How hard is it to max all social links without a guide?

[kamicci]

Hi!. My biggest struggle with Persona games is how annoying it is to max all social links and stats without following a guide. I just finished Metaphor and the calendar and times were so chill that I'm dreading going back to the very specific calendar management of Persona games. I'd love to jump in blind and at my own pace, but I also don't have enough time to play twice if I fail to max all links or miss the true ending because of that

[Jremiahh]

easy to max all social links, hard to max all social linked episodes (your male party members) shinjiro and yukari are placed at the same time so its hard

[Mistie]

I'm at the ending of the game and fully maxed only 50% playing without guides. I can't even start Moon arcana because i don't know how to find food that he didn't eat, so i miss him. And all main girls you can't start they're link until you fully maxed all your social stats. So i decide to leave all social links to ng+

[HayateButler]

I would put Persona 3's schedule as the strictest, and while P3 Reload made some changes to relax the requirements, the inclusion of Link Episodes means that extra time given to you gets spent there. It's also worth noting that there's no Social Link requirements for the true ending, just a prompt that should be obvious once you reach a certain point in the story.

As for trying to max out all Social Links and Link Episodes, I think it's unlikely to happen if you go into it blind. Not to mention there's a number of side content that is fully voiced which you can easily miss.

[kamicci]

Thanks everyone! I will try to find a good guide then so I can enjoy the game to the fullest!

[Endora]

Or you can let the social links to NG+ and fully enjoy a first blind run with all discoveries on your own. Actually, the social links were one of my last achievements because I don't like to use guides on the first run.

[HRHV87]

Without a guide it'll be nearly impossible to comple all social links, no cap. I cleared the OG game like 10 times and I still managed to leave Aeon incomplete on my first run in Remake because a few things here and there were different and 2 seperate mistakes locked me out of completing all social links.

[NecroMaster]

On my first run I managed to do it but I only had like 2 days to spare

[Jremiahh]

Originally posted by NecroMaster:

On my first run I managed to do it but I only had like 2 days to spare

How did you do all the linked eps on first playthrough lmao I missed ryoji because I had to max yukari and fuuka at same time

[Burdpal]

Extremely difficult. New side stories add layers to an already tight schedule.

[Efeas]

I have managed just recently to do run with all social links maxed and on Merciless difficulty, which does not let you import NG+ bonuses. I did not use a guide at all, but I had prior knowledge of my two previous play-throughs, occasionally reloaded to improve the conversation with the social link when I did not get any or just one note, and I ended up with just two free days left.

So... It's doable, but I doubt you will manage on completely blind run. Possible but very much unlikely.

[HRHV87]

Originally posted by Jremiahh:

Originally posted by NecroMaster:

On my first run I managed to do it but I only had like 2 days to spare

How did you do all the linked eps on first playthrough lmao I missed ryoji because I had to max yukari and fuuka at same time

The basic strategy is prioritizing based on availability. Prioritize the least available first like Yuko, that show up twice per week, compared to Chariot that shows up four times per week.

You also have to take into account that you WANT to unlock social links ASAP so you have to prioritize also based on unlock requirements, for example, you want to level Yuko up to 4-5 first because she unlocks Tower, You want to rank up Hierophant at least up to lv3 first to unlock Temperance and then you can put Hierophant in the backburner for months on end, That means that you want to rank up Chariot first because he unlocks Yuko and Yuko unlocks Tower, you can rank up Hermit to 4 during the weekends and then use the weekends to boost school social links, why up to lv4? because Hermit lv4 unlocks Devil so on and so forth.

[//mage]

I used a guide and still fell short one day. Just like all persona games, if you are not leveling social links constantly, you're gonna miss out most likely.
It is annoying how little room for error there is in these games, I wish they'd give the players a little room to make up for not picking the "best" answers sometimes.

[BlackDragon]

I'm currently petrified that I'll miss out on maxing all the Social Links by, like, 1-3 days - because I wasted three SCHOOL DAYS topping up three girls that were in that annoying "I don't think our relationship will grow even if I spend time with them" place, and did it JUST BEFORE the 'Dating Site Login' option showed up with the Darknet Seller in the club. They'd just been stuck there for so damn long, with no apparent opportunities to see them on holidays since I was still spending Sundays working through the Sun-link... only, NOW there seems to be no end to the ways I could've gotten them past that hump without wasting days on it! Dating Site, spare holidays where I could go to the shrine, even running into them in the evening while walking the dog...

Honestly, it's stressing me out how few actual school days there are - they're like the shortest resources in the game, compared to the sheer number of Social Links that can ONLY be worked during those times. Regular school activities keep being interrupted by holidays, field-trips, work experience week, and TWO WEEKS lost to each set of exams! I've already basically run out of links to work on outside of school, but there's half a dozen still left INSIDE, and it's tearing me apart... >.<