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There are quite a few characters you can add to your party in Persona 3 Reload, and they all can be the best in certain situations due to innate strengths and weaknesses based on their standard attack damage and Persona skills. However, if you’re looking for advice on some folks you could use for a longer period, here are some groups I suggest.
Who should I have in my party early on in Persona 3 Reload?
So, I’m going to go ahead and suggest you make sure Makoto, Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru are on your side as soon as you possibly can. Makoto has to be there, of course. Because of his versatility with Personas, you can essentially have him fill any role. In this case, I suggest loading him up with Personas that have a lot of physical types of attacks and cover the absence of fire attacks since Junpei has the Agi line.
Now, here’s my thinking for the rest:
- Akihiko is there for physical support. He usually hits a couple times, doing Strike damage when he does, which is helpful. (I’ve found he’s better at landing hits than Junpei.) His electric Zio line is handy. He also does eventually get Diarama, in case you need an extra heal. I also like that his Theurgy skill deals lightning damage to every enemy.
- Mitsuru is there for magic and support. Her Bufu line of ice skills is fantastic, especially if it freezes a foe. Plus, you also get someone who can inflict some status effects, like Charm and Distress, and restore her own SP with Spirit Drain. Plus, her Blizzard Edge Theurgy is easy to charge since it is tied into debuffs.
- Yukari is there as your healer, plain and simple. When she’s not healing, her wind magic is great, since she gets all the Garu skills. Also, by using her the way you should be, her Theurgy Cyclone Arrow tends to charge up fairly often for a good wind attack against a strong foe.
Who are some good mid-game party members?
Once you get to the middle of the game, say around September, I recommend making some changes! Go with Makoto, Shinjiro, Koromaru, and Yukari. Makoto, as usual, isn’t going anywhere. Keep Yukari around too! She is still fantastic at this point.
As for the other two:
- Shinjiro can genuinely be one of the strongest physical folks around, so using him is good. Especially if you unlocked his characteristics via socializing with him in the evenings to give him Auto Heat Riser and Auto Bolster to make him stronger. He’s there completely and utterly for the physical attacks.
- Koromaru is good due to having the Eiha line of dark skills and picking up the Maragion fire one. He’s fast, he’s good at dodging attacks, and he’s adorable. Also, him eventually getting the instant kill Dark skills can be really handy for wiping out foes.
Which characters work well as the best end-game party members in Persona 3 Reload?
Once you’re in that final stretch, I suggest going with Makoto, Aigis, Koromaru, and either Yukari or Ken. Makoto has to be around. Yukari is, again, a fantastic healer who is great at keeping people healthy and using magic. But if you do want a different option for a healer who might offer more magic diversity, Ken is there.
Here are my thoughts for these two other folks you may want to add to your group.
- Aigis is absolutely fantastic as a damage dealer. She is incredibly strong, with so many devastating types of physical damage. She can also act as a buffer for the party with some of her learned abilities. The only thing is, her Orgia Mode Theurgy can be a double-edged sword. She’ll become incredibly strong for a few turns, but you sacrifice control of her and she’ll eventually enter a cooldown phase. So if your opponent resists or reflects physical types of attacks, it can be troublesome.
- Ken is in that same sort of weird “space” as Koromaru, where he’s not strictly defined by a single element. He’s going to be picking up some light element attacks like the Hama line, as well as gain Zionga for a lightning-based attack. He also gets Diarama and Recarm, which are handy! I personally prefer Yukari at all times, but if she’s not your favorite and you want to try someone different, he’s a good option to swap into that spot.
Persona 3 Reload is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
