Persona 3 Reload follows the main hero canonically known as Makoto Yuki. He’s a silent protagonist, which is common to see in an RPG, so players can name him whatever they want. He’s transferring to a new school, Gekkoukan High School, where he discovers a hidden power.
Makoto, like the rest of his small dorm, gains the ability to summon an internal demon known as a Persona. These special students will use their Persona to fight monsters in a hidden time known as the Dark Hour, in between balancing their school and social lives. That’s Persona 3 Reload’s basic premise, so let’s get to some early tips to help beginners.
The Unwritten Rules of Persona 3 Explained
Fans looking to try Persona 3 before the release of Persona 3 Reload should be aware of some of the community's unwritten rules for success.
6 Pick The Right Difficulty
They Can Be Changed
There are five difficulty levels in the game: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless. The best thing about them is that players can choose to change the difficulty anytime that they are not in combat. There are some further notes and exceptions though.
First, the highest difficulty level, Merciless, cannot be returned to once left. If players plan to take this journey on a brutal run, they have to be prepared for the worst. The easiest level, Peaceful, has a built-in no-fail state that acts like some assist options in other RPGs. If the party falls in battle, then they will be auto-revived. For newcomers to the game, Normal is a good place to start, but old-school fans may want to focus on the easier settings to breeze through the combat as it is a long game.
5 How To Spend Your Days
From Social Links To Social Stats
There are a lot of ways to spend days after a few tutorial weeks. After school, players should focus on the Persona series’ patented Social Links. By hanging out with friends, players can build Tarot decks to increase their prowess in battle. When hanging out with Social Link characters, be sure to have a corresponding Persona along.
Persona 3 Reload: How to Increase All Social Stats
Here's a handy guide for Persona 3 Reload players on the best ways to raise their social stats.
For example, Kenji has The Magician Arcana, so a good early Persona to bring along would be Jack-o’-Lantern. As for nights, players can either level up in Tartarus or go around town to increase Social Stats. Building up Courage, Charm, and Academics will help with Social Links and unlocking new paths elsewhere. For example, eating at the local burger shop will increase the Courage Social Stat.
4 Ignore Online Functionality
Talk To Your Friends Instead
Every time players boot up the game, they will be asked if they want to turn on online functionality. The option will not affect the game much, and it’s the same across most entries including Persona 5. Players can hit a tab to see what other players did on a particular day if they want ideas on how to spend their time.
It’s an interesting multiplayer adjacent function, but it isn't that helpful unless players look at the online data right away and don’t strive. All players go into these RPGs differently, so it’s hard to predict why one would choose to eat a burger one day and study the next. Hopefully, the next entry in the series will have a better system or just leave it out.
3 Take Advantage Of Sales
Don’t Be Precious About Valuables
Various shops will open up to players as the game goes on, as is the standard in RPGs. Persona 3 Reload has the unique trait of having vendors with sale days. For example, players can buy weapons, armor, and accessories from Officer Kurosawa at the police station. On Mondays, he will hold a sale on his items, so players should save up to do their gear shopping on Mondays.
Unlike most RPGs, players won’t earn currency by defeating monsters. Instead, they will get valuables to then sell at shops. Don’t worry about selling important items. If an item appears in the "Valuables" tab, then it is okay to sell and offers no other functionality. Also, offensive spell items like Mazio Gems are not really worth keeping around, so sell those too.
2 Treat Persona Fusion Like Collecting Pokemon
Don’t Be Afraid To Spend Money
Those who played Persona 5 as their first entry may be curious about how Persona is obtained in Persona 3 Reload. Instead of talking to them during battles, Persona is simply gathered as after-battle rewards via tarot cards. The main character can hold a set number at a time, and that number increases as he gains levels. For example, reaching level twenty will allow players to carry ten Persona at a time, and they can switch between them freely in battle.
Persona 3 Reload: All Class Answers
If you want to ace the exams in Persona 3 Reload, you will need to make sure to answer the questions correctly and keep up with your studies.
In the Velvet Room, players can then choose to fuse two or more Persona to get a new one, which will probably be rare. Players can also gain a good number of spells for their Persona to create a diverse cast. They can also summon old Persona again for a price, which is a good way to fill out the roster. It is costly, but creating the perfect fusion can often be more rewarding than getting the latest gear from Officer Kurosawa.
1 Save Often
There Are No Autosaves
Persona 3 Reload offers players a myriad of reasons to replay this classic as a full remake. From the new visuals to the upgraded battle system, there is a lot here. As forward-thinking as the Persona team at Atlus was in creating this remake, there were a few setbacks. For example, there is no autosave feature, which has been a standard for over a decade now.
Fortunately, players can save anytime they want. They just have to be proactive about manually saving, which is good advice for any big RPG like this. Also, players should make multiple saves, as there are fifteen slots to branch out from. The only exception is within Tartarus, as players can only save in the entryway.
Persona 3 Reload
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , PS4 , PS5
- Released
- February 2, 2024
- Developer(s)
- P-Studio
