Skill List

Skill List

Welcome to the comprehensive Skill List for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life! Kiryu's journey through Kamurocho and Onomichi will be fraught with peril, and mastering his abilities is key to survival. Unlike previous Yakuza titles, Yakuza 6 streamlines skill acquisition through a stat-based system. Instead of purchasing individual moves, you'll invest experience points (EXP) into five core stats: Strength, Agility, Spirit, Technique, and Charm. As these stats increase, Kiryu automatically unlocks new combat abilities, passive buffs, and even social perks.

To access the Skill List and manage your EXP, simply open the main menu (Options button on PS4) and navigate to the "Growth" section. From there, select "Skills" to view your current abilities and "Stats" to allocate your hard-earned EXP.

Understanding EXP Types

Before diving into specific skills, it's crucial to understand the different types of EXP you'll accumulate:

• Red EXP (Strength): Primarily gained from combat, especially finishing moves and Heat Actions. Boosts Kiryu's raw attack power.
• Blue EXP (Agility): Earned through exploration, running, and dodging. Increases Kiryu's movement speed, evasion, and quickstep effectiveness.
• Yellow EXP (Spirit): Acquired by eating at restaurants, drinking at bars, and completing substories. Enhances Kiryu's health and Heat Gauge regeneration.
• Green EXP (Technique): Gained from completing mini-games, interacting with the environment, and performing precise combat maneuvers. Improves Kiryu's critical hit rate and weapon proficiency.
• Purple EXP (Charm): Obtained through social interactions, completing certain substories, and building relationships. Affects Kiryu's ability to persuade people and gain discounts.

Each skill requires a combination of these EXP types to unlock. Pay attention to the required EXP amounts displayed on the skill tree to prioritize your activities.

Combat Skills

These skills directly impact Kiryu's fighting prowess, from basic combos to devastating Heat Actions.

• Basic Combos:
  • Rapid Strike Mastery (Strength/Technique): Increases the number of hits in your light attack string. Essential for building Heat quickly. Prioritize early game.
  • Heavy Attack Focus (Strength/Spirit): Enhances the damage and guard-breaking capabilities of your heavy attacks. Useful against tougher opponents.
• Heat Actions:
  • Wall Crush Heat Action (Strength/Agility): Allows Kiryu to perform a powerful Heat Action when an enemy is near a wall. Look for environmental cues.
  • Weapon Finisher Heat Action (Technique/Strength): Unlocks a unique Heat Action when wielding certain weapons. Experiment with different armaments.
  • Essence of Extreme Heat (Spirit/Strength): Increases the damage and effectiveness of all Heat Actions. A late-game must-have for boss fights.
• Evasion & Defense:
  • Quickstep Mastery (Agility/Technique): Improves the distance and invincibility frames of Kiryu's quickstep. Crucial for dodging unblockable attacks.
  • Guard Break Counter (Agility/Spirit): Allows Kiryu to counter-attack immediately after successfully guarding a heavy blow. Timing is key!
• Extreme Heat Mode Enhancements:
  • Extreme Heat Duration Up (Spirit/Yellow): Extends the time Kiryu can remain in Extreme Heat Mode. More time for devastating combos!
  • Extreme Heat Attack Boost (Strength/Red): Significantly increases Kiryu's attack power while in Extreme Heat Mode.

Exploration & Utility Skills

These skills enhance Kiryu's abilities outside of direct combat, making exploration and daily life in Kamurocho and Onomichi more efficient.

• Movement & Awareness:
  • Sprint Stamina Up (Agility/Blue): Increases the duration Kiryu can sprint before tiring. Invaluable for traversing large areas quickly.
  • Enemy Radar (Technique/Green): Displays nearby enemies on your mini-map, allowing you to avoid or initiate encounters strategically.
• Recovery & Sustenance:
  • Health Regeneration (Spirit/Yellow): Slowly regenerates Kiryu's health over time when not in combat. A passive boon for extended exploration.
  • Food Effect Boost (Charm/Yellow): Increases the effectiveness of food items, providing more health, Heat, and EXP. Always eat a balanced meal!
• Mini-Game & Social Skills:
  • Batting Cage Focus (Technique/Green): Improves your timing and accuracy in the batting cage mini-game. Aim for those home runs!
  • Karaoke Maestro (Charm/Purple): Increases your score multiplier in karaoke, leading to higher rewards and better social standing.
  • Negotiation Skill (Charm/Purple): Unlocks special dialogue options in certain substories and can lead to better outcomes or rewards.

Passive & General Buffs

These skills provide constant benefits to Kiryu, regardless of the situation.

• Health & Heat:
  • Maximum HP Increase (Spirit/Yellow): Permanently raises Kiryu's maximum health. Prioritize this for increased survivability.
  • Maximum Heat Gauge Increase (Spirit/Yellow): Expands the capacity of Kiryu's Heat Gauge, allowing for more Heat Actions.
• EXP Gain Boosts:
  • Combat EXP Bonus (Strength/Red): Increases the amount of Red EXP gained from combat encounters.
  • Exploration EXP Bonus (Agility/Blue): Boosts Blue EXP acquisition from movement and environmental interactions.
  • Substory EXP Bonus (Charm/Purple): Enhances the Purple EXP received upon completing substories.

Remember, the best strategy is to balance your EXP allocation based on your playstyle and current challenges. If you're struggling with combat, invest in Strength and Technique. If you're exploring extensively, prioritize Agility. eat and drink regularly to keep your Spirit and Charm EXP flowing!