Dire Shadows are a special type of enemy you’ll spot very early in Persona 5 Strikers, with the first available before you even finish the Shibuya Jail at the start of the game. If you’re the curious type, they’ll also rip you a new arsehole in the span of a few seconds. These foes are badass enough that when you spot one, Futaba will chime in and note that there’s a seriously dangerous Shadow ahead. If that doesn’t clue you in, they’re also stationary and seemingly flickering with electricity.
In Persona 5 Strikers, Dire Shadows won’t chase or attack you themselves: you have to initiate combat yourself. As such, you frankly deserve what you get (or you’ve hopefully prepared sufficiently). It’s probably not worth trying to take on even the weakest before you’re at least level 40, to give an indication of how badass these things are, and you shouldn’t go near the one in the final dungeon until maybe level 70 at the absolute earliest.
Nonetheless, they’re not only good for achievements but also experience, and they drop some seriously useful items. Here’s where to find them in each dungeon, and what their strengths and weaknesses are so you can prepare appropriately.
The ones in the final areas are segmented off with a nice big spoiler warning, but be wary of scrolling down too far. Just in case.
Dire Shadows
Shibuya Jail: Bugs — Bugs can be found in Bunkamachi near the entrance to the big plaza. Bugs resists Psi and Nuke damage, but is weak to Lightning, Wind, and Curse. Expect to be hit with Psiodyne and some hefty physical attacks, and the narrow arena makes this a bit trickier than it should be.
Sendai Jail: Raja Naga — Raja Naga can be found in the Sendai Jail, at the very far end of the dead-end street just outside of the Rain Shrine. He drains Lightning and Wind, so you probably don’t want to take Ryuji or Morgana, but he has weaknesses to Fire, Ice, and Bless.
Sapporo Jail: Lilith — Head to the northwest section of the Sapporo Clocktower section to take on this Dire Shadow. She’s got as many strengths as weaknesses: she’ll drain Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Wind; conversely, she’s weak to Psi, Nuke, Bless, and Curse. Haru, Makoto, and Sophia are excellent choices here.
Okinawa Jail: Nebiros — Nebiros is really easy to find, located just a little way to the east of the first checkpoint in the Okinawa Jail. He’s resistant to both Bless and Curse, but weak to Fire, Electricity, and Wind.
Kyoto Jail: Yatagarasu — The nature of the Kyoto jail means that finding this Dire Shadow can be a bit of a pain. Yatagarasu hangs out in the Mother Fox shrine after you’ve done what needs to be done there.
In case you’ve forgotten how to get there: from the Fox Couple Shrine checkpoint, head west through the Daughter Fox Shrine, and through the warp to the west of that to get to the Path of Fortune. On the Path of Fortune there’s an altar with a swirly gate. Head through that to reach the Mother Fox Shrine. Once you’ve found him, Yatagarasu drains Lightning and Wind, but has weaknesses to Fire, Ice, and Nuke damage.
Osaka Jail: Eligor — Eligor’s another easy one to find. Rock on over to the Mt. Chashiro checkpoint and just head east. This big bad horseman drains Fire and Ice but has weaknesses to Lightning, Bless, and Curse. Eligor’s worthy of note because it drops the Roland Medal accessory, which gives a rather tasty boost of +5 to all stats.
Endgame Dire Shadows (SPOILERS)
Spoilers follow.
Abyss Jail: Mitra — This Dire Shadow is so easy to find that you don’t even need to move to a checkpoint. Just enter the Jail and go past the first group of enemies, and Mitra’s right there. Mitra drains Psi and Nuke, and has weaknesses to Ice, Bless, and Curse.
Tree of Knowledge: Archangel — The final Dire Shadow, Archangel, can be found next to the checkpoint just before the Path of Surrender. As befitting a sword-wielding heavenly spirit, Archangel is strong against Bless and Curse but is weak to Wind, Psi, and Nuke. Expect some heavy physical attacks here, amongst other things.
And that’s it. After all of those are down, you should have the achievement The Most Daring Of All for crushing every single Dire Shadow under your boot.
