Rise of the Ronin – Combat Tips for Slicing Up the Samurai Competition

wccftech.com:

Rise of the Ronin is the latest joint from Team Ninja, and like most of their games, challenging combat built around a number of unique systems is core to the game. Being successful in combat in Rise of the Ronin requires mastery of parries, stances, Ki, and more, which can be a bit mind boggling at first. But don’t worry too much as we have some tips that will have you slicing off heads in no time…

Related Story Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Guide: How to Unlock the Boricua Suit

Keep an eye on you and your opponent’s Ki

They key to Rise of Ronin’s combat is, well, Ki. Both you and your opponent’s Ki is represented by the blue bar underneath the main life bar. Ki essentially acts as both a stamina and stagger bar – if you deplete your opponent’s Ki meter, they’ll be left open for a critical hit, which will usually kill grunts instantly and deplete a decent amount of a boss’ life bar. On the flip side, if your Ki meter gets depleted you’ll be temporarily unable to attack and be stunned yourself. Keeping a close watch on the status of you and your enemy’s Ki is often more important than the standard life bar.

Countersparks are crucial

The best way to reduce your opponent’s Ki is by parrying their attacks, which the game refers to as “Countersparks.” A well-timed parry will not only reduce an opponent’s Ki, but leave them "panicked" and open for you to lay in some extra attacks. On the flip side, if an enemy parries you, you’ll also lose a chunk of Ki. So don’t just button mash, as that’s a surefire way to get parried often and end up Ki-depleted. Parry timing generally isn’t that hard, although some enemies will launch combos and you’ll have to parry multiple shots in quick succession to fully protect yourself and stun them.

Don’t forget about dodging

While you’re usually best focusing on parrying your opponent’s attacks, occasionally they’ll wind up a big attack which will see them start glowing red. While you can sometimes still parry these attacks, they’re much more