Greetings!

Welcome to my new blog about all things related to Team Ninja's Samurai RPG "Nioh." This blog plans to include some brief tutorials about the game, maybe a couple of brief walkthroughs, lots of links to the wiki, but the main goal is to divulge my knowledge of the basics, and some of the higher level concepts as well.

In each post I plan to provide two 'lessons' about basic game play or a concept I feel is important to mastering the game. Enjoy!

So, you've bought the game, put in the disc, and hit the start button; maybe you've even already made it past Derrick the Executioner, and now find yourself in Kyushu, on the Isle of Demons.

So, now what? To be up front, this game is in no way easy. As a long time fan of the Dark Souls series, I personally gravitated towards the game after another friend of mine who also loves the Souls franchise recommended it.

First, you need to learn basic combat; how it works, what you're comfortable with, and eventually what techniques you can apply to fell your enemies with ease.

Lesson #1

What is Ki?

Ki is essentially your stamina, however it is a bit more complicated than that because of the action of Ki Pulse.

Your Ki is represented via the green bar in the top left of your screen, just below the red bar, which represents your health.

As you swing your weapon you will notice that the green bar will gradually diminish until it eventually flashes red, which means you're out of Ki, but you will also notice that particles of bluish white light or energy also leave your body as you swing your weapon.

This is your Ki leaving your character's body and you can, while the particles are still visible, regain your lost Ki by pressing R1 before it disappears. If you simply press R1 directly after performing a series of swings or blows you will regain some of the Ki lost and definitely speed up you Ki recovery, but if you time it right you can and will perform what is known as a Ki Pulse.

Correctly performing a Ki Pulse is essential when dealing with what are known as Yokai throughout the game. Yokai are often, but not always, larger than the human enemies in the game, and are easily recognizable as demon-like monsters.

Often times when a Yokai performs a heavy attack, or even when it just raises up off the ground to confront you, you will notice a  circle of black fog at it's feet. This black fog is technically known as a pool of Yokai Real.

Pools of Yokai Real enhance Ki recovery time of Yokai enemies while they are standing within it, while simultaneously making it impossible for you to recover your own Ki while your character is in it's midst.

If you time a Ki Pulse just right you will clear away the pool of Yokai Real, which will remove your opponents advantage, while simultaneously allowing you to recover your Ki in a timely fashion.

Therefore, you should try to Ki Pulse away pools of Yokai Real whenever you see them, but sometimes, especially when you have the misfortune of dealing with multiple enemies at once, you won't have the time or advantage of performing this Ki Pulse, and should instead try to lure the enemy, or enemies away from the area.

When you are outgunned sometimes the best strategy is retreat, even if it's just a small one.

Last note on Ki. Since Ki also is effectively your stamina gauge, if it becomes completely depleted you will be left helpless trying to catch your breath and vulnerable to critical attacks. The same goes for your enemies. When your opponent is out of Ki they will be vulnerable to a critical grapple attack that does a lot of damage.

Lesson #2

There are four stances that universally apply to every melee weapon in the game.

High Stance (R1 + triangle)
Mid Stance (R1 + square)
Low Stance (R1 + X)
Weapon Sheathed (R1 + circle)

While in each of these stances you will be able to perform both quick (square) and strong (triangle) attacks.

Each stance provides different strength of attacks. For instance, a High Stance Strong Attack, is the strongest, but slowest, melee attack you can deal, at first, but we'll get into that later, while a Low Stance Quick Attack, is the weakest, but also quickest melee attack you can deal.

Learning when and where and what enemies to use each stance on comes with a bit of trial and error, but I'm here to give you a couple of pointers that I learned over a lot of time playing the game.

Pay attention to the stance of your opponent, this is crucial. Often times, at first, especially if you're not familiar with the weapon your opponent is wielding, you will be uncertain as to what stance your enemy is wielding it's weapon from. This is OK. You will learn to recognize each stance as you progress in the game.

To be clear, Low Stance can be observed when the weapon in pointing towards the ground. Mid Stance can be observed when the weapon is about chest high, and High Stance can be observed when the weapon is raised in the air, usually above your enemies head or shoulder.

Each stance also provides an additional benefit. Low Stance makes it easier and quicker to dodge incoming attacks from you enemy. Mid Stance makes it easier to block incoming attacks. High Stance provides the most offensive attacks, which are useful in taking down larger or well-armored opponents. Remember though, High Stance attacks take a lot longer to charge and hit, while Mid Stance attacks are quicker than High Stance, while Low Stance is still quicker than Mid Stance and High Stance.

Perhaps all of this is old hat. Moving on.

So, when facing enemies in Low Stance, try mirroring them in Low Stance as well. What are your results? Because it is a mirror match up, you will land blows sometimes, but not all the time.

So, change your stance to Mid Stance, and you will be surprised with the results. Although you will be swinging your weapon slower than your opponent, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that more of your blows land.

Change your stance again to High Stance, careful to allow a bit more distance between you and your opponent, and if the enemy is still in low stance, even if he blocks you will most likely do a significant amount more damage.

All of these techniques and information can be easily found in the Dojo tutorial missions later on, but it is my goal to provide the added benefit of summarizing certain concepts.

Thanks for reading!

In Lesson #3-4 I plan on discussing some of the basics of cooperative play, which is only accessible after completing Isle of Demons, as well as the ins and outs of Revenants, and why you should fight them!