Finding the perfect Squad Leaders for your Boarding Squad groups in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is a tall task, as you’re given the unenviable task of balancing your crew’s skills between Cannons and Boarding. While some crew members are suited for your Boarding Squad, only those with the best Squad Leader Traits can head one of your four groups.
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Once you’ve bought all the Boarding Squad increases, you’ll have access to four Squad Leader slots, forcing you to choose the best four options for the Goromaru’s boarding crew. Luckily, many of the best Squad Leader Traits are easy enough to recognize given who they belong to, but it takes time to fully unlock their potential.
7
Swordsman’s Technique: Swordsman Kenguro
Swordsman Kenguro makes a surprise appearance thanks to his straightforward, but impressive Squad Leader Trait: Swordsman’s Technique. This trait greatly boosts the Attack of all squad members, allowing you to slice through opposing pirates in seconds.
Unfortunately, with such a strong effect, there are no other additional bonuses added, which keeps Swordsman Kenguro from breaking into the upper echelon that the best Squad Leaders reach.
6
Succession Of Will: Misaki
- Boosts Attack and charges the Voltage Gauge faster.
Misaki is one of the most unique Squad Leader Traits available, as she focuses on improving your all-around offense with unusual improvements. She boosts your squad’s Attack, and charges the Voltage Gauge even faster, making your Support abilities available more frequently.
Her Voltage Gauge boost sets Misaki apart from her Attack-boosting competition, but her inconsistent availability during the game knocks her ranking down when compared to some of the most reliable options.
5
Martial Soul Bonded: Daisaku Minami
- Greatly boosts Attack and adds Burn Resistance.
Standing above Misaki’s Volt Gauge increase is the Martial Soul (Bonded) Squad Leader Trait belonging to Daisaku Minami. This former Tojo Clan member makes a memorable impression in your Boarding Squad, thanks to his powerful offensive boost combined with a strong defensive ability.
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Martial Soul Bonded’s Burn Resistance helps your crew to avoid heavy incoming fire damage from enemies while allowing you to erase them from the battlefield thanks to the aforementioned Attack boost.
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Indomitable Will Bonded: Nishida
- Greatly boosts Health Recovery and adds Shock Resistance.
Indomitable Will (Bonded) earns a slight edge over Martial Soul thanks to a return to even more unusual effects, as Nishida’s Squad Leader Trait reflects what you might expect from the better Support Squad members.
As a medic character, it’s unsurprising to see Nishida’s trait come with the Health Recovery effect, but the bonus of Shock Resistance makes your crew even more insulated from chunk damage. This trait is exceptional against Shock-using enemies like the Mecha Robots.
3
Marine Cuisine Bonded: Masaru
- Greatly boosts Attack and adds Poison Resistance.
Masaru earns a place among the elite Squad Leaders thanks to his Marine Cuisine (Bonded) Squad Leader Trait, which offers a simple yet effective set of boons. Massive Attack boosts are always welcome additions that help accelerate the flow of battle, but the Poison Resistance is a rare addition.
Masaru is an essential Squad Leader against Ghoulish Pirates, who tend to unleash a toxic cloud on their deck when they’re desperate. Marine Cuisine is one of the best Squad Leader Traits that offer both offensive and defensive help, as each boon offers a direct counter to some of the toughest pirates.
2
Veteran Bonded: Taiga Saejima
- Greatly boosts Attack and Defense and adds Stun Resistance.
While Marine Cuisine boasts exceptional situational appeal, Saejima’s Veteran (Bonded) is one of the best Squad Leader Traits for general fights, offering incredible versatility and important boosts. “Great” boosts to both Attack and Defense are massive alone, and the added Stun Resistance makes this a must-have ability.
Saejima should always be one of your Boarding Squad leaders thanks to this impressive Veteran (Bonded) Squad Leader Trait, as enemies that use Stun are prevalent, and some enemy crews even have special skills that can stun you for a long period.
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Hunter’s Knowledge Bonded: Jason
- Greatly boosts Attack and Defense and adds Gun Resistance.
While some of the best Squad Leader Traits in Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii offer plenty of use cases throughout the game, few can hold a candle to the ubiquitous usefulness of Hunter’s Knowledge (Bonded), Jason Rich’s trait.
Much like Saejima, Jason also offers Great boosts to Attack and Defense, but he swaps out Stun Resistance for Gun Resistance – arguably the best defensive choice in the game.
Gun-wielding enemies are very common, so having resistance against these annoying adversaries makes it easier to absorb any stray shots while you target the pesky gun-users before they can weaken your boarding Squad.
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