Quick Links
The second palace ofPersona 5 Royalbelongs to Ichiryusai Madarame, a famous Japanese artist who’s beenstealing the works of his pupils for over a decade. He’s the first proper target of the newly formed Phantom Thieves, who plan to force him to confess his sins to the public.
The first infiltration of Madarame’s Palace took place on May 16. There isn’t much to say about this day’s efforts since there’s only one path forward, and players won’t encounter any security or Shadows. However, there are loot items along the way worth grabbing, and the reception area has two chests in it. The regular chest containsStraw Doll x3,while the locked chest has aLunar CutlassMorgana can use. The Phantom Thieves don’t get much farther than that, so the real infiltration of the secondPersona 5 RoyalPalace begins with the second attempt.
RELATED:Why Persona 6 Shouldn’t Follow the Action RPG Trend
SP Exhibition Room
Before discussing the palace itself, it’s important that players understand how much time this infiltration will take up. While players canexplore Kamoshida’s palace in a single dayonce all the tutorial sessions are over, Madarame’s palace will use up three days even if players do everything right. The game warns the player directly about this new wrinkle, but the extra time needed may still catch some by surprise if they wait too long to infiltrate the palace.
As for the infiltration, players will need to start from the beginning again since they’ll have found no safe rooms during the first visit. But while the museum was quiet and empty before, there are now infrared lasers cutting off several routes and guards patrolling the first exhibition room.The Shadows found hereareHua Po,Mokoi, andApseras.
The game will explain that when Joker comes across a partly active laser grid, players can use the Action button to slide or jump across them. Dashing will also do this automatically. Running into the lasers will add 5 percent to the Alert Level, and as usual, the Phantom Thieves will have to exit the palace if the Alert Level reaches 100. Some other important facts about the lasers include:
After the first main room, players will need touse a grapple point to bypass the lasersin the hallway. The grapple point is one-way only, but players can unlock a door on the far end that connects to the entry room. With that done, head past the reception area and the Infinite Fountain to reach a new area.
RELATED:Games That Are Worth Sinking 100+ Hours Into
1st Exhibition Room
Just past the Fountain on the left is another locked door which will become shortcut later. For now, players must make their way through the main gallery and deal with the guards. New Shadows includeShiisaaandKoropokguru, and there’s a Savage Shadow in the area that manifests as aShiki-Ouji. The Shiki-Ouji is immune to physical damage types and is only weak to Nuke damage, soplayers should try to capture a Shiisaato get access to the right damage type.
Something else to do here is check the upper-left corner of the gallery area. There’s a grapple point here that leads into the locked back room, and by staying on the ledge players can drop into an isolated area with a chest that containsFire Magatama x3. Get out by climbing up the crates, and then go to the other end of the back room to get anAtom Ring. The Atom Ring gives the wearer access tothe Nuke skill Frei, which will give another character a way to hit Shiki-Ouji’s weakness.
After leaving the exhibition gallery, players can turn left to open up the shortcut, but the way forward is to the right and up a flight of stairs.
RELATED:More Persona Soundtracks Hit Spotify
2nd Exhibition Room
Players should spot a locked security room straight ahead, but go past it for now and approach the giant golden vase. Morgana will trigger a trap no matter what the player does, so start fixing the situation by climbing up the boxes to the right of the exit. This will lead to a ledge over a side area, and below is a Shadow Guard and a switch on the wall. Joker is alone for now, so avoid the Shadow and hit the button when it isn’t looking.This will free Annand open a path to the other side area, so go speak to Ann to get her back in the party and climb back up to the ledge.
The other side area is a little more complicated. The Shadow here is less dangerous now that Joker isn’t alone, but avoiding it is still probably a good idea. Nothing will happen when players hit the button, but use Third Eye to spot a suspicious painting with a second button behind it.Hitting it will free Ryuji, but the laser grid is still active and Morgana is still trapped. To continue, players should climb up the crates in the second side area and use a vent to crawl into the security room.
There’s a Control Terminal in here that can shut off the lasers, but it’s locked with a password. Fortunately, all players have to do is exit the security room and approach the Shadow Guards to overhear them talking about the new password (07734). Head straight back into the security room to use it and free Morgana.
After all that, Morgana still wants to steal the vase, but it’ll turn into the first Treasure Demon of the game. Treasure Demons are tricky to fight, but once players knock one down using a critical hit or a weakness they can either capture it to get a special kind of Persona or defeat it to get a big cash payout. In this case,Regentis weak to both Psy and Nuke damage. The game also mentions that Treasure Demons are more commonwhen the Security Level goes up, but that mostly means players should look out for them on days when they steal a Treasure.
In the room past the Regent vase, players will have to jump through a gap in the wall to get around a triple laser grid. There’s a giant pit on the other side, but the patrolling guard will reveal that it’s only a painting on the floor. Players should check the women’s restroom (despite Ann’s objections) to get a chest with aChakra Chokerand then check the men’s restroom to break a loot item.
RELATED:JRPGs To Play If You Loved Final Fantasy 10
Trapped!
Continue on from the optical illusion room to enter a new exhibition room, but this time security is waiting for the Phantom Thieves and will trigger a trap. Electric beams will block every exit,forcing Joker to look for another way around.
To escape this ambush, climb up the boxes on the far side of the room and use a grapple point to get up to a balcony. The button here will deactivate the barriers, but there’s still more to do in this area. Instead of leaving through the door, go up the stairs and either fight or avoid the Savage Shadow patrolling the hallway. There’s a second balcony opposite the one with the button, and it has a chest with aRelax Gelinside.
There’s also a ledge between the two balconies that lets Joker grapple up to a catwalk. This will let players reach the far side of the stained-glass windows and access a chest with aRasetsu Ofuda. This secret area also holds theRed Vanity Seed,the first one in the Palace.
Past the 2nd Exhibition Room is the Central Garden area, along with a security system the Phantom Thieves have no hope of bypassing. There’s no way to continue without heading back to reality, so stop by the Garden safe roomand exit the Metaverse.
RELATED:Persona 5: What The Tarot Cards Reveal About The Phantom Thieves
A Two-Pronged Ploy
The next day, the Phantom Thieves will automatically enact their plan to bypass the door. While Morgana and Anninfiltrate Madarame’s real atelier, Joker and Ryuji wait inside the museum for the security to drop. When it does, run forwards and attack the waiting Shadow guard. Players will have a chance to ready their characters for the fight, but they won’t have a chance to save.
Fortunately, the enemy isn’t too tough. The miniboss is called aNue, and while it’s strong to Cold and Curse damage it’s weak to Fire. The All-Out Attack damage isn’t much with only two party members, but a few solid hits should take it down in no time. Players can then head to the nearby security room to shut down the Central Garden security system for good (and don’t bother going past the statue since doing so is currently impossible).
After some shenanigans in the real world, Ann, Morgana, and Yusuke will end up in the Metaverse. Simply head to the exclamation point on the map to continue and eventually players will run into a cutscene where Yusuke confronts Shadow Madarame. He’ll awaken to his Persona, Goemon, and then start a fight with anIppon-Dataraand 4Koppa Tengu. The Tengu are weak to Yusuke’s element, Ice, so use him to smash them all. The Ippon-Datara has no weaknesses and repels Wind skills, souse physical skills (Yusuke’s other specialty)to hammer down his HP.
With Yusuke now officially on the team, the deadline doesn’t change but the reason for it does: while Yusuke won’t insist Ann model for her anymore, Madarame will be taking legal action against the Phantom Thieves once his exhibition ends. On the bright side, players now only need one more day to finish exploring Madarame’s Museum.
RELATED:Persona 5 Royal: Every Playable Character, Ranked
Treasure Hall Lounge
When the Phantom Thieves reenter the Metaverse, they’ll discuss Yusuke’s code name and the game will explain how the party system works now that the Thieves have 5 members. Like in previousPersonagames, players can build their party by talking to them in the entry hall, but unlike these earlier games players can swap party membersat any time in a palace (or in Mementos)from the Status screen. In addition, skills and items used in the menu can heal the whole party and not just the active group.
The area past the Central Garden is called the Treasure Hall Lounge, and the new Shadows in this area includeJack Frost,Onmoraki,Inugami, andNue. Nue is a level 20 Shadow, and that’s the highest level players will encounter in this palace.
Once players grab the map by the giant statue, they’ll see a lounge area full of laser grids. To the left of the lounge is a chest with aRevival Bead, so get that first. Head to the right to find a locked shortcut door, and past it is an entrance to the lounge. Two of the laser grids have weak points players can use to bypass the Shadow Guards, but the two chests and the back wall are currently unreachable.
Cross to the far side of the lounge to find a chest with aKongou Ofudainside, and past it is another miniboss. This one is aKurama Tenguwith twoKoppa Tengusupporting it. The Koppa Tengu are as weak as ever, but the Kurama Tengu has no weaknesses and nulls Wind damage. However, it does take a lot of damage from an All-Out Attack, so use Morgana’s Lucky Punch to try and get a critical hit.
RELATED:Comparing Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden’s Soundtracks
This miniboss will drop aMediacard, which is the first of the Skill Cards players can encounter. Skill Cards can grant skills to Joker Personas that otherwise wouldn’t get them, and later on Yusuke will be able to create them using Blank Cards. For now, either use the card on an effective Persona or file it away for later.
Past the miniboss is a locked chest, this one containing aYuibitachi. This is a weapon for Yusuke, and it’s better than the currently available Airsoft Shop weapons. The miniboss was also guarding a security room, and once again it needs a password. Head back to the lounge entrance to overhear some Shadow Guards, and this time they’ll mention “Madarame’s Feet” as a hint. Specifically, the hint is the plaque at the foot of Madarame’s statue, so read it and listen to Morgana to get the code (1120).
Head back to the security room and use the code to open several shutters. This includes the two chests in the lounge, so head on over to getDizzy Vial S x3and aBead Chainin the locked chest. Players can also reach the back wall now, but to continue forward the Phantom Thieves will have to enter the painting of a bamboo forest. One painting will lead to another, the second painting will lead to a ledge, and the ledge has a vent that leads to the final room of this area. Head to the adjacent safe room to save the game, open the locked shortcut door, and then proceed onward.
RELATED:Persona 5 Royal: How to Win the Lottery
Treasure Hall Gallery
This room doesn’t have many enemies, but it does have an unusual painting puzzle players must solve to move forward. First, though, players should head down to the ground level to pick up a loot object. After that, players can solve the puzzle by following these steps:
Down a hall from the gallery is a back room with several enemies, and here players can encounter the ShadowAme no Uzume. There’s also a chest concealed behind some boxes, and it holds aHiranya. The next room has a large vent passage that lets players drop into a lower area, and on the far side of this lower room is a grapple point that leads to a new location. There’s a chest with aBeadhere along with a buttonthat opens the way to theGreen Vanity Seed. Hop back down to collect the seed, then enter the door on the other side of the room to proceed.
RELATED:Persona 5 Royal: How to Rank-Up Baton Pass
Labyrinth
The Phantom Thieves are getting close to the Treasure now, and so the reality of the Palace is once again starting to fall apart. Like the Gallery, this area is mostly focused on puzzles, and there’s only one Shadow Guard in the Labyrinth. This guard sometimes spawnsKoppa Tengu, which is the first chance players have to capture one.
The first thing players should do is drop down twice and then head to the right to reach a chest with aBlack Rockinside. The rock is useless on its own, but it’ll come in handy later. Next, defeat the Shadow and interact with the suspicious-looking wall behind it to open a portal to a new landing.
Eventually, players will see two versions of the famous Sayuri painting. The two portals in this area don’t go anywhere new, butif Joker identifies the real Sayuri(the one wearing red) it’ll turn into a golden mote and activate one of the portals. Enter this portal to continue.
The next location has four Sayuri copies, and this time the difference is that only one copy has a tree branch in the background. There’s also another fake wall in this area, and behind it is a chest with aSoul Drop.
The third and final area has two sets of four Sayuri copies, along with one on its own near the entrance. However, all of them are fake: the real Sayuri (red clothes, branch, hair in front of the shoulder) is behind another fake wall that also hides aBaptismal Waterchest. Nothing seems to happen in this area when Joker finds the real Sayuri, but when players go back to the first landing with Sayuri paintings the portal at the base of the staircase is now golden. Head through to find the exit to the Labyrinth, and be sure to pick up theBlank Cardin the chest by the door.
RELATED:Best JRPGs On The PS5
Main Treasure Hall
The Phantom Thieves spot the Treasure right away in the next room, but there’s a lot of security they need to find a way past before they’re done with this Palace. After watching the cutscene, head down the left path to unlock a new safe room and then keep going to reach another security room. Players can check the three options on the security terminal in any order, but following this investigation is a mandatory fight against threeMakamiShadows. These Makami can’t be captured, but the other Shadow Guards in this area will provide more opportunities.
The security terminal will have opened several shutters, and so the path on the right is now open. There’s another safe room at the top of the ramp, but halfway up is a vent that leads to a locked chest with aZen Outfitinside. There’s also a balcony with a grapple point that brings Joker to the catwalks, and up in the catwalks is another vent that leads to an area on the far side of a locked door from the upper safe room.
This area also has theBlue Vanity Seed, but it’s guarded byArahabaki. Arahabaki is immune to melee damage and strong against ranged damage, but they’re weak to Wind and Nuke. Combining the three seeds creates theCrystal of Vanity, which grantsthe Brush of Vanity skill. This removes a persona’s weaknesses, making it especially useful for Joker.
Next to the upper safe room is a balcony with a grapple point, and this is the way forward. The room on the far side has a chest with aSnuff Soul, and the exit leads to a second security room. The Phantom Thieves can access catwalks that end right above the Treasure from this room, and there’s a lever in the room that lowers a hook down past all the security. This information will complete Morgana’s heist plan, and players can now leave the Palace and deliver the calling card to Madarame.
However, there’s one more thing worth mentioning. Before players leave, they should get the news that they can now use the Electric Chair in the Velvet Room and convert Personas into items. Players will need special items to complete the conversion, such as the Black Rock from earlier in the dungeon. By combining one with Regent, players will get theRegentaccessory that adds 3 Strength and gives the holder an automatic attack buff at the start of every battle.
Persona 5 Royalis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Mechanics That a Persona 3 Remake Should Take From Persona 5 Royal
