Can I get Arsene back after fusing?
As an avid Phantom Thief with over 100 hours stealing hearts in Persona 5, I‘m here to unambiguously state that yes, you can get your starting Persona Arsene back after fusion. While fusing old Personas into new, more powerful ones is a key part of progressing in P5, some fans are (understandably) hesitant to lose their initial partner forever. I‘m happy to report this isn‘t the case – read on for multiple methods to reclaim the gentleman thief!
Why Bring Back Arsene?
Beyond sentimentality, there are practical reasons you may want Arsene back even in the late game:
- Required for fusing Satanael, Joker‘s ultimate persona
- Strong curse damage from Eigaon skill
- Nostalgic link to Joker‘s initial awakening
- High auto-crit rate on downed enemies
While relatively weak stat-wise, I still enjoy bringing Arsene out situationaly in the postgame, both for old time‘s sake and to melt the occasional random shadow with Eigaon. Plus, that victory animation….chef‘s kiss
How Persona Fusion Works
For newcomers unfamiliar, let‘s quickly cover fusion. By visiting the Velvet Room, you can fuse any two owned personas into a new, singular persona according to certain recipes. This destroys the fused personas but inherits some of their strengths into the fusion result.
Example simple fusion recipe:
The above fuses Arsene and Jack Frost into a Mandrake persona.
Fusion recipes unlock as you progress in the story and grant access to 700+ possible persona combinations. It‘s the primary way you gain combat versatility and power beyond your initial roster.
The Persona Compedium
Importantly for reobtaining old personas, there is also the compendium – essentially a searchable persona registry tallying all that you‘ve previously held, including fused off or discarded ones.
Any persona you‘ve ever gained joins the compendium permanently. This means that while fusion may transform or delete a persona from your combat roster, the compendium still logs it as having been owned before.
You can re-summon most logged personas directly from the compendium for a small fee. This will add that persona back into your usable roster just as if you re-recruited it in the metaverse or via shuffle.
So for Arsene specifically, even fusing him away early on still logs him permanently into your compendium to withdraw later!
Method 1: Fuse From Compendium
The easiest way to regain Arsene post-fusion is to simply:
- Open the Velvet Room compendium
- Search for Arsene
- Pay the listed fee to acquire him
This will instantly re-add Arsene with his base level and skills back into your roster, ready to be fielded in the metaverse once more!
Cost scales based on current level but is generally affordable, especially in mid-to-late game. My last Arsene rebuy was only ¥4,200 with ample funds to spare.
Other Compendium Tips
Beyond Arsene, expert players use the compendium liberally to reacquire key personas for use or fusion fodder. I probably access it every few hours spent in the metaverse!
- Buy lower level personas to save money if stats don‘t matter
- Register personas before fusion to have backup compendium copies
- You can rebuy special event/DLC personas too!
It handily eliminates fusion regret and acts as an infinite persona stash. Use it often!
Method 2: Special Fusion
If looking to recreate Arsene from scratch for whatever reason, you can also directly fuse him using the recipe below:
Personas Required:
- Obariyon
- Mokoi
- Moh Shuvuu
- Cait Sith
This will fuse all four into a fresh level 7 Arsene ready for arsonry – erm, sorry old habits…ready for action against the shadows!
While more time consuming than simple compendium rebuy, doing special fusion can allow creating a Arsene pre-tailored with specific skill card inherits. Feel free to try it out!
Ideal Fusion Strategy
Beyond the necessity of fusing Arsene himself, advanced mastery of the fusion system as a whole is what grants a versatile, formidable persona roster. Here is the approach I‘ve refined over 5 repeat playthroughs:
Key tenets:
- Never fuse during palace runs – wait for calm periods to avoid lost progress
- Target 2-3 levels above current XP level for most fusions
- Balance elemental affinities covered within roster
The last point cannot be overstated! Having too many personas vulnerable to ice or blessed damage will cripple you quickly against the likes of Mara or Archangels. Plan resistances wisely and lean on the compendium to patch any gaps that appear mid-dungeon.
I hope these persona insights help both in getting Arsene back and pushing your playthroughs further! Let me know in a comment if this long time phantom thief fan can assist with any other P5 questions. 😉
