[This article was written for base SMT V. SMT V Vengeance update coming soon™]
With Shin Megami Tensei V being released this past week, I’ve been playing through the game and wanted to make this post to share some of the Demon Builds I’ve been using. I’ll try to update this post when I can with newer builds.
All the Demons here have both Abyssal Mask and Enduring Soul, mainly for the DLC Demi-Fiend fight, which has a lot of random Insta-Kill moves. Similarly, some of the supports don’t have Boon Boost/Boon Boost EX, because Dekaja and Dekunda are used so frequently in that fight. But if you’re not concerned with Demi-Fiend, you change these builds however you like.
Related:
[I’m making a new post for SMTVV stuff, but this’ll do for now:]
Konohana Sakuya
Qadistu
Agrat, Naamah, Lilith, Eisheth
Idun
Idun is one of the best Demons to get mid-way through the game as she learns Golden Apple, a full-party buff and heal. It’s a really strong skill for this point in the game, allowing her to stay useful to the very end. It costs a ton of MP, but you basically only use it in boss fights anyways. I added Boon Boost, Mana Spring and Resist Elec to her skill set. Here’s a quick video on building her:
Yoshitsune
Hassou Tobi competes with the endgame Phys skills, and always lands a critical hit, granting you an extra press turn. This combined with the fact you can fuse Yoshitsune at Level 45, makes him a great Demon to use.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra, a DLC Demon, makes for a great de-buffer. Her skill Frolic can charm enemies, in addition to lowering their attack/defense by 2 stages. She has great stats, resistances, skill potentials, really no downsides. The only case where Cleopatra isn’t good is when a boss nulls Charm, thus blocking Frolic, but luckily not too many bosses pose that issue.
Shiva
Shiva’s Tandava is a really useful move because it lowers enemy defense to the minimum. Even if they’re at +1 or +2 defense, it automatically puts them at -2. This effect is very handy in the Demi-Fiend fight, and makes Shiva a great Demon to keep around. I added Donum Gladi to buff Nahobino at times, since I ran a Strength build.
Nuwa
Nuwa, a NG+ exclusive Demon, is the best Force Demon in the game. Her skill Sacrifice of Clay can do a good amount of damage, lower enemies’ attack/defense by 1 stage and, if the foe is weak to Wind, create extra press turns. Safeguard is on here so you can use the move in the Demi-Fiend fight, without losing turns due to Null/Repel/Absorb.
Demeter
Demeter is another support Demon, her skill Eleusinian Harvest heals the entire party to 130% of their max HP. This can help a lot in boss fights to help you live more hits. Note: Even though Demeter learns High Heal Pleroma, it doesn’t do anything for her Eleusinian Harvest skill.
Alice
Alice isn’t the absolute best Dark-based Demon in the game, but you get her at Level 40 and she can hold her own for a long time.
Metatron
Fire of Sinai offers the highest Almighty damage outside of MC. The downside being, it has random targeting and doesn’t have a secondary effect like Tandava.
Beelzebub
One of the best Dark-based Demons, along with Mephisto, due to Death Flies.
Amon
Best Fire Demon due to Megido Flame.
Inanna
Inanna’s a Demon that’s locked behind the Chaos Route. She gets 4 strong moves in Fire, Ice, Elec and Wind, but I decided to focus her on the Ice skill. This due to the fact that there isn’t another Demon with a strong, unique Ice move. The best Ice option outside of Inanna is probably Gabriel, as she learns High Ice Pleroma and starts at +5 Ice Potential.
Zeus
Best Elec Demon due to Keraunos.
Fionn mac Cumhail
Fionn’s unique move isn’t the absolute strongest, but it has a cool animation and I liked him throughout the story, so I decided to build him.
