Best early and midgame builds in Rise of the Ronin

It's easy to complete Rise of the Ronin once you've acquired the best gear and leveled up, but what about early on and midway through the 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 Banners. Skill points will help you increase four types of Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Charm, and Intellect.

The guides below detail which stats 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 combat style.

Rise of the Ronin - best early build

Best early game stats in Rise of the Ronin

Regardless of your weapon of choice, always invest in Strength early on. Strength Stats boost your primary attack and defense, along with unlocking new skills and combat moves to use in battle. Since I like using secondary ranged attacks whenever possible, I occasionally invest in Dexterity to increase damage, stagger potential, and weapon crafting options.

The second most important Stats tree is Intellect, particularly the first branch focused on healing and recovery. Early on, I had a tough time battling multiple enemies, so I relied on medicinal pills to stay alive. This branch also lets me craft other ailment treatments, such as antidotes or anti-paralytic pills.

Related: Rise 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, you lose tons of potential damage output from that weapon, and weapon proficiency progresses much slower. 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 by selling and disassembling unused gear at the blacksmith. Aim for weapons with 160-200 damage, as they've helped me dispatch both regular enemies and bosses fairly easily.

Weapons like the Hiroyuki Ringa or the Golden Paired Swords are excellent blades for close-range combat. For a more cunning approach, I used the Ascetic's Spear to deal damage while keeping enemies at a distance. Firearms are also a fantastic secondary weapon choice, and the Fire Pipe is the best at blasting large groups of enemies.

Early on it's important to collect as many damage and effect-reducing items to coast through fights unscathed. The Mighty Warrior pieces raise your attack damage and strength while reducing Ki consumption and damage taken.

Rise of the Ronin - best midgame build

Best midgame game skills in Rise of the Ronin

Once you've worked your way through the levels, it's time to finely tune your warrior. The first two abilities to purchase are the Weaken Enemies (Morale Down) and the Speechcraft 'Intimidate' abilities in the fourth column of the Strength skill tree. The first one increases your max Ki damage in case you can't avoid a fight, while the second lets you intimidate other NPCs during dialogues, leading to alternative outcomes.

Secondly, go to the Charm skill tree and purchase the Speechcraft 'Liar' ability from the fifth column which increases the enemies' panic state duration. This greatly tipped the odds in my favor during boss fights where I was seemingly outgunned.

Your third investment should go into the Speechcraft 'Persuade' ability in the fourth column of the Intellect skill tree. As you progress, you'll encounter more situations where you'll have a chance to persuade other NPCs into committing certain actions in your favor.

Best midgame gear in Rise of the Ronin

When you're at the halfway point of the game, it's more about weapon passive than weapons themselves, as you'll acquire every weapon you need during story mission. At this point, I started saving up on Bond Jewels to use for Bond Transferring.

Instead of selling or disassembling weapons, I used the jewels to transfer passives into my main weapons, making them more powerful. Passives that increase martial skill damage are perfect if you're relying on martial skills, while passives with damage reduction and health boosts work best on armor.

Want to figure out the best combat stance to fit your style? Check out All Combat Stances in Rise of the Ronin, Explained on Pro Game Guides.