Malicite Mass is one of the most crucial upgrade materials in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. This rare resource condenses pure Malice into a solid item you need to push gear past its normal limits. Upgrading your Oni Gauntlet and Hozuki Pouch to their max level requires a solid stash of it, but the game is stingy with drops and doesn’t explicitly spell out how to keep acquiring Malicite Mass once your campaign run winds down. So, here we are to help you find it.
How Many Malicite Masses are Needed to Upgrade Oni Gauntlet
Malicite Mass is pure, concentrated Malice that powers up your late-game abilities at the Spirit Mirror. To take the Oni Gauntlet all the way from Level 1 to Level 5, you’re going to need 30 Malicite Masses. On top of that, you’ll have to collect 55 Malicites, 34 Byakue’s Talismans, and 22 Dohatsu-ten’s Horns to finish the tree. And to upgrade the Hozuki Pouch: Awakening from Level 1 to Level 3, that’s another demand for 3 Malicite Masses.
Where to Find Malicite Masses in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
You can get Malicite Mass in the game by purifying or sealing Genma Rifts. When a rift opens, you must eliminate all Genma that emerge from it and then seal it. In later stages and around the tougher Genma Rifts, you’ll encounter minibosses like the avian Byakue and the winged Dohatsu-ten.
Keep looking for the red rift, and when Shizuka warns you and the orb pulses a heavy crimson, immediately hit it with a ranged shot. If left unchecked, it will bleed Malice across the combat zone and restrict your movement.
Once the enemies are dealt with, interact with the prompt to Absorb Genma Rift with your Gauntlet. Early-game rifts only pay out base Malicite, but mid-to-late ones, along with side mission rifts like in The Light of Vengeance, also drop the item. You can also earn a guaranteed Malicite Mass drop by tracking down and killing the Byakue in the Underground Laboratory.
If you have plenty of spare Red Souls, you can buy a few Malicite Masses from Yorimasa’s Monument. Complete the story mission The Roots of All Evil to unlock 4 Malicite Masses in the monument shop stock for 10,000 Red Souls each. And by finishing In the Light of an Icy Moon, you’ll find 3 more appeared in the shop at the same price.
How to Farm Extra Malicite Mass in the Endgame
If you have cleared every mission and are still short of the 30 Malicite Mass needed for the Gauntlet, you can keep farming them in Eastern Kyoto even after endgame:
- Travel to Eastern Kyoto and climb to a higher point like the Gojo-ohashi Bridge or a nearby rooftop.
- Scan the skyline until you spot a thick pillar of reddish-black smoke. These plumes mark spots where previously cleared Genma Rifts have respawned.
- Sprint to that smoke, take down the Genma pack (and Byakue, if one joins the fray), and close the rift. Sealing only one here usually nets you 1 to 2 Malicite Masses, a few regular Malicites, and maybe some Byakue Talismans.
How to Respawn Genma Rifts to Keep Farming
After you seal a rift in Eastern Kyoto, you won’t see any other smoke plumes nearby, but don’t let that bother you. Head over to the nearest Spirit Mirror or checkpoint to save your game, exit to the Title Screen, and reload your save to return to the high ground.
A new Gemna Rift will spawn somewhere else in the region. Repeat this loop as many times as you like, and you’ll collect the quantity of Malicite Masses you need to fully upgrade your Oni Gauntlet.
