If you played Judgment, then you’re no stranger to how Yagami unlocks new abilities. As you do things around town like fight or complete side cases, for example, Yagami earns Skill Points. In judgment, it required quite a bit of elbow grease, and the opportunities to earn larger quantities of SP didn’t open up until much later. Thankfully, Lost Judgment tweaks the rates at which Yagami earns SP, making it much faster in the sequel.
Before we start, I’d like to just state that I am currently only in the beginning chapters of Lost Judgment. After about ten hours of gameplay, I believe I’ve found a reliable way to quickly farm Skill Points (SP) and help start Yagami off on the right foot. It involves a little bit of work and quite a lot of fighting but it will undoubtedly pay for itself as you progress through the game.
First You Gotta Learn to Fight
When I say “learn to fight”, I don’t mean literally, that part is easy. You’ll be button-mashing your way across Kamurocho and Ijincho in no time. However, unlike its predecessor, Lost Judgment has a new mechanic called “Battle Rewards”. It awards players based on how well they perform in battles as well as how much variety they incorporate into the fight. There are quite a few worth aiming for as well, so take a look at the image below to see the list of potential rewards.
This was my reward list at level 5 so mine might be different from yours but as you can see, there are quite a few actions worth achieving in battle. Enemies seem to travel in groups of three or more so knocking out each foe with a different style is very simple and easy. Doing so also earns you an extra reward known as “Legend Conqueror” so it’s definitely worth going for.
The Skills You’ll Need (and want)
In the beginning, it’s best to hoard Yagami’s SP and put it toward his “Battle Bonus” skills once you get the option. This skill boosts the amount of SP earned from fighting by 50% and can be increased up to 300%. So, do what you have to do to start unlocking this ability. It’s not hard to do so fight, eat and progress the story to earn the SP you need. The first level of the Battle Bonus skill costs a measly 2,500 SP so it’s quick and easy to unlock.
The next set of skills I recommend are Yagami’s parrying skills located in the Snake tree. The Snake style is the only way Yagami can parry enemies and when he does, it has a chance to scare them leaving them open for an EX attack. By purchasing his Overwhelming and Threatening Parry skills, the chances of scaring an enemy is increased. This means the chances of earning the “Don’t be so serious” reward will be easier and honestly, makes fights go faster. A quick deflection leading into an EX takedown can potentially earn players at least six rewards at the start of the battle.
Lastly, another skill I recommend is the “Quickstep Blow” skill that can be unlocked in the Tiger tree. Each style has a quickstep attack but the Tiger style allows players to charge heavy attacks while performing the maneuver. Landing a blow or two on an enemy and then crushing them with a charged-up quickstep attack is a good way to earn the “You’re Way Open” and “A Fierce Hit” reward with one combo.
Pick Your Battles
In Kamurocho and Ijincho, it feels like almost everyone wants a piece of you. Yakuza vets can vouch for the amount of goofster that wants to fight you camping out every street corner. However, some corners are better than others (gross) and I’m here to tell you where the best spots are (also gross).
Starting with my number one spot, it’s Ijin Street, located conveniently two blocks from Yokohama 99, Yagami’s base of operations in Ijincho. Fans of Yakuza: Like a Dragon will recognize it as the street where they took on the Yokohama Liumang. Ijin Street is a small, straight and narrow road where three or four enemies patrol back and forth. Taking down one group almost immediately spawns another. Its location next to Yagami’s base and the fact that it’s got restaurants so close makes farming this area the ideal place to work. All the player has to do is run back and forth while occasionally grabbing a bite to eat and a drink to restore health and their EX gauge.
If you get sick of running up and down Ijin street, littering is with bodies and paper plates, there are a couple of other areas worth visiting as well. In South Chinatown, right next to the taxi cab is a little spot where enemies spawn in close proximity to one another. The bar district where the Survive Bar is located on the west side of the map works nicely as well and offers plenty of restaurants to recover in. Finally, you can also run up and down North and South Sakura street.
How to Kick Butt (and Kick it Quickly)
For the last part of this little guide, I’d like to just explain my method when farming SP. By all means, you can do it your way. If you’ve gone over the Battle Rewards list and have formulated a plan then go for it. With that being said, here’s what I do.
Switch Styles – Almost every group you can encounter in Lost Judgment is a group of three enemies. Taking down an enemy with a specific style will earn you the “Legend” reward tied to the style so switching is absolutely essential. Knocking out each enemy with a different style will end up netting you four rewards.
Crane Style – Crane style doesn’t offer a whole lot to maximize your reward list in my humble opinion. However, it does allow Yagami to go airborne and kick enemies which can earn you the “Look up at the Skies” reward. With that being said, a simple wall jump can allow any style to earn the reward, Crane just makes it easier.
Tiger Style – Use Quickstep blow. Each style offers a quickstep attack but only the Tiger Style allows you to charge it up. Charging the attack not only does more damage but also unlocks the “A Fierce Hit” reward. Bonus points if you can break an enemy’s guard right before you knock them out to claim the “Don’t Be so Stiff” reward.
Snake Style – In my opinion, Snake Style is the one you’ll use to net the most points. Parrying an enemy and taking them down with an EX Surrender ticks checks many of the boxes on the Rewards list. Mastering Yagami’s parry is also insanely satisfying, especially once you’ve unlocked his parrying boosts and it all flows together. The “Noble Saint” reward is another reward worth going for if you’re fighting a smaller number of enemies as well.
Consider The Aftermath
I started this grind a little under seven hours into the game. When I crossed the ten-hour mark, I had unlocked all six levels of Battle Boost for Yagami which boosts my SP gain by 300%. If I do everything correctly, I gain about 1440 SP per fight. I am only in Chapter 3 of the game but there are other things I can do to increase my SP gain but I build up SP so fast now, I haven’t tried to break out of my comfort zone. If you’re reading this and can find a way to improve the formula, please feel free to let us know. My method requires a little bit of patience but the hard work absolutely pays off in the end.
