When I delve into discussion, gameFAQs, guide magazines, they gave me a long laundry list of powerful personas, that sadly can't be fit in into my 12 persona slots
Most of those personas are high level personas and/or require skill cards and/or require max social link scores

To my excitement, I found those to be untrue

Hilariously powerful personas can be obtained as early as the first dungeon

Because, the more you use a persona, the more powerful it gets
It levels up, you may get cards that upgrades your persona's stats, you can even modify or outright upgrade its skills


However, there are limitations
The first one being it's innate resistances. Some personas have resistances so crappy that you might better find other alternatives
The second one is unique skills. Some skills are so overpowered that despite your invested efforts, you might end up switching anyway, for example Yoshitsune's Hassou Tobi, or using for specific/niche purpose, for example Trumpeter's trio Auto + Debilitate


Since we want to use our persona as much as possible, we want our core persona to be capable of inheriting multiple abilities and deal with a huge variety of enemies

Therefore, came our final and third principle


Tam Lin is one of the personas we want to skip, despite it's amazing moves and resistances, it can only inherit physical moves
The question is if we're only using Tam Lin to fight physically, how far can it progress if the map is populated with enemies weak to fire/ice/etc?
A good persona always have a mix between physical and magical abilities

Imagine, a persona, with all four multi hit elements, literally no weakness, and regenerates SP every turn. It starts at level 18, but since it's so useful, ended being used until level 40
At that level, the stats are higher than level 60 persona

This is our first OP persona, Ame-no-Uzume


How long does it take? For me it's 3 hours of grinding

Whether it is worth the effort is entirely up to you to decide
However, Ame-no-Uzume will outpower each and every single persona you can find until main character reaches level 38 and unlocks special fusion
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To create this game breakingly powerful persona that dominates the first half of the game, we start with a humble Apsaras
Not any Apsaras will do, it has to be fused from Izanagi and Ukobach
The reason is Apsaras at level 7 learns Bufu (ice) and inherits Zio (elec) from Izanagi and Agi (fire) from Ukobach

Since Apsaras has 3 elements out of 4, it's versatile, it gets used more often, knocks down more, gets shuffle more. We're relying on Yosuke for Garu (wind)
Once Apsaras reaches level 7 and learns Bufu (ice), we will fuse Apsaras into Omoikane
Omoikane can inherit everything except wind

Omoikane will stay until level 12, where it learns Resist Elec
IMPORTANT : keep resist wind learned at level 9 because it will be crucial for our next OP persona

By the time we are leveling Omoikane, we will gather personas to fuse Sarasvati
At level 19 Sarasvati learns Invigorate 2 which restores 5 MP per turn

Since we don't want Sarasvati to be a dead weight, instead of directly fusing into Sarasvati, we will want Ippon-Datara and Oberon

Ippon-Datara starts with Maragi (fire)
Oberon at level 16 learns Mazio (elec), but it's still fine if you skip Mazio completely
Sarasvati inherits Maragi (fire) and Mazio/zio (elec), starts with Mabufu (ice), learns Invigorate at level 19, and again we will leaving Garu (wind) to Yosuke
The principle is tested and true, if it is versatile, it gets used often, knocks down more, gets shuffle more

Triangle fusion Sarasvati (19) + Omoikane (12) + Chariot (any level) into Ame-no-Uzume
IMPORTANT : before fusing Omoikane, register it into compendium, we will need resist wind later

Ame-no-Uzume may inherit Maragi (fire), Mabufu (frost), Mazio/zio (elec), and starts with Magaru (wind)
It is weak to electric, it's why we want Omoikane's resist elec
It learns Invigorate 1 at level 20, which stacks with Invigorate 2

Because in inherits only 4 skills, you need to use a skill card
We will inherit Invigorate 2, Resist Elec, and Maragi regardless

So it leaves us with Mazio or Mabufu
If you have Mazio, leave Mabufu to Chie, and learn Bufu with skill card
But, if you only have Zio, inherit Mabufu
The reasoning is getting Mazio from level 16 Oberon requires effort
But getting a Zio is very easy, level 1 skill cards are plentiful

Eventually, we will find Magician cards that upgrades Zio to Mazio. Invigorate 2 to Invigorate 3. Resist elec to null elec. So it only matters little in the beginning

Possible, these steps helps you :

• Buy TaP soda every Monday
  
• Buy Salt Neo every Monday
  
• Instead of healing spells, buy Super Croquette from Souzai Daigaku during rainy day
  
• Grind for a while before saving Chie
  
• Save 5000 yen you get from Yosuke, buy 39+ Ball Lightning from Shiroku
  
• Use 3 ball lightnings to farm golden hands which is ridiculously worth 10-15 fights alone
  
• Abuse enemy weakness, sweep the deck, gets more shuffle
  
• Escape from unproductive fights

Also, we can even make a stronger Ame-no-Uzume, but generally not necessary
Get Slime to level 8, and bequeath Resist Physical to Ame-no-Uzume
With resist physical, MC immune to physical crits and eventually be immune after it's upgraded. However, since Slime doesn't inherit any element, leveling Slime can be quite a pain without golden hands

Ame-no-Uzume will very easily carry us for the first 2 dungeons, with a lot of enemies weak to multiple elements. However, we're still lacking in 3 departments : Hama (holy), Mudo (dark), and physical

Unlike Ame-no-Uzume that is relevant only for the first half of the game, our second OP persona, and every single persona after that, gets carried over until the end

And that persona is the Neko Shogun

The reasoning why we want Neko Shogun is after we grind enough, there comes a point where we can only lose if one of our attacks get bounced back to us. Hama (light) and Mudo (dark) is both instant kill. Neko Shogun is immune to dark and light. You get the picture

However, we can only make Neko Shogun after July 9th
Before that, we will use Matador instead. Matador have usefull skills for Neko Shogun to inherit, furthermore, you need to make a Matador with Mahama to fulfill Margaret's second request
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Fuse any persona into Cu Sith, and make sure Cu Sith is leveled up once to get Growth 1

We need growth because Principality doesn't learn Mahama after level 21, and at any point of the game, we will use our main persona 100.00% of the time and grab all the shuffle upgrades we can

Fuse any persona into Principality, and make sure Principality levels up twice to get Mahama
Triangle fusion Cu Sith, Principality, and Ghoul into Matador, make sure it inherits Growth 1 and Mahama

You will be using Matador until special fusion is available
Matador will instant kill anything that is weak to light or dark, and gets experience from Growth 1 while inactive.

Once special fusion is available

Ara Mitama :
Summon Omoikane that we have fused earlier for Ame-no-Uzume
Combine any Legion and Omoikane, make sure it inherits Resist Wind to override Neko Shogun's wind weakness

Nigi Mitama :
Any Nigi Mitama will do, as long as it's level 26 to bequeath Invigorate 2
If your social link isn't high enough, fusing Cu Sith with Growth 1 and Raksasa into Nigi Mitama would work

Kusi Mitama :
Fuse/summon the Matador that is previously requested by Margaret
Combine any Power and Matador, make sure it inherits Mahama, Mamudo, and either Swift Strike or Rampage

Swift Strike or Rampage?
Swift Strike -> Blade Fury -> Arrow Rain -> Myriad Arrows -> Akasha Arts (?)
Rampage -> Aeon Rain -> Agneyastra
Myriad Arrows hit 1-3 times. Akasha Arts hits 1-2 times, Agneyastra hits 1-3 times. However, Agneyastra has lower accuracy (75%) and lower skill power (120) than Akasha Arts (90%, 130)
Agneyastra costs 24% HP, Akasha Arts costs 22%, but the difference is insignificant
Whatever you pick is merely a personal choice
PS : my brother logged into my steam, forcing me to reload my save, and then the second time, my Myriad Arrows is not upgraded to Akasha Arts. Not much of a big deal though

Saki Mitama :
Any Saki Mitama will do

When it's all ready, fuse 4 Mitamas to create Neko Shogun. Unlike normal fusion, special fusion may inherit 5 skills, so it's initial skillsets will be :
- Zionga
- Elec Boost
- Black Spot
- Resist Wind
- Invigorate
- Mahama
- Mamudo
- Either Swift Strike or Rampage

We're making a OP persona for us to use, not for Margaret
However, if we have skill cards, we can substitute one skill. Fuse King Frost + Pixie + Forneus to make a Legion with Bufula, fuse Legion with Bufula and Omoikane with Resist Wind to make Ara Mitama

Hassou Tobi will outdamage every single physical skills you have, by far. And Yoshitsune have even better resistance. And Power Charge

Therefore, it is recommended to switch Black Spot, Swift Strike/Rampage, and their respective upgrades. One of the better choices are :

• Elec Boost + Elec Amp because they stack multiplicatively
  
• Garu skills
  
• Auto-Mataru
  
• Cool Breeze
  
• Growth and then passively level to 99

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In any point of my game, replacing Mahama/Mamudo with Mahamaon/Mamudoon is NOT NEEDED, and neither does Hama/Mudo Boost. Neko Shogun only miss less than 1% against enemies that is weak to light/dark

Mazionga stays there instead of Maziodyne because when I put Bufudyne in Black Frost (which later became Mabufudyne) I learned the hard way that he just one shots everything (including shadows that takes normal damage from ice) and doesn't let me get all-out-attack, which means less shuffle for me
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Our third persona in the list is Black Frost
It absorbs both fire and ice, meaning any spells reflected is a free heal. It's also immune to dark
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Jack Frost :
Combine any persona into either Cu Sith or Phoenix, make sure it has Growth 1
Combine Phoenix with Ukobach, or Cu Sith with Vetala or Lilim into Anzu. Make sure Anzu inherits Growth 1
Level yourself as you would normally do until Anzu learns Auto-Sukukaja
Combine Anzu with Apsaras, Slyph, or Sarasvati into Jack Frost, make sure Jack Frost inherits Auto-Sukukaja

Pyro Jack :
Combine our Ame-no-Uzume with any Mothman, make sure it has Invigorate 2 and Invigorate 3

Combine Jack Frost, Pyro Jack, King Frost, Ghoul, and Pixie to get Black Frost
Make sure Black Frost inherits Invigorate 2, Invigorate 3, Auto-Sukukaja

Black Frost initially has Maragion, Bufula, and Ice Boost. We will keep those skills.
Additionally, Black Frost will learn Mind Charge (40), Masukunda (41), Fire Amp (42), Agidyne (43), and Mudoon (44)

We will definitely keep Mind Charge and Fire Amp.
After finishing Margaret's quest we don't need Auto-Sukukaja. Therefore, it leaves us one customable skill for Black Frost

There's so many options including using skill cards, because Black Frost stays relevant until level 99, whatever you give him is up to you, among them are :

• Fire boost/Ice boost
  Stacks multiplicatively with Amp so it becomes x1.875
  
• Agi/Bufu- dynearagi and their multihit variants
  I don't particularly reccommend Agidyne right after fusing, because it's a terrible MP sink, Black Frost already butcher fire-weak shadows even with Maragion
  
• Cooling breeze
  
• Mamudo and give wind skills to Neko Shogun is also a good choice

After fusing Black Frost, chances are it has lower stats (depending on how much you grind with Ame-no-Uzume). Is Black Frost worth the upgrade?
To me it's personally still yes, because Black Frost's initial skillset is stronger that it compensates with lower stats it deals double damage of Ame-no-Uzume

Burning Petals have 200 power compared to Maragidyne's 160
However, when Burning Petals is available, you have been using Black Frost for 4 dungeons, and chances are it wrecks everything with 90-99 stats all across the board

Morning Star have 230 power and 55 MP cost
Megidolaon have 210 power and 38 MP cost

Helel has 3 immunities, resist physical, and 1 weakness
Black Frost absorbs 2 elements, repels dark, and 1 weakness
Beelzebub has more immunities than any other persona in this game

The widely accepted consensus is Helel is tankier than Black Frost, and Beelzebub is tankiest.
Even if you minmax, all three persona is capable of doing as much damage as the other, it's just a matter of whether you put Boost + Amp. Helel deals more almighty damage, but not much.

However, if you read this guide early, you'd quickly realize that both Beelzebub and Helel came much later, so if you have high stats Black Frost, then there's no reason to build Helel/Beelzebub


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I replaced Mabufula with Bufudyne (later became Mabufudyne) and learned the hard way that it's too powerful that Black Frost one shots even shadows that take normal damage from ice, which means less all-out-attack and less shuffle
Stick with Maragion/Mabufula, but replace Mind Charge and Auto-Sukukaja with Fire Boost + Fire Amp
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The fourth persona in our list is Yatsufusa
Since it absorbs fire, repels wind, and nulls dark, we can add a lot of elemental attacks to it, as well as options for it to go physical

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At this point, null physical isn't available (yet), and only 7 levels after it's available, you get absorb physical which is better. Therefore, we're going with resist physical route, and eventually it gets upgraded into Null Physical

Triple fusion a level 27 Gurr (learns growth) with Queen Mab (lovers) and Yatagarasu. Narasimha learns Auto-Mataru at level 53, so keep Growth 1 + Growth 2 in addition to Resist Physical and Cool Breeze

Triple fusion a level 39 Setanta (auto-Maraku) with a level 47 Hitokoto-Nushi (auto-Masuku) and any Izanagi to make a Mothman

Yatsufusa learns fire skills and both power charge as well as mind charge
So far we've been relying on Yosuke for wind skills
Furthermore, Yatsufusa repels wind, so adding some wind skills won't hurt

If we can spare a little bit of trouble with not much added effort, we can triple fusion Gdon, Izanagi, and Pixie to make Fortuna. Any fused Gdon will do fine as long as it is level 33 to inherit Growth 2

Fortuna starts at level 35 and doesn't get Wind Boost until level 41
When it's done, combine Fortuna with High Pixie or Ganga to make Orthrus

Fuse any two persona into a Thoth, a level 47 Thoth will learn Mediarama
However, you can only inherit 5 moves. So you have to choose

If some of the moves are not available for you, you can use Chagall Cafe with Narasimha, Setanta or Fortuna and get Auto-Mataru/Auto-Maraku/Wind Boost from card instead

Yatsufusa starts with Agidyne, Masukukaja, Fire Boost
It learns heat wave and dodge physical that we most probably not need
However, it learns Power Charge, Mind Charge, and Maragidyne which we probably will need

I don't use Yatsufusa much.
It's role in tri-auto gets overtaken pretty fast
Furthermore, since Yosuke is best girl and sticks with me pretty much all the time, I see no reason to invest in another persona.
However, with its innate resistances and skill set, Yatsufusa is a great, customizable option, better than any persona at that level. If you're reading this guide at level 49, it's much better to create a wind + elec + light Yatsufusa, and leave fire/ice/dark to Black Frost

Everyone needs a Trumpeter, but not everyone gets a godly Trumpeter.
In my opinion, Trumpeter is the perfect complement to Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune goes with Hassou Tobi, Trumpeter goes with Megidolaon

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Triple fusion Setanta (Auto-Maraku, level 39) with Legion and Mot to get White Rider

Fuse Mara (Absorb Physical) with Incubus to get Pagbilsag

Triple fusion Narasimha (Auto-Mataru) with Pixie and Angel to get Taotie. Make sure Taotie is at least level 38 to inherit Mind Charge

Triple fusion Hitokoto-Nushi (Auto-Masuku, level 47) with Pixie and Omoikane to get Matador

Get Daisoujou and Taowu, any will do

Most people will use Debilitate for the toughest fights in this game. The common practice is to give Debilitate to Yoshitsune and make Yoshitsune absorb/null/repel everything except almighty, so MC doesn't need a lot of pampering

However, Heat Riser is commonly a bad choice for MC
MC is the top damage dealer, and if he's not the top damage dealer, it means you're doing something fundamentally wrong.
Therefore, you don't really want MC wasting turn to buff every single party member. You don't even want MC to buff himself, when you can simply have other party members take that job

Even if you still choose to stick Debilitate to Yoshitsune, and Heat Riser to Trumpeter, at some point, Naoto will learn Heat Riser

With that all being said, there's only really one reason to have Heat Riser : Hardcore Risette Fan. There's specific conditions to unlock that achievement, such as to have Yosuke defeat 4 enemies with one action. And that's where we need Heat Riser

Final skill set :

• Auto Mataru, Auto Maraku, Auto Masuku
  
• Mind Charge, Megidolaon
  
• Absorb Physical
  
• Debilitate
  
• Heat Riser or Cool Breeze (learned) or Spell Master (Shiva skill card) or Growth 3 (Satan skill card)

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He doesn't get used much, so he doesn't get much stats
Mind Charge + Megidolaon with that stats kill every golden hands, but still outdamaged by Yoshitsune's Hassou Tobi. The tri-auto is really nice, though
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Yoshitsune is the strongest persona in the game.
He destroys everything that isn't immune to physical.

Yoshitsune is so powerful that every single persona that came before Yoshitsune, stays in your roster because they can do something that Yoshitsune can't do. Black Frost for fire and ice. Neko Shogun for elec, light, and dark. Yatsufusa for wind. Trumpeter for tri-auto and almighty.

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You'll use Yoshitsune for the toughest fights in this game, so the common practice is to stick Arms Master and make Yoshitsune absorb/null/repel every damage so MC doesn't need much baby sitting

Yoshitsune learns Hassou Tobi and Power Charge
We don't want Heat Riser on Yoshitsune because MC is top damage dealer. We don't want him wasting turns buffing everyone, not even himself, when we can use party members to do it

However, we want Debilitate on Yoshitsune because he's immune to every damage except almighty. We don't want to switch into Trumpeter, cast Debilitate, and gets hit

Fuse Isis and Hanuman into Hachiman, make sure it inherits Absorb Ice

Fuse Horus, Hell Biker, and Decarabia into Masakado, make sure it inherits Absorb Fire and Absorb Wind. Make sure it's beyond level 74 to inherit Arms Master

Fuse Dominion and Ganga into Hitokoto-Nushi, make sure it inherits null dark

Get any Okuninushi and Shiki-Ouji

• Hassou Tobi, Power Charge
  
• Debilitate
  
• Arms Master
  
• Absorb Fire, Absorb Ice, Absorb Wind, Null Dark

Enduring Soul, Angelic Grace, Ali Dance, Apt Pupil is also acceptable for Yoshitsune, but the problem is :

• We didn't get them until much later, like, 30-40 stat point cards on Yoshitsune
  
• Defensively, they underperformed immunities
  
• Offensively, apt Pupil didn't add much to Yoshitsune's DPS

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If every single persona that came before Yoshitsune, is there because they can do something that Yoshitsune can't do, then every single persona after Yoshitsune, has a place if and only if you're over leveled and don't want to farm stat points for a level 38 Black Frost

The three common choice for persona that can fill whatever void that Yoshitsune hasn't filled are Beelzebub, Helel, and Lucifer

However, compared to personas you've invested, those three still suck
Even my Black Frost's Mabufula deal more damage than a Lucifer's Mabufudyne. Because 99 magic and boost+amp

Even though they suck, it's better than waddling around with a level 38 Black Frost, and out of those three, the undisputed best is Beelzebub

• Reason #1 : he came earlier, around the time when you had Yoshitsune
  
• Reason #2 : Costing 50% more SP, Helel's Morning Star (230 power) isn't much upgrade over Megidolaon (210 power)
  
• Reason #3 : Except for Victory Cry, Lucifer is worse than Black Frost in every category
  
• Reason #4 : during my 140+ hours in very hard, I use Victory Cry exactly zero times and exactly have zero problems
  
• Reason #5 : Beelzebub only need 2 immunity skill
  
• Reason #6 : Helel and Beelzebub starts with stats = level x 3.08 and Lucifer stats = level x 3.17. Stat difference is negligible and farmable, but resistances are not

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Fuse Mara (Absorb Physical) with Ippon-Datara to get Mot

Fuse anything into Seth, make sure Seth is at least level 72 to inherit Null Light

Fuse Ishtar and Hell Biker into Baal Zebul, make sure Ishtar is at least level 76 if you want Spell Master

Fuse Narasimha and Saki Mitama into Pazuzu, if you want to inherit Mahamaon

Whatever final skillset for Beelzebul is up to you, because at this point when you're making persona you probably had several good persona in your disposal
Beelzebub starts with Agidyne, Mabufudyne, and Mind Charge
It learns Mamudoon (84), Megidolaon (87). But in my 140+ hours of very hard Neko Shogun miss mahama/mamudo probably like 1% if against weak enemies

The possible options are :
Absorb Physical from Mara (fused into Mot)
Null Light and Maziodyne from Seth
Spell Master from Ishtar (fused into Baal Zebul)
Mahamaon from Narasimha (fused into Pazuzu)



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... Actually, I have no reason to use 57 magic Beelzebub 🤣🤣🤣

Having trouble with HRF?
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