A Sobering Standoff is a Subquest in Shin Megami Tensei V. Most Subquests will reward you with a large amount of experience, some Macca, and then you’ll receive an item of sorts. Most of the time, it’ll be a Talisman which allows you to have access to the different Magatsuhi skills in the game.
Dionysus wants you to defeat Black Frost
| Recommended Level | Location | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| 41+ | Dionysus; Right next to the Sukiyabashi Leyline in Chiyoda | Stamina Balm; Dionysus joins your party |
Defeat Black Frost for Dionysus.
Where to start A Sobering Standoff¶
As you explore the region of Chiyoda, you will come across a building that has the Sukiyabashi Leyline on it, which will be the second one for the region. You will find Dionysus on the same building as that Leyline.
Dionysus’ location to start the quest
Where to find Black Frost for A Sobering Standoff¶
Black Frost is located closer to the Ginza Leyline than anywhere else. From that spot, head northwest of the Leyline and you will see a building that has a giant hole in the side of it. Go inside the building and you will see Black Frost right there.
Black Frost’s location for A Sobering Standoff
Recommended Party¶
Of the two battles for these quests, Black Frost could be considered a little more challenging than Dionysus. He has more resistances you have to worry about, since he blocks Ice, resists Fire and repels Dark. Thankfully, there is a weakness to Light, and all other resistances are neutral, so you’re not starving for ways to damage him. The good news about Black Frost, though, is that outside of blocking both Ice and Dark, the only other way he can damage you is with his normal attacks. Granted, it’s not as much damage as the two elemental skills, but it can still pack a little punch. Mabufula is the biggest problem in this battle, since it hits the entire party, so you absolutely do not want to bring anyone weak to Ice into the fight.
With the recommended party listed above, the only one that should be taking full damage from Mabufula would be Anubis. Black Dracostrike is a Dark-elemental attack, but it relies on Strength for damage and not Magic. Black Frost has around the same Strength and Magic, so whatever damage you see from Mabufula will probably be around the same for Black Dracostrike. The only added thing is that Black Dracostrike can instakill someone, if they are weak to Dark. The third skill in his arsenal is Tarunda, which will simply lower a target’s attack for three turns. If you have access to Matarukaja/Tarukaja, you can counter this easily. Keeping everyone’s health up can be a lot easier if you can control the Ice/Dark attacks.
(1 of 2) Black Dracostrike is based on Strength and not Magic
Black Dracostrike is based on Strength and not Magic (left), Black Frost will continually be trying to debuff your party’s attack (right)
Once you have defeated Black Frost, report back to Dionysus to get your reward, while also having him join your party.
Dionysus or Black Frost?¶
So, you have the choice to either side with Dionysus or Black Frost with this pair of quests. The item you receive as a reward is nice and all, but the real prize is the questgiver joining your party, without needing to fuse them at all. Dionysus starts with the same three skills that you saw during the battle, plus he learns Donum Magici, Heavy Blow and Hysterical Slap. Those aren’t bad skills in of themselves, with Donum Magici being probably the biggest one out of them all, but they’re not going to make your choice be a difficult one, especially once you see the other side.
Black Frost begins with Ice Dracostrike, Mabufula, and Black Dracostrike, giving him a bigger edge over Dionysus. He also learns Matarunda, Endure (helps with his Light weakness), Blinding Strike and Dark Block. Black Frost will also have more resistances than Dionysus, as well as starting with higher stats, where it counts. His higher Strength definitely suits the Dracostrikes and it shouldn’t be too challenging to get Resist Light, at least, on him to cover that weakness. To make things even nicer, Dionysus can be fused with a normal set of demons, while Black Frost is a special fusion, requiring three specific ones. The clear winner is Black Frost.
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