Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Part #118

Part 118: Fatalize

Fatalize

So, time to kill off the other 3 people who can die. Just 'cause, I guess.

Note that for convenience, unlike before these one's won't stay dead the entire run. You'll see why when we get there.

But first, let's try something fun. New Game+ runs let you get quite large numbers. We've seen 6k before, 8k is more than doable but getting 5 digits at this point is also easy.

What isn't, though, is hitting the damage cap. It's 99,999 and I reckon that it is possible to hit. By stacking damage boosts you can get a damage multiplier of around 9.1x base damage at most but that's not viable since it requires using up a ton of slots (all 3 passives on one demon, a very specific auto-skill and your second demon also needs a specific race skill). A little over 6x is more sensible and easier to achieve, albeit only because it gives you some leeway with the third passive.

First, we need a demon who's base is level 99, and who also has 40 Magic. Now where can we find that...

Lucifer (Metatron + Loki only) will do quite nicely. This one isn't the permanent one who's going in the final compendium; he was made exclusively for this experiment.

There is one, and exactly one, enemy demon with a base level of one but there's very few chances to fight it. Even worse, we need to get Hibiki up to at least level 17 - a minimum of 20 magic is mandatory here.

Fortunately, the demon we want to fight against does come up in the first available free battle.

There he is, a level 1 Poltergeist. And it must be level 1; level difference affects damage output, but its based on their level vs your demon's base level.

So, how does this thing work? Well, notice how above Lucifer had both Elec Boost (1.2x multipler) and Elec Amp (1.5x multiplier), while our Poltergeist target has an Elec weakness (1.5x multiplier). These things all stack, and they can be boosted further by adding Enlightenment too (1.5x multiplier).

So, just from this alone we get a multiplier of 4.05x base damage.

...Sadly, this is not quite good enough to get as high as we want. So we need to add something else to it..

Like Magic Yin. Adds an extra 1.5x multiplier on top of what we've got already, bringing it to 6.075x base. Race-O would take it further by 1.5x (to 9.1125x) but the issue there is that Purple Mirror's the best ghost and he's only at level 61 at base.

So, does this extra added wrinkle work?

No. No it does not. 41k is more than enough to ruin anything and everything's day, though, so is that good enough?

Well, no. Not really. You'd have to have at least hit 99,999 before to know it's the cap right? It could be determined from these, but it might be 6 digits with no way of knowing for sure.

So, let's take an Action Replay and add this bizarre long code to the mix. This particular one is only for Hibiki (Team 1 leader but that's always Hibiki without exception) but it raises all of his stats to 255.

It also looks like a mess, but that's fine. If we take him like this...

Even with 255 in all of his stats, combined with the plethora of multipliers is still not enough to even outdamage Lucifer's attempt.

Because he was level 7. What if he wasn't, though? What if his level was raised a lot first and then the 255 stats was added?

...Yeah, that'd do it. Disappointing how the only way to actually hit the cap is to blatantly cheat, though. So, yeah, during normal play even when adding a ton of goofy shit it's not doable. If you could also add extra buffs or debuffs on top then it would work but sadly you can't stack Auto-Skills for obvious reasons.

Also notable, is that even with 255 in Magic and at level 99, it is still impossible to get a natural 999 MP.

Oh well, let's get over this disappointment by getting Keita killed.

[Music: Exploration]

Okay, so... Now's the time. Is Keita actually here?

...Not good. I don't see him anywhere. Did he wander off when we didn't show up...?

Hm...?

You follow Hinako's gaze to see a panicked man running towards you...

[Music: Countdown]

Calm down and explain.

This ain't no time to be calm! Some guy who protected me is fighting demons!

Oh...! I-Isn't this just like the death clip predicted...!?

...Yeah, this is bad news. It's exactly like the vid.

We have to save him!

[Music: Exploration]

K-Keita...?

Wow, you're good at this. I shouldn't have been panicking so much.

Of course I am! Are you touched in the head?

[Music: Countdown]

.....Huh. It really is our fault Keita died, and not just because we took too long. More because we distracted him at the worst moment.

D-Damn...

...! Keita! Hey, Keita...!

No...! Keita's... dead...!

Blah, blah, blah, miasmas, phones etc.

This map is the only one with any real significant change to it depending on if Keita lives or dies. That Waira that punked him wasn't just for show.

They're on the map too, and you can crack Force Dance off of it.

Before Merak.

If Keita lives, this isn't obtainable until the optional Ghost Q fight at the earliest. This sort of implicitly incentives killing Keita on a first playthrough.

Anyway, we kill the demons.

[Music: Requiem]

Oh... No, it's not your fault, Hinako. It was ours...

We got off on the wrong foot, but to see him actually die... If only we'd come sooner...

We were a little late... Haha... It's a tough break.

This can't be...

It seems Keita's death clip came true...

Hm...? Hey, you there...!

I was sent to get you, since you didn't show up at the main branch. Where's Keita, though?

Yeah, about that...

Joe explains to the JP's member about Keita's death...

I'll show you the way to the main branch. Let's head to Shinsekai first.

You all leave the area, mourning Keita's death...

Well, Keita died.

Time for likable people to join him. Joe goes ne- something seems off here.

[Music: Countdown]

Oh! You there, turn back! Th-There's demons that way!

Just demons?

Um... W-Wait! There were a few people who didn't get away, but we can't go back for them!

The man runs off as fast as he can...

Some demons showed up and a ton of people tried to run... It's total chaos!

Dammit... Joe might be here already! Let get over there!

...Don't be ridiculous! Now stand up! C'mon, Joe!

Dammit, I'm not going to let you do this!

Yes, that should do it.

[Music: Silence]

Waaaaaahhh...!

No! Joe!

...! You bastard!

Come on, stay with me!

[Music: Requiem]

......! Joe!

It's not your fault.

He... seemed to have been helping some civilians escape a demon attack...

...Even though his phone was out of batteries and he wasn't able to summon any demons...

Joe was helping them...? Really?

We saw it too.

You too...? I see. Yes, of course... You were Joe's friends too, after all.

...I swear on Joe's memory that I'll be stronger than this.

I shouldn't say this to JP's collaborators, but... I respect your power and your drive.

I truly hope, with all my heart, that a day will come when I can call you "friend."

Ronaldo leaves...

I couldn't do anything... We couldn't save Joe.

I hear you... but we can't be sorry for ourselves, either. Megrez is still out there.

Yeah... You're right. We need to wait for Yamato to contact us and then beat that thing...

Mmm-hmm... Let's give this all we have. For Joe's sake...

You all mourn Joe's death as you leave the area...

So, what about the one that's arguably the trickest but simultaneously the easiest to prevent? Most of the stuff for Io is completely identical regardless of whether she lives or dies. The pre-fight scene, the fight itself and even the summoning the Dragon bit all goes the exact same way no matter what.

[Music: Countdown]

What comes next, though, is where the differences lie.

Your cell phone rings...

Loud and clear.

Good to hear. The Dragon Stream has turned into a dragon to capture Mizar.

Mizar is clinging to a building. You must climb it and rip off its tentacles.

We're not in any particular hurry, but the Dragon Stream's time in this form is limited.

Hibiki... Find the right moment to head to that building and finish Mizar.

Hmph... Now's the time! I've had enough of being underestimated...

[Music: Requiem]

What's the matter?

Oh... Hibiki... Io isn't... w-waking up... She's...

Haha... No way! This is just a joke, right? Io? Right?

Nitta...! Wake up, Nitta! Wake up!

Io!

Well, uh... that's, um, a bit... different to the death clip. And, er, every other death.

...! Dammit...

Io...!

Ah... Huh...? Seriously...?

Calm down.

No... It's impossible... Seriously, I just can't...

Dammit, dammit, dammit... God damn it!

You mourn Io's death as you leave the area...

Surprisingly, this is the only time a new event gets added if someone does die. Unlike normal, we can't immediately go kick the crap outta Mizar. Instead, we're railroaded into a different scene.

[Music: Elegy]

Dammit... I can't believe this! We came so far together...

And now this happens. Wasn't there anything more we could have done...?

Mm... Yeah... We got her death clip, and we still couldn't stop it...

Oh... Hey, Hibiki. What brings you here?

It's pretty sad.

Haha... I still can't believe it. She must've been so scared, told to be Lugh's medium...

She had to face all that fear and anxiety by herself. I'm still kicking myself for that.

I... wish I'd talked to her more. I should've tried to understand her fears more...

Maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this. No use now, I guess...

I'm sorry.

Oh, no, I didn't mean it was your fault. We're all to blame here. But...

Even if the world turns out okay... When I think about Io not being there...

We still have to try.

Mm... I get what you're saying, but I think Io would be sad to see us upset like this.

Okay. I'm gonna keep at it... for Io. Hopefully that'll make her happy...

Sure, yeah. Then let's table the brooding for now. We'll mourn her when it's all over.

It seems your friends have pulled themselves together...

So, that's all 6 possible deaths from Death Clips. Plus Ronaldo, Yamato and Alcor on the appropriate routes brings a total of 9 possible deaths, with a maximum of 5 on any one run (3 clips plus Ronaldo and Yamato on Alcor's route).

Before we head on into Daichi's route and prepare to finish things off, let's take a quick look at our current Fate progress here. This is actually a little bit better than where we absolutely need to be for something a bit later. There is one more Fate related thing we can get, discounting the Fate 5 emails at the end of Day 7 (still need Jungo and Hinako to 5 for that one though), but that's not for a little while.

Alright, now, let's begin our final route.