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When it comes to the Disgaea series, few are as influential as Disgaea 3. Disgaea 3 was a shift in mechanics that shaped the next two games - the first game in the series to drastically evolve both mechanically and graphically. It also has the reputation of being a bit of a black sheep. Despite that, the protagonist, Mao, makes a cameo appearance in Disgaea 6.
Mao is a strange little fellow in just about every way. Unlike his forebears, Mao is intelligent, doesn’t seek some great power, and is generally a guy who wants to skip school and understand the power of love. He’s a corny goofball, but he has a place on your roster. Let’s dig into why.
Who Is Mao?
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Mao is currently the Dean of the Evil Academy. Traditionally, this place is the opposite of a school. You gain grades and points for not attending and being bad. Being a “good student” and attending classes will mark you as a dirty delinquent.
Rocking an EQ of 1.8 MILLION, Mao is the Einstein of avoiding school. It’s quite an achievement.
Why Use Mao?
Mao as a character is great at dealing single target damage - like all top-tier characters. Mao isn’t quite as good as other DLC characters, or main characters for that matter, but he does have a few advantages that give him an edge over his contemporaries.
What Weapon Does Mao Use?
Mao has great masteries in a lot of areas, which makes him fairly unique. That being said, he tends to gravitate towards one more than the others.
|
Weapon |
Mastery |
|---|---|
|
Fist |
D |
|
Sword |
A |
|
Spear |
A |
|
Bow |
D |
|
Gun |
D |
|
Axe |
A |
|
Stave |
A |
Mao LOVES Axes. Axes provide the most ATK of any weapon class, and since all of Mao’s attacks scale off of ATK, it only makes sense to give him one.
Mao’s Unique Evilities
Mao has one unique Evility.
|
Evility |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Evil Academy Honours |
Increase attack power by 5% and EXP gain by 25% per enemy unit on the map. |
This Evility is awful. Not because it’s bad per se, but more because it is outclassed by so many other Evilities other characters have. It also goes against Mao’s primary purpose of dealing with single targets. This buff is tiny when fighting against a Super Boss like Baal.
A character like Zed is almost 3x stronger than Mao based entirely on the strength of their Evilities.
Mao’s Unique Attacks
Mao’s Specials are interesting.
|
Skill |
Rank |
Scaling |
Element |
Range |
AOE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Blast Finger |
C |
ATK |
Star |
5 |
N/A |
|
Shine Beam |
B |
ATK |
Star |
0 |
Line |
|
Body Modification |
S+ |
ATK |
Confusion |
4 |
N/A |
What sets Mao apart with his Specials is their range. Despite loving Axes, Mao can use most of his abilities from a distance and they don’t lose out on damage whilst doing it. Body Modification is especially fantastic, as Mao can stand behind other Boss-killers, and still deal damage. Heck, he can stand far back, and perform well.
How To Use Mao
Mao is good - arguably great. His Evility lets him down, but Body Modification is a fantastic ability. You want Mao behind your frontline and nuking bosses. That’s it. He is incredibly simple to use, which is a point in his favour.
Being a male, Mao also gains buffs from both Rozalin and Melodia, which gives him a bit of a leg up compared to his female counterparts like, say, Majolene, Asagi and Raspberyl.