Having the correct support demons can make all the difference in a Shin Megami Tensei game. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of buffs and debuffs in these games, especially in tough sub or main boss battles, to the point where the entire encounter can be completely swung through their usage. Experienced SMT players will understand just how important it is to get great supportive demons as soon as possible, and they’ll likely spend a great deal of time fusing the very best for themselves, but for players new to the series the massive Compendium can be quite intimidating. Thus, today we’re writing about some of the very best supportive demons that we could find throughout SMT5.
5. Neko Shogun
Our first choice is likely to surprise quite a few players, because this is a demon that you can find at the lowly level of 5, and such things are surely unlikely to serve your team for much in the early game, right? In almost any other situation we would agree with you, however it’s worth noting that Neko Shogun has access to all three forms of enemy debuff in its kit, making it tremendously valuable throughout the tough early portion of SMT5.
First up is Rakunda, which lowers the defence of a single target. Secondly it has access to Sukunda, which decreases the agility of a single target, and finally it learns Fang Breaker, which reduces the attack of a target! Often only one or two of these are relevant, especially the attack and defence in the early game, but having all of them on a single demon is a fantastic bonus. All of this makes it a great idea to level up Neko Shogun and keep him around for a while.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Rakunda, which reduces the defence of one target.
- Learns Sukunda at level 6, which reduces the agility of one target.
- Learns Fang Breaker at level 8, which is a physical skill that reduces the attack of a single target.
- Bonus innate knowledge of the weak single target heal, Dia!
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4. Koropokkur
We’ll be the first to admit that the unassuming, leaf-wielding lad Koropokkur often doesn’t inspire a great deal of confidence in an SMT title. It tends to be a mainstay of the series, but is quickly resigned to fusion fodder due to a lack of significant beneficial skills, outside of a single elemental spell of sorts. Happily SMT 5 has promoted the little fella to something of a more important role, that being a great support demon for the beginning of the mid game. Unfortunately, at this point in the game you’re not likely to have access to great group buffs or debuffs yet, so we’re still looking at similar benefits to our first choice, which if anything is a testament to how good Neko Shogun is to be honest.
What you do get with Koropokkur however, is some powerful ice skills, one buff, one debuff and a very valuable escape skill. Trafuri is the name of the latter, and it guarantees escape from any normal battle, which will come in handy more often than you or indeed we would like to admit. Tarunda becomes available at level 28, which reduces the attack of one enemy, and Tarukaja is a buff that increases one allies’ attack, which Koropokkur innately knows. Finally, the medium single target ice skill Bufula and the light group version Mabufu are also innately known. All of this combines to make Koropokkur a great choice for supporting your team, and specifically for buffing a protagonist that’s focusing on high damage skills.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Tarukaja, which increases the attack rating of a single ally, which is great for an offensive protagonist.
- Learns Tarunda at level 28, which decreases the attack of one enemy.
- Learns Trafuri at level 27, which guarantees escape from a regular battle.
- Also innately knows the ice skills Bufula and Mabufu, which gives a great support demon some useful attacking options!
3. Oyamatsumi
As you begin to progress through the real meat of the SMT 5 mid game, not only will the value of buffs and debuffs be truly understood, but you’ll also realise just how many difficult battles feature more than one target. Given both of these points, it would be prudent to get yourself a supportive party demon that’s capable of stripping away the statistics of an entire enemy team, or indeed buffing the entirety of yours. Oyamatsumi, then, is a great option that we’ve identified for this purpose.
The main benefits are Matarukaja and Marakukaja, which will buff the Attack and Defence of your entire team respectively. This is a great way to ensure that your team is operating at peak performance, and it backs up these skills with the powerful Ice Dracostrike skill, and even learns a full HP revive, which will no doubt come in handy as you progress towards the end of the mid game. Having one demon with such powerful buffs, alongside a few good utility skills, is a great benefit at this point.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Matarukaja, which is the group attack buff.
- Learns Marakukaja at level 41, which is the group defence buff.
- Learns Samarecarm, the full HP revive spell, at level 43.
- Also innately knows the powerful Ice Dracostrike and learns the less-than-fantastic Crusher Onslaught at level 42.
2. Lachesis
Before you get to the absolute late game, in which you’ll no doubt worship at the altar of Luster Candy, you’ll be looking for a demon that can provide you with as much buff utility as possible with which to support the team. Unfortunately there is no perfect option in this regard, so you’re essentially going to have to make one from a useful base, which is where Lachesis comes into play. Having access to some tremendously powerful buffs and backing them up with the Boon Boost passive is fantastic at this point in the game, and you can add to its repertoire of skills wherever you need.
In terms of its own skills, Lachesis knows both Masukukaja and Matarukaja, which provide the entire team with Agility and Attack respectively. These are by far the most important of the three regular buffs, and whilst we could see an argument for party defence being a priority on hard mode, this can be given to Lachesis via an Essence easily. Building on this, Lachesis also knows Donum Magici, which is a single target buff that vastly increases the magic damage done by an ally on their next cast, which is ideal for those looking to super power a magic wielding protagonist. Of course, this is all accompanied by the fantastic Boon Boost passive, which increases the duration of buffs and debuffs by an additional round, making this particular demon all the more powerful in drawn out encounters.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Masukukaja, the party Agility buff.
- Innately knows Matarukaja, the party Attack buff.
- Innately knows Domun Magici, the single target Magic buff, which we should note is superior to Concentrate in this game due to it’s choice of targets and similarity in power. Why wait a round when you can buff and attack in one?
- Learns Boon Boost and level 59, which increases the duration of buffs and debuffs by an additional round.
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1. Lakshmi
Speaking of Luster Candy, which is a skill that applies all three main buffs to the party at once, what if you could find a demon that features both this and Boon Boost? Well look no further than Lakshmi, otherwise known as our favourite late game support. Yes you could just level up a certain apple basket toting healer, or route permitting perhaps have another supportive option of sorts, but Lakshmi will do the job no matter your choices to this point. Plus, this particular demon comes with a bucketload of additional benefits to boot.
First up, Lakshmi will learn the aforementioned Luster Candy, which combines with her Boon Boost skill to give you four rounds of full party buffs, essentially freeing the rest of your team up to focus on other options. Building on this however, Lakshmi also has access to a full party, full HP heal in Mediarahan, and even the top level versions of both Force and Light spells, being Hamabarion and Zanbarion! It even learns Mana Aid to restore MP after every battle, and has +3 in Support, Light, Force and Healing to reduce the MP cost of every spell! Truly, Lakshmi is a swiss army knife for the late game team, providing pretty much everything you could want from a support in one convenient package.
Demon Benefits
- Learns Luster Candy at level 71, which applies all three main buffs to the party at once.
- Learns Boon Boost at level 73, which increases the duration of buffs and debuffs by one additional round.
- Innately knows Mediarahan, the full HP party heal.
- Innately knows Mana Aid, which restores MP after battles.
- Access to both Hamabarion and Zanbarion, the heavy Light and Force spells.
- +3 in Support, Healing, Light and Force Affinities, reducing all MP costs.
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Categories: Shin Megami Tensei 5