One of the many new additions to Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (SMT V) is Samael, the serpent king responsible for aiding the Qadistu in completing their plans. You have the option to fight him after a certain point, and here’s what you’ll need for that.
How to Locate The Serpent King Quest in SMT V
The Serpent King quest is available exclusively in the Canon of Vengeance, as it deals with the Qadistu and the aftermath of their appearance. It becomes available once you reach the Elysium. Speak with Mastema at the Shinjuku 1st Block leyline in the Shinjuku Ward, as a clone of him still resides there. Mastema will offer you the quest, introducing Samael as the main villain responsible for the Qadistu situation.
Samael can be found at the same place where you fought the group previously: next to the Government Building 1 leyline, on the west side of the map. The quest recommends you to be at Level 87 to fight him, but I advise you aim to be at least at level 90 if playing on Hard Mode, as some of his DPS checks at the end of the fight can be extremely tough and result in an easy defeat if you’re not careful.
Best Strategy to Beat Samael in SMT V Vengeance
What to Expect
Samael is weak to Ice and reflects both Light and Dark, while also using various Light-based attacks during the fight. Your whole team should be able to, at least, resist Light attacks, with at least one member being able to absorb them (which immediately ends the opponent’s turn). Samael will constantly summon the Qadistu members during the fight, and these should be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Your Demons should be able to get as many extra turns as possible from hitting Samael’s and the Qadistu’s weaknesses, but you can get away with having only two ice users if you have Demons to cover for the Qadistu’s weaknesses, which are Physical, Wind, Lightning and Light, in order of appearance.
Samael summons the female Demons in the same order they appear in the main story. They also behave the same as they originally did:
- Naamah uses debuffs and Charms the party, removing their buffs
- Eisheth uses powerful physical attacks with Drain and ailment effects
- Agrat uses Ice and Almighty skills, serving as the biggest damage threat
- Lilith revives her fellow Demons, removes debuffs, and grants Physical reflect
In SMT V Vengeance, Samael also has Deicidal Poison (Poison against all targets) and Tentarafoo (Confuse against all targets) and will use those constantly. Ailment-afflicted characters have all of their resistances negated, so be extra careful with these and remove them at all costs. Amrita Showers are your best friends here, and you can get some from Sandman at the Taito Ward.
Recommended Team
We recommend using Cleopatra, Agrat, and Lilith, with stock members including (but not limited to) Nahobeeho, Lakshimi, Abdiel, and Odin. Tao can also be helpful if you can use her at this point.
The Nahobino can either use a Strength build with Murakumo (from Aogami Type-0 Essence) or a Magic build with Moonlight Frost (from Tsukuyomi Base Essence). A hybrid can also work but shouldn’t be needed. The Tsukuyomi’s Base resistances are also good here, but they won’t protect you from ailments.
Cleopatra should have Luster Candy, Debilitate, and Me Patra. She naturally learns Mabufudyne to hit Samael’s weakness, Hamabarion to deal with Lilith, and can constantly buff/debuff her targets. She also naturally absorbs Light, making her a great asset for the fight. The main downside is that she’s weak to Poison, which Samael frequently uses. This is easy to overcome with items/Me Patra, but can be annoying to deal with.
Agrat naturally learns Bufubarion and reflects Light, so she’s a perfect candidate too. She doesn’t need to be the strongest attacker, as the Nahobino will likely be the main carry here. Bring some utility on her such as healing skills (she naturally has Mediarahan) and keep her unique skill ā Queen’s Decree ā as you can easily get some Critical Hits (AKA extra turns) when using it against Samael’s summons.
Related: How to Get All Endings in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Lilith also gets Luster Candy, and it’s a powerful Zan user. You only need to give her Null Light from Nebiros or Garuda’s Essence, and most of her kit will be great for this fight. Mother Earth is perfect for cleansing (if Me Patra was unavailable) and she can hit hard with Zandyne/Zanbarion, making her worth keeping on the field even when she cannot hit for weaknesses.
How to Fight Samael
The strategy consists of using Cleopatra for Debilitate and Lilith for Luster Candy while Agrat and the Nahobino constantly assault Samael. The two supports should also be able to attack with their high Magic stats and can use their turns for items to restore MP.
The stock members should have similar builds to the headliners and be prepared to take over if something goes wrong. Lakshimi should have buffing/debuffing skills and healing, for example, while the Nahobeeho works as a good substitute for Agrat as he naturally resists Light.
Samael should mostly lose his turns due to you nullifying his Light damage, so the biggest threat is the Qadistu. His Magatsuhi skill is also Mahamabarion, so it’s a free turn whenever he uses it. However, if all Qadistu members are alive, Lilith uses Qadistu Entropy instead, which is possibly a wipe.
Naamah and Eisheth are annoying but easy enough to deal with on their own, so try to bring them down as quickly as possible. Agrat can be dangerous if not checked, so bring Odin or other Lightning users to deal with it. If you have Ice-weak members, bring some Ice Dampeners to avoid being nuked. The same can be said of Lilith, so make sure to have Light attackers available.
As with all fights, it all becomes a dance after a while, with you constantly bringing down the revived Qadistu and dealing as much damage as you can to Samael. Be very careful with his ailments, as he starts to spam them as his health gets lower.
This will be a difficult fight, but it unlocks Samael as a special fusion once you manage to overcome him. His fusion uses, obviously, the four Qadistu members. Speak with Mastema later to complete this quest, granting you 250000 Experience and x3 Calamity Sutras. Samael is one of the toughest regular sidequest bosses in SMT V Vengeance, but he’s merely one of the flags required for unlocking the game’s ultimate superboss, Satan.
SMT Vengeance is available now.
