In Nioh 3, the mistake you may make is treating the Samurai and Ninja styles as a binary choice, picking whichever you feel is best in each situation. And you wouldn't be terribly wrong: both styles are perfectly viable on their own and there is no direct penalty for staying in one all the time.
However, if you do that, you are limiting your potential. Switching between the two styles is the essential "next step" in the combat dance that the Nioh series has always championed.
Welcome to the Dojo. In this guide, we will go over some of the game's central combat mechanics, such as Arts Proficiency, and how they come together to dictate a very unique combat flow.
Table of contents
Why Ki Damage Matters
The key to combat in Nioh 3 remains the same as in previous entries: depleting enemy Ki. By doing so, you gain a massive advantage over enemies, no matter their type.
- Human Enemies: Once their Ki is gone, they are open to grapple attacks.
- Yokai: Lowering their Ki allows you to stagger them with any attack, and reducing their Max Ki opens them up to a Final Blow for massive damage.
While you can mostly ignore these mechanics for the majority of regular enemies during your first playthrough, dealing Ki damage is non-negotiable for bosses. It is the only way to deal high damage without them constantly retaliating and interrupting you.
The Challenge of Style Differences
In Nioh 3, depleting Ki has become slightly more challenging. Samurai Style attacks are generally slower than in Nioh 2, and the primary Ki-destroying weapon, the Tonfa, now exclusive to the Ninja Style.
Because of the sheer attack speed, the Ninja Style is naturally better at chipping away an enemy's Ki through a constant barrage of strikes, regardless of the equipped weapons. This quick pace serves a second purpose as well: building Arts Proficiency much faster.
The Power of Arts Proficiency
Arts Proficiency is the mechanic in Nioh 3 that allows you to deal boss-melting damage, not counting Living Artifact, which can still take advantage of it to utterly annihilate most enemies.
As you attack in either style, you fill the Arts Proficiency gauge. Once filled, your next Martial Art or Heavy Attack is significantly powered up. In addition, the more different attacks you chain together while the gauge is active, the more powerful each one becomes.
At this point, you can easily understand how Ki depletion and Arts Proficiency in Ninja Style start building a basic combat flow. If a Yokai isn't out of Ki, it isn't staggered by your combo, and they can and will interrupt you. Unless you equip the Oprresive Strength Samurai skill, but that opens up a survivability problem that can only be solved with advanced builds providing automatic healing by landing attacks.
The Nioh 3 Combat Loop, Distilled
With all the above in mind, the basic Nioh 3 combat loop can be distilled as such:
- Pressure With Ninja Style: Start the fight in Ninja Style to deplete the enemy's Ki and rapidly build your Arts Proficiency gauge.
- Deal Damage With Samurai Style: Once the enemy's Ki is depleted (and they are staggered), switch to Samurai Style to unleash your high-damage Strong Attacks and Martial Arts combos.
- Recovery: As your assault ends, switch back to Ninja Style after using Ki Pulse to shorten your recovery time. This allows you to recover Ki more quickly, and use Ninjutsu (whose charges should be full following your Samurai Style combo) to deal burst damage from a safe distance.
As you progress and gain a deeper understanding of these mechanics, you won’t need such a rigid structure. You'll find yourself switching styles instinctively based on the rhythm of the duel. However, for those first few hours in the Warring States, this loop is highly recommended to help you mow down Yokai and build the confidence required to become the next Shogun.
This concludes our second Enter the Dojo guide, where we dissect the Nioh 3 mechanics to achieve mastery deep dive into the combat flow. For more technical breakdowns, visit our Nioh 3: Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub.
Guide based on a full playthrough conducted in the Steam 1.01 version. Screenshots captured from the same version.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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