Rise of the Ronin – best Companions to bring on missions

Looking to find the best Companions in Rise of the Ronin? Look no further. Rise of the Ronin has a huge roster of characters you can bring on missions, but some are better than others.

As you play through the main story, you will meet a seemingly endless supply of new characters popping up. Not all of them can fight with you in combat, but the majority can. Naturally, depending on the choices you make, some characters may not be available later.

With Rise of the Ronin out in the wild, you should check out our guides covering how to get skill points and some helpful tips and tricks. Now, let’s look at the best Companions in Rise of the Ronin.

Who are the best Companions in Rise of the Ronin?

With so many characters in Rise of the Ronin, finding the best Companion is no easy feat. During our playthrough, we found a total of 24 allies you can bring with you on missions. Sadly, you only have two open slots during every mission, so you can only pick two at any time.

While we have cleared the game, some of our choices have resulted in some characters being unavailable. This means that the number of 24 allies is going to be different in your playthrough, which is something to keep in mind. Here are our picks for the best Companions to bring with you in Rise of the Ronin:

Character	Ally Blessing	Weapon	Style
Ryoma Sakamoto	Trigger of the Dawn – increases the number of bullets loaded into revolvers while adding fire damage to handgun attacks.	Katana	Hokushin Itto-ryu
Sana Chiba	Bellflower in the Breeze – reduces Ki consumption of dodging movements.	Polearm	Hokushin Itto-ryu
Toshimichi Okubo	Unshakeable – enemies will find it harder to make you flinch while charging attacks.	Odachi	Jigen-ryu
Kaishu Katsu	A Righteous Heart – increases values associated with other characters’ ally blessings.	Katana	Jikishinkage-ryu
Soji Okita	Glass Blade – increases damage dealt by all martial skills at the cost of increased Ki consumption.	Extended Katana	Tennen Rishin-ryu, Hokushin Itto-ryu, Mumyo-ryu
Yoshinobu Tokugawa	Crest of the Shogun – increases the rate at which the Ki Blaze gauge fills.	Odachi, Katana	Yagyu Shinkage-ryu
Hajime Saito	Invincible Blade – increase damage deal to panicked enemies.	Katana	Mugai-ryu
Koto Nakazawa	Dancing with Death – temporarily increases defence power when the protagonist or other ally falls in battle.	Greatsword	Hoshin-ryu
Alexandria Moreau	Scarlet Mandrake – applies poison to your weapon when Ki Blaze activates.	Whipblade	Ancient Whipblade

We’ve found great success using these allies in missions. Make sure you pay attention to each of the Ally Blessing skills, which is activated simply by having them join you. These characters all have a good spread of weapons and styles, which will help you take on several encounters.

Ryoma Sakamoto

Ryoma Sakamoto is one of the first allies you meet in Rise of the Ronin. He is with you through the entire game and is one of your strongest allies. His stance is brilliant and his moveset is enjoyable to play if you choose to control him. While his Ally Blessing isn’t anything special, he makes it for it with versatility and high DPS.

Sana Chiba

Sana Chiba uses a polearm to attack foes, and she grants a bonus to your Dex stat when you bring her. This means you’re firearms will do more damage. The best thing about Sana is her Ally Blessing, which reduces the amount of Ki you use when dodging. This is, arguably, the most valuable passive to have. Sana can only be unlocked after reaching Edo, in Chapter 2.

Toshimichi Okubo

Toshimichi Okubo is a strong character to bring with you. He specialises in using the Odachi and his Jigen-ryu is a great addition to any party. Thanks to his Ally Blessing, enemies will have a tough time interrupting your charged attacks, which helps keep pressure on enemies and lets you poise through more damage without flinching.

Kaishu Katsu

Aside from being undeniably stylish, Katsu is also incredibly strong. While he is another Katana user, his Ally Blessing will further improve the Ally Blessing of the other ally you bring with you. Katsu is another character you won’t unlock until Chapter 2, but you should try using him when you have the chance.

Soji Okita

Soji Okita is only available if you side with the Shogunate in Rise of the Ronin. Having him on the team will greatly enhance the damage of your martial skills. While this is beneficial, you will also spend more Ki when performing them. Soji has a huge Dex stat bonus, which might be the highest out of all companions.

Yoshinobu Tokugawa

Tokugawa is heavily tied to the story and he is an especially strong Ally to use. The best thing about Tokugawa is his Ally Blessing which increases how much Ki Blaze you generate while in combat. Ki Blaze is something of an ultimate move that gives you increased damage, defence, and infinite Ki for a brief window. It is the strongest move in your arsenal, so increasing the uptime is always helpful.

Hajime Saito

Saito is one of the stronger companions in Rise of the Ronin. His attack stat is high and his Primary and Secondary damage is very high. He is effectively a strong DPS and his blessing will help take out enemies who are panicked even faster than normal. He comes with a Revolver as his sub-weapon, which you can use to great effect.

Koto Nakazawa

Outside of being the coolest-looking Ally in Rise of the Ronin, Koto is strong as heck in her own right. Her Ally Blessing isn’t anything special, but her raw damage and Ki Recovery are decent enough. Few characters use the Greatsword, which makes her a unique pick if you’re not using it on your main character.

Alexandria Moreau

Alexandria Moreau is basically a poison specialist. Her Adaptability and Infliction stats are stupidly high, meaning she can inflict status ailments and resist them expertly. Her Intellect stat is one of the highest out of your companions, and she uses a unique Whipblade weapon which is fun to play around with. Better yet, activating your Ki Blaze with Alexandria in your party will grant your weapon a poison effect for the duration.

You should keep in mind that you won’t always be able to use these allies in every single mission. Regardless of that, companions definitely help out, but they are by no means necessary for completing tough missions. The best part about bringing a companion with you is that you can change characters to them during combat and play as them for the mission.

That’s it for our picks for the best Companions in Rise of the Ronin. For more, read our guides covering how to unlock the Glider and how to get Foreign Books.

Rise of the Ronin best Ally FAQs

How many Companions can you have at once?

For each mission, you have two slots to fill with Ally companions. There can only be three at any given time and this includes your main character.

Can you remove your character from the party?

No. Your character will always be involved in the missions, so you will always have them as an option during fights.