The Karma system in Rise of the Ronin explained

Mar. 21, 2024

Karma in Rise of the Ronin is a temporary XP that needs to be banked at Banners

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Rise of the Ronin’s Karma system is a special kind of secondary XP based around killing enemies, and sometimes killing them a second time in special Vendettas. Karma is different from experience, but fortunately it’s notthatdifferent, it’s just that Rise of the Ronin doesn’t explain the distinction particularly well. Fortunately, we’re here to lay out the basics clearly and ensure that you understand what’s happening when you collect Karma, and how to reclaim it in a Vendetta.

What is Karma in the Rise of the Ronin?

Karma in Rise of the Ronin is basically a second kind of experience that players obtainsolelythrough fighting enemies. Here are the basics:

So it’s basically another kind of XP, just similar enough to the standard XP to make things confusing. However, this is only limited to enemy killing - Karma can’t be obtained by mission completion or anything like that. The specific skill points you get upon banking that Karma will vary, but it’s always worth doing if you get the chance - if you’ve obtained a full bar, sometimes it’s even worth backtracking a little rather than risk losing that Karma. Speaking of which…

Should you spare or kill Gonzo in Rise of the RoninBest Rise of the Ronin skills and abilitiesRise of the Ronin Combat StylesBest Rise of the Ronin class

If a player is killed by an enemy in Rise of the Ronin, that enemysteals all their Karma. At that point, it triggers a Vendetta - basically the chance to steal it back. To do so, you need to eitherkill the enemy, or at least land a special high-damage attack on them, like a critical hit or stealth assassination.That will get you your Karma back and complete the Vendetta. If you die again before doing so, that Karma is just gone, sorry to say - and it starts a Vendetta with the enemy that killed you. It’s rather like dropping your Runes in Elden Ring, if that helps the comparison.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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