It's easy to complete Rise of the Ronin once you've gotten the best gear and leveled up, but what about early and mid game? To help you get on the right footing, here are the best early and midgame builds in Rise of the Ronin.
Best Rise of the Ronin builds
To level up in Rise of the Ronin, you'll need to spend Skill Points earned through XP and Karma. To farm XP and Karma, I defeated as many enemies as possible and dropped the earned points at the Veiled Edge Standards. Skill points will help you increase four types of Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Charm and Intelligence.
The guides below detail which stat branches you should invest in based on how far you've progressed in the game. These builds apply to the majority of weapon styles, meaning you'll see significant improvements regardless of your fighting style.
Rise of the Ronin – best early build
Best early game stats in Rise of the Ronin
Regardless of your choice of weapon, always invest strength early Strong Stats boost your primary attack and defense, along with unlocking new abilities and combat moves to use in battle. Since I like to use secondary attacks whenever possible, I sometimes invest in Dexterity to increase damage, stagger potential, and weapon options.
The second most important Stat tree is Intellect, especially the first branch focused on healing and normalization. Early on, I had a hard time fighting multiple enemies, so I relied on healing pills to stay alive. This branch also allows me to create other diseases, such as antidotes or anti-paralysis pills.
Related: Increase of the Ronin Weapons Tier List
Best early game gear in Rise of the Ronin
Regardless of your weapon choice, always have a weapon with an equipment level above your player level. Otherwise, I lose tons of potential damage output from that weapon, and weapon skill progresses much more slowly. Don't waste time upgrading low level weapons and focus on using the best ones in your inventory.
Since resources are hard to come by early on, I earned more coins selling and dismantling unused gear at the blacksmith shop. Aim for weapons with 160-200 damage as they helped me dispatch both regular enemies and bosses quite easily.
Weapons like the Hiroyuki Ringa or the Golden Paired Swords are excellent blades for close combat. For a more sneaky approach, I used the Spear of an ascetic deal damage while keeping enemies at bay. Guns are also a fantastic secondary weapon choice, and the Fire Pipe is the best for blowing up large groups of enemies.
Early on it's important to collect as many damage and effect-reducing items to coast through battles unscathed. The Pieces of Mighty Warrior raise your attack damage and strength while reducing Ki consumption and damage taken.
Rise of the Ronin – the best midgame build
Best mid game stats in Rise of the Ronin
Once you've made it through the levels, it's time to fine tune your warrior. The first two skills to buy are the Weaken Enemies (Morale Down) and the Speech “Scare” skills in the fourth column of the strength skill tree The former increases your maximum Ki damage if you can't avoid combat, while the latter allows you to intimidate other NPCs during dialogues, leading to alternative outcomes.
Second, go to the charm skill tree and buy the Speech “Liar” ability of the fifth column that increases the duration of the panic state of the enemies. This greatly tilted the odds in my favor during boss fights where I was seemingly outmatched.
Your third investment should go in the Speech “Persuade” skill in the fourth column of the Intellect skill tree. As you progress, you will encounter more situations where you will have a chance to persuade other NPCs to take certain actions in your favor.
Best midgame gear in Rise of the Ronin
By the time you're at the halfway point of the game, it's more about the weapon passive than the weapons themselves, as you'll acquire every weapon you need during a story mission. At this point, I started saving up on Bond Jewels to use for Bond Transferring.
Instead of selling or dismantling weapons, I used the jewels to transfer passives into my primary weapons, making them more powerful. Liabilities that increase military skill damage are perfect if you rely on martial skills, while passives with damage reduction and health boosts works best on armor.
Want to figure out the best fighting stance to match your style? Check Out All Battle Stances in Rise of the Ronin, Explained in Pro Game Guides.
