I really struggled with Nioh 2 until I tried out the tonfa. It was so simple to figure out how to use them effectively compared to the other weapons. The combos stand out and deal terrific damage compared to anything else I was managing.
The katana/dual sword combo is amazing, limited only by its lack of range. It's so good that I used it to play through most of the first Nioh, so it ticks my "Boring" box as far as play style because nothing's changed.
@@HamsterPants522 Uhh.. yeah. How on Earth would I know what one of their favorite books would be? Is that something that should just be instinctually known?
Thank you! Seriously appreciate the feedback! But goddamn all you people making me rethink my weapon choices haha. Very excited to try my first let's play... Really not sure how well it will be viewed etc but if its not something you guys want I'll switch my efforts to more guides like this
Hatchet + dual swords give you up close and medium range and both scale with skill for a fun little set up, id use it myself but i use one weapon set mainly
I like the spear too but switchblades too be feel too similar like long reach and all that.. I wanted something cllse range is sword and spear still good?
Dual swords and Kusarigama and light armor is one of the best builds out there. It supplementary pairs with ninja skills and range weapons (bow especially). Very versatile. Feral lightening spirit is fantastic with allied ninjutsu and you may be lucky enough to get lightening imbued Kusarigama - deadly!
I started my game with odachi & sword. By the start of thr second region I was only using odachi & by the start of the third region I completely removed the sword and just use two odachi. I like the samurai skill for weapon swap on ki pulse. I am on dream now only using my precious odachi. Boar bunghole took me 4 hours to beat. I'll be investing in magic or ninjutsu soon, maybe...
You have a new sub from me because this was the perfect video for me and you did so that hard work which I would have done. I play Monster Hunter and I am always making spreadsheets, takes, graphs etc. Or simply making lists of what I need in order of preference etc. It may be geeky but it helps immensley
Tonfa and spear my guys.. constitution will boost your spear and your life and it also boost Tonga’s as a secondary. Spear range is a necessary evil at some areas and the tonfa have great speed and a killed move set. People are overlooking the tonfas but if you give them a chance you will be blown away at how fast they can eat up a health bar.. just my .02 though, hope everyone is enjoying the game as I am
I’m going to go with Dual Blades and The Scythe-weapon thing, I played old nioh and the only thing I was really lost on was making builds and stat optimization so I’m going to make an effort to do better with that but not at the cost of having fun. I’m not going to change my playstyle completely to get through levels faster
I agree... If you like a certain play style then definitely go with that! I tend to enjoy the hulk smash kinda game style of I can get away with it. I've started my lets play series mainly focused on the Axe at the moment... Slowly getting to grips with it!
If it's anything like the first game just about any build will "work". Early game you'll be bosting just about every stat and late game you can add extra stat scaling.
I think we have a similar way of thinking. I try to convince logic /common sense and fun. It's very hard to get them all to align in a game because game developers know people want the perfect combo so they never make them. It's a bit compromise I think and what you can most do without.
Yeah you can understand why they need to balance things! Otherwise combos would end up completely overpowered. Love that there are people put there who are as bad as I am though 😂
Love how in Nioh 2 you can change what the weapon scales through remodelling. Means i can run heart and skill but still have massive kusarigama scaling along with my katana
Agreed - I didn't even know that at the time of making this video. Since then, I did some testing to find out at what point the dual scaling actually benefits you.
Yeah I realised that. Found out after I'd made the synergy video! Devastated haha... Need to rethink my weapon choices but haven't come to a conclusion yet! Thank you for the feedback by the way
I chose Odachi and Axe, double heavy build. The character I created was Blanc from Neptunia, so I tried to give her weapons similar to her own. It took much learning.
David Gemmell is one of my favorite authors and the Drenai series was fantastic, certainly wasn't expecting to see someone recommend it in a Nioh 2 video. Thanks for the great video, currently working through the original Nioh but I'll definitely be referring to this again once I've moved on to the second game.
Thanks! And yeah David Gemmell has been one of my favorites forever! If you still have some time to read, I'd recommend checking out "the name of the wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. Be warned though, it's so good that it will ruin all other books for you 😂
@@cyanagida1628 Hahaha literally every other book in the world after those two have been 2nd best for me. Some are a close 2nd of course. Another author, Brandon Sanderson. Awesome stuff. Great to meet a fellow geek/reader!
I belong in this conversation. I met David gemmell at a book signing. RIP. If you haven’t discovered yet, consider John Gwynne As close to gemmell as you’ll likely get. Thank you I enjoyed your video
I started with odachi and axe and it worked quite well in the beginning but switch glaive is super versatile and pairs extremely well with hatchets since both scale well with magic and skill. Magic makes the game a lot more bearable since it's a tough game and in all the dark souls games I played a paladin type that buffed my weapon so I went switch glaive and hatchets and just buffed myself and de buffed the enemy. It adds a lot more depth to combat and covers not only speed and range and power, you also get a single and a duel weapon. The duel weapon can be thrown and the switch glaive can go from a fast tonga style weapon to a ranged spear type that is fast and unclunky, to an axe style weapon. Super versatile, fun, powerful, and covers a lot of ground by buffing magic and skill as a secondary.
another thing to consider is the enemy variance between human and youkai, sword, spear and axe are really great for humans while dual swords, kusarigama, odachi are great for youkai, (not that they aren't viable for both) Example the multiple counters of the sword makes quick work of human enemies. while the kusarigama mutiple attacks with debuff/element damage makes quick work of youkai not to mention ninjustu
That's a really valid point! Thank you. At some point in the future I might cover this. I'll need to spend some time experimenting so I can put some coherent thoughts together
I always thought axe was better against yokai. In the first game the axe mystic art let the axe burst down yokai incredibly quick if you took the fight into their pool.
Don't sweat it about looking for the most minmaxed setup. Even if the weapon setup shares a single stat for damage scaling, it should still be viable. Minmaxing will only be relevant in later NG cycles and Abyss mode. Though I do believe that most builds should consider hitting the softcap for constitution and heart. Constitution improves your survivability. Heart provides additional ki which allows you to block and attack more. We do not know that softcap number yet though. Also do not underestimate the spear! It turns into an absolute beast once you unlock its skills.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm totally aware I'm overthinking haha, will keep me out of trouble while I wait for the game to release! Noted about the spear... I'll keep an eye on it. In the future at some point I may need to make an apology video to the spear when I'm proved wrong 😂
@@Onos Nioh 1 spear enthusiast here. Spear is very underwhelming in the damage department until you unlock all the skills, start to get your late game reforges (CCD +20%, CTA, and also parry disabled vs guarding enemy). It is still not quite the beast Odachi is imo, but I think it has better frame data, is not THAT far behind in damage and is absolutely fantastic as an all rounder weapon on WotN and abyss
@@Arclor I secretly knew the moment I voiced such a bold opinion that the likely hood is that I'd be proven wrong! Then again I actually like it when I'm proved wrong with my assumptions. Means I've learnt something! Thank you for the feedback!
Arclor let’s not underestimate the katana they most straightforward and basic weapon in the game but with patience and precision it is arguably the BEST weapon in the game. With just a katana and my stats minmaxed for just that in nioh 1 I was able to rip through anything the game had to offer, no quickdraw cheese just raw damage and skill. The katana is amazing for patient players who make good use of mid and low stances wearing down the opponent till their ki is depleted then going for the kill.
@@AggressiveSushi admittedly I seem to have sidelined the katana. I ran out of time to really test it out and I'm feeling like I need to take a look at some point!
I just started getting into nioh 2 and I already chose hatchets and axe because I liked the move set. Glad to see I made somewhat of a good decision choosing🙌
While it does hinder making any single weapon maxed, my method of playing is constantly change up the weapons so the best of each kind has max familiarity. Keeps me on my toes having to adjust different methods, and just adds a great bit of variety. Though the switchglaive is my main, has a great reach, while having better combos than the spear, and being faster than the odachi. Perfect balance of strength, speed, and techniques for me. It has a particularly great combo final that does moderate Ki damage in medium stance. The kursigawa was my #2, but I just picked up some great double swords with imbue poison...really enjoying those.
Sounds like a really good way to get good with all the different weapons... I don't mean familiarity though, I mean simply your ability to use them all and make the best of the weapons you acquire as you go along!
Thank you! Yeah I'll most likely be doing a Let's Play series next with some guides thrown in along the way. I wasn't sure if people would be interested in that to be honest but from the feedback so far it seems to be the best way to go!
No matter the spreadsheets, Odachi is the weapon that provides maximum fun to me. It feels great to pull off a Bolting Boar on Enki, Yoki, Ippon Datara and friends. Unlike other weapons, you can parry quite a few Yokai with it. Makes you feel like a real swordmaster, who can protec, but also attac. Twin Moons is a great looking attack. But if you like to keep it simple, you can of course also just swing left and right while maintaining you distance. Or fast attack from high stance for days. I never need another melee weapon when using the Odachi.
Kusarigama and Switchglave are my favorites at the moment. Kusarigama was my main in the first game so it's just like riding a bike. By far the best and most useful weapon in the game in my opinion.
Yeah the Kusurigama is awesome...I haven't used it much since the synergy video but I'll definitely be picking it back up again when I get around to guides etc
Interesting analysis. I built my choices around utility vs enemy types. I went with Odachi for yokai, it has good damage and an ability to easily target and shatter horns. For humans i find oppressive rush down weapons work best, so i'm using Tonfa. The scaling and such is more of an afterthought for me as i never find damage lacking as long as my weapons have the right tempered bonuses.
Thanks. I agree that your playstyle (and enjoyment) should always come first. I'm just greedy so I wanted to know how to get the most out of my weapon combinations haha
I initially started with Spear/Odachi but realized that the range was too similar and the stats too mismatched. I enjoyed the spear’s defensive yet versatile playstyle much more than the purely offensive odachi so eventually chose that as my main weapon. My next dilemma involved the secondary weapon, I eventually decided with the Tonfas due to its high speed and great Ki damage, while still being very defensive when needed. The constitution stat scaling for both weapons also worked well together and I’ve been enjoying this combo very much in new game+.
Dude, thank you so much for this. I know I'm late to this, but I stopped play Nioh 2 half way through ages ago and have just picked it back up. You brain/analysis is exactly like how I approach my builds. Thank you for making this video with no spoilers so I can get back into like new. Really excited after this.
I did the same process with Nioh 1. Decided that Axe + Odachi would be nice since I liked both Strength and Stamina as a stats and it would boost both weapons. Found out that Axe destroy Ki of human opponents and that I can stun-lock-roll over them. Odachi was for fighting demons with all those stance switchies and I totally loved it. So naturaly I chose Axe + Odachi in Nioh 2 as well. I am playing like a potato at the moment and combat does not feel too good. But I have head full of memories of death-rolling humans with Axe and Dicing demons with almost infinite stance switching with Odachi. Hopefully I will get used to those combos once again.
My combo is kusarigama and switchblade. Kusarigama for speed and against humanoids, switchblade for power/range against yokai. Plus bonus of onymo and ninjutsu abilities
I'm finding it hard to break away from sword and dual swords, it's what I used in the first game but I love chaining the quickdraw moves together too much. Great for mobs but risky for bosses but great if you want to get greedy to finish a fight.
Kusarigama & Hatchets all day. Distance attacks for both and crowd control. Love being able to trip up an enemy with my Kusarigama or throw my hatchet and watch it spin attack an enemy to death. They are overall just fun to use
I was actually playing around with dual swords and kurisagama in the last chance trial almost purely for aesthetic reasons but now I feel even more confident with the choice.
@GiggaGMikeE how did you find it went for you as the game progressed? I love when that happens... You find a build you like all on your own and then see other people talking about it!
@@Onos I liked it and plan to use it mainly, along with some Ninjutsu asmy main build. My alt will use Switchglaive, Hatchets and a heavy emphasis on range/magic.
@@GiggaGMikeE what I love about games like these is that people plan their alts out even before they've started the game! I'm just as bad for doing that!
you can go dual swords/sword/odachi/switchglave. yes 4 stats 1. skill 2. heart then magic then strength last. exp. 50, 30, 20, 10. all 4 weapons you can use effectively and have slots for magic buffs and ninjitsu and not lose much attack vs putting all points into 2 things. it's more versatile than u think
I just began nioh 2. In the 2nd region now. I started out with hatchets, but switched to the odachi. At some point I found a random axe and it just naturally worked with my strength and stamina investments. Now I have a long range odachi and a harder hitting axe. Both playstyles differ enough to make it versatile while always being able to output a lot of dmg! Love the axe spinning :D
Hahaha yeah I love the spinning too! Did a vid on best early game axe skills and that was definitely one of my favorite moves! I'm weighing up the Odachi at the moment... Got a build in mind!
One of the best combos is Axe and tonfa, they scale well with courage together and stamina will keep your agility bonus at a B or higher for some of the damage bonuses tonfa gets for a high agility multiplier. Also they compliment eachother well. Tonfas are probably the single best human ki destroying weapons in the game, but not great against yokai. The Axe has great vertical attacks for breaking yokai horns and has a skill in it's tree where you deal boosted damage to yokai and even more inside the yokai realm. They both also hugely benefit from ki use reduction skills since they eat a lot of it. Great pair imo.
You're right. I'm v tempted to try the tonfas out instead of my hatchets... They haven't kept me as interested so far and I've found myself just sticking to one weapon!
@@Onos I can tell you as someone with several hundred hours of experience with both weapons they're very fun and gratifying to use. Nothing makes you feel more powerful than dunking a yokai with an axe drop or shattering a humans ki in an instant and then kicking their head off. I used them pretty much all of my Nioh 1 playthrough as well as spear.
Love that you took the time to do all this mate. I will be honest, I chose to run with Sword and Dual swords based on the 3 scaling overlaps and also a fair bit of bias from a great build I had in the first Nioh. Never really enjoyed using the longer range weapons, just found them kinda slow and clunky but found versatility in sword for humans and dual swords for yokai. No idea whether that will pan out similar in Nioh 2 or not as I have only just finished the first region. But I’m enjoying it nonetheless. Anyway, great video dude. Hope the Axe and dual hatchets treats you well!
Thank you for the feedback! To be honest going through that process really helped me to make up my mind for a first weapon choice! Glad you enjoyed it anyway.. The Axe has been awesome but I haven't been using the hatchets much yet!
Onos Gaming nice man, well I’m glad you’re enjoying the axe. How are you finding the game on the whole? I fucked LOVED the first one and it actually got me back into gaming again. Thoroughly enjoying this one as well too!
@@themediocregamers2900 yeah I love it! I missed the last one completely (had a tiny child to look after)... I'm making up for lost time with this one though!
Onos Gaming fair enough dude. I think that’s a perfectly acceptable reason to have missed it ha! Anyway, keep at it bro! Would love to see more videos like this! Thanks!
@@themediocregamers2900 thanks again! I do plan to some some more in depth vids! Got a few ideas in mind but just needs quite a bit of time invested to make sure I get my facts straight!
I ´d never done a magic build in Nioh 1, so I went for Switchglaive for the reach and easy weak spot hits with overhead strikes in high stance and Hatchets as backup/extra range option weapon for the most part of the game. Both scale with Magic and Skill.
@@Onos As I am reaching further into NG+ I am more and more pressed into using buffs rather then combat magic, but it is still fun! Lightning shot for instance does incredible damage and usually one or two casts are enough to get the debuff going. Great vids btw, love your stance on making up your own mind rather than copying existing builds.
@@MrSarakash thanks! Yeah I much prefer giving people tools to work with rather than a finished build! I may at some point do some build videos but it's not the priority!
Thank you that means a lot! I only started making videos a few weeks ago so I've still got a lot to learn! I'm just grateful that people (so far) seem to like what I've been rambling on about... And they're constructive even if they don't share my opinion!
I think I'll go with single sword and Odachi. Not only for the pleasing difference in the range And speed, but because it's visually nice. The scaling might not be the best for those two. So I might swap sword for Axe. I just love odachi so much so I'm centering my pairing around it.
Great video! I think this gives a good summary and overview of the weapons for new players. Before I say anything, obviously all weapons can go together as per a person's playstyle. And people should pick whatever they feel works for them. This is true for all difficulties and up to level 999 of the Abyss. Things also depend on your angle of approach. Fun, optimization, early game, end game, etc. the list is practically endless. Also, almost all endgame builds in Nioh 1 focused on one weapon and/or 1 or 2 skills and for good reason. All weapons can stand on their own and the second one is basically a luxury except if you really want to switch all the time for a hyperspecific way of play. Another thing is stats. In what way they matter is dependent on what point of the game that you're dealing with. Most stats give some life. Body isn't necessarily THE HP stat (I mean, it is, but you know what I mean). It just gives some more than the others. But if you want to wear heavy armour, you'll need strength and stamina too. etc. etc. Early game scaling isn't really worth the consideration. And later on, the spread is so large that you can go pretty much any route to maximise scaling. With all of that being said, though, there is so much more to consider than is present in the video. First of all skills. They change everything. Axe doesn't have a parry. Parries are vital (though not mandatory) for dealing with most human enemies that are stronger and/or have hyper armor etc. So pairing Axe with another weapon that has a good parry is a great idea. Axe obviously does good ki and normal damage, so it doesn't really need something to compliment it, but if you do need to have something with more speed, but DPS potential, you obviously want something like dual katana's or kusarigama. Speaking of, if you do have an Axe, you're basically forced to learn and weave around enemy patterns. The problem isn't 'reach', it's speed and Ki. On paper, the spear sounds like a good idea, but aside from a parry, the spear's mid-tier speed doesn't have that much to offer in that regard. Tonfa's don't do great damage, but are great at reducing enemy Ki and with Demon Dance/Kannagi can keep the DPS up, potentially without end. It's a more technical weapon, though. I'll stop with the examples, but my point is that there is so much to consider. Stat spread, skills, all the passives on gear (this is a big one), the type of gear (light, medium, heavy), whether you'd rather do hit and run tactics or precise movements and countering etc. And this is just the entrance of the rabbit hole. This isn't a slam against the video by the way. I'm just saying this to both avoid confusion about that builds have a lot going into them (early on scaling just isn't important and reach is very much dependent on playstyle. Especially considering all the skills), but also to say that unless you're going to build a very specific build, Just pick whatever. Everything works. The examples of Dual katanas/katana and Axe/hatchets were great though. Also, I hated the spear at first, but after doing 2 playthroughs with it, it became one of my favourites. The skills really change how you fight with it. Also, the base mid-stance heavy combo is great, especially if enemies try to back off in between hits. It gets even better with the passive that stops you from bouncing off blocks. But if it's not the weapon for you, then yeah, don't go with it. haha
Very useful information. Think im gonna give spear a chance. I do want to include an omnyo or ninjitsu stat weapon, so im thinking about kusa or switchglaive, what do you recommend?
@@Moraalridder123 both are fine, I suppose. I'm not a fan of the glaive but you might be. Don't worry about trying weapons out. You can equip another whenever you want
You just earned a sub I want to see how your opinions change as you play the game and learn more. Also I want to voice my opinion on the Spear/Katana pair as I feel you may have overlooked it’s true potential. The spear and katana have always been a great pair since nioh 1, spear has range crowd control and amazing damage if you’re making use of the ridiculous skills it has. And the katana is the old faithful of the weapons being the one weapon that can win any encounter through skill precision and patience. Careful well placed katana strikes can take down any foe no matter how strong. In the future give this pair a try and see what I mean.
Thanks King! Welcome. I have a suspicion that my opinion will change as time goes on... I've no problem with admitting when I've had a change of heart (or even just saying I was wrong of that's the case!)
In my first attempt, I tried switchglaive (I had a desperate need to try it out because I naturally just gravitate toward scythes in games) and the sword, despite knowing how much I hated the sword in Nioh 1. I ended up hitting a wall with the third main boss and scrapping that entire save. I did a second save with the axe and, my favorite from nioh 1, The odachi and it’s been so much fun. I love what both have to offer in terms of versatility and movesets. I feel like a complete powerhouse going through missions
Yeah agreed. I've maimed the Axe on my main play through... Weighing up the Odachi at the moment to pair with it, but I'm currently using a set with a sword to make sure I get the set bonus!
Onos Gaming odachi is such a great choice and such a fun weapon! Definitely hope you do give it a try and enjoy it just as much. I’m eventually going to do a Tonfa/ninjutsu run lol
Hahaha yeah I've been told a few times! I have promised to rivisit the spear in the future I just haven't had the time yet! I will definitely be liking at it again and doing a vid... If I feel differently I'll be doing a formal apology to the spear!
Watching this again in anticipation of playing all day tomorrow. My university is going online for classes so after my final midterm tomorrow it's gonna be big time gamer hours lol. Right now I'm really keen on either switch glaive and dual swords or swords and dual swords. Also can't discount the spear in there as well. My mind will probably change 40 times before I play and another 40 while I test each out at the beginning of the game. Looking forward to it either way, great vids!
@@giosgamingcorner5792 I ended up going sword and SG. Haven't played much, just the first mission, but I really liked the reach on the glaive, especially in mid stance. Idk if I'll stick with the sword or end up switching to duals, I may end up dropping the SG and doing a sword master run with duals and singles. I spent 90% of my time today in the character creator lmao. Made like 7 templates
Good stuff! I went with kusurigama and hatchets for my build. Imo hatchets are op. They absolutely wreck especially early game with the first samurai armour set.
I think if you are considering range, you need to consider abilities that extend your range. Hatchets can be throw, so their range is actually really good ... better than say Axes, IMO. Also Odachi has a charge, so it's range is most likely the best since it's nature attack range is moderately high and it has a skill which increases it 2 fold. I think a mobility section might be needed too. Again, Odachi has high mobility with skills, where as the Axe doesn't have an forward mobility but a backwards mobility skill. Swords have very high mobility too. I just thought of all that when I heard you talking about range. Other things to consider IMO.
Agreed. All very good points! I'm actually in the process of starting a new weapon series at the moment to look into skills and abilities for the weapons. Just released the video for the Axe... More on the way!
Nice 1 onos lad!! I remember starting the first game I was all over the shop...want to make sure I don’t make that mistake again lol.You know full well your gonna go through umpteen amounts of builds especially with the buffs/nerfs patches nioh 2 will get hammered with 😛
I was thinking the Dual Hatchets since I’m using the Kusarigama, I figured in play style they’d work best in transition. But I’m going to give the Dual Swords a try
Onos Gaming yes enjoying the axe so far but that hatchets seem to feel sub par the throw is nice tho hoping there’s some utilization moves available in the tree
Honestly I went with your plan B for my build since I love both dual swords and the kusarigama; the kusari is just incredibly versatile as well (and great for staggering) For my second character I went with Tonfa and sword. They seemed like they would pair decently well with each other
Really fancy going with a Switchglaive/Kusarigama combo, the stats don't match up well but I think it would give a wide variety in gameplay. Also noticed in Nioh a lot of really good players seemed to prefer the Kusarigama. Also really appreciate the channel, keep it up.
Thanks Gerry! Yeah those two line up pretty well for the Skill stat... The bonus there would be you'll automatically boost your options to use the Ninjitsu buff system. It could definitely still work for you I'm sure.
Awesome video- in the first game I went katana/kusarigama and enjoyed it - definitely want to change it up this time around maybe odachi/kusarigama - kusarigama and/or duel swords was the meta last time imo
This is a dope vid. People who are passionate about something, pretty mu h regardless of what it is, are dope. Nerd on, and I will follow. Take dis sub!
Hope it works out well for you. I'm loiko g forward to seeing how everybody gets on... And seeing if my theory about the builds I have in mind will actually work in practise! 😂
I put +500 hours in Nioh 1, and I couldn’t make myself main any weapon other than spear. Spear might be lacking at first because its a skill heavy weapon, and since u barely have any skills unlocked at the beginning, it will be boring yet safe with spamming mid stance heavy attack combo until u unlock the powerful skills such as twisting spear, tornado, and later on chidori with stability mystic art. It has a relatively easy parry to master, very good range and mobility, decent variety of options to break horns (water wheel and high stance light attack into spear fall) and higher than average dmg. And on top of all this, it can pancake humans with spearfall for an easy finishing blow
@@obihider3159 I'm definitely going to need to put some time into it! When I do revisit the spear I won't offer an opinion until I've given it a fair shot!
Homeboy kursarigama has some of the best range in the game! Shouldn’t be a c. There’s long range throw/pulls in both mid and high. Even low has a massive sweep, jump back. It’s arguable on par with odachi, however the odachi is meant to hit multiple enemies at range, but the kusarigama is meant to hit a single enemy at range.
Yeah I loved the versatility of the kusarigama. I wasn't a massive fan of the slight delay in attack based on the wind up... That said... Its still much faster than my axe!
I remember trying so hard to make an axe build in Nioh 1, but it was out damaged by pretty much every other build. I ended up settling for a spear and katana. Katana, btw fits with anything, lol.
@@chibi_undercover9663 that's a shame. I'm loving the Axe so far. Took me some time to get the timi g right on my attacks, but live it now. I'll be trying out different weapons soon so I'll know more about damage etc. Thank you for the feedback!
Thank you so much for all of these videos. I was able to play the Alpha, but for some reason I totally missed out on the Betas, haha. Axe is my definite favorite, but I'm still thinking about what to pair it with. Axe/Hatchets is very tempting!
My pleasure! People in your situation are exactly why I made them. In the past I've missed out on loads of games because of real life stuff so I figured some people might find the vids useful... Didn't expect this much response though!
I am torn between Switchglaive/Spear and Kusarigama/Dual Swords The first setup would have more HP and be set up for Omnio magic. The second would be also good for Ninjutsu. I'm not sure if Omnio is better then Ninjustsu or vise versa. I generally prefer fast attacks in games, but Bloodborne is my favorite soulslike game and I got excited when I saw the Switchglaive (trick weapon).
The switchglaive is super slick and very cool to look at... I really enjoyed it for the most part. From. What I've read, the omnyo and Ninjitsu are like opposite sides of the same coin. A way to bring more diversity to your build. I'll eventually end up messing around with both I'm sure
Same man, used spear and kusarigama in nioh 1 but I’m really digging the hatchet and switch glave in nioh 2. Like how u broke it down too, I think the feel is really important, and also playing to your strength ( how good u are at handling various scenarios) . We all wanna look cool but u can’t if ur ending up dead half the time. The spear skill (spearfall) is amazing for spamming/handling human opponents, if the switch glave doesn’t have something similar I’ll stick to spear.
I beat the first game and majority of the DLC with Dual Swords and Kasurigama. The Kasurigama is great for shredding solo human (boss) targets. Plus, don't dismiss the power of either jitsu systems.
My pleasure! Glad you found it useful! Love that word too. Methodology. Mental note, need to get that word into a video... Would have fit really well into the one I've just set live! Too late now haha. Thank you for the comment!
I played Dual Swords and Kusarigama with Ninjutsu and Light Armor in the first Nioh, greatly enjoyed that. But i plan to switch my gameplay for this one, not really sure on what to use. Axe and Hatchets looks fun and balanced, but i also like the style of the Odachi and i'm not reaööy sure what i'd pick as a second for that one right now. Decisions, decisions...
Haha I know! It's so hard to make a choice! Axe is slow but damn satisfying... I'd feel better about it if it had slightly better range... Kinda feels like it should hit from a tiny bit further away!
should have added in that scaling does not matter long as one of the 3 stats it scales with is one your leveling because you can re scale them at a black smith.
I love the switchglaive... I just wish the connected stat was anything other than Magic. I’m too stubborn to switch main-weapons at this point, but I immediately noticed how un-synergistic the glaive is, when compared to most of the other weapons. I mean, I guess I could run Glaive/spear. But it’s a bit redundant as they share most of the same weaknesses (long arcs, not great for small spaces or small enemies, lol) and strengths (powerful ranged melee attacks). The entire point of a secondary is to cover all bases between your two weapon choices.
I completely agree with that... Love the glaive but you're secondary options are limited. I've noticed though (and I need to change the chart I made)... Hatchets now scale with magic, so that could make a good pairing now!
Onos Gaming REALLY! I haven’t even tried (or looked at) the hatchets. I thought it’s primary scaling stat was skill, with courage being the secondary scaled stat. I’ll have to check them out. I’ve been running Glaive/Kusa, but I haven’t been putting many points into dexterity to make it useful enough to use beside in some particular situations. Was that a patch change or something?
@@quiettimegaming3642 yeah I think so. Most of the written info I've read still says that hatchets scale with stamina, but someone mentioned it in a comment so I checked it out in the game... When you equip hatchets and put a point in magic you'll see how it boosts your hatchet damage now!
In all honesty...the wep pair really doesn’t matter because you will main one weapon at a time...people never really switch through weapons that often I would suggest using the main weapon you’d like to first get that attribute to 99 then decide secondary
I'm having a hard time picking my pair too. I really want to end up with a Iai Quickdraw build so I'm leaning towards Katana or Odachi for slot 1. For slot two I'm thinking about the quick slash move from the dual swords...
Yeah I'm still agonising too. I'll know more when I play the game for some time... For now I'm going to run with my choices and reserve the right to change my mind 😂
I went with dual swords + kusarigama in my Nioh 1 game. I ended up mainly playing with the kusarigama. I would have loved to find a set that had both the dual swords and kusarigama as part of a set, but I never found one.
currently playing as odachi/axe tank. odachi for humans (excellent at breaking blocks when hunting for revenants) while axe have awesome ki damage against yokai who generally don't block. tanky build + heal on amrita absorption. though will probably switch to hatchets/spear in late game coz of the "ultimates" for constitution and skill.
@@malazan6004 Hell yes. Just make sure you pick up the advancing storm skill for hatchets. It can be used while running in any direction not just forward. The hatchets really start to shine when you use that skill.
Yeah I wouldn't necessarily let it phase you too much. Best thing you can do is play what you're most enthusiastic about. For me, I needed to go through the details... I find it helps me get focused on what I want to play... Otherwise knowing how I am... I'll mess about with all of the weapons and take a decade to make progress in the game 😂
@@Onos Honestly, stat synergies aren't super important for the majority of the game. For instance, Sword and Tonfas have one of the best synergies due to Max Ki + Ki Regeneration (crucial for any fight), with the sword having skills to get some range
@@brett3877 I can imagine it becomes less important the further you get I to the game, and having the ability to redistribute stats will be really useful. For early on tho I'm think I'll enjoy knowing I'm placing crutual stat points in the right place (rather than fumbling about like I did at the beginning of the beta 😂)
Who's here in 2024? I beat Nioh 2 when it came out, but with all the games to try I had some fun, but I'm back to traverse the depths, thinking why play anything else
So I'm going Sword and Odachi, and I appreciate it gets a mention because it helped confirm my indecision. What would be better? Odachi and sword or Odachi and dual swords?
I think if I play Nioh 2, I'll go with Dual Swords, Odachi, and Switch Glaive. Odachi since it reminds me of the katana greatswords from Monster Hunter 1, the Dual Swords look like very cool ninja weapons to me, and the Switch Glaive reminds me of Devil Sword Sparda from Devil May Cry.
I really struggled with Nioh 2 until I tried out the tonfa. It was so simple to figure out how to use them effectively compared to the other weapons. The combos stand out and deal terrific damage compared to anything else I was managing.
every time the kodama gives me a Tonfa as reward I curse him lol
i also fell in love with the tonfas very quickly
The katana/dual sword combo is amazing, limited only by its lack of range. It's so good that I used it to play through most of the first Nioh, so it ticks my "Boring" box as far as play style because nothing's changed.
I just went sword+dual sword for that Roronoa Zoro roleplay
Hehe that's cool. Gotta love a bit of role play.. Mine is based on a character from one of my fave books!
@@Onos What's the book?
My favorite weapons come from kung fu movies. And in the game the weapons doesn't have good synergy 😢😡
@@jamesmartin6737 Are you serious?
@@HamsterPants522 Uhh.. yeah. How on Earth would I know what one of their favorite books would be? Is that something that should just be instinctually known?
Spear and Switchblade for me, I platinumed Nioh using nothing but the spear and loved it.
Great vid btw, that chart is very helpful.
Thank you! Seriously appreciate the feedback! But goddamn all you people making me rethink my weapon choices haha. Very excited to try my first let's play... Really not sure how well it will be viewed etc but if its not something you guys want I'll switch my efforts to more guides like this
I really liked the spear in Nioh 1 so I think I'm going Spear+Switchblade - something old, something new.
Sounds like a good rationale for a Nioh veteran, you already know what you like so why mess with the system! 😁
Spear and kasurigama would be solid
Hatchet + dual swords give you up close and medium range and both scale with skill for a fun little set up, id use it myself but i use one weapon set mainly
@@SkeleSama sounds decent.... I like having a decent longer range option... Think I'm greedy! I want everything! 😂
I like the spear too but switchblades too be feel too similar like long reach and all that.. I wanted something cllse range is sword and spear still good?
Dual swords and Kusarigama and light armor is one of the best builds out there. It supplementary pairs with ninja skills and range weapons (bow especially). Very versatile. Feral lightening spirit is fantastic with allied ninjutsu and you may be lucky enough to get lightening imbued Kusarigama - deadly!
agreed
I started my game with odachi & sword. By the start of thr second region I was only using odachi & by the start of the third region I completely removed the sword and just use two odachi. I like the samurai skill for weapon swap on ki pulse. I am on dream now only using my precious odachi. Boar bunghole took me 4 hours to beat. I'll be investing in magic or ninjutsu soon, maybe...
You have a new sub from me because this was the perfect video for me and you did so that hard work which I would have done.
I play Monster Hunter and I am always making spreadsheets, takes, graphs etc. Or simply making lists of what I need in order of preference etc.
It may be geeky but it helps immensley
Lol you're similar to me over thinking every game you go into... I even stay up some nights and theory craft and can't sleep
Tonfa and spear my guys.. constitution will boost your spear and your life and it also boost Tonga’s as a secondary. Spear range is a necessary evil at some areas and the tonfa have great speed and a killed move set. People are overlooking the tonfas but if you give them a chance you will be blown away at how fast they can eat up a health bar.. just my .02 though, hope everyone is enjoying the game as I am
Odachi has always been my go to. Just feels good, heavy hitter but rather fast attacks, plus they look badass
Have to agree with you there! They look awesome!
I’m going to go with Dual Blades and The Scythe-weapon thing, I played old nioh and the only thing I was really lost on was making builds and stat optimization so I’m going to make an effort to do better with that but not at the cost of having fun.
I’m not going to change my playstyle completely to get through levels faster
I agree... If you like a certain play style then definitely go with that! I tend to enjoy the hulk smash kinda game style of I can get away with it. I've started my lets play series mainly focused on the Axe at the moment... Slowly getting to grips with it!
^Unga Bunga baby!
If it's anything like the first game just about any build will "work". Early game you'll be bosting just about every stat and late game you can add extra stat scaling.
Thank you, yeha so I've been told! I just have a terrible habit of trying to make things go my way as early game as possible 😂
I think we have a similar way of thinking. I try to convince logic /common sense and fun. It's very hard to get them all to align in a game because game developers know people want the perfect combo so they never make them. It's a bit compromise I think and what you can most do without.
Yeah you can understand why they need to balance things! Otherwise combos would end up completely overpowered. Love that there are people put there who are as bad as I am though 😂
Love how in Nioh 2 you can change what the weapon scales through remodelling. Means i can run heart and skill but still have massive kusarigama scaling along with my katana
Agreed - I didn't even know that at the time of making this video. Since then, I did some testing to find out at what point the dual scaling actually benefits you.
The hatchets scale with magic in the full release.
Yeah I realised that. Found out after I'd made the synergy video! Devastated haha... Need to rethink my weapon choices but haven't come to a conclusion yet! Thank you for the feedback by the way
I chose Odachi and Axe, double heavy build. The character I created was Blanc from Neptunia, so I tried to give her weapons similar to her own. It took much learning.
All I need is my Kenpachi Zaraki Odachi pure strength build
Can't forget constitution, the mad man is like a living tank
David Gemmell is one of my favorite authors and the Drenai series was fantastic, certainly wasn't expecting to see someone recommend it in a Nioh 2 video. Thanks for the great video, currently working through the original Nioh but I'll definitely be referring to this again once I've moved on to the second game.
Thanks! And yeah David Gemmell has been one of my favorites forever! If you still have some time to read, I'd recommend checking out "the name of the wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. Be warned though, it's so good that it will ruin all other books for you 😂
@@Onos I see you too are a man of culture! I've read both Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear, really wish he would hurry it up with the next book!
@@cyanagida1628 Hahaha literally every other book in the world after those two have been 2nd best for me. Some are a close 2nd of course. Another author, Brandon Sanderson. Awesome stuff. Great to meet a fellow geek/reader!
I belong in this conversation. I met David gemmell at a book signing.
RIP.
If you haven’t discovered yet, consider John Gwynne
As close to gemmell as you’ll likely get.
Thank you I enjoyed your video
@@wisamal-hakim5531 I’ll definitely check out John Gwynne. Thanks for the recommendation!
I started with odachi and axe and it worked quite well in the beginning but switch glaive is super versatile and pairs extremely well with hatchets since both scale well with magic and skill. Magic makes the game a lot more bearable since it's a tough game and in all the dark souls games I played a paladin type that buffed my weapon so I went switch glaive and hatchets and just buffed myself and de buffed the enemy. It adds a lot more depth to combat and covers not only speed and range and power, you also get a single and a duel weapon. The duel weapon can be thrown and the switch glaive can go from a fast tonga style weapon to a ranged spear type that is fast and unclunky, to an axe style weapon. Super versatile, fun, powerful, and covers a lot of ground by buffing magic and skill as a secondary.
another thing to consider is the enemy variance between human and youkai, sword, spear and axe are really great for humans while dual swords, kusarigama, odachi are great for youkai, (not that they aren't viable for both) Example the multiple counters of the sword makes quick work of human enemies. while the kusarigama mutiple attacks with debuff/element damage makes quick work of youkai not to mention ninjustu
That's a really valid point! Thank you.
At some point in the future I might cover this. I'll need to spend some time experimenting so I can put some coherent thoughts together
I always thought axe was better against yokai.
In the first game the axe mystic art let the axe burst down yokai incredibly quick if you took the fight into their pool.
Don't sweat it about looking for the most minmaxed setup. Even if the weapon setup shares a single stat for damage scaling, it should still be viable. Minmaxing will only be relevant in later NG cycles and Abyss mode. Though I do believe that most builds should consider hitting the softcap for constitution and heart. Constitution improves your survivability. Heart provides additional ki which allows you to block and attack more. We do not know that softcap number yet though.
Also do not underestimate the spear! It turns into an absolute beast once you unlock its skills.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm totally aware I'm overthinking haha, will keep me out of trouble while I wait for the game to release!
Noted about the spear... I'll keep an eye on it. In the future at some point I may need to make an apology video to the spear when I'm proved wrong 😂
@@Onos Nioh 1 spear enthusiast here.
Spear is very underwhelming in the damage department until you unlock all the skills, start to get your late game reforges (CCD +20%, CTA, and also parry disabled vs guarding enemy).
It is still not quite the beast Odachi is imo, but I think it has better frame data, is not THAT far behind in damage and is absolutely fantastic as an all rounder weapon on WotN and abyss
@@Arclor I secretly knew the moment I voiced such a bold opinion that the likely hood is that I'd be proven wrong!
Then again I actually like it when I'm proved wrong with my assumptions. Means I've learnt something!
Thank you for the feedback!
Arclor let’s not underestimate the katana they most straightforward and basic weapon in the game but with patience and precision it is arguably the BEST weapon in the game. With just a katana and my stats minmaxed for just that in nioh 1 I was able to rip through anything the game had to offer, no quickdraw cheese just raw damage and skill. The katana is amazing for patient players who make good use of mid and low stances wearing down the opponent till their ki is depleted then going for the kill.
@@AggressiveSushi admittedly I seem to have sidelined the katana. I ran out of time to really test it out and I'm feeling like I need to take a look at some point!
I just started getting into nioh 2 and I already chose hatchets and axe because I liked the move set. Glad to see I made somewhat of a good decision choosing🙌
While it does hinder making any single weapon maxed, my method of playing is constantly change up the weapons so the best of each kind has max familiarity. Keeps me on my toes having to adjust different methods, and just adds a great bit of variety.
Though the switchglaive is my main, has a great reach, while having better combos than the spear, and being faster than the odachi. Perfect balance of strength, speed, and techniques for me. It has a particularly great combo final that does moderate Ki damage in medium stance.
The kursigawa was my #2, but I just picked up some great double swords with imbue poison...really enjoying those.
Sounds like a really good way to get good with all the different weapons... I don't mean familiarity though, I mean simply your ability to use them all and make the best of the weapons you acquire as you go along!
Great video mate keep up the good work look forward on joining you on the play through.
Thank you! Yeah I'll most likely be doing a Let's Play series next with some guides thrown in along the way. I wasn't sure if people would be interested in that to be honest but from the feedback so far it seems to be the best way to go!
No matter the spreadsheets, Odachi is the weapon that provides maximum fun to me. It feels great to pull off a Bolting Boar on Enki, Yoki, Ippon Datara and friends. Unlike other weapons, you can parry quite a few Yokai with it. Makes you feel like a real swordmaster, who can protec, but also attac.
Twin Moons is a great looking attack.
But if you like to keep it simple, you can of course also just swing left and right while maintaining you distance. Or fast attack from high stance for days.
I never need another melee weapon when using the Odachi.
Kusarigama and Switchglave are my favorites at the moment. Kusarigama was my main in the first game so it's just like riding a bike. By far the best and most useful weapon in the game in my opinion.
Yeah the Kusurigama is awesome...I haven't used it much since the synergy video but I'll definitely be picking it back up again when I get around to guides etc
When you learn to use kusarigama it truly is the best weapon love it
Interesting analysis. I built my choices around utility vs enemy types.
I went with Odachi for yokai, it has good damage and an ability to easily target and shatter horns.
For humans i find oppressive rush down weapons work best, so i'm using Tonfa.
The scaling and such is more of an afterthought for me as i never find damage lacking as long as my weapons have the right tempered bonuses.
Thanks. I agree that your playstyle (and enjoyment) should always come first. I'm just greedy so I wanted to know how to get the most out of my weapon combinations haha
@@Onos It's good info, thanks for putting this out there! Now i know what to pair up if i want to switch up my weapons
@@Ch35h1r3C47 my pleasure.... I've been trying to make use of two weapons and not just one. My first attempt at this was hatchets paired with katana
I initially started with Spear/Odachi but realized that the range was too similar and the stats too mismatched.
I enjoyed the spear’s defensive yet versatile playstyle much more than the purely offensive odachi so eventually chose that as my main weapon.
My next dilemma involved the secondary weapon, I eventually decided with the Tonfas due to its high speed and great Ki damage, while still being very defensive when needed.
The constitution stat scaling for both weapons also worked well together and I’ve been enjoying this combo very much in new game+.
Dude, thank you so much for this. I know I'm late to this, but I stopped play Nioh 2 half way through ages ago and have just picked it back up. You brain/analysis is exactly like how I approach my builds. Thank you for making this video with no spoilers so I can get back into like new. Really excited after this.
I did the same process with Nioh 1.
Decided that Axe + Odachi would be nice since I liked both Strength and Stamina as a stats and it would boost both weapons. Found out that Axe destroy Ki of human opponents and that I can stun-lock-roll over them. Odachi was for fighting demons with all those stance switchies and I totally loved it.
So naturaly I chose Axe + Odachi in Nioh 2 as well. I am playing like a potato at the moment and combat does not feel too good. But I have head full of memories of death-rolling humans with Axe and Dicing demons with almost infinite stance switching with Odachi. Hopefully I will get used to those combos once again.
My combo is kusarigama and switchblade. Kusarigama for speed and against humanoids, switchblade for power/range against yokai. Plus bonus of onymo and ninjutsu abilities
I'm finding it hard to break away from sword and dual swords, it's what I used in the first game but I love chaining the quickdraw moves together too much. Great for mobs but risky for bosses but great if you want to get greedy to finish a fight.
I'm in a similar situation with the Axe. I got used to the power of it and now other weapons just got seem to have the same "bang" for me, 😂😂
Kusarigama is worth it by itself that weapon is so fun and amazing.
Bet you didn't notice hammers and axes in the axes tree have different synergies for some reason in Nioh 2
Hahaha I kind of half saw this but I think my brain went into denial! I'll clearly need to over analyse this stuff on the fly won't I?
Kusarigama & Hatchets all day. Distance attacks for both and crowd control. Love being able to trip up an enemy with my Kusarigama or throw my hatchet and watch it spin attack an enemy to death. They are overall just fun to use
Nice vid. Extra points for referencing my favourite book series! Druss is a beast.
Dual swords, skilgannon build!
Yeah I love Druss! And your Skilgannon idea is fantastic!
I was actually playing around with dual swords and kurisagama in the last chance trial almost purely for aesthetic reasons but now I feel even more confident with the choice.
@GiggaGMikeE how did you find it went for you as the game progressed? I love when that happens... You find a build you like all on your own and then see other people talking about it!
@@Onos I liked it and plan to use it mainly, along with some Ninjutsu asmy main build. My alt will use Switchglaive, Hatchets and a heavy emphasis on range/magic.
@@GiggaGMikeE what I love about games like these is that people plan their alts out even before they've started the game! I'm just as bad for doing that!
you can go dual swords/sword/odachi/switchglave.
yes 4 stats 1. skill 2. heart then magic then strength last.
exp. 50, 30, 20, 10.
all 4 weapons you can use effectively and have slots for magic buffs and ninjitsu and not lose much attack vs putting all points into 2 things.
it's more versatile than u think
I just began nioh 2. In the 2nd region now. I started out with hatchets, but switched to the odachi. At some point I found a random axe and it just naturally worked with my strength and stamina investments. Now I have a long range odachi and a harder hitting axe. Both playstyles differ enough to make it versatile while always being able to output a lot of dmg! Love the axe spinning :D
Hahaha yeah I love the spinning too! Did a vid on best early game axe skills and that was definitely one of my favorite moves! I'm weighing up the Odachi at the moment... Got a build in mind!
So Triple axes with the Axe + Hatchets = courage build? nice!!!
I use Switchglaive and Sword, not the best Syncwise but works for me.
Agreed... Always go with what feels the best. To me I just like to over plan 😂
I also chose this combo and it's working pretty well for me since I'm doing a sword and magic build, plus I like scythes lol.
One of the best combos is Axe and tonfa, they scale well with courage together and stamina will keep your agility bonus at a B or higher for some of the damage bonuses tonfa gets for a high agility multiplier. Also they compliment eachother well. Tonfas are probably the single best human ki destroying weapons in the game, but not great against yokai. The Axe has great vertical attacks for breaking yokai horns and has a skill in it's tree where you deal boosted damage to yokai and even more inside the yokai realm. They both also hugely benefit from ki use reduction skills since they eat a lot of it. Great pair imo.
You're right. I'm v tempted to try the tonfas out instead of my hatchets... They haven't kept me as interested so far and I've found myself just sticking to one weapon!
@@Onos I can tell you as someone with several hundred hours of experience with both weapons they're very fun and gratifying to use. Nothing makes you feel more powerful than dunking a yokai with an axe drop or shattering a humans ki in an instant and then kicking their head off. I used them pretty much all of my Nioh 1 playthrough as well as spear.
Love that you took the time to do all this mate. I will be honest, I chose to run with Sword and Dual swords based on the 3 scaling overlaps and also a fair bit of bias from a great build I had in the first Nioh. Never really enjoyed using the longer range weapons, just found them kinda slow and clunky but found versatility in sword for humans and dual swords for yokai. No idea whether that will pan out similar in Nioh 2 or not as I have only just finished the first region. But I’m enjoying it nonetheless. Anyway, great video dude. Hope the Axe and dual hatchets treats you well!
Thank you for the feedback! To be honest going through that process really helped me to make up my mind for a first weapon choice! Glad you enjoyed it anyway.. The Axe has been awesome but I haven't been using the hatchets much yet!
Onos Gaming nice man, well I’m glad you’re enjoying the axe. How are you finding the game on the whole? I fucked LOVED the first one and it actually got me back into gaming again. Thoroughly enjoying this one as well too!
@@themediocregamers2900 yeah I love it! I missed the last one completely (had a tiny child to look after)... I'm making up for lost time with this one though!
Onos Gaming fair enough dude. I think that’s a perfectly acceptable reason to have missed it ha! Anyway, keep at it bro! Would love to see more videos like this! Thanks!
@@themediocregamers2900 thanks again! I do plan to some some more in depth vids! Got a few ideas in mind but just needs quite a bit of time invested to make sure I get my facts straight!
I ´d never done a magic build in Nioh 1, so I went for Switchglaive for the reach and easy weak spot hits with overhead strikes in high stance and Hatchets as backup/extra range option weapon for the most part of the game. Both scale with Magic and Skill.
Yeah it's a good match. How are you enjoying the magic build? Still haven't tried that properly myself!
@@Onos As I am reaching further into NG+ I am more and more pressed into using buffs rather then combat magic, but it is still fun! Lightning shot for instance does incredible damage and usually one or two casts are enough to get the debuff going.
Great vids btw, love your stance on making up your own mind rather than copying existing builds.
@@MrSarakash thanks! Yeah I much prefer giving people tools to work with rather than a finished build! I may at some point do some build videos but it's not the priority!
Man you should have way more subs
Thank you that means a lot! I only started making videos a few weeks ago so I've still got a lot to learn! I'm just grateful that people (so far) seem to like what I've been rambling on about... And they're constructive even if they don't share my opinion!
Agreed
@@abdallahabdallah3815 thank you for saying that. Its so nice to get good feedback!
Onos Gaming Keep up the good work and expand on it. You’ll get there in no time
I think I'll go with single sword and Odachi. Not only for the pleasing difference in the range And speed, but because it's visually nice. The scaling might not be the best for those two. So I might swap sword for Axe. I just love odachi so much so I'm centering my pairing around it.
Great video! I think this gives a good summary and overview of the weapons for new players.
Before I say anything, obviously all weapons can go together as per a person's playstyle. And people should pick whatever they feel works for them. This is true for all difficulties and up to level 999 of the Abyss.
Things also depend on your angle of approach. Fun, optimization, early game, end game, etc. the list is practically endless.
Also, almost all endgame builds in Nioh 1 focused on one weapon and/or 1 or 2 skills and for good reason. All weapons can stand on their own and the second one is basically a luxury except if you really want to switch all the time for a hyperspecific way of play.
Another thing is stats. In what way they matter is dependent on what point of the game that you're dealing with. Most stats give some life. Body isn't necessarily THE HP stat (I mean, it is, but you know what I mean). It just gives some more than the others. But if you want to wear heavy armour, you'll need strength and stamina too. etc. etc. Early game scaling isn't really worth the consideration. And later on, the spread is so large that you can go pretty much any route to maximise scaling.
With all of that being said, though, there is so much more to consider than is present in the video. First of all skills. They change everything. Axe doesn't have a parry. Parries are vital (though not mandatory) for dealing with most human enemies that are stronger and/or have hyper armor etc. So pairing Axe with another weapon that has a good parry is a great idea. Axe obviously does good ki and normal damage, so it doesn't really need something to compliment it, but if you do need to have something with more speed, but DPS potential, you obviously want something like dual katana's or kusarigama.
Speaking of, if you do have an Axe, you're basically forced to learn and weave around enemy patterns. The problem isn't 'reach', it's speed and Ki. On paper, the spear sounds like a good idea, but aside from a parry, the spear's mid-tier speed doesn't have that much to offer in that regard.
Tonfa's don't do great damage, but are great at reducing enemy Ki and with Demon Dance/Kannagi can keep the DPS up, potentially without end. It's a more technical weapon, though.
I'll stop with the examples, but my point is that there is so much to consider. Stat spread, skills, all the passives on gear (this is a big one), the type of gear (light, medium, heavy), whether you'd rather do hit and run tactics or precise movements and countering etc. And this is just the entrance of the rabbit hole.
This isn't a slam against the video by the way. I'm just saying this to both avoid confusion about that builds have a lot going into them (early on scaling just isn't important and reach is very much dependent on playstyle. Especially considering all the skills), but also to say that unless you're going to build a very specific build, Just pick whatever. Everything works.
The examples of Dual katanas/katana and Axe/hatchets were great though.
Also, I hated the spear at first, but after doing 2 playthroughs with it, it became one of my favourites. The skills really change how you fight with it. Also, the base mid-stance heavy combo is great, especially if enemies try to back off in between hits. It gets even better with the passive that stops you from bouncing off blocks.
But if it's not the weapon for you, then yeah, don't go with it. haha
Also, sorry about the absurdly long comment
Very useful information. Think im gonna give spear a chance. I do want to include an omnyo or ninjitsu stat weapon, so im thinking about kusa or switchglaive, what do you recommend?
@@Moraalridder123 both are fine, I suppose. I'm not a fan of the glaive but you might be. Don't worry about trying weapons out. You can equip another whenever you want
@@Omnibus4Everyoneyes playing with the SG now, a beast when used correctly. Not even needing anything else so i'll just equip a set weapon second slot
@@Moraalridder123 Nice. Not a bad choice at all to use a set to round out set bonuses! GG
Very informative video! Keep it up bro
Thanks bro. Glad you found it useful!
This is what I call an awesome video. Subscribed
You just earned a sub I want to see how your opinions change as you play the game and learn more.
Also I want to voice my opinion on the Spear/Katana pair as I feel you may have overlooked it’s true potential. The spear and katana have always been a great pair since nioh 1, spear has range crowd control and amazing damage if you’re making use of the ridiculous skills it has. And the katana is the old faithful of the weapons being the one weapon that can win any encounter through skill precision and patience. Careful well placed katana strikes can take down any foe no matter how strong. In the future give this pair a try and see what I mean.
Thanks King! Welcome. I have a suspicion that my opinion will change as time goes on... I've no problem with admitting when I've had a change of heart (or even just saying I was wrong of that's the case!)
In my first attempt, I tried switchglaive (I had a desperate need to try it out because I naturally just gravitate toward scythes in games) and the sword, despite knowing how much I hated the sword in Nioh 1. I ended up hitting a wall with the third main boss and scrapping that entire save. I did a second save with the axe and, my favorite from nioh 1, The odachi and it’s been so much fun. I love what both have to offer in terms of versatility and movesets. I feel like a complete powerhouse going through missions
Yeah agreed. I've maimed the Axe on my main play through... Weighing up the Odachi at the moment to pair with it, but I'm currently using a set with a sword to make sure I get the set bonus!
Onos Gaming odachi is such a great choice and such a fun weapon! Definitely hope you do give it a try and enjoy it just as much. I’m eventually going to do a Tonfa/ninjutsu run lol
@@eric5997 I'll definitely be doing it at some point! Considering pairing it with my axe when I get the chance and pick up some skills to test out!
Video starts at 5:56. Spear was one of the best weapons in Nioh1 and it is no different here. It is a beast against bosses and humans.
Hahaha yeah I've been told a few times! I have promised to rivisit the spear in the future I just haven't had the time yet! I will definitely be liking at it again and doing a vid... If I feel differently I'll be doing a formal apology to the spear!
Watching this again in anticipation of playing all day tomorrow. My university is going online for classes so after my final midterm tomorrow it's gonna be big time gamer hours lol. Right now I'm really keen on either switch glaive and dual swords or swords and dual swords. Also can't discount the spear in there as well. My mind will probably change 40 times before I play and another 40 while I test each out at the beginning of the game. Looking forward to it either way, great vids!
Dillon Chaney I’m currently doing SB and DS myself and love it so far!!
@@giosgamingcorner5792 I ended up going sword and SG. Haven't played much, just the first mission, but I really liked the reach on the glaive, especially in mid stance. Idk if I'll stick with the sword or end up switching to duals, I may end up dropping the SG and doing a sword master run with duals and singles. I spent 90% of my time today in the character creator lmao. Made like 7 templates
Good stuff! I went with kusurigama and hatchets for my build. Imo hatchets are op. They absolutely wreck especially early game with the first samurai armour set.
I am a big fan of the switchglaive an kusarigama combo, because i feel like those two give me the most utility and variability.
Your timing is perfect... I'm just about to be moving on to one of those shortly! Just been finishing up my hatchets work!
After watching, decided to go with axe/hatchet. Working well for me. Awesome video
That's brilliant. Hope it works out well for you! Thank you for the vote of confidence too!
Onos Gaming keep the videos coming( after the kid is asleep of cod!)
@@Happyblobz Hahaha I will. The little man has to come first, but I'm really enjoying making the vids and chatting with you guys!
Duel blades and sword combo is fun... they flow well together for crazy cmbos..
I think if you are considering range, you need to consider abilities that extend your range. Hatchets can be throw, so their range is actually really good ... better than say Axes, IMO. Also Odachi has a charge, so it's range is most likely the best since it's nature attack range is moderately high and it has a skill which increases it 2 fold. I think a mobility section might be needed too. Again, Odachi has high mobility with skills, where as the Axe doesn't have an forward mobility but a backwards mobility skill. Swords have very high mobility too. I just thought of all that when I heard you talking about range. Other things to consider IMO.
Agreed. All very good points! I'm actually in the process of starting a new weapon series at the moment to look into skills and abilities for the weapons. Just released the video for the Axe... More on the way!
Nice 1 onos lad!! I remember starting the first game I was all over the shop...want to make sure I don’t make that mistake again lol.You know full well your gonna go through umpteen amounts of builds especially with the buffs/nerfs patches nioh 2 will get hammered with 😛
I was thinking the Dual Hatchets since I’m using the Kusarigama, I figured in play style they’d work best in transition. But I’m going to give the Dual Swords a try
Look forward to crunching numbers with ya, booting my game now, feeling like axe and Hatchets will be fun so I’m gonna go for that
Likewise! Thank you for the comment! And yeah the Axe has been great so far, haven't enjoyed the hatchets as much as I thought I would though so far!
Onos Gaming yes enjoying the axe so far but that hatchets seem to feel sub par the throw is nice tho hoping there’s some utilization moves available in the tree
@@franks6349 totally agree. I'm debating whether to switch the hatchets for something else!
Honestly I went with your plan B for my build since I love both dual swords and the kusarigama; the kusari is just incredibly versatile as well (and great for staggering)
For my second character I went with Tonfa and sword. They seemed like they would pair decently well with each other
Cool... How's plan b working out for you? My plan A build is working well... Aside from the fact I'm barely using the hatchets 😂
@@Onos It's been working pretty well! I'm not too far into the game just yet (mostly cuz I suck lol) but the combo has been helping me out alot
@@firechar27 Hahaha I think sucking at this game is perfectly acceptable... Just don't give up... Its meant to be hard but v rewarding
@@Onos For sure! That's all part of the fun after all
Really fancy going with a Switchglaive/Kusarigama combo, the stats don't match up well but I think it would give a wide variety in gameplay. Also noticed in Nioh a lot of really good players seemed to prefer the Kusarigama.
Also really appreciate the channel, keep it up.
Thanks Gerry! Yeah those two line up pretty well for the Skill stat... The bonus there would be you'll automatically boost your options to use the Ninjitsu buff system. It could definitely still work for you I'm sure.
Awesome video- in the first game I went katana/kusarigama and enjoyed it - definitely want to change it up this time around maybe odachi/kusarigama - kusarigama and/or duel swords was the meta last time imo
This is a dope vid.
People who are passionate about something, pretty mu h regardless of what it is, are dope.
Nerd on, and I will follow.
Take dis sub!
Hahah thanks bro! Got loads more nerding to do. Grateful for the sub!
Switchglave + spear for me
More health & Omnyo 😍
Hope it works out well for you. I'm loiko g forward to seeing how everybody gets on... And seeing if my theory about the builds I have in mind will actually work in practise! 😂
@@Onos Switchglaive + spear + stamina = Onmyo + Health + health + heavy armor = immortal 😂
@@MOKAD82 sounds great... I just couldn't get on board with the spear moveset! Will definitely have to revisit it though at some point
I put +500 hours in Nioh 1, and I couldn’t make myself main any weapon other than spear. Spear might be lacking at first because its a skill heavy weapon, and since u barely have any skills unlocked at the beginning, it will be boring yet safe with spamming mid stance heavy attack combo until u unlock the powerful skills such as twisting spear, tornado, and later on chidori with stability mystic art. It has a relatively easy parry to master, very good range and mobility, decent variety of options to break horns (water wheel and high stance light attack into spear fall) and higher than average dmg. And on top of all this, it can pancake humans with spearfall for an easy finishing blow
@@obihider3159 I'm definitely going to need to put some time into it! When I do revisit the spear I won't offer an opinion until I've given it a fair shot!
This is excellent work, thank you sooo much! Really helps me out.
My pleasure! Really appreciate the feedback! Makes it all worthwhile.
Homeboy kursarigama has some of the best range in the game! Shouldn’t be a c. There’s long range throw/pulls in both mid and high. Even low has a massive sweep, jump back. It’s arguable on par with odachi, however the odachi is meant to hit multiple enemies at range, but the kusarigama is meant to hit a single enemy at range.
Yeah I loved the versatility of the kusarigama. I wasn't a massive fan of the slight delay in attack based on the wind up... That said... Its still much faster than my axe!
Liked for the David Gemmell reference, don't stop with legend though he's in 6? Books. All of David's work was amazing
Hahahah finally someone got it!! Extra points for you. And yeah David Gemmell is amazing!
I hope you can enjoy Axe, something most of us Nioh players cannot do.
I hope so too... I reserve the right to change my mind 😂😂
I really like axe, played the first game axe+spear
@@hadriennogueira3726 sweet! Really hope it works out for you (and for me haha... Otherwise I'll have to publicly announce that my plan was shit 😂)
I remember trying so hard to make an axe build in Nioh 1, but it was out damaged by pretty much every other build. I ended up settling for a spear and katana. Katana, btw fits with anything, lol.
@@chibi_undercover9663 that's a shame. I'm loving the Axe so far. Took me some time to get the timi g right on my attacks, but live it now. I'll be trying out different weapons soon so I'll know more about damage etc. Thank you for the feedback!
I love the hatchets and they have good synergy with the switchglaive
Thank you so much for all of these videos. I was able to play the Alpha, but for some reason I totally missed out on the Betas, haha. Axe is my definite favorite, but I'm still thinking about what to pair it with. Axe/Hatchets is very tempting!
My pleasure! People in your situation are exactly why I made them. In the past I've missed out on loads of games because of real life stuff so I figured some people might find the vids useful... Didn't expect this much response though!
Hatchets and axe is the combination I went with when I first started. Even though the stats don't really synergize well, it was still a lot of fun!
I am torn between Switchglaive/Spear and Kusarigama/Dual Swords The first setup would have more HP and be set up for Omnio magic. The second would be also good for Ninjutsu. I'm not sure if Omnio is better then Ninjustsu or vise versa. I generally prefer fast attacks in games, but Bloodborne is my favorite soulslike game and I got excited when I saw the Switchglaive (trick weapon).
The switchglaive is super slick and very cool to look at... I really enjoyed it for the most part. From. What I've read, the omnyo and Ninjitsu are like opposite sides of the same coin. A way to bring more diversity to your build. I'll eventually end up messing around with both I'm sure
Tonfa+ axe is life. Not the best synergy ever but I dance around em and then bonk em w/the big stick
Sounds good will have to try! Do you have any good pairings with spear?
Sword and switchglaive for me. I wanted to use the fists so badly, but I felt the sword made more sense for fighting humans.
Same man, used spear and kusarigama in nioh 1 but I’m really digging the hatchet and switch glave in nioh 2. Like how u broke it down too, I think the feel is really important, and also playing to your strength ( how good u are at handling various scenarios) . We all wanna look cool but u can’t if ur ending up dead half the time. The spear skill (spearfall) is amazing for spamming/handling human opponents, if the switch glave doesn’t have something similar I’ll stick to spear.
I beat the first game and majority of the DLC with Dual Swords and Kasurigama. The Kasurigama is great for shredding solo human (boss) targets. Plus, don't dismiss the power of either jitsu systems.
Great methodology. Thank you for the video.
My pleasure! Glad you found it useful! Love that word too. Methodology. Mental note, need to get that word into a video... Would have fit really well into the one I've just set live! Too late now haha. Thank you for the comment!
I played Dual Swords and Kusarigama with Ninjutsu and Light Armor in the first Nioh, greatly enjoyed that. But i plan to switch my gameplay for this one, not really sure on what to use. Axe and Hatchets looks fun and balanced, but i also like the style of the Odachi and i'm not reaööy sure what i'd pick as a second for that one right now. Decisions, decisions...
Haha I know! It's so hard to make a choice! Axe is slow but damn satisfying... I'd feel better about it if it had slightly better range... Kinda feels like it should hit from a tiny bit further away!
should have added in that scaling does not matter long as one of the 3 stats it scales with is one your leveling because you can re scale them at a black smith.
Awesome info! Thanks man!
I love the switchglaive... I just wish the connected stat was anything other than Magic.
I’m too stubborn to switch main-weapons at this point, but I immediately noticed how un-synergistic the glaive is, when compared to most of the other weapons.
I mean, I guess I could run Glaive/spear. But it’s a bit redundant as they share most of the same weaknesses (long arcs, not great for small spaces or small enemies, lol) and strengths (powerful ranged melee attacks).
The entire point of a secondary is to cover all bases between your two weapon choices.
I completely agree with that... Love the glaive but you're secondary options are limited. I've noticed though (and I need to change the chart I made)... Hatchets now scale with magic, so that could make a good pairing now!
Onos Gaming REALLY! I haven’t even tried (or looked at) the hatchets. I thought it’s primary scaling stat was skill, with courage being the secondary scaled stat.
I’ll have to check them out. I’ve been running Glaive/Kusa, but I haven’t been putting many points into dexterity to make it useful enough to use beside in some particular situations.
Was that a patch change or something?
@@quiettimegaming3642 yeah I think so. Most of the written info I've read still says that hatchets scale with stamina, but someone mentioned it in a comment so I checked it out in the game... When you equip hatchets and put a point in magic you'll see how it boosts your hatchet damage now!
Very solid material, sir
In all honesty...the wep pair really doesn’t matter because you will main one weapon at a time...people never really switch through weapons that often I would suggest using the main weapon you’d like to first get that attribute to 99 then decide secondary
currently doing Odachi and Dual Swords, I'm loving it. I think the synergy is better in action compared to sheet. Odachi scales awesome wiyh heart.
what spirit guardian did you pick?
@@Wopder13 I just went with Tengen. Tat was b4 dlc though. Idk if there's a better option
@@thetruth-ow8nh i mean at the start of the game bro, i’m new to nioh 2 finally picked it up Xd
@@Wopder13 at the start just go with the one you feel has the easiest timing. Usually strength (red). I find purple to be best takes a little practice
Also check out a video on counter timing and see which style you like. Enjoy you're gonna love it I hope
Beat Nioh 1 NG++++ with dual swords and swords. Gonna do that again for Nioh 2.
Ha! In that case you don't need any advice from me! I might be asking you to carry me at some point! 😂
Nice! Very helpful
Thank you! Glad you found it useful
I'm having a hard time picking my pair too. I really want to end up with a Iai Quickdraw build so I'm leaning towards Katana or Odachi for slot 1. For slot two I'm thinking about the quick slash move from the dual swords...
Yeah I'm still agonising too. I'll know more when I play the game for some time... For now I'm going to run with my choices and reserve the right to change my mind 😂
Does odachi have iai moves?
@@osutinheizu8250 sorry I don't think I can help you there... What are iai moves? Maybe I'm just not familiar with the term?
Osutin Heizu yes it has one that works similar to the katana single slash one
@@Onos iai-moves come from iaijutsu (drawing technique) which means you draw your sheated weapon (is that how you spell it?) and cut during your draw
I went with dual swords + kusarigama in my Nioh 1 game. I ended up mainly playing with the kusarigama. I would have loved to find a set that had both the dual swords and kusarigama as part of a set, but I never found one.
Maybe you'll have more luck this time around. Are you using the same weapons for Nioh 2 or thinking of something different?
@@Onos In Nioh 2 I went with tonfas + kusarigama, but I'm still experimenting so I might reach out for that book of reincarnation soon.
Great info, cheers!
currently playing as odachi/axe tank.
odachi for humans (excellent at breaking blocks when hunting for revenants) while axe have awesome ki damage against yokai who generally don't block.
tanky build + heal on amrita absorption.
though will probably switch to hatchets/spear in late game coz of the "ultimates" for constitution and skill.
Axe and Tonfa is a good option for me. lvl Courage and Constitution. Tonfas are for fast dmg and Axe for slow but high dmg.
I went Hatchets and Spear and just remodeled the Spear to scale primarily with skill.
Does it work good? Hatchet and spear is what I want to use also
@@malazan6004 Hell yes. Just make sure you pick up the advancing storm skill for hatchets. It can be used while running in any direction not just forward. The hatchets really start to shine when you use that skill.
seeing the synergy on the tonfas is kinda disappointing, but im not gonna sweat it too hard. i really like the aesthetic and animations on them.
Yeah I wouldn't necessarily let it phase you too much. Best thing you can do is play what you're most enthusiastic about. For me, I needed to go through the details... I find it helps me get focused on what I want to play... Otherwise knowing how I am... I'll mess about with all of the weapons and take a decade to make progress in the game 😂
@@Onos Honestly, stat synergies aren't super important for the majority of the game. For instance, Sword and Tonfas have one of the best synergies due to Max Ki + Ki Regeneration (crucial for any fight), with the sword having skills to get some range
@@brett3877 I can imagine it becomes less important the further you get I to the game, and having the ability to redistribute stats will be really useful. For early on tho I'm think I'll enjoy knowing I'm placing crutual stat points in the right place (rather than fumbling about like I did at the beginning of the beta 😂)
MrAceofspades627 tonfas and switchglaive are great together because magic and courage gives more magic power for a magic build
@@Maikeru101 that's what I love about the synergies! So is that what you're going to be using?
well Im going for a switch glave sword build
Cool. Let me know how it goes... Really keen to see what people think of their first choices
Who's here in 2024? I beat Nioh 2 when it came out, but with all the games to try I had some fun, but I'm back to traverse the depths, thinking why play anything else
So I'm going Sword and Odachi, and I appreciate it gets a mention because it helped confirm my indecision.
What would be better? Odachi and sword or Odachi and dual swords?
Either could work (by looking at the stat scaling) personally I preferred the dual swords but that's just me
Thanks :-) I mean, sword is more versatile but dual swords are great for speed and defense (really high block stat)
@@DaniBearID8 yeah that's what I liked about dual swords.. M still enjoying my axe quite a bit but I'm torn about the other weapons!
I think if I play Nioh 2, I'll go with Dual Swords, Odachi, and Switch Glaive. Odachi since it reminds me of the katana greatswords from Monster Hunter 1, the Dual Swords look like very cool ninja weapons to me, and the Switch Glaive reminds me of Devil Sword Sparda from Devil May Cry.
Tonfas and spear pure destruction. Grapple is very strong with high ki damage. Enemies get no chance to do anything.
Sounds like a decent setup. I'm spending a bit of time now looking at the weapons again in more detail!
No idea what I was doing so I went tonfa/odachi pray for me lol
Hahaha that made me laugh... Good luck!