10 tips for getting started in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

In this guide we’ll give you some tips to help you get started in your journey through Da’at as the Nahobino in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. If you’re just starting out, it can be a little bit overwhelming at times, and it can be difficult to know if you’re really making the best use of your time or very limited resources given the higher difficulty of combat.

To get you started in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, we’ve got 10 handy tips to help you through the early hours of the game:

• Take your time to explore every area. There is a lot to do in each area of Da’at: most critically, make sure you take the time to defeat each Abscess in the area. They’ll be marked on your map with red symbols, and defeating them will unlock new Miracles. Also of interest are Amalgams, which are marked on your map as white icons, and vending machines, which will be yellow when you can interact with them and will serve as a good, constant source of Macca. Uncover as much of the map as you can before you advance to the objective marker.
• Save often. This is probably obvious, but in the early hours you’ll want to exercise an abundance of caution: save before every combat encounter if you can, during subquests (many will require sudden battles) and before approaching objective markers. If you plan on recruiting a demon it’s a good idea to save before you initiate battle as well, and also before fusion in case of fusion accidents.
• Always carry as many Spyglass as you can afford. This is the one thing that you should be purchasing from the shop at every opportunity, and returning to restock on whenever you run out. Spyglass are items that give you a detailed breakdown on an enemy’s stats, allowing you to hit their weaknesses.
• Make sure you can hit every element across your party members. This is especially important for Mitama encounters, as they will almost always flee after the first turn, so you’ll want to make sure you can defeat them before that happens to reap the rewards. Hitting an enemy’s weakness also builds up Press Turns, giving you more opportunity to act.
• Do every subquest you find. This is an important tip since leveling is extremely slow in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and subquests will often provide a substantial experience point boost, alongside whatever reward you’ll get. You can unlock new demons for fusion, have the quest-giver join your party, and gain useful items from these, so it’s always a good idea to take the time to complete them.
• When allocating stat points for the Nahobino, invest in Magic and Agility. Later in the game you will want to respec into Strength, but for the early game a Magic-focused build will be more viable, as it will allow you to more readily hit enemy weaknesses and, with Agility, give you a greater chance of evading attacks. Use demon essences to give your Nahobino a wider range of elemental magic-based skills until you have access to better strength-based attacks.
• Always go to the Demon Haunt when prompted. Whenever Aogami wants to speak with you, that means a three-point stat boost for the Nahobino, and your demon allies will give you items, or get stat boosts or new skills.
• As soon as you can, invest in the Divine Amalgamation Doctrine Miracle, so that you can change your Nahobino’s elemental resistances. If the Nahobino dies it’s game over, and many bosses will use skills that hit your entire party. It’s critical that you’re able to counter this and keep him alive.
• Always follow your scout! Scouting is almost-always profitable, yielding relics, items, and occasionally battles with Mitama, which are otherwise incredibly hard to come by. Scouting points that give off a red glow are always Magatsu Rails, which will provide shortcuts or lead into closed-off areas with treasure boxes and occasionally subquests. However, if you are low on health in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, be extremely careful and keep our tip in mind: you can encounter a group of regular enemies as a result of this.
• Be tactical with recruitment. It is generally preferable to give demons anything but Macca, which you’ll want for items summoning demons from the compendium for fusion. The amount demons ask for is usually quite high, and attempting to whittle them down usually results in them leaving in disgust or attacking you. If you’ve given them two items, it is often safe to tell them they’ve had enough, or to ask for something else. Don’t forget to register your demons to the compendium too! This will let you re-summon them at their current level and with their skills intact, rather than at their base level and skillset.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is available now on Switch, and you can check out our coverage of the game here.