Psynergy Slam

Psynergy Slam is a Venus Psynergy introduced in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It is exclusive to the Scrapper class series and the Wild Animal class series.

Basic Description
Psynergy Slam is an offensive, single target Psynergy that is Attack-dependent, meaning characters with higher Attack ratings will deal more damage with this Attack. In addition, the caster's Venus Power and the target's Defense and Venus Resistance all factor into the damage dealt.

Visually, Psynergy Slam resembles the caster forcefully charging into the target, sending the target back a significant distance.

Damage Calculation
As previously stated, there are several factors determining the damage dealt by Psynergies like Psynergy Slam. The exact damage calculation formula for these attacks can be represented with the following two equations:


 * base damage = (User's Attack - Enemy's Defense) / 2

This formula is identical to the formula used to determine the damage dealt by standard physical attacks. In other words, base damage is half of the difference between the caster's Attack and the target's Defense. If this number falls below zero, it is automatically reset to zero.

This is the base damage. Psynergy Slam then uses this value for another equation:


 * Final damage output = (base damage) * (1 + (Venus Power - Venus Resistance) / 400) * 1.6

Power and Resistance are used to determine the multiplier applied to this new base damage. The target's Resistance is subtracted from the caster's Power, the difference is divided by 100, and the result is added to 1 before being multiplied by the base  damage. As a result, the final damage dealt by these attacks can, theoretically, vary from roughly 50% to 150% of a normal physical attack.

For example, if an Adept with an Attack rating of 600 and a Venus Power  of 150 casts Psynergy Slam on a monster with a defense of 200 and a Venus Resistance of 50:
 * damage = ((Attack- Defense) / 2) * (1 + (Power - Resistance) / 400) * 1.6
 * damage = ((600 - 200) / 2) * (1 + (150 - 50) / 400) * 1.6
 * damage = ( / 2) * (1 +  / 400) * 1.6
 * damage =  * (1 + ) * 1.6
 * damage = * ) * 1.6
 * damage = 400

Therefore, a Psynergy Slam cast under these circumstances would deal  400 points of damage.

Availability
Psynergy Slam is available to the Scrapper class series and the Wild Animal class series, making Psynergy Slam exclusive to Sveta. For both classes, Psynergy Slam is learned at level 23.

Analysis
General: On the one hand, Psynergy Slam looks like the illegitimate offspring of Quick Strike and Annihilation, being weaker than the former and lacking the latter's special effect. However, it is the only elemental physical Attack for the Scrapper class and the Wild Animal Class that uses a multiplier rather than adding a set amount of damage. Thus, Psynergy Slam becomes even more useful as Attack rises. For example, Psynergy Slam can still be outdone by Unleashes in the Scrapper class, but in the Wild Animal class, the power quickly rises to be one of the most powerful offenses outside of high powered summons.

By Game
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Psynergy Slam will already be learned once Sveta joins the party permanently in the Belinsk Ruins, making it an effective tool for the rest of the game if used properly. For the Scrapper class, it is certainly a solid attack choice, but it is unlikely to keep up with Tyrell or Eoleo spamming the Ronin's Quick Strike. It is also very tempting to have Sveta simply take advantage of her unique weapons' powerful unleashes and save her PP for healing.

On the other hand, Psynergy Slam is extremely important for maximizing damage output due to it being the Savage Fiend's only multiplier-based physical attack (since Sveta cannot use weapon unleashes in Beastform). The damage of a 1.6 multiplier attack when combined with the Savage Fiend's monstrous 360% Attack multiplier is extremely high. If Sveta's attack while in Beastform is raised using Impact, Weapon Grace or other methods, the damage becomes one of the most reliable physical offenses in the game, even stronger than Sol Blade when considering the unreliability of Unleashes. If combined with the Sol Blade, assuming a maximum Unleash rate, a full-strength Psynergy Slam can help defeat most bosses within a few turns.