Beginner's Guide

New to iDOLM@STER? Not sure how to get going in One For All? This page is for you!

What is iDOLM@STER?
Simply put, it's an "idol raising simulation game". You act as a producer for the idols of 765Pro and raise them to be the best idol(s) in the country. One For All allows you to produce all 13 idols in tandem, though the game-play is somewhat simplified compared to other games in the series. In a way, it is more focused on the rhythm-game-like aspects of the game instead of the communications or management aspects, as you will mostly spend your time in game clearing through the stage jobs (which involve a rhythm mini-game to win). Each girl does have their own story, though it is less heavy compared to the ones seen in previous games.

Game Modes
There are few modes you can access from the main menu: Produce mode is where you will spend most of your time, as progressing in the story basically affects the rest of the modes in the game. Since Produce Mode is endless this time, there are three save files, most modes have you select a save file to base itself on before going into the main area of it.
 * Produce Mode - main story mode
 * Stage 4 You! - music video creation mode
 * 765 Shop - dlc catalogs
 * Album - video and photo collections
 * Mail - messages you've gotten in the game
 * Ranking - leader-boards for various things
 * Options - exactly what it says on the tin

Introduction
In Produce Mode, you are a producer at 765Pro, and are tasked with raising the idols they have to become top idols. This involves gathering many, many fans, raising their idol rank, and eventually defeat a legendary idol!

Differences between previous Produce Modes
Produce mode is rather different from the one seen in many previous games, with one major difference being that it is endless this time around. Because of this, feel free to take your time and play at your own pace. You don't have to create a tightly scheduled order of things to do for OFA. You will also over time gain access to produce all 13 girls, so there's no need to extra playthroughs! There is also less focus on promotions and communications in general. Most events will earn memory points for any idol that actively participates, making it easy for them to gain more memories, even if you botch up all the communication events you attempt.

Which Idol should I start with?
Well, on each characters page, you can find their initial stats if that helps you determine. However, you can really start with any idol and be able to succeed, though some may need a bit more hard work to make work. It is strongly suggested to select your favorite idol as your first idol, and to choose your following idols as you please. There are no bad idols, and since eventually you can use all of them, there's no harm in picking your favorites first over ones with better stats.

Goal of Produce Mode
The goal is to win the Idol Extreme with all 13 idols. You have to rank each girl from E3 up to A1 to take it on for each of them. After winning the IE once, the game will consider you to have "beatten" the game, and you can turn on the different costumes option. Collecting all the items can also be considered a goal since it will enhance your Stage for You! experience.

Jobs
Each week, you must do a job from the first menu option. Most weeks you can do which ever kind of job you like. Each has their own benefits, and you can see them listed as you scroll through all your options. There are usually three tabs accessable: Promo, Stage, and Event. There is a fourth tab labeled Special, which is reserved for All Star Lives, which can only be done on certain weeks. When choosing a job, you should take into account its ranking, if it has a money cost, and your seasonal goal. If, for example, your seasonal goal is to complete a certain number of festivals, you should make sure to do enough festivals to clear the goal.

When a job is selected, you will be prompted to choose your unit. The leader is fixed, based on which one is currently selected, but the other units can be whichever ones you like out of the idols you currently are producing. You can see on the right which skills that unit has access to as well as their appeal stat totals. After selecting your unit, it will send you back to the main menu, but on the left the job will be listed with the unit below it. You can start the event at any time from this menu by pressing □, however once you finish the job the week will end.

Idol
From the idol menu, you can change costumes and accessories, upgrade skills, and change leaders. You can do this as many times as you like before going on a job. However, if you change leaders, the job selection will reset and you will have to select it again.

Lesson
You can do one lesson a week to earn a boost on a stat. There are three lessons, Dance, Visual, and Vocal. You can find an explanation of them here. Each lesson boost lasts for 8 in-game weeks before disappearing. Lessons do cost money as well, 1000 money for Beginner, 5000 for Intermediate, and 10000 for Master.

Contact
From this menu, you can see "contact" events with each idol. These are short scenes typically, and sometimes have dialog options. Each idol's page has a list of the contacts and the option for a perfect communication if that contact has an option. Contacts are not always just a single idol, however ones with multiple idols will not be included if one of the idols in that event is not yet being produced by you. For example: You are producing Chihaya, Miki, and Yayoi. Contact events between Chihaya and Miki can show up, however contact events between Chihaya and Haruka will not.

Shop
You can go to the shop as many times as you like each week. Which shop (Lucky Rabbit or BK MANIAC) is determined by the game and you will usually see dialog for if you can go to BK MANIAC when the week starts. Each store has different stock, and the stock also grows with your Producer Rank. Typically, BK MANIAC is more expensive. On the last week of each season, whichever store you have access to that week will have a bargain sale. If the store is Lucky Rabbit, everything will be 30% off. If the store is BK MANIAC, everything will be 10% off. Use this to your advantage to save money if you want to collect all the items.

P Desk
From this menu option, you can change the song you are producing, select what the idols not going on the main job should focus on, equip an amulet, re-read your messages, and check your save file's stats. All of these can be changed as many times as you like before going on a job each week. Each song and amulet provide specific bonuses, so you should make sure the best ones are selected each week. As a side note, when going to either a Rank Up Fes or an All Star Live, the song selection does not matter as you choose your song(s) during those events instead.