Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Addendum: demons don't kill people, the sun does
Lowdown on the restrictions of this challenge:
- EXP gain is only permitted in boss fights and forced encounters, and must be minimised by only having 1 character active at the end of each battle.
- Autolevelling must also be minimised as much as possible. Argilla and Roland take all XP before they leave the party to reduce the impact of this later on, and Argilla's level must not exceed 12 so it doesn't affect Sera's starting level.
- This is a cycle 2 playthrough on hard difficulty with no data transfer bonuses.
- I will be fighting all bosses rather than doing a true minimum EXP run, cuz that's more fun. And let's face it, you're only here for Satan.
- The use of Data items to permanently raise stats is forbidden for as long as possible - at least until Shiva.
Without mirrors this would be one of the harder fights of the run, since there is no way to cover every weakness they can hit. So the bumrush strategy from the last 2 fights is the way to go here, throwing mirrors each round. Attack Mirrors are the item of choice, because the machinegun is the most dangerous and the laser cannon will often spend its turn on Revert anyway.
Getting that Makakaja stack with Cielo at the beginning may seem slower than just starting with him in human form and gunning them down, but it's actually slightly better as it allows you to kill the guns before your characters start running out of MP. A single Sukunda should ensure the core doesn't ruin things by dodging (HOW?!) All you really have to fear here is Sonic Blast from the laser cannon, which would one shot Argilla, but this is fairly uncommon. The gang can survive and heal up through everything else. Once the core is alone, Fire Repel for the win.
Addendum: demons don't kill people, the sun does
Lowdown on the restrictions of this challenge:
- EXP gain is only permitted in boss fights and forced encounters, and must be minimised by only having 1 character active at the end of each battle.
- Autolevelling must also be minimised as much as possible. Argilla and Roland take all XP before they leave the party to reduce the impact of this later on, and Argilla's level must not exceed 12 so it doesn't affect Sera's starting level.
- This is a cycle 2 playthrough on hard difficulty with no data transfer bonuses.
- I will be fighting all bosses rather than doing a true minimum EXP run, cuz that's more fun. And let's face it, you're only here for Satan.
- The use of Data items to permanently raise stats is forbidden for as long as possible - at least until Shiva.
Without mirrors this would be one of the harder fights of the run, since there is no way to cover every weakness they can hit. So the bumrush strategy from the last 2 fights is the way to go here, throwing mirrors each round. Attack Mirrors are the item of choice, because the machinegun is the most dangerous and the laser cannon will often spend its turn on Revert anyway.
Getting that Makakaja stack with Cielo at the beginning may seem slower than just starting with him in human form and gunning them down, but it's actually slightly better as it allows you to kill the guns before your characters start running out of MP. A single Sukunda should ensure the core doesn't ruin things by dodging (HOW?!) All you really have to fear here is Sonic Blast from the laser cannon, which would one shot Argilla, but this is fairly uncommon. The gang can survive and heal up through everything else. Once the core is alone, Fire Repel for the win.
