The best weapon types in Nioh 3

6 days ago 6

The best Nioh 3 weapons depend on which style you're using, because Samurai and Ninja each have seven different weapon types available to them. The Samurai mostly focuses on heavier, harder-hitting weapons, as its moveset is more geared towards guarding and burst breaks, while the Ninja is much more agile, and can deal damage from behind with its faster-hitting tools.

All weapons in Nioh 3 have their purpose and depending on your build, they can all be effective, but there are some that are more universal and ultimately better than others.

We've listed the three best weapon types for the Samurai, followed by the three best weapon types for the Ninja in Nioh 3 below. While you will find individually named weapons that fit into each of these weapon types, stats are randomly allocated so it's impossible for us to say a specific weapon is the best. Instead, look for weapons of your preferred type that drop with stats that enhance your play style. Use this guide in conjunction with our top Nioh 3 tips for the most success.

Best Samurai weapons in Nioh 3

Here are all of the weapon types available to the Samurai in Nioh 3, followed by the three best:

Axes
Cestuses
Dual Swords
Odachi
Spears
Switchglaives
Swords

Odachi

When it comes to dealing a lot of damage in one go, the Odachi is your best shout. This is a tremendously heavy greatsword that deals immense damage when you connect with your attacks, but you're punished if you miss. Therefore, you should only commit to the most devastating attacks when your foe is vulnerable, and this should always be paired with a faster weapon like the Dual Swords, but it is one of the most powerful weapons in the game once you master it.

Managing your Ki consumption is key (heh) if you want to succeed with the Odachi, so you should look for passive effects on all of your items that boost Ki recovery, or reduce Ki consumption. The Odachi is most devastating in high stance, but has some suitable mid and low stance martial arts that make it ideal once the stance system has become second nature to you.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Odachi:

Moonlit Snow
Retrograde Flow
Bolting Boar
Crashing Waves
Thunderbolt

Dual Swords

On the contrary to the Odachi, the Dual Swords are a much faster weapon to use, as you'd expect given you can equip one in each hand. This is the closest you can get to the Ninja play style while still being a Samurai, which means you're a little more agile, but you need to get up close and personal with your foes to be effective.

The Dual Swords are better used in either high or mid stance as opposed to low, because they're not a particularly defensive weapon, and the best parry-focused martial arts are only performable in mid stance. So the Dual Swords have high damage potential overall, but you're dealing less damage per swing, meaning the Ki consumption isn't as high.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Dual Swords:

Punish the Proud
Earthrender
Spinning Dragon
Windstorm
Sign of the Cross

Spear

Finally for the Samurai, we have the Spear, which is the most defensive of the three weapons listed here, and is your best option for maintaining distance from your foe. They're also capable of fighting multiple enemies simultaneously, which means they're versatile against big groups, but can deal heavy targeted damage during boss fights, too.

Because keeping your distance is essential though, you need to master getting the heck outta dodge when enemies close the gap against you. Much like the Odachi, because the Spear is quite a heavy weapon, Ki management is essential.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Spears:

Spear Bash
Flying Monkey
Cull the Herd
Rising Dragon
Triple Threat

Best Ninja weapons in Nioh 3

Here are all of the weapon types available to the Ninja in Nioh 3, followed by the three best:

Dual Ninja Swords
Hatchets
Kusarigama
Ninja Swords
Splitstaves
Talons
Tonfa

Kusarigama

The Kusarigama is my personal go-to weapon in Nioh 3, because it enhances the perks of the Ninja style perfectly. With the right martial arts, it can deal fight at range alongside close quarters combat, and since you don't need to worry about stances with any weapons for the Ninja, you can kit your build to balance both simultaneously.

The downside to the Kusarigama is that it isn't very good at blocking whatsoever, as just one or two hits absorbed will drain most of your Ki, and as a Ninja, maintaining enough Ki to evade is essential. If you disregard the idea of blocking and rely solely on evading though, you're in a great spot, especially when combined with the power of Ninjutsu from range.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Kusarigama:

Pollard
Foot Sweep
Whirlwind Kick
Tangle Strike
Leaping Strike

Tonfa

The Tonfa is all about being as up close and personal to your enemy as you can get, because this weapon has about as much range as your fist. It deals significantly more damage than being unarmed though, and because each attack can be executed quickly, you can chain together long combos with ease. This results in being able to stagger enemies easily due to the relentless nature of the attacks.

Because you always need to be up close and personal though, you need to master dodging, and knowing when to retreat and when to go on the offensive again. You should wear armor that boosts your toughness and physical resistance too, because you're likely going to take hits unless you land every single evade perfectly. The Tonfa is a high risk, high reward weapon that excels in the right hands.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Tonfa:

Demon Dance
Pulverize
Sacred Fire
Impenetrability
Wasp Sting

Ninja Sword

Finally, we have the Ninja Sword, which is possibly the Ninja's easiest to learn weapon, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It isn't great at blocking, but it's well-balanced in terms of speed and damage, and a lot of the best martial arts are found in similar versions with other weapons, so it's great at teaching you the basics.

You'll want a fairly balanced build for the Ninja Sword, with a particular focus on Ki management, because every action you take will use a considerable amount of it. There's high potential here if you can master the weapon though.

Here are some of the best martial arts for the Ninja Swords: