Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Mantra/Skills Guide Version 1.0 By Jason Venter jasonventer[at]yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version History: (1.1) April 5, 2005 - Finished updating this guide so that it is now complete. It's possible that I will make changes later, but they likely will be minor and will not affect the guide's overall quality to any major degree. The official copyright notice is also now included. (1.0) March 7, 2005 - Near the end of the game, it occurred to me that it would have been nice to have a guide telling me about the various Mantra as I progressed through the adventure. I decided to write a guide of my own to help others less fortunate than myself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: 001. Introduction 002. Hunting 003. Choosing Paths 004. The Grid 005. Mantra Details 006. Conclusion 007. Copyright Concerns Search Tip: You can hop around this guide easily by copying the line from the contents above that corresponds to the area where you need help, then pressing 'CTRL+F' on your keyboard to bring up the box. Paste the line into that box, then search to skip immediately to the desired portion of the guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================= 001. Introduction ================= As you may have discovered--or as you soon will learn--there are numerous ways to buff up each of your party members in Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. Any skills you obtain are learned by downloading items known as Mantra. Each character can download every Mantra once certain conditions are met (that is, once you've downloaded the Mantra located on a given 'path'), but later ones are costly and the time required to gain skills can be daunting. As such, it makes sense to compile a Mantra guide for the game. That's what this is. Skills fall into four categories: Physical, Magic, Shield and Auto. You start out with the ability to choose six skills in total. This number increases to eight once your characters reach level 10, which they will likely do early in the game. Even so, there are many abilities that you will have to leave unused as you progress through the game. Any skills you wish to use must first be 'Set' to the character that has learned that skill. Acquiring skills is both relatively simple, and complex. It's simple because the process never changes; you just keep paying for those downloads you desire, then having your characters devour enough enemies to gain new abilities. Yet the process is also complex, in that learning skills in a certain order may speed up the process, while making oversights can double or even triple the time required. With that in mind, it's time to look at a few basics. ============ 002. Hunting ============ As you play through the game, you'll discover that the easiest way to quickly improve your available skills is to devour your opponents. When you do so, it means you've used what is known as a 'Hunt' skill. You will find them in the 'Physical' skill category. Hunting is a risky business, particularly early in the game before you've learned improved hunting skills. Despite being fused with demons, the protagonists have rather delicate stomachs and do not take kindly to the notion of devouring their opponents. Therefore, you'll want to quickly change that by learning skills such a 'Devour.' The problem with this and other low-level hunting skills is that it doesn't do much damage to the opponent. Suppose you're fighting a monster. First you wear it down with physical attacks. Then you decide to eat it. However, doing so costs some of your protagonist's health points, and the attempt may not be successful. If the monster has too much life left--or if you just happen to be rather unfortunate--then you will simply watch the enemy flash red but not vanish. This is not a happy circumstance. As you learn better hunt skills, this will occur less frequently. Your attacks will do more damage and in some cases you can even scarf down multiple enemies at once, provided their health is low enough. This is especially true of enemies who are frightened. You'll know your enemy is especially susceptible to a hunting attack when you see fearful bubbles appear over its head. The game will let you know that an enemy is vulnerable, but sometimes only one or two monsters in a group is afraid. When a monster is frightened, your attack will do around twice the damage. This is very good, but you need to remember that a monster may be frightened before its health has run low enough that you can safely consume it. Proceed carefully. There's something else to remember, too. You may recall that I said the protagonists don't always take kindly to what's on the menu. Suppose you've had Heat devour a few monsters. The next time he does, you may watch in surprise as he develops a stomach ache. Supposing he does, he won't gain any points from that battle unless you cure him before it ends. Not only that, but some of his turns may be wasted (if the battle is not over) as he pats his stomach and groans uselessly. Therefore, it makes sense to follow a general strategy. Have each character quickly learn the first three Mantra skill sets, up to and including the 'Holy Beast' Mantra. This one includes the 'Iron Stomach' skill, which prevents your characters from ever developing stomach aches when it is equipped. This will be a valuable friend for the game's duration. It also will allow your characters to develop any other skills you wish for them to learn much more rapidly. By spending the time to start out with those abilities, you will save yourself much grief down the road. Because the game will keep moving as you're building up your skills, you may deviate from this slightly. That's fine. Just make sure those early skills remain your priority whenever possible. You'll thank me later. =================== 003. Choosing Paths =================== Because there are numerous Mantra skill sets to download, you could easily spend twice the time it takes to beat the game just learning skills. Unless you find this notion particularly appealing, you'll want to instead focus on just those skills that will be necessary for monster battles. More importantly, you'll want to remain mindful of what powers will make you a powerhouse when it comes time to contend with the game's difficult bosses. No matter how good you are, many of the boss monsters will mop the floor with you if you've been foolish in your choices. Fortunately, it's really not that difficult to build up your power. While it may seem rather limiting, just follow what the game prescribes. Your characters have pre-determined specialties, and there's no reason to fight those or to try much in the way of augmentation. Follow the general rule: Serph = Ice Heat = Fire Argilla = Earth Gale = Force Cielo = Bolt What this means is that when you choose new Mantra for Serph, you'll want to avoid maxing out anything other than his Ice skill set. Additionally, it pays to learn the opposing skills that he is otherwise weak against. Have him learn how to absorb fire damage, or else enemies will hit him with that as a way to get extra turns in battle. Do so with each of the five characters, as you never know when a favorite character will be called away from your party for a time as the plot dictates. Additionally, it's never a bad idea to learn at least a few healing skills, even if you are satisfied with Dia. And there are plenty of spells that can beef up your party members for long, drawn-out boss encounters. Fail to put those to use and you may come to regret it by the end of the game. Now that you know the basics, it's time to take a look at the grid. ============= 004. The Grid ============= Mantra downloads are positioned along a grid that sort of runs a series of lines and sort of doesn't. To gain skills, you must follow certain paths. For example, you can't jump right to the most powerful of lightening spells if you haven't learned the simple ones. Additionally, special Mantra downloads will sometimes become available for apparently unrelated reasons. Below, you'll find a copy of the primary chart, with a list of the Mantra names. Details about each specific Mantra will follow in the next section. (01)____________________(02)______________(03)_____________(04)______ |___(05)_ ________(06)________(07)________(08)________(09)________| | (10)________|___________(11)________(12)________(13)________(14)_____ | |___(15)_ |__(16)________(17)________(18)_____| (19)________(20)________(21)________(22)________(23)________(24)__________ | (25)________(26)________(27)________(28)________(29)________(30)________ | | | (31)________(32)________(33)________(34)________(35)________(36)________(37)_ | | (38)________(39)________(40)________(41)________(42)________(43)________| | | (44)________(45)________(46)________(47)________(48)________(49)__________| (50)____________________(51)____(52)____________(53)________(54)_____ | | |________(55)________(56)______(57)_____(58)_ |___(59)_ | _(60)______(61)___________| (62)_______________(63)________(64)________(65)_____ |___(66)_ (67)________(68)__________(69)________(70)__________| | |___(71)_ |___(72)__________(73)________(74)__________| (75)__________(76)____________(77)_ _(78)_ _(79)_ As closely as my limited diagramming skills allow, the above chart reflects what you should see if you use the 'Get Mantra' command at any save terminal. You can view the 'zoomed out' version of the grid in-game by pressing the 'square' button. What you see there will roughly mirror the chart above. When you begin the game, the vast majority of the final icons will not be lit. That happens as you access low-level skills up above. It's also important to know that there are some hidden Mantra that only appear for each character if you fully maximize any one skill set. The easiest way to do this is to acquire the Wikipedia Mantra, which will then reveal the final set of Mantra. The Wikipedia Mantra itself is only available once the character in question has obtained both the Godly Beast and Queen Mantras. Once you have the Wikepedia Mantra earned, then you can gain the final secret Mantras (which are not listed on the chart above). Now that you know how the grid is laid out, let's look at each of the Mantra downloads in detail. =================== 005. Mantra Details =================== Each Mantra you may unlock has certain skills associated with it. This section will serve as a quick reference tool. It will explain what each numbered Mantra (numbered in relation to the chart above) allows you to learn. Also, you'll find the price to unlock the Mantra and various other details. The final three Mantra downloads listed on this site are the 'secret' ones mentioned above, and do not appear on the chart. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |##| Name | Difficulty | Price | Skills Gained | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |01| Devourer | * | 1,000 | Devour [01a] | | | | | | Hell Thrust [01b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |02| Demon Beast | ** | 4,000 | Feed Frenzy [02a] | | | | | | Venom Fang [02b] | | | | | | Ingest Mana [02c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |03| Holy Beast | **** | 50,000 | Consume [03a] | | | | | | Hell Fang [03b] | | | | | | AP Divide [03c] | | | | | | Iron Stomach [03d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |04| Godly Beast | ***** | 300,000 | Insatiable [04a] | | | | | | Mind Scream [04b] | | | | | | Atmas Bonus [04c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |05| Wikipedia | ******* | 600,000 | Last Meal [05a] | | | | | | Blood Bath [05b] | | | | | | Devour Mana [05c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |06| Raksas | ** | 2,500 | Poison Dart [06a] | | | | | | Raving Slash [06b] | | | | | | Life Bonus [06c] | | | | | | Critical [06d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |07| Priestess | *** | 15,000 | Comatose [07a] | | | | | | Stun Needle [07b] | | | | | | Null Critical [07c] | | | | | | Quick Cure [07d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |08| Maiden | **** | 50,000 | Charm Slash [08a] | | | | | | Close Call [08b] | | | | | | MIN Critical [08c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |09| Queen | ***** | 150,000 | Sakura Rage [09a] | | | | | | Life Gain [09b] | | | | | | Phys Resist [09c] | | | | | | MAX Critical [09d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |10| Shura | * | 1,000 | Venom Claw [10a] | | | | | | Mad Rush [10b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |11| Battle Demon | ** | 4,000 | Devil Feast [11a] | | | | | | Death Spray [11b] | | | | | | Vile Blade [11c] | | | | | | Taunt [11d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |12| Demon Lord | *** | 25,000 | Ingest [12a] | | | | | | Power Wave [12b] | | | | | | Mute Blow [12c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |13| Demon God | **** | 100,000 | Great Feast [13a] | | | | | | Skull Cleave [13b] | | | | | | Chi Blast [13c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |14| Cruel Leader | ***** | 300,000 | Executioner [14a] | | | | | | Demon Rage [14b] | | | | | | Revelation [14c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |15| Amatsukami | ******* | 600,000 | Gate of Hell [15a] | | | | | | Phys Drain [15b] | | | | | | High Counter [15c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |16| Ogre | *** | 25,000 | Double Slash [16a] | | | | | | Counter [16b] | | | | | | First Strike [16c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |17| Violent God | **** | 100,000 | Death Blow [17a] | | | | | | Power Charge [17b] | | | | | | Void Phys [17c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |18| War God | ***** | 300,000 | Genocide [18a] | | | | | | Phys Repel [18b] | | | | | | Counterstrike [18c] | | | | | | Attack All [18d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |19| Fire Spirit | * | 1,000 | Agi [19a] | | | | | | Void Fire[19b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |20| Fire Demon | ** | 2,500 | Maragi [20a] | | | | | | Fire Boost [20b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |21| Fire Leader | *** | 10,000 | Agilao [21a] | | | | | | Flame Breath [21b] | | | | | | Fire Repel [21c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |22| Fire Lord | **** | 25,000 | Maragion [22a] | | | | | | Fire Drain [22b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |23| Fire Emperor | ***** | 100,000 | Agidyne [23a] | | | | | | Fire Amp [23b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |24| Fire God | ****** | 350,000 | Maragidyne [24a] | | | | | | Fire Resist [24b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |25| Ice Spirit | * | 1,000 | Bufu [25a] | | | | | | Void Ice [25b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |26| Ice Demon | ** | 2,500 | Mabufu [26a] | | | | | | Ice Boost [26b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |27| Ice Leader | *** | 10,000 | Bufula [27a] | | | | | | Frost Breath [27b] | | | | | | Ice Repel [27c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |28| Ice Wolf | **** | 25,000 | Mabufula [28a] | | | | | | Ice Drain [28b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |29| Ice Master | ***** | 100,000 | Bufudyne [29a] | | | | | | Ice Amp [29b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |30| Ice God | ****** | 350,000 | Mabufudyne [30a] | | | | | | Ice resist [30b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |31| Bolt Spirit | * | 1,000 | Zio [31a] | | | | | | Void Electric [31b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |32| Bolt Lord | ** | 2,500 | Mazio [32a] | | | | | | Elec Boost [32b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |33| Lightning | *** | 10,000 | Zionga [33a] | | | | | | Bolt Flare [33b] | | | | | | Elec Repel [33c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |34| Bolt Emperor | **** | 25,000 | Mazionga [34a] | | | | | | Elec Drain [34b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |35| Bolt Master | ***** | 100,000 | Ziodyne [35a] | | | | | | Elec Amp [35b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |36| Bolt God | ****** | 350,000 | Maziodyne [36a] | | | | | | Elec Resist [36b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |37| Dark Leader | ******* | 700,000 | Last Word [37a] | | | | | | Megidola [37b] | | | | | | Mind Charge [37c] | | | | | | Magic Repel [37d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |38| Dragon | * | 1,000 | Zan [38a] | | | | | | Void Force [38b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |39| Dragon Lord | ** | 2,500 | Mazan [39a] | | | | | | Force Boost [39b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |40| Hiten | *** | 10,000 | Zanma [40a] | | | | | | Shock Wave [40b] | | | | | | Force Repel [40c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |41| Sky Dragon | **** | 25,000 | Mazanma [41a] | | | | | | Force Drain [41b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |42| Sky Wizard | ***** | 100,000 | Zandyne [42a] | | | | | | Force Amp [42b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |43| Wind God | ****** | 350,000 | Mazandyne [43a] | | | | | | Force Resist [43b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |44| Earth Spirit | * | 1,000 | Tera [44a] | | | | | | Void Earth [44b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |45| Earth Shrine | ** | 2,500 | Matera [45a] | | | | | | Earth Boost [45b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |46| Earth Temple | *** | 10,000 | Terazi [46a] | | | | | | Avalanche [46b] | | | | | | Earth Repel [46c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |47| Earth Lord | **** | 25,000 | Materazi [47a] | | | | | | Earth Drain [47b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |48| Earth Emperor | ***** | 100,000 | Teradyne [48a] | | | | | | Earth Amp [48b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |49| Mother Earth | ****** | 350,000 | Materadyne [49a] | | | | | | Earth Resist [49b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |50| Protection | * | 1,000 | Dia [50a] | | | | | | Patra [50b] | | | | | | Analyze [50c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |51| Fallen Hero | ** | 10,000 | Media [51a] | | | | | | Posumudi [51b] | | | | | | Achedi [51c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |52| Fierce Spirit | *** | 15,000 | Diarama [52a] | | | | | | Paraladi [52b] | | | | | | Me Patra [52c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |53| Calm Spirit | **** | 100,000 | Mediarama [53a] | | | | | | Closdi [53b] | | | | | | Cursedi [53c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |54| Death Spirit | ***** | 250,000 | Diarahan [54a] | | | | | | Petradi [54b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |55| Adamant | ** | 3,000 | Dream Haze [55a] | | | | | | Foul Breath [55b] | | | | | | Void Charm [55c] | | | | | | Void Panic [55d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |56| Kichijyo | *** | 15,000 | Stun Sphere [56a] | | | | | | Void Poison [56b] | | | | | | Void Mute [56c] | | | | | | Null Panic [56d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |57| Vidya Raja | **** | 25,000 | Sonic Wave [57a] | | | | | | Stun Wave [57b] | | | | | | Void Nerve [57c] | | | | | | Null Charm [57d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |58| Holy Leader | ***** | 50,000 | Tentarafoo [58a] | | | | | | Null Mute [58b] | | | | | | Null Nerve [58c] | | | | | | Null Poison [58d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |59| Goddess | ******* | 500,000 | Allure [59a] | | | | | | Mediarahan [59b] | | | | | | Recarmdra [59c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |60| Hades | **** | 18,000 | Recarm [60a] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |61| Six Realms | ***** | 150,000 | Samarecarm [61a] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |62| Yaksa | ** | 3,000 | Mudo [62a] | | | | | | Void Death [62b] | | | | | | Quick Escape [62c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |63| Evil Spirit | *** | 25,000 | Mamudo [63a] | | | | | | Stone Gaze [63b] | | | | | | Curse [63c] | | | | | | Death Resist [63d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |64| Dark Spirit | **** | 100,000 | Mudoon [64a] | | | | | | Blood Curse [64b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |65| Death | ***** | 250,000 | Mamudoon [65a] | | | | | | Death Repel [65b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |66| Evil God | ******* | 500,000 | Debilitate [66a] | | | | | | Null Expel [66b] | | | | | | Null Death [66c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |67| Angel | ** | 3,000 | Hama [67a] | | | | | | Tarunda [67b] | | | | | | Void Expel [67c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |68| Thrones | *** | 15,000 | Mahama [68a] | | | | | | Sukunda [68b] | | | | | | Expel Resist [68c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |69| Cherubim | **** | 50,000 | Hamaon [69a] | | | | | | Rakunda [69b] | | | | | | Makatora [69c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |70| Seraphim | ***** | 150,000 | Mahamaon [70a] | | | | | | Makanda [70b] | | | | | | Expel Repel [70c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |71| Insane God | ******* | 500,000 | Xanadu [71a] | | | | | | Dekaja [71b] | | | | | | Dekunda [71c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |72| Spirit | *** | 15,000 | Pulinpa [72a] | | | | | | Makajam [72b] | | | | | | Dormina [72c] | | | | | | Tarukaja [72d] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |73| Karma | **** | 50,000 | Marin Karin [73a] | | | | | | Rakukaja [73b] | | | | | | Sukukaja [73c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |74| Illusion | ***** | 150,000 | Makajamon [74a] | | | | | | Calm Death [74b] | | | | | | Makakaja [74c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |75| Ancient God | *** | 15,000 | HP Thief [75a] | | | | | | MP Thief [75b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |76| Outer God | **** | 50,000 | Chakra Walk [76a] | | | | | | Mana Bonus [76b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |77| Secret God | ***** | 250,000 | Mana Gain [77a] | | | | | | Mana Walk [77b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |78| Mitama | **** | 20,000 | Shared Karma [78a] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |79| Soul | ***** | 75,000 | Mutual Karma [79a] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |80| Destroyer ^^ | ******** | 1,200,000 | Ragnarok [80a] | | | | | | Null Phys [80b] | | | | | | Life Surge [80c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |81| Dark Lord ^^ | ******** | 1,400,000 | Megidolaon [81a] | | | | | | Null Element [81b] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |82| Vicious God ^^ | ******** | 1,000,000 | Vanity [82a] | | | | | | Salvation [82b] | | | | | | Mana Surge [82c] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ^^ This Mantra will not appear until you have learned high-level skills that| | appear on the chart further up in this FAQ. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============== 006. Conclusion =============== This guide may not be as thorough as perhaps it could be, but it should give you a good idea of what your path should be as you train each of your characters. As always, keep in mind that though the game will allow you to customize any character as you see fit so that he or she is a virtual powerhouse, your time is best spent just maximizing those skills you'll find most valuable. There's not really much point in having one guy who has the best ice and fire skills in the game. But in the same token, it's worth learning how to defend against powerful skills of various other types. With some tinkering, you should find yourself playing through the game rather easily. Max out one elemental skill set for each character, learn some powerful healing and attack skills, and you're on your way. And if you need any help from there, well, you should consult a full walkthrough. ======================= 007. Copyright Concerns ======================= This FAQ may be posted only on sites listed immediately below. The list in the master FAQ is the only one you should reference when determining whether or not the FAQ is allowed to be posted on a given site. You can always find the master FAQ at its primary host site, HonestGamers.com. The following sites have permission to host this FAQ: HonestGamers.com GameFAQs.com NeoSeeker.com IGN.com DigitalDevilDB.com Please note that any other sites hosting this FAQ are doing so without my permission. If you see other sites hosting and they are not referenced in the list included in the 'master' edition of this FAQ, please let me know so that I can take appropriate action. If you would like to use this FAQ as a reference for a FAQ of your own that you are writing, you may do so provided you include proper reference to this FAQ (including a link back to its primary host site, HonestGamers.com). Thank you for your understanding.