Best Pirate Coliseum Crew Formations in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

When choosing what positions your crew mates will be in when aboard the Goromaru, there are only three positions that are the most important, with everything else not really making much of a difference:

• First Mate: Essentially Goro’s second-in-command on the Goromaru, whoever you choose for his position will provide either an offensive or defensive boost to your ship during Naval Combat.
• Squad Leader: This position serves as the leader of one section of your boarding party (consisting of four other members) and will also provide a boost of some kind, depending on who you choose. Moreover, you can have up to four Squad Leaders by upgrading the space on the Goromaru, meaning you can have up to 20 crew mates in the second half of the Naval combat in the Pirate Coliseum that boards the enemy ship and fights alongside Goro.
• Support Squad: The crew mates you choose for this position do not board or engage in combat of any kind but instead serve as a charged-up stat that can change the tide of battle. When summoning help from your support squad, they will either boost attack and defense or heal your team during the fight.

The Best First Mates For Your Crew Formation in Pirate Yakuza

Different ship battles might require different crew formations, so here is a list of the most effective crewmates in the position of First Mate:

Daisaku Minami

Minami is a lifelong friend and self-proclaimed brother of Goro Majima, and his recruitment into the Goro Pirates happens at the end of Chapter 4 of the main story. Leveling him up in your crew is essential, as his First Mate trait, named “Sink King Kiwami,” dramatically increases the damage done to enemy sterns. This damage boost is perfect for late-game Pirate Coliseum matches with higher star difficulties. When surrounded by several enemy ships, it’s essential to take out the boss ship as fast as possible, and Daisaku as your First Mate in the crew formation makes it that much easier.

Nishida

Nishida is another late-game recruit who joins the Goro pirates at the same time that Minami does. However, where the previously mentioned crewmate boosts the damage dealt when made First Mate, Nishida gives the Goromaru two additional repair uses. When in Naval combat, the Goromaru has a limited number of repairs it can do to get the health bar of the ship full again. In intense large-scale situations, Nishida’s position as First Mate can increase the number of times you can restore your boat to full health, significantly increasing your defense. It’s a must-have for the Coliseum battles that have you against several other vessels at once.

Captain Beef

Captain Beef is an excellent addition to your crew very early on in the game’s story and should be immediately made First Mate in your crew formation. This character, despite his odd mannerisms, surprisingly has the “Sink King Kiwami” trait despite having lower stats when being part of a boarding party or placed as a squad leader. This character is another great choice for First Mate, especially early on in the game if you want to do the most damage in naval combat.

Misaki

Misaki is a young orphaned girl who joins the Goro Pirates on a quest for revenge on the pirates who killed her father. Dark backstory aside, Misaki has the “Master of Stealth Kiwami” trait, which provides two more smoke screen uses, hides the Goromaru from enemy ships, gives players time to recover, and also launches an attack without being seen. While riskier to use, it is still a decent option if you’re not looking to boost attacks or defense with the other three options listed above.

Related: How To Upgrade Cannons in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

The Best Squad Leaders For Your Crew Formation in Pirate Yakuza

Squad Leaders help to determine how your hand-to-hand combat experiences end up, so here are the best options for squad leaders, of which you can assign up to four when your ship is fully upgraded:

Kazuma Kiryu

This entry is a bit of a cheat, as Kazuma Kiryu is a pre-order bonus character who isn’t in the game’s story at all. However, for those who pre-ordered Pirate Yakuza or got a deluxe version of the game, Kiryu makes an excellent Squad Leader, as his trait, aptly titled “Dragon of Dojima,” significantly boosts attack as well as charges the voltage gauge faster so that you can get even more boosts for your team to wipe out the opposing crew as fast as possible.

Jason

Jason is one of the first members your recruit in Pirate Yakuza, as early as the end of the first chapter of the story, and his trait “Former Hunter’s Knowledge” makes him the perfect Squad Leader to place in the Crew Formation when you first are introduced to the mechanic in the game. His trait bosts both the attack and the defense of the boarding squad, allowing you to tank the hits of the opposing crew, who will undoubtedly outnumber you at the time.

Daigo Dojima

Daigo Dojima is another DLC character who is well worth the price, as his “Wisdom King’s Divine Protection” trait allows your boarding party members to recover health much faster than with any other squad leader and also charges up the heat gauge so that the player, as Goro, can unleash more deadly attacks and wipe out the opposing crew that much faster. However, given that this is yet another DLC character, he also feels like a kind of a cheat.

Ono Michio

Ono Michio is a hilarious-looking mascot who has appeared in several other Yakuza entries, and this DLC character has “The Idol of Onomichi” trait that greatly boosts attack and charges the madness gauge, allowing Goro to use more of his finishing and devastating attacks at a faster rate. Again, this DLC pack for Pirate Yakuza is more than worth it, as the stats help to make the Goromaru one of the deadliest ships in the Pirate Colisuem.

Masaru

Masaru is the first-ever character that players recruit in the main story of Pirate Yakuza, and your best course of action in the Crew Formation is to make him your second squad leader after Jason. The Squad Leader trait “Marine Cuisine” boosts the attack of his boarding party and gives players a slight edge over whoever they go up against in the hand-to-hand combat section of Naval combat.

Taiga Saejima

Goro’s sworn brother Taiga joins the Goro Pirates in the second to last chapter of the main story and is a powerful crew member with stat levels and a Squad Leader trait comparable to the DLC characters on this list. His “Veteran” trait greatly boosts both the attack and defense of your boarding party, and he should be immediately put in a Squad Leader position in your crew formation. His toughness also makes him a good character to deal out deadly crowd control attacks.

The Support Squad Members For Your Crew Formation in Pirate Yakuza

The support squad may not do any actual fighting, but their support skills can easily change the tide of battle in your favor and even end boarding fights before they even begin if activated at the right time. Here are the best support squad characters for your crew formation:

Noah

Noah is the first Support Squad Member you get and one of the most important who you should never remove from your crew formation. The character’s “Rallying Cry” support skill gives you a medium health recovery. As long as you keep him in the position and level up his skill by just having Noah there, it will eventually give the health recovery an effective boost that will become incredibly useful in more difficult battles.

Goro

Goro is the name of Noah’s pet tiger, and the furry little creature has a surprisingly effective “Goro’s Mighty Roar” support skill that makes him another permanent fixture to your crew formation. Just as with Noah, keeping the tiger in the spot so that he can level up with every battle will eventually make it so that his support skill is fully boosted and makes all of your boarding party’s attacks so high damage that most enemies that aren’t bosses will quickly fall.

Nancy-Chan

It wouldn’t be a crew formation recommendation without throwing at least one DLC character. Nancy-chan is a “character” featured in the past two Like a Dragon games and is series protagonist Ichiban Ksuga’s crawfish partner. Its “Pincers of Pain” support skill can give an additional attack boost to Goro’s Mighty Roar, and the combo will essentially make enemies one hit. Nancy-chan is available in the Ichiban DLC pack and is a worthy addition to your support squad should you choose to acquire her.

And those are the best Pirate Coliseum crew formations in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiiis available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.