Like A Dragon: Ishin - Best Weapons

Best Weapons Guide for Like A Dragon: Ishin

This page contains a guide on the best weapons for Like A Dragon: Ishin! (LAD Ishin/Yakuza: Ishin), including the strongest swords and pistols (guns) to use during the early and late game stages, each recommended weapon’s stats, symbol (elemental attribute), performance, unique characteristics, and weapon tree (forging route), how to get each weapon during the game’s main story, and other useful tips.

Like A Dragon: Ishin Best Armor

Best Starting Weapons (Early Game)

Best Swords

Yoshiyuki (Recommended Weapon for Clearing the Main Story)

The default weapon Yoshiyuki is a decent starting weapon with a relatively easy upgrade path if you simply want to progress through the game’s story missions. While all swords from the Yoshiyuki tree do not have any special effects, the level at which attack power scales per upgrade is good enough to go through all main story encounters without much trouble.

Dojigiri (Recommended Weapon for Combat Style Leveling)

During the early to middle stages, it is recommended to craft the Dojigiri which has the Growth attribute (lets you gain more experience by defeating enemies). This allows you to efficiently level up Ryoma and unlock new skills from the various skill panels, expanding your options in battle in the process.

Kijinmaru Kunishige and Bloody Sheen (Recommended Weapon for Early Game – DLC only)

The DLC weapons Kijinnmaru Kunishige and Bloody Sheen are exceptionally powerful swords that you can use as early as Chapter 2. Unfortunately, these blades can only be acquired by purchasing the Like A Dragon: Ishin Digital Deluxe Edition and redeeming them when you gain access to Teradaya’s.

Best Gun

Golden Gun (Best Mid to Late Game Gun)

The Golden Gun is arguably the best pistol for early to mid game, owing to its massive damage output per shot which can take out most groups of enemies safely from a distance with ease. You will need to farm money for a while to get this weapon because of its steep price which is a staggering 100,000 points. Note that you can spend time at the Chicken Race mini game to amass a lot of wooden tags (Kifuda) as early as Chapter 3, allowing you to buy it and trivialize most regular encounters early on in the game.

Like a Dragon: Ishin Money Farming Guide

Best Weapons in the Game (Mid to Late Game)

Can be obtained through crafting at the blacksmith.

All of the best weapons in the game are obtainable via crafting at the blacksmith. Note that you will need to obtain certain base weapons and follow specific upgrade routes to forge the strongest armaments listed below.

Like A Dragon: Ishin All Crafting Materials List

Best Swords

Sohaya no Tsurugi (Best Light Weapon)

Sohaya no Tsurugi is the best sword imbued with the light element, boasting massive attack power while giving you the ability to stun enemies. You will need to progress through Weathered Sword tree by collecting the required rare materials. To get the Weathered Sword, you must maximize your bond with the Rakugai Weapon Shop Owner.

Hanamori (Best Yokai Weapon)

Hanamori’s ability to absorb health from enemies with each strike grants you increased survivability, especially when going through the later Battle Arena challenges. To get Hanamori, you must obtain the Tuna-Kiri sword by purchasing it from the Mysterious Merchant in Rakugai. Then, progress through the weapon tree to forge the Hanamori.

Masamune (Best Heat Build Weapon)

For constantly throwing out Heat Actions and special attacks, the Masamune is an excellent choice. Its raw damage output is somewhat lacking compared to other end-tier weapons which is an understandable trade-off for its faster Heat Gauge charge. To craft the Masamune, you must obtain the Bundled Sword first from the Gambling Hall Exchange. Then, progress through the Bundled Sword’s weapon route (which is slightly more arduous than its peers) to craft the Masamune.

Futsunomitama (Best Poison Weapon)

Futsunomitama is the best sword for whittling down the opponent’s HP with poison. This sword has the best damage-over-time effect in its class which is useful for chewing through even the most massive health pools of various enemies in the game. To craft the Futsunomitama, you must obtain the Weathered Sword from the Rakugai Weapon Shop Owner (by maximizing your bond with him) and progress through the weapon route.

Dream Dragon Sword (Best Weapon for Pure Damage)

For sheer damage, the Dream Dragon Sword is the best sword in the game, allowing you to cut down most enemies in seconds. The weapons also has the unique dragon wave effect that can hit foes from afar.

The Dream Dragon Sword is arguably the hardest sword to obtain as it requires you to trade for the Weathered Demon Sword at the Gambling Hall for 500,000 points after you have defeated Amon. Once you obtain the Weathered Demon Sword, you must kill 100 enemies with it before you can upgrade it to the Dream Dragon Sword using extremely rare materials.

Best Guns

Dragon Hawk (Best Gun in the Game)

The best upgrade to the Golden Gun for the late game stages is the Dragon Hawk. This gun deals the most damage per shot in its class and allows you to gain more experience when taking down enemies. To get the Dragon Hawk, you must obtain the Rusty Pistol by trading 20 Indigo Stones from the man at William Bradley’s Gunman Style training room in Rakugai. Then, gather the required materials to upgrade the gun to the Dragon Hawk.

Special Weapons are not recommended.

It is generally a bad idea to constantly use special weapons as you will not gain experience points for using any of the Combat Styles. Equip swords and pistols as much as possible to rank up Combat Styles and unlock useful skills and abilities quickly as you go through the game’s main story.

Like A Dragon Ishin: Best Skills to Get

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