In the Persona games, there are several elemental skills that you can use in battles to make the most of your turns. Of the skills, the most elusive one is the Almighty element. The game doesn’t tell you about this skill type, nor does it make it obviously part of the game. It is almost like an invisible force that you can use in battle. But I aim to give you the missing Almighty tutorial in this Megidolaon guide.
When it comes to my time playing Persona games, what I love to do is use Megidolaon and other Almighty skills as much as I possibly can. It is by far the most useful and flexible element in the entire series. It can be a devastating late-game ally that will quickly decimate foes if used correctly. This Megidolaon guide will show you how to acquire the Almighty skill and what exactly happens when you use it.
Bottom Line Up Front
Megidolaon is one of the more hidden elemental skills in the Persona series. It deals heavy Almighty damage in most games. Almighty is, of course, the hidden element in the series. Almost no Personas have resistances or immunities to this element, making it the most flexible skill type that can be used almost no matter the situation you are in.
Megidolaon is rare, though, only naturally being learned by a few Personas in the series through level up and other means. That said, it is one of the most powerful and recommended skills for playthroughs.
Megidolaon Overview
I remember when I first played a Persona game. I’ve noted it before on our site, but I started with the original title on the PS1 and went from there. One of the most overwhelming parts of the initial games and everything that came afterward was the sheer number of elements that you could use.
The first three Persona games are particularly bad about this, offering far too many elements in those games. Then with the switch to 3D in Persona 3, this one continued with its own set of elemental abilities, and I continued to be slightly confuzzled by the entire situation.
The craziest part about all of this, though, is that I went through all of these games and even Persona 4 Golden before realizing there was another skill type called Almighty. It wasn’t until I played Shin Megami Tensei IV on the Nintendo 3DS that I realized this element even existed.
So, it astounded me when I went to play Persona 5 when it first came out, and I realized that this element existed. If I could play and complete multiple games in the series without fully understanding this element, I imagine I am not the only one in this situation.
After all, Atlus doesn’t explain Megidolaon or the Almighty elemental type at all in any of its games. It is a secret almost that you are left to figure out on your own without a helping hand. I appreciate this in a way since it values paying attention to every single little detail that you come across.
But it can still be confusing when you finally notice the Almighty element, which is what makes a guide like this one necessary. The Megidolaon skill is one of the few Almighty elemental skills that exist. And it is one of the most exceptional among the group of already impressive abilities.
What Are Almighty Skills?
For starters, it is crucial that you understand the Almighty element before we go any further. To this point, I am going to give you the tutorial that the games never will. In the Persona games (and also the SMT parent series), multiple elements always exist.
It varies from title to title, but the general idea is that you have your physical skills and your magical ones. The physical skills include your melee abilities, like slash, and the gun skills if they are also in that particular game.
On the other hand, the magical ones include all of the various elements like fire, known as Agi, ice, known as Bufu, and so on. Every enemy that you come across in the Persona games has some sort of relationship with the various elements that exist.
They could be neutral, taking standard damage from them. On the other hand, they might resist and take less damage. Or, they could even be immune and take none at all. Of course, what you want to aim for are the weak ones that will deal extra damage to foes.
But what if I told you that there was another elemental type? One that you will never see in the elemental chart when you examine an enemy? Yep, there is one, and that is the Almighty skill type. It doesn’t show up on any of the resistance charts in the game, essentially making it the hidden element.
It is invisible in the game, minus the skills like Megidolaon that describe it briefly. To the newer players out there, this makes the Almighty skill quite elusive as you could play the entire game without experiencing it. As for what the Almighty skill is, I think it is basically like a heavenly power.
Because it doesn’t show up on the elemental chart, this means that it isn’t beholden to the usual trappings of the other magical skills. It is part of the magical alignment in the Persona games, but almost no enemies are weak to or resist it.
This is a strong benefit as it means that the Almighty element is helpful in just about every scenario you come across. Unfortunately, it is one of the later-game techniques, so it is pretty challenging to find unless you know where to look.
How Megidolaon Works
Within the Almighty element, there are only so many skills that you can find. It isn’t as extensive as the various Agi skills that exist with your basic one, Agilao, Maragi, Maragidyne, and all of that. Plus, the unique ones that exist, like Firestorm and so many others that use the fire elemental type.
For the most part, the Almighty element keeps to its limited nature. Megidolaon is one of the few skills in the lineup, generally considered the most powerful of the group. In total, there are only three in most games: Megido, Megidola, and Megidolaon.
The last and final one is the skill that I would like to highlight in this game. It is the strongest, so it is one that you should be aiming for, if possible. Unfortunately, its strong nature means that it is even rarer than its weaker counterparts.
In all honesty, I think there are only two games ever in the Persona and SMT series altogether that I have had a Persona that I regularly used that had this skill. That is just how insanely elusive it is to the point where you can beat the games without ever using or needing it. That said, there are some strong benefits for why you would want to use Megidolaon in battles.
Benefits Explained
There are many benefits to Megidolaon and the Almighty skill type as a whole. For one, there is the fact that almost no Personas out there have a resistance to it. So, even when you are up against some of the hardest bosses in the series with only one element that you can use, Almighty is there for you.
There are some truly tough bosses, especially in the more recent games, where they will resist everything. This limited amount of damage output available to you will make these fights super long. But that isn’t the case for Megidolaon, which will make short work of them in no time.
Beyond that, there is another benefit in that this skill works on all enemies. Unlike the basic elements, there are no real single target versions. Since you receive them so late in the game, they all affect the entire enemy side to make up for this fact.
Another intriguing positive is that, though this is a magical element, skills like Makarakarn don’t affect it. That skill is an annoying one that a lot of bosses in the Persona and SMT series use. What it does is put up a wall that will reflect the next magical attack that is used, but Almighty bypasses that completely.
Negatives Explained
Of course, there are some negatives that Megidolaon and the Almighty elemental type, in general, have that you need to know about. Since it is a hidden skill type, this means that it doesn’t work as a weakness point for enemies, either.
Much of the point of the later Persona games is the press turn system. You want to earn extra turns for taking advantage of your enemy’s weaknesses. Since no one has a weakness to Almighty, this means that it will never earn you an extra turn in battle minus critical hits for whatever reason.
Furthermore, it is a very late-game skill you will rarely find in the first half of an Atlus RPG. This renders much of the use invalid since you will go through enemies and bosses where it would have been helpful, but you are unable to use it at that time.
Lastly, there is the fact that it is so limited that is a massive negative against the Almighty skills. So few Personas use Megidolaon or even the weaker versions of the Almighty type, which can be frustrating. You often have to inherit the skill from another Persona to truly enjoy it on some of your favorites.
I found in my playthroughs that some of my favorite endgame Personas didn’t even have the Almighty skill type, which is why I never realized what it was until I played SMT IV and started using demons that had the skill on them. But even with these frustrations, I always try to have one or two Personas in my party these days that have this skill for situations when I need it the most.
Origins
The beginnings of the Almighty elemental type are pretty intriguing. For starters, it is worth mentioning the Japanese name for the element. In Japanese, it is known as “banno.” This is worth mentioning as the name in Japanese literally means all-around or omnipotent.
This is noteworthy in revealing that the skill is meant to be used for all situations since it is almost entirely all-powerful. I think that the Almighty translation name is an apt one, giving off that same idea in a way. But, at the same time, this does take away some of the divine parts of the skill type.
Even still, I think that the Almighty skill type may have some origins in religious texts. Notably, Megidolaon and the other versions of the Almighty skill have essentially the same name in Japanese. They both seemingly reference Megiddo, an ancient city in Israel.
This city is referenced as part of the Hebrew word for Armageddon, or basically the end of the world. In a way, you could see this particular skill type as referencing that is bringing about the end of the world. Or at least it has the power to if misused.
Almighty skills are also notably used by angelic and powerful characters in the Persona and SMT series. This even goes all the way back to its start in the very first Shin Megami Tensei game on the SNES. Oddly enough, this version couldn’t be used by the player but only certain characters like Michael. It would then be a playable skill in SMT II.
Persona 1’s Strange Megidolaon Version
Of all of the inclusions of Megidolaon, though, Persona 1 has to be the strangest. It is the only game in the history of both Persona and SMT where the Megidolaon skill was not part of the Almighty element. For some reason, this type just didn’t exist in the way it does today or even before then in Persona 1.
In that game alone, it would deal heavy nuclear element damage to all enemies instead of Almighty. This is rather strange and takes away some of the divine nature of the skill type. This was rectified soon after, with later Persona titles separating Megidolaon and bringing back the Almighty skill type.
Even more hilarious, though, is the fact that Persona 5, about 20 years later, would finally fix the situation once and for all. Though the Almighty skill type was solved early in the series, the nuclear element was removed from the games as the JRPGs streamlined the different magical typings.
However, Persona 5 returned to its roots in some respects, bringing back the long-awaited negotiation feature as well as the nuclear element. This helped to cement the nuclear type as a permanent addition to the Persona series while not mixing it up ever again with the Almighty skills. Unlike Almighty, nuclear does have standard resistances and weaknesses and appears in analysis.
How to Obtain This Skill
You’ve heard enough about the Megidolaon skill; now it is time to use it in the games themselves. As I mentioned, you can play all of the Persona games without ever using this skill or even seeing it on any of your Personas. It depends on whether you stumble upon it by accident or even seek it out.
You can use the Megidolaon skill and unlock it for Personas in a few different ways. It comes down to your personal preferences. The first way is to simply obtain a Persona that naturally learns the Megidolaon skill.
Even if you find one that does, the chances of the Persona immediately having access to it are slim to none. More than likely, you would have to level up that particular Persona to unlock the skill first before you could start using it in your battles against enemies.
This is the most straightforward method, but there are others. Some include inheriting the skill through fusion. You can take the skill and pass it along to other Personas, but that necessitates having it in the first place. That is where the third and final primary method comes into play.
There are some skill cards in the Persona series that include the Megidolaon attack. These special cards let you apply the ability to specific Personas that would not learn the ability otherwise. It is a helpful way of adding this skill to your repertoire and making some Personas more useful than they otherwise are.
Party Members That Use Megidolaon
Of course, one of the lazier ways of using Megidolaon is by having your teammates use it for you. Believe it or not, there are some party members in the Persona series whose Personas actually learn Megidolaon. They are few in number, but this is one way of using them in battle without having to acquire them yourself.
Most notably, the few party members that can use Megidolaon are gated to the more recent Persona titles. In Persona 4 and its Golden variant, there is the genius prince detective Naoto Shirogane. If you can get Naoto to reach level 75, which is relatively high, her Persona will learn Megidolaon at this point.
It is a similar situation with the genius detective stand-in in Persona 5, too. Goro Akechi is notably the male counterpart to Naoto in that title, and his Persona can learn Megidolaon, too. As you likely already know, he has multiple Personas that he has access to in these titles as a miniature wild card in his own way.
His initial Persona, Robin Hood, learns Megidolaon at level 67, which isn’t as bad as Naoto’s. Better yet, when you can access his other Persona, Loki, in Persona 5 Royal, it automatically has this skill unlocked, but that is because it is already deep in the game.
Last but not least, Persona 5 Strikers might be a spin-off but your party member, Zenkichi Hasegawa, has his Persona learn this skill at a whopping level 80. That is a serious grind right there to unlock it in that action RPG spin-off.
All Personas That Naturally Learn Megidolaon
Of course, I’ve got your back if you want the cheat sheet for the Personas that naturally learn Megidolaon. It can be tough to find this skill naturally in Personas unless you are already trying to max out the Compendium, which, admittedly, I didn’t do until SMT IV, which is why I never saw the skill until then.
To help you with this, here is the complete list of all Personas that learn Megidolaon and what level they learn it at, so you can adequately prepare for this. Suppose you happen to be playing Persona 1. In that case, you will find these Personas with the Megidolaon skill, though remember that it is part of the nuclear element at this point.
- Kamakura Gongorou: Level 61
- Satan: Level 79
- Shiva: Level 96
- Shokuin: Level 97
For those Persona 2: Innocent Sin players out there, here’s your Persona list:
- Brahma: Level 67
- Lucifer: Level 99
- Michael: Level 83
- Satan: Level 96
- Vishnu: Level 86
For the Persona 2: Eternal Punishment players:
- Alice: Level 80
- Brahma: Level 82
- Lucifer: Level 99
- Michael: Level 83
- Satan: Level 96
- Vishnu: Level 86
For the Persona 3 players:
- Asura: Level 88
- Lucifer: Level 91 (but only available in Persona 3 FES and Portable)
- Messiah: Automatically unlocks, but you need to be level 90 to fuse
- Metatron: Level 78 (base game), 90 (FES and P3P)
For the Persona 4 and Golden players:
- Ardha: 91
- Atavaka: Level 75
- Beelzebub: 87
- Helel: Automatic
- Izanagi-no-Okami: Automatic
- Magatsu-Izanagi: 80
- Metatron: 86
- Michael: 74
- Satan: Automatic
- Shiva: 84
- Sraosha: Level 80
- Trumpeter: 70
- Vishnu: Automatic
For Persona 5 and Royal players:
- Alice: Level 82 (base game), 86 (Royal)
- Beelzebub: 89 (base game), 92 (Royal)
- Messiah: Automatic
- Messiah Picaro: Automatic
- Metatron: Level 91
- Michael: 91
- Mot: 76
- Nebiros: 68 (base game), 78 (Royal)
- Sandalphon: 81
- Satanael: Automatic
- Shiva: Level 86
- Uriel: Level 84
- Vishnu: Automatic
Lastly, for the Persona 5 Strikers players:
- Alice: Automatic (unlocked at fusion level 75)
- Metatron: Automatic (unlocked at fusion level 80)
FAQs
Question: Is Megidolaon a magic skill?
Answer: Yes, Megidolaon is considered a magical skill type in the Persona games. Though it isn’t present in the elemental resistances chart, this doesn’t stop the fact that it is very much part of the magical elements in the JRPGs. This means that it could be affected by certain accessories and the like that might boost magic attacks.
Question: What is Almighty Persona?
Answer: The TL;DR of Almighty skills from the leading guide above is that Almighty is the hidden element in the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games. You can’t see it on the elemental resistances, but it exists. There are almost no Personas that are weak or immune to this skill, making it immensely useful but hard to find.
Question: Are All Out Attacks Almighty?
Answer: Yes, All Out Attacks in the Persona series are considered Almighty elemental attacks. Interestingly enough, this is the only case thus far in the series of physical-based Almighty attacks. All Out Attacks aren’t magical, like in the case of Megidolaon and the like.
Conclusion
Megidolaon is but one example of the all-powerful Almighty skill type. This holiest of all elemental magic types is a genuinely divine asset you shouldn’t ignore in your Persona and Shin Megami Tensei adventures. Saving the world from demons, angels, and serial killers is all the easier when you have this seemingly unstoppable power on your side.
I know that I love to use the Megidolaon skill these days and ensure that at least one of my Personas in the second half of each game has it equipped. It is hard to find, but I hope this guide helped locate the Personas that have the Megidolaon ability at least. If you want a little more help with the various skills in the Persona series, check out my complete skill guide here.
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