Beast of Reincarnation: All Weapons

How weapons work in Beast of Reincarnation

Now that the game is out, the weapon system plays exactly the way it was pitched — and its logic is unusual. Emma, the Sealer at the heart of Beast of Reincarnation, fights with a katana as the core of her kit, backed by ranged tools, and the whole thing is built around deflection. The rhythm is Sekiro-like: you hold your ground, land a perfect block, and punish the opening. A clean parry beats a dodge almost every time.

What makes weapon choice matter is what a successful parry produces. Deflecting attacks replenishes FP (Florescence Points), the resource that drives Koo's Bloom Arts. Koo can restrain enemies, deal group damage, heal Emma, or close the distance — but only while you keep parrying. Your weapon isn't just your damage source; it's the engine that lets your dog act. "Defense feeds offense" is the loop the entire kit is tuned around, and a loadout that fits your deflection timing directly increases how often Koo joins the fight.

Weapons sit alongside the game's other combat layers: spirit stones socketed into armor, a pair of skill trees fed by SP, and a Down Gauge execution meter that fills from hits and parries to let you finish off smaller enemies or stun a boss.

The three weapon types

Beast of Reincarnation keeps its armory deliberately tight. There are exactly three weapon types, all wielded by Emma:

That is the complete weapon-type list — there is no separate great-sword, polearm or dual-blade class. Any "odachi", mechanical blade or extra weapon category you see elsewhere is not in the released game. Individual katanas differ through their specialized bonuses and the elements and stones you pair with them, not through a sprawling weapon roster.

The elemental system: Fire, Lightning and Wet

The most build-defining part of the weapon system is elements. Emma's arrows and crossbow bolts can be enchanted with up to three elemental slots, and katanas can carry an elemental property of their own. Three elements are confirmed in the launch build:

Because a bow or crossbow can stack up to three elemental slots, ranged loadouts get the most flexibility — you can tailor an arrow to a specific enemy before a fight even starts. The clearest early example is Rangifer, the giant-deer Nushi you meet in the opening hours: it is weak to Fire, so a Fire-enchanted setup (plus Koo's fire-based Bloom Art) breaks its poise far faster than raw melee. Exact elemental damage numbers and the complete enemy-weakness chart are still being catalogued now that the game is live.

Emma's three stats and how weapons scale

Weapons are only half of a build; the other half is where you spend your level-up points. Emma has exactly three stats:

There is no separate agility or dexterity stat, and no standalone "fire damage" or "lightning damage" tree — element power comes from the enchantment and stones on the weapon itself, governed by these three attributes. Strength does double duty: it is your survivability-and-damage stat and the key that unlocks Emma's ultimate.

The four ways to build around your weapons

Beast of Reincarnation has no classes. You define a playstyle through your loadout — weapon, elements, spirit stones and skill picks — and four clear directions have emerged now that players are deep into the game:

One rule holds across all four: because parrying is what generates FP, katana fundamentals matter for every build. Even a ranged or Koo-focused loadout needs reliable deflection for the moment a Nushi closes in. The strongest practical advice from the launch meta is to concentrate your SP around a single equipment effect rather than spreading thin — a focused build outperforms a jack-of-all-trades one.

Spirit stones, the skill trees and Entanglement Overdrive

Spirit stones are the tuning layer. You socket them into armor slots, and they grant conditional bonuses — burn and stagger among the effects shown — so the strongest "weapon" in practice is a weapon-plus-stone combination matched to a specific fight. Sealing a Nushi also lets Emma absorb its power, which feeds back into how far a build can stretch.

On top of that sit two skill trees you feed with SP: one path for Emma and a separate growth line for Koo's Bloom Arts. Points can be refunded, so you are free to respec and experiment as new enemies force new answers. The exact in-game technique names vary between regions and menus and are still being confirmed against the final build — our builds guide tracks the verified names as they settle.

Emma's ultimate ties straight back into her weapon rhythm. Landing hits and deflections fills the Entanglement Gauge (up to seven layers), which you spend on Entanglement Overdrive — a slow-time burst that upgrades across five levels and is unlocked by investing in Strength. Defeating a major Nushi also grants a Nushi Skill, a new ability Emma or Koo absorbs from the beast that widens what any weapon build can do later on.

Named weapons confirmed so far

Game Freak has not published a single numbered "armory list", and individual katanas surface as you find them rather than in a menu you can preview. Two are confirmed by name in the launch build:

• Black Blossom — a katana awarded for defeating the Shidou & Nue dual boss.
• Big Dipper — a sword included with the Digital Deluxe Edition (see below).

The full katana roster, each weapon's specialized bonus, exact damage values and drop locations are being logged now that the game is out — full details coming soon, being verified post-launch. Treat any "complete weapon list" that predates release as speculation.

The Deluxe Edition weapon: Big Dipper

One weapon is tied to how you buy the game. The Digital Deluxe Edition ($69.99, versus $59.99 for the standard edition) bundles the sword Big Dipper along with a set of cosmetics and currency:

• The Big Dipper sword for Emma.
• Emma's Oni's Hat.
• Black and brown skins for Koo.
• 100,000 Amber.
• A set of crop seedlings.

The $10 gap between editions is entirely cosmetics, currency and this one weapon — none of it changes the core progression. Whether Big Dipper holds up against katanas you earn in-game, and whether it can be obtained without the Deluxe Edition, are still being verified.

What critics say about the weapon combat

The reception lines up with how central the weapon system is. Beast of Reincarnation sits at OpenCritic 76 ("Strong"), with 68% of 41 critics recommending it. The near-universal consensus is that the combat — parrying, the elemental weapon system and the multi-build skill trees — is the game's standout, while world exploration and story are the weaker links. Player scores are more split (around 54% positive on Steam early on), but very little of that criticism lands on the weapons themselves. If you enjoy tuning a loadout, this is the part of the game most reviewers agree it gets right.

Still being verified post-launch

• The total number of individual katanas, and each one's damage type, moveset notes and scaling.
• Exact elemental damage values and the full enemy-weakness chart.
• The confirmed in-game names for skill-tree techniques and Bloom Arts, plus their FP costs.
• The best weapon per boss and the strongest early-game pickup — being verified through hands-on testing.

FAQ

How many weapons are in Beast of Reincarnation?

There are three weapon types: the katana (Emma's swappable melee weapon, with multiple versions found through exploration), the bow and the crossbow. Game Freak hasn't published a total count of individual katanas — that list is being logged post-launch.

What elements are in the game?

Three: Fire (ignites and can explode), Lightning (applies Shock) and Wet. Arrows and crossbow bolts can be enchanted with up to three elemental slots, and katanas can carry an element too.

Does Koo use weapons?

No. Koo fights through commanded Bloom Arts powered by the FP Emma generates by parrying. He grows through his own skill tree rather than by equipping weapons.

Is the Big Dipper sword exclusive to the Deluxe Edition?

It's confirmed as a Digital Deluxe inclusion. Whether it can also be earned in-game hasn't been confirmed.

Is there a Dexterity or agility stat?

No. Emma has exactly three stats — Strength, Vitality and Florescence. Weapon and element power scale through those three plus your stones and enchantments, not a separate agility attribute.

Do weapons have durability or repair mechanics?

Nothing shown so far points to a durability system, and Game Freak hasn't mentioned one — treat it as not confirmed either way.

Can I change playstyles mid-game?

Yes. Playstyles are loadout-driven rather than locked classes, and SP can be refunded, so you are free to respec weapons, stones and skills as you go.

Related

• Builds, skill trees & spirit stones
• All Nushi bosses
• Koo commands

Sources

• Beast of Reincarnation — Steam store page
• Official site (Happinet Games)
• Xbox Wire — Developer Direct announcement
• Game Informer — hands-on preview (July 2026)
• OpenCritic — aggregate critic score

Last updated: August 4, 2026