Choosing the right skills is arguably the most important thing in Persona 5 Royal. Oh sure, your confidant levels will make a big difference, and your choice of party members will change the flow of battle, but both of these things essentially boil down to the skills they allow you to use. It’s essential to ensure that you have the absolute best tools available in battle then, but with the newly added third semester looming and a whole host of new options available, which skills should you take? There are more Persona than ever to fuse, so to cut through the myriad skill options, we’ve put together the following list – prioritise these 10 skills and you’re sure to see success.
Oh, and check out the fantastic Fusion Calculator HERE for in depth information. It’s a fantastic resource that tells you everything you need to know about the skills and Persona that we’re listing here today.
10. Passive Regeneration
As you may already be aware, Persona games tend to come with a large side order of dungeon exploration, each of which can feature hours of dangerous and tense exploration and battling. True too is that they drip feed regenerative resources – potions and the like – both of which combine to form the full ‘Shin Megami Tension’ effect, often felt towards the end of a dungeon when SP totals and consumable coffers are low. Hence the first skill recommendation in our list is ‘Passive Regeneration’, or skills that allow the restoration of small amounts of health and SP in each round of battle. The SP restoration skills are a priority here, especially for Joker, but don’t sleep on the health versions, especially in the late game where physical attacks start to rise in power and cost.
Skill Location
- The Clotho and Neko Shogun Persona are the earliest available to learn the SP version, Invigorate.
- Kushi Matama is the earliest available Persona to learn Regenerate, the HP version.
- The Maria Persona has the most powerful versions, Holy Whisper and Holy Embrace.
- Some of these skills are also available on accessories purchased through the Death arcana, Tae Takemi.
9. Group Healing
Next up on our list are skills that we all claim to not require, but if we’re all honest with ourselves do actually come in quite handy from time to time: Group Healing. No matter your skill level, there will come a time when your entire troop need a pick up, and these skills are just the ticket. Happily there are plenty of ways to achieve this, from party members that already bring these skills to items that do the job just as well. Either way, it’s important to have these options available to you throughout Persona 5 Royal, so they must make this list.
Skill Location
- Morgana is the most prominent party member associated with group healing skills.
- Makoto also learns a group heal, though less powerful.
- The lowly Cait Sith Persona will learn Media, the earliest group heal, at level 9.
- Salvation, one of the strongest and most useful group heals, can be found earliest on the Gabriel Persona.
Advertisement
8. Megidolaon
What we really mean here is ‘Almighty Attacks’, but we figure most people will associate with Megidolaon specifically, since it’s the spell that’ll see more use than others. The power of these skills is rather obvious, but it’s worth stating: They deal Almighty damage, which is a version of damage not included in the list of possible resistances, making them a nice ‘catch all’ for opponents without a weakness, or simply those that you cannot take advantage of. They do a big chunk of damage too, which is nice.
Skill Location
- The Thoth Persona is the first to come with Megido.
- The Mot Persona is the first to learn Megidolaon.
- Abyssal Eye and Morning Star are the two most powerful group versions, learned by the Hastur and Lucifer Persona.
- Both the Satanael and Satan Persona learn the most powerful single target Almighty spell, Black Viper.
- Myriad Truths, a tremendously powerful group Almighty attack, is learned by the ‘Izanagi’ DLC Persona types.
7. Amrita Shower
Everybody thinks they can deal with status ailments… Until they can’t. We’ve all been there, confidently batting away random battles, collecting loot and generally being stylish, all of which grinds to a halt when a certain sub boss appears and applies horrible ailments to everyone. Thankfully, there is a way to avoid these disasters, and by far the best option is the Amrita Shower skill, curing as it does a huge amount of possible ailments. Don’t leave home without this one, kids.
Skill Location
- Learned by the party member, Haru.
- DLC Persona can learn this very early – Kaguya and Kaguya Picaro.
- Without DLC – rather disappointingly – you’ll have to wait until the Garuda Persona.
6. Concentrate
Next on our list is the Concentrate, or one of the two skills that cause your next attack to deal 2.5x damage to the target. As you might imagine this can be particularly powerful, especially when Royal has attempted to tip the damage balance back in the spell direction somewhat. Whilst magic spells still don’t quite reach the heights of physical, skills such as Concentrate ensure that you’ll be hitting hard no matter what. If you’re serious about running a magical team into the late game, you’ll want to bring this.
Skill Location
- Much like Almighty spell above, Thoth is the earliest Persona to get this skill. If the clues aren’t enough for you, make sure you grab this Persona.
- Party member Ann gains access to this skill at level 62.
- Head to the Jazz Club on September 25th to teach this skill to another party member.
Advertisement
5. Heat Riser
Eagle eyed readers, and those that like to skip their way down lists to see the best skills first, will have noticed that something similar to this exists further down in the form of group buffs. It’s a testament to it’s sheer power that we consider Heat Riser such a good skill that it requires it’s own entry. As you can see, this skill will increase every stat of the targeted ally, effectively applying every buff in one. Group buffs are great of course, and we’ll mention that Yusuke’s ultimate skill, Hyakka Ryouran, effectively casts this on every member, but Heat Riser is available much earlier and if we’re honest, you’re probably just looking to power up key members in most fights, in which case Heat Riser shines.
Skill Location
- Haru gains access to this at level 75.
- The Byakhee Persona learns this at level 75, which is the earliest non-DLC choice.
- Available at the Jazz Club on December 4th.
- DLC Persona Magatsu-Izanagi learns this at level 50.
4. Charge
Like Concentrate, Charge is another of the ‘buff the next damage by 2.5x’ skills, only this time working on physical damage. This application to physical damage is the entire reason for Charge being higher up our list, because despite changes to Royal, physical attacks still become king as the game progresses. This being the case, having a skill that buffs your upcoming damage by such a huge amount is a fantastic option to have available. Learn it, use it and abuse it.
Skill Location
- Learned by party member Ryuji.
- Available in the Jazz Club on September 4th.
- Learned by the Setanta Persona at level 27. This is super early for such a powerful skill, so make sure you grab this ASAP.
3. Group Buffs
We’d rather not take up every single slot in this list with all of the different versions of group buffs, but they’re so powerful that we have to include them this high up the list. From the absolute start of the game you’ll learn that buffs and debuffs make a huge amount of difference, and the group versions of these are by far the best. On certain boss fights and difficulty levels we’d hasten to say that these are essential, not only for your survival but being able to deal enough damage. Don’t get lazy and rely on Futaba RNG – keep these in your arsenal and use them often.
Skill Location
- Most party members learn a single group buff or debuff.
- The Orthus Persona learns the earliest available Matarukaja, the group attack buff.
- The Naga Persona learns the earliest available Marakukaja, the group defence buff.
- The Anzu Persona learns the earliest available Masukukaja, the group agility buff.
Advertisement
2. Hassou Tobi
We could list every single physical attack in the game here, after all most of them are powerful and worth your time, but this one deserves the limelight alone. Yes, to get this bad boy you’re going to have to do some heavy levelling and social link work, but it’s entirely worth it. Once accessed nothing will stand in your way. Make sure to use a selection of other skills from our list – Heat Riser and Charge for example – then sit back, watch the numbers fly and the enemies fall.
Skill Location
- Only learned by the Yoshitsune Persona.
- Combined with other skills on this list, it’s the most powerful skill in the game.
1. Debilitate
It’s hard to overstate the power of enemy debuffs in Persona 5 Royal, and indeed any Persona game. We’ve extolled the virtues of party buffs earlier, but these pale in comparison to stripping away the statistics of the enemy, and what better way than to strip all of them away with one ability. Debilitate is essentially the inverse of Heat Riser, cast on an enemy. Once you have access to this bad boy, it’ll become your go to first move in every single target battle and when combined with your own buffs, it’s your gateway to dealing huge damage. One cast of this will see your target deal less damage to you, take less damage from you and be less likely to hit or dodge. It’s the one stop shop for dealing with single targets, and it’s nigh on essential from the mid-late game until it’s end.
Skill Location
- Party member Akechi learns this at level 70.
- Available earliest on the Trumpeter Persona, at level 65.
- Available at the Jazz Club on December 11th.
- The Debilitator Ofuda item casts this skill.
- Take advantage of fusing high level Persona early for cash to get this ASAP, though Trumpeter or Dionysus.
More Persona 5 Royal…
100% Completion Infographic | Persona 5 Royal
Yes, we’re back with yet another 100% Completion graphic, this time focusing on Persona Royal. Were it not obvious by the content included, and indeed the amount of articles we’ve written on the topic, it’s one of our favourite games of all time, up there with Suikoden 2 and Skies of Arcadia. There’s truly something…
Ideal Accessories for Every Character | Persona 5 Royal
Unlike the majority of RPG games, Accessories are given a great value in the Persona series. Where others may confer simple beneficial effects, like immunity to an element or a reduction in damage taken, those found in Atlas’ most prized series can completely change a party member. Sure, there are the usual damage reductions and…
The 34 Best Looking Persona | Persona 5 Royal
Truthfully, how a Persona looks makes all the difference. You can find the perfect combination of skills, traits and statistics on a Persona, but if it looks like trash you’re really not going to enjoy it quite as much. Luckily the artists and designers at Atlus know what they’re doing, and along with making the…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Categories: Persona 5 Royal, Top 5