UNIT NAME: The Ronin
ALIGNMENT: Dark
CATEGORIES: Dark Side, Attacker, Sith
Basic Ability: Wandering Steel Hums
Final Text: Deal Physical damage to the target enemy and gain Offense Up for 1 turn. Each time this ability is used, increase the damage of Oaths Buried Beneath Silence by 20% (stacking, max 100%) until the end of battle. R5-D56 gains 10% Max Health (stacking, max 100%) until the end of battle. If the target enemy is Shocked and the ally in the Leader slot is a Gungan Sith, this attack is guaranteed to critically hit if able.
Synergies:
- Darth Jar Jar (Gungan Sith leader): When the target is Shocked, set up by R5-D56's Arc Jab this attack is guaranteed to critically hit, creating a punishing offensive loop between the two partners.
- R5-D56: His Max Health scales each time this ability is used, so the more aggressively the Ronin attacks, the tougher his companion becomes.
- Both Basic and Special empower each other; use them frequently throughout the battle to continuously ramp up the Ronin's total damage output.
Design Notes: Think of this ability as your investment phase. The more you use it early, the scarier Oaths Buried Beneath Silence gets later, so resist the urge to pop the Special immediately. Stack a few Basics first, and by the time you hit the Special, the damage will hit noticeably harder. Once R5-D56 is on the field, your rotation opens up: have R5-D56 land Arc Jab to Shock the target, then follow with the Basic for a guaranteed critical hit. That loop is your bread and butter under Darth Jar Jar.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: Does the damage increase to Oaths Buried Beneath Silence stack across the whole battle?
Answer: Yes. Each use of Wandering Steel Hums adds 20% bonus damage to Oaths Buried Beneath Silence, stacking up to a maximum of 100% until the end of battle.
Question: When exactly does the guaranteed critical hit apply?
Answer: Two conditions must both be true at the time of the attack: the target enemy must be Shocked, and the ally in the Leader slot must be a Gungan Sith (e.g., Darth Jar Jar). Both must be met simultaneously.
Special 1 - Oaths Buried Beneath Silence (Cooldown: 3)
Final Text: Deal Physical damage to the target enemy. If they have Resilient Defense or Taunt, this ability deals 300% more damage and inflicts Armor Shred until the end of the encounter, which can't be evaded or resisted.
Inflict 2 stacks of Bleed (max 6) until the end of the encounter, which can't be dispelled or resisted. Each time this ability is used, increase the damage of Wandering Steel Hums by 100% (stacking, max 300%) until the end of battle. The Ronin Siphons Critical Damage from the target enemy, which can't be resisted, and R5-D56 gains the same amount.
Siphon Critical Damage: Gain a percentage of Critical Damage equal to this unit's Siphon until the end of the encounter and the target loses that much Critical Damage (stacking, excludes raid bosses and Galactic Legends)
Synergies:
- Stacking Bleed ensures enemies who survive the initial strike remain in danger and since it can't be dispelled or resisted, there is no escaping it once applied.
- The Siphon Critical Damage effect steals raw Critical Damage from the target. The stronger their critical strikes were meant to be, the more powerful the Ronin and R5-D56 become in return.
- Each use also stacks damage onto the Ronin's Basic; the two abilities power each other up simultaneously, so the longer the fight goes, the more dangerous every swing becomes.
Design Notes: This is your priority ability against tanky enemies, if they have Resilient Defense or Taunt, always hit them with this first before anything else. The Armor Shred it inflicts makes every subsequent hit from the whole squad hurt more. Bleed stacks are permanent and unresistable, so keep piling them on the same target.
The cross-empowerment with Basic is deliberate. Every time you use this, your Basic hits harder, and vice versa. The two abilities are meant to snowball together.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: Does the 300% bonus damage apply if the enemy gains Resilient Defense or Taunt after this ability is activated?
Answer: No. The enemy must have Resilient Defense or Taunt at the moment this ability is used for the bonus damage and Armor Shred to apply.
Question: Does R5-D56 gain the same amount of Siphon as the Ronin from this ability?
Answer: Yes. The Ronin Siphons Critical Damage from the target enemy and R5-D56 gains that same amount; both benefit equally from each use.
Unique 1 - Mercy Left Behind (Zeta, Omicron)
Final Text: At the start of battle, The Ronin gains 10 stacks of Boiling Point, which can't be copied or dispelled. At the start of each of his turns, he dispels 1 stack. If there is a Gungan Sith ally in the Leader slot, dispel an additional 5 stacks. If there is a Sith Healer ally, dispel an additional 5 stacks. When Boiling Point expires, summon R5-D56. The Ronin has +50% Critical Damage. Whenever a Manipulated enemy begins their turn, The Ronin gains Advantage for 1 turn.
At the start of his turn, he gains 25% Critical Damage (stacking) for each enemy with Resilient Defense, Stealth, or Taunt until the end of his turn. Whenever The Ronin or R5-D56 scores a critical hit, both gain 3 Siphon until the end of the encounter. When R5-D56 is summoned, The Ronin gains 30% Defense Penetration and Max Health until the end of battle and all Sith allies gain 100% bonus Protection for 1 turn. Whenever an enemy attacks out of turn, The Ronin gains 10% Turn Meter.
Boiling Point: When stacks reach zero, R5-D56 is summoned.
While in Territory Wars and all allies are non-Galactic Legend Sith: While R5-D56 is active, The Ronin has 50 Speed. While The Ronin is active, R5-D56 has 50% Offense. Whenever The Ronin attacks the enemy in the Leader slot, he gains Alert and Speed Up for 2 turns. Whenever a Manipulated enemy starts their turn, The Ronin and R5-D56 gain 5 Siphon until the end of the encounter. Allies with Emergency Powers gain 50% Defense Penetration. Whenever an enemy with Bleed gains Resilient Defense, Stealth, or Taunt, they lose 10% Max Health (stacking) and The Ronin gains 10% Turn Meter.
Synergies:
- Darth Jar Jar’s Manipulate effect on enemies directly feeds the Ronin's Advantage gain, creating a near-constant stream of free critical hit opportunities. Every one of those crits builds Siphon for both the Ronin and R5-D56 simultaneously.
- When R5-D56 is summoned, every Sith ally on the team immediately gains 100% bonus Protection, so the summon moment has a squad-wide impact rather than just being a personal power spike for The Ronin. From that point forward, every crit from either unit feeds Siphon into both of them.
Design Notes: Boiling Point was the most exciting mechanic in this kit. How do you make a companion arrival feel exciting regardless of your team, while still rewarding the right composition? The answer was making the countdown variable. Run The Ronin alone and R5-D56 shows up eventually. Bring Darth Jar Jar and a Sith Healer, and R5-D56 is on the field turn one. That flexibility is intentional, but the Darth Jar Jar build is clearly where the kit wants to live.
In Territory Wars specifically, prioritize attacking the enemy Leader slot whenever possible. Alert and Speed Up for 2 turns adds up fast.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: Do all three Boiling Point removal conditions apply at the same time?
Answer: Yes. The base 1 stack, the Gungan Sith leader bonus 5, and the Sith Healer bonus 5 all dispel simultaneously at the start of the Ronin's turn.
Question: When does the Advantage from Manipulated enemies apply?
Answer: Whenever a Manipulated enemy begins their turn, The Ronin gains Advantage for 1 turn. This requires Darth Jar Jar's Manipulate effect to be active on enemies, without it, this condition never triggers.
Question: Does the 100% bonus Protection when R5-D56 is summoned apply to all Sith allies on the team?
Answer: Yes. When R5-D56 is summoned, all Sith allies gain 100% bonus Protection for 1 turn.
Question: Do the ability names Wandering Steel Hums/Oaths Buried Beneath Silence/Mercy Left Behind intentionally make a Haiku?
Answer: :D
Summon: R5-D56
R5-D56 is the Ronin's constant companion across both Star Wars: Visions episodes. He doesn't appear at the start of battle, he waits in the wings until the Ronin is ready, reflected by the Boiling Point countdown. Once summoned, the two move as one: every time the Ronin takes a turn, R5-D56 immediately follows with a bonus turn, ensuring the duo always strikes in tandem.
Basic: Arc Jab
Deal Physical damage to target enemy and Shock them for 1 turn. The Ronin gains Protection Up (50%) for 1 turn. If the target enemy has Bleed, this attack deals 100% more damage.
Design Notes: R5-D56 was one of the most joyful parts of this kit to design. We deliberately chose to have Arc Jab protect the Ronin rather than just deal damage. R5-D56 isn't here to steal the spotlight; he's here to make The Ronin shine. when players master the Shock-into-guaranteed-crit loop themselves, we hope that it feels like a little gift we left in there for them.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: Does Protection Up on the Ronin stack if Arc Jab is used multiple times?
Answer: Protection Up refreshes its duration to 1 turn each time Arc Jab is used. It does not stack additional layers.
Special: Guided Payload (Cooldown: 3)
Deal Physical damage to all enemies. Deal an additional instance of damage for each enemy (max 6) with Resilient Defense, Stealth, or Taunt.
R5-D56 Siphons Critical Chance from the target enemy, which can't be resisted, and The Ronin gains the same amount. The Ronin has +50 Speed for the rest of the encounter. Inflict a stack of Bleed (max 6) until the end of the encounter, which can't be dispelled or resisted if the enemy has Resilient Defense, Stealth, or Taunt.
Siphon Critical Chance: Gain a percentage of Critical Chance equal to this unit's Siphon until the end of the encounter, and the target loses that much Critical Chance (stacking, excludes raid bosses and Galactic Legends)
Design Notes: This is best used after enemies already have Bleed from The Ronin's Special, in Territory Wars, enemies with Bleed who then try to gain Resilient Defense or Taunt will immediately lose 10% Max Health, so Guided Payload's Bleed application becomes a setup for that trap. The more defensive the enemy team, the more hits this lands and the more Bleed it spreads. Use it when you see enemies stacking defensive buffs.
The +50 Speed bonus to the Ronin is permanent; timing this early in the fight means the Ronin accelerates significantly for the rest of the battle.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: Does R5-D56 keep the Siphon Critical Chance he steals, or does it transfer to the Ronin?
Answer: Both. R5-D56 Siphons Critical Chance from the target enemy and The Ronin gains the same amount, both units benefit from each use.
Unique: Follow the Blade
R5-D56 gains 25% Max Health and Protection for each Sith ally. Whenever The Ronin starts his turn, R5-D56 gains a bonus turn. On summon, R5-D56 gains Crit Chance Up and Defense Penetration Up for 2 turns.
Whenever an enemy gains bonus Turn Meter, R5-D56 gains 1 stack of Boil Over (max 10) until the end of the encounter. R5-D56 gains 10% Offense per stack of Boil Over. When R5-D56 reaches 10 stacks of Boil Over, The Ronin gains a bonus turn and dispels all stacks of Boil Over at the end of that turn.
Boil Over: Abilities gain additional effects.
Design Notes: The bonus turn whenever the Ronin acts is the core of the duo. Every Ronin turn immediately becomes a Ronin + R5 turn; it's a huge action-economy advantage that builds throughout the fight. Boil Over is the other piece: every time any enemy gains bonus Turn Meter from any source, R5 builds a stack. At 10 stacks, the Ronin gets a free bonus turn. Against fast enemies or leaders who hand out a lot of Turn Meter, this triggers constantly, and the Ronin can end up taking far more turns than the enemy expects.
Inspiration: R5-D56 follows the Ronin everywhere, through repairs, scouting, and direct combat. "Follow the Blade" reflects that inseparable bond. The bonus turn mechanic represents R5 moving in perfect sync with the Ronin, always one step behind the blade.
FAQ/Clarity:
Question: What qualifies as "bonus Turn Meter" for Boil Over stacks?
Answer: Any effect that grants bonus Turn Meter to an enemy, leader abilities, counter-attacks, taunt-triggered effects, ability effects, and so on. Each instance grants R5-D56 one stack of Boil Over, up to a maximum of 10.
Question: Does R5-D56's Offense from Boil Over stacks reset after the 10-stack bonus turn triggers?
Answer: Yes. When The Ronin gains his bonus turn from 10 Boil Over stacks, all stacks of Boil Over are dispelled at the end of that turn, resetting R5-D56's Offense bonus and allowing the cycle to begin again.
Question: Is R5-D56 affected by standard summoned unit restrictions?
Answer: Yes. R5-D56 is a summoned unit; his stats scale with the Ronin's stats, he can't be revived, he can't be summoned in certain raids, and he escapes battle if there are no other allies remain.
Capital Games Team
