Leveling Guide: Best Leveling Areas

This is a guide to the best leveling areas in Shin Megami Tensei III HD Remaster (SMT Nocturne) for the Switch, PS4, and Steam! Read on to learn about the best leveling areas for each portion of the game!

Early Game (Lvl. 15~30+)

The levels of demons you encounter in the world of SMT 3 are fixed by their areas. This is why the beginning areas of the game are usually bad places for power-leveling.

Instead of staying at the beginner areas, here are some of the best areas to farm EXP during the early game.

Radio Tower Area (World Map)

Radio Tower Area (World Map)
Area	Enemies
(A) Yurakucho	Archangel, Principality
(B) Shinbashi	Archangel, Principality
(C) Shiba	Power, Archangel, Principality, Succubus
(D) Shibaura	Power, Archangel, Principality, Badb Catha

Available after arriving in Ginza, players can access this location by going to the world map and following the highway system to the east of Ginza.

You will encounter level 30+ demons in this area but they are easily dealt with by Phys or Dark type skills/demons. Be wary of the Badb Catha as their Wing Buffet skill deals high damage. It is recommended that players run away from them at lower levels unless the party has Electricity magic.

Caution: Most Divine demons here have access to insta-kill Light magic. Save often to prevent the loss of progress!

Place Where the Demi-Fiend Was Born (DLC Dungeon)

Place Where the Demi-Fiend Was Born
Area	Enemies
Underground Facility	Oni, Nigi Mitama, Saki Mitama, Datsue-Ba, Mou-Ryo, Yaka
1F	Oni, Nigi Mitama, Saki Mitama
2F	Phantom, Nigi Mitama, Saki Mitama, Yomotsu-Ikusa, Flauros, Chimera

Unique Rewards
Grimoire (Thin)	Earn a set amount of EXP.
Grimoire (Thick)	Earn enough EXP to level up.

The Place Where the Demi-Fiend Was Born, is one of the best places to farm EXP at all levels of the game. Owners of the Mercy and Expectation Map Pack DLC can use this dungeon as soon as they arrive in Ginza and unlock the Amala Link function.

Mitama Demons guarantee Grimoire drops. It is recommended that players flee battles without these demons present as it is a waste of time and HP to fight. Bring a healer with Dia or Media for post-battle heals and you should be good to go!

Mercy and Expectation Map Pack

Mid-Game (Lvl. 35~60+)

Kabukicho Prison

Kabukicho Prison
Area	Enemies
All Floors	Preta, Naga, Mizuchi
5F	Raiju, Pisaca, Yaksini (Rare)

Kabukicho Prison, despite having a confusing layout, is one of the best mid-game EXP farming locations for non-DLC players.

The Mizuchi and the Raiju demons in particular, are squishy while still giving good EXP. Due to the easiness of battles, this area is good for chaining encounters.

Use the Riberama skill to increase encounter rate and farm EXP to your heart's content.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park
Area	Enemies
Construction Site	Troll, Oberon, Titania, Setanta

Yoyogi Park is another good place to farm EXP especially after you've cleared it of Sakahag's presence. The Construction Site area, in particular, has you encounter Titania - a high-level Fairy demon that gives good EXP rewards when beaten.

It's as easy as chaining battles using Riberama to grind out a few levels before moving on with the story.

Amala Temple - Courtyard

Amala Temple - Courtyard
Area	Enemies
Courtyard Outside 3 Temples	Troll, Oberon, Titania, Suparna, Virtue, Dominion, Legion, Aquans

The Amala Temple Courtyard area is another good place to farm EXP. There is no shortage of high-level enemies to fight here, plus, they do not have much in the way of resistances so any Demi-fiend build should work here.

There is also a nearby Amala Drum Network (and it's inside a safe zone) which ensures that players can warp in and out to heal whenever they want. This area also doubles as a good recruitment zone, as players can access late-game Seraph and Divine demons here simply by recruiting Dominion.

Late-Game (Lvl. 50~90+)

Late-game leveling is a bit harder to achieve without the DLC EXP farm. However, there will be a lot of areas with high level demons that give good experience returns after battle. Here are some of the areas where players can grind out encounters.

Diet Building

Diet Building
Area	Enemies
All Floors	Girimekhala, Pulukishi

As with the trend moving forward, most of the best leveling areas will be in the unlocked areas during late-game. In the Diet Building, players will see much stronger demons like the Girimekhala spawning. But, at this point in the game, the Demi-fiend should already be fielding much more varied active parties due to varying boss weaknesses.

The Diet Building is a good place to farm EXP if players want to experiment with different endings. If players do not want to set foot inside the Tower of Kagutsuchi yet, this is one of the best places to grind out levels.

Fifth Kalpa (DLC Dungeon)

Fifth Kalpa - B1
Area	Enemies
B1	Hua Po, Nyx, Lilith, Aciel, Abaddon, Loki

While not at all convenient due to it's being a Kalpa Dungeon, the B1 level of the Fifth Kalpa dungeon is a good place to farm simply because it spawns high-level Night demons like Nyx and Lilith. They give amazing EXP even at high levels and should not be a problem for a party that's well into the latter content of SMT.

However, it would be advisable to bring demons with revival skills and healing skills outside of the active party in order to increase your chances of survival.

The Kalpa Dungeons and the Labyrinth of Amala are only available in the Maniax or Chronicle versions of the game.

DLC List and Pricing

Tower of Kagutsuchi

Tower of Kagutsuchi
Area	Enemies
All Floors	Throne, Surt, Rangda

This is by far one of the best places to farm EXP because it spawns some of the highest level demons in the game. The only downside is that when players get to this point, there really isn't a lot of progression left outside of fighting the last few bosses the game has to offer.

Use this area to prepare for the different boss fights headed your way, especially for players who are after the True Demon ending.

Other Tips to Make Power-Leveling Faster

Get Riberama

The Riberama Skill increases the encounter rate with demons until the next new Kagatsuchi. On Normal difficulty, this can have players fighting battles with every 2 steps they take.

Use this skill to farm low-level demons with ease, turning on Auto-Battle to maximize efficiency.

Set game to Merciful Difficulty (DLC)

One of the best ways to farm EXP is by setting the game to Merciful difficulty. This method gives x3~x4 more EXP per battle and the only thing players need is the skill to offset the difficulty's low encounter rate.

Note: Changing difficulties is easy and will not compromise saves. You can even change from Hard, to Merciful, then back to Hard if you wanted to. The best part is that it's free to download for any platform!

Merciful Difficulty DLC

Farm According to Your Levels

Do not farm the beginning areas when you are 6-10 levels ahead of the strongest demon there. The EXP just isn't worth it.

Instead, go to places with demons of a similar level to get appropriate rewards for your level.

Keep Demons with AOE attacks

Some demons, like Pixie, will eventually try to change the spells that they have. Zio will have a chance to become Mazio which targets all enemy combatants on the field.

AOE spells are useful since they clear mobs easily especially if they target weaknesses.

List of Skills

Always Prioritize the Demi-Fiend

In tough battles, prioritize the survival of the Demi-Fiend. Demons can be revived later, if the Demi-Fiend dies, it's game over.

Pay attention to his health especially when Auto-Battling to grind EXP.

Put Points in Strength

While there are some good spells in the early game, the Demi-Fiend shines when it comes to Physical Skills.

Do not neglect strength as this can help you later on with tougher enemies down the line.

What Does Strength (Str) Do

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Related Guides

Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks
How to Get Raidou	How to Get Dante
How to Heal and Revive Demons	How to Recruit Demons
Fusion Calculator Guide	How to Farm Lucky Tickets
Rag's Jewelry Shop	Build Guide: Best Demi-fiend Stat Builds
How to Fuse Demons	Mystical Chests Guide: List of Mystical Chests
What is the Kagutsuchi	List of Evolving Demons
Best Leveling Areas	How to Unlock the Compendium
Joining the Mantra: Gozu's Question	List of Trophies and Achievements
How to Get Deathstones	How to Return to the Amala Labyrinth
Fiend Bosses List and Locations	How to Open All Kalpa Doors
Burial Chamber Guide	List of Shady Brokers
Junk Shop List	New Game Plus Features : How to Unlock NG+

Beginner Guides
Press Turn Battle System Guide	Differences Between Difficulty Settings
How to Swap Demons	How to Talk to Demons
How to Change Voice language	How to Save Game
How to Remove Curses	How to Farm Macca

Stat Guides
Stat Guide: All Stats Explained	What Does Strength Do
What Does Magic Do	What Does Agility Do
What Does Vitality Do	What Does Luck Do

Faqs
Where to Find Bill	Should You Release Pixie
Jumping from Mantra Headquarters	Demi-Fiend Canon Name
How to Open the Door in Ikebukuro	Four Oni Locations