'Persona 5' Online Features: Phantom Thief Alliance Lets You Team Up For Co-Op Dungeon Crawls And (Kinda) Cheat On Tests

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Atlus revealed new details about an optional networked mode in Persona 5, allowing players to assist one another in battles and dungeon crawls, and to observe how others are playing the game.

The online component to Persona 5, known as the Phantom Thieves’ Alliance, will be strictly optional and not impact the game’s main storyline. Players can choose to have the function on or off. It’s not a true multiplayer mode, but as Twinfinite points out, it’s similar to the networked features of Persona 4 Golden for the PS Vita.

Here’s how it works: if one of your allies gets KO’ed in battle, they could be taken hostage by enemies. If you refuse to pay a bribe, this character won’t be able to return to battle, making routine enemy encounters that much tougher (especially if you’ve been leaning heavily on that character’s attacks or elemental strengths). However, if you’ve activated Phantom Thieves’ Alliance mode, other players can assist you.

Another aspect of Persona 5’s online mode relates to the Caution Degree Meter in dungeons. If you’re not stealthy enough and repeatedly get ambushed by enemies, the meter rises. According to Siliconera, escaping enemies also increase the meter, but this can “be prevented using the Phantom Thief Alliance function.”

The final major online feature coming to Persona 5 will allow you to check the “daily life” action records of other players. The Persona games can inspire serious analysis-paralysis at times, because there are so many different things to do on a typical day: Should I work at my part-time job? Attempt to eat Aiya’s bottomless beef bowl? Go on a date? Chat with the charming old coots at the used bookstore? The function can also be used to get answers to questions and quizzes during class; handy if your knowledge of high-school physics and Japanese poetry isn't up to snuff.

Persona 5 debuts in Japan Sept. 15, and in the U.S. and Europe on Feb. 14, 2017.

Do you think you’ll use the online features in Persona 5 often, or rarely? Would you like to see more online features? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!