Quick Links
Much like other protagonists, the main character inPersona 4 Goldencan use more than one Persona in battle. He can even fuse two or more Personas at a time in the Velvet Room to create an even stronger Persona. Newcomers may be wondering how to obtain other Personas, and the short answer is: By triggering Shuffle Time.
The Shuffle Time mechanic makes a return fromPersona 3, butPersona 4 Goldenhas added some changes from its predecessor and the originalPersona 4. Not only does this gameplay mechanic potentially give the protagonist a new Persona, but it can increase the Equipped Persona’s stat or even double EXP and money. Shuffle TIme can be a bit confusing at first, but it’s something thatP4Gplayers will want to try and get post-battle - especially in the beginning.
RELATED:Persona 4 Golden: Naoki Konishi Social Link
Understanding Shuffle Time & Sweep Bonus
Each time an enemy is defeated, players will receive experience, money, and sometimes an item. If they want Treasure Chest Keys, stat increases, or a new Persona, they’ll need to try for Shuffle Time. This is a gameplay mechanic that occursat the end of (most) battles- excluding boss fights. Players are given a set number ofTries. Selecting a card uses up a “Try.” However, some cards will have2 more(or3 more) written above them in blue. As its name indicates, selecting the respective cards adds another Try to the counter (bottom-left corner of the screen).
Shuffle Times have arandom chanceof triggering at the end of battle. However, there aretwo surefire waysto get Shuffle Time:
All-Out Attacks can be used ifall enemies are Downed. Downing an enemy will occur if the character manages to land a Critical Hit or targets their Affinity Weakness.
If the entire row of cards are cleared during Shuffle Time, players will get aSweep Bonus. This guarantees a Shuffle Time will occurat the end of the next battle. Players will also receivetwo additional Triesat the start of a Sweep Bonus. If a card in Shuffle Time is of a Persona that playersalready have in their party, the card will change. This also applies for cards of the Judgement and Death Arcana.
Every Card in Shuffle Time
While most cards will give bonuses (such as double Exp, restore some HP/SP), others will have consequences such as “No Money” and “No Exp.” There’s even a card that canEnd Shuffle Timeif it’s picked. Shuffle Time inPersona 4 Goldencombines Minor and Major Arcana cards. Minor cards can double reward money or exp while Major cards have various effects including stat-raising and adding a Draw/Try to the Shuffle Time.
Here are the Minor Arcana cards and their effects inP4G:
The “amount” of money, exp, etc gained from Minor Arcana cards willvaryon the Suit number. For example, aThree of Wandswill give more bonus experience than aTwo of Wands, and so forth; the higher a Suit of Swords, the stronger the Skill Card.
Here are the Major Arcana cards and their effects:
I.
Magician
A random skill of theequippedPersona will Rank Up. (ex: Agi turns into Agio)
RELATED:Persona 4 Golden: How to Beat Ameno-Sagiri
Should You Try for Sweep Bonus?
A Sweep Bonus is only good for those who are trying to farm Skill Cards,Persona stat increases, Treasure Keys, or Personas. It’s possible to get continuous Sweep Bonuses if players are selecting the cards in the right order.For example, let’s say Shuffle Time has a Sun, Cups, and Persona Card. Selecting theSun Arcanafirst will add+2 Draws. Players can then pick up the Cups and Persona Card (which do not have a +1 Draw effect), thus obtaining a Sweep Bonus.
With the Sweep Bonus “active,” the next battle will start players off withthree draws/triesinstead ofone. This will give them the chance to pick up three cards that they want. Sweep Bonus also givestwo additional cards to the Shuffle Time.
Unfortunately, to get a Sweep Bonus, players may need to select a card with more than one draw,such as the Tower Arcana(if it appears). This essentially means players will be tossing away all Experience gained in exchange for Shuffle Time bonuses.
If players are fightinglow-leveled Shadows, then selecting cards like Tower and Moon to get more draws at the cost of Exp and Money will have fewer consequences thanks to the weaker Shadows. However, if players are fighting enemies such as thegolden hands,which give a large amount of Exp and Money, or if they’re fairly low-leveled themselves, then they’re better off passing on a Sweep Bonus (or using up all their Draws).
Persona 4 Goldenis available on PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
