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wisteriafield · 2 years ago

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Finished my revisit through Nioh 1 before going back to the sequel

First of all, jesus tumblr has changed a lot since I last used it.

Streams can be found here but its roughly 17 and a half hours worth, and thats leaving out many of the side missions

preliminary thoughts will be written below about missions, bosses, and some misc thoughts

There are 20 missions in the base game, including the Prologue and Epilogue, and while one mission is just a cutscene, I’m reminded of my girlfriend saying to me that she’s gonna laugh if Nioh 2 had 20 missions because it really just dresses the game up in 3 different PS2 action games in a dark souls rpg trenchcoat (which is correct).

Any Sub-Missions mentioned are because they have a unique map that isn’t reused in Nioh 2 that is worth mentioning.

Prologue: The Man With the Guardian Spirit

The framing device of the narrative means the actual game starts in London before we head out to Japan. Because William has not technically studied kenjutsu via convenient booklet yet, this means that we’re locked in Mid Stance the entire mission, can’t ki pulse, and gain no amrita, meaning that much of the encounters and mission pace are worthless, as we’re missing 80% of the meat of the game. Just run past everything. The only thing interesting about it is that it contrasts in environment with the whole of the upcoming game’s areas. You get to hear Timothy Watson (Urianger FFXIV: Heavensward-onward) as a disembodied voice (later revealed to be John Dee). You get to hear some hamfisted final thoughts of corpses that barely tie into tutorials for them (prisoners getting tortured saying they’re getting kicked while they’re down being a tutorial for Final Blows is my favorite of them).

A little note is that is because these aren’t Japanese shrines, William uses a different emote when praying at them rather than clasping his hands, a neat little detail. Dying in the Tower of London has a different death message, font ("This Life Has Ended" vs "You Died"), and different loading screens and music.

William is made an Irishman compared to his historical counterpart so Team Ninja could give him a spirit from Celtic Mythology as his partner and justification for immortality (a Merrow named Saorise). She’s cute and speaks entirely in Gaelic.

Boss: Derrick the Executioner

He’s mostly just an axe revenant but bigger. Even when he transforms its like a cross between an Amrita Fiend (that being just a slightly upgraded Yoki). And then you beat him with a cutscene.

But now our Merrow wife was stolen!

KYUSHU REGION

Mission 1: Isle of Demons

One of the biggest criticism of the game amongst its peers is the overuse of villages, forests, and caves. While caves are definitely overused, I personally like villages and forests, and you get a couple of different types of the latter in particular even in this game.

Now the game gives a proper tutorial, although the UI for selecting your loadout is a bit dry, it does give a bit of a description of what to expect from the weapon, which the sequel doesn’t really do.

Right away, the proper opening mission gives us an insight into one of the main ways this game’s level design differs from Dark Souls, in that there are multiple routes that converge to a point that can cater to different levels of strength at a time when you play them and discretion, the shorter path of most resistance and the more sensible route for the first time player, but with the way the NG+ system works in this game, your next rodeo you’ll be prepared to handle it.

In that regard, this is a well designed mission to start with. There are few avenues where you will be ambushed with any level of actual threat. There are a few yokai, but mostly dwellers and any yokai realm enemies are Yoki. You’ll mostly contend with humans who have no super armor on their attacks, so its just a matter of picking your fights and watching your ki using ki pulses. You’ll occasionally run into a ranged enemy from a high perch, but not the kind that lure you into a fight before they engage you (which the game loves to try and goad you into later on).

The village fringes are easy to navigate, and upon seeing the slope leading to the larger building atop a hill guarded by multiple enemies, a player will likely be spurned toward the forest to go around and sneak along the edge of the cliff, before getting to the main village and then to the coast on the other side where the boss awaits.

Boss: Onryoki

Starter boss that is emblematic of a lot of the lackluster concept of many Nioh 1 bosses. Slow, but easy to circle around so it’ll constantly be using its back attacks (which are always meaty spin attacks), the active frames being annoying to work around because enemy damage is absurd that it’ll probably kill you. The boss becomes much more bearable once the chains break at a certain HP%.

They overuse this boss way too much.

We now have access to Novice Ninjutsu, which finaly allows us to backstab unaware enemies, among other things.

Mission 2: Deep in the Shadows

Here we get the much-loathed caves. They introduce a few new enemies (Ninja Yoki, One-eyed Oni, Large Skeletons). Enemies do a lot of ki damage and there’s a dearth of footing, so players will probably fall to their death a lot of they’re not getting ki broken and killed after unless you’re a spacing god like me with Yoki lol.

Boss: Hino Enma

When people talk about preferring Nioh 1, they usually mention this boss as this super hard wall that speaks of the game’s difficulty (and for that type of gamer, means they think the game is better). In reality she largely just has basic attacks that do a lot of ki damage that have a lot of active frames that make her annoying, on top of her paralysis shouts. The most interesting thing is that she hits you with an umbrella sometimes, but her gimmick is the paralysis.

I just activated Living Weapon and beat her up, LW is so silly. She’s not hard, just annoyingly simple.

Afterwards we meet Okatsu, who will be conspicuously absent in the DLCs and sequel likely due to not being able to use Emi Takei’s likeness. She seems like a surrogate for the modern viewer’s values commenting on the insanity of honor-based warrior culture and the amount of death it brings.

Both of the Sub-Missions that take place here involve the Heshikiri Hasebe being lost, come on, man.

Mission 3: The Spirit Stone Slumbers

I’m actually pretty fond of the surface level of Dazaifu Temple. Thankfully the water is only knee high so its not lethal. It’s relatively level but gets players more familiar with ambushes.

Boss: Nue

Thunderbolts do an annoyingly high amount of damage, some come out a bit unfairly quick (particularly when recovering from ki break). As always, any boss that specializes in lightning damage will be annoying because shock status is the worst and slows you down. Trying to hit the the stomach when glowing to ki break it instantly is rather inconsistent.

After beating the Nue we go to the underground section, which i hated a lot more because it was so repetitive I got lost and ran in circles a bit, and the stone sentinels are tedious to fight in the early game due to their high damage and slow vulnerability. There’s a good reason they didn’t bring this enemy back for the sequel. They’re like lesser umi-bozu if they actually had the potential to kill you on their own.

Ginchiyo Tachibana joins us for the last hallway of the mission. She has unique animations posing with her hand by her sword and while moving too, but I don’t believe she has any unique attacks like her husband. You can run back to a previous section to bathe in a hot spring and she’ll be appaled at your lack of manners.

Boss: Muneshige Tachibana (sus)

Kelley’s attempt at pretending to be Japanese, but lacks the capacity for lightning the real deal does (thank god). Still, you can parry most of his attacks except the Tiger Sprint (running Iai), and Quadrisect (Sword’s LW skill but he can do it without LW). This is mostly a fight about watching out for not getting ki broken.

We then get access to Novice Onmyo and Novice Martial Arts, and, if one really wanted to tear their hair out, a proper duel with the real deal, as Muneshige is brutal for a duel mission this early in the game (no wonder Nioh 2 waited till the 3rd region to give duel missions).

CHUGOKU REGION

This is largely a filler region, as William is stalled by the appearance of an Umi-bozu damaging the Liefde preventing him from traveling inland.

Mission 4: The Silver Mine Writhes

This is the closest equivalent to a swamp level, but its also a boring cave level. There are fans that vacuum miasma clouds so you can destroy the rocks generating them.

Boss: Great Centipede

A big Nothing Boss, activate LW and cut it into chunks. I feel like this boss might give trypophobics a bad time.

Mission 5: The Ocean Roars Again

I don’t know how to describe it, but this stage has a lot of Otogi vibes to it, which is funny considering Otogi was a pre-Souls From Software game. The stage is likely to invite a lot of watery deaths in the way of its broken wooden floors blending under the water surface. This is when players need to start considering one way drops in order to reach more parts of the area, as well as having to keep watch for Nurikabe to access blocked areas, rather than their existence just getting a way around an area or encounter.

Here’s a stage where they introduce benefits for full exploration in easing the boss fight. Lighting the 3 main bonfires will automatically kill the adds when they enter boss fight, and can be used after to buff your weapon with fire so you don’t need to use your own buff on it.

The place is likely to wear out its welcome very quickly.

Boss: Umi-bozu

I don’t think you’ll find a single person who likes this boss, and for good reason. Aside from the other valid reasons people hate fighting its lesser ilk, not having fire damage makes this fight unbearably slow. Thankfully, Nioh glues you to floor edges when attacking unlike Dark Souls, but moving closer when the boss is at the edge of the arena will result is slipping between the ground and it, falling into the water. And many of its attacks are large, and painfully slowly telegraphed attacks that do tons of damage, which is a source of frustration on its own. Thankfully, due to the nature of the fight and its arena, it is never seen outside of this mission.

We now have access to Adept Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, and Onmyo.

Sub-Mission: Bridge of Bone

A series of enemy gauntlets taking place on a pretty banged up set of bridges. It’s a rather generic environment, but scenic nonetheless given this is a game about samurai, so bridge fights are good. Maybe it was simply too generic after all and that’s why it didn’t reappear in the sequel. A later sub mission has William fight the revenant of Benkei, recreating his famous fight with Yoshitsune. In higher difficulties, Yoshitsune himself is represented by a Raven Tengu accompanying Benkei. The bridge missions were popular for dropping your revenants for other players to get copies of your gear from you, so it made a nice backdrop to fight them in.

KINKI REGION

Mission 6: Spider Nest Castle

If you didn’t hate spiders for dropping on you over loot, you will now, and you will learn to look up at this point. The place is pretty disgusting to look at overall, and unlike usual yokai realm spawned monsters, the giant spiders that jump out of the glowing amrita nests count as an attack when they land, its pretty sudden to, so try not to get spooked by it. I got pretty tired of having to check all the eggs for tiny spiders since their web attack slows you down so much and also does way too much ki damage.

It’s another mission that rewards exploration, as every Hiragumo Teapot Fragment found will remove a plate of leg armor from the boss. The lower caves being just a spider nest was annoying for all the spiders hiding on the ceilings and the parts of the map worth seeing aren’t really used when they bring the location back in Nioh 2 for side missions and the Underworld.

I never actually found Fragment V... as evidenced by my lack of trophy for collecting all the pieces

Boss: Joro-gumo

The boss itself is pretty standard in having a one-two swipe combo, and then an aoe attack when she curls her legs into herself and tries to spin her thorax into you. It just gets even easier when you can hit any of her legs instead of just her front or back.

Mission 7: Falling Snow

Between this mission and the historical Honnoji mission featured in Nioh 2, it was interesting how much of the architecture remained intact, and how removing the ice blockage makes it a different level that is familiar nonetheless, as certain buildings and features are recognizable landmarks in the two missions. The main gimmick is how the lingering regrets of the boss power ice formations in your way that you have to destroy in order to be able to damage the former. Likewise, in the Honnoji mission in Nioh 2, rather than swinging your weapon at the ice butterflies, you merely touch your hand to them, which speaks to the difference in relationship between the boss in question and the player character in 2 vs William who is an outsider to it all.

Ranmaru Mori is encountered as a NPC Revenant with unique dialogue, although he uses Dual Swords instead of Sword in 2, nor is encountering him an obtuse affair involving a specifically looted Devotional Helm.

Overall, I’m a fan of this stage, it helps that nothing in this game happens in the winter until the DLCs due to the much shorter timeframe of the main story, so its the only time you encounter snow.

Boss: Yuki-onna

This is the first boss I felt had any sort of style, especially with her introduction (I’ve said the way characters are introduced in the impression they leave is a specialty Team Ninja really refines in the sequel). Though her attacks are only marginally more interesting, and more likely will give you a hard time with water damage going through your guard. I’ve found her AoE attack is much harder to dodge and is much larger than most, which will also nearly kill you too, it feels a bit too much even for this game. Oh and she starts the first game’s trend of having half-screen dashing grabs, and it only gets worse from there. She's tough but for all the wrong reasons that would make a satisfying challenge.

Mission 8: The Demon of Mount Hiei

It’s a gloomy, rainy stage, again, like “The Spirit Stone Slumbers.” However, I must confess once again I do have a weakspot for the atmosphere it provides. The paths are largely linear, but the main gimmick is that there are a few strong enemies that regenerate health around giant amrita formations that need to be destroyed to kill them. Damage in bursts like an Iai Quickdraw are ideal here. There are some caves but you’ll be weaving between caves and mountain slopes so it doesn’t get as repetitive.

There’s also another Nue here, as a reference to the mythical feat of Minamoto no Yorimasa slaying a Nue on Mt. Hiei.

Boss: White Tiger (Byakko)

Our funny cat gets owned! I hate this boss largely for how jumpy he is and how many hits his AoE spin is, given how much ki damage it does, trying to block it will result in getting ki broken and then killed.

Sub-Mission: The Disappearing Ranjatai

This map is used for quick missions due to it being a tightly packed square, there are a couple of different ways they arrange objectives here. You can count on them not taking too long which is good. Nioh 2 Sub-Missions are a bit more varied in setup (meanwhile the bathhouse map in this game has them use the same “get 3 keys to spell I-RO-HA” twice. In the same region.) I would’ve liked to see them use this map in 2 over the freaking “dilapidated shrine with underground cave” they use more like in “A Request From Ginchiyo” even in 2.

Mission 9: The Iga Escape

TOKAI REGION

Because this area is so far removed from the rest of the locations in both games, locations simply cannot be reused as a result. You dont really travel as far over the course of nioh 2s story (not having a ship will do that).

If you have a terrible sense of direction this place will probably throw you for a loop. If you end up running around in a circle, Hanzo is scripted to appear to give you a hint, which is probably expected since this is the first time encountering ninja trick doors based on the circular floor marks. Not only that, but there are many trick doors and some are one-way trips. The place feels more like a playground but it’ll definitely be more lethal than one. The brief outdoor segment is probably the part I like most.

Aside from there, there’s a section where you enter a dead end and slash a wall scroll and suddenly the entire room is upside when you step out, which is still pretty impressive to me now. This is another mission that I like save for the fact that there’s just a gratuitous room full of spiders, the same one tha flips upside down.

Boss: Giant Toad

Mostly whatever, but rather obnoxious with the jump slam being awkward to dodge through due to combination of camera obscuring and long active frames (are you getting the pattern here). It is funny seeing Masanari’s father alive in Nioh 2 and he indeed has the same spear after all though. Don’t stand behind him either because his turning attack is also multihit, same shit as White Tiger.

We now have access to Veteran Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, and Onmyo (though you’ll need a decent amount of proficiency in a single weapon, 300k).

Mission 10: Memories of Death Lilies

Really beautiful environment that is sadly obscured by fog, which is part of the problem in-universe. It really shines when you get to the shrine parts, combined with the waterfalls and lycoris flowers surrounding the place. Layout is rather linear, but given how confusing the previous mission was, I daresay it’s welcome.

Boss: Ogress

Kinda like Mergo’s Wet Nurse but even easier because she tends to just have a blind spot right under her face lol. She cries tears that grow lycoris that turn into yokai realm, but its not really a big deal. Really pretty arena though.

Mission 11: The Weight of the World

This one is just a one-time cutscene so William gets a little more motivation and trying to fit some kind of character development (not that its really necessary). This does however mark the point that William starts getting involved in the actual war by consequence of his search, as up to this point we’ve been working around the actual battles fought. It’s greatly contrasted with Nioh 2.

Mission 12: The Defiled Castle

We start this mission crawling through shit, so you better have regen talismans or you’ll have a terrible time trying to use your elixirs. This mission has crystal formations that are mind controlling Tokugawa soldiers, which will incapacitate everyone connected to it (as shown on your compass). While you can kill the soldiers in self defense, and there’s no reward for sparing them, it feels nice to, they’ll thank you as the disappear (which is just them retreating).

Boss: Tadakatsu Honda

This guy tends to be a major asshole about using a high speed thrust that will probably oneshot you or something close to it every time he dodges. Just destroy the 3 crystal formations in the arena and try not to get owned.

You can also skip him entirely by giving the necessary amount of shit balls to a random guy before. It’s... odd.

The following region has some branching paths but it’s also the first time you’re climbing up a castle, it can get a bit disorienting where to go, and more of the same mind control crystals, with getting outnumbered being an easy occurance with the cramped rooms. Having Suppa and Catwalking helps a lot.

Boss: Okatsu

She has an annoying habit of constantly dodging, and her dodges go way farther than anyone else. She can do lunging thrusts off walls and technically gets a kind of air dash to do that when she uses her variation of Living Weapon. Ki breaking her is likely not going to happen due to Nioh 1 AI prioritizing dodging at low ki and her special dodges being that way.

I feel like parts of her attacks were reused for Fist weapons in Nioh 2.

SEKIGAHARA REGION

Mission 13: Immortal Flame

One of my favorite missions in terms of layout. There are multiple approaches throughout the stage and they converge and split again there aren’t really any redundant shortcuts either (which is something the game can be guilty of sometimes, even in 2). All of the fire is kind of an eyesore but the castle itself is beautiful, at least, if you think about it before it was attacked. The stage is just the one i think of the most among nioh 1 maps when it comes to the difference in nioh’s level design vs dark souls.

This stage introduces Amrita Fiends that have spikes to throw, but if you know how to strike the horn they’re not any harder than sword Yoki.

Boss: Magoichi Saika

I actually entered this fight unprepared, due to the room where his objective looks like it might be is just another room, the actual boss room is right above that, so I don’t remember if there’s a shrine nearby there. I guess in a way that’s how he “ambushes” you.

As far as human bosses go, he’s definitely one of the most unique due to how he fights with Yatagarasu instead of just having a Living Weapon mode, even then, his fighting with a musket and swinging his sword more like a cane necessitates a much different moveset. He does have an annoying habit of shooting point blank without even rolling in 1 though.

He also has an easy weakness to shuriken when he’s flying, and human bosses in 1 don’t recover quickly from attacks that ground them like in 2 so you get a free Final Blow.

Mystic Art unlock missions are now available for Weapons, you’ll need 500k proficiency for each type.

Mission 14: Sekigahara

The first section is pretty standard, but brief. While it is foggy, this is actually historically true as well and what contributed to a large amount of tension in the decisive battle between the Western and Eastern armies.

Boss: Otani Yoshitsugu

Rather unique in that he has traits of a youkai boss and human boss both. You can clearly see how his attacks are inspired by Dual Sword skills but not exactly the same, which is more fun that just being exactly the same.

However, he’s a lot easier than I remember.

With Tokugawa soldiers’ morale increased, they rush into the field, going with them will remind you that this game is not Samurai Warriors and you will be shot to death with little glory while trying to clash swords with that other guy.

The two main routes, then, are running upstream or hiding in the abandoned village buildings on the lower end of the map.

Boss: Sakon Shima

RIP Keiji Fujiwara, but this guy is a real dick to fight, as expected of an enemy with a lightning Guardian Spirit. His special attack involves launching you off the ground which makes it impossible to avoid the followup. It’s pretty sudden too, and it’ll oneshot.

Unfortunately, they patched all of the Guardian Spirit skills that can launch enemies like Mizuchi or Daiba-washi to do the same to him.

He comes back in a Sub-Mission in the 3rd DLC with his straw hat as “Mysterious Samurai” but with Mitsunari’s Izuna Guardian Spirit.

Mission 15: The Source of Evil

Sekigahara but Fucked Up(TM), now instead of predominantly human enemies its all yokai. You need to talk to Tenkai to get the purifying stakes for the red amrita crystals, which create permanent yokai realm zones (possibly even more intense in their effects) and act as Biwa Boku-boku that will automatically summon any revenants inside the red zones when approached. When purified, there are now zones that give a lot of buffs relating to the Amrita Gauge, allowing frequent use of Living Weapon.

Oh, and the boss will occasionally try to blast you. This gets pretty annoying. The layout isn’t really anything special overall.

Boss: Gasha-Dokuro

My first attempt, something happened and the boss became misaligned when knocked down and I couldn’t hit its face, that was weird and bothersome because I wasn’t sure what to do.

Not terribly difficult, but not fun either despite having more uses of LW from the purified auras (if you did do that). Break the feet one each and have a go at its face, if you have to break the hands things get even more tedious. Sometimes its hands will come from offscreen and oneshot you while youre focused on the feet, yaaaayyy.

OMI REGION

Mission 16: A Defiled Holy Mountain

Also a contender for one of the best maps in the game, in terms of design and atmosphere. It has a very Jade Cocoon-esque quality to it. The mountains can get tiresome to look at but the forest parths and general greenery really do contribute to the concept of Mt. Ibuki being a source of purity. There’s many different winding paths, and you find many officers on the run being cutdown by bandits. This is the first time (and one of the few times in general) that you see NPC graves appearing in real time immediately after someone is killed. You even do that to another person yourself, with the message “Cut down by William” as the cause of death.

Boss: Mitsunari Ishida

He has some stylish attacks but he’s wrapped up in such an annoying package. Also the first boss that has a tendency to activate LW as soon as you knock him out of it, which is a continuing trend. Of note are his two grabs which are pretty fast, one using his Guardian Spirit Izuna (which does an Izuna Drop), the other being a leaping rush that is bound to get someone.

He also has an attack that charges up and then slashes all around him with wind waves, but it’s not really apparently what direction to expect which slashes which make it an utter annoyance considering guarding it will get you blustered by wind damage, and then rocks will fall from the roof after too.

Mystic Art unlock missions are now available for Ninjutsu and Onmyo. You can finally remove cast animations from buffs. You should be leveling both Dexterity and Magic so the 20 stat requirement to do these shouldn’t matter.

Mission 17: The Samurai from Sawayama

What an utterly confusing stage, it’s far too easy to get lost in here, especially if you fall through the trapdoors and end up in the spider filled corpse pits. Easily my most loathed stage. The stage is entirely indoors and its not particularly interesting to look at either.

Boss: Obsidian Samurai (Yasuke)

The good thing is that this boss is very enjoyable, moreso being able to spar with him more easily in Nioh 2. An oddly high amount of his attacks are susceptible to being parried though. He relies less on form and will often just punch or kick you raw in between strikes and overall has a great “give and take” pace, despite not having a fantastical concept to design attacks around, just that he’s got a big axe and tachi, and a mean haymaker.

Mission 18: The Demon King Revealed

Right off the bat we’re assisted by Hanzo and Okatsu, so you can tell the game isn’t going to pull any punches. Painfully so, Nioh 1 didn’t really quite figure out how to balance encounters with NPC allies very well, especially in the rare occasions you get two. You’ll often fight 3 powerful yokai at once who will steamroll your allies and turning into a well greased deathball makes it hard for you to get into as well. There’s at least 3 instances of this, and there are multiple waves of it in each too.

Upon approaching the castle proper after being separated from your allies, on my very first playthrough I was taking in the sight that I didn’t notice the path crumbling and fell to my death, but thankfully, they just put me and my grave at the head end of the approach that I was supposed to run to.

Once we get to Azuchi Castle proper, it turns into a mega man-esque boss rush of 4 earlier yokai bosses, Onryoki, Hino Enma, Nue, and Joro-gumo. Given you have a chance to refresh resources between each fight, it’s not particularly difficult, and there’s no real justification for it either, so it was really just put in to pad the stage, the elevator just automatically activates once that’s cleared.

Boss: Nobunaga Oda

The entire game was building up to this moment, but Nobunaga himself doesn’t really want to be here, so he fights in a somewhat familiar way, taking bits from Mitsunari and Muneshige, while using Tengen Kujaku’s 3 different elemental forms by cycling through a LW with each, giving him different capabilities in each.

He likes to float around a lot at high speed too, which is a bit annoying as he has two different post game fights in which he features as one of the bosses fought alongside another. Despite being feared and being rather powerful in-universe, you can parry him in some ways all the same.

You won’t get a proper boss fight with him alone though, as his fight will end before depleting his HP.

Boss: Kelley

Immediately after, we fight Kelley. Who, surprise, has a dashing grab attack! He’s also one of the only bosses that really has a counter attack, and an annoying one that he likes to spam a lot. He also likes to teleport around to make you chase him. He’s not supposed to have a lot of HP as the tradeoff I guess?

Boss: Yamata-no-Orochi

And then after Kelley he immediately invokes the Yamata-no-Orochi. Thankfully, dying here does not make you repeat Kelley. The one saving grace of this fight is that it’s impossible to fall off the castle during it, so you mostly just need to focusing on reading the snakehead’s attacks. Their breath attacks don’t have a great telegraph, so they’ll probably damage through guard.

Fight one head, then two, and then the last of them show up and open the arena up. By goading them into breaking the amrita structures, they overload and collapse, getting an easy kill on one of them. Once there’s only one head left, the last one will power up, but it’s not that much different. It’s a pretty tedious fight overall, and would probably have made for a more epic boss in a regular RPG rather than an action game. This is something that is greatly rectified with the sequel’s choice of final boss.

Divine rarity gear is now unlocked. Saorise is finally returned to us! She specializes in boosting Amrita Gauge gain, but only physically summoning her with Moment Talismans (retranslated to Fleeting Talismans in 2) or Guardian Spirit Talismans.

Roll credits. But there’s stll something we have to do...

Epilogue: The Queen’s Eyes

Back to the Tower of London, we essentially run the reverse path that we did to escape, which was oddly confusing due to the placement of the two staircases looking similar. Instead of running back to the cells, we find the underground alchemy lab, seeing yokai being cultivated in amrita tanks, and up ahead...

Boss: Kelley Clones

In-game prestige points label this encounter as a boss fight despite lack of boss health bars, but everyone is inclined to agree, as you are essentially fighting 3 (naked) Kelleys at once, and things will get hairy very quickly if you’re not on top of it. You can eliminate the first one crashing out of the tank, but two at once is still an endeavor so it’s best to just leave it to LW, like many things in this game.

Boss: Hundred Eyes

John Dee turns his lab into an arena with dinosaur bones hanging around or something. There’s a lot of Amrita. The boss is rather unconventional in that he doesn’t have as many physical attacks (and bosses don’t have that many different attacks in this game in general). It instead turns into something like bullet hell lite, with many eye drones shooting lasers at you that inflict confusion directly rather than relying on inflicting two elemental debuffs at once. The drones fill a lot of amrita gauge when destroyed so the fight leans into using a lot of LW. He can kill you easily, but the fight isn’t difficult either

POST-GAME MISSIONS

Sub Mission: A Meeting on the Other Shore, The Return of the Gourd

Nioh 1s idea of endgame challenges is throwing 2-3 bosses that were clearly not designed to be fought together and make you figure it out (the answer is always LW). Sometimes preceded by an enemy gauntlet you have to clear each attempt too. Its bad. Really bad.

Key examples are fighting Yuki-onna and Nobunaga together, a gauntlet followed by Obsidian Samurai and Nobunaga, fighting Tadakatsu Honda and Muneshige Tachibana, Hanzo amd Okatsu, a gauntlet of ninjas before fighting Hanzo and Giant Toad, the spear and sword dojo masters. Even the mission that lets you duel Yoshitsugu and Mitsunari will have the latter spawn in if you take too long (and on higher difficulties he comes with an asshole shooting cannons at you).

If that sounds overkill, you would be right. Not only that, but the vital "Yasakani Magatama" accessory that reduces set requirements by 1 is the only guaranteed way to get it by doing Return of the Gourd on NG+

DRAGON OF THE NORTH (DLC1)

This being Team Ninjas first go at releasing DLC there was a rather infamous difficulty spike due to disconnect between them expecting players to have been continually powering themselves up while waiting for dlc to drop which leaves a late player lacking that intermittent time.

As a result, I took a bit of time offstream to find pieces to finish the Dragon Ninja set (which technically wasnt available until dlc3, but nevertheless was necessary, and i was sick of using warrior of the west armor). When completing 7 pieces, True Dragon Sword is activated, reflecting in the swords model having the magatama inserted in thr hilt with a light glow, just like in the xbox ninja gaiden games.

Mission 19: Yokai Country

Its a beautiful snowy forest that gives way to gentle streams, leading to a deep valley and a small village hidden within. It is awfully reminiscent of the good parts of DS3s Road of Sacrifices. Its a much needed change of scenery.

DLC introduces new enemy types the game really needs but uses them often as a result. Red Kappa are combat versions of their green normal types that have paralysis instead of water on their claws. Makes it easier for them to fist your anus. Namahage are a snowier and less predictable foe but equivalent to Yoki. Rokurokubi are slow but powerful foes that rarely can be pulled away from a spot, making you come to them. They are noticably more healthy in nioh 2. You often have to weave in and out because they will often do their aoe grab. Nioh 2 rokurokubi emit yokai mist even before they are revealed compared to the original game.

Boss: Date Shigezane

His deformation makes for more interesting attacks, as a centipede for an arm makes him toss blades lodged inside it or swing in different ways whether he holds his odachi in his human hand or yokai hand. However, this dlc has a nasty pattern of making bosses that swing incredibly fast with high ki damage that will often just kill you before you realize what happened. So once again a cool boss concept is ruined by the execution.

Mission 20: The One-Eyed Dragon’s Castle

As noted in the stages loading screen, Aoba Castle is notable for lacking a castle keep, so the confusing floorplans of Edo, Hifumi, and Sawayama Castle are removed. There are many murder holes for Date musketeers to fire at you from, which is the main stage gimmick. Thankfully they are large enough for you to shoot back at them. Progressing inward the level opens up and encourages you to explore at the urging of Nekomata foreshadowing how there are 3 towers that seem to cover each other...

Boss: Shigenaga Katakura

The boss himself is largely just an axe revenant that uses ninjutsu traps. The main gimmick is that his introduction is not a cutscene, and can be interrupted with him calling you out for it, but you get a trophy for letting him introduce himself. He will then order any men you werent thorough in cleaning out to open fire on you from all directions. If you kill a cannon Yoki in each tower they will permanently despawn.

Afterwards is a brief but beautiful garden trip before we get to a real doozy.

Boss: Masamune Date

A scenic moonlight drop in an arena noted to be similar to Kyoto's Kiyomizudera. You wont have time to enjoy it because Masamune will rip you a new one instantly, with a fast and subtle full screen grab, a large elemental aoe or tons of area denial depending on which guardian spirit hes using. He alternates between using LW between both, so youll have little time to rest, and often shoots flurries of sword beams at you. Rather than giving him many different attacks, they're reflective of the players moves but much faster and shooting sword beams everywhere, its quite disappointing for a man whose clan name would later be defined by his excessive flair.

Mission 21: Spirit Stone Huntress

Picking up immediately from the previous boss arena, this mission is literally only a boss fight, but the balcony is a popular place for people to leave revenants.

Boss: Maria

She has some of the standard combos you would expect from her rapier style, but her being from Spain with a rapier means that you get different kinds of attacks to deal with, so at least she has that over the other bosses in this dlc. She also uses alchemy for spell effects and a mimicry of living weapon, and loves to dash around to create a sense of a frantic pace, though it can vary whether the effect succeeded or not, i personally enjoy the fight but the damage scaling with higher difficulties kills the intended pace which makes it more frustrating, which is a recurring issue with the original game.

Sub-Mission: A Gilded Deception

A exploration mission about fighting revenants of fujitive Minamoto warriors. A brief section of this map is cleverly reused in Nioh 2s The Tengu's Disciple DLC.

DEFIANT HONOR (DLC2)

Due to the emphasis of Yukimura Sanada's refusal to use amrita, the only new enemy type are Ninken, ninja dogs, which are every bit as troublesome as it sounds.

Mission 22: The Siege of Osaka (Winter)

The Winter siege is never covered in Samurai Warriors, so the impenetrability of the Sanadamaru is never really covered. Most of the stage is running from cover to trenches from horrendous waves of flaming arrows and later on cannons that force you to stay on the move as they destroy your cover. Somehow you find a village that hasnt been leveled by the war. This is one of the weaker stages of the dlcs.

Boss: Sasuke Sarutobi

This was the only boss I had attempted to fight on Way of the Strong (NG+) rather than the default difficulty because i had worried I was doing too much damage, so this fight was particularly frustrating and caused me to revert difficulty after.

Sasuke has guns in his tonfas that you can get yourself. Once again, he has a very fast full screen grab with very little telegraph in terms of both startup and lack of exaggerated motion. One is like the lion combo from Naruto and the other just has him dempsey roll you lmao. He has frustratingly good tracking for his combos lengths and high speed and is a rather large pain in the ass rather than enjoyable because of how his speed is expressed in the fight.

Mission 23: Scion of Virtue

Starts in some rather bland caves underneath the Sanadamaru, you encounter 9 of the 10 Sanada Braves (due to Sasuke being the only proper boss fight). Each of them are slightly more skilled than the average revenant but vulnerable in all the same ways as them, if they arent setting up a trap or ambush involving snipers or something. The area itself is a rather tightly packed circle with a raised outer rampart that often has gunners and dense enemy layouts requiring careful engagement.

Boss: Yukimura Sanada

Yukimura reveals that not only does he fight with his own Qilin guardian spirit, he also inherited his father in law's, Janomecho. Qilin gives him familiar LW spear attacks and allows him to use his pistol (literally the only character in the duology that has one, I wish they made it a new ranged weapon type in 2) letting him charge it for explosive shots like devil may cry.

When he uses Janomecho, he floats off the ground like Yoshitsugu and gains a new moveset. Both of these are really cool but he has an annoying tendency to use his large diving aoe thats hard to dodge in Janomecho instead of his interesting attacks, but he's otherwise one of the better bosses in the original game overall.

Sub-Mission: Ganryu

If you finished the Dual Sword mystic art challenge, Yoshiteru Ashikaga gives you a mission to rescue a younger Takezo Shinmen, better known as Musashi Miyamoto back in Sekigahara, its something of a historical myth that he was present there, though highly unlikely. Clearing that will allow a special duel mission here, complete with a unique beach thats unused elsewhere.

Boss: Kojiro Sasaki

Although he is susceptible to reversals and parries like many human enemies, he mixes up a lot of the odachi moveset to create something unique thats still quite enjoyable to fight, and for being a hidden optional boss that is largely a remixed odachi warrior being one of my favorite bosses in this game that says a lot. Unfortunately Shinichiro Miki only voices Yukimura and doesnt voice a Kojiro for a 3rd time.

Many of his moves became available for odachi in the sequel, barring ones based on the LW moves.

BLOODSHED’S END (DLC3)

Mission 24: The Sanada’s Resolve

Half a year has passed, and the ceasefire required Osaka Castle fill its moats and decommission the Sanadamaru, when war breaks out again, the new fortifications are set on a mountain slope, with cannons taking shots. Its a very cramped and dense level, and certain cannons can be baited into destroying their own towers and revealing some extra places. You can also activate some cannons on your own.

The 9 Sanada Braves return but this time they are killed for good here, each with their own parting words and a grave immediately spawning at their feet by Williams hands where you can summom them and kill them again lol. These are the last human enemies youll fight in the main story. Its a pretty straightforward stage but nothing damning about it so its enjoyable.

Boss: Yukimura Sanada, Sasuke Sarutobi

That's right, its a rematch with Yukimura! But this time theres less room and when he gets down to 30%, Sasuke jumps in to assist, turning this fight into a sheer dps race (if you didnt get the memo, that means use LW) to prevent the situation from becoming unwinnable.

Mission 25: Resentment Unleashed

Introducing the last new enemy type, the Magatsu Warrior, a glass cannon elite enemy type that has 4 arms that is best fought by trying to break its extra amrita arms between its flurry of strikes. Its main weakness is lack of tracking, so it is mostly checking to see if players can keep their cool and not panic backwards dodging.

This stage is mostly a series of gauntlets fighting almost exclusively elite type yokai like cannon and ninja yoki with the magatsu warriors, fighting alongside Masamune and Shigezane Date (who has been purified of the centipede deformations). With the boss of the stage blasting you from out of reach.

In that regard, its a bit of a pain.

Boss: Onmoraki

The biggest whatever boss ever. Itll most likely just be spinning around from you being behind it all the time and hardly has any unique traits.

Mission 26: The Last Samurai

This stage is a bit more linear than i remember. But the large chunk of it is fighting elite yokai. There are amrita formations that continually spawn elite enemies while also recovering damage dealt to it quickly, so in order to avoid getting overwhelmed any encounter with these is best dealt with LW, as usual. The amrita roots that encircle the castle feel a bit like hair, or perhaps tails...

There are ghost encounters of Yoshitsugu Otani and Mitsunari Ishida on two separate floors.

Boss: Hideyori Toyotomi

On my very first playthrough, i mostly wrote him off as a joke because i killed him quickly without much trouble, but hes actually quite an impressive fighter for being a coddled child (and also an amrita homunculus). On higher difficulties he no doubt becomes the same issues as many other bosses, since he also loves to shoot sword beams. He switches between a single and dual sword style and at low hp, changes classification to yokai, which also makes him immune to counters (you can still parry him with backwave though, odd). Hes got a surprising amount of flair and is at least a little impressive to watch, though more of an annoyance to fight if you dont push momentum on him.

Afterwards, Yukimura joins you with all of his boss capabilities as you fight one last gauntlet of yokai and revenants while Yukimura expresses his regrets, passing Janomecho to you.

Boss: Nine-Tails

Because youre aided by Yukimura, this fight is not particularly challenging. Using the whole fox shape also doesnt make many of her attacks very interesting. Unfortunately I just dont have much to say about her despite being the final boss of the dlc storyline.

Sub-Mission: A Warrior of Keen Judgment

While not a unique map, I enjoy this sub mission in particular due to it being a remix of the first regions "A Request From Ginchiyo" but with her husband Muneshige now. He is just as strong as he was, and after the battle of Sekigahara, he is now allied with the Tokugawa rather than at odds. Like the earlier mission, the objective is found in one of 3 random marked chests. With each one thats empty, he speaks more about his relationships, and sweetly reminisces about his late wife and fighting alongside her.

Sub-Mission: The Master Ninja

After completing The Last Samurai, we get a mysterious message from the Hayabusa clan. This was a huge surprise, as Ninja Gaiden was the last thing expected in this game at the time.

The arena of choice is evocative of the grass plain seen in the intro of the very first Ninja Gaiden on NES.

Boss: Jin Hayabusa

Jin is a completely different beast from any human fought before. His skills are taken straight out of Ninja Gaiden while having nothing in common in anything else in the game. His Dragon Sword is blindingly fast, high damage and ki damage, including the infamous Flying Swallow that was notoriously overpowered in the original xbox release. He has actual Ninpo which is better than Onmyo despite being a different school, and throws shuriken much faster and damaging than yours ever will. If he switches to Kusarigama though then his moveset is closer to the player's. Presumably because the only weapon similar is the Vigoorian Flails but theres no gama on those.

Despite this, the nostalgia factor makes this one of the most enjoyable fights for me, as it is expressly a matter of overcoming someone who is undoubtedly more overpowered than you.

His boss theme reuses Genshins Theme from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and has a unique mission clear tune.

MISC THOUGHTS

Found 146/225 Kodama without Kodama Sensor.

Due to the lack of enemy variety in this game, when they introduce a new enemy type they tend to really wear it out fast by making every yokai realm enemy that new one.

Some regular soldiers and ninja have Odachi and Tonfa in the base game missions on the normal difficulty, I don’t know if this is affected by me having the DLC or not because I don’t remember if there were still Odachi and Tonfa enemies even before I bought the DLCs.

Most shrines nearest to bosses still require a bit of running to get to the boss unlike 2 where most of them are free of enemies on the way.

There’s at least 3 different maps that are some flavor of “underground onmyoji shrine.”

Grabs are inconsistent in whether they get the grey smoke to indicate its a grab, and there’s no specific SFX to indicate one like in 2.

Ki consumption differences in A rank Agility vs B rank is a lot more noticable in this game, and mastering ki pulse flux is much more important in this game when yokai skills in nioh 2 allow for ki recovery while attacking. When you have Agility A suddenly you can attack much more.

Much of the game has to be balanced around the sheer power of Living Weapon, to its detriment.

Boss HP bars do not display ki, which really threw me for a loop even though ki damage isn’t as important in Nioh 1, especially with human enemies prioritizing avoiding getting ki broken and backpedaling a lot more when they’re at risk.

While a chunky LW bar is harder to get, it is surprisingly easy to charge up the amrita gauge between uses.

Casting spells and buffs is unbearably slow but being able to cast buffs with no animation was a bit much. The duration of spells is also annoyingly much shorter than I remember. Cycling through the item shortcuts in one direction is also more annoying than I remember.

Weapon movesets feel barebones now even with LW compared to the skills added in the sequel.

I feel the first dlc had the best level design, but more of the worst bosses. The 2nd dlc was kind of a slump out of all of them but Yukimura is the best boss among the dlcs. The 3rd was pretty average in a lot of respects but had a nice surprise with Jin Hayabusa.

While some levels really suck, a good number of them still feel good to play, and the overall gameplay is fine, just that the bosses by large were lacking and numbers really lacked proper balancing.

Looking forward to revisiting Nioh 2 from a fresh save before the release of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty!

#nioh

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callsigndreadfrost · 4 years ago

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Finished the main story of Nioh 2 and just that ending...just...why'd they have to punch me on the chest like that? I went from loving the character of Tokichiro to being completely heartbroken over what he was doing, to hating his guts for killing my character, to trying not to hate him because he was possessed by the bitch with the staff and finally to loving him again and then crying like an idiot.

When you first meet him he's calming you down when you go almost full unredeemable yokai and then at the last boss fight ya kinda go haywire again when the bitch with the staff possesses you instead of Tokichiro's lifeless body and when you're character looks up he's there smiling again like he used to and your character was crying and I was crying Mumyo was happy and I was a mess.

Omg tho. Mumyo! What a goddamn character, she was seriously like the best help and basically your character's bff throughout the whole fucking thing. Well, not at first cuz you're a yokai and she was raised to hunt them lol but she eventually learns to get along with you.

Anyway! Spectacular game and I still have a lot to do and even 3 DLCs to tackle. NG+ gets you some really powerful gear and I'm totally gonna go for it.

#werewolf howls at dusk

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safestsephiroth · 4 years ago

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Nioh 2: A Preliminary, Incomplete Weapon Analysis

I’ve been playing Nioh 2 since its release on PC Friday (48 hours logged), and while I haven’t beaten the base game yet, I’ve finally done 3 of the 4 weapon skill tier unlocking missions. (The 4th tier is unique per-weapon, the first 3 are generalized.)

I’ve been going a bit of an underpowered generalist build to get a feel for every weapon type, with a focus on the newer ones. However, I have not completed this objective by and large. There’s too many weapons, and my stats are split too wide, so the weapons that HEAVILY focus on one stat (Axe, Dual Swords) are suffering for it.

That said, I’ve got a decent feel for multiple weapons.

I’m halfway through Chapter 4 at the time of this writing.

The list of weapons, my thoughts on each, and what I’ve discovered of note so far below:

SPECIAL NOTE: Blessed/Yokai weapons are categories that are in every single weapon tree, and it seems there’s several of each per weapon.

Blessed weapons are a fucking phenomenal answer to every Yokai threat, they’re incredible. A++. They’re a free fast-stacking status effect that makes getting Chaos damage buff extremely easy as long as you have a spell of an element the target is weak to, and they make shattering Yokai ki gauges super, super easy. I very highly value them, but they’re somewhat hard to actually get ahold of in my experience.

Yokai weapons are extremely good against human targets, and have a gauge that fills a little bit every time you land an attack. When it’s full, the weapon “awakens”, has a cool voice line, and then you can go to town and do a big burst of damage. Personally, while this is good, I find you can’t really rely on it and about half-and-half it pops when I don’t need it anymore (last attack in a fight, etc.) That said, it’s a very good tool for when you get your ass beat by a boss and want to redo the fight a few times - you can make the others practice runs and have the fight where the weapon pops off be the “real” attempt. It makes learning strategies a lot easier to pull off.

General points to keep in mind: Weapon types that are ki-dependent feel much improved in Nioh 2, because ki regeneration on the whole is easier.

Also, I’ve invested significantly (24-ish points, which, for a generalist save is pretty significant) into both ninjitsu and onmyo, so that’s being factored in to some of these.

Also also, I cannot recommend enough getting the skills which let you restore ki with a dodge ASAP. They’re all vital.

One final note: I plan to do multiple save files where I specialize on two weapons per save file, and at most two hyper-specific builds, along with my primary (respecced to focus on my “favorite” weapons) save. I’ll be doing this for multiple clears of the base game’s base difficulty so I can decide which to push into NG+ and beyond with. And I’ll be looking guides up after I beat the game.

Now, the proper weapon categories:

Sword: I find Sword boring. However, I’ve learned that iai builds are much easier to put together in Nioh 2, so I’ll be trying to do that. Maybe that’ll change my mind. Sword has everything you need, and none of the stances are trash, but I have little to say about it besides this. Seems equally good against everything.

Dual Swords: they feel good, it feels like the animations were cleaned a little bit to feel even better in Nioh 2. I haven’t done much because they require lots of Skill and that’s my second-lowest stat. (Har har.) Seems fine against everything, but better at shredding larger targets with elemental damage.

Spears: I like Spears WAY MORE in Nioh 2 than I did in the first Nioh. Fatal Thrust (the spear’s charge) feels WAY better than in Nioh 1, and way more worth it. Piercing Rain (high stance multi-hit) is a great status applicator, and the root of Spear’s theme seems to be zone control. Your ability to knock people around and to hit both far and close is really good, but I find myself whiffing basic high stance combos more often than not. Mid stance is really the place to be with Spear. Plus, there’s a TON of mobility built into the kit, and the ability to knock back enemies when doing a ki pulse is really solid for the super aggro fist weapon revenants.

Seems best against large targets, though it absolutely destroys humanoid targets with lower ki, much moreso than most weapons.

Axe: I’ve barely touched Axe. My impression is that it’s for tanky builds that don’t care about dodging and want to smash things. That’s about all I’ve got. It’s good if you want to specialize hard into it, I think.

Kusarigama: The first weapon on this list I LOVE. It’s got some insane mobility with Serpent Strike (blade hook-yourself-or-them-in). If you need to duel an AI and can only win through cheese, this is the weapon and combo of choice. You can chain stuns if the initial attack hits for as long as your ki holds out, and you can safely dodge away once it does.

You have great options for breaking horns in every single high stance guard ability, you have excellent control with the mid-stance AOE light attack ability “whirlwind”, you have excellent mobility using your hook skills and phenomenal range from it as well. Biggest weaknesses are how exposed you’re left if you whiff a hook and, sometimes, stamina costs. Well worth it.

Kusarigama is great against everything, but it shines as a killer of ranged bosses (dodge AOEs with gap closers!) and single human-types.

Odachi: Odachi feels like it’s got a significant upgrade. Its greatest weakness once was its speed, and Twin Moons (high stance ability that allows for a quick triple-hit) fixes that RIGHT up. Mid stance heavy attacks continue to be excellent ranged tools for dealing with short-range matchups, but I haven’t used it a ton so that’s about all I have for insights. Odachi’s pretty good against everything, though anything with breakable horns will really suffer against it.

Tonfa: Every single goddamned Tonfa move feels incredible. There are no bad moves in the kit, and nothing breaks ki as well as Tonfa. A blessed one makes it possible to smash ki on yokai even more effective, and it needs no help doing so to human targets that can’t spontaneously decide to break out of a stun chain. Demon Dance: Heaven (rapid attack spam out of a ki pulse) is so absurdly strong for breaking guards it makes a joke out of all revenants within seconds. You cannot lose a duel if you properly use this tool, excepting special NPC bosses, and even then you’re incredible effective against them. The ability to just dodge through them with ki pulses that then chain into a counterattack is so obscene!

Tonfa are amazing against everything, and make Revenants a joke. Anything where ki breakage is a priority, the Tonfa are a go-to.

Hatchets: First of the new weapons, and, in my eyes, least. I’ve barely used them for being too reliant on Skill to do meaningful damage. I’ll have a more comprehensive view later. As-is, with trash stats and basic skills, they’re awful. But I’m confident that changes later on.

Switchglaive: What if you had the ki-shattering power of Tonfa, with the longest range of any weapon that isn’t slow, and the combo-chain potential of Fists, all in the most edgelord package of the game? Switchglaive is possibly my favorite weapon. It’s not great early, but unlocking the ability to chain between stances makes clear the core identity of this weapon. You can mix things up however you need. Start in mid stance and chain low so you can get off a heavy attack before dodging out after a short exchange. Go low to high for a low-commitment start on a heavy damage chain you can easily break ki with. For high stance, light light heavy to use Mortal Retribution is an incredible combo for taking out ki on human targets, and I find it almost always can break guard on anything I use it on. It’s less perfect for larger yokai, given it leaves you vulnerable during the last part of it, but you can just use three mid lights into the stance-swap high heavy for Yokai and do absurd damage with fantastic ki damage potential, ESPECIALLY with a blessed Switchglaive.

Switchglaive is great against everything. It has everything you want. Range, mobility, chain attacks, and it doesn’t cost an obscene amount of Ki to use either.

Splitstaff: Poke poke poke poke poke poke poke poke. But seriously, Splitstaff has a lot of potential, I just don’t use it that much. The ability to take short fights is really powerful, and its range is not to be underestimated. The ability to extend ANY attack by holding is really strong, and Fill the Void is a great space-making high attack that does meaningful damage on top of that. Against bosses, you can dodge damned near anything you need with that while still getting hits in, and nothing smaller than a miniboss-type at least can handle it.

Splitstaff is really good, but I don’t use it much because I find it too costly on ki and I also find its amazing AOE potential still doesn’t actually hurt that much and leaves you too immobile to do things unpunished.

Fists: The be-all end-all. The reason, more than any other, that I wanted this game. Fists are amazing at all points in the game. Fists of Reckoning is a great high stance combo chain early for punishing stunned yokai. High stance in general is fantastic. When leveling Fists, focus on abilities which are “at end of combo” skills. Every single first attack is a good engage, and every follow-up is even better. You have the ability to knock human-types into the sky, you have the ability to do insane parries, you can do running moonsaults (and dodge SO MUCH in the process), you can falling attack enemies with moonsaults.

You can chain counter-spam if that’s your thing. You can do an absolutely insane combo in the form of Beyond Infinity once you unlock it. You can use a mobile backdash-charge to dodge a ton of attacks that feels better than functionally the same move in Devil May Cry 5. You have everything you could ever want. Fists are the best. Fists are great against everything*.

And that’s it. That’s my incomplete impressions of every weapon so far.

*Note: Fists struggle against matchups where range is non-negotiable. Don’t fight enemies that take to the sky with your bare fists. They’re insane against revenants, almost as good as Tonfa at that. I highly recommend them, if nothing else, as a secondary weapon to followup on stunned Yokai. You won’t be disappointed with the results if you do it right.

#nioh 2 #weapon impressions #I love this fucking game so much

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sabrerine911 · 5 years ago

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Nioh/Solikar crossover: Beth discovering the Scampuss So, today I played a huge bunch of hours of the Nioh 2 beta before it got shutdown,as expected it was a lot of fun.Gameplay and bosses are as solid as ever(and the new counter Yokai ability is absolutely great.To be honest I was mostly looking forward to creating my barbarian in the game since they announced character customization.I was a bit dissapointed with the options,while I wasnt expecting to have the ability to have a super accurate rendition of Beth's hulking barbarian appearence I was hoping for some wider slider variety.(but hey atleast we have over the top boob sliders for the masses XD).I still managed to make her look somewhat imposing in game so no biggie. Anyway I wanted to draw this dumb thing between commissions cause these new good yokai thingies are ADORABLE <3 (this little fellah roll-follows you I JUST CANT <3 )

#Beth Ravencoft #vampire hunter #crossover #nioh #nioh 2 #nioh 2 beta #art #scampuss #yoikai #adorable #so cute #I JUST CANT #they follow you all the way roling ly fuzzy bol!

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murfeelee · 5 years ago

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Video Games Pt3: Video Game Challenge

I saw this list on Pinterest out of nowhere, and what better way to ring in the new year than with another questionnaire, about my favorite pastime! This is the spiritual successor to Part 1 and Part 2.

Day 1 - Very first video game: Pacman and/or Mortal Kombat and/or Samurai Shodown on arcade machines (way back in the day when laundromats had arcade machines and gumball machines and such in them--good times, good times U_U); Tetris on computers; and a buttload of PS1 titles (again: back in the good ole days when consoles came with promo demo discs--I had Frogger, Need for Speed, Medieval, and a bunch of others).

Day 2 - Your favorite character: Here’s my Top 10 Males post and Top 10 Females post.

Day 3 - A game that is underrated: I will preach the greatness of PS1′s Legend of Dragoon till my dying day. It was doomed to dwell in Final Fantasy 7′s shadow, which came out earlier that same year, and it’s a real shame, cuz LoD was E V E R Y T H I N G.

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My favorite aspects of the game are:

Its lore and worldbuilding. On top of the fact that the premise of the game is could be an anime series in its own right, you just get SO EXCITED to visit each new location, and uncover more about the world’s history, and see the different architecture, technologies, cultures and different races (I LOVE the Winglies, of course). It’s actually a gorgeous game for its time.

The combat -- I STILL have some of the Addition patterns memorized to this very day! They get progressively harder as you level up, but once you get used to the timing you feel so dang good. Die, More and More!

The soundtrack and cutscenes. The NOSTALGIA? O_O Bruh. The story is just really good, and was the very first video game to make me cry when certain...events...happened. Play the game and find out for yourself!

Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game: The Sims, Dragon Age...any and all EA games. Effing ashamed of myself every time I give that nest of corporate demons at Electronic Farts money. “Surprise mechanics” my arse.

Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were): Has Jar Jar Binks been in a video game yet? Then that’s me. XD But I wish I was most like Lara Croft, as explained in my Top 10 Females post.

Day 6 - Most annoying character: For females it’s Lightning from Final Fantasy 13, and for males it’s Vaan, from Final Fantasy 12. I don’t mind as much when supporting characters are effing annoying (Vanille, Hope, etc), but when it’s the MAIN protagonist?! WHY, Square Enix? WHY.

Lightning was just a negative nancy debbie downer. I wish they had swapped Serah and Lightning, I seriously do. I just couldn’t stand her dry and soulless personality. She wasn’t being edgy or bada** or cool or sexy or FANG or anything; she was just a bitter jaded unhappy wench.

And with Vaan I just effing hate that dude. Why was he even there? They tried so hard to make this pushy entitled kid relevant, but I was like no, the story could’ve easily been told without him, and I wish it had been; he’s a effing idiot.

Day 7 - Favorite game couple: Yuna and Tidus from FFX (hardest I ever cried playing a video game -- THE FEELS I TELL YOU).

Day 8 - Best soundtrack: I used to think it was Skyrim, but nope, it’s Witcher 1, 2 and 3. Just listen to ALL of the songs CDPR ever produced for the entire franchise, including all the unreleased tracks, and enjoy the eargasm.

Day 9 - Saddest game scene: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice had me legit depressed for a good week. Get your tissues and holy water ready; it’s seriously effed up. The entire game is the saddest I ever played, jfc.

Day 10 - Best gameplay: Witcher 3, duh. Main quests, side quests, combat, dialogue, plot, graphics, worldbuilding, creatures, bosses, soundtrack, characters, Gwent, NEED I GO ON.

Day 11 - Gaming system of choice: Playstation for life. But the Nintendo Switch is effing brilliant, ngl; once they put Skyrim & The Witcher on it I was like SOLD.

Day 12 - A game everyone should play: At least ONE Final Fantasy game. There’s 15+, and Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts. It’s not just a game, it’s an experience.

As much as I rag on FF13 and FF15, they’re still admittedly LEAGUES better than a lot of other crap out there. I just happen to feel that Square Enix is out of its frikkin mind lately, and tbh I’ve been rapidly losing my hype for the FF7 Remake. I was never much of a FF7 fan to begin with, aside from being a rabid Sephiroth fangirl and watching Advent Children a billion times. But Square’s gotta be drunk as a skunk if they think I’m paying all that money for god knows how many of these effing “episodes” they’re gonna piecemeal us to dangit death with. HAYUL no. I’d rather not get too attached.

Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times:

Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper: Huh?

Day 15 - What game are you playing right now: Speak of the devil, I’m replaying God of War for the zillionth time already.

Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes: In terms of graphics and story impact IMO might be Red Dead Redemption 2. That game was frikkin gorgeous, and the story was SO DANG GOOD. Braithwaite Manor!? O_O

Day 17 - Favorite antagonist: For females it’s either Edea from FF8, or Yunalesca from FFX. For dudes it’s Sephiroth, from FF7. That man needs some serious counseling.

Day 18 - Favorite protagonist: Yuna from FFX for the ladies, and TW3′s Geralt of Rivia for the dudes.

Day 19 - A game world you would like to live in: The more Middle Eastern-inspired scifi/steampunki-medievalesque world of Ivalice from FF12, or the medieval French/Swiss Toussaint from The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

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Day 20 - Favorite genre: RPGs and JRPGs, and pretty much action-adventure games with swords and sorcery.

Day 21 - Game with the best story: Red Dead Redemption, which is a good thing and a bad thing. A lot of the time I felt I was watching a movie, rather than playing a game. But it was still an Oscar worthy movie. XD

Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you: Technically it hasn’t come out yet, but from what we’ve seen of the Nioh 2 beta release, omfg what’s going on? U_U Now, don’t get me wrong! Nioh 2 looks AMAZING. But....that’s cuz it looks exactly like Nioh 1, just with new yokai gameplay thrown in. o_O Uh...is this a DLC expansion pack or what? Cuz it sure ain't lookin like a full-fledged sequel! :P Dare I call it an asset flip. Come on, don’t do this; do MORE. Unless this is actually an expansion you’ll sell for half the price. ;)

Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style: For graphics it’s RDR2, but for most unique art style it’s always been Okami for me. <3

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Day 24 - Favorite classic game: Spyro the Dragon. Their reboot for PS4 was AMAZING.

Day 25 - A game you plan on playing: Cyberpunk 2077. I’m so bummed, knowing the game’s been delayed to September 2020 instead of April, but oh well. As long as CDPR gives us that master-class level of Polish we all know and love from The Witcher 3, then take as much time as you need, I guess. At least they’re not like effing EA or Bethesda. XD

Day 26 - Best voice acting: BOY. Freaking iconic, Kratos. :P

Day 27 - Most epic scene ever: Ciri beating the absolute tastebuds outta Caranthir in TW3, not once but twice. Most OP Witcher EVER, girl; WERK.

Day 28 - Favorite game developer: Though I effing hate them, I’m still a Square Enix fangirl at heart. It’s just saddening to see this weird turn they’ve been making recently, with garbage like the Quiet Man, and especially with Final Fantasy, my favorite game series of all time. U_U I’m not looking forward to the FF7 Remake anymore, tbh. I just hope FF16 is more of a return to form.

Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn't like, but ended up loving: Skyrim. I was never a big fan of Elder Scrolls games, and when Skyrim came out I was very meh at first. But then the mods started coming out for it and I was like wow. O_O

Day 30 - Your Favorite game of all time: Legend of Dragoon on PS1, Final Fantasy X on PS2, Skyrim on PS3/PC, The Witcher 3 on PS4, and The Sims on PC.

________________________________________________

Thanks for reading!

#video games #questionnaire #EA you suck #Electronic Arts #more like electronic farts

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childrenofthegames-blog · 2 years ago

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#game #nioh 2

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ninjiango · 7 years ago

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Happy Birthday Ryu Hayabusa

It’s June 15th, go Ryu it’s ya birthday, lookin good for DOA6.

Anyway to celebrate his birthday here’s 5 random things about Ryu you probably do or don’t know.

1. He first appeared back in 1988 in Ninja Ryukenden for the arcade and later NES trilogy. But for some reason they renamed it to Ninja Gaiden in America, and to Shadow Warriors in Europe because Ninja was censored in the UK back then. Same reason Ninja Turtles got renamed Hero Turtles over there.

2. Hayabusa is the strongest DOA character. Below is the final boss in NG3 smashing the building Ryu’s standing on to pieces, and Ryu is also able to block that same building smashing strength. This along with other strength feats like cutting a jet in half like it’s butter and moving a 100 lbs sword around fast enough to block machine gun fire makes him the strongest DOA character.

Meanwhile Bass probably the 2nd strongest DOA character only lifted a motorcycle in one of his ending, it’s no wonder Hayabusa can toss 346 lbs Bass around.

3. Ryu has an ancestor name Jin Hayabusa who appears in Nioh, and he fights like Ryu with Izuna Drops and Inferno ninpos.

4. He fought the Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) in the Ninja Gaiden arcade game, complete with their Black Sabbath Iron Man theme music playing during the boss fight. Back when videogames could get away with copyright shit.

5. Ryu lives in a Castle. Back story explained in NG2.

Sometime before Nioh happened (year 1600), Nobunaga Oda conquered and unified Japan and even though Nobunaga destroyed the Iga ninja clan during his conquest, he decided to ally himself with the Hayabusa ninja clan because he was afraid of Yokai, Fiends, and Spirits haunting the forests around Mt. Fuji. Nobunaga heard the Hayabusa ninjas been fighting these supernatural beings for generations, so Nobunaga made a deal with their leader Shunden (either Jin’s dad or grandpa) and paid for their Castle of the Dragon’s construction.

And somewhere in this Castle of the Dragon is a Trophy room where Ryu keeps all his weapons and stuff he collects on his adventures.

#Ryu Hayabusa #Hayabusa #Ninja Gaiden #Dead or Alive #Nioh #Road Warriors #WWF #WWE #Mah Shiiit

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digital-elixir · 4 years ago

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Set in Sengoku-era Japan, Hideyoshi (created by you) will battle foes and legendary warriors in fast, hardcore combat. Expertly remastered and enhanced for PS5, there is a massive amount of content which reveals a complicated tale woven through many chapters.⁣ ⁣ Nioh 2 is a perfect refinement of Nioh 1 in every shape and form. Yokai shift allows distinct fighting styles, Burst Counters stop strong unblockable attacks and Soul Cores allow the use of enemy abilities. The sheer number of weapon combinations are staggering; each brings something completely different to the table. In addition, magic spells, Ninjutsu, and guardian spirts allow further customization in an already massively deep combat system.⁣ ⁣ Nioh’s visuals are outstanding. Every armor and weapon is highly detailed, environments are colorful and atmospheric. Elemental effects and spells pull you into the world. Weapon skills have style, beauty and substance. HDR looks wonderful, especially with a well calibrated display.⁣ ⁣ In regards to the soundtrack, Akihiro Manabe crafts a beautiful soundscape with vast, incredible pieces. “Opening”, “Awakening”, “Battle 1”, “Battle 3”, “Soaring”, “Magara Naotaka”, “Freed from This Mortal Coil”, “Dark Realm 2”, “Twighlight”, “Daigoji Temple”, “Tokichiro 2”, “The Interim”, “William” and “Dream” are absolute standouts.⁣ ⁣ Nioh 2 is incredible. There is so much to witness and play, loot to obtain, enemies to slay and weapons to enjoy. Multiple difficulty levels, challenging bosses, extra content and even a fantastic co-op experience, this game will keep you entertained for hours. If you enjoy Ninja Gaiden or any of the Souls games, give this one a play immediately.⁣ ⁣ #koushibusawa #teamninja #koeitecmo #tecmo #yugokanno #hide #william #rpg #loot #videogame #videogames #gamer #gaming #gamecollection #playstation #ps4 #ps5 #sony #sonyinteractiveentertainment #仁王2 https://www.instagram.com/p/CUBohYjFyB2/?utm_medium=tumblr

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angelscythe5 · 4 years ago

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Even though 2020 was a shit show I did play a lot of amazing games. # 1 FF7 Remake. It was so nostalgic getting to revisit FF7 and the characters, the voice acting, the emotions and the gameplay was truly amazing and my pick for # 1. # 2 Ghost of Tsushima this was by far the most beautiful game I played in 2020. As a huge fan of Japanese culture this game was so much fun and breathtaking. The isle of Tsushima was a beautiful sight trying to navigate through. This is one of the few games I didn’t want to do too much fast travel. I actually spent a considerable amount of time taking in the view and experimenting with photo mode. # 3 Person 5 The Royal. Persona 5 was my first ever Persona game and boy what rock was I living under. I truly enjoyed this JRPG and it’s characters and difficulty. Person 5 The Royal is truly an upgrade to the original, it made so many quality of life changes to the game, extra story content, different boss fights and so much more. So worth replaying the game all over again. # 4 Nioh 2 although at first I thought this was more like Nioh 1.5 this a true sequel. Being able to customize my character to my liking in which she turned out beautiful I might add this game added so my new things that I enjoyed it so much more than first one. The different weapons, move sets, Yokai, Yokai abilities and wonderful story deserves a spot on my top 5. Last one on my list Yakuza Like a Dragon. Sadly I never got into the Yakuza series but this game has been so much fun to play. Combining several elements form the Yakuza series, along with some old school turn based JRPG battles. This game offers a variety of content especially if you are a huge JRPG fan like myself. #2020 #gamer #ps4 #nerd #top5 https://www.instagram.com/p/CKuGDEUDmim/?igshid=aj3n07zyq05v

#2020 #gamer #ps4 #nerd #top5

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zardinex · 5 years ago

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"Team Ninja is planning 3 "sizable" DLC packs for Nioh 2 over the next few months - new storylines - new yokai - new bosses - new GS - new skills - new armor - new difficulty levels - a new weapon 1st DLC pack, The Tengu's Disciple, to launch on July 30 https://t.co/K3FwCPg1Uw https://t.co/ZUmfdlb7FR" Nibellion https://t.co/K3FwCPg1Uw

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thaithanhbinh · 5 years ago

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Final Fantasy VII Remake và những tựa game đỉnh nhất trên Playstation năm 2020 (P1)

Sau 1 năm thành công, chúng ta cũng có thể trông đợi rằng ngành công nghiệp trò chơi điện tử sẽ còn đem đến những trải nhiệm gaming tốt hơn nữa trong năm 2020. Đây là những tựa game sắp được ra mắt không chỉ chơi được trên PS4 mà còn cả cho PS5. Và phải, đây là năm đánh dấu cho sự xuất hiện của thế hệ console đời tiếp theo đến từ Sony mà chúng tôi biết nó sẽ được phát hành đâu đó trong những kỳ nghỉ lễ.

Cho đến lúc này thì đây chính là những tựa game duy nhất được xác minh cho PS5, nhưng chúng tôi sẽ còn cập nhật những nội dung mới về chiếc máy console thế hệ tiếp theo này cũng như những tựa game thú vị mới được ấn định ngày ra mắt. Giờ thì hãy cùng xem qua danh sách những tựa game lớn được phát hành cho PS4 và PS5 tronng năm nay.

Godfall

Được đưa ra trong lễ trao giải game năm 2019, Godfall của Gearbox là một tựa game hành động nhập vai góc nhìn thứ ba. Trong tựa game này, người chơi có thể chơi solo hoặc lập tổ đội với một nhóm gồm ba người chơi thông qua chế độ co-op. Là tựa game đầu tiên được xác minh cho PS5, không có quá nhiều thông tin về nó ngoài một bài viết trên Playstation Blog mô tả rằng game sẽ có cơ chế “cướp bóc chặt chém” hoàn toàn mới. Một vài đoạn gameplay đã bị leak ra ngoài, nhưng Gearbox đã xác nhận những đoạn leak đó đã được 1 năm tuổi và chỉ lưu hành trong nội bộ. Với kế hoạch cho ngày phát hành trong kỳ nghỉ lễ năm 2020, Playstation cho hay đang xem xét thêm nhiều thông tin hơn về sự xuất hiện của Godfall trong mùa xuân năm nay.

Granblue Fantasy: Versus

Dựa trên tựa game RPG mobile miễn phí cực kỳ nổi tiếng tại Nhật Bản nói riêng và thế giới nói chung, Granblue Fantasy: Versus được thiết lập trong cùng một vũ trụ nhưng các nhân vật thay vào đó chiến đấu trong một tựa game đối kháng 2d. Phát triển bởi Arc System Works, đây sẽ là thương hiệu đầu tiên kết nối với nền tảng chơi game console tại nhà và phiên bản tiếng Anh sẽ được ra mắt tại Bắc Mỹ đầu tiên. Từ khi công bố trong E3 2019 cho tới bây giờ, game đã được xác minh là sẽ có 11 nhân vật đại diện của game gốc và sẽ có nhiều nhân vật hơn trong các DLC tương lai.

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

Trong hơn 4 năm qua, Street Fighter V đã trải qua một lượng lớn thay đổi, cập nhật cũng như ra mắt nhiều DLC. Vào ngày 14 tháng 2, một phiên bản mới của tựa game mang phụ đề Champion Edition được ra mắt cho mọi nền tảng và sẽ là một phiên bản tối thượng cho cả fan hâm mộ kỳ cựu và những người chơi mới. Nó sẽ bao gồm những màn chơi mới, trang phục, thay đổi cân bằng và một danh sách lên tới 40 nhân vật. Trong số những nhân vật đó có sự trở lại của Seth, boss trong tựa Street Fighter 4, người được độc quyền ra mắt cho riêng phiên bản Champion Edition. Một sự cải tiến mới kết hợp với cả một mùa giải hành động giải đấu phía trước có nghĩa là năm 2020 chắc chắn sẽ là 1 năm tuyệt vời cho fan hâm mộ Street Fighter trên toàn thị trường quốc tế.

Marvel’s Iron Man VR

Được ra mắt độc quyền cho PSVR, bạn sẽ được hóa thân thành 1 trong các người anh hùng vĩ đại nhất trên Trái Đất trong cuộc phiêu lưu mới về Iron Man với tựa game mang tên Marvel’s Iron man VR. Một đoạn trailer về tựa game đã được đưa ra, cho bạn thấy được chiếc VR headset có thể giả lập giao diện UI trong chiếc mũ của Tony ra làm sao, cũng như cho thấy những khung cảnh tuyệt đẹp khi đang bay. Sử dụng những vũ khí và thiết bị của Ironman trong môi trường thực tế ảo, người chơi sẽ phải chiến đấu với các thế lực để bảo vệ thế giới.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Sau một thập kỷ chờ đợi, Final Fantasy VII Remake sẽ được ra mắt trên PS4 sắp tới. Cộng đồng Square Enix RPG đã chia sẻ nhau một tin đồn xoay quanh việc sẽ có một bản remake cho Final Fantasy VII vào đầu những năm 2000 khi có tin Square Enix đang làm một tựa game trên PS2. Tuy nhiên dự án đó đã bị đóng băng cho tới lúc E3 2015 công bố trailer chính thức về phiên bản remake của tựa game sử dụng Unreal Engine 4. Square Enix cũng đã ấn định ngày ra mắt chính thức cho tựa game vào ngày 3 tháng 3 năm 2020 – tròn 23 năm sau ngày phiên bản đầu tiên ra mắt. Và theo những gì chúng tôi thấy cho đến hiện tại thì tựa game này rất rất đáng mong đợi.

Nioh 2

Chỉ 1 năm sau ngày ra mắt Nioh của Team Ninja trong năm 2017, một phiên bản tiếp theo đã được đưa ra trong E3 2018. Dù cho là tựa game tiếp theo nhưng bối cảnh của trò chơi được thiết lập tại thời điểm trước những sự kiện của phần đầu. Tương tự với giai đoạn ra mắt của phần game đầu tiên, một bản beta demo đã được ra mắt trong khoảng time giới hạn, cho ta thấy được những kẻ địch mới, sức mạnh yokai mới, và tính năng tùy chỉnh ngoại hình nhân vật chính. Đạo diễn sáng tạo của Team Ninja, Tom Lee đảm bảo rằng tất cả phản hồi đến từ người chơi bản beta đều được tiếp nhận một cách nhanh nhất, và việc cải thiện cũng sẽ diễn ra. Vậy nên nếu bạn yêu thích các tựa game samurai hành động tốc độ cao, Nioh 2 sẽ cho bạn chính xác những gì bạn cần.

(Còn tiếp…)

Diablo IV tung bản cập nhật đầu tiên, quái vật sẽ trông hung hãn, thiện chiến và đen tối hơn

Theo Nhịp Sống Việt

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Nguồn: GameK

Bài viết Final Fantasy VII Remake và những tựa game đỉnh nhất trên Playstation năm 2020 (P1) đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Đồ Chơi Công Nghệ.

source https://dochoicongnghe.com.vn/final-fantasy-vii-remake-va-nhung-tua-game-dinh-nhat-tren-playstation-nam-2020-p1-12445.html

#do choi cong nghe #tin tuc cong nghe #thai thanh binh

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fuzzybearbarian · 8 years ago

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Nioh Dual Sword Build - Justice Ministry Armor Set Based

This Justice Ministry set build is the build I finished the final mission in NG+ with (that mission is level 310 and I was only 165 when I did it, and did it easily). It is by far the most fun build I've played, and I've respec'd dozens of times to try different builds with various other armor sets. This is my favorite because it: - is light and fast. You have so much Ki you can run and attack and defend for what feels like forever - capitalizes on the high damage skillset of dual swords to deal massive OP damage - focuses on destroying enemy ki, making them easy to kill fast and hindering their ability to get their ki back - hardly use elixirs as you keep getting your health back with every skill hit you make - powers up your Living Weapon super fast, so can be customized into a living weapon build easily if you want - makes farming a cinch, whether it is bosses or revenants - oh, and did I mention tons of ki? If you forget to ki pulse it really won't matter anymore.

I also think this is the start of a potential great PVP build, but we'll see on that when it happens.

**THE SETUP** This is a HEART/MAGIC/SPIRIT build.

Body 15 Heart 99 Stamina 11 Strength 6 Skill 22 Dexterity 6 Magic 38 Spirit 23 (though minimum is 21 to get the Guardian Spirit of Kara-jishi, I put in 2 extra points so I can play with all Guardian Spirits except the final one which I don't like and which costs the most of 25).

**DUAL SWORD: Tsuruga Masamune & Hocho Toshiro (Justice Ministry Set Piece)** Damage Bonus (Less Armor) A+ Close combat attack Ki reduction Strong attack ki damage Skill life drain Earth (for ki damage) Change to attack (Heart) A+

Note: If you can get a great 7 attribute roll on a dual sword, I recommend putting the set piece dual sword as your secondary instead. I haven't been so lucky, so I'm still using it as my first as I've been rolling/forging/farming to get the perfect 7 attribute Earth sword, but haven't been lucky enough to get one yet that will suit the reforging/soul matching I want to do. If I did get the 7 roll, I would want/reforge the 7th slot with Final Blow Damage.

**SECONDARY WEAPON:** Run whatever you want. I'm running another dual sword with a different elemental damage: DUAL SWORD 2: O-Kanehira & Uguisu-maru Enemies Defeated Damage Bonus Close combat attack ki reduction Skill life drain Close combat ki damage Final blow damage Change to attack (aim for A+) Lightning (pairs with Kara-jishi, the Guardian Spirit of Choice)

Note: Use any weapon here that you like. I have a second Dual Sword set for two reasons. One is I like to have access to a second elemental type. If I'm doing a water level, I'll swap this out for a Fire dual sword, for example. However, the main reason I do this is because I hate seeing all the weapon clutter on my character. I don't like seeing a spear sticking out, I hate seeing a giant cannon on my back, and I dislike the dangling Kusarigama. So I put on a second dual sword and in turn don't see a different secondary weapon attached to my character :)

**THIRD WEAPON**: * BOW: Tate-ugachi Long range attack damage Enemies Defeated Damage Bonus Ranged bulls-eye bonus Life recovery from bulls-eye

**FOURTH WEAPON**: * RIFLE: Ravenwing Rifle Familiarity Damage Bonus Longe Range Attack Damage Ranged bulls-eye bonus Life Recovery from bulls-eye Equipment drop rate

* damage bonuses are what to focus on. Life recovery is also good as often you take a shot when giving one.

**ARMOR: Justice Ministry Armor Set (Minimum stat requires Body 15, Skill 16)**

Note: I have refashioned my armor set. The Justice Ministry Armor set looks different to what you see in the video.

**JUSTICE MINISTRY ARMOR SET PERKS:** Damage Reduction 1.6% Skill damage (Moon Shadow) 30% (I don't use this though) Close combat damage 9.7% Living Weapon duration +3 Amrita Guage Addition +21.4% Strong attack ki damage +15.6%

Armor perks to focus on are: Life Ki Toughness Defense Attack

Note: Attack rolls on gloves only, but it is inheritable. That means once you gain full familiarity on a set of gloves with an Attack perk, you can soul match the attack into any piece in your armor set. So, find non armor set gloves, use them until your Familiarity bar is full, then soul match them into your armor set. Rinse and repeat until you have Attack on all armor pieces.

Optional: Look to reforge and gain each of the following perks, adding each perk only once to an armor piece (ie, spreading them out across your armor set): Unlimited Onmyo Damage Bonus (less Armor) Amrita Earned Dash Endurance

**EQUIPMENT:** Select items that give you Yokai Close Combat Damage & Earth Damage as priorities. If you can get items that have both, use them. If not, Yokai Close Combat Damage is the priority, Earth second. Other than that, Living Weapon Enhancement and Durability is next on the list.

**SHORTCUTS 1** Earth Talisman x4 Weakness Talisman x4 Carnage Talisman x4 Lifeseal Talisman x4

**SHORTCUTS 2** Elixir Protection Talisman x3 Guardian Spirit x3 Sloth Talisman x2 (I carry 2 for the what if moments, but if I want to farm I'll up this to 6. Farming revenants with sloth is super fast and super easy. Sloth isn't really needed with this build aside from its usefulness with speeding up farming. Also, use it if you want to for fun, just because.)

Note: You can mix up your shortcuts to the number of each item that suits your play style. Often I'll run 6 Earth Talismans and 6 Lifeseal Talisman's, and run less of something else so I can do that. With Earth and lifeseal enemies don't last long!

**GUARDIAN SPIRIT (A few choices, depending on situation and your play style)** Kara-jishi (the inherent INCREASE ATTACK (SKILL) perk is the best damage perk, even though it doesn't give a value. I tried multiple Guardian Spirits. There's a few good ones that work nicely with this build, but Kara-jishi stands out among the crowd. Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of Kara-jishi's Talisman attack. It doesn't do much and it is easy to completely miss your enemy with it. But, it has a passive perk of life drain 20 which is great. Put life recovery on a weapon and it's health all day!

You can also use Paired Raiken, which when maxed gives 17.5% Ki Damage and 18% Yokai Close Combat Damage. Paired Raiken's Talisman attack isn't too bad.

My personal favorite Talisman ability is the dragon Guardian Spirit Mizuchi. It knocks down anything, looks awesome, and its Living Weapon doesn't reorient your character when you activate it like Kato or other guardians that spin you around. Plus, though it's damage perks start low, they increase with each kill. The longer you go without dying, which is easy with this build, the more damage you do - and this applies to all damage, not just skill like Kara-jishi does, so you can have fun playing how you like and not just spamming Whirlwind, if you want.

So for me I run Mizuchi for increasing damage, knockdown, and, well, I like the animation. But if I'm farming and want immediate devastating damage, I run Kara-jishi.

Note: I have my favorite Guardian Spirits maxed to level 30. Doesn't take much to do this. Just farm the White Tiger (I have posted a video on how to do this) for heaps of Amrita and you can level up a Guardian Spirit from scratch completely in less than half an hour.

**SKILLS**

Okay, here are the skills I have unlocked. The number in brackets is the number of skill points it will take to unlock it. I put a total on each one. Some include the number of the skill prior to it to give a proper indication of how many skill points it will take to unlock the skill you actually want. Use these numbers to help guide you where and in what order to put your valuable skill points as you level up.

**SKILLS (UNIVERSAL)** Grapple (1) Ki Pulse: Heaven (1) Living Water: Heaven (5) Ki Pulse: Man (1) Living Water Man (3) Ki Pulse: Earth (1) Living Water: Earth (1)

**SKILLS (SWORD)** Indomitable Spirit III (2+4+5+6=17) Relentless III (3+5+6+7=21) Sword of Execution (Mystic Art) (7)

**SKILLS (DUAL SWORD)** Tachi Arts: III (1+6+7+8=22) Windstorm (3) Windstorm II (4) Defense Arts: III (2+4+5+6=17) The Shrike (2+3=7) Momentum (Mystic Art) (7) Note: Moonshadow is perked by 30% with Justice Ministry Armor. I didn't really like spinning around behind the enemy, so I dumped this skill with a subsequent build. If you want it, it will cost you 13 extra Samurai points to unlock, or you'll have to dump something.

**SKILLS (SPEAR)** Cornered Tiger III (2+2+7+8=19)

**SKILLS (AXE)** Fortitude III (2+3+4+5+6=24) Inner Light (Mystic art) (7) Cornered Boar III (3+6+7+8)

**SKILLS (Kusarigama)** Armor Piercer III (3+5+6+7=21) Full Moon Kata III (2+4+5+6=17)

**SKILLS (NINJA)** Concealment (Mystic Art) - makes bows and guns devastating Quivermaker II (2+3=5) Bowmaster I (2) Shot Pouch I (4) Dashing III (1+3+4+5=13) Cloudrunner II (3)

**SKILLS (ONMYO MAGIC)** Weakness Talisman III (1+1+2+3=7) Lifeseal Talisman III (1+2+3=6) Talisman: Sloth III (2+3+4=9) Awakening (Mystic Art) (5) Talisman: Earth III (1+2+3=6) Pure Mind: III (2+3+4=9) Protection Talisman III (1+1+4+5+6=17) Evil Ward III (2+3+4=9) Carnage Talisman III (1+2+3=6) Guardian Spirit Talisman III (2+3+4=9) Inanimate Enchantment III (2+3+4=9) Incantation Mastery III (3) - important to save you from putting more points into magic in order to ready magic at the shrine and equip it all

Note: Magic Capacity tops out at 40. So the reason I've unlocked all III's is to make sure I can use as much of my magic abilities as possible for the cheapest magic cost available.

**KODAMA BLESSING** Whatever you want. I usually go for more Amrita as this helps perk getting your Living Weapon faster and helps you level up faster, but if I'm chasing a weapon or armor or doing a level I think I need more elixirs for, I'll select whatever fits. Pretty much choose what suits your needs at the time, but go for Amrita as your staple.

**CLAN - Honda** I ran with Kato for a fair bit of NG+, which gives 10% Earth Damage and you get 10% less damage when attacking. Then I ran Date for a bit, as this perks Living Weapon with durability of +100 and Living Weapon duration of 5.0. But I found after a while I didn't use Living Weapon that much, so I went with Honda to get the 7% extra damage with Whirlwind and (if you use it) the Moonshadow skill, plus 40% less damage on the first hit you take when your health is full. That's a pretty awesome perk worth having with this build. You can go Tachibana for extra lightning damage if you're taking advantage of a lightning build.

Note: Also remember you get small perks for the more Prestige you have. So be sure to go for reputation points by getting Titles etc. This usually gets overlooked but it all helps!

Video for farming White Tiger Fur (requirement to forge the dual swords for this set): https://youtu.be/iKh4dHfz9AI

Video for farming the set itself: https://youtu.be/e5d5B6bChj4

#Nioh #Dual Swords #Justice Ministry Armor Set

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