Shin Megami Tensei IV *SPOILERS ABOUND*

Perhaps he simple took a Terminal there?

I dunno.

Okay, Walter Route go, but first I've been neglecting my Challenge Quests and I want to remedy that. I don't really need to do these (I've done them before, after all), but I think the menu looks ugly with so many uncompleted quests in it.

An interesting thing I noticed talking to an NPC samurai who I missed in both past go-arounds: apparently, the citizens of Mikado have more freedoms under the Archangels than they did under King Ahazuya, or at least, more things that are permitted to be spoken of in public. I like that; nice little touch of moral ambiguity.

Back to the original subject for a second here: is it considerably more difficult to get Neutral if Walter's route is chosen? Most guides I've found recommend Jonathan's, but I think Walter's would make for a more exciting liveblog.

edited 7th Oct '13 5:06:06 PM by HamburgerTime

Walter requires some juggling in the alternate Tokyos, rather than just first-choicing like before then/on the Jonathan-Neutral route, but if you keep track, it can be done.

All the same, I'd recommend a back-up save at the start of Blasted Tokyo, just to be sure.

edited 7th Oct '13 5:08:43 PM by Pulse

Depends on the choices really. I did Walters route after answering lawful questions for most of the game and got Neutral. You just gotta check your points.

Technically the people don't really talk about more than they did before the Archangels arrived, the guy who read books like Paradise Lost loses complete interest in them and acts like he's never read them before, and some of the Casualries ironically blindly following them just like they did the Luxurors.

The only real difference is that they now know about the Demons and I think it's likely Gabriel kept that a deliberate secret since she's the real power in the Monastery. Just so they can look good when they take over.

edited 7th Oct '13 5:11:33 PM by OmegaRadiance

The guides I read were pretty much "make all Chaos choices apart from siding with Jonathan," so shouldn't that work in reverse?

Not really. Some choices are worth more points than you can imagine. So it's possible the points don't equal out.

I know I had to keep track and make a save point at the beginning of Blasted Tokyo so I could get Neutral.

edited 7th Oct '13 5:15:35 PM by OmegaRadiance

I've seen it most often as "avoid Challenge Quests, pick the first choice every time you're asked about something, side with Jonathan during the Lilith bit, and tell the White "I'll upset the status quo." I followed that my first time going Neutral, except I sided with Walter and did some auditing during the Blasted/Infernal Tokyo bits to be sure.

What auditing in particular should I do?

... Oh, man, I shoulda written it down! I started mostly with Chaos choices, then went all Law from about halfway through Blasted Tokyo and all through Infernal Tokyo.

You can use this guide if you want a more freeform playthrough, too- Just calculate a choice series that'll get you somewhere between -8 and 8.

I fought Asura... with himself in the party. Trippy. My IV liveblog won't have an official time-loop acknowledgement, but there might be hints one has take place; easy to do since time loops are actually part of the plot in this one.

that guide has errors in it tho

i found one on pastebin with multiple strategies

Oh, really? Oops. 0//0

edited 7th Oct '13 6:47:17 PM by Pulse

one i've heard is a bit confusing is whether killing dullahan is law or chaos tho

Got a nasty surprise attempting the Manticore quest. I'd done it before, but I'd missed that, in addition to the "beast-"type demons that are the Manticores, there's a lone "blob-"type demon prowling around. Curious, I attacked it, and it was only a level 50 Abaddon with Hades Blast. You better believe I reset.

He's not that hard. Plus the quest details even mention another demon alongside the Manticores.

So, I'm not there yet, but just to prepare, would you say Astaroth is easier or harder than Mastema and Beelzebub? I beat those two last time; both were tough customers but Beezy was harder. How's Astaroth stack up?

If you can beat Beelzebub, you can beat Astaroth. Be sure to bring along demons with some flavor of Ice resistance.

I take it he's not as hard as the Fiends? He seems to have a very similar attack pattern.

And where does Demiurge stack up, by the way? I saw a video that made him seem easier than SJ, but for all I know that guy had maxed out.

Eh. He's a smidge tougher than Beelzebub, but compared to the Fiends or the DLC bosses, he's not that bad.

Looking a a walkthrough right now and noticed something oddly touching. In the battle with Issachar the White, he asks a question about your friends. On Law and Chaos the "correct" response (that is, the response that weakens the boss) is to forget about the one of the opposite alignment, but on Neutral the right response is to remember both of them. They really like making you feeling good about taking the side of humanity, huh?

Another strange encounter: I was hunting for bits of Osiris and in the Ueno desert and ran into a weaker Orcus who wouldn't join me.

That's because his blood is meant to be gathered for a quest.

Okay, time to visit the alternate Tokyos for a third time. I understand that there's more stuff to do there on a Chaos run, since you ca return at your leisure.

Chaos and Neutral, but its only accessible after Lucifers Palace on Neutral.

Which is the last dungeon so not really much time to appreciate your accomplishments.

Or is it possible to do Lucifer, then Merkabah?