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The first of two boss battles in your July Full Moon operation inPersona 3 Reloadwill be against Arcana Hierophant, a large and looming Shadow determined to make your entire party afraid of it. And without any weaknesses to exploit, you’ll need to go all-out on damage.
Yukari forces her way into the party for this battle, leaving you only two party members to bring to fight Hierophant in P3R. But not only is the Fear tricky to handle, you’ve also got another boss fight coming right after, and though you can heal, you can’t change your party between.
Recommended Setup And Tips
When you first join SEESon 7/6as they prepare for the next Full Moon operation,Yukari demands to be in your party for that night’s battle. Attempts to speak to her to get her to switch are met with steadfast resistance, and you’re able to’t switch her from your party member menu, either.
As such, you’ll haveonly two teammates to choosefor this battle instead of your usual three, and though you’ll only have three party member choices outside Yukari by this point, knowing what to expect in the fights ahead can make or break your time in battle.
No matter which two teammates you choose, you’ll need to keep in mind that although you fight the Shadows separately,you can’t change your party before fighting Lovers.
You’ll have time to heal and use items between the battles, but the party you start the Hierophant battle with is also the party you’ll have for the fight with Lovers immediately after.
With Lovers having suchpowerful Fire magic, we recommendbringing Junpei and Akihikointo the boss battle with you once again.Mitsuru’s weakness to Fireand theboss being immune to Charmmakes her quite a liability in the second fight of the night, offering the boss a follow-up attack that can turn the tide of battle against your party.
We recommend beingbetween Level 20-22for the easiest time holding your own in the two battles ahead.
Affinities and Weaknesses
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Attacks and Skills
Light Strike damage to one foe.
Battle Guide
When you first enter the hotel, you’ll be on the ground floor, so make your wayup to the third floorof the hotel. Thankfully, in this version of Persona 3, no smaller shadows are lurking in the halls, the ones marked as red dots on your minimap in Tartarus, so you’re free to explore.
You’ll find Hierophant behind thelarge, elegant doorall the way to the right side of the third floor. As soon as you and the team are ready, head inside to begin the fight.
Though decent at offensive battle, the true struggle you’ll face in the Hierophant Full Moon battle in P3R is inhandling status ailmentsthe two boss Shadows during this operation will try to inflict. Though Lovers will change things up on you later,Hierophant will try to afflict the team with Fear. It usesDoomsday Doctrineoften when the party has fewer than two members afflicted, so be wary.
When dealing with Fear in this battle, your teammates who are afraid may be too scared to move, resulting inteammates with Fear occasionally skipping their turnin battle. Regardless of the order you give, they’ll simply be too afraid to move, and the game will skip their turn entirely.
In most battles, scared teammates may run away, but they don’t seem to be able to during a Full Moon operation.
Because of this, it’scrucial to have the ability to cure Fearsomeplace in your party, be that from items, your own Personas, or Yukari innately knowing Patra. They don’t ignoreeveryorder, but it’s too big a risk to take - not moving during a boss battle is costly, especially when the boss has some pretty powerful damage-dealing spells to boot.
If Yukari is among the teammates stricken with Fear, it’s helpful tocure Yukari of Fear firstso she can then use Patra and is guaranteed to cure someone else of it, too, if you don’t have access to the multi-target Me Patra yet.
It also helps to remember touse Theurgy skills as soon as they’re chargedto deal a much higher amount of damage than your teammates are typically capable of with normal attacks. This is your first Full Moon with access to Theurgy skills, so keep them in mind as you go on the offensive. That includesFuuka, who can often provide apowerful stat boostor HP replenishment when you’re in a pinch.
