Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Evolution FAQ (English Version) FAQ Version 1.0.2 - 2005-01-12 In depth FAQ, compiled by SnyperWolf. Gamefaqs Board Name: SnyperWolf Email: SnyperWolf@yahoo.com Note: This FAQ was written for the US version of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne on the first play though, on normal difficulty. Menu: i. Legal ii. Thanks iii. Version History 1. General Information on Evolving 2. Specific Demon Information 3. Evolving and Fusion --- i. Legal --- All information in this FAQ was written by me, SnyperWolf, or quoted from another Gamefaqs user with permission. I retain all rights as governed by the United States of America. Sites Allowed to post this FAQ: www.gamefaqs.com www.neoseeker.com If you would like to post this on your site, or see this posted on any other sites, please email me at the address listed above. --- ii. Thanks --- A big thanks to Falconer and Amarande from the Gamefaqs message boards www.Gamefaqs.com). Without their information, this FAQ would not be possible at all. Also, a big thanks to Jeff "CJayC" Veasey, creator and owner of Gamefaqs. With out these board, I would not have even thought of creating this FAQ. --- iii. Version History --- Version 1.0.0 - Initial Version Version 1.0.1 - Some minor editing was done before a second attempt to get this FAQ on GameFAQs Version 1.0.2 - Added Neoseeker to the allowed site listing --- 1. General Information on Evolving --- Q: What is Evolution and why is it important? A: In SMT: Nocturne, some demons can evolve and others can't. There are a total of 24 known evolving demons. Evolution is very useful because that demon receives a level and stat boast, almost all old skills are retained, new skills can be learned, and often times there is a boast to the demons void, strong, and absorb attributes. I personally prefer this over fusion because many times you find a demon that has all the attributes and skills that you would like, but all demons level up much slower than your character does. So, these creatures will become weak as you progress in the game, and eventually need to be replaced with a stronger demon. Evolution will allow you to retain this creature with a boast to it's usefulness. According to Amarande, an evolved demon cannot be created through fusion, ever. So to complete that compendium, you are going to need to evolve all the demons that can be evolved. (See section 2 for individual details on what demons evolve.) Q: How do you evolve a demon? A: Evolutions only occur under these conditions. 1. The demon must be one that can evolve. Use "Divining Water" to discover this or check the listing in section 2. Another way to tell that a demon is about to evolve is that they will "show signs of change" up to 3 levels before they actually evolve. 2. The demon must already have all of their skills learned. The skills yet to learn are listed on the status page of the menu to the right of the known skills. 3. The level that the demon evolves to can be no more than 4 levels above the level of the main character. Please note that some demons will show no signs of change at all until you are within this 4 level grace period. How do you know what level these demons will evolve to? Well, that is what this FAQ is for. 4. Some demons will not evolve until you beat a specific boss. The specific demons are listed in section 4. Once all of these conditions are met, the demon should evolve on the next level up. Q: Help! My demon isn't evolving! I have very specific set of circumstances .... A: If you can't get a demon to evolve that you know should, the simplest thing to do is to try to level yourself and the demon up again. If this does not work, simply drop the demon into your stock for a while and continue playing the game. After a couple hours, summon the demon again and fight with it until it levels up again. This should solve about 95% of the problems people have with evolution. --- 2. Specific Demon Information --- Example: Old Demon (lowest level to evolve) --> New Demon (starting new level) Fairy Pixie (6) --> Fairy High Pixie (10) Fairy High Pixie (16) --> Night Queen Mab (56) Night Lilim (8) --> Night Lilith (80) Beast Inugami (17) --> Avatar Makami (22) Snake Nozuchi (18) --> Dragon Gui Xian (24) Beast Nekomata (22) --> Holy Senri (27) Yoma Koppa (24) --> Yoma Karasu (28) Yoma Karasu (33) --> Genma Kurama (38) Brute Momunofu (24) --> Vile Arahabaki (30) Yoma Dis (27) --> Wargod Valkyrie (33) Snake Naga (32) --> Snake Naga Raja (37) Snake Mizuchi (38) --> Dragon Long (44) Yoma Onkot (42) --> Genma Hanuman (46) Genma Hanuman (50) --> Fury Wu Kong (54) Fairy Setanta (48) --> Genma Cu Chulainn (52) Yoma Jinn (48) --> Yoma Efreet (52) Megami Sati (52) --> Lady Parvati (57) Yoma Purski (53) --> Wargod Ganesha (58) Beast Sparna (58) --> Avian Garuda (63) Jirae Gogmagog (60) --> Entity Albion* (64) Divine Throne (68) --> Seraph Uriel* (73) Megami Scathach (69) --> Lady Skadi* (74) Tyrant Abaddon (74) --> Tyrant Aciel* (77) Tyrant Beelzebub (86) --> Tyrant Beelzebub (fly form)* (95) * All of these demons are bosses that must be defeated before you can evolve to them. Thanks to Falconer for the information above. The Japanese names are also available on IKelley's JIS walkthrough on Gamefaqs. Some notable demons are listed below: Vile Arahabaki -------------- Repel: Ice Null: Phys / Expel / Death Weak: All Other Stats: Strong Attack and Vitality, low Agility. What makes this guy awesome is the fact that this demon is completely void against physical attacks and skills. Try to acquire him just before entering Ikebukuro because most demons in this area use physical attacks. What brings him down is magical attacks (besides Ice, of course). (More to come as I evolve them) --- 3. Evolving and Fusion --- Evolving a fused demon, or fusing an evolved demon has some interesting qualities beyond regular fusion or evolution. These are some of the notes that I picked up; please do not take them as gospel. * According to Amarande, "if you sacrifice fuse for an evolvable demon so that the fusion makes it high enough level that it should already evolve, it still will not do so immediately upon fusion. It will be able to do so on its next level up." * Occasionally, a skill will not carry over during evolution. These are usually skills that were extra skills gained through fusion. However, the vast majority of skills carry over. * According to Amarande, if you get a demon to a state that it is one or more levels above the level that it would evolve to, then it will retain that level once evolving. This is normally done with a demon that you sacrifice fuse to create, or with a demon that will not evolve until after a boss is defeated. Example: Yoma Koppa normally evolves from level 24 to 28. A Koppa that levels up to level 30 and then evolves will still be level 30 after evolution. * According to Amarande, "Evolved demons do retain their 'earned experience' total from their previous form(s) for purposes of determining how much exp is passed on should they be sacrificed later."