too, so at some point you might want to just switch into healing mode and let your party get themselves murdered by attacking it instead of you. At least you can revive your party members.

Popular Persona that seem to be used a lot: Sati (Agilao), Fortuna (Wind Resist + Dodge Wind), Oberon, Lilim (Marin Karin), Legion (Sexy Dance), Principality (Media)...

Originally Posted by Dr. Uzuki

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.

Orpheus will be at Level 1 in the Compendium (actually, I believe all Persona are at their original level in the Compendium until you register their new information) regardless of whether you have access to it yet or not.

Access Points are random and not necessarily always on a floor. You will learn to love them when you find them.

I had Angel before the end of floor 5, but that took a really long time of fighting to find one. The game likes to shove Pixies down your throat and sometimes Apsaras in that area.

How ya doing, buddy?

Probably the only good thing about keeping Orpheus around is for his Cadenza ability he has with Apsaras. It raises evasion and restores 50% of your HP. Really helpful in those tight spots, but later on, the SP price will be steep.

I was speaking idiomatically.

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Orpheus will be at Level 1 in the Compendium (actually, I believe all Persona are at their original level in the Compendium until you register their new information) regardless of whether you have access to it yet or not.

AFAIK, when you're first able to access the compendium any Personas you have on you at the time will be already registered, with Orpheus as default. From then on you have to register them to get them in there for future use. Orpheus isn't really all that important, and I haven't seen anything that you'd miss out on if you don't have him.

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The problem is there are some bosses that doesn't have any weakness, good example is the guardian on 59th floor, Having a hard time against him.

Most of the bosses don't have weaknesses. Hell, when you scan them all you get is their name most of the time, with the scan person saying nada. Basically you have to figure out what does the most damage to them (because even though the scan data shows nothing, some spells are more effective than others) and hit them with it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Whenever I fuse or find Personae they are automatically registered in the Compendium at their default levels and skills (i.e. Lv8 Lilim, Lv12 Legion, etc). However if I want the Persona I just created to be called upon in the future with how I created it then I have to re-register it.

Useful if I want to save a certain Persona with a powerful Fertilized Item or with a certain move set that took quite a while to get to appear.

(Say for example I fuse a Lilim. By default Lilim is Lv 8 with Marin Karin, Agi, Zio. However the Lilim I fuse has Marin Karin, Agi, Zio, Bufu, Garu and as a result it levels up to add Rakukaja, Mudo, and Mazio. Rather than having to try to create this particular four-element Lilim over and over again and grind it, I can simply register it into the Persona Compendium to call upon it when I need it.)

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Probably the only good thing about keeping Orpheus around is for his Cadenza ability he has with Apsaras. It raises evasion and restores 50% of your HP. Really helpful in those tight spots, but later on, the SP price will be steep.

Yeah, I think by the point you can get Media on a Persona, you're probably safe to get rid of Orpheus. I do remember that Cadenza was useful during one boss battle, but it required also having Apsaras in tow, which you're probably unlikely to do once you get better Persona. The ability Media will give you good enough party healing for a much better price anyway.

In any case, I only kept Orpheus around until I got Pyro Jack. He had the Agi and Maragi that Orpheus had, but with a better Magic rating. Orpheus has been long fused away now.

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

Originally Posted by Lacerta

Whenever I fuse or find Personae they are automatically registered in the Compendium at their default levels and skills (i.e. Lv8 Lilim, Lv12 Legion, etc). However if I want the Persona I just created to be called upon in the future with how I created it then I have to re-register it.

Useful if I want to save a certain Persona with a powerful Fertilized Item or with a certain move set that took quite a while to get to appear.

(Say for example I fuse a Lilim. By default Lilim is Lv 8 with Marin Karin, Agi, Zio. However the Lilim I fuse has Marin Karin, Agi, Zio, Bufu, Garu and as a result it levels up to add Rakukaja, Mudo, and Mazio. Rather than having to try to create this particular four-element Lilim over and over again and grind it, I can simply register it into the Persona Compendium to call upon it when I need it.)

Basically, get in the habit of registering your Personas, since some are the result of your grinding and fusing others and some are a simply a chore to get from shuffles. Sure it costs a bit, but you wind up making a decent chunk of change while grinding anyway.

BTW, looks like you also made yourself an elemental Lillim just like I had way back. I tried to do the same with Loki but the bastard wouldn't pick up Agidyne. Still, fusing is awesome. I'll tryto get Null Light on as many of the higher level dark personas as possible, just to toss the Hama weakness out.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

As good as the battle system is, I hope I'm not the only one enjoying the high school sim aspect a lot more than the fighting aspects. This game just has a unexplainable level of charm drawing me in exemplified by the event at the very start of summer break:

Spoiler:

Operation Girl Hunt had me lol'in. It's not like the premise is anything new but just the way the game pulled it off was perfect. The music choice and the fact that they put you in standard mission exploration mode was great.

The social link situations are also all worth pursuing. None of the content in them has had me thinking they were overly stupid, illogical, boring, pointless, cheesy, etc.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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The social link situations are also all worth pursuing. None of the content in them has had me thinking they were overly stupid, illogical, boring, pointless, cheesy, etc.

Even The Fat Kid? I ignored him once and never saw the poor blob again.

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

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

Basically, get in the habit of registering your Personas, since some are the result of your grinding and fusing others and some are a simply a chore to get from shuffles. Sure it costs a bit, but you wind up making a decent chunk of change while grinding anyway.

BTW, looks like you also made yourself an elemental Lillim just like I had way back. I tried to do the same with Loki but the bastard wouldn't pick up Agidyne. Still, fusing is awesome. I'll tryto get Null Light on as many of the higher level dark personas as possible, just to toss the Hama weakness out.

Yeah, getting the Persona the right way you want and then re-registering them in the Compendium is so great.

Not only do you keep updated records on them to save you the trouble of having to deal with that crap again, but you can easily get rid of and add in various Persona at your whim for those 50% bonuses when you are doing social links (although you have to be able to afford the Persona's cost).

I might make an elemental Narcissus just to be able to hit all at once.

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

Originally Posted by Lacerta

Yeah, getting the Persona the right way you want and then re-registering them in the Compendium is so great.

Not only do you keep updated records on them to save you the trouble of having to deal with that crap again, but you can easily get rid of and add in various Persona at your whim for those 50% bonuses when you are doing social links (although you have to be able to afford the Persona's cost).

I might make an elemental Narcissus just to be able to hit all at once.

Oh yeah, when you have a Persona of an arcana that matches a social link, it's basically easier to get to the next level. Of course, I wish it removed or reduced the number of instances where you get:

Quote:

Your friendship may become stronger soon.

Or something to that effect, though usually after one or two of those you don't get anymore. Anyone completed the Sun social link? Man, that caught me off guard.

If I didn't like the school aspects of the game, the game would lose quite a bit of it's charm and appeal to me. I let out a nice "OH LAWD" (in a good way) when I read the part about your relationships in during the day affecting your Persona's power.

Lacerta, I've yet to get my very own Narcissus as I always opted for either money or experience in the shuffles, and when I saw him as a result I always chose something else. Now I find out I need it for one of those ultimate Personas (I think it's a Cross or Pentagon fusion, it's one of those).

Edit: Forgot one VERY important thing with regards to the compendium. The stat boosts you gave your Personas are saved as well, so you'll not only have them to pass on their skills but their stats as well.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Your friendship may become stronger soon just means you didn't have enough points to hit the next level at that current meeting.

I guess with some clever manipulations (promising to meet someone when they call you at night gives a boost to social links if you have the Persona of the Arcana they represent, going to Tartarus sometimes so that you don't get a reverse or nagged by someone) and present giving you could do it though.

Narcissus is required for a particular unique Death fusion, which in turn is fused with the rest of the lot to create the "ultimate" Death Persona. Although there are those that value the "second ultimate" Death Persona more than the "ultimate". I think it's the "Die for Me!" skill in combination with "Mudo Booster" that they appreciate about it.

Although Narcissus is damn well useful in itself. The fertilized item it has makes you immune to Charm. Then again depending on when you get it, might not even need it anymore.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

There's one thing about the process of Persona fusing that's been really bothering me: You're basically lost if you don't use a fusing guide or note down combinations on your own. Just why is it that the game can't provide you with a list of recipes?

I don't want to resort to GameFAQs just to find out how to fuse that certain type of Persona I require to beat a certain boss. Experimenting isn't an option and trying a sheer infinite amount of combinations takes ages.

I don't know, but the entire fusing business still doesn't sit right with me. That's a shame, especially since it seems to be a central aspect of the game.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Lacerta

Your friendship may become stronger soon just means you didn't have enough points to hit the next level at that current meeting.

Ah, thanks for that clarfication. It would definitely explain why after gaining 2 or 3 levels, I'd get one of those. The Sun social link was easy as piss, with none of those popping up for me, though it's possible I was just picking the best answer (there was that one time though).

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I guess with some clever manipulations (promising to meet someone when they call you at night gives a boost to social links if you have the Persona of the Arcana they represent, going to Tartarus sometimes so that you don't get a reverse or nagged by someone) and present giving you could do it though.

Ooh, now that's pretty slick. I still remember when that buttmunch Kenji went reverse on me after I accepted and then took another meeting over his. I fixed it and then it went reverse after a I neglected him for a while.

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Narcissus is required for a particular unique Death fusion, which in turn is fused with the rest of the lot to create the "ultimate" Death Persona. Although there are those that value the "second ultimate" Death Persona more than the "ultimate". I think it's the "Die for Me!" skill in combination with "Mudo Booster" that they appreciate about it.

Although Narcissus is damn well useful in itself. The fertilized item it has makes you immune to Charm. Then again depending on when you get it, might not even need it anymore.

Gah, completely forgot about those items. I haven't tried it yet, but I think if they level up due to the social link's exp, it might be an easier way of getting those items. Oh, one of the ultimate Death persona's skills is of interest to me and he's integral the creation of somthing that carries a real nice item.

How many combination moves have you discovered so far? Unfortunately for me, all I've got is Jack Brothers and Cadenza since I constantly fuse my buddies.

Originally Posted by Rock

I don't want to resort to GameFAQs just to find out how to fuse that certain type of Persona I require to beat a certain boss. Experimenting isn't an option and trying a sheer infinite amount of combinations takes ages.

Well, about that boss thing. The blocks usually dole out cards that would be of help in the coming boss battles, even if you have to switch from one to the other during the battle. Hell, I think you can do the entire game without once fusing Personas if you just swap in the new cards you see as you ascend the tower.

I agree that an in-game list of combinations that make so-and-so would be helpful.

For the fusions that require four or more Personas, the game literally tells you which ones you need. What it doesn't tell you is what the result will be, just that that it's guaranteed to be that every time you fuse that particular group.

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

Originally Posted by Rock

There's one thing about the process of Persona fusing that's been really bothering me: You're basically lost if you don't use a fusing guide or note down combinations on your own. Just why is it that the game can't provide you with a list of recipes?

I don't want to resort to GameFAQs just to find out how to fuse that certain type of Persona I require to beat a certain boss. Experimenting isn't an option and trying a sheer infinite amount of combinations takes ages.

I don't know, but the entire fusing business still doesn't sit right with me. That's a shame, especially since it seems to be a central aspect of the game.

I actually save then do some experimentation and write down the results. Personally it's a nice throw-back for me and allows for some discovery rather than just going through the motions and getting the results you were after. The fusion system is daunting at first but if you spend some time messing around with it I think you'd pick up how fusion and inheritance works as there is a logic to it based on their type. An in-game fusion history would be good though.

My major problem is remembering what skills do what. Most of the skills are basically romajinized Japanese/Chinese so the names themselves are not descriptive for most English speakers AND you can't even see the skill descriptions until you actually get into battle and equip the Persona.

Speaking of which, has anyone come across a good skills list for the English version of the game?

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Cetra

My major problem is remembering what skills do what.

While I've figured out the elemental spells and the Megido ones a while ago, the kaja/kuja/jaku/whateverthehell buffs always have me guessing until I look at the description.

Basically, I whip out the manual while I'm fusing folks to avoid allowing a particular buff from being inherited.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rock

There's one thing about the process of Persona fusing that's been really bothering me: You're basically lost if you don't use a fusing guide or note down combinations on your own. Just why is it that the game can't provide you with a list of recipes?

I don't want to resort to GameFAQs just to find out how to fuse that certain type of Persona I require to beat a certain boss. Experimenting isn't an option and trying a sheer infinite amount of combinations takes ages.

I don't know, but the entire fusing business still doesn't sit right with me. That's a shame, especially since it seems to be a central aspect of the game.

No, not really. I mean, it's not like you're obligated to fuse Personas in the first place. And besides, you wouldn't want to do so unless you had a decent Social Link to do so. Sometimes it's better to fuse two together otherwise they're just sitting around, doing nothing.

Also there isn't enough Metis fan art.

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

Metis? The only times I've seen that mentioned are by that Kouli guy in his Fes section, which got me curious to see just what we missed out on.

Though after reading up on it, Fes definitely should've been the original version of the game.

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

This game's fusing combinations feel a lot simpler than SMT: Nocturne's fusions, so I haven't really found it complicated at all. Now that game required a fusion chart near the end if you wanted some of the specific powerful demons. It seems like Persona tends to give a lot of the same results for each level range, so it hasn't been hard to figure out possibilities.

As for fusion recipes:

Once you can do Cross and Star fusions it gives you an ingredient list for each one, but won't tell you what they form until you have all of them. It does tell you their arcana though, so you could guess.

...That being said, does anyone know a fusion combination or the correct floor range to find Nigi Mitamas and Mithras?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

Metis? The only times I've seen that mentioned are by that Kouli guy in his Fes section, which got me curious to see just what we missed out on.

Though after reading up on it, Fes definitely should've been the original version of the game.

Yeah, Metis is Aegis' sister apparently. I really like the appearance.

I really hope they translate Fes. Even if a translation group that wasn't Atlus did it, it'd still be worth it. Hell, the undub was out within one day of it's release. What are the odds?

I am really tempted to order the headphones as well..

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, the game mentioned something about sisters so her being in Fes isn't all that strange. I'm not holding out much hope for Fes, so I'll just be content with what we've got.

Though I wonder how much fan art will pop up for a character who appears in on an append disc.

FELIPE NO

You know there's a stand alone version of Fes?

For the append disc, it doesn't even need memory data. Just a copy of Persona 3 (switching technique) if you want to load New Game+

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

Originally Posted by Elixir

You know there's a stand alone version of Fes?

News to me. That tidbit makes me wonder why they didn't just delay the game so they could sell the version with more content and the artbook. My guess is probably deadlines/no interest in bringing it over. About the fanart, I guess it just hinges on how many folks think the extra stuff is worth another purchase (be it the append disc or the stand alone).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

*yawn*

Atlus claimed when they were working on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 that they did not know about FES, and when FES was announced they were too far deep into it to just drop it and work for that.

It's no skin off my back if FES does or does not come to US shores. The true ending of the game is somewhat worth it, and those 20 something extra Persona are kind of neat (although the giant penis is kind of disturbing), along with new things that open up and costumes... but eh. It's not something I'd strive for.

If FES did come out it would probably be in a standalone version, so that we get to double dip while other people can possibly get into it without having to hunt down a copy of Persona 3.

I was amused though that FES is a giant "Fuck You" to various Persona 3 grinders, since they changed a lot of things to taking up your entire day instead of not touching the time at all.

No more max Social Links & Stats on the first playthrough~

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Lacerta

and those 20 something extra Persona are kind of neat (although the giant penis is kind of disturbing),

Is that the giant green penis in a chariot with a dozen tentacles sprouting from the scrotum? A friend of mine got that as the secret character in one of those One Coin SMT figurine series recently, and damn that was freakish. I think it was called Mara.

As for Fes, I'd buy it if they brought it over. Normally I wouldn't be willing to do a second run-through on an RPG this long, but it sounds like there's more than enough new content to warrant it.

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

Wait, how do you even "grind" your Social Links? I was under the impression that you're limited to meeting a single person per day, so how can you max out your Social Links faster on a second playthrough?

How ya doing, buddy?