Like a Dragon: Ishin players will spend a lot of time fighting, but there’s more to the game than swinging a sword. You can rely on multiple attack styles, switch between them at the press of a button, and focus on improving your favorites. Here is our guide on how to improve attack styles in Like a Dragon: Ishin.

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Like a Dragon: Ishin – How to improve Attack styles

As you battle your way through the streets of Kyo, you’ll find yourself beset by bandits and warriors. They’re all anxious to put you in the ground. You can equip a few weapon types, then fight using whatever style works best for the situation at hand. There are four attack styles: Brawler, Swordsman, Gunman, and Wild Dancer. As you continue improving a particular style, stats in areas such as health improve, as does your proficiency with the individual style.

You can easily improve attack styles by focusing on those styles you prefer, by training in dojos, and by using certain items. Whenever Ryoma gains a level, you receive a gray Spirit Orb. It can be placed on any of the four style grids. You earn colored orbs by routinely fighting with a particular style. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green orbs may only be attached to a particular attack style’s grid. Note that if you place a gray Spirit Orb on a particular grid, you can later replace it with a colored orb, allowing you to then place the more versatile gray one elsewhere.

The style you prefer will vary according to personal preferences and available equipment. Suppose you decide you are most comfortable using the Wild Dancer style. It incorporates both katanas and firearms, along with efficient dodge capabilities. You can use gray Spirit Orbs, along with green ones, to quickly fill in a number of nodes. If you later decide you prefer the more standard Swordsman style, you might continue using the Wild Dancer style to earn more green Spirit Orbs, but then place them on top of gray orbs previously slotted into that grid. That way, you will reclaim gray Spirit Orbs that you can place on the Swordsman grid.

Grids initially contain several locked nodes, indicated by padlock icons. You can only learn any associated abilities by first training with a weapons master who unlocks that node. There are several dojos available around the city that specialize in the various weapon disciplines. Once you train at a dojo and unlock a special node, you can place a standard colored or gray Spirit Orb to master the new ability.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

Deeper in the campaign, level advancement occurs less frequently by default. You can purchase items to speed along the process. First, spend Virtue to unlock the Shinto Priest’s Exchange, which you can then upgrade using additional Virtue. Your investment allows you to meet the Shinto Priest at the shrine in the northwest portion of the Rakunai district. He sells gray and colored Water, Dango, and Daifuku items that allow you to more quickly gain levels and improve attack styles. The best items are quite expensive, however.

Like a Dragon: Ishin can be purchased on Steam and the Xbox marketplace.