The Reaper may seem like one of the most threatening enemies in Persona 3 Reload, but in reality, it’s just a high-level mob that can bully you until you’re strong enough to beat it. When you’re high enough level with a few good abilities, you should have no problem defeating the Reaper.
Before you fight the Reaper in Persona 3 Reload
Here are a few things I recommend having before you attempt to defeat the Reaper in Persona 3 Reload:
- Be at least level 80 (85, ideally)
- Have Elizabeth Request #100, Bring me a Bloody Button
- Have a few status-boosting and debuffing abilities like Heat Riser or Debilitate
In short, you shouldn’t fight the Reaper until you reach the final month of the game, right after taking the true ending route, because you likely won’t have a chance of defeating it.
The Reaper weakness in Persona 3 Reload
As you’ve probably guessed, the Reaper doesn’t have any weaknesses. Fortunately, it’s not strong against nor immune to any attack type, either. The best strategy I recommend for fighting this fiend is the following:
- Buff the entire party
- Debuff the Reaper
- Heal yourself whenever you take a lot of damage
- Remove status ailments
- And most importantly, hit the Reaper hard
Once you start fighting the Reaper, you’ll notice it’s nothing more than a big bully and a cheater. Its attacks are strong, and it can attack two or three times, but nothing about its attacks is truly devastating. It does have a few attacks that can cause instant death and high damage to all party members, but the hit chance is low, and it’s nothing a few good heals or items can’t fix. If you’re worried about instant death, make sure you have a couple of Homunculi (this item consumes itself instead of killing a party member) on hand.
How to beat the Reaper in Persona 3 Reload
I recommend you bring Yukari for her healing and ability to remove status ailments, Koromaru for his attacks and Debilitate ability to debuff the Reaper, and Aegis for her strong attacks and buffing abilities like Marakukaja (which boosts everyone’s Defense) and Matarukaja (which boosts everyone’s Attack). You don’t necessarily need these members, but they will make the fight a lot easier. If the Reaper does manage to kill a party member instantly, you can use her Samarecarm ability to revive an ally, but I just ended up using reviving items (Life Stone or Band Ace) so I could conserve SP.
When the battle starts, Koromaru should be the first to attack. Use his Debilitate ability to debuff the Reaper. This will lower the Reaper’s Attack, Defense, and Accuracy. Use it whenever the debuff expires or if the Reaper decides to buff itself.
Aigis should cast Matarukaja and especially Marakukaja on the party every three turns to keep everyone’s Defence and Attack up. Yukari should have her healing abilities like Mediarahan and Amrita Shower ready, so she can quickly top up the party’s health and remove any status effects.
As for the protagonist, I recommend using any Piercing, Strike, or Slash attack that does severe damage.
If everyone is buffed and healed, simply hit the Reaper with everything you have. Koromaru’s Dark and Yukari’s Wind attacks are fine, but the main protagonist’s and Aigis’s severe attacks damage the Reaper most. Despite not having a weakness, I actually managed to do a few critical hits on the Reaper, which gave me an opportunity for All-Out attacks.
Keep doing this until you eventually empty the Reaper’s health bar. It has a lot of health, so expect the battle to last a good 10 minutes or so. Otherwise, the fight really isn’t that difficult. You may die a few times, but after beating the Reaper once, you can actually keep killing it over and over to increase your level faster. Once you defeat the Reaper, you will receive the Bloody Button, which you can take back to Elizabeth as proof of your triumph.
