Beginner guide: 12 things to know before you start

01Pick a difficulty you can change later

A first save offers Story and Action. Story softens combat for players who mainly want the plot; Action is the intended challenge and the setting most trophy roadmaps assume. You are not locked in: the difficulty can be switched at any Spirit Mirror, so starting on Action and dropping down for a single wall-like boss costs nothing.

The third difficulty, Carnage, only appears after you finish the story and is played as New Game+. A save started on Carnage cannot be moved back to an easier setting.

02Spirit Mirrors are your safety net

Spirit Mirrors act as checkpoints. Touching one lets you save, fast travel between activated mirrors, rearrange your Hozuki Pouch loadout, refill consumables and change difficulty. When you die you return to the last mirror, and any consumables you spent during the failed attempt are given back—items are only permanently used when you actually win the fight.

That rule makes experimenting with restoratives during a boss attempt essentially free.

03Learn the four soul colours

Musashi’s Oni Gauntlet absorbs souls released by enemies (hold the absorb button—LT on Xbox, L2 on PlayStation by default). Each colour feeds a different system, and Genma will happily absorb loose souls themselves to power up if you leave them on the floor.

04Do not live behind your guard

Blocking stops most attacks from any direction, but it drains stamina. Holding the guard for a whole combo is the most common reason new players get staggered and punished. Treat block as a way to survive one specific hit you have not learned yet, then let go and look for the parry timing instead.

05Parry first, Issen later

A parry (guard just before impact) interrupts combos and fills the Blaze gauge; a full gauge puts Musashi in the Blazing State, a temporary damage buff. Deflect (guard + attack at impact) is stricter but shreds enemy stamina and sends projectiles back. Issen—attacking at the last instant before a hit lands—is the flashiest counter and kills ordinary enemies outright, but its window is the tightest.

Build reliable parries on slow, readable Genma before you chase Issen timings. The full system breakdown is in the combat guide.

06Watch stamina, not just health

Every enemy has a stamina bar under its health. Parries, deflects and two-handed heavy attacks drain it; when it empties, the enemy is open to Break Issen. Against ordinary Genma that is usually a kill. Against bosses you choose a target: purple targets yield extra souls, red targets deal heavy damage, break armour or sever a limb that removes attacks from the boss’s moveset.

07Absorb souls on the move

Absorbing souls leaves Musashi briefly exposed, and a nearby Genma can steal the same souls to empower itself. In group fights, clear the most dangerous enemy first, then sweep souls while circling rather than planting yourself in the middle of a pack. Upgrading the gauntlet widens the absorption range.

08Use Oni Vision constantly

When the gauntlet glows, Oni Vision highlights enemies, hidden objects and secrets—spiders blocking Malice threads, breakable walls and the Genma Notes, which are the only collectible not marked on the map by default. Several special skills (Oni Vision: Treasures, Treasures 2, Search Range) extend it, and they pay for themselves by revealing chests with more upgrade stones.

09Your first upgrades

Skills are bought with Power Stones (basic skills) and Oni Stones (special skills); “Oni Places of Power” marked with a yin-yang symbol unlock new tiers. Equipment enhancement opens after the mission The Oni’s Apprentice. A safe first-five-hours order that most published guides agree on:

1. Blazing State — rewards every successful parry with bonus damage and blue souls.
2. Deflect — taught during The Oni’s Apprentice; the strongest stamina-breaking tool.
3. Chain Issen — lets one Issen flow into the next enemy, ideal for groups.
4. Charm Capacity — equipping a second Charm is an early, permanent stat gain.
5. Oni Vision: Treasures (Oni Stones) — reveals chests that refund the investment.
6. Hozuki Pouch enhancement — more healing charges is the cheapest survivability you can buy.

10Rescue townspeople and do side content early

Genma attacks on citizens, Chance Encounters (18 optional events) and Mysteries of Kyoto (8 investigations) reward Charms and upgrade materials, and saving 30 townspeople is itself a trophy. Doing them as they appear keeps Musashi’s gear level in step with the story instead of forcing a long cleanup later.

11You can usually skip small groups

The game is largely linear with an expanding hub, and many patrols can be bypassed. If you are low on healing and the objective is ahead, running past a small group is often the right call; come back when your pouch is refilled.

12Nothing important is permanently missable

Free roam stays open until the final mission, and after the credits “Continue” on the main menu returns you to just before it. Two Oni Armament chests (Flashing Void on Mount Oe and Still Water in Arashiyama) sit slightly off the main path and are easy to walk past, but they can still be collected later.