1. Life Gauge
You’ll lose Life as you take damage and die when your Life Gauge is empty. Use an Elixir from your item Shortcut Menu to regain Life.
 

2. Ki Gauge
Actions such as attacks and dashes consume Ki, but it regenerates automatically over time. When your Ki Gauge is empty, you cannot perform any actions which would consume Ki.

You’re also extremely vulnerable when your Ki Gauge is empty – getting hit by an enemy attack at this point will put you in an exhausted state and you’ll be unable to perform any actions.

Most enemies will make short work of you when you’re exhausted.

3. Guardian Spirit
Defeating enemies will increase the Amrita Gauge around the Guardian Spirit icon. When this gauge is full, you can unleash the Living Weapon by pressing the D + F buttons together.
 

4. Item Shortcuts
Displays items which have been assigned to shortcuts. Up to eight items can be assigned – switch between two sets of shortcuts by pressing the R button.
 

5. Compass
Displays the direction of mission destinations such as Shrines and bosses.
 

6. Ranged Weapon
Ready your ranged weapon with the W button and press the R button to shoot. Up to two ranged weapons can be equipped, and you can swap between them by holding the E button and pressing the C or V buttons.
 

7. Melee Weapon
You can have two sets of melee weapons equipped – swap between them by holding the E button and pressing the Z or X buttons.
 

8. Stance
This indicates your current Stance. To change your Stance, hold the E button and press D for a High Stance, F for a Mid Stance or S for a Low Stance.

Region Screen

From the Region Screen, you can select missions or display the menu for a particular starting point. You can also use this screen to access the Shrine Menu, Dojo, Blacksmith, Torii Gate and Storehouse.

Shrines

You’ll begin each level at a Shrine, and find several others throughout the level as you progress. Press the A button to pray at a Shrine to recover health and Elixir items – some enemies will also respawn after praying at a Shrine. When you die you will respawn at the last Shrine you visited.

Levelling up at Shrines

As you defeat enemies you’ll obtain gold and Amrita, which you can use at Shrines to level up William’s stats and learn new skills.

See the Levelling Up & Skills section of this guide for more information.

Fighting enemies

Use a mix of basic, quick and heavy attacks to break through the defences of different enemies. Stances also greatly affect the speed, power and Ki used by different weapons.

To change your Stance, hold the E button and press D for High Stance, F for Mid Stance or S for Low Stance.

• High Stance attacks are more powerful, but actions cost more Ki.
• Mid Stance is well-balanced and easy to use, making it ideal for defence.
• Low Stance features attacks with few openings and low Ki usage. It’s the best stance for dodging.

See the Battle Tips section for more advanced fighting techniques.

Movement

Stealth is one of the many weapons in a Samurai’s armoury. The amount of noise you make depends on your movement speed and the combined weight of your weapons and armour.
Gently apply pressure on the left stick to slow your movement to a walk and reduce the chances of enemies hearing you.

Graves

When you die, your Guardian Spirit will mark the place where you met your end with a grave and will remain there.

When you are resurrected, you will have no Guardian Spirit as it remains at the grave along with the Amrita you were carrying when you died. Return to the location of the grave to reclaim this Amrita. If you die again before reaching the grave, the Guardian Spirit will return to your side and any Amrita at the grave will be lost.

Lock on to enemies

Press the N button when faced with an enemy to lock on to them. Move the right stick left and right to switch between multiple targets (remember, it is sometimes best to cancel your lock on and reposition yourself).

As well at making it easier to attack and evade, locking on also enables you to see an enemy’s Health and Ki so you can plan your attacks.
 

Be mindful of Ki

It’s essential to keep an eye on your Ki Gauge during combat. Getting hit by an enemy attack while your Ki Gauge is empty will put you in an exhausted state where you won’t be able to perform any actions.
 

Master the Ki Pulse

After each attack, a blue light will pulse around you – press the E button to activate your Ki Pulse and instantly recover some Ki.
 

Watch the Enemy’s Ki

Once you lock on to an enemy, their Ki will be displayed. You can gain the advantage in combat by landing an attack when an enemy’s Ki Gauge is empty – humans will become exhausted, while yokai will be more susceptible to attacks.
 

Aim ranged weapons at weak spots

Hitting an enemy’s weak spot with a ranged weapon will significantly increase the damage they take.

While aiming a ranged weapon at an enemy, your cross hairs will turn red when a weak point is highlighted.
 

Learn when to block, and when to evade

Stronger enemy attacks, particularly those from yokai and bosses, cannot be blocked. In these situations, you may find a Low Stance works best as it uses the least amount of Ki when dodging.
 

Purify the Yokai Realm

The Yokai Realm is an area of defilement created by a yokai. While in the Yokai Realm, you can’t deal Ki Damage to yokai, and your own Ki recovery speed is greatly reduced.

Recovering the maximum amount of Ki from a Ki Pulse while within the Yokai Realm will purify the defilement.

Onmyo Magic and Kekkai Talismans can also be used to purify an area defiled by the Yokai Realm.
 

Get your point across with gestures

Communicate with other players while playing online with emotes. Some gestures may also have an effect on yokai. To open the Gesture Menu press the OPTIONS button.

You’ll acquire more gestures on your journey, and can edit the Gesture Menu by pressing the D button when it is open.

Items

You can equip items to your shortcut menu – meaning you can use them with the corresponding directional buttons whenever you need them – from the Equipment section of the Status Menu.

You have two sets of shortcut menus, which you can switch between with the R button.

Here’s a list of basic items and their functions:

Elixir – Recovers health when used. Replenished when praying at a Shrine.

Stone – Unassuming and unremarkable, you can throw a Stone at an enemy you’re locked on to and it’ll lure them towards you. This is a useful tactic for breaking up groups of enemies to face them individually.

Signpost Talisman – Use the Signpost Talisman to mark your current location on your map.

Spirit Stone – Consume a Spirit Stone to obtain Amrita.

Young Samurai’s Locks – Use to obtain Samurai Skill Points.

Arrows/Ammunition – Required to use ranged weapons – various types of ammunition exist, each with different effects on enemies.

Armor and Accessories

Each piece of armour and each accessory has its own weight, defence capabilities, special effects, toughness (affects guard-break resistance and Ki damage).

Armour is divided into three categories – light, medium, and heavy – which affect a piece of armour’s weight and defensive properties. The heavier the armour, the slower you move.

Rarity

Equipment and weapons have rarity levels: white is the most common, followed by blue, yellow and up to the rarest purple items.

Each weapon has its own features, such as special effects, break (break through your enemy’s guard), and parry (affects how much Ki is lost when blocking an attack).

The more you use a weapon, the more your Familiarity with it will increase. Higher Familiarity makes for more effective weaponry, meaning you receive more Amrita when offering it.

Weapon Types

Swords – Perform slash attacks and deal above-average damage. Although their range is short, they are easy to wield in tight places.

Spears – Perform a wide-ranging swipe, or a thrust at an enemy in front of you. Effective when taking on multiple foes in open areas.

Kusarigama – The sickle used to slash, attached to a chain for long-range attacks. Skills can be used for intricate strategies.

Dual Katana – Ideal for slash attacks and fast combos. The individual strikes are weak, but you can make up for it with the sheer quantity of blows you can land.

Axes – Attacks with axes are powerful and difficult to parry, but slow to perform.

Ranged Weapons – Useful against enemies situated in difficult-to-reach places, such as on roofs or on the opposite side of rivers.

Strengthening weapons at the Blacksmith

Visit the Blacksmith to buy, sell and improve weapons through reforging.

Environmental factors from the world will affect you in different ways and last for a limited time. Here are some of the basic statuses you will encounter:

Beneficial Statuses

Sacred Water – Increases Ki recovery speed.

Attack Up – Increases attack power.

Defence Up – Increases defence.

Kekkai Talisman – Creates a barrier that purges the Yokai Realm and increases Ki recovery speed.

Hot Springs – Gradually restores your health.

Wet – Decreases damage from fire attacks, but increases damage from lightning attacks. Also neutralises burning and malodorous effects.

Vs. Fire Up – Increases your resistance to fire-based attacks.

Vs. Water Up – Increases your resistance to water-based attacks.

Vs. Wind Up – Increases your resistance to wind-based attacks.

Vs. Lightning Up – Increases your resistance to lightning-based attacks.

Vs. Earth Up – Increases your resistance to earth-based attacks.

Vs. Poison Up – Increases your resistance to poison.

Vs. Paralysis Up – Increases your resistance to paralysis.

Luck Up – Improves your chances of finding rare items.

Companion Bonus – Grants a random bonus from praying at a shrine while in the Yokai Realm with a companion.

Detrimental Statuses

Fire – Slowly reduces your health.

Water – Increases all damage you receive.

Wind – Decreases the damage you deal.

Lightning – Decreases the speed of your movement and attacks.

Earth – Increases the amount of Ki you use.

Confusion – Increases damage received and decreases Ki recovery speed.

Poison – Slowly reduces your health.

Paralysis – Renders you unable to move.

Movement Speed Down – Decreases running and dash speeds.

Sloth Talisman – Decreases the speed of your movement and attacks.

Attack Down – Decreases attack power.

Defence Down – Decreases defence.

Ki Recovery Speed Down – Decreases Ki recovery speed and Ki recovered from Ki Pulses.

Ki Usage Up – Increases the amount of Ki your actions use.

Sticky Liquid – Prevents you from using items or switching weapons.

Blinding Shell – Blinds you, preventing you from locking on to enemies.

Malodor – Lowers medicinal effects, and increases the openings in your guard.

These are the default controls. You can select a different control scheme in the System Menu.