There was a time when people thought that modern JRPGs were done and dusted, with absolutely no hope for this genre to have a mainstream resurgence. The best that this genre could hope for was to reach high sales in Japan, with mainstream relevance limited to indie and handheld titles. However, this perception was completely proven wrong with the release of Persona 5, which ended up becoming one of the greatest JRPGs of all time and an excellent addition to the list of brilliant titles for the PlayStation 4.
The game was approachable for casual and hardcore gamers alike, allowing for the former to enjoy an excellent story with challenging yet entertaining combat and the latter to completely go haywire as they tried to unlock powerful Personas with incredible abilities.
For the people who fall in the hardcore category — or just someone who wishes to attain powerful skills — here’s a list of the most useful abilities in Persona 5.
10 Ailment Boost
Inflicting enemies with status effects is the bread and butter of any JRPG, and this especially holds true for Persona 5, where doing the same can be the difference between victory and defeat.
With the use of Ailment Boost, your enemies can be rendered susceptible to all the status effects in the game. This makes it incredibly important during strenuous moments when you need to change the tide of battle.
9 Unshaken Will
While it’s certainly great to inflict ailments on your enemies, the opposite can prove to be quite a hindrance for your party.
This is where Unshaken Will comes into the picture. This passive ability prevents any mental ailment from affecting the player, turning him into an unstoppable beast in battle.
8 Demon Lord’s Domain
Persona 5 Royal is on the horizon, and fans can’t wait to see how Atlus has managed to enhance the game even further. The inclusion of exclusive special abilities is definitely worth mentioning, with Demon Lord’s Domain being one such passive skill that can help buff all attacks.
The best part is that this ability stacks with passives as well. A party member with this ability who bolsters their strength with the Tarukaja buff will unlock a whole new level of damage.
7 Myriad Blooms
While Myriad Blooms might cost a ton of SP, one can’t deny the benefits of utilizing this move. It condenses the effects of Matarukaja, Marakukaja, and Masukukaja into one all-powerful buff that pretty much ensures that any boss fight that might be giving you a hard time will be taken care of in moments.
This move is also exclusive to Persona 5 Royal, making this enhanced release of the original game all the more enticing.
6 Checkmate
Speaking of Persona 5 Royal, here’s another move that can prove to be quite helpful in a tight situation. With Checkmate, you can decrease the Attack, Defense, and Agility of all your foes in one fell swoop.
The reason why Checkmate is rated higher than Myriad Blooms is that the latter can still be dispelled by certain bosses, making it more feasible to debuff these enemies instead.
This ability does take away a ton of SP, which is why it’s better that you utilize Debilitate for individual enemies instead.
5 Ayamur
Now that we’re finally done with taking about stat buffs, passive abilities, and the like, it’s time to get into the actual hard-hitting abilities in the game.
The first attack that can deal a ton of damage is Ayamur, specific to Baal. It hits for medium damage a total of three times to one foe, making it incredibly useful during boss fights.
There were several attacks in the game that hit once for colossal damage, but the reason why Ayamur tops them is that the attacks have high accuracy, and it’s just plain satisfying to see all three attacks land on your enemies.
4 Riot Gun
The ability to hit all your foes for severe damage is excellent in itself, and Riot Gun manages to accomplish exactly that.
With some enemies actually weak to Gun damage, Riot Gun can be a great way to decrease their hit points with the greatest of ease while simultaneously opening them up for an All-Out Attack.
3 One-shot Kill
However, while Riot Gun might be the hardest hitting Gun attack in the game — especially since it targets all enemies — the sheer damage potential of the One-shot Kill just makes it edge out its counterpart.
At a glance, both abilities might seem the same — in fact, Riot Gun does severe damage to everyone, while One-shot Kill does the same to just one foe. However, One-shot Kill also has a higher critical rate and takes way less HP, making it far more feasible to use during a boss fight.
2 Gigantomachia
We close this list off with two physical attacks that hit every enemy for massive damage. The first one is Gigantomachia, which deals colossal damage to all enemies.
While this ability is certainly one of the most useful ones of the lot, there’s another ability that does pretty much the same thing but with flashier results…
1 Hassou Tobi
One might find the Hassou Tobi to be of the same effectiveness as the Gigantomachia, but there’s one key difference — the Hassou Tobi hits for light damage a total of eight times. This means that even if one attack misses, the damage done by the other seven should be more than enough to make up for it. Meanwhile, if the Gigantomachia misses, then it misses for good.
The Hassou Tobi is also an exclusive ability to Yoshitsune, making it just a tab bit more special. This, coupled with the fact that multi-hit attacks just feel more satisfying, makes Hassou Tobi the strongest ability in the game.
NEXT: 10 Facts About Persona 5’s Joker Every Fan Should Know
