Nioh: How to Use a Spear Build

Nioh – Spear Build

Spears are one of the five weapon types you can equip in Nioh, and knowing just how to use them can make you an incredibly deadly force in battle. Spears are the best weapons for range in Nioh, and that’s something that’ll definitely factor into your strategy if you’re choosing a Spear build. However, the three stances for Spears drastically change how you approach battles, and you need to know when to use each. Let’s take a look at all three.

Low – The Spear’s Low stance has the least range, and is mostly used for defensive measures. Attacks are dished out close to you with a flurry of strikes, instead of just a couple swipes or jabs. Because of this, the Low stance is best used when you need to pull back and regroup, regenerate Ki, or deal with large groups of ferocious enemies. Your attacks can easily stagger enemies and still give you a window to dash out of harm’s way, so use it to your advantage with enemies that have quick attacks. Additionally, it’s easy to catch clumped up enemies into your swipes. Of course, keep in mind each hit doesn’t do much damage.

Mid – The Mid stance is probably going to be your most used stance for the Spear as it provides great crowd control, and decent range. First and foremost, the Mid stance is great when forced into a hallway, as you can use your strong attack to continuously thrust at enemies ahead of you. This can also be used with slower enemies to execute a quick jab, then immediately dash out of the way. Your normal attack in Mid stance is the best crowd control you have with the weapon. It uses broad strikes that can easily strike and stagger enemies to each side of you, and only gets expanded on with certain skills. On top of all this, Mid stance dishes out some decent damage.

High – The High stance with the Spear is an incredibly powerful tool that can really dish out damage, but you’ll need to be careful with it. This stance can break enemies’ guards and take off decent chunks of health, but it’s also slow. The strong attack has range, as you’ll do a leaping lunge that has windup. Regular attacks function as an overhead swipe that hits enemies straight in front of you, although it lacks crowd control. You definitely won’t want to use High stance with enemies that have high speed, or wield weapons like the Dual Swords. However, on larger and slower enemies, High stance is the obvious choice to really take their health bar down. 

Spears – Stats and Armor

The Spear is a versatile weapons that can favor both speed and methodical attacks from range. Because of this, your best bet is going to be with medium weight armor, or in some cases heavy armor if you’re careful. If you’re going to be completely focused on keeping enemies at a distance with thrusts, heavy can help give you a defense boost. On the other hand, Medium armor will still keep you quick and versatile to a degree.

Here are the skills you’re going to want to focus on leveling up for a Spear build:

• Body
• Stamina/ Heart
• Spirit/ Magic

The main stat you’re going to want to focus on for a Spear build is Body, as it’ll directly affect your damage with the weapon. You’ll want to pump this stat up, which will continuously increase your output.

The other skill you want kind of depends on how you want to use your Spear. Stamina will be incredibly important if you’re going for a heavier build that can soak up damage. This way it’ll boost your life, and let you carry more weight, saving you from being over encumbered or too slow. Alternatively, you can also focus on Heart to boost your Ki and attack speed even more. If you’re wanting to go with a bit more nimble of a build focused on Mid stance, you’ll want as much Ki as possible, so you can throw a couple thrusts then quickly dodge out of the way.

You’ll also want to take advantage of some of the other combat options Nioh gives you, and combine that with the Spear. Focusing on Spirit will further boost the power of your Guardian Spirit, increasing the stat boosts it can give you and lengthening the time of your Living Weapon gauge. Onmyo Magic can also be a great addition to your repertoire, as it’ll let you enchant your Spear with an element to up damage even more. One particularly useful Magic charm that you can ready is the “Guardian Spirit Talisman.” This lets you summon your Spirit instantly to attack an enemy at range, and with the range of the Spear already you can set up a deadly combo. 

Spear Skills

The Spear has a number of skills that you can learn to make yourself even deadlier. Of course, if you’re going with the build you should learn all of the skills eventually. However, there are a few that you can choose to give yourself a boost early on.

Pole Kick – Pole Kick is an easy skill you can unlock almost instantly, that factors into your Mid stance combo. Your basic combo adds on an attack at the end if you hit triangle, that has your character grip the pole and stick it into the ground to deliver a spinning kick. This attack can hit any enemies around you and knock them back, giving you a moment to breath if you’re surrounded.

Ki Pulse – Ki Pulse is always an incredibly useful skill, and you’ll want to be taking advantage of it immediately. Having enough Ki to dodge out of the way is critically important to all three of the stances, particularly Mid and Low. Pull off a couple jabs or a combo and pull off a Ki Pulse, and you should have enough of a window to make a nimble dodge.

Flux – Flux can be useful for when you need to adapt your combat style on the fly. Maybe you encounter a large enemy and you want to start out in High or Mid stance to get a blow in while you still have them at range. When the enemy closes in, however, it may be a better idea to drop down to Low stance and regain your bearings. Flux give you a recovery bonus if you change to another stance during a Ki Pulse, so use it to your advantage to adapt on the fly.

Living Water – Living Water is another useful skill that you can use on the fly. For builds focusing on Mid and Low stance it’s essential, as it grants you the ability to use Ki Pulses while dodging. The Spear can be adeptly used by dodging and landing a couple blows here and there, so you should have Living Water for each stance.

Spear Stance Change – If you’ll be using the High stance a lot, this skill is a given. If you’re in High stance and perform a stance change right when you use a Ki Pulse, nearby enemies will be knocked back. Since High stance attacks are slow, this give you room to land a high damage blow, then switch stances and have some breathing room.

Windmill – Windmill is the skill directly after Spear Stance Change, and it’s incredibly useful for crowd control. While guarding, you can hit triangle and your character will swing the Spear out in multiple wide arcs around him. This can bat back a group of enemies threatening to close in on you, giving you the moment you need to make an escape or launch an attack. It should be noted that the skill is used in High stance.

Spear Shove – Spear Shove can be a useful skill in Mid stance when you’re overwhelmed by an enemy. Like Windmill, you can hit the triangle button while guarding, but this time you’ll slam your enemy with the butt of your spear and stun them. If pulled off successfully, you can even launch into a combo.

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