Nioh: How to Use the Blacksmith (Buy, Sell, Forge, Soul Match, & More)

Buy and Sell

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

The Blacksmith is probably one of the most intimidating features in Nioh, but it’s also the most useful if you learn how to utilize it properly. In this guide, we’ll go through each of the available Blacksmith functions one by one, and explain how each of them works. Before anything else, you can only unlock the Blacksmith after completing the prologue and main mission Isle Of Demons. This will take you to the world map, where you can access the Dojo, Torii Gate, and the Blacksmith.

As the name suggests, this function allows you to sell any unwanted items in your inventory and storehouse. The main difference between selling your stuff at the Blacksmith as opposed to the shrine is that you’ll receive gold here instead of Amrita. You won’t realize it right away, but gold is an incredibly valuable currency as you’ll need it to make full use of the rest of the Blacksmith functions.

The Blacksmith in Nioh won’t sell you any rare weapons, but you can buy arrows and ammunition here. It’s a good idea to stock up on supplies before starting a new mission. If you head over to the Special Finds tab in the Buy menu, the Blacksmith will occasionally have some rarities for sale. She also sells an item called the Book of Reincarnation, which basically allows you to respec your character and reset your level. The Book will cost 10,000 gold the first time you buy it from the Blacksmith, but the price will increase the more you do it.

Forge

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

The Forge function at the Blacksmith won’t be of much use during the early hours of Nioh, as you’ll easily find better gear through enemy drops in main missions. However, give it a look after you’ve acquired a few Smithing Texts on your journey. Smithing Texts are often offered up as mission rewards, and they’ll allow the Blacksmith to craft more unique weapons, armor, and tools that you can use.

Forging your own gear at the Blacksmith also gives you a chance of obtaining purple equipment, and your chances of getting a purple are determined by the types of crafting materials you use. When you select a recipe from the Forge menu, you’ll be asked to select your crafting materials. At the top of the screen, you’ll see the percentage chance of getting specific rarity tiers for the gear you’re trying to craft. If you use rare materials, your chances of getting a purple will go up. I don’t advise spending too much gold and resources on forging gear when you’re just starting out in the game, considering that resources can be hard to come by. Besides, you have a much better chance of getting purple gear from Revenants.

After you’ve decked your character out in mostly purple gear, the Forge function can be a good way for you to round out your build with whatever gear piece you’re missing.

Soul Match

This is probably the most confusing function at Nioh’s Blacksmith, but it’s one that will help to keep your favorite pieces of equipment up to snuff all throughout the game. With Soul Match, you’ll be able to use a higher level weapon to upgrade a lower level weapon. Through this process of infusion, the higher level weapon will be destroyed, but the damage multiplier of the lower level weapon will be increased. The lower level weapon will also have its level raised to match the weapon that was destroyed. I’m using weapons as an example here, but Soul Match can be used for armor too.

However, it’s worth noting that the Familiarity meter for the infused weapon will be reset. This is a small price to pay, though, considering that you’ll be able to raise the base stats of your favorite gear, and the Familiarity meter can always be maxed out quickly in battle or through the use of Whetstones.

The best way to utilize Soul Match is to upgrade your low-level purple gear (with the right special effects and bonuses, of course) with a high-level piece of white gear. That way, you’ll get a much stronger and much more valuable purple piece of equipment that will last you longer in Nioh.

Refashion

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

The Refashion function is like a dream come true for all the fashionistas out there. For a very small price, you can refashion your weapons and armor, and make them look like any other piece of gear you’ve come across in the game. The weapon’s stats and perks won’t change, only the look of it. Of course, you can only change the look of a katana to make it look like a different katana in the game. You can’t make it look like an axe.

Reforge

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

Say you’ve finally landed a purple weapon that has most of the special effects you could ever want, but there’s just that one random special effect on there that you could do without. This is where the Reforge function available at Nioh’s Blacksmith comes into play. For a small amount of gold, and some spirit chunks and fragments, you can change any of the perks on your weapon or armor to something else. The change is completely random, so you might have to pay up quite a bit of gold before you get the perk you want. Still, this is a great refinement tool for those looking to finish up their character builds.

Disassemble

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

This is where you can dismantle your gear for resources. It’s generally a better idea to only dismantle purple gear that you can’t use in order to obtain the rare resources that can be put towards crafting purple gear for yourself. For the rest of the junk that you don’t need, you can sell them to the Blacksmith for gold, or offer them to the shrine for Amrita.

Change Hairstyle

Nioh Blacksmith Guide

Yes, you can change William’s appearance in Nioh at the Blacksmith. However, you can only unlock this function after spending enough money at the Blacksmith. After spending some money, press the triangle button to open up the dialogue tree. You’ll see an option that allows you to make a request of Tome. Here, you’ll get to spend Patronage points to improve your experience at the Blacksmith. You can spend points to get shop discounts, as well as unlock the barber feature. After doing this, you can change William’s hairstyle and beard.

That’s really all you need to know about Nioh’s Blacksmith. Feel free to sound off in the comments if you have any other questions about how it works.

For more tips, tricks, and information on Nioh, be sure to check out our wiki guide.