Onimusha Way of the Sword Missions Guide: Next Objective and Rewards

Quick answer

Use the mission title as your search key. The tables below tell you where to go, what interaction or fight advances the objective, what the mission gives you, and what opens next. If you only know the area, start with Walkthrough; if the problem is a boss, jump to Bosses.

Story route index

The rows below give the practical story route, including the story-side mission that sits between What Lurks in the Shadows and The Roots of All Evil. Optional missions branch away from it, so use the exact title in your mission log when you are looking for a side quest. The relationship table lists prerequisite and unlock links for missions that expose them.

Prerequisites that block the next mission

The table below lists the prerequisite and follow-up links available for the named missions. A blank cell means the route does not expose a useful link here; use the active mission title when the surrounding side content branches.

Route segments that unlock the next mission

The route links below show which mission to finish before the next handoff. Use them as reliable route segments; the six main missions without a listed prerequisite still need to be placed by the objective currently shown in your save.

Six main missions do not expose a prerequisite in the available route data: Careful What You Wish For, Kyoto, Corrupted, The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope, The Ruckus at Rendaino, The Stage Is Set at Kiyomizu, and Windswept Kennin-ji. That does not mean every one is available at the same time. Match the active mission title and objective before choosing a branch.

All mission objectives: 49 missions and 231 steps

The mission index contains 23 main missions, 18 side missions, and 8 story side missions. The objective count is the number of ordered steps listed for that mission; some steps share one map marker. The prerequisite column shows a relationship when the route lists one. A dash means no prerequisite is listed for that mission.

Use this index to identify the mission type and any listed gate. Because optional missions branch, there is no need to force every side quest into the story route. For the next action on screen, use the mission title and objective sequence in the matching entry; for an area-by-area path, use Walkthrough.

Side-mission objective checklist

The following objective sequences come from the saved mission records and are meant to answer the common stuck-point: “I accepted this mission, but what do I do next?” Match the exact mission title in your log, then follow the sequence from left to right. When the record says designated location, use the active map marker rather than searching for a universal room name.

Story side missions

Optional side missions

The five Hidden Treasure missions are intentionally kept in the dedicated Hidden Treasure gate table, because their useful answer is the drawing clue and reward rather than a repeated generic combat checklist.

What this means for a stuck player

1. If Patching up the Pouch is missing, check A Strength in Refuge and its prerequisite rather than searching the Old Temple first.
2. If To Live Is to Suffer is not available, finish both Shadows Fall and A Tempest at the Temple first; they are the listed prerequisites for that mission.
3. If A Haunted Distraction is missing, finish The Demon on the Mount and return to the Eastern Kyoto route; the route also lists Storm Chaser and In the Light of an Icy Moon as later handoffs.
4. If the player is looking for a Hidden Treasure, treat the treasure mission as a side unlock, not as the next mandatory story mission.

The table is a navigation aid, not a substitute for the objective sequence. For the exact action inside a mission, use the matching route section below and keep the mission title visible in the in-game log.

Early route: The Ruckus at Rendaino

1. Reach Rokudo-chinnoji Temple. After the Prologue, follow the Oni Gauntlet’s instruction to the temple.
2. Defeat the remaining Genma. Use this fight to practise Parry, Dodge, and target switching rather than forcing a long combo.
3. Seal the Rift. Kill the enemies around the Rift first. When it is weakened, hold the absorb input to absorb the Rift with the Oni Gauntlet.
4. Speak with Takamura. He explains the Oni Gauntlet and points you toward Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
5. Speak with Okuni. She introduces the Spirit Mirror and gives you the Hozuki Pouch. Refill it at a Spirit Mirror or by collecting Hozuki fruit.
6. Use the Spirit Mirror. Fast travel to the next shrine to begin The Stage Is Set at Kiyomizu.

Kiyomizu route: The Stage Is Set at Kiyomizu

1. Travel to Kiyomizu Temple and activate the Spirit Mirror before pushing deeper into the route.
2. Use the map and item prompts. Red Souls, loot boxes, and chests are placed beside the path and in short side turns; collect them before crossing a Malice barrier.
3. Enter the temple route. Use the visible interaction at the red Malice barrier, then follow the path toward the raised platform.
4. Open the spider-thread route. Follow the first thread, defeat the spider, and continue through the opened path. Repeat the route for the second thread.
5. Collect The Two Celestials. After following the second spider thread into the cave, defeat the spider and open the entangled chest. The armament helps create a stun and damage window later.
6. Defeat Sasaki Ganryu. Reduce posture with Parry or Deflect, then use a short punish. During the Issen Break, red is the damage choice; purple gives Souls and Oni Power.
7. Clear the Oni Refuge and continue to Daidara. Use Two Celestials to create a stun opportunity, then Parry the club attacks that can damage stamina.
8. Claim the mission rewards. The route lists Whetstone, Iron, Fine Silk Cloth, and a Charm before the next mission handoff.

Upgrade route: A Strength in Refuge

1. Return to Rokudo Temple. Fast travel from the Kiyomizu-zaka Slope Spirit Mirror if it is active.
2. Check the nearby chest before leaving. It is near the tall wooden gate; the route reward is Fine Silk Cloth.
3. Use Oni Vision on the rooftop glyph. From the Kiyomizu-zaka Slope Spirit Mirror, inspect the house across the street. The glyph reveals a chest with Genma Note: Byakue. For the separate entrance detour, use the Oni Refuge locked-gate route.
4. Travel to the Oni Portal. Use the Spirit Mirror or Johari Shard trail to reach the southern portal.
5. Clear the Oni Refuge. Once the refuge is cleared, a new tier of skills becomes available at the Spirit Mirror.
6. Return and speak with Okuni. This ends the mission and starts Patching up the Pouch.

Hozuki Pouch route: Patching up the Pouch

1. Speak with Okuni at Rokudo Temple. Accept the request for Oni Cloth.
2. Travel to the Old Temple. Follow the route and check the building corner for the loot chest.
3. Survive the ambush. Enter the large building, clear the encounter, then use the glyph to reveal the chest.
4. Collect Oni Cloth (Healing). The chest contains Oni Cloth (Healing) ×1.
5. Return to Okuni. The reward is Hozuki Pouch: Default, increasing the pouch from four uses to five and improving its healing value.

Castle and collection route: What Lurks in the Shadows

1. Head to Nijo-jo Castle and spend the available resources at a Spirit Mirror before entering the investigation route.
2. Investigate the castle and follow the Genma clues. Continue through the castle until the route sends you after Nue.
3. Fight Nue by targeting the tail. Dodge the snake strike, cut the tail during recovery, or use the Oni Bow when the creature creates distance. Destroying the tail removes several attacks.
4. Continue through the underground laboratory. The route includes the blade-trap room, thread spools, mask door, and missing-key sequence. When the objective reaches the four-mask room, use the 3-4-1-2 mask puzzle solution rather than treating the paper-screen clue as the target set.
5. Collect Earth Shakers. After descending through the blade-trap route, shoot the four thread spools and open the chest beyond the wreckage.
6. Defeat Byakue if you want the upgrade materials. The optional fight rewards Byakue’s Talisman ×2 and Malicite Mass ×1.
7. Defeat the two Nue and then Greater Nue. Keep both targets visible, destroy tails with the bow, and Parry or Deflect the bright-pink unavoidable attacks from Greater Nue.
8. Finish the mission. Lion Dogs and Mysteries of Kyoto become available after this mission; an empty map before this point is expected.

Bridge route: Bloodbath on the Bridge

1. Prepare at the Gojo Street – West Spirit Mirror. Refresh recovery items and spend upgrade materials before entering the bridge fight.
2. Reach Gojo-ohashi Bridge. Clear the approach and start Benkei’s encounter.
3. Break Benkei’s armor. His armor covers arms, legs, chest, and head; use Oni Strength six times to shatter all pieces.
4. Handle the empowered phase. After the first health bar is depleted, his attacks become faster and gain empowered follow-ups. Parry or Deflect the weapon swings; Dodge the stomp and kick-based attacks.
5. Continue to Shadows Fall. After Benkei, return to the story route and follow the next Rift objective.

The Seal the Rifts counter marks the bridge objective. Once the fight starts, use the Benkei boss guide for armor and attack responses.

If the mission is active but the bridge marker is unclear, use the Gojo Street – West Spirit Mirror as the departure point, clear the approach, and then match the Seal the Rifts objective. Do not treat the reward list as a universal drop table for every difficulty or checkpoint variant.

A Haunted Distraction: the two-Rift route

A Haunted Distraction opens after The Demon on the Mount. Start from the Shijo Street Spirit Mirror and move toward the Eastern Kyoto and Yasaka Shrine area. The route is easy to misread because the mission log can compress the work into a single Seal the Rifts objective, while the route itself requires two Rift interactions.

1. Check the story gate. If A Haunted Distraction is not available, finish The Demon on the Mount first, then return to the mission log and the Eastern Kyoto route.
2. Leave from Shijo Street. Refresh healing and identify the Eastern Kyoto/Yasaka Shrine route before pushing into the corrupted section.
3. Clear the Malice plants on the approach. Remove the plants that block the route, then deal with the Genma around the contaminated path. If the Rift interaction is unavailable, clear the active encounter before searching for another prompt.
4. Seal the first Rift. Follow the objective into the corrupted area and absorb the Rift after the surrounding enemies are dealt with.
5. Continue to the second Rift. Keep following the route rather than returning to the Spirit Mirror after the first seal. The second Rift is the progress point that leads into the named encounter.
6. Prepare for Dohatsu-ten. Dohatsu-ten appears after the second Rift. Use the Boss guide for attack responses instead of mixing a full combat script into the mission steps.
7. Read the next mission. After the encounter, look for the next handoff, Storm Chaser; the later route also connects this chain with In the Light of an Icy Moon. Use the exact mission title on screen if the order shown in your run differs.

A Haunted Distraction rewards

The mission rewards are Hempen Cloth ×2, Tempered Iron ×2, and Power Stone ×2. Malicite, Malicite Mass, and Dohatsu-ten’s Horn are separate encounter drops, not extra copies of the completion reward.

For the boss itself, switch to Dohatsu-ten’s encounter guide after the second Rift. For final-mission timing and post-credit cleanup, use Completion.

Hidden Treasure mission gates

These five side missions are separate from the main story index. Start them at Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, read the matching Old Drawing, and use Hidden Treasure Locations for the exact landmark.

Long-form route checkpoints

Use these timestamps when the objective name is clear but the landmark is not. Treat the video as a visual orientation point, then use the mission table for the exact prerequisite, reward, and next handoff.

If a video route does not match your objective, follow the mission title and map in your save. The video may show a different difficulty or a later cleanup pass, so do not use it to force a side mission open before its gate is active.

If the objective does not advance

• Match the mission name and the action verb: find, defeat, speak, return, and absorb are different completion checks.
• If a gate is red, check the current mission rather than searching every side street.
• If the prompt is complete but the route does not update, return to the named NPC, Spirit Mirror, or exit shown by the last objective.
• If the problem is a named boss, use Bosses for the actual attack response.
• If the problem is a chest, Old Drawing, armament, or note, use Collectibles and the dedicated completion pages.

Related guides

• Story walkthrough
• Boss guide
• Collectibles and Mysteries
• Hidden Treasure Locations
• Oni Armament Locations