How Confidant and Social Links work in Persona 5
There are 21 confidants in the game that will gradually become available as you progress through the story. Some of them will automatically Rank Up at specific points, whilst others require interacting with.
With the exception of Sun and the story progression Confidants, you should make sure you have a Persona of the matching Arcana whenever you speak to them - it's not a requirement, but it does mean there are fewer time-filling meetings between Rank Ups.
Even if you're not particularly interested in making friends it's worth at least getting all your party members to Rank 2 to allow you to use "Baton Pass" during fights.
There's also the option to give Confidants a Gift; handing over the right things will speed up their Social Link progress, so it's worth handing over something they like. We've listed the relevant items, as well as Confidant locations, later in the article.
Romance options in Persona 5
Meanwhile, several of the confidants are available as romance options, and while it's possible to get romantically involved with more than one this is not recommended as it will come back to bite you towards the end of the game. These are:
- Makoto Niijima (party)
- Haru Okamura (party)
- Ann Takamaki (party)
- Futaba Sakura (party)
- Chihaya Mifune
- Tae Taekmi
- Oya Ichiko
- Hifumi Togo
There is no special requirements to romancing a character. During your Rank 8 to 9 interaction with them you'll get a choice of getting romantically involved or remaining platonic, but short of a Trophy and a couple of extra lines of dialogue romance is entirely optional.
Confidants and Social Links - Party Members
The Chariot: Ryuji Sakamto
- Availability: Ryuji is the first non-automatic Confidant you'll unlock on April 12th.
- Location: He can either be found at the top of the stairs outside your classroom, or in Yongenjaya Arcade.
- Gifts: N/A
The Lovers: Ann Takamaki
- Availability: Ann becomes available on June 15th, is a romance option, and requires Guts of 2 or more to get past Rank 2.
- Location: She can either be found in the classroom or Shibuya Underground Mall.
- Gifts: Chocolates, cake, pudding, lipstick, and perfume are all available from Shibuya Underground Mall.
The Emperor: Yusuke Kitagawa
- Availability: Yusuke becomes available on June 14th. If you want to complete the Strength Arcana you'll need to get him to at least Rank 6 as one of his unlockable abilities is required to Fuse the required Persona.
- Location: Find him in Shibuya Underground Walkway.
- Gifts: N/A
The Priestess: Makoto Niijima
- Availability: Makoto becomes available on June 25th, and is a romance option. Progress with her requires a Charm rank of 4 or higher.
- Location: On school days she can be found outside the student council office, and at weekends or during holidays you can find her outside the school gates.
- Gifts: Book cover and classical works from Shibuya Underground Mall.
The Hermit: Futaba Sakura
- Availability: Futaba becomes available on August 31st, is a romance option, and require Kindness rank 4 to get past Rank 2.
- Location: You can find her outside Leblanc during the afternoon.
- Gifts: Vest from Shibuya Underground Mall, and bike figurine and character goods from Tokobushiya in Akihabara.
The Empress: Haru Okamura
- Availability: Haru becomes available on October 31st, is the last Confidant you'll unlock, and is a romance option. She requires a Kindness rank of 3 or more, and because of the lateness of her arrival she can be difficult to get to maximum rank.
- Location: You can find her on the school rooftop on school days.
- Gifts: Vase from Shibuya Underground Mall.
Confidants and Social Links - Non-party members
The Death: Tae Taekmi
- Tae becomes available on April 15th, is a romance option, and requires a Charm rank of 3 or more to progress past rank 4. She's located in Yongenjaya Clinic.
- Gifts: Cactus, cake, chocolate, and fan from Shibuya Underground Mall, and mug from Shinjuku General Store.
The Hierophant: Sojiro Sakura
- Sojiro becomes available on April 20th. He requires a Kindness rank of 3 or more to get past Rank 3, and can be found in Leblanc most days.
The Moon: Yuki Mishima
- Mishima becomes available on 6th May. Initially he'll be located in Shibuya but will move to Shinjuku once the area becomes available.
The Sun: Toranosuke Yoshida
- Yoshida becomes available on May 6th, but needs to be finished before the end of August. He's located in Shibuya Square.
The Temperance: Sadayo Kawakami
- Kawakami becomes available on May 24th, is a romance option, and requires a Kindness rank of 3 or more to get past Rank 4. Until Rank 8 she's only available on Friday and Saturday nights via the phone in Leblanc, but after that she's available any night of the week.
- Gifts: Perfume, fragrance gift, and cake from Shibuya Underground mall, and mirror from Shinjuku General Store.
The Justice: Goro Akechi
- Akechi becomes available on June 10th, and will Rank Up during story progression.
The Devil: Oya Ichiko
- Ichiko becomes available on June 18th, is a romance option, and requires Charm rank 3 to progress past Rank 4. You can find her in Shinjuku Crossroads most nights.
- Gifts: Cactus, fan, pudding, and fragrance gift from Shibuya Underground Mall, and pen and mug from Shibuya General Store.
The Fortune: Chihaya Mifune
- Chihaya becomes available on June 22nd, is a romance option, and requires 100,000 yen to progress past Rank 2 so if you're not playing on Safety difficulty you may find she requires a lot of grinding to get to maximum rank.
- Gifts: Vase from Shibuya Underground Mall, and mirror and basket from Shinjuku General Store.
The Star: Hifumi Togo
- Hifumi becomes available on June 25th, is a romance option, and requires Knowledge rank 3 to progress past Rank 2. You can find her in Kanda most afternoons.
- Gifts: Book cover, fan, pudding, classical works, and fragrance gift from Shibuya Underground Mall.
The Hanged Man: Munehisa Iwai
- Iwai becomes available on July 6th, and requires a Guts rank of 3 to progress past Rank 2. You'll also need to complete the Memento he gives you between Rank 7 and 8 in order to complete the Strength Arcana. He's available in Untouchables in the evening.
The Judgement: Sae Niijima
- Available from July 9th, and Ranks up through story progression.
The Strength: Caroline and Justine
- This pair become available on July 18th, and require you to show them specific Personas. Fusion recipes for these are given in the Personas guide, but note that for the final Persona you'll need to have achieved Emperor Rank 6 and Hanged Man Rank 8. You can find them in the Velvet Room.
The Tower: Shinya Oda
- Oda becomes available on September 4th. To access him you have to do the "Cheating Gamer" Mementos mission given to you by Mishima. Once unlocked you can find him in Gigolo Arcade.
The Fool: Igor
- Igor will Rank Up as part of the story, and will gradually increase the number of Personas you can carry at a time.
The Magician: Morgana
- Morgana will Rank Up as part of the story.
