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Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis -The Answer-launched on September 10 to add the content from 2007’s Persona 3 FES to the base game of Persona 3 Reload, seeking to offer about 20 hours of additional content set after the credits have rolled on your original adventure.
Taking control of Aigis as she ventures to stop her “sister” Metis from killing the members of SEES, you’ll quest through the Abyss of Time in search of another way for Metis to save the world that doesn’t involve eliminating your friends. Strap in, gear up, and get ready for more Persona adventures.
Updated on June 19, 2025:Now that we’ve finished the bulk of our Episode Aigis walkthrough, we’re adding a few more questions to our FAQ to sweep up anything we may have missed the first time, as well as adding tons of hyperlinks to our other guide content for the DLC.
What’s Different From The Base Game?
In addition to the new content thatadds around 20 hoursto the base game for Persona 3 Reload, Episode Aigis changes several essential things about the game, too. Since the DLC is rather combat-heavy, you’ll find that most of them have to do with your exploration through the Abyss of Time.
The biggest change is thatyou play as Aigisin a story that takes place a short while after the final cutscene in the base game. Other major changes in Episode Aigis include:
Can You Hang Out With Metis?
In the base game of Persona 3 Reload, you’re able to spend time with plenty of intriguing social links during your free time, but the DLC is different. Time doesn’t move like it does in the base game, where you have a couple free time slots each day - you’re repeating March 31 and are stuck in the dorm, so the DLC is heavy on its combat.
Because of this,Aigis doesn’t have free time slotslike the protagonist does in the base game, and therefore she cannot hang out with her friends like he could. That said, you’ll find plenty ofitems in treasure chests on boss floors in the Abyss of Timethat are locked behind Twilght Fragment locks. Open them to receiveLinked Episode objectsto use with teammates back at the dorm.
Though you can’t hang out with Metis in the traditional sense, through these items, you’ll havetwo Linked Episodes with Metiswhen you visit Iwatodai Dorm between sections in the Desert of Doors. Like everyone else on the team, Metis' Linked Episodes correlate with herawakening to two characteristicsthat power her up in combat.
Is My Team Still As Strong As They Were?
The story that happens in Episode Aigis -The Answer- technically occurs a while after the base game has concluded. Your protagonist dies in the final scene of the game and the credits roll, but when you begin playing through The Answer, you’ll notice that the calendar is set to March 31 (and remains there throughout the entirety of the bonus content).
This of course means that a good amount of time has passed between the ending of the base game and the beginning of the DLC story. As such,your teammates' levels have all been loweredat the start of the Episode Aigis content, and you’ll need to build them back up once again. They’ll also need torelearn their combat characteristics.
They begin the DLC withbase level elemental magicof the attack type they used in the base game, and they’ve still got theirfully evolved Personasfrom the consequences of the Full Moon operations, but no matter which level you left everyone off at when you finished the base game, levels have been changed for the DLC.
But you don’t get everyone all at once, just like in the base game - they’ll rejoin the team at staggered intervals depending on your process through the Abyss of Time. Each SEES member enters the DLC at the following level:
You’ll need to spend time grinding in combat to boost your team’s skills and levels again, so be sure to stop and fight some Shadows as you explore deeper and deeper into the Abyss.
What Carries Into The DLC From The Base Game?
Starting a playthrough of the Episode Aigis content is completely different from a New Game Plus save you might start as the male protagonist, and as such, not everything carries over. For example, since The Answer is primarily focused on dungeon-crawling and combat, Aigis won’t be spending time on social links, building her skills, going to school, and most of the daily life stuff we got to do as Makoto in the base game.
There are a few things you can look forward to having carried over into Episode Aigis, though, such as:
Outside of that, though, Aigis functions largely as her own protagonist, leading a team on an entirely new adventure. You’ll need to reoutfit your team with better gear and accessories, so be sure to stay up-to-date by visiting Paulownia Mall between ventures into the Abyss of Time to see if there’s anything new to grab.
Do You Need To Play The Base Game Before The DLC?
Since the Episode Aigis -The Answer- content takes place well after the events of the main story have ended, plenty of curious folks have wondered if they need to play the base game through again to access the DLC. Thankfully enough, you’re able to access the DLC right away, and you therefordo not need to play the base gameagain to play Episode Aigis.
Some things, as mentioned above, do carry over if you’re porting save data into the DLC, but you’ll notice the first time you launch the game after the DLC has released that you’ll now have the option to"Choose Episode" on the game’s main menu. By default, you’ll see Makoto and the SEES silhouettes at school, but if youswitch to Episode Aigisin this menu, you’ll switch to the DLC instead.
Episode Aigis has its own intro and menu, and you’ll find thatyou keep loading into whichever episode you were playing lastwhen you launch the game again. If you’re playing through Episode Aigis, you’ll find that the menu stays on the Episode Aigis menu until you manually switch back, showing The Answer’s intro video instead of the regular P3R intro.
Can You Buy Just Episode Aigis And Not The DLC?
At the time of publishing this frequently asked question guide,you cannot buy only Episode Aigisfrom most major platforms, Steam and PlayStation included. You’ll need toget the entire Expansion Pass
The content was announced in March 2024 and has been slowly but surely rolling out bonus DLC for those who pre-ordered. If you’re buying in now, you’ll still get this content, but it’s been made available for others since the announcement.
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If you’re only just purchasing the Expansion Pass, you’ll immediately have access to the accessory content offered along the way in addition to the actual DLC story itself. You can then choose to manually swap your costumes or music via the game settings.
Is The Answer Canon?
With such a long and winding story, especially with tons of DLC content and newer editions being consistently released for the Persona games, it can be tough to figure out what’s canon in the stories and what’s not. Thankfully, though you’ll find conflicting fan opinions online, the DLC brings us theconclusion of P3R,asEpisode Aigis is considered canonin the Persona universe.
Not only is there the fact thatthe DLC content was hinted at in the base gameof Persona 3 Reload when it first launched - Elizabeth gives anyone who beats the game on Merciless an envelope that reads “At the end of a great trial,the answerilluminates my path,” causing fans online to speculate its eventual inclusion - but theevents of the DLC are referenced in several later pieces of Persona media.
The events of Episode Aigis arementioned a few times in the Persona 4 Arena games(Arena and Ultimax), with characters discussing something that happened only in the FES version of Persona 3.You’ll also hearmention of the content in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a lesser-known spin-off title.
The Answer was added in the 2007 remake of Persona 3 that fans have come to expect for the series, Persona 3 FES, and serves toconcretely conclude the story of Persona 3.
How Do You Fight Joker?
As part of the Persona 3 Reload Expansion Pass, you’ll have access to a special bonus fight againstthe protagonist of Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, Joker. He’ll use a wealth of different moves, and a number of Personas, so you’ll need to be prepared for a pretty tough fight.
Because of that, you’ll need to prove yourself first bychallenging the four Monad Chambersboss fights. When you return to the Desert of Doors to go challenge Erebus for the final fight in the DLC, you’ll notice a second new door just off to the side.
There are four total fights you’ll need to win from the Monad Chambers first, which are against some tough Shadows. Then, only once you’ve defeated all four of the Monad Chambers bosses, you’ll be able tofight Joker as the fifth Monad Chambers boss.
