Leveling up is crucial in any RPG, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. Players neglecting to enhance their team’s levels are likely to face significant challenges against late-game bosses, resulting in tedious grinding in Mementos. As an enhanced version of the original Persona 5, this game offers numerous improvements, including approximately 20 hours of additional gameplay and various quality-of-life enhancements.
The Royal edition introduces a new semester for the Phantom Thieves, along with revised mechanics for existing boss fights. With a wealth of new content at your disposal, it becomes essential to maintain high levels for all characters and to be aware of the most efficient methods for gaining experience.
Updated January 13, 2025, by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can diminish the challenge in Persona 5 Royal, aligning your level with the Palace Rulers—especially on a new game file—is beneficial. There are various strategies for easier experience farming, including utilizing Confidant Skills and the assistance of Jose in Mementos. Notably, Joker can garner experience for unequipped Personas through a passive skill. The guide below has been refreshed with a new segment on efficiently farming experience using the Insta-kill capability.
Accessories and The Moon Arcana
Mishima Yuuki’s Confidant
Players can download complimentary DLC from the PlayStation Store to obtain an accessory known as Team Glasses. These glasses enhance EXP acquisition by 15%, provided that each character equips them as their Accessory.
As only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves can engage in battle, those not participating will earn less experience after each fight. Upgrading the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and Rank 5 will ensure that even backup members receive a share of EXP. Reaching Rank 10 in Mishima’s Confidant will grant backup teammates the same experience as those in combat.
Leveling up Mishima’s Confidant is straightforward, especially if players focus on dialogue choices that resonate with him. Additionally, carrying a Persona from the Moon Arcana while hanging out with him is advantageous.
With the changes in Persona 5 Royal, Mementos Missions linked to Mishima’s Confidant play a significant role, meaning that neglecting these missions will hinder Confidant progression.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Alongside Yoshizawa and Maruki, Persona 5 Royal introduces a character named Jose, who, although not central to the plot like Kasumi and Maruki, serves a crucial gameplay function.
Players can discover “flowers” and “Stamp Stations”throughout Mementos. These collectibles can be exchanged with Jose for various items or manipulations of Mementos’ Cognition. Within Jose’s shop menu, players can increase EXP, Money Rewards, or Item Rewards specifically while in Mementos. Boosting EXP to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maximizing it to 200% requires 12 Stamps.
There are 165 Stamps available in Persona 5 Royal, and players will need 85 Stamps to fully maximize the EXP Up ability. Stamp Stations can typically be located in “dead ends”throughout Mementos behind breakable walls, and players may encounter Jose upon entering new Mementos floors.
Fight the Reaper
What Level is the Reaper?
The Reaper is a formidable, recurring entity within the Persona series, manifesting in Mementos if players linger on a floor for too long. Indicators such as a blinking red screen and the sound of chains, coupled with warnings from Morgana (or Futaba), signal his impending arrival.
At the beginning of the game, facing the Reaper is almost impossible for those without a New Game+ file. He possesses high-tier spells and support skills, including Concentrate and elemental Breaks (Fire, Wind, Ice, and Elec).
Boasting a formidable level of 85 and robust stats, the Reaper’s lowest attribute is Agility at 75, yet it is sufficient to surpass the Phantom Thieves if they are inadequately leveled.
Defeating the Reaper yields an enormous amount of experience and currency, likely propelling all characters to new levels upon victory.
For an effective battle against the Reaper, players should aim to be at level 60 or higher. Utilizing defense-enhancing support skills and casting Makarakarn to counter the Reaper’s magical attacks is recommended. Those with the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) can combine Concentrate and Heat Riser followed by Myriad Truths for substantial Almighty damage.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons are unique Shadows introduced during Madarame’s Palace. Once encountered, they can spawn throughout the Metaverse. Unlike ordinary Shadows, Treasure Demons do not engage in combat but will escape after a few turns.
Each type of Treasure Demon has varying Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities; however, they are all susceptible to Almighty attacks. To defeat them before they retreat, utilize Shinya’s Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, to enable an All-Out Attack.
Alternatively, players can down a Treasure Demon using a high-crit attack such as Morgana’s Miracle Punch, provided the demon does not null physical hits.
Treasure Demons appear when security levels in Palaces are elevated. Additionally, players can craft the Treasure Trap infiltration tool to amplify Treasure Demon encounters in any Palace. The crafting materials required for the Treasure Trap include:
- 2x Silk Yarn
- 3x Plant Balm
- 1x Cork Bark
Use Persona with EXP Skills
How to Get Growth Passive Skill
Typically, only equipped Personas earn EXP at the battle’s conclusion. However, those with the Growth passive skill will accumulate a percentage of experience even when not used in combat. There are three variants of Growth Skills:
- Growth 1: Grants 25% of EXP when inactive.
- Growth 2: Grants 50% of EXP when inactive.
- Growth 3: Grants 100% of EXP when inactive.
The following Personas acquire Growth during leveling:
| Person | |
|---|---|
| Growth 1 |
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| Growth 2 |
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| Growth 3 |
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Once players gain access to the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, they can convert Personas into Skill Cards. Unfortunately, the ability to transform Personas into Growth 1 or 2 Skill Cards has been removed in Persona 5 Royal; currently, only Izanagi Picaro can be converted into a Growth 3 Skill Card when used in the Electric Chair.
It is worth noting that acquiring the Growth 1 Skill Card is impossible in P5R. For the Growth 2 Skill Card, players must visit Miura Beach with Caroline and Justine between September 2nd and September 29th. This can only happen after Joker completes Event 6 (Sky Tower). Engaging with Justine and Caroline during the evenings by approaching them at the Velvet Room entrance outside Mementos is advisable.
Ryuji Sakamoto’s Confidant
How to Unlock Insta-Kill
The Insta-kill skill allows Joker to eliminate a Shadow instantly without engaging in standard combat. To trigger an Insta-kill, players must ambush the shadow. If Joker’s level exceeds that of the Shadow by ten levels, the enemy will be defeated outright. In the original Persona 5, Insta-kill would simply defeat Shadows; however, in Persona 5 Royal, it also rewards items, yen, experience, and (if there’s available space), a Persona.
The susceptibility of Shadows to Insta-kill can be identified using Joker’s Third Eye ability. Shadows with a green outline indicate they are vulnerable to this skill.
To unlock Insta-kill, players must advance Ryuji’s Confidant to Rank 7. Fortunately, this progression does not require any specific Social Stats, making it one of the more straightforward Confidants to max out. For those eager to acquire Insta-kill quickly, focusing on the optimal dialogue choices during interactions with Ryuji is essential, ideally before the player expands their range of Confidants.
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