Shin Megami Tensei 5: Nuwa Boss Guide

One of the story-related bosses in Shin Megami Tensei 5 is Nuwa, a Chinese goddess that is responsible for the creation of humanity. This will heavily test the player's familiarity with SMT 5's combat system, with emphasis on resistances, healing, and balancing it with offensive and defensive tactics. She follows in the same vein as SMT 5's Hydra boss fight, where while she fights much like other demons in the story, she has incredibly powerful skills that can catch new players off guard.

Nuwa can be a potential progress roadblock if a player doesn't prepare properly beforehand. She is a boss that will be immediately fought when players have gotten inside of the Diet Building, with Aogami even warning the player beforehand. Her incredible power is even demonstrated by her introductory cutscene, where she's managed to defeat several Angels of Bethel. When she transforms into her demonic state, the battle will begin.

Nuwa's Stats, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Nuwa's Skills:

Nuwa specializes in Force magic, evidenced by her beefy 31 Magic Stat, as well as +7 Force Proficiency, and will resist or nullify about every status ailment that can be used against her. She has two powerful Force skills, with Zanma being able to deal medium Force damage, and her unique skill Sacrifice of Clay being able to deal heavy Force damage. Not only that, it can lower the player's Attack and Defense stat by one stage upon a successful hit. Zanma will be her primary method of attacking, and Mazio can damage demons who have a resistance to Force.

Nuwa's Resistances and Weaknesses:

With her stats leaning heavily on magic, she has moderate stats in about every other aspect. Players shouldn't take her lightly though, as she has three different resistances. She is immune to Lightning and Dark skills and will repel any Force attacks back at the player. However, she has a weakness to Fire, so players should take advantage of that weakness to get extra actions.

Preparing For The Boss

Getting the Nahobino Ready:

With the boss using Force attacks, the Nahobino should be able to resist or nullify the damage in order to not only prevent damage, but also to take away Nuwa's actions. With various demon Essence items lying around the overworld, or able to be bought from Gustave, players should be able to find one that can resist Force damage. One recommended Essence to fuse to the Nahobino is Sudama, as passing its affinities will make them immune to Force damage.

If the Nahobino is built towards Physical attacks, players can use the Aramasa to deal multiple hits to Nuwa. They can also learn Charge and Beatdown from Bicorn's Essence if they wish to deal damage more consistently. For Magic-oriented builds, they can learn the Fire skills Agi or Agilao, though Agilao has double the MP cost. Fire Shard/Gem items should only be used as a last resort, and not be used as the main attack method.

Recommended Demons:

To deal with Nuwa's weakness, fusing demons that naturally learn Fire skills are recommended. Demons that have no weakness or some resistance to Lightning and Force will also be incredibly helpful. The following demons are some of the best options:

Jack-O'-Lantern: Learns Agilao naturally, can learn debuffs from other demons by fusion and leveling up
High Pixie: Has resistance to Force, can learn Sukunda debuff to lower Nuwa's evasion and accuracy, can heal with Dia from Pixie
Aitvaras: Unique Fire Skill Mirage Shot deals Medium Fire Damage and can inflict Nuwa with Mirage Status Ailment
Feng Huang: Learns Agilao naturally, has resistance to Force, can party heal with Media through Demon Fusion

To fuse Feng Huang, the Nahobino must be Level 22, so if the player is around Level 20, they can grind to reach the required level or can be substituted with another demon that has Force resistance.

Other Considerations and Aftermath

Nuwa's Sacrifice of Clay attack will be telegraphed by her gathering Magatsuhi, so it makes the perfect opportunity for players to use the Force Dampener item or Guard to prevent damage. The Force Dampener in particular will block all Force damage for one turn, and end her turn if she uses it.

Fire skills can help grant additional actions to the player, with Mirage Shot being able to inflict the Mirage status to Nuwa on top of dealing damage. Casting debuffs to weaken her offense should be a higher priority, but if there's room to breathe, Rakunda can be used to lower her defense. The battle will end once Nuwa loses about half of her health.

Once the battle is over, the player will meet with Nuwa's partner, Shohei Yakumo, who will introduce himself. The player will then be presented with two questions, where they will be able to ask both. However, after answering both questions, Yakumo will ask the player's opinion about order, with the response being one of the ways that it can influence the ending of Shin Megami Tensei 5:

Order is essential for peace. (Law)
Order gets in the way. (Chaos)
I'm not sure. (Neutral)

While the choice affects what ending the player gets, it will not lock it in, this being one of the first big ways to influence it. With the completion of this boss fight, players will be able to save their progress and make their way to their next destination.