Nioh guide: strategy and tips for combat, bosses, elements, co-op and more

By Alex Donaldson

Become a master yokai-slaying samurai.

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Nioh has been a long time coming, and its development was no simple matter. At first it was a traditional Japanese RPG, then a Musou-like hack-and-slash style game. Its final release takes a very different form indeed – a thrilling and difficult action RPG that seems to take a number of cues from Dark Souls while also featuring pretty damn cool action-based combat that Nioh’s developer Team Ninja are known for in their Ninja Gaiden series.

It’s good stuff. The reviews agree. Much as with Dark Souls, however, elements of the game can sometimes be a little obtuse or frustrating, so if you’re preparing to go in or if you’re already knee-deep in William’s adventure but struggling, we’ve got some top guide pages and top tips and tricks for you based on our many hours with the game pre-launch.

From understanding the level up stats to fiddling with weapon stances, weapon familiarity and stamina management, we go over some of Nioh’s systems, preparing you to make the most of them to avoid too many deaths… though be warned, you will still die. A lot. So, let’s get to it…

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Nioh Strategy Guide & Tips: Major things you need to know

Nioh is a bit of a weird game at times – sometimes it’ll obviously hold your hand and direct you while other times it seems to take a sadistic pleasure in letting you flounder a bit. Allow us to fill in the gaps some – our guide pages will help you not to get so lost in Nioh’s myriad systems.

Tips for Combat: Stance, Stamina, Ki Pulse, Ninjitsu and more

Nioh’s combat is hard. It aims to recreate the precise, perfect movements of a samurai in a sense – and as a result some might even argue it’s a little bit harder than Souls, with more core combat mechanics to worry about at any given moment. To help ensure you don’t get lost, read this – our top beginners’ tips for samurai combat in the game.

16 things you didn’t know you could do in Nioh

First off, let us guide you through some aspects of Nioh that the game itself isn’t all that good at exposing you to. Some of its mechanics and systems are surprisingly hidden – so here’s sixteen points we think you should know.

What the elemental effects do, and how to use them

Like most RPGs, Nioh features the classic elements such as Fire, Water, Lightning and Earth. Each element has its own unique effects, though not all of those effects are as as obvious or as clear-cut as you might think. Here, we explain what each does, and offer up some strategies for their use.

How to get Ochoko Cups to summon visitors for co-op play

Ochoko cups are the all-important item that allows you to summon other players into your Nioh world to help you out in co-op. The catch? They’re pretty rare. We explain how to farm a bunch of them with ease.

How to respec your character and reset your skill points

If you make a mistake and take William down a path you come to regret, all isn’t lost – you can fairly easily reset him for a relatively reasonable price – we explain how to do just that in this guide page.

The Sloth Talisman in Nioh is so broken, it makes boss fights a joke

This little strategy is very likely to be patched because it’s so damn broken, but if a boss in Nioh is giving you a lot of trouble you might want to consider deploying the Sloth Talisman – a powerful little item that really makes mincemeat of bosses. Some might call it cheating, though…

How to beat every boss – strategies, weaknesses and tips

One of the things Nioh kindly borrows from the Souls series is its super-hard boss encounters, each with their own unique weaknesses that, when tackled right, can make an impossible encounter far more reasonable. On this page, we break every boss down in detail.

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