Fugitives can be found throughout the world of Rise of the Ronin, unlocking new combat styles if you manage to defeat them in combat.
Since Fugitives are on the run from the law, some of them only appear after certain criteria have been met. Sometimes you’ll have trouble getting a Fugitive to appear during your Rise of the Ronin journey, however, and you may not be able to fight them until you unlock certain items from the main story.
What Are Fugitives in Rise of the Ronin?
Fugitives are special enemies in Rise of the Ronin that are marked with a diamond icon on the map. These are powerful enemies that act as minibosses in the open world similar to Formiddable Foes during missions, complete with their own health bars and goons patrolling the area. If you defeat them, you can unlock new combat styles for certain weapon types pictured next to their names on the map.
You can use stealth to begin the battle with them, but you won’t be able to completely assassinate Fugitives since they work similarly to other bosses in Rise of the Ronin. As you defeat more Fugitives, you can return to the Official in Yokohama to purchase unique rewards for your efforts.
How to Make Fugitives Spawn in Rise of the Ronin
Some Fugitives only spawn under certain conditions, so check the map icons for details. Usually, they’ll only spawn at a certain time of day. To change the time in Rise of the Ronin, just equip and use the Pocket Watch item. You’ll get the Pocket Watch from Sakamoto Ryoma very early in Rise of the Ronin, so just continue the main story and get to the city of Yokohama if you haven’t already.
Some Fugitives (like Temple-Crasher Yosuke in southern Yokohama) also seem to be bugged in Rise of the Ronin and they won’t show up no matter what you do. If you find a Fugitive that won’t spawn no matter what, close the game entirely and reload your save before visiting the area again. If that Fugitive still won’t spawn, there’s nothing you can do besides continuing the main story and checking back later. They’ll show up eventually, but it’s frustrating that a few of them are bugged like this.