There’s no real explanation for it in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but in the time between it and the preceding title, Ichiban has lost almost all of his skills, levels, and jobs. Even his personality stats are back to zero! That’s to be expected coming into a new game and just means we get to earn all those levels all over again in the tropical paradise of Hawaii.
The core systems of this sequel are mostly the same as in the last game, but there are some new methods and tricks to add to the returning ones to most efficiently bring Ichiban and crew back up to fighting shape. There are more than a few difficulty spikes ahead of you if you simply try to follow the main plot, so here are the best ways you can farm up XP fast in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to get back on track.
Best ways to grind XP
Random encounters are fine for getting bits of XP here and there that add up over the course of the game, but no one wants to sit there fighting trash mobs for hours just to get half a level once you’re nearly maxed out. Here are a few ways you can maximize your time and level up your characters and their jobs in no time.
Chow down
As is typical for the series, you can eat all kinds of foods from dozens of restaurants. If you manage to order the right combination of items from certain places, you can trigger some temporary bonuses, one of which is an increase in your XP gain. There’s no reason to not order every item off the menu as you pass every restaurant to uncover all the buffs they have. Once you’ve discovered them, you can see them from your map for easy access later so you know where to go to keep that XP buff going whenever you plan on grinding some fights or expect a boss fight.
Accessories
As soon as you can, slap on an accessory like the Ankle Weights and Yakuza Training Gear. These will increase how much XP you earn from every battle, so the sooner you put something on, the less grinding you’ll have to do later. Just know that they all come with some downside, such as lower MP or HP, to balance things out. If you can nerf yourself a bit now, it will pay off later.
Navigate the labyrinth
Once you reach Chapter, 5 you will be introduced to the randomly generated dungeon called the labyrinth. Each floor gets progressively harder, meaning you will earn more XP for each fight, and sets of floors typically end with challenging boss encounters. Once you’ve overleveled all the normal zones, this is the only place you can rely on for good amounts of XP. You may have to rush through the early stages if you don’t progress with it as you play, but it’s quick enough to navigate. Combine this with prior tips and you have a recipe for the fastest way to level up … well, except for one other method.
Save your level-up items
There are a few rare and valuable items you can buy or find in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth that instantly shoot you up a level. There are a limited number of these, and they are usually very hard to get or expensive to purchase, such as the one from the Crazy Delivery shop. If you manage to get your hands on one early, DO NOT USE IT! Since each level costs more and more XP to hit, the later you wait to use these, the more value you’re getting out of them — and the more time you are saving, If you can hold out until you’re in the mid to late 40s, they will save you quite a bit of grinding.
