Persona 3 Reload: Complete Monad Passage Guide

The Monad Depths return once again in Persona 3 Reload, a staple part of the entry that’s made its way into every remake of the vanilla game so far. And in P3R, Monad has changed in a big way in that it’s no longer the end-game dungeon it was, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.

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Waiting inside the Monad Doors you’ll find throughout Tartarus are Shadows much stronger than others on the floor where the Door spawns, and in exchange for beating it, you’ll have access to a variety of rewards. Just don’t come unprepared – Monad Shadows are tough.

Updated on February 20, 2024: Now that we've pushed up through the whole of Tartarus, we're updating our Persona 3 Reload Monad Passage guide to include information on each of the strong Shadows you'll face in each Monad Passage, as well as helpful hyperlinks to other content that may help you in battle.This guide contains spoilers for Persona 3 Reload after your July final exams at school, and from there forward.

Monad Passages, Explained

The Monad Depths have always been a highlight of the original Persona 3 story, but prior to Persona 3 Reload, getting there was no simple task. In some iterations of the game, Monad was an end-game grind before facing Nyx, while in others, it was an optional challenge, but regardless, you used to have to defeat The Reaper before going to Monad.

Persona 3 Reload changed this mechanic around - you do not need to defeat The Reaper in P3R before you're allowed to head into the Monad Depths, which is a good thing, since they begin appearing in the Yabbashah block of Tartarus when you first infiltrate, which can be as early as immediately after the July Full Moon operation.

But just because you no longer have a tough litmus test ahead of venturing in doesn't mean Monad will be easy - the Monad Shadows are some of the tougher fights in the game, but as a reward for your bravery and training to beat these mini-bosses, you'll be rewarded handsomely after every Monad battle in P3R with things like yen, costumes, weapons, and Major Arcana cards.

Monad Doors

When you first find a Monad Door, Fuuka will highlight a large black door with a glowing red symbol that's located someplace on the floor. Run through that floor of Tartarus until you find the door, at which point Fuuka will no longer let you leave the area without investigating this initial door.

Inside this door, you'll find that Fuuka can't navigate for you, but she warns that she's feeling a pretty intense Shadow presence. Go further inside to find the Shadow she's talking about, which puts up quite a fight to introduce you to the concept of Monad in P3R.

But, your fight isn't for naught - defeating Shadows in Monad Doors offer a wealth of awesome rewards. Not only will you automatically have scanned the current floor of Tartarus and the one directly above it, but be sure to check the two treasure chests just past where the mini-boss Shadow was.

There, you'll find not only a regular reward like cash or Skill Cards, but there will also be a Nihil treasure chest that glows green nearby as well. These chests offer Nihil items that can be traded in at Mayoido Antiques for powerful gear and armor.

Monad Doors respawn every night, always with a tough enemy and cool prizes, so it's always worth it to venture in whenever you're in Tartarus doing some grinding or searching for Missing Persons.

Monad Passages

Finally, after you've gotten through the Monad doors in a block of Tartarus, you'll have access to a Monad Passage that will spawn quite high up in the current block of Tartarus and remain on the floor where it spawns, even if you leave Tartarus for the night and come back on another day.

The first Monad Passage you'll encounter is on 91F of the Yabbashah block of Tartarus.

Fuuka remarks that these doors are different, and they are - they react to Major Arcana cards you've collected, and they won't unlock until you approach with the said card in your inventory. Major Arcana cards are most typically won when you defeat a Full Moon boss, but you'll find that you also receive them as rewards from Monad Passages.

That's because inside, you're up against at least a few extremely tough fights within Monad Passages, markedly tougher than any other Shadows in the current block of Tartarus.

It helps to come to the Monad Passage with everyone's Theurgy charged. Just be mindful to use any charged Theurgy attacks early in battle, since you'll lose half your charged Theurgy gauge each time you're KOed in battle, rendering all work you did leading up to the fight moot if you get KOed before you can use it.

Thankfully, Theurgy attacks ignore normal affinities, which is good, since the Monad mini-bosses often have affinity charts that make them fairly difficult to deal any meaningful damage to, so the more often you can use your Theurgy attacks in Monad fights, do it!

If you don't feel prepared or find that you're not succeeding in the fight, you can always choose to come back later if you're under-leveled or not prepared yet when you stumble on the door. The good thing about Monad Passages is that the Passage stays on the same floor of Tartarus when you leave.

Should you leave Tartarus and resume the expedition another night, you'll see the teleporter marked with the Monad Passage floor - it has a red Monad symbol beside the floor number. These will typically be right before the border floors, and there'll be a teleporter nearby to provide easy access should you need to leave and come back.

Fuuka also double-checks before you trigger the fight that you're ready to take the mini-boss fight on, so you'll never accidentally stumble into these more difficult fights. You also have the option to turn around if you're not quite ready.

However, after you've tested your mettle and proven victorious in these fights, you'll receive a wealth of extremely valuable rewards, including but not limited to other Major Arcana cards for arcana not represented by the Full Moon Shadows.

There may also be Twilight Fragment chests inside, in addition to a Nihil chest containing a prototype you should bring to the owner of , so it's always best to come prepared, but you can always double back for these rewards after the fight - Monad Shadows do not respawn.

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Every Monad Passage Location In Tartarus

One of the best parts of the change in how the Monad Depths work in P3R is that doors spawn on the same floor of Tartarus every night, even if you leave and come back another time. Because of this, it makes it that much easier for us to tell you in this section of our Monad guide exactly where you'll find each door, what kind of Shadow you'll fight inside, and what kind of loot you'll get after.

Any damage type not listed in the affinities column in the table below deals normal damage.

Monad Depths Shadows In Persona 3 Reload

Floor

Shadow Name

Affinities

91F

Lower Yabbashah

Cowardly Maya

-

Rampage Drive

Strong: Slash, Strike, Pierce

Magical Magus

Strong: Fire, Ice, Electric, Wind, Light, Dark

Shouting Tiara

Weak: Strike

Strong: Electric

Null: Fire

117F

Upper Yabbashah

Bronze Dice

Weak: Electric

Muttering Tiara

Weak: Wind

Iron Dice

Weak: Ice

Silent Book

Weak: Wind

Platinum Dice

Null: Slash, Electric, Light, and Dark

143F

Lower Tziah

Dogmatic Tower

Weak: Electric

Immoral Snake

Weak: Ice

Natural Dancer

Strong: Fire and Electric

Null: Wind

Vehement Idol

Strong: Ice

Null: Dark

171F

Upper Tziah

Minotaur 2

Repel: All physical damage

Spiritual Castle

Weak: Dark

Strong: Slash, Strike, Ice, and Electric

Null: Light

Haunted Castle

Weak: Light

Strong: Slash, Strike, Fire, and Wind

Null: Dark

Intrepid Knight

Null: Wind, Light, and Dark

Change Relic

Null: Light and Dark

197

Lower Harabah

Amorous Snake

Weak: Ice

Drain: Fire

Repel: Light

Devious Maya

Strong: All damage types

Omnipotent Balance

Null: Fire, Ice, Electric, and Wind

Light Balance

Repel: Light and Dark

Sky Balance

Weak: Fire and Ice

Repel: Wind and Electric

Heat Balance

Weak: Wind and Electric

Repel: Weak: Fire and Ice

225F

Upper Harabah

Morbid Book

Repel: Light

Phantom Master

Weak: Pierce

Strong: Electric

Null: Slash and Dark

Drain: Ice

Gold Hand

Null: Light and Dark

Repel: Slash and Strike

White Hand

Weak: Fire

Strong: Slash

Drain: Ice, Electric, and Wind

Black Hand

Weak: Wind

Drain: Fire, Ice, and Electric

Pink Hand

Weak: Ice

Drain: Fire, Electric, and Wind

Silver Hand

Weak: Electric

Null: Strike

Drain: Fire, Ice, and Wind

255

Adamah

Hallowed Turret

Strong: Fire and Ice

Null: Slash

Hakurou Musha

Weak: Wind

Repel: Slash and Electric

Kaiden Musha

Weak: Ice

Repel: Slash and Fire

Tenjin Musha

Strong: Pierce

Repel: Slash and Strike

Drain: Light

Onnen Musha

Repel: Slash and Dark

Drain: Ice and Wind

Shadow of the Void

All damage hits normally.

These battles are often against the Guardians from previous versions of Persona 3, fun nods to older, inspirational content.

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