How to get Demon Essence in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance

Give me your power.

Qaditsu from SMT V
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance is all about Demons: Catching them, fusing them, and inheriting their skills via Essence Fusion.

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By mastering Essence Fusion in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance, you can customize your Demons and protagonist, the Nahobino, to have the ideal skills and resistances. After all, in a game as challenging as this, optimizing all your stats and Demon party is a must. In this guide, I’ll show you how to get Essences and how Essence Fusion works in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance.

How to get Essences in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance

where to get essences in SMT V
Essence Shop. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Essences in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance are items that allow you to transfer skills and affinities between Demons. Here’s how you can get them:

  • Random drops from Demons: When you defeat Demons in battle, there’s a small chance they’ll drop their own Essence.
  • Demons rewarding essences: Sometimes, Demons in your party reward you with their Essence when they level up. This is also random but can happen, especially if you visit them in the Demon Haunt.
  • Purchasing from Gustave: After defeating the first boss, you can purchase Essences from Gustave at Cadaver’s Hollow. Gustave sells each Essence only once, but if you use it, you can buy another copy.
  • Treasure chests: You can find Essences in treasure chests scattered throughout the world. These chests appear as golden, dice-like objects. Break them open to find Essences and other items.
  • Quest rewards: Completing certain quests may reward you with Essences.
  • Demanding Essences from Demons: After learning the Deathly Aura III Miracle, you can demand a Demon’s Essence during conversations.

You can only carry one copy of a Demon’s Essence at a time. Once you use it, you must find or buy another to use it again.

How Essence Fusion works in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance

where to do essence fusion in SMT V
The World of Shadows. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Essence Fusion lets you transfer skills and affinities from Demons to other Demons and the Nahobino. Here’s how it works:

  1. Interact with a Leyline Fount, enter the World of Shadows, and select Essence Fusion from the Apotheosis Select menu.
  2. Choose the Demon you want to receive a new skill or affinity from the Essence Fusion.
  3. Pick the Demon Essence that contains the desired skills and affinities. Each Essence holds specific abilities tied to the Demon it originated from.
  4. In the Skill Pool, you’ll see all the skills the Essence offers. Select the ones you want to transfer. Some skills might be grayed out, indicating they are unavailable until you unlock the necessary Art of Essences Miracles.
  5. Move the chosen skills from the Skill Pool to the Skills list on the right.
  6. Once you’ve selected all the skills you want to transfer, complete the process. This action consumes the Essence and transfers the skills and affinities to your target in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance.
Author
Image of Cande Maldonado
Cande Maldonado
Though Cande started her journey in the video game industry as a localization specialist six years ago, she soon realized that her true calling was to annoy NPCS and smash virtual pottery. Under Nintendo and Square Enix's chokehold, she will willingly pour hours upon hours into reaching 100% completion in the longest roleplaying games ever made. But hey, who needs fresh air and sunlight when you can just live in Ivalice?