Shin Megami Tensei is an absolute goldmine for Atlus, with the Persona series that originated from the same arguably being the best modern JRPG series right now. It'll be hard to find another JRPG with the same level of love, fun, challenge, and astounding excellence that's present in this series. Persona 5 is a great example of why the series is great, serving as a great entry point for people interested in the series while simultaneously providing long-time fans with something they'd been pining for a long time — more Persona.
The battles in this series have been improved exponentially, with a wide variety of attacks encompassing various types and elements that turn fights into a chess game of sorts as you try and exploit weaknesses. Physical attacks themselves are grouped into two categories, adding to the strategic thinking one needs to employ in battles. For people who want to give Persona 5 Royal a whirl, here are ten of the hardest-hitting physical attacks in the game that you should definitely unlock.
10 Deadly Fury
Kickstarting this list is Deadly Fury, a single-hit attack that hits an opponent for severe damage. While this might not be all that impressive compared to the other attacks that you get, the one thing that puts Deadly Fury ahead of its contemporaries is the fact that it gets more powerful if you couple it with a Baton Pass.
It's the situation nature of this ability's power-up that places it on such a low place in this list.
9 God's Hand/Laevateinn
While it might be cheating to group two attacks together, the fact of the matter is that God's Hand and Laevateinn accomplish the same exact feats with absolutely no difference.
Both these attacks hit for colossal damage and take up 25% of the user's HP. The only real difference is that Laevateinn is an attack unique to Persona 5 Royal, so try that out if you really want that feeling of exclusivity.
8 Brave Blade
From a functional point of view, Brave Blade works similarly to the previous two attacks mentioned on this list. The only reason why this attack ranks slightly higher is that it takes 24% of a user's HP.
While this might not seem like much, JRPGs are always a numbers game, and Persona 5 has its fair share of tough battles. Even the slightest change in one's HP can decide one's fate in battle.
7 Cross Slash
While relying on multi-hit attacks might not be all that great, an attack that only hits twice is still better than something that hits eight times —something that is going to be addressed further down in this list.
Keeping this in mind, Cross Slash is a great attack to keep in one's arsenal if a player wishes to dish out a ton of damage. It hits one foe twice for heavy damage and is unique to the Persona Izanagi.
6 Sword Dance
Sword Dance is another ability that hits for colossal damage — a phrase you must be sick of reading at this point.
Again, the main reason why it edges out its competition is because of the HP intake, which is 21% this time. This is the lowest HP cost out of all the single-target colossal damage physical abilities, making it a great addition to any player's arsenal.
5 Riot Gun
All-hit attacks can be somewhat useful, albeit situational. However, one can't deny the power of these abilities, especially if the player is stuck between a rock and a hard place in battle.
Riot Gun marks the first appearance of a Gun ability on this list — something that the game is sorely lacking in — hitting all enemies for severe damage.
4 Hassou Tobi
Most Persona players swear by Hassou Tobi as one of the most useful abilities in the game, with its main draw being the ability to clean out mobs of enemies with an all-hit attack that hits for a whopping 8 times.
However, this is where RNG comes into play — more often than not, one or more of Hassou Tobi's attacks will miss, reducing the damage potential of this attack somewhat.
3 Gigantomachia
Gigantomachia is another all-hit physical attack, with its main benefit being that it hits once for colossal damage.
This instantly gives it a leg-up over Hassou Tobi, which — as discussed before — has the potential to miss numerous times. Gigantomachia is more reliable in this regard, serving as a better way to clear out mobs of enemies with relative ease.
2 One-Shot Kill
At first glance, One-Shot Kill might not seem like that big of a deal. After all, it's a Gun ability that hits only one enemy for severe damage. This instantly makes it seem less effective than the other physical abilities on this list that hit for way higher damage.
However, there's one aspect of the One-Shot Kill that makes it a must-have in anyone's arsenal — One-Shot Kill has an extremely high critical rate. More often than not, using this ability will net you a critical hit that hits for massive damage. This is extremely useful, allowing you to one-shot normal enemies and leave a massive dent in the HP of bosses.
1 Masquerade
Persona 5 Royal brings with it a ton of unique Personas, each of whom has incredibly powerful abilities that will make you endgame all the more easier — and memorable. One such Persona is Ella, who sports what is undoubtedly the best physical attack in the game from a damage standpoint.
Masquerade hits one enemy twice for severe physical damage. This easily triumphs the damage caused by a colossal hit and the number of hits means that missing isn't all that probable to boot. If you want to squash foes with relative ease, then get Ella as soon as possible.