Nioh 2 is a game about gear, and you always want to be improving yours if you are to stand any chance of overcoming the challenges ahead. The crafting and upgrade system can be a little intimidating at first, but it’s quite intuitive once you get a grasp on it. Here is how to use the blacksmith in Nioh 2.
How to Use the Blacksmith in Nioh 2
Rescue Senji Toyo
In order to use the Blacksmith, you must find and rescue Senji Toyo, a young blacksmith-in-training who must be rescued during the second main story mission, The Beast Born of Smoke and Flames.
You can’t miss her, just proceed up until the first mini-boss encounter with Ippon-Datara. Once you have defeated it, proceed down the ladder into the cave below, and Toyo will be sitting by the fire in the center of the chamber.
After speaking with her, she tells you to come by and visit her “once things settle down.” This just means that the Blacksmith will now be available when you are on the world map next, you can find it in your Starting Point menu, along with the Hut and the Dojo.
There are a variety of different submenus available to you within the Blacksmith, each serving a different purpose which we will break down below. Note that you can also talk to Senji by pressing triangle once you are inside the Blacksmith, and you can learn more about her back story throughout the course of the game.
Buy and Sell
The most basic of the Blacksmith functions, here you are able to sell gear for gold and buy a variety of consumable items, in addition to very basic versions of each weapon type and any unlocked armor sets you might have.
You will find better weapons than you are able to buy, or more likely you will forge them, but sometimes you will want to sell gear in order to stock up on consumables.
Forge
The Forge is where you are able to create new weapons and armor, and is probably the most important of the Blacksmith’s services. In order to forge more powerful gear, you will need to find Smithing Texts while exploring the world.
In order to create new gear, you will need various crafting components that can be acquired through exploration, and by disassembling unwanted equipment.
The quality of the materials used affects the stats and quality of the item produced. You will spend a lot of time forging new gear in Nioh 2, so it is worth spending some time getting used to how it works.
Soul Match
Soul Match allows you to raise the level of a weapon or piece of armor that you have by infusing it with another, more powerful piece of gear.
You are able to select a Base item that you want to increase the level of, and then the Material item that will be broken down to power up the Base. By this process, you are able to transfer desirable traits from one to the other and keep a favorite item relevant throughout the game.
Soul Matching is a very expensive process but is a powerful option for players looking to min-max and get the very utmost out of their build.
Refashion
Refashion is a Blacksmith function that allows you to change the visual appearance of an item to that of any other, provided it is of the same category.
This is a purely cosmetic change and does not affect the stats of an item. In this manner, you can keep your characters look regardless of the gear equipped. Fashion is, after all, the true endgame.
Temper
Temper allows you to swap the Special Effects of your gear in exchange for Umbracite. You are able to exchange an undesired trait and receive a randomized one instead.
The quality of the Special Effect that you receive depends on the quality of the Umbracite used in the process.
Remodel
Remodel is a Blacksmith feature unlocked during the course of the game, you won’t be able to use this feature for quite a while. Remodeling allows you to change the damage scaling of a certain weapon and thus allowing you to tailor it to your play style.
As each weapon type in Nioh 2 scales off of three base stats, by remodeling a weapon you can increase the scaling of one stat, but this comes at the cost of reducing the scaling of the other two. This is a rather advanced mechanic, but by the time you unlock it, you will no doubt have a firm grasp on the game’s mechanics.
Disassemble
Disassemble allows you to salvage crafting materials from unwanted weapons and armor, and is generally the best way of disposing of unwanted or under-leveled gear. Unless you are really strapped for cash, you should always disassemble over just selling unwanted goods.
If you get into this habit early, you will have a plethora of base crafting material. This will cut down on grinding later and will allow you to keep up with the fairly steep difficulty curve that the game will throw at you.
That’s all you need to know in order to use the Blacksmith in Nioh 2. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game, or check out our Nioh 2 guide wiki. Check out some of our other guides:
- Nioh 2: How to Redeem Demon Horde Preorder DLC
- Nioh 2: How to Play Co-Op Multiplayer With Friends
- Nioh 2: How to Quit Mission & Return to World Map
- Nioh 2: How to Get & Use Ochoko Cups
