10 tips if you’re new to Persona 5 Royal
What to do (and not to do) if you are just now getting to know the acclaimed JRPG by Atlus
Over 6 years after its debut on PlayStation 3/4, Persona 5 has finally arrived at all remaining platforms, including Nintendo Switch. Persona 5 Royal (P5R), the enhanced version with extra content, is almost mandatory for JRPGs fans.
Many of us are just now having a taste of everything it has to offer – and it’s a lot. Therefore, it’s easy to miss some cool stuff, especially if this is your first entry on the Persona series.
Tips to help you make the most out of Persona 5 Royal
With the release for Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox — accessible via Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming, many are finally getting the chance to explore the P5R universe.
To help you avoid some common mistakes that can cost you hours of gameplay, on a game that’s long enough on its own, here’s a list of what to do – and mostly what NOT TO DO on this masterpiece.
1 Clear Palaces ASAP
Persona 5 Royal is split into two basic moments – three if you count Mementos as something else, but we’ll get there: the main character's social life on the real world, and the Palaces on the Metaverse.
As a completionist, during a first run, it’s a common mistake to explore the real world until the last possible minute, because that’s normally what you’re expected to do on JRPGs.
Well, that’s a BIG NO for P5R. Although time advances only out of the metaverse, some events on the real world can only be triggered after you completed the main mission, and most of your social attributes make little to no difference in the beginning. So the first suggestion is to complete the dungeons as soon as possible.
Every main mission is made available on fixed dates, and completing them early sets you free to explore the world without a constant reminder of your demise if you miss the deadline.
It also gives you more time to deepen your relationships with all the charming characters you come across, as some of them are locked behind the main plot.
2 Finish what you started
While exploring the metaverse, everything you do there counts only as one day. That means it’s pointless to leave a Palace or Mementos until you’ve maxed out everything you could do there – or until you’re forced out for some reason.
If you feel things are too difficult for some reason, grind on early floors and equip accessories with passive restoration bonuses – like the Camera Strap. This will help you make the most out of each time you enter a dungeon.
3 Visit Igor often
One of the micromanagement mechanics of P5R (it’s a JRPG after all), is the Velvet Room. It is a prison of sorts, where you meet Igor and two twin wardens, with whom you can have some funny interactions.
This is where you manage the Personas (Demons if you’re familiar with the Megami Tensei series) you make deals with during the game.
Despite being able to increase your Persona vault, most of them will just be taking up space, preventing you from getting new ones. Be sure to drop by the Velvet Room after some captures, register them, and either combine or itemize the ones you couldn’t care less to free up room for new ones.
You can always summon them again — for a price —, so don’t be afraid to experiment. In order to visit Igor inside Palaces, reach a save room and quick travel to the dungeon’s entrance. After you’re done, just go back to where you were, and be sure to save your game.
4 Stack up requests
Mementos is a sandbox area of the metaverse where the Phantom Thieves explore to change the hearts of lesser wrongdoers. Once unlocked, you’ll start to receive requests of people reporting stalkers, robbers, vandals, and all sorts of criminals.
Exploring Mementos, however, will consume one day, just as a regular Palace would. So the best strategy is to stack up some requests and investigate their leads talking/listening to people in between tasks. Once you have a few ready to go, take one day to solve all on the same run.
Be careful not to stay more than five minutes on each floor, though. After that, a Reaper will appear, and you’ll have to hunt it down for a level 80-ish boss fight (good luck!) or run to a different floor. Mementos also have a save room of sorts, and quick travel mechanics, don’t forget to use what you’ve learned.
5 Save hoarding is your friend
It’s ok to save-hoard on a game that takes over 100+ hours, as it tends to avoid a lot of frustration. There are 16 (SIXTEEN!!!) save slots in P5R. Don’t be afraid to use them.
On the real world, the game can be saved pretty much at anytime you’re not engaging in a conversation or cutscene. However, it’s quite easy to advance way too fast on such actions, which may result in missing some interesting dialogs or making poor decisions.
Often use different slots, so you always have at least one save to go back to in case of an emergency. Although there’s the option to easily suspend the game on the Switch version, it’s not uncommon to experience crashes on a connection failure, so here’s another reason to save regularly.
The same goes for the Palaces, or Mementos. Depending on how well versed you are on the combat and dungeon exploration mechanics of Persona 5, it may be a while between finding save rooms.
Whenever you reach one, be sure to save your game, preferably on slots dedicated for dungeons, as you don’t need that many for this part of the game (two should be enough).
6 Every confidant matters
Confidants are people from reality with whom you have formed a bond. That goes for most NPCs, and not only characters that join your party, so invest in those relationships. Doing so will earn bonuses, passive skills, as well as unlock some content introduced only in Persona 5 Royal.
Takuto Maruki, Goro Akechi, and Kasumi Yoshizawa received some great deal of content for the Royal version in 2019, and are mandatory for unlocking the 3rd semester. Make sure to spend time with them whenever they show up on the Confidants menu in order to pursue the “true ending”.
7 Prioritize (and optimize) social stats
Time is somewhat limited in Persona 5, so it might not be possible to maximize every social attribute without compromising other gameplay aspects. However, you should manage to get them to at least level 3 somewhat early in the game, unlocking most of the basic interactions in the real world.
Those are very important to advance ranks with your confidants, granting bonuses during combat, or ways for being more productive. These ranks also grant extra experience fusing Personas, which also saves time with less grinding.
On a side-note, try to get Ryuji to rank 7 ASAP to dash through – quite literally – easy, meaningless fights in Palaces and Mementos.
Once you learn which attributes each character favors, focus on those to improve your relationships faster and unlock some cool perks and dialogs. Also, whenever possible, try to visit every spot on the map before deciding what to do, for Mona will tell you what activities affect each stat (or stats).
These are also required to unlock romances at rank 10. On that note, although it’s possible to date more than one girl at the same time (no guys, though), doing that is a matter of how crappy are you willing to feel, as it’d be cheating. There’s a bonus scene in the end if you decide to womanize away, no strings attached, but it’s not exactly a happy ending.
8 Speak softly and carry a book… or a DVD
Be sure to always have as many books and DVDs as possible with you. They are the easiest way to improve social stats, and there are evenings there’s not much you can do besides that.
After you unlock one specific – and very unusual – companion, you can also ask for her help with other tasks, while you take your time reading or watching a movie. Favor items that improve any stat other than knowledge, as you’ll be gaining that at school during classes if you perform well on your tests and pop quizzes.
9 There’s no perfect run
If you’re used to JRPGs, you probably already know it’s not advisable – or possible in P5R case – to do everything on the same run. Games of this genre encourage you to play more than once, to try different approaches, relationships, builds, etc.
Enjoy your run, but don’t try to hunt for a perfect run, as there is no such thing on the Persona series. If you’re willing to play multiple times back-to-back, the good news is that all dialogs can be rushed and all cutscenes can be skipped. That will you save you some time, mostly during the early stages of the game.
10 Avoid bonus Personas on your first run
The Persona 5 Royal is basically a full version with DLCs and extra content for the original game. That means that at given points, players will be granted bonus items and even very powerful Personas (the first summon for those is free).
Using them, surely will make the game easier at first, but as their levels tend to be very high, they’ll take a long time to get new skills, if at all. This will also prevent you from evolving and experimenting with the Personas you capture throughout the game, that can be way more useful, to be honest.
Support my job
Every donation via PayPal supports my job and helps me deliver quality content as an independent writer. Also, you’ll have my eternal gratitude ;)