Persona 5 Strikers - Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Boss Guide

Guide on how to defeat Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus, an Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow, in Persona 5 Strikers or Persona 5 Scramble (P5S). This includes the boss enemy's strengths and weaknesses, stats and skills, and recommended battle strategies.

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Mini-Boss Guide

Guide on How to Defeat Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus in Persona 5 Strikers

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Mini-Boss Location

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus is the second Powerful Shadow mini-boss enemy the Phantom Thieves must defeat in Persona 5 Strikers (or Persona 5 Scramble). The mini-boss is encountered at Osaka’s Jail, a Metaverse version of Osaka, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture in Japan’s Kansai Region. This shadow can only be encountered when Powerful Shadow Requests are made available by Lavenza starting on 8/24.

All Powerful Shadows Osaka Jail

Clear All Powerful Shadow Requests

Below is a list of Requests that unlocks the Reaper secret boss battle. The Metatron Request is locked in the Post-Game also so you need to clear the main story first. We recommended defeating Powerful Shadows when you already unlocked Wolf as a party member in the game.

Request Powerful Shadow Persona Location Availability
“An Ebon God Descends” Fratricidal Destroyer Seth Seth Sendai Jail Main Story
“The Hound of Hades Howls” Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Cerberus Osaka Jail Main Story
“Make the Way for the Frozen King” Monarch of Snow King Frost King Frost Sapporo Jail Main Story
“Halt the Strutting Little Imp” Fallen Snowman Black Frost Black Frost Shibuya Jail Main Story
“Dragon Slayer Enters the Fray” Brilliant Dragonslayer Siegfried Siegfried Kyoto Jail Main Story
“The Writhing Nightmare Rising” Throbbing King of Desire Mara Mara Okinawa Jail Main Story
“Angel of Contracts Descends” Shadow of God Metatron  Metatron Tree of Knowledge Post-Game
“Knocking on Death’s Door” Reaper Okinawa Jail Post-Game
Post-Game Guide Post-Game Walkthrough 

Trophies

Trophy How to Unlock
PlayStation 4 - Bronze TrophyA Helping Hand Clear a Request.
PlayStation 4 - Silver TrophyThose Who Heed the Call Clear 50 Requests.

Trophies List

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Information

Here is a breakdown of the mini-boss’ stats, strengths and weaknesses, and skills:

Persona 5 Strikers - Cerberus Persona Stats and Skills

Cerberus Persona Stats and Skills

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Stats

Stagger Gauge 8
Target Date August 24th (8/24)
Recommended Level Level 50 or higher
Recommended Party Members Joker, Fox, Noir, and Wolf
EXP Rewards 10,500 exp (Main Story)
Yen Rewards 40,950 yen (Main Story)
Other Rewards Collar of Hell Fusion Item (Cerberus Persona Fusion), HP Recovery Item x1, Status Recovery Item x1

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Strengths and Weaknesses

Persona 5 Strikers - Physical Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Gun Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Fire Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Ice Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Electric Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Wind Attacks Icon
Resist Weak
Persona 5 Strikers - Psy Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Nuke Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Bless Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Curse Attacks Icon Persona 5 Strikers - Almighty Attacks Icon Technical
Resist Weak

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Skills

Skill Skill Effect
Megaton Raid Severe Physical damage to a narrow range.
Agidyne Heavy Fire damage to a narrow range. Rare chance of Burn.
Matarukaja Buff party attack power for a certain period of time.
Speed Master Automatic Sukukaja on user at start of battle.
Enduring Soul Survive one fatal blow with HP fully recovered.
Fire Amp Strengthen Fire attacks by 50%.
Inferno Severe Fire damage to a narrow range. Rare chance of Burn.

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Party Build

Here is our recommended party member setup against the boss. You can choose other party members except for Panther and Queen.

Member Persona Essential Skills Notes
Persona 5 Strikers - Protagonist JokerJoker Persona 5 Strikers - Character ListArsene Damage: Bufula/Bufudyne or Mabufula/Mabufudyne (Ice) Has access to Ice skills from other Personas obtained or fused. Can also play the role of healer, buff caster, and debuff caster. Can use Amrita Drop to cure allies when inflicted with status and mental ailments.
Recovery: Diarama/Diarahan or Mediarama/Mediarahan, Recarm or Samercarm, Amrita Drop or Amrita Shower
Buff: Matarukaja, Marakukaja, Masukukaja, Dekaja, Heat Riser, Charge, Concentrate
Debuff: Tarunda, Rakunda, Sukunda, Debilitate
Persona 5 Strikers - Yusuke Kitagawa FoxFox Persona 5 Strikers - Goemon Persona Stats and SkillsGoemon Damage: Tempest Slash or Myriad Slashes (Phys), Bufula/Bufudyne or Mabufula/Mabufudyne (Ice) Has access to Ice skills that Cerberus is weak against. Has access to Physical skills that Cerberus does not have resistances against. Inflicts Freeze status ailment on Cerberus that causes it to take increased damage from Physical and Gun attacks. Can use a buff skill like Masukukaja to boost allies evasion/critical evasion in battle.
Buff: Sukukaja or Masukukaja
Persona 5 Strikers - Haru Okumura NoirNoir Persona 5 Strikers - Milady Persona Stats and SkillsMilady Damage: Hysterical Slap (Phys), Triple Down or One-shot Kill (Gun), Psio/Psiodyne or Mapsio/Mapsiodyne (Psy) Has access to Physical, Gun, and Psychokinesis skills that Cerberus does not have resistances against. Also, Physical and Gun attacks from Noir can deal Technical damage to Cerberus when afflicted with Freeze status ailment. Can use an all-in-one buff skill like Heat Riser to boost an ally in battle. Can also use Amrita Drop to cure allies when inflicted with status and mental ailments.
Recovery: Amrita Drop or Amrita Shower
Buff: Heat Riser
Persona 5 Strikers - Zenkichi Hasegawa WolfWolf Persona 5 Strikers - Valjean Persona Stats and SkillsValjean Damage: Deathbound (Phys), Triple Down or One-shot Kill (Gun), Megido/Megidola (Almighty) Has access to Physical, Gun, and Almighty skills that Cerberus does not have resistances against. Also, Physical and Gun attacks from Wolf can deal Technical damage to Cerberus when afflicted with Freeze status ailment. Can use an all-in-one buff skill like Heat Riser to boost an ally in battle. Similarly, Wolf can cast an all-in-one debuff skill like Debilitate to decrease enemy attack power, defense power, and evasion/critical evasion in battle.
Buff: Tarukaja, Rakukaja, Sukukaja, Heat Riser
Debuff: Dekaja, Debilitate

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Strategies

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Mini-Boss Strategies

Here is a breakdown of the battle strategies against the mini-boss:

Carry HP and SP Recovery Items

Before engaging the boss, bring a stock of HP and SP recovery items. These items can be bought from accessible vending machines, food stands, stores, and restaurants. You can also buy ingredients from Sophia’s Shop and other real-world stores. Then, cook these ingredients for additional HP and SP items through Joker’s Kitchen.

Joker’s Kitchen Guide

Land Debuffs

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Land Debuffs

Start the battle by landing multiple debuffs on Cerberus. Debuffs can be in the form of attack power decrease (Tarunda), defense power decrease (Rakunda), and evasion/critical evasion power decrease (Sukunda). These debuffs can be accessed by Joker (from Arsene and other Personas). Another option is by using Debilitate for an all-in-one debuff. This special debuff can be accessed by Joker (from other Personas) and Wolf.

Cast Buffs

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Cast Buffs

Follow-up the debuffs with party members buffs. Buffs can be in the form of attack power increase (Tarukaja or Matarukaja), defense power increase (Rakukaja or Marakukaja), and evasion/critical evasion increase (Sukukaja or Masukukaja). These buffs can be accessed by Joker (from other Personas), Fox, Noir, and Wolf. Another option is by using Heat Riser for an all-in-one buff. This special buff can be accessed by Joker (from other Personas), Noir, and Wolf.

Avoid Elemental Attacks

The mini-boss will unleash third-tier elemental or magic skills to hurt your party. Joker can equip Seth to nullify Fire attacks while other party members can wear armor or accessory that nullifies or reduces Fire elemental damage. Since you’re using Fox in this boss fight, be very careful when using him against the boss to avoid getting downed and inflicted with status ailments such as Burn and Dizzy.

Cure Inflicted Ailments

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Cure Ailment Dizzy

If a party member got inflicted with an ailment such as Burn or Dizzy, make sure that you have access to a Status Recovery skill called Amrita Drop or Amrita Shower to cure it. You can also use status recovery items to remove the status or mental ailment if available. Status Recovery skills can be accessed by Joker (from other Personas) and Noir.

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Cure Ailment Burn

If left unchecked, Cerberus’s next attack will deal technical damage and knock out the afflicted party member.

Use Ice Attacks

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Use Ice Attacks

Cerberus is weak to Ice attacks which Fox and Joker can capitalize. Continue on using elemental attacks in order to break the shields and stagger the boss. Make use of narrow range elemental skills if you’re close and wide range elemental skills if you’re far from the boss.

Capitalize on Terrain Gimmicks

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Terrain Gimmick Floating Orb

If Cerberus is beside the floating orbs, you can use a Phantom Dash to deal additional Psy damage to the boss.

Deal Technical Damage using Phys, Gun, and Nuke Attacks

Persona 5 Strikers - Osaka Jail Powerful Shadow Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Deal Gun Attacks

When the boss is inflicted with a status ailment such as Freeze, deal technical damage by using Physical, Gun, and Nuclear attacks. Switch between Joker, Fox, Noir, and Wolf to avoid running out of HP.

Unleash Showtime Attacks

While engaging Cerberus, you may build up your showtime gauge. When it’s available, unleash the showtime attack against the boss. If Joker’s showtime attack is available, make sure he has the right Persona that can capitalize on the weakness of the boss. Also, there is a consumable item that will quickly boost your Showtime gauge build up so feel free to use it against the boss.

Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Boss Video

Here is a boss fight video against Cerberus. The battle is already timestamped so you no longer need to browse through the whole video:

← Fratricidal Destroyer Seth Monarch of Snow King Frost →

Other Bosses

Persona 5 Strikers - Boss Guides Banner

All Jail Monarchs

▼All Jail Monarchs
Shibuya Jail Monarch Sendai Jail Monarch Sapporo Jail Monarch
Kyoto Jail Monarch Osaka Jail Monarch Jail of the Abyss Accomplice
False God Demiurge - -

Lock Keepers

▼All Lock Keepers
Shibuya Jail Lock Keeper Sendai Jail Lock Keeper Sapporo Jail Lock Keeper
Okinawa Jail Lock Keeper Osaka Jail Lock Keeper -

Powerful Shadows

▼All Powerful Shadows
Fratricidal Destroyer Seth Guard Dog of Hades Cerberus Monarch of Snow King Frost
Fallen Snowman Black Frost Brilliant Dragonslayer Siegfried Throbbing King of Desire Mara
Shadow of God Metatron Reaper Secret Boss -

Dire Shadows

▼All Dire Shadows
Killer Teddy Bear Bugbear Snake King Raja Naga Harlot of Desire Lilith
Wandering Reviver Nebiros Sun's Emissary Yatagarasu War-Hungry Horseman Eligor
Dark Sun Mithras Heavenly Punisher Archangel -

Leave a Reply



1 Comment

  1. If you’re seeing this, I strongly recommend having Queen Mab in your team because it nulls Fire and can learn Bufudyne (Strong Close Ice)