The revamped skill system in Samurai Warriors 4-II serves as a substitute for equipping items from the original game. Players can learn new skills by acquiring strategy tomes from enemies or at the shop. Other requirements include reaching a certain level and gaining access to skills adjacent to unlocked ones. While most skills are passive, others need to be equipped and activated in order to take effect. When used, a skill will recharge for a short amount of time before it becomes available once more. Characters are limited to 8 slots for usable skills.