Your first few hours in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be spent finding the balance between commanding villagers and controlling Soh, the masked guard to Maiden Yoshiro, to personally fight the evil spirits known as the Seethe. Upgrading villagers with new skills and buffs is a necessity, but it won’t be long before you can enhance Soh too.
Read More: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: The Kotaku Review
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A key difference when improving Soh’s skills, compared to upgrading villagers, is that there are far more abilities and it’s not a linear process. Soh’s upgrade screen is presented as a circle, split up into five segments, and aside from two of them requiring a prerequisite skill to access, you can pick and choose as you wish. This allows you to easily form a preferential playstyle, although some upgrades stand out better than others. Here’s what you need to know.
When are Upgrades for Soh Unlocked?
You’ll be able to start upgrading Soh after defeating Batsu, the fifth boss (arguably sixth if we consider Enri Village) and eleventh stage. You’re likely to recognize this monster as the one who hit you with a cheap shot during a prologue cutscene and took some of your powers. On top of unlocking the Spearman villager and enacting some sweet revenge, Soh’s mask will also appear on the upgrade screen after you’ve slain Batsu. You can distribute any Musubi to unlock Soh’s upgrades from this point on.
The Best Archery Skills to Upgrade
Whether they’re flying or simply very dangerous, some enemies are a pain to fight with only melee attacks. Leaving them to Archers and eventually other ranged units isn’t always the most dependable solution either. This is what makes Soh’s archery abilities a must-have for anyone playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.
- Archery – Allows Soh to use a bow. This is a prerequisite skill to unlock the others, and gaining access to the bow alone results in a monumental advantage.
- Butterfly Shot – Charging the bow before firing will teleport Soh to an enemy that’s hit. Aside from being a great way to follow up on flying enemies, the latter stages feature targets in normally inaccessible areas. Equipping this ability will let you access elusive chests or even some defilement in need of purifying.
- Pinnacle Shot – Charging the bow before firing will fire an arrow that deals heavy damage to an enemy’s health and resist gauge. Between the strong knockback on smaller enemies and the heavy damage it inflicts, this is one of my favorite abilities. I highly recommend giving this a chance if you’re having trouble stunning flying or more tanky enemies.
The Best Command Screen Skills to Upgrade
I wouldn’t blame you for thinking the Command Screen is a bit rudimentary. Individually managing the villagers can be a chore and a menu just for moving them feels quite bare-bones. Thankfully, most of the abilities in the Command Screen section add some lovely features worth investing in. Two of them strangely don’t have anything to do with the Command Screen, although they’re still both crucial additions to any play style.
- Assemble – Every villager can be summoned to the same location. This is purely a quality-of-life upgrade, but it’s very worth it when you’re directing more and more villagers.
- Yoshiro’s Guide – Yoshiro can be ordered to stop or continue moving from the command screen. By default, you can only give this order when you’re physically next to Yoshiro. With how much you can be scrambling during the day, this is a wonderful upgrade for efficiency’s sake.
- Tsuba Guard Slot Increase – Unlocks an extra Tsuba Guard Slot. An additional slot can be unlocked at a higher Musubi cost. Being able to juggle up to three Tsuba Guard abilities is a game-changer due to how varied they all are.
- Mazo Talisman Slot Increase – Unlocks an extra Mazo Talisman Slot. Two more slots can be unlocked at higher Musubi costs. There are more than 70 of these Talismans to discover, and their buffs cover many different aspects. I suggest upgrading this all the way so you can rock with five talismans.
The Best Dance Attack Skills to Upgrade
The bottom two segments of Soh’s upgrade screen cover two different fighting styles—Oka Dance and Shiden Dance. The former is the default style you’ve been using since the start that lets you freely move during attacks, while the latter trades off movement for more power. Only one style can be used at a time.
It ultimately comes down to preference when comparing Oka Dance vs Shiden Dance. I enjoyed using the free-flowing nature of the default style throughout my first run in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, but Shiden is pretty impressive against bosses. The upgrades for both styles simply add a resist gauge-depleting combo ender whenever you hold down the Dance Attack button. This comes down to preference again, although the following felt the most useful:
- Oka Form 2 – Soh only has one upward-swinging slash that can hit flying enemies, and this tacks on resist gauge damage too. Shell out the meager five Musubi for this if you hate dealing with Seethe in the air as much as I do.
- Oka Form 4 – While it takes the longest string of attacks to activate and it’s the most chaotic to control, this is another favorite ability of mine. Its long reach makes it ideal for hitting multiple enemies and avoiding attacks.
- Shiden Form 1 – Unlike the Oka Forms, every Shiden Form ability ends in the same attack. I suggest the very first form ability so that you can bring out this powerful move as soon as possible.
The Best of Soh’s Other Abilities to Upgrade
Last, but certainly not least, is what’s considered Soh’s “Other Abilities.” A much better way to describe these is Combat Abilities, since that’s what they all revolve around. Each adds unique functionality to Soh’s gameplay, but two of them are exceptionally strong.
- Worship – Chozusha Basins can be used at night, strengthening Soh and making them invincible for a short period. Take advantage of this to fight against hordes of Seethe or a boss, without worry of taking damage. It’s a fantastic ace-in-the-hole resource that can easily turn the tide of any fight.
- Punishing Strike – Soh can use a powerful attack on enemies with a depleted Resist Gauge. On most non-boss enemies this essentially acts as a finishing move. For everyone else, it still inflicts a ton of damage.
Read More: 12 Crucial Tips to Survive in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
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New mechanics and experiences are provided throughout this game, but nothing comes close to how much it opens up once you start upgrading Soh. Experimenting with her upgrades is just one of many crucial tips to survive in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. More importantly, you’re sure to have a lot of fun with all the new things you can do.
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