If you have played any of the previous Persona titles before Persona 5, you will know that the Reaper is known as one of the toughest boss battles to complete. With it’s high offensive and defensive power, as well as attacks that can render multiple enemies at death’s door, this is one enemy that you should definitely not try to face until you are completely ready to do so.

Unless that is, you know of a way to literally cheat Death. In Persona 5, the Reaper has once again returned to rattle it’s chains throughout the dungeon areas that you will visit during the game. In the later months of Persona 5, there is a way to earn a multitude of experience points relatively quickly, as long as you are willing to stare the Reaper in the face, and are able to escape from battle relatively quickly. This method also unlocks the trophy that you will gain for defeating the Reaper, so if you want to earn the reward without cheating, I highly suggest that you do not perform this method. With the disclaimer out of the way, here is the method to cheat the Reaper for some pretty valuable spoils.

This article will be updated in the future to include English version screenshots of the game. Only the Japanese version of Persona 5 was available at the time of publication.

1. Preparations

This exploit to cheat the personification of death requires several things to be in place. The first thing you will need is have access to the Mementos side dungeon. It doesn’t matter which area of this area you have reached, as you can encounter the Reaper on any floor aside from the Waiting Rooms and the boss floors.

Secondly, you will need to be of a reasonably high level before you enter into a battle with the Reaper, as it is not guaranteed that you will be able to trigger the conditions needed to make the exploit work every time you try.

2. Waiting For Death

Like the Chidori side quest in Persona 3 FES, this exploit can only be performed on certain days of the year. To help you prepare, the dates that this event takes place are November 13th, 14th and 15th, and December 8th and 9th. On these dates, you will see a note under the on screen date informing you that an Influenza Warning is in effect.

When you are ready to begin, enter Mementos at one of the regular floors and leave the controller alone for around five minutes. After this, Morgana will notify you about a message regarding death. When this has appeared, the Reaper will spawn and come directly towards you. Make sure that you ambush it, as it will increase your chances of escape if things go wrong.

When the battle begins, you will need to ensure that the Reaper is affected by this Despair condition. This is indicated by an on-screen message, and a series of straight lines hovering above the Reaper. If this does not occur, escape from the battle immediately and go to another floor.

3. Even Death Can Get Sick

If you enter into a battle with a Despair afflicted Reaper, you will not need to worry about losing health, as it will not be able to attack.  Simply wait for three turns, and the Reaper will be killed automatically. Once this occurs, you will earn a large amount of experience points, which can be anywhere in the region of 60,000 to 200,000 EXP depending on how you have progressed through some of the game’s Confidant side quests. Regardless of the number, you should level up quite a few times with each successful implementation of this exploit.

If you enjoyed this guide, also check out our Persona 5 Romance Guide, Persona 5 review, and several other guides to help you along your quest to change the hearts of the world.