IGN’s Walkthrough of Rise of the Ronin will guide you through 19th-century Japan as your nameless protagonist scours the war-torn nation in search of their Blade Twin. This Rise of Ronin Walkthrough will provide instructions to help you complete each Ronin Mission, details on Side Quests, Activities, and Collectibles along the Main Story path, and tips to help you along the way.

After their village was ravaged by shogunate spies, leading to the death of their parents, two children are rescued by the Bladesmith – an accomplished warrior trained in the Veiled arts. Under the Bladesmith’s tutelage, the duo is forged into the fearsome Veiled Edge. The Veiled Edge is a covert and specialized combat unit formed to spearhead the Kurosu’s clan mission to overthrow the shogunate. But when their mission goes awry, your protagonist becomes a ronin and sets out to find their Blade Twin.

Rise of the Ronin Walkthrough Sections

Rise of the Ronin's Main Story Questline is comprised of several overarching Ronin Missions that will introduce you to the key factions and players of the Bakumatsu Era of Japan in the 19th century. These missions often have a larger goal that is comprised of a few sub-missions, leading you from the open world into a contained battle - allowing you to summon allies to defeat powerful bosses. See the list below for tips on completing your objectives, strategies to take down bosses, and important treasure to find along the way.

Chapter 1 - Black Ships, Long Shadows

Prologue - The Veiled Edge: In Rise of the Ronin’s opening mission, you’ll familiarize yourself with the central narrative and learn many core gameplay mechanics you’ll master during your journey through 19th-century Japan. Key Ronin Missions include:

• The Veiled Edge Village
• Infiltrating the Black Ship
• The Setting Sun

The Bridge to Yokohama: Now free from the Kurosu Clan, your Ronin can begin the search for their missing Blade Twin by traveling to the city of Yokohama, but to get there, you'll need to explore the region for a checkpoint permit, putting you in the path of strange ally. Key Ronin Missions include:

• The Bridge to Yokohama
• Your Reward is in the Cave
• Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises

Follow Your Blade Twin: Arriving in the city of Yokohama, your new ronin ally takes you on a tour to the local pleasure district, and along the way you'll meet a secretive geisha, a quirky inventor, and a group of passionate expulsionists with a plot to murder a US Consul - but you'll have to decide which side to take. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Follow Your Blade Twin
• Locating the Camera
• A Pleasure District Portrait
• The Plot to Assassinate Harris

Yokohama's Shadow: With information about your missing twin stalled, the opposing pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions have turned to you to reclaim a letter held by the Mito Clan through restrained force if possible. Who you decide to give the letter to is a choice you'll have to make alone. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Yokohama's Shadow
• Hidden Motives

Cultural Exchange: Seeking more information on the whereabouts of your renegade Blade Twin, you'll team up with a fuedal retainer to track down the US Consul that's gone into hiding north of Yokohama. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Cultural Exchange
• Tracking Down Harris
• Take Back Hongakuji Temple

Those Who Know Shoin: The leader of the anti-shogunate expulsionists has been captured, and you'll be recruited to summon the rest of the Choshu Clan's retainers to help devise a way to rescue Shoin Yoshida from prison. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Those Who Know Shoin
• The Chinatown Kihetai
  • Watchtower Repairs (Optional)
  • The Manhunt (Optional)
• Infiltrate the Prison Complex

Those Who Gather at Edo: Following the events at Tobe Prison, the anti-shogunate faction heads to Edo, and you'll accompany them to help the Satsuma clan revolt against the shogunate, and be pitted against a familiar adversary who protects the Chief Minister. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Those Who Gather at Edo
• Damsel in Distress
• The Sakurada Gate Incident

Chapter 2 - Cities of Darkness

Decisions: Chapter 2 begins with you traveling to Edo, where you need to search for information about your Twin Blade. During this opening section you and Ryoma will team up with the anti-shogunate faction to attack British and French bases. Key Ronin missions include:

• Decisions
• The Fire Attack
• Meeting Kaishu Katsu

Reinventing the Shogunate: Having now met Kaishu Katsu, he has asked you and Ryoma to do several missions for him as he tries to bring the shogunate into Japan's new modern era. Key Ronin missions include:

• Those Who Lead
• It Hurts to Be Good
• A Mighty Soldier

Looking Ahead: Having gathered additional forces for the shogunate, Katsu has now asked you to make sure they get additional training in order to better fight off the anti-shogunate forces. Key Ronin missions include:

• A Show for the Shogun
• The Shogun's Journey to Kyoto
• Strange Bedfellows

Parting Ways: Having reached the capital with the shogun, the ronin group is disbanded. You are asked to make a choice between the shogunate and the growing anti-shogunate forces. Key Ronin missions include:

• The Ikeda Inn Incident
• The Forbidden Gate Rebellion

Chapter 3 - The Dawn of a new Japan

A New Path: After the fighting at The Forbidden Gate Rebellion tensions are high. The shogunate forces out number the current revolutionists, but if they can broker an allaince with the Satsuma Clan, they can fight back. Key Ronin missions include:

• The Satsuma-Choshu Alliance
• Burgeoning Betrayal
• The Feud in Aburanokoji
• The Last Shogun

Wildfire: Wildfire sees tensions reach a boiling point, as the shogunate, revolutionists, and foreign soldiers all move to gain control of Japan. Luckily, Ryoma has a plan to bring peace to Japan in its new era. Key Ronin missions include:

• The Battle of Toba-Fushimi
• Patriots' Reward
• Lifelong Vow
• The Veiled Edge

Before the Dawn: As war grips Japan and the shogunate prepares to flee back toward Edo with the Anti-shogunate forces in pursuit, a new faction arises to stoke the flames and turn the capital into a battlefield: The Sekihotai. In order to bring the nation back to peace, you'll have to defeat their leader and face your Blade Twin one last time. Key Ronin Missions include:

• Before the Dawn
• Patriots' Reward
• Lifelong Vow
• The Veiled Edge

Difficulty Options

When you load into Rise of Ronin for the first time, you’ll have to pick from one of three difficulty options listed below:

• Dawn (Easy) - For those who want to enjoy the story.
• Dusk (Normal) - For those who want to enjoy the action.
• Twilight (Hard) - For those who are confident in their skills.

By selecting the Dawn difficulty you’ll unlock the options to toggle Increased Health Recovery from Medicine and Reduced Ki Loss from Attacks. Both options are On by default, but if you want a more challenging experience without leveling up to the Dusk difficulty, you can toggle these settings on and off to match your preferences. If you pick the Dusk or Twilight difficulties, both the Increased Health Recovery and Reduced Ki Loss settings will be disabled.

Though you’ll need to select a difficulty setting at the start of your journey, you can change your difficulty or adjust your settings by visiting one of the many Veiled Edge Banners scattered throughout the open world. To change your difficulty, find a Veiled Edge Banner, interact with it, and press start or the touchpad to access your menu. Once in your menu, scroll to the System tab, select Game Settings, then adjust and confirm your new difficulty.