New easy way to get C5 expertises

Wiki page: http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Expertise

Step 1: Get OOPTHs (each oopth gives 1 Yagiya Report) or if you're pro hardcore and shiz you get pro DB items from run loot boxes (each pro itemz gives 20 Yagiya Reports).

OOPTHS

Pro Itemz

Step 2: Trade the OOPTHS or pro itemz to yagiya for Yagiya Reports at any yagiya. 

Step 3: Give Yagiya Reports to Thoth in exchange for expertise, Each Yagiya Report is 1 rank of expertise (up to class 5, except Creation, up to class 4) so if you can do math you already know that 1 pro itemz gets 2 classes of expertise. Yay!

Thoth can be found in Babel near destiny girl or in Home 3 outside noob area. 

Step 4: profit!

Demon Guide

In any SMT game, demons are one of the key things that sets the franchise apart from the others. Imagine is no different. Now before you pull a Dia and say "well I don't care about my demon" I recommend reading on to learn more about them first.

Choosing your demon:

So lets start with the basics. Currently there are about --->300 demons<--- in the game (give or take a few), not including variations. That's a lot of demons. So your first question might be: Where do I start? What demon should I get? Well there are some questions to ask yourself first. Have you chosen a class? What is your play style? Your demon should compliment your play style and cover your weaknesses. For example typically you would want:

Melee:
Massive healing demon with some buffs and some crowd control to keep demons away from you.

Mage:
Some basic heals with some damage. Depending on your class of mage, DD wants heals while shotmage probably wants some extra damage/buffs

Gunner:
Similar to mage, however usually you want something to push everything away from you so you can blow a hole in its head :3

Enhance:
Very basic heals if any, with strong nuke skills. Your main damage is from your demon because....your a healer. NOTE: Demon Users are the easiest/fastest way to getting damage cap with minimal gear possible. Yes you dump a lot of money into your demon but.....it costs much less than trying to get gear for your char.

Note: You can really make any demon you want these are just suggestions :3

Features:
Features play a huge role in which demons are better than others. For example, a healer Pixie is not necissarily as good as an Elf healer because the Elf has a feature which boosts curative power. The English wiki features page *should* be up to date. But its best to cross reference between the actual demon page and the features page. (If something is missing please let me know and I can fix it)

Be sure to check out the Mitama Features. Some demons , like High Pixie, become really useful post-mitama. If you are starting out I would recommend keeping these in mind, but possibly picking your demon based on its Basic Features instead.

Next step in choosing your demon is choosing your alignment. Basically whichever alignment gives you the most boosts in terms of soul stones and tarots. You want a demon within this alignment for something called Summon Synchro. When your demon is contracted or above they get a damage boost. The more your demon likes you, the more boost you get. Remember to keep re-summoning your demon as this boost only lasts for 30 minutes (For Linked By Fate...it's less for lower friendships)

Fusing: 
When fusing your demon try to plan out all the skills you want on it first. With WILDCAT (WC) runs, you can get skills using SP but it would be best to start with a set of skills you can run with for a while.

Check out the --->fusion<--- page to see how to fuse demons. If you need help planing a demon feel free to leave a comment here and I can help get you a path. (More info in the FAQ)

Keep in mind some demons require trifusion and/or have plugins. Certain demon plugins are a pain to get so If this is your first demon, consider starting with a non-plugin double fusion one. 

Rebirth:
Now that you have your demon, its time to start on the road of making them op. The first step is through rebirthing. Check out the --->rebirth<--- page on the wiki to get some basics about rebirthing.
If this is your first demon, you should be good rebirthing 4 times in the paths that matter for your demon. If you want to max out your demon feel free :D

NOTE: Its a good idea to finish however many rebirths you want in each path. Its fairly expensive to move between rebirth paths as you need the runestones for that level plus the levels, and the money. For example if I want to move between R3 Pertho to R3 Tiwaz I would need 60k Macca, 5 Tiwaz Runestones, and 40 levels on the demon.

Typically, you want to rebirth your demon into their "final" path last.

Lets take a look at an example demon:

Atropos is pretty obviously a mage, therefore I want to have her end in Perthro as it will give the most spell stat boost as you level. So where do I start? Typically I start in Sowilo. Its an all stats boost which is a decent place to start. After typically you want to rebirth her into Wyrd as her mp pool is decent but wont hold up in longer WC runs.

After the Wyrd rebirth her into the other things that raise the spell stat, and then rebirth her finally into Pertho. Then tadaaa~ your rebirthing is done. Your ending path is totally your choice. Wyrd gives a slightly smaller stat boost but in every stat. Check out the stats at the bottom of the rebirth page to make your decision.

NOTE: If you plan on mitamaing the demon, you will want to get to rank 8 in all the rebirth paths. This includes the things you typically would not need (ie Tiwaz on a spell demon). As far as I know you need to have max R8 before you Mitama to make the best use of it. If this is a first demon, I would recommend planning around having only 4 rebirths in each path as 8 is costly and time consuming.

Soul Points:
So you have 8 skills on your demon. Your done right? Usually, not quite. Through WC runs you can get really good passives with SP. Once again ---->click this<---- and get some reading done. Those passives are pretty great.

Using our example I can then change Atropos's skills to be:
Prominence, Tornado, Cocytus Pain, Overkiller 3, Overkiller 2, Hot Pursuit 2, Satisfaction 3, Spin Booster +
I've replaced all her original skills, but now without gear I have Lb chance, technical attack chance, higher crit, and better offensive skills. 

The less skills you can replace, the better but SP skills are too good to pass up at times.

Devil Force
Here is the wonderful little --->wiki link<--- for the quest that must be done to use this system.

Also the --->wiki link<--- for an overview of the system.


You can feed random consumables to your demon to boost their base stats. While the base stats don't raise that much with the new update they increase faster o.o, some of the passives found in the second link are pretty great. Since those are random however, sometimes its best to put things that you actually want on there. Devil Force items can do the job for you. --->A list<---(scroll to the bottom)

As you can see those items allow you to specifically boost certain skills/stats you want.

By spending 40k sp at any yagiya in the cathedrals (second option) you can get DF items :D

Mitama

Mitama mitama mitama....the wonderful macca sink. Mitama fusions are crazy useful and super important in hitting damage cap with as little gear as possible. As per usual read up on the --->wiki<---

Most of it is pretty self explanitory however I'll add in a few reminders:
    -When planning your demon's mitamas keep in mind you can only mitama strengthen as many rebirths as you had pre-mitama. For example if I wanted both 25% Fire and 25% ice boost I would need r8 Pertho pre and post mitama.
    -You will need 1 mitama for each strengthen you do. So yes....for 25% fire boost you need 4 Ara Mitamas to use. (yay rags shop...)
    -For lack of a better way of explaining this one...I'll use an example. If you have 1 Ara, 3 Nigi, 1 Kusi, and 3 Saki Mitamas on wyrd you get 10% lb power and chance as well as the crit bonus. Basically you can get multiple passives from strengthening if you plan your mitamas correctly.
    -Mitama Demon Growth Sciences is SUPER useful. I highly recommend everyone getting this at    some point with the crazy exp cap. If you are a demon user I would get this over c5 enhance. I did it the other way around and it was a bit of a pain. The damage increase, the speed boost, the sp gain, all of it makes this worth it.
    -Keep in mind that your demon force slots all unlock after mitama too.....and Digitalize (after Dlvl5) requires mitamaed demons to so...wooo *confetti*

Demon Sacrifice
-I suggest reading --->here<--- for a list of demon sacrifice skills. If you are starting out Vinyl Strike is a good Demon Sacrifice skill to look into (you need a Moh Shyvuu to 94 anyway so you can either fuse or sacrifice the skill.) as you can hit damage cap with 0 gear on a super AoE.

Help with Demon fusion paths:
I do like poking around and planning demons. If you want some help planning please leave the following:
 
Character class
Alignment
Desired Demon
Skills Preferred (If you have any)
First demon or end game demon?

I'll get on the fusion paths as soon as I can as well as a proposed mitama path ^_^.

Mage Guide

Once again click -----> here<------ before you start reading this. This guide contains build information reflecting the exp cap increase as well as some tips and tricks of being a mage.

Mages are your typical shoot fire at things and watch them burn class to an extent. SMT has put a couple little twists on what being a mage could be. Here are some of the common builds for a mage.

Some general tips for being any mage:
When using AoE spells/rushes be sure you can either kill the mob you fire at or be ready to handle the hell that ensues. Too many times have I seen people rush in use a maragion on a group of enemies then die because they couldn't keep up with the rushes/spells/basic attacks that came after them.

All stats go into Magic to begin with (kind of a duh statement but hey). Secondarily you can put some points into luck for the crit chance boost but majority of it should go into Intelligence. Mages use a ton of mp.....(another duh statemenet).


Shotmage:

OMFG SHOTMAGE??? I can use guns and shoot magic? No....sorry...not the class for you ;3 Be patient wait for a gunner guide. Shotmages use Destruction Magic to blow things up. A typical build will consist of maxed out destruction magic and magic control. Shotmages usually hybrid with Enhance or Curse of the Wretched. There are so many ways to build a shotmage with the inclusion of the Conditions of Magic Control chain added as well.

One end game build:

Class 10 Destruction Magic
Class 7 Magic Control
Class 8 Support
Class 4 Curative
Class 8 Curse
Class 5 Bless

Class 7.4 Cotw
Class 5.9 Enhance

Gear:
For shotmages the best gear you can have is anything that boosts cooldown, incantation, base magic stat, and spell. Anything that boosts the amount of times you can use a skill (those ruby/lazurite eyes for example) or boosts general/elemental damage by a percentage is good.

Most of the time you want to specialize in one or two elements. Fire and electric tend to be good to start with as there is some gear that boosts both, while vishnu cyrstals boost electric per tarot as well.

If you have the money you can specialize in becoming a megispammer. Megidoraon and Megidora will be your primary spells. This requires as much cooldown as you can get and certain weapons and things that boost almighty for you to do the max damage.

Demolition Dasher:

More commonly known as DD, the demo dasher is the up close and personal mage using elemental rushes to get in demon's faces. As with a shotmage, DD has the potential to hybrid with a multitude of chain expertise. DD has one of the highest modifiers in the game for chain expertise, making it a wonderful beginner class. Blowing through sugi silver floors without a weapon is quite nice :3

Be warned: DD skills are in fact rush skills and can be countered by attack and counter like normal melee rushes. Use your demon wisely.

One DD Build:
Class 10 Destruction Magic
Class 7 Magic Control
Class 8 Rush

Class 8 DD

DDs typically hybrid with either COTW or Enhance. You can get Delorean and the major buffs/debuffs from cotw and enhance, however if you want the new almighty rush I do believe you need to pick one or the other. 

Gear:
Typically you want to focus your boost on one element (usually fire) and there are a number of gears that do so. Go for anything that boosts your general damage if possible. Spell stacks are great as well allowing you to rush through things multiple times. DDs have little to no cd problems (unless you plan on being a hybrid with enh or shotmage) therefore focus on lowering incantation.

Its good to have powerful weapons that boost element damage but keep in mind you will eat through durability like a kid and candy. The good thing; DDers typically can blow through lower runs (bronze/silvers/gold floor rooms) without using a weapon. Therefore you can save the powerful punch weps for the bosses :3


FAQ:

Q: So DD is rushes right....shouldn't I raise rush and use those?
A: Not typically. All your points go into Magic and either secondary into Intelligence. Normal rushes rely on Strength to do its damage so you won't be doing much with those.

Q: So....why can't I use guns...its called shotmage....
A: For the same reason as the first question. Gunners use speed as a primary stat. Mages, once maxed out on their Magic stat would most likely need Int as their secondary. Ma-dynes and Megis cost a lot to spam.

Q: You haven't posted all the builds here....why is that?
A: There are so many ways to build a mage that it really depends on your playstyle. Want more Cotw? Get less Enhance. The basic builds mentioned above are not set in stone. If you need/want help feel free to contact me here, on the western forums or in game and I'd be happy to help plan a specific build for you.

Rounding Expertise

-10/17/15 EDIT-
While all the information in this guide is still 100% important, it is much..much MUCH easier to round out things now. 

First of all it is still recommended to plan out builds for core, at level 90 and post level 90. There is now up to 75k points if you decide to go for all those extra side quests.

Once your build is planned, see how many of the expertise you want to class 5 or above, and can fit into your level 90 build. Total those classes up and move on to the next step.

Do any quests for any expertise that needs unlocking (ie. gun knowledge or magic control). Get those to class 1.

Finally leave everything off. Yes you heard me off. Farm up any variation of OOPTHS, have a friend farm them for you, or buy them in babel (players occasionally sell handfuls of them. For like 20k I got about 30 OOPTHS). You want to take these to any yagiya npc. Click the third option and a menu to trade in the OOPTHS for a yagiya note should pop up. Convert all the OOPTHS you get (you need 1 OOPTH per rank, 10 per class) and then turn on your exp you want to raise. Find the thoth in babel or H3 and press the first option. If you don't know which option is the specific expertise you are going for, check out Nori's translations. Spam away till you reach class 5 of the expertise, then dance around happy when you have shields or Fire shot,  without the days of spamming 1 for hours on end.

This only works up to class 5, so there is still a bit of manual grinding that comes into play. This is where making sure you keep your build rounded is very important. The extra quests are a bit pesky...therefore you want to be as rounded as possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So with all the guides to make certain types of characters, one thing is in common for all of them. There is this strange concept of "rounding" your builds. Here is a short little guide on what it all means.

As per usual read ---> this <---- first. So much good stuff already written down.

There are three stages of grinding:
 Pre-30:
This is arguably the most important time in your SMT career. In the Home III magic shop, the robed dude sells three different items that you can use ONLY if you are under level 30; Lethe Waters, Lethe Bottles, and Hourglass of Reversal.
     Lethe Water: Removes one rank (100 points) of any expertise chosen.
     Lethe Bottle: Removes one class (1000 points) of any expertise chosen.
     Hourglass of Reversal: Sets all stat points back to 0, allowing you to reallocate them.
These items are INCREDIBLY important in guaranteeing enough expertise points for your final build.

Lets take a mage build for example whose final build looks something like this:

Class 10 Destruction Magic (Maxed)
Class 7 Magic Control (Maxed)
Class 2 Rush
Class 4 Curative
Class 8 Support (Maxed)
Class 8 Curse (Maxed)
Class 3 Bless

This gives them:
Class 5.3 Enhancement
Class 7 Curse of the Wretched
Class 6 Demolition Dash

For most of their time leveling between 1 and 90 however they will have someone else to do the buffing for them. So what they want to have is their main damaging expertise and some basics of the other two chains unlocked. So Pre-30 their build may look like this:

Class 2 Curative
Class 2 Support
Class 1 Bless
Class 2 Curse
Class 3 Magic Control
Class 5 Destruction Magic
Class 2 Rush

This gives them the basics from all the chains. Now what you want to have a perfect build is exactly Class 2 Rank 0.00 for Rush for example. How can that be accomplished? The newbie lethe waters mentioned above. If you grind to Class 2 Rank 1 of rush and then use the lethe water you will have exactly the expertise you need, leaving the spare .07 points you would have wasted for another exp.

90:
So now you've grinded till your brain has exploded. Now what? In order to keep this perfect rounded build you have constructed you need to keep up with it. Every 10 levels you get another 1000 exp points. Use them. Immediatly. Grind another class into your main exp chain if you are not maxing that exp.

If you are maxing something, in our example something like destruction magic, you don't need to worry as much about hitting exactly 1k since the game will round your exp for you when you get class 10. Its still a good habit to be in to grind every 10 levels. It breaks up the grinding process a bit and ensures you wont forget something.

So continuing the example by level 90 the mage should have a build that looks like this:
Class 10 Destruction Magic
Class 7 Magic Control
Class 2 Curative
Class 2 Support
Class 2 Curse
Class 1 Bless
Class 2 Rush

This means the main part of the build (ie the damaging part) is done.

Post 90: 
Here is where you start doing things for your expertise. Look on the wiki to see the requirements for obtaining the extra exp. However keep in mind you still want a perfect build. Once you get the 1k exp or whatever USE IT. Odds are for your secondary classes you wont be maxing everything (curative and bless in our example). Keep that hard earned rounded build rounded and you are good to go.


FAQ

Q: Why should I grind an expertise then lethe it down even if I will be getting more of it later?
A: You want to round off things before you need to level if possible. Yes you are just prolonging the    inevitable spam of a skill on a hua po, but you will be happy about it later on.

Q: So....should I be using a lethe after every Class?
A: Nope. Don't lethe unless you are done grinding that particular expertise for the time being.

Balm of Life Survey Guide

Bi-weekly (?) Survey for free Balm of Life (non trade) is up again!

Duration: 11/11 After Maint - 11/26 Before Maint

How to enter survey:

Answer Qs until end. 

Look at post...viola! Your free balm is here!

Turning Demon AI off

Click All in Red to stop your demon from attacking while grinding.

Enhancer Guide

Since we are on this create guides kick I'll keep the streak going (and increase the amount of pictures I need to gather o.o) and give my two cents on being an enhancer..

First things first I wont be repeating what can be found --->here<--- if possible. Read through the wiki page. It has some incredibly useful information.

Your job:
As typical mmos go, your job as the enhancer is to keep your party alive and buffed while continuing to debuff enemies. In contrast to typical mmos, most of the time you are asked to be able to dish out some damage as well through your demon. To be an enhancer you really do need to be a good multi-tasker.

A fairly long --->demon guide<--- posted here.

Enhancer Types and builds:
There are some enhancer builds on the wiki however due to the exp cap being raised, and support and curse having higher class caps as well, I will post my current build and some thoughts on other enhancer builds here. Please note that this is not the guaranteed way to go this is just the way I built my characters.

Note: For all enhancers your main stat to raise and buff should be Intelligence. As far as I know, to maximize your buffs you need 240 Int. This can only be obtained through Soul Stones and Tarots. 

Hexhancer:

This is the "typical enhancer" as mentioned above. You are buffing, debuffing, and using your demon to blow through runs. 

Expertise:
Below 30:
Class 4 Curative Magic
Class 2 Bless
Class 1 Magic Control
Class 2 Curse Magic
Class 1 Destruction Magic

Once you have the above build max out support to class 8 and then curse to class 8 to get the build below. This ensures shields as early as possible while allowing you to easily round things off.

At level 90:
Class 4 Curative Magic
Class 8 Support Magic
Class 2 Bless
Class 8 Curse Magic
Class 1 Magic Control
Class 1 Destruction Magic

Class 5 Enhancement
Class 4.8 Curse of the Wretched

Max exp:
Class 8 Support Magic
Class 8 Curse Magic
Class 7 Curative Magic
Class 1 Destruction Magic
Class  9 Magic Control
Class 9 Bless

Class 8 Enhancement
Class 7.7 Cotw

Things to do in runs:
Before the run, max out your four stacks on your basic buffs, throughout the run try to keep them up. Once you spam them four times you only need to use them once to keep them at full stacks. Only recently moving over to being at square one have I found appreciation for these basic buffs again. they do more (especially early game) than I thought.

During the run, typically before each room you will use your Pulse skills and shields if you have them. SA those who want it, typically this benefits rapid gunners and melees but if a DD or MB wants it make sure to keep the buff up.

Once inside the room you typically want to COTW everything. I HIGHLY discourage new enhancers using this till you have a Mothman/Cato crystal set or until you are 100% sure you wont die. COTW aggros everything to you and in a Sugi silver run with a million caits running at you.....usually means death :3

Finally for debuffs you want to be hexing the boss. If you don't have the mp to support all three debuffs, do the one for the party member that does the most damage (i.e. if Dia is smashing Decarb on the head and doing more damage than a mage then do the cls-range hex) Usually its not worth it to be hexing regular mobs because the cooldown on hex is incredibly long.


LoA Enhancer:
Loa Enhancer is a slightly different build as it makes you more of a tank for the party rather than just the buffer. Through the retaliation chain expertise, you can take little to no damage on almost all the runs. With the expanded exp cap, LoA Enhs have become a bit more viable than their English server counterparts.

Pre 30:
Class 1 Bless
Class 2 Weapon Knowledge
Class 2 Attack
Class 1 Destruction Magic
Class 4 Curative
Class 1 Magic Control
Class 2 Curse Magic

Once you have these basics max out your survival Techniques. This will give you the key skill for being a LoA enhancer. I went for c7 survival techniques because it helps keep your armor alive better. If you want a quicker way to get the c4 retaliation grind c4 weapon knowledge and c5 survival tech.

Level 90:
Class 2 Curse Magic
Class 1 Destruction Magic
Class 7 Survival Technique
Class 2 Weapon Knowledge
Class 6 Support Magic
Class 1 Bless
Class 4 Curative Magic
Class 1 Magic Control
Class 2 Attack

Max Exp:
Class 7 Survival Tech
Class 2 Weapon Knowledge
Class 2 Attack
Class 9 Bless
Class 8 Support Magic
Class 8 curse Magic
Class 1 Destruction Magic
Class 1 Magic Control

Class 4 Retaliation
Class 7.1 Enhancement
Class 6.1 Curse of the wretched

During a run:
As opposed to a hexhancer you want to be in the middle of everything always. Cotw things and pull the aggro to you immediately. Whatever you don't stone/paralyze will start bashing you on the head....for 1 hp ( if your defenses are high enough) this leaves the rest of your party to clean up while you sit and spam heal.

Similarly to hexhancers however, you do want to Pulse and shield if you have them. Hex the bosses when necessary and keep everyone alive. Kill things with your demon but try not to pull aggro off of yourself. You are the tank.

Hyrbid Enhancer:
Any hybrid enhancer usually gets Class 2.5 in Enhancement Chain due to the SA. Typically they use the buffs more than the heals, leaving their demon to do so.

Typical 2.5 enhance:
this can be tacked on as a secondary class for any class.

Class 2 Curative
Class 3 Support
Class 1 Bless
Class 2.7 Enhancement.

Newbie Melee Guide

Pics coming soon. D: sorry too lazy to do them now

Yoyoyo alright I guess your here because you want to be some kind of ninja...l can help with that.

Being a melee means that your the front line. It is your job to die for the gunners *cough* I mean tank for the gunners by out putting mid-high constant damage on bosses and everything around you. For the sake of not ruining your first melee build lets stick to the basic build. 

<-->

First off before ANYTHING stay bellow level 30. Yep stay level 29 or under. Got it? Alright good go die all you want now. The reason for is it to 'round off'  your expertise. 

<-->

What are Expertise? 

Expertise are pretty much skills. Unlike every mmo under the sun we dont have skill trees. Theoretically we can do what we please. Logically we cant. We are limited to a total of 26,000 expertise points or 26k pts.(youll never get more cuz youre poor). Having them scattered all over the place will do you more harm and no harm to demons. This is because you n00bed out and decided to be a melee mage gunner and output no damage and are a total fail. :D We still love you tho. 

To access the expertise menu press H (look at the link bellow for a picture and translations)

Credit to Kery *cough* NORI 

Noris translation of the expertise menu 

http://smtclanrush.blogspot.ca/2014/10/stats.html

 To turn on the expertise to allow for grinding click the grey bar so that it turns red as such

To grind use the skill over and over and over until your brains and fingers fall out in the virtual battle room as such

Make sure you DONT learn the new skills because you will do more damage then what youre looking to do for grinding purposes. 

PRO TIP Classes are composed of 10 Ranks. You need to go through 10 ranks of nonsense to get Class 1. Grind one more rank on top of that new class you acchieved.

What Expertise should I get? 

 As a basic melee god of all damage what you need to do is focus on a chain expertise called Retaliation (more on this later). To obtain this chain you need to be a boss and grind
Attack to Class 2

 

Weapon Knowledge to Class 1 
  

(no image) Survival Technique to Class 1. 

Focus on this first dont do acts dont level obtain the retaliation the rest is cake...with arsenic frosting. Once you reach those classes grind one more rank and stop turn off the expertise bar!

How do I grind Attack? 

Easy punch things. Simple no weapons just punch as such

How do I grind Weapon Knowledge?
 Not so easy. Spin at slime. I recommend you have bandages ->

to restore HP and and and and a healing demon to heal your dying behind.

How do I grind Survival Technique?

Defy logic dont die. lol jk....The safest way to do so is using guard on the Gaki in the second room of the Virtual Battle.

Be sure to bring gum
to restore MP and have a healing demon with you

I finished grinding but I have Class 2.02 pt Attack (or whatever) what do I do?  
SEE KERYS GUIDE ON ROUNDING IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THIS DERP

Im surprised you survived. Easy  keep grinding to the next rank. So you will have Class 2 Rank 1 1.02 pts.

Go to the magic shop 

<-map picture coming soon->

Buy a newbie Lethe water ( it only works if you are level 29 and under thats why we dont level up early got it?)

EAT IT

Example: Use it on Attack (or what ever needs rounding) DONT WORRY ABOUT ROUNDING IF YOUR GOING TO KEEP GRINDING THE SKILL

It will eliminate one rank of attack making a perfectly make sure u eliminate the rank you want not some other expertise :/ SO itll make Class 2 Rank 1.02pt go to Class 2.0pts. PERFECT (dont do this if your planning to get Class 8 or Class 9 attack)

PRO TIP ask Kery for exact expertise points on harder builds this is the stepping stone a proper build looks more like Class 8 Attack Class 6 Weapon Knowledge Class 4 Survival Technique.

Im a Retaliation melee now what?

JUST KEEP GRINDING JUST KEEP GRINDING. Ask any of us for the next phase. Most likely you can venture out on the world with these three expertise and be pretty safe. Hell you can even leave them on and enjoy the game without much repercussion.  But youre not that kinda person. I know your smart because I swear a lot and your fine with that so I know youre gonna keep grinding attack to kill HUGE DEMONS. Right? :D RIGHT?! D:< 

Where do I assign my Stat points into?

First do Strength completely fill that. Then do vitality, luck, or intelligence( dont do this one unless you want to learn enhance another chain ask kery for more details.)

How do I hybrid properly? 
Read kerys guide on Hybrid Enhancer(coming soon). This produces a "Rambo Melee" immune to knock back

End Builds
These are all generic builds that work

Pure Melees

Attack melee (DPS Boss Killer)
Class 8 Attack (can range to Class 9)
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge  (can range to Class 8)
Class 4 Survival Technique (can range to Class 9)
Class 6 Retaliation
http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Retaliation

Max Retaliation Build (DPS Boss Killer Lvl 2)
Class 9 Attack
Class 9 Weapon Knowledge
Class 7 Survival Tech
Class 8 Retaliation

Rush Melee (Mid Range, Low DPS, Raising Attack recommend)
Class 2 Attack (can range up to Class 5)
Class 7 Rush
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge
Class 1 Survival Tech (can vary)

Spin Melee (Area of Effect, Crowd Control, Tank, Low damage Low DPS)
Class 2 Attack
Class 7 Spin
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge

Counter Melee (Theoretical build)
Class 5 Attack
Class 7 Counter
Class 1 Spin
Class 1 Rush
Class 9 Pursuit

Rampage Melee <- Chain expertise
Rampage melee builds vary depending on play style you'll have to figure this one out for yourself
Base skills:
Class 2 Attack -20%
Class 1 Spin -20%
Class 1 Rush -20%
Class 3 Pursuit -40%
http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Rampage

Clannie Spin Builds
Dia's Old Spin Build

Class 2 Attack 

Class 7 Spin (3 Step Crescent Moon) 

Class 6 Weapon Knowledge

Class 2 Guard

Class 1 Dodge (Stun Dodge)

Class 2 Rush

Blue's Spin Build
Class 5 Attack
Class 7 Spin (Dragon Sweep)
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge
Class 2.5 Counter
Class 1 Dodge (Stun Dodge)

Hybrid Melees

Rambo Melee (Soloer build, Most common Melee build, AKA Enhancer Melee)
Class 8 Attack
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge
Class 4 Survival Tech
Class 2.5 Enhance
Class 4 Support
Class 2 Curative
Class 1 Bless


http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Enhancement
*see kerys guide for further information

Hex Melee (Minor Support, Rarely seen)
Class 8 Attack 
Class 6 Weapon Knowledge
Class 4 Survival Tech
Class 1 Curse of the Wretched
Class 1 Destructive Magic
Class 2 Curse Magic
Class 1Magic Control
Class 1  Bless

http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Curse_of_the_Wretched
*see Kery's guide for further information

FREY'S MINI GUIDE TO BECOMING A MELEE GOD

1st. Grind to Class 2 Attack Class 1 Survival Tech Class 1 Weapon Knowledge stay under level 30 for this only
2nd. DISREGARD EVERYTHING ELSE I SAID IT DOESNT APPLY TO YOU ANYMORE!! YOU DO NOT NEED TO ROUND ANYTHING OFF 
2nd. Leave all expertise on *DO NOT USE THE ITEMS I GAVE YOU THROW THOSE AWAY RIGHT NOW* 
3rd. Raise all expertise while playing (GRIND OCCASIONALLY BUT TURN OFF CLASS 6 RANK 9 SURVIVAL TECH) 
4th. Play the game until your level 69 DO NOT LEVEL AFTER THIS AND FINISH GRINDING ATTACK TO CLASS 9 WEAPON KNOWLEDGE TO CLASS 9 
5th. Turn on Survival Tech and level ONE time
6th. Grind one rank of survival tech build should be done at this point. 
7th. Buy me shiny new things cuz I made this guide for you
8th. Quit Game.
9th. Play Game randomly 
10th. Hate game and come back for a month.
11th. Finish Game.
Just remember your a melee your always free to use rush counter guard spin ect. Raising those doesnt do much for attack builds. Raising rush will only make it hit harder ect ect ect. Retal also lowers cooldown on certain skills while using certain weapons so yeah...


What next?

Okay so you've become da greatest master of pokemon, now what? Congratulations heres a certificate you can print on your gameboy printer.

As for melee the next step is acquiring weapons. Make sure to obtain 1 weapon of each type preferably all blunt if your an attacker, if your a spinner make sure to buy spears. Morning stars work well with flamies crystals and such. Okay you probably quit playing by now so why am I writing this? Who cares :D. Here we go Fire, Ice, Force, Electric, and Death  are the main ones to go for Expel is not used unless you run Assassin runs. Just ask us in game for tips  

FAQ's

"Omg Dia did you just do like 4 spins in a row what was that that was so awesome *-* CAN YOU SHOW ME HOW?"

No I am a Spin Melee. A spin melee is the main tank of the party. I do little to no damage but I do damage to everything around me. I will die for Kery Nori and Shizu without a second thought because I am the slave at the front. You arent you are a retal melee meaning that you damage while I draw aggro. I might look shiny but Im not the hero. You are. GOT THAT? I DO NO DAMAGE 

"Can I use my expertise points to learn heals to keep myself alive?" 

This is a big rookie mistake we see a lot. Dont do it we have demons that we can teach powerful heals too. If your a melee you wont have the 'Intelligence' (stat) Needed to heal yourself properly. 

"Can I use a gun?" 

*slaps you and walks away* 

"Can I use magic?

*throws you in a ditch*

"Why are my weapons being nulled?" 

Well demons are weak to different things. You need to find the affinity that demon is weak too. Fire kills trolls. You need a fire sword. Dont noob out I will post a weapon guide for you and hell maybe Ill even help you make a few weapons to keep those baddies away. :D 

"Well you babbled your face off but whats retaliation even do?" 

SHUT UP D:< i mean be quiet. It stacks damage on to weapons. Hence blunt fire weapon does triple damage or some crap idk dont look at me im not writing this guide.

GOOD TO KNOW STUFF TO KNOW TO GOOD 
http://megaten.sesshou.com/wiki/index.php/Melee_Type

Destiny Guide

So I figured there is one in the western forums but.....I found it a bit confusing so....I'll make my own :D This run is both my favorite, as it gives free items, and my most hated run, as it tends to tease me with good things yet never pays out.

Overview
Destiny is a 5 minute run that you can do once every hour. To start the run talk to Yagimiya in any of the major cities:

Home 3 [18,20]
Babel [23,19]
Arcadia [20,21]
Souhonzan [16,23]
Protopia [20,21]

You get items put into a special depo by killing demons within the run. In order to benefit from the run you must fill all 100 spaces within this "destiny depo". Once you reach 100, items will be overwritten. If there is something in your depo that you want a chance at be sure to avoid overwriting it!

Demons
Demons spawn (and respawn) in three different groups based on alignment. Note that the demons will always spawn in groups of four and will only re spawn when all four within that group are killed.

Law
Tao Tie
Raksasha
Baphomet
Cyclops

Neutral
Mothman
Empusa
Incubus
Bicorn

Chaos
Forneus
Choronzon
Ghoul
Decarabia

Special Demons
Special demons spawn at 3:00 remaining and 1:00 remaining be sure to keep an eye out for them!

Jack Frost
-200 macca papers in Destiny Box
Black Frost
-200 mag presses in Destiny Box
King Frost
-2 Ymir Bones
Myo-Ryo
-If not killed within 30 seconds ENTIRE DESTINY  box is cleared
Will-O-Wisp
-If NOT killed in 30 seconds gives items in destiny Box.

Mitamas
If you clear the floor twice the four Mitamas will spawn
Aramitama -weak to fire
Nigimitama -weak to ice
Kushimitama -weak to electric 
Sakimitama -weak to force

All four mitamas resist almighty based damage, and all other elements minus the one they are weak against. Killing all four will grant a 1 minute buff that slightly increases the chance of better items in your destiny box. Also killing them grants points toward a free silver coin. Each successive kill of the four Mitamas raises this chance.

Rewards
Each demon you kill will give anywhere from 1 to about 5 items in your destiny depo ranging from basic consumables to data tickets, weapons, item pieces.

If you manage to fill all 100 slots in the destiny depo talk to Yagimiya and click the first option, and she will give you one RANDOM item.

You can increase the number of items given to you by using coins
Silver coin
-Allows you to have 1 extra randomly gifted item
Gold coins (CP)
-Allows you to have 2 extra randomly gifted items
Dart (CP)
-Allows you to choose one item in your depo.

Daily Rewards
Each day the Yagimiya will give you a "destiny buff" which increases player and demon's STR, SPD etc by 25 for 30 minutes.

Also you can daily get an item by clicking the third from the last option, as depicted below, and Yagimiya will give you one item from a set list. The items will rotate in order listed below.

• Incense of Experience (1Day, Non-Trade) 
• Incense of Experience (Demon 1Day, Non-Trade)
• Jack Card
• Ripe Watermelon
• Jewel Box x10
• Queen Card
• Mandala Carrot
• Incence of Experience and Protection (Demons) (3x)
• King Card
• Choice of a x24 Card 

Tips and Tricks
-The ability to use at least two elements at lower levels is advised. Electric and Force is my preferred elements on a starting demon as they will kill anything in the run. (Minus mitamas)

-At lower levels focus on killing/re spawning the neutral demons. They are all weak to electric minus the incubus but a good mazanma will take him out.

-Always keep an eye on your timer. Having skills on cool down or having some demons half killed and aggroed to you can cost you a special demon spawn.

Notes:
Pictures coming soon :D
Some information updates soon :D

Info pulled mostly from observation or researched here.

Beginner Guide

 Things to do in the early game:

-Round out your expertise. Seriously. With the insane prices on the JSmt server, lethes go for crazy amounts....like 9.5mil kind. The earlier you plan your build and perfect it, the better. Take advantage of those pre-30 lethes and get your grinding done! Don't know what rounding is? Click ---> this <---- to learn!

-When planning your exp keep in mind the new expertise and chain expertise. Plus if your feeling ambitious the maximum cap is now 42k! Happy planning!

-Do all the St.Germain quests AFTER level 20 but BEFORE 30. (so you can lethe away the exp you get) You will get the free non-trade lethe bottles that you can use later if you get in a pinch. These quests have a level requirement now though so keep that in mind!

-DB Kano in H3 also has a quest for a lethe bottle.

-Read this. The Mp boost is crazy good especially if you are grinding/are a MB gunner :D

- Pick up one of three free demons:

      Nekomata
      Hathor
      Kikure-Hime

     All three of them come with:
        600% Xp boost
        30% boost in their respective elements
        50% curative skill (maybe they will keep dia alive ._.)
        30% Mp cost reduction
        5000k Sp (given at the same time as the anonymous tablets and depo pass)

After finishing act 2 and BEFORE act 7, head over to the cathedral and the cathedral guy will give you the option to pick one of the three. He also gives you 5 anonymous tablets which allow you to summon demons that are above you in level and a demon depository pass. Quite the wonderful little gift there CAVE thanks :3

-At level 20 you can go to the DCO Shop and look for the 0 CP pack :D some nice little free items for you to stare at in your otherwise barren post box. You can get this free box at lvl 25, 35, 45, 60, 70

Some daily things to do:

Denshi Kairo (STEVEN) runs
Destiny
Mirage Quest

 Some other helpful beginner tips

-Bronze runs are now remotely useful!!! You get 1-3 broken gems in the reward boxes for opening glittering ore doors. The broken gems can be item mixed to make 1-3 normal gems which can be sold to any NPC for a base of 5k per gem. That's like....selling diamonds from the old server o.o

-Watch out for the menus when trying to party/friend someone. JSmt has a blacklist option.

-DO NOT use say and shout chat unless you absolutely need to. It is considered inappropriate to use these....why have them I don't know but seriously...so many pms after the accidental shift + enter mistake.

Helpful links:

I know there are some posted by nori on the site but heres some quick go to things that I use regularly

Common Japanese phrases used in Smt
English Wiki is still being updated :D
Japanese Wiki powered by Google Translate
Link to Noris post with Stat/Exp Translation
A little set of Menu Translations 

FAQ:

-Kery! Make me a build D:

Sure thing have a list of what you want ideally at the end (ie Max rapid Max MB) and ill come up with a build for you ^^. Also please let me know if you plan on being hardcore and getting 42k exp and I will plan accordingly.

-Kery! Make me a demon!

Demons are my specialty :3 Have your ideal demon picked out or at least what you want it to do and I will throw some suggestions/come up with a build path for you. If possible have your alignment picked as well.

-I can't get back into the VB. I wanna grind and perfect my exp T_T

No sweat :D Just finish the guards quest right outside the vb to gain access back in.