Ranking up Confidants efficiently in Persona 5 Royal is one of the most crucial aspects of optimizing your playthrough. Doing so not only grants powerful in-game benefits but also ensures that you can experience all the unique storylines and abilities tied to each character. If you’re aiming to max out all Confidants in a single playthrough, this guide will provide everything you need to know.

Understanding Affection Points and Rank Ups

Each time you interact with a Confidant, you have opportunities to gain affection points that contribute toward ranking them up. To determine your progress:

• Music Notes Indicate Affection Gains: When interacting with a Confidant, the number of music notes that appear above their head reflects the increase in affection.
  • 1 note: Low affection gain
  • 2 notes: Moderate affection gain
  • 3 notes: Maximum affection gain
• Indicators of a Rank Up:
  • A burst of stars appearing alongside the music notes means the Confidant is ready to rank up.
  • The Map Icon: A blue tarot card with two exclamation points means the Confidant is ready to rank up.
  • Dialogue Confirmation: If a Confidant says something like, “Your relationship will deepen soon,” it means you will rank up the next time you spend time with them.

Ways to Increase Affection Points Efficiently

1. Carry a Corresponding Arcana Persona

Always carry a Persona matching the Confidant’s Arcana when interacting with them. This applies to:

• Hangouts
• Random classroom interactions (e.g., answering questions with Ann in class)

Having the correct Arcana Persona increases the affection gain, significantly reducing the number of interactions needed to rank up.

2. Respond to Nighttime Hangout Invitations Immediately

If a Confidant sends you a message at night asking to hang out the next day, accept it immediately. Doing so grants extra affection points during the next event.

3. Rank in the Top 10 in Exams

For certain school-related Confidants (Makoto, Haru, Ann, Kawakami, Kasumi, Sojiro), achieving a high rank in exams increases the affection points you earn with them until the next set of exams.

4. Use Affinity Reading from Chihaya (Fortune Confidant)

Once you unlock Chihaya’s Confidant and reach Rank 5, you can pay for Affinity Readings to gain free affection points with a Confidant of your choice. This method does not take up an in-game time slot.

5. Give Gifts

You can buy gifts from various stores in Tokyo and give them to certain Confidants during non-ranking hangout events. Be aware that:

• Not all Confidants accept gifts.
• Some gifts are preferred more than others.

6. Pray at Meiji Jingu Shrine

After unlocking the Meiji Jingu Shrine, you can spend time praying there to increase a Confidant’s affection without taking up a hangout slot. However, this uses up a time slot, so use it only when necessary.

7. Use Postcards for Extra Points

Between September 1st and October 10th, you can purchase one postcard per week from a store in Shibuya’s Central Street. Send these from the Yongen-Jaya mailbox to increase affection points without consuming a time slot.

8. Utilize Additional Activities

Certain activities also boost affection, such as:

• Playing darts (improves Baton Pass ranks and Confidant points)
• Playing billiards
• Taking a Confidant to the Jazz Club
• Special group hangouts (e.g., Futaba’s hangout at Nakano, where Gun Dealer Iwai also appears)

---

Confidants That Rank Up Automatically

Some Confidants do not require affection points and will rank up automatically:

• Igor (Fool) – Progresses with the story.
• Morgana (Magician) – Progresses with the story.
• Sae Niijima (Judgement) – Progresses with the story.
• Mishima (Moon) – Ranks up by completing Mementos Requests.
• The Twin Wardens (Strength) – Requires fusing specific Personas.
• Yoshida (Sun) – Ranks up by simply attending speeches.

---

Confidants That Require Social Stat Requirements

Some Confidants require you to have certain social stats before you can start or progress in their ranks:

Confidant	Required Social Stat	Rank Requirement
Makoto (Priestess)	Knowledge	Rank 3 (Unlock), Rank 5 (Rank 6)
Kawakami (Temperance)	Guts	Rank 3 (Unlock)
Iwai (Hanged Man)	Guts	Rank 4 (Unlock)
Hifumi (Star)	Charm	Rank 3 (Unlock)
Haru (Empress)	Proficiency	Rank 5 (Rank 4)
Yusuke (Emperor)	Proficiency	Rank 4 (Rank 6)
Sojiro (Hierophant)	Kindness	Rank 5 (Rank 7)
Akechi (Justice)	Knowledge & Charm	Rank 3 (Rank 6), Rank 4 (Rank 7)
Futaba (Hermit)	Kindness	Rank 4 (Rank 2)

---

Confidants with Additional Unlock Conditions

Some Confidants have special conditions before they can be unlocked:

• Chihaya (Fortune) – Visit her in Shinjuku, buy a Holy Stone (100,000 yen), complete a Mementos request.
• Kawakami (Temperance) – First, see an event with Mishima on May 24th. Then talk to her at school before calling her at Leblanc.
• Shinya (Tower) – First, obtain the Mementos request “Winners Don’t Use Cheats” on September 4th and investigate the arcade in Akihabara.

---

Confidants with Deadlines

Some Confidants must be completed before a certain date, or they will be locked:

• Akechi (Justice) – Rank 6 becomes available only after September 3rd, and Rank 7 must be reached before November 2nd.
• Kasumi (Faith) – Must reach Rank 5 by December 22nd to continue in the third semester.
• Maruki (Councillor) – Must reach Rank 9 by November 17th to unlock the third semester.
• Yoshida (Sun) – Last available day: November 14th.

---

Final Thoughts

By following this guide, you should be able to max out all Confidants in a single playthrough while still having plenty of time for other activities. Remember to always carry matching Arcana Personas, take advantage of free affection boosts, and plan your schedule to ensure you don’t miss deadlines.