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.

The pair of Rise Of The Ronin’s titular Veiled Edges stake out a mission aboard an approaching American ship.

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.

A collage showing characters from Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, and The Legend of Zelda.

Can’t get enough of Dynasty Warriors?

For instance, how can you make the game more accessible while you learn the combat system?

What’s the fastest way to travel?

An orange box marks the extra difficulty available to beginners in Rise Of The Ronin.

And how can you effectively manage Ki?

Here are some observations we think any beginner Ronin should know.

As you raise the difficulty level, enemies become stronger but offer better rewards upon defeat.

A battle tutorial explains how you can break an enemy’s stance by depleting their Ki in Rise Of The Ronin.

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.

The protagonist forms one of their first bonds with the eccentric ronin, Ryoma Sakamoto, in Rise Of The Ronin.

In that case,two more difficulty parameters are available exclusively to Dawn players.

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.

Ninja Gaiden NES cover art and promo art for the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

According to East Asian culture,Kiis thevital force contained in all living things.

Conversely, you could exhaust your enemy’s Ki, thus giving yourself an offensive opening.

So, staying aware of yourandyour opponent’s Ki is vital.

The Apothecary Crafting menu from Rise Of The Ronin.

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.

The Auto-Collect Items feature highlighted in Rise Of The Ronin’s Controls menu.

Successful guards use plenty of Ki, so dodging to create distance from your attacker is wise.

you’ve got the option to anticipate that your opponent will attack when their Ki is high.

You’ll often find yourself facing several foes simultaneously.

A view of what materials you’ll gain from disassembling a handful of weapons while visiting the Blacksmith in Rise Of The Ronin.

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?

A view of the Strength skill tree from Rise Of The Ronin.

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.

two version of ryu hayabusa overlaid on a blurred background of similar games

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.

Triple-A Games

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.

Rise of the Ronin

So, act quickly!

However, that’s not wholly true.

You could focus solely on the main story missions if you wish.

However, that may leave you ill-equipped later in the campaign.

In that case, you might purchase Medicinal Pills and Elixers from an apothecary, right?

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 configs.

You’ll find the option in theControlsmenu.

This feature lets youcollect resources by walking beside them without pressing R1.

These drops include numerous weapons and armor pieces.

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.

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.

Furthermore, you canincrease your bond acquisition rateorreceive special store discounts.

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.

Here are the shortcuts you should know.