All New Features and Mechanics

Persona 3 Reload (P3R) introduced a lot of new features and mechanics that weren't in the original game. Read on for the complete list of new features and mechanics introduced in the remake.

New Battle Features and Mechanics

1. Shift: Baton Pass from Persona 5
2. Theurgy: Special Skills Usable by Filling Gauge
3. Control Allies in Battle
4. New Shuffle Time Features

While Persona 3 Reload was described as a faithful remake, it also brings new features and mechanics that greatly improve the experience compared to the original games. Some of these mechanics and improvements were adapted from later games in the series.

Shift: Baton Pass from Persona 5

The Baton Pass mechanic introduced in the Persona 5 games has been adapted to Persona 3 Reload, known as the Shift mechanic.

Shift or Baton Pass is an ability that can be used when One More is activated, which is done by downing an enemy through their elemental weakness or a critical hit. When Shift is used, the user passes on their One More turn to another party member and gives them a boosted attack and recovery power for that turn.

Theurgy: Special Skills Usable by Filling Gauge

Theurgy is a completely new battle mechanic to the Persona series introduced in Reload. Theurgy attacks are ultimate moves that characters can only perform once they fill up their own Theurgy Gauge.

The gauge can be filled up by performing actions such as attacks and Persona skills, and certain actions, depending on the party member, will fill it up faster.

Control Allies in Battle

The ability to issue direct commands to your teammates was absent in Persona 3 FES, but was introduced in Persona 3 Portable.

This ability has been retained in Persona 3 Reload, allowing for much easier strategy executions. There's still an option to let the game choose, for the players who want the same experience as the originals.

List of Characters

The Reaper Unlocks at the 62nd Floor

One of the most iconic opponents in the Persona franchise is the Reaper, which only appears under certain conditions. In previous Persona 3 versions, the Reaper only appears when you draw a card with a skull icon on it during Shuffle Time.

However, in Persona 3 Reload, the Reaper can only appear upon reaching the 62nd floor. Prior to that, players won't be able to encounter the Reaper.

New Shuffle Time Features

1. Guaranteed Shuffle Times
2. Sword Cards Now Give Skill Cards
3. Arcana Cards

Shuffle Time is a classic feature in Persona 3 that presents players with several cards to choose from after battles. Choosing a specific card will result in multiple rewards such as more yen, more EXP, increased stats for the next battle, and even a new Persona!

However, while most things in Shuffle Time remain the same, some things are slightly different.

Guaranteed Shuffle Times

Shuffle Times come at random if a battle is ended normally, wherein a party member eliminates the last enemy with a simple attack or skill. Ending a battle with an All-Out Attack, however, guarantees a Shuffle Time!

Be sure to score as much All-Out Attacks as possible and time them correctly to get as many Shuffle Times as you can!

Sword Cards Now Give Skill Cards

In previous versions of Persona 3, Sword Cards reward players with new (or in most cases, old copies of) weapons. In Persona 3 Reload, Sword Cards give off Skill Cards that you can use to teach a Persona new skills!

With this new feature in place, you can learn extremely useful skills as early as the start of your exploration of Tartarus! These skills can include Passive Skills like Growth and Invigorate to keep your party members alive and ready for battle!

Arcana Cards

Completely new to Persona 3 Reload, Arcana Cards bestow different buffs to Personas of that respective Arcana! These cards are perfect for when you find yourself heavily relying on a specific Persona.

New Daily Life Features and Mechanics

1. Dorm Activities
2. Link Episodes
3. Fully-Voiced Social Link Events
4. Mail Function
5. Calendar Shows Available Jobs
6. Fortune Teller at Club Escapade
7. New Activities
8. Various QOL Features

Raise Stats and Gain Skills by Doing Dorm Activities

Dorm activities are a new feature where you can bond with your allies in the dorm to gain various bonuses. These activities include using the PC, gardening, reading books, and more.

Some activities raise your characters' stats; for example, reading a book was shown to raise the main character's Academics Social Stat, while watching the DVD raised the Charm stat.

Link Episodes: Side Stories for Certain Characters

In an interview with the developers, a new feature called the Link Episodes was revealed. These are side stories that you can play through for more interactions with certain characters. Note that this is a separate mechanic from the Social Link mechanic.

You'll unlock Link Episodes as the story progresses, but each episode is timed and will be no longer available at some point if you progress more, since they're mostly connected to the current events in your playthrough. It's recommended to complete these as soon as you unlock them.

Link Episodes Guide

Characteristics: Special Skills Gained by Completing Activities

You're not the only one who can benefit from Dorm Activities; your allies can as well! Among the benefits of these activities are the new Characteristics feature, which are special skills with unique effects for each ally.

A prominent example of this is Junpei's Critical Boost Characteristic, which increases his critical rate and critical hit strength, gained by bonding with him through gardening.

Fully-Voiced Social Link Events

All Social Link events are now fully voiced in Reload. The only exceptions are those with Maya, since you only talk to her online in her Social Events.

Social Links Guide and How to Start Them

Mail Function

Much like in Persona 5, some of your Social Links will send you text messages inquiring if you're available to hang out. Using the Mail function can be a shortcut to spending time with these Social Links should you choose to respond and agree.

Do take note that just because they did not send a text message, it does not mean that they're not available to hang out. Some of your Social Links might simply be waiting for you to approach them and ask them out, so be sure to check in on them regularly!

Calendar Shows Available Jobs

Part of your daily life, Social Link establishment, and Social Stat building is working part-time jobs. These jobs will reward you with money and increase a Social Stat depending on where you work that day.

Players can now take a look at the Calendars to see which part-time jobs are available that day!

Fortune Teller at Club Escapade

Speaking to the Fortune Teller at Club Escapade will affect how your next expedition in Tartarus will be. You can spend money to either have rare Shadows appear more frequently, or have the Shadows on your next visit be stronger.

Availing these services will result in more money and more valuable rewards, as well as yield more EXP for faster leveling!

Various QOL Features

Many quality-of-life improvements have been added to Reload, giving a better experience and immersion for players.

1. Minimap in Free-Roam
2. Current Objective UI
3. NPCs Walking Around

Minimap in Free-Roam

The free-roaming sections of the game outside of Tartarus have been greatly improved in Reload; zones in an area are now connected without load transitions between each other.

This comes with the needed change of having a minimap everywhere, which wasn't present in the original except for when in Tartarus.

Current Objective UI

Under the time/date UI at the upper right corner of the screen, there is a new UI feature that tells the player what their current objective is.

NPCs Walking Around

NPCs have been greatly increased in Reload, and you'll spot some of them walking around, bringing more life to the free-roam portions of the game!

New Tartarus Features

Tartarus has been greatly improved in Reload. New features include character events, breakable objects, locked treasure chests, and more. Exploring Tartarus will be more enjoyable compared to the original games.

1. Dashing in Tartarus
2. Destructible Objects
3. Auto Recovery Feature

Dashing in Tartarus

You can now dash inside Tartarus! This useful feature allows you to get to places faster, making it less tedious to explore the labyrinth. However, much like in Persona 5, dashing will make it easier for Shadows to spot you!

Destructible Objects

Another new feature introduced in Persona 5 and adapted to Persona 3 Reload is destructible objects in the environment that can yield random rewards. You can either ignore these objects or strike them to net additional junk that you can sell!

Destructible objects that emit white light will drop Twilight Fragments.

Auto Recovery Feature

Auto Recovery is a new feature usable in Tartarus that allows you to completely heal your party with a single button. Doing so will use your party members' healing skills automatically, using up SP in the process.

Teammates Volunteer to Scout

When exploring Tartarus, teammates will sometimes volunteer to scout the next floor. This will most likely happen once you find the stairs, or will be suggested by Fuuka after mapping out an entire floor.

Should you agree to their suggestion, you will temporarily lose a party member. However, upon meeting up with them, the next floor will partially be mapped out, and they will have items to give you.

New System Features

1. Modern User Interfaces
2. Rewind Option
3. Subtitle Localization

Modern User Interface

Doing its status of “Remake” justice, Persona 3 Reload presents a much more updated and modern take on its user interface while remaining faithful to its original design and aesthetics.

The classic blue pop-up animations have been updated but are still reminiscent of the original animations, the sounds and BGM have all been remastered, and the interface has been designed to be more organized and user-friendly!

Rewind Option

The Rewind function is a new feature in Persona 5 Reload that enables players to go back to one of the most recent points in time such as Morning, After School, or the previous Evening. This function is accessible in the System option in the menu.

This feature is incredibly useful for when you've missed something, or if you want to try out a different activity such as hanging out with different Social Link or working at a different part-time job!

Subtitle Localization for More Languages

The game subtitles are now localized for 13 languages, with new additions including Russian, Polish, and more. Game audio will still only be in Japanese and English.

Persona 3 Reload Related Guides

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