Something that has certainly helped the Persona games gain so much popularity is the social sim aspect of the game. While some aren’t too keen on the feature, it’s something that’s become synonymous with the series, despite having only appeared as a mechanic three games into the series.
Persona 5 went a different direction from the series popular Social Link mechanic with the introduction of Confidants. Improving a Confidant's Rank gives you different perks – both in and out of battle – depending on which one you improve. Aside from the main party, there are plenty of interesting characters to get to know. Each of them has their own unique benefits, with some being better than others. Here are 10 of the best of them.
Updated by Michael Connor Smith on April 25th, 2020: It's no secret that the Persona series is a hybrid experience in the form of half social sim, half turn-based JRPG, and the characters you interact with over the course of a 100-hour game really make or break the experience. Persona 5 is unique in that it not only provides a substantial amount of backstory to many of its characters through Confidants, but they also have a huge effect on gameplay.
This list was updated to include the newest Confidants from the enhanced version of the game, Persona 5 Royal, as well as to add a few more Confidants seen in the original game. Since Royal has altered some of the benefits that Confidants give, it's only natural that more of these Confidants deserve a spot on the list of the best.
15 Ann Takamaki - Lovers
Persona 5 Royal made many of its Confidant tweaks inside of the main cast of characters, as most of their rank benefits were pretty situational, save for a few outliers. Ann's newly added Confidant skill is actually quite useful and can be used at rank 4 where there was previously no benefit.
Sexy Technique allows Ann to have a chance of canceling an enemy's action in battle completely, which can be just as overpowered as it sounds. While this doesn't happen all too often, it has the potential to save a party member from certain death, or even saving the entire team from a powerful attack.
14 Yuuki Mishima – Moon
Mishima is a character that kind of takes some getting used to. He’s a sort of lovable loser who really develops throughout the course of his Confidant storyline. Being such an avid supporter and admirer of the Phantom Thieves, it’s only natural for Mishima’s ability to affect the entire party.
Mishima’s final rank makes it so non-active party members get the same amount of EXP as those fighting. That’s really useful when it comes to assuring that none of your party members are lagging behind, and it saves you from tedious grinding if some of them are under-leveled.
13 Goro Akechi - Justice
Akechi underwent some pretty drastic changes in the transition to Royal, where his Confidant now resembles the normal types of Confidants that are seen with other main characters. Akechi is an already strong team member in battle, but his Confidant skills are just as useful.
The most useful one in his arsenal would be Sleuthing Mastery, which can be obtained by getting his Confidant to rank 6. This allows him the chance of revealing all of an enemy's affinities at the start of a battle, allowing you to instantly see what an opponent is weak and strong against.
12 Shinya Oda – Tower
Persona games allow the player to interact with all sorts of different characters. While some certainly do adhere to archetypal stereotypes, they’re usually well-written and fun to interact with. Oda is a pretty interesting character and has become a bit of a fan-favorite for the “Get Smoked” phrase embroidered on his hat.
His Confidant ability isn’t going to turn any heads, but it can come in handy. Reaching rank 10 with him allows the protagonist's bullets to hit and affect all enemies. That means that those enemies that would either reflect or absorb the damage loose that advantage in battle.
11 Sojiro Sakura – Hierophant
Serving as the protagonist’s only real parental figure throughout the events of Persona 5, Sojiro is essential to the plot and turns out to be a fantastic supporting character. He’s one of the most easily accessible characters, so players don’t have to worry about not finding him.
Once rank 10 is reached, players will be able to cook curry that will greatly restore your entire party’s SP. Having this Confidant maxed out can really help you out in those last few palaces.
10 Futaba Sakura - Hermit
Her Confidant abilities may have stayed the same into Royal, but that doesn't discount just how useful they were in the first place. Futaba takes over Morgana's role of providing support to the active party, but with actually useful skills instead of moral support. Well, it's debatable if Morgana's constant ridiculing of Ryuji is "moral support."
Futaba's Confidant abilities cover a wide range of useful options, such as getting a random buff or healing spell in the midst of battle, fully showing a Mementos map when a new floor is reached, or swapping out KO'd party members with backup ones automatically.
9 Munehisa Iwai – Hanged Man
Though he may not be the most approachable NPC, Iwai is a Confidant worth getting to know. Aside from his weapons shop, Iwai can offer the player some interesting perks as they go through the ranks.
Iwai’s maxed Confidant rank allows the player to create special guns. Though they might not be as useful as Personas, having superior weapons can come in handy regardless of the situation you’re in.
8 Toranosuke Yoshida – Sun
Yoshida is a character that players can easily miss, as he’s only available at night-time. But to make up for that, he’s available four days a week, so there’s no excuse not to max out his Confidant rank.
Persona 5 brought back interrogation, and it serves as a very useful mechanic throughout. Yoshida’s ability helps out with certain aspects of negotiation, as reaching rank 10 lets players convince a Shadow at a higher level than the protagonist to become a Persona.
7 Caroline & Justine – Strength
Two of the characters players interact with the most, Caroline and Justine are important for several reasons. Their main function though, is helping the player fuse Personas. It’s fitting that maxing out their Confidant rank affects this as well.
Once maxed out, Caroline and Justine allow the player to fuse Personas at a higher level than them. It’s done for a fee, but considering the advantages it can give you, it is well worth the cost.
6 Chihaya Mifune – Fortune
Aside from being a great Confidant, Mifune also allows you to better your relationship with other Confidants. Given that there are so many useful perks, and a limited amount of time to do all you want to do, her Confidant skill is one of the most useful by far.
Her rank seven ability will certainly prove to be useful for most of your playthrough, but Mifune’s rank 10 can be useful to those unaware of how to divide their time. Her skill allows the player to see all of a given Confidant’s abilities in advance. That makes it way easier to decide who’s worth it or not.
5 Kasumi Yoshizawa - Faith
Kasumi is one of two new Confidants added to Persona 5 Royal, and she plays a pivotal role in the narrative of Royal. Her Confidant works largely the same as any other, but getting her to rank 5 by December 18th is crucial for getting the most out of the extra content that Royal has to offer.
Her abilities focus on acrobatic traits to use when infiltrating palaces, unsurprisingly. These abilities allow the party to not be ambushed by shadows or to ambush enemies from a distance with the grappling hook.
4 Tae Takemi – Death
When the first Persona 5 trailer released, Takemi was a character that many fans immediately took a liking to. In terms of her role in the game, Takemi is certainly one of the more important side characters.
Takemi sells the player various recovery items. The higher the rank, the stronger the items you unlock. Once rank 10 is reached for her Confidant, she sells you some of the strongest recovery items in the game. It can be crucial to have access to for those grind-y palace explorations.
3 Hifumi Togo – Star
Not only does Hifumi have one of the best Confidant abilities, but also one of the best stories as well. Hifumi is one of the best Confidants in the game because her story is so engaging while also yielding incredibly useful perks.
Once her Confidant is maxed out, the protagonist can swap active party members for sidelined ones. This is done during the swapped party members turn, but can be really helpful if someone in the party is at a disadvantage or low on health.
2 Sadayo Kawakami – Temperance
As fun as the social sim aspect of the game is, it can get in the way – especially for players who care more for exploring, grinding, and battle prep. With Kawakami’s Cooperation, school can become twice as productive.
Kawakami allows the player to perform activities during class and can even make various items for the player. But her most useful ability is her rank 10, which lets the protagonist do night time activities they wouldn’t have been able to before. For those wanting to fit as much as they can into each day, it’s a must.
1 Takuto Maruki - Councillor
Shujin's hired therapist, Takuto Maruki, is the second new Confidant within Persona 5 Royal. Ranking up Maruki's confidant is just as important as Kasumi's, as it should be maxed out by November 18th in order to access the third semester.
His Confidant abilities are related to the mental techniques that he shares with Joker, as they allow him to recover from status ailments instantly, automatically raise SP when it is low, or to enter a battle with both Charge and Concentrate active at the same time, which is a truly remarkable ability.