Shuffle Time is a mechanic that first appeared in thePersonaseries with the originalPersona 3. It’s back again inPersona 3 Reload, but the way it works is very different from the original.
There’s always a chance to get a Shuffle Timeafter every non-boss battle. However, it’s more likely to occur if you Down the enemies, and is guaranteed if you end the fight with an All-Out Attack. You can earn rewards like Personas, extra EXP, money, skill cards, and free healing and buffs, but the best rewards come from the Major Arcana cards that sometimes appear. So how do you get access to them, and which cards inPersona 3 Reloadwill give you the most useful rewards?
How to Get Every Major Arcana for Shuffle Time
Almost every Major Arcana card can show up in Shuffle Time by the end of the game. The exceptions areUniverse(which only appears once in the entire game);Death; andAeon,which is an alternative to Judgmentand isn’t part of the standard Rider-Waite deck.
Once you choose enough Major Arcana cards, you’ll trigger anArcana Burst.This means all the pip cards you find (Wands, Coins, Cups, Swords) are worth one more than normal, plus you get to choose from a set of four pip cards immediately. However, there are never as many Arcana Burst slots as there are Major Arcana available. Once you trigger an Arcana Burst, the Major Arcana cards will disappear from Shuffle Time. The only way to reset the Arcana Burst is to leave Tartarus and come back on another day.
Which Major Arcana cards appear is random, but there’s one exception. The first time you visit Tartarus after unlocking one or more new cards (either from an Arcana boss fightor from a Monad Passage), the new cards are much more likely to appear than any other Major Arcana. It’s possible to avoid picking these cards, but you’ll need to defeat a lot of Shadows to find the Major Arcana you actually want. If you find a card in a Monad Passage after achieving an Arcana Burst, the new card will appear more often on your next visit to Tartarus.
0
Fool
Start
EXP boost for the rest of the day (stacks with Wands)
1
Magician
2 or 3 of a rare item (item value increases on higher floors)
2
5/9 boss
All-Out Attack damage boost for the day
3
6/8 boss
+2 Endurance, Agility, and Luck for every Persona in stock
4
+2 Strength and Magic for every Persona in stock
5
7/7 boss
Protagonist’s active Persona gains 1 level
6
Social Link bonus EXP increases for the day
7
8/6 boss
Protagonist gains 10 max HP
8
Justice
you may choose +1 card during Shuffle Time (stacks with Star)
9
9/5 boss
Protagonist gains 7 max SP
10
10/4 boss
All current party members gain 8 max HP
11
All current party members gain 5 max SP
12
11/3 boss
Gain 1 random Incense item
14
Temperance
Monad Passage on Floor 91
Gain more Social Stat points on the first stat-boosting activity on the next day
15
Devil
Monad Passage on Floor 117
Gain 2 of each item dropped by Shadows and breakable objects for the rest of the day
16
+1 to all stats for every Persona in stock
17
Star
Monad Passage on Floor 171
you’re able to choose +1 card during Shuffle Time (stacks with Justice)
18
All party members return to full HP and SP
19
Sun
Monad Passage on Floor 225
You may fuse Personas with up to 5 more levels than the Protagonist for the rest of the day.
20
Judgement
The active party member with the lowest level gets one level’s worth of EXP.
Each time you find a Major Arcana card in a Monad Passage, you will also find a Book key item that increases the number of Major Arcana cards needed to trigger an Arcana Burst. This threshold also goes up when you bring in new cards from fighting Arcana bosses. By the end of the game, your Arcana Burst threshold can be as high as 13.
