Onimusha: Way of the Sword Charms Guide — All 15 Charms, Effects & Best Builds

• There are 15 charms (omamori) to find in Onimusha: Way of the Sword — all earned through story quests, Mysteries of Kyoto, and Chance Encounters.
• You start with one charm slot. A Basic Skill unlock adds a second slot, letting you run two charms simultaneously.
• Charms are equipped from the pause menu under Equipment → Charms — not from Spirit Mirrors or Emma’s Hall.
• Upgrading charms to Level 3 costs 3,000 Red Souls + 3,500 Favor (Level 2) and 6,000 Red Souls + 6,500 Favor (Level 3) per charm.
• Fully upgrading all 15 charms costs a total of 135,000 Red Souls and 150,000 Favor — and unlocks the Charmed Life Silver trophy.
• Charm upgrades carry over into New Game+. Upgrade your priority charms before the final mission.
• The best general build is Charm of Awakening + Fencer’s Strength Charm. For survival runs, swap Fencer’s Strength for Charm of Protection.

Onimusha Way of the Sword charms — called omamori in Japanese — are equippable items that passively boost Musashi’s stats and abilities throughout the game. The right charm combination can meaningfully change how hard boss fights feel, how fast your Oni Awakening builds, and how many Red Souls you earn from every kill. This guide covers all 15 charms, where to get each one, what it does, how to upgrade them efficiently, and the best builds for different situations.

Charms connect directly to the upgrade economy. If you need Red Souls and Favor to fund your upgrades, our soul farming guide covers every method for building up both currencies fast. And if you want to understand how charms interact with the broader combat system — especially on tougher difficulty — our combat and controls guide explains how each stat bonus feeds into Musashi’s full toolkit.

Onimusha Way of the Sword Charms Guide

How Charms Work in Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Charms are passive items that apply a constant stat boost or effect while equipped. They do not activate on a cooldown or require any button press — the effect runs automatically the moment you put a charm on. Each charm targets a specific mechanic: one might increase healing from Hozuki berries, another speeds up how fast your Oni Awakening gauge fills, and another boosts your regular attack damage.

How Many Charms Can You Equip?

You start the game with a single charm slot. Early in the game, a Basic Skill becomes available to purchase at the Spirit Mirror that unlocks a second charm slot. Once unlocked, you can equip two charms simultaneously and their effects stack. This makes the two-slot setup significantly stronger than a single charm — prioritise unlocking it early.

How to Equip Charms

This trips up a lot of players because the equip option is not where you would expect it. You cannot equip charms at a Spirit Mirror or at Emma’s Hall. You equip and swap charms from the pause menu — open the menu during gameplay, tab across to Equipment, then select the Charms tab. You can switch charms at any time, even mid-exploration, so there is no penalty for swapping builds between boss fights and farming sessions.

How to Upgrade Charms

Charm upgrades unlock after you complete the main quest “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu.” Once unlocked, go to Emma’s Hall and find the shrine in the southeast corner. Select “Make Offering” on the charm you want to upgrade. Upgrades require both Red Souls and Favor at each level. Every charm costs the same to upgrade regardless of its effect:

Level	Red Souls Cost	Favor Cost
Level 2	3,000	3,500
Level 3 (max)	6,000	6,500

To fully upgrade all 15 charms you need a total of 135,000 Red Souls and 150,000 Favor. That is a significant grind. You do not need to upgrade every charm — focus on the two or three you actually use, then work outwards when you have excess resources.

Do Charm Upgrades Carry Over to New Game+?

Yes. Charm upgrades are permanent and carry over into New Game+ on Carnage difficulty. This makes them one of the highest-value investments in the game — upgrades you complete on your first run benefit you immediately on Carnage. Upgrade your main loadout charms before the final mission so they are ready for NG+ from the first moment.

All 15 Charms — Locations and Effects

Every charm in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is earned through gameplay — no charm requires a purchase or is locked behind DLC. They come from completing the main story, finishing all 18 Chance Encounters, and clearing all 8 Mysteries of Kyoto. Two additional bonus charms are available through pre-order and Early Adopter bonuses, and one comes from importing a demo save.

Charm #1 — Charm of the Healer

Effect: Boosts the healing effectiveness of Hozuki berries — each berry restores more health per use.
How to get: Obtained automatically by completing the main quest “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu.” This is also the quest that unlocks charm upgrading, so you earn this charm and unlock upgrades at the same time.
Best for: Survival builds and players who use Hozuki berries frequently. On Carnage difficulty, where health margins are thin, getting more healing per berry is genuinely valuable.

Charm #2 — Charm of Purification

Effect: Enhances Musashi’s purifying abilities — reduces or resists certain debuffs and environmental hazards.
How to get: Reward for completing “The Blessed Man” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: Exploration in Malice-heavy areas and missions where status effects from enemies are a concern. Less impactful in pure boss fights.

Charm #3 — Charm of Zeal

Effect: Boosts how quickly Musashi’s Blazing State fills — more parries enter the Blazing State faster, opening Blade Barrage attacks sooner.
How to get: Reward for completing “Pale Lights in a Night Sky” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Aggressive parry-focused playstyles that actively build and use the Blazing State for burst damage. Pairs well with the Blazing Charm.

Charm #4 — Sadist’s Strength Charm

Effect: Increases attack power as your own health decreases — the lower Musashi’s health, the harder he hits.
How to get: Reward for completing “Clear Space, Clear Mind” Chance Encounter.
Best for: High-risk, high-reward playstyles. This charm rewards staying in fights at low health rather than retreating to heal. Not recommended for Carnage difficulty where dying at low health ends the run, but it is a strong option for skilled Action mode players who are confident in their defensive play.

Charm #5 — Reaper’s Charm

Effect: Increases Red Soul drops from defeated enemies by +15%.
How to get: Reward for completing “An Ugly Business” Chance Encounter (available after the main quest “To Live is to Suffer”).
Best for: Farming sessions. This is the most important charm for Red Soul grinding. Equip it whenever you are in a farming loop and it stacks with Issen kill bonuses and Flashing Void Armament finishers. Once you have this charm and upgrade it, your Red Soul income from every farming run improves significantly. See our soul farming guide for how to stack this with other soul-boosting methods.

Charm #6 — Charm of Stamina

Effect: Increases Musashi’s stamina — reduces how quickly his stamina depletes when performing actions like heavy attacks and Oni Strength moves.
How to get: Reward for completing “The Growling Ghost” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Combat builds that lean heavily on two-handed heavy attacks and Oni Strength to break shielded enemies. Less relevant if you primarily use one-handed strikes and parry-based play.

Charm #7 — Inner Strength Charm

Effect: Boosts Musashi’s overall attack power — a general damage increase that applies to all sword attacks.
How to get: Reward for completing “Something in the Water” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: General offensive builds across the whole game. This is a solid all-rounder for players who want straightforward damage improvement without specialising in one mechanic.

Charm #8 — Charm of Dexterity

Effect: Improves Musashi’s agility — increases movement speed and dodge responsiveness.
How to get: Reward for completing “Noisy Neighbors” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Evasion-focused builds and players whose primary defensive strategy is dodging rather than parrying. Less impactful for parry-first players who rarely need to dodge.

Charm #9 — Charm of Enticement

Effect: Attracts more souls toward Musashi during absorption — increases the collection radius of the Oni Gauntlet so you pull in more orbs without repositioning.
How to get: Reward for completing “The Odd Couples” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Soul collection efficiency during combat. Pairs naturally with the Reaper’s Charm for farming builds — more Red Souls drop per kill AND you pull them in from a wider range. In boss fights it is less impactful than combat-focused charms.

Charm #10 — Fencer’s Strength Charm

Effect: Boosts regular attack power — specifically increases the damage of Musashi’s standard sword strikes.
How to get: Reward for completing “The Faceless” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: General combat across the whole game. This is one of the best always-on combat charms. More damage from regular attacks means stamina bars break faster and boss health drops quicker, which compounds across every fight. It is recommended in the Carnage difficulty boss loadout precisely because steady damage output matters when boss health pools are large.

Charm #11 — Blazing Charm

Effect: Boosts the power of attacks made during the Blazing State — when Musashi is in the heightened state after consecutive parries, his attacks hit harder.
How to get: Reward for completing “Worm-ly Ways” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: Parry-forward builds that actively chain parries to build and maintain Blazing State. Combine with Charm of Zeal for a build that enters Blazing State faster and hits harder while in it. This combination rewards the player who is most comfortable with parry timing.

Charm #12 — Oni Strength Charm

Effect: Boosts the power of Oni Strength attacks — the gauntlet-based strikes that break shields, destroy Malice Barriers, and deal heavy stamina damage.
How to get: Reward for completing “Some Unfinished Monkey Business” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: Builds centred on Oni Strength use, particularly against heavily armoured enemies and in areas with multiple shielded Genma. Less impactful for the final boss and most late-game boss fights where armour plays a smaller role.

Charm #13 — Charm of Protection

Effect: Reduces the damage Musashi takes when hit — a flat damage mitigation effect on all incoming hits.
How to get: Reward for completing “The Night Parade” Mystery of Kyoto.
Best for: Carnage difficulty survival builds and Boss Rematch arena runs where you cannot use consumables. When a single hit can kill on Carnage, taking less damage per hit directly changes survivability. The Carnage boss guide recommends this specifically for the final boss fight alongside Charm of the Healer for maximum defensive coverage.

Charm #14 — Charm of Awakening

Effect: Fills the Oni Awakening gauge faster — purple souls generate more gauge progress, meaning you transform into Oni form more frequently.
How to get: Reward for completing “A Fishy Story” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Boss fights where Oni Awakening is your primary damage window. This is one of the strongest charms in the game for any difficult fight. Oni Awakening dramatically increases Issen effectiveness and lets you chain strikes more easily. Getting into the transformation faster per fight can cut a tough boss encounter significantly shorter. This charm is a core piece of the recommended Carnage difficulty loadout.

Charm #15 — Charm of Oni Power

Effect: Fills the Oni Power gauge faster — blue soul drops generate more gauge progress, meaning you can activate Oni Armaments more frequently.
How to get: Reward for completing “Restless Spirits” Chance Encounter.
Best for: Builds that rely heavily on Oni Armaments as a primary damage tool. More frequent Armament charges means more healing from yellow soul drops generated by Armament hits, more Flashing Void kills for Red Soul farming bonuses, and more burst damage windows in boss fights. This is a strong second slot charm when Charm of Awakening is already in slot one.

Bonus Charms — Pre-Order, DLC, and Demo

Several additional charms are available outside the main game progression:

• Lion Dog Charm — included with the Standard Edition Early Adopter Bonus and Deluxe Edition. Grants a special passive effect when equipped.
• White Monkey Charm — included with the Deluxe Edition and Premium Deluxe Edition. Grants a special passive effect when equipped.
• Kubi Akari Charm — awarded to players who import a save from the free demo. Claim it at a Spirit Mirror under Additional Content after connecting the demo save.
• Charm: Mentor — a charm modelled after a mighty swordsman mentor to Musashi, available in the Premium Deluxe Edition content pack.

All bonus charms are claimed via the Spirit Mirror menu under Additional Content. They are cosmetically distinct but function as equippable passive effects like all other charms in the game.

Best Charm Builds for Every Situation

Best Build — General Combat (Action Mode)

This is the recommended setup for the majority of your first playthrough on Action difficulty.

• Slot 1: Charm of Awakening (maxed)
• Slot 2: Fencer’s Strength Charm (maxed)

This combination covers both the offensive side — better regular attack damage — and the Oni Awakening side — getting into your strongest combat state more often. It works in general exploration, regular enemy groups, and most boss fights. Upgrade both to Level 3 as a priority.

Best Build — Carnage Difficulty (Survival Focus)

On Carnage, where a single hit can kill and you cannot change difficulty, survivability matters more than raw damage. The recommended Carnage loadout, based on the Carnage boss guide for the toughest fights:

• Slot 1: Charm of the Healer (maxed)
• Slot 2: Charm of Protection (maxed)

More healing per Hozuki berry and less incoming damage per hit. This combination directly addresses Carnage’s most punishing mechanic — the extreme damage spikes that kill you before you can react. For the Carnage final boss specifically, this defensive setup combined with saving your Oni Awakening for Phase 3 is the recommended approach. For the full Carnage boss strategy and what charms to bring to each fight, see our Shuten Doji boss guide (which covers Carnage preparation in detail) and the Sasaki Ganryu guide for the game’s bookend fight.

Best Build — Carnage Difficulty (Aggressive/Fast Clear)

For skilled players on Carnage who prefer to take the fight to the boss rather than play defensively:

• Slot 1: Charm of Awakening (maxed)
• Slot 2: Fencer’s Strength Charm (maxed)

Same as the Action mode general build. This works on Carnage for players who have strong Issen and deflect timing and are not regularly taking heavy hits. More Oni Awakening uptime + better attack damage = faster fights = fewer chances to get hit. Our Issen, parry and deflect guide covers the timing skills that make this aggressive Carnage approach viable.

Best Build — Boss Rematch Arena

Boss Rematch does not allow consumables — no Hozuki berries, no talismans. You fight on combat skills alone. This changes the charm priority significantly:

• Slot 1: Charm of Awakening (maxed)
• Slot 2: Charm of Protection (maxed)

You cannot heal between hits, so Charm of Protection provides passive damage reduction that partially compensates for the missing consumables. Charm of Awakening keeps your Oni Awakening uptime high, which is your primary healing-through-aggression tool in the arena. For more on how to approach Boss Rematch efficiently, see our trophy and achievements platinum roadmap which covers the Glutton for Punishment trophy in full.

Best Build — Red Soul Farming

For dedicated farming sessions to grind Red Souls and upgrade currency:

• Slot 1: Reaper’s Charm (maxed) — +15% Red Soul drops from every kill
• Slot 2: Charm of Enticement (maxed) — wider soul absorption radius pulls in more orbs per loop

This combination maximises both how many Red Souls drop per enemy and how efficiently you collect them. Stack it with Issen kill bonuses, Chain Issen on groups, and Flashing Void Armament finishers for the highest possible farming yield per loop.

Best Build — Blazing State / Parry Specialist

For players who have mastered the parry system and want to maximise the Blazing State window:

• Slot 1: Charm of Zeal (maxed) — Blazing State fills faster
• Slot 2: Blazing Charm (maxed) — attacks hit harder during Blazing State

This is a niche but powerful build for players whose combat rhythm is built around landing consecutive parries to build and sustain the Blazing State. For the Flow State trophy — which tracks Chain Issen kills — this build is also useful since Blazing State opens more Issen opportunities. See our Flow State trophy guide for how this all connects.

All 15 Charms — Complete Reference Table

#	Charm Name	Effect	How to Unlock
1	Charm of the Healer	Boosts Hozuki berry healing effectiveness	Complete “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu” (story)
2	Charm of Purification	Reduces debuffs and environmental hazard effects	Complete “The Blessed Man” Mystery of Kyoto
3	Charm of Zeal	Blazing State fills faster from parries	Complete “Pale Lights in a Night Sky” Chance Encounter
4	Sadist’s Strength Charm	Attack power increases as health decreases	Complete “Clear Space, Clear Mind” Chance Encounter
5	Reaper’s Charm	+15% Red Soul drops from all enemies	Complete “An Ugly Business” Chance Encounter
6	Charm of Stamina	Reduces stamina drain from heavy attacks and Oni Strength	Complete “The Growling Ghost” Chance Encounter
7	Inner Strength Charm	General attack power increase (all sword attacks)	Complete “Something in the Water” Mystery of Kyoto
8	Charm of Dexterity	Improves movement speed and dodge responsiveness	Complete “Noisy Neighbors” Chance Encounter
9	Charm of Enticement	Increases Oni Gauntlet soul absorption radius	Complete “The Odd Couples” Chance Encounter
10	Fencer’s Strength Charm	Boosts regular sword attack damage	Complete “The Faceless” Mystery of Kyoto
11	Blazing Charm	Increases attack power during Blazing State	Complete “Worm-ly Ways” Mystery of Kyoto
12	Oni Strength Charm	Boosts power of Oni Strength gauntlet attacks	Complete “Some Unfinished Monkey Business” Mystery of Kyoto
13	Charm of Protection	Reduces damage taken from all incoming hits	Complete “The Night Parade” Mystery of Kyoto
14	Charm of Awakening	Oni Awakening gauge fills faster (purple soul yield up)	Complete “A Fishy Story” Chance Encounter
15	Charm of Oni Power	Oni Power gauge fills faster (blue soul yield up)	Complete “Restless Spirits” Chance Encounter

How to Get All Charms Efficiently

All 15 charms come from content that is available during the main playthrough. None require a second run or New Game+. Here is how to collect them all before the final mission:

• Do Mysteries of Kyoto as they appear on the map. Five charms come from the 8 Mysteries of Kyoto — these are the side quests marked with specific icons on your map. Completing them in order as they become available means you have the charms well before the end of the game.
• Complete every Chance Encounter you find. Eight charms come from the 18 Chance Encounters. These are the citizen rescue events and side missions scattered across Kyoto. Completing them as you explore ensures you collect the charms without backtracking.
• One charm comes from the story automatically. Charm of the Healer unlocks the moment you complete “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu” — you do not need to do anything extra.
• Use Oni Vision: Treasures to spot Chance Encounter markers. After unlocking the three Oni Vision skills at the Spirit Mirror, you can scan for nearby quest markers as well as collectibles. This prevents you from walking past Chance Encounters.
• Note: Mysteries of Kyoto and Chance Encounters reset in New Game+. You do not get to re-earn charms on a Carnage run if you missed them on the first. Collect all charms before the final mission on your first playthrough. The good news is the charms themselves carry over — but if you miss the quest, you lose the charm permanently for that character file.

For a full breakdown of all 18 Chance Encounter locations and all 8 Mystery of Kyoto quests — including which missions unlock after which story beats — our tips and tricks guide and the platinum trophy roadmap both flag these clearly with timing guidance.

Charm Upgrade Priority — Where to Spend First

With 135,000 Red Souls and 150,000 Favor needed to upgrade all 15 charms, you cannot max everything at once. Here is the recommended upgrade order based on which charms deliver the most value earliest:

1. Reaper’s Charm to Level 3 first. Its +15% Red Soul bonus compounds across every single farming session from the moment you upgrade it. Earlier upgrades fund all future upgrades faster. It pays for itself.
2. Charm of Awakening to Level 3. More frequent Oni Awakening uptime directly reduces how hard boss fights feel. This is the single most impactful charm for the endgame.
3. Fencer’s Strength Charm to Level 3. Better regular damage means every combat encounter resolves faster, which means less total damage taken and more Red Souls per unit of time.
4. Charm of Protection to Level 3 (for Carnage preparation). Once you are approaching the final mission and planning for NG+ on Carnage, upgrading this charm ensures it is ready from the moment you start the harder run.
5. Charm of the Healer to Level 3 (Carnage Boss Rematch). Especially if you are targeting the Glutton for Punishment trophy.
6. All remaining charms for the Charmed Life Silver trophy. Use the save scumming method — save with 150,000 Favor and 135,000 Red Souls, upgrade everything, reload to recover currency if needed — to complete the upgrade without permanently draining your upgrade resources.

For the save scumming method in full and how to maximise Favor and Red Soul accumulation before the final mission, see our soul farming guide. And if you need a reminder of how Spirit Mirrors connect to upgrading at Emma’s Hall, our Spirit Mirrors guide covers the full upgrade menu system.

Charms and the Malice Fog Connection

One charm has direct relevance to Malice fog areas — the Charm of Purification. In missions like “The Curse of Kiyomizu-Zaka Slope” and “The Roots of All Evil,” where red Malice fog drains your health, this charm reduces the rate or impact of environmental hazard damage. If you find the fog missions particularly punishing, equipping Charm of Purification alongside Charm of the Healer gives you both reduced incoming fog damage and better Hozuki healing to recover. For the full Malice fog guide including how to clear each type, see our Malice fog guide.

Related Guides

• Oni Armaments and Oni Power Abilities
• Story Mode vs. Action Mode Difficulty Guide
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is available on Steam (PC), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Visit the official Capcom Onimusha site for full game and edition details. For PC specs before buying, our PC requirements guide has everything you need.

Frequently Asked Questions