The Torn King of Desire is a mini-boss in Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. It can be found in the game's first Palace, the Castle of Lust, which is ruled by Shadow Kamoshida. This Shadow, like other bosses and mini-bosses, is not recruitable (though the Palace still has plenty of great Personas to capture). While this may seem like a difficult encounter at first, success comes easy once the limitations of the fight become clear. Let's take a look at how to beat this foe.
In Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves encounter the Torn King of Desire in the tower area of Kamoshida's Palace, the final area before the treasure room. In Persona 5 Royal, this foe is guarding the door that leads to the blue Will Seed of Lust in the Palace; however, the encounter is the same in both versions of the game.
The Torn King of Desire will use two special abilities on top of its regular attacks: Assault Dive (which deals heavy physical damage to one target) and Dia (which slightly restores health to one ally). This means that this enemy is capable of dealing lots of damage while also healing itself as you damage it.
The Torn King of Desire also has no spell weaknesses; in fact, this foe is strong against all spell affinities (Fire, Ice, Electric, Wind, Psychic, Nuclear, Bless, and Curse). This means that your spell attacks will deal damage, but they will not be very effective. However, the Torn King takes regular damage from both physical and gun attacks, as well as being susceptible to status ailments, which leaves it open to technical attacks. It is also open to critical hits, opening up the opportunity to negotiate and launch an all-out attack.
To make this fight easier, do not use attack spells; instead, save the party's SP for status-inflicting spells like Ann's Dormina ability, which causes sleep and prevents the Torn King from attacking. If the boss is asleep (or inflicted with another status ailment such as fear), physical and gun attacks will become technical, giving them a boost in damage. Repeat this strategy as necessary to win the battle without letting the boss get a hit in.
If the party does suffer any damage, then Morgana, Joker's cat companion and the Phantom Thieves' star healer, can give everyone a boost. Be sure to keep Ann's HP high, since the Torn King of Desire will target her specifically on occasion.
By sticking to technical attacks and conserving SP, this boss encounter will be a breeze. The Torn King of Desire may seem daunting at first, but it is not one of the game's most difficult boss battles. After the Torn King fo Desire is defeated, the Phantom Thieves can proceed to the treasure room and prepare for the showdown with Kamoshida himself.
Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal are available now on PS4 and PS5.