My first Shin Megami Tensei game - Tips for a beginner?

[Anfebious]

spemanig said:

Anfebious said:
noname explained everything pretty well. Get demons who can strike weaknesses! Also you shouldn't be afraid of fusing demons since there is a demon compendium option. You can register demons there and summon them back (for a fee).

Should I be using that a lot? It's pretty annoying recruiting a demon I've already recruited just because I've fused it away.

The compendium is useful to register demons that you liked/have a great combination of skills. Then you can summon them later to fuse them with other demons to make your new demon inherit those skills. Remember that everytime you fuse demons you can press b and cancel the fusion, and each time you chose to fuse them again the skill set of your new demon will be different. That way you can create demons with the skill sets you want.

But you shouldn't use it for common demons. Those can be recruited by talking to them! Just try talking with a lot of demons and you will start seeing a pattern, some of them react well to some answers. Soon you will get the hang of it and recruit any demon you want. There is always a random factor where the demon might leave or attack you anyway.