After stealing the heart of Futaba Sakura to relieve the poor girl of her guilt for her mother’s death, you will have to head to Futaba’s Palace. By reaching there, it will be revealed that the boss you will fight in Persona 5 Royal is not Futaba but her mother, Wakaba Isshiki.
Isshiki is a giant Sphinx, having the head of Futaba’s mother. Fighting the is quite unnerving as she uses unfamiliar attacks and flying abilities. There is no need to lose hope; we have got you covered. In this guide, you will find all the tips and tricks for defeating this boss and coming alive from the bloody fight.
We have divided the Wakaba Isshiki boss fight in P5R into three parts, and below are the details of each phase.
Phase 1
When you enter the fight area, Wakaba Isshiki starts flying around in the sky. You can try magic or gun attacks at her, but they will be nearly useless and deal little to no damage.
At this step, the most productive thing you can do is be patient. Keep doing minor attacks at the flying boss, and keep the party at their feet.
Phase 2
Soon after, Isshiki will fly away from your sight in Persona 5 Royal. This is the best time to let your party heal up for the first two turns. Keep an eye out for the boss; she can come out from nowhere anytime.
Focus on your defense and try to buff your party with enough defense power. After coming out of disappearance, the boss will throw a powerful dive into the fighting arena, dealing a heavy amount of damage to the team.
To defend yourself and the party from this attack, you should prepare each one of the members to block the incoming attack on their third turn. Although extensive damage will still be received, this blocking technique will save everyone from instant death.
Phase 3
You have survived some of the most challenging parts of the fight. Now, you will have Futaba on your team’s side in Persona 5 Royal. She will eventually transform into some form of her own Persona after entering the Palace. Futaba will enter her Necronomicon Persona and assist you in the upcoming fight scenes.
She will use her computing skills to hack and bring down a Ballista to be used against her mother. To use this weapon, you must send off a teammate, who will attack the boss by shooting from the Ballista. It will inflict significant damage, and you will gain the chance to heal.
The shot from the Ballista will cause the Isshiki to fall on the ground for some turns. Use this opportunity to attack her with guns and try to do as much physical damage as possible.
Wakaba Isshiki will return to normal condition and fly away. You will have to repeat the previous process all over again. Do not waste your SP while she is flying; it does not bother her health much. Keep waiting until the 2nd shot from the Ballista makes her fall again.
Now that her health has lessened to a great extent, you will encounter a Holdup-scene, firing the last gunshot at the Isshiki Shadow and beating her at last.
There will be an emotional cut scene, after which the scene of your dramatic escape from the collapsing Palace is shown. Ultimately, Futaba joins the Phantom Thieves as a permanent member after waking up from her long sleep in Persona 5 Royal.
Cognitive Wakaba Isshiki weaknesses
Fighting Wakaba Isshiki in P5 Royal is not easy. You will need a solid physical attack character. This boss’s physical attack is one major weakness; it deals heavy damage compared to other long-range or straightforward attacks.
Similarly, the Ballista shot is her ultimate weakness, which will be used at the last stages of the fight and is also a powerful weapon, proving to be substantial in taking down the formidable foe.
Cognitive Wakaba boss fight glitch
In certain instances, you may encounter an issue where the second ballista does not spawn following the firing of the first one. This can make the fight more difficult and, on higher difficulties, even impossible. To remedy this glitch, you can try a couple of fixes.
- Empty the gun magazines of all party members (shoot at Wakaba until you run out of ammo)
- Do an R1/RB assist to trigger the second ballista
- Restart the boss/encounter
If none of these fixes work for you, you can try to take her out using her weaknesses, which are ranged physical attacks.
