Like with any JRPG, Persona 5 truly prides itself on the boss battles that it puts you in- epic tests of attrition, strength, endurance, resilience, strategy, wits, flexibility, and improvisation. The boss battles in Persona 5 are the best the series has ever had, with many demanding multiple strategies, and quick thinking, for you to be able to keep pace with them.

If you need help with any of these bosses – and honestly, some of the later ones can get brutal (and the game has an unfortunate tendency of pitting you against multiple ones, one after the other, without any break for healing or pausing, in the late game), then you’re at the right place. The video playlist embedded below has a guide to beating every single boss in Persona 5– including the True Ending Final Boss, as well as the Secret Boss. Just keep in mind, as always, the videos will have spoilers. Although you probably know that, since you clicked on this article that literally says it will have a guide to beating the final boss in the game.

Persona 5 is an epic, 80+ hour long RPG- so it can hurt a lot if you end up getting a bad ending. To the game’s credit, it tells you beforehand when you are about to reach a critical juncture in the story, to prepare you. It also tells you what it is that it is looking for from you- but things are still vague and ambiguous enough that you can find yourself with a bad end.

There are ways to avoid that- in this guide, we tell you how to reach the true end, and also include a handy Fusion Arcana Type Combination Chart at the bottom.

GUIDE TO THE TRUE END

• There are two triggers for the True Ending- one happens near the end of November, and the other happens near the end of December. For the first trigger, the game will warn you that a critical juncture in the story is about to be reached. Make sure to make multiple copies of your save at this point- you can revert to one if you answer wrong.
• Keep two things in mind- never make a deal with the enemy, no matter how good the deal may sound. And never sell out any of your friends or team mates, no matter who they are, and no matter how many times you may second guess or doubt them.

FUSION TYPE MATCHUP CHART

Persona 5 is a friendly, warm, inviting game that basically tries to cloak you with its stylish take on daily life, mixed with some real world issues, wrapped in a great, compelling, thrilling story. The problem is, it can be nightmarishly overwhelming in spite of that- everything you do takes time, there is limited time, there are a lot of things to do, and you can simply feel lost, or as though you’re never quite doing the right thing.

This is without getting into the nuances of the battle system, where you have type matchups, Arcanas, fusions, negotiations, and equipment, among other things, to keep track of. Persona is good at implicitly tutorializing all this- but it can still feel daunting at the start.

But don’t worry- we’re here to help you out with that. Here are some basic tips and tricks to keep in mind as you play Persona 5. We’ve also gone ahead and included some other tips and pointers here, including a guide to Classroom and Exam questions, Crosswords, and Books.

BEGINNER TIPS AND TRICKS

• For starters, keep in mind that time in Persona 5 is discrete- that is to say, it does not pass in real time. Afternoon on a given day can be as long or as short as you want it to be- so long as you do not do something that actively utilizes time in game (such as hanging out with a Confidant), you can spend as much time trying to figure things out as you want
• You are meant to make choices, and choose one activity over the other. You are not meant to be keeping up with everything- just like in real life, you are meant to pick and choose, prioritize. Studying means you can’t watch the latest movie in the theater. Training in the gym means you can’t play baseball in the nets. And jumping into the Metaverse to take on the game’s Palaces and dungeons means you can’t do any of that other stuff- you are meant to pick, choose, and balance. Don’t feel like you are playing the game wrong because you aren’t doing everything it says.
• Don’t focus on just social activities, or battling activities. That’s a road to disaster- the battle activities directly progress the story (meaning if you haven’t cleared a Palace by the deadline, you lose and it is literally game over), while the social activities supplement your skills and abilities in battle (meaning you’ll have access to fewer skills, attacks, powers, and Personas in battle if you’re not engaging in social stuff).
• Work on Confidants! While you will naturally want to, given how well done and compelling these characters are, a lot of them also give you immense benefits in battle if you work on ranking them up. Definitely prioritize your party members, since the boosts you get from them in battle if you’ve achieved a higher Confidant rank with them are amazing. That apart, also look at ranking up the following Arcanas:
  • Star
  • Temperance
  • Moon
  • Tower
  • Death
  • Wheel of Fortune
  • Sun
• The game lets you date more than one character at a time- figure out yourself if that is something you want to do. There is an amusing penalty if you do do it, however.

PERSONA NEGOTIATIONS

Bringing back a beloved element from the Shin Megami Tensei series, Persona 5 lets you negotiate with dangerous Shadows at gunpoint once you have knocked them all down, letting you extort money or valuable items from them, or even recruiting them to fight for you.

Negotiations can be amusing, but also a bit tricky, so here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind as you jump headfirst into them:

• First things first, definitely level up the Sun Arcana Confidant. Doing so unlocks more Negotiation options for you which can make things easy, and maxing it lets Shadows join your party without much negotiation needed at all.
• Also level up the Tower Arcana Confidant. Doing so lets you fire warning shots to scare Shadows if a negotiation is not going your way.
• Level up your party member Confidants. Most of them unlock high ranked skills that can convince a Shadow to join you if you botch a negotiation with them.
• Keep track of a Shadow’s personality. You can see its personality at the top right of the screen when you select it- make sure to choose your responses during the negotiation based on those.

CLASSROOM AND EXAM ANSWERS

Persona 5 will often put you in a situation where you are asked a question in class, that you must answer. You also, as a student, have to take exams, where you must answer questions properly. Answering questions properly in class can lead to a boost in your Knowledge stat, while doing well in exams can lead to your Charm rising. In other words, it’s in your best interests to do well in class and on your exams.

How do you do that? Well, for classroom questions, press the touchpad on the PS4 (select button on PS3) to pull up the proper answer to the question, and select that.

As for exams- well, here’s a cheat sheet.

First Exams

• 5/11: An optical illusion; Visual information; Brain; They have different cognitions
• 5/12: Magistrate’s Patronage; The name of a sum of currency
• 5/13: Ignorance; Four

Second Exams

• 7/13: Noveau Riche;  Gentleman Thief; Hideyoshi Toyotomi; He Was boiled alive
• 7/14: It’s not related to crabs; Televisions
• 7/15: B4 Sized Paper; Together; Sense

Third Exams

• 10/17: Name of the one who proposed it; A doctor; It could execute people quickly
• 10/18: It has thirty-two faces; Slave labor
• 10/19: Phantom Vibration Syndrome; The Imperial Household Agency

Final Exams

• 12/20: D; Not their real voice; They speak the same; Supplement the voice
• 12/21: Hearts; It includes a number
• 12/22: Japan; Dreadnought

BOOKS

In Persona 5, you can play a game, read a book, watch a movie, or rent a DVD to gain benefits. In this section of the guide, we help you track down the books , and also list all the benefits you get from them:

• Yoncha Wanderer: Found in the coffee house; unlocks fast travel options for Batting Cages and Bathhouse; Increases Knowledge
• The Great Thief: Found in school library; Increases Knowledge
• Pirate Legend: Found in school library; Increases Guts
• Zorro The Outlaw: Found in school library; Increases Kindness
• The Alluring Dancer: Found in school library; Increases Charm
• The Gallant Rogue: Found in school library; Increases Guts
• Tying the Heart: Purchase at Taiheido Bookstore. Increases Proficiency
• Playing the Game: Purchase at Taiheido Bookstore. Increases Charm
• Crysolf’s Wail: Borrow from school library; Increases Guts
• Joanna the Pope: Borrow from school library; Increases Kindness
• Medjed Menace: Purchase at Taiheido Bookstore. Increases Knowledge
• Cinema Treasure: Purchase at Shinjuku Bookstore; Amplifies stat gains from watching movies
• Fishpond Spotter: Unlocks a fishing spot
• Essence of Fishing: Gives you necessary skills to be able to catch the Guardian of the Fishing Pond
• Fast Reading Mystery: Purchase from Jimbocho Urakogo shop. Lets you read two bookmarked sections at a time, doubling your reading speed

This apart, there are other books and magazines that you can find in Persona 5– these can unlock abilities during activities like baseball or fishing, or unlock new destinations for you to go to. Make sure to check out every bookstore and the library to find all the books you haven’t read already, and make sure to check back often- the selection of books available changes often.

As for actually reading your book, you can either do so in the library at school, or on the train in the morning when you find a seat, or in the Cafe in the evening after customers have left (talk to them a couple of times if they haven’t, and they will) by sitting at the bar near the yellow phone.

CROSSWORD

Every now and then, you will find a crossword in the newspaper back in Cafe Leblanc- if you answer the questions asked correctly, you gain Knowledge. So, here’s your cheat sheet- these are all the answers to all the questions on the crossword in Persona 5.

1. Blue Mountain
2. Drip
3. Espresso
4. American
5. Bisen
6. Caffeine
7. Cappuccino
8. Columbia
9. Wiener Coffee
10. Sandwich
11. Shockwinds
12. Cheat
13. Ryoko Shukaku
14. Powered by Translate
15. Horoscope

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.