Shin Megami Tensei V: The Importance of Buffs and Debuffs - Game Guide

 In Shin Megami Tensei V, you have many skills available that allow you in combat to boost some of your statistics or, on the contrary, to lower those of your opponents: this is called Buffs and Debuffs. These skills are simply essential to be able to hope to win against any opponent who is not an unspecified encounter, so it is essential to master them as quickly as possible since they will serve you throughout the game.

BUFF / DEBUFF: WHAT IS IT?

In the Shin Megami Tensei, one calls "Buffs" the spells of type -kaja (Tarukaja, Rakukaja and Sukukaja). These are spells that aim to improve a certain stat of the team, whether it is attack, defense or agility. Conversely, we find the "Debuffs" which are the -unda type spells (Tarunda, Rakunda, Sukunda) which aim to lower a certain statistic of the team. If Atlus games are obviously not the only ones to offer this kind of thing, they are on the other hand probably the only ones where it is absolutely essential to use them to be able to get by, and this is even more true in SMT.

If you're new to this SMT V after playing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster (or any other game in the non-Persona series), it's important to know that these spells work in a very different way. Here are some essential rules to know to be able to use them correctly:

• '' 'Buffs / Debuffs now disappear after three turns, like in Persona. Reapplying the same buff / debuff resets the counter to zero. The icon will flash to let you know that this is the last all for which the buff / debuff is active.
• You can always accumulate the same type of Buff / Debuff up to +2 / -2 . The higher the rank, the greater the effect. So do not hesitate to use the same type of buff / debuff several times depending on the situation. For example, if you're having trouble hitting an enemy, using Sukukaja / Sukunda multiple times will quickly resolve your issue. However, there is no point in using the same spell once you reach rank 2, other than extending the duration.
• The Rakukaja / Rakunda, Tarukaja / Tarunda & Sukukaja / Sukunda spells no longer apply to a single ally / enemy , and no longer to the whole team as was the case in previous games. However, you will later unlock skills that affect the whole team (Marakukaja / Marakunda, Matarukaja / Matarunda, Masukukaja / Masukunda). This therefore makes these skills incredibly powerful since in a single action, you improve / lower a statistic of all your allies / opponents.
• Many new attacks allow you to apply debuffs while doing damage (or conversely, apply buffs while healing). If you can afford the MP shot of these skills, feel free to use them.

SOME PERCENTAGES

After a few tries, it is possible to determine approximately the value of the buffs / debuffs in terms of percentage so if you want more precise figures, this part should interest you.

Let's start with the Tarukaja / Rakunda pair , which allows you to do more damage. The -kaja / -kunda buffs are additive, i.e. one Tarukaja increases damage by 20%, and two Tarukaja increases damage by 40%. Likewise, one Rakunda lowers defense by 15%, and two, by 30%. However, the -kaja / -kunda effects between them are multiplicative, that is to say that by cumulating two Tarukaja and two Rakunda, your damage will be multiplied by 1.4 * 1.3 = 1.8 (and not not 30% + 40%). For defense, knowing that Rakukaja increases defense by 12.5%, and T arunda decreases attack by 16.7%, two Tarunda and two Rakukaja reduce damage taken by approximately 50%. For the Sukukaja / Sukunda pair, it is more difficult to accurately estimate the percentage increase without dataminating the game, but it has been estimated that by combining two Sukukaja and two Sukunda, the chance of dodging the attack increases by 25% (which makes these spells much weaker than before.

When it comes to Focus and Charge , you might remember these spells as extremely powerful. Unfortunately, they are much less viable since instead of multiplying the damage of the next attack by 2.5, the damage is multiplied by 1.8. So it's literally more profitable to just do the same attack twice if all you're looking for is damage. These spells nevertheless have two advantages: save MP (and again, the effect will only be felt on really long fights), and do more damage during a critical hit since the effect is multiplicative. Concretely, Charge and Concentration are only profitable when you use "Omagatoki - Critical".

In the other support spells, we find the Donum skills of Magic / Strength . These skills multiply the damage by approximately 1.4. Once again, the advantages will be seen especially by exploiting a weakness and with "Omagatki - Critique" to accumulate the multipliers. However, these skills have at least the advantage of being able to be used on other allies so the ideal is to use it on a support / heal demon when he has nothing to do in his turn.