Tips and Trick for Shin Megami Tensei's Persona Series

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Tips and Trick for Shin Megami Tensei's Persona Series

By Rika Code

PLEASE NOTE: That this is not a walkthrough or a guide. It is a completely spoiler-free list of tips and tricks to help you play through through the Persona series all divided into each of the games. This is what I have learned from my own experience playing through the games, I am in no way a complete and utter mad pro that knows every little secret and absolute best way to play and as such these tips may not be the best. These are not cheats, they are more like advice and should be treated as such. Results may vary depending on play-style.

TL;DR version of the PLEASE NOTE: Not a guide, walk-through, or cheat list. Results vary with play-style.

Original games (the first release of the game):

Revelations: Persona:

(I have yet to play so you are completely welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 2: Innocent Sin:

(I have yet to play so you are completely welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment:

(I have yet to play so you are completely welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 3:

  • If this is your first time playing, you will want to play on easy mode to help you get use of the game mechanics and allow you to get the feel of the difficulty.
  • In easy mode the enemies are just as strong as in normal mode, you just get 10 retries, so you don't need to feel like a wuss for choosing it. Since once those retries are finish, you just as might be playing on normal. :>
  • GRIND, or in non-gamer talk, gain levels through fighting with monsters a lot. You want to gain 5-10 levels between each real boss (not floor bosses). You don't need to do it all at once, you can go to Tarturus other days but just don't procrastinate it
  • Fuse, fuse, fuuuuusssseeee, you get loads of persona that you can use for fusion fodder to get a BETTER persona in shuffles and having a full supply of persona, especially weak shuffle ones, can get pretty annoying.
  • ORPHEUS DOES NOT EVOLVE, THIS IS NOT POKEMON. That was just a cut-scene, deal with it.
  • Equipment sold in stores vary depending your level, so if you are the same level as the last time you checked the shops, nothing will be different.
  • Doing Elizabeth's request can give you some really nice rewards, some allow you to even fuse a new persona, these mainly come after chain request.
  • In the character menu, click config, this will give you the statuses of your s-links and even a calendar with the moon phases and special events.
  • Enemies get stronger as the moon gets waxes (gets fuller), so plan your grind sessions around waning (heading towards a new moon) moons. PLEASE NOTE: I do not know if moon phase influences the experience gained from battle.
  • Get your Charm, knowledge, and courage maxed out as soon as you can.
  • Schedule your S-links, trust me it is useful to do this.
  • You cannot do any S-links with fellow students the week before exams, so take this time to S-link with people who are not students.
  • If you want to max out ever S-link your first play-through, follow a guide, otherwise it will most likely not happen.
  • Status effects do not work on bosses, if by some miracle they do hit, the effect will be taken off by their next turn.
  • Debuffs work on bosses, so use this to your advantage.CONTRIBUTED BY Knuckle
  • HAVE FUN :>

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona 3, you are welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 4:

  • CHOOSE EASY ON FIRST PLAY-THROUGH, I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH. This games loves difficulty jumps, if you cheap-out on the grinding those 10 retries will be up withing the first two non-tutorial bosses.
  • Sell all the stuff you get from shadows to the weapon shop, this is the only way you can obtain new weapons.
  • On raining days special shadows come out, they drop special material to sell the the weapon shop guy.
  • GRIND, GRIND, GRRRRRIIIIIINNNND, or train, train, trrrrraaaaiiiin, whichever you prefer.
  • Fuse, fuse, fuuuuusssseeee, you get loads of persona that you can use for fusion fodder to get a BETTER persona in shuffles and having a full supply of persona, especially weak shuffle ones, can get pretty annoying.
  • In the character menu, click config, this will give you the statuses of your s-links and even a calendar with the moon phases and special events.
  • Status Attributes: In Persona 4, there are 5 stats that you can gradually upgrade throughout the game - Knowledge, Courage, Diligence, Expression and Understanding. Increasing these stats will allow you to do many things, such as opening up new Social Links, allowing you to do certain part-time jobs depending on the stat (some of these jobs will lead to more Social Link openings), and opening up more choices in the game's progression etc. There are a variety of ways to increase each status. TRY TO MAX THESE STATS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! (NOTE: I'd say it's mostly advisable to spend your days increasing stats on days where not many Social Links are available, along that line you know?)

Knowledge ~ Studying at your desk in your bedroom at night! Studying at the library in school! Choosing the correct answers in certain school lessons!

Courage ~ Beating Bonus Bosses (see below)! Eating various foods found in your home's fridge on certain days! Part-time Hospital Job!

Expression ~ Translator's Job! Tutoring Job! Going to a Cultural School Club!

Diligence ~ Going to a Sports School Club! Envelope Folding Job!

Understanding ~ Folding Origami Job! Babysitting Job!CONTRIBUTED BY Cascade

  • Bonus Bosses: After you complete each Dungeon you can go back to where you fought each real Boss at the end of the dungeon, where a new, bonus boss is waiting for you. Defeating these bosses increases your Courage stat, so it's quite a good idea to fight them!CONTRIBUTED BY Cascade
  • Always wait until you complete the next Dungeon before fighting the previous dungeon's bonus boss at the minimum, so you are hopefully at the same level/higher-levelled than the bonus boss, as they can be quite difficult to beat and will most likely wipe the floor with you if you fight them at the earliest opportunity! (NOTE: This tip is only helpful for the first 5 Shadow Dungeons in the game, the other ones either have a completely different strategy required for them or don't have a Bonus Boss!)CONTRIBUTED BY Cascade
  • Aiya's Rainy Day Ramen: Just as the title says, if you go to Aiya's on a rainy day (found in the shopping district part of Inaba) and choose to eat the special ramen they serve on rainy days, it will help increase ALL your status attributes, 3 stats each time you do it! It costs 3000 YEN to do so, though. Only do it if there aren't any Social Links or other various meetings on your schedule.CONTRIBUTED BY Cascade
  • Bookstore: Check in with the bookstore in Inaba's shopping district every month to obtain new books, certain books will increase specific stats greatly or all your stats slightly. You can read these books on your bedroom couch at night. CONTRIBUTED BY Cascade

  • If you want to max out ever S-link your first play-through, follow a guide, otherwise it will most likely not happen.
  • Schedule your S-links, trust me it is useful to do this. It is even more useful since the place you fight you can only go through during when you can do most of your S-links.
  • NO PERSONA EVOLVES, THIS IS NOT POKEMON. Nor is this Persona 3 so I have absolutely no clue how you would get this idea into your head.
  • Analyzing is mainly for keeping track of the weaknesses of the enemies you already defeated, otherwise it is completely useless.
  • Status effects do not work on bosses, if by some miracle they do hit, the effect will be taken off by their next turn.
  • Debuffs work on bosses, so use this to your advantage.CONTRIBUTED BY Knuckle
  • For fusing Personae, you can get different skill fusions by deselecting all the demons in the fusion and then selecting them again. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin CONFIRMED TO ALSO WORK FOR THIS GAME BY Cascade
  • HAVE FUN :>

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona 4, you are wlecome to submit some :>)

Re-makes:

Persona:

  • Grinding, or training in regular speak, is pretty much essential in this game.
  • Complete entire maps to give you something to do while grinding.
  • NEVER RUN AWAY FROM A BATTLE, it helps prevent long straight grinding sessions.
  • Demon reactions can sometimes be unpredictable. They may react in multiple ways to the same conversation option (i.e. a conversation option that was making a demon Eager makes them Angry instead)
  • To get a demon's Spell Card, your entire party's average level must be higher than that of the demon you're contacting.
  • If your party is full, you cannot take in a new party member (nor can you kick your party members)
  • Only guns, armor, and health items are sold in stores meaning you will have to obtain special weapons (like swords) from dungeon chest or through contact with a demon.
  • HAVE FUN :>

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona, you are wlecome to submit some :>)

Persona 2:Innocent Sin:

(PLEASE NOTE: I have yet to finish this game due to time constraints)

  • If a rumor has any affect on the dungeon, spread it before you enter the dungeon. Otherwise you will not be able to spread it.
  • NEVER RUN AWAY FROM A BATTLE, it helps prevent long straight grinding sessions.
  • Complete entire maps, usually by the time you are done with this, if you did not run away from a battle, you will be a pretty good level for the boss.
  • Demon reactions can sometimes be unpredictable. They may react in multiple ways to the same conversation option (i.e. a conversation option that was making a demon Eager makes them Angry instead).
  • HAVE FUN :>

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona 2:Innocent Sin, you are welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 2:Eternal Punishment:

(I have yet to play so you are completely welcome to submit some :>)

Persona 3 FES:

  • If this is your first time playing, you will want to play on easy mode to help you get use of the game mechanics and allow you to get the feel of the difficulty.
  • In easy mode the enemies are just as strong as in normal mode, you just get 10 retries, so you don't need to feel like a wuss for choosing it. Since once those retries are finish, you just as might be playing on normal. :>
  • GRIND, or in non-gamer talk, gain levels through fighting with monsters a lot. You want to gain 5-10 levels between each real boss (not floor bosses). You don't need to do it all at once, you can go to Tarturus other days but just don't procastionate it.
  • Fuse, fuse, fuuuuusssseeee, you get loads of persona that you can use for fusion fodder to get a BETTER persona in shuffles and having a full supply of persona, especially weak shuffle ones, can get pretty annoying.
  • ORPHEUS DOES NOT EVOLVE, THIS IS NOT POKEMON. That was just a cutscene, deal with it.
  • Equipment sold in stores vary depending your level, so if you are the same level as the last time you checked the shops, nothing will be different.
  • Doing Elizabeth's request can give you some really nice rewards, some allow you to even fuse a new persona, these mainly come after chain request.
  • You mainly gain outfits from Elizabeth's reuests.
  • In the character menu, click config, this will give you the statuses of your s-links and even a calander with the moon phases and special events.
  • Enemies get stonger as the moon gets waxes (gets fuller), so plan your grind sessions around waning (heading towards a new moon) moons. PLEASE NOTE: I do not know if moon phase influeneces the experience gained from battle.
  • Get your Charm, knowledge, and courage maxed out as soon as you can.
  • Schedule your S-links, trust me it is useful to do this.
  • You cannot do any S-links with fellow students the week before exams, so take this time to S-link with people who are not students.
  • If you want to max out ever S-link your first playthrough, follow a guide, otherwise it will most likely not happen.
  • Status effects do not work on bosses, if by some miracle they do hit, the effect will be taken off by their next turn.
  • Outfit items have weak stats so only use them when you are over-leveled for the area and never wear them for boss fights.
  • Elizabeth's dates do not take up time in the day.
  • Debuffs work on bosses, so use this to your advantage.CONTRIBUTED BY Knuckle
  • HAVE FUN :>

The Answer chapter:

(Haven't really had time to play through its completion since it is as hard as nails, you are very welcome to submit some :>)

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona 3 FES, you are wlecome to submit some :>)

Persona 3 Portable:

(PLEASE NOTE: Some of these tips may vary between the female and male character, if they only work for one please tell me so I can note it down)

  • A good way of knowing when you are ready for the next boss is just getting as far as you can in Tartarus at that point. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • Go through all of Tartarus in one night. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • Sickness only affects you in battle, it has no affect on your S-links. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • Praying at the shrine on days that no one is available to talk to is useful for social links that require you to talk to them a lot. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • Another good tip is to go to social links that are less available like ones only available on one day of the week. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • You can raise your three social stats in the arcade at the mall and you can also upgrade them individually at the library(school), coffee shop(left side of mall), and karaoke spot(top of mall). CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • Only raise your three social stats when you aren't social linking or there's a social link that you can see frequently. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • You need 2, 4, and 6 in intelligence for each consecutive trimester. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • For fusing Personae, you can get different skill fusions by deselecting all the demons in the fusion and then selecting them again. CONTRIBUTED BY Fierce Muffin
  • If this is your first time playing, you will want to play on the easiest mode to help you get use of the game mechanics and allow you to get the feel of the difficulty.
  • You should play the male storyline first, since it is a tad bit easier and a good way to get you used to the game mechanics.
  • GRIND, or in non-gamer talk, gain levels through fighting with monsters a lot. You want to gain 5-10 levels between each real boss (not floor bosses). You don't need to do it all at once, you can go to Tarturus other days but just don't procastionate it.
  • Fuse, fuse, fuuuuusssseeee, you get loads of persona that you can use for fusion fodder to get a BETTER persona in shuffles and having a full supply of persona, especially weak shuffle ones, can get pretty annoying.
  • ORPHEUS DOES NOT EVOLVE, THIS IS NOT POKEMON. That was just a cutscene, deal with it.
  • The male main character can use swords, while the female main character uses a Naginata
  • Theodore is only available in the female main character's storyline
  • Doing Elizabeth/Theo's request can give you some really nice rewards, some allow you to even fuse a new persona, these mainly come after chain request.
  • You mainly gain outfits from Elizabeth/Theo's requests.
  • In the character menu, click config, this will give you the statuses of your s-links and even a calendar with the moon phases and special events.
  • Enemies get stronger as the moon gets waxes (gets fuller), so plan your grind sessions around waning (heading towards a new moon) moons. PLEASE NOTE: I do not know if moon phase influences the experience gained from battle.
  • Get your Charm, knowledge, and courage maxed out as soon as you can.
  • Schedule your S-links, trust me it is useful to do this.
  • You cannot do any S-links with fellow students the week before exams, so take this time to S-link with people who are not students.
  • If you want to max out ever S-link your first play-through, follow a guide, otherwise it will most likely not happen.
  • Status effects do not work on bosses, if by some miracle they do hit, the effect will be taken off by their next turn.
  • Outfit items have weak stats so only use them when you are over-leveled for the area and never wear them for boss fights.
  • Elizabeth/Theo's dates do not take up time in the day.
  • Debuffs work on bosses, so use this to your advantage.CONTRIBUTED BY Knuckle
  • HAVE FUN :>

(If you have any tips or tricks for Persona 3 Porable, you are wlecome to submit some :>)

EXTRA

  • If you need any specific help with any of the Persona games, please PM me and I will try my best to help you.
  • If you want to submit a tip or trick for this guide please state in bold which game the it is for, if one tip is for multiples please just put a "P"and then the number and put an R after it if it is a remake (EXAMPLE: P 1, 2INR, 3, and 3p for Persona: Revalations, Persona 2: Innocent Sin Remake, Persona 3 original, and Persona 3 portable) PLEASE NOTE: I want to keep this completely spoiler-free and when you suggest a tip I will try my best to re-word it to prevent it from spoiling anything, but if I cannot do that, the tip/trick will not be added.
  • Constructive Critizism Is Welcome, and if you have any suggestions on how to make this tips and tricks page better, I will gladly accept them. :>
  • This is and will always be a work in progress, new tips and tricks will be added whenever someone suggets them or I think them up.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS :>

Knuckle and Ammonsa like this

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I'd say a better tip for knowing when to go onto the next boss for Persona 3 is just getting as far as you can in Tartarus at that point. Persona 3 is really easy, at least for me, and that's what I did every time. And when you do do this, go through all of Tartarus in one night. Doesn't matter if you get sick the next day, because sickness only affects you in battle and not the dating sim part of the game.

Praying at the shrine on days that no one is available to talk to is useful for social links that require you to talk to them a lot, like all of your party members' social links. Another good tip is to go to social links that are less available like ones only available on one day of the week, compared to ones like the book store that are available every day but Monday.

You can raise your three social stats in the arcade at the mall and you can also upgrade them individually at the library(school), coffee shop(left side of mall), and karaoke spot(top of mall), but only do this when you aren't social linking or there's a social link that you can see frequently. Or if it's right before a test. You need 2, 4, and 6 in intelligence for each consecutive trimester.

Also, a little tip for fusing Personae, you can get different skill fusions by deselecting all the demons in the fusion and then selecting them again. It's useful for when you want to get the more useful skills on one of the two or more demons. It takes some time if you want specific ones, though. Like, 5-10 minutes of deselecting and reselecting for the perfect combination of skills.

Rika Code likes this

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Thanks for the info, I will add this to the P3P section as soon as I get to it :>

(I know this is for P3P because I asked in a chat btw)

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Also, a little tip for fusing Personae, you can get different skill fusions by deselecting all the demons in the fusion and then selecting them again. It's useful for when you want to get the more useful skills on one of the two or more demons. It takes some time if you want specific ones, though. Like, 5-10 minutes of deselecting and reselecting for the perfect combination of skills.

yeah, devil survivor has a similar setup for bonus stats--if you select the fusion then deselect it, it will reset the bonus stats. ive used this to make some real monsters (level 40 stats, anyone?)

from what ive heard, DS is different from P12345whatever, so if/when i ever get a psp, ill be sure to hit this guide up. dunno how much control you have over your stats in persona/what they are (earthy says theres very little control) but from my experience, a maxxed magic stat will make you a god. though one of my teammates in ds2 has a max phys stat, and with the right setup, ive got him regularly scoring 1000+ damage, something my hero character only gets when nailing a weak point. but ds2 has a lot more things available for phys characters than ds1 and probably most persona games, soooooo......

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I always got the impression that a good persona is one that lets you survive rather than one that can do good damage.

isn't the best setup in persona 4 getting as many elemental resists/immunities as you can?

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The way I tried to set up my Personae was to get as many elemental attacks that hit every enemy along with as many resistances that got rid of their weaknesses, like if I were to fuse a Pixie in Persona 4, I'd try and fuse to get it to resist Fire in some way. It wasn't a major priority unless the Persona was weak to one of the two instant deaths, that's when you really need to fuse a resistance on it.

I don't actually know how fusing works in Persona 4, so I might be wrong in assuming it's the same way?

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Just updated it to include the re-makes :>

I don't know what happened and why it is putting all that coding stuff, but I am trying to fix it

All fixed up and ready to go :>

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Also, a little tip for fusing Personae, you can get different skill fusions by deselecting all the demons in the fusion and then selecting them again. It's useful for when you want to get the more useful skills on one of the two or more demons. It takes some time if you want specific ones, though. Like, 5-10 minutes of deselecting and reselecting for the perfect combination of skills.

this this this THIS, such an invaluable tip for both Persona 3 and Persona 4, never forget it!!! Oh, fond memories of when it takes me an hour or so to get a perfect moveset for my personas :') It's worth it in the end though!!

Hmmm, Persona 4 tips... lemme think for a while here lol. Rika feel free to edit these into the first post if you like them. I'll just talk about stuff that helps your stats in the game!

  • Status Atrributes: In Persona 4, there are 5 stats that you can gradually upgrade throughout the game - Knowledge, Courage, Diligence, Expression and Understanding. Increasing these stats will allow you to do many things, such as opening up new Social Links, allowing you to do certain part-time jobs depending on the stat (some of these jobs will lead to more Social Link openings), and opening up more choices in the game's progression etc. There are a variety of ways to increase each status. Certain choices you make in the game will also increase a variety of these stats. TRY TO MAX THESE STATS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! (NOTE: I'd say it's mostly advisable to spend your days increasing stats on days where not many Social Links are available, along that line you know?)
  • Knowledge ~ Studying at your desk in your bedroom at night! Studying at the library in school! Choosing the correct answers in certain school lessons!
  • Courage ~ Beating Bonus Bosses (see below)! Eating various foods found in your home's fridge on certain days! Part-time Hospital Job!
  • Expression ~ Translator's Job! Tutoring Job! Going to a Cultural School Club!
  • Diligence ~ Going to a Sports School Club! Envelope Folding Job!
  • Understanding ~ Folding Origami Job! Babysitting Job!

  • Bonus Bosses: After you complete each Shadow Dungeon ([...]'s Castle, Steamy Bathhouse etc.), you can go back to where you fought each Shadow Boss at the end of the dungeon, where a new, bonus boss is waiting for you. Defeating these bosses increases your Courage stat, so it's quite a good idea to fight them! My advice however, would be to always wait until you complete the next Shadow Dungeon before fighting the previous dungeon's bonus boss at the minimum, so you are hopefully at the same level/higher-levelled than the bonus boss, as they can be quite difficult to beat and will most likely wipe the floor with you if you fight them at the earliest opportunity! (NOTE: This tip is only helpful for the first 5 Shadow Dungeons in the game, the other ones either have a completely different strategy required for them or don't have a Bonus Boss!)

  • Aiya's Rainy Day Ramen: Just as the title says, if you go to Aiya's on a rainy day (found in the north shopping district part of Inaba) and choose to eat the special ramen they serve on rainy days, it will help increase ALL your status attributes, 3 stats each time you do it! It costs 3000 YEN to do so, though. Only do it if there aren't any Social Links or other various meetings on your schedule.

  • Bookstore: Check in with the bookstore in Inaba's south shopping district every month to obtain new books, certain books will increase specific stats greatly or all your stats slightly. You can read these books on your bedroom couch at night.

Rika Code likes this

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Thank you I shall add it to the guide :>

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It's actually ideal to get sick after Tartarus in Persona 3, because you can go to the Nurse's Office to raise your Courage.

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Downloading Persona 3 FES to my PS3 now! Never played any of these before so I'm super excited.

It's $9.99 in the Playstation Store.

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Tartarus my ass. It's the school that's a real labyrinth. I'm forever lost in it.

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persona 3 portable: level up the magician arcana to 10 first, its a really easy one to max out and having any arcana at 10 early on makes bosses easier

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persona 3 portable: level up the magician arcana to 10 first, its a really easy one to max out and having any arcana at 10 early on makes bosses easier

Sorry, I don't think s-links affect boss fights, only the personae

And not in the female's storyline, you can only get it to about rank 4 I think before he stops allowing you to hang out with him for about half a year

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I think he just meant being able to fuse a rank 10 Persona so early on will help. But you still need to be able to make it, which you need to be a certain level or higher to make it. Still, if you're going to max it first, make sure it's not in the way of any other social link that's rarer as in it doesn't come so often, since I'm p. sure Kenji is available most days of the week, much like the couple at the library.

Magician arcana for the female, I dunno, just treat it like any other social link. It really doesn't matter if you get to rank 10 with anything first, the game's really easy if you just fuse and grind normally.

Maybe I'm just good at the game. : ( I don't know, it was really easy for me. Never really had any trouble except in the beginning, like one time.

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