Persona 3 Reload reintroduces players to the original Persona 3 cast. With so many characters to choose from—there’s 10 from the original game, to start—it’s a challenging task to assemble a perfect party of four ready to traverse the floors of Tartarus. That said, the roster does offer a few excellent combinations that make up the best party.
The best party in Persona 3 Reload
The optimal party lineup in Persona 3 Reload will vary based on your playstyle and how you prefer to approach battles. Every character in the game brings something unique to the table, with some focusing on physical attacks, others on magical attacks, and the rest having powerful supporting capabilities.
A practical approach to building a strong lineup is to incorporate a variety of abilities. However, if you prefer a specialized approach, there are different party compositions to fulfill those needs. For clarity, we have devised several party lineups you can employ depending on the situation you encounter. If you prefer playing at higher difficulty levels (Hard/Merciless), having a specialized lineup becomes even more crucial.
These compositions should assist you in navigating most areas in Tartarus:
- Balanced party: A well-rounded mix of offense and defense.
- Physical attack party: An offense-oriented lineup focused on physical damage.
- Magical attack party: An offense-oriented lineup focused on magical damage.
- Damage sustain party: A defense-oriented lineup focused on recovery.
But before we delve into the best team compositions, it’s essential to acknowledge one crucial member of SEES.
Special Mention: Fuuka Yamagishi
While Fuuka isn’t directly involved in battles, her invaluable backline support enhances every one of the following compositions. Fuuka consistently buffs the team with essential attributes like attack, defense, accuracy, and evasion, while her abilities unveil enemy weaknesses and scan floors. Her Personas Lucia and Juno contribute even more to the battlefield.
Fuuka’s Theurgy skill Oracle allows her to bestow a random positive effect on all allies when used, while Juno grants an enhanced positive effect. Just ensure to have her analyze an enemy to initiate her abilities. As Fuuka progresses, she acquires more skills that expedite the identification of enemies’ strengths and weaknesses.
Now, select a party lineup that aligns with your playstyle, and let’s begin.
Balanced party
The balanced party comprises characters that deal substantial damage while also providing adequate defensive buffs. For your initial Persona 3 Reload playthrough, this lineup is recommended as it can smoothly navigate through most battles.
- Protagonist: Physical damage, Almighty damage, Utility
- Yukari: Pierce damage, Wind damage, Healing, Debuffs
- Junpei: Slash damage, Fire damage
- Akihiko: Strike damage, Electric damage, Buffs
Since the Protagonist can adapt to various Personas, prioritizing Physical damage for offense with Almighty damage as backup is ideal. Yukari primarily serves as support and secondary damage dealer, utilizing her high magic stat for Wind damage and providing healing and resurrection to sustain the party.
Junpei stands out as a formidable physical attacker with his array of Slash damage skills. For enemies resistant to Slash, Junpei’s Fire skills serve as an effective alternative, supplemented by his Theurgy skills for increased damage output and healing.
Akihiko complements this composition with both physical and magical damage capabilities. His buffs enhance attack, defense, and critical strike chance, aligning perfectly with all damage types. Additionally, Akihiko’s Theurgy skills bypass resistances and have a chance to shock enemies.
Physical attack party
This party composition specializes in delivering potent physical damage. As the lineup relies entirely on physical damage, it includes party members proficient in Slash, Strike, and Pierce to cover all bases and exploit physical weaknesses effectively.
- Protagonist: Almighty damage, Utility, Healing, Debuffs
- Akihiko: Strike damage, Electric damage, Buffs
- Aigis: Pierce damage, Slash damage, Utility
- Koromaru: Slash damage, Dark damage, Buffs
With a focus on heavy physical damage, the Protagonist assumes a supportive role, prioritizing healing and supporting teammates. Akihiko contributes Strike skills and physical buffs, gradually filling his Theurgy gauge for access to powerful skills.
Aigis serves as the primary damage dealer, wielding both Pierce and Slash damage to exploit various physical weaknesses. Her Orgia Mode provides a temporary power boost, albeit with temporary loss of control. Koromaru complements the lineup with powerful Slash skills and Dark damage for enemies immune to physical attacks, while his Theurgy skill boosts the party’s physical damage significantly.
Magical attack party
This party lineup emphasizes offense but relies on magical damage instead. Given the diversity of magic elements, the lineup aims to achieve maximum coverage across different elemental types.
- Protagonist: Almighty damage, Fire damage, Light damage, Dark damage
- Yukari: Wind damage, Pierce damage, Buffs, Healing
- Mitsuru: Ice damage, Slash damage, Status ailments
- Akihiko: Electric damage, Strike damage, Buffs, Debuffs
In this setup, the Protagonist focuses solely on offense, leveraging the strongest elemental skills from his Personas. Incorporating a blend of Light and Dark damage offers the potential for instant kills, while Almighty damage serves to bypass resistances.
Yukari assumes a supporting role, prioritizing healing and buffs, while also contributing Wind damage for elemental coverage. Mitsuru specializes in powerful Ice spells that can freeze enemies, enabling critical hits from physical attacks. Her Theurgy skills bypass resistances and add Almighty damage to her arsenal. Akihiko rounds out the lineup with buffs and debuffs, ensuring the party delivers swift and potent magical assaults.
Damage sustain party
This lineup prioritizes surviving prolonged engagements, particularly boss battles, by maintaining the party’s health. It incorporates a mix of healing, curing, debuff removal, and resurrection skills.
- Protagonist: Almighty damage, Light damage, Dark damage, Healing, Buffs, Utility
- Yukari: Wind damage, Pierce damage, Healing, Cures
- Aigis: Physical damage, Healing
- Ken: Light damage, Healing, Cures
The Protagonist focuses on healing skills and buffing the team, while also providing offensive support with Almighty, Light, and Dark damage. Yukari serves as the primary healer, offering healing and curing capabilities alongside offensive Wind and Pierce damage.
Aigis contributes to both damage and healing, utilizing physical skills while also supporting the party’s health. Ken specializes in Light damage and acts as a reliable defensive character. His Divine Retribution skill ignores Light resistances, and his Divine Intervention skill provides potent revival and healing for the entire party, along with a defensive buff.
These party compositions in Persona 3 Reload offer diverse strategies to tackle various challenges encountered in Tartarus, catering to different playstyles and preferences. Choose the lineup that best suits your approach, and embark on your journey with confidence.
