If you dive head first into Team Ninja’s souls and expect an easy fight, you’re in for some trouble. You’ll have to take your time to figure out the ins and outs of the game’s mechanics and understand enemy movesets. But if Nioh 2 is still hard, here are a few ways to make it easier.
Nioh 2 is hard, but you can make it easier by utilizing the Kodama Blessings, using Elixirs, tweaking your build to your liking, and trying to go for attacks from behind to get more damage in before the actual fight starts. You could technically cheese bosses if they give you too much trouble.
Nioh 2 is easier than Team Ninja’s first installment, but it still proves to be a bit challenging for the average game, especially early on. So here’s a list of ways to make Nioh 2 easier.
1. Find Kodama Blessings and Elixirs
As you blaze through each mission, aim to find all Kodama so you can unlock more Elixirs. They come in handy, especially after you die and respawn. Finding Kodama also enables you to obtain some bonus XP via Kodama Blessing over at Shrines.
With every 5 Kodama you obtain, you get 1 more Elixir upon respawning. And you can find a total of 25 Kodama in each region. Do the match, and you can get 5 extra Elixirs per region.
And now, you’ll be armed with a total of 8 Elixirs, which save you from life-or-death scenarios against difficult bosses.
2. Use The Spear
If you’re having difficulty facing off against small-fry enemies, you should opt for the spear. But why? It’s got better reach and packs a damaging punch from a distance. The spear is pretty OP, especially with Spearfall. You can easily knock out enemies with a fast high-stance combo, offering the lucrative opportunity of a swift deathblow.
Another Skill to equip for your Spear is The Spear Flourish skill. It comes in handy when facing off against human bosses and enemies. Spear Flow basically pushes away enemies during a KiBurst and stun-locks them for the entirety of the fight. All you do is press Square.
Use Spear Flourish, a Ki Burst with R1, a quick attack. Rinse and repeat, and it’s an easy cheese. But one thing to note here is that it doesn’t work against Yokai enemies, but it’s practically OP against human enemies and bosses.
3. Attack From Behind
No one likes a stab in the back. And if you’re looking to get some double damage in, that’s entirely possible in souls-like and souls borne games. Just run behind the enemy after performing a heavy attack and get a strong attack or a few weak hits to deal double damage.
4. Go For Light Armor
While lacking in defenses, Light Armor allows you to recover Ki quickly and makes you pretty nimble on your feet. This makes dodging all the easier. This is incredibly helpful in fast-paced fights. And if you need extra protection, just use the Steel Talisman Magic Spell.
5. Magic
Where spears, swords, and glaives are all the rage, using magic doesn’t make sense. But magic makes all the difference in Nioh 2.
Use the Rejuvenation Talisman to heal yourself over time and the Steel Talisman to buff your defenses. With light armor and a few spells, you get high KI Recovery, extra protection, and loads of movement speed.
For magic, you need to first come across an Omnyo Mage Lock via an item pickup. And that’s where you get your first Magic Skill Point. From there, you keep gaining Magic Skill Points by merely using them over time.
6. Ninjutsu
A well-rounded shinobi is a good shinobi, and they come with cheap Ninjutsu attacks. Master Paralysis traps or Poison as they’re great supportive tools. Bosses and some enemies are weak in Ninjutsu.
7. Easy Boss Cheese
Keep running sideways and let the enemy miss. Follow up with a counter-attack using a single high-stance blow with triangle. Rinse and Repeat. This tactic is frowned upon in the Souls borne and souls like community.
But hey, if it’s stupid but works, it’s not stupid. This will take 10-15 minutes with each enemy, but it’s much better than repeating the same boss over 20 times.
8. Farm and Grind
If you still feel that small-fry enemies pose a big threat. Go over to a shrine and grind out a region till you’re 20-30 levels above a mission requirement. If all enemies are dead, go over to a shrine to make the enemies spawn again.
9. Reset Skill Points and Attributes
If you’re not fine with the way you progressed your skill tree and want your skill points back, you can visit the dojo to reset your skill tree for a measly fee. Attribute points can be reset using the Book of Reincarnation over at the Blacksmith.
Conclusion
Nioh 2 is hard but you can make it easier. Make sure you learn the basics of combat and game mechanics, and master parrying, and counter bursts to become an actually well-rounded Nioh 2 player.