Like a Dragon: Isshin — How to beat Komaki
One of the hardest fights in the game comes from the brawler dojo. Here's how to beat the master!
So you’ve reached the end of the Brawler dojo story chain in Like a Dragon: Ishin, and now have to show dojo master Komaki what you’ve got. Unfortunately for you, taking on Komaki can be tough — tougher than the final boss in the game even. To take him on, you need a good strategy.
To help you out, we’ve written out this quick guide on how to beat Komaki in Like a Dragon: Isshin. We’ll also note which Brawler ability tree unlocks you should have before going in, as certain abilities are critical for our strategy.
Brawler abilities you need
Before you try to take on Komaki at the Brawlers Dojo, we recommend you put an upgrade orb in the following slots. You don’t need them all, but the more of them you’ve got the easier this will be.
- War Cry Echo
- Essence of Mercurial Fortune
- Essence of Grand Bruising (optional)
- Komaki Tiger Drop (optional)
- Health upgrades from other styles (optional)
How to beat Komaki
The secret to taking out Komaki is your counter. Many of his opening attacks are easily reversed, allowing you to get a few hits into his back before he recovers and starts smacking you around some more.
It’s important to wait for Komaki to attack first. If you run at him with a punch, kick, or running knee attack he will likely block it and hit you back harder. If you want for him, you should be able to quickly block and counter his front kick or side punch. You can also counter the final attack of his basic string of punches while blocking!
However, if in doubt, simply keep blocking and play it safe. Your punches likely won’t do much damage, and while it may be tempted to try for big damage with heavy attacks, it’s best to approach this fight as a marathon rather than a sprint if you’re struggling.
The one way all players should be able to cash in some damage is through heat moves. Either use the grab break heat move to spend your heat, or your Dragonwing Sortie to get some big hits in after a successful counter.
Alternatively, if you’re feeling confident in your timing, you can use the Komaki Tiger Drop. This requires tighter timing than the normal counter, however if you can pull it off you’re hit Komaki with a devastating strike. If you’ve gotten comfortable with a certain attack, like Komaki’s front kick, feel free to try this move out and it’ll work wonders.
However, for all players we recommend getting as many health upgrades as you can. Ultimately, the more health you get the more mistakes you can make. Since you can’t heal or use trooper cards, your max health is all you have.
With that, as long as you take your time and play it safe, you should be good to go. If you’re still struggling you can always head out and farm some more upgrade orbs for health upgrades or even more Brawler upgrades if you’ve not maxed it out yet.
That wraps up our guide on how to beat Komaki! For more guides on Like a Dragon: Ishin, check out our articles on The Mochi Mystery substory, as well as all the Book of Revelation locations.