Matador is th first avatar of death that you face in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance, as a part of the “Return of the True Demon” quest line. The side mission was initially a part of the purchasable DLC in the base game, however, in Vengeance it’s already a core part of the JRPG. You won’t need to pay an additional sum to unlock this quest.
The “Return of the True Demon” unlocks right before the Nuwa encounter in the Tokyo Diet Building. Sophia will call you and present you with an item called a Menorah, which tracks avatars of death.
Matador is the first one that spawns near the Tamachi Leyline in Da’at Minato. He is an incredibly difficult fight and even with the best early-game demons you are going to struggle.
Here is a guide on how you will be able to make the Matador encounter significantly more manageable in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance.
Matador Weakness and Resistance in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
Matador’s Elemental Weaknesses and Resistances
| Element | Resistance/Weakness |
|---|---|
 Physical | – |
 Fire | – |
 Ice | – |
 Electric | Weak |
 Force | Block |
 Light | Resist |
 Dark | Resist |
Matador Status Ailments Resistances
| Status Effect | Resistance/Weakness |
|---|---|
 Sleep | Resist |
 Confuse | Resist |
 Charm | Resist |
 Mirage | Resist |
 Seal | Resist |
 Poison | Resist |
Matador Skill Proficiencies in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
Elemental
| Element | Proficiency |
|---|---|
| Physical | +4 |
| Fire | – |
| Ice | – |
| Electric | -5 |
| Force | +3 |
| Light | – |
| Dark | – |
Other Statuses
| Status | Proficiency |
|---|---|
 Almighty | – |
 Ailment | – |
 Recovery | – |
 Support | +1 |
Matador skills in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
Crippling Blow:
- Chance of instakill when striking a weakness or landing a Critical hit.
Andalucia (+4):
- (Unique) 3-6 weak Physical attacks to random foe
Charge (+1):
- Greatly increases the damage of the next Strength-based attack from Self
Mazan (+3):
- Weak Force attack to all foes.
Red Capote (+1):
- (Unique) Raises Accuracy/Evasion of 1 ally by 2 ranks for 3 turns.
Marakunda (+1):
- Lowers Defense of all foes by 1 rank for 3 turns.
Omagatoki Critical:
- All attacks, including magical attacks, will become Critical hits for all allies for 1 turn.
How to beat Matador in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
1) Boast a party that has Electric skills along with Speed and Attack debuffs
Matador is sort of like a knowledge-check encounter. He teaches you the importance of buffs and debuffs by making you rely on your -kaja and -nda skills during the encounter. To be able to deal effective damage to him, the goal is to stop him from abusing his Red Capote.
If he increases his Accuracy/Evasion by two points, you will have a hard time hitting him. So have at least one demon in the team with a Sukunda and another with a Zio. Matador is weak to Zio and you will be able to continue your pres turn by abusing it.
2) Have Physical and Force Dampeners
While you will be able to buy Force Dampeners from Gustave, Physical Dampeners are only obtained from treasure chests, beating demons, or interacting with Quest Navigator points of interest. There is a fair bit of RNG involved in each of the ways.
However, if you have been able to collect a fair number of Phy Dampeners while exploring Da’at, the item is going to come in extremely handy.
When Matador charges up Mgatsuhi he will either start the next turn with Andalucia or Mazan. You will need to block them both as if it crits you, Matador’s Innate Skill, Crippling Blow, will get a chance to instakill.
So if you see him activating his Omagatoki: Critical, use your turn to use both a Physical Dampener and a Force Dampener.
If you don’t have a Physical Dampener, then just use the Force one, and make everyone in the team guard. This will prevent his Andalucia from critically striking.
3) Try being over-leveled for the fight
As Matador is not a story boss, you can come back to the fight later. Firstly, you will need to make sure that you are meeting the level recommendation of 24. If your current party of demons is struggling, come back later.
It’s best to tackle him when you have around 4 to 5 levels over him and have gotten your hands on demons with Zionga.
Best demons or beating Matador in Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance
1) Best Support
- Shiisaa
- Kikuri-Hime
- Koppa Tengu
- Tao (Canon of Vengeance)
These three are going to be the best support demons for the fight. Both Shiisha and Koppa Tengu have Force Resist, and while one comes with Sukukaja, the other has Rakunda.
Kikuri-Hime blocks Force and comes with Tarunda. She can significantly lower the amount of damage that Matador can do with this debuff.
If you are going for the Canon of Vengeance then you can progress through the story a bit to get Tao. She is an amazing healer and comes with Marakukaja which raises the defense of all allies by 1 for 3 turns.
2) Best Healer
- Feng Huang
- Kaya-no-Hime
- Fortuna
- Tao (Canon of Vengeance)
Feng Huang resists force and comes with Media. Kaya-no-Hime has the Unique skill Harvest Dance which recovers slight HP for an ally and increases their defence by 2 for 3 turns.
Fortuna blocks Force and has both Dia and Rakunda. Rakunda will lower Matador’s overall defense letting you deal more damage to him.
3) Best Damage
- Nahobino
- Shiisaa
- Oni
Nahobino and Shiisaa will be able to use Zio to continue the Press Turn. Oni on the other hand resists physical and has Heavy Blow. The Heavy Blow ability lets him do a Medium Physical attack on 1 foe.
It will have a greater effect if it is critical. So when you activate Omagatoki: Critical this will hit Matador for a chunk of his HP.
Once you get your set-up right Matador should not be a problem in Atlus‘ RPG.
