Nioh Complete Edition: Beginner-to-Endgame Guide

This guide covers Nioh: Complete Edition on PC: the combat systems that actually matter (Ki, stances, Ki Pulse), stats and build archetypes, the full mission route through the base game and all three DLCs, boss advice, and how the New Game+ difficulty ladder works.

Researched September 2026 — current as of PC Update 1.24.8 (September 2022, Epic Online Services / crossplay support). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Ki is everything. Ki is your stamina bar. Attacking, dodging and blocking all spend it; if you run out you are stunned and open to a grapple. Manage Ki before you manage health.
Learn Ki Pulse on day one. After a combo, a blue glow appears around William. Press the Ki Pulse button (R1 on a controller by default) as it flashes to instantly recover most of the Ki you just spent. It also clears yokai miasma pools on the floor.
Use all three stances. High stance hits hardest but is slow and Ki-hungry, Low stance is quick with cheap dodges and better guard, Mid stance is the balanced default with the best blocking. Swap stances mid-combo (R1 + a face button) instead of committing to one.
Amrita is your XP. Spend it at shrines to level up. Dying drops it at your grave; get back there without dying again or it is gone.
Guardian Spirits and Living Weapon. Your chosen Guardian Spirit fills a gauge as you fight. Activate Living Weapon for a short window of invulnerability-style burst damage; save it for boss phases or emergencies, not trash mobs.
Loot is disposable. Nioh drops piles of gear. Wear the highest-level pieces with useful effects, then sell, offer at shrines (for Amrita and Kodama bonuses), or dismantle the rest at the blacksmith. Do not hoard.
Shrines respawn enemies. Resting refills health and elixirs but brings enemies back. Plan your route between shortcuts.
Onmyo Magic and Ninjutsu are not optional-feeling extras. Elemental talismans (fire, water, lightning, wind, earth) and throwables like shuriken and poison kunai trivialize many bosses. Spend at least a few points early.
Side missions are the real XP. Sub missions and Twilight missions reward gear, weapons and levels. If a main mission feels like a wall, do the side content in the region first.
Co-op exists and is not cheating. Ochoko Cups summon a visitor into your mission; Benevolent Graves let you summon AI copies of other players. Use them if you are stuck.

Core Combat: How Nioh Actually Plays

Ki, Ki Pulse and Flux

Every attack costs Ki. When you finish attacking, the Ki you spent shows as a recoverable chunk. A well-timed Ki Pulse recovers it; a perfect Ki Pulse (timing at the flash) recovers more, and stance-switching Ki Pulse ("Flux", unlocked in the Samurai skill tree) lets you change stance at the same moment. The core rhythm of the game is attack, Ki Pulse, attack.

Enemies have Ki too. Humans who run out stagger and can be grappled for heavy damage. Yokai have a visible Ki bar: deplete it and they collapse to the ground or reel, and you can finish them with a big hit. Many yokai also create miasma (the dark pools on the floor) that slows your Ki regeneration; Ki Pulse cleanses it.

Stances

Stance	Strengths	Weaknesses	Use it for
High	Highest damage per hit, best Ki damage	Slow, expensive, weak guard	Punishing openings, staggered enemies
Mid	Balanced, best blocking	Nothing stands out	Learning a new enemy, parrying humans
Low	Fast combos, cheap dodges	Low damage per hit	Aggressive dodge play, fast enemies

Blocking, Dodging and Grapples

Guarding costs Ki per hit. Heavy blows break your guard if you are low. Weapons and armor affect how much Ki a block costs.
Dodging is the safer default against yokai. Light armor makes dodges quicker and cheaper.
When a human enemy is out of Ki, a grapple (finisher) appears. Downed yokai can also be struck with a heavy follow-up.

Weapon Types

The Complete Edition includes all ten weapon categories:

Weapon	Feel
Sword (katana)	Best all-rounder; strong parries and flexible combos
Dual Swords	Very fast, economical on Ki, good guard
Spear	Long reach, crowd control, great for beginners
Axe (and hammers)	Huge hits, heavy Ki drain on enemies
Kusarigama	Mid-range sickle-and-chain, huge combos
Odachi	Big two-handed blade, added in Dragon of the North
Tonfa	Fast, combo-heavy martial weapon, added in Defiant Honor
Bow	Silent headshots, pulling enemies one at a time
Rifle	High single-shot damage, great for headshots
Hand Cannon	Massive damage on slow targets, very limited ammo

Weapon familiarity increases as you use a specific weapon, raising its stats. Each weapon family also has its own skill tree, bought with Samurai skill points (earned by leveling Body, Heart, Stamina, Strength and Skill).

Stats and What They Do

Per the Fextralife stat page, each stat raises core attributes and feeds different weapon trees. Check the scaling letters on a weapon's stat screen for exact numbers, since individual weapons vary.

Stat	Main effect	Associated with
Body	Life, poison and paralysis resistance	General survivability
Heart	Maximum Ki	Swords, Bows, Samurai skill points
Stamina	Life and equipment load	Hand Cannons, heavy armor
Strength	Ki Pulse, some equip load	Heavy and medium armor
Skill	Ki Pulse, a little ninjutsu power	Light armor; secondary scaling on several weapons
Dexterity	Ninjutsu power and capacity	Ninja skill tree
Magic	Onmyo power and capacity, yokai resistance	Onmyo skill tree
Spirit	Guardian Spirit power, Living Weapon gauge rate	Guardian Spirit builds

Rule of thumb for a first playthrough: put early points into your weapon's stat plus Heart (Ki) and Body/Stamina (Life), then add Magic once you want elemental talismans and paralysis/debuff talismans.

Build Archetypes

Build	Core weapon	Priority stats	Why it works
Onmyo Swordsman	Sword	Heart, Magic, Spirit	Elemental talismans plus the most flexible weapon; forgiving early game
Spear Controller	Spear	Body, Heart	Reach keeps you safe; sweeping attacks handle groups
Axe Tank	Axe plus Hand Cannon	Stamina, Strength	Heavy armor, huge Ki damage, cannon for bosses
Dual Sword Ninja	Dual Swords	Dexterity, Skill	Fast chains, shuriken and poison kunai for bursts
Kusarigama Skirmisher	Kusarigama	Skill, Dexterity	Extreme combo range, strong Ki Pulse flow
Living Weapon Spirit	Any	Spirit, Heart	Near-permanent Living Weapon uptime at high Spirit

Onmyo and Ninjutsu Picks Worth Taking Early

Elemental talismans: pick the element a boss is weak to and apply it to your weapon. Fire is valuable against many yokai; also try water and lightning.
Sloth talisman: slows an enemy's movement and attacks; one of the strongest boss tools in the game.
Paralysis: makes human bosses and many yokai easy to punish.
Shuriken and poison kunai (Ninjutsu): free chip damage and status build-up.
Elixir and consumable pouches: raise your carry limits.

Progression: Mission Route

Missions unlock region by region on the world map. Each region has main missions, sub missions, and Twilight missions (harder remixes with better drops). Recommended levels climb from single digits in Kyushu to 140+ in Omi, and the DLCs start around 170 and go past 240.

Base Game

Region	Main missions (in order)	Main bosses
Prologue (Tower of London)	The Man with the Guardian Spirit	Derrick the Executioner
Kyushu	Isle of Demons; Deep in the Shadows; The Spirit Stone Slumbers	Onryoki; Hino-Enma; Nue and Tachibana Muneshige
Chugoku	The Silver Mine Writhes; The Ocean Roars Again	Great Centipede; Umi-Bozu
Kinki	Spider Nest Castle; Falling Snow; The Demon of Mount Hiei	Joro-gumo; Yuki-Onna; Nue and White Tiger
Tokai	The Iga Escape; Memories of Death-Lilies; The Weight of the World; The Defiled Castle	Giant Toad; Ogress; Honda Tadakatsu and Okatsu
Sekigahara	Immortal Flame; Sekigahara; The Source of Evil	Saika Magoichi; Otani Yoshitsugu and Shima Sakon; Gasha-Dokuro
Omi	A Defiled Holy Mountain; The Samurai from Sawayama; The Demon King Revealed; The Queen's Eyes	Ishida Mitsunari; Obsidian Samurai; the boss rush ending with Oda Nobunaga, Edward Kelley and Yamata-no-Orochi; Hundred Eyes

DLC Chapters

DLC	Region	Main missions	Key bosses
Dragon of the North	Tohoku	Yokai Country; The One-Eyed Dragon's Castle; Spirit Stone Huntress	Date Shigezane; Katakura Shigenaga and Date Masamune; Maria
Defiant Honor	Siege of Osaka (Winter)	The Siege of Osaka; Scion of Virtue	Sarutobi Sasuke; Sanada Yukimura
Bloodshed's End	Siege of Osaka (Summer)	The Sanada's Resolve; Resentment Unleashed; The Last Samurai	Sanada Yukimura and Sasuke; Onmoraki; Toyotomi Hideyori and the Nine-Tailed Fox

The DLC missions are tuned for post-game characters. Finish the main story first. Bloodshed's End also brings the Janomecho and Nine Tails guardian spirits and expands the Abyss endgame mode.

Boss Tips

Derrick the Executioner (prologue): a slow tutorial duel in the Tower of London. Use it to practice Ki Pulse and dodging.
Onryoki (first Japan boss): he hits hard but telegraphs slowly. Stay close on his flank, attack in short bursts, Ki Pulse, and back off when he winds up. Kill him in Mid stance to learn blocking timing.
Hino-Enma: she flies out of reach and drains Ki with her gaze and miasma. Keep your Ki topped up, punish her when she lands, and use ranged weapons or ninjutsu while she hovers.
Nue: big lightning cat. Bring an element it resists poorly and hang near its sides, never its face.
Umi-Bozu: fought on a ship deck; watch the whole arena and use the space rather than hugging him.
Yuki-Onna: ice attacks. A fire talisman on your weapon helps a lot, and the Sloth talisman makes her far easier.
Human bosses (Tachibana Muneshige, Honda Tadakatsu, Sanada Yukimura, and so on): treat them like a duel. Guard, watch their Ki bar, and punish when they run out. Paralysis and Sloth talismans work on most of them.
General: read the boss's weakness in the in-game description or wiki, pre-apply the matching talisman, and pop Living Weapon when the boss enters a dangerous later phase.

Missables and Collectibles

Very little is permanently missable because every mission can be replayed, but some things are easy to overlook:

Kodama: small green spirits hidden in each mission. Finding them unlocks shrine blessings (for example better item drops, more Amrita, more elixirs). They carry across all missions, so completing a region's set is worth it.
Hot springs: hidden in some missions, they grant temporary buffs.
Sudama: mischievous yokai that swap items with you.
Hidden bosses and sub missions only appear after certain main missions; check the map after each main clear.
Steam-exclusive Dharmachakra Kabuto: claim it from the Boons option at a shrine.
Achievements: some tie into collecting every Kodama, all weapon types, and finishing Way of the Strong.

Economy, Forge and Gear

Blacksmith: buy, forge, reforge (re-roll special effects), soul match (raise an item's level by fusing a higher one into it) and use Familiarity to keep a favorite weapon up to date.
Soul Match is how you keep a favorite weapon relevant for the whole game; it costs gold, so sell gear regularly.
Offer at shrines: excess gear converts to Amrita and fills Kodama offerings.
Set bonuses: many armor sets grant powerful bonuses when you wear several pieces. Mixing two partial sets is often better than one full set.

New Game+ and the Difficulty Ladder

Difficulty	Unlocks after	What changes
Way of the Samurai	Start	Base game
Way of the Strong	Finishing the main story	Divine gear, the Abyss, secondary Guardian Spirit
Way of the Demon	Way of the Strong	Harder enemies, better gear
Way of the Wise	Way of the Demon	Ethereal gear
Way of the Nioh	Way of the Wise	Top difficulty; stats can be raised further

You can switch between difficulties freely from the map menu once they are unlocked, so there is no penalty for going back to farm.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Spamming heavy attacks in High stance until you run out of Ki. Always leave enough Ki for a dodge.
Never using Ki Pulse. It is the single biggest skill jump in the game.
Hoarding gear. Your inventory fills fast and you lose out on Amrita and gold.
Ignoring magic and ninjutsu. Sloth and elemental talismans are massive force multipliers.
Rushing the DLC before the base game ending. It is balanced for a finished character.
Healing in the middle of a boss combo. Only drink elixirs after dodging clear.
Staying in heavy armor you cannot move in. Check your equip load; over a certain point dodges become sluggish.

Advanced Tips

Flux: switching stance as you Ki Pulse chains combos without dead time. Practice it in the Dojo missions.
Yokai Realm: late-game areas and certain enemies spread a Yokai Realm that suppresses Ki recovery. Ki Pulse inside it clears it; ending it quickly is often the main goal.
Twilight missions have the best early drop tables and rotate. Check them every time you visit the map.
Dojo missions (samurai, ninja and onmyo training trials) teach specific skills and unlock rewards; they are worth doing early.
Secondary Guardian Spirit from NG+ adds passive stat bonuses; pick one that covers a weakness.
Crossplay: since update 1.24.1 you can enable crossplay with the Epic Games Store version from System Menu, Online Settings. Enabling it means you only match with other crossplay players, and it needs an Epic Games account.

FAQ

Is Nioh: Complete Edition still getting updates? The last PC update was 1.24.8 in September 2022, which added Epic Online Services support. Treat the game as finished; the balance is stable.

Can I play the DLC right away? The DLC regions unlock through the map once you progress through the main game, and missions start around level 170. Finish the main story first.

Is Nioh harder than Dark Souls? Most players find it harder early because enemies are aggressive and Ki management is unforgiving. It gets much easier once Ki Pulse and talismans click.

What is the best beginner weapon? The Spear (reach and crowd control) or the Sword (flexibility and parry). Both are strong for the whole game.

Do I need Nioh 2 knowledge? No. Nioh 2 is a separate prequel. Nioh 1 has no Yokai Shift or Soul Cores; its equivalents are Guardian Spirits and Living Weapon.

Can I play co-op with friends? Yes. Use an Ochoko Cup at a shrine to summon, or visit someone else's mission. Crossplay with the Epic version needs to be toggled on by both players.

How do I claim the Steam-exclusive helmet? Select Boons at any shrine to claim the Dharmachakra Kabuto.