Persona 5 will have newly-announced special online features that players can take advantage of that will add to the game-playing experience. What has been currently announced is not essential to unlocking or completing any aspect of the game, but rather is an additional feature for players to connect with their friends. For example, in the game’s daily parts you can see how your friends acted in similar situations that you’re currently experiencing, such as looking at how other friends responded to questions in school. On a given day when there are no dungeons or mandatory events involved, players also have the option to see what their friends did.
A central part of the online Persona 5 experience is the Phantom Thieves Alliance, a feature enabled through online connection to be used for battles and dungeons. It enables players to lower the Alertness Meter as you traverse dungeons, which can be helpful both for avoiding enemies and avoiding any locked areas due to increased security. In battle, the Phantom Thieves Alliance can be used as a substitute for dire situations wherein a party member is incapacitated and captured – the Alliance allows for stand-in temporary assistance from friends.
Persona 5 launches on September 15 in Japan! Meanwhile, the Americas and Europe will receive the game on Valentine’s Day, 2017.
Credit to this Hachima Kikou post for the information.