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 Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Official site Here What is Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse? Is it like a Shin Megami Tensei IV expansion? SMTIV:A is a side-story to Shin Megami Tensei IV, the 3DS JRPG that came out in summer 2013. It reuses the SMTIV engine, world, and a lot of assets, but is a different story. Chronologically it takes place in the Neutral path of SMTIV, right after Flynn makes his final alignment decision. Of course weird things happen that throw things off the rails and proceed differently because it wouldn't be much of a game if it was just a rehash of IV. Do I need to have played SMTIV before I play Apocalypse? No, but it'll help a lot. There are numerous references to events in SMTIV that will make much less sense without playing it first. It's probably not worth playing SMTIV and SMTIV:A back-to-back as they're so similar you'll probably get burnt out before you finish both. I hated SMTIV, is there anything in this game that will make me like it more? Probably not. If you didn't like SMTIV you can safely take a pass on this one. It's mostly more of the same. Does its story follow the typical SMT Law/Chaos/Neutral pattern? Sort of. SMTIV:A is probably the least subtle of any Shin Megami Tensei game. It's crazy train from start to finish, with every trope in the SMT series taken to comical extremes. You're not going to see nuanced factions in this game, they're all completely batshit from square one. Including Neutral, which has its own faction(s) this time and refuses to be out-crazied by Law and Chaos. This is not a game that takes its plot too seriously. Does anything from SMTIV transfer to SMTIV:A? Yes, but not much. You get some additional titles for your DDS Streetpass card and a few bonus items but nothing that will make a huge difference. Is getting the Neutral ending as ridiculous as it was in SMTIV? There are actually two Neutral endings in this game. And all endings are dead easy to get and extremely obvious in SMTIV:A. Rather than dealing with alignment points the routes are decided by a series of "WILL YOU JOIN ME Y/N" questions. Are there any bullshit RNG-driven elements like the Fiends or the Fameds from SMTIV? Not the Fiends; there's a special bonus dungeon for them. Fameds are still there if you want to torture yourself to fill your Compendium though. (They're slightly easier to fuse though) Is the difficulty level as front-loaded as SMTIV? No--the difficulty curve is much smoother. Bosses can still be pretty challenging, especially around the mid-game where you frequently get forced to fight multiple bosses in immediate succession. How is SMTIV:A different than SMTIV? SMTIV:A features mostly minor updates and quality-of-life features to SMTIV's gameplay. Affinities--Demons naturally have positive and negative affinities to certain skills. A demon might have a positive affinity to Fire but a negative one to ice--when it casts Fire spells they're more powerful and cost fewer MP than usual, but when it casts Ice spells they're less powerful and cost more MP. Affinities can be raised, but can normally only can be done with super-rare items attainable in the post-game dungeon. Smirk changes--Smirking is no longer the overwhelming advantage it was in SMTIV in that smirking targets are nearly impossible to hit. In addition to guaranteeing a critical hit on the next strike, a lot of skills have been updated or reworked to have bonuses when you use them while smirking. For example Antichton is an Almighty Skill + Debilitate debuff, but the debuff only kicks in now if the caster is smirking while using the spell. Dark/Light skill changes:--Dark/Light spells like Mudo and Hama are no longer all-or-nothing instant kill spells. Instead they're damage spells with an instant-kill effect added when smirking. Partners--You can choose and swap your AI-controlled partner outside of battle. They are no longer are they brain-dead companions that will attack enemies' strong points--in fact they'll do nothing rather than use an attack that's ineffective. Each partner has their own skillset and will act after you've used up all your Press Turns. Also, for each round in battle your partner participates in, your tension meter will fill up a bit--when it maxes out all of your partners will perform an all-out attack and force the enemy party to lose a turn. Partners also level up along with the MC and gain new skills as they level. World map--it's not completely awful. Changed demon designs--The reaction to most of the new demon designs in SMTIV was mostly negative so SMTIV:A changed them up a bit. Most of the new designs, while not really changed, have been redrawn to bring them a little more in line with the rest of the artwork so the difference isn't so jarring. Altered Application system--A lot of app upgrades are level-gated in addition to having a point requirement this time. Compendium discounts and skill slot upgrades in particular are slowly unlocked as your MC gains levels. More forgiving Negotiation system--Demon negotiation isn't quite as painful as previous SMT games. Fail negotiations with a demon enough times and they will straight up join you for free automatically the next time you speak to them. Additional difficulty levels:--Easy, Medium, and Hard are all available from the start. There's some free DLC (at least in Japan) that will unlock two additional difficulty levels, a super-easy and super-hard level titled "Paradise" and "Death" respectively in Japan. Once you switch to Death difficulty you can never change back and it's brutally unfair so be prepared. No Law/Chaos alignment points--The Law and Chaos paths are straight up "bad endings" like the White ending of SMTIV this time around. You'll miss the last few dungeons and about a dozen bosses if you pick either. There are hidden alignment points pushing you toward one or the other Neutral endings, but there's nothing stopping you from picking the other when the time comes. Though the penalties for changing your mind at the last minute are stiff. Dying--Outside of a few areas where a party wipe means game over, SMTIV:A is pretty lenient about dying. If you wipe Dagda will immediately resurrect you so long as you ask him to. You don't even need to pay anything like you had to with Charon in SMTIV. Gem Dealers--Sort of like Rag in earlier SMT games, Gem dealers will trade you items for gems. These items range from moderately powerful healing items to super-powerful items that will give you tons of Press Turns for a battle or bring everyone back to life when your party wipes. STORY SMTIV:A start out as a side story to the Neutral path of SMTIV. It takes place in Tokyo, sealed off by a wall of rock that magically was summoned before the world drowned in nuclear fire. Now there's people that live on the other side of the wall and there are angels and demons fighting for supremacy. Flynn, the MC of SMTIV, is having none of that and is gearing up to kill both sides. While Flynn is out doing that, you're Nanashi, some (literally) nameless teenage Hunter from Tokyo whose sole job is to back him up and provide support. Then you get killed on your first outing. While getting ready to cross the gate into the afterlife, you get stopped by a god, Dagda. He agrees to bring you back to life in exchange for becoming his "Godslayer." You agree to his terms and come back, and from then on out start learning what being a Godslayer actually entails. Oh, and of course things go wildly off the rails shortly. DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT DLC falls into a few categories for SMTIV:A. Equipment--Usually not worth buying, although there's some appeal to running around with a giant Navarre bobble head. Grinding--There's separate DLC for grinding levels, money, application points, gems, incense, and demons. That last one punts you to an area where you can buy souped-up demons for cash. Gameplay enhancements--In Japan these were all free, and consist of downloading additional difficulty levels, and an unlocking of the level cap. Informational DLC:--These were free in Japan too, and add entries to the database that spoil/explain some of the backstory to the game. Quests--Mostly these are just boss fights, though one turns the Fiend dungeon into a area you can grind for increasingly better loot each time you beat it. The final DLC is particularly good--you explore a dungeon and fight an uber-boss alongside the heroes of all four numbered SMT games. When/Where can I get it? SMT4:A was released in Japan on February 16, in North America on September 20, and is slated for a Q4 release in Europe. Common questions from the thread: The last dungeon sucks! Yes it does. It's in Japanese but here's a map. None of the stat gates are required, they just lead to nice loot. Genpei Turtle fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Oct 6, 2016 |
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Sep 21, 2016 01:40
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CHARACTERS The Party Nanashi  Literally "Nameless." Some orphan that got found and adopted by a bartender. Your typical blank slate mute JRPG teenage main character. Asahi  JRPG Stereotype #18, girl who's a childhood friend. Actually semi-sister to the MC since you got adopted by her dad. As a partner, acts as your basic healbot. Has some buff spells too. One of the more useful partners. Navarre  Navarre was rescued by Flynn in SMTIV and brought to Tokyo. Shortly thereafter, his corpse was found floating in the river. Now he's a ghost. Most of the other characters can't see him, and those that do dunk on him constantly. Navarre is one of the better partners, casting buff spells on your party, including all the -kaja spells. Nozomi  Character from a lot of side quests in SMTIV, now she's a party member. Has fused with Danu to become queen of the fairies. Mostly important because of her connection with Danu, who has a major part in the plot. Nozomi is a gun-focused character and as a partner will mostly shoot your enemies. Isn't terribly useful overall, but some of her attacks inflict status ailments which is nice. Hallelujah  Teenager who's affiliated with the Ashura-kai, joins with you on a mission that has you and the Ashura-kai working together. Hallelujah is a primarily defensive party member who can do things like inoculate your party against status ailments, which is great against certain bosses. Later in the game he gets access to some powerful attack magic as well. He's a situational partner, but very useful when his particular skillset is needed. Gaston  A fanatical Samurai who fills the "arrogant rear end in a top hat" role in the party. Uses powerful physical attacks as a partner, but mostly notable for occasionally going berserk and stealing some of your Press Turns with attacks. Also when he steals your press turns he will attack physical-immune enemies, which makes things even worse until he gets piercing abilities. Probably the most annoying party member because of this. Toki  A 14-year old assassin affiliated with the Gaeans, wants revenge for what happened to Yuriko in SMTIV. The most likely character to get some changes in the localization because jfc Japan what is wrong with you she's only 14 holy poo poo. As a partner Toki focuses on physical attacks that inflict status ailments and sometimes insta-kill enemies. The instant-kill effect is nice but is low on the roster in terms of usefulness. Isabeau  Major character and Flynn's partner from SMTIV, Isabeau joins your party this time around. Isabeau is a well-balanced partner with a mix of healing, buffs and attack magic. She's up there with Navarre and Asahi as a partner. Flynn  Not really a party member exactly but a major character nonetheless. Flynn's generally hailed as a hero and savior by the people of Tokyo. His goal is to kill both Merkabah and Lucifer. Other major characters Merkabah  Law faction leader. Unique in that out of all the many faction leaders, he is the only one that doesn't have "Kill YHVH" on his to-do list. In fact quite the opposite, he wants to act as YHVH's general by murdering everyone in Tokyo and brainwashing everyone else into mindless sheep. (as an aside, SMTIV:A uses "YHVH" rather than "God" this time around, amusingly bleeping out the name every time it's said in dialogue) Lucifer  Chaos faction leader. Wants to kill YHVH and turn the world into Mad Max with copious amounts of mayhem and bloodshed. Krishna  Semi-leader of the Divine Powers (Polytheistic alliance in the Japanese version), a Neutral faction. The Divine Powers are a cohort of gods really annoyed at being turned into demons by YHVH. Says he wants to provide "salvation" from YHVH to humanity but is very cryptic as to what exactly that means. Dagda  He wants you as his "Godslayer" so it's no surprise that killing gods is part of what Dagda wants you to do. Thinks friendship is for pussies, has something of a reddit vibe to him. Danu  Dagda's mother. Isn't a fan of YHVH but unlike her son thinks gods are generally cool and OK. Thinks friendship is super great. Genpei Turtle fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Sep 25, 2016 |
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Sep 21, 2016 01:41
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You forgot to mention the best part about Dagda: His cool Irish accent. (Although of course we lose Shuichi Ikeda to get that, so it's a tradeoff) Edit: I got an early copy, so some gameplay tips: STR was a trap stat in SMTIV. Not so in Apocalypse. Str now covers damage from melee attacks, while Dex covers damage from gun skills. Mag, as always, is great for covering all your elemental weaknesses and getting Press Turns. Macca costs in the Compendium are tripled on War (hard) difficulty. You can bump down the Difficulty to Conflict at any time to summon cheaper Demons. The Fusion Booster apps are the game's shortcut to being completely broken. You can fuse Demons that are 15(!) levels higher than your own, which will clown on any level-appropriate enemy in the game. If you're hurting for cash, the Compendium Discount App is way more worth it than the Fundraiser app. Pureauthor fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Sep 21, 2016 |
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Sep 21, 2016 01:47
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Puttin' DQ7 on hiatus when I get home today to start this. Looking forward to it so god drat much.
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Sep 21, 2016 01:50
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Started a little earlier, going with a magic build first time through. I missed three times in a row during the first real fight. Good to be back.
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Sep 21, 2016 02:03
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I'm surprised it took this long for SMT to go with the plot of other gods getting pissed at the christian conflict.
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Sep 21, 2016 02:12
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Only been playing for a few hours but it has been great fun so far. I am really enjoying the partner system this time around! Uploading my SMT4 save into my file gave me a good deal of App Points/Items/Macca from Mask, although so far the only thing that's been getting hit the hardest is my Macca. Feels like this time around the demons hit you up for cash more often. Too bad DQ7 just released, it's going to be difficult to balance limited time between two great games...
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Sep 21, 2016 02:18
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The opening feels very old-school Megaten, which is excellent. We've got the underground base/mall, we've got the useless teen protagonist, we've got the nuking of the world backstory front-loaded so you can relive one of the best sequences of SMT 1 - it's all bonkers and great and I missed this in SMTIV. Also, the best possible tweak for someone like me: it will mark on the map whenever an NPC has something new to say. Yes, even the random fluff guys around the base. (Yes I'm the person who talked to literally everyone in Raidou after a mission, because they ALL changed their dialogue and it was nuts.)
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Sep 21, 2016 02:20
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This randomly showed up today. Forgot I even ordered it.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:11
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What DLC does the Gamestop download code get you exactly?
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Sep 21, 2016 03:14
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Also Krishna is oozing with Style Points and I'm a bit sad I don't have an option to join his faction. At least there's a cosmetic where I get to wear his hat, IIRC.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:17
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Kay Kessler posted:What DLC does the Gamestop download code get you exactly? Probably a fancy coat, like the Amazon code gets you. Hey, question: how long is this game? Doing a full Neutral route on SMTIV took me 50~ hours - am I going to spend that long on this one, or no? Assume I'll do every sidequest I can, regardless of if the main plot needs them done.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:17
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StrixNebulosa posted:Probably a fancy coat, like the Amazon code gets you. More or less plus you'll have a clearer route to endings (i.e. no hidden point values from IV).
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Sep 21, 2016 03:21
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8-bit Miniboss posted:More or less plus you'll have a clearer route to endings (i.e. no hidden point values from IV). Brilliant. I love that this game is "more SMTIV, but more Megaten-y in feel and better all around". (Honestly my only complaint so far is that pre-orders don't come with the soundtrack this time.)
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Sep 21, 2016 03:27
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Note that there is a Points system, at least from what I know. You can still choose your final route but the game will pull a dick move on you if you choose the one that's contrary to the alignment you've built up over the game.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:28
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Pureauthor posted:Note that there is a Points system, at least from what I know. You can still choose your final route but the game will pull a dick move on you if you choose the one that's contrary to the alignment you've built up over the game. Yeah, it's this. Rather than Law or Chaos it's more like "What do you think about friends?" If you're a dick to your friends and/or do stuff solo you move one direction, and if you're nice to your friends and/or do teamwork-related stuff you move the other. The particular dick move the game pulls after the final decision depends on which way you were trending. If you were trending the friendship route and decide to go solo you'll lose your entire demon roster. If you were trending the solo route you'll lose all your items. It's more of an enormous pain in the rear end than something that'll saddle you for the rest of the game.
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Sep 21, 2016 03:40
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Genpei Turtle posted:Yeah, it's this. Rather than Law or Chaos it's more like "What do you think about friends?" If you're a dick to your friends and/or do stuff solo you move one direction, and if you're nice to your friends and/or do teamwork-related stuff you move the other. That's ridiculous, but doable. Thanks for the heads up!
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Sep 21, 2016 04:24
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Genpei Turtle posted:Navarre All I have to say is ahahahahahah
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Sep 21, 2016 04:36
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Does the game comment if you make your handle Akira? I liked that it had one for keeping it Nanashi.
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Sep 21, 2016 06:17
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I thought this game was too easy, until King Frost unscrewed my head and hee-hoed down my neck 
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Sep 21, 2016 08:57
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b0lt posted:I thought this game was too easy, until King Frost unscrewed my head and hee-hoed down my neck I got two skills that trivialized it by leveling Angel and...Mothman, I think?
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Sep 21, 2016 09:02
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Pureauthor posted:Macca costs in the Compendium are tripled on War (hard) difficulty. You can bump down the Difficulty to Conflict at any time to summon cheaper Demons. I can't believe I never noticed this. jfc this would have made my life easier the first time I went through the game. This is going in the OP for sure.
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Sep 21, 2016 13:30
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SMTIV is the game that got me into this series. Suffice to say I'm excited as hell and hopefully this will sell well enough to keep the series rolling.
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Sep 21, 2016 14:15
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I started this yesterday. It's good. I'm not really sure why I decided to go with a strength build this time when I always use magic and magic sounds even better now, but oh well. It sounds like going 2-2-1 (or maybe 2-1-2) in STR-LUC-AGI is good?
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Sep 21, 2016 14:21
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All three of the offensive stats are viable as long as you make good use of Demon Whispers to get and upgrade skills.
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Sep 21, 2016 14:23
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I went Dex in SMT4 and I'm Magic this time. Is there any point in buying new swords/guns/bullets? Good to save money but I know in plenty of games they affect your base attack rating and therefore your spells as well
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Sep 21, 2016 14:26
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I appreciate Hallelujah trivialises the first boss you fight after he joins up.
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Sep 21, 2016 14:32
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also I really like what they've done with Flynn so far. . They've basically retroactively justified the whole dumb sidequest part of the 4 neutral ending
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Sep 21, 2016 17:02
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Gonna have to wait until I clear a bit of my backlog before I jump on this I think. Maybe wait for a sale. I definitely want it though, I played SMT IV to death. I just know that if I got it now I still wouldn't get round to it for a while. Also that Navarre thing is amazing.
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Sep 21, 2016 18:48
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:also I really like what they've done with Flynn so far. . They've basically retroactively justified the whole dumb sidequest part of the 4 neutral ending I find this fascinating because you're playing as some npc schmuck while Flynn is doing all those dumb sidequests. I'm also surprised at how explicit the gore is in this one so far.
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Sep 21, 2016 18:57
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The equipment shop guy doesn't go "OH, A HUNTAH" anymore. 
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Sep 21, 2016 19:02
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I've gone magic in almost every run of SMT4. Going to try physical this time and thought stats worked exactly the same as they did in SMT4 but apparently Melee and Gun have been split between Strength and Dex respectively. I spent my first 10 levels dumping into Dex, Luck, and agility. So I guess I'm going gun, hope it doesn't screw me over later. Is agility at least the same where level+10 is enough to ensure you are mostly always hitting?
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Sep 21, 2016 19:54
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How's the DLC scheduling working on this? Am I going to miss out on periods of free DLC if I hold off on the game for a little?
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Sep 21, 2016 20:15
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:I went Dex in SMT4 and I'm Magic this time. Is there any point in buying new swords/guns/bullets? Good to save money but I know in plenty of games they affect your base attack rating and therefore your spells as well
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Sep 21, 2016 20:22
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neongrey posted:How's the DLC scheduling working on this? Am I going to miss out on periods of free DLC if I hold off on the game for a little? Dunno how they're going to do it for the NA release, but in Japan they released new DLC weekly for 10 weeks, and you could get it at any time. In Japan the schedule went: Week 1: Promotional video (free) and some equipment (paid) Week 2: Streetpass Rank aggregator (free) and Level grinding area (paid) Week 3: Streetpass Rank aggregator 2 (free), Makka grinding area (paid) and Demon purchasing area (paid) Week 4: More equipment (some paid, some free) Application point grinding area (paid) Week 5: Super easy/Super hard difficulty level unlock (free) Week 6: Spoiler Database entry (free) Quest that unlocks Cleopatra (paid) and Gem grinding area (paid) Week 7: Spoiler Database entry 2 (free) Quest that unlocks Mephisto (paid) and Boss rush quest (paid) Week 8: Max level unlock (free), Incense grinding area (paid) and Fiend dungeon DLC that adds a boss and lets you replay it after completion (paid) Week 9: Spoiler Database entry 3 (free), Uberboss with SMT 1-4 heroes quest DLC (paid) Week 10: Preorder bonuses available as DLC (paid)
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Sep 21, 2016 20:33
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Here is the official DLC link from Atlus's offical website http://atlus.com/smt4a/dlc.html. If you don't want to look the only limited time free item is a pair of accessories with middling effects (one makes it easier to recruit weak demons and the other makes you weak to everything).
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Sep 21, 2016 20:44
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I'm really hoping Smile Charge isn't going to be something all bosses have. It made King Frost a giant pain and I won't be happy if every boss gets a free ability to crit your party and erase their own weakness.
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Sep 21, 2016 22:09
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Ibram Gaunt posted:I'm really hoping Smile Charge isn't going to be something all bosses have. It made King Frost a giant pain and I won't be happy if every boss gets a free ability to crit your party and erase their own weakness.
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Sep 21, 2016 22:16
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crazkylo posted:I've gone magic in almost every run of SMT4. Going to try physical this time and thought stats worked exactly the same as they did in SMT4 but apparently Melee and Gun have been split between Strength and Dex respectively. Yes, they fixed Str so that Dex is no longer as dominant. I'm still doing a Luck only build like last time however. 
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Sep 21, 2016 22:35
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What kind of skills do you use on a luck build?
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Sep 21, 2016 23:26
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