Summary
Persona 3 Reloadmade a lot of changes to the classic title, with major alterations to how Shuffle Time works in the game. You can get plenty more benefits from the mechanic now as cursed cards have been removed and replaced with the buffs-only Arcana Burst.
As a reward for hard-won battles, you can get Major Arcana cards during Shuffle Time. Each card gives a temporary boost or permanent buff. You get an Arcana Burst and receive more post-battle rewards if you complete the set. These are unlocked by progressing through Tartarus and full moon operations. Although there are 20 potential cards, you can’t use all of them in one night. So, check out the best cards you should prioritize when exploring the tower of demise.
If you want to increase your chances of getting Shuffle Time, make sure you use Shifts and hit enemy weaknesses to trigger One-Mores. Additionally, ending your battles with All-Out Attacks will always trigger Shuffle Time.
10Temperance
Effect(s)
Adds additional points toward any social stat increases gained from activities that boost them the day after you use the card.
How to unlock:
Complete the Monad Passage on 91F, Lower Yabbashah.
Being a teen hero isn’t just about slaying monsters in the dead of night. You also need to increase your social stats. Many social links and opportunities in the game require you to have a certain amount of courage, charm, and academics. If you want to increase your power and experience all that Persona 3 Reload has to offer, you’ll want to max out all three stats.
Temperance is handy for leveling stats and spending more of your free timeincreasing social links. You canunlock Lower Yabbashah starting July 18, and it’s unlikely you’ve maxed out all your stats by this time unless you’ve simply left all potential social links on the back burner (which is not a recommended strategy.) It just doesn’t quite hit the top because it becomes pretty useless in the late game if you’re all maxed out.
Hermit - Complete the September Full Moon operation.
Chariot - Complete the September Full Moon operation.
Chariot and Hermit share a rank since increasing your HP and SP feels like a hand-in-hand experience. SP is a precious resource considering how many skills beyond physical attacks rely on this. Even if you switch up Personas, you will still only have one pool of SP to pick from. And since your character’s death is the only one that triggers a game over screen, it doesn’t hurt to increase your overall health as much as possible.
Leveling up increases these attributes, but you’ll also want to invest in other activities and hangouts throughout Tatsumi Port Island to boost them.
Don’t overlook the guy selling URLs in Club Escapade, since many of the sites he gives can add SP, HP, and other skills.
You get the benefits of these increases every time you pull up the Chariot and Hermit in Shuffle Time, so it’s worth prioritizing them over cards that give less impactful effects in the long run.
8Strength
Every member of your current party increases their max SP by five.
Complete the October Full Moon operation.
You’re not the only one that needs SP, leader! And unlike you, your party members have fewer opportunities to increase their stats. So, the Strength card feels useful no matter what stage you are in-game. It’s always a good way to beef up your party members.
This is especially helpful once you get higher-tier versions of Persona abilities since these will cost more SP per use.
Try toengage in SEES member activitiesas much as possible. Aside from earning Social Link points, you also increase their characteristics (even for members without their own link).
This is particularly useful for Ken and Yukari, whose unlocked characteristics directly impact their SP usage and recovery.
Although you unlock this Major Arcana along with Strength, it feels just a smidge more essential than the other. For starters, multiple party members have skills that use HP instead of SP. On top of that, you’ll want to maximize their health so you’re able to focus your healing on the protagonist as much as possible (although Media and its higher-tier evolutions should easily cover the group down the line.)
SP also tends to feel like a more significant resource for the main character, given your ability to switch Personas and adapt to different affinities. With everyone’s HP in order, you don’t have to use your turn buffing other party members instead of vanquishing your foes.
6Devil
You get more loot from breakable items and defeating Shadows in Tartarus until you leave.
Complete the Monad Passage on 117F, Upper Yabbashah.
Itmakes sense that the Devil Arcanais all about getting more money and goodies. This is extremely useful for Elizabeth’s requests, buying supplies, summoning Personas from the Compendium, and getting or crafting equipment for the whole crew.
It becomes even more invaluable when you get an Arcana Burst and then pick the Pentacles cards (the ones with Coins).
5High Priestess
All-Out Attacks deal more damage until you leave Tartarus for the night.
Complete the May Full Moon operation.
The High Priestess is one of the first Major Arcana cards you get, yet it remains an extremely useful resource throughout the game. Making your way through Tartarus can be very grindy, so it’s always great to have buffs that make every battle easier.
All-Out Attacks are a solid way to end battles swiftly and deal huge damage on tougher Shadows. Triggering an All-Out Attack is pretty simple if you know your enemies’ weaknesses, so you’ll easily get a lot of mileage out of this card’s buff.
4Lovers
Social Link bonuses are increased when you perform fusions in the Velvet Room until you leave Tartarus for the night.
Complete the July Full Moon operation.
Whenever you perform a Fusion, the corresponding social link that matches the potential Personas arcana will boost its level. Basically, the higher your matching social link, the more your resulting Fusion will increase in level and stats.
With the Lovers card in play, your newly fused Personas get even more bonuses (and potentially more skills). Even if you’re not deadset on completing the Compendium, this is a very accessible way to add more powerful Personas to your arsenal and unlock their higher-level skills right away.
3Fool
You obtain more EXP per battle until you leave Tartarus for the night.
The Fool is your base Major Arcana card, so you’ll already have it by the time you unlock Arcana Burst in Shuffle Time. Just because it’s in the ‘starter kit’, doesn’t mean it’s something to leave by the wayside, though. Farming EXP can be a real chore, so why not use a card that nets you more for fights you were going to win anyway?
If you want to get everyone to Level 99 in a jiff, get brave and wait around for the Reaper to appear in Tartarus. It’s a very tough battle but nets you an obscene amount of EXP if you emerge victorious.
It’s particularly useful if you’re going back and forth with different party members to get them caught up, as you will always divide your EXP with your party. Plus, Reload has made EXP gains lower. Play your cards right and you should still feel the rewards of long nights in Tartarus.
2Sun
you may fuse Personas up to five levels higher than you in the Velvet Room for the night.
Complete the Monad Passage on 225F, Upper Harabah.
By default, you aren’t allowed to perform Fusions that result in Personas that are at a higher level than the protagonist. This is because you will be unable to control them, running the risk of them killing you and everyone else in the room. Thankfully, you can utilize the power of the Sun and get those mighty Personas to stand by you.
Personas tend to level faster than the main character, so you’ll find that a Fusion being just five levels higher than you is still a ways off. Save yourself the grind and use the Sun card to unlock ultimate power.
1Justice And Star
Justice - Choose two Shuffle Time cards instead of one for the remainder of the night.
Star - Choose an extra card from Shuffle Time for the rest of the night
Justice - Complete the August Full Moon operation.
Star - Complete the Monad Passage on 171F, Upper Tziah.
The best of the best are tied for the first rank because they go toe to toe in functionality. Both Justice and Star add an extra card that you’re able to pull during Shuffle Time and they stack together. So, if you use both in a night, you can take up to three cards in total for every Shuffle.
Not only does this make it easier to reach an Arcana Burst, but it also nets you more rewards per battle. Use these cards to fill your Arcana line-up, and you’ll easily have more loot, boosts, and potential Personas from your stint in Tartarus.
