Nioh 3 Combat Guide: Mastering Samurai and Ninja Styles
If you are trying to beat this game by staying in one stance and spamming the light attack button, you are going to have a miserable time.
Nioh 3 is not a hack-and-slash, and it definitely isn't a standard Soulslike where you can just dodge-roll your way to victory. It is a rhythm game where the penalty for missing a beat is getting your head cut off. The game introduces a split system between Samurai Style and Ninja Style, and if you refuse to engage with it, enemies will treat you like a chew toy.
Here is how you actually master the blade without throwing your controller through a window.
The Golden Rule: The Switch Loop
The biggest mistake I see people make is treating the two styles as separate "classes." They aren't classes. They are two halves of one whole.
Ninja Style is for breaking Ki. Samurai Style is for dealing Damage.
If you attack a boss with full health using a Samurai sword, you are too slow and they will block everything. If you try to kill a boss using only Ninja shurikens and dashes, you will be chipping away at their health bar until the heat death of the universe.
The loop is simple. Start in Ninja Style. Use your speed and low Ki costs to harass the enemy and drain their purple Ki bar. Once they are "Winded" (out of Ki and panting), you switch to Samurai Style and unleash your heavy, high-damage combos.
Samurai Style: The Heavy Hitter
This is your "traditional" Nioh experience. You plant your feet, you swing big weapons, and you manage your stamina like an accountant manages taxes.
The Three Stances
Unlike Ninja mode, Samurai style gives you access to the classic trinity of stances. You need to unlock High and Low manually (check my Beginner's Guide for that), but once you have them, you need to know when to use them.
High Stance: Big damage, slow animation. Use this only when the enemy is out of Ki or distracted. If you try this while they are attacking, you will get interrupted.
Mid Stance: The defensive king. It has the best block. If you are panicking, switch to Mid.
Low Stance: The ankle biter. Fast attacks that don't do much damage but apply elemental status effects very quickly.
Ki Pulse and Flux
If you take nothing else away from this article, learn the Ki Pulse.
After you attack, blue lights gather around you. Press R1 at that exact moment. You instantly recover the stamina you just spent. If you don't do this, you will stand there panting while an Ogre flattens you.
Once you get comfortable, learn Flux. This means switching stances (e.g., High to Low) during a Ki Pulse. It gives you back even more Ki than you spent. It is free energy.
Deflect
In Samurai mode, tapping block at the last second isn't just a parry. It is a Deflect. This negates the damage and restores your Ki. It also charges your Arts Gauge, which lets you do cool anime moves later.
Ninja Style: The Speed Demon
Ninja Style is weird. You don't have stances. You don't have a Ki Pulse. You just have speed and drugs (Ninjutsu).
Mist vs. Pulse
Since you cannot Ki Pulse in Ninja form, you have "Mist." When you dodge after an attack, you turn into smoke for a second. This costs very little Ki and has generous invincibility frames.
This makes Ninja style perfect for "kiting" enemies. You run in, slap them twice, turn into smoke, and run away. You are annoying. You are a mosquito. That is the point.
Backstabs are Mandatory
Ninja style deals pitiful damage from the front. However, it deals double damage from behind. Use your superior dodge speed to get behind the enemy. The AI in this game struggles to turn around quickly, so exploit that.
Evade
Just like the Samurai's Deflect, the Ninja has Evade. It is a perfect dodge. If you time it right, you gain Ki back and charge your Ninjutsu gauge. This refills your shurikens and bombs.
The Arts Proficiency System
You will see a gauge filling up as you fight. This is Arts Proficiency.
When this bar is full, your next Martial Art (special move) or Strong Attack gets a massive damage multiplier.
Here is the pro strat: Build up the gauge using fast Ninja attacks. Once it is full and the enemy is out of Ki, switch to Samurai High Stance and unleash your strongest move. The damage number will be huge. It releases dopamine. It is why we play these games.
Burst Counters: The "No U" Button
Every now and then, an enemy will flash red. This is a Burst Attack. If it hits you, you die.
However, if you switch styles (R1 + Circle/B) (E + Space on Keyboard) exactly when the attack is about to hit, you perform a Burst Break.
This stops the enemy dead in their tracks and nukes their Ki bar. It is essential for boss fights. You cannot beat the later bosses without mastering this timing. It feels risky, but the window is more generous than it looks.
Style Comparison Breakdown
If you are still confused about which style does what, I broke it down in the table below. Memorize this.
Putting It All Together
Start the fight in Ninja. Throw some shurikens. Dash behind them. Break their Ki.
See the red exhaustion icon? Switch to Samurai. High Stance. Heavy Attack.
Watch the health bar melt. Repeat until you are the Shogun.
