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Item Specialists are the dots you see on items, and provide either a bonus to a stat or a special property.

You can talk to Ema to enter into an item. Random maps are created for you to fight, progress through, and improve it. A single one of those Item Specialist has a chance to appear in one of those maps. It has a yellow health bar, takes a turn after you, and is hostile to both you and the enemies. If you kill it, it becomes "subdued" and you are thereafter able to move it to other items for significant improvements.

See also:

• Disgaea guide - Items

Understanding Item Specialists ∞

Looking at an item, you will see dots. Changing the page for the item will show different names. Their explanations are below, throughout this page.

Item Specialists improve an item. By default they are grey and cannot be moved to another item. To do that, you have to "subdue" one by killing it and turning it into a gold dot. To do so:

Ema (item world)

1. Talk to Ema to enter into that Item World.
2. "Spelunk" through the item.
3. Wait for the Item Specialist to randomly appear.
4. Kill the Item Specialist.

5. Exit the item.

Item Specialists have various uses, benefits, and constraints:

• Your item gains the benefits of either grey or gold dots.
• You can only move gold dots to another item.
• When you subdue a grey dot to turn it into a gold dot, that Item Specialist's level (and therefore it's contribution) doubles.

• You combine dots to get one combined-level dot (dot1 + dot2).

  • Combine gold and gold to get gold.
  • Combine grey and grey to get grey.
  • Combine gold and grey to get grey.
    -- TODO - I think if you combine gold and grey dots the gold level is halved in the process.
  • Remember that it is futile to create a too-high level dot for some stats. See the above descriptions for each Item Specialist.

• Some items have innate statistics without having an Item Specialist. As you spelunk through the item, those numbers will amplify; positive numbers increase and negative numbers decrease further. However, if you place one or more gold Item Specialists there, that particular stat will increase more

  • TODO - If I place Item Specialists on a negative number, does it help reduce the negative effect of levelling an item? Can it eventually turn it into 0 or a positive number?
  • Grey Item Specialists have no influence. Therefore you should subdue all dots before level 10 and move away any dots you do not want on your item. Keep using Gency's Exit to leave at round 10 if you have not subdued them all.

• When you have gold Item Specialists on an item to impact it's levelling, the level of those Item Specialists or their combined levels do not matter, it is the total number of individual any-level Item Specialists.

  • Therefore you do not want to combine every single one of your dots into one super-dot but keep a selection of smaller dots just for item leveling purposes.

• The level of Item Specialists improve as you level an item. This is wholly independent of an item's innate statistics improving.

  • TODO - Is it only gold Item Specialists which increase in level?
  • TODO - Confirm: An Item Specialist's level does not influence how much that Item Specialist increases in level as you level an item.

Maximizing Item Specialist impact ∞

You can have multiple item dots across all pieces of gear. Where a dot is on which piece of gear does not matter, so you can have +ATK on a weapon and on armor and it still acts the same.

While all benefits are added, some of those benefits have a "cap" and either additional or higher level Item Specialists do not matter. The particulars of this is discussed later on this page.

An item can house a maximum number of dots. Rarity significantly influences it, so Legendary items are best. You can increase that maximum, up to 16 in some cases. An item's maximum still has variation, so any two of the "exact same" item might be improved and only one of them might get to 16.

When you combine dots, the maximum resulting level is 9,999.

The exception is that you can combine a grey and gold to get a resulting grey over that level 9,999 limit. Therefore you can combine a level 9,999 and a gold level 9,999 to get a grey level 19,998. In this manner you can maximize a particular stat with a single grey level 19,998 and additional gold level 9,999 Item Specialists.

Because of the grey+gold=grey and 19,998 mechanics, you may wish to save particular grey dots on important items and never capture them. Remember that you cannot move grey dots.

Core stats ∞

Grants increased stats to the main list of numbers on a character.

Core stats have no upper limit.

Most players maximize offensive stats for a "first strike, one-hit kill" capability for one or two characters, since:

• The player has first action
• You can have high level dots
• You can have many dots on each item

• You have many items

This is an easy accomplishment, but remember that your character-to-enemy level difference and hit chance matter a great deal.

Afflictions ∞

Applying afflictions ∞

Grants a chance for an attack to apply an affliction; special effects which harm the target in some way.

The affliction chance is silently combined on an item and is not displayed on any item information or character status page.

To apply an affliction:

• None of your attacks, abilities, or spells can innately apply an affliction.
• Afflictions are only applied when "basic" attacking with a weapon, and not with any spell.
• The maximum affliction effectiveness from all dots on all items combines to level 100 (that is, to 100%).

• Enemies can have affliction resistances.

  • TODO - I have not seen a table recorded anywhere.
  • TODO - Presumably there are item resistances provided by items on that enemy.
  • TODO - Presumably there are innate resistances some types of enemies have.
  • TODO - I don't know if the level (type/breed/color/whatever it's called) of the unit matters. For example, maybe all units of type "dragon" have exactly the same resistances; I don't know.
  • TODO - I don't know if the level (number) of the unit matters.

• You can overcome a partial resistance

  • e.g. You can overcome 50% resistance by having 51% chance, giving you a 1% chance.

• Therefore because you have a maximum chance of 100% you cannot overcome a 100% immunity.

Note that afflictions are applied after the attack, any counter, and any counter+ have concluded.

(unknown) - Affliction duration ∞

• Afflictions enemies apply to you are temporary.

  • TODO - I do not know what determines how long an affliction lasts.
  • TODO - I do not know if some afflictions naturally last longer than others; e.g. if Sleep is always shorter than Paralyze.

• TODO - Afflictions you apply to enemies might be permanent.

  • I've put a mob to sleep for over 80 rounds.

Resisting enemy afflictions ∞

Resistance to the above afflictions.

You can see this when looking at the status of a character, on page 2.

You gain 1% per point, and the equipping character has a maximum effectiveness of 100 (immunity).

Units on an Immune tile cannot have afflictions applied to them because they cannot be hit. Afflictions are not dispelled when moving on to such a tile, although they will expire naturally. See affliction duration

TODO - I can't recall if poison ceases to do damage when you move to an Immune tile.

TODO - I do not know if any enemy effects can reduce affliction resistances, but I do not believe so.

What abilities apply which afflictions? ∞

Neither I, nor anyone on the internet, has made a list. Although these statistics are important, you cannot predict what units you will face or what abilities they might use.

I cannot confirm if any predictable boss-type units have any afflictions, but it appears they do not.

Gangster / Deprave ∞

The "Gangster" item specialist can apply the "Deprave" affliction.

Deprave removes experience gained.

• It is worthless against enemies because they cannot gain experience.

• No enemy can attempt to apply a Gangster/Deprave affliction by attack, ability, or item.

Other ∞

The equipping character can benefit from a maximum total stat across all dots and items; anything more than that is a waste.

Armsmaster ∞

When a character uses a weapon skill, they gain ability in that weapon. Their competency (S,A,B,C,D,E) influences how much they improve at each opportunity. The Armsmaster boosts that improvement, offsetting incompetency.

In other words, every attack or cast gives a little more skill, a unit's competency gives them a small improvement, and additional Armsmaster gives them more; it's bonus competency.

A character can improve an additional 2400 points over the above limit. So the maximum for a character is:

Artisan ∞

I've heard mention of an "Artisan" Specialist which "boosts item's potential". It does not exist in either of my PS/2 or Steam versions.

Some say it was removed in the US localization. As for what it does, some say "this raises all stats, but you must have 200 for it to take effect, although it only helps a very little."

Elemental resistances ∞

You can see this when looking at the status of a character, on page 2.

You gain 1% per point, and the equipping character has a maximum attainable resistance of 90; anything more is a waste.

As far as I know, no enemies or enemy effects can reduce elemental resistances.

Last updated 2024-09-28 at 17:48:09

Footnotes