First released for the Wii U in 2015, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a crossover RPG that stars characters from Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series, and uses gameplay elements from Shin Megami Tensei. The story takes place in real-world Tokyo, and follows the adventures of Itsuki Aoi and his friends as they seek to defend the world from evil Mirages, unseen phantoms that feast on an energy called Performa.
The game recently got a re-release on the Nintendo Switch, which might have many players jumping in for the first time. For the uninitiated, Tokyo Mirage Sessions takes place in discrete chapters, with various story elements and characters getting introduced as the plot progresses. Each chapter typically has a challenging boss to overcome, and Gangrel is the big bad of Chapter 2.
The fight represents one of the earliest instances of Tokyo Mirage Sessions taking off the training wheels and expecting you to fully utilize the mechanics the game has been introducing up until now. Careful use of monster weaknesses and the Sessions mechanic are required to overcome Gangrel. In this guide, we’ll offer up some tips for overcoming the beast.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions Gangrel Weakness and Attacks
Heading into the fight with Gangrel, you ought to be aware of its two primary weaknesses:
- Ice Attacks
- Lance Attacks
In addition to Gangrel itself, you’ll also be contending with four other smaller enemies that you’ll need to deal with. These are the Bulwark Barbarians and Bulwark Myrmidons. The Barbarian’s weaknesses are Ice and Light and Sword attacks. While the Myrmidons are weak to Electricity and Lance attacks.
Gangrel is capable of using three different moves in addition to its main attack:
- Reversal of Fortune – Summons three Barbarians and one Myrmidon.
- Shield Me! – Allows the Barbarians and Myrmidons to protect Gangrel from attacks.
- Strobe Pulse – Inflicts Seal on the party, which disables Skill usage.
The Barbarians and Myrmidons will also use ice attacks fairly often, which means that Tsubasa and Tomua are particularly vulnerable to enemy Sessions triggers considering their weaknesses.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions Gangrel Battle Tips
The most valuable party member for this fight is probably Kiria. She’s one of the only characters in the early game that can use ice-based skills, something nearly all the enemies in this fight are weak against. Things will go that much easier if you’ve managed to teach Kiria the Mabufu skill, which hits all enemies at once. Also, make sure you’ve got the Ice-Slash and Sword-Wind Session Skills on Itsuki and Tsubasa respectively, so that Mabufu triggers their follow-up attacks.
Since Gangrel can cast Shield Me! in order to protect itself, you’re going to want at least one party member to focus full-time on the Barbarians and Myrmidons. Itsuki is probably the best choice for this role, because he can use both Zio, which the Myrmidons are weak to, and sword attacks, which the Barbarians are weak to. Keep the pressure on Gangrel by triggering Sessions with these attacks. Maintaining an aggressive is key to victory here.
Tsubasa should take on a support role in this battle, and keep her Dia and Media healing Skills on standby. She can also provide buffs by using support items on her turn. Her lance attacks are useful against Gangrel and the Barbarians, too, so feel free to sneak some Session-triggering attacks in if she finds herself in a position to do so.
Finishing off Gangrel is the last major hurdle to completing Chapter 2 of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Doing so will reward you with quite a few useful items, like 2- and 3-Star Prestiges, which are needed for various Unity rituals in the Bloom Palace.
And that’s that! Did this guide help you out with defeating Gangrel? Let us know in the comments section!
