Persona 5 Royal: Best Ways to Get EXP

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

Leveling up is crucial in Persona 5 Royal, just like in any RPG. Underleveled teams will struggle against late-game bosses, forcing tedious grinding in Mementos. Persona 5 Royal, an enhanced version of Persona 5, boasts significant quality-of-life improvements and 20 hours of new content.

This includes a new semester for the Phantom Thieves and adjustments to existing boss fights. To make the most of this expanded experience, maintaining high character levels is essential, and knowing the fastest ways to gain experience is key.

Updated January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: While over-leveling can make Persona 5 Royal too easy, matching the Palace Rulers' levels—especially on a new playthrough—is recommended. Several methods streamline experience farming, from Confidant Skills to Jose in Mementos. Joker can even earn EXP for his inactive Persona using a passive skill. This guide has been updated to include a section on rapidly farming experience using the Insta-kill ability.

Accessories and The Moon Arcana

Mishima Yuuki's Confidant

In Persona 5 Royal, download the free Team Glasses DLC from the PlayStation Store for a 15% EXP boost. Equip these glasses on each character for the bonus to take effect.

Since only Joker and three other Phantom Thieves fight directly, backline members gain less EXP. Ranking up the Moon Confidant (Yuuki Mishima) to Rank 3 and 5 increases EXP for these backline members. Reaching Rank 10 grants them the same EXP as frontline fighters.

Progressing Mishima's Confidant is straightforward; choose dialogue options he favors. Using a Moon Arcana Persona during hangouts is also beneficial. In Persona 5 Royal, Mementos missions assigned by Mishima are now directly tied to his Confidant rank. Neglecting these missions hinders Confidant progression.

Mementos: Increase EXP Gain

Cognition of Mementos

Jose, a new character in Persona 5 Royal, significantly aids gameplay. Throughout Mementos, collect "flowers" and "Stamp Stations." Exchange these with Jose for items or to modify Mementos' Cognition. Boosting EXP gain to 110% costs 5 Stamps, while maximizing it to 200% requires 12.

Persona 5 Royal contains 165 Stamps; maximizing EXP requires 85. Stamp Stations are found in Mementos dead ends, behind breakable walls. Jose appears randomly on new Mementos floors.

Fight the Reaper

What Level is the Reaper?

The Reaper, a formidable recurring enemy, appears in Mementos after prolonged stays on a single floor. The screen flashes red, chains rattle, and Morgana (or Futaba) warns of his presence.

Early-game encounters are impossible unless on a New Game+ file. The Reaper boasts -dyne spells and support skills like Concentrate and elemental Breaks. He's level 85 with exceptionally high stats; his Agility (75) is his lowest but still high enough to outspeed underleveled teams.

Defeating the Reaper yields massive EXP and money, often leveling up all characters. Fighting him at level 60 or higher is recommended. Use defense-boosting support skills and Makarakarn to reflect magic. Alternatively, players with the Izanagi-no-Okami (Picaro) DLC Persona can utilize Concentrate, Heat Riser, and Myriad Truths for significant Almighty damage.

Defeat Treasure Demons

How to Summon Treasure Demons

Treasure Demons, initially encountered in Madarame's Palace, subsequently appear in the Metaverse. Unlike most Shadows, they're harmless and flee after a few turns.

Each Treasure Demon has unique weaknesses and immunities, but all are vulnerable to Almighty attacks. Quickly defeating them before they flee is best achieved using Shinya's Rank 1 ability, Down Shot, for an All-Out Attack. Alternatively, a high-crit attack like Morgana's Miracle Punch works, provided the Treasure Demon doesn't null Physical attacks.

Treasure Demons appear more frequently in Palaces with high security. The Treasure Trap infiltration tool increases encounter rates; its crafting requires:

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

Use Persona with EXP Skills

How to Get Growth Passive Skill

Unequipped Personas usually don't earn EXP. However, the Growth passive skill grants them a percentage of battle EXP even when inactive. There are three levels:

• Growth 1: 25% EXP
• Growth 2: 50% EXP
• Growth 3: 100% EXP

The following Personas learn Growth:

The Electric Chair in the Velvet Room allows Persona fusion into Skill Cards. Growth 1 and 2 Skill Cards from Persona 5 are unavailable in Persona 5 Royal. Only Izanagi Picaro yields a Growth 3 Skill Card.

Growth 2 Skill Cards are obtained by visiting Caroline and Justine at Miura Beach (September 2nd-29th) after completing event 6 (Sky Tower). Spend evenings with them near the Velvet Room door outside Mementos.

Ryuji Sakamoto's Confidant

How to Unlock Insta-Kill

Insta-kill instantly defeats Shadows via ambush if Joker's level is 10 levels higher. Shadows with a green outline are susceptible (revealed by Joker's Third Eye).

Unlock Insta-kill by reaching Ryuji's Confidant Rank 7. His Confidant has no Social Stat requirements, making it easy to max out. Prioritize this Confidant for early access to Insta-kill.