Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition: Complete Guide

Everything you need to survive Team NINJA's yokai-slaying action RPG on PC: core combat (Ki, Ki Pulse, Burst Counters, Yokai Shift), stats and weapons, build archetypes, boss order and tips, the three DLCs, and the NG+ "Dream" cycles.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Ver 1.28.8 (December 2022, the latest PC patch). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

The Complete Edition (Steam, 5 February 2021) includes the base game plus all three DLCs: The Tengu's Disciple, Darkness in the Capital, and The First Samurai. Steam owners also get the Valve Helmet from the Shrine menu under the Boons tab.

Quick Start

• Master the Ki Pulse. After an attack string, a blue glow appears around you. Press the Ki Pulse button at that moment to instantly recover the Ki (stamina) you just spent. This is the single most important skill in the game.
• Burst Counter red attacks. When an enemy glows red, it's doing a Burst attack. Hit your Burst Counter at the right time to cancel it and deal big Ki damage.
• Keep your Ki up. Running out of Ki leaves you defenseless and "exhausted". Never empty the bar near an enemy.
• Break enemy Ki, then grapple. Depleting a yokai's Ki makes it vulnerable to a grapple (a big finishing hit). Human enemies also become stunned.
• Clear Yokai Realms (Dark Realms). Inside a Dark Realm your Ki recovers slower. Hitting the pulse removes the realm pools, and killing the Dark Realm-creating enemy clears it entirely.
• Use Shrines often. They are your checkpoints, level-up station, and item storage access. Offering items to Kodama and the Sudama also matter.
• Don't hoard Amrita. Level up at Shrines. If you die, recover your Amrita from your grave or you lose it.
• Summon help when stuck. Blue Benevolent Graves summon an AI Visitor (costs an Ochoko Cup); Shrines let you summon real players online. Red Bloody Graves let you fight other players' Revenants for loot.
• Try every weapon early. Weapons can be swapped freely, and you'll find your favorite faster by experimenting.
• Collect Kodama. Kodama are hidden spirits in each mission. Each one you find adds bonuses at Shrines.

Core Combat Systems

Stances

Every melee weapon has high, mid and low stance:

Stance | Strengths

High | Most damage, slowest, highest Ki cost

Mid | Best defense, balanced attacks

Low | Fast, cheap Ki cost, best evasion

Swapping stances mid-combo is key for flow and Ki Pulse timing ("Flux" skills reward stance-switching).

Ki and Ki Pulse

Ki is your stamina. Attacking, dodging and blocking all spend it. Ki Pulse after an attack chain recovers some of it and also cleanses yokai realm pools around you. Advanced players pulse after nearly every combo.

Anima, Yokai Shift and Soul Cores

• Anima fills as you fight. When full, trigger Yokai Shift to transform into your Guardian Spirit's form for a short period of immortality-like aggression.
• Guardian spirits fall into three types:

Type | Style

Brute | Powerful sweeping attacks with wide arcs

Feral | Fastest moveset, great mobility

Phantom | Superior range and teleport-style dodges

• Soul Cores drop from yokai. Attune them at a Shrine and equip them to your Guardian Spirit to use Yokai Abilities (special attacks drawn from the yokai you defeated).
• Burst Counter animation and timing differ by Guardian Spirit type, so practice the counter with the spirit you actually use.

Onmyo Magic and Ninjutsu

• Onmyo Magic (talismans, elemental buffs, debuffs) is powered by the Magic stat.
• Ninjutsu (throwing weapons, bombs, utility tools) is powered by Dexterity.
• Staples: elemental weapon talismans to exploit weaknesses, and slowing debuffs for dangerous bosses. Apply buffs before entering the boss arena.

Stats

Stat | Effect | Primary weapon scaling

Constitution | Life; poison and paralysis resistance | Spear

Heart | Max Ki, Ki recovery speed, fire resistance | Sword, Bow

Courage | Ki recovery speed, lightning resistance, slight Onmyo power | Tonfa

Stamina | Life and max Equipment Weight | Axe, Hand Cannon

Strength | Heavy armor effects, Ki Pulse, water resistance | Odachi, Fists

Skill | Light armor effects, Ki Pulse, slight Ninjutsu power | Dual Swords, Hatchets, Rifle

Dexterity | Power and capacity of Ninjutsu | Kusarigama

Magic | Power and capacity of Onmyo Magic | Switchglaive, Splitstaff

Rule of thumb: Raise your weapon's primary scaling stat, and put early points into Constitution and Heart for survivability and Ki. Keep equipment weight under the heavy threshold to keep good dodge speed.

Weapons

Weapon | Feel

Sword | Balanced, beginner-friendly, great counters

Dual Swords | Fast, aggressive, Ki-hungry

Spear | Long reach, great crowd control

Axe | Heavy, slow, huge Ki damage

Kusarigama | Range and speed, whirling attacks

Odachi | Big, deliberate swings

Tonfa | Very fast, combo-oriented

Hatchets | Throwable axes, versatile

Switchglaive | Transforms between forms; very flexible

Fists | Close-range combos (added in The Tengu's Disciple)

Splitstaff | Transforms between staff and hammer (added in Darkness in the Capital)

Ranged: Bow, Rifle, and Hand Cannon. Ranged headshots stagger most human enemies.

Each weapon has its own skill tree, and weapon proficiency grows as you use it. Invest in the skills you actually use.

Build Archetypes

These are generic builds using real stat and weapon relationships; tune them to taste.

Samurai Swordsman (beginner-friendly)

• Weapon: Sword (Heart) + Bow for pulling enemies.
• Stats: Heart first, then Constitution and Courage.
• Guardian Spirit type: Brute or Feral.
• Playstyle: Stance switching, Burst Counters, strong mid-stance defense.

Onmyo Caster

• Weapon: Switchglaive or Splitstaff (Magic).
• Stats: Magic high, then Constitution and Heart.
• Playstyle: Buff your weapon element, debuff bosses, then melee. Very strong in co-op.

Ninja Hybrid

• Weapon: Kusarigama (Dexterity) or Dual Swords (Skill).
• Stats: Dexterity, Skill, Heart.
• Playstyle: Poison, shuriken and quick hits; mobility.

Heavy Brawler

• Weapon: Odachi or Fists (Strength), or Axe (Stamina).
• Stats: Strength or Stamina, Constitution.
• Playstyle: Heavy armor, huge Ki damage, grab after breaks.

Main Story Bosses

The main campaign's bosses (listed alphabetically on the Fextralife wiki; exact order depends on which main and sub-missions you take) include:

• Yokai: Mezuki, Enenra, Yatsu-no-Kami, Kamaitachi, Tatarimokke, Onryoki, Gyuki, Kasha, Ryomen Sukuna, Daidara Bocchi, Shuten Doji, Lady Osakabe, Otakemaru
• Human and hybrid: Imagawa Yoshimoto, Tsukahara Bokuden, Saito Yoshitatsu, Hachisuka Koroku, Obsidian Samurai, Magara Naotaka, Honda Tadakatsu, Azai Nagamasa, Oda Nobunaga, Saika Magoichi, Maeda Toshiie, Shibata Katsuie, Tokichiro, Hattori Hanzo, Maeda Keiji, Kashin Koji, William

Mezuki is the first real boss and a good test of whether you have learned Burst Counters; Otakemaru is the protagonist's arch-nemesis and is confronted again in The First Samurai DLC.

DLC bosses

DLC | Bosses

The Tengu's Disciple | Benkei, Uminyudo, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Nue, Taira no Kagekiyo

Darkness in the Capital | Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Tsuchigumo, White Tiger, Ashiya Doman, Lightning God of Yomi, Ren Hayabusa

The First Samurai | Otakemaru (The First Samurai), Tate Eboshi, Kukai, Nightmare Bringer, Ancient Nyotengu

General boss tips

• Learn which attacks are Burst attacks (red glow). Counter them for massive Ki damage.
• Pulse to clean the realm. Bosses that spawn Dark Realms punish slow Ki; cleanse by Ki Pulsing.
• Use the right element. Many yokai are weak to a particular element; use the matching talisman.
• Summon Visitors or co-op if you are stuck. There is no shame in it.
• Grab after breaks. Once a boss's Ki is broken, a grab deals very high damage.
• Use Soul Core abilities as burst windows during breaks.

Difficulty Cycles (NG+)

Your first playthrough is Dream of the Samurai. Clearing it opens tougher cycles, each with higher enemy levels and better gear rarity:

Order | Cycle

1 | Dream of the Samurai

2 | Dream of the Strong

3 | Dream of the Demon

4 | Dream of the Wise

5 | Dream of the Nioh (the final, hardest cycle)

Each step raises enemy levels and unlocks higher gear rarities and stronger special effects, so your build keeps scaling. Don't rush into the next cycle with a half-finished build; farm gear and soul cores first.

The Underworld is the endgame challenge area: a floor-by-floor gauntlet that tests fully developed builds and rewards the best gear.

Farming tip: Twilight missions (special time-limited remixes of missions) give extra drop rates and are great for farming.

Missables and Collectibles

• Kodama: Collectible spirits in each mission. Some are hidden behind locked shortcuts.
• Sudama: Yokai that steal your item or offer trades. Find and deal with them to access new items.
• Hot springs: Hidden springs in some missions heal and buff you while you soak; worth finding on each map.
• Side missions: Complete them for Soul Cores, items and quest rewards.
• Achievements: The "Hideyoshi" achievement can now be earned when the Tale of Nioh is opened (patch 1.28.7).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not using Ki Pulse. Without it, you run out of Ki faster than enemies.
• Staying in heavy armor while slow. A heavy equip load slows dodges. Keep under the weight threshold.
• Ignoring Burst Counters. They are your best defensive tool.
• Neglecting Soul Cores. Attune them and equip strong abilities; they're free damage.
• Rushing through levels. Explore; missed Kodama and shortcuts cost you.
• Skipping co-op when stuck. Visitors and Benevolent Graves make hard bosses much easier.
• Not upgrading weapon familiarity. Using the same weapon increases familiarity, which increases attack.

Advanced Tips

• Flux: Switching stance during a Ki Pulse chain gives extra Ki recovery and damage.
• Rolling Ki Pulses: Pulse between combos to keep Ki almost full.
• Yokai Shift timing: Save Yokai Shift for a boss's most dangerous phase; the transformation absorbs damage that would otherwise kill you.
• Status stacking: Paralysis, poison and elemental Confusion multiply damage and Ki damage.
• Blacksmith: Use soul matching and forging to upgrade gear levels and set bonuses.
• Set bonuses: Armor sets grant bonuses; mixing sets can be powerful in higher Dreams.

FAQ

Is Nioh 2 harder than Nioh 1? It's similar in difficulty but gives you more tools (Yokai Shift, Burst Counters, Soul Cores) to deal with it.

Do I need to play the DLC in order? Yes, story-wise: The Tengu's Disciple comes first, then Darkness in the Capital, then The First Samurai. DLC regions appear on the world map once you have progressed far enough in the main story, and they are tuned for late-game characters.

Where do I get the Valve Helmet? In the Shrine menu under the Boons tab on the Steam version.

Is there online co-op on PC? Yes. Use the Shrine's online options to summon or join other players (Benevolent Graves only summon AI Visitors). Epic Online Services (EOS) support was added in Ver 1.28.7.

What weapon should I start with? Sword is the easiest to learn. Dual Swords and Kusarigama are fast and rewarding. Switchglaive is versatile for magic-leaning builds.

How many difficulty cycles are there? Five: Dream of the Samurai, Dream of the Strong, Dream of the Demon, Dream of the Wise, and Dream of the Nioh.

Sources

• Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition on Steam
• Nioh 2 Wiki (Fextralife)
• Nioh 2 Bosses (Fextralife)
• Nioh 2 Stats (Fextralife)
• Nioh 2 Weapons (Fextralife)
• Steam patch notes, Ver 1.28.7 and 1.28.8