As players climb Tartarus inPersona 3: Reload, they’ll periodically reach floors containing “Gatekeepers.” These are powerful Shadows or groups of Shadows thar block S.E.E.S' progress and must be overcome if they want to continue ascending through Tartarus. Players will need to prepare carefully before taking on Gatekeepers, especially on the higher floors where enemies get tougher.
One of the earliest Gatekeepers players will need to fight inPersona 3: Reloadis the Barbaric Beast Wheel, which is found on floor 11. This monowheeled menace uses melee attacks and is supported by a pair of Magic Hand shadows. Players need to utilize enemy weaknesses to take down this terrible trio, which fortunately shouldn’t be an issue if players have been leveling up and fusing Personas on the way up.
How to Defeat the Barbaric Beast Wheel
The Barbaric Beast Wheel is a physical attacker that uses strike attacks, while its Magic Hand Supporters inflict the distress status effect to lower defense. This means that the Beast Wheel can deal a lot of damage if given the chance, so players will want to eliminate the Magic Hands first. The easiest way to handle the Magic Hands is with Fire attacks, so get Junpei or the Protagonist to light them on fire,then Shift over to Yukari.Yukari is key to taking down the Beast Wheel itself, since it is weak to Wind attacks. Blow it over and use an All-Out Attack, then rinse and repeat to wipe them out.
On the defensive front, players should ensure the Protagonist isn’t using a Persona vulnerable to strike damage or ice, since the Beast Wheel inflicts strike damage and the Magic Hands can throw out ice attacks when they aren’t debuffing. Junpei doesn’t have anything to fear in this fight, since his only weakness is wind, and Yukari’s only weakness, electricity, is also absent from this battle.
Ultimately, this battle isn’t too bad as long as players keep hitting weaknesses are at least level 7-ish. Have Yukari or the Protag heal the group as necessary, but the fight should be over pretty quickly. Orpheus and Apsaras are two Personas the Protagonist will definitely have access to by this point who can exploit the weaknesses of these shadows with ease, but since Junpei and Yukari also have easy access to the necessary weaknesses,it isn’t a bad idea to have the Protagonist focus on support instead.
