Hey. I just need a Persona fix so I thought I'd come on here and talk about my favorite party of RPG characters. These are just opinions so feel free to comment or not.

I break down discussion into three time frames: early, middle, and late. Early refers to the Castle and Bathhouse. Middle refers to the Striptease, Void Quest, and the Secret Laboratory. Late refers to Heaven and the Final Dungeon.

Now I'll get into a character-by-character breakdown and then talk about Team Strategies.



EARLY (B) -- Yoskue is pretty much a staple in the first two dungeons. Sukukaja, Dia, and Dekaja all have their place. Keep evasion up helps with all the bosses (necessary on Expert) and Dekaja is useful when fighting Shadow Kanji and having to negate Heat Riser.

MIDDLE (B-/ w/ Kitchen Knife B) -- Yoskue slumps a little in the middle three dungeons. He's still useful, but the advent of Auto-Tarukaja negates the need to boost Evasion as battles usually end quickly. Still, Wind Boost, Garula, and Magarula are still useful to have around. Also, make sure you buy the Kitchen Knife as this kill keep Yoskue's attack REALLY high.

LATE (A) -- The fact that Susano-O has no weakness is of tremendous benefit to Yoskue. Also, Wind Amp/Windboost/Magarudyne/Storm Vow(accessory) will get him doing damage on the order of about 400. Very useful. Dekaja and Masukukaja are very nice to have around and Brave Blade solidifies his spot as one of the best characters you can have.

Random Battle Grade: A
Boss Grade: B+

Team Suggestions: Yoskue is an asset to ANY TEAM




EARLY (A) -- It's really not Chie that's good, it's the enemy's weakness's that make Chie so vital to your team. Bufu is one of your best weapons against the Contrary King in Yukiko's Castle. Since MC and Yoskue usually get relegated to healing and buffing, Chie is your main weapon in boss fights. However, once Rampage is unlocked, Chie's usefulness in battle becomes hugely greater as she can clear big groups quickly.

MIDDLE (D) -- A completely useless character in midgame. You can fuse Persona's with better moves than Chie learns in the middle levels. Plus, Auto-Tarukaja makes the MC a MUCH better all hitting physical weapon. On top of all this, Chie has a pathetic Attack Stat, she's stuck with Mabufu and Bufula so she can't deal magic damage, she learns no outstanding skills, and without Power Charge she's just plain worthless.

LATE (B-) -- God's Hand, Agneyastra, and Power Charge is a godly combo. However, you can set the same thing's up on the MC and on a Persona that actually has a decent Attack. That's REAL damage. Chie still only has Mabufu and Bufula so her magic isn't helping her any. Her sceond Persona has no weakness which keeps her from a C. However, its the fact that she doesn't have a Ma-kaja that really screws her. If she had Matarukaja she'd be a perfectly fine character. However, she's really selfish and leaves all buffing in the hands of a well created Persona for MC or for Teddie who carries with him a weakness.

Random Battle Grade: B
Boss Grade: C+

Team Suggestions:
1. MC(Lighting/Fire Persona), Chie, Teddie, Yoskue - Teddie's role on this team is to boost Attack and Defense. You'll need Yoskue to dish out Wind Damage and MC for the other two elements. The reason Yukiko isn't on this team is because having Teddie and Yukiko on one team spells disaster with their dual weaknesses.

2. MC(Boost Stat/Ice Persona), Chie, Yoskue, Yukiko




EARLY (A) - Her early access to Agilao is key. Havinf an extra Media on board is invaluable. Not to mention the Suzaku Feather with its +50SP. Yukiko is a font of mana and will keep your party healthy.

MIDDLE (A) - Still got that Suzaku Feather on? Good. It's staying there. She's gonna need it to dish out those Agidyne's and Mediaramas. Throw some Fire Boost on there maybe a Mage's Mark or Fire Vow and Yukiko will become a Goddess.

LATE (A) - Still got that Suzaku Feather on? Good. Keep it there until you get her weapon in the final dungeon that adds +10 MG. +10MG, Fime Amp, Fire Boost, Maragidyne. The hits keep coming. Mediarahan is huge. Hook Yukiko up with the Chakra Ring you find in Heaven ASAP. Her only downside is her weakness but it only really becomes relevant if you pair her with Teddie and even then she's too good or it to matter.

Rnadom Battle Grade: A
Boss Grade: A

Team Suggestions: Any team expect one with Teddie.



MIDDLE (B-) -- The addition of a Lightning user is pretty useful, even if he doesn't deal much damage with it. Kanji's solid attack and defense stats make up for the fact that he doesn't serve any unique role outisde of deal damage. Not great. Not bad.

LATE (B+) -- Rakouten Maoh's lack of a weakness bumps Kanji up quite a few points. The Aegis Shield in the final dungeon gives Kanji +10 DF. Around level 70-80 Kanji's attack and defense stat will both be in the mid 70s!! Primal Force is a pretty solid weapon and Maziodyne is useful to have around - the Boost/Amp help it not be worthless, but its close to worthless. However, the reason Kanji doesn't fail epically in the end game all comes down to Matarukaja, that paired with a lack of weakness makes him especially deadly on the battlefield. Not to mention he has 50% more HP than anyone else and will take those pesky Almighty hits with HP to spare.

Random Battle Grade: C+
Boss Grade: B+

Suggested Teams:

1. MC, Yoskue, Kanji, Yukiko/Teddie - the team I use. Kanji boosts attack, Yoskue boosts speed, while buffs are up so are Primal Force and Brave Blade. MC focuses on landing Mind/Power Charge hits while Yukiko cures and tosses out Agidynes. If you put in Teddie, MC will probably need a good magic Persona like Odin (though Odin is good to have around anyway).



MIDDLE (B+) -- Teddie is just pure awesome when you first get him. Matarukaja, Marakukaja, early access to Ice Boost and Mabufudyne. An extra Mediarama on board. Decent attack. Good magic. He can basically do anything. Having both him and Yukiko on a team at this point is just cruel to the enemies.

LATE (B-) -- Again, Teddie's skill set is probably the most brilliant of the entire crew. Two different stat boosters, Amrita and Mediarahan. Boost/Amp with Mabuduyne. In skills he's an A. However, the two things that hurt him are his only mediocre Magic Stat and the fact that he has a weakness. He doesn't get a weapon that can boost his magic at all so Yukiko gets the edge here. Also, alot of the later bosses and enemies for some reason like hitting Teddie with Ziodyne. The bosses like to follow Ziodyne up with Dekaja which really sucks. Teddie becomes more of a hindrance than anything else.

Random Battle Grade: B+
Boss Grade: C+

Suggested Team

1. MC, Teddie, Chie, Yoskue - Your main mode of attack will probably be Chie on this team. Teddie and Yoskue are relegated to boosting stats. MC should probably have Rakunda and some form of curing so that Chie can take her time power charging and dishing out God's Hands.



LATE (B) -- Natoa is just an amazing character and its a shame how late you get her. No weakness even with her first for is huge. Her true power of course lies in Hama/Mudo Boost paired with Mamudoon/Mahamaon. These things just completely wreck enemy groups and unless you'r really trying, its hard to get these combos on good Personas for MC. The only reason I give her such a lower grade is because she's the most worthless character when it comes to a boss fight. If she had a Power Charge to go along with that Mind Charge or maybe Ziodyne with an Elec Amp the story would be different, but its just too bad.

Random Battle Grade: A
Boss Grade: D



OVERALL TEAM SUGGESTIONS:

Enemy Bashing Team:
1. MC
2. Chie - Agneyastra
3. Naoto - Mahamaon/Mamudoon
4. Yukiko

Boss Basing Team
1. MC (Odin) - Rakunsa, Wind Amp, Wind Boost, Mind Charge, Panta Rhei
2. Yoskue - Masukukaja, Brave Blade, Garudyne
3. Kanji - Matarukaja, Primal Force
4. Yukiko - Mediarahan, Salvation, Agidyne

This message was edited by BrokenKnights on Jan 30 2009.

Chie was doing with a Power Charge/Agneyastra.

I tend to use the same characters for boss battles that I use for random battles, since why play if you don't practice? And since Naoto decimated enemy hoardes with ease, I kept Naoto for all boss battles.

Chie, on the other hand, proved to be disappointing nearly the entire game until the end. I kept hoping a next skill would be bufudyne but it never was! 'Tis a tragedy.

Anyway, on my current run, I am giving Yosuke, Kanji and Teddie a try. Kanji is nearly worthless in random battles since his magic is pathetic and he only targets one enemy at a time. Teddie dies in nearly every battle, but since I used the amazing Yukiko a try in my 1st run, it is Teddie's turn, no matter how badly I would like to switch to Yukiko.

Based on my experience so far, I say Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko make the best party, with Chie getting replace by Naoto. As much as I would like a character with matarukaja, it isn't worth suffering with a mediocre character that lengthens the time of random battles.

I apologize for the length of my first post ever...

It's actually very thought out. And yeah, I'd agree that Yoskue and Yukiko are pretty much staples. The last spot really is a toss up though, I'd say between Kanji, Naoto, and Chie - Teddie dies way too much. I rule out Naoto first because she really is useless in boss fights.

And I've had a Spark Vow on Kanji the whole game so his magic has actually come in handy. Chie is just too terrible too long to be worth it. In the end I prefer Kanji. And I use one team as well - I only posted Random Battle and Boss Teams just for the hell of it.

Argh, my message got cut off and since I posted it as a guest, I can't delete it. ANYWAY, what I meant to say was:

I agree with everything except for the analysis of Naoto.

I am currently on my 2nd run using Yosuke, Kanji and Teddie after having used Chie, Naoto and Yukiko on my main run. I have almost acquired Naoto again, so I'm not sure how my new party will stack up in the end, but what I do know is how Naoto performed against bosses.

Naoto with a Mind Charge/Megidoloan was doing just about as much damage as Chie with a Power Charge/Agneyestra.

Alright, per your suggestion, I will keep using Kanji. I really wish he had Power Charge though...

On a side note, after finishing this game, did anybody else get the urge to retry Persona 3? I got bored halfway through my 2nd run of FES so I never finished, but I really can't remember much about any of the social links.

I got bored beforee getting Akihiko back, lol.

But use who you want, lol. LIke someone mentioned in another thread, everyone is deadly in their own right. And Megidolaon+Mind Charge PALES in comparison to a Dyne + Boost/Amp and is MUCH more expensive.

I remember getting Naoto and thinking she wass just phenomenal. Then I got to a boss and benched her.

On my first urn through I Yukiko and MC to around level 89, Kanji and Yoskue to about 70, Teddie and Naoto to 76 ish, and Chie was in the low 60s. I basically trained everyone until they became obsolete.

If you don't like buffing, then Chie is a better choice than Kanji. My logic is just - why use Power Charge + Agneyastra on Chie when she only has like 50 some attack, when you can do Power Charge and Agneyastra with the MC on a Persona that has upwards of 70 attack??

Since I just recently learned that amp and boost stack, I have yet to see the true power of Yosuke. However, I always liked how Chie bounced from side to side. Don't know what's wrong with you people that slam her, but I think she's a cutie. Plus, I guarantee you she is open to flings whereas when I had Yukiko spend the night near the end, she likely took the bed and made the MC sleep on the floor.

And don't even get me started on Naoto's heterogeny issues. It creeped me out when Naoto started coming on to me. That's not really a spoiler since I think everyone knows by now, if they didn't already know from the moment Naoto started speaking.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that doesn't like Chie. Most of my damage comes from my MC and the party members are there to dish out either buffs, heals, or their respective elements - and Chie can't do any of those three...

And yeah Boost/Amp also stack with your accessory and in Kanji's case his last weapon that -

Elec Boost (25%)
Elec Amp (50%)
Elec Accesory (10-50%)
Last Shield (25%)

Thats 110-150% percent increase in damage of his Zio attacks. Pretty significant.

I thought the general consensus was that the accessories don't stack with boost AND amp; only one of them...???

I have not tested anything, nor have I seen the result of a buffed up Kanji, but it seems like even when he's doing 100 damage with a Ziodyne, a 100% increase would still only put it at 200. Yukiko can sneeze and do more damage than that.

On an update from my new team of Kanji, Yosuke and Teddie, I've decided that I hate Teddie even more now because of the sound his footsteps make in the dungeons: BWIP BWOOP BWIP BWOOP BWIP BWOOP. WTF is that?? He's a BEAR! Paws shouldn't make that sound. And another thing, why is it that when he puts on the bear suit, his height decreases a good 5 inches? How does he suddenly fit?? The guy just freaks me out and he's within 1 more death of being replaced by Yukiko again.

I'd replace him with Yukiko

But the accessories DEFINITELY stack with the Amp/Boost combo as does his weapon. And you're right of course Yoskue and Yukiko can dish out more elemental damage. The point is that he can do more than Chie which is all that I really care about in putting him on my team isntead of her. Yoskue and Yukiko are staples if you ask me.

I'll probably be adding a new "Expert" catagegory to my first post as the rules of the game basically change in end game. I'm getting fairly certain that Yukiko, Kanji, Yoskue is the absolute best team, especially if you like buffing.

quote

for some reason like hitting Teddie with Ziodyne. The bosses like to follow Ziodyne up with Dekaja which really sucks. Teddie becomes more of a hindrance than anything else.

That's true. Every single boss i've fought, the boss always knocks Teddie down with electric attacks.

I kept Teddie around because of his buffs, but if i start a new file, i'm planning on switching him out.

You are right actually, i had a hard time having Yukiko and Teddie on the same team. Both of their weaknesses were easily exploited by the bosses, especially at the end.

Even having just Yukiko was a pain when fighting the Reaper at low levels. I got an Eye of Ice pretty early though. That + Debiliate + Masukukaja helps her stay out of harms way, lol. I just recently got an Eye of Thunder for Teddie.

But yeah, for a buffing team, Kanji has Matarukaja, Yoskue has Masukukaja, and Norn has Debilitate for MC. You can pretty easliy get Marakukaja on another Persona and then just be able to use Yukiko as a Healer/Magic Attacker. However, if you don't plan on using her for her attacks, Teedie is just as good a healer, plus he has Marakukaja - only down side is how much less damage he does than Yukiko. I'm actually kinda wanting to switch over to him right now seeign as Yukiko just heals or defends at this point in the game.

The final boss..?? you mean izanami no okami..??
(Final boss for true ending)..??

I don't remember referencing any boss, the one that really likes to punish Teddie and Yukiko's weaknesses is the Reaper.