Boss help

[MosesRockefeller]

I started this game back when I first got my Vita years ago, and I got stuck on the Mitsuo boss fight. I retry it every once in a while but I can never beat him. It's a shame, because I really enjoyed the game. I've read several guides for this game but most of them seem to gloss over this battle. My specific problem is that I can easily get through the first phase, but when he loses his armor, he eventually raises his armor again, and then quickly does a party-killing move that takes everyone out. I can try the battle again tonight and provide more details if they will help. 

 

Any tips for that battle from you Persona pros? 

 

Second mostly unrelated question: assuming I can get through this one fight and continue with the game, is there anything I should focus on to finish out my first playthrough? I wasn't planning on Platinuming the game initially, but I am now considering it. I haven't been paying too much attention to my social links, reading all the books, etc. In other words, I haven't been using a guide. I'm enjoying the story enough that I'll be happy just to finish it and then we'll see if I have the devotion to do additional playthroughs for the Platinum. But as I said, is there something I should focus on now to make the Platinum easier if I decide to pursue it? 

[Dead Weight]

I started this game back when I first got my Vita years ago, and I got stuck on the Mitsuo boss fight. I retry it every once in a while but I can never beat him. It's a shame, because I really enjoyed the game. I've read several guides for this game but most of them seem to gloss over this battle. My specific problem is that I can easily get through the first phase, but when he loses his armor, he eventually raises his armor again, and then quickly does a party-killing move that takes everyone out. I can try the battle again tonight and provide more details if they will help. 

 

Any tips for that battle from you Persona pros? 

 

Second mostly unrelated question: assuming I can get through this one fight and continue with the game, is there anything I should focus on to finish out my first playthrough? I wasn't planning on Platinuming the game initially, but I am now considering it. I haven't been paying too much attention to my social links, reading all the books, etc. In other words, I haven't been using a guide. I'm enjoying the story enough that I'll be happy just to finish it and then we'll see if I have the devotion to do additional playthroughs for the Platinum. But as I said, is there something I should focus on now to make the Platinum easier if I decide to pursue it?

how is your party levels, which persona's do you have?

Black Frost is a good persona for that fight and you should be able to make it at that point

[Edunstar84]

I second Black Frost! Also, do you use Kanji? He's your physical offensive guy. Maybe use him and try to come back more leveled up.

 

In regards to playthroughs, you want to be on the True Ending for your 1st playthrough, and you want to max out your attributes (knowledge, diligence, courage...) as well. Having them maxed out helps free your time to max out social links in your second playthrough.

 

 

Also, if you still need help there's a Let's Play Persona 4 Golden here on the site. On the first page of the thread, you should find guides to help you with reading books, social links, etc. 

 

Let's Play Persona 4 Golden

Edited September 7, 2016 by Edunstar84

[Dragon-Archon]

Definitely use Black Frost.

 

For the first playthrough I second Edunstar's advice. You need to complete the game once while on the True Ending to unlock some things on the second playthrough, which in turn is needed for some trophies.

[MosesRockefeller]

how is your party levels, which persona's do you have?

Black Frost is a good persona for that fight and you should be able to make it at that point

I can't fuse Black Frost atm because I only have Pixie from the required list. I need Pyro Jack, Jack Frost, King Frost, and Ghoul to make that fusion. I'm out of practice since I took a long break, so I'm not sure what I would need to do to get those personas. 

 

My main character is 38, the rest of the party is 34-37. I haven't been using Kanji that much (he's level 25), since he didn't seem to do that much damage when I tried him out (I'm probably not using him right). I'm on day 7/29 so I don't know if I have time to level him up now. I didn't think I had that much time left to complete this dungeon. 

 

Going from my Persona list, I have:

Nigi Mitama 24

Makami 28

Archangel 15

Andra 21

Anzu 20

Unicorn 29

Lamia 26

Izanagi 19

Shiisaa 26

Matador 24

Kusi Mitama 28

Ganga 29

 

In the Compendium I have:

Slime 2

Pixie 2

Apsaras 4

Angel 4

Sandman 5

Nata Taishi 6

Yomotsu-Shikome 7

Valkyrie 8

Senri 9

Lilim 10

Ukobach 12

Forneus 18

Phoenix 20

Ares 25

 

Any other tips? 

Edited September 8, 2016 by MosesRockefeller

[Edunstar84]

Are you still in the dungeon and okay with items? If so, then you can stay in the dungeon to level up, and you'll still be on day 7/29. You can also go back to the other dungeons and level up there if Mitsuo's is too difficult. It might take some time though. You definitely need a strong physical fighter/persona to help defeat M. before he 1-shots your party.

 

If it's your first playthrough it might take you 2 days to complete a dungeon. But as I said you want to focus on maxing your attributes and getting the True Ending.

[Satoshi Ookami]

I can't fuse Black Frost atm because I only have Pixie from the required list. I need Pyro Jack, Jack Frost, King Frost, and Ghoul to make that fusion. I'm out of practice since I took a long break, so I'm not sure what I would need to do to get those personas. 

 

My main character is 38, the rest of the party is 34-37. I haven't been using Kanji that much (he's level 25), since he didn't seem to do that much damage when I tried him out (I'm probably not using him right). I'm on day 7/29 so I don't know if I have time to level him up now. I didn't think I had that much time left to complete this dungeon. 

 

Going from my Persona list, I have:

Nigi Mitama 24

Makami 28

Archangel 15

Andra 21

Anzu 20

Unicorn 29

Lamia 26

Izanagi 19

Shiisaa 26

Matador 24

Kusi Mitama 28

Ganga 29

 

In the Compendium I have:

Slime 2

Pixie 2

Apsaras 4

Angel 4

Sandman 5

Nata Taishi 6

Yomotsu-Shikome 7

Valkyrie 8

Senri 9

Lilim 10

Ukobach 12

Forneus 18

Phoenix 20

Ares 25

 

Any other tips? 

And from these Personas, you can easily fuse the required Personas for Blacky

[MosesRockefeller]

Are you still in the dungeon and okay with items? If so, then you can stay in the dungeon to level up, and you'll still be on day 7/29. You can also go back to the other dungeons and level up there if Mitsuo's is too difficult. It might take some time though. You definitely need a strong physical fighter/persona to help defeat M. before he 1-shots your party.

 

If it's your first playthrough it might take you 2 days to complete a dungeon. But as I said you want to focus on maxing your attributes and getting the True Ending.

I'm still in the dungeon, and I think okay with items. I guess I could go back to Level 1 and grind Kanji up. I don't remember the dungeon being super difficult, but I may have avoided some of the roaming enemies too. IIRC, a few of my party members (using Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko mostly) have high enough social links to save each other in combat. Or maybe it's only the player character, I can't remember. I took a long break, so my memory is pretty fuzzy (it's not great to begin with ).

And from these Personas, you can easily fuse the required Personas for Blacky

See, I told you I was out of practice in the game! I didn't think to check to see if I could fuse the Personas needed for Black Frost... d'oh!

I will dive back in tonight and try to get Black Frost fused at least, and maybe grind a bit if I have time. At least I can jump right into the Velvet Room since I'm at the save point for the dungeon.

I guess I should also check my stats and social links to get advice on specific weak/strong points to pay attention to as I finish this playthrough. From what I read, the True Ending doesn't require specific stats or anything to achieve, it only needs specific questions answered correctly, right? Meaning I can't lock myself out of the True Ending because I didn't use my time efficiently up to this point?

[Satoshi Ookami]

I guess I should also check my stats and social links to get advice on specific weak/strong points to pay attention to as I finish this playthrough. From what I read, the True Ending doesn't require specific stats or anything to achieve, it only needs specific questions answered correctly, right? Meaning I can't lock myself out of the True Ending because I didn't use my time efficiently up to this point?

Yea, True Ending only requires you to correctly select culprit.

It's just parameters carry over so you don't need to care about them on your next playthrough if you max them.

[cease2123]

You've got good advice so far, level up a bit and fuse the suggested Black Frost. I would take this opportunity to go back to the first couple of dungeons and fight the optional bosses. This would be a good way to level up while not feeling like you're grinding. You definitely want to level up Kanji, IMO he's very valuable for his offence in later parts of the game.

[MosesRockefeller]

You've got good advice so far, level up a bit and fuse the suggested Black Frost. I would take this opportunity to go back to the first couple of dungeons and fight the optional bosses. This would be a good way to level up while not feeling like you're grinding. You definitely want to level up Kanji, IMO he's very valuable for his offence in later parts of the game.

Hmm, looks like I have until 8/12 to finish the Mitsuo dungeon. So that's 14 days to go back to previous dungeons and level up. I did fuse Black Frost, and tried fighting the boss again twice. I was able to stop him from regenerating his armor the second time, but both times I got killed eventually. I have a skill on Black Frost to increase my attack for 3 turns, and one to double my next magic attack. So those two help when done in tandem but his dual attacks (which usually ends up being 3) don't help, especially when he inflicts Fear on multiple party members.

Anyway, I think my best bet is to go back and level up some on the earlier dungeons. I did check and I have 5 or 6 revive items (only Yukiko can revive with a skill, although I think one of my main's Personas can revive, if I sacrifice my main damage dealing attack from him), which may not be enough against this jerk.

[cease2123]

Hmm, looks like I have until 8/12 to finish the Mitsuo dungeon. So that's 14 days to go back to previous dungeons and level up. I did fuse Black Frost, and tried fighting the boss again twice. I was able to stop him from regenerating his armor the second time, but both times I got killed eventually. I have a skill on Black Frost to increase my attack for 3 turns, and one to double my next magic attack. So those two help when done in tandem but his dual attacks (which usually ends up being 3) don't help, especially when he inflicts Fear on multiple party members.

Anyway, I think my best bet is to go back and level up some on the earlier dungeons. I did check and I have 5 or 6 revive items (only Yukiko can revive with a skill, although I think one of my main's Personas can revive, if I sacrifice my main damage dealing attack from him), which may not be enough against this jerk.

 

You don't have to leave the TV world. As long as you stay there time won't progress. The only reason I would leave is to see if maybe you can buy better gear from the armor/weapon shop. But even then I would still level up a bit before doing so so that you make sure to have enough money. At the level you are, the first two optional boss fights shouldn't be hard, but the one in Risette's dungeon might be a bit tougher so I would hold off on that one, but it's a good place to grind at least in the lower floors.

[MosesRockefeller]

You don't have to leave the TV world. As long as you stay there time won't progress. The only reason I would leave is to see if maybe you can buy better gear from the armor/weapon shop. But even then I would still level up a bit before doing so so that you make sure to have enough money. At the level you are, the first two optional boss fights shouldn't be hard, but the one in Risette's dungeon might be a bit tougher so I would hold off on that one, but it's a good place to grind at least in the lower floors.

I had a fair amount of money, but I spent at least half of it fusing Black Frost, since I had to summon several Personas that got used up fusing the Personas needed for Black Frost (and fusing the Personas needed to create THOSE Personas). 

 

Black Frost did seem very powerful when using the buff/debuff skills I mentioned (some of which he inherited through fusion and some of which were built-in), but Mitsuo likes to debuff my main character, and buffing up means waiting longer before dealing damage, during which my party is getting ripped to shreds... it's a tricky one for sure. Teddy is actually my best healer, but he's not doing much damage so I'm tempted to swap him out. 

 

Anyway, good point about the TV world, I can stay in for a while and grind some more, trying those optional boss fights. I think I did the first one already but not positive. Also, I was level 7 or 8 in the related rank for Black Frost (I'm not sure what it's called), so he got a bunch of extra levels when I created him. I think he's 42. 

[Dragon-Archon]

Anyway, good point about the TV world, I can stay in for a while and grind some more, trying those optional boss fights. I think I did the first one already but not positive. Also, I was level 7 or 8 in the related rank for Black Frost (I'm not sure what it's called), so he got a bunch of extra levels when I created him. I think he's 42. 

Nice, sounds like you should try the boss fight again. IIRC Black Frost is from the Fool Arcana and lvl 42 is more than enough to beat the boss.

[MosesRockefeller]

Nice, sounds like you should try the boss fight again. IIRC Black Frost is from the Fool Arcana and lvl 42 is more than enough to beat the boss.

I said a bit earlier, but I did try to fight him twice and got wiped out both times. I was doing serious damage with Black Frost but he usually ended up inflicting fear on my Yukiko, who is my only party member who can remove fear I think. I probably need to grind a bit to get more money, then stock up on revive and debuff removal potions. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I said a bit earlier, but I did try to fight him twice and got wiped out both times. I was doing serious damage with Black Frost but he usually ended up inflicting fear on my Yukiko, who is my only party member who can remove fear I think. I probably need to grind a bit to get more money, then stock up on revive and debuff removal potions. 

You should guard when he does this. If you fought him 4-5 times, you should know his patterns by now

[Edunstar84]

Have you read these? I agree with Satoshi. You have to guard.

 

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/641695-persona-4-golden/64742303

http://www.gamefaqs.com/vita/641695-persona-4-golden/answers/343618-help-with-shadow-mitsuo

[MosesRockefeller]

You should guard when he does this. If you fought him 4-5 times, you should know his patterns by now

No, I've never been good at detecting patterns and usually just rely on brute force. It's probably why I suck at RTS games.

 

Anyway, after trying again with Black Frost, the first time I fought him he put up a heat shield even though I barely did any heat damage to him, and the second time he put up an ice shield. Both times I was mostly hitting him with ice attacks (Yukiko and some of my Personas have heat attacks, but nobody else does IIRC) so he was definitely smarter the second time around. I'll try to pay closer attention and spot patterns. I also think I probably need to swap out Chie, she can't do much damage to him (her Persona does almost all multiple-enemy attacks). 

 

Thanks for the links, Edunstar, I seem to be having the same problems as the OP in the first link, so I'll try some of those suggestions. However it concerns me that he was already trying some of those suggestions to no avail. I need to buckle down and make sure I have the right party members and respond better to Mitsuo's specific attacks. Hopefully I'll finally get him this weekend and be able to continue on with the game. 

[MosesRockefeller]

Well, I fought both of the first two optional bosses, and didn't have real trouble with either one. I also used the floors leading to the bosses to level up Kanji, so he's nearly at the same level as the rest of my party now. I also make sure to take all the stat increase Skill Cards for Black Frost whenever they were offered as battle rewards. One thing I was surprised by is that replaying dungeons for optional bosses doesn't give you an exit after the boss, you either have to go back down to the Floor 1 entrance or use a Goto-M. 

 

Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I'll have time to try the Mitsuo battle again. 

[Edunstar84]

Well, I fought both of the first two optional bosses, and didn't have real trouble with either one. I also used the floors leading to the bosses to level up Kanji, so he's nearly at the same level as the rest of my party now. I also make sure to take all the stat increase Skill Cards for Black Frost whenever they were offered as battle rewards. One thing I was surprised by is that replaying dungeons for optional bosses doesn't give you an exit after the boss, you either have to go back down to the Floor 1 entrance or use a Goto-M. 

 

Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I'll have time to try the Mitsuo battle again. 

Good luck! Hope the Mitsuo battle proves to be easier this time.

[MosesRockefeller]

Good luck! Hope the Mitsuo battle proves to be easier this time.

I tried him again and got crushed despite Defending when he put up his wall shield. So I started on his dungeon back at floor 1 to level my party up a bit more. Right now I'm using Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji. I'm thinking I might switch Chie and Yukiko out for Yosuke and Teddy. Teddy is actually my best healer, since he can heal the whole party a medium amount, compared to Yukiko healing them a light amount or healing one member a medium amount. Chie and Yukiko aren't doing that much damage to Mitsuo, so she's mostly just there because I like her character. But then, I like pretty much the whole cast.

[Satoshi Ookami]

I tried him again and got crushed despite Defending when he put up his wall shield. So I started on his dungeon back at floor 1 to level my party up a bit more. Right now I'm using Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji. I'm thinking I might switch Chie and Yukiko out for Yosuke and Teddy. Teddy is actually my best healer, since he can heal the whole party a medium amount, compared to Yukiko healing them a light amount or healing one member a medium amount. Chie and Yukiko aren't doing that much damage to Mitsuo, so she's mostly just there because I like her character. But then, I like pretty much the whole cast.

Shouldn't you be level 40 or so by now? 

 

Can you post your complete movesets for you and your party? 

Maybe we can compile a strategy.

[MosesRockefeller]

Shouldn't you be level 40 or so by now? 

 

Can you post your complete movesets for you and your party? 

Maybe we can compile a strategy.

I'll check it when I get home. I have Persona on my Vita #2, and Vita #1 is the one I bring to work. I think I'm level 40 or so. 

 

One thing I remember is only defending for one turn following his wall move. Is it better to defend twice? Since he was rebuilding his armor I didn't want to stop doing damage to it. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I'll check it when I get home. I have Persona on my Vita #2, and Vita #1 is the one I bring to work. I think I'm level 40 or so. 

 

One thing I remember is only defending for one turn following his wall move. Is it better to defend twice? Since he was rebuilding his armor I didn't want to stop doing damage to it. 

Well, if the second move is anyhow relevant to your loss then maybe yes.

In any case, movesets should also give us a bit of an idea.

[MosesRockefeller]

Good news! A winner is me. After getting back to the final floor of Mitsuo's dungeon, I used a Goto M and talked to the Fox to get my HP/SP restored. Then I saved and went back in to the Mitsuo fight, using Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji. This time I beat him on the first try. It was weird, it was almost like I was playing on Super Easy Mode, because he seemed to be holding back. I think he only put up one wall. I also think having Black Frost upgraded so much (I took every stat increase card whenever I got Card Shuffles and I also got a card that upgraded my medium heat attack to a heavy heat attack) made a big difference. Yukiko leveled up enough for me to replace her light party heal with a medium party heal, so that was a big help as well. For the last few rounds, I stopped buffing with my main character because the heat attack was already doing several hundred points of damage. He kept using fear attacks but my main character never got affected, thankfully. Generally I was able to remove fear with Yukiko but one time I had to use an item with somebody else because she was affected as well. 

 

Anyway, thank you very much for the all the tips, what worked in the end was Black Frost combined with some level grinding, and a LOT of persistence. I forget everyone's exact levels, but I know Kanji was level 40 and I was level 42 or 43. Black Frost was leveled up enough that he stopped showing the next available skill. I think he was in the upper 40's. 

 

Now, on with the story! 

 

 

On a side note, can any of your Persona series fans make recommendations on playing the earlier entries in the series? I have all of the North American versions of the whole series, unless I'm missing something I'm not aware of. I have the PSP versions of Persona 1, 2, and 3 on my Vita, and I also have the PS1 version of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (since the PSP version was not localized). Oh, I also grabbed the FES version of Persona 3 for my PS3 at some point. I've heard some people prefer the FES version but I would rather play on my Vita. Is it possible to finish the story in P3 PSP and then go straight to the Epilogue in P3 FES and get the best of both worlds? I also have all the spin off games but I'm terrible at fighting games. Is it possible to make it through the story parts of P4 Arena and P4 Arena Ultimax if you are suck at fighting games? Is it better to play P3 before Arena and Ultimax for the story?