If you’re diving into the expanded world of Persona 5 Royal, understanding how Confidants work is essential. A well-planned persona 5 royal confidant guide can dramatically improve your gameplay experience, unlock powerful abilities, and even change the story’s outcome. Unlike a standard RPG relationship system, Confidants in Persona 5 Royal influence combat mechanics, persona fusion, exploration, and narrative depth.

Developed by Atlus and published by Sega persona 5 royal confidant guide is the expanded version of Persona 5. Royal introduces new characters, an additional semester, and more opportunities to deepen bonds. To get the most out of your playthrough, mastering Confidants is not optional—it’s essential.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through how Confidants function, which ones to prioritize, how to rank them efficiently, and strategies for maximizing your limited time.

Understanding the Confidant System

Before diving deeper into this persona 5 royal confidant guide, it’s important to understand what Confidants are.

Confidants represent key characters in the protagonist’s life. As you spend time with them, you increase their rank from 1 to 10. Each rank unlocks unique abilities, such as:

• Combat bonuses
• Tactical advantages
• Fusion perks
• Time-saving mechanics
• Narrative expansions

Unlike simple friendship meters, Confidants directly influence gameplay mechanics. Some abilities drastically reduce dungeon difficulty or make persona fusion significantly stronger.

In Royal, time management is the core challenge. You only have limited days before deadlines, so every decision matters.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Core Mechanics Explained

To efficiently rank Confidants, you must understand several mechanics that affect progression.

1. Social Stats Matter

Your five social stats—Knowledge, Guts, Proficiency, Kindness, and Charm—gate certain Confidant ranks. If you neglect these, you may hit progression walls.

For example:

• Some characters require high Guts to continue.
• Others need Charm at specific thresholds.

Balancing stat growth with relationship building is critical.

2. Matching Arcana for Bonus Points

Each Confidant is tied to a Tarot Arcana. When you carry a Persona of the same Arcana while spending time with them, you gain extra relationship points.

This simple step can significantly reduce the number of hangouts required.

3. Dialogue Choices Influence Points

During conversations, choosing optimal responses gives more affinity points. While you don’t always need perfect answers, consistently choosing supportive or thoughtful responses accelerates ranking.

4. Rank-Up Availability

Not every hangout guarantees a rank increase. Sometimes you must spend additional time to deepen the bond before ranking up. Proper planning minimizes these filler days.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Best Confidants to Prioritize Early

With limited time available, prioritization is key. Some Confidants offer far more impactful abilities than others.

Temperance Arcana – Sadayo Kawakami

Sadayo Kawakami provides one of the most valuable abilities in the game: time management improvements.

Her perks allow:

• Extra actions during class
• Free time after palace visits
• The ability to craft tools or study without consuming your time

Maxing her early opens up dozens of extra opportunities across the year.

Fortune Arcana – Chihaya Mifune

Chihaya Mifune allows you to boost relationship gains and social stat increases. Her Affinity Reading can prevent wasted hangouts by ensuring your next meeting leads to a rank up.

Investing in her Confidant saves enormous amounts of time long term.

Moon Arcana – Yuuki Mishima

Yuuki Mishima enhances experience gain for party members, including those not actively fighting. His progression does not require matching Personas or dialogue optimization, making him easy to max.

Councillor Arcana – Takuto Maruki

Takuto Maruki is crucial in Royal. Ranking him high unlocks the additional third semester content unique to this version.

Failing to prioritize him means missing major story expansions.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Phantom Thieves Relationships

Your main party members are also Confidants. Ranking them unlocks powerful combat abilities.

Ryuji Sakamoto – Chariot Arcana

Ryuji Sakamoto unlocks abilities like Baton Pass improvements and Insta-Kill, which allows you to defeat weaker shadows instantly in Mementos.

In Royal, Insta-Kill was rebalanced to provide experience and items, making him even more valuable.

Ann Takamaki – Lovers Arcana

Ann Takamaki focuses on negotiation bonuses and party support abilities.

Yusuke Kitagawa – Emperor Arcana

Yusuke Kitagawa provides card duplication and skill customization options.

Makoto Niijima – Priestess Arcana

Makoto Niijima enhances tactical combat analysis and status recovery.

Futaba Sakura – Hermit Arcana

Futaba Sakura offers support skills that trigger randomly in battle, including party-wide shields and SP recovery.

Haru Okumura – Empress Arcana

Haru Okumura grants negotiation perks and gardening bonuses.

Goro Akechi – Justice Arcana

Goro Akechi has revised progression in Royal. His Confidant now involves manual rank progression and influences additional scenes.

Kasumi Yoshizawa – Faith Arcana

Kasumi Yoshizawa is new to Royal. Ranking her unlocks powerful combat follow-ups and plays a major role in the expanded story.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Social Stat Strategy

Efficient progression requires balancing social stats and Confidant time.

Early Game Focus

• Boost Guts to unlock medical perks.
• Raise Knowledge for exam benefits.
• Improve Charm gradually for late-game requirements.

Efficient Stat Growth Methods

• Answer classroom questions correctly.
• Study before exams.
• Work part-time jobs.
• Use bathhouse and diner bonuses strategically.

Avoid over-focusing on stats once most requirements are unlocked.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Romance Options

Certain female Confidants allow romantic relationships at Rank 9.

Romance does not provide massive gameplay advantages persona 5 royal confidant guide but adds narrative depth. However, dating multiple characters leads to consequences near Valentine’s Day.

Choose based on character preference rather than optimization, as combat benefits remain unchanged.

Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide: Third Semester Requirements

To unlock Royal’s exclusive third semester:

• Reach Rank 9 with Takuto Maruki before mid-November.
• Progress Faith and Justice Confidants sufficiently for additional scenes.

Missing these requirements locks you into the original ending path.

This is one of the most critical components of any persona 5 royal confidant guide.

Time Management Tips for Maximum Efficiency

Here are advanced strategies:

1. Combine Palace Runs

Finish Palaces in one or two days to free up time.

2. Use Kawakami’s Abilities Frequently

Her time-saving skills stack dramatically over months.

3. Always Carry Matching Arcana Personas

Before meeting a Confidant, visit the Velvet Room.

4. Avoid Wasted Hangouts

Use Chihaya’s Affinity Reading when unsure about rank progression.

5. Prioritize Limited-Time Confidants

School-based Confidants are unavailable during breaks.

Late-Game Confidant Priorities

As the year progresses, your focus should shift:

• Ensure Councillor reaches Rank 9.
• Complete Temperance and Fortune.
• Max party members for final dungeon strength.
• Finish optional Confidants if time allows.

Do not leave critical story-linked Confidants until the final weeks.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced players make errors:

• Ignoring social stats early
• Neglecting Councillor
• Wasting days without Arcana bonuses
• Spreading time too thinly across all Confidants

Strategic planning ensures you can max most Confidants in one playthrough.

Advanced Fusion Benefits from Confidants

Maxing Confidants unlocks ultimate Personas tied to each Arcana. These high-tier Personas possess powerful skills and resistances.

In late-game combat, these ultimate Personas significantly persona 5 royal confidant guide improve survivability and damage output.

They also enhance fusion possibilities, enabling stronger builds for New Game Plus.

Is It Possible to Max All Confidants in One Playthrough?

Yes, but only with careful planning.

Requirements include:

• Efficient palace completion
• Consistent Arcana matching
• High social stat focus early
• Strategic use of Kawakami and Chihaya

Blind playthroughs rarely achieve 100% completion without a structured approach.

Why Confidants Define Persona 5 Royal

Unlike many RPGs, relationships in Persona 5 Royal are not optional flavor content. They are integral to both narrative and gameplay systems.

Confidants:

• Deepen emotional engagement
• Expand strategic options
• Unlock story content
• Improve combat efficiency
• Influence ending outcomes

The system blends life simulation with dungeon crawling in a way few RPGs accomplish.

Final Thoughts on This Persona 5 Royal Confidant Guide

Mastering relationships is the key to mastering the game. A thoughtful approach ensures you unlock powerful abilities, experience the full story, and make the most of every in-game day.

This persona 5 royal confidant guide has covered:

• Core mechanics
• Best early priorities
• Party member benefits
• Social stat planning
• Romance considerations
• Third semester requirements
• Advanced optimization strategies

Whether you’re a first-time player or starting New Game Plus, understanding Confidants transforms the experience from good to unforgettable.