If you are struggling with open-world activities or boss battles in Rise of the Ronin, you must know how to attain the best build to ensure you can easily clear the game.
As you may already know, Rise of the Ronin offers a very flexible skill system that allows players to use every skill and ability available in the game while having a class-based mechanic called Blade Sharpening Origins that governs the starting skills and stat points distribution.
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Thanks to that and the respec system, creating and switching between builds in Rise of the Ronin is much easier. This allowed us to experiment with different builds to learn the best. So, based on our playthrough and time with the game, we are here to talk about the best build in Rise of the Ronin.
Disclaimer: The best build in Rise of the Ronin discussed below is subjective and based on the writer’s experience.
Best build in Rise of the Ronin
In Rise of the Ronin, the best build focuses more on the STR (Strength) and DEX (Dexterity) stats and the skills within them.
The main focus is improving Ki gain, reducing Ki cost, and using abilities and fighting styles that deal massive damage to enemies.
Best build in Rise of the Ronin — Primary Weapon and Styles
The primary weapons for the build will be Paired Swords and Katana. Now, when it comes to which one to choose, we recommend going for any with good stats with a focus on the following attributes:
- Attack ↑ Countersparks
- Attack ↑ Violent Gale
- Ki Attack ↑ Countersparks
- Legendary Attributes like Master Strategist
- Ki Consumption ↓
- Attack ↑Ki Blaze
The best weapons that offer the following attribute bonuses are the Black Shark Paired Swords and the Shizusaburo Kaneuji Katana. However, if you have a good alternative, you can use them and adjust the attributes via the Blacksmith.
Best build in Rise of the Ronin — Weapon styles
These are the weapon styles you should be using in Rise of the Ronin:
- Mumo-ryu (Paired Swords)
- Niten Ichi-ryu (Paired Swords)
- Hokushin Itto-ryu (Katana)
- Mugai-ryu (Katana)
- Gikei-ryu (Katana)
Best build in Rise of the Ronin — Sub-Weapon
When it comes to the secondary weapon, we recommend having the Revolver and the Bow. For the first, you can use the Camellia Revolver, and for the latter, you can use Yoichi’s Longbow.
Best build in Rise of the Ronin — Armour
For armour, we recommend going for the Omnipresent Ninja outfit set, as they provide the following bonuses:
- Enemy Evasion ↑
- Attack ↑ Assassination
- Attack ↑ Max. Health
- Dexterity ↑
Of the above, the increased ATK damage with assassination attacks while having max health is the most beneficial one as it allows you to take out enemies in one go with assassination skills and reduce boss and elite enemies’ HP by 30 to 60% and even more, making the overall encounters a lot easier.
As for an alternative, we found the Marvellous Sword Saint set to be more effective, too, in taking out regular and elite enemies and bosses.
Best build in Rise of the Ronin — Skills
These are the must-have skills in Rise of the Ronin to make full use of the above build:
| SKILL CATEGORY | SKILLS |
| Strength | Repel Arrows/Bullets (Countersparks) Mid-air (Countersparks) Ki Attack ↑ (Countersparks) Ki Recovery ↑ (Critical Hits) Increased Critical Hit Damage Rapid Critical Hits Ki Consumption ↓ (Guarding) Weaken Enemies (Morale Down) Speechcraft ‘Intimidate’ Killer Blade Combo Attack ↑ Martial Skill Overall Attack ↑ Upgraded Violent Gale ↑ Ki Recovery ↑ (Effective Countersparks) Every skill Ki Recovery ↑ (Blade Flash) Palm Off Blood Gauge Combined Critical Hits Health Recovery Wave (Allies) Ki Blaze Gauge ↑ Attack ↑ (Ki Blaze) Beast Whisperer Dodging Shot Revolver Critical Hit Refill Upgraded Performance Focus on Strenght Up and Dexterity Up skill tree |
| Dexterity | Every skill |
| Charm | Ki Recovery ↑ (Blade Flash) Palm Off Blood Gauge Combined Critical Hits Health Recovery Wave (Allies) Ki Blaze Gauge ↑ Attack ↑ (Ki Blaze) Beast Whisperer |
| Intellect | Dodging Shot Revolver Critical Hit Refill Upgraded Performance |
| Breakthrough | Focus on Strength Up and Dexterity Up skill tree |
As for play style, for most encounters, you have to be stealthy and use assassination skills to fully utilize the build. When facing enemies directly, focus more on Countersparks and dealing critical hits.
