Navi, or Navigators, are classified as supportive party members in Persona titles. Newcomers to the series will no doubt be familiar with the latest additions to this type, Futaba in Persona 5 for example, but they may not be aware that such things have existed since Persona 3. It’s fitting that we’re first given such things in a game that features a seemingly endless tower, but even the most hardened series fan would have to admit that the role makes even more sense in the Persona Q series, thanks to the complex and labyrinthine locations. Here, Fuuka and Rise reprise their roles from their respective games, but their abilities are expanded through their usage of Sub-Persona, which allows them to provide even more support from afar with ‘Navi’ skills. That said, with a large amount of said skills on offer, which are worth your effort to unlock?
Renewal Ray / Aura
- Slight / Moderate HP Restore.
First up on our list is something that most are likely to agree with: Party healing. Generally speaking Persona Q has quite a few options for restoring health, but having this available as a Navi skill comes with a significant benefit: You don’t have to waste a turn for a full party member. We’ll admit that this is less useful for those that have chosen Fuuka as their Navi, since she comes with some powerful healing-over-time skills, but this diminishes in usefulness as the difficulty level rises and having a burst heal such as Renewal Ray or Aura might just save your hides in a pinch.
Navi Skill Guide
- (Renewal Ray) – Learned by the Ame-no-Uzume, Clotho Dis and Xeizhai Persona.
- (Renewal Ray) – Skill Card can be made by sacrificing the Ame-no-Uzume Persona.
- (Renewal Aura) – Learned by the Leanan Sidhe and Throne Persona.
- (Renewal Aura) – Skill Card can be made by sacrificing the Throne Persona.
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Roads of Light
- Restores 1 SP for every step taken (Passive).
As per usual in a Persona game, SP is at a premium. In fact, we’d argue that Persona Q and it’s sequel is even more beholden to this resource, thanks to a dearth of restoration items and accessories, at least in the early and mid game. There is the buffer of a Sub Persona, which will add a small amount to your pool that gets restored after every battle, but this paltry amount will do little to keep you going as you progress through the game and up the difficulty levels. You’ll have to wait quite a while to get your hands on our favourite method of SP restoration, the Roads of Light skill, but it’s worth it to be able to kiss goodbye to your SP troubles for the remainder of the game.
Navi Skill Guide
- Learned by the Atavaka, Attis and Vishnu Persona.
- Skill Card can be made by sacrificing the Attis Persona.
Life Aid
- 20% HP restored at the end of battle (Passive).
Those familiar with the Persona series may recognise our next skill choice: Life Aid. Yes we’re recommending another healing skill, but this time things are a little different; Life Aid is a passive skill, which heals 20% of your party HP at the end of each battle. As you might imagine this is tremendously useful, ensuring that you can continue to crawl dungeons for longer than ever, but there is something else that we need to note about this skill: It’s available very early in the game. It can be obtained by fusing the level 14 Persona Archangel – which we recommend you do by fusing Mokoi and Cu Sith together – and you’ll have yourself an excellent sustaining ability as early as the second dungeon! It’s possible to get a few better sustain options in the late game, but for a huge portion of the story Life Aid is one of the best skills available.
Navi Skill Guide
- Learned by the Archangel, Kikuri-Hime, Kartikeya and Thor Persona.
- Skill Card can be made by sacrificing the Archangel Persona.
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Harvest Prayer / Cornucopia
- Higher chance to find Rare items when gathering from Power Spots, along with a small chance to gather multiple times.
Well it wouldn’t be an Etrian Odyssey inspired game without gathering points now would it? Persona Q and it’s sequel both feature gathering points, though these do not require specific Take, Mine or Chop skills like the games from which they take their inspiration, thankfully. By simply walking over these Power Spots and interacting with them, you can gather a variety of loot, both normal and if you’re lucky, rare. Selling these items (read: Vendor Trash) back in the workshop will not only net you some cash, but also unlock new and better equipment. It would serve you well then, to maximise the amount of items that you gather at each attempt, right? We never leave home without either Harvest Prayer or Cornucopia, though the latter is a bit more awkward thanks to the lack of skill card.
Navi Skill Guide
- (Harvest Prayer) – Learned by the Dis, Nozuchi, Shiisaa and Ouyamatsumi Persona.
- (Harvest Prayer) – Skill Card earned by sacrificing the Dis Persona.
- (Cornucopia) – Learned by the Fortuna, Ganga and Cybele Persona.
- (Cornucopia) – No Skill Card available.
Orb of Power
- Raise both physical and elemental attack for 3 turns.
Before we go into detail about our top choice, it’s worth noting how powerful skills in the Persona series have evolved. Elemental weaknesses have always been a thing of course, even in the parent Shin Megami Tensei games, but as the series grew the power started to shift towards physical attacks. Coming relatively late in the Persona timeline, Q also trends in this direction and players willing to dig deep into the mid and late game will find that physical skills easily overpower their elemental counterparts. This, combined with the fact that buffs retain their usefulness, makes Orb of Power tremendously useful. Being able to power up your physical attackers without them wasting a turn themselves is invaluable, and having it available so early through the Chimera Persona is a key factor in pushing it right to the top of our rankings.
Navi Skill Guide
- Learned by the Chimera, Ares, Ouyamatsumi and Ophanim Persona.
- Skill Card earned by sacrificing the Chimera Persona.
