Persona 3 had some of the most memorable and emotional social links in the series’ history, and they’re no less impactful in Persona 3 Reload, if players can unlock them.
Social links first arrived in the Persona series in the original version of Persona 3. Atlus pulled out all the stops when plotting them out too, with each one tackling weighty subjects like grief, self-sacrifice, and death. Each one hits hard, but players have a tough road ahead if they want to unlock all of them.
Between growing social stats, dungeon-crawling through Tartarus, and actually raising the social links, players have to do a bit of research to guarantee they don’t miss some potentially hard-hitting content. Here’s every social link in Persona 3 Reload, how to unlock them, and when players can do so.
Table of contents
- How many social links are there in Persona 3 Reload?
- How to unlock every social link and when you can start unlocking each one
- How to unlock Chihiro social link in Persona 3 Reload
- How to unlock Yuko social link
- How to unlock the Hermit social link, Maya
- How to unlock shrine girl social link, Maiko in Persona 3 Reload
- Do I have to give the man in a business suit money to start his social link?
- The correct answers to give Nozomi to start Moon arcana
- Where to find the thin young man’s fountain pen in Persona 3 Reload to start Akinari’s social link
- Persona 3 Reload social link calendar, availability by days of the week
- Which social links should be done first and prioritized in Persona 3 Reload?
- Which social links are missable in Persona 3 Reload?
How many social links are there in Persona 3 Reload?
There are a total of 22 social links in Persona 3 Reload, with five unlocked automatically during the story while the other 17 must be initiated by the player in some way.
The methods for unlocking social links vary to an extreme degree, with some just needing the player to talk to an NPC while others need players to meet multiple requirements. Most of the social links require players to level them up by initiating a hangout with the character, though some also advance normally as the story progresses.
How to unlock every social link and when you can start unlocking each one
Players can unlock social links in Persona 3 Reload through story events, talking with specific characters, or visiting certain locations at the right time. The means for unlocking social links varies.
Some social links are naturally unlocked during the course of the game, such as the Fool and the Devil. The majority are “optional” in the sense that players need to take action in order to unlock them.
Here are all the social links in Persona 3 Reload, the prerequisites to unlock them, and the date when they are first available:
Arcana | Name | Date | Requires |
Fool | SEES | 4/18 | None |
Magician | Kenji | 4/22 | None |
Priestess | Fuuka | N/A | Keisuke 1, Courage 6 |
Empress | Mitsuru | 11/21 | Academics 6 |
Emperor | Hidetoshi | 4/27 | None |
Hierophant | Bunkichi & Mitsuko | 4/25 | None |
Lovers | Yukari | 7/25 | Charm 6 |
Chariot | Kazushi | 4/23 | None |
Justice | Chihiro | 4/28 | Emperor 1 |
Hermit | Maya | 4/29 | None |
Fortune | Keisuke | 6/17 | None |
Strength | Yuko | 4/23 | Chariot 2 |
Hanged Man | Maiko | 5/6 | None |
Death | Pharos | 6/12 | None |
Temperance | Bebe | N/A | Academics 2, Bunkichi & Mitsuko 2 |
Devil | Tanaka | N/A | Maya 3, Charm 4 |
Tower | Mutatsu | N/A | Yuko 4 |
Star | Mamoru | 8/2 | Courage 4 |
Moon | Nozomi | N/A | Charm 2, Kenji 4 |
Sun | Akinari | 8/8 | Maiko 3, Academics 4 |
Judgement | N/A | N/A | None |
Aeon | Aigis | 1/8 | None |
NOTE: Italicized social links are unlocked automatically during the story.
Some characters are technically available at the very start of the game, but players can only unlock the social link after meeting their prerequisites. These characters have “N/A” listed in their date. Certain characters also have other specific requirements of the player, which are listed below.
How to unlock Chihiro social link in Persona 3 Reload
Players can unlock Chihiro as a social link after talking to her on four different days after meeting Hidetoshi. Chihiro isn’t difficult to unlock, but players need to be insistent. Talking with Chihiro before unlocking her social link does not advance time, so unlocking her is not a particularly difficult or costly endeavor.
How to unlock Yuko social link
Yuko can be unlocked as a social link after raising Kazushi’s social link to level two, then talking to her on different days. Players will immediately have the chance to ask out Yuko, but she’s not necessarily going to accept the invitation. If that’s the case, players need to advance their relationship with Kazushi. After doing so, players can talk with her on a different day to unlock the social link.
How to unlock the Hermit social link, Maya
Maya is unlocked by playing Innocent Sin Online on a Sunday. Junpei gives the player a copy of the game on 4/29. From there, the game can be played in their room at their desk to unlock the Hermit social link. While players can have a lot of freedom when it comes to starting the social link, there are few accommodations made when it comes to advancing it.
How to unlock shrine girl social link, Maiko in Persona 3 Reload
The little girl at the shrine is Maiko, and players can unlock her as a social link by bringing her a Weird Takoyaki and Mad Bull, then telling her “of course.” Players need to bring Maiko two snacks in order to add her as a social link. Weird Takoyaki can be purchased from Octopia in the strip mall, while Mad Bull can be found in the vending machines at Iwatodai Station.
Do I have to give the man in a business suit money to start his social link?
Players need to give the man in a business suit, Tanaka, money three times in order to unlock him as a social link. Players ultimately need to burn through 40,000 yen in order to do so, giving him 20,000, then 10,000, then another 10,000. This is quite costly given how hard it is to come by money in Persona 3 Reload, but there’s no way around it.
The correct answers to give Nozomi to start Moon arcana
The answers to Nozomi’s questions are:
- Pheromone Coffee
- Red
- Hagakure Bowl
After doing this, players need to bring Nozomi an Odd Morsel. Odd Morsels can be found in chests in Tartarus. Unfortunately, players cannot purchase them at any store, so make sure to save one in order to give Nozomi.
Where to find the thin young man’s fountain pen in Persona 3 Reload to start Akinari’s social link
Players can find the Red Fountain Pen by talking with Koromaru in the dormitory. For whatever reason, Koromaru seemingly stole things from someone who is dying but the bad dog will give the pen to the player just by talking with them. From there, it can be brought back to unlock Akinari as the Sun social link.
Persona 3 Reload social link calendar, availability by days of the week
Social links are only available on specific days of the week. Here’s when each social link is available for a hang-out:
- Sunday – Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Mutatsu, Mamoru, Nozomi, Akinari
- Monday – Fuuka, Kazushi, Maiko, Nozomi, Aigis
- Tuesday – Kenji, Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Kazushi, Chihiro, Keisuke, Bebe, Tanaka, Nozomi, Aigis
- Wednesday – Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Yukari, Keisuke, Yuko, Maiko
- Thursday – Kenji, Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Yukari, Kazushi, Chihiro, Keisuke, Mutatsu, Nozomi, Aigis
- Friday – Kenji, Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Kazushi, Bebe, Mutatsu
- Saturday – Fuuka, Mitsuko & Bunkichi, Yukari, Chihiro, Yuko, Maiko, Tanaka, Mutatsu, Nozomi, Aigis
This should be seen as a general guideline, as story events and other occurrences can result in a social link being unavailable on a day when they otherwise should’ve been around. Still, players can roughly plot out their weeks based on this.
Which social links should be done first and prioritized in Persona 3 Reload?
Players should make sure to prioritize Maya and Akinari over all other options during Persona 3 Reload.
Persona 5 gave players a much wider range of benefits when it came to leveling up confidants. Persona 4 Golden required players to raise social links to a certain level by a certain point under threat of missing out on large amounts of content. That’s not the case here.
When it comes to prioritizing social links in Persona 3 Reload, the key consideration is how frequently the characters are available after they are unlocked. Most of the social links are available fairly regularly, with the key exceptions being Maya and Akinari who are only available one day each week. Making matters worse is the fact that both of them are only available on Sundays.
There are only so many Sundays to go around during a playthrough, and at least 20 of them need to go to these two characters to max out both of them. While Mamoru and Nozomi are both available on Sunday as well, they’re also available at other times during the week.
Which social links are missable in Persona 3 Reload?
Mitsuru and Akinari are the most missable social links in Persona 3 Reload.
In the most literal sense, almost every social link can be completely missed out on simply because players can sprint through days and simply focus on crawling through Tartarus and beating bosses. In a practical sense, Mitsuru and Akinari are the only supremely missable social links in Persona 3 Reload.
Mitsuru is easy to miss because her requirement is having a maxed academics stat and she doesn’t become available as a social link until the later stages of the game. If players haven’t been raising the stat in an active manner throughout the playthrough, it’s easy to wind up in a spot where players need to spend so much time grinding to unlock her social link that they can’t max her.
The other one that’s easy to fumble is Akinari. Akinari has an academics stat requirement, is gated behind Maiko’s social link, needs to be unlocked with a short fetch quest, and is only available on Sundays. This is also troublesome as Maya is almost exclusively available on Sundays.
In Persona 3 Reload, if players have been slacking on academics, avoiding Maiko, or ignoring Maya, it may result in a situation where the social link is unlocked too late into the game to complete him, or players will have to sacrifice Maya in order to focus on Akinari.