High School DxD Light Novel - Character power-ups, match-ups, and ratings

[relentlessflame]

This is a thread to discuss Character power-ups, match-ups, and ratings in the High School DxD Light Novel.

As this is a source material thread, it is expected that you should be reasonably caught up to the latest source material when participating. However, if spoiling major plot points that others may not yet have read, please be considerate and use properly-labelled spoiler tags that indicate to the reader whether it's safe to open the tag. Spoiler tags with no label are not allowed!

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If you want to discuss a related topic, please feel free to request another thread be created about that topic.

[Chris38]

Well to give this thread some input those are the power ups / improvements that I think the Gremory team might have ... sometime after the events of volume 17:

Rias - decreasing the time needed to prepare her Extinguishing Star ... along with using it's attraction properties as a defensive measure against incoming ... long distanced ranged attacks.

Asia - gaining a sub spices Balance Breaker that will have some offensive and defensive abilities, which will decrease her dependency on the Pantsu Dragon

Akeno - using her Fallen Angel mode without the bracelet that Azazel has given her ... along with some improvements to her Lightning Dragon ability, where it will be capable of containing some more elements then just Lightning.

Koneko - increasing the length of Shirone mode + learning a few more Nekomata abilities.

Kiba - learning how to use Gram without a risk to his life

Xenovia - learning and mastering all of the Ex-Durandal related abilities

Gasper - improving the length of his Balor mode + learning a few more Balor related abilities

Rossweisse -

Spoiler for vol 17:

learning how to use her talent in sealing, in order to be capable of sealing incoming enemy magical attacks and eventually to seal the attackers as well

Ise - decreasing the stamina consumption of his Sacred Gear related abilities and learning how to use his dormant Great Red / Ophis mixed power.

[kusabireika]

Irina - she need some decent power-up

[jopjopjop]

Originally Posted by Chris38

Akeno - using her Fallen Angel mode without the bracelet that Azazel has given her ... along with some improvements to her Lightning Dragon ability, where it will be capable of containing some more elements then just Lightning.

Gasper - improving the length of his Balor mode + learning a few more Balor related abilities

Akeno can already use other elements as early as Vol.14.

Spoiler for Akeno in Volume 17.:

She doesn't need the bracelet anymore.

Spoiler for Gasper in Volume 17.:

I don't think he has problems with the length of using Balor mode since in that battle he was in Balor mode the whole fight; supporting the group and fighting the mass-produced Evil Dragons. Although he was seen asleep after the fight.

[Chris38]

You know ... recently I started wondering, if we will ever have a serious match / fight between Ise and Tannin.

After all ... the two of them, after the changes that occurred to Ise, due to his second near death experience, are pretty similar since, both Ise and Tannin are devils who have been reincarnated from dragons.

While obviously there are some differences between them, due to the fact that Ise is a humanoid dragon while Tannin is a more normal type of a dragon ... I think that the current Ise and Tannin are currently at a similar levels of power (although Tannin definitely has a lot more experience in using them).

Furthermore ... apart from portraying who is stronger between the two of them, a serious fight against Tannin could be one of the ways of training / unlocking more of Ise's dragon related powers ... since a former Dragon King definitely has a lot of experience when it comes to the abilities that dragons posses...

[aw454wtr]

Ise still needs to unlock Ddraig's hidden abilities, after all if reflect is a hidden ability of albion, surely Ddraig has at least one more hidden ability

[kusabireika]

Originally Posted by aw454wtr

Ise still needs to unlock Ddraig's hidden abilities, after all if reflect is a hidden ability of albion, surely Ddraig has at least one more hidden ability

I want the said ability to be unlock vali not issei because he has so many powerup unlike his rival

[sunsengnim]

Originally Posted by kusabireika

I want the said ability to be unlock vali not issei because he has so many powerup unlike his rival

Vali doesn't need a power-up he's still ahead of Issei.
once Vali masters his empirio juggernaut overdrive he'll probably be either an ultimate-class devil or a super-class devil.

he really doesn't need it what he really needs is a worthy rival wich is Issei who's trying to catch up.
so Issei needs those power ups Vali doesn't.

[kusabireika]

Originally Posted by sunsengnim

Vali doesn't need a power-up he's still ahead of Issei.
once Vali masters his empirio juggernaut overdrive he'll probably be either an ultimate-class devil or a super-class devil.

he really doesn't need it what he really needs is a worthy rival wich is Issei who's trying to catch up.
so Issei needs those power ups Vali doesn't.

Issei already have great red and ophis power, so I wish that vali gain powerup that is not part albion but ddraig

[sunsengnim]

Originally Posted by kusabireika

Issei already have great red and ophis power, so I wish that vali gain powerup that is not part albion but ddraig

yes, he's received a body made from great red/ophis's power but so far all that has done is give him the ability to change a body part to a dragons and an unstable life force.

i don't really see that as such a huge power-up.

[kusabireika]

Originally Posted by sunsengnim

yes, he's received a body made from great red/ophis's power but so far all that has done is give him the ability to change a body part to a dragons and an unstable life force.

i don't really see that as such a huge power-up.

Maybe I'm biased because issei always get a powerup if he master ccq and unlock his great red and ophis possibility

So having vali gain powerup is not so bad so he doesn't depend on ejod or albion abilities, and I'm bit bored because of it having vali gain ddraig, norse myth or lucifer heritage will not be so bad

[aw454wtr]

Originally Posted by kusabireika

Issei already have great red and ophis power, so I wish that vali gain powerup that is not part albion but ddraig

Ise got part of vali's power because he took one of DD's jewel and put into BG, Vali has not done that, he does not want to do that (as he might die) and no way Ise is stupid enough to give one of BG jewels to Vali, Vali is overpowered enough as it is, Ise needs ascalon, divide, reflect and great red/ophis powers just to come close to vali

[Chris38]

Originally Posted by sunsengnim

yes, he's received a body made from great red/ophis's power but so far all that has done is give him the ability to change a body part to a dragons and an unstable life force.

i don't really see that as such a huge power-up.

True it's not such a huge power up yet ... but I see similarities between Great Red's / Ophis's power and the power that Ise stole from Albion.

After all ... both of them have an element of danger to Ise's life and hadn't had a lot of usefulness in their initial appearances, due to the risks that have been involved in using them.

In the case of Albion's stolen power this risk has been resolved in the recent volumes and the stolen power evolved into a pretty useful ability...

I think that the power of Ophis / Great Red is going to undergo a similar process ... although it's probably going to take less volumes to achieve that, compared to how much time it has taken for the stolen Albion power to finally change into something that Ise is capable of using...

[Tbolt]

I really don't think that Ise's life force is really that big of a problem.

Azazel said that Ise's life force went from 0 to infinity.

So if Ise's life force went to 0 wouldn't he die at that moment.

And that confused Azazel a lot that's why he said he was still researching it.

We know the 0 to infinity refers to Ophis/Great Red powers, could it mean that Ise is now unable to die no mater what happens?

Just a question to ponder.

[vlade]

i imagine the 0 and Dream in Great Red its more like Gold Experience Requim power from JoJo's series part V

[jopjopjop]

Originally Posted by Tbolt

We know the 0 to infinity refers to Ophis/Great Red powers, could it mean that Ise is now unable to die no mater what happens?

Nah. Issei will still die if he's killed.

[Chris38]

Originally Posted by Tbolt

I really don't think that Ise's life force is really that big of a problem.

Azazel said that Ise's life force went from 0 to infinity.

So if Ise's life force went to 0 wouldn't he die at that moment.

And that confused Azazel a lot that's why he said he was still researching it.

We know the 0 to infinity refers to Ophis/Great Red powers, could it mean that Ise is now unable to die no mater what happens?

Just a question to ponder.

Well, that would be a quite interesting plot twist and I think it has a chance of actually becoming true in the story.

The reason why I think like that is because of Sona's statement about Ise having to shoulder a karma that no god would be able to purify ... after thinking about it ... if it was simply meaning that Ise would have to deal with Ophis's company, which he doesn't seem to mind ... why would he want to purify / remove it ?

But if it also has an additional meaning of not being able to die no matter what happens ... and having to eventually see the rest of his companions passing away, with him and Ophis being the only people out of the current Gremory group + company that would remain alive ... then Sona's statement definitely rises a quite disturbing conclusion of what Ise's possible karma might be...

[Gary29]

^Now that, is a very interesting point. It fits with Ishibumi's habit of using little things to foreshadow major future events in the story. It would be a massive plot twist which actually has a chance of occurring, but if it's permanent I wouldn't want that. Maybe the Holy Grail could come into play here, if Ise's life force does become infinite it could somehow bring it back to a Devil's regular lifespan.

Originally Posted by jopjopjop

Nah. Issei will still die if he's killed.

But how do you kill the life force of a being whose life force jumps from 0 to infinite?

[jopjopjop]

^Having infinite life force doesn't make you unkillable but just prevents you from dying of old age. The same with a Dragon's. They won't die unless killed.

[Chris38]

@Gary

Considering the state Valerie is in, due to overusing the Holy Grail ... I doubt that she would be able to do anything with this issue...

After all, in my opinion she won't be capable of using the Grail for at least a couple of years ... if not even more, depending on her mental state after she recovers from her coma and by then it will probably be too late to change anything regarding Ise's body, since it will ... most likely ... already reach a stable state at that point...

Not to mention, like @jopjopjop has mentioned, even if Ise won't be capable of dying from old age, he could still be killed ... although it will probably be a quite difficult task ... since most likely Ophis and ... hopefully Lilith are going to be keeping Ise company ... which means ... dealing with the Infinite Dragon Twins...