Boss fights are one of the most complicated parts to overcome in Rise of the Ronin. They are not only necessary because of story progression, but also because players need to defeat these characters to recruit them to their team and make it stronger. However, from the beginning of the game, Team Ninja ensures that this process will test players’ skills. So, even the first boss gives them a hard time defeating him and the challenges only heighten as they progress. Therefore, if you are struggling with Shinsaku Takasugi, that’s natural and we will try to help you with all the required information.

In Rise of the Ronin, players will explore 19th-century Japan during political anarchy. The incidents and characters are fictional for sure, but they have a touch of real events. This influence of reality has made the story interesting, but you can’t explore it unless you defeat the major bosses in every mission. In this guide, we will discuss the fighting process of Shinsaku Takasugi.

Before going further into the fighting strategy, players need to know some important information about the boss, including the location. This information helps them get prepared for the fight.

Rise of the Ronin- Shinsaku Takasugi Location and Other Details 

Every mission of the game requires you to fight at least one boss, if not more. Similarly, when players start the main story mission, Those Who Know Shoin, they will eventually get an objective that requires them to track Fumi Sugi. For that, players need to go to the Chinatown district. There, they have to save Fumi Sugi from bandits. This will lead players to an interaction that will eventually start another sub-mission, The Chinatown Kiheitai.

This mission will provide players with a single objective, finding Takasugi in Chinatown. Initially, it seems to be a bit challenging, but it is not that complicated. The boss can be easily found inside a large room with a double door. Don’t worry, the boss won’t jump on you as soon as you locate him. So, you can easily have time to replenish your health and stock health items.

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Weapons are indeed important, but health potions are not something to ignore. Players need to fill their stock with health potions to fight the boss. About the weapon, we recommend bringing a Revolver to make the fight a bit easier for you.

When you are ready you can approach the boss and initiate the fight. However, before that, check out the strategies and attacks the boss will use to take you down and how to counter them all.

Tips and Tricks to Fight Shinsaku Takasugi in Rise of the Ronin- How to Beat the Boss?

Takasugi is not a very fast and agile enemy who can shower attacks on you and close the gap between you in an instant. Instead, he is quite the opposite. He moves at a normal speed and his attacks are slow. This doesn’t mean that you will take him lightly. His attacks may be slow, but they hit hard. If a few of his attacks land successfully, the fight will instantly end with your elimination. So, carefully watch out for his attacks to get accustomed to his moves. This will help you plan your moves. 

Countersparks or parrying is the most convenient way to make the boss weak. So, initially, don’t go for a very aggressive strategy. Instead, make sure to focus on your defense. You have to wait for the right times to hit the boss and deal damage. To do so, watch out for the boss’s attacks and parry them. The boss has a giant sword, but his swings are slow. Therefore, players will get enough time to parry these attacks. 

Fortunately, the boss doesn’t have a wide range of attacks. He will either swing his sword to deal damage or throw bombs at you. None of these are tough to avoid. In both cases, keeping a safe distance from the boss will help players. If you don’t stay within the range of his attacks, you will be safe.  However, the bomb attack has a variation, in which the boss sometimes scatters bombs in front of him and then jumps back instantly. 

Another attack, that’s an unblockable one is the revolver one. In this attack, the boss will fire single shots from his revolver. This attack can’t be parried as the bullets travel a lot faster than other attacks, but players can dodge them with proper timing and skill. What you need to do is to make several dodges in a single row to make sure the bullet doesn’t hit them. 

Additionally, players must bring two companions for this fight. Even if the boss fight doesn’t require their help, players need them in the middle of the fight when the assistants of the boss arrive. Handling all of them single-handedly is a bit tough, so, your allies should be there to take care of them. However, don’t ignore the assistants of the boss as they can also throw bombs at you. Even though your allies are taking care of them, make sure to watch out for their attacks. 

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If you can parry some of the boss’s attacks successfully, the boss will gradually become weak and allow you time to hit him with melee weapons or guns. We recommend using your revolver at these points, to deal the most damage possible. Keep attacking the boss. If you let him go idle after he becomes weak or has lost his health, he will recover his health, which will again increase your challenges. 

During the fight, always keep checking whether the combat style is suitable for the boss or not. A little arrow is always visible next to the health bar of the enemy. It stays blue when your combat style is effective against the enemy. However, it will turn red, if you are using a combat style that is not suitable for the fight. Change combat style to have the one most effective against the boss. 

That’s everything players should know before they start fighting Shinsaku Takasugi in Rise of the Ronin. If you are not aware of the most suitable style, the fight will be unnecessarily long. Once you beat the boss, he will join you as a teammate.