Board 8 > Anagram plays Persona 3 (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I gave up for the moment and did the arcade. That night, Jesus, a gothloli, and someone named "Smart-looking Guy" shoot a teenager with a gun that doesn't have a muzzle flash without killing him.
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Charm: maxed. That was easy. I remember it being a big pain to max charm in P5 for Makoto's random insistence that she have the best fake boyfriend in the world.

Anyway, I spent 28000 yen on wind dodge accessories, the only thing the shop had that could help. I hate to spend that much on one battle, but I don't have any other option besides grinding.
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So these expensive charms have done nothing useful. Akihito still dies in one hit to garudyne, the main character dies in almost one hit, and no one is dodging.

yayy
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Even his area wind attack one shots Akihiko, this is absurd.
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Can you switch out Akihiko at the moment? If you can that's probably the best way to deal with it.
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Ah, sorry, if I had been here I'd have probably suggested against Dodge Wind. I'm not sure it'll be super helpful. Resist Wind could have, but I'm not sure that's ever sold. Evade Wind would be... I dunno, I'd probably still say not worth money but eh.

For Intrepid Knight.

Like pyre said, having a Persona that can resist/null Wind will help. You're right to bench Junpei because "lol." So take Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru.

Key Points:

-If at all possible, keep Intrepid Knight's attack debuffed with Tarunda. Ideally make sure you have it, but Akihiko can also do so, but you'll probably need him on Support/Heal as a Tactic to get him to. You could swithc him back to Knock Down while Tarunda is active (3 turns) but I think you'll need him back on Support/Heal to reapply it. You could also find a way to bring Rakukaja to the fight to buff your party's defenses, but at this stage in the game I think you'll only have the single target version and so I'm not totally sure it's worth it. If you want to try it, try it, but Tarunda is way more critical because there's only 1 of him to cast it on as compared to 4 of you.

--Persona that might be helpful: Narcissus (Level 20 Lovers Persona. Resists Wind. Can Charm (See YOLO later); Ghoul (Level 18 Death Persona. Nulls Wind.) Anyone with a 2nd tier (Agilao, Bufula, Zionga) spell that isn't Wind. Anyone with Tarunda.

-YOLO Strats: Intrepid Knight is able to be charmed. The odds aren't super great, but they're viable. You can try and get Intrepid Knight to waste turns by charming it. You'd think this would be Mitsuru "Marin Karin" Kirijo's time to shine, but it probably goes better if you handle that. Narcissus, the Persona I mentioned earlier, can charm and comes with Charm Boost which will up your odds of inflicting it. If you have a weapon that inflicts Charm that's great too.

-If you have any Attack Mirrors, casting one will be nice as a temporary defense against Intrepid Knight's physical skills.

-Teammates will die. Yukari and Akihiko will be more important than Mitsusu here so if you have to save items or pick between them, yeah.
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...oh i see my fears were realized and dodge wind was not helpful.

Sorry.
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Beat him

Everyone had a dodge wind charm, I saw two dodges the entire time. I beat him by spamming heals with the main character and Yukari (I had a persona with an AoE heal) while Akihiko and Mitsuru vvvvveeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly burned him down with 20-30 damage per spell. Akihiko died a million times, but I expected this and came prepared with beads of life. Main persona used was Oberon just because it had high magic.

This was easily the toughest fight so far, I feel like these charms were a waste of money.

Also, special thanks to whoever programmed Mitsuru to prioritize charming enemies instead of casting damage spells. I hope you die in a car accident.
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Anagram posted...

Also, special thanks to whoever programmed Mitsuru to prioritize charming enemies instead of casting damage spells. I hope you die in a car accident.

You have no idea how happy it makes me that this is still being brought up by new people ten years later.

http://i30.tinypic.com/nqqlj8.jpg

https://personacentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Persona-3-Mitsuru-Marin-Karin-720x340.jpg
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Glad you won, but sorry I was so late to turn up that I don't think I was able to help.

Re: Mitsuru. Ahaha...hahah...ha. Yeah, that will be a recurring theme as long as you have Mitsuru. It reached meme status. Though more for her prioritizing charming the enemy over healing you.
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For reference, I did not know about that meme before playing, but I completely understand it. It's infuriating that there isn't a tactic to get around it.
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I think she's better about it if placed on Knock Down. Pretty sure she only goes full meme when left on Act Freely.

She usually gets cut from my party eventually in favor of people I like more though so I haven't examined in exhaustively.
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I know in my Hard playthrough there was one fight that I effectively ended up doing with a 2-person party of MC and Yukari, because I was able to sustain a party of 2 that both resisted the boss's magic nuke of choice, but nobody beyond that. I'm guessing that was this fight, especially since the fact that it was Yukari suggests this was a Wind using boss.

(I probably actually took the full party but then never bothered reviving the others, unless maybe that confused Yukari's AI.)
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Yukari took like 16 damage per wind spell, but would be nearly killed by a physical attack. Luckily the boss kept hitting her with wind or one-shotting Akihiko, which let her act reliably.
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Marin karin claims another victim
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All this said, while I mentioned it as a very general boss tactic much earlier, I'll repeat it now with some more detail. You can laugh at me if you've already been doing this.

The buff/debuff skills are very useful in Persona 3 (Persona in general, but especially 3 since it's the most difficult one by far.)

Generally speaking, Tarunda will be one of your best friends. The ability to lower the enemy's attack is huge, especially since it'll help your entire team out. Sukunda, which drops the enemy's accuracy/evasion is probably the next best because it can get you some misses to help survive too.

On the buff side, these aren't as useful until you get the full party versions, but when you do, they're very good as well. Marakukaja increasing everyone's defense pairs well with Tarunda as now you're really protected.

Eventually enemies will try to dispel these buffs, either on themselves, you, or both, but that can work in your favor anyway because it's a turn they're not using to try to kill you.

And while we're on the subject, at least for Tartarus bosses, it's not completely futile to toss out a few status effects and see if they work if you're desperate. As I said, Intrepid Knight could be charmed, which would tie it up for a few turns if it landed. You can try similar things with other status effects, but I'd file this more under an emergency tactic if nothing else is working.

Finally, I think this is a tactic that only works in FES (and original P3) but there actually can be a reason to NOT go for an All-Out Attack. IIRC, in FES, an enemy turn is wasted by getting up from knock down and they can't take an action that turn like they do in P4 and P5. So if you're on the ropes, or AOA damage isn't great, you can refuse the AOA and just use your turns as you normally would - either to recover or just launch more attacks and get a breather when the enemy uses up its turn getting up. This actually pairs up devastatingly if you can reliably inflict Shock (Chance of occurring from Zio/Elec attacks. Shocked enemies will always be crit, so you can ensure this tactic works provided they can't resist physical attacks.)
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I haven't been using buff/debuff skills very often, so thanks for that. I didn't bother with tarunda because I was afraid it wouldn't weaken his wind attacks.
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Anagram posted...

I haven't been using buff/debuff skills very often, so thanks for that. I didn't bother with tarunda because I was afraid it wouldn't weaken his wind attacks.

The buff/debuff skills work across the board. Tarunda will weaken physical and magical attack. Rakukaja will increase defense against both, and Sukukaja will increase accuracy/evasion against both. And vice versa for the opposing version, of course.
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Wish I'd known that at the time, but I'll keep it in mind for later, thanks.
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Persona (Especially 3) is still SMT at its core, and buffs/debuffs are your bread and butter there.

In general, Persona 3 takes a lot more strategizing and experimentation than 4 or 5.
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Also, are the evade charms just useless? Do they only raise evade by some tiny percentage?
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Dodge "doubles evasion against [type] attack." Evade is triple. I assume it calculates off your base evade which... probably isn't great. Like think how often you dodge and then double that.

If it stacks with Sukukaja/Sukunda I could maybe see a niche for it but really it's more of an enemy troll skill than it is something you want to rely on. It's better than nothing to cover a team member's weakness but it's outdone if you get something that has Resist [Element]

tl;dr: Yeah, they're not that useful. Dodge is especially trash. Evade is a bit better but you can do better than that still.
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Actually, you have the antique shop by now, right? It should have talked about Weapon Fusion, right?

I would have considered this a bit too in the weeds to dump on you without prompting but it might help you out in the future.

Basically you take a Void Weapon (possible drop from Gold Shadows) and sacrifice a Persona to it to change it into a usable weapon. The higher level the Persona the better the stats on the weapon. But the important thing here is the Persona's Arcana determines what special effect the weapon gets.

Each Arcana has its own effect but instead of listing them all, I'll stick to the ones I think are most useful for you atm:

Empress Persona: Grants the Weapon Resist Wind
Tower Persona: Grants the Weapon Resist Elec
Star: Grants the Weapon Resist Ice
Sun: Grants the Weapon Resist Fire

Unfortunately, you won't start seeing these Arcana until your level is in the 30s, but once you do you can start knocking out weaknesses of your party members.

Hypothetically, once you reach Level 33 you could fuse Leanan Sidhe, an Empress Persona. If you had a Void Weapon for Junpei, you could fuse it with Leanan Sidhe and you'd get a weapon with Resist Wind on it. If you equip it to Junpei all of a sudden he resists wind instead of it being a weakness for him. Same idea with the other elements.

Certain Persona give you unique weapons that don't follow those rules and are usually really good but it's mostly the endgame-tier Persona.

And I guess in a pinch, Legion (Level 22 Fool Persona) will give you a weapon with a HP +100 effect but personally I wouldn't waste a Void Weapon on that.
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By void weapons, you mean nihil, right? Anyway, I have I think two of those, but I haven't bothered doing anything with them yet. Thanks for the advice.
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There's a lot of grinding in this game. Currently level 21 or 22, I don't remember, and I've spent at least two hours just screwing around in Tartarus while watching youtube videos. That wasn't true in P5. Currently 6/25, I feel like I've spent way more time getting here than I did in P5. I know I shouldn't keep comparing the games, but I can't help it.
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More tomorrow night, or maybe the next day
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Don't worry, when I played P4 I kept comparing it to P3. But I guess playing them on a release order helps.
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Later
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P3 and p4 are definitely more traditional jrpgs in that grinding is necessary. If you defeat every enemy you see on your way through, you'll generally still be under leveled when fighting the boss, at least for the first part of the game.
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I thought P4 was easy-mode for most of the game. The first dungeon was brutal though, yeah.
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Peace___Frog posted...

P3 and p4 are definitely more traditional jrpgs in that grinding is necessary. If you defeat every enemy you see on your way through, you'll generally still be under leveled when fighting the boss, at least for the first part of the game.

I was basically okay until Intrepid Knight, and even then I eventually managed it. But you're right in that the game clearly is pushing toward grinding in a way P5 doesn't.
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The first couple of dungeons in P4 are tough because the enemies are clearly ahead of you in terms of available skills and the game is very stingy with SP items and accessories. Once you get to the point that you can cheaply manage spells that hit all the enemies (which is basically after the second dungeon), it becomes a ton more manageable.
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Yeah, one thing I noticed that's weird is that P3 lets you buy seemingly infinite 5 SP items from vending machines, but forces you to wait for several seconds as the vending machine sound plays for each one.
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I've maxed out Charm and Courage. What do I do on nights with no academics quiz?
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Social Links?

Reg posted...

Social Links?

I've never seen a nighttime social link so far.
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Five year-old girl: "My dad... He... He hit me!"

Answers:
"That's terrible."
"Did you deserve it?"

Frank Svensson confirmed for more horrible than Brent Johnson by far.
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I think I just realized something

Another big difference between P3 and P5 is villains. P5 almost always has a clear villain you're working against, P3 has a very nebulous threat with no clear goal. I'm sure that'll change, but so far that's been the case.
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Anagram posted...

P3 has a very nebulous threat with no clear goal

This actually something I really like about Persona 3. I think it works well with the themes of the game.

To clarify, I don't think lack of villains is necessarily a good thing in general--only that it works for this specific instance.
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Not to say there aren't villains at all, but it's not really ever in the same way that Persona 5 has villains.
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pyresword posted...

This actually something I really like about Persona 3. I think it works well with the themes of the game.

To clarify, I don't think lack of villains is necessarily a good thing in general--only that it works for this specific instance.

I can see the appeal. I wasn't criticizing P3 for it, I'm just saying it's a big difference. That said, someone like Kamoshida did work for injecting some immediate pathos into the game. Almost immediately, you want to destroy his ass for the terrible things he's done.
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Chihiro Rank 5 Confidant: "I-I-I have dreams about you every single night, Frank-san!"
Yuko Rank 4 Confidant: "People will start to think that we're really dating. Not that I'd mind."

I can't decide if Brent Johnson or Frank Svensson is more of a chick magnet.
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Argh, Chihiro "might get upset if you go out with another girl?" At rank 5?
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I really liked Kamoshida--much more than any of the villains that came after, actually.
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pyresword posted...

I really liked Kamoshida--much more than any of the villains that came after, actually.

He was a strong start. It helps him that he was followed by Madarame, who was tied for lamest with Haru's dad.
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Oh jeez, how long has Fuuka been available as a confidant in the hallway? I never noticed her there before.
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"Electrical devices don't work during the Dark Hour"

*Goes to a love motel that's clearly lit"

I'm going to enjoy noticing all the electrical devices working during the Dark Hour. Anyway...

Wow, this Heirophant boss is like the easiest thing ever, especially compared to the last Tartarus boss. Pointless anime cutscene of Yukari in the shower. Suddenly I'm by myself, so I fight off the voice in my head that wants me to stop fighting. Yukari exits the shower wearing nothing but a towel, realizes I see her, and slaps me. Hey, Yukari, you were the one who left the bathroom wearing only a towel. We break some mirrors, there's another boss, it's even easier than the first one, Junpei is moody and rude that I'm "the hero again," everyone goes back to the dorm, and Jesus, gothloli, and smart guy are revealed to be watching us. I'm left with just one question: is the stupid shower cutscene the reason Yukari was required for this section? Because when she said "I'm coming no matter what," I assumed it was because this was going to be some kind of important story moment for her where she'd be important to what's going on.
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I like how Maiko's story involves her running away from home, her parents finding her at a food stand, and the food stand clerk just standing there lifelessly while they argue. I empathize most with the food stand NPC, I would definitely stand there and say nothing while this happened.
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Anagram posted...

where she'd be important

This was your first mistake
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