All Persona 5 Tactica characters, ranked

There are eight characters you can add to your team in Persona 5 Tactica that can be used during battles. You get to choose one to three to swap into every mission or quest, so I’ve ranked each character below.

Each member of the Phantom Thieves has their strengths and weaknesses and you’ll have them all available once you get to level 14. While you can augment or cover these highs and lows by using Personas, not all of the Persona 5 Tactica heroes are created equal. So, who to choose in those crunch scenarios?

Best characters in Persona 5 Tactica

To be honest, all the characters have at least one upside in Persona 5 Tactica and you’ll likely find you use all of them during the course of the game. You’ll pick even characters I put at the bottom of the list in certain scenarios, as their particular skills fit best, so never totally rule out a hero. Also, your play style may mean you rate one of the Thieves far higher than me. There are no right answers for every scenario here, so pick the team that suits your play style.   

8. Joker

Our glorious leader and your own playable character may not be a popular choice for the bottom spot on the list. However, Joker is pretty average at most things and lacking in others, while having no defining feature you can’t do without. A movement speed of 6 is good, but both HP and SP are average. Probably Joker’s strongest suit is the high damage and long range of gun attacks. However, this is trumped by the extra movement speed and range of Yusuke. Meanwhile, his main skill (Despair) is okay, but I put it in the lower tier. 

7. Mona (Morgana)

You may find yourself using this craft cat more often than seventh place might suggest, but that’s more down to situations fitting Mona’s skill set rather than her overall ability. Equal top movement speed (7) can be useful, as can her high SP. However, these are balanced out by the lowest base HP in the game and a relatively weak main skill (Sweep), as well as low melee damage and a single target gun skill. Buffing SP is a nice part effect, while Winds of Time (medium damage over a huge area) is a good Voltage skill in certain scenarios. 

6. Ryuji (Skull)

While a movement speed of 6, good melee damage, and a solid AOE gun skill can make Skull catch the eye, all are trumped by other characters you’ll find higher on the list. Shock (Ryuji’s main skill) is one of the weakest in the game too, and he has the lowest base SP in the game. Even his Voltage skill Brigantine Blitzkrieg is mediocre (medium Shock damage, but in a straight line) as it is probably the most situational of all the team members. So overall, Skull is solid but unremarkable. 

Related: Quietly Storming the Castle guide (Persona 5 Tactica)

5. Makoto (Queen)

Some may be surprised I’ve got Makoto so high up the listings, but hear me out. She comes packing the Vortex skill, which is one of my absolute favorites, while she has a very high base HP and pretty high SP. Movement of 5 is pretty poor, as is her melee damage party effect. But these are made up for with above-average gun range and damage, alongside solid melee damage too. As with Skull, her Voltage skill is unremarkable, but I prefer her due to the better base skill set. 

4. Haru (Noir)

While the lowest base movement speed in the game (4) is really offputting to me, you can’t ignore the (quite literally) explosive power of Haru. Her HP and SP are average, a party boost of Melee Damage fails to get my heart racing, and even worse, Hypno is a pretty poor main attack skill. However, you’ll be putting her on your team for her gun attacks, which do high explosive damage over a large area and at a pretty long range (base of 6). This is practically a skill in itself, but one you can use every round.

3. Ann (Panther)

Ann has the highest base SP in the game of all the team members who can equip Personas. Her main skill (Burn) isn’t one of my favorites, but it is better than average. Her base health is low and her movement speed is average (5), but Panther makes up for this with a range-7 gun attack that dishes out AOE multi-shot damage. This more than makes up for very low melee damage, as does her Voltage skill Femme Fatale (summons a unit to do damage to a target), which is always going to be useful. 

2. Erina

Erina has great movement speed (6), plus the highest base HP and SP in the game. This is of course balanced by the fact she can’t equip a Persona, but Forget as her main skill attack more than makes up for this. Her melee damage is solid and while her gun range is only 5, it is AoE, which is often useful especially if you’re low on AoE Persona skills late in a battle. Erina’s excellent Voltage skill Flag of Freedom draws nearby units out of cover, allowing you to put together a nice run of One More Moves and probably a Triple Threat. Finally, her party effect boosts HP, which is always useful.

1. Yusuke (Fox)

With the best natural movement in the game (7), as well as the longest gun attack range (9), Yusuke takes the win in my books. While his weapon power isn’t the strongest, and he is a single-target hitter,  the addition of multi-shot makes up for this in terms of ranged attacks. Better still his natural Persona is Freeze, which is the most effective skill in the game in my experience. The Fox’s melee attack is even middle of the road, meaning he has no weaknesses beyond Voltage skill Like A Phantom (summons decoys), which is very situational. 

For more on Persona 5 Tactica, check out Stealing Classified Info Walkthrough - Persona 5 Tactica!