u/EternalFlareUltra

People have been mentioning Axe being pretty OP this time around since Nioh 3 came out and for good reason. It does insane amounts of Ki damage normally. However, on Stone of Penance + 5 difficulty, it's actually much more balanced and forces you to get better with the weapon.

Even using some of its best Ki damaging moves, as you can see, it takes a while to break Ki, and it feels a lot more earned. I was actually disappointed when I tried Axe prior to the update as stuff was going down too easily. But it's so much more fun to use now with SOP since this causes bosses to have both way more HP and Ki.

Notable Martial Arts Used in this run

Rage -> Buffs you damage in exchange for moves taking more Ki. If you can manage your Ki decently, it's certainly worth using.

Heaven and Earth -> Does good regular damage + Ki damage in medium sized openings.

Rumbling Earth -> Another great move for dealing massive Ki damage. Can be held down and does more damage/Ki the more you hold it, but even at about mid-charge it does a nice chunk of damage.

Soul Devourer -> New move in Nioh 3. This is one of the best parries/counters in the game. This is because it has a ton of active frames and is not super hard to time. You can even use this to go through multiple quick attacks at times, and it even heals you. I did this into TMTM cancels -> Rumbling Earth a few times.

Victory Rush -> Another new move in Nioh 3. A really quick and fluid gap closer. Ideal for when enemies jump back.

Tornado Edge -> One of the best damage dealers in the game. It's a slow, large commitment move so it's ideal for large openings or when Ki is broken. You can use it in other openings too if you're willing to cancel out of it (via Style Shift Flow or TMTM cancels) but there's arguably better options if all the hits especially the last hit do not land.

This one is probably my hardest no damage run yet. Hiruko has several phases and moves and with SOP+5 and limited gear, you're going to have deal with each phase fully instead of bypassing any of it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I often get asked about the build and martial arts:

Build:

No wearing armor for the Unarmored Death boost. That + a few other passive skills like Counteroffensive Deflect and Versatility were used.

Martial Arts Used:

Lightning Blade - One of the best counters in the game. I use it a lot to get past combo starters especially the first two hits. Or during attacks with a lot of active frames in general (since the counter itself is so active).

Empty Retribution - Used for large openings when the boss is still for a bit. Ideal after they are finished long combos/big moves.

Stance Switch Skills - I like using all 3 to build up Switch Glaive stacks quickly (you get a damage boos with 5 stacks active). The low stance one I also like as a combo ender as it propels you forward so if the boss happens to move back, it keeps you in their face.

Cyclone - Another really quick gap closer for when bosses reel back or jump back.

Frost Moon Low - The quickest combo ender SG has without doing special cancels where you regain Ki during the sequence.

----------------------------------------------------------

You can do a lot more than what's shown here. Nioh 3's skill ceiling is insanely high. But it took a lot of mental energy just to pull this run off playing somewhat basic. With more practice and experience, I hope to show off really cool things like extending Arts Proficiency chains while avoiding attacks and all kinds of fancier combos/extensions.

I know the popular sentiment is that Nioh 2 is the better game and one of the best action games ever. Initially when the game first came out, I would have agreed Nioh 2 is significantly better than 3. However, as the updates rollout and I explore the combat more, Nioh 3 is quickly becoming one of my favorite action games as well.

There are more combat options and variety than arguably ever in the series with Nioh 3. Nioh 3 introduces, Arts Proficiency, universal Samurai deflect, Ninja mode, equipping 4 weapons at once, more transitions into various martial arts, new martial arts etc. It has also kept some advanced tech from Nioh 2 including evasion cancels and item cancels. Then there's new advanced tech such as TMTM cancels which it seems TN is not going to patch out. So, when it comes to pure combat depth, technical options and skill ceiling, Nioh 3 has arguably already surpassed Nioh 2 or at least matched it.

More recently, Stone of Penance levels are a game changer that alleviates a lot of the "too easy" complaints (although I'd argue the bosses were always challenging without OP builds). Even regular enemies/levels are pretty challenging now with SOP+5 which was one of the biggest complaints about Nioh 3. I highly advise everyone looking for a challenge to check it out. The new battle scroll missions are also fun and varied. All this before DLC is even out.

I know everyone is not a fan of the open field concept, but I think it was done pretty well. There's a decent amount of exploration and things to discover that are actually rewarding since they result in new, interesting and varied passive skills and martial arts. And there's not a ton of padding, so it never feels tedious to explore the map. And even if you dislike it, it's mostly optional beyond getting to the main missions the first time. In NG+ you can literally just bypass all of it and teleport straight to the main missions.

That's not to say Nioh 2 doesn't have big things over Nioh 3 as well. It has the missing Samurai weapons with stances, Yokai abilities, more side/short boss missions etc. And it's certainly valid to prefer the purely mission-based structure. And of course, the end game grind/Underworld is fantastic but that is almost certainly coming for Nioh 3 as well.

I think in general people should consider all the options Nioh 3 has added instead of only thinking about what is missing. That's why I love both games. They are fantastic action games with some of the deepest gameplay around while being distinct enough from each other making both worth playing.

I've heard a lot of people say Nioh 3's Kusarigama is far less in depth/interesting than the one in Nioh 2. I've used it a bit in Nioh 3 but want to check it out in Nioh 2 eventually. So I was curious what the exact differences are.

I understand you can equip a lot less moves in Ninja mode compared to Samurai/Nioh 2. But beyond this, are there a bunch of interesting moves/playstyles it had in Nioh 2 that are missing in Nioh 3?