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Leveling up is a crucial aspect of gameplay in Persona 5 Royal, as it helps players tackle late-game bosses more effectively and avoid tedious grinding in Mementos. Persona 5 Royal, an enhanced version of the original game, offers numerous quality-of-life improvements and adds over 20 hours of new content, including a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and modified boss fights. Keeping your team's levels high is essential for navigating this expanded gameplay seamlessly.
Updated January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can make the game less challenging, it's crucial to match the level of Palace Rulers, especially in new game files. Persona 5 Royal provides various strategies for efficient EXP farming, from leveraging Confidant Skills to utilizing Jose's services in Mementos. Additionally, Joker can 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 gain by acquiring the Team Glasses accessory through a free DLC available on the PlayStation Store. Each character must equip these glasses to benefit from a 15% increase in EXP from battles. However, only the active party members receive full EXP, while those on the backline get less.
To boost EXP for backup members, players should focus on strengthening their bond with Mishima Yuuki, the Moon Confidant. Reaching Rank 3 and Rank 5 will allow backup members to gain more EXP, and achieving Rank 10 will ensure they receive the same amount as the front-line fighters. Progressing through Mishima's Confidant is straightforward; players should choose dialogue options that resonate with him and bring a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time with him. Additionally, completing Mementos Missions assigned by Mishima is crucial for advancing his Confidant rank.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who significantly enhances the gameplay experience within Mementos. Players can collect "flowers" and "Stamp Stations" scattered throughout Mementos and exchange them with Jose for various benefits. In Jose's Shop, under the Cognition menu, players can choose to increase EXP, Money Rewards, or Item Rewards specifically in Mementos. Upgrading EXP to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maxing it out at 200% requires 12 Stamps. To achieve the maximum EXP boost, players need to collect 85 Stamps out of a total of 165 available. Stamp Stations are often hidden behind breakable walls in Mementos' dead ends, and players may encounter Jose when moving 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 without a New Game+ file due to his high level and powerful -dyne tier spells and Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks.
The Reaper is level 85 with exceptionally high stats, though his Agility is relatively lower at 75. Defeating him rewards a substantial amount of experience and money, often resulting in a level up for all characters. It's advisable to engage the Reaper at level 60 or above, equipped with Defense-raising Support skills and Makarakarn to reflect his magic. Alternatively, players with the Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) DLC can use Concentrate, Heat Riser, and Myriad Truths to deal significant Almighty damage.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons, unique Shadows introduced in Madarame's Palace, can be encountered throughout the Metaverse. These non-aggressive Shadows will flee after a few turns, but defeating them before they escape can be highly rewarding. Each type of Treasure Demon has specific Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though all are susceptible to Almighty attacks.
The most effective way to defeat them is by using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, to down them and follow up with an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, high-crit attacks like Morgana's Miracle Punch can be used if the Treasure Demon doesn't nullify Physical attacks. Treasure Demons are more likely to appear in Palaces with high security levels. Players can also craft the Treasure Trap infiltration tool to increase encounters, requiring 2x Silk Yarn, 3x Plant Balm, and 1x Cork Bark.
Use Persona with EXP Skills
How to Get Growth Passive Skill
In Persona 5 Royal, Personas not equipped by Joker at the end of a battle typically do not earn EXP. However, equipping them with the Growth Passive Skill allows them to gain a percentage of the battle's 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 will gain full EXP when inactive.
Certain Personas learn Growth Skills upon leveling up:
- 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)
In Persona 5 Royal, the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room can transform Personas into Skill Cards. However, only Izanagi Picaro can be turned into 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).
Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant
How to Unlock Insta-Kill
Insta-kill is a powerful skill that allows Joker to instantly defeat Shadows without engaging in battle, provided he ambushes them and his level is at least 10 levels higher than the Shadow's. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill not only defeats the Shadow but also rewards items, yen, experience, and potentially a new Persona.
To identify Shadows susceptible to Insta-kill, use Joker's Third Eye ability; those with a green outline can be instantly defeated. To unlock Insta-kill, players must reach Rank 7 with Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant. Ryuji's Confidant is one of the easiest to max out, requiring no specific Social Stat prerequisites. To expedite the process, spend time with Ryuji and select dialogue options that maximize your points, ideally before unlocking other Confidants.
