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In the world of Persona 5 Royal, leveling up is crucial for overcoming the game's challenging bosses and progressing smoothly. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal offers numerous quality-of-life improvements and an additional 20 hours of gameplay, including a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and modifications to existing boss battles. To navigate this expanded content effectively, it's essential to keep your team's levels high and understand the most efficient methods for gaining experience.
Updated on January 13, 2025, by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can simplify the game too much, maintaining a level comparable to Palace Rulers is crucial, especially for new players. Persona 5 Royal provides various strategies to streamline experience farming, from leveraging Confidant Skills to utilizing Jose's services in Mementos. Additionally, Joker can earn EXP for his non-active Personas through a specific passive skill. This guide has been updated to include a new section on quickly farming experience using the Insta-kill ability.
Accessories and The Moon Arcana
Mishima Yuuki's Confidant
In Persona 5 Royal, players can enhance their EXP gain by equipping the Team Glasses accessory, available as a free DLC from the PlayStation Store. These glasses boost EXP by 15% when worn in battle. However, since only four Phantom Thieves can participate in combat at once, those on the backline receive less experience.
To ensure all team members level up efficiently, players should focus on strengthening the Moon Confidant with Yuuki Mishima. Reaching Rank 3 and Rank 5 with Mishima allows backup members to earn EXP. By achieving Rank 10, backup members will receive the same amount of EXP as the active fighters. Building a relationship with Mishima is straightforward; choose dialogue options that resonate with him and bring a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time together. In Persona 5 Royal, completing Mementos Missions assigned by Mishima is crucial for advancing his Confidant, as neglecting these missions can hinder progress.
Mementos: Increase EXP Gain
Cognition of Mementos
Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who, while not central to the plot, significantly enhances gameplay. Within Mementos, players can find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." These can be traded with Jose to alter the Cognition of Mementos, offering options to boost EXP, Money, or Item rewards. To maximize EXP gain, players can increase battle EXP to 110% for 5 Stamps or up to 200% for 12 Stamps. With a total of 165 Stamps available, 85 are needed to achieve the maximum EXP boost. Stamp Stations are located in dead ends behind breakable walls on Mementos floors, and players may encounter Jose when transitioning to new floors.
Fight the Reaper
What Level is the Reaper?
The Reaper is a formidable adversary in the Persona series, appearing in Mementos when players linger too long on a floor. Indicators 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 without a New Game+ file, given his level 85 status and powerful -dyne tier spells along with Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks.
Despite his high stats, including an Agility of 75, defeating the Reaper yields substantial experience and money, often resulting in a level-up for the entire team. 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, using the Persona DLC with Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) and stacking Concentrate, Heat Riser, and Myriad Truths can inflict heavy Almighty damage multiple times.
Defeat Treasure Demons
How to Summon Treasure Demons
Treasure Demons, first encountered in Madarame's Palace, are unique Shadows that appear across the Metaverse. Unlike other Shadows, they are harmless but will flee if not quickly defeated. These demons have varying Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though they all take regular damage from Almighty attacks. The best way to defeat them before they escape is by using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, which allows for an All-Out Attack.
Alternatively, high-crit attacks like Morgana's Miracle Punch can be effective if the demon isn't immune to Physical damage. Treasure Demons are more likely to appear in Palaces with high security. Players can increase their encounters by crafting the Treasure Trap infiltration tool, requiring 2x Silk Yarn, 3x Plant Balm, and 1x Cork Bark.
Use Persona with EXP Skills
How to Get Growth Passive Skill
Personas not equipped by Joker at the end of a battle typically do not earn EXP. However, those with the Growth Passive Skill can still 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 will gain full EXP when inactive.
The following Personas learn Growth upon leveling:
| Growth 1 | Growth 2 | Growth 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Saki Mitama (level 7) | Lachesis (Innate) | Izanagi (level 25) |
| Koppa Tengu (level 12) | Kurama Tengu (level 36) | Izanagi Picaro (level 28) |
| Thoth (level 42) | Narcissus (level 50) | |
| Ananta (level 47) | Raphael (level 81) |
With the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, players can convert Personas into Skill Cards. In Persona 5 Royal, only Izanagi Picaro can be transformed into a Growth 3 Skill Card. Growth 1 Skill Cards are unavailable, 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 during an ambush if his level is 10 levels higher than theirs. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill not only eliminates 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 are vulnerable. To acquire Insta-kill, players must reach Rank 7 in Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant. Fortunately, Ryuji's Confidant requires no Social Stat prerequisites, making it one of the easiest to max out. For immediate access to Insta-kill, spend time with Ryuji and select dialogue options that maximize points, ideally before focusing on other Confidants.
