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In the world of RPGs, leveling up is crucial, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. Players who neglect to level up their team will find themselves struggling against the game's formidable late-game bosses, often resorting to tedious grinding in Mementos. As an enhanced version of the original Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal introduces numerous quality-of-life improvements and an additional 20 hours of gameplay, making it essential to keep your team's levels high to tackle the new content effectively.
Persona 5 Royal adds a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and tweaks some of the existing boss battles. With all this new content, maintaining high levels and knowing the fastest ways to gain experience is vital.
Updated January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can make the game too easy, it's crucial to match the levels of the Palace Rulers, especially when starting a new file. There are several strategies to make experience farming easier in Persona 5 Royal, from utilizing Confidant Skills to leveraging Jose's help in Mementos. Additionally, Joker can earn EXP for non-active Personas with a specific passive skill. This guide has been updated to include a new section on how to farm experience quickly using the Insta-kill ability.
Accessories and The Moon Arcana
Mishima Yuuki's Confidant
In Persona 5 Royal, players can download a free DLC from the PlayStation Store to obtain the Team Glasses accessory, which boosts EXP gain by 15% during battles. To benefit from this, each character must equip these glasses.
Since battles in Persona 5 Royal allow only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves to participate, those on the backline receive less experience at the end of a battle.
To address this, players can rank up the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and Rank 5, enabling backup team members to gain EXP. Reaching Rank 10 with Mishima's Confidant ensures that backup members earn the same amount of EXP as those on the front lines.
Advancing Mishima's Confidant is straightforward; players simply need to choose dialogue options that resonate with him. Bringing a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time with him can also help.
In Persona 5 Royal, Mishima's Mementos Missions are now integrated with his Confidant progression. Neglecting these missions can hinder the ability to rank up his Confidant.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Persona 5 Royal introduces a new character named Jose, who, despite not being central to the plot, significantly enhances gameplay. Throughout Mementos, players can find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Collecting these allows players to exchange them with Jose for items or to alter Mementos' Cognition.
In Jose's Shop, under the Cognition menu, players can choose to increase EXP, Money, or Item rewards specifically within Mementos. Boosting EXP to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maxing it out at 200% requires 12 Stamps.
There are 165 Stamps in total in Persona 5 Royal, but players need 85 to max out the EXP Up. Stamp Stations are located in "dead ends" on Mementos floors, often behind breakable walls. Players may encounter Jose when transitioning to a new floor.
Fight the Reaper
What Level is the Reaper?
The Reaper, a formidable recurring enemy in the Persona series, appears in Mementos if players linger on a floor too long. Signs of his approach include a blinking red screen, the sound of chains, and warnings from Morgana or Futaba about an ominous presence.
Early in the game, defeating the Reaper is nearly impossible unless playing on a New Game+ file. The Reaper wields -dyne tier spells and Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks (e.g., Fire, Wind, Ice, Elec Break).
At level 85, the Reaper boasts extremely high stats, with Agility being his lowest at 75, yet still sufficient to outpace the Phantom Thieves if they're not adequately leveled.
Defeating the Reaper yields a substantial amount of experience and money, often resulting in level-ups for all characters.
It's advisable to challenge the Reaper at level 60 or above. Equip Defense-raising Support skills and use Makarakarn to reflect his magic. Alternatively, those with the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) can stack Concentrate, Heat Riser, and then unleash Myriad Truths for heavy Almighty damage three times.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons are unique Shadows that first appear in Madarame's Palace and subsequently in the Metaverse. Unlike typical Shadows, they are harmless and will flee after a few turns.
Each type of Treasure Demon has different Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, but all are susceptible to regular damage from Almighty attacks. The most effective way to defeat them before they escape is by using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, to down them and set up an All-Out Attack.
Another method involves using high-crit attacks like Morgana's Miracle Punch, provided the Treasure Demon doesn't nullify Physical attacks.
Treasure Demons appear in Palaces when security is high. Players can also craft the Treasure Trap infiltration tool to increase encounters with Treasure Demons. The materials required for the Treasure Trap are:
- 2x Silk Yarn
- 3x Plant Balm
- 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 do not earn EXP. However, if they possess the Passive Skill Growth, they will gain a percentage of the battle's experience even if unused. 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 upon leveling:
- 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 players unlock the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, they can transform Personas into Skill Cards. However, in Persona 5 Royal, Personas that previously turned into Growth 1 and Growth 2 Skill Cards in Persona 5 no longer do so. Izanagi Picaro is the only Persona that will yield a Growth Skill Card (Growth 3) when used in the Electric Chair.
Growth 1 Skill Card is unavailable in Persona 5 Royal.
To obtain the Growth 2 Skill Card, players must take Caroline and Justine to Miura Beach between September 2nd and September 29th, after clearing event 6 (Sky Tower). Joker can spend time with them during evenings by speaking to them near the Velvet Room Door outside Mementos.
Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant
How to Unlock Insta-Kill
Insta-kill is a powerful skill that allows Joker to instantly defeat a Shadow without engaging in battle. To use Insta-kill, players must ambush the enemy. If Joker's level (not his Persona level) is 10 levels higher than the Shadow, it will be instantly defeated. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill not only defeats the Shadow but also grants items, yen, experience, and, if there's room, a Persona.
Players can identify Shadows susceptible to Insta-kill using Joker's Third Eye ability; those with a green outline are vulnerable.
To unlock Insta-kill, players must reach Rank 7 with Ryuji's Confidant. Fortunately, Ryuji's Confidant has no Social Stat requirements, making it one of the easiest to max out. To expedite this process, spend time with Ryuji and select the best dialogue options to maximize points. It's advisable to focus on this before unlocking other Confidants.
