Margaret is renowned as one of the most challenging bosses in Persona 3 Portable (P3P). Her fight is a complex, multi-phase encounter that demands meticulous planning and execution. This guide breaks down Margaret’s battle phase by phase, offering strategies and insights to help you conquer this formidable opponent in P3P. To succeed, understanding her unique rules and adapting your tactics for each phase is crucial. Let’s dive into a comprehensive P3p Guide to mastering the Margaret boss fight.
Understanding Margaret’s Rules
Before engaging Margaret, it’s essential to grasp the specific rules governing this encounter. Breaking these rules leads to immediate defeat, making adherence paramount. Margaret’s rules are as follows:
- Armageddon Restriction: You must not use the Armageddon fusion spell unless it will deliver the finishing blow. While not mandatory for victory, improper Armageddon usage results in a loss.
- Damage Threshold Per Phase: Each phase lasts for 10 turns. You must deal at least 5,000 damage to Margaret within each phase. Failure to meet this threshold triggers an instant Megidolaon attack, resulting in defeat.
- Omnipotent Orb Prohibition: Equipping the Omnipotent Orb on any party member is strictly forbidden. While nullifying, draining, or repelling her attacks through other means is permissible, equipping this specific item leads to an immediate loss.
- Turn Limit: The battle has a 50-turn limit. Exceeding this limit will cause Margaret to use Megidolaon and end the fight. If you attempt to use Infinity when this occurs, she will counter with Diarahan, prolonging the inevitable.
Furthermore, like her siblings Elizabeth and Theodore, Margaret acts twice per turn. This accelerated pace means buffs and debuffs wear off more quickly, requiring careful timing and management. Margaret boasts a substantial 30,000 HP, necessitating approximately 6,000 damage per phase to defeat her within the turn limit without relying on Armageddon until the very end.
Phase-by-Phase Breakdown of the Margaret Boss Fight
Margaret’s fight is structured into distinct phases, each with unique characteristics, persona usage, and vulnerabilities. Adapting your strategy to each phase is key to victory.
Phase 1: Phys Heavenly Kings
In this initial phase, Margaret utilizes the Four Heavenly Kings Personas, each specializing in a physical attack type:
- Jikokuten: Slash attacks
- Zouchouten: Strike attacks
- Koumokuten: Pierce attacks
- Bishamonten: Combines all physical attack types
A crucial mechanic in this phase is that Margaret will drain the last physical element she used. If she scores a critical hit, she will use Power Charge followed by a physical attack, draining the element corresponding to the Heavenly King Persona used for Power Charge (excluding Bishamonten in this case).
During this phase, Margaret nullifies all magic elements. Therefore, your damage options are limited to:
- Physical Skills: Utilize physical skills that are not of the element she currently drains.
- Almighty Skills: Almighty skills bypass her resistances and deal consistent damage.
- Elemental Break Skills: Combining elemental break spells with the corresponding element can temporarily bypass her nullification. However, the break effect only lasts until her next turn, making it less reliable unless strategically planned.
Phase 2: Magic/Ailments/Phys/Insta-kills (P4 Personas)
Phase two introduces Personas from Persona 4, specifically Mokoi and Neko Shogun. Margaret employs them with distinct attack patterns:
- Mokoi: Focuses on status ailments, using Stagnant Air to increase ailment susceptibility followed by Rage, Charm, and Poison inflicting skills.
- Neko Shogun: Utilizes a diverse skill set including AoE magic attacks, instant death skills, and physical attacks. Neko Shogun will prioritize physical attacks against enraged party members. Otherwise, magic and instant death skills are favored.
In this phase, Margaret becomes vulnerable to all attack types except instant death skills themselves. Exploit this vulnerability by using a mix of magic, physical, and almighty attacks to maximize damage output. Be wary of status ailments and consider strategies to mitigate or cure them quickly.
Phase 3: Magic Mitamas
Phase three features the four Mitama Personas, which Margaret uses to unleash AoE magic attacks targeting the entire party. If a party member has an elemental weakness that is not covered by skills or equipment like Armor of Light, Margaret will aggressively target that weakness.
Margaret’s vulnerabilities shift in this phase. She is only susceptible to:
- Almighty Skills: Consistent damage option throughout this phase.
- Opposite Element Vulnerability: Margaret becomes vulnerable to the element opposite to the last magic element she used. For reference:
- Ara Mitama (Fire) is vulnerable to Ice.
- Nigi Mitama (Water) is vulnerable to Fire.
- Saki Mitama (Wind) is vulnerable to Electric.
- Kushi Mitama (Earth) is vulnerable to Wind.
The elemental break strategy from Phase 1 can be more effectively utilized here by predicting her last used element and preparing the opposite element break and attack combination.
Phase 4: Moirae Sisters
Margaret transitions to using the three Moirae Sisters Personas from Greek mythology, each playing a role in a sequence of actions:
- Clotho: Prepares for attacks by using Power Charge or Mind Charge, symbolizing “threading the string of fate.”
- Lachesis: Follows up with -karn spells (Tetrakarn/Makarakarn), Marakunda, and Evil Smile. If Evil Smile inflicts Fear, she will use Ghastly Wail, representing “determining the length of the string.”
- Atropos: Executes the final, devastating attacks: a Mind Charged Megidolaon and a Power Charged AoE physical skill, symbolizing “cutting the string of life.”
This sequence is predictable and consistent. During this phase, Margaret is vulnerable to all attack types. Use this window to inflict as much damage as possible, anticipating and guarding against the powerful attacks from Atropos. Clotho’s Power Charge/Mind Charge buff carries over to the next phase, increasing the pressure.
Phase 5: Copycat Siblings (Elizabeth Personas)
The final phase sees Margaret mimicking her sister Elizabeth, using Elizabeth’s signature Personas and inheriting their resistances and weaknesses, including the infamous Vulnerability/Half-Weakness mechanic.
Margaret’s actions in this phase are reactive and depend on your party’s last action:
- Healing Spell: If you use a healing spell, Margaret will also heal herself.
- Magic Spell: She will mirror the magic element you last used.
- Buff Spell: She will cast Mahamaon.
- Debuff Spell: She will cast Mamudoon.
Due to these unpredictable and potentially detrimental responses, entering Phase 5 with a full party is highly risky. It is advisable to either defeat Margaret before she reaches this phase or use Armageddon for a decisive finish if you haven’t managed to defeat her earlier.
Conclusion
Mastering Margaret in Persona 3 Portable requires a deep understanding of her mechanics, phase transitions, and vulnerabilities. This P3P guide has provided a detailed breakdown of each phase and the rules governing the fight. By carefully planning your Persona builds, skill selection, and tactical approach for each phase, you can overcome this ultimate challenge. Remember to adapt to her shifting resistances and vulnerabilities, manage your resources wisely, and exploit the opportunities presented in each phase to emerge victorious against Margaret.
