Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

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Alignment choices for neutral Nahobino on CoC
By Paper Rabbit
Cliffnotes to getting a neutral alignment on Canon of Creation
   
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Why neutral?
Shin Megami Tensei V has an alignment system that will determine what type of ending you'll get once you are past a certain point. If you are interested in seeing all the endings without doing the arduous work of replaying the game from scratch again, it's best to keep your alignment neutral until almost the point of no return. 4 endings for CoC, 2 for CoV. The game will force you to make alignment based choices in the main game which tend to be high impact vs the low impact stuff in side quests. Almost always the choices are either law or chaos based EXCEPT for the first time you are asked to make one. The top choice in the 2 Angels' encounter is actually neutral. Demeter's choice is either law or neutral as well. Anything with 3 choices there's a neutral option but it's easier to balance the alignment score if you seesaw between law or chaos. CoC has 4 endings: law, chaos, neutral, true neutral. Part of true neutral's pre-req includes completing the Egyptians' quests so it's best to save true neutral for last in terms of ending order.
Canon of Creation neutral
I set the order of these choices in chronological order, though 2 of the side quests can be done at any time. To prevent butter finger type accidents, I recommend making a pre-anything-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ save at the last save point in Minato. The one right in front of the Tokyo Diet building with two Angels guarding the only path. Do NOT approach the Angels until you have made your save. If any quest giver is asking you to kill someone, those will affect you alignment. Avoid taking the Nekomata quest "A Wish for a Fish" on the second map as well as anything related to the Egyptians until you are comfortable making your final alignment choices. I am including two side quests in this guide because Idun is just too good to pass up. The point where your ending is locked in is after defeating Metatron at The Temple of Eternity. There is a door right after fight where Aogami will warn you to go back to the Leyline to make a save. After this you'll be given a multiple choice, where each selection is associated with a particular alignment. Top for law, middle for chaos, bottom for neutral. If you meet the requirements for the fourth ending, Nuwa will drop a big fat hint about an alternative.

Safety save at the last save point in Minato before talking to the two Angels
The point of no return: save after defeating Metatron at The Temple of Eternity. DO NOT ADVANCE UNTIL YOU HAVE SAVED

Minato
Low - Angels - CHAOS - Force your way through
High - after Nuwa boss fight - CHAOS Order gets in the way.

Over world
Low - Lahmu 1st fight - LAW (top) we have to help her

Shinagawa
High - Lahmu 2nd fight - LAW - We prioritize rescuing her.
<side quest> "Those Seeking Sanctuary" - Low - CHAOS - side with Lilim and kill Principality
<side quest> "A Goddess Stolen" - Low - LAW - don't eat the apple

Over world
Low - Aogami the day after Lahmu fight- CHAOS Honestly, I don't want to do it.

Chiyoda
Low - Aogami after Yakumo fight - LAW You've been a great help.

Demon King's Castle
High - Arioch - CHAOS - Fine by me

Taito
High - Odin - LAW - I'm attached to it.


For True Neutral
Unnecessary if fusions for Khonsu, Fionn and Shiva are unlocked in prior playthrough.
The Egyptians' Fate - NEUTRAL - Stow Your Weapon
2nd Egyptian fight - NEUTRAL - Do nothing

Alignment quests
Minato: Asparas and Leanan Sidhe
Shinagawa: "A Wish For a Fish", given by Nekomata near the warehouse area
Shinagawa: Lilim or Principality
Shinagawa: "A Goddess Stolen", talk to Jack Frost downstream after finishing Oberon's main quest

Chiyoda: Dionysus or Black Frost
Chiyoda: "Horn of Plenty", Demeter's 2nd quest. LAW: Sacrifices are necessary. NEUTRAL: Sacrified should be avoided.
Taito: Futsunushi or Adramelech
Taito > Shinagawa: talk to Dominion in Taito for "The Egyptians' Fate" - NEUTRAL - Stow Your Weapon
Minato: "The Succession of Ra", talk to Isis - NEUTRAL - Do nothing
8 Comments
K9ofChaos 9 Feb @ 12:14am 
Update: It worked. The peg in my Tokyo Overworld is now wobbling back and forth indicating my neutral alignment. Wish I found this guide sooner so that I could more accurately follow it. But luckily doing the last two alignment subquests put my neutral alignment back on track.

Are there any other alignment choices going forward? Or am I all set regarding the True Neutral Ending? Because I want to defeat Masakado and the Demi-fiend before I do my New Game Plus run in the Canon of Vengeance.
K9ofChaos 8 Feb @ 11:18pm 
Okay, so I've finally gotten around to defeating Shiva as a prerequisite for the True Neutral Ending. But my Nahobino is currently law-aligned. So I'm gonna try to balance my alignment via sidequests just to be on the safe side. Wish me luck!
Richard Drizzle 19 Sep, 2024 @ 5:54am 
They make this so stupid shit should be obvious instead of having to look up guides for each alignment
Jxsieq 19 Aug, 2024 @ 12:16pm 
Does anyone have a save from before the fight with Metatron because I overwrote mine by accident?
K9ofChaos 6 Aug, 2024 @ 8:20am 
@Sishiya I pray to the gods that you're right, but do you have anyway to verify that your claims are indeed true? I'm not calling you a liar or anything like that. I'm just trying to make absolutely sure that I don't screw up my CoC run.
Sishiya 4 Aug, 2024 @ 12:37pm 
I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but you don't have to worry about your alignment for CoC runs; the ending you get is based solely on what you decide to do at the end before ascending to God's Throne. You can make all Chaos choices throughout a Canon run and still get the Order ending by simply choosing "Uphold God's Order" when the penultimate final choice is upon you: "Create a World for Humanity Alone" is the last story choice to make if you meet the prereqs for the secret True Neutral end after choosing "Destroy the Throne".
K9ofChaos 26 Jul, 2024 @ 8:50pm 
(Part 2/2) At the Tokyo Hub World my Nahobino's Peg is spinning clockwise so I'm currently Law-aligned if what this guide says is true: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3271549736

If I need to course-correct my alignment to neutral before fighting Metatron, I can do that with the alignment subquests listed in the above link, right?
K9ofChaos 26 Jul, 2024 @ 8:50pm 
Great guide! I wish I had something like this back when I first got SMTV: Vengeance on Day 1, but at least this guide will be useful for future generations of SMT players. I'm planning on going for the True Neutral Ending on my first playthrough, so here are the choices I went with so far:

At the Minato Angels I didn't choose the "Force your way through" option.

At Minato I went with Leanan Sidhe.

At the Minato Nuwa Boss Fight I did not choose the neutral option.

At the Overworld Lahmu 1st Fight I can't remember what chose.

At the Shinagawa Lahmu 2nd Fight I can't remember if I chose "We Prioritize Rescuing Her" or not.

I haven't completed the Lilim vs Principality Quest yet.

I did choose to eat the apple after Idun's Quest.

At the Overworld talk with Aogami after the Lahmu fight I can't remember if I chose the Law or Neutral Option.

The rest I haven't gotten to yet.