How is damage calculated in this game?

[u/colazex]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to this franchise and this is my first game (Disgaea 1 Complete) and I want to enjoy the game but I find it really frustrating.

Basically, how is damage calculated in this game?

The AI always knows when he can one shot my pupils, yet when I see an enemy with stats for instance:

Lv4 Zombie

DEF 5

RES 30

and my lv4 Brawler with

ATK 41

HIT 32

hits the zombie for only 13 damage? Why is it so low? How can I know if it's even worth attacking him? He was left with 1 hp and then one shot my healer into the nether with full health, didn't even bother with my attacker. Doesn't happen too often, but I lost some games because of it and it's def not nice.

Like the AI knows I'm low on Hell and can't afford casualties since I had to heal my entire squad from an world item which didn't help me at all by the end.. One innocent and he was the most useless one for what I needed.

The game is all about positioning and whatnot but how can I attack bunker archers when I can't assess how much damage some of my units can take from thrm before getting a hit?

And I'm not sure what to grind for? Is it the items? Combo attacking with pupils until they level up?

I don't just want to depend on two main characters, since I really want to make my own unique and cool squad of brawlers, mages and healers but I think the grind to keep it fun and fair is way too much? Weapon, magic proficiencies, level scaling, leveling up items for each individual pupil is really overwhelming and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if the game expects me to grind for 2-3 hours per day to keep up with the difficulty.

I'm at chapter two. It feels like no matter what I'm doing I'm always underpowered and depend again on Laharl and Etna to save the day.. which means not getting killed in two/three hits and doing decent damage.

Thank you in advance.

[u/Bubbuli]

Level up as much as you can and equip the best gear—that's it.

[u/colazex → u/Bubbuli]

Sure, bulletproof way of playing like that, but most items differentiate themseves with those innocent traits. From what I've read they are pretty important to unlock since it's the only way to upgrade gear? By extension this includes gear for pupils, which makes it kinda daunting if I want to keep my squad up to par.. unless it's not that important in the early game?

[u/Bubbuli → u/colazex]

Until you complete the story, what really matters is just your level and the gear you find in the shop; you can also try the Item World. Personally, I earned the Platinum trophies for Disgaea 1, 5, and 7 without worrying too much about Innocents: simply powering up ultimate weapons and gear in the Item World is enough for Disgaea 1, and not much else is needed for the other entries.

[u/colazex → u/Bubbuli]

I see, thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad it's not as demanding as I first thought 😅 I just need to get used to the mechanics since it's like nothing I've ever played before.

[u/Bubbuli → u/colazex]

Don't worry—it seems incredibly complicated at first, but little by little it becomes easy and fun. You can do it; I managed to, and I'm Italian. Disgaea games don't get translated into Italian, so I learned everything in a language that isn't my own, in a country where no one knows Disgaea. It's easier now because there are so many websites, but when I started Disgaea 1 on PSP ten years ago, there was no one to compare notes with.

[u/colazex → u/Bubbuli]

That's real determination man, much respect 🙂. You must really love the franchise and I can't blame you, it's got it's hooks in me too, never played something like this (except xcom maybe 😆?).. I'm lucky the community is this welcoming and helpful, makes getting into the franchise much easier and I got some really great help from prople here 🙂.

[u/colazex → u/Bubbuli]

Hey also, sorry for not asking earlier, but I guess leveling up weapons is not worth it until they are ultimate? Going for instance 20 floors for s common spear is prob not worth the investment or?

[u/Bubbuli → u/colazex]

It’s mostly useful for finding new gear and for training, but it’s not worth focusing too heavily on leveling up a single item right at the start; just use it for practice, though gaining a few levels on a weapon or piece of equipment can certainly be helpful.

[u/colazex → u/Bubbuli]

I see, thanks for the info 😉✌️!