The first major boss battle in Persona 5 is a doozy if you’re not prepared. Instead of following any normal battle behavior, Shadow Kamoshida unleashes an array of strangeness and special moves that might just leave your team unprepared.
Like every massive Palace encounter in Persona 5, Shadow Kamoshida doesn’t follow the rules. Mid-fight, he’ll bust out new abilities, new gimmicks, and even cause one of your allies to disappear for a short time.
Thankfully, all of these attacks and special moves are completely predictable. Get all the tips you’ll need to conquer Shadow Kamoshida with the full text guide below.
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How to Beat Shadow Kamoshida | Boss Guide
Shadow Kamoshida appears at the end of the first palace, where he transforms into the demon Asmodeus. The battle against Shadow Kamoshida begins after you’ve delivered the Calling Card and return to the palace.
- Quick Notes:
- All of Shadow Kamoshida’s attacks are Physical.
- At 75% health off, he summons the Trophy of Obsession and uses it to fully heal. The trophy must be destroyed to win.
- When Shadow Kamoshida stares at Ann, make sure to Guard. He will always use the next turn to use the powerful Lick attack on her.
Shadow Kamoshida is a powerful, enormous creature that uses an array of slaves to launch volleyballs at the players, and slurps down embodiments of female High School students to regain his health. Often, he’ll stare at Ann, leading to a powerful attack that only targets her.
Shadow Kamoshida has no special resistance, but his health bar is large. You won’t get to choose which characters to pick for the battle — you’ll always have Joker, Skull, Panther and Mona.
Keep your health topped up with Dia — Panther and Mona should have this magic unlocked, and Joker can also unlock it with his first alternate Persona. Make sure your team is healed up after destroying the Trophy of Obsession especially.
Beat down Kamoshida, and at 75% health off, he’ll summon the Trophy of Obsession. This secondary target heals Kamoshida fully when his health is low, making it impossible to win. Ignore Kamoshida and only target the Trophy of Obsession. When its destroyed, you’ll enter a Hold Up state and unleash an All-Out Attack.
At this point, Kamoshida will gain a powerful attack — Gold Medal Spike. You’ll get a message warning when Kamoshida charges up the attack. Always guard with everyone when you see this attack telegraphed.
Continue to fight, and Morgana will ask the player if they should target Kamoshida. Agree, and select Morgana to pilfer the treasure from Kamoshida’s head. It will take three full turns for Morgana to steal the crown — during this time, you must attack Kamoshida at least once per turn. If he’s not distracted, he will detect Morgana.
If Morgana successfully steals the crown, then victory is just about your’s. With the crown gone, your attacks now dish out triple or quadruple damage, and Shadow Kamoshida will often skip turns. In this vulnerable state, it shouldn’t take long to defeat him for good.
The first boss isn’t so bad, but the game gets trickier with each palace you complete. Next, we’re tackling the artist extraordinaire Shadow Madarame.
