Beginner’s Guide#
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launched January 26, 2024 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. This page builds the right opening mindset for new players: how the story starts, why the leader rule matters, how the job system kicks off, and the early systems most worth your time.
Three Things to Know Before Starting#
| Point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Leader rule | If Kasuga Ichiban falls, the battle is lost (gamerguides.com) — the whole team’s survival revolves around protecting the leader |
| No difficulty options in the base game | The base game’s settings only adjust battle speed and the like; difficulty tiers exist only in NG+ (the DLC) across Normal / Hard / Legend |
| Turn-based combat | Officially “Dynamic Command RPG Battle” — free movement within a turn, not a real-time action game |
Play your first run on the base game’s fixed difficulty. The circulating claim that “Ultimate difficulty unlocks after clearing” is wrong — the difficulty tiers belong to the NG+ DLC, across Normal / Hard / Legend.
Opening Flow at a Glance#
| Stage | Content |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Opens in Yokohama’s Isezaki Ijincho; Kasuga starts on the temp job “Hello Worker” |
| Chapter 1 | Reclasses to Hero; Adachi and Nanba join at the end of the chapter |
| Chapter 2 | The party sails for Hawaii; the stage shifts to Honolulu |
| Chapter 3 on | Kiryu Kazuma and Eric Tomizawa appear; the roster keeps growing |
The system rhythm worth remembering: Yokohama is the tutorial and setup phase, the Hawaii main line starts at Chapter 2, and the island resort (Nele Island) unlocks at Chapter 6. No grinding needed in the early chapters — follow the story and absorb the mechanics.
The roster and narrative follow a clear timeline: Chitose joins at the end of Chapter 4, Saeko and Seonhee at Chapter 8, Zhao Tianyou and Han Joon-gi at Chapter 10 (gamerguides.com). Structurally, Chapters 1–7 star Kasuga; from Chapter 8 the party splits — Kasuga stays in Hawaii while Kiryu heads to Japan, the two lines converging in the finale (dotesports.com). Fun fact: every chapter title is an Elvis Presley song (game8.co), and the main line runs about 57 hours (howlongtobeat.com) — no need to rush.
Starting the Job System#
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Where to change jobs | Hello Work (the employment office) |
| Unique starting jobs | Each of the 10 characters has one: Kasuga = Hero, Adachi = Detective, Nanba = Homeless Guy, Saeko = Barmaid, Kiryu = Dragon of Dojima, Tomizawa = Cabbie, Chitose = Heiress, Seonhee = Assassin, Han = Hitman, Zhao = Gangster |
| Total jobs | 27, with different availability per character |
| Job levels | Cap at 30; the achievement line tracks 1 / 3 / 7 jobs reaching 30 |
The early-job strategy is simple: master each character’s unique starting job first, then unlock new ones at Hello Work once combat clicks. Some job unlocks require personality thresholds — the five personalities are Kindness, Style, Confidence, Passion, and Charisma, raised through minigames and the vocational exams.
Two more things worth knowing ahead of time: first, 2 of the 27 jobs are DLC-only — Linebacker and Tennis Ace from the pre-order “Special Job Set” (vg247.com), so don’t factor them into early unlock planning; second, skills are learned per job and cost MP, and after reclassing you can carry some of them over via Inherited Skills (gamerant.com) — spreading jobs early doesn’t just pad the level-30 achievement line, it builds the whole team’s skill pool. The full list and grouping are on the Jobs page.
Early Systems Worth Touching#
| System | Notes |
|---|---|
| Trash cans and glinting items | Street pickup is a zero-cost source of materials and consumables |
| Taxi fast travel | In-city travel runs on taxis — light up the stops early |
| Ounabara Vocational School | The certification-exam minigame; earning certificates feeds the License to Skill achievement (10 certificates) and raises personalities |
| Phone unlocks | Substory 1 unlocks the Playlist (music player), substory 2 unlocks the Sujidex |
| Sujimon starter pick | The Sujimon mode opens with a three-way choice: Blaze / Frost / Nature |
| Bond building | Party bonds grow through Drink Links (bar conversations) and Bond Bingo (hotel minigame) — a long-term team investment (thegamer.com) |
| Pawn shop sales | Convert surplus gear and materials into cash at the Pawn Shop instead of hoarding (game8.co) |
Don’t skip the first few substories — the phone’s core features all unlock through them, and missing them visibly degrades everything after.
Combat Onboarding Order#
- Position before acting: strike from behind, avoid warning zones, grab environmental weapons (bicycles and friends).
- Chain skills into QTEs: landing the follow-up inputs pays bonus damage — build the rhythm.
- Elemental edges: weapons and skills carry fire / ice / lightning, inflicting burn / freeze / paralysis — hit weaknesses for maximum efficiency.
- Don’t skimp on guarding: defense is the cheapest damage mitigation; keep HP lines intact against strong enemies.
- Keep Kasuga alive: the leader falling ends the fight outright — carry revival items always.
The mechanics behind these five — positioning checks, elemental ailments, QTE bonuses — are fully covered on the Combat System and Tips & Tricks pages. Building just two habits early — protect Kasuga, position before acting — is itself the biggest upgrade.
Early Checklist#
| Advice | Why |
|---|---|
| Clear substories as you pass them | Their rewards beat grinding, and they unlock phone features |
| Eat a meal before bosses | Dishes grant pre-battle buffs and lower wipe risk |
| Stock revival items | The leader rule makes revival a hard requirement |
| Experiment with jobs | Reclassing costs nothing, and spread jobs pad the level-30 achievement line |
| Loot every trash can | Zero-cost materials and supplies |
| Light up taxi stops | The backbone of late-game travel efficiency |
Substory volume is also documented: the game has 52 total — just 2 in Yokohama, 50 in Honolulu (guides4gamers.com), with achievement nodes at 10 / 20 / 40 (exophase.com). In other words, clear Yokohama’s 2 in passing; the real substory work lives in Honolulu. Chapter assignments are on the Stories & Substories page.
A Note on Controls and Settings#
We haven’t verified per-key layouts for each platform. PC players: the in-game key-config menu is authoritative; console players: the in-game controls screen. Two things are confirmed: the PS5 version supports DualSense adaptive triggers, and battle speed is adjustable in settings.
Newcomer Myth-Busting#
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| “The base game has difficulty options” | Fixed difficulty in the base game; only battle speed and the like are adjustable. Tiers live in the NG+ DLC |
| “The random dungeons unlock post-game” | The two dungeons unlock at Chapter 5 (Hawaiian Haunt) and Chapter 10 (Yokohama Underground) |
| “The phone can order delivery” | No verified delivery app among the phone features |
| “Selling happens at the flea market” | The verified selling venue is the Pawn Shop |
| “You need all substories to date” | The dating content is the Miss Match minigame, unrelated to substory counts |
Sujimon Quick Start#
The Sujidex lists 150 species (game8.co), and the line starts early: after substory 2 unlocks the Sujidex, battles let you recruit defeated foes, with your starter coming from the Blaze / Frost / Nature three-way choice. Only two rule sets matter at first — elemental counters and league ranking.
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Elements | 5 total: Blaze, Frost, Nature, Light, Shadow. Counters: ice beats fire, fire beats grass, grass beats ice; light and shadow counter each other (game8.co, ign.com) |
| Rarity | Rookie / Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum — all DLC-added members are Platinum (game8.co, thegamer.com) |
| League | Rank-based: ranks 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 pit you against Jack, Queen, Ace, Joker, and King (game8.co, thegamer.com) |
No need to sprint the ranks early — train your starter and recruit in passing. The high-rank league opponents are a mid/long-term goal for a finished team; planning is on the Endgame Content page.
Scope Statement#
This page contains no unverified numbers or keybinds. On per-chapter recommended levels, the only verified data points are game8.co’s Chapter 3 (levels 8-10) and Chapter 4 (10-17) — for the rest, consult game8.co’s chapter guides. In-game UI specifics (keys, menu layout) follow the game itself.