In Shin Megami Tensei 5, Shiki-Ouji is a tall demon made of paper that the player can encounter southeast of the Nagatacho Leyline Fount. At first, they will offer a quest that involves collecting their lost talismans from around the map. However, after returning them to Shiki-Ouji, they will suddenly attack!
Since Shiki-Ouji has 3 resistances, striking at them blindly can result in attacks that don't do much damage. It is therefore advised to use a Spyglass to reveal all of the important information about Shiki-Ouji in Shin Megami Tensei 5. After doing so, one will have all the knowledge they need to take down this boss.
Breakdown Of Shiki-Ouji's Stats
Shiki-Ouji has a stat spread that favors Strength and Magic, though they have low Vitality and Agility, meaning that players will be able to potentially hit them hard and strike first against them.
Shiki-Ouji's Skills
Hama +2 is a Light-type magic attack that will hit fairly hard thanks to Shiki-Ouji's high Magic stat. Its Dark-type counterpart is also known by this boss--Mudo +2 and can deal notable damage to party members. It should also be mentioned that both of these magical skills have a chance to instantly kill targets that are weak to them on the elemental affinity chart. This means that players should avoid bringing demons weak to either Light or Dark-type attacks into battle against Shiki-Ouji.
This tall paper demon also knows the Makajama +1 debuff, which can apply the Seal status condition. The Seal status condition will prevent a character from using skills, meaning that they will only be able to use basic attacks unless the Seal status condition is cured with a healing item like an Amrita Soda or by support skills like Patra.
Lastly is the least-threatening skill in Shiki-Ouji's arsenal: Tarukaja, which raises their attack damage by 1 rank for 3 turns. Since Shiki-Ouji does not possess any Physical skills, this attack damage buff only really benefits their basic attacks--which they don't use that often.
Shiki-Ouji's Resistances
This boss is resistant to Physical, Light, and Dark-type damage, so avoid trying to use those against Shiki-Ouji. This means that basic attacks are almost useless against them, as are demons who focus on Physical skills. However, there are some weaknesses that can be used against this adversary.
Shiki-Ouji's Weaknesses
Shiki-Ouji has 3 main weaknesses that can be exploited: Fire, Force, and Confusion. It would be best to start the battle by confusing the enemy, as this will make dealing with them much easier.
Using Confusion Against Shiki-Ouji
Since Shiki-Ouji is weak to the Confusion status condition, it will almost always hit. Furthermore, after the enemy is afflicted, they will be more likely to suffer the effects of Confusion. The first is that Shiki-Ouji will sometimes be too dazed to move and will skip their turn. The second is that they will hit themselves for minimal damage. Their resistance to Physical damage will come into play here, however, the more important result is that these effects decrease the number of times Shiki-Ouji will attack the player's party.
Using Fire Against Shiki-Ouji
Being made of paper, Fire-type skills are understandably effective against Shiki-Ouji. Players who are level 20 can potentially summon Jack-o'-Lantern, who is one of the best early-game demons for offensive Fire-type damage. Their Agilao skill is one of the first skills that unleashes medium-tier Fire attack in the game and it can appropriately burn away the boss' HP bar quicker than most other Fire-type (or Force-type) skills. This is especially true if the player uses their Magatsuhi skill to guarantee critical hits for a single turn.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is available on the Nintendo Switch.