What is up duders?

I have begun to dive down the rabbit hole that is Way of the Samurai 4 and it can be a perilous journey. I think it would be best to pull our resources and try to figure this craziness out. I will be posting stuff that I figure out here to help some wandering ronin become samurai masters. Please ask your questions and if I can't answer them, then maybe someone else in the community can.

First things first.

1) How do I survive my first day?

1A) Focus on getting money and upgrading your sword. A high skillpoint sword will be your lifeblood as some of the later skills you unlock can even reduce enemy damage which is huuuuuge since you can no longer improve the defense of a sword at the smith. The best way to get a lot of sword skill points is to go into 'spring harvest' mode and just start wailing on a large group of enemies. You can get thousands of skill points that way. Also, get the durability up so it is at least sitting at around 1000 to 1500 and then start bumping up the attack. A high attack sword will do you no good if you have to switch out in the middle of the fight. Sidequests may be more useful than story ones as story ones can ramp up in difficulty pretty fast. The story quests will eventually have you bumping into named NPCs who can wreck you if you don't have a good enough sword. I also recommend staying away from the crime related stuff for now. The magistrate jobs are easy, pay well, and it improves the town's overall crime rate which lowers the price EVERYWHERE in the town.

2) What is up with the blacksmith? He says he is going to retire!

2A: He sure will. But, you can find a solution to this.

3) Can I play as a super kawaii banzai female samurai like in the other games?

3A: Yes. But, it is a little more convoluted than before.

4) What about just free-roaming? Can I do it or will the story push me to a conclusion?

4A: Free-roaming is still a thing. Go ahead and roam around killing and collecting swords to your hearts content. By not following story events, you may lock yourself out of some of the better endings. Also, there is a point of no return that will end your game if you achieve it.

I will continue to update with any questions brought up that I or anyone else answers and I will also update with any other survival advice that I think might be useful.

Jimbot nails it when giving some good advice and helping describe the push/pull system which may be confusing to people new to this series.

@Jimbot said:

Easy Mode is pretty darn easy. Go into Normal and you will get destroyed. Normal in all Way of the Samurai games is like a NG+.

Push and pull is something you do when you hit an enemy guard. If you push forward when you connect you will "push" them and throw them off guard. However if they "pull" when you do that you will be thrown off guard. Same applies to you. If you both "pull" you will both do the animation and nothing will happen. If you both "push" like-wise nothing will happen.

I got the game the day it came out and put a week's worth of time into it and got some pretty things and unlocks out of it so far. It's definitely the most accessible of all the games and fixes a lot of the more esoteric mechanics of the game. The tutorials aren't that great, though. The manual doesn't help any either. Those aside it's probably a major leap up from the previous entries. Having map markers for jobs, an event journal and allowing you to put any stance on any weapon is just freaking great. The complexity and ambition of the story paths and outcomes took a hit for sure, but it's no longer a complete mystery on how to get them. The only thing that hasn't really change and still sucks is the upgrade system for the weaponry. It's still random, it still encourages you to reset and save scrub (but without the quit to menu option or soft reset) and the new durability system takes some time getting used to.

I certainly hope Acquire continues to make these. They really created a diamond in the rough, here. Technical problems, scope and the upgrading mechanics are all that really hold it back of being a classic. It's still fantastic, though.

UPDATE:

I have seen the light at the end of tunnel. While some things are still locked away from me, I have unlocked a good portion of the game's content. Don't fret if you have to use an online guide to figure out some of the endings. They are pretty cryptic, but it could be very rewarding if you figure it out yourself. So, play on for a bit, and only look up the solutions once you are at wit's end.

ALSO: Look at your journal in the start menu. It catalouges all the events you have and have not seen and organizes them into a time frame. This will be huuuuuuuuuge in helping you find events that you were missing and to see 'behind the curtain' of how the game decides to branch out.

Extra question: Can I use guns?

Answer: Yes you sure can. They are unlocked in the unlock menu after certain requirements are filled. After you unlock the styles, you can then pick these weapons up. The requirements are:

Thanks for the hot tips! I played a little of this last night, since I've always been intrigued by this series, in spite of its technical jankiness. This is the first WOTS game I've played, and mostly spent my couple of hours trying to figure out how the combat and other systems work.

I got to the point where the British girl wanted to meet with me in front of the consulate, and I accidentally pulled out my sword and scared her off... XD

I almost decided to start over, but said "fuck it", since this seems like a game to play many times over.

@beard_of_zeus: Yeah it sure is.

Once I have deciphered the madness, I will post some tips on how to achieve some of the different paths. Because right now, I am so confused. I will support people the same faction the whole way through and still get left high and dry at a certain point in the story.

There is a definite bar for entry, but there is a lot of fun to be had. That is why I hope some of these hints will help people enjoy the game more instead of letting it give you that bad first impression.

Just got this game recently and I've been playing 4 hours of it so far. It's pretty fun and light hearted. I just remembered that their 'Normal' difficulty mode can get pretty hairy if you don't take Keystone's tips at hand. Not to mention that trying to rush the dojo quest ensures difficult fights with the challengers when you even haven't passed the first story mark.

Does anyone know how the push/pull system works? The tutorial didn't do a great job. All I can gather is this:

• Forward + Light Attack = Push Attack (This will break the enemy's guard)
• Back + Light Attack = Pull Attack (If this connects, the enemy will stagger towards you)
• Forward + Block = Push Block (Repels the enemy's attack)
• Back + Block = Pull Block (Causes the enemy to stagger towards you)

However, like all WotS games, there's a rock-paper-scissors element to this and you can definitely find it when you have absolutely no idea what the enemy is doing, either from their stance or lack of personal experience. Does "Easy Mode" actually help and should I just swallow my pride to actually learn the system?

Easy Mode is pretty darn easy. Go into Normal and you will get destroyed. Normal in all Way of the Samurai games is like a NG+.

Push and pull is something you do when you hit an enemy guard. If you push forward when you connect you will "push" them and throw them off guard. However if they "pull" when you do that you will be thrown off guard. Same applies to you. If you both "pull" you will both do the animation and nothing will happen. If you both "push" like-wise nothing will happen.

I got the game the day it came out and put a week's worth of time into it and got some pretty things and unlocks out of it so far. It's definitely the most accessible of all the games and fixes a lot of the more esoteric mechanics of the game. The tutorials aren't that great, though. The manual doesn't help any either. Those aside it's probably a major leap up from the previous entries. Having map markers for jobs, an event journal and allowing you to put any stance on any weapon is just freaking great. The complexity and ambition of the story paths and outcomes took a hit for sure, but it's no longer a complete mystery on how to get them. The only thing that hasn't really change and still sucks is the upgrade system for the weaponry. It's still random, it still encourages you to reset and save scrub (but without the quit to menu option or soft reset) and the new durability system takes some time getting used to.

I certainly hope Acquire continues to make these. They really created a diamond in the rough, here. Technical problems, scope and the upgrading mechanics are all that really hold it back of being a classic. It's still fantastic, though.

I've always wanted to get into these games, the emergent gameplay stories I've heard sound amazing.

@AssInAss: That is where a lot of the appeal is. I have now seen all the endings (only 12 which is down from like the 25 of the old games), and they are pretty cool, but not enough to keep you hooked. What ensnares you should be the constant getting of new swords new styles (84 of them I believe) and all the different accessories and clothes.

@Jimbot: Good advice here. Adding this to the main part. The push and pulling is sort of a risk-reward system that has been in the series off and on over the years. What makes this game awesome is the counterattacks that you can punish enemies with. If you use some fighting game logic in knowing how to block enemies and then punish them for it, then you will find the harder difficulties much easier.

@kyokushin_nanaya: Jimbot nails it here with describing the system. And I also agree that you should try out easy first. Without an upgraded sword and an unlocked moveset, you are going to be going into normal in bad shape. While you could play a game of sink or swim, it is better to save yourself a headache and go to easy first. Some of the side-quest enemies are stronger than enemies in the main storyline, so beware when attempting the later job missions.

@Jimbot: Thanks for the tip. I was guessing it was something along those lines, but I wasn't entirely sure. The game actually never indicates that this enemy has a 'pull' or a 'push' guard correct? So when it comes to offensive directional attacks, it's a guessing game at the moment. However, are there certain guard stances that actually indicate "Hey, you should do this"? I don't know if it's the localisation or the game itself, but it doesn't do a great job at communicating the skill involved in the combat which you do quite a fair bit. It's definitely fun when it clicks, but like Keystone, I have major nostagia for WotS 2 where Iearning the combat system was immediate.

@Keystone_Yinzer: Went to easy, expecting begrudging to do Dojima's quest again but to find it was complete! WotS's game world is really nice how there's a level of persistance, not to mention it would be annoying to do it again. It's especially impressive that it doesn't feel that jarring as well. I might just start a new game later when I unlock a female skin. I've personally always had a weak spot for girls and swords, so I've got that to look forward to.

Can I be in the club? All I need from the club is a ps3 and money....can you guys hook me up?

I am a massive WOTS fan, however PS3 crapped out on me before WOTS3 came to English, So I had to wait another year ontop for the xbox version. Same for WOTS4....if...if IF it comes to xbox. There isnt a guarantee.

Anyone have any news of 360 version?

Ok I loved WOTS 1 and 2. Thought 3 was meh, How does 4 compare?

Sometimes I feel like I'm getting older and don't have patience for janky ass jank, but I don't want it to be true!

@Devil240Z: It's a whole lot more accessible than the previous games. The journal is actually useful now and gives you an idea on where to go for the next event for that storyline and it tracks your jobs. The only jank that requires patience, if you want to min max, is the still archaic sword upgrade system in the game. Has some technical flaws such as slowdown, a couple wonky formatting errors with the translation and sometimes you won't target an enemy unless you tap the free-run button a couple of times. Otherwise it's a solid addition to the franchise. Why this got negative reviews is beyond me (I guess the original Japanese release was really buggy).