AKAYUKI: Steel Blossoms Red beginner guide: your first session

Finish the six-step dojo tutorial first, then use its mouse-swipe attacks in the arena while following your quest tracker. Your first blade-upgrade milestone is level 5: defeating players or enemies raises your level, and a new upgrade becomes available at the forge every five levels, up to level 50.

For your first session on PC with a mouse and keyboard, keep these controls handy:

Your starting appearance and name can be changed later through CHARACTER on the title screen, so you can return to customization after learning how the sword feels.

Start with the dojo and its quest

The dojo begins with “Walk onto the mat”: use WASD to walk onto the straw mat. Work through the tutorial’s six steps before heading into arena fights. Although SKIP TUTORIAL and MAIN MENU buttons are available, completing the tutorial gives you an immediate objective as well as an introduction to the controls.

Look for PATH OF THE SWORD · 1 / 48 in the quest tracker. Its early objective, “Finish the dojo tutorial,” lists a reward of 25 currency and 50 XP. This makes finishing the dojo a concrete first progression task.

Use a mouse if possible; the tutorial specifically recommends it over a trackpad. If the swipe feels awkward, adjust Mouse Sensitivity through the settings path above. Mouse movement is part of performing a slash, so getting comfortable with that movement belongs in your initial setup.

Learn one deliberate slash before your first fight

To perform the horizontal slice taught in the dojo:

1. Equip your sword with E.
2. Walk up close to the target.
3. Move the mouse left.
4. Hold the left mouse button and swipe to the right.

The important connection is between the held click and the mouse movement: you are directing a slash through the swipe.

In the arena, Q locks onto an opponent, with a “Q lock on” prompt identifying the control. Practice selecting your opponent and making the same deliberate slash you learned in the dojo. The katana controls guide is the place to continue with the control details.

AKAYUKI is a physics-based katana fighting game on Roblox, set in a snowy Japanese valley. Where your strike lands matters: a well-aimed cut can slice an opponent in half and end the duel, while a less decisive hit can remove a limb and leave them able to fight. A severed limb does not necessarily mean the fight is over. Keep watching the opponent and the combat result rather than treating every visible injury as a kill.

Read the fight and its result

Your health bar can display status text such as “Staggered.” The kill feed sits on the right, while LV and ¥ at the bottom right show your level and cash. The combat result panel also includes a STREAK counter.

Kills award XP and can bring Rename Spins, giving your first fights a connection to both leveling and family-name rolls. XP notifications identify a defeated opponent, while the result panel displays rewards and progression information. These are useful places to check after a fight to see what you earned.

For a more defined match format, 1v1 duels are first to three kills, and opponents can rematch. That is a separate match objective from winning a single exchange: one kill contributes toward the three-kill target.

Use quests alongside combat

After the dojo, keep checking the quest tracker for the next named objective. Early quests can reward actions within fights as well as tutorial completion. For example, “Wound fighters 30 times” awards 150 XP when completed.

That distinction matters when learning combat. A wound and a kill are different outcomes, and the wound quest gives you a separate objective to follow while practicing. Read the tracker’s wording so you know whether the current task asks for tutorial completion, wounds or another specific action.

The main progression loop is to defeat players or enemies, gain levels, then enhance your blade at the forge. Quests sit alongside that loop and provide additional XP for their stated objectives.

Work toward level 5, then use the forge

Under the version 1.3.12 progression rules, blade upgrades become available every five levels, with the maximum upgrade available at level 50. Level 5 is therefore a useful first milestone. Reaching the milestone makes an upgrade available; you still perform the blade enhancement at the forge.

One recorded gameplay session demonstrates a hands-on forge minigame; the heat-and-strike sequence here and the reheating, dipping and finishing stages below describe that example. In the recording, the player heats the blade until it is hot, then clicks to strike it while filling the dot meter at the bottom, paying attention to the shining dots to hit. Use this demonstrated sequence as an example and follow the prompts in your own forge view.

If the blade cools down, reheat it before trying to work it again. A cold blade cannot be worked in this sequence, so returning it to the heat is part of the process. Continue through the forge’s later stages, including dipping and finishing the blade, until the upgraded sword is complete. Follow the prompts in your own forge view as you move between stages.

The blade upgrade levels guide covers that progression topic beyond your first milestone.

Understand family names and customization

Rename Spins have a specific use: rerolling your family name in the character menu. Family names draw from famous historical samurai, and rarer names provide better stat boosts. This gives Rename Spins earned through combat a purpose separate from the XP used to reach blade-upgrade milestones.

Check the rarity tag beside your name when viewing your character. A starting name such as Sato Miyuki can carry a COMMON label. You can revisit your name and appearance through CHARACTER on the title screen, rather than treating your initial selection as permanent. See the family names guide for more on that system.

Customization includes HAIR, OUTFIT, ACCESSORY, FACE, SWORD, BLOOD and EFFECT tabs. Some accessories display level requirements: examples include SCARF at LV20, KABUTO at LV30 and HALF ONI at LV35. An item appearing in the accessory grid can therefore still be locked; read its level badge before assuming it is available to equip.

Once you are in an arena, M opens the in-game menu. For optional code rewards, use the maintained AKAYUKI codes page.