How to Level Up Weapons in Nioh 3: The Dating System

Unlike many Soulslike games, Nioh 3 features a more complex gear system, reminiscent of ARPGs like Diablo. Each weapon has unique modifiers, but they all share one key mechanic: the Familiarity system.

This stat is easy to overlook, but it’s crucial for effective combat. Here’s how it works and why you should pay attention to it.

Why is Familiarization with Weapons necessary?

Leveling up your Acquaintances provides two key benefits:

• Increases weapon damage and characteristics.
• Unlocks Crucible Arts if equipped on this weapon.

The more you use a weapon, the better your character becomes at using it. This directly increases your damage output. If you max out your Familiarity with a weapon that has the Crucible Art skill , this skill will become available for use with other weapons of the same type.

Maximum Familiarity extends the life of a weapon , allowing it to compete with higher-level finds. It will eventually need to be replaced, but you can upgrade it with the “Soul Fusion” service at the Blacksmith of the Eternal Abyss. This will retain its Familiarity , giving it an advantage over new equipment.

How to quickly increase your Familiarity

Unlike Amrita, you don’t need to kill enemies to increase your Familiarity . Simply damaging them with your weapon is sufficient. To level up your Familiarity as quickly as possible , find a suitable “training” target and attack it.

The best bosses for this are those that can be fought multiple times, such as Jakotsu Baba. To re-fight a boss, go to any Shrine, select the “Battle Scroll” option, and select the desired mission. Reach the boss’s arena and fight until he’s low on health, then let him kill you to reset the fight and start over.

Once Familiarity with a weapon that has Crucible Art reaches the maximum, the new skill can be found in the Martial Arts/Ninjutsu Customization menu.