Looking for mid-to-high level companions. I'm currently maintaining 8 stars. Game evaluation.

Regarding the evaluation, it's not very kind to free-to-play players. Ideally, a max-limit break is strong, of course, but securing characters comes first. If you want to limit your spending, it's best to just get the characters. If you still don't have enough stones, prioritize pulling characters that have no substitutes. It depends on how you play, but for story progression, free-to-play is totally doable. For those who spend a little or more, limit breaks are good, but ideally, 2 limit breaks per character and finishing with a ☆5 weapon is fine. Max limit breaks are obviously broken, but it's good if other characters are also usable to some extent. I wrote this hastily, but I hope it's helpful. Of course, even without spending money, you can enjoy it by how you use your stones, just like other games. If you like Persona, it's a work you should definitely try.