Come for the list of best swords, stay for the lesson in crafting

Finding the best weapons and armor in Like a Dragon: Ishin! is no easy task. The latest tale from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is an engrossing adventure packed with smack downs. Between the main chapters, substories, and several different optional modes (including one that’s like a dungeon crawling-lite), you’ll end up tangled in combat quite often. Buy Organic Puerh Tea

Regardless of which difficulty you choose to play on, making sure you’re always carrying Ishin’s best weapons and armor is vital. This guide shares several different equipment options that are worth pursuing, as well as their locations or the items you’ll need to craft them.

Fairly early in the main story, you’ll gain access to a blacksmith vendor, which basically unlocks crafting in Like a Dragon: Ishin!. You can create new weapons and equipment from scratch, using both crafting items and money. That said, crafting in Ishin is similar to crafting in Monster Hunter, in the way that you’ll need the previous weapon in the tree in order to make the new one. (This is all displayed in the crafting screen of the blacksmith, including the exact items list and such you’ll need, so no need to worry about keeping a notebook handy.)

In addition, you can use different hammer types to enhance equipment, upgrading their rarity and, as a result, their base damage or defense stats. As for the blacksmith, you can also donate gear to upgrade the shop, which results in some benefits. I recommend parting ways with equipment that has low stats, or purchasing the cheapest ones from the Arms Dealer. It will take more time, but at least you won’t mistakenly donate a weapon that you could have used to craft a new katana or gun later on.

As for where to find crafting items in Like a Dragon: Ishin!, simple: They’re all over the place! You can find them as loot during battles; inside pots; as rewards for completing Battle Dungeons, substories, and bonds; or by fulfilling orders in Another Life and having dogs as pets that will fetch you items from time to time.

Of all of the above, Battle Dungeons tend to be a bit more helpful; once completed, you can actually see the list of possible items that can drop. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get just the one you need, but at least you know that there is a guaranteed chance you’ll stumble upon it in that specific dungeon at some point.

Deciding on the best weapons in Like a Dragon: Ishin! can be tough, as it will depend on your playstyle. Some favor elemental attacks, which you can obtain either from other equipment pieces or through Trooper Card skills, while others are focused on specific elements, such as the Heat Gauge.

My recommendation, especially during the first few chapters of the main story, is to focus on whatever deals more damage than what you’re currently using. Once you start cutting deeper into the combat of the game, especially if you’re planning to tackle the Battle Dungeon, that’s when you’re going to want to focus on elemental attacks, or some options such as the Skink Lizard, which recovers health by a percentage of damage dealt to enemies.

Here are the best weapon options in Like a Dragon: Ishin! to carry you through to the mid-game:

Unlike weapons, not every category of armor in Like a Dragon: Ishin! has a ton of options. Most of the gear I’ve been using was dropped during a substories or during the main story chapters.

Similarly, I recommend equipping whatever you can find, at least at first, just to start building up Ryoma’s defense stats. From there, you can either focus on gear that doubles down on that defense, or increases other aspects of the character, such as the use of Heat Gauge.

Here are the best armor options in Like a Dragon: Ishin! to carry you through the mid-game:

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