While Joker and friends ride the wave of many changes throughout Persona 5 Royal, the one constant you have the entire time is the presence of Mementos, the collective human conscience that serves as the game's largest dungeon.

RELATED: Persona 5: What Is The Metaverse?

With dozens of floors to explore, a vast spread of shadows, requests, unique mini-boss bosses, and so much more, you'll never be without something to do in Mementos. Whether it's for training, Compendium collecting, request fulfillment, or just because you fancy a ride in the Mona Cat-Bus, we've got your hookup on everything you might need to know about Mementos.

Mementos: Discovery And Exploration Basics

Before you can begin your lengthy trip from the beginning of Mementos down to its depths, you should first understand what you’re up against with it. Mementos is at the center of the Metaverse, as it’s the collective palace for the public’s heart.

We’ve seen plenty of truly awful individuals so far throughout the game that are corrupt enough to have their own palaces, but the bulk of humanity is represented by Mementos. It takes on the form of a warped version of the Tokyo Metro subway system, and you see the visuals become darker and more distorted the deeper you dive.

You’re first able to access Mementos on 5/7, where you’ll receive a quick tutorial on how to navigate this wild area of the game. The entirety of Mementos is split into different sections, depending on roughly when you’ll be of the correct level to handle them. The names and unlock dates for these sections are:

Shadows in Mementos can be affected by the weather in Persona 5 Royal (except for The Reaper). For a complete idea on how to use this to your advantage, check out our guide on weather conditions in the game.

Additionally, you need to get to The Depths of Mementos in order to finish the game, as the Depths is where the beginning stage of the final battle takes place. So, while you don’t need to get through Mementos slowly but surely over the course of Joker’s year in Tokyo, working on it progressively will save you the hassle of needing to get down through literal dozens of floors when the time comes to start finishing the game.

Finally, if you’re achievement-hunting in Persona 5 Royal, there are a few trophies and achievements related to Mementos.

• The Thorough Trickster: Complete Mementos.
• One Step at a Time: Complete one Mementos request.
• Jose’s Favorite Customer: Trade flowers while in Mementos.
• The Phantom Philatelist: Trade stamps while in Mementos.
• The Search for Power: Completely change the cognition of Mementos.
• The Deviated Cognition: Encounter a deviation in Mementos.
• A Unique Rebel: Defeat The Reaper.

Requests

With Mementos representing the collective heart of the people, it should come as no surprise that The Thieves will be completing requests for people using Mementos instead of full palaces. Entire dungeons are reserved for only the worst of the worst, but other people still need help, too, and that’s exactly where you and Mementos come in.

You get these requests mostly from Yuuki Mishima, the Moon Confidant and your eager but awkward classmate. Every so often as you progress through the story, Mishima will text you regarding whispers he’s heard about problems people have been having around the city. These missions can be anything from rescuing some cats to changing the hearts of people long-abusive relationships, but they pay very well, they’re how you level Mishima’s Confidant ranking, and they’re excellent experience points.

When they're not from Mishima, requests occur naturally as you progress your Confidant rankings. Even your friends need a little help sometimes, so head in and give them a hand. It's worth noting that, you cannot progress your Confidant's relationship past the rank where the request is given until you fulfill it. Keep this in mind as you make friends and plan your schedule.

Below is a complete list, in chronological order, of every request you can receive in Mementos. We’ve broken them down by Path, to help you keep everything straight.

Requests On The Path Of Qimranut

Requests On The Path Of Aiyatsbus

Requests On The Path Of Chemdah

Requests On The Path Of Kaitul

Requests On The Path Of Akzeriyyuth

Requests On The Path Of Adyeshach

​​​​​​​Requests On The Path Of Sheriruth

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Requests On The Path Of Da'at

Several requests are also available on The Path of Da'at if they were not finished on their original level of Mementos. Those are:

• Sadism is Just a Sign of Love
• The Lovesick Cyberstalking Girl
• Who's Muscling in Yongen-Jaya?
• The Killer Who Cleans Up Trash
• Swindling Old Folk is Pretty Low
• The Head Honcho in Showbiz​​​​​​​

RELATED: Persona 5 Royal: Best Requests In Mementos, Ranked

Jose: Will Seeds, Flowers, And Power-Ups

Persona 5 Royal changed a number of things from the original Persona 5, and one of the big additions was Jose, a young boy who’s just trying to understand humanity. Honestly, same.

Jose does a number of things for you in Mementos throughout the course of the game, but the biggest of all is that he operates a shop that trades flowers for extremely useful items.

Our only grievance with Jose is that, until the end of the game when he settles into one spot pretty far down in Mementos, Jose is liable to spawn randomly on any floor. You'll know he's around as there's a short cutscene when you arrive at the floor that shows him arriving, but if the cutscene doesn't play, keep searching on other floors.

It's possible to effectively force Jose to spawn by repeatedly going up and down the escalators between the same two floors. There are no floor requirements or set number of floors that need to be explored before he spawns, so feel free to encourage him to show up using this method.

As you drive around Mementos, you’ll inevitably see collections of flowers littered throughout. Jose is trying to collect them, and he’ll give you items and accessories for the team in exchange for your collection service. Don’t worry that Jose is juicing the flowers and drinking them to try to further his understanding of the world – kids are weird.

Not only is he able to trade flowers for goods, but if you give him the stamps you can collect around Mementos as well, Jose is able to use his hammer to change things in Mementos. These powerful cognition changes can increase the loot drops from enemies in Mementos, rewarding you with more cash, items, and EXP.

The final thing Jose will do for your team is trade the crystals you made from Will Seeds for extremely powerful, wearable rings. We've got guides on how to find the Will Seeds in every palace available in our Persona 5 Royal directory, but if you miss any Will Seeds in palaces, Jose will sell you the ones you're missing.

Don't default to this method to avoid having to collect the Will Seeds yourself, as Jose sells Will Seeds for quite a hefty price. It's tough to give up the goods when you consider that they're free in the palaces.

We also have a full guide to patronizing Jose's shop in Mementos that explains everything he sells in great detail, as well as how to use the stamps to improve the conditions in Mementos. Follow along with it for some sweet boosts from this little guy, and try to remember how endearing he's been when you face off against him later in a mini-boss fight.

Mementos-Exclusive Shadows

For the most part in Mementos, you and the Phantom Thieves will be up against shadows you’ve encountered in palaces up until then. If you’ve missed something for your Compendium completion or find yourself missing a critical fusion shadow, Mementos is your key to picking it up after the palace it originated from has been defeated.

However, there are a handful of shadows you can only collect in Mementos. They’re usually the shadows that served as uncatchable mini-boss shadows, so this is your chance to snag such powerful Personas for yourself.

Here’s a complete collection of every shadow that Joker can catch in Mementos, as well as how to defeat them there.

Mementos-Exclusive Shadow Affinities And Weaknesses

Additionally, it's worth noting that Mementos is where your group can encounter The Reaper. This famously tough fight yields a massive amount of rewards, but it’s also regarded as one of the more difficult battles in the game. We’ve got a full guide for how to take on The Reaper as well, so check that out if you’re looking for details on that.

It’s important to remember that you can encounter The Reaper multiple times in one playthrough. He’s a great way to level your team up, but he’ll make you earn the EXP. He finds you after idling for roughly two minutes in one place on the same floor, so keep it moving if you’re not trying to take him on. As long as the Mona Bus is moving, the counter for his spawn isn’t ticking up, so just don’t stay still in Mementos if you don’t.

NEXT: Persona 5: Hidden Details Everyone Missed About Mementos