New Game+

New Game+

Congratulations, intrepid explorer! Having conquered the labyrinth and unveiled its deepest secrets, you now stand at the threshold of New Game+. This mode offers a fresh perspective and new challenges, allowing you to carry over hard-earned progress while tackling the game again, perhaps with a different protagonist or a renewed focus on completion.

What Carries Over?

Upon starting a New Game+, several key elements from your previous playthrough will be retained, giving you a significant advantage from the outset:

• Player Level: Your protagonist's level (either the P3 Hero or P4 Hero) will be preserved.
• Character Levels: All party members' levels will carry over, meaning you won't have to grind from scratch.
• Sub-Personas: Any Sub-Personas you've acquired and fused will be available from the start, along with their levels and skills. This is a massive boon for early game exploration.
• Equipment: All weapons, armor, and accessories you've collected will be in your inventory.
• Items: Consumable items, materials, and key items (excluding story-specific ones) will transfer.
• Compendium: Your Persona Compendium will remain fully intact, allowing you to summon any registered Persona immediately (provided you have the funds).
• Mapping Progress: All your meticulously drawn maps for every floor of every labyrinth (e.g., You in Wonderland, Group Date Cafe) will be saved, including treasure chest locations and FOE paths. This significantly speeds up exploration.
• Play Time: Your total play time will continue to accumulate.

New Game+ Exclusive Content & Strategies

While much remains the same, New Game+ introduces a few elements and encourages specific strategies to maximize your experience:

1. Unlocking the Other Protagonist

The primary draw of New Game+ for many players is the opportunity to experience the story from the perspective of the protagonist you didn't choose in your first playthrough. If you started as the P3 Hero, you can now play as the P4 Hero, and vice-versa. This offers:

• Unique Dialogue: Many conversations and character interactions will shift based on your chosen leader.
• Different Event Scenes: Certain story events will play out differently or be seen from another angle.
• Early Access to Persona Skills: The protagonist you choose dictates the initial Persona you receive (Orpheus for P3, Izanagi for P4). While you'll have access to all Sub-Personas, starting with a different main Persona can influence your early battle tactics.

Strategy: Consider forming a party composition around your new protagonist's strengths. For example, if you switch to the P4 Hero, you might want to emphasize physical attacks and buffs early on, leveraging Izanagi's capabilities, before integrating your powerful carried-over Sub-Personas.

2. Completing the Compendium

New Game+ is the ideal time to aim for 100% Persona Compendium completion. With all your previous Personas registered and your party at high levels, fusing rare or high-level Personas becomes much easier.

• Efficient Fusion: Utilize your high-level party members to quickly gain experience for newly fused Personas, making them battle-ready faster.
• F.O.E. Hunting: Some rare Persona materials are dropped by specific F.O.E.s. With your powerful party and mapped labyrinths, you can efficiently target and defeat these formidable foes for their unique drops (e.g., the rare materials from the Reaper in the Group Date Cafe's final floor).
• Money Management: Summoning high-level Personas from the Compendium can be expensive. Focus on selling excess materials and equipment you no longer need to maintain a healthy yen balance.

3. Tackling Optional Bosses & Quests

If you left any optional bosses or difficult side quests unfinished in your first run, New Game+ provides the perfect opportunity to conquer them with your overpowered team. These often yield powerful equipment or unique Persona fusion recipes.

• Revisit the Labyrinths: Head back to areas like the Inaba Pride Exhibit or the Evil Spirit Club to challenge any F.O.E.s you previously avoided.
• Elizabeth's Requests: Elizabeth's requests often involve challenging battles or specific Persona fusions. With your advanced resources, these become much more manageable. Pay close attention to requests that reward powerful accessories or unique skill cards.

4. Speedrunning Potential

For those looking for a different kind of challenge, New Game+ is excellent for speedrunning. With your levels, equipment, and maps, you can bypass many early-game obstacles and focus purely on story progression.

• Skip Encounters: Your high levels will allow you to avoid many random encounters without penalty, saving significant time.
• Optimal Pathing: Use your fully mapped labyrinths to take the most direct route to objectives, ignoring unnecessary detours.
• Boss Strategies: Leverage your powerful Sub-Personas and high-level skills to quickly dispatch bosses that once posed a threat.

Embark on your New Game+ adventure with confidence, knowing that your previous efforts will pave the way for an even more enjoyable and customizable journey through the Shadow Labyrinth!