Persona 5 Royal New Game Plus: 9 Things That Carry Over

Use completed save data

1. How to start New Game Plus in Persona 5 Royal

Finish the story and save the completed data when the game asks. That clear-data file is the key: return to the title screen, choose Load Game, and select it. The opening sequence begins again, and the game imports eligible progress into the new run. A normal save made before the ending is not the same as completed data.

Create the NG+ run in a new save slot at the first opportunity. Keeping the original clear data separate gives you a clean recovery point if you choose the wrong difficulty, want to compare records, or decide to begin another route later. Difficulty can be selected again, subject to the normal rules for the chosen setting; NG+ does not force a higher mode.

There is no chapter select. New Game Plus returns to the beginning of the calendar, so Royal-only content still depends on meeting its normal requirements. In particular, reach Councillor Rank 9 by November 17 if you want the third-semester route again.

Start checklist

• Save the completed data after the ending.
• Load the clear-data file from the title screen.
• Choose the new run settings and save into a separate slot.
• Confirm your money, social stats, equipment, skill cards, and Compendium when their menus become available.

Keep the useful grind

2. Persona 5 Royal New Game Plus carry-over list

Royal carries forward the systems that would otherwise repeat long collection or stat-building work. The Compendium does not place a high-level Persona directly in Joker's stock; it preserves registered entries so you can summon them once the Velvet Room and enough money are available. Register the final version of every important build before completing the first run.

Equipment and skill cards are especially valuable because they provide early combat options without waiting for late-game shops or itemization. Social stats also keep their ranks, opening Confidant gates as soon as the relevant character and date are available. Permanent HP/SP increases earned by Joker through training activities remain, although ordinary character levels restart.

Replay the actual year

3. What resets in Persona 5 Royal NG+

New Game Plus is not a continuation after the final boss. It is a new calendar run with imported resources. Joker and party members return to their starting levels, Confidants return to Rank 0, and story dungeons, requests, unlocks, and travel access follow the original schedule. Your powerful registered Personas remain in the Compendium rather than in the active stock.

Confidant farewell gifts can shorten the reward curve, but they do not preserve relationship ranks or bypass introduction dates. You still need to meet each character, carry a matching Arcana for ordinary rank conversations, clear required requests, and protect hard deadlines. Romance choices also reset, letting you choose friendship or a different relationship path.

Prepare the file you will inherit

4. Seven things to do before finishing your first playthrough

The best NG+ preparation happens before the ending because the new run inherits your registered collection and durable resources. Start with the Compendium: finish the Personas you expect to use, register their final skills and traits, and avoid leaving an older version recorded. A perfect catalog is optional; a small set of well-built coverage, support, and boss Personas is more useful than many unfinished entries.

Convert spare funds and opportunities into things that carry. Buy or itemize strong equipment, duplicate rare skill cards, and keep enough cash to summon expensive entries. Maxing social stats is also high value because it removes repeated stat gates. If time remains, use gym, temple, or room training for permanent Joker HP/SP gains rather than grinding levels that will reset.

Finish any Confidants whose farewell gift matters to your second route. The item does not preserve their rank, but after you meet them again it can make selected abilities available sooner. Use the complete Confidant guide to identify deadlines, and the itemization list to compare equipment and skill-card rewards before the final sequence.

First-run shutdown checklist

• Register every Persona build you genuinely want to summon again.
• Save money rather than spending it on levels or consumables that will not matter in the next run.
• Create strong weapons, armor, and accessories for returning party members.
• Duplicate or itemize useful skill cards for coverage, passives, and support moves.
• Raise all five social stats as far as the remaining calendar reasonably allows.
• Collect farewell gifts from maxed Confidants during the ending sequence.
• Make a separate normal save and completed-data save before starting NG+.

Turn saved stats into free time

5. Best early-game route for a Persona 5 Royal second playthrough

Maxed social stats change the calendar more than overpowered combat does. Skip activities chosen only for Knowledge, Charm, or another completed stat and spend those slots on Confidants, books with unique rewards, fishing, darts, billiards, Jazz Jin upgrades, or scenes you missed. Classroom answers can still provide benefits and are easy to clear with the P5R classroom answer guide.

Bundle Palace and Mementos objectives into as few safe visits as practical. Strong gear and Compendium access shorten battles, but an extra dungeon day still consumes the same calendar slot. Keep inexpensive matching-Arcana Personas in stock for Confidant meetings; summoning only endgame builds can waste money and fill every slot.

Decide the run's purpose before April becomes busy. A completion run protects every limited Confidant, an alternate-story run chooses missed dialogue and relationships, and a challenge run can avoid high-level summons. Imported resources are options, not obligations, so set limits if instant endgame Personas would remove the difficulty you want.

A practical NG+ priority order

• Protect Royal deadlines and any Confidants missed on the first run.
• Complete Palaces efficiently while preserving safe SP and recovery margins.
• Use free stat slots for Jazz Jin, technical-rank activities, optional scenes, and trophies.
• Re-register improved Persona builds whenever a second-run version becomes better than the inherited record.

Spoiler-light replay goals

6. Persona 5 Royal New Game Plus exclusive content

The main mechanical reward is access to goals that a first completed run cannot fully cover. Satanael becomes available through special fusion in New Game Plus once the required Velvet Room conditions and ingredients are available. Owning DLC can alter ordinary fusion brackets, so use a Royal-specific calculator with the same DLC settings as your save when preparing ingredients.

Caroline and Justine can be challenged as an optional NG+ superboss during their available period. Royal also adds a later Lavenza challenge in the third-semester route. These fights are optional, demanding, and spoiler-sensitive; prepare a broad Persona roster, resistance coverage, buffs, debuffs, healing, and reliable damage instead of assuming carried gear alone will solve them.

NG+ is also the cleanest place to finish missed trophies, Thieves Den awards, alternate romance or friendship routes, and max-Confidant Persona unlocks. None of those requires rushing the main story. Keep separate saves around major calendar decisions so one experiment does not erase a completion route.

High-value second-run goals

• Fuse and register Satanael with a deliberate trait and skill role.
• Prepare for the twins' optional battle before their story cutoff.
• Unlock the third semester again before planning the later Lavenza challenge.
• Complete missed Confidants, requests, awards, room decorations, books, games, and relationship choices.

Rebuild without wasting yen

7. New Game Plus Persona fusion workflow

Open the Persona 5 Royal Fusion Calculator after the Velvet Room becomes available and match its DLC selections to the Personas installed in your game. Search the Persona list for the target, compare reverse recipes, and summon only the registered ingredients that shorten the route. A high-level result may cost heavily to summon early, so compare the direct fee with a lower-cost fusion chain.

For a required move, check the skill list and carried skill cards before building an inheritance chain. For the twins' requests, follow the Strength Confidant guide; that route can be completed without consuming ordinary calendar slots, making it a natural NG+ side objective.

Treat inherited Personas as a library, not a fixed team. Update registrations when a new build improves the trait, resistances, or skill set. Keep at least one low-cost Persona for each Arcana you are actively ranking so Confidant support does not require repeatedly summoning expensive endgame entries.

Fast calculator sequence

• Select the DLC configuration that matches the current platform and save.
• Open the target Persona and compare direct, reverse, and special-fusion requirements.
• Check carried skill cards before paying for a long inheritance route.
• Register the finished build so later NG+ files inherit the improved version.

Final save check

8. Persona 5 Royal NG+ summary

Persona 5 Royal New Game Plus preserves the collection and planning work that makes a repeat run flexible, not the story progress that defines the year. Enter with registered Persona builds, money, gear, skill cards, strong social stats, permanent Joker gains, and useful farewell gifts. Expect to rebuild levels, active Personas, Confidants, Palaces, requests, and every deadline-dependent route.

Use the saved resources to spend less time grinding and more time on the run's actual goal: missed relationships, a complete calendar, Satanael, optional bosses, trophies, or a self-imposed challenge. Keep the completed data, first NG+ save, and major decision saves separate. That small file-management habit protects dozens of hours of progress.

Checked sources

Sources and media notes

The official Atlus and Steam pages verify the Royal release and platform context. Community references were used only to cross-check carry-over mechanics and replay structure; game terms can vary slightly by platform language.

• Official Persona 5 Royal site
• Persona 5 Royal on Steam
• Push Square New Game Plus guide
• Megami Tensei Wiki New Game Plus reference