Nioh: Best Samurai Active Skills
Active skills in Nioh are abilities that you actually do. They come with several different triggers such as reducing an enemy to a specific state, performing certain maneuvers, or timing your pulses. There are a ton in the game, with each weapon having skills specifically for them, but we’ll be focusing on the best skills that all builds can and should use.
All of the below abilities can be found across each weapon tree while you’re unlocking Samurai skills. These will make your time in Nioh much more manageable as they all revolve around increasing damage and managing your Ki.
Grapple: If you deplete an enemy’s Ki, they’ll fall into a staggered state which is signified by your lock-on reticle turning red. Once it changes color, you can press Triangle near that enemy to trigger an attack that does massive damage.
Ki Pulse Heaven, Man, and Earth: Increases damage for your next attack after a perfect Ki Pulse. The variants apply to High, Mid, and Low stances respectively.
Living Water Heaven, Man, and Earth: The Ki Pulse mechanic is vital to surviving and keeping enemies off balance, as it allows you to replenish a large portion of your used Ki to keep attacks going in Nioh. Unfortunately, you have to stand still to use it. The Samurai skill, Living Water, allows you to use a dodge to trigger the pulse instead of R1, letting you get to safety, while still keeping your stamina up.
Flux: Flux is the last important skill you should invest in for Ki management in Nioh. It increases the potency of a Pulse if you switch stances immediately after.
Parry: Every weapon in Nioh has its own specific parry skill. Make sure to invest in the ones for the weapons you find yourself using. Being able to counter attack helps to deplete enemy stamina and keep you safe.
