Persona 3 Reload‘s Episode Aigis takes the S.E.E.S. cast in another adventure after the main game. This expansion follows the same vein as the base game, though you may be surprised when you fight the Stoic Snakes and find their weakness.
You won’t climb up Tartarus in Episode Aigis (also called The Answer). Instead, the S.E.E.S. cast goes down to the Desert of Doors, which functions similarly to the labyrinthian structure that replaced Gekkoukan High at midnight.
We encountered Stoic Snake as a strong Shadow on the fourth floor of Malebolge, so if you see an enemy that looks bulkier than usual around that area, prepare for a fight. Here’s what you need to know about Stoic Snake’s weaknesses and how to beat this enemy in Persona 3 Reload‘s Episode Aigis.
Stoic Snake weakness in Episode Aigis (The Answer)
Several snake enemies in Persona 3 Reload are weak to Ice damage, but this strong Shadow in Episode Aigis subverts that expectation. It’s weak to Light, but it will throw its share of Bufu spells at you.
Stoic Snake also heals from any Ice damage, repels Shock, and nullifies Dark damage. This hampers your toolkit quite a bit when facing this enemy—especially if there’s more than one. Though Stoic Snake is weak to Light damage, it also has the frustrating Dodge Light passive under its belt. In normal situations, Kouga/Kouha or Hama would make this an easy fight, but if this kicks in, you might need to wait for a full turn before you can try to set up an All-Out Attack.
How to beat Stoic Snake in Episode Aigis
Stoic Snake will try to debuff, inflict ailments, and attack you with Ice damage. Its repertoire consists of Bufu and Mabufu as main damage sources, Foul Breath and Pulinpa to make this fight tougher, and a Rakunda if they’re feeling particularly cruel. It’s easy to get hit with status effects, especially if you’re fighting multiple of these snakes.
Akihiko can be a weak link, considering his weakness to Ice can let the Stoic Snakes chain extra attacks either by targeting him with Bufu or getting lucky with a Mabufu. This enemy also reflects Zio, but this isn’t much of a threat to him since Caesar nullifies Electric damage. This doesn’t mean the fight is impossible with him in your party, however, and his Theurgy is powerful enough to change the course of the fight (if you can fill his gauge).
Ken is even more of an asset here, considering he starts with Kouga. If Aigis has a Persona with Light damage, you can try to set up All-Out Attacks before the snakes have a chance to regroup.
Yukari can help with healing and her Patra by default, but don’t hesitate to use items if they’re necessary, especially if the archer is the target of Pulinpa herself. Depending on how many enemies you’re facing, debuffing all Stoic Snakes can be tricky if you don’t have access to party-wide debuffs early on.
If this fight becomes a battle of attrition, Theurgies can change the course of the match and end it relatively quickly. Don’t forget to use Fuuka’s, too, since she can help out the party in a pinch. We soaked up as much damage as we could, fending off status effects and hoping Akihiko dodged the Ice moves, and Theurgies essentially put an end to the fight once they charged. Luckily, the boxer’s Lightning Spike hits all enemies and ignores resistances, which pumped up our damage numbers.
