"Maximize EXP Gains 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, and in *Persona 5 Royal*, it's no different. Failing to keep your team leveled can lead to struggles against formidable late-game bosses, forcing you into tedious grinding sessions in Mementos. As an enhanced version of *Persona 5*, *Persona 5 Royal* brings quality-of-life improvements and an additional 20 hours of gameplay, introducing a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and tweaks to existing boss encounters. With such an expanded universe, maintaining high levels for your team is essential, and knowing the most efficient ways to gain experience is key.

Updated on January 13, 2025, by Renri Seong: Over-leveling might make *Persona 5 Royal* a breeze, but aiming to match the Palace Rulers' levels, especially on a fresh save, is vital. There are numerous strategies to streamline experience farming in P5R, from leveraging Confidant Skills to utilizing Jose's services in Mementos. Joker can also boost EXP for his non-active Personas with a passive skill. This guide has been updated to include a new section on rapidly farming experience using the Insta-kill ability.

Accessories and The Moon Arcana

Mishima Yuuki's Confidant

In Persona 5 Royal, you can enhance your team's experience gain by equipping the Team Glasses accessory, available as free DLC from the PlayStation Store. These glasses boost EXP by 15% during battles, but each character must have them equipped to benefit. Keep in mind, only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves can fight at once, leaving those on the sidelines with less EXP after each battle.

By advancing your relationship with the Moon Confidant, Yuuki Mishima, to Rank 3 and Rank 5, your backup team members will also earn EXP. Reaching Rank 10 with Mishima ensures that your reserve members gain the same amount of EXP as those on the front lines. Progressing Mishima's Confidant is straightforward; just 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 progress. Neglecting these missions will hinder your ability to rank up with him.

Mementos: Increase EXP Gain

Cognition of Mementos

Persona 5 Royal introduces Jose, a character who, while not central to the plot, significantly aids your gameplay. Throughout Mementos, you'll find "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Collecting these allows you to trade with Jose for items or to alter Mementos' Cognition. 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 maxing it out at 200% requires 12 Stamps.

There are 165 Stamps in total, but you'll need 85 to max out the EXP Up feature. Stamp Stations are hidden in "dead ends" behind breakable walls on Mementos floors. When you transition to a new floor, you might encounter Jose, giving you a chance to trade your collected stamps.

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. You'll notice the screen flashing red and the sound of chains, with Morgana or Futaba warning you of an ominous presence. Early in the game, defeating the Reaper is a tall order unless you're on a New Game+ file. With -dyne tier spells and Support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks, the Reaper is a level 85 enemy with high stats, though his Agility is relatively lower at 75.

Conquering the Reaper grants a substantial amount of experience and money, often resulting in level-ups for your entire team. It's advisable to tackle the Reaper when your team is at least level 60. Equip Defense-raising Support skills and use Makarakarn to reflect his magic. If you have the Persona DLC featuring Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro), stacking Concentrate, Heat Riser, and using Myriad Truths can deal devastating Almighty damage three times over.

Defeat Treasure Demons

How to Summon Treasure Demons

Treasure Demons, special Shadows that debut in Madarame's Palace, will start appearing throughout the Metaverse after your first encounter. These Shadows are unique because they're harmless and will attempt to flee after a few turns. Each type of Treasure Demon has different Affinity Weaknesses and Immunities, though they're all vulnerable to Almighty attacks. The best strategy to defeat them before they escape is using Shinya's Rank 1 Ability, Down Shot, which knocks them down for an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, a high-crit attack like Morgana's Miracle Punch can work if the Treasure Demon doesn't nullify Physical attacks.

Treasure Demons are more likely to appear in Palaces when security is high. You can also craft the Treasure Trap infiltration tool, which boosts Treasure Demon encounters in a Palace. To create it, you'll need:

• 2x Silk Yarn
• 3x Plant Balm
• 1x Cork Bark

Use Persona with EXP Skills

How to Get Growth Passive Skill

In Persona 5 Royal, any Persona not equipped by Joker at the end of a battle typically won't earn EXP. However, the Passive Skill Growth allows these inactive Personas to gain a percentage of the battle's experience. 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 can learn Growth at certain levels:

With the Electric Chair unlocked in the Velvet Room, you can convert Personas into Skill Cards. However, in *Persona 5 Royal*, only Izanagi Picaro will yield a Growth Skill Card (Growth 3) when used in the Electric Chair. Growth 1 Skill Cards are unobtainable in P5R. To acquire the Growth 2 Skill Card, you'll need to take Caroline and Justine to Miura Beach between September 2nd and September 29th, after clearing event 6 (Sky Tower). You can spend evenings with them by the Velvet Room Door outside Mementos.

Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant

How to Unlock Insta-Kill

The Insta-kill ability in Persona 5 Royal lets Joker instantly defeat Shadows without engaging in battle, provided he ambushes them and his level is 10 levels higher than the Shadow's. In Persona 5 Royal, a successful Insta-kill not only defeats the Shadow but also rewards you with items, yen, experience, and, if you have space, a new Persona. You can identify Shadows vulnerable to Insta-kill by using Joker's Third Eye ability; those with a green outline are susceptible.

To unlock Insta-kill, you need to reach Rank 7 with 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. If you want to unlock Insta-kill quickly, spend time with Ryuji and choose dialogue options that maximize your points. It's advisable to focus on this before delving into other Confidants.