While technical damage was a bit difficult to achieve in the vanilla version of the game, Persona 5 Royal made it easier and more worthwhile than ever. Persona 5’s technical combos were easy enough to ignore, but Persona 5 Royal’s technical damage has juice that’s finally worth the squeeze.

RELATED: Persona 5 Royal: Guide To Playing Darts

With Persona 5 Royal adding the new Kichijoji district to Joker’s map., you can now spend a night out with friends playing billiards to make your team even more powerful. Below, we’ve got all the info you might need on Persona 5 Royal’s technical damage revamp.

Updated on December 12, 2022 by Gabrielle Castania: With a new chance to hang out with your friends and increase your damage output, we wanted to double back to this guide and polish it up to make your Thieving that much more effective.

What Is Technical Damage?

Technical damage refers to the combos triggered when a shadow inflicted with a status ailment is hit by an attack of the same, corresponding element. These attacks deal more damage and even have a chance to down the enemy, making technical damage extremely helpful to use against Shadows who don’t have any elemental weaknesses which your team can exploit.

After you’ve damaged an enemy and induced a status ailment, be sure to follow the move up with an attack that boosts your damage even further! Below are which attacks to use when dealing with each status ailment.

Status Ailments And Their Corresponding Attack Types

Status Ailment

Corresponding Element

Burn

Wind and Nuclear

Freeze and Shock

Physical and Nuclear

Dizzy and Sleep

Any

Confuse, Fear, Despair, Rage, and Brainwash

Psio

Raise Your Technical Rank With Billiards And Books

You can increase the effectiveness of your technical combo attacks by playing billiards with your fellow Phantom Thieves at Penguin Sniper in Kichijoji. The district is unlocked on 6/5, with Penguin Sniper available immediately after your arrival.

Each game will run you ¥800 to play, but the bonuses make the price feel like a steal. Not only does playing billiards improve your technical rank proficiency, but the additional benefits are numerous! Each game of billiards will boost one of Joker’s social stats, with everything except Kindness able to be pulled at random once you're finished playing billiards. Additionally, whichever of the Thieves were present will earn a point toward their Confidant ranking.

You begin at Rank 1 by default and can boost this stat all the way to Rank 5. Below is a table detailing how Persona 5’s billiards can help you boost your technical rank.There's a lot of reading involved, so be sure to make time for it in Joker's schedule.

Technical Ranks Explained

Rank

Unlock Requirements

Effects

2

  • Play your first game of billiards
  • Technical Damage up (Level 1)

3

  • Rank 2 Proficiency
  • Buy and finish reading "Billiard Techniques" from the Shibuya Sports Shop in the Underground Mall
  • Perform the Back Hand technique during a game of billiards
  • Technical Damage up (Level 2)

4

  • Rank 3 Proficiency
  • Buy and finish reading "Sharp Cue" from the Shibuya Sports Shop in the Underground Mall
  • Perform the Jump Shot technique during a game of billiards
  • Technical Damage up (Level 3)
  • Increased chance to Down enemies

5

  • Rank 5 Proficiency
  • Finish reading the "Billiard Magician" book obtained from another patron at the bar
  • Perform the Masse Shot technique during a game of billiards
  • Technical Damage up
  • 100 Percent Down rate

After you reach the final rank available from playing billiards, the bookstore in the Jinbocho district sells a book that unlocks additional technical combos, but the crux of this is that you’ll need to have bought and finished readingall the other books from the store before the owner will offer to sell you the technical damage book.

This endeavor is time-consuming, considering each book from the Jinbocho bookstore (outside the technical damage book) is a full three pages in length. However, if you’re trying to get more bang for your technical damage buck, this guidebook unlock is pivotal.

Below are the new technical damage combos Joker will learn after finishing the book.

New Technical Damage Combos After Finishing The Book

Status Ailment

Corresponding Element

Forget

Electric

Confusion

Gun and Wind

Fear

Ice

Rage

Fire

Brainwash

Bless

Once the book is finished, and you’ve reached Rank 5 on your technical ranking, the Phantom Thieves are as well-equipped as they ever will be to go kick a little bit of extra ass with these new abilities!

NEXT: Persona 5 Royal: Complete Guide To Mini-Games