Nioh 3, much like its predecessors, is a game that doesn't pull any punches. Not long after having become a time traveler in pursuit of Kunimatsu, you will face your first massive roadblock with a difficult boss fight against one of the powerful "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen": Yamagata Masakage.
Rise, Warrior of the East. Here's how to beat Yamagata Masakage in Nioh 3.
Table of contents
Overview
Yamagata Masakage is a major roadblock that can be frustrating even for veterans of the Nioh series. At this stage, you only have access to the Middle stance in Samurai Style, which is a massive limitation if you're coming straight from Nioh or Nioh 2, and you haven't had enough time to come to grips with new mechanics like switching between Samurai and Ninja styles.
With the limited equipment options and the inability to access any of the Skill Trees to learn new abilities, taking down the general serving Takeda Shingen forces you to use the little you have at your disposal to its full potential.
Main Strategy: Hit-And-Run
The key to defeating Yamagata Masakage in Nioh 3 is to employ a hit-and-run style. At the beginning of the fight, avoid attacking and focus on learning the boss's moveset to identify openings.
Once you have identified some windows of opportunity, attack the general, but stick to short, three-hit light combo strings at best with either style. At the end of your third attack, use a Ki Pulse or Mist (the Ninja Style equivalent of Ki Pulse) to shorten the recovery of your attack and back away immediately to restore your Ki.
Maintaining high Ki is just as fundamental in this fight as keeping health up. Masakage hits hard, and if your Ki is depleted while blocking his attacks, you will likely be sent back to the Shrine. A great way to keep your Ki up and deal some burst damage is switching to Ninja Style (which recovers Ki faster than Samurai Style) and throw Shurikens.
The secret weapon in this fight, however, is the Burst Break. Very often, Masakage will use a powerful attack signaled by a red aura. By changing your style as the attack is about to connect, you not only will stop the attack, but also deal tons of Ki damage. As this requires a certain degree of mastery you may not yet possess, however, the hit-and-run core of the strategy doesn't change much.
Why Ninja Style Works Best
Ninja Style works nicely in this fight, not only because of its speed, but also thanks to the other Ninjutsu ability available to you: Uncanny Flame. This ability deals fire damage and can inflict the "Burn" status, which deals constant damage for a few seconds once the element is fully accumulated. Requiring 4 successful uses to build up the status ailment, it's best to use them in quick succession, build charges by attacking Masakage to use them again.
Ninja Style's quick attack speed also works great to build Arts Proficiency, which is your true damage-dealing weapon in this fight.
Maximizing Damage with Arts Proficiency
To deal significant damage to Yamagata Masakage, you must take advantage of the Arts Proficiency mechanic. Once the bar behind the stances interface is filled in the lower right corner of the screen, you can easily perform a powerful combo:
- Start by unleashing an air heavy attack in Samurai Style.
- Follow up by pressing the Heavy Attack button.
- Any follow-up is risky unless the boss is out of Ki, but continuing the combo may still be worth the risk if you're at full health, depending on your weapon of choice. As I started with the Sword, I chained the air heavy attack into Iai Quickdraw (R1+Circle) to deal serious damage relatively quickly.
Living Artifact
At roughly the halfway point of the battle, you will gain the ability to activate Living Artifact (Triangle + Circle / Y+B). This grants temporary invincibility, imbues your attacks with the Thunder element, and enhances your moveset in both combat styles.
Even with invincibility, however, do not go all out mindlessly. The boss can still block your attacks and retaliate. Be prudent to preserve the gauge and make Living Artifact last longer.
If you remain careful, heal when necessary, and avoid overextending your offense, Masakage will eventually go down. Once he does, the Nioh 3 proper experience finally begins.
When In Need, Ask For Help
Although the battle against Yamagata Masakage is manageable with the proper strategy, the fact that you do not have access to many of the mechanics that define Nioh 3 makes it particularly frustrating.
In case you are having trouble taking down the powerful general, right behind the Shrine near the combat arena, there's a Benevolent Grave to summon an NPC ally for the fight. While this ally is not particularly powerful and will go down long before the end of the battle, it can help take the heat off you at times, giving you precious time to heal or attack from afar using shurikens and Uncanny Flame Ninjutsu
This concludes our first Warrior of the East guide, where we detail strategies to defeat Nioh 3's strongest bosses. For more help, visit our Nioh 3: Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub.
Strategy developed and tested in three different runs of the fight 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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