As the newest entry in the series, Shin Megami Tensei 5 showcases a lot of concepts brought over from its predecessors. One such concept is the existence of Magatsuhi, a special power desired by demons in Shin Megami Tensei 3. In its original game, Magatsuhi was more of a narrative concept, but it has a more practical use in this entry.
In Shin Megami Tensei 5, the player can collect Magatsuhi in order to use a powerful skill that can change the flow of battle. There are a lot of different Magatsuhi skills in the game, and the following are some of the best to use.
10 Soul Drain
Soul Drain is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Night race, and it allows the demon to drain both the HP and MP of the target. Its damage is level-based, meaning it only grows stronger the more powerful the demon is.
Soul Drain is fairly useful for recovering HP and MP while damaging the enemy, but that usefulness is limited since it only works on the user. Nevertheless, it can be a good way to stay healed up during a long boss battle.
9 Omagatoki: Free
Omagatoki: Free is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Femme race, and it reduces the cost of all skills to only 1 MP for 1 turn. This means that even extremely costly skills like Megidolaon can be cast for basically free.
Although it might seem incredibly useful, this Magatsuhi skill is not great for conserving MP since it only lasts for one turn. It is better used when the party is low on MP, allowing them to make use of their remaining MP before needing to use Chakra Drops.
8 Omagatoki: Doubler
Omagatoki: Doubler is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Fallen race, and it doubles the effects of both buffs and debuffs. This only affects the party, so attention to detail is necessary when using this skill. Still, buffs are very important in Shin Megami Tensei, so this skill has its uses.
This Magatsuhi skill is a good way to quickly buff up the party before starting a big boss battle. Since there are only two stages of buffs or debuffs in Shin Megami Tensei 5, using Matarukaja or Marakukaja once will fully buff the entire party in that particular stat.
7 Sea Of Stars
The unique Magatsuhi skill of the Divine race, Sea Of Stars restores a moderate amount of MP to all allies. Since MP as a resource can be hard to come by, that makes this skill very useful — even more so than Omagatoki: Free when it comes to conserving MP.
With even the most basic elemental attack skills using around 10 MP, players will quickly find themselves hurting for MP, especially during long boss battles. Sea of Stars allows the player to partially replenish their reserves, allowing them to fight at full power for a little bit longer.
6 Omagatoki: Luck
This Magatsuhi skill belongs to the Element and Genma races. Omagatoki: Luck doubles the amount of Experience and Macca earned at the end of the battle. The battle must be completed the turn the skill is used, otherwise the effect disappears.
Omagatoki: Luck is great for when the player is trying to level or farm Macca, especially when fighting against Mitama demons. It is less useful in important boss battles, but it is indispensible when trying to develop a strong roster of demons.
5 Omagatoki: Potential
Omagatoki: Potential is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Foul and Yoma races, and it raises the skill potential of all allies to +9. Since +9 potential is not naturally achievable even through demon fusion, this is the only way to obtain such powerful skills.
Higher skill potential means that not only are the skills more effective, they also cost less MP to use. If a party is particularly geared towards hitting a certain boss's weakness, Omagatoki: Potential can devastate them entirely. This skill is not as flashy as other Magatsuhi skills, but it is no less powerful.
4 Big Bang
Big Bang is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Drake race. It is a powerful Almighty attack that hits all enemies. Its damage is level-based, so it deals more damage the more powerful the user is.
Out of the various attack-type Magatsuhi skills, Big Bang is the strongest option. Not only does it do Almighty damage, it is extremely powerful, dealing massive amounts of damage even at lower levels. Big Bang is a good option to use when trying to quickly clear an abscess battle with multiple enemies.
3 Expand: Critical Aura
Expand: Critical Aura is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Brute race, and it guarantees that all Strength-based attacks deal critical damage. It also ensures that they never miss, creating an effect similar to Smirking from Shin Megami Tensei 4.
This is a slightly less useful version of Omagatoki: Critical, since it only affects physical attacks. However, since it also gives these skills 100% accuracy, Expand: Critical Aura can be used on physical skills with low accuracy to make sure that they hit their mark, such as Crusher Onslaught. That makes this Magatsuhi skill strong for demons based around physical damage.
2 Omagatoki: Critical
The default Magatsuhi skill for all demons, Omagatoki: Critical ensures that all attacks will be guaranteed critical hits. This is a powerful skill that can help a party to dominate the battle early on by ensuring a full round of extra press turns.
Omagatoki: Critical is not only useful because of its effect. It is also useful because every demon always has the ability to use this skill, meaning it is always available. Since there are only three spots for demons in the party, it is nice to not have to consider this skill as a factor when choosing party members.
1 Fairy Banquet/Rasetsu Feast
Fairy Banquet is the unique Magatsuhi skill of the Fairy race, while Rasetsu Feast belonds to the the Jaki race. These two skills have opposite but related effects: Fairy Banquet buffs all of the party's stats to the max, while Rasetsu Feast debuffs all of the foes stats to the minimum.
Both skills are great for quickly turning the tables on the opponent. These skills are so potent that it could be argued that it would be a mistake to try and tackle a challenging boss without at least one of these skills in the party's arsenal. Newcomers trying out the famously difficult Shin Megami Tensei franchise will find these skills indispensible.