The best Nioh 3 tips to help you complete the game

1 week ago 5

You'll need some top Nioh 3 tips if you're jumping into the latest Soulslike from Team Ninja, because it is absolutely massive, with countless Yokai and human enemies alike, not to mention all of the bosses and places of interest on the map. There is also a vast array of different mechanics and systems at play, so it's a tricky beast to get your head around, especially if you're new to the series.

So if you're looking for a little assistance to help Tokugawa Takechiyo end their brother, Tokugawa Kunimatsu, and his command over the Yokai army, we're here to help. These are our top Nioh 3 tips.

Unlock the high and low Samurai stances as early as possible

For the Samurai style, the high and low stances are essential for maximizing your efficiency, as they allow you to play more offensively and defensively respectively. However, they're locked behind the Samurai skill tree, so you should spend points unlocking them as quickly as you can.

If you're a returning player from the first two games in the series, these will feel familiar to you, because Samurai was previously the only style you could play. Specific martial arts and skills are only available when using each stance, so it opens up your options considerably.

Complete 'The Way of' optional missions as soon as you unlock them

"The Way of" missions in the menu in Nioh 3.

In the Eternal Rift, which is essentially the hub world where you can find merchants and NPCs, there'll be three side missions available titled "The Way of the X", subtitled with "Samurai," "Ninja," and "Onmyo." At first, these will be classed as novice, before eventually unlocking tougher challenges as you progress.

While you may be tempted to ignore these as they're less exciting than exploring the world around you, completing them is a prerequisite for certain martial arts and skills. Therefore, you should tick them off as soon as you can, so you have more abilities to consider when spending points.

Attribute upgrades are tied to specific weapon types

The level up screen showing what weapon types are linked to which skills.

Every time you have enough amrita to level up, you can upgrade one of your attributes. These will buff various stats, all of which you can see on the right-hand side of the screen, but attributes are also tied to different weapon types. Therefore, if you have a preferred weapon type, you should focus on attributes that will benefit it. For example, I've relied upon kusarigamas for most of my playthrough, so I've leveled the "skill" attribute up considerably higher than any other.

The prompt in Nioh 3 to use spirit stones to level up.

When you level up at a shrine, you may find you're just a few thousand amrita short of leveling up again. Thankfully, you don't need to leave the shrine and go into your inventory to use spirit stones. Instead, with one press of a button, you can use the exact amount of spirit stones necessary to take you to the next level up threshold. Of course, this only works if you actually have enough spirit stones in your possession, but it's a lovely quality-of-life feature that is easily overlooked.

If you're struggling with a boss, explore elsewhere and come back later

The player in Nioh 3 attacking an enemy.

Nioh 3 is much more like Elden Ring in terms of its layout and structure than any of the other games in the Nioh series, which means it's considerably more open and gives you the freedom to explore. This means that while some of the bosses are pretty tough, as soon as you make it to the Warring States period and the map opens up, you're spoiled for choice in terms of where you can explore.

As a result, you should tick off as many optional markers and kill all the Yokai and human foes you encounter. You can end up significantly overleveled this way and as such, bosses will become much easier. You can also summon the avatars of other players who have used Righteous Jaspers, so you have an ally for every fight.

Accumulate Ochoko Cups by killing as many revenants as possible

The player in Nioh 3 fighting against a revenant on icy terrain.

Ochoko Cups are the items required to summon other players, whether it's their avatars or real players online, but it's easy to burn through the resource very quickly when you're stuck fighting the same boss over and over. To prevent this from happening, take on every revenant — the red swords stuck in the ground, indicating where another player died — you find.

Revenants are usually fairly easy to kill. If you're taking them on as a Samurai, their attacks can be telegraphed and therefore countered, or if you're opting for a Ninja style, you can maneuver behind them for quick backstabs easily thanks to the Footstool Jump. You'll swiftly amass hundreds of Ochoko Cups this way.

Pay attention to how revenants died to prevent surprise enemy attacks

The player in Nioh 3 standing next to a bloody grave to spawn a revenant.

The death message will tell you exactly how a revenant died when you stand near the red sword, and while some of these won't be too useful because you'll be able to see the respective foe nearby, Nioh 3 is no stranger to ambushing you with hidden enemies. To prevent this as much as possible, read the death descriptions. If you can't see the type of enemy they fell to in the vicinity, be on high alert for an ambush.

Practice your burst break timing until you can land it consistently

The player fighting an enemy in Nioh 3 using a burst attack.

All enemies can perform powerful moves that can't be dodged, indicated by when they start to charge up and glow red. You can parry these, however, by performing a burst break. The timing window is strict here, but if you're finding it difficult to get out of the way in time, practice the timing until you can land it consistently during different boss fights.

Later on in the story, you'll perform a burst break by using a guardian spirit ability, which has a much more forgiving timing window. Until then, you'll need to nail the standard burst break.

Knock the stone down wells for free loot

The player standing next to a well in Nioh 3.

You'll find wells throughout all of Nioh 3, each of which has a stone resting on the edge. If you knock the stone down the well by either jumping into it or attacking it, a bucket will come flying up, and chances are, it'll drop a handful of loot. There's also a chance it brings an enemy up, so be on your guard, but it's never anything particularly tough, and killing it will also present you with extra loot.

Use shurikens to stagger human enemies right before they attack

The player standing in front of a human enemy in Nioh 3 after having thrown a shuriken.

As a ninja, one of the ninjutsu skills you can unlock is the ability to throw shurikens at your enemies from afar. These don't do much damage and shouldn't be used to significantly influence fights, especially against tougher bosses, but when fighting human enemies, they're especially useful to stagger them. Throw one right as your foe is about to come in swinging and you can knock them backwards, leaving them open to heavy attacks.

Voice lines from corpses can give hints about new enemies you're about to encounter

The player standing next to a corpse in Nioh 3 with loot on them.

When you loot a pre-placed corpse in Nioh 3, chances are you'll hear the final few words from when the poor soul was alive. Pay attention to these because while some are simply world building or there for amusement, others will give hints about upcoming enemies you haven't seen before.

For example, one voice line said in a panicked tone, "Did that lantern just move?!" Turns out, further down the path was the first instance of a disguised enemy that could change its appearance to look like a lantern. Inspecting it closer showed a slight shimmer, but without the voice line, chances are I'd have walked right past it and been ambushed.

Looking for more help with Nioh 3? Check out our guides on how to get both Glory and Yokai Teardrops.

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