Like a Dragon: Ishin – How to Use Blacksmith

For decades, the smithing techniques of Japan have been lauded as some of the most potent. It takes a real smith with real dedication to fold a lump of steel over a thousand times for a quality katana, after all. If you want the best weapons possible in Like a Dragon: Ishin, you’ll want to make friends with a blacksmith. Here’s how to use the blacksmith in Like a Dragon: Ishin.

Like a Dragon: Ishin – How to Use Blacksmith

In Like a Dragon: Ishin, the Blacksmith is a vital service that can both forge entirely new weapons from composite materials or upgrade the weapons you’re already swinging around. While there are dedicated weapon vendors where you can buy new weapons, the Blacksmith lets you make them even bigger and better.

Related: Where to Find Bakumatsu Bob in Like a Dragon: Ishin!

The Blacksmith is first unlocked through story progression in the game’s third chapter. You’ll be introduced to Kurogane Smithing in Rakugai as you progress, which is also the only Blacksmith location in the whole game, so make sure you remember where it is.

Blacksmith Services

Kurogane Smithing offers a handful of different helpful services, including Crafting, Improving, and Disassembling.

In the Craft menu, you can spend money and materials to make brand-new weapons from scratch. In order to do this, you’ll need to own at least one instance of the weapon in question, obtained either as a drop or a purchase from a vendor. Additionally, you’ll need to spend a Hammer, which comes in a few different varieties:

• Iron
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Kiwami

Depending on the Hammer you use, the resulting weapon will have higher stats and more seal slots. You can get Hammers as sub-story rewards or random drops, as well as purchase them from a store right next to Kurogane Smithing.

How to Power Up and Disassemble Weapons

In the Improving menu, you can power up weapons that you already have. Besides a monetary fee, you’ll also need Seals for this. By slotting a Seal into a weapon’s open Seal Slots, you can give them stat buffs, extra effects, and more. Seals can be found in random drops or purchased from the same vendor that sells Hammers. Be careful, as there is a small chance that an enhancement fails and wastes the Seal you used.

If you’re ever low on materials or Seals, you can use the Disassemble feature to break down any weapons you’re not using into parts. You can also find materials in random drops and jars on the street, buy them from vendors, or get them as sub-story rewards. You can always check the materials you need for certain procedures in your pause menu.

One last note: as you use the Blacksmith’s services, they’ll gain experience and level up. As the Blacksmith levels up, you’ll get bonuses like cheaper crafting, lowered chances of failure, and new weapon variants. Keep on smithing to create the best sword Japan’s ever seen!

For more vital services in Like a Dragon: Ishin, check out our guides on accessing the farm and improving Friendship Bonds. Visit our Facebook page as well for more news and guides.