Rise of the Rōnin Guide | How to Unlock Gonzo as Ally

Gonzo in Rise of the Rōnin represents a recruitable enemy who can join your cause under specific circumstances. His recruitment requires you to make a particular choice during combat rather than following the standard elimination approach.

This ally offers a unique recruitment path that demonstrates the game's choice-based mechanics and their impact on available party members.

How to Unlock Gonzo

You have to make a certain choice during the main task, "Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises", in order to make Gonzo your friend.

You mustn't kill Gonzo when you meet him during this task. During battle, this choice shows up when you can either kill the enemy or show kindness.

After sparing Gonzo's life in the main mission, you need to complete his first bond mission called "The Bad Bunch." This bond mission becomes available after you have completed the initial encounter and chosen to spare him.

The bond mission involves additional story sequences and combat encounters that develop Gonzo's character and his relationship with your protagonist.

As part of the enlistment process, you have to choose kindness over standard fighting. This choice changes the result of the task and makes it possible to hire more people in the future.

To fully get Gonzo to be your lifelong friend, you have to finish both the original sparring choice and the later bonding task.

Combat Abilities and Equipment

Gonzo fights with an odachi as his primary weapon, making him effective against multiple enemies due to the weapon's long reach and sweeping attacks.

His secondary weapon consists of smoke bombs, which provide tactical advantages during combat by obscuring vision and creating opportunities for positioning.

His blessing ability is called "Fire of Forging Ashes," which increases the amount of money you receive when defeating enemies.

This economic bonus makes Gonzo valuable for players who want to accumulate wealth more quickly throughout their journey.

Bond Level Rewards and Combat Styles

When your bond with Gonzo reaches its highest level, he gives you a bunch of gifts that make your character stronger.

They teach you the Noi Jigan Ryu way of fighting with your odachi, which is part of the Chi skill tree. This way of fighting has new attack patterns and moves that are made just for odachi fighting.

At maximum bond level, Gonzo grants you two spying skill points, which can be invested in stealth and reconnaissance abilities.

He also provides smoke bomb gestures that allow you to use smoke-based tactics more effectively during missions.

When your bond with Gonzo reaches its highest level, you can also use combo attacks against him. You and Gonzo can work together to sneak-kill enemies with these special attacks. This gives you effective benefits during espionage tasks and battles where sneak attacks are useful.

Also, check our Rise of the Rōnin Review and other guides below:

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