Modern RPG games not named Shin Megami Tensei often consider a healer to be well.. Optional. Oh sure, party members will often have access to healing spells, and the occasional Dragon Quest entry might come along that allows practically everyone to play health restorer, but the days of a dedicated healer are on the decline to say the least. Shin Megami Tensei 5 however, will swiftly and mercilessly decide to kill you if you do not have a dedicated healer, due to pretty much every boss having a huge health pool, massive damage output and a diverse spell selection. Abusing weaknesses to get press turns will only get you so far here, and you’ll swiftly find that even regular battles can last more than a few rounds, so we’ve put together a small selection of our favourite bar-fillers to help you on your way.
4. Angel
Ironically enough, our first recommendation doesn’t even feature a single target heal. Dia is the basic version of a single heal, and whilst you’ll certainly be a little confused at its absence here, what you get in return is absolutely worth it. Humble Blessing is a skill that is entirely individual to Angel, and one that was absolutely created for the early game of SMT5. This skill is essentially a slightly weaker version of Media, which is the first main group heal in the game, however Humble Blessing is innately known by Angel at level 10, whereas the former is at best available at level 18. This makes it the ideal healer for the first fifth or so of the game, and the fact that the spell costs less than half of a Media cast, it’s actually worth keeping in your team for as long as possible. Hell, it even has the single target Light skill Hama, so you can even make it work offensively.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Humble Blessing, which is a slightly weaker version of Media, but costs less than half of the MP.
- Learns Patra, which cleanses ailments, at level 11.
- Also learns Recarm, which resurrects an ally, at level 13.
- Innately knows the single target Light spell, Hama.
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3. Parvati
It’s a testament to our first choice – Angel – that the next healer highlight is a whopping 25 levels higher at its base level. As you might imagine, it’d take something very special to follow it up with, and happily this is what we’ve found in Parvati. Once again however, players might be a little surprised that the demon only comes with one heal, which in this case is Media. This may at first seem rather weak, especially when the mid game of SMT5 is so harsh on your health bars, however Parvati also learns Heal Pleroma at level 36, which passively increases all healing done by 20%!
What you have here then, is a natural progression from Angel in the early game. Having a Media spell that is 20% stronger, but on a higher level demon, essentially gives you the same benefit; it’s a cheap spell, it’ll heal for enough thanks to the passive, and you can stretch its usefulness out for a long time. Plus, throwing any spare healing spells onto Parvati will instantly increase their impact thanks to Heal Pleroma. Its long term usefulness however, will depend on your completion of a certain subquest for our next choice.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Media, which is the base group heal.
- Learns Heal Pleroma at level 36, which boosts healing done by 20%. This extends the effectiveness of Media by a great deal, making it essentially a budget version of Mediarama.
- Also innately knows Matarunda , which reduces the attack of the entire enemy team.
2. Idun
Yes that’s right, everyone’s favourite apple-farm girl is making an appearance, and it’s all because of that damned unique skill of hers: Golden Apple. Technically speaking, this skill is tremendously powerful, because not only does it heal the team for the equivalent of a Mediarama, but it also applies a single stack of every single buff (Luster Candy, essentially). Being able to buff the entire team whilst healing it for a good amount is immensely powerful, and it’ll make Idun feel almost essential upon their recruitment.
It is worth considering a note of caution however. Whilst this skill is very powerful, the MP costs are absolutely massive, at over 100 MP per cast. This will drain your total very, very quickly, especially at this point in the game, and if you insist on bringing it to every battle, it’ll leave you jonesing for consumables again and again. Our recommendation then, is to bring it out in difficult situations, but to keep a regular healer in reserve, like our previous choice, Parvati. She can keep the team going through long dungeons and exploration, whilst Idun can make an appearance in beefy, long battles. Undeniably powerful due to the unique skill then, but not without pitfalls.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Golden Apple. This is a combination of Mediarama and Luster Candy, and heals the entire team for a great deal whilst applying all three main buffs.
- Something like Mana Aid is essential if you’re going to keep it as a main healer, or at the very least teach it a cheaper healing spell of sorts for regular battles.
- Learns Diamrita at level 43, which combines Diarama and Amrita, to heal a single target whilst removing ailments.
- Please teach it something that restores Mana, or reduces costs etc. Mana Aid or Light Mana Aid is a great idea here. Energy Drain will do well too, though this is not available until a bit later in the game.
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1. Demeter
Were you to have used Idun for a while, or indeed played any SMT game for a good deal of time, then you’ll no doubt be aware of the power associated with buffing your team. You’ll also now likely be questioning exactly what could be better than a demon that does both this and heal the team for a great amount. Well, how about a demon that can do all of this and more besides? Enter Demeter, the ultimate in late game healing demons. You’ll have to complete the “A Plot Revealed” sub question, but it’s certainly worth it.
To immediately allay your concern, Demeter will learn Luster Candy, which applies all three buffs to your team. Alongside this however, is the unique skill Eleusinian Harvest, which heals the entire team to a total of their max HP +30%! This is essentially the best group heal in the game, and it costs exactly the same as a Mediarahan, which only fully heals to your current max. Granted, the MP costs for both this and Luster Candy are high, but you’ll have a lot more options for MP regeneration in the late game, and having buffs separate to healing will actually become more useful here. Capping all of this off, Demeter has High Heal Pleroma, which boosts healing done by a massive 35%, and even access to a few of the highest rank Wind and Light spells, being Mazanbarion and Hamabarion, which give it some useful offensive options.
Demon Benefits
- Innately knows Eleusinian Harvest, which heals the entire team to 30% higher than their max HP, for the same cost as a Mediarahan! This is essentially the best group heal in the entire game.
- Innately knows Diamrita, which heals a single target and cleanses ailments at the same time.
- Learns Luster Candy at level 77, which applies all three main buffs to the entire party.
- Learns High Heal Pleroma at level 79, which increases healing done by 35%.
- Innate access to high level Light and Wind spells, in Hamabarion and Maziobarion.
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