Combat Mechanics

Issen timings, posture, souls, parries, dodges, and Blazing.

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Combat Mechanics

Assassination and Stealth	Combat	Assassination kills an unaware enemy from behind. Stealth upgrades improve the approach and can strengthen the finishing attack.
Blazing Enemies	Enemy power-up	Some enemies can enter a stronger Blazing State after absorbing enough loose souls, gaining more damage and special abilities.
Blazing State	Player power-up	Parry enemy strikes to fill the Blaze Gauge. When it fills, Musashi enters the Blazing State and deals more damage until the gauge empties.
Break Issen	Issen	Break enemy posture, then perform the dedicated finishing sequence while a valid target is in range.
Chain Issen	Issen	After an Issen, time the next attack input to dash to another valid target and continue the chain.
Charm Enhancement	Progression	Charms change core statistics and can be enhanced at Enma's Hall with favor, red souls, and required offerings.
Deflection	Defense	Deflect just before impact to inflict heavy posture damage. Deflection also works against arrows and other ranged projectiles.
Difficulty Scaling	Combat values	Enemy health, posture, attack pressure, part durability, and red soul experience use separate multipliers by difficulty and story checkpoint.
Environmental Objects	Combat and exploration	Oni Strength lets Musashi lift or operate heavy objects, while combat upgrades increase the damage dealt with usable objects.
Guard and Parry	Defense	Block standard attacks, parry at the moment of impact, and manage the player's posture gauge.
Hozuki and Pouches	Recovery	Hozuki restore health from the equipped pouch. Pouch type and enhancement determine capacity and restorative power.
Issen	Issen	A family of precisely timed finishing attacks that includes counter, chain, and posture-break variants.
Malice and Barriers	Exploration	Concentrated Malice seals routes behind barriers that can only be torn down with Oni Strength.
Oni Agility	Oni ability	Charges Musashi's legs with Oni power for marked wall runs, wall-to-wall leaps, and recovery after being launched.
Oni Awakening	Transformation	Musashi can trigger Oni Awakening when the Awakening Gauge is full, gaining automatic soul absorption, unlimited Blazing, easier Issen attacks, and protection that converts health damage into gauge loss.
Oni Bow	Ranged combat	Summon a bow with unlimited arrows to attack at range, activate remote mechanisms, target specific body parts, and charge shots for more damage.
Oni Strength	Oni ability	Breaks armor, shields, guards, Malice barriers, and countering stances, and lets Musashi manipulate heavy environmental objects.
Oni Vision	Oni ability	Reveals Oni Glyphs, hidden treasure, destructible objects, and other things that ordinary sight cannot detect.
Posture	Defense	Guarding and heavy pressure fill posture. A break briefly leaves the affected combatant vulnerable.
Reflex Dodge	Defense	Evade at the last moment to recover posture and create a counterattack opening.
Souls	Souls	Red souls grant experience, yellow souls restore health, and blue souls restore Oni energy.
Status Effects	Combat	Combat can apply or exploit Burning, Oil-Soaked, and other named conditions described by item and tutorial records.