The Best Units in the Game

Don't know what unit to dump 186,000 levels into? This guide can help.

Human Basics: Dealing More Damage

If you ever wanted to know how to deal lots of damage in one attack, this is the place to learn.

Try to take this with a grain of salt, because you can make any unit in the game powerful with enough reincarnations and level 200 items.

Level 200 Items

If you're not sure about how to get a level 200 perfected item, check this guide.
Props to Piggy Guy for writing this so that I didn't have to.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=855734889

Masteries

Weapon mastery also plays a big role in dealing lots of damage. You get 5% more damage per mastery level, up to a max of 255 levels, which is +1275% more ATK, which is a hell of a lot more damage. Getting 1900 armsmasters is very important to capitalize on this.
Skill mastery is also a thing, so getting 300 mentors to max out skills at 99 can help you deal more damage.

Items with Matching Rarities

All items have a rarity level. Legendary items can only have a rarity of 0 to 7, so they are the easiest to match rarities with. Every legendary item received through a cutscene will have a rarity of 0 if you skip the cutscene you obtain it in. If you want to retry getting a unique accessory that you can only have one of (i.e. Usagi's Journal, Makai Wars, Felicitation) for a different rarity, just sell the item right before you go get it again.

You get a +10% stat bonus for each item rarity you match, for a max of +30% stats for all four items with a matching rarity.

I like using the rarity 1 for a few reasons, mainly getting a rarity 0 regular item (rank 40 items from Item God 2s) is much more difficult than getting the guaranteed rarity 0 ones. Then you can just slap a Collector on whatever rarity 0 things you have to bring them up to 1. It's really up to you what rarities you want your items at, rarity 0 does nothing special.

Specialists

Professionals are very useful to deal lots more damage: they give +1% critical hit chance per specialist, and they cap at 100, giving you permanent crits. This is mandatory for any damage dealer.

If you have a magic user, get 100 Firefighters, Cryophiles, or Aeronauts to beef up the power of spells of whatever element you like most.

Lover specialists are special per unit class. They only have a chance to appear on any piece of gear that has been worn without being unequipped for 35 battles. Common items spawn 1, rare items spawn 2, and legendary items spawn 3. As with any other specialist, their count gets doubled when you subdue them, so you really get 2, 4 or 6 lovers. When they appear, they are locked into the class lover they were spawned on. Also, a single piece of equipment can only ever have a lover spawn on it once.
A lover does something different for each class, but all lovers also increase the stats of the unit by +1% per lover.

The best way to get these is 1-2 Reflection Pond, just throw a prinny after taking everyone out of the base panel. Another option is grinding Cave of Ordeals 4 with the character for levels AND lovers, although this takes a little longer.

Lovers cap at 25, so getting four spawns on four legendary items gets you 24 lovers, one shy away from the max. It's up to you if you want to get that last lover, I usually don't bother.

All units below are listed by their tier 6 stats, if applicable.

Magic Knight

Unlock: Pass the "Make a Busty Beauty" bill after getting Sword and Staff masteries up to 3, which does not have to be on the same character.

Space Knight stats:

HP 100% SP 120% ATK 120% DEF 100% INT 120% RES 100% SPD 70% HIT 100%
Sword S Spear A Axe B Fist D Staff S Gun C Bow A
Use a Staff for higher spell range and spell damage.

This is the one unit most people will say is the most powerful unit in the game. She does huge amounts of damage with spells because a higher elemental resistance to an element also beefs up the elemental spell power of that element. She can increase her elemental resistance with skills, and decreases the elemental resistance of enemies, which leads to nuking the opposition.

It doesn't end there though. Her special ability increases her elemental damage by 25%, and each Lover specialist gives her +1% more elemental damage. Please note that star magic does not change in any way.

Lady Samurai

Unlock: Used to be unlocked by having a Disgaea 1 save file on PSP. Unlocked from the start on PC.

Blade Master stats:

HP 110% SP 80% ATK 130% DEF 100% INT 90% RES 80% SPD 120% HIT 120%
Sword S Spear B Axe B Fist C Staff D Gun C Bow S
The best bow user in the game, but you shouldn't use one on her.

This girl goes under the radar for a lot of people. The real kicker is her special ability: +30% damage when attacking only one enemy, +1% damage per lover. She's one of the best sword users in the game for this reason, and she's my personal favorite unit.

Laharl

Unlock: In episode 12-13, pass the bill "I Want To Fight An Overlord!!" and clear the new stage. Then as senator Adell, pass the "Summon Laharl" bill and complete the new stage to unlock him. Stays until the next cycle.

Stats:

HP 130% SP 100% ATK 130% DEF 120% INT 80% RES 90% SPD 90% HIT 90%
Sword S Spear B Axe A Fist B Staff E Gun D Bow D

The original overlord is back in this game, and he isn't something to scoff at. While you may think that generic units are kings of damage, Laharl's fantastic special ability helps keep him afloat. It gives him +25% more damage to monsters, +1% per lover level. This is very important for fighting the superbosses, as they aren't human enemies.

Male Fighter

Unlock: Unlocked from the start.

Battle Master stats:

HP 130% SP 90% ATK 120% DEF 130% INT 70% RES 70% SPD 110% HIT 110%
Sword S Spear S Axe S Fist B Staff E Gun D Bow B

This guy may seem average, but he can hit very hard if you give him a weight item. His special ability is +50% crit damage when at critical health, +2% damage per lover. With 25 lovers, that's +100% crit damage! Professionals are a must-have to abuse this, but he can be like a glass cannon during regular play.
Here's a protip: Magichange Prism Red onto him for a sword that gives even more damage at critical health!

Kunoichi / Female Ninja

Unlock: Pass the "Make a Kunoichi" bill from having a level 5 fist and staff mastery (does not have to be on the same character)

Master Kunoichi stats:

HP 90% SP 100% ATK 120% DEF 130% INT 120% RES 90% SPD 130% HIT 100%
Sword S Spear B Axe C Fist S Staff S Gun E Bow C

Another glass cannon character, if you give her a weight. Her special ability gives a 50% chance to attack twice when at critical health, +1% chance per 2 lovers for a max of 62%. She's probably the best fist weapon user in the game too, since Adell's ability is not very useful against the superbosses.

Ash

Unlock: Clear his DLC stage, "Life of Confinement". Stays until the next cycle.

Stats:

HP 100% SP 100% ATK 140% DEF 110% INT 100% RES 100% SPD 90% HIT 130%
Sword S Spear A Axe A Fist B Staff C Gun B Bow B

This guy is an amazing sword user. He's got 140% ATK aptitude, and his ability gives him double damage on the last turn of Magichange. Since Magichange 2 leaves you with one turn remaining, this lets Ash use his ability easily. He has no lover bonus, but he can still get lovers for the +1% stats per lover.

You can even throw him back into the base panel after he attacks to conserve his magichange turns. This is pretty hard to utilize in large area battles, but it's great for the superbosses.

Magichange Basics

So now that you have your beefed-up character, you can beef them up even more by adding a magichanged monster weapon.

In order to unlock magichange for Adell mode, you must complete Axel mode at least once.

Once you have magichange, you can turn any monster you have into a weapon for 3 turns (and more if you pass Dark Assembly bills). This shares some stats with the human, and also gives the monster's ability and skills . After magichange is over, the monster goes away for the rest of the fight.

One thing you might notice if you have a good weapon is that your human's stats will decrease when you magichange, no matter what. That's because you need to get a legendary level 160+ M-Change Scroll and equip it onto the monster. This scroll helps keep the human's original weapon's stats intact.

A legendary M-Change scroll can be (not so easily) obtained through the Magichanging self felony issued to Everybody, obtained through just using Magichange on either the same character or different characters a bunch of times. You can only get this felony once per cycle. The best way to farm for it is to go to the floor of the bailiff, then use a gency, save, and just keep trying until you get a legendary one. It took me around 45 minutes to get mine, but I've heard it can take up to 4 hours. It's a 1/32 chance. DO NOT SETTLE FOR A RARE OR NORMAL ONE.

Magichange 2 is also a thing. You can upgrade monsters to be able to Magichange 2 through mystery gates: Mao will upgrade one monster when you get his room. Magichange 2 only gives the monster's ability and skills to the human and decreases the total time of magichange to 1 turn.

Last but not least, any felonies that the human has also affect the magichanged monsters. This way, you can level up three characters in a single attack of your choice.

Magichange Swords

Prism Red

Unlock: Use 3 Prism Rangers cellphones in 3 separate fights, then pass the five "Let's be friends" bills as senator Adell. Then pass the bill "Return of the Prism Rangers" in episode 12-13, clear the new stage, and pass the new final bill as senator Adell to have him join. Stays until the next cycle.
Ability: Increases ATK at critical health by +25%, +1% damage per lover.

He's pretty useful but annoying to unlock. However, he turns into a cool sword that has a flowing rainbow streak that screams "JUSTICE" when you attack, so it evens out.
Pair him with a Male Fighter to stack damage increases at critical health.

Prism Red also has worse stats than the main sword monsters:

Felynn and Mystic Beasts

Felynn Unlock: 4-3
Felynn Ability: +50% counter damage, +1% per lover
Mystic Beast Unlock: 5-3
Mystic Beast Ability: Immune to wind, +1% wind absorption per lover

Take your pick of these two monsters if you don't want to use Prism Red. Felynn has a higher ATK aptitude (130%) versus Mystic Beast's 120%, but Mystic Beast has an arguably better ability. Take your pick, as it really doesn't matter in the long run. I like Felynn more personally, since she's eye candy.

But then, since this is the PC version and that has the unreleased DLC:

Gig

Unlock: Complete his DLC stage, "The Strongest Guy". Stays until the next cycle.
Ability: +2 Magichange turns, +1 turn per 10 lovers

This guy has 140% ATK aptitude, and his ability can make magichange actually viable in places like random Item World stages. Magichange 2 doesn't get extra turns though.
His ATK aptitude makes him the best sword magichange monster in the game, unless you're using Prism Red with a Male Fighter or Kunoichi. Try to get him as early as possible so that you can invest levels into him.

Magichange Fists

Deathsabers and Kurtis Bots (Robots)

(RIP deathsaber portrait)

Deathsaber Unlock: Clear Axel Mode 1-2
Kurtis Bot Unlock: Use 3 EDF cellphones to unlock a bill for senator Adell "Rescue the Defender", pass that and clear the stage. Do the same thing again and clear the next stage unlocked to get them.
Deathsaber Ability: +10% damage per panel moved, +1% per 10 lovers
Kurtis Bot Ability: You can normal attack twice if you don't move. +1.5% stats per lover.

Both of these are really great so you can take your pick at which may be more useful. I'd say Deathsaber is more useful in the item world, but Kurtis Bot's +1.5% stats per lover is very useful. I personally use Kurtis Bots more, but Deathsabers are adorable and have a higher ATK-SPD aptitude ratio (130% ATK 140% SPD vs Kurtis Bot's 140% ATK 120% SPD).

Magichange Spears

There's only one that is best:

Succubus

Unlock: Stage 5-1
Ability: +25% damage to males, +1% damage to males per lover.

These girls are really underrated because of one fact:

All monsters except for Succubus, Felynn, and Flora Beast count as males.

Because of this, she is hands down the best monster to use for a spear magichange.

Magichange Axes

Orc

Unlock: You probably already have him unlocked. If not, stop reading this guide! Stage 1-1
Ability: +25% damage at critical health, +1% damage per lover

Another excellent choice to pair with a Male Fighter or Kunoichi. It's the same ability as Prism Red, but as an axe.

Both the Orc and Roc have 120% ATK aptitudes.

Roc

Unlock: Stage 4-2
Ability: -20% stats of adjacent enemies (four surrounding squares), -1% adjacent enemy stat per lover (max of -45%)

This lovable chicken can be very useful against some of the superbosses since axes usually need to be adjacent to an enemy to attack.

Both the Orc and Roc have 120% ATK aptitudes.

Magichange Staffs

Spirit

Unlock: You probably already have them unlocked. If not, go play the game! Stage 1-1
Ability: 10% SP heal every turn, +1% SP heal per lover.

They have 130% INT aptitudes and the best ability of the Staff monsters. Because of this, they're the best. They look great too.

Magichange Guns

Rifle Demon

Unlock: Stage 13-4, or by forcing a proposal in the Dark Assembly if one says NAY
Ability: Attacks can NEVER miss, +1.25% stats per lover.

These guys are just amazing, especially for their ability and lover stats increase.

However, there is another monster that has a better HIT aptitude (Rifle Demons have 80%):

Prinny

Unlock: Stage 1-2
Ability: Explodes when thrown for 50% of current HP as damage, +1% explosion damage per lover.

Prinnies actually have a use as a Gun magichange due to their 120% HIT aptitude, which is the highest of the Gun magichange monsters, dood. This should totally make you want to use a Prinny, dood.

Magichange Bows

I don't know why you'd want to use a bow, as they really are awful in this game.
Anyway, here's the best bow monster:

Zetta

Unlock: Clear 10 Dark World maps, then pass the bill "Meet the Strongest Overlord!" and clear his stage. Then pass his bill as senator Adell. Stays until the next cycle.
Ability: +25% damage against humans, +1% damage against humans per lover.

He has 120% ATK and 110% HIT aptitudes, which is the highest increase for bow damage on all the Bow magichange monsters.

Magichange 2

(unfinished)

Rifle Demon

Unlock: Stage 13-4, or by forcing a proposal in the Dark Assembly if one says NAY
Ability: Attacks can NEVER miss, +1.25% stats per lover.

You may wonder why he's notable for Magichange 2. The reason is that the final FINAL superboss,
Unsealed Pringer X, has 40 million SPD, which makes it impossible to have a 100% chance to hit him. Through Magichange 2 and a Rifle Demon of any level, this obstacle can be completely ignored.

Zetta

Unlock: Clear 10 Dark World maps, then pass the bill "Meet the Strongest Overlord!" and clear his stage. Then pass his bill as senator Adell. Stays until the next cycle.
Ability: +25% damage against humans, +1% damage against humans per lover.

This guy's skill, Zetta Beeeam, is the only thing in the game that can clear out Cave of Ordeals 4 with only one attack, without throwing the enemies. Leveling a human, a monster, and Zetta is very simple because of this. Be careful of using him while farming reincarnation levels, though; Zetta Beeeam does not give you any weapon mastery upon use, so you may want to use a different skill (Winged Slayer, Big Bang, a spell, etc.) in order to keep your mastery level up between reincarnations.

Conclusion / Update Notes

2/26/2017: Added Magichange 2 Section

A list of notable utility monsters is coming sometime. Maybe. Probably never at this rate.

Let me know if I made a mistake in the comments below, and also leave some feedback.

[pprandom]

Honestly, any unit you drop that much time into will be OP as f**** anyway, so use whatever you like.

[Rising Gale]

Glad to finally not see Majin overhyped.

[Kokopelli]

try equip lady samurai with axe, u will be surprised by the amount of damage

[Blood]

Will this guide ever be finished?

[Tag365]

What do you think of the Winged Warrior? Do you think it is any good?

[Ghostface]

Almaz is pretty amazing to use as well
his spinning swords move can deal a LOT of damage due to his ability

[Z3n]

I second SleepingSeaweed, only the base stats of the monster matter when magichanging, so aptitudes and equipment are irrelevant.

[Spire]

A unit's viability boils down to their Lovers ability more than their stats. Hanako and Majin Hanako just don't have very good abilities, although Majin Hanako's ability could be useful if you build around it.

[THE MAGGOTMANCER]

isnt gig pretty good because he has 140% ATK and can magichange for 2 more turns then others? i'm also surprised that hanako wasnt on this list since she has over 100% aptitude in all her stats. i'm pretty new to this game though so they might not be as good as I think

[SleepingSeaweed]

And a minor correction to the guide: Star does indeed get boosted by Magic Knight's ability, and is affected by other abilities that mention "element" (Healers take less damage and Holy Dragons can be damaged by it). Minor because you usually wouldn't want to use star magic anyway.

I also don't see why you'd keep bringing up aptitudes for magichange monsters, only their base stats affect magichange. Aptitudes and equipment won't make any difference unless you're using the monster by itself.