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The Confidant mechanic is one of the most well-loved in the series. It enables you to get to know a host of interesting characters, as well as supplying you with valuable skills for your Thievin’. However, despite whatever Igor might say, not all confidants are created equal. As we revisit Atlus’ Tokyo, it’s time to definitively say which confidants are most worth your limited time based on likability, personal storyline, and of course the perks they give you. From mildly useless to downright horrible to spend time with, every confidant has their place.
10 Yusuke
Yusuke is well-loved and seemingly doesn’t deserve the label of a useless confidant, but the truth cannot be veiled. While he is an incredibly lovable character and has a really good storyline, his confidant abilities aren’t as useful when compared with the other Thieves. The sheer amount of Personas in the game renders ability cards almost completely useless. Why go through the trouble of duplicating countless abilities when you could just fuse a different (and typically more powerful) Persona?
There are very few instances where ability cards come in handy (the High Counter card comes to mind), but for the most part, Yusuke’s offerings to the team are obsolete. When cruched on time, consider hanging out with one of the other Thieves for more useful abilities.
9 Haru
Haru’s another that doesn’t particularly deserve to be labeled “worst,” but there are simply better confidants in the game. She’s very likable and sweet (if a bit bland), but the corporate aspect of her personal storyline can really drag. She grows a lot as a character, but hearing her talk about board meetings gets a bit tiresome.
Additionally, Haru is another Thief with a pretty useless ability. While her SP-regenerating vegetables may seem useful at first glance, by the time you unlock Haru as a confidant players have most likely already stocked up on Sojiro’s coffee and curry. Also, with Takemi’s SP-regen patch, all SP regen items become worthless, anyways. While Haru’s soft-spoken demeanor is super lovable, there are simply better ways to spend limited in-game time.
8 Takemi
This well-loved doctor may be a truly amazing confidant, but her usefulness has limitations, unfortunately. She’s a really cool character to spend time with and her personality is super intriguing. However, her personal storyline isn’t all that engaging and is hard to become invested in since she’s not exactly an open book.
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While her perks are pretty useful, once players pass rank level 7 she becomes a bit obsolete. After unlocking discounts for her SP-regen patches, there’s not really a big reason to hang out with her anymore unless a romance with her is on the horizon. She’s undoubtedly one of the more interesting non-Thief confidants, but her lackluster storyline and useful-to-a-point abilities mean players might be better off leveling up another relationship.
7 Caroline & Justine
The twin wardens are incredibly lovable, there’s no doubt about that. Additionally, their perks are incredibly useful to fusing super-powerful Personas. However, there are two things that make them not as compelling to spend time with as other, more compelling confidants.
First, their actual storyline while leveling their confidant is pretty nonexistent. This is obviously due to the big reveal at the end of the game, but it doesn’t excuse the many boring and repetitive cutscenes players are put through while leveling them up. Second, actually leveling them up at all is such a chore. Although it can all be done in one sitting, spending upwards of 45 minutes fusing Personas rakes the nerves.
6 Mishima
It’s not really a secret that Mishima’s kinda pathetic–even the MC can be rude to him! Spending time with Mishima is definitely a chore. While he grows a lot during his personal arc, it’s just really insufferable to sit through. The weird combo of his simultaneous superiority and inferiority complex makes him draining to talk to. Additionally, he’s kind of a creep, always being a “nice guy” to girls and using forum language (like “kek”) in actual conversation.
The only reason Mishima isn’t one of the absolute worst confidants is that his perks are crucial to successful gameplay. Arguably, his EXP sharing abilities make him one of the most important confidants in the game. Still, though, the best way to go through Mishima’s confidant arc is by hanging out with him, finishing his story as fast as possible, and never speaking to him again.
5 Yoshida
Yoshida isn’t by any means a bad character, but his confidant is very middle of the road. He’s likable enough, and it’s sweet to see an adult take our “delinquent” MC under their wing. However, his character arc drags tremendously. The political intrigue around his storyline isn’t as interesting as many other confidants’, making him a chore to hang out with.
His confidant perks are pretty useful, but not completely necessary if players are okay with grinding in Mementos for money and fusing their own Personas. Ultimately, Yoshida isn’t a bad confidant, but he doesn’t pack enough of a punch to stand up against more interesting confidants.
4 Chihaya
Although Chihaya is widely considered useful, players are better off steering clear of her. It takes far too much time and money to even start your relationship with her, and her storyline isn’t all that engaging, either. She’s alright as a character–the fact that she doesn’t like the MC at first is entertaining and different, actually.
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However, her confidant abilities’ usefulness only stretches to first playthroughs (and maybe not even then, if players optimize their time). If players are using a guide or are successful at organizing their days, Chihaya becomes worse than obsolete.
3 Iwai
Fans’ favorite ex-yakuza gun enthusiast is unfortunately not a super important confidant. Iwai’s gruff exterior and mushy center make him super lovable, though! His storyline, while not incredibly engaging, is still really interesting by virtue of his shady practices.
However, Iwai’s whole thing is guns, which aren’t really important in Persona 5. The gun system was revamped in Royal, but they’re still not anywhere close to being as important as other modes of attack, leaving Iwai’s confidant perks in useless territory. His level 10 perk is pretty good in Royal, but still is obsolete enough to make him pointless to spend time with.
2 Ohya
Many fans consider Ohya the absolute worst character in the game (other than Shido), and for good reason. Ohya’s likability fluctuates wildly with her friendly and irritable moods interchanging constantly. Plus, if players take advantage of ambushing enemies, her perks are completely obsolete. She’s a chore to spend time with for many reasons, but the biggest one being she’s so unlikeable.
However, what saves her from being the absolute worst confidant is that her storyline is really interesting, arguably one of the best out of all non-Thief confidants. Her investigative journalism ties in pretty well with the MC’s story, too. Depending on when you max out her confidant, you learn about Shido from her before anyone else. Still, though, her intriguing character arc really isn’t worth it when crunched for time.
1 Shinya
The absolute worst confidant in all of Persona 5 Royal is Shinya without a doubt. He may be like, 12 or something, but it doesn’t give him the right to be such a brat. Sure, he stops being such a stinker while progressing in his arc, but the arc itself is boring, too. His whole storyline centers around how his mom is mean to other moms, which is less than engaging.
To add insult to injury, his confidant abilities are arguably the most useless in the whole game. He specializes in gun skills, and anything pertaining to guns immediately renders confidants less-than-helpful due to guns’ lack of use in fights. To make matters worse, his gun skills have caps on how often you can use them in a day, making them incredibly pointless.
NEXT: Persona 5: 10 Best Confidants In The Game
