Persona 5: The Phantom X – Best Messa/Kira build, team comp, and Revelation Cards

Messa is the first 5-star Physical attacker added to the game since Skull, as one of the basic units in the game, which puts him in an interesting position. While Physical damage is often unworkable against strong bosses, when Messa finds a good team to slot onto, he can be extremely powerful – up here with some of the strongest DPS units in the game.

We’ll explain how best to build Messa in P5X and what strategies you need to employ to get the most out of him on the battlefield.

All Messa skills and abilities in P5X

Harpyia Skills

Messa is a unique case as his two attack skills change completely depending on whether he’s in Doctor mode or Ripper mode.

• Moonlit Scalpel (Doctor) – Deal Physical damage to 1 foe equal to 47.3% of Attack (4 hits). Inflict 1 Bleed.
• Midnight Surgery (Ripper) – Deal Physical damage to 1 foe equal to 216.6% of Attack, then remove 2 Bleed stacks from the target.
• Crimson Operation (Doctor) – Deal Physical damage to 1 foe equal to 71.5% of Attack (2 hits). At the same time, activate Bleed damage and reset the turn duration of the target’s Bleed stacks 1 time.
• Pathology (Ripper) – Deal Physical damage to 1 foe equal to 216.6% of Attack. For each Bleed stack on the target, increase the damage of Rending activated by them and this skill by 2%, then remove all Bleed stacks from the target.
• Nightfall – Switch to Ripper mode and change Kitazato’s skills (can be activated when any foe has 7 or more Bleed stacks). When using skills in this mode, for every 3 Bleed stacks on the target, inflict 1 Rending stack (Physical damage equal to 57.4% of Attack). After using this skill, Kitazato can use other skills and switches to Doctor mode at the end of the turn.
• Thief’s Tactics – Highlight: Switch to Doctor mode and immediately inflict 5 Bleed stacks on 1 foe. Then, immediately switch to Ripper mode and deal Physical damage equal to 424.1% of Attack.

Hidden Abilities

• Hideous Mask – For every 30% of the user’s ailment accuracy, increase Physical damage dealt from Bleed by 4% of the user’s Attack (up to 90% of ailment accuracy).
• Drawn Blade – When in Doctor mode, increase ailment accuracy by 36%. When in Ripper mode, increase pierce rate by 21%.

Awareness levels and abilities

• A1: Abdominal Incisions – In Doctor mode, the first time skill damage is dealt to each foe, inflict 5 more Bleed stacks on the target.
• A2: Forbidden Transfusion – Increase the Attack multiplier by 35% of Kitazato’s Attack. Restore Kitazao’s HP by 2% of Rending damage dealt.
• A3: Master of the Scalpel – Increase the skill levels of Moonlit Scalpel/Midnight Surgery and Thief Tactics by 3.
• A4: Bloody Bacchanal – Highlight Enhanced: Increase Highlight damage by 8% for each Bleed stack inflicted on the target.
• A5: Razor-Sharp Focus – Increase the skill level of Crimson Operation/Pathology and Nightfall by 3.
• A6: Great Doctor – Increase the maximum Bleed to 13. Also, each foe will always be inflicted with 3 stacks of Bleed.

What does Bleed do?

Bleed is how Messa gets the most damage out of his attacks. Messa starts every fight in Doctor mode, and when he attacks in this mode, he has a 70% chance to inflict a Bleed stack onto a foe. Each stack deals chip damage to the foe at the end of every turn, but the main reason you want to build it up is to consume it and deal increased damage when he switches to Ripper mode.

How to use Messa in P5X

Build Bleed Turn 1

Your goal on Turn 1 should just be to inflict as many Bleed stacks as you can because that will set up your big damage later down the line and allow you to transform into Ripper mode.

Only use Pathology at max Bleed

While Pathology is your biggest damaging skill, you don’t necessarily want to unleash it straight away. When you first go Ripper mode, check how many Bleed stacks are on your opponent. If it’s not near the maximum, then you should use Midnight Surgery, which only removes 2 stacks, and keep building Bleed. Pathology will get rid of all the Bleed stacks you’ve built up – cashing them in for more damage – so wait until it’s as close to maximum as you’re going to get before doing it.

Best team composition for Messa in P5X

• Wonder (with a Phys damaging Persona)
• Messa
• Chord
• Mirian OR Summer Moko
• Phoebe

This team is entirely designed around buffing Messa as much as possible. While you could throw another DPS unit on this team like Skull, these are the units that will see Messa reach his full potential. Chord is an easy choice when it comes to buffing DPS units. She can increase their attack with her Highlight and by assigning them Costar, while repeatedly letting Messa unleash his extremely powerful Highlight attack much more frequently than usual.

Messa’s most powerful Ripper mode skills come with quite a heavy HP cost, which is why you want Mirian or Summer Moko around as a healer. Mirian will be more efficient in the healing department, while Summer Moko is also capable of dealing out damage. That leaves Phoebe as the clear Navi choice as she is currently the best Attack buffer in the game. As for Wonder, a Phys Persona in front to give Messa a little harmony boost is good, but you should also get a Persona that can inflict defense debuffs on foes for even more damage.

Best weapon for Messa in P5X

The progression for weapons in this game is pretty simple: the more stars a weapon has, the better it is both in terms of stats and its abilities, so you should always try and pull the best weapon possible when building a character. Here are the stats and effects of all of Messa’s weapons:

• Daisho (2-star) – HP 99 ATK 30 DEF 14 – Increase Attack by 11.3%.
• Twisted Corvus (3-star) – HP 119, ATK 36, DEF 17 – When entering Ripepr mode, increase Physical damage by 18% for 1 turn.
• Undying Embers (4-star) – HP 158, ATK 48, DEF 23 – Increase Attack by 12%. Whenever inflicting Bleed on foes, increase Attack by 1.8% more. This effect is permanent and stacks up to 10 times.
• Dark Humors (5-star) – HP 198, ATK 60, DEF 29 – Increase Attack by 30%. Increase ailment accuracy by 15%. Increase pierce rate of Rending damage by 25%. Increase damage dealt to foes inflicted with Bleed by 25%.

Best Revelation Cards for Messa in P5X

As Messa is a Physical-based attacker, Oppression & Wisdom is the obvious combo to go with. Oppression juices his Physical Attack with a flat 10% boost plus a stackable 5% boost in Malice, which is gained every time he deals damage with a skill. The Wisdom combo feeds directly into this, pushing that damage boost 20% higher if you build 5 stacks of Malice.