I am very interested in using Bisq to purchase Bitcoins, which is a decentralized, blockchain-powered cryptocurrency exchange. I am wanting to remain as anonymous as possible and please wondered would it be okay to use a VPN to mask my real IP address when using Bisq please, would this still work please?
Bisq exchange is already using Tor network to hide your real IP address, so using additional VPN can be counterproductive if you don't know what you are doing.
Lastly i have heard about people setting up there own nodes on Bisq, would this make the transaction more anonymous or is this basically to keep the transaction more secure so you do not get scammed please? The transaction i am making is only $40 would my own node not my required please?
There is no way to get scammed if you follow instructions for Bisq.
You can set up your own bitcoin node, but I think Bisq is a bit complicated to use if you only plan to exchange small amounts of money.
Maybe using Robosats or PeachBitcoin is better and more simple option for you.