Defeating the Amon Pirates in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza

The Amon gang has long been celebrated within the Yakuza series as one of the most formidable secret bosses. Their encounters, whether it’s Kiryu’s solo confrontations or multi-man brawls in Yakuza 4 and 5, have earned them a notorious reputation.

With the latest installment, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza, the Amon clan is back, this time presenting a unique challenge to the Goro Pirates. The twist? Players must face them in two distinct battles—first aboard their ship and subsequently in a duel against Taiyo Amon.

To help you emerge victorious in these demanding encounters, I’ve compiled an in-depth guide. Follow my strategies, and you may even snag that elusive Platinum Trophy, just as I did!

Prerequisite: To initiate the Ultimate Pirate Crew Showdown against the Amon Pirates, players must conquer all major bouts in the Madlantis Coliseum across the four primary categories.

Preparing for the Amon Pirates

The first stage of your challenge will take place during a ship battle. To ensure success, here’s the loadout I utilized for the Goromaru:

Cannons: I opted for Energy Cannons on both the Port and Starboard sides due to their impressive burst power. However, some players prefer Laser Cannons, so choose based on your playstyle.
Machine Guns: The Super Frost Machine Gun is essential. Its ability to freeze enemy ships allows you to immobilize them and deal significant cannon damage.
Rocket Launcher: While using smoke bombs in between, I found the Captain’s Meteor Launcher to deliver excellent firepower, dealing substantial damage during brief respite periods.
Crew Members: I drew from a mix of DLC crew members, but strong choices include the entire Minato Girls squad, Kaito, Higashi, Sugiura, Saejima, and the Revolve Bartender. A formidable crew is crucial as you’ll face the Amon Pirates on deck once their ship is neutralized.

Once you prepare your ship, it’s wise to farm for bounties to accumulate funds, allowing you to enhance Majima’s skills fully. Take care to also equip yourself with Sake, as it can help recharge your heat gauge more quickly during the fights.

Don’t skimp on healing items; pack tons of Staminan Royales and their variants. Taiyo Amon can inflict serious damage, particularly if you’re attempting to complete the challenge on Professional difficulty.

Strategies for Defeating the Amon Pirates

Your tactics in this battle hinge on effectively using your ship’s boosts and dodging Amon Crew attacks, which can be devastating if you’re not careful.

Watch out for their homing air missiles at the start; if you don’t maneuver quickly, these can eliminate you with one hit. Use your boost wisely and steer the Goromaru to safety.

The next danger comes from the mortars, which release small area-of-effect blasts. Maintain your distance and avoid these at all costs, particularly when they’re positioned among exploding barrels.

Additionally, the Amon Crew employs Laser Cannons that can rapidly deplete your ship’s health—especially when paired with Flame Cannons that ignite your ship, forcing you to manage the blaze in Deck Mode.

Designate a First Mate with traits that enhance Fuel/Smoke Bomb capabilities to gain a tactical edge. The key is to play it safe: use the Frost Machine Gun to stunlock them while carefully dodging incoming attacks.

Maintain your health; if you’re dwindling, deploy a smoke bomb and make quick decisions to repair or fight back with your rocket launcher. The Amon Pirates’ ship has a total of 10, 000 HP, so strategize and whittle this down before boarding for the final confrontation.

Engaging in Deck Battle against the Amon Pirates

Once you’ve boarded their ship, the deck battle awaits, pitting you against over 50 crew members of the Amon Pirates. Position your strongest crew members, like Noah and Kamulop, for damage resistance and healing support.

Focus on reducing their numbers swiftly; if you’ve charged your Madness Gauge beforehand, unleash it to summon the Sharks via the Dark God’s Saxophone for substantial damage.

Counter their attacks quickly, utilizing your healing mechanics to mitigate damage from flaming boomerangs and lightning strikes.

Clear out remaining foes using heat actions and crowd control; with a powerful, max-level crew, this battle should conclude swiftly.

Conquering Taiyo Amon

With your crew dealt with, the climactic duel against Taiyo Amon begins. This Ultimate Captain’s Showdown calls for strategic preparedness. Enter the fight with a charged heat gauge, a drunken state, and an activated Madness gauge for an advantage.

During the first phase, Taiyo mimics Majima’s Sea Dog style, while in the second, he adopts a variant of Kiryu’s Rush style. Expect him to initiate with a Chain Hook attack; sidestep or dodge it to avoid taking damage early on.

Success in this fight relies on the Mad Dog Style’s quick attacks and effective combo-cancelling. Taiyo employs a hyperarmor strike that can be parried, so take your time to respond cautiously.

As he transitions to phase two, anticipate the summoning of doppelganger clones and homing knives, a significant spike in difficulty. If overwhelmed, use healing items swiftly to recover.

Combat Taiyo’s clones with your own Mad Dog summoned clones while dodging the homing knife attacks. This will allow you to evade damage while focusing on eliminating threats efficiently.

Finally, once it’s just you and Taiyo left, he’ll rely solely on his homing knives. Maintain your block to absorb their damage and systematically chip away at his health. With patience and aggression, you’re destined to prevail.