Welcome to the first episode of the game, which is basically an introduction to the basic elements that you will use throughout your journey. If you’re familiar with the series, then you have the option to skip the tutorials on the stages that have them, but you should watch them if you happen to be new to the series or to get a refresher.

You’ll notice an exclamation mark above characters’ heads in the base area, which means you’ll get a skit should you talk to them. These usually occur after every battle, so it’s a good idea to return to the base and see if any occur. Note that the characters shown in the upper right of the screen will trigger the skit. Something you may happen to see around your base are chests; there will be three chests available from the beginning of each Episode and until you complete it, which will give you a random item or HL that is appropriate to where you are in the story.

You can find the free chests at the following locations:

• Right in front of the shops
• Behind the Dimensional Prinny
• In between the Memories and Data NPCs

There isn’t much you can do right now, so go to the Dimensional Prinny and pick the only option available to you.

Dried Up Wasteland¶

This stage is a tutorial to the battle system, introducing you to bringing characters out of the Base Panel, attacking with your characters, and the combo system, as well as Team Attacks. Feel free to listen to the tutorial if you’ve never played a Disgaea game, or just want to hear the characters’ voices. Once that is finished (or you skip it), the real battle will begin, against two Fighters and two Fury Fatalists. Considering Killia starts off at level 3, you shouldn’t have any trouble at all in defeating these enemies, although you’ll want to get some EXP with your other characters.

You will be required to create at least one new character after the first battle. Go talk to the Recruiter to see what kind of characters you can make. You will need HL, the game’s currency, in order to make new characters (instead of Mana as in the previous games in the series) and the Recruiter NPC will go through all available options, pointing out their usefulness.

For now, let’s make a Witch/Magician and a Cleric/Clergy , since the former uses elemental spells and the latter will be able to heal characters in battle (plus they learn Espoir, a nice spell that cures status ailments). After choosing the name, pick the capability, which determines how many bonus points you can add to that character’s stats; you never want to pick Good-for-Nothing, as it requires you to remove five points. Don’t forget to equip your new recruits. When you’re ready, go to the Dimension Prinny and choose the next map.

Shriveled Vein¶

The tutorial for this battle consists of Lifting and Throwing, a very essential tool that will come in handy later on in the game. You will want to use this to reach out of range enemies or chests, or even tossing enemies out of reach of your more fragile characters. Now onto the actual battle, which looks a little more menacing than the first one, as the Fighters and Fury Fatalists have ranged weapons. Seraphina can stand on the one barrel right in front of you to snipe the Fighter standing on the ledge. The rest of your troops can go off to the right to deal with the other Fighter, then go up to defeat the Fury Fatalists. All that’s left is to defeat Logan to finish the battle.

Arid Blood Zone¶

This can definitely be a slightly more challenging battle than the last two, as you have a total of seven enemies to deal with. Don’t fret, though, as you can usually single out most of the enemies, making it much more manageable. Start by going after the Orc and Imp close to your Base Panel, then move to the upper left corner and start killing the Orcs there. It’s likely that the Healer will begin moving to the platform with the other Imp, but don’t worry, as she doesn’t know any attacks other than her staff. Be careful of the Imps, as they know Fire, but this battle should prove to be very uneventful.

Immovable Atrium¶

You get a brief explanation about Evilities at the beginning of the battle, which are basically like passive skills that each character has. For now, there’s only one Evility per character and you get told about both Killia’s and Seraphina’s. One of the first things you’ll notice is that the enemies hit a tiny bit harder than usual, which is because their level is now increasing a bit. So, don’t charge head-on into the enemy and use that Healer/Cleric you created to mend your wounds. Other than the Lady Fighter with the bow, the rest of the enemies are ones you’ve already fought and they don’t have any new tricks.

Sterile Atrium¶

It’s time for another mechanic to be taught to you, this time being Revenge Mode and Overload Skills. As you or your allies take damage, the Revenge Gauge (to the left of the character portrait when hovering over them) will fill up; it also increases if an ally dies or you defeat an enemy in Revenge Mode. When you enter this mode, your critical rate becomes 100%, the SP cost for all skills becomes 1, and the damage you receive is reduced by 25%. Also, Overlords can use Overloads in Revenge Mode, with Red Magnus’ in full view.

Red Magnus is a neutral enemy, meaning he will attack you if you get too close, but he will also attack the enemies (and vice versa). For now, it’s best to stay away from him because of him being in Revenge Mode and having activated his Overload, Super Olympia. Not only does his size increase, but so does his stats, so stay away for fear of him one-shotting your characters. Concentrate on the Orc in front of you and try to bait the other enemies into coming lower. Try not to group your characters together in a single line, as the Fighter knows Blade Rush, a skill that hits a few spaces in a straight line. The battle will end when all of the normal enemies have been defeated.