Rise of the Ronin Guide – How to Master All Combat Styles

Combat Styles provide several different Skills to unleash in combat. Here's how to unlock them all and enhance them further.

Ravi Sinha in Video Game Tips On March 25, 2024

Rise of the Ronin has several different weapon types, from melee to ranged, but only the former can use Combat Styles. These provide Martial Skills used when holding down R1 and pressing a face button on the DualSense.

Several Combat Styles exist, though you need to unlock them over time. Some are unlocked by forming Bonds with allies, while defeating Fugitives, mini-boss-like enemies in each region, grants access to others. In several cases, you can unlock the same Combat Style from defeating a Fugitive as you would from forming a Bond.

Enhancing a Combat Style requires increasing your Bond with the corresponding ally who taught it and training to achieve a higher rating. This will unlock further Martial Skills for that Style.

If you forget the corresponding ally, go to the Combat Style tab in the main menu, select the weapon type and then the Style in question. Here’s how to unlock all Combat Styles in the game.

All Combat Styles and How to Unlock Them

Katana Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Hokushin Itto-ryu	Acquired after forming a Bond with Ryoma Sakamoto.
Tatsumi-ryu	Acquired after forming a Bond with Yukichi Fukuzawa.
Shinto Munen-ryu	Acquired from Kogoto Katsura.
Yagyu Shingake-ryu	Acquired from Shinsaku Takasugi.
Nioh-ryu	Unlocked by pre-ordering the Standard Edition and by defeating the Blue-Eyed Samurai in Shiba.
Tennen Rishin-ryu	Acquired after forming a Bond with Soji Okita.
Mugai-ryu	Acquired after forming a Bond with Hajime Saito.
Hayabusa-ryu	Acquired after forming a Bond with Yasusuke Sawamura. You can also unlock this early by pre-ordering the Standard Edition.
Aisu Kage-Ryu	Unlocked by pre-ordering the Standard Edition.

Spear Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Hozoin-ryu	Acquired from Aritomo Yamagata

Paired Swords Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Ninten Ichi-ryu	Acquired from Genzui Kusaka.
Kyoshin Meichi-ryu	Eliminate Juzo Inayama. He’s found in the Takanawa region.
Tennen Rishin-ryu	Acquired from Toshizo HIjikata

Odachi Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Nodachi Jigen-ryu	Acquired from Gonzo after sparing him in the Ronin Mission, “Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises” and recruiting him as an ally in Bond Mission, “The Bad Bunch.”
Jigen-ryu	Acquired from Toshimichi Okubo.
Yagyu Shingake-ryu	Acquired from Yoshinobu Tokugawa.
Tennen Rishin-Ryu	Acquired from Isami Kondo.
Shinto Munen-Ryu	Acquired from Shinpachi Nagakura and by defeating Punch-Drunk Kanta in the Yoshida-Shinden region.

Saber Styles

Style	How to Unlock
US Training	Acquired from Matthew Perry and from defeating Grigori the Immortal in the Senzoku region.

Polearm Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Shinto Munen-ryu	Acquired from Shinsaku Takasugi.
Hokushin Itto-ryu	Acquired from Sana Chiba. Also unlocked by defeating Wild Tiger Mio in the Kariba region.
Hayabusa-ryu	Acquired from Yasusuke Sawamura. You can also unlock this early by pre-ordering the Standard Edition.

Greatsword Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Hoshin-ryu	Acquired from Koto Nakazawa and from defeating Yosuke in the Hodogaya region.
Tennen Rishin-Ryu	Acquired from Isami Kondo. Also obtained from defeating Gennai Inoko in the Hodogaya region.

Oxtail Blade Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Kiheitai Style	Acquired from Shinsaku Takasugi. Also obtained by defeating Green-Eyed Sanzaemon in the Hodogaya Region.

Bayonet Styles

Style	How to Unlock
Kiheitai Style	Acquired from Hirobumi Ito. It’s also obtained by defeating Shirodayu Shirame, located in the Hodogaya region.