"Maximize EXP Gains in Persona 5 Royal"
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In the world of RPGs, leveling up is crucial, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. Failing to level up your team can lead to struggles against formidable late-game bosses and necessitate tedious grinding sessions in Mementos. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal introduces numerous quality-of-life improvements and an additional 20 hours of gameplay.
The game expands the Phantom Thieves' adventure with a new semester and tweaks to existing boss fights. With all this new content, maintaining high levels for your team and understanding the most efficient methods to gain experience are essential.
Updated on January 13, 2025, by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled might make Persona 5 Royal too easy, it's crucial to match the Palace Rulers' levels, especially on a new game file. There are various strategies to make experience farming easier in P5R, ranging from leveraging Confidant Skills to utilizing Jose in Mementos. Joker can also earn EXP for his non-active Personas with a specific passive skill. This guide has been updated to include a new section on using the Insta-kill ability to farm experience quickly.
Accessories and The Moon Arcana
Mishima Yuuki's Confidant
In Persona 5 Royal, players can enhance their EXP gains by downloading the free Team Glasses accessory from the PlayStation Store. Equipping each character with these glasses will boost their EXP gain by 15% during battles. However, only the active party members receive full EXP, leaving the backline with less.
To address this, players should focus on increasing the Moon Confidant, Yuuki Mishima. Reaching Rank 3 and Rank 5 with Mishima allows backup team members to earn more EXP. Achieving Rank 10 with him ensures that the backup members gain the same amount of EXP as the frontliners.
Advancing Mishima's Confidant is straightforward if players select the dialogue options that resonate with him most. Bringing a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time with him can also help. In Persona 5 Royal, Mishima's Mementos Missions are linked to his Confidant rank, so neglecting these missions can hinder progress.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who, though not central to the plot, significantly enhances gameplay. Throughout Mementos, players can find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Collecting these allows players to trade with Jose, who can alter the Cognition of Mementos.
In Jose's Shop, players can choose to increase EXP, Money Rewards, or Item Rewards specifically in Mementos. Boosting EXP from battles to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maxing it out at 200% requires 12 Stamps. There are 165 Stamps available in the game, but players need 85 to fully maximize EXP gains. Stamp Stations are located in "dead ends" behind breakable walls on Mementos floors, and players may encounter Jose when transitioning to a new floor.
Fight the Reaper
What Level is the Reaper?
The Reaper, a formidable foe in the Persona series, appears in Mementos if players linger too long on a floor. Warning signs include a blinking red screen, the sound of chains, and alerts from Morgana or Futaba.
Early in the game, defeating the Reaper is nearly impossible unless playing on a New Game+ file. With -dyne tier spells and Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks, the Reaper poses a significant challenge. At level 85, with high stats and agility (though his lowest at 75), the Reaper can outpace the Phantom Thieves if they are not adequately prepared.
Defeating the Reaper grants substantial experience and money, often resulting in a level up for all characters. It's advisable to engage the Reaper at level 60 or higher, equipped with Defense-raising Support skills and Makarakarn to reflect magic attacks. Those with the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) can use Concentrate, Heat Riser, and Myriad Truths for heavy Almighty damage.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons, unique Shadows introduced in Madarame's Palace, become available throughout the Metaverse after the first encounter. These non-aggressive Shadows tend to flee after a few turns, but defeating them before they escape is highly rewarding.
Each type of Treasure Demon has different Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though all are susceptible to Almighty attacks. The most effective way to down them is using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, which sets up an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, high-crit attacks like Morgana's Miracle Punch can be used, provided the Treasure Demon does not nullify Physical attacks.
Treasure Demons appear more frequently in Palaces with high security. Players can also use the Treasure Trap infiltration tool, crafted from 2x Silk Yarn, 3x Plant Balm, and 1x Cork Bark, to increase encounters with these lucrative Shadows.
Use Persona with EXP Skills
How to Get Growth Passive Skill
Personas that Joker does not use in battle typically do not earn EXP. However, equipping them with the Growth Passive Skill allows them to gain a percentage of battle EXP even when inactive. There are three levels of Growth Skills:
- Growth 1: Persona gains a quarter EXP when inactive.
- Growth 2: Persona gains half EXP when inactive.
- Growth 3: Persona gains full EXP when inactive.
The following Personas learn Growth at specific levels:
- Growth 1: Saki Mitama (level 7), Koppa Tengu (level 12)
- Growth 2: Lachesis (Innate), Kurama Tengu (level 36), Thoth (level 42), Ananta (level 47)
- Growth 3: Izanagi (level 25), Izanagi Picaro (level 28), Narcissus (level 50), Raphael (level 81)
With the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, players can transform Personas into Skill Cards. In Persona 5 Royal, only Izanagi Picaro can be used to create a Growth 3 Skill Card. Growth 1 Skill Cards are unavailable in P5R, while Growth 2 Skill Cards can be obtained by taking Caroline and Justine to Miura Beach between September 2nd and September 29th, after clearing event 6 (Sky Tower). Players can spend evenings with them near the Velvet Room Door outside Mementos.
Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant
How to Unlock Insta-Kill
Insta-kill, a skill that instantly defeats Shadows without engaging in battle, can be a game-changer for experience farming. To use Insta-kill, ambush a Shadow, and if Joker's level is at least 10 levels higher than the Shadow, it will be defeated instantly. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill also yields items, yen, experience, and, if space allows, a Persona.
Joker's Third Eye ability reveals Shadows susceptible to Insta-kill by displaying a green outline. To unlock Insta-kill, players must reach Rank 7 with Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant. Fortunately, Ryuji's Confidant has no Social Stat requirements, making it one of the easiest to max out. To expedite the process, spend time with Ryuji and select the dialogue options that earn the most points, ideally before unlocking other Confidants.
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