While you’ll spend most of your time in Rise of the Ronin slicing and dicing your way through enemies, some missions require a more restrained approach. There’s never a strict requirement, but if you complete some missions without taking any lives, you’ll be rewarded with bonus items and gear.
Not every mission has this additional objective, but you’ll know beforehand if you’re starting a No-Kill mission because a warning will pop up. There’ll also be an optional objective reminding you to not kill anybody below your main mission in the top-left corner of the screen.
How to Defeat Enemies Non-Lethally in Rise of the Ronin
There are two ways to defeat enemies without killing them in Rise of the Ronin. The first way is to unequip your weapons and use your fists to take down enemies with your bare hands. Fistfighting is surprisingly effective, but you’ll need to dodge attacks since you can’t block blades with your hands. You also won’t be able to parry unless you unlock the ability to perform Countersparks while unarmed, but this is an early perk on the skill tree so it’s not hard to get
The second method is to use wooden training weapons. These can be obtained as loot throughout your adventure just like other weapons, but they’re rare. You can purchase them from faction vendors though, so head to either the Anti-Shogunate or Pro-Shogunate base to pick some up.
Even a single kill will disqualify you from the No-Kill bonus, so be careful. If you have AI companions with you, they’ll refrain from killing anyone as long as you use a wooden weapon or your fists. If you start swinging a sword around, though, they’ll take that as an invitation to use lethal force on your enemies. Also, be careful when taking control of your allies because they don’t have non-lethal options at their disposal.
The best way to avoid killing people is to avoid people altogether. Try to exercise caution and take a stealthy approach on these missions. You can’t avoid conflict entirely, but there’s no need to seek out unnecessary fights if you’re trying to get through the mission without taking a life. You can always come back and replay the mission to defeat all of the Formidable Foes without the No-Kill restriction.
Thankfully, the final boss of a mission doesn’t count toward the No-Kill requirement. Once you reach the final section of a mission, the optional No-Kill objective in the top-left corner of the screen will disappear. If it’s no longer on your screen, then you’re good to use your favorite weapons.
