Yakuza has such a big variety of things to do that finding what to upgrade is an important choice, one that most end up winging and paying the price. While this is fine for those that simply want to get through the game, the best way through needs some specific skills.
From combat to earning the big bucks, Yakuza offers many different avenues to get lost in. These upgrades are the most important for cutting through a lot of the main tasks easily, letting players explore the more creative side of the game freely.
10 EXP. Boost
The most important skill for speeding things up and getting to the good stuff, upgrading EXP. boost will maximize every task a player does and get them to the higher levels much faster.
While running through all 5 of the EXP. boosts right away isn't required, doing so will definitely put a major dent in that pesky level bar. Making even the smallest tasks like eating and drinking vital to unlocking the best content in the game.
9 Improved Digestion
On top of being another EXP. farming chance, Improved digestion also means you don't have to constantly be on the search for food to fight off the hunger.
Eating and finding the right combination of food does sound like one of the more fun ways to level a character. It does become a bit of a grind without this upgrade though, saving the player a lot of time and EXP. by upgrading.
8 Substory Finder
The Yakuza series has become famous for its crazy ideas and offbeat humor, most of which players can find in the massive map of side stories. Going the adventurous route and bumping into these along the way is a journey, a very long one.
The Substory Finder will give players a map that's marked with every side job in the game, letting us choose the specific ones we choose to do. Opening up the chance of item hunting for the best weapons or tackling the most challenging of the bunch.
7 Boost Combo Speed
Everyone who's played a Yakuza game will know that for most of the story, one hit isn't usually enough to take out the many enemies you'll be faced with. Making players string combos together, leaving them open for a counter shot.
Boosting combo speed will limit this and make taking out powerful enemies or groups a much faster task. The Ultra Combo Speed turns Kazuma into something out of a Bruce Lee movie, with more speed than the player will need in any given situation.
6 Club Hustler
The cabaret club is fun to work at and the money you can make there comes in the millions of yen. However, there are many moving parts to the place and if players don't upgrade this skill they will get much less than half of the cut.
Even maxing out the Club Hustler skill, Kiwami will get 70% of the cut for the entire night. It might be a bit jarring to see less money in your pocket than you earned but 70% of 15 million is better than 100% of less.
5 Quickstep
It's one of the quieter upgrades a player can get but also one of the most important. Opening up the chance for counters and dodge attack in combat, once players get used to the skill they'll be taking and dealing much more damage.
The Triple Quickstep being the highest level of this move, it gives players the power to dodge multiple times or circle an opponent before they even have time to react. It's a fundamental move that can change how combat plays out through the entire game.
4 Collateral Damage
This is especially useful if players like to use throws but everybody should have in their arsenal. If any additional characters get hit during an attack, the damage increases and creates a domino effect.
Now it's rare that one strike will hit two or more enemies but throws tend to spread damage like wildfire. With enemies on the edge of the hit box getting the worst of it, attacks suddenly become a defense as well as an offence.
3 Boost Weapon Attack
Going knuckles up is always a good time but sometimes the group is too big or the enemy too powerful to go at them without a weapon. Boosting the attack you get from it makes the fight that much quicker.
With 3 stages of upgrades, it's best to go all the way with this one. Maximizing every swing of whatever weapon you choose is the fastest path to victory, especially late in the game when fights start ramping up the difficulty.
2 Parry Mastery
Unlocking the parry skill is a must to get the most out of the limited combat, making enemies miss and giving the player a window to connect with a big strike. Parry Mastery takes this to a whole new level, taking the window to counter and busting it open.
It's probably the most useful combat skill in the right hands, making a skilled fighter next to untouchable. Parry Mastery can be the game changer when an enemy is swinging wildly and you can't find a way in.
1 Komaki Tiger Drop
Heat Moves in this game got a little bit of a nerf, limiting the outrageous moves to lower damage caps than before. While this evens out the gameplay and overall makes it more challenging, sometimes we just want to completely destroy an enemy.
The Komaki Tiger Drop bypasses all this and delivers one of the most devastating blows in the series, knocking back all but the strongest of enemies when they're in heat. Only available to Komaki students, this move alone is enough to draw students to the school.