Party/Akihiko Sanada

This article covers information on Akihiko Sanada as a party member, uses and strategies in Persona 3.
==Overview==
Akihiko is the third playable ally in battle, joining on May 23rd before the 2nd Full Moon boss on June 8th. Upon joining, he is available for every fight in the game.
Akihiko has a rich pool of abilities. His Zio damage, excluding Yukari's Garu line with optimal equipment, is the 2nd highest in the game behind only Mitsuru's Bufu skills (and tied with Shinjiro's God's Hand) thanks to access to Elec Boost and Elec Amp. His Electric skills furthermore have a chance at inflicting the status effect Shock, making them open for a guaranteed Critical hit from Physical attacks. Upon learning Fist Master, his Fists weapon becomes not only the strongest weapon in the party but additionally the most accurate (albeit, with high chance of stumble if he misses.) His stats allow him to freely alternate between physical and magic damage without necessarily compensating for either. Additionally, the wide variety of fist weapons allow him to go for alternative strategies such as to attempt landing Critical hits (Fists of Fury, Wicked Cestus) or even deal Ice damage at no SP cost (Sabazios).
Unique to Akihiko is his ability to weaken opponents with support skills, possessing all three Attack, Defense, and Hit/Evasion debuffs. His single target debuffs might be generally more effective than similar buffs from Junpei, Aigis, and Koromaru in early game as most difficult enemy encounters are at or below three opponents, as opposed to a full party of four targets that need to be buffed. However, whether singling out an or concentrating support on a single ally is dependent on the formation at hand. His debuffs further his already emphasized damage and accuracy, while covering his poor defensive ability, and extend to the rest of the party as well. Additionally, he's able to restore HP of a single ally when necessary.
Akihiko resists Electric attacks, and is weak against Ice. He stops learning new skills the earliest, capping at Mazionga at level 41. However, he's also the first of the SEES members to undergo an awakening, triggering on 5th October shortly after that month's Full Moon Operation. This makes him immune to Elec attacks, unlocks his -dyne tier skills, trades his obsoleted Sonic Punch for Fist Master, and opens up group debuffs to manage triplet Tartarus bosses.
Akihiko's survivability is rather poor at best. While his Agility (and therefore Evasion) is above average, his Endurance is tied for the lowest of the party and his HP stat is comparatively low as well. His SP stat, while average, may not be enough if one wishes to have Akihiko use his debuffs every turn. His healing skills are also potentially the weakest of anyone (albeit not bad by any means), as his Diarama heals less than everyone except Ken (who still has access to the Media line) and he learns Diarahan last at level 65, a total 13 levels after Yukari and 6 after Aigis.
In spite of Akihiko's variety of moves in battle, that can also serve to be a liability. Since Akihiko is the only party member who knows debuff moves, expect him to spend most of his time in boss fights applying and maintaining debuffs. Every turn spent healing or dealing damage is a turn that could have been spent using debuffs, which ultimately stagnates his "optimal" play to staying on Heal/Support and never leaving, a problem that Aigis avoids due to Junpei and Koromaru sharing at least one of her buffs each. His low survivability means that any time he's below 60% HP (or anyone else, for that matter), he will heal instead of casting another debuff, occasionally breaking his debuff cycle. This can result in poor synergy if he decides to take priority healing over more capable healers such as Yukari or Ken, and his high agility/ turn order makes this a legitimate issue.
Pool 	Pool 	Explanation
Ziodyne 	Marakunda 	Offensive opener that relies on utilizing ailments while constantly afflicting damage. Has protective and offensive support skills.
Maziodyne	Masukunda 	Offensive opener that relies on utilizing ailments while constantly afflicting damage. Has protective and offensive support skills.
Diarahan 	Fist Master	Offensive opener that relies on utilizing ailments while constantly afflicting damage. Has protective and offensive support skills.
Matarunda	Elec Amp 	Offensive opener that relies on utilizing ailments while constantly afflicting damage. Has protective and offensive support skills.
==Stats==
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Polydeuces =
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Polydeuces (Level 99)=
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Caesar (The Journey)=
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Caesar (The Answer)=
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Caesar (Level 99)=
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Category:Persona 3 Party Members