Nioh 3 Boss Guide: How to Beat the Early Story Bosses

Nioh 3 opens in the Warring States era, and the game does not ease you in gently. The first stretch of the story throws six main bosses at you: Yamagata Masakage, Jakotsu-baba, Baba Nobuharu, corrupted versions of both Masakage and Takeda Shingen, and the man himself. Every one of them checks a different skill - blocking, backstabbing, countering red attacks, or just staying patient when the arena goes dark.

The good news is that none of these fights are stat walls. The recommended levels run from about 5 up to 50, and the game hands you the tools to win well before each gate. It's really a test of whether you've picked up the new Style Shift system, because the same button that swaps you between Samurai and Ninja (R2 on PlayStation, RT on Xbox) is also your Burst Break counter. Get comfortable with that one input and half of these fights get way shorter.

Boss Movesets and Telegraphed Attacks

Every boss in Nioh 3 telegraphs hard. The tells are generous once you know them, so here's what to watch for, fight by fight.

Yamagata Masakage (Escape from Hitokoto Slope, Lv 5+)

The tutorial boss, and honestly one of the tougher early walls for new players. Masakage is a huge guy in red armor swinging a nodachi-style blade with silly reach. His opener is usually a charge that ends in two swipes - dodge wide, not backward, and you'll often land behind him. From there, learn these moves:

• Side Swipe - he holds the sword on his right side for a full second before a heavy horizontal swing. That pause is your dodge cue.
• Whirlwind Swipe - he plants the weapon tip on the ground and spins twice before wrenching it upward. Great window for a jump attack during the spins, but get clear before the upward yank or it swats you out of the air.
• Upward Strike - one sideways swing, then an upswing. Two dodges or just get behind him.
• Downward Smash Combo - three sideways swipes into a huge ground slam with an area burst. The burst doesn't reach his back, so hugging his rear is safe.
• Downward Jumping Smash - he leaps first, then slams. Start moving the second he leaves the ground.
• Shining Stab - the blade tip gets wrapped in grey smoke with little yellow sparkles, then he pulls it aside before stabbing. That smoke is the tell.

He likes to fire a red Burst Attack right after the whirlwind, so be ready to counter it.

Jakotsu-baba (The Hamamatsu Incident, Lv 14+)

A snake-hag yokai with two serpent heads doing the dirty work. One head spits ice, and her swings come out fast and wide. Blocking her sweeps is usually safer than dodging them - more on that in the stance section. The big tell in this fight is her grab: it only comes out at mid-to-long range, has a long wind-up, and a simple sidestep makes it whiff completely. Don't stand far away poking her, or you'll eat grabs all day.

When the arena goes dark in phase two, an Amrita crystal pops out of her head. Smack it while her head hangs low after attacks and you'll chunk her Ki hard.

Baba Nobuharu (The Battle of Futamata Castle, Lv 39+)

A big corrupted axe wielder with a tail, and the trick here is that he cheats. He spawns illusions that feint attacks, so his red attacks and his grab look like they're starting when they're really not. The counter move is patience - don't Burst Break or dodge on the first twitch. Wait for the real swing. If you're unsure, just block (his grab is the one thing you can't block).

His tail is a real move too: the tail slam chains straight into an axe swing, so don't dash in the moment the tail lands. In his dark phase he adds water magic, so keep your distance and let Ninjutsu do the work until it's safe to re-engage.

Yamagata Masakage, Yokai Form (The Battle of Mikatagahara, Lv 43+)

Masakage comes back corrupted, and this version never stops moving. Chasing him is a Ki trap - you'll sprint after him, arrive winded, and eat a combo. Instead, plant yourself, block, and punish what bounces off your guard.

His red attacks here are almost all vertical chops with a long wind-up, which makes them the easiest Burst Breaks in the era. His back is also surprisingly safe: only two moves can hit you back there - the circular weapon sweep and the fire wave he sends out in the dark phase - and both are clearly telegraphed.

Takeda Shingen (The Battle of Mikatagahara, Lv 43+)

The human Shingen is a spear duel with a twist: he plants the spear and summons his Guardian Spirit, then attacks alongside it. That tag team drains your guard fast, so don't try to tank both at once. The Spirit leans on fire (some wind mixed in), and the tells are the glows on his weapon and the Spirit before each elemental swing. Treat this like a two-enemy fight - separate them, pick your target, and don't block the Spirit's multihits with low Ki.

Takeda Shingen, Yokai Form (The Battle of Saigagake, Lv 50+)

The era's final exam. This is the fight where blocking gets you killed - his combos are long enough to empty your Ki bar and then some, so dodge toward his rear instead. Things to know:

• His wind attacks have a delayed hit. When his arms glow green, hold your dodge a beat longer than feels right.
• His grab has a huge wind-up and a long recovery. Sidestep it and you get a free punish window on the way out.
• When the arena darkens, his horn becomes a weak point. Kunai, shuriken, most high stance attacks, and jump attacks all break it for a massive Ki hit.

Recommended Stance and Weapon Matchups

First, the style split, because it shapes everything else. Samurai style brings the classic High, Mid, and Low stances, Ki Pulses (tap R1 after your attacks to refund stamina), and the Deflect parry. Ninja style trades stances for Mist pivots, the Evade dodge (which gives you Ki back when it actually avoids something), aerial combos, and bonus damage from behind. Weapons are style-locked, so you're really running two loadouts and swapping between them with R2.

For these six fights, stance advice mostly comes down to block versus dodge:

• Mid stance is your home base against Masakage (both versions) and Jakotsu-baba. You recover Ki while holding guard in mid, which lets you weather their strings and answer with quick pokes. Armor Toughness lowers the Ki cost of blocking, so heavier armor earns its keep here.
• High stance is for punish windows - the downed crystal on Jakotsu-baba, Shingen's horn, or any boss stuck in recovery. Big damage, big Ki cost, so don't camp there.
• Dodge-first fights: Baba Nobuharu and Shingen's yokai form. One punishes block-happy play with fake-outs, the other with combos that outlast your guard. Ninja style's Evade shines in both.

On weapons, the general crowd consensus (and Game8's tier list) puts Switchglaive, Spear, Talons, and Tonfa at the top, and that holds up in this era. Quick picks per matchup:

| Boss | Good weapons | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | Yamagata Masakage | Tonfa, Talons | Fast hits fit the tiny punish windows behind him | | Jakotsu-baba | Switchglaive, Spear | Mid-stance reach pokes between blocked sweeps | | Baba Nobuharu | Tonfa, Kusarigama | Ki damage from range, dash-in punishes | | Masakage (Yokai) | Sword, Spear | Clean mid-stance blocks and counters | | Takeda Shingen | Odachi, Switchglaive | Burst damage on short openings | | Shingen (Yokai) | Talons, Tonfa | Mobile rear hits, horn-breaking speed |

A couple of notes. The Tonfa and the Samurai's Cestus are Ki shredders - if a boss feels like it never staggers, those fix that. The Spear is the safe pick for basically the whole era since it out-ranges most retaliation. Hatchets are fun but their boss damage falls off, so maybe keep them for the trip between fights. And don't sleep on ranged: a bow or rifle lets you open fights or snipe horns and crystals from safety.

Elemental Weaknesses to Exploit

Every boss has ailment weaknesses, and hitting them is a real damage boost, not a gimmick. Here's the verified chart for the era's story bosses:

| Boss | Weak to | Resists | | --- | --- | --- | | Yamagata Masakage | Water | - | | Jakotsu-baba | Lightning, Wind | Fire, Water, Poison | | Baba Nobuharu | Lightning, Wind | Fire, Water | | Yamagata Masakage (Yokai) | Water | Fire, Lightning, Wind, Poison, Paralysis | | Takeda Shingen | Poison | Fire, Wind, Confusion | | Takeda Shingen (Yokai) | Water, Lightning, Poison | Fire, Wind |

The pattern is almost a bait. Lightning carries you through the middle of the era: the Uncanny Bolt Ninjutsu and Thunder Shot Talismans (plus Thunderstorm Shot for Baba Nobuharu) shred Jakotsu-baba and Baba, and Nekomata or Shin-Roku make great matches since they're early Lightning Guardian Spirits. Then Masakage's yokai form shows up laughing at Lightning - it's on his resist list. You have to swap to Water for that one, and the Water Familiar Talisman is the easiest source. His resist list is fat (Fire, Lightning, Wind, Poison, Paralysis), so if your damage suddenly feels weak, check your element before your gear.

Shingen's human fight only lists Poison as a weakness, and honestly you can skip it - the fight is a Ki duel, not a damage race. His yokai form flips the script again, going down easy to Water and Lightning. Since most of his attacks run hot on fire, Firestop Talismans cut a surprising amount of damage in both Shingen fights.

One more layer: if you've beaten the Bloodedge Demon field boss, its Soul Core summon inherits Lightning damage when paired with a Lightning spirit like Nekomata, and it absolutely melts Baba Nobuharu.

Guardian Spirit Burst Counter Windows

Red aura means Burst Attack. You can't dodge it, block it, or Deflect it - your only answer is a Burst Break, which is the Style Shift input (R2/RT) timed right as the attack lands. Land it and you cancel the move, steal Life and Ki damage, and shave down a yokai's maximum Ki. Miss it and you probably lose a chunk of your health bar, so this one input is worth practicing.

The timing windows in this era, by fight:

• Yamagata Masakage - countering his post-whirlwind Burst is basically the tutorial test. It's slow and obvious.
• Jakotsu-baba - four countable reds. Crush: both arms raise the club, counter just before it hits the floor. Snake Slam: the left snake head pulls way back, counter just before contact. Ice Shards: the right head winds up, counter right after the ice leaves the snake. Lunge: her neck extends, counter just before it reaches you.
• Baba Nobuharu - his reds are fake-out-prone thanks to the illusions. Wait for the real commitment, then break.
• Masakage (Yokai) - long vertical wind-ups, the most free Burst Breaks in the game. Take every one.
• Shingen (Yokai) - two named reds. Claw Swipe gets easier the farther you stand from him; let him close the gap, then counter. Ground Slam keeps him planted, so break toward him right before impact.

Your Guardian Spirit is more than a passive buff here. Each spirit carries two combat skills on the L1+Square input, fueled by Spirit Force (you earn it from Crucible Spikes and other points of interest). These cost no Ki, so they're your emergency button when you're winded or even paralyzed, and landing them carves a yokai's max Ki down just like a Burst Break. Some skills can outright break Burst Attacks later in the game, which turns your counter game from reactive to planned.

The unlock order matters for this era: you pick a Fire Kusanagi variant in the tutorial, Guhin (Wind) and Nekomata (Lightning) are there from the first mission, Shin-Roku (Lightning) drops after Hitokoto Slope, Enko (Fire) after Jakotsu-baba, and Narikama Tanuki (Water) after the human Shingen. Spirits can only be swapped at shrines, not mid-mission, so pick before you walk in.

And don't forget the Amrita Gauge. Fill it through fighting and countering, then hit Triangle+Circle (Y+B) to trigger Living Artifact: you take your spirit's form, your attacks pick up its element, and you're protected from fatal hits while it lasts. Popping it at a third of a boss's health basically closes out the fight.

Common Mistakes That Get You Killed

Chasing a moving boss. Masakage's yokai form never sits still, and running after him burns your Ki while he's fresh. Make him come to you. Same energy for anyone spamming rolls to create space - punish the recovery, not the sprint.

Blocking the wrong fights. Mid-stance guarding wins against Jakotsu-baba and Masakage. It loses against yokai Shingen, whose combos are longer than your guard. If your Ki bar is melting while you hold block, that's your cue to switch to dodging.

Dodging early on delayed attacks. Yokai Shingen's wind moves hit a beat after the green glow. A panicked early dodge puts you exactly where the attack lands. Count the delay once, then trust it.

Burst Breaking an illusion. Baba Nobuharu's fakes exist to fish out your counter. Whiff a Burst Break and you've spent your window - and probably your positioning - on nothing. Same with his grab: it looks like it's starting before it actually starts.

Ignoring enemy Ki. Bosses flinch and collapse when their Ki hits zero, and your lock-on turning red means a Grapple (Triangle/Y) is ready for huge damage. Yokai need their maximum Ki drained before you can grapple them, which is what Burst Breaks, spirit skills, and Ki-shredding weapons are for. If you never look at their bar, you're skipping a third of the combat system.

Sleeping on buffs and help. Power Talismans and Power Pills are cheap attack boosts (they don't stack, so use one, not both). Benevolent graves sell Acolyte summons for Ochoko Cups, which you farm off revenants - a second body in the arena resets every boss's aggression. Arriving five-plus levels under the recommendation is survivable; fifteen under usually isn't.

Beat yokai Shingen and the whole Heian era opens up - and the fight pays you back with Kongojishi, a Guardian Spirit for both styles, right when the next set of bosses starts hitting a lot harder.