Final 10 days left... with only 3 max bonds...

[Kurusu]

So yeah...I really dont know what to do now since Im at the final days before october 22 and the only max bonds I have are the first 3 members. I feel like i already know the answer but is it even possible to complete my bonds before the deadline and still have enough time to do some dungeons, or am i gonna do a ng+ for it. To add info I did hard mode on my first blind playthrough and uh...I didnt 1 day clear...most dungeons...yeah. Really bumbed out by this especially after that annoying ice dragon fight

[Blunette]

Yeah no, it's not physically possible for you to fix your Bonds by that point. Even if you did two-day dungeons for every Deadline dungeon, the math doesn't add up quite right. Did you not use all your days 'productively'? By productive, I mean always doing something to improve your Hero or help set up. For example, if you're stuck waiting after clearing a Deadline Dungeon, did you not use those days to improve your Virtues or pursue other Bonds? Did you just go straight to Sleep every chance you got or something?

I mean, I hate to say it, but it sounds like you didn't manage your time very effectively. On the one hand, New Game Plus will allow you to carry over your Mag/Archetype levels/money/items/Virtues, but... Well, NG+ is also kind of going to obliterate any chance of a challenge outside of the 'Lavos Bucket' Or rather, the Red Book in Akademia.

[Kurusu]

Originally posted by Blunette:

Yeah no, it's not physically possible for you to fix your Bonds by that point. Even if you did two-day dungeons for every Deadline dungeon, the math doesn't add up quite right. Did you not use all your days 'productively'? By productive, I mean always doing something to improve your Hero or help set up. For example, if you're stuck waiting after clearing a Deadline Dungeon, did you not use those days to improve your Virtues or pursue other Bonds? Did you just go straight to Sleep every chance you got or something?

I mean, I hate to say it, but it sounds like you didn't manage your time very effectively. On the one hand, New Game Plus will allow you to carry over your Mag/Archetype levels/money/items/Virtues, but... Well, NG+ is also kind of going to obliterate any chance of a challenge outside of the 'Lavos Bucket' Or rather, the Red Book in Akademia.

Yeah I did improve my stats and did bonds during the down time of the main quests, although some down times are a bit shorter than others, like with the Virga island dungeon, I had like only a few days but because I did some dungeons, quests, and bonds before finishing the dungeon. Also some dungeons aren't 2 days clear...sometimes it took me 3...maybe 4. But yeah I get your point, this is a really bad first playthrough.

[Blunette]

Probably just need to practice better MP efficiency for dungeons then. Rushing Masked Dancer's Follower to Rank 2, using Brawler/Merchant skills for Money/HP instead of MP, downranking your skills if need be (There is a world of difference between 4 and 10 MP a pop on Squad battles if you're only going for coverage), etc.

First-times through SMT games, especially if one isn't quite used to it, are gonna be rough. Time-management games on top of that.

[Chronic Complainer Reviews]

Originally posted by Kurusu:

So yeah...I really dont know what to do now since Im at the final days before october 22 and the only max bonds I have are the first 3 members. I feel like i already know the answer but is it even possible to complete my bonds before the deadline and still have enough time to do some dungeons, or am i gonna do a ng+ for it. To add info I did hard mode on my first blind playthrough and uh...I didnt 1 day clear...most dungeons...yeah. Really bumbed out by this especially after that annoying ice dragon fight

Thats a bummer. My 1st playthrough was also on hard, But by time I made to to the final boss, I had all characters at level 80, all my allies had all their unlocked archetypes maxed, including their royal one, but I still had plenty of unrequired archetypes on allies not even unlocked yet. I had my virtues maxed as well. I didn't max 2 of the bonds until the game was about to end, seems their dependent on story progression on top of virtues.

I really don't know how its possible to only have 3 maxed by the end of the game, but I guess if you struggled a ton on the large dungeons, taking multiple days that could explain it.

My 1st playthrough I quit that playthrough as soon as I went to Brigittes quest dungeon with Goblins double + my level. I ended up doing the exact same thing the second playthrough, but not only at a higher level by time I had the option to go there, but I also understood why the goblins were wrecking my face If I didn't kill them before stun ended.

From this point till the final area of the game, I was always 3 levels above any enemies level in the area, and as such could auto kill them in the open world. I did this by intentionally abusing various farming points throughout the story to gain a level advantage. Ie the crystals that spawn infinite enemies. Due to this, I was able to complete any dungeon in the story in 1 or two days, depending if the story forced you to leave and come back.

My protagonist was a Merchant as soon as I unlocked it, and was a mage before that so I could get MP recovery when killing enemies in the over world. All my team mates were support, Heismey just to dodge and drain turn icons, Junna with Trickster mask to debuff, remove buffs, and apply weaknesses to ice and fire, and Hulkenberg as tank with mediline for healing. My protagonist just used the stronger version of gold attack with a weapon boosting its power, and an item that doubled crit damage.

Having beaten the game though and seeing what some of the other damaging characters can do, I likely wouldn't use merchant again. Merchant is weak, but can hit anything, however the damage does not scale well, even with max attack boost, and max defense reduction on enemies. I think I was hitting 6k crits, but Wanton Destruction for example on Basilio can hit over 9999, which I thought was the max possible damage you could do in a single hit. The protagonist as a prince gets access to a skill that does 9999 to all enemies, but costs a lot of mana and drains 3 party members turn icons. You can reduce the turn icon cost, but the mana cost is too much to drain from 3 people.

Anyways Im doing my regicide run currently. I don't think I'll have much problems, so I'll be trying to use the other allies in different roles, as well as the protagonist.

[Kurusu]

I think I might just restart from the beginning and improve my dungeon runs. It really feels like I've done so many wrong decisions and it won't feel fulfilling if I finish the game that way. I'll use a guide this time so I can keep track of dates easier

[a passerby]

I'm on my first playthrough as well and maxed out all bonds in September. Also on hard.
On top of the Mage overworld passive, there's also Junah's bond and Thief's Plunder Magic to maintain MP.

The only 2 areas that MP becomes an issue is the grand cathedral and Dragon Temple. I did every dungeon in 1 day, although Dragon Temple took me over 5 hours to complete. And TBH, I did a ton of save scumming as well.

I wouldn't fret about it too much if you're going for a NG+ run.

[Kurusu]

Originally posted by a passerby:

I'm on my first playthrough as well and maxed out all bonds in September. Also on hard.
On top of the Mage overworld passive, there's also Junah's bond and Thief's Plunder Magic to maintain MP.

The only 2 areas that MP becomes an issue is the grand cathedral and Dragon Temple. I did every dungeon in 1 day, although Dragon Temple took me over 5 hours to complete. And TBH, I did a ton of save scumming as well.

I wouldn't fret about it too much if you're going for a NG+ run.

Nah not really, I might as well just restart the whole game. It just really bothers me on how much I messed up

[Rammy]

If you have doubts on what to do during a day you should always check what people online did, if you still have doubts or cant pick one there is a guide with full schedule of the game to follow. On top of that you should always focus on unlocking the hp/mp restoration passive in overworld and avoiding destroying the spawns(OFC you're free to destroy them once you think its enough) so you can farm exp and replenish your resources ( beside getting extra mag and money) Which can take you a while but in the long run its better having extra and not need it than having none and needing it.

What I always did in dungeons was going back and forth from entrance to point i was stuck so I'd be able to get more exp and onward with the dungeon, took a while but it worked for me.

[Kurusu]

Originally posted by Rammy:

If you have doubts on what to do during a day you should always check what people online did, if you still have doubts or cant pick one there is a guide with full schedule of the game to follow. On top of that you should always focus on unlocking the hp/mp restoration passive in overworld and avoiding destroying the spawns(OFC you're free to destroy them once you think its enough) so you can farm exp and replenish your resources ( beside getting extra mag and money) Which can take you a while but in the long run its better having extra and not need it than having none and needing it.

What I always did in dungeons was going back and forth from entrance to point i was stuck so I'd be able to get more exp and onward with the dungeon, took a while but it worked for me.

I'll keep those in mind, I didnt know those on my first few dungeons so I just brute force stuff and wasting sp much mp that i have to go back another day.

I'm set in restarting from the beginning with a guide but i'll do it on a later date cuz life is getting busier- (not because i still feel bad ahahhahahha)

Feel free to give more tips to improve my technically second run after I set this post as answered.

[Blunette]

Originally posted by Kurusu:

Feel free to give more tips to improve my technically second run after I set this post as answered.

Pick up the Water by the Magla Hollow in the Mines and promptly kill the dragon (use Grius as a Mage to abuse his massive MP pool up until the dragon fight itself, switch him to Warrior then to tank Fire attacks. He's not doing much with all that MP as a Warrior/Seeker from the start since half the enemies resist Slash and the other half are too fat to one-round without Blizz access). Burn your very first free day sitting on the Bench and then helping Fabienne in the kitchen for the Nidia's quest. That'll set your Wisdom to 2 on Day 2, which means you get the dragon's sword online. That sword plus Perfect Punch inherited from Brawler is perfect coverage for NO MP COST on your Warrior (who is probably Strohl) until the end of the dungeon's humans. Teach Perfect Punch to Hulkenburg as well, throw Bot or Blizz on your Hero for Healer (since rushing Healer 10 should be priority 1 on a fresh file, heck I'd go further just for Dekunda access) and you can then promptly one-day the Cathedral. It shouldn't cost more than 8 MP to clear most Squad Battles and Knight's First Aid will easily help patch things up, not like Hulkenburg's gonna use her MP much anyway since Knight has no offensive skills 'till 20.

Prioritize Followers, then Virtue. You can probably 'ignore' Courage boosts since you'll naturally get those off quest rewards/bounties up to a point but it's probably worth pumping Wisdom by playing games with Hulkenburg when you can since she requires Rank 4 rather quickly (In comparison to Strohl who only needs Rank 3 in Imagination, big difference). Immediately rush Junah to Rank 2 if you can so you can get some MP recovery after Squad Battles. It's nowhere near strong enough to cover all your charge, but every little bit helps. Every day and every night should be used to improve somehow. As a side note, you don't HAVE to go back to town ASAP whenever you do a dungeon outside the cities. What you're doing is picking whether or not you want to give up your Day or your Night to rest, and sometimes it might be worth it to set up camp instead if you know none of your diurnal Followers are ready to rank up. You can use the nighttime for your party Followers or reading books.

Don't cook until you get Speed Cooking, and once you get to September you basically will never need to fret about MP outside of battle again (Cursed Love Ballad ingredients can all be purchased in Grand Trad after THAT event happens in bulk, and 100 MP to all party members a pop is duuuuumb). Also, Fishy Fandango dies to 10 Flammabottles, pick them up at night before your departure and fry it.

[Kurusu]

Originally posted by Blunette:

Originally posted by Kurusu:

Feel free to give more tips to improve my technically second run after I set this post as answered.

Pick up the Water by the Magla Hollow in the Mines and promptly kill the dragon (use Grius as a Mage to abuse his massive MP pool up until the dragon fight itself, switch him to Warrior then to tank Fire attacks. He's not doing much with all that MP as a Warrior/Seeker from the start since half the enemies resist Slash and the other half are too fat to one-round without Blizz access). Burn your very first free day sitting on the Bench and then helping Fabienne in the kitchen for the Nidia's quest. That'll set your Wisdom to 2 on Day 2, which means you get the dragon's sword online. That sword plus Perfect Punch inherited from Brawler is perfect coverage for NO MP COST on your Warrior (who is probably Strohl) until the end of the dungeon's humans. Teach Perfect Punch to Hulkenburg as well, throw Bot or Blizz on your Hero for Healer (since rushing Healer 10 should be priority 1 on a fresh file, heck I'd go further just for Dekunda access) and you can then promptly one-day the Cathedral. It shouldn't cost more than 8 MP to clear most Squad Battles and Knight's First Aid will easily help patch things up, not like Hulkenburg's gonna use her MP much anyway since Knight has no offensive skills 'till 20.

Prioritize Followers, then Virtue. You can probably 'ignore' Courage boosts since you'll naturally get those off quest rewards/bounties up to a point but it's probably worth pumping Wisdom by playing games with Hulkenburg when you can since she requires Rank 4 rather quickly (In comparison to Strohl who only needs Rank 3 in Imagination, big difference). Immediately rush Junah to Rank 2 if you can so you can get some MP recovery after Squad Battles. It's nowhere near strong enough to cover all your charge, but every little bit helps. Every day and every night should be used to improve somehow. As a side note, you don't HAVE to go back to town ASAP whenever you do a dungeon outside the cities. What you're doing is picking whether or not you want to give up your Day or your Night to rest, and sometimes it might be worth it to set up camp instead if you know none of your diurnal Followers are ready to rank up. You can use the nighttime for your party Followers or reading books.

Don't cook until you get Speed Cooking, and once you get to September you basically will never need to fret about MP outside of battle again (Cursed Love Ballad ingredients can all be purchased in Grand Trad after THAT event happens in bulk, and 100 MP to all party members a pop is duuuuumb). Also, Fishy Fandango dies to 10 Flammabottles, pick them up at night before your departure and fry it.

Omg this is so helpful. Also the tip on the fishy legs is a godsend

[Blunette]

Yeah, it turns out that Items (outside of status-infliction) cannot miss their target. Flammabottles do a fixed 100 damage. Fishy Fandango has 900 health. If you have Firefangs (150 Fire), Lava Crystals (200) or Trader's Summit (Merchant Skill, Level 5, 20% boost to item damage/healing), there's potential to actually one-round him.