For a smoother first playthrough of Persona 5 Royal, prioritize Confidants whose perks save time, improve combat options, or help you reach Royal’s additional content. This ranking balances practical usefulness, when a benefit matters, and the character’s story; it is an editorial guide, not an official or definitive order. Players who value character arcs over optimization may rank them differently.
How to use this ranking
Confidants are relationships with characters in the game. ATLUS describes their purpose directly: “Deepening your bond with your Confidants will broaden and improve your abilities as a Phantom Thief.” Their ranks unlock character-specific perks, but progress is constrained by schedules, social-stat thresholds, money, or story events. The most useful plan is therefore not simply to meet the highest-ranked character whenever possible: make progress with a priority Confidant when their schedule and requirements allow it.
Rank rewards do not necessarily arrive at every meeting. Dialogue choices affect relationship points, and carrying a Persona that matches the Confidant’s Arcana can speed progress. Matching Arcana also grants additional experience when fusing a Persona. See Push Square’s Confidant guide for mechanics and progression details. The entries below emphasize what each relationship contributes, rather than promising that every player can reach a particular rank by a fixed date.
The 15 best Confidants for a first playthrough
1. Takuto Maruki — Councillor
Why prioritize him: Maruki is the key recommendation if you want comfortable access to Royal’s late-game content. His progression is story-linked, so take opportunities to meet him rather than assuming you can postpone the relationship indefinitely.
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- Base game and over 40 items of previously released downloadable content
- Explore Tokyo, unlock Personas, customize your own personal Thieves Den, experience alternate endings, and more
- Become the ultimate Phantom Thief and defy conventions, discover the power within, and fight for justice in the definitive version of Personal 5 Royal
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Story appeal: His role gives the added Royal material a personal and thematic foundation. For players who want the expanded story, his value is both practical and narrative.
2. Sadayo Kawakami — Temperance
Why prioritize her: Kawakami is a strong choice for calendar efficiency. Her perks can make it easier to preserve time for other activities, a major advantage in a game where evenings and character schedules compete for attention.
What to weigh: Her access and progression have requirements, so she may not be immediately available. When you can advance her, the time-saving benefit can make later planning less restrictive.
3. Chihaya Mifune — Fortune
Why prioritize her: Chihaya’s practical appeal is helping you make more days productive. That kind of support compounds across a long playthrough: more useful progress from a day can mean fewer difficult choices between activities.
What to weigh: Her services involve money and access conditions, so her usefulness depends on when you can afford and reach them. A recent JEU.VIDEO guide also recommends her among early priorities, but that is one guide’s advice, not a universal ranking. JEU.VIDEO’s guide was published June 15, 2026 and updated July 12, 2026.
4. Igor — Fool
Why prioritize him: Igor’s Confidant advances with the story and provides broadly useful Velvet Room benefits, including Arcana Burst, which grants extra fusion experience, Third Eye, and expanded Persona stock, as documented in the community ability and progression table.
What to weigh: This is not a relationship you schedule like an optional meeting; later ranks are tied to story dates or Palace progress. Take its gains as they arrive and use them to strengthen your Persona options.
Rank #2
- New characters and confidants
- new story elements with a new semester at shujin Academy
- new story Arc, cutscenes and alternate endings
- new locations to explore
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5. Ryuji Sakamoto — Chariot
Why prioritize him: Ryuji is a natural early relationship to keep advancing: his story is central to the team, and his Confidant perks support a more convenient, aggressive playstyle. He is especially attractive if you want to build momentum in the first half of the game.
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6. Tae Takemi — Death
Why prioritize her: Takemi’s clinic gives the relationship a direct practical angle for players who want to prepare for fights. Her perks and available items can support recovery and battle readiness.
What to weigh: Social-stat requirements can affect when you can advance her. Her story is also one of the more distinctive personal subplots, making her an appealing choice even when you are not optimizing every day.
7. Hifumi Togo — Star
Why prioritize her: Hifumi’s strategic-minded perks are valuable to players who want more control over how battles unfold. She is a strong midgame target if tactical flexibility matters more to you than purely increasing damage.
What to weigh: Her availability is not automatic; schedule and social-stat gates can delay the relationship. Her story adds a quieter contrast to the Phantom Thieves’ more explosive arcs.
8. Yusuke Kitagawa — Emperor
Why prioritize him: Yusuke’s relationship supports Persona development and offers useful options for players who like experimenting with their team and skills. His progress can also be rewarding if you value the game’s character writing.
Rank #3
Story appeal: His arc is closely tied to artistic identity and the cost of exploitation. That makes him a particularly good pick for players who want the social side of the game to carry as much weight as combat perks.
9. Makoto Niijima — Priestess
Why prioritize her: Makoto’s Confidant is a worthwhile balance of practical battle support and character development. Advance her if you want a capable teammate and a story that follows her effort to define responsibility for herself.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →What to weigh: Like other optional relationships, progression depends on availability and social-stat requirements. Her place in the ranking rises for players who value narrative as highly as mechanical rewards.
10. Futaba Sakura — Hermit
Why prioritize her: Futaba’s support abilities can influence fights without requiring her to occupy a normal frontline role. That makes her a useful long-term investment for players who appreciate team-wide assistance.
Story appeal: Her arc is a substantial part of the game’s emotional texture. Since her relationship becomes available through story progression, advance it when the game opens that opportunity.
11. Ann Takamaki — Lovers
Why prioritize her: Ann offers a solid blend of combat utility and personal-story value. Her perks are a helpful reason to continue the relationship, but she is not a calendar-efficiency pick on the level of Kawakami or Chihaya.
Story appeal: Her storyline addresses friendship, agency, and self-image. If you are ranking by emotional investment rather than pure optimization, she can move much higher.
Rank #4
- Prepare for the award-winning RPG experience in this definitive edition of Persona 5 Royal
- This title is packed with beloved characters, confidants, story depth, and plenty of locations to explore with many opportunities to strengthen your abilities in the metaverse and in your daily life
- Explore Tokyo, unlock Personas, customize your own personal Thieves Den, experience alternate endings, and more
- Become the ultimate Phantom Thief and defy conventions, discover the power within, and fight for justice in the definitive version of Personal 5 Royal
12. Goro Akechi — Justice
Why prioritize him: Akechi matters most to players who want to follow the game’s character drama closely. His Confidant progression is tied to story and availability, making it less like a freely scheduled relationship and more like a thread to follow when it appears.
What to weigh: His ranking here reflects the combination of narrative importance and useful progression, not an assumption that he is always available for a meeting.
13. Kasumi Yoshizawa — Faith
Why prioritize her: Kasumi is a compelling choice for players who want to experience the Royal-specific character content. Her value is especially clear on a run where you want to engage with the material added for Royal rather than treat the game as only a combat optimization exercise.
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What to weigh: Her progression is limited by the story’s availability windows. Check for opportunities when she is available instead of expecting to advance her at any point in the calendar.
14. Ichiko Ohya — Devil
Why prioritize her: Ohya is a lower-priority pick for a gameplay-first run, but her relationship can still be worthwhile if you want a fuller cast of side stories or value the specific support her perks provide.
What to weigh: Compared with the time-saving, progression-enabling, or broadly useful combat options higher on this list, her case is more situational. Choose her because her story or particular utility fits your preferences.
15. Shinya Oda — Tower
Why prioritize him: Shinya’s perks cater to players who want more options around ranged combat. He is a reasonable specialist investment, but the narrower focus makes him less universally valuable than relationships that improve calendar efficiency or support many kinds of encounters.
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Story appeal: His relationship offers a different perspective on confidence and competition. Move him up if that character story matters more to you than maximizing broad utility.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who should you rank up first?
If you want a short priority list, start with the opportunities that either support the whole calendar or connect to Royal’s additional story. A practical order is Maruki when available, then Kawakami and Chihaya as their requirements permit; alongside them, advance story-linked Confidants such as Igor whenever the game allows it. This is a planning heuristic, not a strict schedule: social-stat thresholds, money, story events, and character availability can change what is possible on a given day.
Quick Recap
- For calendar efficiency: Focus on Kawakami and Chihaya when you meet their access conditions.
- For Royal’s expanded story: Keep up with Maruki and take available opportunities with Royal-specific characters.
- For combat and Persona growth: Favor relationships whose perks support your preferred battle approach, and bring a Persona of the matching Arcana when meeting them.
- For story first: Choose characters whose arcs interest you; a mechanically lower-ranked Confidant can be the more rewarding use of a free afternoon.
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