Benkei (Fully Armed) Summary
Benkei returns as a boss encountered during the main quest, The Clash at Rendaino, at a location away from Eastern Kyoto, Rendaino. He comes back to life as Benkei (Fully Armed), equipped with some new weapons.
Benkei (Fully Armed) Attack Patterns
While this Benkei is now armed with new weaponry, most of his attack moves remain the same as his original version. Instead, you will find most of the new moves when he is in his second form.
The following table lists the new attacks of Benkei (Fully Armed).
| Attack | Description |
|---|---|
| Exploding Hammer |  At melee distance, Benkei (Fully Armed) may jump and throw his hammer down, causing an explosion, then detonate it again after it charges up. This move is only performed in his second form. |
| Knives and Axes |  At melee distance, Benkei (Fully Armored) may jump backward while throwing knives at you, then follow up with three axes. |
| Charging Forward Slashes |  At long distance, Benkei (Fully Armed) may charge at you while swinging his blades from left to right, then perform a jumping spin and side slash once he gets close. This move is also performed in his first form |
| Distant Ground Slashes |  At long distance, Benkei (Fully Armed) may slash the ground twice with his spear, sending ground slashes toward you. This move is only performed in his second form. |
| Shoulder Cannon |  At long distance, Benkei (Fully Armed) may pull out his cannon, place it on his shoulder, and charge it before firing a powerful blast that covers a large area in front of him. He can also set this up from melee distance by jumping backward while performing a swiping slash. This move is only performed in his second form. |
| Scatter Shot |  At medium distance, Benkei (Fully Armed) may raise his cannon to his hip and fire from right to left, hurling cannonballs that explode in front of him. This move is only performed in his second form. |
How to Beat Benkei (Fully Armed)
The general game plan for Benkei (Fully Armed) remains the same as his original version, but you will have to look out for the new moves we showed above.
[1] Same Old Tricks in His First Form.
Benkei's move set remains relatively the same as his original version until his second form.
Since you have already beaten the original Benkei at this point, you must have already known enough to play against him. In Benkei's (Fully Armed) first form, just play it as if you were fighting his original version.
[2] When at a distance, be wary of his ranged attacks.
As mentioned above, Benkei (Fully Armed) now has weapons to shoot at you with and can even use his spear to hurl ranged attacks at you. He can also charge at you using his spear.
The Knives and Axes are weak, so getting hit by them is not a big deal; their main purpose is to interrupt your combo and allow him to reset. These are not fast attacks, but they can catch you off-guard if you are too aggressive.
The Charging Forward Slashes are easily telegraphed, and each slash can be parried or dodged with ease.
The Distant Ground Slashes can be confusing to look at as the attacks are from the ground. If he is far away from you and swings his spear twice, look out for rubble bursting towards you and dodge when it is close. When you are far enough, you can even just keep moving to the side to avoid them.
The Shoulder Cannon can be avoided by moving very far away from him or countered by shooting at the mouth of the cannon with the Oni Bow while it is charging. Shooting at the mouth of the cannon will make the cannonball explode, hurting and staggering Benkei (Fully Armed).
The Scatter Shot can be avoided by also moving very far away from Benkei (Fully Armed), or charging at him. If you choose to charge at him, stay very close to his side to avoid the cannonballs and explosions.
Aside from the Shoulder Cannon move, all of these attacks can be avoided or countered with Issen or Reflex Dodge into a Reflex Combo.
[3] Be careful of his Exploding Hammer and Shoulder Cannon attacks at melee range.
At melee range, Benkei (Fully Armed) can use two of his new moves: Exploding Hammer and Shoulder Cannon. So, be sure to anticipate both moves.
Exploding Hammer can be easily anticipated when he reaches over his shoulder and behind his back, indicating that he is grabbing his hammer. He will then jump and slam the hammer into the ground. We recommend using Reflex Dodge to avoid this attack, then following up with a Reflex Combo or Oni Armament to interrupt his attack. If you choose to use a Reflex Combo, the second attack will still occur, so dodge immediately after performing the Reflex Combo.
Simply dodging this attack is recommended, as performing an Issen is much harder due to the narrow window for performing an Issen.
If you simply dodge, keep moving away to avoid the explosion. Otherwise, look for the hammer's charge which is indicated by a hammer part popping up, then slamming down which creates the second ground explosion. Getting hit by either hurls you at the air.
Shoulder Cannon is not really used at melee range, but Benkei (Fully Armed) will set it up by swiping at you and jumping backwards at the same time. Afterwards, he will pull out his cannon and prepare his move.
You can parry, Issen, or dodge the swipe attack, but it is quick. Fortunately, this quick slash is weak and only used to interrupt your action.
Benkei (Fully Armed) Rewards
Benkei (Fully Armed) drops the following rewards upon defeat:
・Red Soul x 12,870
Related Trophy
| Trophy | How to Get |
|---|---|
 Baited by Benkei | Defeat Benkei at Rendaino. |
