Best Upgrades — What to Upgrade First
Quick Answer
Upgrade the three verified lanes in this order of certainty: sword (damage), clothing (health), and the Oni Gauntlet (souls) — each is fed by upgrade materials found across Kyoto (review). Spend red souls on skill upgrades, keep blue souls for your Oni Armaments, and equip a Charm for a permanent stat boost (official). Exact per-level numbers and the full skill tree are not yet verified on launch day — we label them instead of guessing.
Who this is for: players who just reached the first upgrade screen and don't want to waste materials; and anyone comparing conflicting day-one "build" advice.
What is verified
The three upgrade lanes (IGN review)
Reviewer-confirmed structure: exploration materials upgrade Musashi’s sword, clothing, and Oni Gauntlet, providing more damage, health, and souls respectively. Souls fuel the gauntlet's power, so the three lanes feed the same combat loop.
The soul economy (IGN review)
- Yellow souls — heal you. The reliable way to get them: a certain Oni Armament (the review name-drops "The Two Celestials") or Break Issens.
- Red souls — currency used to upgrade certain skills.
- Blue souls — recharge your Oni Armaments.
Charms are a real power layer (CAPCOM official)
The official store text is explicit: "Equipping charms will strengthen Miyamoto Musashi's abilities." Charms are changed on the Equipment screen; the pre-order set (Lion Dog, White Monkey) and Deluxe charms (Oni Lady, Little Dancer, Mentor) are confirmed items. This is the strongest verified "upgrade" lever that costs no materials at all.
Spirit Mirrors and appearance (CAPCOM official)
Sword Appearances and outfit changes are cosmetic only — the store text says they "do not alter his performance in battle." Don't treat them as upgrades.
What is still unverified (launch day)
Unverified — pending verification
No verified source has published the full skill tree, per-level material costs, stat curves, soft caps, or a confirmed "best order" yet. Popular day-one videos exist, but they are community claims until checked against the game — treat any number you see elsewhere as Community Reported.
| Field | Status |
|---|---|
| Sword / clothing / gauntlet upgrade formula | GAMEPLAY VERIFIED — direction confirmed by IGN review; exact values pending |
| Full skill tree & node effects | UNVERIFIED |
| Per-level material costs / soft caps | UNVERIFIED |
| "Best upgrade order" ranking | COMMUNITY REPORTED — community builds only |
| Charm stat values | UNVERIFIED |
Common mistakes
- Chasing cosmetic "upgrades": Sword Appearances change looks only (official) — they are not damage upgrades.
- Ignoring the Equipment/Charm screens: official text confirms charms strengthen abilities and unlock during progression; skipping them wastes a free power layer.
- Burning all souls on skills: blue souls are the recharge for your Oni Armaments; zeroing them out can leave your special attacks offline at the wrong moment.
What to do next
- Pick your Oni Armament loadout once you understand the soul economy.
- Before boss runs, check how to beat Rasho-gan — and what is still unverified about him.
- Planning a second run? Read what we know about New Game+.
Sources — Last Verified 2026-09-03
- CAPCOM — official Steam store text (charms, sword appearances, Spirit Mirror): store.steampowered.com/app/2638890
- IGN review (2026-09-03) — upgrade lanes, soul economy: IGN — Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review
