What are Spurious Books in Persona 3 Reload?

There are many formidable enemies in P3R. But Spurious Books of the Dark Hour are definitely the most mysterious ones. Here, I’ll explain what Spurious Books does in Persona 3 Reload and how to beat them, including what they drop once defeated.

What is a Spurious Book in Persona 3 Reload?

In the most basic terms, Spurious Books are shadow enemies that belong to the Priestess class of Arcana. They appear as shadows with an Arcana book in a metal frame on their heads. You can spot them during the first Full Moon Operation in May, trying to prevent you from moving further through the train to its front.

If you don’t want to be surprised during your first encounter, expect them at Carriage 8 and Carriage 9 on the train. There are two of them, with one sneaking from behind, so be careful.

But I also discovered that they appear later in the game, especially during the first section of Arqa Block in Tartarus of the Thanatos Tower. This structure randomly appears each night at Gekkoukan High School during the Dark Hour. This time period functions like the 25th hour of the day, so be wary of it beginning at 12 a.m. each morning.

What are Spurious Book Strengths and Weaknesses? Levels, Attacks, and Stats (HP & SP)

All Spurious Books use Light and Wind Magic, though some later in Persona 3 Reload use Fire Magic. They’re weak to Electricity, and all behave the same way mechanically. No surprises. Their magic isn’t powerful, but I typically remove characters weak to Light or Fire Fire damage from my party during Dark Hours. I always bring Yuki for her Persona, Orpheus.

Spurious Books are Level 15 enemies with 115 HP and 59 SP. They always use the same three attacks in the following sequence:

• Pierce Attack, which is a normal piercing attack.
• Garu, which is a Wind magic that deals damage to a single target.
• Magaru, which is an AoE Wind magic.

How to Beat Spurious Books in Persona 3 Reload

When dealing with Spurious Books, I unleash the Bash attack to knock down Spurious Books. I then use an All-Out electricity spell, which finishes the books off quickly.

I must also stress the importance of using the Zionga Gems during fights with the Spurious Books. These gems deal 100 Electric damage to any foe with a slight chance of inflicting Shock. You can typically find them inside common chests. They become very handy later on, especially at the Thanatos Tower.

What Items do Spurious Books Drop Once Defeated?

Once defeated, Spurious Books may drop Onyx gems, which you can trade at Mayoido Antiques to obtain various items or incense cards. I also recommend using them for crafting fusion gear, which can be very powerful.

That’s it for my Persona 3 Reload Spurious Book guide. Stay tuned for more P3RE tips and tricks articles, including all classroom exam questions and answers for midterms and finals and how to unlock more outfits.