Rise of the Ronin: Tips and tricks Rise of the Ronin guide, tips

Rise of the Ronin is a game with difficult battles and complex mechanics. In our guide you'll find a set of tips for getting started - the following hints cover how to win clashes, heal your character, develop your hero, explore, stealth or consume karma.

Last update: 21 March 2024

Tips and tricks for Rise of the Ronin will make it easier for you to start playing and learn the most important mechanics related to combat and the development of the main character. Here you will learn, e.g. about using Countersparks and critical hits, how to deal with red attacks, managing health and ki (stamina), using a grappling rope, assassinations, and spending silver coins and accumulated karma.

• Learn all the basic moves from tutorials
• You can reduce difficulty of the fights
• Practice Countersparks to deflect attacks
• Observe the Ki level and use Blade Flash
• React to the enemies' red attacks
• Choose a fighting style for each opponent
• Complete activities to develop your character more efficiently
• Use ranged weapons
• Try to use stealth attacks
• Take useful companions on missions
• Check the medicine supply before every major fight
• Use the grappling rope to the fullest
• Do not spend silver coins on common items
• Use the accumulated karma
• Plan out how you want to spend skill points

Learn all the basic moves from tutorials

1. The prologue consists of 3 relatively short missions - completing all of them will take about 60-90 minutes. During them the game will teach you all the basic attacks and moves.
2. At certain points in the prologue you will get tutorials (the image shows an example of using counters). Take advantage of the fact that the prologue does not yet offer a big challenge and practice each new move on opponents. Good knowledge of the basics is crucial later in the game, because, for example, correct Countersparks will be very helpful in defeating some bosses.
3. If you have forgotten or skipped any tutorial, then you can check the Encyclopaedia (one of the tabs in the main menu). All tutorials you have unlocked are found there. This is a great way to remind yourself how a certain attack works, or what a particular indicator means.
4. Additionally, in some menu windows (e.g. Skills tab) you can press the touchpad on the Dualsense controller to get an additional description of the information displayed on the screen. You can check, for example, what the main statistics or a particular skill tree are about.

You can reduce difficulty of the fights

1. Rise of the Ronin, unlike many souls games, allows you to change and lower the difficulty level. At the default level, Dusk, the game can be quite challenging, especially if you can't master counters and dodges well.
2. The difficulty level is first selected when you start a new game, but you can also change it during the campaign. To do this, you need to reach any Veiled Edge Banner (the equivalent of the Souls' bonfire). Then you can open the Game Settings menu.
3. After choosing Dawn, the lowest difficulty level, you will also get 2 additional facilitations - Increased Health Recovery from Medicine and Reduced Ki Loss from Attacks (equivalent of stamina). Thanks to them, you can heal more effectively and fight longer before your stamina bar is depleted.

Practice Countersparks to deflect attacks

1. This is one of the basic combat techniques - your character can deflect an enemy attack. Precision is very important here, because pressing the Counterspark button (Triangle on the controller) too early or too late will fail to stop the attack, meaning your hero will take damage. Also remember that Counterspark must be performed separately for each attack in the combo. If the opponent performs, for example, a 3-hit, you have to stop each attack.
2. Successful counterattacks can charge the opponent's red panic gauge (to the right of the blue Ki bar) faster than standard attacks. Keep an eye on it to find out how much is left to fill it up to 100%. After it is charged, there will be an opportunity to perform a critical hit (red icon next to the opponent) - it can instantly kill or deal significant damage.
3. Countersparks will make fights with some challenging bosses much easier. Thanks to them, you will be able to perform critical hits earlier and finish the fight faster than if you relied solely on regular attacks.

Observe the Ki level and use Blade Flash

1. During fights, in addition to monitoring the protagonist's health, you should also pay attention to your blue Ki bar, the equivalent of stamina - it is depleted by all actions and attacks. Avoid depleting Ki - your character then becomes defenseless for a short while, and your opponents will use this chance to attack.
2. Ki recharges on itself - step away from the opponent for a moment. You can also manually restore Ki using the Blade Flash action. It involves cleaning the weapon from blood - you have to press the R1 button right after the attack or a combo. The white flash of the weapon (example in the picture) will signal the action has been performed correctly.

React to the enemies' red attacks

1. Red attacks are the opponents' martial skills - they are stronger attacks that, if hit, can deal a lot of damage and knock you to the ground.
2. Using Countersparks on red attacks is possible, but very risky. The counter must be timed perfectly to stop the martial skill. If you succeed, it may instantly charge the enemy's panic bar. This makes the risk worth it.
3. Some red attacks may be treacherous, e.g. ultra fast or poorly signaled. In such situations it is safer to dodge. Don't use blocks, because most of the red attacks can break through them.
4. Your hero can also use martial skills. They vary depending on the weapon and chosen combat style. Try to use them in situations where there is less risk that they will miss or that the opponent will attack first.

Choose a fighting style for each opponent

1. The game will teach you how to react to different combat styles of enemies during the fight with boss Gonzo. Check the marker to the right of the enemy's health bar. Red arrows pointing down inform that your current style will be less effective, while blue arrows pointing up mean that you have chosen the right style.
2. You will unlock new combat styles for various weapons during the game, e.g. by defeating fugitives or developing bonds with companions. You can set them in the inventory window. You can change your chosen styles on the fly without interrupting the fight. Hold down R1 - the styles set for a particular weapon will appear in the lower right corner (example in the picture). Use the right analog stick to select the best one for a given opponent (i.e. the one with blue arrows).
3. Additionally, it's worth having a second weapon from a different category with different fighting styles ready. If you don't have the right style, you can switch to your companion - there's a chance that they will have the right one.

Complete activities to develop your character more efficiently

Quests have recommended levels, so you shouldn't start them with a character that's too weak. The same applies to avoiding high-level enemies. Optional activities on the world map may be helpful in developing your character. You can discover them on your own or automatically reveal them by increasing the level of regional bonds. Look out mainly for these markers:

1. Shrine - praying at a shrine grants you 1 free skill point.
2. Fugitive - defeating these mini-bosses rewards you with XP, and there is also a chance that you can learn a new combat style.
3. Unruly Area - these are great locations for gaining experience and loot from enemies. Start with locations at lower levels than your current one.
4. Side missions - apart from XP, they can provide valuable rewards, e.g. unique weapons or pieces of equipment.
5. For completing a region in 100% you can receive, among other things, skill points. Try to max out simple regions with fewer activities and collectibles.

Use ranged weapons

There are various types of ranged weapons in the game - you can receive them as rewards in quests, find them as loot or buy them from merchants. We recommend these 3 categories in particular:

1. Revolver - a good supporting weapon during direct fights. Shooting at the moment of an enemy attack works similarly to a Counterspark, so it is able to stop the attack and significantly charge the enemy's panic gauge.
2. Rifle - an excellent choice for easily eliminating distant enemies, e.g. archers standing on rooftops or in other hard-to-reach places.
3. Bow - the advantage of the bow is that, unlike a rifle, it does not generate noise. A single hit (even aimed at the head) may not be enough, so keep that in mind.

Try to use stealth attacks

1. Sneaking and assassinations can reduce the number of direct fights. Remember to move in a crouched position (press the left analog stick), look for tall grass and avoid standing in the enemies' field of view.
2. You can also jump off rooftops and high ledges or land on enemies while using the glider. Wait for the red icon to appear so you can perform a stealth kill.
3. Assassination is about stabbing the enemy with your blade and performing a critical hit. This action kills regular enemies on the spot, but may be insufficient against elite enemies and bosses, meaning it will only damage them. Leave them for last, because a failed stealth attack can alert the entire area.

Take useful companions on missions

1. You can play missions that are preceded by the battle preparation screen with a maximum of 2 companions - they can be players (online cooperation) or AI companions.
2. You can choose companions from the pool of characters you have met , but some will not always be available for a given mission. The selection of allies is not cosmetic, because each companion brings something to the table. They can increase attributes and grant you passive bonuses. The choice of companions should depend on the preferred style of play. For example, Ryoma Sakamoto can increase the number of bullets in the revolver, and Genzui Kusaka can reduce the Ki consumption by activated martial skills.
3. Switch between characters during the missions. In this way, for example, you can divert the boss's attention from the currently attacked hero, gain easy access to another weapon/combat style, or resurrect a fallen character without having to restart the entire fight.

Check the medicine supply before every major fight

1. The basic medicines in the game are medicinal pills and healing elixirs. You can find these items as loot, craft, or buy them from merchants.
2. Unfortunately, the game has a limit on the number of consumable items. If you have collected, for example, 99 medicinal pills, you cannot use them all in the same boss fight.
3. All excess medicines go to the storage. You can automatically renew your supplies of consumables by interacting with a banner (you will move them from the storage). You will find a new banner, e.g. in front of the boss fight arena. This limits the risk of starting a difficult battle with less supplies.
4. Medicines can also be replenished after the hero's death, but only up to a certain value. You can increase the limit of "starting" medicines by purchasing specific skills (example in the picture).

Use the grappling rope to the fullest

Grappling Rope is a very useful gadget available from the very beginning of the game. It has various uses:

1. During direct combat, you can pull opponents to yourself (be careful, as they can block this) and pull yourself toward enemies (you must be in flight) to easily shorten the distance to them and attack immediately.
2. Before or during battle, you can grab objects in the area and throw them at enemies. These can be, for example, explosive barrels or containers that will paralyze enemies. Use them at the beginning of the fights, because during the battles they may get destroyed.
3. While exploring, you can grab onto interactive hooks. This will allow your character, for example, to reach a roof. Some of these actions need to be performed in a series, so use the rope with the anchor again.

Do not spend silver coins on common items

1. Silver coins are a rare in-game currency - you can, e.g. find them as loot in treasure chests, receive as rewards in selected quests or obtain by finding cats.
2. You can spend coins at selected merchants and NPCs (e.g. the Cat Concierge courtesan or the Technology Development inventor). Don't buy common weapons and equipment, because there is a good chance that you will get many of these items from defeated opponents or from completed tasks. When browsing through the list of items that can be purchased for silver coins, look for unique items, e.g. those that give free skill points (example in the picture) or other permanent stat bonuses.

Use the accumulated karma

1. In addition to gaining experience, you also collect karma points. Once the karma bar is full, it is not spent automatically. Make sure to return to the nearest banner - after interacting with it, the game will display information about the conversion of karma into skill points.
2. You can lose karma upon death. This activates the Vendetta mechanic - you have 1 chance to regain lost karma. Kill or deal a critical hit to the opponent who killed you earlier.

Plan out how you want to spend skill points

1. Character development in the game is complicated by the fact that skill points are divided into 2 groups. "Regular" skill points are more common and you can receive them, e.g. by leveling up, developing karma, completing regions in 100% or increasing proficiency in using various types of weapons. Rare skill points, as the name suggests, are acquired more slowly. They can be, among others, rewards for selected karma levels, reaching specific bond levels bonds with NPCs, or reading treatises in the inventory (one-time items - to be obtained as loot).
2. Check all trees carefully. Different skills from the same branch may require spending regular or rare skill points. Plan your distribution of skill points (especially rare ones) so that you can reach the skills that interest you the most faster. Also remember that you can improve selected skills.