Are you curious how to find demon essence in SMT V? Here’s where to find them and how to use them once you have them.
Unlike Pokemon games, your starter demons in Shin Megami Tensei V can’t win the war for you. You’ll need to sacrifice those demons by combining them with other demons to upgrade them on your post-apocalyptic journey. SMT V is also a JRPG that doesn’t mess around – since even ‘trash’ encounters can easily wipe an unprepared party.
One way you can absorb a demon’s abilities without having to fuse them is through essences. There are essences of all the demons that can be recruited in the game. Each essence grants different skills and affinities, so experimenting with essences can help you progress through the game. Once you have the essence you need, you’ll have to head to the World of Shadows at any Leyline Font to use it.
Buy Essences from Gustave
Selecting ‘Cadaver’s Hollow’ at any Leyline Font will take you to an item shop owned by the demon Gustave. He’ll readily sell you a variety of items you’ll need in your battles against demons like spyglasses, healing items, and protection items. But Gustave also sells demon essences in a limited stock as you progress through the game.
Tap the R button on the sell screen you see above to access Gustave’s essence inventory. Each essence will cost several thousand macca, so be prepared to farm for the money you’ll need. As you progress through the main story, new items and essences will appear here. Be sure to check Gustave if you’re looking for a specific demon essence, you may not have to hunt it in the wild.
Find Essences by Treasure Hunting
You can also find essences as treasures as you are exploring the world of SMT V. Treasures looks like huge golden nonagons that scatter the world and are easy to spot. Simply attacking one of these containers will break them open and give you access to the contents within. You won’t always obtain an essence when you open them, but they do contain them more often than not. The only downside of this method is that treasure can only be found once.
Talking to Demons
You can also gain essences from demons by talking to them. You may recruit them, but during the process the demon may choose to give you its essence. It’s not a reliable method of farming for essences, so you shouldn’t rely on it. Just be aware that it can happen. Sometimes you also gain essences from demons you have defeated in battle, which is more common.
Demons Leveling Up
As your demons level up in combat, they also have a chance to gift you rare items. Occasionally one of these gifts will be a demon essence. It’s an unreliable method of farming essences, but it is a source of them. Essence gifting seems to happen more with demons who have learned all of their potential skills.
How to Use Essences in SMT V
Players can use essences collected in the world to grant new abilities either to themselves or one of their demon companions. First you must select the recipient of the abilities, and then the essence you wish to fuse. Here’s how to fuse demons with essences in SMT V.
- Head to a Leyline Font to access the demon menu.
- Go to the World of Shadows to begin fusing.
- Select the ‘Apotheosis‘ menu option.
- Then choose ‘Essence Fusion.‘
It’s important to remember that essences are single use items, so be sure not to waste them. You can buy essence restocks from Gustave occasionally, but you’ll have to farm for a particular essence you really want. Essences are also used to change the affinities of the Nahobino. Choosing the Nahobino instead of a demon as the recipent of the fused abilities allows players to change the main character’s weaknesses and strengths.
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