Like a Dragon: Ishin! Battle Dungeon Guide, Part 1: Unlocking Missions and Preparing Your Squad

Like a Dragon: Ishin! Battle Dungeon Guide, Part 1: Unlocking Missions and Preparing Your Squad The Battle Dungeons are where a lot of Ishin's equipment grind happens. They also give you a place to level troopers and earn money while working through a separate set of combat missions. This is for the 2023 remake. Trooper abilities work outside these dungeons too, so the time you put into your squad can help in the rest of the game. Where to start Progress through Chapter 5 until Todo introduces the system at the Shinsengumi Barracks in Mibu. Complete the tutorial mission. After that, speak to the Mission Receptionist on the east side of the barracks and choose Dispatch. There are 40 missions across three areas: • Bandits' Cave: 10. • Bandits' Mine: 10. • Sanada Stronghold: 20. Clear the missions in the current area to reach the next one. You can replay unlocked missions. If the next area hasn't appeared, go back through the current list and check for an uncleared entry instead of assuming you need another story chapter. What to check before entering Look at the objective, difficulty stars, cash reward, and Obtainable Materials list. On a controller, Triangle/Y opens the item list from mission selection. That list shows what can drop, not what you are guaranteed to receive. If you need one particular material, pick a mission that actually lists it. Repeating the hardest dungeon you can survive isn't automatically useful if the item you need isn't in its loot pool. Give yourself room to finish the mission, too. Carry healing, check your weapon and armor, and make sure your chosen combat styles have troopers assigned. Having a strong card sitting unused in your collection doesn't help you inside the dungeon. A practical starting squad For an early setup, give your main style a healing ability, something that helps its damage, and an attack that can hit a group. You can change the arrangement later once you know which abilities you actually use. Manual activation lets you save a heal for when you're hurt and an area attack for a crowded room. You can change activation settings through Formation and Ability Activation; the choice made during the tutorial isn't permanent. Cards also add to Ryoma's health. If your health bar changes when you rearrange the squad, look at the troopers you removed or replaced before assuming the game has taken away one of your upgrades. Working through a dungeon Search the side rooms as you go. Break containers for loot and check branches before committing to the final room. For stolen-ryo missions, finding the objective boxes is part of the assignment, not an optional bit of extra money. A wooden obstruction and a locked door aren't the same problem. Break what can be broken; search for a switch when a locked door won't open. If a passage is still blocked after a fight, make sure an enemy hasn't been left alive elsewhere in the room. After the last fight, use the mission exit and confirm the clear. Don't assume killing the boss has already taken you through the reward screen. Look over the results before starting another run. Keep useful equipment and materials, inspect the offered trooper, and consider whether the next mission is worth attempting with your current setup. There is no benefit to rushing into a fight you aren't ready to finish just because it unlocked. Making repeated runs useful Write down the material you need, its quantity, and the mission you're running. After a few clears, check what you actually gained. If the drops aren't useful, review the mission list instead of grinding on autopilot. Compare the whole run, not just the clear reward. A shorter mission you can finish comfortably may give you more chances at a needed drop than a long mission that burns through your healing supply. If you're collecting crafting materials, clearing breakable containers matters as well as reaching the boss. This first part covers how to get started and how to avoid wasting runs. The individual dungeon routes and their bosses need their own walkthroughs, especially once the Mine's armored enemies and the Stronghold's harder fights enter the picture.