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The first seven Palaces ofPersona 5 Royalarea play on the seven deadly sins. One of these sins is the sometimes-included Vanity (or Vainglory), and both Wrath and Sloth get combined in Futaba’s Tomb, but either way it only makes sense to end the set with the worst sin of all: Pride.
Pride (or Hubris) is the source of all other sins in this framework, and Masayoshi Shido is the ultimate source of evil inPersona 5 Royal. He used Madarame and Kaneshiro in his financing network, he killed Futaba’s mother and traumatized her daughter, he supported Okumura’s hostile business activities, and he manipulated Sae Nijima into going after the Phantom Thieves. Shido is even responsible for Kamoshida, since the Shujin Academy principal was his toady. So whilethe story can continueafter reaching the Cruiser of Pride, Shido is very much at the center of everything.
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The First Infiltration
The first entry into the Cruiser of Pride takes place on 11/24. On this day, Joker will guess “ship” as Shido’s last keyword (though it may take a few tries) and appear on a massive cruise ship. Players will then get to explore the first area of the ship, and unlike earlier Palaces this will include some Shadow fights and treasure chests.
The first fight is an unavoidable miniboss encounter with aCerberusShadow. This Shadow is weak to Ice damage, so throw out an ice spell, and the fight will end quickly. There are several more patrolling Shadow Guards on the upper levels of the Entrance Hall, and they can includeNarcissus,Sarasvati, andDakini. Guard Dogs are back after being absentfrom the last two Palaces, and like the miniboss, these Shadows always include aCerberus.
The second level also holds two treasure chests. Turn right to get aBlack Kogatanaand left to getFear Vial S x3. The door forward is on the fourth level, but before entering players should jump onto the chandelier across from the door. Climb up the chandeliers to reach a grapple point and get up to the rafters, because hidden, there is a chest holding aBlack Rock.
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Central Passage
The door leads to the Central Passage, and at the far end of the main hallway is a set of gold doors that lead to the Representatives Chamber. As Morgana explains, the Treasure is right behind the doors, but to open them the Phantom Thieves will need to gather five keycards. Unlike previous Palace rulers,Shido won’t make an appearance until the boss fight, so the Thieves split up to gather information from the unusually talkative cognitive humans wandering around.
To continue, players must run around and speak to each of Joker’s party members. At this time, players can also pick up a complete map of the ship from the pamphlet stand in the main passageway. There’s a safe room along the northern wall, and next to it is a staircase leading to aNirvana ST. Joker can’t enter the safe room while the party is split, but once players speak to everyone Morgana will suggest going to the safe room to compare notes.
According to what the Thieves learn, there are five VIPs on board, and the letters of introduction they hold will become the keycards they need to enter the Treasure vault. These VIPs are:
This is a lot of information to keep track of, but fortunately players don’t need to worry about it. The Cruiser of Pride is mostly linear,just like the other Palaces, and the characters will always make it clear when the next target is nearby. As for right now, the Thieves will decide to finish exploring for the day and teleport back to the front deck. Joker will refuse to reenter the ship, and so this marks the end of the first day of exploration.
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Central Hall
The infiltration window for the Cruiser of Pride opens on 11/25, and the last possible day to infiltrate is 12/16. Properly equipped players can complete the infiltration in one day, and like with Futaba the calling card and Treasure run take place on the same day.
Thanks to the safe room, players can continue their infiltration in the Central Passage area. To head deeper into the Palace, go to the staircase south of the main passage and through the door.
Players will find themselves in the Central Hall area. The Central Hall has no new regular demons, but they may encounter the palace’s Treasure Demon,Emperor’s Amulet. This Shadow is weak to Electricity. Very rarely,players may also encounter theCrystal Skull, which is weak to Wind damage.
Aside from Shadow Guards, the Central Hall also has several bars and a few cognitions that Joker can speak to. They have nothing important to say for now, though, so head down either staircase to check out the lower level. There’s a locked door in the northwest corner, and a door to the restaurant in the southeast. A sign by the door will mention that visitors need a member’s card to get into the restaurant, but Joker must be turned away by the Waiter at the door for this part of the infiltration to continue.
Head back into the Central Hall and go to the upper level, because there’s a woman in a purple dress just north of the Central Passage exit whom Joker can now speak to. She’ll mention that she lost her membership card next to a bar, and so Joker can now talk to the various bartenders in the area. The correct bar is in the northeast corner of the lower level, so walk up to that bar and say, “Has anyone turned anything in?” and then, “A membership card.”
With the card in hand, the Thieves can now enter the restaurant. Makoto and Ryuji will take the lead when talking to Ooe, but eventually a fight will break out and Ooe will turn intoYamata no Orochi. This miniboss drains Ice,but he’s weak to Psy. The Phantom Thieves will discuss how strange it is for cognitions to turn into Shadows, and then players can proceed by taking the restaurant’s elevator.
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Mid-Starboard Hallway
The Mid-Starboard Hallway introduces a new mechanic that’s unique to Shido’s Palace: mouse statues. As Futaba explains, various rooms in the hallways have Shido statues that emit fields that turn the Phantom Thieves into mice. This “mousification” will end as soon as the Thieves leave the room, but as mice the Thieves have a fraction of their attack and defense scores and can’t use their Personas. As such, players should avoid Shadows in these areas at all costs.
Another issue is that mice can’t check search objects or open doors, and so certain exits are effectively blocked off while the statue field is active. On the bright side, mice can enter vents too small for humans to crawl through, and this feature will be essential for getting around the ship’s hallways. Players can always see when a statue is active because the area they affect will appear gray on the map instead of black.
A new Shadow in this area isTitania. The Mid-Starboard Hallway also holds the first Savage Shadow, which on the Cruiser isKali. The area’s safe room is near the elevator.
To start things off, players can’t open the door in the statue room and the door south of the room is locked, but a duct on the east wall will let Joker reach a new room. There’s a Shadow patrolling the area, so avoid it and leave through the north exit. The way east is locked, so go west into the large room. The southeast exit goes back to the starting room, and players can open the door as a shortcut to the safe room.
The exit from the large room is a mouse-sized duct in the northwest corner. Turn left after exiting to find a strange button and push it. This will shut down all the “mousification” fields in statue rooms, and the gray rooms on the map will turn black.
At this point, players can open all the doors and fight all the Shadows in the area that they couldn’t before. In the large room, players can open the southwest door to reach a balcony, use a grapple point to swing to another balcony, and then enter the human-sized ventto reach theRed Pride Seed. There’s also anEmpowering Ofudain the northeast room and a chest withHell Magatama x3in the room with the exit elevator.
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Pool Deck
The elevator leads to the Pool Deck, where the Thieves expect to find the second VIP. First, though, be sure to unlock the chest straight ahead for anImmovable Shirtand then open the safe room on the right. Several shadows patrol the poolside, and they can includeGaruda.
The former noble is the man in white-and-green trunks lounging to the southwest of the pool. He won’t say much at first, and so the party must speak to other cognitions to figure out what to do. Specifically, Joker should speak to the woman standing to the southeast of the pool. This will give Ryuji an idea, so follow his lead and speak to the bartender next. This doesn’t work, so next check out the vent cover by the fitting room door.
Head into the fitting room to get a cutscene. Ann puts on an unusual performance, but ultimately the former noble turns into a Shadow and a fight breaks out. The Shadow isForneus, and while it drains Ice and nulls Psy it’s weak to Electricity. Defeating the Shadow will give the Thieves the next letter of introduction and some information, and with that accomplished it’s time to leave the Pool Deck through the northeast door.
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Upper Starboard Hallway
The Upper Starboard Hallway introduces another new wrinkle to the mouse mechanic: mousetraps. While the first encounter with a mousetrap is rather embarrassing for the Phantom Thieves, in the future players can choose to steal cheese from a mousetrap to regain a small amount of HP or SP. However, this only worksif Joker is a mouse at the time.
First, players should open the safe room, which is right by the entrance again. The door east of the safe room is locked, so head north instead. This is where players will encounter the mousetrap and a statue that’s affecting the hallway. Fortunately, the effect only covers the north hallway, so players can duck into the southern hallway to ambush the Shadows that patrol the area. Note that these Shadows can now includeBarong.
The southern hallway is cut off by a locked door, so be careful when approaching the east edge. Fortunately, there’s a duct in the north hallway that can help them get past the Shadow patrols. Getting through the north hallway will let players unlock a shortcut back to the safe room, but the door further east is locked. This means players will have to enter the room to the south.
This room holds a button that controls the statue fields, but players shouldn’t press it just yet. Instead, take the west exit to a room with an active statue and a mousetrap. Eat the cheese, then check the south wall for a mouse duct. This will get the player past another locked door, and once it’s unlocked players can head back and hit the button. This will let Joker open the north door in the west room and get access to a chest with aHomunculusinside.
Next, go to the room south of the button room and open the door, then go around to unlock the button room’s east door. There’s one more locked door in the way, so press the button again to turn the statues back on. Note that turning on the statues also closes every door in the area, which can make it hard to get around as mice.
From the button room, go east, south, then east again to reach a new room. There’s a duct on the north wall that will let players past the locked door. Unlock it, but keep the statues active for now and continue east to reach a new room with a vent on the south wall. Go through it to get past yet another locked door and into a hallway with a Savage Shadow and a chest containing aRasetsu Ofuda.
Players can now shut off the statues for the last time and use a door in the eastern room to reach the large room in the northeast. These rooms feature three circular areas, and in the middle of the western circle is a grapple point. Use it to reach a balcony and then use a vent to reach a locked chest. The chest holdsKaito Ranma,a weapon for Yusuke. Go east from the large room to exit this area.
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Back Deck and Entertainment Hall
Players will find themselves on the Back Deck, and the Thieves will comment on how the Shadow Guards are now equipped with combat gear. They may look more dangerous now, but the new appearance has no impact on how easy or hard the Shadows are to ambush or run from. That being said, as of the Back DeckForneusis now a regular encounter.
The next safe room is at the base of the stairs on the lower level of the Back Deck, and there’s aChewing Soulin a chest underneath the stairs. The door to the Entertainment Hall is north of the stairs, but before the Thieves can enter the “cleaner” (a yakuza hitman) will show up and force them to fight twoBaphometShadows. Baphomet is strong to Fire and nulls Curse, but he’s weak to Bless attacks.
The Entertainment Hall also features a new Shadow calledKing Frost, part of the Jack Frost family. There’s nothing in the starting area, so head down the spiral stairs and go to the far end of the hall to open a locked chest and getaDisciplinary Whipfor Ann. Head down another floor to find the next safe room, but ignore the other door on this level and head down the last set of stairs.
The TV executive is below, and while Haru tries to talk to him, players will end up fighting him as usual. The executive’s shadow isHanuman, and his two assistants becomeGaruda. Hanuman is weak to Ice but drains Fire while Garuda are weak to Electricity but null Wind. Once the third letter of introduction is in hand, it’s time to use the exit one floor above.
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Lower Port Hallway and Side Deck
Starting in the Lower Port Hallway, Shadows can include regularHanumanencounters,Atavaka, andOberon. At 66,Oberon has the highest level in the Palace.
The Lower Port Hallway starts off with a large room and a statue, but the statue is off for the moment. Players should take advantage of this by clearing out the Shadows and using the grapple point in the north circle to reach another balcony with another chest, this one containing aKongou Ofuda.
The only useable door out is in the southwest, but both exits from this hallway are locked. However, there is a button players can press, and there’s a statue in the hallway. Press the button, then go to the southern end of the hallway to find a duct that goes west. Take it to reach a new room, open the locked door to the east, push the button again, then open the north door in the room to unlock the second locked door.
At this point, players can climb the stairs to the west to reach a few new rooms. The south room holds a chest withMusk ST-EN x3inside, and the northeast room has another button at the end of a short hallway. Push it, then head to the northwest room to use a duct on the south wall. This will get players past a locked door that blocked the way to theGreen Pride Seed.
Back in the northeast room, use a duct on the east wall to reach a hallway that leads back to the large room. Players can now use a duct on the south wall of the large room to reach the exit, and there’s a side passage in this area with a button that will shut the statues off one last time.
The Side Deck is a much smaller space. At the east end is a large duct with smoke pouring out, and while players can interact with it the Phantom Thieves will refuse to go in (at least for now). Instead, head west to unlock a new safe room, and also encounter the cleaner will show back up to throw threeBaphometsat the party. The Shadows are no harder than they were last time, souse Bless skills to take them down quickly.
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Mid Port Hallway
The Mid Port Hallway is mostly optional. A Savage Shadow patrols the large eastern room, and a statue has a mousification field active over it, but if players sneak around to the north exit they can take the elevator and leave right away.
Players who want to explore first should go to the west exit. The room to the south holds a chest with aBead Chaininside, and at the far west end of the hallway is a button that shuts off the statue fields. This will let players fight the Savage Shadow and open the chest in the room to get someSoul Food.
The elevator heads back to the Central Hall and a new safe room, so unlock the door and listen to the Thieves discuss their plans. The main question is where to find the IT president, so head to the restaurant and speak to the Waiter in the southeast corner to learn where they send his room service.
As it turns out, the fastest way to the IT president’s room is the Side Deck, so use the safe rooms to teleport back and go to the east end of the area. The Thieves still refuse to use the duct, but Joker can now jump on the side of the ship and climb up. Before going up the whole way, be sure to jump down to the west and run to the end of the platform to find a locked chest containing aSoma.
Next, head back up to the platform covered in spotlights and start climbing up the steel platforms. Use the east platforms when possible to reach a grapple swing point, then climb into the balcony to enter a new hallway. The elevator doesn’t work, but there’s a chest to the east with aBalm of Lifeand the last Will Seed to the north. The guard this time isKaliwith twoDakini, and both Shadows work the same way as the normal encounters throughout the rest of the ship.
Once they’re down, players can grab theBlue Pride Seedand create theCrystal of Pride. This accessory gives the holder Defense Master, andJose can upgrade itto theRing of Pride. The Ring version adds the ability Tyrant’s Will, a Charge that the holder can apply to any party member.
Players should now head back down to the steel platforms and this time take the western ones up to a lower row of balconies. Jump across to the one with an open door and Futaba will step up to have a chat with the IT president. It all ends the same way, though, and the IT president becomesOberonwhile his supporters becomeTitania. Oberon is weak to Nuke and nulls Psy while Titania does the opposite, so stick with single-target skills for this fight. Oberon can summon more Titania Shadows if the first two go down, but overall this fight is fairly simple.
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Engine Room
There’s only one VIP left to find and one place left to explore: the Engine Room. The game will now allow players to open the smoking vent in the Side Deck, but before entering players should make sure the party is at full strength. A lot will happen down in the Engine Room, and this is the last opportunity to save before going in.
First, the Thieves will jump down in front of the yakuza cleaner and face off against fourBaphometShadows. These go down just as fast as the previous shadows, but there are harder fights ahead.
Head down the stairs to find the cleaner in a room. The door is locked, but players can find a vent in a side room. This leads toa rather curious conversation about tattoos and artwith Yusuke, but ultimately the Thieves will face the cleaner in battle. The cleaner’s Shadow is Ongyo-Ki, and he uses mainly physical skills and has no special affinities.
Following this fight, players should heal up again and restore as much SP as they can. Akechi is waiting just above, and he’s ready for a fight.
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Akechi
Akechi isn’t a Palace ruler, but this encounter ison par with the other boss fightsthe game offers.
The fight starts out with aCerberusandCu Chulainnthat Akechi has driven psychotic. They hit harder than the regular versions of these shadows, and they have more hit points, but their defense is lower. In addition, Cerberus is still weak to Ice, making it an easy source of One More attacks.
After the Shadows go down,Akechi will step in and fight the party directly. Like when he was a party member, Akechi uses Bless and Curse skills, and he’ll start using the Almighty skill Megadolaon when his health is low. However, Akechi no longer has any affinities.
After his defeat,Akechi will change his costumeand summon his second Persona, Loki. During this phase, Akechi is strong against both Bless and Curse attacks, and he prefers to use Physical attacks. He’ll also use Tetrakarn to block Physical attacks, but players can disable this without taking much damage by shooting him once with a relatively weak gun.
Later on, Akechi may switch to using magic attacks, specifically Curse and Fire attacks, and cast Makarakarn to block magic attacks. When this happens, a 50-HP item is the best way to take down his shield without too much backlash. If Akechi gets a One More attack at any point, he’ll use the ability Desperation to buff his attack and debuff his defense. He can also use Dekaja and Dekunda to deal with party buffs and debuffs.
Once Akechi drops to one-third of his starting health, he’ll use a super attack called Laevateinn. This deals heavy Almighty damage, and he always targets Joker with this attack. However, he foreshadows the attackby wasting a turn staring at Joker first, so take advantage of the warning to have Joker guard while another character uses a defense buff.
Once Akechi falls, a long cutscene will play, and if players ended Novemberwith Justice at rank 8, they’ll reach 10 by the end of this sequence. Eventually, players must leave the Engine Room by the elevator, and the party will teleport back to the Central Passage. Simply use the keycards on the gold doors, enter the elevator, and the path to the Treasure will be open. The only thing left to do after that is to leave for the day and send Shido a very special calling card.
Persona 5 Royalis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
