Summary
- Katanas have the most changeable combat styles in Rise of the Ronin, offering unique movesets and designs.
- Specific katanas, like the Peacock Uchigatana, have set rarities, making them worth seeking out for their stats and visual style.
- Players can obtain iconic katana weapons through specific missions or by increasing bond levels with important characters in the game.
There are a lot of weapon types in Rise of the Ronin. From western sabers to polearms, and even muskets with bayonets, there are more than ten weapon categories in the game. No Ronin is truly complete without their samurai sword, though. It can be worth leaning into a single weapon category, as each weapon type has proficiency, skills, and deep combat systems attached to it. This is especially true of katanas, which have the most changeable combat styles of any weapon category. Combat styles change the way a weapon works, giving players access to new moves. These styles are unlocked throughout the game, and are worth exploring the open world for.
As well as the combat styles which can be used across the weapon category, there are individual katanas to find with their own stats and unique visual style. Thanks to the game’s random loot system, each weapon players find will have its own stats and affixes, but each katana will have its own visual style, and some rare katanas have set item rarities. These are some of the best katanas in Rise of the Ronin.
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10
Peacock Uchigatana
Early Game Rare Katana
- Primary Scaling Stats: STR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: CHR
As players progress in Rise of the Ronin, they’ll find that specific weapons don’t matter as much as the level, rarity, and base stats they drop with. Early in the game, though, players won’t have easy access to the rarest tier of drops. Knowing the location of the Peacock Uchigatana can help, as this katana will always drop at the highest rarity tier and with a player-relevant level. It can be found in a chest behind a locked door in the Miyozaki area. Players need to grapple some nearby roofs to reach it.
9
Yukiyoshi
Nightingale Scabbard
- Primary Scaling Stats: CHR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
Since players can upgrade or transmogrify any weapon they want to in Rise of the Ronin, a lot of player preference for katana weapons comes down to aesthetics. The design of Yukiyoshi is gorgeous, with plum wrappings and mother-of-pearl nightingale designs on the scabbard. This sword is Katamori Matsudaira’s signature weapon and can be obtained by following the pro-shogunate route in the player’s major choices.
8
Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki
Ryoma’s Dragon
- Primary Scaling Stats: CHR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
The Mustunomaki Yoshiyuki is the sword of the protagonist’s companion and comrade in arms, Ryoma Sakamoto. The ornate scabbard features a gold dragon design, making it an iconic katana choice. Players can obtain the sword for themselves by increasing their bond with Ryoma and completing the “Men From Tosa” side mission. The katana will be given as a mission completion reward.
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7
Nobukuni
Nakaoka’s Blade
- Primary Scaling Stats: INT
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
Nobukuni is the prized sword of Shintaro Nakaoka, Tosa clan retainer and an anti-shogunate ally of the protagonist if that’s the path they choose. The scabbard is decorated with carvings representing Yuzu, a fruit grown in Nakoaka’s hometown. The player can obtain this katana by increasing their bond level with Nakaoka to Inseparable.
6
Shizusaburo Kaneuji
Intricate Design
- Primary Scaling Stats: INT
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
Shizusaburo Kaneuji’s elegant blue scabbard with flower decorations is an understated design that goes well with a number of the player’s outfits. There are intricate carvings of flowers on the sword hilt, too, which are difficult to see in detail, but make the design stand out. The sword belongs to the Shinsengumi advisor Kashitaro Ito, and the player can obtain it from him directly.
5
Munechika
The Maple Leaf Katana
- Primary Scaling Stats: STR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: INT
The maple leaf designs that adorn the Munechika on the scabbard, guard, and blade of the katana are distinctive but understated. The rest of the design is a simple and sleek black that makes this katana highly desirable. The sword belongs to Yukichi Fukazawa and players can obtain it as a reward for completing his bond mission “In Search Of New Discoveries.”
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4
Fujiwara Nobushige
The Chiba Clan Blade
- Primary Scaling Stats: DEX
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
Shusaku Chiba is a formidable sword master in Rise of the Ronin. The founder of the Hokushin Itto-ryu combat style, he is the patriarch of the Chiba clan and the teacher of important characters like Ryoma Sakamoto. As players might expect, his sword Fujiwara Nobushige is a powerful katana with a nice design. The black scabbard is lightly adorned and contrasted by a white hilt with a moon-behind-clouds motif. Players can obtain Chiba’s sword by raising their bond level with the sword master to Inseparable.
3
Indigo Scabbard Uchigatana
Simple And Elegant
- Primary Scaling Stats: STR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: CHR
Unlike a lot of the swords on this list, the Indigo Scabbard Uchigatana isn’t the legendary blade of some great warrior. It’s just a great katana design that a lot of players will want to use because of its non-ostentatious looks, giving a simple indigo scabbard to mix with the player’s ronin outfits. This design isn’t available by default, though. Players will need to complete the sword-delivery side quest “A Blade For The Future” first, then find the merchant in Edo who will now sell the Indigo Scabbard Uchigatana.
2
Cursed Blade Muramasa
The Black Blade
- Primary Scaling Stats: CHR
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
The grassroots mission Fujioka Diary: Muramasa will lead players to the Cursed Blade Muramasa, if they follow it all the way after defeating the red-eyed fugitives. Players will then be tasked with retrieving the sword from the fugitive’s boss, who has seemingly been driven mad by the blade. Once players retrieve the sword, they have the choice to hand it over to shogunate officials, or refuse.
Refusing and fighting them is the easiest way to retain the sword, but players can find the official as a secret red-eyed fugitive later on and retrieve the sword that way too. The black blade of the Muramasa is unique, and the two-tone red and black scabbard with gold ornamentation is a great design.
1
Elite Ninja’s Blade
Dragon Clan Heirloom
- Primary Scaling Stats: DEX
- Secondary Scaling Stat: STR
Ninja Gaiden fans will recognize the Elite Ninja’s Blade, as it’s a reference to the Dragon Sword of the Dragon Clan. The story in Ninja Gaiden is that the blade has life-sapping power and only one of dragon’s blood can wield it, hence the sword in Rise of the Ronin referencing the “true power” of the blade being lost.
The sword belongs to Yasusuke Sawamura, the modern (in-game) descendant of the Dragon Clan and teacher of the Hyabusa-ryu combat style. In Sawamura’s dojo in Edo, there’s a hidden wall. Behind the wall is a chest with the Elite Ninja’s Blade. Ninja Gaiden cosplayers will definitely want to seek this katana out.
Action RPG
Adventure
Open-World
- Released
-
March 22, 2024
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence