Highlights
- Persona 5 Tactica will feature skill trees for each character, with special abilities that enhance their individual strengths in combat and contribute to the party's overall tactics.
- Joker's skill tree in particular has three components, offering enhanced elemental attacks, upgrades to HP and SP, and passive abilities that can boost allies' ranged attacks and increase gun damage.
- The game's emphasis on party formations and use of passive abilities, along with the return of the baton pass mechanic and Persona fusion, will provide strategic depth and make a difference in different maps and encounters.
Among the character spotlights shown ahead of Persona 5 Tactica's release, a recent gameplay trailer has sought to give more information on how it will handle its tactical mechanics. The title will incorporate skill trees for Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves, noting that each character will have a special ability that plays into their strengths as an individual. Along with Persona fusion bringing back inherited spells and abilities, the glimpse of Persona 5 Tactica's combat thus far points toward a compelling blend of the series' core mechanics into the tactics genre, with its skill trees playing a notable role.
Persona 5 Joker's skill tree looks to be divided into three separate components, with its first being a series' staple for level ups; fans will recognize its feature of enhanced elemental attacks, potency, and range, with skills like Maeiha allowing for a wider area of effect. Similarly, its third component, 'A Rebellious Resolve,' shows upgrades to HP and SP, with its locked icons indicating a chance to upgrade Joker's movement and what appear to be the abilities to repel and block enemy attacks with the same elemental affinity.
Persona 5 Tactica's Focus on Unique Passive Abilities Could Turn the Tides of Battle
These types of upgrades could be seen as a given based on Persona 5's own combat mechanics, though Joker's second skill tree component, titled Nocturnal Wings, suggests a bit more nuance that could help to emphasize strategy. A brief glimpse at one of his passive abilities shows that Joker has the chance to raise the ranged attack of all allies included in the party through his Trigger Synergy+, which could have quite an impact on party formations. It looks like the rest of the team will have different passives that play into buffs or debuffs, which, in connection with the title's use of baton pass, could be a versatile way to make use of each character's specialties.
This appears to be demonstrated in the transition between turns, as the trailer includes an "Effect on Party" HUD which shows each character's contributing ability. For Ann and Morgana, this looks to be an increase in SP, while Joker increases gun damage through his Trigger Synergy+. If these passives can be stacked for additional effect, then forming a party around certain abilities could be a game-changer. For example, using characters that raise the party's gun damage would be beneficial for sniping enemies from afar in maps where close encounters are best avoided, while SP raisers like Ann and Morgana could be key for boss encounters.
It's been revealed that Persona 5 Tactica will incorporate the baton pass mechanic when an ally is downed, with the amount of uses being dependent on the difficulty level the player selects. Such a feature could further strengthen the emphasis on party formations, especially on harder difficulties when only one use is allowed. Similarly, the return of Persona fusion shows that unique and inherited skills could be pivotal to certain maps and enemies; the trailer shows off Macabre with the inherited Support ability Ambush+, used to "stop actions of any non-unique enemies" in a targeted area with a two-time activation allowance. In more constricted, heavily crowded maps, this could make quite a difference, especially when the team is separated.
Persona 5 Tactica's approach to character skill trees shows a promising effort made to incorporate its mechanics into tactics-based strategy. While there is still much to be seen over how Tactica will handle its characters and narrative, its gameplay looks to already be a successful blend of the IP into a new spin-off genre. With its release date soon approaching, fans won't have to wait long until they get to experience all that it has to offer.
Persona 5 Tactica is set to release on November 17, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
