Money is one of the key currencies in Like a Dragon: Ishin!, and you’ll be spending a lot of it during the course of the game. From equipment crafting to buying items, eating at restaurants, and even playing minigames, every activity in the game requires money. Fortunately for you, there are numerous ways to earn money in the game. Some are simple, while others are a bit complicated. But fret not, as we will be breaking things down for you in this guide. Let’s begin!
How to farm money quickly in Like a Dragon: Ishin!
Fishing
Fishing isn’t the most optimal way to earn money, but it’s a much safer option. It becomes available in Chapter 2. You’ll receive a basic fishing rod, and during the early stages, you won’t even need any bait. However, it’s advised that you get some bait so that you can catch rare fish.
Visit Ichikura’s Shop located in Fushimi to buy Bait and Quality Bait. For even better stuff, you’ll have to unlock Rakunai and find the Bait Monger. He’s a running merchant who can be identified by the two big boxes he always carries. He will sell you the Special Bait and the Top-grade bait.
You can start fishing from any of the spots available in the game. They are as follows:
1. Near the Teradaya Inn south of Fushimi.
2. Kamo River.
3. Talk to the fisherman on the boat south Fushimi for the remaining two spots.
Fish size depends on the location, and you can upgrade your equipment to catch better fish. Also, you can catch fish as long as you have the space to store them in your inventory. In order to sell them, visit the commercial district in the center of Fushimi.
Another Life (Peddlar)
Another Life is a prolonged side quest that becomes available in Chapter 4. During the side quest, you’ll earn a second home and help Haruka (side story NPC) repay her debt.
The side story is similar to a farming sim and is possibly the best way to naturally earn Ryo. There are several activities that give you money, but the most profitable of them all is completing orders, which range from simple vegetables to cooked dishes. You can either sell them to shops or complete individual orders (interact with the furniture near the resting point containing the fire).
Farming seems pretty lackluster at the beginning and doesn’t yield much money either. However, by upgrading the farm and your abilities over time, you can increase the overall yield and earn more money. There are several farm-related boosts that you can upgrade to boost your overall income. For instance, Crop Growth Rate, Farm Expansion, Green Thumb, and the Scarecrow Upgrade to protect your crops are all worth getting as they will pay huge dividends in the long run. Here is a list of all the upgrades and how much they cost:
1. Farm Expansion
You start out with a 5×2 grid, and every level adds another 5×2 area. So you can plant more crops and earn more money.
| Level | Virtue Cost |
|---|---|
| Farm Expansion 1 | 500 |
| Farm Expansion 2 | 1,500 |
| Farm Expansion 3 | 4,000 |
| Farm Expansion MAX | 10,000 |
2. Farm Level
Farming level increases the growth efficiency of vegetables. Each level boosts the growth speed by 10% and increases the chances of harvesting more veggies per batch.
| Level | Virtue Cost |
|---|---|
| Farm Level 2 | 1,500 |
| Farm Level 3 | 4,000 |
| Farm Level 4 | 8,000 |
| Farm Level 5 | 12,000 |
3. Scarecrow Level
A higher scarecrow level will ward off vermin and birds, thereby giving you a better and more profitable harvest.
| Level | Virtue Cost |
|---|---|
| Scarecrow Level 1 | 1,000 |
| Scarecrow Level 2 | 2,000 |
| Scarecrow Level 3 | 4,000 |
| Scarecrow Level 4 | 6,000 |
| Scarecrow Level MAX | 10,000 |
4. Crops
You’ll start your farming journey with the Daikon, Potato, Cucumber, Spinach and Carrot. As you level up, use virtues to unlock more expensive plants and sell them for a higher profit.
| Crop Name | Space Needed | Speed of Growth | Expected yield per batch | Virtue cost to unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daikon | 2×2 | Fast | 2 | – |
| Cucumber | 2×3 | Fast | 6 | – |
| Potato | 1×1 | Fast | 1 | – |
| Carrot | 1×2 | Fast | 2 | – |
| Spinach | 1×2 | Fast | 2 | – |
| Sweet Potatoes | 1×4 | Fast | 4 | 100 |
| Green Onions | 1×5 | Normal | 5 | 100 |
| Ginger | 1×3 | Normal | 3 | 150 |
| Onions | 1×3 | Normal | 3 | 150 |
| Eggplant | 2×4 | Normal | 8 | 200 |
| Turnips | 1×1 | Normal | 1 | 200 |
| Brad Beans | 2×4 | Fast | 8 | 250 |
| Burdock Root | 1×2 | Normal | 2 | 250 |
| Hot Peppers | 3×3 | Normal | 9 | 300 |
| Garlic | 4×4 | Normal | 16 | 400 |
| Bok Choy | 1×3 | Slow | 3 | 500 |
| Pumpkins | 2×2 | Slow | 4 | 600 |
| Tomatoes | 3×5 | Slow | 15 | 1,000 |
| Cabbage | 1×4 | Slow | 4 | 1,500 |
| Strawberries | 2×2 | Slow | 4 | 1,500 |
| Taro | 1×5 | Slow | 5 | 3,000 |
| Ginseng | 1×1 | Slow | 1 | 10,000 |
The vegetable orders start out easy but get progressively harder (requiring crops that are difficult to grow) as you get deeper into the list. After you reach the order for 1x Ginseng, the order rotation resets back to Daikon. You’ll receive 40-45 for completing one rotation. Here is a typical order rotation from beginning to end:
| Crop | No. of Items per order |
|---|---|
| Any | 5 or 10 |
| Daikon | x5 or x10 |
| Carrot | x5 or x10 |
| Potato | x5 or x10 |
| Spinach | x5 or x10 |
| Cucumber | x5 or x10 |
| Carrot | x10 |
| Sweet Potato | x5 |
| Green Onion | x10 |
| Eggplant | x15 |
| Onion | x5 |
| Turnip | x5 |
| Broad Bean | x10 |
| Broad Bean | x10 |
| Burdock Root | x5 |
| Ginger | x10 |
| Pumpkin | x5 |
| Bok Choy | x5 |
| Hot Pepper | x5 |
| Garlic | x5 |
| 2 Types of Melon (Cucumber & Pumpkin) | x1 & x1 |
| Cabbage | x4 |
| Tomato | x4 |
| Taro | x4 |
| Strawberry | x4 |
| 3 Types of Potato (Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato & Taro) | x1, x1 & x1 |
| Ginseng | x1 |
You can use fertilizer to get more vegetables, and you can buy it from any pawn shop in Kyo. The best way to start a farm is to grow vegetables that grow quickly and keep a stockpile of them so that you have enough for cooking and completing orders.
Once you have unlocked a few more veggies, divide the farm into two regions. On one side, keep planting fast-growing vegetables, and on the other side, plant ones that take longer to grow.
If you’re out doing quests, then fill the farm with slow-growing vegetables so that you don’t affect your farming efficiency. Building and maintaining the perfect farming and cooking loop isn’t easy, but it offers a stable source of income all throughout the game.
Get into Fights
You can earn decent money by getting into brawls with thugs and other enemies. Once the enemies get even stronger, they drop even more money per encounter.
Battle Dispatches
The battle hub becomes available after you join the Shinsengumi. You can enter battle dungeons from there and earn money and equipment. The bandit cave has easy missions that give good rewards to early- to mid- game players. But if you want a bigger challenge and payout, try the final mission. It gives you 20 Ryo per clearing. However, make sure your squad is ready for the challenge.
Virtue Vendor (late game strategy)
After you’ve maxed out the virtue vendor, visit the NPC, and you’ll see that you can now buy platinum plates in exchange for virtue and sell them for a decent amount of money.
However, it’s not a reliable way to make money, as the vendor also has other items that might come in handy. So, make sure to evaluate your options before coughing up your entire virtue reserve for a single item.
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