Like a Dragon: Ishin! - Battle Dungeons Explained

The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is famous for the number of minigames and side activities that are packed into each and every installment, with some of them being so in-depth that you can lose hours away from the game’s main story. Like a Dragon: Ishin! is no exception to this rule, with one of its major side activities being the Battle Dungeon mode that sees Ryoma taking part in his duties as a Captain in the Shinsengumi. This is a mode that players will want to fully understand before diving head-first into it, so allow me to provide a breakdown! This guide will provide a full explanation of the Battle Dungeons in Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Battle Dungeons Explained In Like A Dragon: Ishin!

The Battle Dungeons are unlocked in Chapter 5: The Iron Code when Ryoma is given a tour of the Shinsengumi’s base on his first official day as the group’s Third Division Captain. At the end of the tour, you will be brought to a stand with a Mission Receptionist sitting behind a desk. Interacting with this NPC will bring you to the Battle Dungeon menu which gives you the chance to embark on Battle Dungeon Missions and introduces the Trooper Card system.

Trooper Cards are special items that you will be able to equip to your different Fighting Styles that provide you with special attacks, buffs, and actions both in Battle Dungeons and in the game’s normal open world of Kyo. These cards are broken down into different categories and rarities, with the former telling you whether the card is Offensive, Defensive, Medical, Assist, or Support.

You will be able to assign your cards in the Formation section of the Battle Dungeon screen or the Trooper section in the pause menu. Each card comes with a universal action that will be used whenever the card is activated as well as a passive Corporal skill. This special skill is active when you assign a card to the first position of a Style’s card line-up. Using these cards in battle will level them up, making their abilities more effective. You will be able to recruit new cards by completing Battle Dungeons, finding random enemies in Kyo that offer to join you after you defeat them, and spending in-game money to get a random set of cards. You can also fuse cards together to gain XP and improve a card’s stats.

Now that you have your line-up, you can start making your way through the Battle Dungeons. You can select your mission through the Dispatch menu. There are three areas to choose from that are unlocked upon completing the previous area, the first two have 10 levels while the final one has 20. These linear levels see you battling room after room of enemies, usually with some sort of objective like collecting certain items, saving civilians defeating certain enemies, or simply getting to the end. Once at the end of the level, you will face off against a group of strong enemies. The final level of each area sees you going up against an extremely powerful boss that will truly put your cards and combat skills to the test.

Completing a mission will net you more XP for your cards, money, new Trooper Cards, and items that you collected while making your way through the mission. Each level also comes with a list that tells you every item that can possibly be earned from a level before starting. With each level being able to be replayed as many times as you want, you are able to grind for XP items as long as you want.