'Persona 5 Royal' Guide: How To Raise Social Stats

Joker and Kasumi in Persona 5 Royal ATLUS

KEY POINTS

Social stats are increased by performing relevant activities in the real world
Stat-increasing activities almost always take up Joker's time
Jobs, hangout events, minigames and other activities all contribute to social stat leveling

When Joker isn't stylishly smashing Shadows in the Metaverse with the gang, he is a somewhat ordinary student who's trying to live a decent life in Japan. How he interacts with friends and other people in the real life can have substantial effects on how the rest of "Persona 5 Royal" will play out.

This is where social stats come in. The five-point, star-shaped diagram that lists Joker's social skills represents his progress toward self-development. Improving these skills opens up plenty of doors for players that can affect how Joker fights as a Phantom Thief and how he lives his normal life.

Social stats can technically be neglected, but doing so will lock players out from more than just a handful of benefits. Here's how to level up each one of these stats efficiently.

"Persona 5" Social Stats

The five stats are:

Knowledge
Guts
Kindness
Proficiency
Charm

These are mostly self-explanatory. Knowledge dictates how smart Joker is, while Charm represents how attractive or persuasive he is in the eyes of other people. Performing actions related to any of these stats will level them up by a few points until they reach a threshold.

A screenshot from "Persona 5" shows the protagonist waiting for a train. http://www.gamespot.com/

Improving these skills will let Joker interact with more Confidants outside of the Phantom Thieves. When players improve their bonds with these Confidants, they will unlock valuable passive effects that will grant them advantages in and out of combat.

Stats also determine the accessibility of certain jobs, activities and special actions.

"Persona 5 Royal" Best Ways To Improve Social Stats

Knowledge – Study and answer class answers correctly
Guts – Study in the school library and take the Big Bang Burger Challenge
Kindness – Talk to lonely people while working at the Crossroads bar
Proficiency – Play in the batting cages
Charm – Spend time in the bathhouse and eat at the Shinjuku maid café

Improving social stats using these methods takes in-game time. For those who want to cram as much personal progress into Joker as possible, consider doing the following:

Buy the special juice at the Shibuya station every Sunday
Buy books or borrow ones from the school library and read them while on the train
Take care of Joker's house plant
Fill out crossword puzzles at Leblanc
Watch TV and answer trivia questions