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During the Dark Hour inPersona 3 Reload, you can explore the mysterious tower Tartarus. This is a building that takes the place of Gekkoukan High School after midnight, and Shadows lurk on its many floors. While exploring Tartarus, you’ll come face to face with a variety of Shadows, but some Shadows are tougher than others.
One type of Shadow serves as mini-bosses that guard a floor, preventing anyone from proceeding to the next level, and these are called Gatekeepers. One such Gatekeeper is the Swift Axle, and it stands solo as it guards the 17th floor of Thebel, the first block of Tartarus.
Block
The Shadow will be unaffected by this attack.
TheSwift Axleis the most powerful mini-boss in Thebel. It canresist several types of attacks, and it isimmune to all status effects. The most effective attacks to use in the battle against it areelectric-type attacks.
Slash, Bash, Wind
Status Effects
The Swift Axle can attack with a wide variety of attacks, and it can alsobuff itselftoincrease the damageit can deal.
Melee
Deals light bash damage to a target.
While the Swift Axle is guarding the17th floorby itself, its ability toattack multiple targets in one turncan prove dangerous, especially since it can buff itself toincrease its attack damage.
How To Guard Against Attacks
When you come face-to-face with the Swift Axle on your first visit to the 17th floor, Mitsuru will teach you how toguard yourself from strong attacks. You do this by selecting"Guard"as an option during your turn.
If you’re attacked after choosing to guard, the damage you take from the attack isreduced. If the attack is a type you’re weak against,you won’t get knocked downas long as you’re guarding.
When you choose to guard for a turn,you won’t be able to attack or use itemsduring the turn. When your HP is extremely low, wherein one hit will kill you, you might be better off using your turn torecover your HP using an iteminstead of guarding.
It’s essential to use the ability to guard in order toavoid getting knocked down, and to save characters who are about tolose all their HP, in the absence of recovery items.
This move is especially useful if you can predict that the enemy isabout to use a powerful attackagainst you.
Getting knocked down by an enemy’s attack will also allow them totake another turn. If you know a character in your party isweakagainst an attack the enemy has, it may be better to keep themguarding throughout the battle.
How To Prepare For The Battle Against Swift Axle
To beat your enemies, it’s vital to be prepared for theirstrengths and weaknesses.
The Swift Axle canresist Slash and Bash attacks, so your non-Pierce damage attackers will be using their Personas to castelemental-type attacks.
This mayexhaust a lot of SP, so make sure to bring SP-recovery items, such asSnuff Soul.
That being said, you’ll want toconserve your SPfor attacking Swift Axle. Usehealing itemsinstead of a Persona’s healing abilities to conserve your SP.
verify to also prepare a Persona that haselectric-type attacks. Swift Axle is weak against this type of damage, and this will give you ahuge advantagein the fight.
How To Defeat Swift Axle
The Swift Axle is a challenging opponent because of itsresistance to Bash and Slashattack types.
This means that onlyPierce attackswill deal normal damage to it, and you’ll only be able to deal significant damage by usingelemental attacks using your Persona.
Of course, specific elemental attacks will work better on the Swift Axle. This Shadowresists wind attacks, but it’sweak to electric attacks.
Use electric-type attacks toknock it down. Once it’s knocked down, you can perform anAll-Out attack.
Take note that All-Out attacks are strongestwhen all the members of your party can jointhe attack. Prevent anyone in your party from getting knocked down byguarding, so that everyone can participate in the All-Out attack.
The Swift Axle can dealwind-type damage, and this can knock Junpei down.
You canhave Junpei guardfor his turns, so that he’ll be protected from the wind attacks, and so thathe can stay standing for when you perform All-Out attacks.
The Swift Axle can also increase the damage output of its attacks by usingTarujaka. When Swift Axle casts this, a good option would be to guard against its attacksuntil the buff wears off.
