In Persona 5, you’re not just going to be leveling up your attack, magic, and defense- no, you also need to ensure you’re on top of the line with your Knowledge, Charm, Guts, Kindness, and Proficiency, among other things. These are known as your social stats, and they are exceedingly important- they help you progress through the game’s Confidants’ stories, which in turn unlock higher leveled abilities and powers for you to use in battles.
So yes, you need all the help you can get being a better person. Other kinds of help – like leveling up your character quickly, or getting a lot of money, fast – can’t hurt either, right? That’s where this guide comes in.
SOCIAL STATS
There are five Social Stats in Persona 5– Knowledge, Guts, Kindness, Charm, and Proficiency. Each stat has five ranks, and multiple Confidants require you to be at certain ranks in one or more of these stats before you can continue, or even begin, their arcs. Here, we give you some tips on ensuring you’re on top of your Social Stats game.
Knowledge:
- Spending time with certain Confidants, like Hifumi, increases Knowledge
- Reading books, playing video games, watching movies, or TV shows can increase Knowledge- make sure to check the description of the media you’re about to consume before you do it, as that will specify whether or not it will increase your Knowledge
- Answering questions correctly in class increases Knowledge- press the Touchpad on the controller when a question is asked to see what the correct answer may be
- You can study to increase Knowledge- you can study in the Library at school, at Cafe Leblanc in the evening after all customers have left (talk to them a couple of times if there are still any there, and they will leave), or in the Diner in Shibuya Square. Studying in the Diner in Shibuya on rainy days increases your Knowledge gain.
- If your stats are at rank 4, you can participate in the Big Burger Challenge at Big Bang Burger to try to max them out
Charm:
- Spending time with certain Confidants, like Yusuke, increases Charm
- Scoring well in exams makes you more popular and increases Charm
- Reading books, playing video games, watching movies, or TV shows can increase Charm- make sure to check the description of the media you’re about to consume before you do it, as that will specify whether or not it will increase your Charm
- You can study at the diner in Shibuya to increase Charm- make sure to order Fruit Tea to do so (Fruit Tea is sold starting summer, and onwards)
- You can spend some time in the bathhouse to increase your charm. Going there on Monday and Thursday evening maximizes your stat gain towards Charm
- If your stats are at rank 4, you can participate in the Big Burger Challenge at Big Bang Burger to try to max them out
Guts
- Spending time with certain Confidants can increase Guts
- Certain jobs can increase your Guts
- Reading books, playing video games, watching movies, or TV shows can increase Guts- make sure to check the description of the media you’re about to consume before you do it, as that will specify whether or not it will increase your Guts
- You can study either in the diner in Shibuya to increase Guts – order just coffee – or in the library in school.
- If your stats are at rank 4, you can participate in the Big Burger Challenge at Big Bang Burger to try to max them out
Kindness
- Spending time with certain Confidants increases Kindness
- Certain part time jobs can increase Kindness
- Watering the plants in your room can increase your Kindness, and no time passes
- Reading books, playing video games, watching movies, or TV shows can increase Kindness- make sure to check the description of the media you’re about to consume before you do it, as that will specify whether or not it will increase your Kindness
- Studying at the diner in Shibuya can increase Kindness, if you order the Nostalgic Meal
- If your stats are at rank 4, you can participate in the Big Burger Challenge at Big Bang Burger to try to max them out
Proficiency
- Spending time with certain Confidants increases Proficiency
- Certain part time jobs can increase Proficiency
- You can work on building tools in your room at night to increase Proficiency- if you do this the day before a Palace Heist, no time will pass
- You can play baseball in the bets to increase Proficiency
- Reading books, playing video games, watching movies, or TV shows can increase Kindness- make sure to check the description of the media you’re about to consume before you do it, as that will specify whether or not it will increase your Kindness
- If your stats are at rank 4, you can participate in the Big Burger Challenge at Big Bang Burger to try to max them out
LEVELING UP QUICKLY
Persona in general is rigidly balanced around its level curve- farming lower level enemies eventually stops being effective, because the EXP gain is insufficient to actually mean much. If you want to level up quickly – quicker than normal, that is, because the game is honestly well balanced around keeping you at the level where you should be – then there are certain workarounds you need to implement.
- Lower the difficulty to Safe. This increases your EXP gain at the end of each battle. You can always turn it back up later.
- Work on maximizing your Confidants. Certain ones, especially ones like Mishima’s, increase the EXP gain you get at the end of each battle.
- Go into Mementos on Influenza Days, and try to take on the Reaper. On Influenza Days, all shadows in Mementos are weaker than they otherwise would be, making them easier to take out- realistically, this means you can go into Mementos, and take on the Reaper, an incredibly high leveled Shadow, who will net you a lot of EXP if you defeat it
- Make sure to take down Treasure Shadows. They can be tedious (although not difficult) to defeat, but the rewards are extremely high EXP gains.
MONEY
Money is vital in Persona– not only does it completely determine how much you can enjoy your Social Life (taking your Confidants out to good places increases your bond with them quicker, buying them better gifts increases your bond with them better, and certain Confidants need a high sum of money before you can even begin their arc), but it also determines how well equipped you and your party members are as you delve into the game’s dungeons.
Generally speaking, the game is good about handing out a lot of money, and by the end, you should have a lot of it- but if you need help, here are some tips and primers:
- Always sell all the junk you pick up in Palaces and Mementos. You can do so at the Airsoft shop- this junk has no other use, and selling it will net you a huge amount of money
- Sell your older gear when you buy newer stuff- it’s useless to you now, so might as well reclaim some money from it
- Negotiate with Shadows- try knocking Shadows down, and negotiating for money with them. If you have increased your Confidant Rank with Tora, you’ll even be able to demand more money than they are willing to give you
- Turning down the difficulty to Safe also increases your money gain at the end of each battle.