Of all of Ryōma Sakamoto’s fighting styles in Like a Dragon: Ishin, the Gunman style sounds like it would be the best of the bunch. Why go toe-to-toe with the goons when Ryōma can just pull out his revolver and open fire? It becomes especially useful when that revolver can somehow hold more than six shots.
Even so, it has its drawbacks. The style isn’t so good when Ryōma’s getting up close and personal. But with a few upgrades, it can be even more deadly. The Health Increase and Rank skills are important enough, but for combat, these are Like a Dragon: Ishin’s best Gunman Skills that players should unlock as soon as possible.
4 Enhance Rapid Fire Rate
Guns are pretty simple: just point it at a target and pull the trigger (or press the Attack button in this case). However, Ryōma doesn’t start off as a quick shot. His rate of fire is slow enough for other goons to flank him or attack from behind. So, why not make it faster?
Aim for the Enhance Rapid Fire Rate upgrades, and Ryōma will pull the trigger fast enough to close the gap on any flankers. The skill also makes up for the gun’s weaker damage at a distance by doubling up on the number of bullets fired. It’s enough to polish off any sniping fools, and any other nuisance, before they can become a problem.
3 Enhanced Rounds Knowhow
Standard bullets are fine for taking out most goons, especially with rapid fire. Even so, it can be pretty dull running far enough from mooks to pepper them with shots. Plus, there are some foes that need more strategy to get around. How can the player deal with armored goons or heavies? By enhancing their knowhow.
With the Enhanced Rounds Knowhow skill, Ryōma will be able to switch to special rounds that can knock foes on their backs with a single shot. But to get them, players have to complete William Bradley’s second training mission, then give it an orb on the Skill Tree. Once that’s done, Ryōma will be able to make his own fancy bullets at the blacksmiths and swap between them and regular rounds in combat.
2 Acid/Poison Rounds Knowhow
After unlocking the Enhanced Rounds, Ryōma can unlock more special ammo to switch to during combat. Once that’s done, Ryōma can make them at the blacksmiths and inflict a whole manner of different elemental attacks with his revolver. While Fire, Flash, and Thunder have their uses for burning, blinding, and shocking their targets, the Acid and Poison Rounds are the handiest.
The Poison Roundssicken targets as their health slowly drains. Meanwhile, the Acid ones are best saved for armored foes. These will weaken their defenses, making them more vulnerable to other attacks. It could be just what the player needs when the tough customers start popping up.
1 Essence of Finishing Shots
Finally, the Gunman style comes with some fancy Heat actions. Still, the simplest ones are often the most effective. Why try to corral goons to pull off some flashiest move when Ryōma can just finish them off while they’re down?
With the Essence of Finishing Shots, Ryōma will pin a grounded foe with his heel, then pop a round into them to keep them down for good. It’s more brutal than what Kiryu would (usually) do. Then again, Bakumatsu-era Kyoto is a more brutal place than Kamurochō.
Like a Dragon: Ishin! is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.