Demon Spear Psynergy series

Angel Spear being cast in Dark Dawn

Demon Spear (きしんのやいば, Fierce Deity's Sword) and Angel Spear (てんじんのやいば, Celestial Deity's Sword) make up a series of Jupiter-aligned Support Psynergy found throughout the Golden Sun series. It is functionally identical to the Impact Psynergy series.

Basic Description

Demon Spear is a single-target Psynergy, that can be targeted on any currently-battling member of the party that is not currently downed. Angel Spear is similar, but affects all non-downed active party members.

Demon Spear

Jupiter

7 PP

"Boost attack with a heavenly blade." (GS-TLA) "Boost attack with a demonic blade." (DD-present) (おにのやいばで　こうげきをアップ, Increase attack with an oni's sword?)　(GS-TLA) (鬼の刃で攻撃をアップ, Increase attack with an oni's sword?) (DD-present)

Raise the Attack of one ally by 25%.

Angel Spear

Jupiter

12 PP

"Boost attack with a heavenly blade." (GS-present) (天神のやいばでこうげきをアップ, Increase attack with a celestial deity's sword?)　(GS-TLA) (天神の刃で攻撃をアップ, Increase attack with a celestial deity's sword?)(DD-present)

Raise the Attack of all actively-battling allies by 12.5%.

In The Lost Age, the Demon Spear series is visually identical to the Impact series. Demon Spear's visual effects show a collection of red orbs gathering into the targeted party member, while Angel Spear shows a larger collection of red orbs collecting into all four party members. In both cases, a sword will then appear in front of all targeted Adepts to show a rise in Attack. In Dark Dawn, Demon Spear and Angel Spear shows a group of purple-glowing characters gathering into the targeted Adept(s), followed by a sword forming in front of them to indicate a rise in Attack.

Mechanics

In the Golden Sun series, the maximum amount that an Adept's Attack can increase is 50% above normal. This means that Demon Spear can be cast a maximum of two times on the same Adept in the same time period, while Angel Spear can be used four times. The effects of Demon Spear and Angel Spear are only temporary, however, repeated re-castings can keep the Attack-bonus from wearing off. Otherwise, the effects of Demon Spear and Angel Spear are reverted when the affected Adept is downed or switched out, or is targeted by the Break Psynergy.

Availability

The Demon Spear series is unique to the Samurai class series, a tri-elemental class series available to Mars Adepts and Venus Adepts. Mars Adepts require Venus and Jupiter Djinn, while Venus Adepts require Mars and Jupiter Djinn. The exception to this rule is the Venus Adept Himi, who is incapable of accessing the Samurai class by any means. Demon Spear is available at Level 7, while Angel Spear is available at Level 21. v

Analysis

Raising Attack is a fairly staple move within the RPG genre. Since Demon Spear and Angel Spear only last for a short period of time, the increase in damage dealt before it wears off must exceed the damage that could be done through attacking normally to make it useful. However, due to the attack multiplying effect, this becomes more valuable as the party progresses, both by buffing the party by a larger absolute value, and by increasing the base damage to be multiplied when using Attack-based offenses.

When compared to the Impact Psynergy, the Demon Spear series is functionally identical. However, low PP and the high base Attack of the Samurai class means that having another Adept cast the Impact series is usually a more viable option than the Demon Spear series, though this may vary depending on the composition of the team. In The Lost Age, many bosses have access to the Break Psynergy, which can easily nullify any bonuses. In this case, having a Samurai occasionally cast Demon Spear alongside an Impact caster may be beneficial in helping keep Attack bonuses high.