The Best Style Skills and Weapons to Unlock First in Nioh 3

In Nioh 3 , players have access to several skill trees. While variety is welcome, this abundance of options can be confusing for newcomers to the series. The skills you choose significantly impact your effectiveness in combat, but unlocking them is only half the battle. You still need to learn how to use them properly and integrate them into your playstyle. In this guide, we’ll cover the best samurai and ninja skills in Nioh 3 and offer some tips on how to use them.

The Best Samurai Skills to Unlock First in Nioh 3

Here are the key samurai skills to focus on first:

• Reflect : Allows you to block an attack at the perfect moment to reflect it, completely avoiding damage and restoring your Ninjutsu and Arts gauges.
• Stream 1 and 2 : Changing stance immediately after a Ki pulse greatly increases the amount of stamina restored.
• Ice Moon Skills : Three linked skills that allow you to launch an additional attack for free after using “Flow” to restore Ki. To do this, press the stance change button again immediately after changing stance.
• High/Low Stance : Switching between stances changes your moveset and dodging behavior.

Deflecting attacks and using Ice Moon skills are key principles of samurai combat in Nioh 3. These skills allow you to maintain your position and continuously trade blows with your opponent without depleting your Ki or taking damage. Switching stances unlocks powerful and potent combos, but if you’re a complete beginner just learning the game, we recommend mastering the middle stance for any weapon first.

You can use the Ice Moon attack from the same stance you are in, but you will not receive the additional Ki recovery from the Flow skill in this case.

Recommended Starting Skills for Samurai Weapons

Here are the recommended starting skills for each samurai weapon type:

• Sword : Kick is great for draining an enemy’s Ki, while Night Rain deals massive damage to enemies with depleted stamina.
• Dual Swords : Use Death Stream to quickly close the distance and God’s Wind 2 to punish. The recovery animation can be canceled with Guardian Spirit or Stream .
• Odachi : Sunset Breeze: Heaven allows you to smoothly transition from a mid or low stance to a high stance mid-combo, opening up access to the powerful Double Moon strike .
• Axes/Hammers : Victory Dash restores your Ki while damaging an enemy, and Titanic Might is perfect for finishing combos.
• Alternating Blade : The Crusher excels at depleting an opponent’s Ki. While the stance-swapping skills ( Blade / Razor / Retribution ) require mastery, they are crucial to mastering this weapon, so it’s best to get used to them from the start.
• Spear : Both Spear Strike and Spear Blossom are great at adding extra damage to your combos.
• Knuckles : Use Stomp for increased damage, then combine Spinning Kicks with Whirlwind for devastating damage.

We recommend unlocking the skills listed above to master the basic combos for each weapon. Practice using them in combat to better understand their use.

In Nioh 3, you can re-distribute skill points for free. If you want to practice in an isolated setting, go to the altar, select the War Scroll , and then find the Training Grounds option .

The Best Ninja Skills to Unlock First in Nioh 3

Here are the key ninja skills you should unlock first:

• Dodge : Dodging at the perfect moment restores Ki, as well as the Arts and Ninjutsu gauges.
• Cicada Shell : Using the skill right before an enemy strike will teleport you behind the enemy.
• Fire Breath : You breathe out a stream of flame.
• Gunpowder Bomb : Throwing an explosive bomb.
• Fire Trap : Place an explosive trap on the ground.

Unlike the Samurai skill tree, the Ninja tree is more like a toolbox . While the Samurai’s Flow and stance- based skills are crucial to their playstyle, the Ninjutsu and techniques from the Ninja tree are situational (with the exception of Dodge , which is always useful). We chose the above skills for the following reasons:

• Dodge allows you to perform perfect dodges, improving your Ki and Ninjutsu control if you time it correctly.
• The Cicada Shell allows you to cancel combos and dodge enemy attacks.
• Fire Breath is a simple way to set enemies on fire. It’s also great for dealing with slug-like water yokai and other enemies weak to fire.
• The Powder Bomb deals area-of-effect damage, making it effective against groups of targets.
• The Fire Trap is an alternative to the Gunpowder Bomb that deals more damage.

Ninjutsu can be used while jumping, which significantly speeds up their use.

Recommended Starting Skills for Ninja Weapons

Here are the recommended starting skills for each type of ninja weapon:

• Ninja Swords : Use Shadow Cyclone to move behind the enemy, then deal damage with Kurama’s Sword Dance .
• Dual Ninja Swords : Use Cloud Splitter to launch yourself into the air, use a Ninjutsu (such as Fire Trap ), and then finish the combo with Spinning Drill .
• Kusarigama : Open with a light attack that transitions into Death Mark , then use Crimson Rain . Finish the combo with Guardian Spirit or the second part of Crimson Rain .
• Tonfa : Parry and counter with Overpower and Dragon Slayer . Use Storm of Blows to close the distance and deal damage.
• Hatchets : Falling Waterfall opens up aerial combos, while Falling Water ends them.
• Forked Staff : Swift Cloud and Falcon Strike are great for getting behind enemies. Use Serpentine Sweep to deal massive damage from behind your target.
• Claws : The Flying Fist allows you to break away from your opponent, while the Spinning Kick helps you get closer to them.

As you progress through the game, you’ll find gear with Crucible Arts —weapon skills that are directly tied to the weapon itself. Be sure to inspect them and see if they can be incorporated into your combos.

Ninja-style play revolves around controlling your Ki and relentless, constant attack . Your goal is to rush into combat, inflict maximum damage, and retreat at the right time.