January 20th, 2026

More TDP, more time spent running around doing fusion stuff instead of actually progressing the game. I'm at a semi-awkward point where I have a lot of high-level monsters that I can't really "afford" to fuse just due to the opportunity cost of having to level up replacements. I'm still pre-metal slimes as well, and I have no idea when I'll be able to find them because idk what areas are coming up next (metal slimes at least aren't limited to any particular circle, but they are limited to the middle and upper echelons). Synthesis is honestly a lot more difficult than fusion is in SMT just because there's no compendium and the explicit monster ranks means it's a lot more difficult to just tier up without using any special synthesis formulas. I honestly kinda like it though, but I feel like the lack of a compendium is gonna be a pain point eventually. The Mole Hole, a dungeon with every monster you've ever recruited as its spawn table, is not really an acceptable substitue.