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Rise Of The Roninis an action game like no other. For instance, what other game lets you createtwo main protagonists? And that’s just the tip of the game’s sharpened blade. Its combat system is chock full of weapon types and combat styles. The open world is massive, with plenty of collectibles to find. Lastly, the game’s ensemble cast opens the possibilities for various allyships.
While all of Rise Of The Ronin’s features make it a fantastic experience, they’re a lot to digest. For instance, how can you make the game more accessible while you learn the combat system? What’s the fastest way to travel? And how can you effectively manage Ki? Here are some observations we think any beginner Ronin should know.
There Are Extra Difficulty Modifiers In The System Menu
You’ve already seen Rise Of The Ronin’s three difficulty settings:Dawn (Easy),Dusk (Medium), andTwilight (Hard). As you raise the difficulty level, enemies become stronger but offer better rewards upon defeat. You can switch between difficulties at any time, and you’ll return to the last Veiled Edge Banner or latest mission checkpoint.
It’s grand that Rise Of The Ronin allows you to shift difficulties at will. However, that difficulty shift may not be enough for an action game as brutal as this. Suppose you are playing on Dawn difficulty but get stuck on a formidable mission or impenetrable boss. In that case,two more difficulty settings are available exclusively to Dawn players. Here’s how to find them:
Throughout the Prologue and during partner missions, you may only change difficulties while stationed at aVeiled Edge Banner.
Understanding Ki Is Essential To Victory
Even before you meet the Bladesmith, your first combat lesson will cover basic attacks, blocks, dodges, and Ki. However, if you don’t understand Ki, access to the former basic techniques will be stifled. So, let’s review what Ki is and how it works.
According to East Asian culture,Kiis thevital force contained in all living things. In Rise Of The Ronin, the concept is translated into theKi Gauge, astamina meterthat decreases when you complete specific actions and replenishes over time.
Actions that consume Ki include:
If you deplete all of your Ki, yourcharacter will become incapacitated, allowing your opponent to rip you to shreds. Conversely, you can exhaust your enemy’s Ki, thus giving yourself an offensive opening. So, staying aware of yourandyour opponent’s Ki is vital.
Offensively speaking, you want to use techniques likeCountersparksandMartial Skillsto diminish your opponent’s Ki and break their stance. When your foe’s Ki is down, attacking them becomes safer since they have less Ki to retaliate.
Defensively,ending a combo string with enough Ki left over to defend yourself is vital. Successful guards use plenty of Ki, so dodging to create distance from your attacker is wise. You can anticipate that your opponent will attack when their Ki is high. Decide whether it’s better to dodge their attacks until they exhaust their Ki or to break down their Ki with offensive measures.
Use Stealth Techniques Whenever Possible To Retain Resources
One-on-one fights are a rarity in Rise Of The Ronin. You’ll often find yourself facing several foes simultaneously. Maybe that isn’t a significant risk when facing a horde of enemies with a lower level than you. But, high-level enemies are more problematic to face in groups. So, how can you pick off adversaries one by one?
Stealth techniquesare the perfect tool for approaching big groups of combatants. If you cansneak behind a foe and assassinate them, that’s one less enemy to battle. If your mark’s comrades witness their assassination, they will become panicked. This panic will give you the upper hand in battle.
There are plenty of ways to assassinate foes. You’ll only be able to sneak behind enemies at the beginning of the campaign. However, once you learn new skills and technologies, you canassassinate enemies from above on your gliderorpull enemies toward you with your grapple hookand assassinate them without alarming others.
Use Earthenware Balls to distract enemies away from you. This is an excellent strategy for sneaking up on enemies. However, the distraction works for a short period. So, act quickly!
Build Bonds To Become Stronger
Rise Of The Ronin’s Prologue gives the false impression that it is a linear, mission-to-mission game. However, that’s not wholly true. Once you leave the Kurosu clan, you’ll discover a vast open world filled with places to see, people to meet, and items to find. You could focus solely on the main story missions if you wish. However, that may leave you ill-equipped later in the campaign.
Rather than proceed from one story beat to the next, Rise Of The Ronin encourages you tobuild bonds in your travels. There are three types of bonds you can forge:
As you’re able to see,each type of bond offers unique rewards that will improve your character’s skills and inventory. Furthermore, working toward improving these bonds will give you plenty of opportunities to gain XP, become familiar with the game’s various systems, and build a formidable combination of armor and weapons.
Keep An Eye Out For Crafting Materials To Save Coins
Suppose you’re preparing for a critical mission and wish to stock up on as many healing items as possible. In that case, you can purchase Medicinal Pills and Elixers from an apothecary, right? But what if you gave all your money to a Pilgrim Dog or spent it on a pricey weapon upgrade? Now, you’re in a pickle.
You could travel around Japan, completing side missions and defeating enemies until you gather enough coins. However, that’s time-consuming. Fortunately, you cancollect resources and craft those healing items in minutes.
What if you have one ingredient to craft an item but not the other? It’s not a problem! You canpay the differenceandbuy the missing resources to craft an item. So, you’re still saving money compared to purchasing the full-price items.
Do you want to make resource collecting easier? EnableAuto-CollectItemsvia Rise Of The Ronin’sSystem settings. You’ll find the option in theControlsmenu. This feature lets youcollect resources by walking beside them without pressing R1.
Disassemble Your Old Weapons To Upgrade New Ones
You’ll get plenty of drops playing Rise Of The Ronin. These drops include numerous weapons and armor pieces. As you collect more weapons and armor, you’ll likely amassmany Standard rank items you’ll never useand ahandful of Excellent and Exquisite items that become part of your regular weapon rotation.
What’s the point of garnering all these low-level weapons when you have enough reliable high-level ones? Visiting any Blacksmith will show you that thoselow-ranking weapons will strengthen your primary weapons via disassembly.
Most weapons require aminimum number of Iron Oresto upgrade and a fee. While there are many ways to earn coins, finding iron ores is more challenging. Fortunately,disassembling old weapons will give you enough iron oresto raise your primary weapons to higher levels.
Spend Skill Points To Unlock New Techniques
You’re not getting everything Rise Of The Ronin has to offer if you ignore your Skill trees. Each Primary Stat, Strength, Dexterity, Charm, and Intellect boasts an abundance of valuable tools on the battlefield and off.
Regarding combat, you won’t have access to techniques likemid-air and unarmed countersparkswithout developing yourStrength skill tree. TheDexterity and Intellect treeshave severalnew skills/upgrades for sub-weapons like shuriken, rifles, and revolvers.
Developing your Skill Trees can improve your daily interactions in various ways. you’re able to learnspeechcrafts, like Liar (Charm), Persuade (Intellect), and Intimidate (Strength). Furthermore, you canincrease your bond acquisition rateorreceive special store discounts.
The prior examples represent a small fraction of the possibilities you’ll open up by using your Skill Points and Rare Skill Points!
Your Map Is An Essential Travel Tool
Building bonds across the Land Of The Rising Sun sounds swell on paper. But how tangible is it to travel from the urbanized Yamashita region to the countryside of Honmoku? With the help of your map, travel is a sinch!
You canopen your map anytime by pressing Options or the TouchPad. From there, you’re able to view collectible objectives, mark important destinations, fast travel via Veiled Edge Banners, and enable Auto-Run to far-off locations. Here are the shortcuts you should know.
(With the cursor on a Veiled Edge Banner)
(Includes the following features)
