The Hermit Social Link in Persona 3 Reload is unusual for a number of reasons. First, you end up building a relationship with someone you never truly meet in person. Second, everything about the Social Link is a reference to Persona 2: Innocent Sin.
The Hermit can be a hard link to boost thanks to the limited days that Maya is available on, but it's well worth your time. Not only does Maya provide some remarkable insight into Gekkoukan High School, but she's also the only way to unlock the Devil Social Link.
Persona 3 Reload: How to Start the Moon Social Link (Nozomi Suemitsu)
There are several things you'll need to have done before you can take the Gourmet Quiz and unlock the Moon Social Link in Persona 3 Reload.
General Information
The Hermit Arcana represents a wise person, but also someone who withdraws from public life and isolates themselves from others. Meeting someone through an online game would seem to fit this isolation, but Maya also fits the description in her personal life.
To start the Hermit Social Link, you have to wait until 4/29, which is when the dorm's internet connection goes back up. On the day before, 4/28, Junpei gives the protagonist a copy of an old MMORPG, Innocent Sin. Starting on 4/29, you can use the desk in the protagonist's room during the day (assuming you can get inside the dorm without the day ending) to play Innocent Sin and initiate the Hermit link.
After the first day, you can only advance the Hermit link on Sundays and holidays. This means you can't meet with Maya during most of summer break, even though the days are red on the calendar. This also means you shouldn't accept every hangout invite you get, since you'll need to spend some of your days off playing Innocent Sin.
Like other Social Links, what you say determines how fast you can advance the relationship. You may have to spend one session hanging out with Maya without advancing the Social Link, but you can otherwise get through this link quickly by holding a Hermit Persona and choosing the best responses listed below.
Hermit Rank 1
The protagonist logs onto Innocent Sin for the first time and meets a fellow player. She takes pity on the newbie and suggests he call himself Tatsuya, and she renames herself Maya to match. (For reference, Tatsuya and Maya are the main protagonists of Persona 2: Innocent Sin and its direct sequel, Eternal Punishment. The events of the game were undone by its ending, but presumably enough memory of it remained to inspire an MMORPG.)
Choose any dialogue options you want, since you won't get any points until the rank 2 event.
Hermit Rank 2
Maya's happy to see the protagonist back again, though she gripes about spending the day indoors. Choose the following responses:
- Of course. 3
- ...Have we met? 0
- Don't you like video games? 0
- Sunshine is overrated. 1
- Guess we're loners. 0
Hermit Rank 3
Maya is drinking and gaming, and her spelling is even worse than normal. Choose the replies below:
- Oh really? O_0 1
- Are you an adult? 0
- You don't like your job? 3
- Are you burned out? 0
Hermit Rank 4
Maya's mother is bothering her about not being married yet, and she mentions seeing a sketchy-looking man at Paulownia Mall. This unlocks access to the Devil Social Link, although you'll also need Charm 4 for the man to take notice of you.
- Don't wanna get married? 0
- You'll need a boyfriend first. 0
- Let's plan our wedding, then. 3
Hermit Rank 5
This time Maya is complaining about her coworker, whom she only calls "Mr. E." In the process, she reveals more about her job than she intended.
- Who's Mr. E? 1
- Are you drunk again? 0
- Do you mean S.O.B.? 1
- A drunken master? 1
- Maya's a reporter, right? 0
- Are you a teacher? 1
The fifth answer is another reference, because Maya in Persona 2 is a reporter.
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Hermit Rank 6
Maya continues complaining about Mr. E, along with the time she spends at the gym to stay fit.
- Calm down. 0
- What bastard? 3
Hermit Rank 7
Maya starts wondering whether she's just too old to fall in love, and she complains about a fellow teacher who somehow keeps her youthful looks.
- What are you talking about? 0
- Age isn't the point. 1
- Well, yeah. 3
- She, um...what? 1
- Calm down. 1
Hermit Rank 8
In a complete reversal from last time, Maya admits she has a crush on a student, and in the process she reveals her real-world identity and the identity of her crush.
- Are you talking to yourself? 0
- Hurry up and tell me. 3
- What is he like? 1
- Are you gonna ask him out? 0
Hermit Rank 9
The Innocent Sin developers announce the end of the game's support. Maya isn't happy, and pledges to send her chat logs to the developers to prove the game's importance.
- Not much we can do. 0
- No way! 1
- Whatever, I guess. 0
- I think so. 0
- No, this is the end. 0
- Don't worry about that. 0
- What are you planning? 1
- This won't change anything. 0
Hermit Rank 10
After reviewing the chat logs, Maya realizes she's been spending her free hours complaining about everything. She resolves to change her ways, and her first step is to quit Innocent Sin even before the servers shut down. The points no longer matter, so choose the responses you like.
Your reward for completing the Hermit Social Link is the key item Screenshot Data. This unlocks access to Arahabaki, the ultimate Hermit Persona. You can carry this item into New Game Plus to keep permanent access to this Persona.
Persona 3 Reload
- Released
- February 2, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17 / Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- P-Studio
- Franchise
- Persona
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, RPG, Life Simulation, Strategy
