SEGA and ATLUS have launched the turn-based ARPG, Persona 5: The Phantom X, a complete alternative timeline following the Persona 5 game. You play as the Protagonist, codename Wonder, as you navigate your Phantom Thief life and high school life. In this Persona 5: The Phantom X Beginners guide, you’ll learn the basics of the game’s overall mechanics and system, while we also share some tips on how to navigate the game as a new player.
If you are starting, you should know some of the useful redeem codes to claim and acquire some useful freebies and starter rewards. You can also check out our reroll guide on how to effectively re-roll and bind your account.
Persona 5: The Phantom X Gameplay Basics
When you first start the game, don’t stress too much about what to grind or what systems to look into. Just go through the main story. As you progress, the game will unlock all the important features, and you’ll eventually hit a point where you’ll be asked to level up your main character, Wonder, before continuing.
That’s your first real “gate.” When that happens, shift your focus to the side quests and missions that reward Wonder EXP. They’re usually labeled clearly, often giving a few thousand EXP at once. These will carry you through that wall without wasting stamina.
Understanding the Gacha System (Contracts)
Now let’s talk about the gacha. This is where players mess up the most if they don’t know the system. The first thing to know: there are different pity systems, and they don’t carry over between standard and limited banners.
So if you’re pulling on a 50/50 standard banner and thinking you’ll cash out your pity on a guaranteed one later—nope. Doesn’t work that way. The good news is that pity does carry over between limited banners. So if you’ve done a few pulls on one limited banner but decide to wait for another, your progress won’t reset.
This is huge for free-to-play players who need to stretch every premium currency. Whatever you do, don’t spend premium currency on the standard or beginner banners. These banners let you use them, but you really, really shouldn’t.
Premium currency is limited and should only be used for limited banners, which have better characters. Standard tickets, on the other hand, are super common—you get them from leveling characters, battle passes, commissions, and dungeons. Use them for the standard banner and save the precious stuff for the limited.
Also, there’s a custom five-star weapon banner that looks tempting, but it’s a trap. These weapons are only for non-limited characters and cost a ridiculous number of pulls. Just wait. Eventually, you’ll be able to get better five-star weapons through events and farming. Trust me, they’re not worth blowing your resources on early.
Introducing Character Roles and Abilities
Each unit in P5X fits a typical gacha game archetype. You’ve got:
- DPS units, like archers or dagger users, deal your main damage.
- Healers, who keep your team alive, look for the star-shaped icons.
- Navis, or support characters like Puppet, who give passive boosts and defense buffs.
Wonder, your main character, is always part of your team. You’ll build around him by upgrading his personas and tailoring your squad to synergize with his skill tree. Unlike the mainline Persona games, this one doesn’t encourage freestyle building. Stick with what works and don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
Later on, some 5-Star units will stand out (like Yusuke or Makoto), but early in the game, focus on building a core team of four: one DPS, one healer, one Navi, and Wonder. That way, you’ll be ready for the damage checks that start appearing mid-game.
Persona Farming and Fusions
Wonder doesn’t use weapons or armor like everyone else. Instead, he gets stronger through a skill tree powered by something called SHMA points, which come from fusing Personas. You get these by fighting and recruiting Personas in their domains and then fusing them in the Velvet Room.
It sounds complicated at first, but all you need to remember is this: farming Personas is how you make Wonder strong. The more you fuse, the more SHMA points you get. The more SHMA points you get, the more powerful Wonder becomes. And because he’s in every battle, that strength helps your whole team.
Mastering the Combat Mechanics
Combat is all about turn-based battles against Shadows in the Metaverse. Each character has unique actions they can perform: they can use Persona skills, basic melee attacks, special navigator skills, and gun attacks.
Turn order depends on character speed; usually, supporters and debuffs get to act first, helping set up the fight, while your main damage dealers (DPS) follow after to take advantage of openings. A key part of winning battles is targeting enemy elemental weaknesses.
When you hit a foe with an attack they’re weak to, you can trigger an All-Out Attack, which lets your whole team unleash a powerful combo and turn the tide of battle. Managing your SP (skill points) is important, so you want to be smart about when to use your abilities.
Using elemental combos to exploit weaknesses helps conserve SP and lets you deal more damage efficiently. You can also take advantage of environmental objects on the battlefield; sometimes, interacting with things around you can give you a helpful edge. Keep in mind that both guarding and using items use up your character’s turn, so think carefully about when to defend or heal.
Confidants and Social Stats
Like the main Persona games, P5X has a social system. You can hang out with confidants and raise your social stats using something called energy. You get five energy per day, and it refreshes daily, so don’t let it go to waste.
Raising confidant levels gives you gems, unlocks new mechanics like persona fusions, and opens up new part-time jobs. If you’re unsure who to focus on, Morrope should be your first choice; she unlocks fusion mechanics for Wonder.
After her, Tomoko is great because she gives access to a job that earns you money while boosting stats. Some confidants also help you level up others faster, so they’re extra useful in the long run. Social stats like Knowledge and Guts also unlock new confidants and side content. You don’t need to rush these but don’t ignore them either. Just doing daily social activities is enough to keep them growing steadily.
How to utilize your Coffee (Stamina) in Persona 5: The Phantom X
Coffee is the stamina system in this game, and you don’t want to waste it. Your top priority should be rematching weekly bosses, which only costs 30 coffee and gives amazing rewards like coins for trading four-star weapons. After that, once they’re added, event bosses are also super worthwhile and drop special currencies for limited-time shops.
If you’re still progressing through the story, the best way to use your stamina is by uncapping your main characters. That means farming perfumes, incense, and rocks from the Realm of Repression. Try to spread it out evenly unless one character needs something specific.
Later on, when your team is more built, you’ll want to start collecting extra Personas for Wonder’s fusion system. Finally, once you’re high-level and have unlocked harder domains, you can start farming Revelation Cards, which are the game’s artifact system. Just don’t do this too early, it’s super inefficient until player level 60.
Persona 5: The Phantom X Beginners Guide: Tips and Tricks
Here are some essential tips and tricks I learned the hard way while playing Persona 5: The Phantom X, so you don’t have to! Whether you’re a free-to-play player or just want to avoid headaches later down the line, these will help you get the most out of your time in P5X.
1. Save your Premium Currency for Limited Banners
This is the biggest trap for new players. The game lets you use premium gems on both the standard banner and the beginner banner, but don’t fall for it. You’ll get free tickets to pull on those over time, so there’s no reason to spend gems there.
Instead, hoard your premium currency for limited banners, which feature much stronger units and don’t come back often. Also, keep in mind that pity does not carry over between banner types. It only carries over within the limited banner pool. So if you’re pulling on the wrong banner by mistake, you’re wasting those pulls entirely.
2. Level up only your Core Team
EXP materials are locked behind stamina, and stamina is limited daily. If you try to level up every cool character you get, you’ll end up with a bunch of half-built units and won’t be able to clear tougher content. Instead, choose a core group of four or five characters and focus all your materials on them.
At a minimum, make sure you have a good DPS, a healer, and a navigator. Level them up together and keep them close to Wonder’s level. Enemies scale with Wonder, so if your team falls behind, you’ll get hard-stuck in battles.
3. Don’t use the Espresso Bottles early
Espressos are coffee bottles that refill your stamina. You’ll get a bunch early on from leveling up and completing achievements, but don’t use them just yet. Save them for endgame farming, especially when you need to grind Revelation Cards (artifacts) with random stats.
Those high-level domains cost 40 stamina per run, and the drop rates aren’t amazing. You’ll need all the bottles you can get for that grind. Early-game content is generous with EXP, so use your daily stamina wisely and hold onto those refills.
4. Spend Energy on Social Stats and Confidants
You get five energy points per day, and you can spend them on raising your social stats, talking to confidants, or doing mini-events. The only mistake you can make here is spending energy on activities that don’t scale well, like random gem events.
Instead, prioritize building up social stats (like Guts, Charm, and Proficiency) and ranking up confidants. Every confidant gives you gems, and some even unlock new game features or part-time jobs. It’s one of the most efficient ways to earn premium rewards without spending.
5. Always keep up with the Wonder’s Level
Wonder is your main unit, and his level determines your entire account’s progress. Most of the game is built around him, his level caps your team’s awakenings, and his damage impacts every battle.
He also gets stronger through Persona fusions, so always make sure you’re leveling him up through daily EXP sources like quests and dungeons. Letting Wonder fall behind will make everything feel harder than it needs to be.
6. Be Smart with Persona Investments
Not every Persona is worth keeping or leveling. Some early-game Personas like Leanan Sidhe, Lamia, Satanta, and Neko Shogun are great pickups, but once you’ve moved past that stage, don’t go back and waste stones or EXP on them again.
Stick to high-rarity Personas with unique skills or useful traits. Succubus, Dionysus, and Norn are great for Wonder and scale well into the mid and late-game. If it’s not helping your main team or fusion system, it’s probably just fusion fodder.
7. Don’t ignore Social Stats or Links
It’s easy to overlook the social systems if you’re new to Persona. But raising social stats unlocks new confidants, new activities, and new locations. Some content is completely locked behind these ranks, for example, I couldn’t rank up Ayaka’s confidant until my Proficiency stat hit level 6.
Also, ranking up confidants gives gems and even unlocks new jobs or gameplay systems. If you’re aiming for long-term progress, make sure you’re spending energy daily on these. It’s one of the most efficient, passive ways to keep your account strong.
Check our other beginner’s guides below:
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