Nioh 3 Tips & Tricks
A beginner and intermediate guide covering aerial ninjutsu variations, Soul Match weapon upgrades, Crucible art farming, Guardian Spirit cancels, Samurai form proficiency, Scampuss utility, and key settings and hub features that are easy to miss.
13 Tips · 6 categories
6 tipsCombat
Use Ninjutsu Skills Mid-Air for Tactical Variations
In Ninja form, your ninjutsu skills behave differently when used in the air. Explosive mines can be dropped directly above an enemy's head to detonate instantly, caltrops spread out in a wider pattern, and fire skills produce a short burst instead of a continuous stream. You can also follow up aerial ninjutsu with additional attacks before you land.
Slide During a Dash for Unique Weapon Attacks
Holding the crouch button during a dash makes your character perform a slide. Each weapon type has a unique attack that triggers out of the slide animation. On a downward slope the slide can be chained continuously. On controller, double-click the left stick and hold it to go straight into a slide from a standing position.
Use Guardian Spirit Skill to Cancel Long Animations
Your Guardian Spirit skill can cancel out of slow charged attack animations, letting you chain into the spirit attack for efficient combo sequences. It also works when you are completely out of Ki, and can interrupt the vulnerable stunned state that occurs when an enemy breaks your stance.
Chain Multiple Amplified Attacks in Samurai Form
The Art Proficiency meter in Samurai form charges while you attack and block. When it fills, your next strong attack or Martial Art skill is amplified. The amplification window lasts a couple of seconds, so you can quickly chain a jumping strong attack into a second strong attack or Martial Art to get two amplified hits from a single charge.
Equip Scampuss Soul Core to Drain Enemy Ki
The Scampuss soul core summons small cat-like companions that continuously harass enemies rather than dealing a single burst of damage and disappearing. Against human enemies they interrupt actions and reduce Ki with each hit, creating consistent openings for your own attacks. Scampuss soul cores can be found by chasing the creatures on the map or purchased from a vendor.
Separate Burst Break and Style Shift in Settings
By default, performing a Burst Break automatically swaps your active style between Samurai and Ninja. To separate these inputs, go to Settings, then Controls, then Style Shift and Burst Break Separation, and set it to On. After this change, a tap of right trigger performs the Burst Break only, while holding right trigger performs a style shift.
1 tipStealth
Double Jump to Extend Sneak Attack Range
You do not need to creep all the way up to an enemy's back to land a sneak attack. Double jumping from a moderate distance extends your sneak attack trigger range, reducing the risk of being detected before you initiate.
1 tipCrafting
Use Soul Match to Keep Your Favorite Weapon Strong
At the Blacksmith in the Eternal Rift, sell roughly half your unwanted loot for gold and feed the other half into Soul Extraction to gather upgrade materials. Use those materials with Soul Match on your main weapon to continuously raise its damage output and keep it competitive as you progress.
3 tipsProgression
Lock and Donate Max Familiarity Weapons for Amrita
Before offloading old weapons, lock any that have a full familiarity gauge so they are not accidentally sold or scrapped. Donating fully familiar weapons at a Shrine via the Make an Offering option yields dramatically more Amrita than donating fresh gear, providing a meaningful leveling boost.
Auto-Consume Spirit Stones at the Level Up Shrine
Instead of using Spirit Stones one by one from your inventory, visit a Shrine, select Level Up, and press the right stick button shown at the bottom of the screen. This opens a prompt to consume all Spirit Stones in your inventory at once, or only the amount needed for the next level.
Claim Prestige Titles for Permanent Amrita Bonuses
The Titles tab in the menu contains a Prestige system that awards points as you complete in-game achievements. These points can be spent on permanent character upgrades. The Subjugation tab in particular includes a percentage increase to all Amrita earned, which compounds over the entire playthrough and is worth prioritizing early.
1 tipExploration
Equip Crucible Weapons to Permanently Unlock Their Arts
Red skull weapons found in Crucible zones carry exclusive Crucible Arts that can be powerful additions to any build. Equipping a Crucible weapon and fully building up its familiarity gauge permanently unlocks its art, which you can then apply to any other weapon of the same category. Use a Whetstone or familiarity-boosting powder to speed up the process.
1 tipCustomization
Change Equipment Appearance at the Eternal Rift Hub
Inside the main building at the Eternal Rift, there is an interaction point that lets you change your equipment's appearance. Any gear you have found unlocks its skin, which can be mapped over whatever you currently have equipped, letting you maintain optimal stats while controlling how your character looks.
Verified: 2026-05-30 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.