# Soul Level Loss: There are various methods for losing Soul Levels. During PvP, one player can use the Soulsucker spell, via a catalyst, on another player, draining a Soul Level from the victim each time the spell is successfully cast. The NPC Mephistopheles also casts a normal Soulsucker spell using a catalyst. The boss of 1-4, False King, casts a unique version of the Soulsucker spell via the Soulbrand sword, and can cause the player to lose several souls over the course of a battle. The highest difference between your current stat levels and your classes' original stat levels determines which stat gets decreased. The stat with the highest delta gets deleveled. (Edited because this was tested on 3 characters, 1 character going from soul level 155 back to its original stats). Vitality is immune, and deleveling appropriately lowers the cost of re-buying that stat point.
# De-leveling Stats: The only way to de-level a characters stats is to decrease the overall Soul Level, and then build back the relevant stats, as desired. There is absolutely no way to purposefully de-level a specific stat. Also, there is no way to de-level a character's stats below the starting levels for that character's class. Note: There was a glitch in the original Asian releases (Japan, China, and Korea) of the game that allowed stat levels to go as low as -99, but this has since been patched. The most current Asian patch (Patch 1.04) and the initial North American (Atlus) release have fixed the glitch. By exploiting this glitch, a player could create a character with otherwise normal stats, but with a Luck stat of -99, giving the player an unfair advantage online, specifically in the way of PvP mismatches. For example, a Magician starts off at Soul Level 6, with a Luck stat of 11. With a Luck of -99, that Magician could level up to an actual Soul Level 116, but appear to the servers as a character of only Soul Level 6. At the other end of the spectrum, an otherwise Soul Level 712 character with a Luck of -99 would appear to the servers as a Soul Level 514 character. This information is being posted here as a warning/explanation to those playing on the Asian servers. If another player's character seems far too strong for your character's Soul Level's range restriction, it's possible that the player has exploited this glitch.
