Can you evolve Arsene?

The short answer is – yes, you can evolve the protagonist‘s initial Persona, the dashing rogue Arsene, into Satanael – an absolute endgame beast boasting the highest Magic stat in Persona 5 Royal. But the path to obtaining Joker‘s ultimate Persona form is long and requires no small amount of devotion. You‘ll need to complete multiple storylines and fuse rare Personas to unleash Arsene‘s true power.

From Humble Beginnings to Broken Bonds

As Joker‘s first Persona, Arsene starts you off on the right foot, blessed with solid Curse skills and lack of weaknesses. But his middling stats soon limit his viability as demons with specialized strengths emerge. Eventually, Arsene will likely warm the bench or serve as fusion fodder.

But this sacrifice allows the Fool arcana‘s potential to germinate until bonds have intertwined deeply enough to give rise to Satanael, a being representing the strength of allies‘ unified hearts.

The Payoff: Satanael‘s Might

So what do you gain for all that effort? In a word – brokenness. Boasting 99 Magic and mastery of the ultimate damage type Almighty, Satanael reigns supreme as the single strongest Persona in Royal. His exclusive skill, Sinful Shell, deals severe Almighty damage – useful for smearing even bosses resistant to conventional attacks.

With the power to plow through anyone, you‘ll welcome Satanael‘s aid in tackling the toughest New Game+ challenges like the Reaper and Lavenza. And with such visually striking and symbolic design, sending out the ornate horned fallen angel to lay down hellfire simply satisfies.

Step-By-Step: The Ritual to Evolve Arsene

Follow these steps to evolve Arsene into Satanael:

1. Reach Palace 6 in New Game+ – Satanael only becomes available in NG+. The earliest he can be fused is after beating Palace 6‘s boss.

2. Max Strength Confidant – Required to fuse above Joker‘s level. Having this causes fusions to use money instead of conforming to level caps.

3. Obtain Specific Personas – Fusing Satanael requires using Arsene in addition to other high-end Personas only available over time in the Velvet Room. These include principally story-related entities like   Lucifer, Satan, and Vishnu.

4. Consult Advanced Fusion – With ingredients met, use Advanced Fusion to combine the specific component Personas based on their Arcana into Satanael.

So in short, fuse Arsene and other high-end Personas after progressing to late game to obtain Satanael.

Strengthening Bonds Makes Evolving Possible

The multiple fusions needed to acquire all the ingredient Personas incentivize completing multiple Confidants. Here is a quick overview of key ones:

• Strength Confidant (required) – Allows fusion above current level
• Sun Confidant (recommended) – Boosts fusions with Judgement Arcana like Michael
• Emperor Confidant (recommended) – Boosts fusions with Star Arcana (Lucifer‘s)

Maxing Sun and Emperor makes obtaining those specific entities much easier, though any Confidant assisting fusion helps. It‘s very hard to acquire all necessary Personas without finishing some of these storylines.

These social links thematically tie into the concept of bonds enabling Satanael‘s birth. By intertwining your allies‘ powerful hearts, the spark of Arsene‘s core self ignites into an ultimate form.

Opinion: Difficult Yet Rewarding Growth

Obtaining Satanael tests one‘s dedication but brings satisfying payoff. His restrictions generate a meaningful sense of training bonds through both social links and fusion to unlock a being symbolizing joined strength. The required effort makes finally beholding Satanael majestic form more impactful.

I particularly enjoy the symbolism of starting with Arsene then sculpting bonds‘ power into a final ultimate shape embodying united growth. Satanael represents both the player‘s gameplay mastery in fusion and narrative investment in allies, making his strength synergistically embody these progressed bonds.

Too Much Work? Reasonable Restrictions

However, I sympathize some may see meeting requirements like maxing Social Links as demanding excessive grind. This clashes with Satanael‘s limited availability only after the story finishes.

Indeed, some may argue waiting until third playthrough to use a Persona, no matter how strong, undermines enjoyment. I respect that view – forcing engagement with fusion and Confidants can feel like an artificial time sink.

Yet in my opinion, Satanael suits his lore as an ultimate representation of strength more if obtaining him entails some work. And his New Game+ nature makes sense given his unbalancing combat power curbs difficulty the first time through.

Let me know your own thoughts in the comments! Do you feel Satanael appropriately rewards dedication in representing the protagonist‘s matured power? Or are the hoops to evolve Arsene into this fallen angel more trouble than it‘s worth?