Best Demons to Use

There are hundreds of demons to fuse and choose from in Shin Megami Tensei V and finding the best ones may prove difficult. Read on to know who are the best demons to use and which are the strongest demons to have at every stage of the game!

Best Demons in SMT 5

Jump Table
Early Game	Mid Game
Late Game	Post Game

Best Demons for Early Game (Lv. 1 -20)

List of Demons
Angel	Mermaid	Turdak
Neko Shogun	Fortuna	Apsaras
Rakshasa	Leanan Sidhe	Ippon-Datara

Angel

Angel is perhaps, the best healer you can get during the early-game. It can use Humble Blessing which is a weaker Media but it is the only accessible early game heals you can find at this stage of the game for your demons. Particularly helpful against the Hydra boss fight .

Angel Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Mermaid

A demon with high luck stat and magic stat. It possess the unique skill Storm Caller song that can deal 3-6 weak ice hit to random enemies. Particularly effective on singular target as you can funnel all damage to one enemy. Its high luck stat also makes applying ailments easier which partners well with its innate Dormina and Marin Karin skill.

Mermaid Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Turdak

High physical attack stat coupled by some physical skills amplify its high attack stat even further. Not too notable compared to others on this list but it can be fused into Matador later if you have the Demi-Fiend DLC.

Turdak Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Neko-Shogun

Despite the low level, he can be fused using Pixie which will allow him to learn Rakukaja. He also has an innate Rakunda Skill and will learn Sukunda later while having a + 3 affinity to buffs.

He becomes a useful buff bot demon when obtained, though he's not recommended for use during the boss fight with Hydra as he's weak to fire.

Neko-Shogun Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Fortuna

Fortuna is more of an Essence bot than a great demon to have. It has Life Spring which increases the user's HP passively and it can be particularly helpful to the Demi-Fiend to increase his survivability. Can also be fused into Matador later on.

Fortuna Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Apsaras

Apsaras is a demon that has a high skill potential for Ice attacks. Since you can do her quest pre-Hydra, recruiting her early on is a great way to make your life a bit easier before your first boss fight.

Apsaras Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Rakshasa

A high str stat demon with high Vitality stat as well. It has counter to deal damage back to enemy attackers as well. Lastly, it also has the Charge Skill which allows it to double its next physical skill's damage. With the Magatsuhi critical skill, this can be comboed into some serious damage especially if it manages to inherit better physical skills from other demons.

Rakshasa Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Leanan Sidhe

Same reason as Apsarsas. You can recruit her fairly early by siding with her on her questline and she has a good amout of magic stat which pairs well with her mudo skills. The best part of recruiting Leanan Sidhe is she can learn Media later on which is an AoE Dia and she can take your team's healer role for the next few stages of the game. Not advisable to be used on Nuwa fight as she's weak to wind.

Leanan Sidhe Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Ippon-Datara

High Vitality stat and the Taunt skill makes Ippon Datara a natural tank demon. Its not only a tank, it also has a decent amount of attack skills which makes it a good damage dealer as well.

Ippon-Datara Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Best Demons for Mid Game (Lv 21-50)

List of Demons
Daisoujou	Hell-Biker	Oni
Berith	Manananggal	Jack Frost
Naga	Mothman	Jatayu
Quetzalcoatl	Muu Shuwuu	Naga Raja
Yoshitsune	Attis	Black Ooze

Daisoujou (DLC Only)

High luck stat and the ability to dragin HP and MP from enemies makes it a great magic demon to bring along. Preach is a godly ability that allows you to inflict Confusion, Charm, or Sleep on all enemies.

Daisoujou Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Hell-Biker (DLC Only)

Strong AoE attacks, ability to remove buffs from enemies is highly valuable, its attacks are all AoE as well so it can be a handy demon to bring for clearing out mobs fast.

Hell Biker Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Oni

One of the earliest demons you can get with a resistance to physical attacks. It can also draw aggro via Taunt and its high HP and vitality makes it a good damage soaker.

Oni Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Berith

High strength value and it comes with Pierce Armor, an offensive attack that also reduces the enemy defense. It also has Bloody Glee which pairs well with its next abilities Critical Slash and Critical Wave for random critical hits.

Berith Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Manananggal

HP drain ability that also reduces enemy attacks makes it a great debuff bot against some bosses. Its only weakness is Hama so make sure to not use it against bosses like Lahmu.

Manananggal Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Jack Frost

The first demon you get with drain to a certain element. Ice Breath is also a strong move to use against single target enemies.

Jack Frost Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Naga

A physical damage dealer that has Puncture Punch, a physical attack that can pierce through resistance. Great for any fights and as a fusion material for future physical damage dealing demons.

Naga Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Mothman

The first demon to get Me Patra. Useful for pesky enemies that use status ailments in battle.

Mothman Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Jatayu

Demon that can drain wind attacks. Also possess Masukukaja for teamwide evasion rate but mostly only good for countering enemies with wind attacks.

Jatayu Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Quetzalcoatl

Strongest mid-game demon for fire based attacks thanks to its +4 fire skill potential and access to Fire Pleroma.

Quetzalcoatl Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Parvati

Best mid-game healer. Learns Heal Pleroma to increase healing ability effects and it comes with a +4 healing potential and +3 buff potential.

It also innately possesses Media and Bowl of Hygieaia which greatly increases your next healing ability and allows it to overheal (heal past max HP).

Parvati Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Muu Shuwuu

Innately has Tetrakarn.

Also learns Boon Boost (extends buff turn duration by 1) so funneling buff skills can make Muu Shuwuu a great buff bot.

Muu Shuwuu Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Naga Raja

High Vit, Str, and Magic. It learns Shockbound (a Magic attack that deals 2-5 hits on random enemies) and Storm Dracostrike (Physical lightning attack).

This makes it the strongest mid-game Elec demon.

Naga Raja Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Yoshitsune

Insane Str and Agi. Innately has Hassou Tobi, a unique Physical skill that hits random foes 8 times and all hits are critical hits. Learns Retaliate later, same as Counter but deals medium amount of damage instead.

Yoshitsune Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Attis

Versatile Phys/Mag attacker while also +2 proficient in healing. Str and Mag stats are pretty close together. The best part is that it learns Endure later on which prevents it from dying by securing 1 HP.

Attis Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Black Ooze

A seemingly bad demon at first glance, it's Vitality stat is way off the chart to compensate for everything else it lacks while being paired by physical resistance. This alone will not make it a great demon but if it is fused with an Ippon-Datara with taunt, it will be able to take aggro much more easily and thus, making it one of the best mid-game tank in the game.

Black Ooze Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Best Demons for Late Game (Lv. 51-75)

List of Demons
Loki	Hydra	Surt
Norn	Vasuki	Titania
Ganesha	Lachesis	Bishamonten
Hecatoncheires	Girimekhala	Nebiros
Lakshmi	Zaou-Gongen	Cleopatra

Loki

Versatile demon for exploiting enemy weaknesses. Having a +3 affinity to Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Force, Loki can land you extra Press Turns while dealing a good amount damage to your foes.

Loki Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Hydra

Strength-based demon that focuses on Ailment attacks. Pairing its innate skills like Toxic Breath and Frenzied Chomp with Dragon Eye greatly increases the chance of inflicting ailments to enemies.

Hydra Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Surt

While known for powerful Fire skills, Surt also boasts Physical skills that have a high chance of Critical.

Its skill Brave Blade and Mighty Cleave, paired with the passive Murderous Glee, Surt is likely to deal high damage while giving you extra Press Turns along the way.

Surt Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Norn

Earliest demon you can get with Luster Candy (raises all stats of allies by 1 rank for 3 turns). Ideal demon for buffs and healing around the level 70 mark.

Norn Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Vasuki

Best late-game demon for inflicting status ailments. Having a +7 affinity to Ailments keeps Vasuki's MP cost low, while increasing the effectivity of inflicting ailments.

Eventually learning Poison Master and Great Curse Siphon makes Vasuki's ailment skills even more effective and rewards its infliction.

Vasuki Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Titania

Ideal demon for healing and buffs around the level 60 mark due to her high MP count. Apart from healing and support skills, Titania also offers decent Electricity skills with a +3 affinity.

Titania Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Ganesha

Having a high Vitality stat as well as a resistance to Physical attacks, Ganesha serves as an ideal tank while providing powerful Physical attacks due to passives Phys Pleroma and Critical Zealot.

Ganesha Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Lachesis

Resistant to all status ailments, making Lachesis worth having against Ailment-focused demons. Ideal demon for inflicting Ailments and providing Support skills.

Ganesha Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Bishamonten

One of the earlier demons with pierce skills. Innately has the skill Puncture Punch which deals Medium Physical damage while ignoring affinity resistance.

Having a +5 affinity to Physical and Fire makes Bishamonten a demon capable of dealing strong Physical damage all while casting significant Fire damage to foes.

Bishamonten Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Hecatoncheires

Recommended for dealing massive critical damage to foes. Having a high strength stat, along with passives Critical Zealot and Phys Pleroma makes Hecatoncheires a damage juggernaut for a mid level 50 party.

Hecatoncheires Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Girimekhala

Heavy damage hitter that reflects all Physical attacks. Recommended against Strength-based demons to earn extra Press Turns.

Girimekhala Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Nebiros

Possesses a high Magic stat for late level 60 demons. Effective against foes with multiple resistances due to its skill Megidola. Its damage will further be improved once Nebiros learns Almighty Pleroma.

Nebiros Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Lakshmi

Having +3 affinity to Heal and Support skills, Lakshmi can be a great addition to your team especially when she learns Luster Candy, which raises the stats of your party by 1 rank for 3 turns.

Lakshmi Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Zaou-Gongen

Zaou-Gongen nulls Sleep, Mirage, Confusion, and Charm making him an ideal demon to have against Ailment-focused demons.

His unique skill Violent Rage also deals Medium Almighty damage to all foes, making him worth bringing when fighting enemies with multiple resistances.

Zaou-Gongen Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Cleopatra

Cleopatra's unique skill Frolic is an excellent debuff as it lowers all foes attack and defense by 2 ranks for 3 turns in addition to potentially inflicting Charm. Cleopatra's affinities are also quite good as she resists Fire/Ice/Electric/Force and drains Light. Teaching Cleopatra the passive skill Null Dark to cover her weakness makes her even more useful. Note: Cleopatra is DLC only.

Cleopatra Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Best Demons for Post Game (Lv. 76-99)

List of Demons
Amon	Metatron	Khonsu Ra
Zeus	Nuwa (Transformed)	Abdiel (Transformed)
Inanna	Danu	Shiva

Amon

Amon's unique skill Megido Flame deals severe Fire damage to all foes and pierces through any affinity resistance. Its +6 affinity to Fire assures low MP cost while dealing high damage.

Amon Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Metatron

Arguably the best Almighty demon in the game. Having a +6 affinity to Almighty, Metatron is an excellent choice against enemies with a lot of resistances. Innately having Dekaja and Dekunda, he can also negate buffs and debuffs of enemies easily.

Metatron Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Khonsu Ra

Innately has the Fire skill Trisagion which deals Heavy Fire damage to 1 foe that pierces through any affinity resistance. MP cost to his Fire skills are low considering his affinity to it is +7.

Khonsu Ra eventually learns Megidolaon, making him a worthy party member for going against foes with multiple resistances.

Khonsu Ra Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Zeus

Innately having Impaler's Animus, which increases the damage of the next attack and adds Pierce to it, Zeus is highly recommended for dealing massive damage that ignores affinity resistance.

He eventually learns High Elec Pleroma, which further increases the damage he deals with his unique Strength-based Electric attack, Keraunos.

Zeus Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Nuwa (Transformed)

Possibly the strongest Force-based demon in the game. With a +7 affinity to Force, Nuwa's unique skill Sacrifice of Clay deals massive damage to all foes all while lowering their Attack and Defense by 1 rank.

Nuwa (Transformed) Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Abdiel (Transformed)

Demon with the highest affinity to Dark (+7). Abdiel's unique skill Fallen Destroyer deals Severe Dark damage to all foes and will further be amplified once she learns High Dark Pleroma.

Abdiel also learns Repel Phys, making her worth bringing along against Strength-based demons.

Abdiel (Transformed) Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Inanna

Effective demon for exploiting enemy weaknesses. Innately having Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Force skills that does Severe damage to foes, along with a +5 affinity to these elements makes Inanna worth having to score extra Press Turns and for dealing high damage.

Inanna also blocks Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Force skills.

Inanna Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Danu

Danu's unique skill Matriarch's Love cures all status ailments, negates all debuffs, and moderately heals your party in a single move.

Apart from being an efficient support-type demon, Danu, along with her high Magic stat and +4 affinity to Almighty, makes her a demon worthy of dealing significant damage to foes.

Danu Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Shiva

Has the highest Strength stat and max HP out of all the recruitable demons.

Great for dealing extremely high damage with skills like Tandava (Severe Almighty attack to all foes) and eventually Yabusame Shot (Weak Physical attack to all foes, but pierces and is always Critical).

Shiva Weakness, Essence, and Fusion Guide

Shin Megami Tensei V Related Guides

Tips and Tricks | Beginner's Guide

Game Mechanics

Press Turn System Guide	Battle System Explained
List of Difficulty Modes	How to Fuse Demons
List of Affinities	Effects of Skill Potential
List of Status Ailments	How to Use Magatsuhi Skills
Moon Phases Effects	How to Fast Travel
Interactable Objects	How to Get Essences
All Miman Locations

Stat and Build Guides

All Stats Explained	Best Nahobino Builds
Strength	Vitality
Magic	Agility
Luck

Farming Guides

How to Level Up Fast	How to Farm Macca
How to Farm Glory	How to Farm Mitamas

Tips and Tricks

Best Names for the Nahobino	Best Demons to Use
Best Miracles Tier List	All Abscesses Locations
All Cironnup Locations	All Aogami Essence Locations
List of Special Fusions

FAQ

Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe	What Carries Over in NG+
Principality or Lilim	Should You Eat the Golden Apple?
Black Frost or Dionysus	Where to get the Horn of Plenty
How to Get Dragon Scales	Should You Spare Khonsu?
Futsunushi or Adramelech