Mutation

Mutation is a gameplay mechanic in the Persona 2 duology which can occur if a battle is won using a Fusion Spell. It differs from Evolution in that the Persona does not necessarily change forms, rather the Persona gains power or a new skill, although it is also possible for a Mutation to allow the Persona to evolve.
==Role==
===Effects===
When activating a mutation, four possible changes can occur:
Mutation (IS) 	Mutation (EP) 	Rank	Effect
Increased Stats 	Parameters increased 	Any 	Persona's stats increase.Can occur repeatedly until the Persona's stats reach maximum.
Two Ranks up 	Two Ranks up 	1-6 	Persona's Rank increases by 2.
Skill learned 	Skill learned 	6+ 	Persona learns its hidden "Mutation" skill.
Persona can Change Forms	Modification ability learned	6+ 	Persona can Evolve into a new Persona, usually a Persona of the Minor Arcana, however a few can "Rank Up", evolving to a higher-level persona of the same Major Arcana. Persona must be taken to the Velvet Room to change forms and returns to Rank 1. "Rank up" mutations can occur if the result is no more than 10 levels above the protagonist, however Minor Arcana mutations do not have this limit.
In the PSP remake of Innocent Sin, if the player misses obtaining the Prime Personas through the correct story choices, the Initial Personas can be evolved into their Prime forms any time after the story event where they would normally be obtained. In Eternal Punishment, Maia Custom can only be obtained by evolving Maia this way.
Eternal Punishment adds an additional mutation that can occur:
Mutation 	Effect
Unknown ability awakened	Persona gains its Unknown Power, an ability similar in concept to "desperation attacks" - powerful abilities that activate at random, and can only activate if the user is at critical health. There are 6 different types of Unknown Powers; each Persona has one specific type of Unknown Power associated with it.
This Mutation only occurs if the Fusion Spell that ended the battle was either non-elemental, or of the same element as the Persona's Type.
===Chance===
The chance of getting a mutation depends on the characters' affinity for the persona, the number of people participating in the Fusion spell, and the type of fusion skill used:
Compatability	Avg # of uses required to mutate	Avg # of uses required to mutate	Avg # of uses required to mutate
Compatability	2-Person (Phys) 	2-Person (Magic) 	3-Person (Magic)
Best 	28 	7 	16
Bad 	130 	116 	105
In Innocent Sin, there is no way to increase the mutation rate, however Eternal Punishment adds the "Mutation Gear" accessory and a Sumaru Genie fortune to increase the chances of mutations occurring.
Category:Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Category:Persona 2: Eternal Punishment