Whip your blade back and forth
Niohcan get really rough at points. That’s a good thing, mind, as long as you’re okay with “two to three hit kill” bosses type of rough.
Seriously, practice the Ki Pulse before you do anything
See that giant pool at the feet of that big ugly guy above? That’s yokai pollution, and it’s a huge factor when fighting non-human opponents (it refills enemy stamina and cuts the refresh of your meter). You can purify it by performing a Ki Pulse when your stamina (Ki) is nearly full, but you’ll need to practice this technique a bit in a safe zone to get the timing down right.
Simply put, a Ki Pulse is a short, timing/frame-specific ability that’s triggered by pressing the R1 button, or by switching stances with R1 in time with a flash of light that appears after using an attack. Whether it’s a single strike or a four-hit combo, you’re able to always Ki Pulse roughly half a second after you finish your strikes and regain some extra stamina.
Get the timing down right by trying it at the start of the first mission. You don’t need to use it forevery single attack, but for bosses it’s especially useful to keep in your pocket, given their propensity to wipe out your stamina meter. At the very least attempt to get the timing down so you can purify pollution right when the boss drops it — you’ll typically have enough time to pulse, wipe it out, then dodge and reset.
General tips
Note that I keep saying “region,” because when you head to the next map you’ll have to start all over at +3 Elixirs. In that sense, it’s imperative that you spend time locating as many Kodama as you can so the rest of the levels in that section will be easier to tackle.
This seems like a bummer, but you’re able to exploit selling items in bulk before a really tough boss to gain a hefty stock of elixirs. Just practice the boss before you blow your stash and ensure that you know the patterns inside and out. If you start the fight and get hit by a massive blow, consider not wasting all your Elixirs on what could end up being a bad run. Be patient, learn your own counters naturally, and then rely on your stash.
Late game
The same goes for weapon masteries, as you need a certain familiarity level (read: experience) with each weapon to unlock its full potential. So if you’ve been using one weapon (say, a sword) the entire game, you’ll be good. But if you’ve been spreading your usage across everything, you might need to do some more side missions to start the final dojo training.
