Reaper (Persona) (2024)

This article is about the Shadow. For the demon race, see Reaper (race).

The Reaper is a Shadow that appears in most games in the Persona series with exploration-based elements since Persona 3.

Appearances[]

• Persona 3 / FES / Portable / Reload: Death Arcana, Optional Boss
  • Persona 3 (Manga): Enemy
  • Persona 3 The Movie: Enemy featured very briefly
• Persona 4 / Golden: Death Arcana, Optional Boss
  • Persona 4 (Manga): Enemy
  • Persona 4 The Animation: Enemy
• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: F.O.E
• Persona 5 / Royal: Optional Boss
• Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: F.O.E
• Persona 5 Strikers: Ultimate boss

Profile[]

The Reaper of the Persona series has several features that distinguish it from other "grim reapers" in popular culture. The Reaper, instead of carrying a gigantic scythe, wields two long-barrel revolvers. Its face is shrouded in a blood-stained cloth sack, with only one white eye exposed to see its surroundings. It wears two long chains across its left and right shoulders, forming a cross.

The Reaper acts as a security system for areas where Shadows infest, such as Tartarus and Mementos. It either actively pursues threats as they linger in an area for too long or ambushes them inside treasure chests or other objects that might otherwise contain valuable items, such as Power Spots. In Persona Q, however, it does not act any different than other F.O.Es. In all of its appearances, it is incredibly powerful. Boasting basically every elemental magic available, sometimes various physical skills, as well as instakill moves, it is highly unpredictable and difficult to beat via normal means. Despite its low HP compared to most end-game bosses, its other stats are abnormally high while also boasting high resistances and no weakness, making it incredibly fast, durable and hard-hitting.

Unlike most other on-field Shadows where it is encountered, the Reaper uses its own model upon spawning on the map.

The Reaper's origins are largely unknown. However, in Persona Q alone, they are said to be deployed by Chronos to wipe out any threats against divine providence.

Persona 3[]

The Reaper lurks in Tartarus, and will spawn when the party stays on one floor of Tartarus for too long; the time it takes for the Reaper to spawn is random depending on which floor the party is in though it seems to correlate with the floor's size, ranging from three minutes on the smallest floors (such as the floors closest to the next block) to over 12 minutes on the largest floors (such as those in Monad Depths).

Once Mitsuru or Fuuka say a warning quote, they will speak again within another 30 seconds to either repeat their first warning quote or finally alert the party that the Reaper has spawned. When it approaches the party, a sound of rattling chains can be heard which grows louder the closer the Reaper is to the party, and it also appears on the mini-map. Unlike any other Shadows on the field, it can even climb up small ramps in floors. The Reaper cannot follow the party to the stairs that lead to the next floor, however, making the stairs a safe haven from it.

The Reaper's appearance is hastened when:

• Choosing a cursed card in Shuffle Time
• On an empty floor (random occurence)
• On a floor with powerful (red-glowing) Shadows
• There are "more Shadows on the floor than normal," which is filled exclusively with golden Shadows or rare chests

The last three conditions can cause the Reaper to show up as soon as under a minute in small floors.

Because the Reaper is a very challenging opponent, the party should come prepared with either Black Viper (Satan), Thunder Reign (Odin), or Armageddon (Helel + Satan). Unless the party's level is 70 or higher, the Reaper will most likely instantly kill all party members in a single turn, doing over 400 damage when striking a resistance, while barely taking any damage himself. During the battle, equipping the whole party with Omnipotent Orbs or casting either Makarakarn or Tetrakarn triggers the Reaper to use Megidolaon, which can be fatal unless characters are at Level 99. The Reaper is also able to act twice a turn, and makes heavy use of Break skills and instakills to thin down the party or give itself more options

As one of Elizabeth's Requests (#53), the protagonist must defeat the Reaper. If the request is active, the Reaper will drop the Bloody Button upon its defeat, which the protagonist can turn in to unlock the Monad Depths.

The Movie[]

The Reaper appears briefly in the final movie, being the last obstacle to obstruct Makoto Yuki from reaching Nyx. When Orpheus' regular skills fail to destroy it, Elizabeth gives him the ability to use Megidolaon in order to defeat it and move on.

Persona 4[]

The Reaper is an exclusive boss that can only be fought in the second playthrough of the game, where it can be found in trap chests during a second cycle. Upon examining it, the protagonist is forewarned that a powerful force dwells within the chest and repeatedly asked whether he is ready to open it. Should the protagonist choose to open it, the Reaper will attack the party and engage them in a battle. Similar to its predecessor, the Reaper can be challenged multiple times as long as the protagonist manages to locate the treasure chest he dwells within.

Defeating the Reaper may grant the respective characters their strongest weapons per defeat; however, should all of the in-battle characters have received their strongest weapons, the Reaper instead drops the strongest armor. If all of those have already been received as well, the Reaper drops the Omnipotence Orb, an accessory which voids all attacks excluding Almighty.

It will only drop a character's weapon if they are in the team that fights him. One must re-organize their team if they want to gain every weapon.

Golden[]

The Reaper works the same way as the original Persona 4, except that it can be encountered on the first playthrough of the game. In order to make it spawn, the protagonist has to open a total of twenty-one chests. Should this number of chests be reached, the sound of rattling chains will echo throughout the dungeon.

If the protagonist opens a chest where a normal Shadow would otherwise stay in during this instance, they will be warned of an ominous presence; should they ignore the warning, a fight with the Reaper will be triggered. However, if the protagonist opens a normal chest instead, the chest counter will be reset and the sound of rattling chains will disappear. Leaving the dungeon or moving up/down floors also applies to this.

Should one seek to "farm" the Reaper for its weapon and armor drops, one can open a total of twenty chests, exit the dungeon, and then save the game. Even if one's first attempts at spawning the Reaper is unsuccessful, one can reload the save and try again, so as to not have to open twenty chests all over again and save time farming.

The Animation[]

Three Reapers show up when the Investigation Team confronts Adachi in his own reality, Magatsu Inaba. The first one confronts Kanji and Naoto at the central shopping district, the second one fights Chie, Yukiko and Rise at the Amagi Inn and the last one battles Yosuke and Teddie at Saki Konishi's house. The Reapers prove to be powerful opponents for the Investigation Team, but eventually, the Investigation Team managed to beat the Reapers after banding together.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth[]

The Reaper is an F.O.E who appears on the second floor of the Clock Tower and all floors above it. Unlike most other games where the Reaper is simply a security guard patrolling areas related to the collective unconsciousness and removing lingering threats, it is explicitly stated to be one of Chronos' servants. It appeared to remove Zen for upsetting the natural providence of the world by creating the world from Rei's memories and preventing her soul from returning to the Sea of Souls.

While the party is in the same room as the Reaper, it will pursue them for two steps before resting for one step. The Reaper can pursue the party over empty spaces, but not through columns. Noting the columns' locations or impeding its movement with the various block-like pistons scattered through the dungeon becomes critical in trying to avoid it.

In battle, the Reaper can act twice each turn and has a wide array of attacks and ailment-inducing moves. Once it drops below 50% HP, it will start trying to inflict Sleep, Panic and/or Agility Bind to render the party unable to dodge a Power Charged Myriad Arrows or Deathbound. Past 25% HP, it switches strategies and throws party-wide attacks, including Mamudoon and Megidolaon. While resistant to them, the Reaper is still vulnerable to ailments and Binds which can make the battle less aggravating.

When defeated, the Reaper may drop Death's Order or, if the request to hunt one is active, Broken Chain. Death's Order is used to create the

Heavy Sword for the P3 hero, the Heavy Longsword for Junpei and the P4 hero, the Heavy Gloves for Akihiko, the Heavy Hammer for Shinjiro, the Heavy Spear for Ken, the Heavy Knife for Koromaru and Yosuke, the Heavy Shield for Kanji, the Heavy Claw for Teddie, the Heavy Bow for Yukari, the Heavy Rapier for Mitsuru, the Heavy Howitzer and Heavy V-Suit for Aigis, the Heavy Shoes for Chie, the Heavy Sensu for Yukiko, the Heavy Gun for Naoto, the Heavy Bullet and Heavy Cloak for Zen and Rei, the Heavy Gi unisex armor, the Heavy Dog-Gi for Koromaru, and the Heavy Wristband accessory.

Persona 5[]

The Reaper once again appears to hunt the Phantom Thieves while in Mementos from the Path of Aiyatsbus onward, following Morgana's warning about a powerful Shadow in Mementos. It will only appear when the party has remained on the same floor for a full two minutes before appearing in the area, with the sound of rattling chains and a red visual rippling effect indicating its presence. The Reaper will then move through the floor and will chase down the party, even phasing through doors, but not through walls. The party will be safe while standing on the entry or exit platforms, but the Reaper will still be present in the area. Getting back into the Mona car from the platform will reset the Reaper to its original position in the area, and it will start stalking the party again.

The Reaper in battle is incredibly strong; possessing a large variety of attacks and equally sturdy defense. While it does not null, repel, drain or resist any element, it has huge amounts of defense to reduce damage from all attacks and is still immune to instant kill effects. Sometimes it prefers to spend its turns on the various elemental Break skills as opposed to attacking the party, providing random relief turns. The Reaper has a tendency to use instant kill attacks (even if your party is immune to them) so be prepared to revive party members constantly. The Reaper also has a tendency to target the weaknesses of party members; if the weak point is covered up with a passive skill the Reaper will not try attacking the weak spot.

At any point in the fight, if the Reaper detects any party member(s) that have a Physical and/or Magical Wall, the Reaper begin using Concentrate followed by Megidolaon. The Reaper will repeat this pattern until the targets lose the effect, usually through death. At the start of the fight, the Reaper will often open up with Concentrate so be prepared to guard until the Reaper uses a magical attack. At first the Reaper will use single target skills like Bufudyne or Hamaon and will occasionally use Megidola and Riot Gun. Once the Reaper loses around 50% of its health, it will start using using "Ma" versions of skills and will begin to use Megidolaon, Life Leech, Spirit Leech, and Vorpal Blade.

However, the Reaper can be grinded for quick, large amounts of EXP during the month of November and December, as the Flu Season spreads through Tokyo. Like all other Shadows, the Reaper too can succumb to Despair and will die after three turns, granting the party an instant win. The Reaper has a chance to drop the accessory Divine Pillar, which halves all incoming damage, but removes the ability to Evade. Unlike most Shadows, the Reaper cannot be recruited or negotiated with in any shape or form, and it does not possess an Arcana (unlike in previous installments).

It is strongly recommended to let the Reaper ambush the party, since if it ambushes them it will only perform one action per turn, and the party can utilize the otherwise-niche Thermopylae to great effect. If the party manages the break through the ambush by getting a Hold Up (e.g. with a Down Shot), the Reaper will start to act twice per turn as normal.

Royal[]

The Reaper will no longer be afflicted with Despair during Flu Season. One of the deviations in Mementos can cause the Reaper to spawn immediately on a regular floor. It is also easier to defeat the Reaper on lower difficulties by forcing it to spam Megidolaon via having one party member equip the Ring of Gluttony. Doing so and letting yourself get ambushed makes the Reaper insanely predictable and you can set up buffs and heal up in between each Megidolaon, all while attacking.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth[]

The Reaper returns as one of the strongest F.O.Es in the game despite never appearing as an overworld obstacle. The 4th Block of the Theater District has a unique Treasure Spot that radiates darkness rather than glowing yellow or red in previous districts, and the party expresses trepidation if they attempt to harvest from it. Should the party proceed with trying to gather at the Treasure Spot, the Reaper will ambush the party, though Snake Glare can negate this ambush and have the party start on equal footing with it.

With two actions, no weaknesses on top of immunity to almost every ailment available, the Reaper is a very tough opponent, with party-wide attacks of all varieties. Start by having party members not resistant to Curse defend, as the Reaper always starts the fight by casting Mamudoon which can claim a few free kills.

The one solace the party has is its vulnerability to Agility Bind, which can cause most of its deadly attacks to miss. While it's bound, utilize passives like Bound Arts+ with multi-hitting Physical skills to try and get critical hits as often as possible for easy Boost.

Defeating the Reaper for the first time yields the Infernal Key, a key item that unlocks the special fusion for Lucifer. It may also drop Holy Shard and Wild Card. Holy Shard is used to create the accessories SP Adhesive 3, the Chakra Ring, and the Rudra Ring. The Reaper, despite being an F.O.E., will not reward the party with a Sub-Persona film on defeat.

Persona 5 Strikers[]

The Reaper is the ultimate boss of this game, which is fought in Okinawa Jail as part of a request titled "Knocking on Death's Door."

The Reaper will attack using -dyne tier skills, Megidolaon and Riot Gun. It may also cast Concentrate and spam Megidolaon, which can kill or cripple multiple party members. However, it is neutral to all elements, rendering it vulnerable to elemental status effects such as Burn, Freeze and Shock and therefore makes Technical damage incredibly exploitable though it is still unaffected by instant-kill skills. Once the Reaper gets to half health, there will be a short pause along with the fact that the Reaper is now glowing yellow, from now on the Reaper can use Megidolaon in a different variation (after a delay, the Reaper will target the character currently being controlled) and Riot Gun (rapidly fires high damage Gun attacks in quick succession).

Completing this request for the first time (except on Merciless) will reward the protagonist with the Paradise Lost S, the second best melee weapon for the protagonist. Talking to Lavenza after defeating the Reaper once more unlocks New Game+.

When fought on Merciless, the Reaper boasts an astronomical amount of HP and its attacks will execute significantly faster than before; it is otherwise vulnerable in the same manner as its non-Merciless counterpart. In addition, several Dire Shadows, including Dark Sun, War-Hungry Horseman, Sun's Emissary and Heavenly Punisher, will begin to spawn as the Reaper's HP continues to deplete below half health. After the Heavenly Punisher is summoned, no more new enemies will appear, and the only target required to be defeated is the Reaper itself. Due to the amount of high-damage attacks thrown around in the fight by all of these enemies, it is very difficult to win without proper preparation.

Defeating the Reaper on this difficulty rewards an obscene 75 randomized specified Incense, and completing the request for the first time on Merciless rewards the Omnipotent Orb. Any subsequent completions of the request rewards the accessory Steel Brooch, which nullifies any Gun damage.

Stats[]

Persona 3[]

Persona 4[]

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth[]

Persona 5[]

• The Reaper is considered a proper boss-type enemy. Therefore, it is immune to all status ailments, Critical, and instakill effects (any damage skill with one will only inflict the damage and will never roll for instakill). It can still be Downed by Down Shot but cannot be negotiated with.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth[]

Persona 5 Strikers[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

• In Persona 3 the Reaper's total HP (4,444) refers to a hom*onym between "four" (四, shi)^? and "death" (死, shi)^?. The number four is also known in Japan and China as the number of misfortune.
• The Reaper's garments bear some resemblance to Tatsuya Sudou's clothes, from the Persona 2 duology. Additionally, Sudou eventually loses his right eye during the events that take place during the duology, and the Reaper itself is missing that eye as well.
• In Persona Q, the Reaper's total HP (13,666) is a combination of two ominous numbers, 13 being associated with bad luck and 666 being the Number of the Beast.
  • In relation to the latter, 6,666 Experience points are awarded to a party of three members upon defeating the Reaper in Persona 3.