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

Guide by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor

Published on May 8, 2017

Our Nioh guide will help you become a yokai-slaying master samurai in Team Ninja's attempt to raise the difficulty bar set by Dark Souls.

Nioh is a lot more than just Dark Souls with a feudal Japanese wrapper. Based on an unfinished Akira Kurosawa script, it was announced way back in 2004 as a collaborative project between filmmakers and Koei Tecmo. Somewhere along the way Team Ninja got hold of it and gave the Musou-style hack and slash affair a major injection of its famous brand of demanding action gameplay, before wrapping it up in a From Software-feeling bow.

The result is a powerfully challenging action RPG, a formula that resulted in amazing Nioh reviews. Much as with Dark Souls, however, elements of the game can sometimes be a little obtuse or frustrating, so if you're preparing to go in or if you're already knee-deep in William's adventure but struggling, we've got some top guide pages and top tips and tricks for you based on our many hours with the game pre-launch.

With the new DLC Dragon of the North re-igniting interest in this uber-challenging PS4-exclusive, we're certain our Nioh guide has what you need to get you over that difficulty hump. From understanding the level up stats to fiddling with weapon stances, weapon familiarity and stamina management, we go over some of Nioh's systems, preparing you to make the most of them to avoid too many deaths - though be warned, you will still die. A lot.

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

Nioh is a bit of a weird game at times - sometimes it'll obviously hold your hand and direct you while other times it seems to take a sadistic pleasure in letting you flounder a bit. It almost seems designed to trap those of us who come in expecting to be able to play it Souls style, even. Allow us to fill in the gaps some - our guide pages will help you not to get so lost in Nioh's myriad systems.

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

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

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

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

What the elemental effects do, and how to use them

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

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

Ochoko cups are the all-important item that allows you to summon other players into your Nioh world to help you out in co-op. The catch? They're pretty rare. We explain how to farm a bunch of them with ease. Well, we say "ease". That's a bit of a lie.

How to respec your character and reset your skill points

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

Boss guide - strategies, weaknesses and tips for some of your toughest foes

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