Haru Okumura is the last “official” character to join the Phantom Thieves inPersona 5 Royal. Late-time party members aren’t new to thePersonafranchise, as familiar fans may recall Naoto Shirogane fromPersona 4/Golden. However, Haru’s unique skillset and all-around stats make it worth equipping her with the best equipment available.

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InPersona 5 Royal’s combat, Haru specializes in Psy and Gun. She has high Strength and Magic, with all-around stats in Endurance and Agility, with Luck as the lowest. Since she’s a Psy-user, she has an Affinity-weakness to Nuke. Ranking up Haru’s Confidant (Empress) will give her the skills she needs to amp up her offense and evade Nuclear attacks. Combine this with good equipment, and she’ll make her place on the team.

Best Melee Weapons For Haru

Haru uses an axe as her Melee Weapon. She’s able to dish out heavy damage with a fair amount of accuracy.Like all Phantom Thieves, Haru’s starting weapon should be replaced as soon as possible to keep her from lagging behind.

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Special Effects

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Once Haru joins, there are two axes that become available at Untouchable. However, the one players want to get can’t be bought. Instead, they should look around theExport LineinOkumura’s Palacefor aLocked Chest. Like any other Locked Chest, Joker will needa Lockpick or the Perma-Pickto open it. The Big Bang Axe can be reached by running along thelast mechanical armin the Export Line.

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Mediumchance of inflicting Despair.

Highchance of inflicting Despair.

If players have theMitra (Temperance) Persona, then they canitemizeit at the Velvet Room to get theDeath Contractor theDeath Promise Axe. If Mitra is executed during a Fusion Alarm, it’ll become Death Promise. Without the alarm, it’ll turn into Death Contract. There are some stat differences between Death Contract and Promise, so it’s up to players whether they want a new Melee weapon for Haru as soon as possible, or if they don’t mind triggering the alarm first.

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Mediumchance of inflicting Freeze.

Once Shido’s Palace can be infiltrated, stop by Untouchable and buy theIce Axefor 38100 yen. Not only is this a powerful axe, but it can also freeze the enemy. Players can equip Haru with a Freeze-boosting Accessory to increase her chances of inflicting the status ailment. This axe should serve up until the second to last “Palace” inP5R.

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Lowchance of inflicting Despair.

Players can get the Death Axe from a chest in theQliphoth Worldon thePath to the Holy Grail. It’s useful to equip to Haru for the final boss (not counting the Palace Ruler in the third semester) and arguably one of her best weapons in-game. If players are locked out of the third semester and haven’t maxed out the Devil Confidant, then the Death Axe will be their best weapon for the remainder of the playthrough.

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Like the Death Contract and the Death Promise, there aretwoversions of the Fleurs du Mal. As Haru’s best weapon, it can only be achieved by itemizing an Ultimate Persona. Players will need tomax out Ohya’s Confidantand then initiate a Fusion at the Velvet Room to getBeelzebub.

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If players decide to execute Beelzebubwithoutthe Fusion Alarm, it will turn into theFleurs du Mal. With the Fusion Alarm, it will becomeFleurs du Mal R. Either weapon is good to have, but if players want the best weapon for a magic-attacker Haru, then they should trigger a Fusion Alarm to get Fleurs du Mal R.

Best Ranged Weapons For Haru

Haru’s Ranged Weapons are grenade launchers. Although powerful, they only have 1 round. However, unlike Fox orQueen’s Ranged Weapon, the grenade launchers will target all enemies on-screen.

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Mediumchance of inflicting Confusion.

Players can get the Nekomata Persona as early as Kaneshiro’s Palace, meaning alongtime before Haru formally joins the team. Itemizing Nekomata will turn it into thePawzooka(without Fusion Alarm) or thePaw-omber(with Fusion Alarm). These weapons both share the same Effects, Accuracy, and Rounds. There’s only a 20-point difference in Attack damage, so for Haru’s first weapon, players can choose either one.

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If players make sure togo toUntouchableon12/22, they can buy thePandemoniumlauncher for 53400 yen. With an attack of 300, this is one of Haru’s best Ranged Weapons beaten out by Milkor and Yagrush. If players are locked out of the third semester and don’t have the Baal Persona (for whatever reason), this will be Haru’s strongest grenade launcher.

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Mediumchance of inflicting Shock.

Highchance of inflicting Shock.

Baal is a level 75 Persona of the Emperor Arcana, and it’s necessary to get Haru’sYagrushorYagrush EX. Players can fuse Baal with three specific Personas, or they can try and negotiate with it as a Shadow in the Depths of Mementos. Since he’s level 75, players will want to be level 75+ to have a chance at getting him. Execute Baal in the Velvet Roomwithoutthe Fusion Alarm to get Yagrush.Withthe Fusion Alarm, it’ll become Yagrush EX.

Best Protectors For Haru

Haru’s join time beingso far in the game means players will have a good amount of armor/protectors in their inventory by the Okumura arc. The following Protectors are a few recommendations depending on how players want to use her in combat.

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+30 HP

Washing the Sooty Ogress' Gear can net a Fiery Apron or an Old Fiery Apron. If Haru’s being used as a physical fighter, it may be better to get the Fiery Apron since it will give +30 to her HP instead of the Old Fiery Apron’s +10. For a reminder, physical skills such as Triple Down will drain HP instead of SP.

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Highchance to evade Nuke.

Execute Yatagarasu during a Fusion Alarm to get theBlack Wing Robe R. Yatagarasu is a level 57 Persona of the Councillor Arcana, so as long as players arebeing consistent with Maruki’s Confidant, they should have no problem getting it. The Black Wing Robe R grants its wearer a high chance to avoid Nuke-based Skills. Since Haru’s weakness is Nuke, it’s obvious why this would be one of her better protectors.

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+8 Magic

Wash the Sooty Dark Armor to get theLovely Witch’s Robeor the Old Witch’s Robe. The Lovely Witch’s Robe gives a boost in Magic damage and has high defense to boot. The Old Witch’s Robe is a weaker version, but it can be equipped if Haru doesn’t have anything better.

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Players who use Haru for her Psy skills will want her to wear the Lovely Witch’s Robe. Alternatively, they can try getting theSinful Bikiniby washing Sooty Rogue’s Garb. This is stronger than the Old Witch’s Robe and will grant +50 SP instead of +1 Magic.

Best Accessories For Haru

When Haru first joins, she should be around the same level as the Phantom Thieves. If not, equip her withEXP-raising Accessoriessuch as the Team Glasses until she’s caught up. If players don’t care for an even-leveled team, then they’ll want to equip her with the following Accessories as soon as possible.

Circular Band

Players can buy the Circular Band at the Tsurukame Diamond store in the Underground Mall in Shibuya. This is an Accessory that will boost Psy-damage by 25%. It’s good to have on Haru if she still has yet to get the Psy Amp passive Skill. Of course, players not using Haru for Psy-skills may want to find something else.

Psy Necklace

The Psy Necklace is exclusive toPersona 5 Royaland can be bought at the Stoneon store in Kichijoji. This store is located near the billiards and darts lounge. The price for the necklace is 40000 yen, soif Joker has some spare money, it may be worth getting. The Psy Necklace is a stronger version of the Circular Band, as it will give Haru a 50% boost to her Psy-skills instead of the band’s 25%.

Engraved Dog Tag

If Joker has level 5 Charm, he can buy an Engraved Dog Tag from the street vendor on Shibuya’s Central Street. This will give the Gun Boost passive skill, which increases Gun-damage by 25%. The vendor can be found right next to the Protein Lovers gym, and he’ll sell the Accessory for 4000 yen.

Persona 5 Royalis available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.