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One of the newest things in Nioh 3 is the Ninja combat style, which, just like its Samurai counterpart, is full of in-depth mechanics, abilities to master, and combos to memorize. Since there are several weapons for Ninja enjoyers and skills for each of them on top of the ninjutsu, we decided to make a list of the 5 best Ninja skills you can get in Nioh 3, which work in almost every single build you can think of.
Best Ninjutsu Skills in Nioh 3
First, we’ll start with a quick list of some of the best Ninjutsu skills in the game before moving to the passive skills or masteries you can equip. Ninjutsu come in all shapes and forms, with most of them focusing on dealing damage or building up status effects. Here are the ones we think are extremely useful, especially in the first area.
1. Uncanny Bolt
For the Sasuke Uchiha enjoyers out there, the first Ninja skill we recommend getting in Nioh 3 is Uncanny Bolt. This might seem like an…uncanny choice (pun intended), but the truth is that many of the enemies in the first area are weak against Lightning damage, so having this equipped at all times is a good idea. It doesn’t take long to unlock this, so as soon as you have a few Ninja points, be sure to add it to your hotbar.
2. Pinwheel Shuriken
The next skill you should consider getting is the Pinwheel Shuriken. Contrary to the above Ninjutsu, you’ll only be able to grab this after completing the Novice training mission for Ninja, which you get after getting inside the game’s hub. What makes this Ninjutsu so useful is the fact that it has three uses, assuming you have good timing. Once you launch the shuriken, you can press the same input again to throw it back at the enemy. You can do this twice, by the way. It takes a lot of practice, but once you nail it, you’ll be damming enemies and yokai with ease.
3. Cicada Shell
One of the best early evading Ninja skills in Nioh 3 is Cicada Shell. Basically, you only need to activate the Ninjutsu and wait for an enemy to attack you, but instead of getting hit, your character will evade instantly. It might sound like an easy-mode Ninjutsu, but the truth is that it only has three charges, and you really need to know the enemy’s moveset well to trigger the evade.
4. Trembling Earth
This one might seem like another odd choice, but the reason why we unlocked this first instead of other Ninja skills is because of the other Ninjutsu you can unlock after this one. Still, Trembling Earth is pretty useful, as it staggers all types of enemies if you land the hit. The downside is that the area of effect isn’t too large, so always make sure to perform this technique in close quarters.
5. Lightning Step
The last Ninja skill we recommend, at least for the first area in Nioh 3, is Lightning Step. This Ninjutsu doesn’t do any form of damage, but it lets you close the gap between you and the enemy. At first, this might not seem like the most useful ability, but some pesky ranged enemies will require this particular Ninjutsu. It even works against some bosses who run far away from you.
Best Skills and Masteries
Besides the skills you unlock with Ninja points, Nioh 3 also has passives and masteries that you can equip through a Shrine. However, since you have a limited number of equippable skills when you start the game, we recommend keeping at least three with you at all times.
1. Backstab Life Siphon
Since Ninjas are all about damaging an enemy from behind, this is a must-have. Basically, each time you damage an enemy from behind, you’ll recover some HP. This is essential for boss fights, but it is also helpful when exploring, especially if you don’t want to spend your Elixirs.
2. Ninjutsu Cultivation
If you’re going for a Ninjutsu build, which is more than viable now in Nioh 3, this is an excellent skill for those long-range Ninja players. This passive gives you a flat 8.0% increase in all Ninjutsu damage. It may not sound like much, but you’ll quickly notice your kunai and fire-breathing techniques dealing more damage to foes.
3. Tachi Arts
This might be a niche skill, especially since it works better for stealth-oriented players, but if you like sneaking behind foes, Tachi Arts increases your attack damage against enemies with full health, and yes, that includes assassination damage. Again, not the most useful one during a fight, but ending an encounter before it even begins is the Ninja way, isn’t it?
In the end, you can mix and match many of these skills or try different ones, but the truth is that these were extremely helpful during the first area of Nioh 3. Also, we’ll prepare different guides for weapon skills because that’s a beast of its own that needs to be tackled separately.
