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In the thrilling world of Persona 5 Royal, leveling up your team is essential to conquering the challenging late-game bosses. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal introduces numerous quality-of-life improvements and adds over 20 hours of fresh content. This includes an additional semester for the Phantom Thieves and tweaks to existing boss battles. To fully enjoy these new elements, keeping your team's levels high is crucial. Understanding the most efficient ways to gain experience can make all the difference.
Updated on January 13, 2025, by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can simplify the game, matching the levels of Palace Rulers is vital, especially on a new playthrough. Persona 5 Royal offers several strategies to enhance experience farming, from leveraging Confidant Skills to utilizing Jose's abilities in Mementos. Additionally, Joker can earn EXP for non-active Personas through a passive skill. This guide has been revised to include a new section on utilizing the Insta-kill ability for rapid experience farming.
Accessories and The Moon Arcana
Mishima Yuuki's Confidant
In Persona 5 Royal, players can boost their team's EXP gain by equipping Team Glasses, a free DLC accessory available on the PlayStation Store. These glasses increase EXP from battles by 15%, but each character must wear them to benefit. Remember, only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves can participate in battle, leaving the backline members with less experience.
By progressing through the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and Rank 5, you can ensure that backup team members also receive EXP. Reaching Rank 10 means backline members will earn the same amount of EXP as the frontline fighters. To increase Mishima's Confidant, select dialogue options that resonate with him and bring a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time with him. Mishima's Mementos Missions are now linked to his Confidant progression, so don't neglect them if you want to rank up quickly.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a new character who, while not central to the plot, significantly enhances gameplay. Throughout Mementos, you'll find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Collecting these allows you to trade with Jose for items or to modify Mementos' Cognition. In Jose's Shop, under the Cognition menu, you can increase EXP, Money, or Item Rewards, but this applies only within Mementos. Boosting EXP to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maxing it at 200% requires 12 Stamps. With 165 Stamps available in the game, you'll need 85 to max out EXP Up. Look for Stamp Stations in dead ends on Mementos floors, accessible through breakable walls, and keep an eye out for Jose when transitioning between floors.
Fight the Reaper
What Level is the Reaper?
The Reaper, a formidable foe in the Persona series, appears in Mementos if you linger too long on a floor. Signs of his approach include a blinking red screen, the sound of chains, and warnings from Morgana or Futaba. Early in the game, defeating the Reaper is nearly impossible unless you're on a New Game+ file. At level 85 with high stats and -dyne tier spells, along with Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks, the Reaper is a tough adversary. His Agility, though the lowest at 75, is still enough to outpace your team if they're not adequately prepared.
However, defeating the Reaper yields a massive amount of experience and money, often resulting in level-ups for all characters. It's advisable to take on the Reaper at level 60 or above, using Defense-raising Support skills and casting Makarakarn to reflect his magic. Those with the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) can stack Concentrate, Heat Riser, and use Myriad Truths for heavy Almighty damage three times.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons, unique Shadows introduced in Madarame's Palace, can appear throughout the Metaverse. These non-aggressive entities will flee after a few turns, but capturing them is worth the effort. Each type of Treasure Demon has specific Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though all are susceptible to Almighty attacks. The quickest way to defeat them before they escape is by using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, which sets them up for an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, a high-crit attack like Morgana's Miracle Punch can work, provided the Treasure Demon isn't immune to Physical attacks.
Treasure Demons spawn more frequently in Palaces with high security. You 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
Typically, Personas not equipped by Joker at the end of a battle won't earn EXP. However, the Growth Passive Skill changes this, allowing inactive Personas to gain a percentage of the battle's EXP. There are three tiers of Growth Skills:
- Growth 1: Persona gains a quarter of the EXP when inactive.
- Growth 2: Persona gains half of the EXP when inactive.
- Growth 3: Persona gains full EXP when inactive.
Several Personas learn these 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)
Once you unlock the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, you can transform Personas into Skill Cards. However, in Persona 5 Royal, only Izanagi Picaro will yield a Growth 3 Skill Card when used in the Electric Chair. Growth 1 Skill Cards are unavailable, while Growth 2 Skill Cards can be obtained by spending time with Caroline and Justine at Miura Beach from September 2nd to September 29th, after clearing event 6 (Sky Tower).
Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant
How to Unlock Insta-Kill
Insta-kill is a powerful ability that allows Joker to eliminate Shadows instantly without engaging in combat. To activate Insta-kill, ambush the enemy, and if Joker's level is at least 10 levels above the Shadow's, it will be defeated instantly. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill not only defeats the Shadow but also grants items, yen, experience, and potentially a new Persona, if inventory space allows. Use Joker's Third Eye ability to identify Shadows vulnerable to Insta-kill, as they'll have a green outline.
To unlock Insta-kill, you must reach Rank 7 of Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant. Fortunately, advancing Ryuji's Confidant doesn't require any Social Stat prerequisites, making it one of the easiest to max out. To expedite this process, spend time with Ryuji and select dialogue options that maximize your points, ideally before unlocking other Confidants.
