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, and Persona 5 Royal is no exception. Failing to level up your team can lead to struggles against late-game bosses, forcing you to spend extra time grinding 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 modifies some existing boss fights. With all this new content, maintaining high levels for your team and knowing the fastest ways to gain experience is essential.

Updated January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: While being over-leveled can make Persona 5 Royal too easy, it's crucial to match the levels of Palace Rulers, especially on a new file. There are several strategies to make experience farming easier in P5R, from utilizing Confidant Skills to leveraging Jose's help in Mementos. Joker can also earn EXP for non-active Personas with 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 downloading the free Team Glasses accessory from the PlayStation Store. Equipping these glasses on each character boosts their EXP gain by 15% during battles. However, only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves can participate in battle at once, meaning those on the backline receive less experience.

To address this, players can increase the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and Rank 5, allowing backup team members to gain EXP. Reaching Rank 10 with Mishima ensures that backup members receive the same amount of EXP as those on the front lines.

Advancing Mishima's Confidant is straightforward; players should choose dialogue options that resonate with him and bring a Persona of the Moon Arcana when spending time with him. In Persona 5 Royal, Mishima's Mementos Missions are now linked to his Confidant progression, so neglecting these missions can hinder your ability to rank up.

Mementos: Increase EXP Gain

Cognition of Mementos

Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who, while not central to the plot, significantly aids gameplay. Throughout Mementos, players can find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Collecting these allows you to trade with Jose for items or to alter the Cognition of Mementos. In Jose's Shop, under the Cognition menu, you can choose to increase EXP, Money Rewards, or Item Rewards, but these boosts apply only within Mementos. Upgrading EXP gain to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while reaching the maximum 200% EXP boost requires 12 Stamps.

There are 165 Stamps in total, but you'll need 85 to max out the EXP Up. Stamp Stations are hidden in "dead ends" behind breakable walls on Mementos floors. You might encounter Jose when transitioning to a new floor.

Fight the Reaper

What Level is the Reaper?

The Reaper, a formidable foe in the Persona series, appears in Mementos if players linger too long on a floor. Warning signs include a blinking red screen, the sound of chains, and alerts from Morgana or Futaba about an ominous presence.

Early in the game, defeating the Reaper is nearly impossible unless you're on a New Game+ file. The Reaper wields -dyne tier spells and Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks. At level 85, with high stats, his Agility (75) is his lowest but still enough to outpace the Phantom Thieves if they're underleveled.

Defeating the Reaper yields a massive amount of experience and money, often resulting in a level up for all characters. It's advisable to challenge the Reaper at level 60 or higher, equipped with Defense-raising Support skills and Makarakarn to reflect his magic. Alternatively, those with the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) can stack Concentrate, Heat Riser, and use Myriad Truths for heavy Almighty damage.

Defeat Treasure Demons

How to Summon Treasure Demons

Treasure Demons, unique Shadows introduced in Madarame's Palace, start appearing in the Metaverse after your first encounter. 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 vulnerable to Almighty attacks. The best strategy to defeat them before they escape is to use Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, to down them and follow up with an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, a high-crit attack like Morgana's Miracle Punch can work, 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, requiring:

• 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 won't earn EXP. However, those with the Growth Passive Skill can still gain a percentage of experience even when not used. 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:

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, but 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). Spend evenings with them by 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 it, ambush the enemy; if Joker's level is 10 levels higher than the Shadow, it will be instantly defeated. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill also grants items, yen, experience, and potentially a new Persona.

You can identify Shadows susceptible to Insta-kill using Joker's Third Eye ability; those 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, with no Social Stat requirements. To quickly reach Rank 7, spend time with Ryuji and select the best dialogue options to maximize points, ideally before unlocking other Confidants.