Professional Idiot

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My Journey

The Devilsknife is an AXE-Type weapon in DELTARUNE for Susie. It grants +5 Attack, +4 Magic, and a unique Buster TP Down effect that reduces the cost of Rude Buster from 50% TP to 40% TP.

In the grand scheme of things, this AT is subpar. By Chapter 2, we have access to +4 AT axes, and by 3, we have +6. As of Chapter 4, the JusticeAxe provides +12 AT, substancially stronger.

While there are arguments for the Devilsknife as a combat tool, by Chapter 3, it doesn't really hold value for sheer damage in a general sense, and even in 2, the AutoAx + Jevilstail competes pretty fiercely.

In Chapters 1-2, this basically meant that the Devilsknife, while good against, say, King, wasn't really that notable. Jevilstail was much more versatile, could be given to Ralsei for better healing, and seemed to be the better pick.

Even I, as much as I hate to admit it, bought into this agenda. I believed that the conclusions other people had come to- stat nerds, and at the time, I wasn't a stat nerd myself- were accurate, that the Devilsknife was unfortunately slightly outclassed. Some people I knew suspected it might become useful, but I was a bit of a doubter.

Going into 3-4, I was tasked with creating my final file.

For Spamton, the pick of which route to go was obvious. The Dealmaker is cracked as hell, and the Puppetscarf seemed useless to me. For Jevil, however...

Well, some of my friends decided to go with the Devilsknife under the assumption that Jevil turning into the Devilsknife may result in some lore significance down the line. I reasoned, at the time, that I was probably good enough at the game to where the Jevilstail's minor stat boosts- which I considered to be 'technically more optimal'- were not too important to me, and so it was more important to me that I pick the Devilsknife, the potentially lore relevant item.

This decision, this decision to choose Devilsknife over Jevilstail, ended up being possibly the biggest minor choice I've made as a DELTARUNE Fan, because I was absolutely unprepared for what was about to happen in 3-4.

CHAPTERS 3-4

The Roaring Knight appeared.

When I sat down to grind this fight- which I did before truly getting started with 4 (I started the chapter and played up until Castle Town, at which point Seam told me I was a fool and needed to get the Crystal from The Knight), something that became clear very quickly was that the only thing that remotely hurt this motherfucker was Rude Buster.

I went back to my playthrough and while I can't find a specific moment of me calling this out I was extremely thankful that I had the Devilsknife for this reason. It truly makes a massive difference in this fight. The difference between Casting and Not Casting RB is astronomical.

Then, we fight Gerson.

Once again, Rude Buster is the key to success, and being able to cast it easier is pretty useful. Additionally, your only healing source is Susie herself, so +4MG is useful.

After completing Gerson, you unlock Betterheal, a better version of Susie's healing. From this point on in the game, her healing is now legitimately viable. From here, the +4 MG the Devilsknife provides goes from a mild bonus to Rude Buster to a legitimate boost to Susie's utility as a party member.

In fact, it's even better than the JusticeAxe- the so called "magic axe". It turns out, that the JusticeAxe only gives you Magic Powers insofar as you need to have magic powers in order to attain it. My initial reaction to this was that it was lame.

But over time, I came to realize something.

It wasn't... coincidence that this happened. The Devilsknife was always there. Waiting.

These stats, these two attributes, the Rude Buster Cost Reduction and the boost to MG... they were always there, waiting, waiting for the day they would finally become important. I refuse to believe it was on accident. I fully believe that in the Chapter 1 days, Toby Fox fully knew what he was doing with this item.

In Chapter 1, it seems that these attributes make a decently fun unique offense weapon. Cheaper Rude Busters? Hell yeah. But in 2, it quickly became kinda outclassed and while it wasn't necessarily obsolete, it seemed consensus was that it didn't really have any real mechanical edge over Jevilstail.

But then in 3-4, it gets the Comeback of the Century as it, back-to-back, is an absolutely goated keystone item for two consecutive secret bosses, AND secures itself a niche as the True Susie Healing Weapon.

Why doesn't the JusticeAxe have any sort of Magic Buff? It's because We already have the "magic axe" that gives you a magic boost. It's called The Devilsknife, and if you got it, you've had it since the start of your journey. Susie just needed to grow enough to where she could take full advantage of it.

Further, I eventually came to realize that Rude Buster was thematically relevant. In essence, I believe Rude Buster is representative of Susie's indomitable spirit- her resolve, her resilience, her rude attitude. As part of that analysis, I realized that the Devilsknife specifically interacting with Rude Buster wasn't just an offense boost- it was narrative information. Why does the Devilsknife affect Rude Buster? It's because Jevil is all about doing whatever he wants in spite of the rules.

It. Was always. There.

And when you actually look at what Jevil says when he gives it to you... he practically spells it out.

Allow me to translate this Jevilspeak into actual english for a moment:

WOW! YOU'VE GOT HANDS! BUT THERE'S PEOPLE WHO ARE EVEN STRONGER THAN I. THE KNIGHT WILL KICK YOUR ASS. ALSO QUEEN IS COMING. CAN YOU STOP IT? TAKE ME AND GIVE THEM HELL!!!

To reiterate- Jevil basically tells us to go use him to Kick The Knight's Ass, then proceeds to give us the Knight Destroyer Weapon 5000 Now With Added Rude Buster Cost Reduction... and... none of us realized what he was actually saying here because we lacked the context to understand it.

It is also only in the Devilsknife dialog that Jevil outright warns us about the yet faster, yet stronger opponents.

Should you Pacify JEVIL instead, he simply remarks that the "shadow of the knight's hand" will awaken a nightmare in our hearts, questions if we can stop it, and then gives us the Jevilstail.

And, that's just it. He gives you the Jevilstail, but becomes the Devilsknife. This is furthered by Jevil's unused recruit data in Chapter 2.

The implication here, interestingly, is that the plan was that you'd only RECRUIT Jevil if you beat him up and got the Devilsknife, because only the Devilsknife is Jevil himself. I think at some point Toby actually went back on this- against Tenna, if Jevilstail is equipped, the Bet20 ACT becomes Bet30, is described as Joker's Bet, and Jevil's laugh sound plays. This kind of implies the Jevilstail is Jevil himself.

It strikes me as noteworthy that from Spamton and Jevil, one of the items, the "correct" path, the one obtained by doing what they actively want you to do (Jevil asks you to fight him; Spamton wants to be free) is a significantly better item that maintains its use and functionality and is also specifically something we see them use. (Jevil turns into the Devilsknife; Spamton is wearing the Dealmaker)

And then the other item, obtained by doing the "wrong" path, by refusing to give them what they want (Refusing to engage in Jevil's numbers game and PACIFYing him instead; Fighting Spamton and damaging him), is merely a piece of their physical body (Jevil's Tail, Spamton's Strings), and the item is significantly worse and doesn't maintain its niche in future chapters as well.

My guess is that the Devilsknife (and Dealmaker) were meant to be the "correct" option but after seeing how basically everyone got Jevilstail, Toby decided to soft retcon this. I also suspect the Dealmaker was designed in a similar way as the "correct" option, and the Puppetscarf was meant to just be something salvaged from the wreckage. (This is also why the Puppetscarf is still obtained in Weird Route even though Spamton is presumably dead).

The Spells in Chapter 5 support this. Devilsknife and Dealmaker specifically get cosmetic interactions with Scythemare and Revivesong specifically, and Jevilstail and Puppetscarf get jack.

In general, from all of this, I feel exceptionally confident that the Devilsknife is simply the Correct pick. And to me that's just... so cool?

Like, I really feel like I'm just going in circles, but the fact that this item has been lying in wait since CHAPTER 1 with stats that are specifically designed to carry it into endgame is just such a cool concept to me.

I love the Devilsknife.

Long Live the King.

+4 MG.