Persona 5 Royal Walkthrough — Start to Endgame

Persona 5 Royal is Atlus's definitive edition of their acclaimed JRPG, adding a new third semester, a new party member in Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new confidant in Takuto Maruki, and the Thieves' Den. The game blends dungeon-crawling turn-based combat with a social simulation where you manage your time between school, part-time jobs, building relationships, and infiltrating the cognitive Palaces of corrupt adults. With over 100 hours of content, the fusion system's depth lets you create Personas with custom skill loadouts. Royal's quality-of-life improvements including grappling hooks in Palaces and the revamped Baton Pass system make it the definitive way to experience the Phantom Thieves' story.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. Follow this path to avoid common traps that stall most players.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase 1: Getting Started — Kamoshida's Palace

The tutorial Palace styled as a medieval castle. Teaches core mechanics: ambushes, elemental weaknesses, safe rooms, and the calling card system. Suguru Kamoshida's Shadow fights with a goblet that heals him — destroy it first.

Level/Difficulty: April (Level 5-12) Key Rewards: Baton Pass tutorial, first Persona awakening, core combat understanding

What to Do in Kamoshida's Palace

1. Learn calendar system. The game spans April to March on a fixed calendar. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Ryuji (Chariot) as your starting build. It's the most forgiving option.
3. Max Kawakami (Temperance) ASAP — her rank 10 ability lets you go out at night even after infiltrating a Palace, effectively doubling your free time
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade — Mjolnir (Ryuji) or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand calendar system fundamentals
• Ryuji (Chariot) selected and functional
• Kamoshida's Palace main content cleared
• Ready for Kaneshiro's Bank

Phase 2: Early Game — Kaneshiro's Bank

A bank vault themed Palace where security level increases rapidly. Features the first real difficulty spike with Shadow enemies that drain SP. The boss fight against Piggytron requires targeting the robot and Kaneshiro separately.

Level/Difficulty: June (Level 22-28) Key Rewards: Makoto joins party, Nuclear element access, mid-game Personas

What to Do in Kaneshiro's Bank

1. Work on persona fusion. Joker can hold multiple Personas and fuse them in the Velvet Room to create stronger ones. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Mjolnir (Ryuji) if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. SP Adhesive 3 from Takemi (Death rank 7) regenerates 7 SP per turn in battle, making single-day Palace clears trivial
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Okumura's Spaceport.
5. Consider whether Joker (Wild Card) might suit your playstyle better than Ryuji (Chariot).

Phase 2 Checklist

• persona fusion integrated into gameplay
• Mjolnir (Ryuji) acquired
• Kaneshiro's Bank fully cleared
• Ready for Okumura's Spaceport

Phase 3: Mid Game — Okumura's Spaceport

A sci-fi factory Palace widely considered the hardest dungeon due to airlock puzzles and the boss's robot waves with tight turn limits. The boss fight requires killing all robots in the same turn to prevent respawns.

Level/Difficulty: September (Level 40-45) Key Rewards: Haru joins party, Psy element access, challenging boss experience

What to Do in Okumura's Spaceport

1. Master palace infiltration. Each story arc involves infiltrating a Palace (cognitive dungeon) and stealing the ruler's treasure. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Paradise Lost (Joker). It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. Chihaya (Fortune rank 7) has Affinity Reading that boosts confidant points for 5000 yen — use it every day you plan to rank up someone
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in social links (confidants) for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• palace infiltration mastered
• Paradise Lost (Joker) acquired or in progress
• Okumura's Spaceport fully cleared
• Ready for Shido's Cruiser

Phase 4: Late Game — Shido's Cruiser

A massive cruise ship Palace with five mini-boss sections before the final confrontation. Shido himself has multiple forms. This is the longest Palace and requires strong SP management across many floors.

Level/Difficulty: November (Level 55-63) Key Rewards: Story climax, high-level Personas, endgame gear

What to Do in Shido's Cruiser

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Joker (Wild Card) or Ryuji (Chariot) with optimized gear.
2. Paradise Lost (Joker) should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. During fusion alarms, fuse the same Persona twice to get boosted stats and unique skills — the second fusion always fails but sometimes produces rare results
4. baton pass optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Maruki's Laboratory.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Paradise Lost (Joker) upgraded to max
• Shido's Cruiser fully cleared
• Ready for Maruki's Laboratory

Phase 5: Endgame — Maruki's Laboratory

Royal-exclusive final Palace available only if you maxed Maruki's confidant by November 18th. Features the game's true ending and the hardest boss fights. Akechi and Kasumi join your party with powerful unique skills.

Level/Difficulty: January (Level 70-80+) Key Rewards: True ending, Akechi's full power, best Personas and equipment in the game

What to Do in Maruki's Laboratory

1. Maruki's Laboratory tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. Technical damage (hitting enemies with element+status combos like Burn+Wind or Freeze+Physical) deals 1.5x damage and can knock down
3. The endgame loop: run Maruki's Laboratory, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Akechi (Justice) for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where baton pass mastery separates good players from great ones.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Maruki's Laboratory fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

Common Progression Mistakes

• Not maxing Maruki (Councillor) by November 18 — this locks you out of the entire third semester, Royal's best content
• Spending multiple days on Palaces when single-day clears are achievable with SP Adhesive 3 from Takemi
• Neglecting social stats (especially Kindness and Proficiency) which gate many confidant relationships
• Fusing away Personas needed for confidant bonuses — keep at least one Persona matching each active confidant's arcana
• Ignoring the Baton Pass rank upgrades at the darts board — maxed Baton Pass chains deal triple damage on the final pass

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Max Kawakami (Temperance) ASAP — her rank 10 ability lets you go out at night even after infiltrating a Palace, effectively doubling your free time
2. SP Adhesive 3 from Takemi (Death rank 7) regenerates 7 SP per turn in battle, making single-day Palace clears trivial
3. Chihaya (Fortune rank 7) has Affinity Reading that boosts confidant points for 5000 yen — use it every day you plan to rank up someone
4. During fusion alarms, fuse the same Persona twice to get boosted stats and unique skills — the second fusion always fails but sometimes produces rare results
5. Technical damage (hitting enemies with element+status combos like Burn+Wind or Freeze+Physical) deals 1.5x damage and can knock down

For detailed build optimization, see Persona 5 Royal builds. For quick wins, check tips & tricks.