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As you creep into September inPersona 3 Portableand feel the story really beginning to ramp up, you’ll take on the Hermit Full Moon shadow at Paulownia Mall. But with massive damage outputs, and a limitation on your party set-up (and a nod to Persona 4 Golden along the way), the battle is far from a cakewalk.
RELATED:Persona 3 Portable: Combat Tips
Assemble an electric-resistant party to go tackle the shadow lurking in the wiring at Club Escapade in this next Full Moon operation! For a bit of help getting through the battle against Arcana Hermit in P3P, read on ahead with our guide.
Though we focus on combat in our boss battle guides, this article may still contain spoilers for the story of Persona 3 Portable.
Hermit Battle Setup
Recommended Party
One of the caveats of boss battles in Persona 3 Portable with which you’re probably familiar by now is thatyou don’t have access to your entire partyduring every fight. Here,Junpei is unavailable to fight.
From the remainder of your SEES teammates, you’ll want to assemble a party withdecent resistance to electric magic, as Hermit will be using a variety of harsh Zio moves against you.
Mitsuru or Ken will be a better healerthan Yukari for this battle, due exclusively toYukari’s weakness to electricity. For the same reason,we recommend leaving Aigis behindin this fight as well.
And withAkihiko resisting electric magic, he’s a shoo-in for the battle, especially when you factor in hisgreat damage outputwith his physical moves.
To round out the team, we’d recommendShinjiroin the final space for a number of reasons. WithRegenerate 1, he’ll regain a small amount of HP for each turn he takes in battle.
Pair that withCounteroffering a 15 percent chance toreflect physical damage, andFatal Enddealing a good amount of damage during this fight, and Shinjiro is a solid choice.
Recommended Level And Personas
Hermit is aLv. 39 shadow, so we’d recommend bringing the party into the fight betweenLvs. 35-40, depending on how you’ve been training everyone.
In your stock of Personas, we recommend havingSaki Mitama. Itresists electric magicon which Hermit will be relying.
Additionally, depending on the level you’ve gotten it to before the battle, Saki Mitama can learnMediaramaatLv. 42to top off the entire party’s health and let it double as a healer.
To cope with Hermit’s poison infliction capabilities, aim to bring someone who knowsPosumudito alleviate the ailment from the team.
If you’ve kept your Compendium current throughout the game, you should have plenty of options by now, butQueen MaborSarasvatiwill likely be the strongest Personas you’ve got who know it.
Explanation
Str
This shadow is strong against this element, and attacks of this element dealless damage.
Wk
This shadow is weak against this element, and attacks of this element dealmore damage.
Rep
This shadow will repel attacks of this element,reversing the damageonto you.
Nul
This shadow will nullify attacks of this element, and as such, they dealno damage.
Drn
This shadow will gain health from attacks of this element, so attacks of thisheal the shadow.
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Affinities and Weaknesses
Skills and Attacks
Zionga
Medium electric damage to one foe with a 10% chance to inflict shock
Mazionga
Medium electric damage to all foes with an 8% chance to inflict shock
Ziodyne
Heavy electric damage to one foe with a 10% chance to inflict shock
Standard attack dealing pierce damage
35% chance to inflict poison to all foes
Mind Charge
The next magic attack the user performs deals double the damage
Three-turn preparatory move before Hermit can use Giga Spark
Heavy electric damage that inflicts shock to all foes
Hermit Battle Strategy
Following the cutscene to bring the group out toPaulownia Mall, set the scene, and offer an Easter egg nod at Persona 4 Golden, select your team andtalk to Fuukato begin the fight.
As long as you keep Hermit’s electrical affinities in mind, the battle ahead is mostly a matter of endurance.
While the electrical damage is certainly a problem, so, too, isPoison Mist.It has a non-negligible chance to poison someone in the party, after which they’ll progressivelylose a bit of their HP after each turn. You can use healing magic to keep them topped up, but until you cure the poisoning, they’ll continue to siphon out their HP until the effect wears off, or they faint, whichever happens first.
If you didn’t have access toPosumudior didn’t bring a Persona that knows it, you’ve likely found plenty ofDis-Poisonlying around throughout Tartarus that’ll grant the same curative effect.
Be careful as well when Hermit castsMind Charge, as the following magic attack will land with double the damage output.
The boosts fromMind Charge, since they apply only to magic, willgo toward its electric attacks specifically, hence our insistence that your party not be weak to it.
The real problem of this battle, though, is with theGiga Sparkmove Hermit can use. The only good news about it is thatit requires three turns to charge upbefore Hermit can actually hit you with it.
During that time, you have a few options. you’re able to eitherlay on a full offensive, as Hermit fainting willcancel the charge, or use two of the three moves to castbuff and debuff spellson your party and the opposing shadow to dampen the impact of Giga Spark.
If you’re opting to attempt to debuff it and withstand the attack, it’s a good idea toset your healers to auto-heal here, as they’ll immediately recover the damage on their next turn.
If you’re waiting out the charge, be sure toguard on the third turn Hermit is charging up, as its next move will be Giga Spark. Defending doesn’t cancel the damage, but it definitely helps to blunt the damage if you’ve got to take any damage at all.
Past that, simply chip away at Hermit using anything other than electric, light, and dark magic, and the battle will be over before long.
