In Persona 5’s true nature, Persona 5 Strikers brought along some really unique features and new faces to interact with. Alongside those faces, in no one’s surprise, we have some extremely crazy Bosses to deal with that are both physically and mentally, unstable to say the least. This is the case with the very first main Boss of the game, Alice Hiiragi. Obviously designed with the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ theme in mind, this paranoid fashion icon is ready to destroy your world, if you are not prepared. Below, we will see how you can make quick work of her, with minimal effort.
Alice hits hard and fast, while also having two phases within the battle.
While she may not look like it, Alice is actually very strong utilizing her magic prowess and agile body to completely shut you down, if you haven’t prepared properly. You most likely noticed it by now, but while Joker and the company are very capable of handling themselves in fights, a small and sudden burst of damage from certain enemies, can easily knock out most of the party in literal seconds. The same goes for this battle here, which can either go very well, or end surprisingly fast.
First things first, bring Fire and Wind with you. What I mean here, is that you need to have any Persona equipped with either Fire or Wind magic, or even both for better results. Also, you need at least one more party member with the same setup, preferably Morgana or Ann who are very strong magic users. Morgana also has access early on to great healing skills, so I’d personally include him in any case.
With that set and done, let us jump to the fight itself. Alice has two phases, with the 2nd one triggered when she reaches half of her HP. Within her first phase, there are two things you need to watch out for. Her AOE attacks and Psychic projectiles. Both of these are telegraphed in a certain way, that after one or two tries you will be able to dodge them no problem, by evading sideways. Make sure to swirl your left analog stick fast, in case you are hit from those projectiles, to free yourself from Brainwashed status.
Any time she stops her barrage of spells, close up to her and start raining down your Fire magic, with any of your characters. I personally mainly controlled Joker, and jumped to Ann and Morgana when I was out of SP. Which brings me to another small tip: bring SP recovery items. Right after, try and hit her with any Wind skill, as this will trigger a Technical attack, being a boosted version of a regular one, also flinching her in the process. Watch out for her melee attack while doing so, evading these as well.
Alice will eventually jump to the pole in the middle of the arena, shooting random projectiles to the whole screen. Do your best and avoid these, in order to repeat the previous cycle. A good way to make an easy escape from these, would be to jump around to the Party Poppers that are scattered all over the stage. You can even use them to interrupt a lot of her attacks, but please note that they can only be used a single time each, so plan accordingly. My suggestion would be to save some of these for the next phase.
How to beat Alice after her 2nd phase.
After getting Alice down to 50% of her health, her second phase is activated. Now standing at all four, like a mad rabbit she supposedly represents, she now has increased speed, more versatile attacks and can lunge to you way faster than before. She retains her magic prowess, alongside this newfound melee advantage, so don’t be tricked that she won’t reach you from afar with projectiles.
In this phase, you need to do the exact same as before, only it is harder to do so. You need to focus way more on evading her physical and ranged attacks, and close up only when time is right. She is very aggressive now, so be patient in order to find your chance. Again, use your Fire spells in conjunction with Wind ones right after, take advantage of any Party Poppers you have left, rinse and repeat. Alice will eventually go down, with you being victorious, ready to tackle the following chapter that lies ahead.
Persona 5 Strikers officially releases on February 23, 2021 for the PC, PS4 and the Nintendo Switch. Those that pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition, can jump into the game right now.
