Persona 5 guide: Tips for raising confidant levels

Persona 5 is full of confidants. In this guide, we'll give you tips about how to level them up and increase your bond of friendship. Our confidant coverage doesn't end here, though. Be sure to check out our guide to all of the confidants in Persona 5.

Grow your bond

Your bond will only grow with your confidants when your bond is close enough. You strengthen your bond through a hidden point system that is not entirely different from leveling your social stats. Whenever you say something that a person likes, little blue music notes will pop out of their heads, a visual indication of a strengthening bond.

Different confidants want to be spoken to in different ways. Learn their personalities as you talk to them. Most of your friends just want you say the nicest thing you can, as long as it is sincere. Show that you are listening to what they say and respond appropriately.

If your bond is at a high enough level when you hang out with someone, Persona 5 will tell you that you feel like your bond with that character will strengthen soon. When that happens, you know that this hangout session will end in a level up. If it says it won’t happen yet, it means that you need to hang out with them and raise the bond a little more first.

When you hang out to raise a bond, you can often choose the location yourself. These include the park, a ramen shop and various different locations that you will discover throughout the game (or by reading certain books). When a bond will level up, your confidant will decide what will happen, as these are structured story moments.

Doing additional events with your confidants (like going to the movies or attending a festival) are opportunities to raise their bond points without actually leveling up confidant. This is basically doing the legwork now so that you don’t have to spend a session watching a canned animation of Yusuke staring at a bunch of strangers as they walk by. These opportunities are pretty frequent and give big boosts to points.

Bring the right Arcana

Your confidant levels will grow faster if you are currently carrying a Persona with their corresponding Arcana. You will be alerted to this when speaking to them. For example, when talking to Ann while holding the Pixie Persona, the game will let you know that your bond will grow faster. The Pixie Persona is part of the Lovers Persona, and Ann is the lovers confidant.

This will require some upkeep on your part, but it is fairly simple to do. Just make sure that, before you hang out with someone, you visit the Velvet Room. Pull a Persona from the registry that matches your companion, and then head out to talk to them. This will assure that your time is spent efficiently.

Give gifts

You will be able to buy various items from various stores that are described as good gifts. You can only give these items to female confidants to raise your bond with them. Pick up gift items whenever you see them. Even if they seem a little weird, you never know what your friends might be into. For example, you can buy a little motorcycle figurine in Akihabara that Makoto absolutely loves, as it matches her Persona.