Persona 5 Royal is the latest game in the mainline franchise, known for innovating on the scaling and level design of past games. Despite all its improvements, however, there were still a few features that didn’t quite stick. One example is the newly introduced security level meter. Assuming Persona 6 plans to hang onto this enemy scaling system, the developer would do well to rework the security level mechanic.
In both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, the security level mechanic was sadly underutilized. It didn’t pose a significant challenge to players, nor did it provide many worthwhile bonuses, unless the players wanted to farm Treasure Demons. It also made Ohya – an already unpopular Confidant – even less popular among the player base.
Persona 5 Royal’s Security Level System
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Persona 5 Royal’s security meter increases and decreases depending on the player’s actions within a Palace. For instance, being spotted by enemy Shadows in Persona 5 and running away from a battle both increase the security level, making hostiles more alert. Meanwhile, winning battles against Shadows decreases the security level. Treasure Demons and Disaster Shadow also spawn more frequently whenever the security meter reaches a certain level.
This mechanic was significantly trickier to manage in Persona 5 than in Royal because getting to 100% on the meter automatically forced players to exit the Palace. In Royal, the heightened security level simply made powerful Shadows more likely to spawn, which was a change for the better. The reason why a high security level is more desirable is that it increases the player’s chances of finding Treasure Demons, which are extremely valuable for either improving the Joker’s Personas or leveling up.
So, if players wanted to farm the rare Persona Treasure Demons, they’d have no reason to increase their Confidant Rank with Ichiko Ohya. A disillusioned journalist and the Devil Confidant, Ohya’s perks all involve Palace security levels. In Persona 5, her Ranks limit how much security level increases and subsequently decreases it overnight. Persona 5 Royal tweaked these Ranks, making them primarily decrease the security level at the beginning of a Palace infiltration.
Innovating the Persona 5 Security Level Mechanic for Persona 6
The main problem with the security mechanic in both Persona 5 and Royal is that players are more often rewarded when the meter goes up. Treasure Demons and Disaster Shadows both drop valuable loot when defeated, so players might want to keep it high. That means there’s a mismatch when presenting such mechanics alongside Ohya’s Confidant Ranks in Persona 5.
One way to improve the security level system is to alter the way the game treats it, because the rest of the Thieves talk about it as if it’s something to be avoided. Instead, Persona 6 should perhaps present both the low security level and high security level as having their own pros and cons. Having a low security level could make exploration less stressful, while the opposite makes things more dangerous, but also more rewarding.
That said, simply changing the descriptions isn’t enough. The developer still needs to make either end of the security spectrum worthwhile. That means making its consequences weightier. For example, apart from making exploration easier, a lower security level could increase the chances of enemy Shadows suffering from status ailments, like Sleep and Dizzy, at the beginning of the battle. On the other hand, a higher security level status should double down on player rewards. Perhaps reaching a certain level could even guarantee that a Shadow with security-exclusive loot will spawn somewhere on the map.
Finally, the Persona 6 Confidant with perks related to security levels needs to give the player more control over increasing and decreasing it. Compared to Ohya’s original Confidant Ranks, these would give the player more freedom to choose how they want to explore the Palace while making the Confidant more valuable to the overall gameplay.
Persona 5 Royal is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.