Onimusha: Way of the Sword: Carnage New Game+ Carry-Over Guide

Carnage is Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s New Game+ mode and its post-clear hard difficulty. You unlock it only by finishing the campaign once, then beginning a new run from that completed save. The important catch is that Carnage carries over selected permanent progression rather than your full endgame loadout: skill trees, pouch upgrades, charm upgrades, Lion Dogs, and Oni Armaments return, while weapon, clothing, and Oni Gauntlet upgrade levels reset.

Spend every upgrade material that you can before starting Carnage. Materials and souls are wiped for the new campaign, so holding them for later gives you no advantage. Put that final-run currency into pouch and charm upgrades first, since both remain available throughout the second playthrough.

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How to Unlock Carnage in Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Finish the main story once. Carnage then becomes available when you start the next run using the completed-save data. It is unavailable on a fresh save, and it serves two roles at once: it restarts the campaign as New Game+ while applying the game’s toughest difficulty rules.

That distinction matters because Carnage is a commitment. Story and Action difficulty can be changed through save-point options during a normal campaign, but Carnage is locked once selected. You cannot turn it down to Story or Action after the run begins, so complete your carry-over preparation before choosing it.

Expect a much harsher combat campaign rather than a relaxed victory lap. Carnage enemies deal heavier damage, standard enemies are more willing to parry and counterattack, and some bosses gain extra moves. Griu, for example, can use an additional EEN counter to punish incoming attacks. In this mode, a single hit can be fatal, making stamina management, defensive timing, and knowing when to end a combo far more valuable than forcing damage.

What Carries Over Into Carnage New Game+

The Onimusha Way of the Sword New Game Plus transfer rules favor long-term utility upgrades and character progression. Your second run begins with a fresh campaign structure, but several investments still matter immediately.

Progression element	Does it carry over?	What it means for Carnage
Skill trees	Yes	Previously unlocked skills remain available, preserving Musashi’s combat options.
Oni Armaments	Yes, after reacquiring the first one	Pick up the first Oni Armament in the new campaign to restore the carried-over armament progression.
Pouch upgrades	Yes	Capacity and utility improvements remain active, making them a priority before starting Carnage.
Charm upgrades	Yes	Charm investment survives the transition and continues to support the second run.
Lion Dogs	Yes	Rescued Lion Dog progress remains completed instead of requiring another full collection sweep.

Skill trees stay unlocked

Your skill-tree progression transfers into Carnage. This is the most useful part of the New Game+ package because it preserves the actions and combat tools earned during the first clear, even while the raw upgrade levels on your gear return to baseline.

That retained moveset is especially important against Carnage enemies that counter more aggressively. Musashi’s defensive toolkit gives you ways to control dangerous exchanges: a well-timed block can become a parry, parries help build the Blaze gauge, and a clean dodge can feed the Reflex meter. Once Reflex is full, the next successful dodge triggers slow motion and opens a Reflex combo window.

Oni Armaments return after the first pickup

Oni Armaments can look missing when the Carnage run starts. They are not permanently lost. Progression returns after you pick up the first Oni Armament again in the new campaign. Treat that first reacquisition as the trigger that reconnects the carried-over armament state to your second run.

Do not confuse this with weapon upgrade levels carrying over. The armament collection and progression are retained after that early pickup, but sword enhancement levels still reset. Carnage preserves the framework of your build, then makes you rebuild its raw power inside the new campaign.

Pouches and charms are the best pre-Carnage investments

Pouch upgrades and charm upgrades carry over, which makes them the safest place to spend materials before entering Carnage. Pouches improve the practical resources you can bring through a punishing run, while upgraded charms remain part of your long-term setup rather than becoming another reset expense.

This is the key economy rule: materials disappear, but the pouch and charm improvements bought with them do not. If you are choosing between sitting on a pile of upgrade materials or converting those materials into a permanent pouch or charm benefit, take the permanent upgrade before starting New Game+.

Lion Dogs remain rescued

Lion Dog progress also carries over. You do not need to redo completed Lion Dog rescues from scratch in Carnage, so that collection state is already secured when the campaign resets. This is useful for completion-focused players because the second run can focus on surviving Carnage and clearing its required objectives instead of repeating every collection task.

What Resets When You Start Carnage

The trap is expecting Carnage to import your entire endgame character. It does not. The campaign resets, its side activities reset, and several expensive upgrade tracks return to their starting state.

Progression element	What happens in Carnage	Practical effect
Upgrade materials	Reset	Spend them before beginning the new run.
Souls	Reset	Previous red-soul currency and resource stock do not transfer.
Side-mission progress	Reset	Optional mission completion begins again for the new campaign.
Clothing upgrade levels	Reset	Outfit progression must be rebuilt.
Sword upgrade levels	Reset	Damage enhancement returns to the starting level.
Oni Gauntlet upgrade levels	Reset	Health, armament gauge, and related gauntlet growth begin fresh.
Spirit Mirror progression	Reset	Save-point progression follows the new campaign route again.
Oni Bow	Reset	The bow must be obtained again during the new playthrough.

Weapon, clothing, and gauntlet levels all reset

Yes, Carnage resets sword upgrade levels. It also resets clothing upgrades and Oni Gauntlet upgrade levels. Your retained skill tree can make Musashi more flexible than a truly fresh character, but the health, damage, and armament-gauge growth associated with gear progression must be rebuilt during the second campaign.

This is why Carnage’s opening can feel unexpectedly severe. You have more techniques and game knowledge than you did at the start of the first playthrough, yet you no longer have the upgraded damage and durability that supported your late-game build. Use the early chapters to re-establish your basic upgrades instead of playing as if your fully developed first-run gear is still equipped.

Souls and upgrade materials are gone

Souls and upgrade materials reset when the New Game+ campaign begins. This includes the red-soul resource used for upgrades, skill-related spending, and material purchases. A stockpile has no carry-over value, so finish spending before you commit to Carnage.

The clean order is to secure pouch upgrades first, finish charm upgrades next, and then use remaining materials on any first-run upgrades that still help you complete the current save. Do not enter Carnage with unused materials because you expect to purchase your early second-run upgrades immediately; those resources will be gone.

Side missions and route progress begin again

Side-mission progress resets along with story progress and Spirit Mirror progression. Carnage is a second campaign, so quests, route access, and saves are rebuilt along the way. The Oni Bow must also be acquired again. Lion Dogs are the major collection exception: their rescued state remains carried over.

Prepare Your Completed Save Before Starting Carnage

• Finish pouch upgrades. They carry over and provide permanent value for the harder run.
• Finish charm upgrades. Charms also survive the transition and remain useful from the start of Carnage.
• Spend all upgrade materials. Materials reset, so convert them into useful first-run progression before leaving the save behind.
• Spend souls where they still provide value. Your prior soul stock does not transfer into the new campaign.
• Use Practice Grounds for boss drills. The mode provides a risk-free place to practice EEN and chain EEN timing, Blade Barrage counters, and difficult boss reactions before the higher-stakes run.
• Accept that gear must be rebuilt. Sword, clothing, and Oni Gauntlet levels are reset even though your skills, pouches, charms, Lion Dogs, and eventual armaments return.

Practice Grounds are especially worthwhile before a Carnage clear because the mode rewards defense that is deliberate rather than reactive panic. Read attack startup, then choose between parry, deflect, dodge, or an EEN attempt. Deflect is unlocked during story progression rather than being available immediately, while Issen requires striking at the exact instant an enemy attacks. A successful Issen can chain into nearby enemies, turning a dangerous group into a fast clear when the timing is clean.

For bosses, drain stamina before committing to longer strings. Heavy attacks are slower but can stagger opponents and interrupt their immediate dodge response; light attacks are quicker one-handed strikes that are easier to fit into brief punish windows. Carnage makes that balance more important because reckless damage trades are much more likely to end the attempt.

Carnage and the Platinum Route

The platinum requires at least two full playthroughs: the first campaign unlocks Carnage, and the second must clear Carnage for the True Onimusha completion objective. There are no missable trophies forcing a perfect first playthrough, so the two-run requirement is the main structure to plan around.

Completion estimates range from roughly 35-50 hours on an efficient route to around 60-70 hours when cleanup takes longer. Boss Rematch can handle focused practice and post-clear cleanup, which is more efficient than treating every replayed campaign encounter as a blind practice session.

New Game+ Carry-Over Answers

Weapon levels reset in Carnage New Game+

Sword upgrade levels reset when Carnage begins. Clothing and Oni Gauntlet upgrade levels reset too, including the fresh start for health, armament gauge, and damage growth. Skill trees remain unlocked, and Oni Armaments return after you collect the first armament in the new run.

Carnage unlock requirement

Complete the campaign once, then use that completed save to begin Carnage. Carnage is unavailable on a fresh save, functions as Onimusha: Way of the Sword New Game Plus, and cannot be changed back to Story or Action difficulty once the Carnage run starts.

Best Way to Start the Second Run

Enter Carnage with pouch and charm upgrades finished, every spare material spent, and the expectation that your campaign gear will be rebuilt from baseline. Your retained skill tree, Lion Dogs, and returning Oni Armaments give the second playthrough a real foundation, but Carnage still demands careful defense and steady upgrade recovery. Treat it as a fresh hard-mode campaign with selective permanent progression, and the reset rules will work in your favor instead of costing you a stockpile at the transition.