Like most RPGs, Persona 3 Reload features a variety of major and minor bosses to fight throughout its lengthy runtime. The former only appears during a full moon, with the game’s calendar structure revolving around preparing for these fights.
While the first of these dies in a cutscene before the tutorial fight, the Priestess is the first major fight that requires some preparation. Since she appears early on, her fight isn’t too hard, but one element can make the fight more panic-inducing.
Don’t sweat the time limit
The biggest advice I can give is don’t panic over the time limit imposed. Since the fight takes place on a moving train inbound for collision, it starts with a 30-minute time limit. This is closer to a 10-minute limit as the Priestess speeds the train up several times using her skill Invitation to Chaos.
This, along with her lack of weaknesses and summoned minions, can make the fight a little overwhelming, but it’s best to get into a pattern of healing when needed and attacking enemies present. One thing to note is that her minions have one for either fire, ice, or wind, so exploit those when needed. Any extra attacks gained will be vital for quickly wrapping this fight up.
For the Priestess herself, the best bet is casting Rebellion on Junpei so he has a better chance of landing critical hits. Even if he or anyone else doesn’t land one, it won’t take that much more time to dispatch the boss.
Beyond the time limit, the Priestess’ Ice Storm attack can be concerning. It affects the whole party and potentially freezes a party member. Make sure at least one Persona has Baisudi to cure anyone who is frozen.
The protagonist will be fine as long as you bring in ice-resistant Personas like Silky or ones immune like Jack Frost. If you don’t, you should still be fine as long as you or Yukari have Media for full-party healing. The Cure Water item also helps if you want to focus MP use on spells.
None of the enemies hit particularly hard, so as long as everyone is consistently above half-health, they should be fine. Having a handful of Revival Beads is always handy though, in case anyone goes down.
There will probably be a decent amount of overlap with early-game Persona skills, so you’ll likely go into this fight with some if not all the recommended personas and skills. With minimal preparation and consistent attacks, the Priestess will probably go down with several minutes left on the clock.
After she’s taken care of, the protagonist will stop the train and save the party. Meanwhile, you can sigh in relief that future bosses don’t have time limits.
