Leo (Leon) Kamiyama is one of the Phantom Idols that players can pick from the Gacha Banners in Persona 5: The Phantom X. Leon is a Nuclear Strategist, who can switch from causing damage to buffing and generating shields for his party. Players can identify this meta character for his Super Sentai-style design, and for being part of most of the recommended builds in the game. And there's a good reason why Leon is always present in the most powerful team compositions: His buffs are the best for an offensive strategy.
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However, building him can be pretty tricky, since his priority stats and skills are a little difficult to max out. That's why players should take a look at this guide, which summarizes all Leon's main skills, passives, Awareness Rank perks, as well as recommended weapons, revelation cards, and Team Compositions. First, let's take a look at how Leon's kit will help players during combat, and his Persona's main passive.
All Leon Skills & Passives in Persona 5: The Phantom X
Leon is an S-Tier Strategist in Persona 5: The Phantom X, which means he specializes in buffing the party and attacking when necessary. His main passive is 'Hyper Hero Time!' an aura buff that activates 'Power of Friendship' when party members drop below 75% of their HP. It can stack up to 2 times, and it will increase the total attack power of a party member based on Leon's own attack. Leon also specializes in raising the Party's critical chance and power, by using multiple skills and his Highlight.
Here's an overview of Leon's abilities, passives, and Awareness perks in Persona 5: The Phantom X:
- Atomic Smash: Deals Nuclear damage to 1 foe equal to 112.0% of Leon's Attack. For each stack of Power of Friendship the party has, its damage increases by 10%.
- Ultima Booster: Increases 1 ally's Attack by 12.8% for 2 turns (other than Kamiyama). For each stack of Power of Friendship the target has, it increases the party member's Attack by 20% of Kamiyama's Attack up to 994.6 (the cap increases with the skill level).
- Justice Barrier: Drains 30% of an ally's remaining HP to grant them a shield equal to 80% of HP spent + 20.7% of Kamiyama's Attack + 67 for 2 turns. It also grants 1 Power of Friendship stack. (Total amount of generated shield increases with Kamiyama's Persona Skill levels).
- Thief Tactics: Leon's Highlight is a party buff that grants the maximum number of Power of Friendship stacks to Kamiyama and another ally for 2 turns. If the target's HP is below 60%, it restores HP up to 60% (up to 200% of Kamiyama's Attack). It also increases Attack by 15% of Kamiyama's Attack up to 384.0 for 2 turns (the cap increases with Thief Tactics Level). 1 More: Deals Nuclear damage to 1 foe Melee Attack: Deals Physical damage to 1 foe. Ranged Attack: Deals Gun damage to 1 foe and can be shot until out of ammo.
- Energy Recharge: When the Justice Barrier effect ends, it restores HP equal to 33.3% of the remaining shield (66% at skill level 2, 100% at skill level 3).
- Full Power: Start! - Increase allies' critical damage by 15.0% when they have 2 Power of Friendship stacks. (Increases to 20% at skill level 2, and 25% at skill level 3).
Kamiyama's Justice Barrier consumes the target's HP in exchange for a shield. The tradeoff is approximately 1.4 times the amount of HP taken, which increases to 1.6, and finally 1.8 as Leon reaches the Attack power cap admitted by the skill. It's a prime ability to buff characters like Mont (Kotone Montagne) since her Assassin kit is based on extremely effective single-target nukes that can be released at full power when she reaches a certain amount of Ice Crystal charges. She can benefit from getting 2 stacks of Power of Friendship early and the 15% increased Critical Damage that comes with this buff being at max stacks.
These are Leon's Awareness Perks from Rank 0 to 6 (Awareness Ranks can be increased by using Cognitite in the character's Training Menu. Cognitite is obtained each time players draw the same character, up to a maximum of 6 Pieces):
|
Awareness Level |
Perk |
|---|---|
|
Rank 0 |
Hyper Hero Time! - Grants 1 Power of Friendship stack to allies when their HP falls below 75%. Stacks up to 2 times. When allies have Power of Friendship, increase Attack by 6% of Kamiyama's Attack (up to 120/180/240, at level 1/50/70) for 1 turn. |
|
Rank 1 |
Intense Link: Increases allies' Defense by 10% when they have a Power of Friendship buff active (doesn't stack). |
|
Rank 2 |
Undying Justice: After using skills on allies, increases Leon's Attack by 25%. |
|
Rank 3 |
Serious Action: Increases the skill levels of Atomic Smash and Justice Barrier by 2. |
|
Rank 4 |
Hero's Journey Home: Highlight now increases the main target's critical damage by 25% for 2 turns. |
|
Rank 5 |
Self Discipline: Increases the skill levels of Ultima Booster and Thief Tactics by 2. |
|
Rank 6 |
Turning the Tables: When using a skill on an ally with HP below 60%, it increases their critical damage by 25% for 1 turn. |
Players should prioritize leveling Ultima Booster and Justice Barrier to the maximum possible, then Thief Tactics. Leave Atomic Smash for last, as Leon's priority is to buff the party, not being an attacker. Leon becomes more powerful the stronger his allies are, and a combination of Leon and Mont, or Leon and Skull, are two deadly duos that can wipe out enemies in only a few turns.
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Best Leon Weapons in Persona 5: The Phantom X
Final Buster: Is the most coveted weapon for Leon in P5X, and being a 5-Star draw from the Weapon Gacha, it brings the best stats and passives to the table. This spear increases Leon's Attack by 30.0%. After using a skill on an ally, the target will receive one of the following buffs: Increased Attack by 16.0% (1 turn). Increased critical damage by 16.0% (1 turn). If the target has 2 or more Power of Friendship stacks, it grants both buffs and increases the shield effects Kamiyama grants by 10.0% more for 1 turn. From all the available 5-Star weapons Phantom Idols can equip, Final Buster is one of the most broken, changing considerably how effective Leon's buffs are.
Justice Lance: Is the second-best option for players who haven't had the luck of drawing a 5-Star just yet (or for those who prioritized other 5-Star weapons when they received their free 5-Star Weapon box). This weapon can be obtained by spending 10 Gecko Coins in the Airsoft Shop at Shibuya Central Street. It increases Leon's shields by 8.8%. After using a skill on an ally, it increases Leon's Attack by 9.0% for 1 turn. For every 20% HP the target loses, Kamiyama's Attack increases by 20%. It's a decent weapon, though not as good as Final Buster, but still, it will suffice for an optimized Strategist build.
All weapon Perks increase in power when the Forge levels increase. Forge levels can be ranked up by spending a unit of the same weapon, or a similar quality weapon. In some cases, further levels can be improved with a weapon of a lesser grade (for example, a 4-star weapon can be leveled to Forge 2 by using a 3-star weapon, but in the next level, it will need another 4-star weapon to rank up).
Best Leon Revelation Cards
Power & Growth is the perfect set of Revelation Cards for Leon in P5X, since it greatly enhances his Attack %, and grants a solid 12% base Attack increase, plus an extra 10% every 6 turns of battle. This means that Leon's barriers and buffs will grow stronger and stronger the longer the battle lasts, and for bosses like Shadow Miyazawa, this strategy is the best. Power Cards greatly increase Attack, Speed, and even SP recovery, all good stats to have with Leon, while the Growth Mind card grants Base HP and Increased Health %, which will make Leon more durable.
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Best Leon Team Composition in P5X
Skull and Leon make a great pair, since Ryuji's Persona skill Wounded Glory will increase his damage the more HP he is missing. Using Justice Barrier on Skull will chip away his HP, until he is nearly at 10 %, and has a lot of barrier to compensate for it. Players can concentrate in dealing a ton of damage with their skills until the Justice Barrier timer runs out, and he is healed. Then, begin the rotation again, with Power & Growth Revelation Cards active in both characters; the longer the battle lasts, the more damage this duo will cause. Adding Riddle (Haruna) to the party can help Leon and Skull reach maximum Attack %, which increases their synergy even more.
But the definitive Power Couple in Persona 5: The Phantom X are Kotone Montagne and Leo Kamamiya. Leon's buffs greatly empower Kotone's decisive Nuke (Parhelion + Durandal of Ice combo) by increasing her critical damage and damage output by a whopping 50% (calculated based on the Power of Friendship buff at max stacks at Leon's skill level 3). Starting the battle with Leon as the first in line will secure a first buff of Kotone with Justice Barrier, then in the next round, Ultima Booster will prime her for a powerful follow-up. Meanwhile, players can Stack Ice Crystals and attain Parhelion, just in time for unleashing a Durandal of Ice at max power, thanks to Leon's buffs.
Persona5: The Phantom X
- Released
- June 26, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
