So am I crazy or are the tonfas far superior to the Odachi at the start?

[Rocket]

Anything I should be trying to learn from the skill tree with the Odachi? I have 2 skill points for this thing already.

The tonfas seem to down enemies much faster and you can keep comboing and not lose your whole stamina (ki?) bar.

Odachi's got the range for some of these bigger guys but my stamina bar goes down so fast I can only get like 1 heavy swing or 3 weak swings before I need to dash out to regain my ki bar.

I am seeing different stances, the lower the stance the faster the swing, the higher the stance, the slower the swing and also the more ki it takes. The high stance swings seem to interrupt enemy animations though.

[{5LINE}Cows with Guns]

Ah, the new kid.

All weapons have their advantages and disadvantages.

Tonfas and Fists are incredible if you need to hit fast and hard - they also block very well.

Odachi has a much steeper learning curve in that it sucks at blocking (but has a good parry in "Bolting Boar"). Also has good reach, but as you saw, takes a lot of ki.

If you like fast paced beatdowns, fists and tonfas are the way to go - experiment and explore what you see. Nioh 2 has a lot more to offer.

[Rocket]

Originally posted by {5LINE}Cows with Guns:

Ah, the new kid.

All weapons have their advantages and disadvantages.

Tonfas and Fists are incredible if you need to hit fast and hard - they also block very well.

Odachi has a much steeper learning curve in that it sucks at blocking (but has a good parry in "Bolting Boar"). Also has good reach, but as you saw, takes a lot of ki.

If you like fast paced beatdowns, fists and tonfas are the way to go - experiment and explore what you see. Nioh 2 has a lot more to offer.

I bought Bolting Boar. Does it work on all enemies or just humans?

I tried it on the little goofy gray zombies in the first area but tapping LB at the last second doesn't seem to do anything.

Random question for you or anybody else. I just kicked down a ladder. I've also noticed there are doors I can't open. Does saving the game / praying keep these things open? Does anything reset except the enemies? I'm guessing they do stay open but I don't want to find out the hard way.

It looks like big enemies / sub bosses / bosses stay dead. I killed the spear guy and he didn't return. I kinda wanna try fighting that massive dude again near the start.

Any good suggestions for skill points to put on Samurai at the start? I have 2 I haven't used.

This game is so good. Can't believe I've been sitting on it since November. Oh ship, I just got a longbow, sweet. I'm a big fan of souls games and Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 so this is right up my alley.

[{5LINE}Cows with Guns]

Enemies reset on save/shrine praying.

Doors and other level mechanics remain unlocked.

Bolting boar works best on big swings. They work on the Yoki (buff demon you saw), human enemies, and a few enemies down the road. For the little gray goblins ("Gaki") Bolting boar only works on their leaping attack (IIRC).

You also cannot move when you time the block button and it must be in mid stance. If Nioh 2 had Wo Long's parry mechanics here, it would have been perfect, but yeah. :P

Edit: Most parries in this game are underwhelming in that they are limited to human enemies, which is why Wo Long was a good change of pace. Bolting boar is actually the most generous parry in Nioh 2 since it works against a number of enemies (but not all).

[Rocket]

Originally posted by {5LINE}Cows with Guns:

Enemies reset on save/shrine praying.

Doors and other level mechanics remain unlocked.

Bolting boar works best on big swings. They work on the Yoki (buff demon you saw), human enemies, and a few enemies down the road. For the little gray goblins ("Gaki") Bolting boar only works on their leaping attack (IIRC).

You also cannot move when you time the block button and it must be in mid stance. If Nioh 2 had Wo Long's parry mechanics here, it would have been perfect, but yeah. :P

Edit: Most parries in this game are underwhelming in that they are limited to human enemies, which is why Wo Long was a good change of pace. Bolting boar is actually the most generous parry in Nioh 2 since it works against a number of enemies (but not all).

Originally posted by syn:

Originally posted by RocketJump:

Anything I should be trying to learn from the skill tree with the Odachi? I have 2 skill points for this thing already.

Like the Dual Swords, the Odachi's power is heavily loaded in the skills, rather than the base attacks. Swirling Snow (Hidden), Crashing Waves, Moonlit Snow/Redux, Bolting Boar (you need to be stationary for this to work, movement breaks it), Twin Moons. Until you've picked up a few skills, it'll be a bit rough, but high stance quick attacks are great at chopping horns, and low stance lets you dance around yokai and rapidly squeeze hits in.

Originally posted by RocketJump:

Random question for you or anybody else. I just kicked down a ladder. I've also noticed there are doors I can't open. Does saving the game / praying keep these things open? Does anything reset except the enemies? I'm guessing they do stay open but I don't want to find out the hard way.

Shortcut progress is saved until you finish the level (either completing it, or exiting with a branch).

Originally posted by RocketJump:

It looks like big enemies / sub bosses / bosses stay dead. I killed the spear guy and he didn't return. I kinda wanna try fighting that massive dude again near the start.

Enemies in Yokai Zones (the ones that appear out of the black smoke and are invisible until you get close enough) stay dead, as do those who spawn Dark Zones (you'll see one of these towards the end of the level). Other than that, some big enemies, and some little enemies don't respawn either.

Originally posted by RocketJump:

I kinda wanna try fighting that massive dude again near the start.

You'll get to face him again in multiple side missions.

Originally posted by RocketJump:

Any good suggestions for skill points to put on Samurai at the start? I have 2 I haven't used.

Put the first two points into the Ki Pulse > Running Water for the stance you prefer, as being able to Ki Pulse from dodging is insanely helpful at early-game Ki management.

Thanks guys.

How do you get more Samurai Points? I got tonfa and Odachi points by just using them but I don't know what gives me Samurai Points.

Ki Pulse. Oof. I don't think I've ever done that successfully yet. Still learning the combat. Idk whether to put it in mid for Tonfa or high for Odachi.

[{5LINE}Cows with Guns]

Samurai skills are obtained automatically on level up.

I think after level 200 or so, they're obtainable only from missions.

Ki pulse will feel... pretty natural once you get a basic combo going, simply wait for the bar to fill or the blue-white ki to gather around your character. Since I'm a KBM guy with my own key binds, I can't say what you need to tap to recover ki.

Practically, "perfect" ki pulse timing is nearly impossible since more aggressive enemies won't give you that window, so you do the best you can - and as the Syn said, running water will address that issue with ki pulse on dodge.

Edit: There are steam guides you can watch for some examples
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2412486160

[Rocket]

Originally posted by {5LINE}Cows with Guns:

Samurai skills are obtained automatically on level up.

I think after level 200 or so, they're obtainable only from missions.

Ki pulse will feel... pretty natural once you get a basic combo going, simply wait for the bar to fill or the blue-white ki to gather around your character. Since I'm a KBM guy with my own key binds, I can't say what you need to tap to recover ki.

Practically, "perfect" ki pulse timing is nearly impossible since more aggressive enemies won't give you that window, so you do the best you can - and as the Syn said, running water will address that issue with ki pulse on dodge.

Edit: There are steam guides you can watch for some examples
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2412486160

The thing that's killing me the most is midgame I keep thinking B is dodge and RB is attack like Sekiro / Elden Ring / DS. LOL. I'm fighting 8 years of muscle memory with this.

Yeah I can easily do ki pulse after a Twin Moon. I guess I'll need a lot of practice to get the timing down on other moves. It makes a huge difference.

I do not like how you can roll off a ledge to your death. Ugh.

OH NICE! Stones draw an enemy away from another one so you can fight them one on one!

[Alex Darkcrowne]

No weapon is inherently superior to the other.

Odachi have great reach, good break (meaning they do well against blocking opponents), and strong stagger ability. Overall great weapon to hit hard with. They just suck at blocking.

Tonfa don't have much reach, and okay damage per hit. But what the Tonfa provide is low ki consumption and fast attacks, making it best suited for getting into the enemy's face and just applying pressure.

I run Odachi and Fists/Tonfa, and they complement each other nicely.

[Alex Darkcrowne]

Sword: It's the middle-ground. Has the most skills available, but a lot of them are boss-drops, like Kurama Sword Dance and Dragon Claw.

Odachi: Big, strong, and REALLY good at destroying blocking opponents (high break stat), but bad at blocking. Decently fast with good reach. Nothing really beats this weapon at Revenant slaying and mobbing humans.
Lots of attacks that switch stances, so it has good flow and combo potential. Some moves will force you to take hits, so take note.

Spear: Good reach, with a Ki Pulse skill that does damage. Great at rush attacks. Otherwise, fairly balanced. Great High stance, though.

Axe: Heavy as hell with good armor moves, great at crushing guards, but reach is meh. Blocks better than the Odachi and is slightly faster, but limited moveset.
Again, you might have to trade, but the weight of an Axe means it'll compensate with damage to both Ki and HP.

Kusarigama: Weirdass weapon, with absurd reach and debuff potential, making it one of the best zoning weapons alongside the hatchets. Lack of hard-hitting moves makes it bad against guard, though.

Tonfa: Unga bunga weapon. Hits fast and is unmatched at applying debuffs, but lacks raw hitting power, and requires really good Ki management.
Additionally, one of its skills is mediocre without the Tonfa Guns passive, meaning RNG.

Dual Swords: The weebiest weapon in the game, with really strong pressure. Good mix of stats, but requires really good Ki management like the tonfa and is also just as bad at dealing with hyper armor.
Best move is God of Wind, which is also a Just Frame attack, so skill floor is a bit higher.

Hatchets: The zoning weapon. Awkward as hell in a straight fight, but great for playing keepaway. Mix with Ninjutsu and Kusa for hilariously cowardly play.

Splitstaff: Like Kusarigama, this weapon lacks big meaty hits, but compensates with superior combos. Splitstaff has less reach, but way better Ki damage. Carelessly approaching a splitstaff wielder is asking to get stunlocked to death.
You'll need to get used to HOLDING the attack buttons.

Switchglaive: Hoo boy, these babies. No other weapon is so wildly varied with stances, meaning that you need to have a decent grasp of stances, and Fluxing to get into this.
Lots of attacks that switch stances and TWO Mystic Arts that require you use the stance-switch attacks means you need to adapt to a wildly changing weapon.
Low Stance is Guillotine: bad reach, but lots of spinning attacks means good pressure, GREAT debuff buildup, and for small-fry that like to gang up on you.
Mid Stance is Glaive: Great reach, rivalling the Spear (no duh), with a surprisingly fast attack rate.
High Stance is Scythe: Slow, and loses some of Glaive's reach, but amazing at breaking guard and stopping armoured moves.

Fists: Low skill floor, high skill ceiling thanks to Unbroken requiring you to use unique skills to get the most out of its bonus damage buff.
Requires REALLY good Ki management, probably more than any other weapon and lacks reach, but rivals Sword and Odachi in move variety and Beyond Infinity is one of the best burst damage skills in the game.
Great dodge attack makes it amazing for hit-and-run tactics.

[kadsoukui]

Originally posted by Alex Darkcrowne:

Sword: It's the middle-ground. Has the most skills available, but a lot of them are boss-drops, like Kurama Sword Dance and Dragon Claw.

Odachi: Big, strong, and REALLY good at destroying blocking opponents (high break stat), but bad at blocking. Decently fast with good reach. Nothing really beats this weapon at Revenant slaying and mobbing humans.
Lots of attacks that switch stances, so it has good flow and combo potential. Some moves will force you to take hits, so take note.

Spear: Good reach, with a Ki Pulse skill that does damage. Great at rush attacks. Otherwise, fairly balanced. Great High stance, though.

Axe: Heavy as hell with good armor moves, great at crushing guards, but reach is meh. Blocks better than the Odachi and is slightly faster, but limited moveset.
Again, you might have to trade, but the weight of an Axe means it'll compensate with damage to both Ki and HP.

Kusarigama: Weirdass weapon, with absurd reach and debuff potential, making it one of the best zoning weapons alongside the hatchets. Lack of hard-hitting moves makes it bad against guard, though.

Tonfa: Unga bunga weapon. Hits fast and is unmatched at applying debuffs, but lacks raw hitting power, and requires really good Ki management.
Additionally, one of its skills is mediocre without the Tonfa Guns passive, meaning RNG.

Dual Swords: The weebiest weapon in the game, with really strong pressure. Good mix of stats, but requires really good Ki management like the tonfa and is also just as bad at dealing with hyper armor.
Best move is God of Wind, which is also a Just Frame attack, so skill floor is a bit higher.

Hatchets: The zoning weapon. Awkward as hell in a straight fight, but great for playing keepaway. Mix with Ninjutsu and Kusa for hilariously cowardly play.

Splitstaff: Like Kusarigama, this weapon lacks big meaty hits, but compensates with superior combos. Splitstaff has less reach, but way better Ki damage. Carelessly approaching a splitstaff wielder is asking to get stunlocked to death.
You'll need to get used to HOLDING the attack buttons.

Switchglaive: Hoo boy, these babies. No other weapon is so wildly varied with stances, meaning that you need to have a decent grasp of stances, and Fluxing to get into this.
Lots of attacks that switch stances and TWO Mystic Arts that require you use the stance-switch attacks means you need to adapt to a wildly changing weapon.
Low Stance is Guillotine: bad reach, but lots of spinning attacks means good pressure, GREAT debuff buildup, and for small-fry that like to gang up on you.
Mid Stance is Glaive: Great reach, rivalling the Spear (no duh), with a surprisingly fast attack rate.
High Stance is Scythe: Slow, and loses some of Glaive's reach, but amazing at breaking guard and stopping armoured moves.

Fists: Low skill floor, high skill ceiling thanks to Unbroken requiring you to use unique skills to get the most out of its bonus damage buff.
Requires REALLY good Ki management, probably more than any other weapon and lacks reach, but rivals Sword and Odachi in move variety and Beyond Infinity is one of the best burst damage skills in the game.
Great dodge attack makes it amazing for hit-and-run tactics.

Nice run down on weapons. 300+ hours in and there's still so much weapons to master in this game. I've only used tonfa and fist. I might try that Switchglaive after I finished Wo Long.

[CyndiLove]

Originally posted by Alex Darkcrowne:

Sword: It's the middle-ground. Has the most skills available, but a lot of them are boss-drops, like Kurama Sword Dance and Dragon Claw.

Odachi: Big, strong, and REALLY good at destroying blocking opponents (high break stat), but bad at blocking. Decently fast with good reach. Nothing really beats this weapon at Revenant slaying and mobbing humans.
Lots of attacks that switch stances, so it has good flow and combo potential. Some moves will force you to take hits, so take note.

Spear: Good reach, with a Ki Pulse skill that does damage. Great at rush attacks. Otherwise, fairly balanced. Great High stance, though.

Axe: Heavy as hell with good armor moves, great at crushing guards, but reach is meh. Blocks better than the Odachi and is slightly faster, but limited moveset.
Again, you might have to trade, but the weight of an Axe means it'll compensate with damage to both Ki and HP.

Kusarigama: Weirdass weapon, with absurd reach and debuff potential, making it one of the best zoning weapons alongside the hatchets. Lack of hard-hitting moves makes it bad against guard, though.

Tonfa: Unga bunga weapon. Hits fast and is unmatched at applying debuffs, but lacks raw hitting power, and requires really good Ki management.
Additionally, one of its skills is mediocre without the Tonfa Guns passive, meaning RNG.

Dual Swords: The weebiest weapon in the game, with really strong pressure. Good mix of stats, but requires really good Ki management like the tonfa and is also just as bad at dealing with hyper armor.
Best move is God of Wind, which is also a Just Frame attack, so skill floor is a bit higher.

Hatchets: The zoning weapon. Awkward as hell in a straight fight, but great for playing keepaway. Mix with Ninjutsu and Kusa for hilariously cowardly play.

Splitstaff: Like Kusarigama, this weapon lacks big meaty hits, but compensates with superior combos. Splitstaff has less reach, but way better Ki damage. Carelessly approaching a splitstaff wielder is asking to get stunlocked to death.
You'll need to get used to HOLDING the attack buttons.

Switchglaive: Hoo boy, these babies. No other weapon is so wildly varied with stances, meaning that you need to have a decent grasp of stances, and Fluxing to get into this.
Lots of attacks that switch stances and TWO Mystic Arts that require you use the stance-switch attacks means you need to adapt to a wildly changing weapon.
Low Stance is Guillotine: bad reach, but lots of spinning attacks means good pressure, GREAT debuff buildup, and for small-fry that like to gang up on you.
Mid Stance is Glaive: Great reach, rivalling the Spear (no duh), with a surprisingly fast attack rate.
High Stance is Scythe: Slow, and loses some of Glaive's reach, but amazing at breaking guard and stopping armoured moves.

Fists: Low skill floor, high skill ceiling thanks to Unbroken requiring you to use unique skills to get the most out of its bonus damage buff.
Requires REALLY good Ki management, probably more than any other weapon and lacks reach, but rivals Sword and Odachi in move variety and Beyond Infinity is one of the best burst damage skills in the game.
Great dodge attack makes it amazing for hit-and-run tactics.

One tip for dual swords. You can turn off God of Wind II. After doing this, if your timing is bad, you will not make any move.
So what's the good thing? OK, you can just smash the buttons. Since the bad timing will not allow weak version to be released, you will always release God of Wind III, the successful one.

[Rocket]

Originally posted by kadsoukui:

Originally posted by Alex Darkcrowne:

Sword: It's the middle-ground. Has the most skills available, but a lot of them are boss-drops, like Kurama Sword Dance and Dragon Claw.

Odachi: Big, strong, and REALLY good at destroying blocking opponents (high break stat), but bad at blocking. Decently fast with good reach. Nothing really beats this weapon at Revenant slaying and mobbing humans.
Lots of attacks that switch stances, so it has good flow and combo potential. Some moves will force you to take hits, so take note.

Spear: Good reach, with a Ki Pulse skill that does damage. Great at rush attacks. Otherwise, fairly balanced. Great High stance, though.

Axe: Heavy as hell with good armor moves, great at crushing guards, but reach is meh. Blocks better than the Odachi and is slightly faster, but limited moveset.
Again, you might have to trade, but the weight of an Axe means it'll compensate with damage to both Ki and HP.

Kusarigama: Weirdass weapon, with absurd reach and debuff potential, making it one of the best zoning weapons alongside the hatchets. Lack of hard-hitting moves makes it bad against guard, though.

Tonfa: Unga bunga weapon. Hits fast and is unmatched at applying debuffs, but lacks raw hitting power, and requires really good Ki management.
Additionally, one of its skills is mediocre without the Tonfa Guns passive, meaning RNG.

Dual Swords: The weebiest weapon in the game, with really strong pressure. Good mix of stats, but requires really good Ki management like the tonfa and is also just as bad at dealing with hyper armor.
Best move is God of Wind, which is also a Just Frame attack, so skill floor is a bit higher.

Hatchets: The zoning weapon. Awkward as hell in a straight fight, but great for playing keepaway. Mix with Ninjutsu and Kusa for hilariously cowardly play.

Splitstaff: Like Kusarigama, this weapon lacks big meaty hits, but compensates with superior combos. Splitstaff has less reach, but way better Ki damage. Carelessly approaching a splitstaff wielder is asking to get stunlocked to death.
You'll need to get used to HOLDING the attack buttons.

Switchglaive: Hoo boy, these babies. No other weapon is so wildly varied with stances, meaning that you need to have a decent grasp of stances, and Fluxing to get into this.
Lots of attacks that switch stances and TWO Mystic Arts that require you use the stance-switch attacks means you need to adapt to a wildly changing weapon.
Low Stance is Guillotine: bad reach, but lots of spinning attacks means good pressure, GREAT debuff buildup, and for small-fry that like to gang up on you.
Mid Stance is Glaive: Great reach, rivalling the Spear (no duh), with a surprisingly fast attack rate.
High Stance is Scythe: Slow, and loses some of Glaive's reach, but amazing at breaking guard and stopping armoured moves.

Fists: Low skill floor, high skill ceiling thanks to Unbroken requiring you to use unique skills to get the most out of its bonus damage buff.
Requires REALLY good Ki management, probably more than any other weapon and lacks reach, but rivals Sword and Odachi in move variety and Beyond Infinity is one of the best burst damage skills in the game.
Great dodge attack makes it amazing for hit-and-run tactics.

Nice run down on weapons. 300+ hours in and there's still so much weapons to master in this game. I've only used tonfa and fist. I might try that Switchglaive after I finished Wo Long.

A lot of these weapons were in Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 and there's definitely overlap in the things they do. This being an rpg with stats changes people's need to try other weapons but just from reading that they all kind of work in similar ways they did back then.

[lar unuruur]

odachi is exceptional for me. but with that comes ki pulsing as second nature. it becomes so ingrained in my combat, when i try play elden ring i try to ki pulse after swings.
bolting boar is a great way to lay down tough enemies, but to apply it on demand, player MUST train timings. it is how with ds3 parry - at first it comes hard, but when mastered, one just deletes bosses just like that.
odachi is very good, but it is more like play music - switching stances is within moves themselves.

tonfas. at least or me, these are very possible easiest way to play nioh2. exceptional block, excaptional combos. at the begining, just apply purify and ravage enenra or yatsu.

all wapons are good. players say that for reason. one just needs to find he`s own niche weapon and push it to learn it. that is how nioh combat reveals its beauty. it is hard to believe how they let down it with their latest game. all was there already and yet...

[CyndiLove]

Usually there are 3 things you should consider about your weapons: HP damage, ki damage, break (affects ki damage against enemies' block)
It seems you already figure out some of your weapons' strength.
Odachi has good damage and very high break value, but the ki damage is very low.
Tonfa has godd ki damage and ok break value (consider its fast swings), but the damage is lower than Odachi.
Knowing the advantage and disadvantage of your weapons, and you can figure out the strategy much better.
The most important skill in early game for Odachi, I believe it is Twin Moons. It has very good damage and break value, and is pretty easy to use. You can also try practicing flux to gain more ki when ki pulsing.

One important thing I want to add is that, many times, the best way to deal with your enemies' attack is neither dodging nor blocking. Just keep distance, watch your enemy's attack like watching a show, and attack him after he ends his performance is actually pretty effective facing many regular enemies.

[THE FUN ENDS HERE]

Originally posted by Alex Darkcrowne:

No weapon is inherently superior to the other.

This is obviously not true and pure fanboying. Fist and splitstaff are obviously superior to everything else, and sword is obviously ♥♥♥♥ (in nioh2, not 1) with its low damage and ki damage relative to its ki consumption on top of poor break and bad tracking. The difference is shocking.

Odachi's best active skills are crashing waves, swirling snow, and moonlit snow to the extent that they do most of the work.