Soul Hackers 2 guide - What is the Sabbath mechanic?

Soul Hackers 2 has a form of All-Out Attack, seen previously in Persona. This has been further expanded and improved upon a bit, with the Sabbath mechanic. In Atlus’ latest game, Ringo can use the demons that are equipped by her party members to attack all of the enemies, if certain conditions are met.

It’s quite an easy system to take advantage of, rewarding the party with damage on all foes.

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What is the purpose of Sabbath in Soul Hackers 2?

A popular mechanic in the Persona franchise, Sabbath is known in that franchise as the All-Out Attack. While it appears in nearly every Persona game, this marks its debut in Soul Hackers 2.

The Sabbath mechanic is taught in the early stages and can be an absolute game changer when it comes to foes who outnumber the party. It's also useful when seeking to escape a tight situation. When a player in combat exploits a weakness for an enemy demon, this adds a Stack to the meter.

At the end of each round, if the party has generated Sabbath Stacks, Ringo delivers some damage to the enemy group (Image via Atlus)

It also makes a demon hover over the enemy party for the remainder of the turn. It’s important to note that AOE attacks that hit multiple weaknesses do not normally give additional Stacks. At the end of the round, before the enemy party gets to react, Ringo will trigger a cutscene for any Sabbath stacks.

Ringo will command the demons to hit all of the enemy party members, dealing damage to them. Having fewer enemies will ensure greater damage is dealt to all targets. Similarly, having more Stack will ensure higher damage from the Sabbath.

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Ways to influence the Sabbath system with character/demon skills

There are some ways to increase the numbers on the stack, or even get special skills that will be triggered during the Sabbath. Jack Frost, for example, has Sabbath Healer, which can be triggered under certain circumstances. It will give the party an AOE heal, based on the amount of damage the Sabbath did in Soul Hackers 2.

Arrow can unlock Gunfire Stack, which is quite useful in battle. Furthermore, when a Gunfire skill strikes a weakness, it adds another demon to the Stack. Milady can also get Fire Stack, as another example. So if she hits a group of enemies weak to Fire, the party gains two stacks, instead of just one. This is another excellent way to increase the overall input.

With a bit of work, the party can easily generate more than four stacks of Sabbath a turn (Image via Atlus)

This system rewards Soul Hackers 2 players for focusing on the weaknesses of enemy demons, and can make battles significantly faster in many cases. It’s also made easier by the game having a simplified affinity chart compared to previous titles.

It is an easy system to learn and rewards players with plenty of extra damage. Whilst progressing through Soul Hackers 2, they can unlock and learn more ways to take advantage of this system.