"Maximize EXP Gain in Persona 5 Royal"

Quick Links

• Accessories and The Moon Arcana

  • Mishima Yuuki's Confidant

• Mementos: Increase EXP Gain

  • Cognition of Mementos

• Fight the Reaper

  • What Level is the Reaper?

• Defeat Treasure Demons

  • How to Summon Treasure Demons

• Use Persona with EXP Skills

  • How to Get Growth Passive Skill

• Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant

  • How to Unlock Insta-Kill

In the world of RPGs, leveling up is crucial for success, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. Failing to level up your team can lead to struggles against formidable late-game bosses, necessitating time-consuming grinds in Mementos. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal offers numerous quality-of-life improvements and an additional 20 hours of gameplay.

The game introduces a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and revamps some pre-existing boss battles. With all this new content, maintaining high levels for all characters and knowing the most efficient ways to gain experience is essential.

Updated January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: Being over-leveled can make Persona 5 Royal too easy, but it's crucial to match the levels of Palace Rulers, especially on a new game file. There are several strategies to streamline experience farming in P5R, from utilizing Confidant Skills to leveraging Jose's help 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 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 enhance their experience gain by equipping the Team Glasses accessory, available as free DLC from the PlayStation Store. This accessory boosts EXP gain by 15% when equipped by each character. However, since only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves can participate in battle at once, the backline members receive less experience.

To address this, players can increase the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and Rank 5, which allows backup team members to gain more 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 if players select dialogue options that resonate with him and bring a Persona of the Moon Arcana during hangouts. In Persona 5 Royal, Mementos Missions are now linked to Mishima's Confidant progression, so neglecting these missions will hinder Confidant rank-ups.

Mementos: Increase EXP Gain

Cognition of Mementos

Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who, while not central to the plot, significantly aids gameplay. Players can find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations" scattered throughout Mementos, which can be traded with Jose for items or to modify the Cognition of Mementos. In Jose's Shop, players can opt to increase EXP, Money Rewards, or Item Rewards within Mementos. Upgrading EXP from battle to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while reaching the maximum 200% EXP increase requires 12 Stamps.

There are 165 Stamps in total, but players need only 85 to maximize the EXP Up benefit. Stamp Stations are located in "dead ends" on Mementos floors behind breakable walls, and 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 when 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, given its -dyne tier spells and powerful Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks. The Reaper is level 85 with exceptionally high stats, though its Agility (75) is the lowest. Despite this, it can still outpace the Phantom Thieves if they are under-leveled.

Successfully defeating the Reaper yields a substantial amount of experience and money, often resulting in level-ups for all characters. It's advisable to engage the Reaper at level 60 or higher, using Defense-raising Support skills and Makarakarn to reflect its magic. Alternatively, those with the Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) DLC can stack Concentrate, Heat Riser, and use Myriad Truths to deal heavy Almighty damage three times.

Defeat Treasure Demons

How to Summon Treasure Demons

Treasure Demons, unique Shadows that debut in Madarame's Palace, start appearing in the Metaverse after the initial encounter. These non-aggressive Shadows will flee after a few turns. Each type of Treasure Demon has different Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though all are susceptible to Almighty attacks.

The most effective way to defeat Treasure Demons before they escape is by using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, to down them and trigger an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, a high-crit attack like Morgana's Miracle Punch can be used if the Treasure Demon does not nullify Physical attacks.

Treasure Demons appear in Palaces when security is high. Players can also use the Treasure Trap infiltration tool, crafted from 2x Silk Yarn, 3x Plant Balm, and 1x Cork Bark, to increase encounters with Treasure Demons in a Palace.

Use Persona with EXP Skills

How to Get Growth Passive Skill

Personas that Joker does not use in battle typically do not earn EXP. However, equipping them with the Growth Passive Skill allows them to gain a percentage of experience 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.

Personas that naturally learn Growth include:

• 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)

After unlocking the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room, players can transform Personas into Skill Cards. In Persona 5 Royal, only Izanagi Picaro can be used to create 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), and spending time with them outside Mementos during evenings.

Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant

How to Unlock Insta-Kill

Insta-kill is a powerful ability that allows Joker to instantly defeat a Shadow without engaging in combat, provided he ambushes the enemy 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 grants items, yen, experience, and, if inventory space allows, a Persona.

To determine if a Shadow can be insta-killed, use Joker's Third Eye ability; Shadows with a green outline are vulnerable. To unlock Insta-kill, reach Rank 7 with Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant. Ryuji's Confidant is one of the easiest to max out, as it has no Social Stat requirements. To quickly achieve this, spend time with Ryuji and select the best dialogue options to maximize points, ideally before unlocking other Confidants.