When just beginning Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance, the World of Shadows might seem like a rather complicated place. Especially if you are new to mainline Megaten games, there are a few features you might not be able to grasp right after you meet Sophia.
Demon Fusion is locked when you start the narrative, and it will take you some time to unlock it. The World of Shadows also has other mechanics that you will need to familiarize yourself with, namely, Apotheosis and the Demon Compendium.
Here is everything you will need to know about the World of Shadows and Demon Fusion in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance.
How to unlock Demon Fusion and the Compendium in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
Meeting Sophia for the first time in the World of Shadows is not going to automatically unlock Demon Fusion for you in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance. It’s only after you have defeated your first Abscess that will you be able to start fusing demons.
You will find your first Abscess sometime after you drop into Da’at Minato. It’s a giant red obstacle that you will find a couple of hours into your playthrough.
When you approach it, it will start spawning demons to block and halt your progress. However, the goal is to make your to it and then hit it with the Nahobino’s sword. It will start an encounter and once you beat it, you will have unlocked a new area as well as some new Miracles.
After beating your first Abscess, Sophia will inform you that the Dyad Fusion has unlocked in the World of Shadows, along with the Demon Compendium.
All types of Demon Fusion in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
After getting Dyad Fusion as you make your way further into the narrative, you will be able to unlock other types of Fusion. Here is a list of all the fusions that you will be able to get:
Dyad Fusion:
- It’s the most basic form of fusion where you will combine two demons from your party to create a new one. The higher the level of the demons used in fusion, the higher will the level of the created demon be. The race of the created demon will also depend on the race of the demons fused. Do keep in mind that demons from some races do not give a fusion result.
Dyad Compendium Fusion:
- It’s an enhanced version of the Dyad Fusion where you will be able to fuse one demon from your party to a demon from your Registered Compendium. It will show you all the resulting possibilities and fusions that you will not get from the base Dyad Fusion.
Reverse Fusion:
- Reverse fusion is another form of Dyad fusion, but instead of picking two demons manually from your party, you pick the resulting demon first. Once you pick the demon you want, the game will then show you a list of combinations that give you the resulting demon. However, do keep in mind that the list will only comprise of demons that are in your party.
Reverse Compendium Fusion:
- An enhanced version of the Reverse Fusion where you will get a list of every demon that you can fuse with demons who are in your party and in the compendium. It is an extensive list and will open up new fusion possibilities. This is the fusion that you need to rely on the most once you start reaching the mid-game.
Special Fusion:
- Special Fusions are used to fuze incredibly powerful demons in the RPG. You will unlock these fusions as you complete more missions and side quests. These demons also have a fixed fusion path, and will often need three to four other demons to make. You can use demons from your party and from the compendium to make them.
Fusion Accidents:
- Fusion Accidents are a special case where instead of getting the demon you want from a fusion, you get a completely unrelated demon. For example, the Hare of Inaba is one such demon you can get through an accident. The demon is not a result of any straightforward fusion, and you only get to obtain it when a fusion accident occurs.
How does the Demon Compendium work in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
The Demon Compendium is a grimoire that keeps a record of all the demons you have gathered up to that point. These can be demons that you have acquired through fusion or through negotiations.
Once you gain a new demon, they will automatically get registered to your Compendium. However, once you start leveling them up and unlocking more skills, you will need to re-register them.
By clicking on the “Register to Compendium” option you will be able to overwrite their previous save and replace it with their new stats.
Make sure that you are doing this often because if you forget to register a demon that you have leveled up and then fuse them out, you will not be able to summon that version of the demon later on. The last saved stat is what you will get.
Additionally, try not to accidentally overwrite an inferior stat. You might have leveled the demon up quite a bit and registered them. Then you acquired their base form again through demon negotiation. Make sure that when registering your demons in the World of Shadows, you do not overwrite the superior version.
The Compendium will let you summon demons that you have registered, even use them directly in fusion. However, you will need to pay Macca. The higher the level and stat of a Demon, the more Macca will they require.
How does Skill Inheritance work in Demon Fusion: “+1” and “-1” explained
When fusing demons you will be able to inherit a certain number of skills from the parent demons to the created one. As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to inherit those skills that will fit the demon’s role and its affinities.
For example, Neko Shogun is more of a support-type demon than a DPS one. Hence during fusion, it’s best to give him abilities like Sukunda, Tarunda, Rakukaja, Sukukaja, Tarukaja, and Patra.
It will be a waste to give him something like Zan as he has a “-3” affinity to Force. As it’s a negative affinity, Neko Shogun will do less damage than a demon like Sandman who has a positive Force affinity of “+1”. Neko will also use up more SP to do that move.
The more the negative value the worse will the skill be for that demon, and vice versa.
Additionally, do keep in mind that some skills are Unique to particular demons. For example, Nyami Nyami’s Glacial Dragon Spiral is Unique to it and you will not be able to transfer that over during fusion.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance Apotheosis: Miracles and Essence Fusion
Apotheosis is another system that you will unlock as soon as you beat your first Abscess. It will have two features inside it: Miracles and Essence Fusion:
Miracles
Miracles are the “means to change the reasons of the world as the Nahobino wills it”. These are skills that you will be able to unlock with Glory and will offer benefits like increasing the Nahobino and his demon’s skill slots or even increasing the total number of demons that you will be able to carry in your reserve.
Miracles are divided into four types:
- Supremacy: These Miracles affect battle and negotiations.
- Doctrine: These will provide some benefits during demon fusion and when purchasing items from Gustave.
- Awakening: These will affect all demon stats and growth
- Cosmos: This affects skill potential increasing the Nahobino’s effectiveness in battle.
You will gain access to new Miracles by taking down Abscess. The more Abscess you beat, the more miracles you will get to acquire.
However, to unlock the Miracles themselves you will need to spend Glory. Glory is a resource that you get by collecting Miman for Gustave, or by interacting with an Amalgam, which are the sliver floating orbs that you find all across Da’at.
Essence Fusion
Essence fusion is where you can teach the Nahobino or a demon in your party a new skill from an Essence. An Essence is a copied astral form of a demon, it contains all the specific skills that the demon possesses, which you can then transfer.
Demon Essence can be collected by exploring the world, interacting with Quest Navigator points of interest, hitting Golden Treasure Chests, leveling up demons, and conversing with them in the Demon Haunts.
However, do keep in mind, that even during Essence Fusion, you will not be able to transfer Unique skills.
Initially, you will also be restricted to the number of skills that you will be able to transfer. You will be able to open more transfer slots by unlocking the Art of Essence Miracle.
Additionally, you will also be able to acquire affinity resistances from Essences during Essence Fusion after unlocking the Divine Amalgamation Miracle. So if you are taking the resistances from an Agathion Essence, you will then the Nahobino will now be neutral to Physical, Fire, Force, and Light, while blocking Elec but he will now be weak to Ice and Dark.
The World of Shadows is where you will be spending a lot of your time in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance. So make sure you are mastering the various systems and making informed decisions when forming your party.
Party balance is key when it comes to having an easier time in Atlus’ latest mainline Megaten entry.
