Need advice for a sword/kusarigama build

[SparkyNation]

Hello guys, i would need some advice for a sword /kusa build. After getting into spears and kusa after some playtime ( and after finishing the main story) i want to change some things and try out things.

on some point i want to try a sword build, not only i heard and read that swords overall are pretty good also they seem to be the perfect to go weapon. ( and if i cant play with them i still can use the kusa´s of this set)

I will put in my stats and my equipment and im open for every advice. I also want to use Omnyo magic alot and depending on the jutsus them too.

Also is there any to go buff against certain enemys ? like fire damage is mostly good against humans etc stuff.

also for the sword and kusa are there any URGENT skills that are a must to have ?

to add: I mostly fight with kusa in high stance, with sword im not rly sure which stance i prioritize

Things i use mostly. Quick change scroll ( in case if i mess up), devigorate talisman, weakness talisman, Carnage, Pleiades and extraction

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1932716509

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1932716818

[Just Aaron]

Your core stats look good. That`s exactly how I have my stats in the early game. Only difference is I bring my spirit up to 34 so I can use every guardian spirit in the game. Other than that you seem to have a good set up. You are using some of the best omnyo magic and you`ve got quick change scrolls. So.......I guess I don`t have any advice for you. Sorry.

[Deostades]

You've definitely got the core idea of the build down.

ONMYO: You've listed most of the better ones already. Having some GS Talismans (which summon your Guardian Spirit to do an animation, some of which are astoundingly useful, like knocking humans down flat on their back or applying their element extremely quickly) rarely hurts. Pair Carnage with Steel to get an 80% buff in both Attack and Defense. Devigorate is only useful on some human bosses like Tachibana, and only if you're focused on breaking guard (which fair enough, is what your Dragon Sword is built for). Most of the time straight damage is preferable, however.

STATS: Like Just Aaron, I always recommend 34 Spirit for total GS coverage, but this absolutely varies based on what you use. Your screenshot clearly indicates that you understand the base of the game's build system, so a lot of this advice is frankly going to be flavoring.

NINJUTSU: Dragon Ninja comes with infinite shuriken. There's literally no reason not to have at least one slot of them - they're frankly better guard breakers than trying to do it with your Sword, and most humans you'd want to break guard on will block-spam themselves to exhaustion for you. I personally like Suppa + Catwalk scrolls for rushing through levels to get to the boss, and based on where you are by level, being able to sneak up on some of these guys is going to be a huge boon to you. Levitation Scrolls do not go amiss, and can save your bacon in some places.

GEAR: This one's going to depend on your preferred play style. Based on your sword, it seems like you're gearing towards a Guard Break build for that weapon. In which case, swap out "Parry (Critical)" for "Familiarity Damage Bonus A" and "Fire" for "Parry Against Guarding Enemy (Sword)". Elemental damage is honestly best applied by Onmyoji (Fire Shot, etc..) or weapon talismans (Fire Talisman, etc..), with some items being exceptionally good at it (Tengu's Fan for Wind, Hyotoko Mask for Fire). You have Close Combat Damage and Change to Attack already sorted, which are honestly the only two "must have at all costs" abilities on weapons. Familiarity Damage Bonus in general is the next ability you want, as it's flat damage increase as you max familiarity with the weapon. The Parry Against Guarding Enemy means that humans can't parry your attack (Tachibana and most of the Maroboshi bros will do that constantly), and that your attacks don't bounce off their guard, making it ideal for whaling away at said guard to break it.

SKILLS: Sword: Flowing Shadows, Iai (just get the next Extended Charge time, don't bother with Tiger Running or the four-slice variant), Haze and Backwave, Ki Burst are the big ones. The rest you'll figure out with time/experimentation. Use Flowing Shadows to get you positioned behind your opponent, Haze+Backwave for parry (when you get good at this sword is literally god-tier for parries and dealing with human opponents), Ki Burst to help with your guard break (it's also a good crowd-clearer, in that it'll stun most foes long enough for you to dodge out of there), and Iai for every clear opening you get. Iai is arguably the best burst damage skill in the game, and the Dragon Sword is particularly good at it. If you get your hands on a Dragon Sword with a starred ability "Skill Damage (Iai)", consider yourself lucky and make it your main after you get used to the timing on the big slash.

All in all, it looks like you're already well on your way to having a great time with this build! Do note that you are a glass cannon and will die easily to almost everything, and that there's no shame in spamming Quick Change scrolls.

Happy Hunting!

[SparkyNation]

thank you guys for your advices, but there would be one thing.

the sword and the rest of equip i have right now was just dropped like this ( red phantoms, my rescue in the beginning and in mid game xD) and is there any stat i should go for except the one you already mentioned deostades ?

also were can i farm amrita pretty fast ? only have unlocked the first 3 places in way of strong and only fast farming point i figured out till now is the bat cave area were i slaughter onis in seconds ( sayorse + phoenix ( forgot its name) make a great amrita grinding duo)

for normal combat or bosses i like to use ( excuse me if i used the wrong name) double raiken or twin raiken. and sayorse as backup ( bonus amrita). is there even a better combo than them with the dragon ninja build or are they fine, i like to use them but as glasscanon its always better to have even more damage

[Deostades]

Twin Raiken are pretty good for now. Their GS Talisman is honestly amazing for inflicting Electric element on enemies. Saorise is a decent farming GS.

Would I be correct in guessing that you've finished the base game, and have started the DLC?

If that's the case, unlock Maroboshi as soon as you can (finish the dojo missions). This mission both drops good gear and gives good amrita, and is excellent practice for taking on human foes.

After that, the DLC missions (especially the last mission of DLC 2 and the first of DLC 3) are great for Amrita, though I'd actually recommend you take on NG+ (Way of the Strong) and do the side mission in the first area with Tachibana waifu. She'll have your back, you'll get a bunch of good drops, and good amrita. This will help with the DLC as well, as it was released with the expectation that most players will have either completed NG+ or have been a ways into it.

[SparkyNation]

i unlocked way of strong already, but i only did 2 mission in there already. in this fact im going to do the dlcs but i lvl up a bit cause my char doesnt seemed to have a chance against some enemys ( i tried out the boss fight against the dragon guy, he wiped the floor with my face --> kind version

[SparkyNation]

also deostades can i add you in case if i have some questions or rather ask by forum ?

[Deostades]

By dragon guy, do you mean Masamune? Yeah, he's an absolute bastard in your first fight with him.

Try shuriken stun-locking him - once he runs out of Ki he loses LW.

Originally posted by SparkyNation:

also deostades can i add you in case if i have some questions or rather ask by forum ?

Sure! Either way is fine. I don't play much these days (a friend got me into Monster Hunter World in time for the DLC), but I'm happy to answer questions. Montengo on these forums is a great resource as well, and there are a few others with good advice. One of the thing I really like about Nioh's steam community is that for the most part we aren't toxic and are rather helpful.

[SparkyNation]

note taken, be a prick to honest opponents who wanted a fair fight between samurais

good thing william has no honor xD

[Deostades]

Originally posted by SparkyNation:

note taken, be a prick to honest opponents who wanted a fair fight between samurais

good thing william has no honor xD

It's absolutely possible to take Masamune on in an honest fight. Dragon ninja is not the build to do that in - you can't take the blows necessary to turn this into a straightforward fight. Dodge-smack and shuriken are your tools with this build.

[SparkyNation]

yeah, saw how "tanky" iam when using this build, the damage is nice but holy 2 hits instant death xD

[montengo]

to add to what already has been said

Looking at your stats screenshot I see that your Ki and toughness are much lower than they could be at your level - I think you have not discovered yet prestige - Agyo and Ungyo. I've just checked my one of low level characters (level 89) and my Ki is 148 with just 10 in Heart and toughness is above 100 (first soft cap) while I'm also wearing light armor with weight below 10Kg. I've plus 15 to both Ki and toughness with just 78 titles in Ungyo and I've maxed Relentless passive in Sword skill tree - another thing for you to look at: other weapons passives. So have a look what you could do with prestige - some points are very easy to get and some are just fun to get.

There's a trick to distribute your prestige points to only things that help with combat - you might want to watch tutorial video on this, but basically you have to make it that 3 out of 4 entries have things in them that you don't want and then only use the one left.

Note: while unlimited shuriken could be used for Ki breaking, each throw would also use your Ki too, so if you want to make a use of DN set unlimited shuriken on regular basis you might want to roll TW Ki damage on your gloves and also check your accessories for this effect.

If DN set is what you want to use for long time, you might want to get smithing texts from Jin. Only sword smithing text requires WotN (or Abyss), the rest could be farmed on any difficulty.

Stances: try to use all stances and switch between them mid combat or even mid attack. Aslo switch weapons and learn to Flux.

FYI: There's a hidden damage bonus with Ninjutsu power at 401. Since you use Kusarigama, might as well go for it and don't stop with Dex at 30.


Masamune is honest with all his superhuman powers? News to me.

Makibishi is a nice tool to have.

[SparkyNation]

so after trying out i like the dragon ninja build and im pretty good in parrying ( its so satisfying to do it ) but theres one thing that hurts more than anything else

masamune got owned but thats even worse xD

edit: succeded in the end but holy was this annoying, now to the rest of the list xD farming prestige is annoying,

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1933489640

[Deostades]

Much easier than it sounds. You should be able to merc Onryoki in 15 seconds, leaving about a minute to get there, which when you have the route memorized is very easy to do.

Tiger Running Scrolls help as well.

[SparkyNation]

yeah did all the stuff and watched a short speedrunner route to shave some seconds, mostly got interupted by the knights who detect you and then hit you in the back when you try to get the key

they mostly killed my runs but 10 runs later and i got it with 10 sec to go

[Argyle]

If you like using kusa in high stance I strongly encourage using the trip ability for your guard+heavy attack. Use the high stance heavy attack to pull enemies toward you and then trip them while they recovery for an easy ground attack. This combo makes human enemies trivial.