How To Beat The Reaper Persona 5 Royal

The Reaper in Persona 5 Royal is a formidable optional boss that can provide significant challenges and rewards. Defeating it grants access to high-level Personas and experience, accelerating character progression. This article outlines strategies and techniques for effectively defeating the Reaper.

Understanding the Reaper

The Reaper appears when players remain in a single location (such as a corridor or room) during combat for an extended period. Typically, after a few turns without progressing, chains will appear and the Reaper will materialize. Its attacks are powerful and target all party members, making a coordinated and well-prepared approach essential.

The Reaper's Abilities and Weaknesses

The Reaper possesses no inherent elemental weaknesses, rendering traditional elemental targeting ineffective. However, in Persona 5 Royal, the Reaper can be inflicted with status ailments, particularly Despair. This is a crucial vulnerability to exploit.

The Reaper primarily uses physical and Almighty attacks, capable of inflicting significant damage. Its attacks include:

• Megidolaon: A powerful Almighty attack that deals severe damage to all party members.
• Hassou Tobi: A multi-hit Physical attack.
• Myriad Truths (Post-Flu Season): Inherited from Izanagi-no-Okami, a powerful Almighty attack.

After the flu season, during specific dates in November and December (as detailed later), the Reaper develops a different vulnerability due to the "Flu Season" mechanic.

Strategies for Defeating the Reaper

There are several effective strategies for defeating the Reaper, each with its own requirements and risk levels.

1. Flu Season Cheese (November/December)

During the flu season (mid-November and early December), the Reaper becomes susceptible to Despair. When inflicted with Despair, the Reaper will often instantly die on its turn. This method is highly effective but requires precise timing.

Preparation:

• Dates: This strategy only works during the flu season, specifically a few days in November and December, generally immediately following a rainy day. Check in-game news for flu warnings.
• Persona with Despair-inducing Skills: Obtain a Persona with a skill that can inflict Despair, such as Pulinpa or Evil Smile. Black Rider is a suitable Persona with access to Evil Smile.
• Party Setup: Ensure party members have high magic stats and are resistant to ailments if possible.

Execution:

1. Enter Mementos and encounter the Reaper.
2. Use the Despair-inducing skill on the Reaper. Repeat until the Despair status is applied.
3. If Despair is successfully inflicted, the Reaper may die on its turn. If not, reapply the status until it works.

This method exploits a specific game mechanic and significantly reduces the difficulty of the fight.

2. High-Level Persona Strategy (Post-Game)

This strategy involves utilizing powerful Personas with strong offensive and defensive capabilities. This approach is more viable in the late game or during New Game Plus.

Preparation:

• Powerful Personas: Utilize Personas like Yoshitsune (with Hassou Tobi), Izanagi-no-Okami (with Myriad Truths), or other high-stat Personas.
• Buffs and Debuffs: Apply buffs to your party's attack, defense, and evasion. Debuff the Reaper's attack, defense, and evasion. Skills like Tarukaja, Rakukaja, Sukukaja, Tarunda, Rakunda, and Sukunda are essential.
• Healing: Have a dedicated healer with access to powerful healing skills like Mediarahan and Samarecarm.
• Equipment: Equip party members with the best available armor and accessories.

Execution:

1. Begin the battle by applying buffs to your party and debuffs to the Reaper.
2. Use powerful offensive skills like Hassou Tobi or Myriad Truths to deal significant damage.
3. Prioritize healing and maintaining buffs/debuffs throughout the fight.
4. Be prepared for the Reaper's Megidolaon and have a strategy to mitigate the damage (e.g., using Tetrakarn or Makarakarn).

This method requires significant investment in Persona fusion and skill inheritance but provides a reliable way to defeat the Reaper through sheer power.

3. Teamwork and Elemental Resistance

While the Reaper lacks elemental weaknesses, building a team with strong elemental resistances can significantly increase survivability.

Preparation:

• Party Composition: Choose party members with diverse elemental resistances or immunity. Rotate party members as needed based on the Reaper's attack patterns.
• Elemental Guard Skills: Utilize skills like Null Physical, Absorb Fire, etc., to mitigate the Reaper's attacks.
• Healing and Support: A dedicated healer is crucial. Support characters should focus on applying buffs and debuffs.

Execution:

1. Analyze the Reaper's attack patterns and switch party members to maximize resistances.
2. Use healing skills to recover from damage.
3. Apply buffs and debuffs to enhance your team's damage output and reduce the Reaper's effectiveness.
4. Use powerful offensive skills to chip away at the Reaper's health.

This strategy relies on careful planning and resource management, making it a viable option for players who prefer a strategic approach.

General Tips for Fighting the Reaper

• Level: Aim to be at least level 70 or higher before attempting to fight the Reaper. Higher levels provide increased stats and access to stronger skills.
• Save Frequently: Save your progress before engaging the Reaper to avoid losing progress in case of defeat.
• Analyze: Use the Analyze function to identify the Reaper's attack patterns and resistances.
• Learn the Reaper's attack pattern: The Reaper has a predictable attack pattern. Recognize it and plan accordingly.
• Utilize Baton Pass: Take advantage of the Baton Pass mechanic to increase damage output and maintain momentum.
• Crystals: Before fighting the Reaper, breaking crystals in Mementos can allow you to enter the battle with buffs, such as increased attack, defense, or evasion.

Rewards for Defeating the Reaper

Defeating the Reaper provides several significant rewards:

• Large Experience Gain: Defeating the Reaper grants a substantial amount of experience, allowing for rapid character leveling.
• Money: A considerable amount of money is awarded.
• High-Level Personas: The Reaper may drop blank cards that can be used to create powerful Personas.

Conclusion

The Reaper in Persona 5 Royal presents a significant challenge but offers valuable rewards. By understanding its abilities, exploiting its vulnerabilities (especially during the flu season), and employing effective strategies, players can overcome this formidable opponent. Mastering the fight against the Reaper is a testament to strategic gameplay and demonstrates a thorough understanding of Persona 5 Royal's mechanics, accelerating progress and enhancing the overall gaming experience.