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Shin Megami Tensei V

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How to defeat Kumbhanda

By
Jarrod Garripoli

Punishing Foes are challenging, completely optional bosses that can be found while exploring the game’s worlds, and are tougher than normal encounters. This page will give details on the Punishing Foe, Kumbhanda.

You will undoubtedly run into Kumbhanda during normal exploration

Where to Find Kumbhanda

Kumbhanda will be found in Shinagawa, in the Konan 2nd Block area. You will pretty much run across Kumbhanda while naturally playing the game, as you have to go through the location where he’s found to progress. There is a multi-story parking garage in the area and on the bottom floor will be Kumbhanda. Note that if you plan on completing all of the subquests in the game, Kumbhanda is required to finish Kumbhanda’s Bottle.

(1 of 2) Location of Kumbhanda for Kumbhanda’s Bottle

Location of Kumbhanda for Kumbhanda’s Bottle (left), You will find him on the bottom floor of the parking garage (right)

Stats and Resistances

Icon Name Lv Weakness Resistances Location
SMT_V_Kumbhanda_Icon.jpg Kumbhanda 34 Electric_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Force_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png (BLOCK), Dark_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png (RESIST) Shinagawa - Konan 2nd Block

Skills

Type Skill Effect
Physical_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Dark Sword +3 2 medium Physical attacks to 1 foe. Chance of inflicting Seal.
Almighty_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V copy.png Spirit Drain Weak Almighty MP drain attack to 1 foe.
Force_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Zanma Medium Force attack to 1 foe.
Physical_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Critical Wave +3 Weak Physical attacks to all foes. High chance of Critical.
Force_Icon_Shin_Megami_Tensei_V.png Mazanma Medium Force attack to all foes.

Recommended Party

Kumbhanda has both physical attacks and Force skills, so you will want demons that don’t have a weakness to the latter. That’s why both Jatayu and Nekomata are good choices, since the former absorbs Force and the latter blocks it. If you can get Jatayu to level 34, then it will learn Critical Aura, making its next attack a critical. Of course, you have to spread this across two turns, and it can get quite expensive MP-wise, so you will need to be careful. The good thing about the two demons above is that they don’t have a negative Electric skill potential, but they also don’t have a high Magic stat, so they’re not going to be dealing super damage with something like Zionga.

Lilim’s a good candidate for this battle, as she has access to Zionga and isn’t weak to Force. That means she will be one of your main damage dealers here, so you will want to keep up her MP, should it dip low. Cironnup brings a lot to the table, as his Blinding Strike has the ability to debuff accuracy/evasion and Cautious Cheer is an amazing buff, as it increases your defense, accuracy and evasion in just a single skill. If you can get Zionga on him and add Restore, then you can keep up his MP a little bit more than without it.

Kumbhanda has access to both Zanma and Mazanma, although the latter only seems to be used as his Magatsuhi attack. That means you can plan things out a little bit and use a Force Dampener to stop that attack completely. Dark Sword deals two medium hits to a single ally, but it’s more dangerous because it can inflict Seal. If someone gets hit with this, use an Amrita Soda to cure it immediately. Critical Wave is another potentially dangerous move, not because its damage is great (it’s a weak Physical attack), but because there’s a high chance of a critical, meaning Kumbhanda could get another action.

Spirit Drain can be very annoying in this battle, as it might make it difficult to keep using your more powerful attacks

Despite all of the above, though, Spirit Drain can be the biggest nuisance, since the MP drain can be pretty big. That means you’ll have to be wary of your MP at all times, and use Chakra Drops accordingly. You will want to put an Essence that resists/blocks Force on the Nahobino, since you want to be protected from it. You should still have Ruinous Thunder from the Aogami Type-4 Essence, so you can use that on the boss.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Atlus, Nintendo, Sega
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    Action Adventure, Action RPG, RPG
  • Guide Release
    5 November 2021
  • Last Updated
    18 February 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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