Rise of the Ronin takes a bold approach to the tried and tested Team Ninja formula, letting its players explore a massive open world with an interesting bunch of characters. With a ton of playable content at their disposal, players can truly create an experience that is their own – and shape the future of Japan while they’re at it!

However, the sheer amount of choices and content available to its players can make Rise of the Ronin quite overwhelming, especially in the early stages of their journey. Fear not, we are here to help!

Making New Friends

One of the new additions in Rise of the Ronin is Bond Missions which let players engage with specific characters from the main narrative in order to further explore their motivations. There are many benefits to deepening your bond with these characters. These include unique content, rewards, and even the ability to bring these characters as backups on your main story missions!

Players can check their bond level with a specific character from the Bonds section of their player menu, accessed by clicking the Options button on their respective consoles. From here, they can view their bond level with a specific character or area and check out missions that they may need to play in order to improve their bond.

Kindred Spirits

One such character that players can choose to bond with is Ryoma Sakomoto, whose affable nature and light-hearted personality quickly make him a crucial pillar of their journey. As such, it can be very beneficial to deepen the bond that he shares with the main character.

While Ryoma forms a big part of the main story, his bond missions can be a little hard to come by for players. The first mission that they can access is The Men from Tosa quest, which presents two important dialogue options that can deepen the bond between them.

How to Complete The Men from Tosa Bond Mission

The Men from Tosa mission unlocks at player level 10, and players will receive a message that Ryoma is looking for their assistance. The starting point for this mission is located in Northern Hadogaya, Yokohama. It can be a good idea to unlock the “Speechcraft: Persuade” skill before taking on this mission, as it unlocks further dialogue options with Ryoma that assist with improving the bond he shares with the player.

Players must reach the Hadogaya Post, and navigate to the nearby hut, where Ryoma awaits their arrival. Interact with him to begin the mission. Ryoma introduces the player to an old friend of his, Izo Okada whose disdain for the foreigners is clear from the start. They request the player’s help with getting rid of an official who seems to be too friendly towards the foreign invaders.

With the Persuade skill unlocked, players can choose to say “Assassination is not the answer” to further deepen their bond with Ryoma. However, any of the options presented to them will continue the quest.

From this point, the two men lead the player to a nearby ambush spot. There is a grappling point that players can use in order to gain a tactical advantage over the official and his group of bodyguards.

Once the official and his guards are in range, players can choose to fight them head-on or attempt to assassinate a few enemies from their vantage point to make the fight easier. As always, matching the player’s combat style to the weapon an enemy is using gives a distinct boost to the amount of damage they can dish out.

Once the official and his guards have been dealt with, choosing the dialogue option “Was he really all that bad?” allows the player to further deepen their bond with Ryoma. However, either option leads to the mission being completed.

How to Further Strengthen Bonds with Ryoma

Aside from completing bond missions, players can also gift Ryoma with hard liquor, imported beer, and items related to Western fashion in order to improve their bond with him. Furthermore, training with him at the dojo and taking him along on story missions can help deepen the bond he shares with the player over the course of the game.

Here are some gift items that can help improve the player’s bond level with Ryoma:

• European Dandy’s Kit
• Premium Whiskey
• Imported Beer
• Milk Chocolate
• Knot Of Destiny

You can acquire these items from traders/black market dealers, sending Pilgrim dogs on trips and even cat concierge missions that can be unlocked a little later in the story.

Looking for more Rise of the Ronin guides and tips? Head on over to our exclusive guides page to make the most of your time in ancient Japan!