How To Unlock Persona 5 Royal’s Ninth Palace And Semester (Spoiler-Free Guide)

Persona 5 Royal expands the original experience with approximately 15-20 hours of additional gameplay content, but accessing these features requires careful attention to specific character relationships. The most significant addition is the entirely new third academic semester featuring the game’s ninth and concluding palace, all occurring after the base game’s storyline concludes.

Many players inadvertently miss this substantial content despite extensive playtime investment. The expansion introduces major narrative arcs and gameplay enhancements that significantly enrich the overall experience. To ensure you don’t overlook these critical elements, we’ve compiled comprehensive guidance for unlocking the complete endgame while minimizing spoilers.

Success hinges on advancing three specific Confidants—Takuto Maruki, Goro Akechi, and Kasumi Yoshizawa—to designated rank thresholds before hard deadline dates. The game provides some assistance through text notifications when these characters become available and highlights crucial calendar dates through dialogue cues. However, the specific timing windows for certain rank advancements can be easily missed without proper planning.

The single most critical relationship for unlocking the additional semester and final palace belongs to Shujin Academy’s guidance counselor Takuto Maruki. He enters the narrative following the completion of the first palace, employed by the school to support students dealing with psychological challenges.

An unavoidable story sequence introduces Maruki early in the game, and because you and your companions have experienced significant trauma, mandatory counseling sessions initiate rank 1 automatically. Throughout your journey, you’ll witness other Phantom Thieves members also participating in therapeutic sessions with him.

Ranks 2 through 5 become accessible immediately after the introductory sequence. Maruki typically positions himself near the nurse’s office on specific school days and will message you when he’s available to meet. Advancement to ranks 6 through 9 becomes possible only after September 20, though you can complete all ranks 1-9 during this later period if you postponed earlier opportunities. The final rank 10 activates automatically on November 18 provided you’ve achieved rank 9 by that point. Crucially, reaching rank 10 becomes impossible if you haven’t attained rank 9 before November 17.

Beyond narrative importance, developing Maruki’s Confidant provides tangible gameplay advantages. He progressively increases your SP capacity and unlocks valuable abilities including Detox (removing status ailments), Flow (enhancing combat mobility), and Mindfulness (improving mental resilience). These skills prove exceptionally useful during palace infiltration and boss encounters. Maruki also offers refreshing philosophical perspectives on mental wellness that become particularly relevant when you encounter the new story content.

Unlike the original Persona 5 where Akechi’s story progression was automatic, Royal requires active investment of time to advance his Confidant ranks. Your initial encounter occurs during early June’s class excursion to the TV Station, an unavoidable story moment that establishes rank 1.

Following this introduction, Akechi becomes available in Kichijoji, Persona 5 Royal’s new explorable district. He serves as your introduction to several new recreational activities including billiards and the atmospheric jazz club. Ranks 2 through 5 become immediately accessible with no temporal restrictions, though advancing to rank 3 mandates having both Knowledge and Charm social stats at level 3 beforehand.

Rank 6 becomes accessible only after a specific story event on September 3, where he awaits you at Leblanc café. The subsequent ranks 7 and 8 become available from November 2 onward, but you must complete both rankings before November 18. Important tactical advice: prepare thoroughly for the rank 8 confrontation, though failed attempts can be retried indefinitely. Successfully meeting these conditions allows ranks 9 and 10 to unlock automatically as the main storyline progresses.

Advanced players should note that Akechi’s later ranks provide unique combat advantages and narrative insights that significantly enhance the overall story resolution. Planning his stat requirements early prevents frustrating progression blocks during critical late-game periods.

The third essential Confidant is Kasumi Yoshizawa, Shujin Academy’s new transfer student. Your initial brief encounter occurs on the train early in the game, but meaningful interaction begins during the new park cleanup event on May 30. This story-mandated sequence cannot be missed and establishes rank 1 while opening her Confidant storyline.

Kasumi’s Confidant progression features several story-gated rank advancements that unfold throughout the academic year. Unlike Maruki and Akechi, several of her rank increases occur automatically through main story progression, reducing the risk of missing critical thresholds.

Her Confidant arc provides unique insights into her character background and motivations, while also granting combat techniques unavailable through other relationships. Planning your schedule to accommodate her availability windows ensures you maximize both narrative depth and gameplay benefits.

Successfully navigating Persona 5 Royal’s expanded content requires strategic time management across multiple systems. The most common mistake players make is underestimating the importance of balanced stat development alongside Confidant progression.

Implement a prioritization system: focus on Maruki first due to his absolute requirement for third semester access, then Akechi for his narrative significance, followed by Kasumi for complementary benefits. Each Confidant has specific ‘dead periods’ where advancement isn’t possible—use these windows to develop social stats, complete palaces, or advance secondary Confidants.

Utilize Kichijoji’s new facilities strategically. The jazz club provides stat boosts while billiards enhances combat abilities. These improvements indirectly support your Confidant progression by meeting stat requirements more efficiently.

For players seeking comprehensive gameplay mastery, our Complete Guide offers additional strategic frameworks applicable to Persona 5 Royal’s systems. Similarly, understanding character-specific mechanics through our Class Guide can provide additional insights into specialization strategies.

Remember that Persona 5 Royal’s calendar is extremely tight—planning multiple save files at key decision points (particularly before November deadlines) provides insurance against irreversible mistakes. The game’s notification system, while helpful, shouldn’t be relied upon exclusively for time-sensitive content.

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » How To Unlock Persona 5 Royal’s Ninth Palace And Semester (Spoiler-Free Guide) Essential guide to unlocking Persona 5 Royal's third semester and final palace with strategic Confidant progression