Question about Co-op from someone who has not played the game yet

[Yaguara]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to Nioh though it caught my interest a while back. I love playing games in co-op for the social aspect of it and considered buying it but the 'clear the level prior summoning and need for a summoning item put me off at the time (that summoning item may or may not be hard to get, don't know yet...is it? Is it easily attainable and replenishable?)

I've read that there are several co-op modes but I'm not entirely clear on them.

From my understanding you can:

Play 'Yokai' realms with a designated friend without the need of summoning items, but shrines (I guess they are save/leveling up spots?) can only be used to fill up the 'shared life' bar a little?

Are Yokai realms different from the main story/levels of the game?

If you both start as new players do you both progress through the levels/story in yokai realm mode (of do you get a chance to level up after completing a mission for instance even if you can't use shrines in that fashion during the mission) or do you still need to do some sort of singleplayer to be able to level up for instance?


Thanks for your time.
The answers are probably rather obvious if you know the game but I'm not really clear on how it works yet and starting off co-op right away and exploring and suffering through it together is just way more fun for me than helping someone out with prior knowledge or vice versa)

[Deostades]

Yokai Realm with a Companion is as you've guessed, a method that allows you and a friend to progress through the game together, even allowing you both to unlock new levels as you progress (I believe).

Nioh in general follows the Dark Souls formula of "when you die, you leave a marker with your Amrita (souls) and Guardian Spirit (you'll learn about these in the first level of the game)." You respawn at the last shrine you prayed at (similar to bonfires or lanterns), and if you fail to reach and touch your grave marker before dying again, you permanently lose the Amrita that was there.

In Yokai Realm with a Companion, however, when you die, you still form a grave, but you do not immediately respawn. If your companion reaches your grave and activates it, you are respawned. You can choose to respawn sooner, or after something like 5 seconds you will be respawned automatically, but it will take a bigger chunk of your shared life bar to do so. If the shared life bar reaches zero, the mission is failed.

Ochoko cups, the item you can use to summon Visitors when playing single player, are pretty common. When starting the game, of course, they can be somewhat hard to stockpile, but after a while you build a good pile on hand.

[Toru_VMO]

you'll have to complete the prologue and the first mission to get to the map and then you'll be able to play via yokai realm. btw the first boss (mission 1) is quite challenging for a "first boss", it may get you frustrated but don't give up there, summon help.

[Amix]

Originally posted by Deostades:

Yokai Realm with a Companion is as you've guessed, a method that allows you and a friend to progress through the game together, even allowing you both to unlock new levels as you progress (I believe).

Nioh in general follows the Dark Souls formula of "when you die, you leave a marker with your Amrita (souls) and Guardian Spirit (you'll learn about these in the first level of the game)." You respawn at the last shrine you prayed at (similar to bonfires or lanterns), and if you fail to reach and touch your grave marker before dying again, you permanently lose the Amrita that was there.

In Yokai Realm with a Companion, however, when you die, you still form a grave, but you do not immediately respawn. If your companion reaches your grave and activates it, you are respawned. You can choose to respawn sooner, or after something like 5 seconds you will be respawned automatically, but it will take a bigger chunk of your shared life bar to do so. If the shared life bar reaches zero, the mission is failed.

Ochoko cups, the item you can use to summon Visitors when playing single player, are pretty common. When starting the game, of course, they can be somewhat hard to stockpile, but after a while you build a good pile on hand.

A few additional tips for new player.
Unlike DS games you can use summoner's candle to bring back your 'guardian spirit' & 'lost amrita' without acually going back to the place where you fell. You can also use shrine to bring back guardian spirit but you will lose Amrita.
Yokai realm with a companion. Use these options- Friends = Set, Don't choose any missions yet. Now one of you will use option "Wait for a friend" & other will "search for a friend". Both friends must have unlocked the missions then only you can select missions once both of you have found each other.

[Yaguara]

Thanks everyone, for your replies :) We'll definitely pick this one up after bloodbourne.

[Cathartic]

Originally posted by Javary:

Thanks everyone, for your replies :) We'll definitely pick this one up after bloodbourne.

May the good blood guide your way!

[Yal]

I can confirm both players unlock missions after beating a mission in Yokai Realm with a Companion. There's also items that lets you revive a co-op partner, you might wanna stock up on those when you get a chance.

Also, you won't risk losing Amrita if you play in YRWAC mode, and you can level up from a shrine (as well as visit the blacksmith/shop/storehouse) in the YRWAC hub, so it might even be easier to progress this way.


Ochoko cups are kinda rare early on, but they drop from Revenants at a pretty steady rate. Revenants are basically zombies of players that died in that spot, and summoning them is a good way to get good armor/weapons early on (since the revenants will drop a bunch of the actual stuff that player had equipped when defeated), so farming them a bit at the start of the first real mission (the one that's in Japan) will get you a bunch of both co-op consumables and armor that could last you the first mission or so.