Persona 5 The Phantom X Metro of Desire Explained

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In the game “Persona 5: The Phantom X,” the mode called “Metro of Desire” operates as a unique, randomized experience. This means each playthrough is distinct from the first. Players must strategically employ their abilities while juggling team management and benefits gained during exploration to conquer increasingly powerful enemies and bosses. Fortunately, at the conclusion of each attempt, there’s an abundance of loot to gather, making the challenges worthwhile.

This tutorial covers essential aspects of Metro of Desire, such as its mechanics, optimal Charm selections, Lost Items, and rewards from challenges and playthroughs. Before delving into details, let’s familiarize ourselves with the fundamentals of navigating the roguelike Metro of Desire dungeon first.

On July 26, 2025, an update by Lucas Simons introduced the P5X version 1.2, bringing a permanent change to Metro of Desire as it transitions into a Roguelite mode within the Metaverse’s activities. A notable adjustment includes removing Marthym’s Roulette event and Travel Tickets, which were used for draws from the Roulette. Additionally, some minor tweaks have been made in the game mechanics, and now players may face tougher opponents as Tier 4 bosses are activated in their runs.

Introduction to Metro of Desire and Basic Mechanics

In simpler terms, the Metro of Desire is essentially a roguelike gameplay mode that lets players delve into dungeon-like adventures within the Metro Platforms in the Metaverse. Each platform presents either an easy or moderate challenge with enemies, followed by options for reward chests containing Subway Coins, Charms, or Lost Items, a merchant, or a Shadow figure who offers rewards based on chance or player decisions.

Venturing into the Metro of Desire is a stamina-free zone, allowing players to indulge in this mode as frequently as they wish. Upon entering the Command Center, they can embark on a journey, which leads them to a haphazardly constructed dungeon with a designated foe. These foes are stationed at the conclusion of a path, and each route becomes accessible once you conquer new challenge levels.

The basic rules of Metro of Desire are as follows:

  1. HP cannot be recovered outside of combat unless players use certain Items called Prayer Magatama, or in special cases.
  2. The Party members and their equipment, as well as Wonder’s Persona become locked once they enter the Metro of Desire.
  3. If players decide to retire from the Metro of Desire, they will lose all progress and forfeit the rewards.
  4. Each run will be different, but the bosses will be set depending on the routes the players pick through the platforms.
  5. Each platform passed will increase enemy difficulty in terms of HP and damage.
  6. At the start of the first round, a certain effect will happen (for example, the Wave of Passion effect will hurt both enemies and allies).
  7. Items called Charm will alter the Party’s stats and add extra effects, like the ability to receive a Shield each time they are hit by a Wave of Passion. Players have a maximum amount of Charms that they can carry per run, but they can use Railway Coins to purchase Charm slots at any given time during exploration.
  8. At the end of each Intersection, players will face a Ruffian ‘Depraved Shadow’, and they will need to defeat it to reach the next line and continue exploring until they reach the true Boss.
  9. At the end of the exploration, the amount of Experience and Train Tickets gained depends on the overall score (Coins Earned, Damage Caused + Number of Chamrs x level x completed sets + Number of Lost Items found).

During exploration, it’s crucial to bear in mind additional significant aspects. For instance, there might be effects that boost enemies like bosses and monsters, while simultaneously diminishing your party’s strength. As the challenge level rises, so does the potency of these effects.

Regarding the operation of this game mode, players will discover five distinct items across all the platforms they traverse during their exploration:

  • Railway Coins: The Metro of Desire currency, used to purchase Charms and Lost Items from Marthym the Merchant.
  • Charms: Powerful boons that scale based on how many of the same type of players pick. They come in blue, purple, or yellow quality, and they can form sets that players can complete as part of a collection challenge to earn rewards. Charms grant various combat enhancements and will be critical to survive the most dangerous enemies during the delving and boss phases. At the end of the exploration, Charms are converted to Exp and Train Tickets to gain various upgrades. Complete Sets can be claimed in the Lost and Found tab of the main menu, to obtain rewards such as Meta Jewels.
  • Lost Items: These items can be obtained at a really low chance after beating enemies, and can also be acquired from chests, stray shadows, and by trading with Marthym when she appears on platforms. At the end of the run, Lost Items can be traded at the Lost and Found menu for Meta Jewels, but players can only do it once per Lost Item.
  • Prayer Magatama: This item can be used to restore the Party’s HP, and can also be used in a type of ‘bargain’, for example: Activating effects that will relinquish all earned Magatama in exchange for Railway Coins.

Charms can be traded for Railway Coins whenever desired, so if players find they’d rather collect Lost Items instead, they can access the charm menu by clicking on the briefcase icon located at the top left corner of their screen. From there, they can choose to sell a charm by selecting the “Sell Charm” option at the bottom right corner, highlighting one of the charms they no longer need.

What are Charms in Metro of Desire?

Charms can appear in numerous styles and configurations, with the most effective ones focusing on deal damage and reducing received damage. However, each Charm collection has its unique advantages, and as they advance, they unlock superior benefits for players. Essentially, charms function as ‘stat enhancements‘ that differ based on two elements: Quality and the Collection they belong to. For instance, Blue-quality charms are lower than Purple or Gold, and the Stalwart Set provides boosts in protection, Party Defense%, and damage absorption (shielding).

Another ability, similar to Brawl, enhances both multi-enemy and single-enemy damage dealt. Furthermore, its unique trait causes damage sustained by one enemy to ripple through the entire enemy group as a secondary wave of damage in the subsequent instant. It’s clear that all abilities are beneficial, and the higher their quality and level, the more effective they will be during your journey, increasing the chances of success in exploration.

All Rewards in Metro of Desire

To progress through the game, players must conquer each boss in different difficulty modes, which will unlock higher tiers. These new tiers will open up paths across the platforms and offer opportunities to accomplish Special Operations (SO), essentially milestones for finishing each difficulty level. The rewards players can obtain by completing all SOs are as follows:

Players must vanquish each boss in varying difficulty settings to advance to the next level, which will reveal new paths across the platforms and provide them with chances to carry out Special Operations (SO), essentially achievement levels for mastering each difficulty. The prizes players can receive by accomplishing all SOs are listed below:

Or simply:
Players must defeat every boss on diverse difficulty settings to unlock the next stage, which offers new paths across platforms and opportunities for Special Operations (SO). These SOs serve as rewards for completing each difficulty level. Here’s a list of the prizes players can earn by finishing all SOs:

Operation Rewards
Clear Terminal Station 1 on any difficulty level Meta Jewels x60, Unknown Revelation S: Purple
Clear Terminal Station 2 on any difficulty level Meta Jewels x60, Unknown Revelation S: Purple
Clear Terminal Station 3 on any difficulty level Meta Jewels x60, Unknown Revelation S: Orange
Clear Terminal Station 4 on any difficulty level Meta Jewels x60, Unknown Revelation S: Orange
Clear any Terminal Station on difficulty level 4 Meta Jewels x60, Dream Line Course 5 Badge
Clear any Terminal Station on difficulty level 5 Meta Jewels x60, Dream Line Course 6 Badge
Clear Difficulty 4 with a Curse Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Curse attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20
Clear Difficulty 4 with an Electric Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Electric attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20
Clear Difficulty 4 with an Ice Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Ice attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20
Clear Difficulty 4 with a Fire Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Fire attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20
Clear Difficulty 6 with a Curse Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Curse attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20, Unknown Revelation S: Orange
Clear Difficulty 6 with an Electric Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Electric attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20, Unknown Revelation S: Orange
Clear Difficulty 6 with an Ice Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Ice attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20, Unknown Revelation S: Orange
Clear Difficulty 6 with a Fire Formation (Put at least 2 Phantom Thieves/Idols with the Fire attribute in the lineup). Meta Jewels x60, Sun Crystal x20, Unknown Revelation S: Orange

In addition to special operations, players in Metro of Desire can also enhance their ‘Achievements’ or ‘Progress’ by accumulating experience points (similar to a Season Pass) at the conclusion of each journey. The more lost items found, enemies vanquished, and Railway Coins and Charms amassed, the greater the experience points they will accrue.

100 tiers comprise the Track Record, offering significant perks like Gold and Platinum Tickets, Platinum Milicoins, Everlasting Incense, Orange Revelation Envelopes, Orlov (a tool for boosting a Persona to Rank 7), and even a complimentary 4-Star Phantom Idol draw.

Alternatively, players can earn rewards not only by finishing Charm Sets but also by gathering Lost Items from the Lost & Found tab. These rewards primarily consist of Meta Jewels, which in turn increase the number of pulls at the Gacha Banners.

The rarity of found items ranges from Common to Super Rare, with the latter being particularly hard to obtain. Each unique item you find enhances both your charms and party statistics. Some rare items come with a trade-off, offering a significant boost but also imposing negative effects, which can be eliminated only after fulfilling specific conditions.

This way, it’s easier to understand that the rarity of items goes from common to extremely hard to find, each one gives a unique bonus for your charms and party stats, some have drawbacks but with great benefits, and these negative effects can be removed by completing certain tasks or conditions.

How to Unlock All Bosses in Metro Of Desire

To conquer every Boss in the game Metro of Desire, players must finish ‘Stages,’ and after defeating one, they’ll gain access to a harder level of play. At first, the sequence might seem puzzling, but here’s how it works: Players begin by battling a boss at Level 1 difficulty, followed by unlocking two more bosses at Level 2 difficulty. Defeating these will unveil the initial Level 3 Boss for that branch, and so on. Each pathway features a distinct boss with unique modifiers and varying degrees of challenge.

At the conclusion of the Desire Metro’s various stations, each Boss presents a formidable challenge. It’s crucial to remember that each boss follows its unique set of rules, and as the difficulty ramps up, these regulations become more severe and the advantages they offer increase. Some bosses will boast heightened defenses, while others will see their health pools significantly augmented (by thousands).

As an avid explorer in Metro of Desire, it’s clear that the number and quality of charms I gather during my expeditions significantly impact the party’s durability, damage absorption, and offensive power. To conquer the toughest obstacles, it pays off to carefully select the most effective charms and prioritize survival and damage mitigation strategies.

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2025-07-26 23:42