Best Mad Dog Skills In Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii

Summary

• Learn to switch between Mad Dog and Sea Dog stances, upgrade skills accordingly.
• Invest in launching attacks like Serpentine Madness for effective combos.
• Consider skills like Essence of the Mad Dog for reliable heat actions in battles.

New players coming to Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii should know this is a big game. There’s a lot to see and do, and a lot of ways to upgrade Majima, his abilities, and his gear. Players will want to amass as much wealth as possible to keep up with upgrading their character, as well as their ship and crew. As such, it can be good to know the best places to invest that wealth first.

There are two distinct fighting styles in the game. Players can switch between Mad Dog stance and Sea Dog stance at will in combat, and each style has its uses that continue to develop throughout the campaign. Each style also comes with its own set of skill upgrades, alongside the general skills that are shared between both styles. For players wondering where to invest their pirate treasure, these are the best Mad Dog skills in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii.

10

Serpentine Madness

Air Combo Madness Builder

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 4
• Reputation: 3600
• Cost: $1500
• Effect: Defeating an enemy after launching them charges the madness gauge

Serpentine Madness is only useful once players have learned to launch enemies and perform air combos. Once they’ve got the launching uppercut and know how to finish off foes in the air, though, this is a reliable way to build the madness gauge and unleash Majima’s shadow dopplegangers.

The maximum amount of gain from this skill requires pirate rank 4 before it can be unlocked, but it is at least a relatively low-cost skill once players get there.

9

Mad Dog Trick: Savage

Heavy Attack Finishers

• Requirement: None
• Reputation: None
• Cost: $20
• Effect: Enables heavy attack finishers after rush combos

Mad Dog Trick: Savage is a cheap and effective basic skill for the Mad Dog style that enables heavy attack finishing blows after performing a rush combo. The finisher performed depends on how many combo hits are landed before pressing the heavy attack. It’s basic, but it’s a borderline essential skill to learn if players want to use the Mad Dog style effectively.

8

Mad Dog Trick: Serpent

Launching Uppercut

• Requirement: None / Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: None / 5000
• Cost: $75 / $5000
• Effect: Charge light attack for a launching uppercut / Increase uppercut power

The first rank of Mad Dog Trick: Serpent is available as soon as players get the style, and it should be purchased as soon as possible. This skill lets players hold the light attack button to charge an uppercut attack that launches enemies into the air.

Launching enemies is effective, as air combos and juggling can keep an opponent locked out of the fight until they’re finished off. The skill can be made more effective with a more powerful launch once players get to pirate rank 3.

7

Mad Dog Trick: Chomp

Lunging Strike

• Requirement: None / Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: None / 5000
• Cost: $75 / $5000
• Effect: Charge heavy attack for a lunging stab / Increase power of lunge attack

Another basic but useful skill for the Mad Dog stance is Mad Dog Trick: Chomp. This skill lets players charge their heavy attack to unleash a lunging stab that closes the gap on opponents. The first rank is available right away, and it’s a good purchase to make to fill out a player’s combat options.

Like the uppercut attack, the lunging stab can be upgraded to a more powerful version once players reach pirate rank 3. It’s a good move to use when moving from one enemy to the next in larger-scale battles.

6

Mad Dog Trick: Frenzy

Whirling Blades

• Requirement: None / Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: None / 5000
• Cost: $75 / $5000
• Effect: Charge grab for a spinning blade attack / Increase power of spin attack

Mad Dog Trick: Frenzy is the third charged skill for the Mad Dog stance. This skill lets players hold the grab button to charge up a spinning blade attack that can hit multiple foes.

Like the other charged skills, Frenzy can be upgraded for $5000 once players reach pirate rank 3. This increases the attack power and length of the spin, and makes this move even more effective when used among a large group of enemies.

5

Ultimate Counter: Wild Blade

Ultimate Counter Follow-up

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 2
• Reputation: 15,000
• Cost: $7400
• Effect: Enables an additional follow-up attack after connecting with an ultimate counter

Ultimate Counter is a powerful defensive move in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. It allows players to quickstep toward a dangerous enemy move and counter by pressing the grab button. Ultimate Counter: Wild Blade is a follow-up blow to a successful ultimate counter, making it an even more powerful technique.

Both combat stances have an equivalent technique for this purpose, but players must unlock each one individually and can only use the specific counter follow-up in the corresponding stance.

4

Mad Dog Trick: Demonfire Rain

Enhanced Throwing Knives

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: 15,000
• Cost: $7500
• Effect: Throw more daggers with Demonfire Rain (Jump and press grab)

Jumping and pressing grab while in Mad Dog stance causes Majima to throw daggers at nearby enemies. Demonfire Rain lets players upgrade this ability with a bigger and more damaging rain of knives.

Once it’s upgraded, this is a good technique for spreading damage around large groups of foes, as well as a way to potentially interrupt ranged characters. It’s not the most essential skill in the Mad Dog style, but it’s a useful trick to have in the back pocket.

3

More Majima

Super Shadow Clones

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 1 / Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: 2000 / 15,000
• Cost: $1000 / $7500
• Effect: Add an additional doppleganger to the madness gauge attacks

Majima’s shadow dopplegangers are one of the most powerful techniques in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Once players have a reliable way to build the madness gauge, summoning these helpful shadows just amplifies a player’s damage output.

It should be fairly obvious, then, that increasing the number of clones that attack with the player only makes this move more effective. Players get an additional clone at the first rank of this skill, and then another clone at the second rank, giving players a total of four shadows to help beat down their foes.

2

Essence Of The Mad Dog: Blade Flash

Quickstep Heat Action

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 1
• Reputation: 3000
• Cost: $3000
• Effect: Enables a heat action when Quickstepping towards an enemy

Having a heat action that players can activate reliably is always a good option. With the heat gauge filled, players can activate Essence of the Mad Dog: Blade Flash by Quickstepping toward an opponent and pressing the heavy attack button when prompted.

Heat actions do a good chunk of damage to an enemy health bar, so having one that can be activated on demand like Blade Flash can be a big advantage in brawls.

1

Mad Dog Mastery: Perfect Quickstep

Perfect Dodge Attack Boost

• Requirement: Pirate Rank 3
• Reputation: 35,000
• Cost: $15,000
• Effect: Temporary attack boost after a well-timed dodge

One of the best skills that players can purchase in the Mad Dog style is Mad Dog Mastery: Perfect Quickstep. This skill rewards well-timed dodges with a temporary attack buff. It’s a significant, if brief, buff that’s easy to activate multiple times in a fight. That means the skill comes with a high cost.

Players will need to get to Pirate Rank 3, amass 35,000 Reputation, and spend $15,000 to buy the skill. Unlike its perfect guard counterpart, though, players don’t need to unlock perfect dodging as a prerequisite skill as it’s enabled by default.