Social Stats are a recurring gameplay mechanic in the Persona franchise. While they don't have an impact in battle, some social stats need to be at a specific rank in order to max out certain Confidants. In Persona 5 Royal, there are five Social Stats: Knowledge, Guts, Charm, Kindness, and Proficiency. The game gives plenty of time to boost these stats, but some may be worth more effort than others.

With some quality-of-life changes brought to Persona 5 Royal, Joker has new ways to level up Social Stats that by the end of a player's first run, they should have most if not all the stats maxed out. With over half of the Confidants locked behind Social Stats, it's important to know how to level them up and which Confidants are worth maxing out on a first playthrough.

Updated May 10, 2023 by Renri Seong: Persona 5 Royal players will quickly find that it's much easier to max out the Social Stats on a NG+. Most Confidants in P5R have some sort of Social Stat requirement to start or advance to a later Rank. On brand-new files, it's best to rent and buy whatever books, movies, and games that are available in Royal. Reading, gaming, and watching moves will take up Joker's afternoon or evening time, but the payoff will be worth it when a Social Stat reaches a new level. The following guide has been updated to include everything there is to know about the Social Stat-increasing books, games, and movies.

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Toughest Social Stats to Increase

Social Stats like Knowledge and Proficiency are easier to level up thanks to the classroom questions (Knowledge) and crafting Infiltration Tools (Proficiency). Some of the Phantom Thieves need Knowledge and Proficiency to advance their Confidant, so it's important to answer questions correctly and do part-time jobs (Beef Bowl) before more Confidants become available at night.

All Social Stats can be advanced by reading books and watching movies at home. At the bottom of the descriptions, it will say which Social Stat the book/movie will increase.

For increasing Kindness:

• Use Bio Nutrients on the houseplant in Joker's room.
• Working at the Flower Shop can raise Kindness too, but this will take up Joker's afternoon time.
• Interact with the bathroom on Leblanc's first floor to clean. This will give Joker one point towards his Kindness. It's recommended to take advantage of this as soon as it becomes available. Until Joker reaches a certain point in the game, he won't be able to leave Yongen-Jaya at night, but he will be able to clean Leblanc.

Guts is arguably the toughest of the Social Stats to level up, thanks to its limited methods.

• Do Takemi's clinical trials.
• Speak to "stern-looking people" while working at Shinjuku's Crossroads bar.

To level up Charm, players have a few more options than Guts, but it still has less methods of ranking up compared to Knowledge and Proficiency.

• Spend time with Ohya or Yoshida.
• Go to the Maid Cafe.
• Get a perfect score on exams.
• Speak to certain people while working at Crossroads.

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Confidants with Social Stat Requirements

The following Confidants need Social Stats to advance their rank, but there's only a handful that players should really prioritize.

On a first run, especially if players are trying to get Persona 5 Royal's True Ending, it's recommended to max out all thePhantom Thieves' Confidants, including Goro Akechi and Kasumi Yoshizawa. This is because all party members will get their Third-Tier Persona in the third semester as long as their Confidant is completed before confronting the final Palace Ruler.

The Phantom Thieves with Social Stat-required Confidants don't have very useful benefits. However, Futaba will gain some abilities that can help in battle and she will occasionally map out a floor in Mementos. If players are struggling to max out Proficiency for Haru or Charm for Makoto, then at least work on Kindness to complete Futaba's Confidant.

Other Confidants with Social Stats worth completing are:

• Hifumi: Rank 10 allows any party member to swap out in the middle of battle on their turn.
• Kawakami: Rank 10 allows Joker to go out at night on days he's been to the Metaverse.
• Sojiro: Able to make Master Coffee and Master Curry.
• Takemi: More items including SP-restoring items such as SP Adhesive 3 become available for purchase.

Those with less-useful Confidant benefits such as Iwai, who offers Gun Customization, can be completed later in the story, or even on NG+. Prioritize the Social Stats linked to the better Confidants to make gameplay easier, and to carry over into NG+.

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Every Book, Movie, and Game in P5R

Most books/movies/games can be finished in two sittings, but some can take as long as three. There also books that will double the Social Stats gained from books, movies, and games. Therefore, it's recommended to read them first before going to the theaters in Shibuya or Shinjuku or playing games at Leblanc.

Books in Persona 5 Royal

Players can borrow books from the Shujin Academy Library as early as 4/18. The selection here all give experience towards one of Joker's Social Stats. For more books, players can visit the Book Store at Taiheido Bookstore (Shibuya - Central Street), Hinokuniya Bookstore (Shinuku), and Jinbocho. Shinjuku will unlock on its own as players advance the main story, and Jinbocho can be unlocked by reading Musty Pages (from Shibuya store) or during Hifumi or Haru's Confidant.

Here's every book in Persona 5 Royal and what they do:

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Games in Persona 5 Royal

Retro Games can be bought from the secondhand shop in Yongen-Jaya or at the retro game store in Akihabara. Before Joker can play video games, he'll need to purchase the CRT Television and the Famidrive from Yongen-Jaya's secondhand shop (near the entrance).

Here's every game in Persona 5 Royal and what they do:

Movies in Persona 5 Royal

Players can rent movies from the Rental Shop Scarlet store on Shibuya - Central Street. Like games, players will need the CRT Television from the secondhand shop before they can watch movies at home. The annual subscription costs 4800 yen, but after that, players will have access to any DVD at the store.

There are also movie theaters that players can choose to see alone or with a Confidant. This is a good way to increase both Confidant points and Social Stats. However, like in the real world, movies will only play for a certain amount of time, so it's best to read up on what's showing.

Here's every movie in Persona 5 Royal and what they do:

Persona 5 Royal is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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