The Stacking of Zero-ki Bonuses Against Yokai

This guide specifies which zero-ki bonuses apply to which situations and introduces the Out-of-ki Bonus to readers.

TL;DR

Please click for an enhanced view of this image.

For Melee Attacks and Active Skills against Yokai, the following bonuses apply:

Positive Ki

• No bonuses apply

Out of Ki

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy
  
• Finishing Flair
  
• Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)

Out of Maximum Ki

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy
  
• Finishing Flair
  
• Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)
  
• "a" % Innate Out of Ki Bonus against certain Yokai

As requested by several users, this is a port of my original Reddit post to Steam.

Introduction

In Nioh 2, there are many different zero-ki bonuses and Buffs such as Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy, Finishing Flair, and Increased Attack (Winded Enemy). Distinguishing between these bonuses can prove to be difficult, as it is not obvious when and how each of them apply.

To further complicate matters, there exists a special damage bonus that applies to certain Yokai enemies whom are depleted of their maximum ki. This damage bonus is not explicitly stated by the game, and is thus unknown to many players.

This guide serves to both specify which zero-ki damage bonuses apply to which situations, as well as introduce the Out-of-ki Bonus to readers. Please keep in mind that this guide focuses specifically on Melee Attacks and Active Skills against zero-ki Yokai enemies, so Grapples and Final Blows (along with their related bonuses) are not discussed in the paragraphs to come.

The Out-of-ki Bonus

The Out-of-ki Bonus is a multiplier that increases your damage output by "a" % against Humans who are out of ki and certain Yokai who are out of maximum ki.

The value of the Out-of-ki Bonus is "a" %. Unfortunately, due to the lack of datamining available for Nioh 2, the true value of a is impossible to be determined. However, extensive testing has shown the value of a to range from 55% to 85%. For more information about the variable a, please refer to the Appendices section of my other guide titled Nioh 2 Math School: The Total Damage Formula for Melee Attacks.

For the purposes of this guide, the unknown variable "a" will be treated as 66.66% in all of the calculations to come.

Against Humans, this bonus applies to a single attack. Against certain Yokai, it applies to every attack until they summon a Yokai Realm or Dark Realm.

There are some Yokai that this bonus sometimes does not apply to. Provided below is a list of some, but not all Yokai who are conditional exemptions to the Out-of-ki Bonus:

• Skeleton Warrior (Small and Large) – Fallen down
  
• Rokurokubi
  
• Flying Bolt
  
• Wheelmonk – Fallen down
  
• Umi-Bozu – Compressed into the ground
  
• Shuten Doji – Fallen down

These Yokai behave slightly differently from typical Yokai. The general observation is that they tend to fall down and become vulnerable to non-grapple attacks such as the Final Blow before their maximum ki is depleted. However, if they do enter a state where they can be grappled—such as in the case where Shuten Doji's maximum ki is depleted—then the Out-of-ki Bonus will apply.

Additionally, some of these enemies take completely different damage bonuses when they enter their unique state; further testing is required to determine exactly what kind of damage they take during these unique states. The Skeleton Warrior, for example, enters the Final Blow state when either its ki is depleted or its maximum ki is depleted. When this happens, both Backstab Damage bonuses and the "Damage from Behind" bonus (portrayed by the larger font of damage numbers) are incorporated into the player's total damage output.

The States of Yokai Ki Levels

There are three states that Yokai enter depending on their ki level:

• Positive Ki – This is when the Yokai has a purple ki bar. In this state, the Yokai enemy will actively attack the player.
  
  
• Out of Ki – This is when the Yokai has no purple ki bar, but a portion of its ki bar is flashing red. In this state, the Yokai enemy will actively attack the player, but will be staggered every time it receives damage.
  
  
• Out of Maximum Ki – This is when the Yokai has no purple ki bar, and its entire ki bar is flashing red. In this state, the Yokai is able to be Grappled.

The Various Zero-ki Bonuses

Provided below is a list of the zero-ki bonuses that apply to each Yokai ki level, as well as each state's corresponding Total Damage formula.

➼ Positive Ki

No zero-ki bonuses apply.

The total damage formula, isolated for only zero-ki bonuses, is as follows:

Total Damage = Base Damage

➼ Out of Ki

The following bonuses apply:

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy
  
• Finishing Flair
  
• Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)

The total damage formula, isolated for only zero-ki bonuses, is as follows:

Total Damage = Base Damage 
× [1 + Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy + Finishing Flair] 
× [1 + Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)]

➼ Out of Maximum Ki

The following bonuses apply:

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy
  
• Finishing Flair
  
• Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)
  
• a % Out-of-ki Bonus – Arbitrarily assigning "a" to be 66.66%

The total damage formula, isolated for only zero-ki bonuses, is as follows:

Total Damage = Base Damage 
× [1 + Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy + Finishing Flair] 
× [1 + Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)] 
× [1 + 0.6666]

To isolate for the mentioned bonuses, all other passive damage bonuses and active damage buffs are assumed to be absent. Defense Debuffs, Saturation, Confusion, Attack from Behind bonuses and Stealth bonuses are also assumed to be absent.

A Practical Example

Let's say that your Mid Stance quick attack deals 1,000 damage:

• Base Damage: 1,000

And that you have the following stat bonuses:

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy: 20.0%
  
• Melee Ki Damage: 30.0%
  
• Finishing Flair AA
  
• Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)

Finally, let's assume that no other passive damage bonuses or active damage buffs are present on your character.

Using the provided equations, you would deal the following damage on a Yokai enemy qualifying for the 66.66% Innate Out of Ki Bonus at each of the following ki levels:

➼ Positive Ki

Total Damage = Base Damage
Total Damage = 1000

In other words, when the enemy has a purple ki bar, your Mid Stance quick attack will deal 1,000 damage.

➼ Out of Ki

Total Damage = Base Damage 
× [1 + Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy + Finishing Flair] 
× [1 + Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)]

Total Damage = 1000 × [1 + 0.20 + 0.081] × [1 + 0.20]
Total Damage = 1537

In other words, when the enemy has no purple ki bar, but a portion of its ki bar is flashing red, the 1,000 base damage will be multiplied by one plus the sum of your:

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy bonus (20.0%)
  
• Finishing Flair AA damage bonus (8.10% at 30% Melee Ki Damage). The formula for determining Finishing Flair's damage bonus can be found on its Wiki page[nioh2.wiki.fextralife.com].

Then, it will be multiplied by one plus your Increased Attack (Winded Enemy) buff, which is a 20% damage buff.

As a result of these bonuses, your Mid Stance quick attack will deal 1,537 damage.

➼ Out of Maximum Ki

Total Damage = Base Damage 
× [1 + Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy + Finishing Flair] 
× [1 + Increased Attack (Winded Enemy)] 
× [1 + 0.6666]

Total Damage = 1000 × [1 + 0.20 + 0.081] × [1 + 0.20] × [1 + 0.6666]
Total Damage = 2562

In other words, when the enemy has no purple ki bar and its entire ki bar is flashing red, the 1,000 base damage will be multiplied by one plus the sum of your:

• Melee Damage vs. Zero-ki Enemy bonus (20.0%)
  
• Finishing Flair AA damage bonus (8.10% at 30% Melee Ki Damage)

Then, it will be multiplied by one plus your 20% Increased Attack (Winded Enemy) buff.

Finally, it will be multiplied by one plus the "a" Out-of-ki Bonus, which is arbitrarily assigned the value of 66.66%

As a result of these bonuses, your Mid Stance quick attack will deal 2,562 damage.

FAQs

Why should I bother performing melee attacks when the Yokai enemy is in the Grapple state, when I could instead go for the Grapple right away?

To maximize your damage output when an enemy enters the Grapple state, you should try to fit in as many attacks as you can before performing the Grapple at the last possible second.

If you practice this habit, you can possibly deal just as much—if not more—damage with your melee attacks as you would deal with the Grapple. Combining the two together is likely to yield devastating results for your foe.

How is the damage bonus for Finishing Flair calculated?

The formula for determining Finishing Flair's damage bonus can be found on its Wiki page.
Link to the page: Wiki – Finishing Flair[nioh2.wiki.fextralife.com].

What if I already have an attack buff active when Increased Attack (Winded Enemy) is applied?

When multiple status effects of the same type are applied at the same time, they all are active and count down concurrently, but only the most beneficial effect applies.

In other words, Increased Attack (Winded Enemy) will apply and count down no matter what, but whether you receive its 20% increased attack buff is dependent on whether your pre-existing attack buff is greater or less than 20%.

If it is greater than 20%, then that attack buff will remain applied to your attacks until it expires. If it is less than 20%, then the Increased Attack (Winded Enemy) buff will instead apply to your hits until it expires or a higher attack buff is introduced.

Source: Wiki – Increased Attack[nioh2.wiki.fextralife.com]).

Sources and Links

The tests performed to discover this information are documented in the Math channel[discord.com] of the Nioh Community Discord server.

• Link to original Reddit post
  
  
• Link to Nioh Community Discord:
  https://discord.gg/GGs9zzjH
  
  
• Link to Wiki page of Finishing Flair:
  https://nioh2.wiki.fextralife.com/Finishing+Flair
  
  
• Link to Wiki page of the Increased Attack buff:
  https://nioh2.wiki.fextralife.com/Increase+Attack
  
  
• Link to illustrated summary of The Stacking of Zero-ki Bonuses Against Yokai:
  https://imgur.com/a/XRxNYdt

Special Thanks

Thank you unohehe[discord.com] for helping me collect damage output data related to zero-ki bonuses.

Thank you Brilliant_Suns_Gaming[discord.com] for performing the intial tests related to Finishing Flair and providing constant feedback regarding this topic.

Thank you u/gaydesperado for performing tests on the Dojo Skeleton Warrior related to zero-ki bonuses and providing the Wiki pages for Finishing Flair and Increased Attack.

Feel free to share your thoughts!

Everybody's questions, comments and insights are more than welcome in the comments section. I thoroughly enjoy reading your inputs and am greatly looking forward to discussing more about this topic with you down below.

Thank you for reading my work!

---

[Yanxi]

Wow, your use of Baku and Guardian Spirit Talismans during the Grapple State blows my mind. I completely forgot that it had a Paralysis effect. That makes me want to quit Team Purity.

Do you have Discord, Uchihaz? We could talk more there! My ID is Yanxi#1218.

[ase]

I agree on your part 2/2 points,I ll be sure to check Maeda clan as soon as possible

Maeda Clan mixed up with Baku sounds very interesting,I'm pretty sure this could be a really strong pick against humanoid enemies like Shibata with terrible waking-up attacks,leading to big damage bonuses into the combo.
You probably can use any other Guardian Spirit,I just find Baku to have the most value if you're going for grapples on enemies.For example,take let's imagine a situation where Magara is out of ki-even on DotN Baku scores 2 grapples(roughly) procs per first 1 guardian spirit talisman,while Ho-Oh gets only 1 grapple if you combine it with suitable soul cores for purity.


Also,what's your opinion on bare-handed gesture spam?
I've also seen some Tajikarao users having really big damage with that one hitting gesture(Not in endgame content though),perhaps it also could be a viable option,since damage will probably become crazy due to multipliers you've mentioned in this guide

Cheers!

[Yanxi]

Response Part 2/2:

Now, I can suggest two cases in which the it would be better halt the automated attack and use the Grapple at the end of the Grapple state:

– If you are using the Maeda Clan, its Reduced Defense (Grapple) debuff adds an entire 100% to the Debuffs category of the Total Damage Formula (Debuffs = Reduced Defense Saturation + Confusion), resulting in Maeda Clan Grapples being drastically stronger than almost every other attack during the zero-ki state.

– If you have not nullified the Dream of the Demon / Wise / Nioh curse, or you sense that it will return soon, using the Grapple to ensure that it stays nullified is probably a good idea.

Thank you for your inputs, xxx XXXRDMKINGz uchihaz xxx! I am learning a lot from your observations.

[Yanxi]

Response Part 1/2:

Funny enough, after you provided some more context about the skill you are using, I believe your first opinion makes a lot of sense. Using an automated attack such as Water Sword or Dragon Dance all the way through the Grapple state is probably better than using the Grapple. To be honest, the Grapple is not that strong of an attack.

Originally, I was biased toward using the Grapple. This is because I have been using the Maeda Clan for two months now, so I am used to seeing large Grapple numbers. Without the Maeda Clan, though, I can agree that Grapples are quite underwhelming.

[ase]

Using it on mobs-honestly,never thought of that.I imagine it must be a real help against someone like Ongyoki,I ill try to use it sometime,thanks

About grapples being the most optimal-I am not sure,honestly.Until the depths I found being greedy to the very end a pretty good option,but I guess it's kinda iffy to the build,and the enemy itself.As an example-I would never grapple a boss with big downtime,when I can continue using water sword,or stacking up anima for soul core abilities.If you have some opinions on that I would love to hear them.
UPDATE:After a gruesome battle in the depths that put me to my limits,I wish to take my words back,grappling is pretty much essential in there and without it(and some info I got from you on reddit) I probably would've surrendered on that expedition.

[Yanxi]

Thank you for your input, xxx XXXRDMKINGz uchihaz xxx!

While further testing is required to determine if the Paralysis state incorporates the zero-ki bonuses mentioned in this guide, I must agree that it is an excellent way to reset the timer of the Grapple state. This is especially true for enemies who get up after a couple hits, such as Enki.

Additionally, while Grappling right at the beginning of the Grapple state is not the optimal thing to do, Grappling at the very end of the Grapple state is the most optimal thing to do—especially since it nullifies the Dream of the Demon / Wise / Nioh curse. I myself need to work on toning down my greed for fitting in as many attacks as possible before Grappling, lest I miss any more Grapple opportunities.

[ase]

Well,that explains my sudden rise in damage

Though,I think it's worth mentioning why grappling is not an optimal strategy against yokai bosses,since paralysis reset exists and it works on a pretty solid amount of bosses.

Big thanks for this guide and the other answers you've been posting on forums ;)