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At long last, you’ve fused the True Key inPersona 3 Reload: Episode Aigisand are ready to use it to try and leave the dorm, but you should know by now that Persona games won’t let you leave without one last mega-fight against some sort of god or demon!
Erebus is the last boss in Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis, but it won’t go down without a fight. Its affinities change every few turns, and it knows a few moves that can easily wipe out an under-prepared team. Come into this with your heaviest hitters and take out Erebus!
Best Team For The Erebus Fight
With Erebus dealing some truly impressive damage in the fight ahead, you’ll need to be sure you’ve brought your toughest fighters into the mix. Be sure tocheck everyone’s levelbeforecoming into the final fight, since defeating Erebus is no small feat, sotake the time to grind the team for levelsif need be toincrease everyone’s levelsbefore the fight.
You can freely come and go from the Desert of Doors at this point, which means you can still accessthe Police Station and Mayoido Antiquesif you’d like to getany final gearfor the team. Some of the best weapons for each of your SEES teammates don’t unlock until lategame anyway, so it never hurts to check which super-powerful weapons you may have unlocked access to.
You’ll also need tohead into the Velvet Roomto make any final preparations for Aigis' Personas. Below,the team setup for the Erebus fightthat we’ve recommended leaves you without a dedicated healer - we didn’t bring YukariorKen into this fight, since their damage output just isn’t enough to reliably chip away at Erebus' ever-changing and staggering affinities. As such, you’d be wise tobring a healer Persona for Aigis, someone able to heal HP, remove status ailments, and even revive fallen teammates.
There are several high-level Personas available from the Special Fusion method, if you’ve got the cash, and you’ll find that some of these give Aigis access to a Theurgy skill,Armageddon, that can drastically improve your odds of beating Erebus by dealing “ultimate damage.” You’ll need to fuseHelelandSatanfor this, though, who can be created at levels 88 and 82, respectively.
It’s also smart touse Personas without weaknessesErebus can exploit for additional attacks, especially if they’re able torepel or drain specific kinds of damage. Not only does this make Erebus waste its turn in battle, but you could luck into having Erebus hurt itself or even heal Aigis in the process.
Metis
No weaknesses for Erebus to exploit for follow-up attacks.
One of the more difficult Theurgy gauges to charge during battle, since Aigis won’t get many follow-up attacks.
Strong physical damage, access to multiple types of physical damage as well as Ice and Wind magic.
Orgia Mode, which tracks Erebus' affinities and deals the strongest hits possible with its current weaknesses.
Using Charging Blitz, since Erebus is technically one Shadow and will take the severe damage as one.
Using Orgia Mode puts Metis out of commission for one turn following the three-turn attack duration.
Matarukaja can boost the whole team’s attack for three turns.
Insta-Heal immediately heals any status ailments for Metis on her following turn.
Akihiko
Powerful physical damage, especially when using his strongest weapons to bolster his already good strength stat.
Innately weak to Ice magic, which Erebus can exploit for extra turns.
Using Electric Onslaught, which won’t Shock Erebus but will still deal severe Electric damage no matter its current affinities.
Diarahan, if you kept it on him, to act as an impromptu healer if need be.
Matarunda, to lower Erebus' attack for three turns.
Masukukaja, to boost the team’s evasion and accuracy for three turns, which also charges his Theurgy gauge.
If he’s awoken toall his personality characteristics, Masukukaja will be extra effective!
Junpei
Powerful physical damage regardless of weaponry, and innate access to every type of physical damage.
Innately weak to Wind magic, which Erebus can exploit for extra turns.
Using Blaze of Life to not only deal good Fire damage to Erebus, but also completely replenish Junpei’s HP.
His Theurgy charges when he lands critical hits, which he’ll do more oftenwith his combat characteristics active.
Matarukaja, to boost the party’s defense for three turns.
High Counter for a chance to bounce attacks back at Erebus.
Innate access to Fire magic when Erebus becomes susceptible to it every few turns.
Ifeveryone’s Theurgy gaugeisn’t charged already, you’re able to dip back into one of the areas in the Desert of Doors to fight a few regular Shadows before going into the Erebus fight. Just be sure to heal and replenish any lost SP before going into the final fight - you’ll need every bit of it you may get. Additionally, there’s not much after this, so feel free tospend Twilight Fragmentsto heal up at the clock if need be.
Erebus Weaknesses And Attacks
Below, you’ll find full affinity tables for Erebus in Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis.Erebus changes affinities periodically, so be sure to stay on top of its current weaknesses, since a lot of elements and damage types won’t be effective during this battle at any given time. If you’ve suddenly got a question mark on an attack that worked a moment ago, double-check its current affinities before attacking.
The change in its affinities comes when it changes form- if it’s charging its big attack, Primal Darkness (by using Dark Embrace to begin the three-turn charge), it’ll have the “Charging Form” abilities, while “Downed Form” only happens if you successfully stop Erebus from using Dark Embrace and down it for a turn, allowing the team to deal some heavier damage without interruption.
Erebus doesn’t have weaknesses in any of its three forms, but you’ll find your team dealing more damage when it’s in its Downed Form, since it’s unable to defend in any way. It takes normal damage from all attacks in its Downed Form, meaning this is the time to lay it on thick with the team’s heaviest attacks.
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Attack or Skill
Heavy Fire damage to all foes.
Bufudyne
Heavy Ice damage to one foe, with a chance to inflict Freeze.
Mabufudyne
Heavy Ice damage to all foes, with a chance to inflict Freeze.
Ziodyne
Heavy Electric damage to one foe, with a chance to inflict Shock.
Maziodyne
Heavy Electric damage to all foes, with a chance to inflict Shock.
Decreases all foe’s accuracy and evasion for three turns.
Primal Darkness
Massive Almighty damage to all foes.
It’s important to note thatErebus also has a wealth of passive skillsto bolster its already impressive stats. This includeselemental Amp skillsto ensure it can hit you for good elemental damage when it chooses to use those moves, andelemental Break skillsto remove any resistance the team has to that given element for three turns beforehand.
The Final Boss: How To Beat Erebus
After you’ve finished Colosseo Purgatorioand watched all the cutscenes related to it, you and the team will head back into the Desert of Doors to find alarge new door in the center of the Desert of Doorsentryway, so there’s no mistaking where you’ll need to go. When you’re ready to face the final boss of Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis, head inside and watch the cutscenes before the fight against Erebus begins.
Good Defense Is Just As Important As Good Offense
Erebus fights pretty dirty, in comparison to other bosses in Persona 3 Reload. Not only does it haveheavy damage attacksto really bring the hurt to your team, but you’ll also find that you’re up against a number ofstatus ailment-inflicting moves. Because of this, you’ll all but need tohave access to status ailment-curing items or spells. If you don’t have Amrita Drop or Amrita Shower, visit Aohige Pharmacy to stock up from the list of ailment-curing items for sale.
Though you will come up against plenty of regular attacks during this fight, Erebus has a number of moves unlike any you’ve seen. The biggest part of this fight is the use ofDark Embraceto charge upPrimal Darkness, anextremelypowerful move capable of downing your team if you’re not prepared. Thankfully,Dark Embrace lasts three turns, which means you’ve got time tolay into Erebus to stop it from chargingthe move.
While it’s tempting,avoid using your Theurgy moves immediatelywhen the battle begins. Though this is a good way to deal damage to Erebus at any point, you’d be wise tosave your Theurgy attacks for when Erebus is charging Dark Embrace. Since the charge lasts for three turns, and you need to damage Erebus enough to make it stop charging,use Theurgy attacks while it’s using Dark Embraceto try to cancel this power-move out.
If you can’t stop it from using Dark Embrace in the first two turns of the move’s duration, it’s not a bad idea tohave everyone guard on the third turn of Dark Embrace(or use some kind of defensive strategy), since the resulting move from the charge, Primal Darkness, isn’t to be underestimated. Guarding may be the difference between surviving the onslaught and being knocked out.
And if you do get hit by Primal Darkness, now’s the time touse any items in your inventoryto heal if need be, since there’s nothing after the fight with Erebus in Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis that will require them.
Finally, Erebus loves messing with everyone’s stats, both its own and your teams. As such, you’ll need tokeep an eye on everyone’s attack, defense, and accuracy/evasion statsduring the fight. The teammates we recommend bringing are able to boost most of your team’s stats, but if you’ve gotDekunda or Dekajato clear stat drains for your team or stat boosts for Erebus, now is the time to use them!
Balance Strength And Magic Damage Depending On Erebus' Current Phase
Though Erebus' affinities change several times throughout the course of the final battle in Episode Aigis, it’s somewhat predictable which moves you ought to use once you’ve gotten the pattern of the Erebus fight down. It deals mostly elemental or physical damage in its Normal Form, but enjoys playing with Light and Dark insta-kill moves in its Charging Form. Hopefully you’ve brought a few Homonculi to prevent teammates from being one-hit KO’ed.
In terms of offense, you’ll have the easiest time in the fight with Erebus by using the following pattern on the whole:
This combination of affinities is why we suggested the combination ofJunpei and Metisfor the Erebus fight - not only do they deal a powerful amount of physical damage, offering access to each of the three physical damage types just in case, but they’ve also got access to the two magic skills that reliably bring down Erebus during the Dark Embrace charging period. Akihiko has his use during the physical damage portion, but Junpei and Metis shine during both.
When Erebus is in itsDowned Form, however, it takes increased damage from most elemental magic. As such,use your heaviest magic damage on the Downed Formto output the highest amount of damage. It’s incapable of fighting back at this point, so you’ll be fine tofocus on outright offense while Erebus is downafter you’ve interrupted Dark Embrace.
Erebus will keep getting back up, keep recharging Dark Embrace, and keep using Primal Darkness until the fight ends, so once you’ve got the pattern down, it’s a matter of time until Erebus goes down, and you’ve finished the final boss fight in Persona 3 Reload!
