Oni Stones are 54 special skill upgrade materials needed to fully unlock Oni abilities (Oni Vision, Special Skills, Chain Issen). Trophy: Well-Rounded. Often rewarded from major boss fights.
1. Overview
Oni Stones are the special skill upgrade material in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. They power the entire Oni Vision side of the skill tree — Oni Awakening extensions, Chain Issen, Blazing State specials, Oni Armaments, and the late-game Oni transformations.
The total pool of 54 Oni Stones is the matching special-side counterpart to the 53 Power Stones. You need both pools maxed to fully unlock every skill in the tree and trigger the Well-Rounded silver trophy.
PowerPyx has flagged that "you will be short a couple of Oni Stones and upgrade materials for your Gauntlet" if you skip side content. Treat the 54 Oni Stones total as the upper bound — most players finish a thorough run with 52-53 and rely on NG+ drops to close the final gap.
2. General Locations by Area
Oni Stones are rarer than Power Stones and skew toward late-game sources. Most are awarded by boss defeats or by completing high-tier Chance Encounters. The breakdown below covers every confirmed region.
Kiyomizu-dera & Surrounding Slopes
The earliest Oni Stones appear here, mostly tied to the Daidara and Rasho-gan boss fights during Chapters 2-3.
- One Oni Stone per major boss defeat in the temple grounds.
- One stone rewarded from the "Stage is Set at Kiyomizu" main mission.
- One stone in a hidden large chest behind a breakable wall on the upper slope.
Eastern Kyoto
Mid-game region. Oni Stones here come almost exclusively from Chance Encounter rewards.
- One stone per completed Chance Encounter in the district.
- One stone in a Mystery of Kyoto bonus reward.
- One stone awarded by the Genma-ologist side mission for collecting all Genma notes in this region.
Underground (Kiyomizu Caves)
The caves are a small but reliable source — Oni Stones drop from the cave's elite Genma and from the bonus arena clear.
- One stone from the cave midpoint elite.
- One stone from the cave bonus arena clear reward.
- One stone hidden in a side-alcove chest on the upper path.
Mount Oe
The largest single-region source. Mount Oe's boss encounters and elite Genma together account for nearly a quarter of the total.
- One stone per boss defeat on the Mount — Ifuu, Burai, and Shuten Doji all drop stones.
- Two stones from Chance Encounter completions in the lower slopes.
- One stone hidden in a breakable wall on the mountaintop path.
- Drop chance from elite Genma on the upper shrine.
Arashiyama
Final-act region. The Sasaki Ganryu rematch and the Dokyo encounter are both confirmed stone sources.
- One stone awarded per major boss defeat — Sasaki Ganryu at Arashiyama, Dokyo, and Yoshitsune.
- Two stones rewarded from Chance Encounters in the bamboo grove.
- One stone hidden in a large chest at the bamboo grove puzzle.
Oni Stones become much easier to spot once Oni Vision is unlocked mid-game. The glow effect makes stone chests and drops stand out clearly from regular pickups. If you can't find a stone, return to the same chapter once Oni Vision is online.
3. Farming Strategies
Oni Stones are harder to farm than Power Stones because their main source is boss encounters rather than common enemy drops. Use these strategies to close any gaps.
Strategy 1 — Boss Rematch Loop
The Boss Rematch feature lets you re-fight any boss on Story, Action, or Carnage difficulty. Each clear drops a guaranteed Oni Stone if it's your first clear at that difficulty. Running every boss on Action and then again on Carnage reliably grants 20+ stones.
Strategy 2 — Main Story Replay
If you finished your first playthrough missing stones, NG+ repays the difference. Bosses that already dropped their stones on the first playthrough do drop again in NG+ — the reward pools are not depletable across playthroughs.
Strategy 3 — Side-Content Completion
If you skipped Chance Encounters or Mysteries of Kyoto during your first run, reload your manual save from before that chapter and complete the side content. Each finished encounter adds one Oni Stone to your inventory.
PowerPyx has confirmed that the Gauntlet's upgrade path consumes a small number of Oni Stones in addition to standard upgrade materials. Don't spend every stone at the skill trainer before checking the Gauntlet upgrade requirements — keep 2-3 in reserve.
4. Trophy: Well-Rounded
The Well-Rounded silver trophy unlocks once every basic AND special skill in the tree has been learned and upgraded to maximum level. The full material set is:
- All 53 Power Stones for basic skill upgrades.
- All 54 Oni Stones for special skill upgrades.
- Enough Red Souls + Favor to purchase each upgrade.
- Oni Awakening unlocked at the appropriate level to access special skill nodes.
The related trophy The Winding Way of the Sword only requires basic OR special skills (your choice) — not both. Plan to pick the cheaper tree first if you're only hunting that silver.
Read the Skill Tree Guide and the Soul Priority Build Guide before spending Oni Stones. A planned special-skill path avoids the cost of respecs later.
5. Oni Stones Checklist (54 items)
Use this checklist as you collect. Selections persist in localStorage between visits. Compare your collected total against the in-game "Materials" counter to identify any missed stones.