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    Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

    Game » consists of 4 releases. Released Jul 13, 2006

    Persona 3 is the fourth main entry in the Persona series. Introducing the "Social Link" system and removing several Shin Megami Tensei staples including the post-apocalyptic setting, Persona 3 greatly expanded the popularity of the series, particularly in the west. It also established the balance of traditional role-playing combat and social simulation that would define the series going forward.

    How often should I go to Tartarus

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    meteora3255

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    I just finished the third full moon operation (love hotel) after going to Tartarus basically every other day. I would run everyone to tired status and then give a day of rest before going back. I as heavily overleveled for the full moon boss and have finally got some evening social links opened up. I am curious what the recommended ratio is between Tartarus and social links/stat boosts is.

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    Voxus

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    Essentially, what you're doing is fine. There are days that certain events can only be accomplished on, but unless you have a guide they are a little vague on how to complete then. My strategy was to power through Tartarus to the stopping point, then use the remaining time to the next plot point to do social links.

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    SethPhotopoulos

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    #3  Edited By SethPhotopoulos

    I try to get to the end of each section of Tartarus in as few days as possible. That part where you can't go any further because the floors are blocked off. If you can make it to the end then you could probably stop going to Tartarus without worrying about your level.

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    meatsofevil

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    I just bum rush to the next boss, and then go back through the floor in case i can't beat the boss at my current level. I almost never ran my teammates to the tired state. Once you start getting more social links you will only be going to tartarus for a few days after you unlock each block. Also if you don't work on your charm academics and/or courage you will miss out on some social links, so it might actually be worth it for you to go watch movies or go to the coffee shop.

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    meteora3255

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    #6  Edited By meteora3255

    @meatsofevil: I have done some stat work. I have maxed charm and level 3 on courage and academics. I always run to tired just because I can't do anything else once I commit to Tartarus so I don't want to leave before maximizing my gains.

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    super2j

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    I am currently playing the game for the first time and in general I just go to tartarus a couple days before the full moon. Early on I spent my time leveling my courage, intelligence, and charm which was probably a bad idea. But after that I focused most nights on evening social links. I think I am almost done with the game and I have very little trouble with battles and have leveled most of my social links past 5.

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    bigmess

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    I mostly go when stray people get trapped in Tartarus.

    Do you get any other night social links other than the business man and monk?

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    wakkaflakkachimmichonga

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    whenever the next block opens immediately go and play until you reach the next blockade. then you can ignore it until the game allows you to proceed.

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    Zeik

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    #10  Edited By Zeik

    I find it ideal to try to cut it down to 2 trips a month. That gives you plenty of time to S. Link and raise stats without making the dungeon crawling an excessive grind. It is possible to do it all in one trip later if you want to min/max your time, but I feel like that's too much dungeon crawling without a break and kinda wrecks what little pacing the game has.

    If you're on the PS2 then you'll get tired a lot in the first few months and will likely have to make an extra trip, but ideally you want to make it to each checkpoint before leaving. If you're playing P3P then the tired mechanic is practically non-existent, but eventually you'll have to start planning your trips around rescuing people from Tartarus.

    @bigmess: FeMC gets an S. Link with Ken, Koromaru, and Shinji at night. Male MC only gets those two.

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    liquiddragon

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    I think for the first few month I went pretty frequently but 4-5 month in you can go twice a month. basically go high as you can and you'll be good.

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    bigmess

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    @zeik: Ohhh, thanks! I'm playing the male character and I was paranoid I was missing some social links.

    I didn't even realize the tired mechanic was different in P3P.

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    Zeik

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    #13  Edited By Zeik

    @bigmess: They progressively nerfed it with each iteration, but in P3P it's pretty much impossible to become tired or sick while exploring, unlike the earlier games. I was pretty disappointed they basically took it out of the game, as it was one of the primary things that set P3 apart from P4. They also took out the ability to become "Great" condition from using the bathroom, which was equally disappointing. That always made me chuckle.

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    I_Stay_Puft

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    #14  Edited By I_Stay_Puft

    What you're doing is fine. I'd actually recommend to try and get to the highest floor possible, save and then see if you can beat the floor level boss. It's always good to be over leveled for the next major full moon boss fight, the last thing you want to do is be under leveled and get your ass beat thoroughly. Another indicator of when to stop grinding and just progress through the social stuff is when you start noticing enemies running away from you due to you being stronger than them on the last zone levels you are in.

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    Humanity

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    @meteora3255: I always made a beeline for the boss gate and then leveled until I felt comfortable I wouldn't struggle. Left social stuff for the end.

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    Jesus_Phish

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    @zeik: I'm playing P3P and people get tired if they fall in battle and aren't revived before the battle ends, after they come out of Tartarus they're tired for a day or two and one of the first things. You can become "great" from using the bathroom but only as the male PC.

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    Nux

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    @voxus said:

    Essentially, what you're doing is fine. There are days that certain events can only be accomplished on, but unless you have a guide they are a little vague on how to complete then. My strategy was to power through Tartarus to the stopping point, then use the remaining time to the next plot point to do social links.

    I did the same exact thing and ended up maxing all but 2 Social Links.

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    afabs515

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    @zeik: I'm playing P3P and people get tired if they fall in battle and aren't revived before the battle ends, after they come out of Tartarus they're tired for a day or two and one of the first things. You can become "great" from using the bathroom but only as the male PC.

    I didn't believe in sexism in games until I read this post.

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    ds9143

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    Go every chance you get when your party members aren't tired. When they are tired, do school and social stuff.

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    cannonballbam

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    @meteora3255: What is the difficulty and version of Persona 3 that your playing?

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    meteora3255

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    Humanity

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    #22  Edited By Humanity

    @meteora3255: Also congratulations on playing the best Persona game. Thats right, I said it. Screw glasses, screw Teddy - that love hotel level in P3 if you choose to go with Yukari is reason enough as to why it's better. Also you get a dog and a robot as party members. C'mon.

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    FrostyRyan

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    Reach the highest level you can within each moon cycle.

    Simple as that.

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    cannonballbam

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    @meteora3255: @frostyryan: I agree with Ryan. I usually would try to reach the top of whatever section of Tartarus I was at. And then try to level my characters around 10 levels while trying to find new personas. Ken and Koromaru since they both have their respective instant kills, Hama and Madou. Plus they were resistant to their element.

    As far as fatigue goes, I would go to Tartarus 2 nights a week, study for 2 nights a week and rest for 3. If I remember correctly, you can buy a weekly item from the school store that will cure fatigue but I forget the name of it.

    I ended up using Protagonist (obviously), Mitsuru, Ken and Koromaru. I hope that helps.

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    BradBrains

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    #25  Edited By BradBrains

    3 nights a month is usally the average for me. run up fairly quickly. gage the boss fight and then once I beat it keep going up over and over until its pretty easy to beat most enemies.

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    meteora3255

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    @humanity: Yea I am actually watching the P4 ER right now for the first time. After getting about 40-50 episodes in I decided I wanted to play that game but didn't want the same ploy points so P3 seemed like a good choice. I am really liking it a lot so far although I wish some of the streamlined stuff in 4 was in 3 like being able to equip party members without having to talk to them first.

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    TobbRobb

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    However much you want. In both Persona 3 and 4 I aimed to spend as little time as humanly possible in the dungeons. So it ended up being about 2 days per month on average with a few of the late game dungeons taking more like 5 in P4. I tried doing something similar in 3, but the game has a lot of waste days where you actually have nothing else to do but tartarus... So I spent a lot more time there, but I doubt it ever went over 6-7 times in a month. Also, one day per dungeon was just running past the enemies to beat the boss with full SP from resting. If I got away with that little, you will probably be fine with whatever balance you want.

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    Jeust

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    I went to Tartarus enough to finish each flight of stairs.

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    hassun

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    senrat

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    Do as much as you can do each trip until you've made it to the end. found that I was usually able to do it in two trips or less. Sometimes I needed a third if it was a particularly difficult boss. You obviously want to maximize every trip so you can have more time to do stuff in the real world. Honestly, the game drags if you spend to much time in the dungeons and aren't moving foward.

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    Getz

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    Mirroring what other people are saying here, I'd get as far as I could in tartarus as soon as possible, and then social link up until the full moon.

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    FrostyRyan

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    Oh and I'd just like to say I did indeed exhaust my party members until they were tired every single time I went to Tartarus. Then of course do social stuff while everyone recovers, then once they do, work your way up again as far as you can in the moon cycle or until they get exhausted again.

    Finished the game completely fine like that. Hell, I didn't even die on the final boss.

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    Humanity

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    #33  Edited By Humanity

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