The Persona 5 Tactica character unlock mechanic is something that new players want to know about. Without spoiling too much, the beloved cast of Phantom Thieves is not all present at the start of the game. The roster of party members is rather slim due to what happens in the series of opening cutscenes, so getting to use your favorite characters may take awhile. For those who don’t mind some spoilers, here’s when each character unlocks in P5T for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
When do characters unlock in Persona 5 Tactica?
While you’ll start the game with Joker, Mona, and the new character Erina, the rest of the characters will unlock within the first chapter of Persona 5 Tactica. Here is the mission where you’ll get to use the other Phantom Thieves in the game:
- Mission 8 – Ann (and Futaba)
- Mission 11 – Ryuji and Haru
- Mission 14 – Makoto and Yusuke (you’ll see them in Mission 13 but they are only available after Mission 14)
Fortunately, this means that you’ll have access to all of the Phantom Thieves before you face the first major boss in the game. So you don’t have to wait too long before the whole gang is back together. In fact, it’s a good thing that you only start off P5T with a handful of characters because there are a lot of mechanics to learn in right the first chapter.
Despite having a roster of eight characters, you still will only able to form a three-man party. That’s a little low, but you can check out our breakdown of the best characters so that you will always have a strong team.
For more Persona 5 Tactica guides, here are the best missions to grind XP and money as well as a rundown of the best skills in the game.
