Persona 5 Phantom X Best Marian (Minami) Build Guide (March 2026)

Updated by Ankit Babal
July 14, 2025
Gaming

Marian (Minami Miyashita) is the undisputed best healer in Persona 5 The Phantom X, offering unmatched healing capabilities, debuff removal, and team support through her unique Diagnosis stack mechanic. As a 5-star Bless element Medic releasing in Version 1.1 on July 10, 2026, Marian transforms any team composition with her ability to remove ALL debuffs (not just elemental ailments), increase party Max HP by up to 75%, and provide consistent healing over time. Unlike other healers like Mona who can only cleanse elemental ailments, Marian’s Healing Grace removes any 2 debuffs, making her essential for challenging content like Shadow Miyazawa battles.

Her kit revolves around building Diagnosis stacks (up to 10) through skills like Nurse’s Light and Healing Grace, then spending them with Compassionate Cure to provide massive healing and Max HP buffs to the entire party. With proper investment in the Love & Faith Revelation Card set and either the premium Angel Heart weapon or F2P-friendly Hymn of Life, Marian can heal over 30% of a character’s HP per turn while simultaneously buffing their damage by up to 45% through her Health Comes First passive.

Category	Best Choice	Alternative
Best Weapon	Angel Heart (5★)	Hymn of Life (4★)
Best Revelation Cards	Love & Faith Set	Control & Awareness
Best Team Comp	Wonder (Ice), Soy, Mont, Okyann	Joker, Skull, Leon, Marian
Priority Stats	HP, HP%, HP Recovery, SP Recovery	–
Best Navigator	Okyann	Puppet

Who Is Marian in Persona 5 Phantom X?

Minami Miyashita is a first-year high school student who dreams of becoming a nurse like her late mother. In the real world, she helps her father run his izakaya restaurant after school, showing her caring and responsible nature. Her cognitive manifestation in the Metaverse takes the form of Marian, a nurse-themed Phantom Idol created by Merope from Nagisa Kamisiro’s cognition.

Players can unlock Marian by:

Pulling from her limited banner “Angel’s Diagnosis” (July 10-23, 2026)
Completing her secondary quest “Steel Your Heart”
Eventually from the standard banner after her debut period

With voice acting by Satomi Sato (known for Corrin in Fire Emblem Fates and Magilou in Tales of Berseria), Marian brings both personality and power to your team.

Marian’s Complete Skill Breakdown

Core Skills Analysis

1. Nurse’s Light (20 SP)

Deals Bless damage equal to 37.3% of Marian’s max HP
Grants 1 Blessing stack to entire party
Generates 1 Diagnosis stack
Strategy Tip: Use this between healing turns to build Diagnosis stacks while contributing damage

2. Healing Grace (25 SP) – PRIORITY SKILL

Heals lowest HP ally + 1 selected ally for 11.4% max HP + 112
Removes 2 debuffs from healed allies
Grants 1 Blessing stack to healed allies
Provides healing over time: 9.1% max HP + 89 for 2 turns
Generates 1 Diagnosis stack
At Awareness 2: Heals 3 allies total with 20% increased healing for allies below 50% HP

3. Compassionate Cure (32 SP)

Consumes ALL Diagnosis stacks
Base heal: 10.3% max HP + 101 to selected ally
Heals lowest HP ally 2 times + 1 additional time per Diagnosis stack spent
Increases party Max HP by 7.5% per stack (up to 75%) for 2 turns
Strategy: Build to 10 stacks for maximum efficiency before using

4. Thief Tactics (Highlight)

Party heal: 11.5% max HP + 113
Removes 1 debuff from all allies
Increases party Max HP by 16.5% (up to 247) for 2 turns
End-of-turn heal: 4.3% max HP + 41
One More: Single-target Bless damage

Passive Abilities

Health Comes First (Talent 1)

After healing an ally: +15% damage
Additional +3% per Blessing stack (max 30% total)
Duration: 1 turn
This turns Marian into a damage enabler, especially for DPS with multiple Blessing stacks

Peace of Mind (Talent 2)

Start of battle: +10% Max HP to party (cap: 500)
Scales with skill level
Free survivability boost that synergizes with HP-scaling characters like Soy

Skill Priority & Upgrade Path

Compassionate Cure (Max first) – Core healing mechanic
Thief Tactics – Enhances Highlight utility
Healing Grace – Improves healing and debuff removal
Nurse’s Light – Lowest priority but still useful

Marian’s Awareness Perks (A0-A6)

Level	Perk	Effect
A0	Nurse’s Oath	Start battle with 1 Diagnosis stack. Gain 1 stack when ally HP < 70%
A1	Angel in White	Overhealing grants 20% pierce to target for 2 turns
A2	Clinical Care	Healing Grace heals 3 allies, +20% healing if HP < 50%
A3	Practical Care	+3 levels to Healing Grace and Thief Tactics
A4	Nursing Practice	Extends Highlight buffs by 1 turn
A5	Undying Devotion	+3 levels to Nurse’s Light and Compassionate Cure
A6	Guardian of Life	Revive KO’d ally once per battle (40% max HP + 1200)

A6 Priority: The resurrection ability makes max Awareness Marian absolutely game-changing

Best Weapons for Marian

Angel Heart (5★) – Best in Slot

Base Effect: +30% Max HP
Diagnosis Bonus: +10% healing output when holding stacks
Damage Burst: Party gains +25% damage for 1 turn when spending Diagnosis
Where to Get: Weapon gacha (requires Platinum Milicoin investment)

The damage buff alone makes this weapon exceptional, turning Marian’s healing rotation into offensive windows

Hymn of Life (4★) – F2P Option

Base Effect: +8.7% healing effectiveness
Total Coverage: +28.5% continuous healing effect
Blessing Chance: 26% chance to grant Blessing after healing
Where to Get: Airsoft Shop using Gecko Coins

Budget-friendly option that still provides significant healing improvements

Best Revelation Cards for Marian

Love & Faith Set (Optimal)

2-Piece Bonus: +9% healing effect, +23% healing to allies below 50% HP 4-Piece Bonus: +1% healing per 800 HP (max 20% at 16,000 HP)

This set synergizes perfectly with Marian’s kit:

Stacks with her A2 perk for massive low-HP healing
Scales with HP investment
Turns critical situations into healing opportunities

Control & Awareness Set (Alternative)

2-Piece Bonus: +600 HP 4-Piece Bonus: Fire damage team buff

Only use if running a mono-Fire team with Key and Panther. The HP boost is nice but the Fire damage bonus is wasted on most Marian teams.

Optimal Team Compositions

1. Ice Domination Team (Highest Synergy)

Team: Wonder (Ice Personas), Soy, Mont, Marian Navigator: Okyann

Why it works:

Soy and Marian create an HP-boosting feedback loop
Mont provides exceptional Ice DPS
Wonder can use Personas like Black Frost or King Frost
Okyann’s Retro Dance Number boosts elemental damage

Rotation:

Soy uses Icy Defense (team Max HP boost)
Marian builds Diagnosis stacks with Nurse’s Light
Mont unleashes Ice attacks
Marian uses Compassionate Cure at 10 stacks

2. Meta Physical Team

Team: Joker, Skull, Leon, Marian Navigator: Okyann

Strategy:

Leon buffs Skull with Justice Barrier
Marian keeps Skull healthy at low HP for maximum damage
Joker provides consistent Curse damage
Works exceptionally well against enemies weak to Physical/Curse

3. Fire Synergy Team

Team: Panther, Key, Soy, Marian Navigator: Okyann

Benefits:

Marian’s Health Comes First passive amplifies Panther’s La Vie en Rose state
Key provides Fire damage buffs
Soy offers protection and HP scaling

4. F2P Starter Team

Team: Wonder, Cattle, Moko, Marian Navigator: Puppet

Budget option using free/common units that still clears most content effectively

Priority Stats & Equipment

Main Stats Priority

HP (Flat) – Directly increases all healing values
HP % – Multiplicative scaling with flat HP
HP Recovery – Improves healing effectiveness
SP Recovery – Critical due to high SP costs (32 SP for Compassionate Cure)

Substats to Target

Speed (act before enemies)
Defense (survivability)
Elemental Resistance

Combat Strategy & Rotation

Opening Rotation

Turn 1: Healing Grace on lowest HP allies (builds stack + removes debuffs)
Turn 2: Nurse’s Light for damage + party Blessing
Turn 3: Continue building stacks with alternating skills
Turn 4-5: At 8-10 stacks, use Compassionate Cure
Highlight: Save for emergency healing or damage windows

Key Tips

Stack Management: Don’t waste Compassionate Cure at low stacks
Debuff Priority: Use Healing Grace on debuffed allies first
SP Conservation: Use normal attacks when healing isn’t needed
Blessing Uptime: Maintain stacks for damage dealers using Health Comes First

Boss Fight Strategy

Against challenging bosses like Shadow Miyazawa:

Maintain Blessing stacks on your main DPS
Save Highlight for heavy damage phases
Keep Diagnosis stacks ready for burst healing
Prioritize debuff removal over raw healing when needed

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using Compassionate Cure Too Early: Wait for 8-10 stacks
Ignoring Blessing Stacks: They provide both healing and damage
Overlooking SP Management: Bring SP recovery items or use Guard
Not Prioritizing Squishy Allies: Assassins and Sweepers need healing priority
Forgetting About Pierce Buff: Overhealing grants valuable armor penetration

F2P vs Whale Investment

F2P Path (A0 with Hymn of Life)

Still SS-tier performance
Focus on HP main stats
Use Love & Faith 3-star versions
Total investment: ~2 weeks of grinding

Dolphin Path (A2-A3 with Angel Heart)

Significant power spike at A2
Worth selective pulling during rate-up
Angel Heart from weapon banner if lucky

Whale Path (A6 with Max Angel Heart)

Resurrection ability is game-changing
Maximum healing potential
Enables aggressive team compositions

Synergy with Other Characters

Best Partners

Soy: Mutual HP buffing creates exponential scaling
Leon: Justice Barrier + healing enables risky plays
Key: Fire teams benefit from sustained healing
Mont: Ice teams gain survivability for extended fights

Characters That Benefit Most

HP Scalers: Soy, characters with HP-based damage
Glass Cannons: Assassins who need protection
Debuff Magnets: Tanks facing heavy debuff enemies

Advanced Tips & Tricks

Diagnosis Stack Tracking: Keep mental count for optimal Cure timing
Elemental Advantage: Use Nurse’s Light against Curse enemies
Turn Order Manipulation: Speed substats ensure healing before enemy attacks
Blessing Economy: Each stack = 1% Max HP heal over 2 turns
Highlight Timing: Save for All-Out Attack setups or emergency healing

Version 1.1 Meta Impact

Marian’s release in Version 1.1 (March 10, 2026) significantly shifts the P5X meta:

Makes sustain teams viable for all content
Enables riskier team compositions
Counters debuff-heavy bosses
Provides the only full debuff cleanse in global version

Comparison with Other Healers

Healer	Pros	Cons	Marian Advantage
Mona	Free, Wind damage	Only cleanses elemental ailments	Full debuff removal
Cattle	Good buffs	Lower healing output	Superior healing + Max HP buffs
Lufel	Damage reduction	Limited cleanse	Better overall utility

FAQs

Is Marian worth pulling for F2P players?

Absolutely. She’s the best healer until future releases and remains meta-relevant even in CN/KR versions. Her versatility makes her valuable for all content types.

How many copies do I need for Marian to be effective?

A0 Marian is already SS-tier. Additional copies provide nice bonuses but aren’t necessary for her to excel.

What’s the best replacement if I don’t get Marian?

Mona (free from story) is the next best option, though she only removes elemental ailments. Cattle provides decent healing but lacks Marian’s utility.

Should I prioritize Marian over Joker?

If you need a healer, yes. Joker is exceptional DPS but Marian enables entire team compositions and strategies that aren’t possible without proper sustain.

Can Marian work in a Physical damage team?

Yes! Her healing and buffs are universal. The Health Comes First damage bonus applies to all damage types, making her valuable in any composition.

How much HP should I aim for on Marian?

Target 16,000+ HP for maximum Love & Faith scaling. This requires good mainstat rolls and some HP% substats.

Is Guardian of Life (A6) worth whaling for?

It’s powerful but not necessary. The resurrection can save runs but proper play can avoid KOs in most content.

Investment Priority Checklist

Pull Marian from Angel’s Diagnosis banner
Level to 70 immediately
Prioritize Compassionate Cure skill upgrades
Farm Love & Faith Revelation cards
Obtain Hymn of Life from Airsoft Shop (F2P)
Focus HP/HP% mainstats on equipment
Reach A2 for enhanced Healing Grace (optional)
Complete “Steel Your Heart” quest for lore
Build synergistic team members (Soy, Mont)
Practice Diagnosis stack management

Conclusion

Marian stands as Persona 5 The Phantom X’s premier healer, offering unmatched versatility through her unique Diagnosis mechanic, comprehensive debuff removal, and team-wide buffs. Whether you’re a F2P player looking for a reliable sustain option or a whale aiming for the perfect support, Marian delivers exceptional value that will carry your team through all current and future content.

Her ability to transform healing windows into damage opportunities through Health Comes First, combined with party-wide Max HP increases, makes her not just a healer but a true force multiplier for any team composition. With Version 1.1 launching on July 10, 2026, securing Marian should be every player’s top priority.

Ready to dominate the Metaverse with the ultimate healing support? Start saving your Meta Jewels now and prepare to welcome Nurse Marian to your Phantom Thieves roster!