The Onimusha Way of the Sword charms list is 21 charms: 15 earned in-game and 6 bonus Lovable Charms from edition, pre-order and demo rewards. You can equip three at once, each has three levels, and only the 15 in-game ones count toward the completion trophy.
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How charms work
Charms are passive accessories equipped from Pause Menu > Equipment > Charms. You start with one charm slot, and two skill-tree nodes — Charm Capacity 1 and Charm Capacity 2 — raise the maximum to three equipped at once.
A half-leveled charm is close to no charm at all, so finish the two or three you actually use before spreading levels across the rest.
The Onimusha Way of the Sword charms list: the 15 in-game charms
Effect at Lv1 / Lv2 / Lv3:
| Charm | Effect | Where |
|---|---|---|
Charm of the Healer | Healing effectiveness +4% / +6% / +8% | Story reward during "The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu" |
Charm of Purification | Health lost to Malice -20% / -30% / -40% | Mystery: "The Blessed Man" |
Inner Strength Charm | Issen power +5% / +7% / +10% | Mystery: "Something in the Water" |
Fencer's Strength Charm | Regular attack power +8% / +11% / +15% | Mystery: "The Faceless" |
Blazing Charm | Blazing State duration +3 / +4 / +6 seconds | Mystery: "Worm-ly Ways" |
Oni Strength Charm | Oni Armament power +6% / +9% / +12% | Mystery: "Some Unfinished Monkey Business" |
Charm of Protection | Health lost when hit by enemy attacks -4% / -6% / -8% | Mystery: "The Night Parade" |
Charm of Zeal | Blaze gauge fill rate +10% / +15% / +20% | Chance Encounter: "Pale Lights in a Night Sky" |
Sadist's Strength Charm | Attack power against enemies suffering an ailment +8% / +11% / +15% | Chance Encounter: "Clear Space, Clear Mind" |
Reaper's Charm | Red souls gained +5% / +10% / +15% | Chance Encounter: "An Ugly Business" |
Charm of Stamina | Stamina recovery speed +10% / +15% / +20% | Chance Encounter: "The Growling Ghost" |
Charm of Dexterity | Reflex gauge fill rate +10% / +15% / +20% | Chance Encounter: "Noisy Neighbors" |
Charm of Enticement | Genma encounter rate increases, Small / Medium / Large | Chance Encounter: "The Odd Couples" |
Charm of Awakening | Awakening gauge fill rate +4% / +6% / +8% | Chance Encounter: "A Fishy Story" |
Charm of Oni Power | Oni Power gauge fill rate +4% / +6% / +8% | Chance Encounter: "Restless Spirits" |
How the 15 are earned
One is the automatic story reward, six come from Mysteries of Kyoto and eight from Chance Encounters.
- Story reward. The Charm of the Healer is given after defeating Daidara during "The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu".
- Mysteries of Kyoto unlock as a category after "What Lurks in the Shadows".
- Chance Encounters unlock after "The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope".
Some also require finishing a main mission first: "Something in the Water" needs "A Wife's Prayer", Reaper's Charm and Charm of Dexterity need "To Live is to Suffer", Charm of Enticement needs "Okuni's Kabuki Dance", Charm of Awakening needs "The Demon on the Mount", Charm of Oni Power needs "In the Light of an Icy Moon", and Charm of Stamina needs "A Tempest at the Temple".
The 6 bonus Lovable Charms
| Charm | Effect at Lv1 / Lv2 / Lv3 |
|---|---|
Lovable Charm: Kubi Akari | Soul absorption trigger boost +10% / +15% / +20% |
Lovable Charm: Lion Dog | Follow-up attack power after a parry or Reflex Dodge +25% / +37% / +50% |
Lovable Charm: White Monkey | Stamina lost when hit -10% / -15% / -20% |
Lovable Charm: Oni Lady | Special skill attack power +5% / +7% / +10% |
Lovable Charm: Little Dancer | Enemy status ailment duration +15% / +22% / +30% |
Lovable Charm: Mentor | Blazing State power boost +5% / +7% / +10% |
Kubi Akari is a demo reward, claimed in the demo's Settings > Privacy > Demo Bonus > Claim Reward. The others come from edition and pre-order content. Bonus charms are claimed at any Spirit Mirror under Additional Content, where a gold chest icon means unclaimed and grey means already collected, and none of the six count toward the Charmed Life trophy.
Tier ranking
- Top tier — Charm of Awakening, Charm of Oni Power, Blazing Charm. Together they fill the Oni gauges faster and extend the Blazing State window.
- Second tier — Inner Strength Charm, Oni Strength Charm, Charm of Protection. Inner Strength is the strongest opener early on for Issen damage. Charm of Protection is the survival pick, and the usual swap for it is Fencer's Strength Charm in the same slot.
- Situational — Charm of Enticement, Reaper's Charm and Lovable Charm: Kubi Akari, which only matter for farming red souls.
- Among the bonus charms — Lovable Charm: Lion Dog is the strongest in raw follow-up damage, and it stays useful early and in New Game+ on Carnage.
Loadouts by situation:
| Situation | Charms |
|---|---|
Boss fights | Charm of Awakening + Charm of Oni Power + Blazing Charm. Against bosses that hit hard, replace Blazing Charm with Charm of Protection |
Early game | Inner Strength Charm, adding Charm of Zeal for faster Blazing State. Lion Dog beats either of those if you own it |
Red Soul farming | Charm of Enticement + Reaper's Charm + Lovable Charm: Kubi Akari. With only two free slots, keep Enticement and Reaper's |
General all-purpose | Charm of Awakening + Fencer's Strength Charm, swapping Fencer's Strength for Charm of Protection on Carnage |
Boss Rematch farming | Charm of the Healer, because sustain matters more than damage in the arena |
Oni Lady and Lion Dog
Lovable Charm: Oni Lady
increases special skill attack power by +5% / +7% / +10%. Its in-game description reads "A charm modeled after a beautiful Oni Lady. Increases the attack power of special skill." You get it with the Deluxe or Premium Deluxe edition, or as standalone DLC on the Nintendo eShop, and claim it at a Spirit Mirror under Additional Content. It is an unconditional damage boost that pays off early because special skills get used constantly; late game it is generally outclassed by Charm of Awakening, Charm of Oni Power, Fencer's Strength Charm or Lovable Charm: Mentor.
Lovable Charm: Lion Dog
increases follow-up attack power after a parry or Reflex Dodge by +25% / +37% / +50%. Follow-up attacks are the counter or punish hits you land after a successful parry or Reflex Dodge. It was an Early Adopter reward rather than standalone DLC and cannot be bought separately — eligibility ended on September 24, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2, and on September 25, 2026 on Steam and Epic, so if you did not buy it in that window there is nothing in-game that replaces it. If you did own it and it does not appear at Additional Content, confirm the purchase and keep progressing, because the Equipment screen and the Spirit Mirrors unlock at different points.
Because it multiplies deflect- and parry-based offence, Lion Dog is the strongest bonus charm on paper and pairs well with Lovable Charm: Mentor for a parry-heavy build.
Upgrading a charm
Charm enhancement unlocks after completing "The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu". Go to Enma's Hall at Rokudo-chinnoji Temple in Eastern Kyoto, interact with the shrine in the southeast corner and select "Make Offering".
| Level | Cost |
|---|---|
Lv1 to Lv2 | 3,000 Red Souls + 3,500 Favour |
Lv2 to Lv3 | 6,000 Red Souls + 6,500 Favour |
All 15 in-game charms to Lv3 | 135,000 Red Souls + 150,000 Favour in total |
Red Souls are dropped by defeating Genma. Favour comes from trading items — shiny ground objects, glowing chests, rescued citizens, merchants and Yorimasa's Monument — and is generally the scarcer of the two. Adzuki Beans give 1,000 Favour and Nine-Year Sake gives 2,500, so rescuing citizens and trading at the monument is the only way to earn more.
Two trophies come out of it: A Real Charmer for maxing a single charm, and Charmed Life for finding all 15 in-game charms and raising every one to Lv3.
Charm levels carry into New Game+ and Carnage, while weapon and armour upgrades and unspent red souls reset, which makes Favour a good thing to spend early. Nothing is permanently missable: free roam on the Eastern Kyoto map stays open until the point of no return before "The Clash at Rendaino", so finish the Chance Encounters and Mysteries that hand out charms before then.