The Baton Pass is a vital feature of Persona 5 Royal's combat and the best way to keep chaining hits and taking away an enemy's turn. Baton Pass involves Downing an enemy (i.e: getting a Critical Hit or striking their Affinity Weakness), which gives the character who Downed them an extra turn, or rather a One More as it's called in-game. They can attack again or press R1 to pass their turn to someone else.
In the original Persona 5, Baton Passes would unlock for each Phantom Thief (with the exception of Ann and Akechi) when reaching Rank 2 of their Confidant. In Persona 5 Royal, everyone gets their Baton Pass as soon as they join. However, Joker can now Rank Up the Baton Pass per Phantom Thief by playing darts in Kichijoji.
How Do Darts Work in Persona 5 Royal?
The Darts Minigame isn't available until some progress has been made in Persona 5 Royal's story. The Phantom Thieves will need to have stolen Kamoshida and Madarame's hearts first.
On 6/5, after Madarame's confession, Ryuji will bring the Protagonist to Kichijoji, where they will need to find the darts lounge. This can be viewed on the minimap or by pressing R1. After going into the lounge for the first time, Joker will be able to play Darts or pool with the other Phantom Thieves during free time.
While players may be too busy working on Confidants at this point, it's a good idea to play the Darts Minigame when no Confidants are available during the afternoon or evening.
Each Phantom Thief has 3 Ranks per Baton Pass, meaning Joker will have to play darts with each of them three times, with some exceptions. Generally, a successful game of Darts will increase the Baton Pass by one Rank, but sometimes players can rank them up by two Ranks instead.
Here are the following bonuses for Baton Pass Ranks:
- Rank 1: Increases Damage.
- Rank 2: Greatly increases Damage and recovers some HP.
- Rank 3: Significantly increases Damage and recovers some HP + SP.
Playing Darts
Move the controller to aim, and hold down the R2 button when ready to throw a dart. Swing the controller in a downward motion to toss the dart. Notice that a white dot will start bouncing around inside a thin, white oval while aiming. This is the area where the dart can potentially land on the board. In the case players may find their aim off, they can press the Triangle button to reset the cursor.
The dart board is made up of white, red, and blue, and the score is shown in large numbers in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Landing on White areas will give the indicated number of points (ex: 4).
- Blue spots will double the indicated number. So if a dart lands on a blue stripe in the 4 column/section, they will get 8 points instead.
- If a dart lands on a Red spot, they'll receive triple the points.
- Likewise, landing in the black will rake in zero points that toss.
- Getting a bullseye will give 50 points.
When playing darts, the goal is to reduce the score to a perfect zero. At rank 1, the Phantom Thieves will play at 301 difficulty. Rank 2, this will be raised to 501. Finally, Rank 3 can be anywhere from 301 to 701.
It should be noted that players can't rank up the Baton Pass for Goro Akechi when he first joins the team. This is because he'll always choose the 701 score, but there won't be enough turns to get the score to zero. However, the Baton Pass can be ranked up in the True Ending, where Joker will have just enough turns for the 701 difficulty.
This is the same for Yoshizawa, who can only play darts on the True Ending route. She'll play at 301 regardless of her Baton Pass Rank.
Playing darts will also add some points toward Joker's Proficiency.
Tips for Playing Darts
Sometimes after a game of darts, another character will want to play. This is a good way to rank up multiple Baton Passes at once, as long as the game is successful. Players can check the current ranking before deciding if they want to continue. The only exception to this is Akechi, who will only play darts with Joker.
To rank up the Baton Pass twice, Joker will need to have less than 100 points left on the Score by the end of his third turn. This will cause his partner to get nervous, and give players the chance to give some encouraging words. If the right choice is selected, they'll successfully complete the game and jump up two Ranks instead of just one.
Here's what each Phantom Thief (sans Futaba*) will ask:
Morgana: Hmm... We have a chance to finish it here. All right... here goes! | I'm counting on you. |
Ryuji: ...Looks like I might be able to go for a finish... Man, I'm getting so nervous! | Just gotta psych yourself up! |
Ann: Oh... we can finish it right here! ...I think I'm nervous. | Just play like normal. |
Yusuke: We have the opportunity to finish it here! Hrm... My hand is shaking...!? | Pretend like you're painting. |
Makoto: Oh... We could finish it right here. I-I have to remember the simulations. | Take a deep breath. |
Haru: Look at our score... We can finish! How should I throw!? | Have fun with it. |
Goro: N/A | N/A |
Yoshizawa (True Ending): I can finish it...! But what would be the best way to throw here? | Trust your instincts. |
It should be noted that Joker can play darts with Futaba, but the Baton Pass won't Rank Up because she doesn't partake in any fighting during battle . Thus, it may not be worth playing a round of darts with her unless players just want to get a point added to her Confidant.
To improve the Darts Minigame, players should buy Learn Pro Darts from the bookstore in Shinjuku, which will be in stock from 7/5. They should also get the Darts Set from the sports store in the Underground Mall. Reading Pro Darts will allow Joker to use his Third Eye Ability, which slows down the white dot when aiming (R2). Having the Darts Set and choosing to use it will shrink down the dart aim.
Persona 5 Royal is available now on PS4. A PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Xbox Game Pass release is scheduled for October 21, 2022.
