Mantra (Advancement System)
The Mantra Advancement System is the System by which a character in Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner and Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2 learns new skills with items called Mantras, similar to Magatamas.
Profile
Each Mantra represents a set of skills that can be learned once it is mastered. Mantras are mastered by gaining enough Atma Points, afterwards its skills can be assigned to the character with that Mantra, for example, buying the Ice Demon Mantra and later gaining enough Atma Points to master it will result in the player being able to use the skill Mabufu, which belongs to that Mantra.
Acquirement of Atma Points can be made significantly faster by using Hunt skills, which deal little damage however when finishing an enemy off with a Hunt skill, the character will receive significantly more Atma Points (though running the risk of getting a 'Stomachache' ailment, which will void any Atma Points gained).
Gameplay
Mantras can be bought from Karma Terminals, and mastering a Mantra unlocks a new Mantra that can be bought to then later be mastered by the player to learn new skills. Usually, Mantras follow a pattern of a certain type (ie, a Mantra that offers Zio, once mastered, will unlock another Mantra that is focused on Electrical damage), some Mantra can only be unlocked after defeating Optional bosses.
Each character starts out with their own Mantras that reflects the element they specialize in (ie, Earth focused Mantras for Argilla).
Game Appearances
Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner
The Mantra System first appeared in Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, where the System to advance & unlock Mantras was in a tree-like System where each Mantra was in a branch with other Mantra that were focused on the same type of attacks (ie, a Physical focused Mantra would be in the same branch as another Physical focused Mantra, with the Mantra infront of it having stronger Physical attacks)
Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2
The Mantra System worked similarly in Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2, with the notable exception of the Mantra System being based on a grid and not tree branches, meaning that unlocking one Mantra now would unlock all others besides it, leading to faster progression of all Mantras
Gallery
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The mantra grid