The best Nioh 3 builds for beginners

What is the best Nioh 3 starter build? Whether you prefer to parry and block as a samurai or dodge and sneak as a ninja, a build that unlocks the full potential of your playstyle is essential to defeating the toughest yokai, conquering the Crucible, and taking your rightful place as Shogun.

The first few hours of any masocore action game can be the most difficult, and Nioh 3 is no exception. Between the complex combat system and copious loot drops, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Our best starter build will carry you through early-game exploration and beyond, no matter what your previous experience with the series.

Best Nioh 3 starter build

Nioh 3 builds are defined by their weapons and armor, and we’ve scoured Team Ninja’s demon-infested Japan for the top synergies to get you started. This beginner build is packed with survivability and utility, helping you stay alive while you focus on learning the fundamentals of slaying yokai.

Best Samurai starter build

Samurai style is all about getting up close and personal with enemies, so it should come as no surprise that this build lets you dish out heavy damage and tank a few hits in return. You just need to make it through the first boss fight to put it all together.

Melee Weapon: Crimson General’s Nagamaki
Ranged Weapon: Crimson General’s Bow
Head Armor: Crimson General’s Helmet
Torso Armor: Crimson General’s Cuirass
Arm Guards: Crimson General’s Gauntlets
Leg Guards: Crimson General’s Waistguard
Foot Guards: Crimson General’s Greaves
Accessory 1: Omamori
Accessory 2: Omamori
Guardian Spirit: Guhin

Best Samurai starter build weapons

The Crimson General’s Nagamaki might not be the strongest Odachi you’ll pick up in terms of raw damage, but the benefits of the seven-piece set bonus make it a top pick. In terms of raw performance, it provides a nice balance between damage and speed for a comparatively heavy weapon. Meanwhile, the Crimson General’s Bow is the ranged weapon a Samurai needs to whittle down an enemy’s health at a safe distance before closing in for the deathblow.

Best Samurai starter build armor

The Crimson General armor set is the first you’ll encounter in Nioh 3. The individual parts for it start to drop after you defeat Yamagata Masakage, the mandatory tutorial boss on Hitokoto Slope. Alongside the regular pool of random effects attached to weapons, this set includes the Pride of the Crimson Army set bonus, which bestows up to seven additional buffs depending on the number of pieces you have equipped.

• 2-piece: Defense Bonus that scales to your Stamina
• 3-piece: Reduces Ki when guarding by 13%
• 4-piece: +21 Ki Pulse bonus when you attack an enemy
• 5-piece: Increases Ki damage dealt by martial arts by 7.2%
• 6-piece: Enhanced attack and defence while using an Odachi
• 7-piece: 12% damage bonus to melee attacks with maximum Life

Don’t be discouraged if all seven pieces don’t drop right after you defeat Yamagata Masakage. Even just the minimum two-piece bonus can help you stay alive in Hamamatsu Castle and beyond.

Best Samurai starter build accessories

Given the extensive Ki buffs bestowed to the Crimson General set, we’ve foregone the Fan to double up on the additional Life provided by the Omamori accessory as standard.

Best Samurai Guardian Spirit

Shin-Roku and Guhin are the only options you have for a Samurai Guardian Spirit this early on, and Guhin is the clear winner for this build. In terms of their enhancement bonuses, Guhin offers an equal bonus to your Melee Attack and Defense stats, whereas Shin-Roku is weighted more towards Defense.

The Samurai can be Ki-greedy, but Guhin’s cut to Martial Arts Ki Consumption offers more scope to line up combos without exhausting yourself. The Damage Taken Reduction is always handy for survivability in those moments when you do overextend, while the Strong Attack Break bonus increases your chances of staggering enemies before they can take advantage.

Finally, Guhin’s Guardian Spirit Skill is Eight-Handed Blade, an ideal fallback for a rapid melee strike without having to swap to Ninja style.

Best Samurai starter buffs

In the case of duplicate drops, you should always favor the item with the highest base defense or attack. However, if you do have the luxury of choice, prioritize Life, Attack Bonus, and Amrita Earned buffs. No matter the direction you want to take your character, extra health, damage, and experience points will always ease the early-game grind.

Best Ninja starter build

While the Samurai starter build is all about bolstering attack damage and taking full advantage of an early armor set bonus, the Ninja starter build is all about utility. This is partly because there are no armor sets available for the ninja this early on, and because the effects on offer are indispensable for beginners.

Melee Weapon: Iron Tonfa
Ranged Weapon: Longbow
Head Armor: Female Demon Mask
Torso Armor: Thief’s Cuirass
Arm Guards: Heir’s Shinobi Gauntlets
Leg Guards: Heir’s Shinobi Waistguard
Foot Guards: Thief’s Greaves
Accessory 1: Omamori
Accessory 2: Omamori
Guardian Spirit: Nekomata

Best Ninja starter build weapons

The Iron Tonfa is an excellent early weapon for the Ninja. Its high attack rate effectively stun-locks any enemies with low poise and limited defensive capabilities, and offers an alternative to the slower cadence of the samurai’s weapons. If you’re still waiting for a Tonfa to drop, the Kusarigama is a good alternative to tide you over.

You might be tempted to equip the Crimson General’s Bow for the Ninja due to its raw damage output. However, the Longbow‘s Bullseye Bonus makes it a far superior choice for a Ninja to carefully line up shots in stealth – especially once the familiarity bonus kicks in and closes the base attack damage gap between the Crimson General’s Bow and Longbow.

Best Ninja starter build armor

The Female Demon Mask is one of the best armor pieces available to the Ninja thanks to its fixed Enemy Sensor buff, which reveals nearby enemies on the minimap. This is invaluable for stealth, letting you reposition to land critical hits and maintain an advantageous position before combat even begins.

As for the remaining armor slots, the Dodge Ki Consumption bonus from the Heir’s Shinobi armor set helps with early disengagement and lets you sustain pressure with the Iron Tonfa’s quick attacks. Meanwhile, the Thief’s armor set pieces increase the drop chance for equipment and elixirs, cutting down the number of times you need to run back to a checkpoint to stock up.

Best Ninja starter build accessories

As in the Samurai starter build, we’ve doubled up on Omamori for the baked-in Life bonus. The Heir’s Shinobi armor already supports your Ki pool with its Dodge Ki Consumption bonus, so the Fan’s Ki Recovery Speed buff is surplus to requirements.

Best Ninja Guardian Spirit

As much as we adore Kusanagi from a story perspective, Nekomata is the best Guardian Spirit for the Ninja in the early game. His Ninjutsu Ki Damage boost lets you skip the melee and lean on projectiles to wear down an enemy, then dash in for a powerful break finisher with minimal danger.

Once your Ninjutsu has been expended, Nekomata’s Ki Recovery Speed and Quick Attack Break buffs let you brute-force your way through an enemy’s poise, especially when paired with the Iron Tonfa’s rapid moveset. Finally, Nekomata’s Thunderclaw Kick Guardian Spirit Skill is the ideal panic button to force space between you and your foe.

Best Ninja starter buffs

Unlike the Crimson General armor set, the Ninja’s equipment pieces are fairly common in this starter build, which means you’ll likely have more duplicates to choose from.

Again, higher base damage and attack are always the best choice here, but watch out for utility-oriented special effects. Untouched Elixirs grants a chance for an elixir to remain unconsumed when used, while Life Recovery and Life Drain provide reliable healing outside of regular items. Faster Movement is also a strong pick, letting you quickly create distance from foes and emphasizing the Ninja’s evasive playstyle.

Best starter build stats

Stat Requirements: 6 Constitution, 8 Strength, 5 Skill, 8 Magic
Primary Stats (in priority order): Constitution, Strength, Skill, Heart

At minimum, you must meet the Constitution, Strength, Skill, and Magic stat requirements to activate the special effects across all equipment in this starter build.

Stamina is an excellent investment to expand your encumbrance rate and maximize your agility. For the Samurai specifically, it increases the Crimson General set’s two-piece defence bonus and bolsters the attack power of any Odachi you wield – in this case, the Crimson General’s Nagamaki.

Constitution is vital to tank any hits at this early stage, especially if you’re still getting used to timing parries and dodges. Finally, Heart is a useful generalist stat to improve Ki recovery times, but don’t overinvest at the expense of health. Instead, take this as an opportunity to train yourself out of panic-dodging and learn how to manage your Ki more efficiently.

Best starter build Soul Cores

Yang Position: Scampuss Soul Core
Yin Position: Kappa

If you’re yet to take on a Crucible Wraith, your Yang Position options are limited to Scampuss, Sudama, and Kodama. Of the three, Scampuss is the clear standout. It remains on the field the longest, dishing out a series of aggressive tackles, interrupting foes, and creating an opening for you to attack. Its passive buffs to your Spirit Force charge and Luck stats are especially valuable this early on.

For Yin Position, Kappa is a superior choice thanks to its item drop rate bonus. Be sure to activate the Luckbringer Talismans that Kappa provides to boost the chance of rare drops in general exploration.

With the best Nioh 3 builds under your belt, you can be confident that the soulslike game’s early challenges will pose little threat. We’ve also got a complete list of Nioh 3 bosses and how to beat them, from the idylls of Totomi Province to the bowels of the Crucible.