Nioh 3: The Final Preview

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Just like every other time I've gotten to play Nioh 3, after my time was up, I was left wanting more. Nioh 3 is shaping up to be my favorite of the series to date, not only through its substantial improvements to combat thanks to the split of Samurai and Ninja Modes, but also with the massive addition of the open-field levels – each of which will include its own separate Crucible. Previewed by Mitchell Saltzman
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The excessive loot kills these games for me.

I played Nioh 1 and 2 with a friend, and there's some fun there in coop, but I really wish the loot wasn't so atrocious.
You just get constantly spammed by ton of new loot, so much that you're just never excited about it, and it really becomes a chore to constantly manage your inventory. And if you do find something a little better than usual, it will be rendered completely useless in the next mission because even the lamest wood sword will be better than your legendary weapon from the previous mission.

At some point I just gave up and started dismantling all the loot I found without even looking at it, because otherwise you spend all your time in the menus to organize your equipement, only to change it again 5 minutes later.

I don't think I will play this one, I had enough and I can't deal with this heavy inventory management and repetitive loot system anymore.
 
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Larxia said:
The excessive loot kills these games for me.

I played Nioh 1 and 2 with a friend, and there's some fun there in coop, but I really wish the loot wasn't so atrocious.
You just get constantly spammed by ton of new loot, so much that you're just never excited about it, and it really becomes a chore to constantly manage your inventory. And if you do find something a little better than usual, it will be rendered completely useless in the next mission because even the lamest wood sword will be better than your legendary weapon from the previous mission.

At some point I just gave up and started dismantling all the loot I found without even looking at it, because otherwise you spend all your time in the menus to organize your equipement, only to change it again 5 minutes later.

I don't think I will play this one, I had enough and I can't deal with this heavy inventory management and repetitive loot system anymore.
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There's auto-equip if you like the gameplay but can't bear the inventory.
 
Still not sure how I feel about ninja/samurai mode switching, but it looks a lot better now than the demo footage I saw before.
 
Larxia said:
The excessive loot kills these games for me.

I played Nioh 1 and 2 with a friend, and there's some fun there in coop, but I really wish the loot wasn't so atrocious.
You just get constantly spammed by ton of new loot, so much that you're just never excited about it, and it really becomes a chore to constantly manage your inventory. And if you do find something a little better than usual, it will be rendered completely useless in the next mission because even the lamest wood sword will be better than your legendary weapon from the previous mission.

At some point I just gave up and started dismantling all the loot I found without even looking at it, because otherwise you spend all your time in the menus to organize your equipement, only to change it again 5 minutes later.

I don't think I will play this one, I had enough and I can't deal with this heavy inventory management and repetitive loot system anymore.
Click to expand...

I agree. It's stupid that the game is throwing at you constant loot. Less loot but more valuable would make a big difference
 
Larxia said:
The excessive loot kills these games for me.

I played Nioh 1 and 2 with a friend, and there's some fun there in coop, but I really wish the loot wasn't so atrocious.
You just get constantly spammed by ton of new loot, so much that you're just never excited about it, and it really becomes a chore to constantly manage your inventory. And if you do find something a little better than usual, it will be rendered completely useless in the next mission because even the lamest wood sword will be better than your legendary weapon from the previous mission.

At some point I just gave up and started dismantling all the loot I found without even looking at it, because otherwise you spend all your time in the menus to organize your equipement, only to change it again 5 minutes later.

I don't think I will play this one, I had enough and I can't deal with this heavy inventory management and repetitive loot system anymore.
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You level and progress on a decent level and you rarely end up underpowered, if you update your gear regularly, checking every drop basically becomes a side quest in suffering.

It's a full on love–hate relationship for me.

The previous games had a filter so you didn't vacuum up every trash tier drop.

And honestly? Most gear is useless anyway. I only check loot when the pile gets comically large or something shiny catches my eye.

Everything else? Dismantle. Yeet. Gone. Plus you need the materials from gear to upgrade/temper your equipped gear
 
Regarding loot: you don't have to engage much with it during the main campaign. Focus on the core combat instead.

Just equip the weapon with the best damage and the armor with the best defence that meets your weight criteria. Then dismantle everything. It's much better that way (or use auto-equip, I never used it in Nioh but it works pretty well for the main campaign of Stranger of Paradise).

Loot becomes important only at higher difficulties for the end game content.
 
mèx said:
Regarding loot: you don't have to engage much with it during the main campaign. Focus on the core combat instead.

Just equip the weapon with the best damage and the armor with the best defence that meets your weight criteria. Then dismantle everything. It's much better that way (or use auto-equip, I never used it in Nioh but it works pretty well for the main campaign of Stranger of Paradise).

Loot becomes important only at higher difficulties for the end game content.
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100% this. Loot doesn't really matter on your first playthrough. Just upgrade to best available stats every few hours
 
Gonzito said:
I agree. It's stupid that the game is throwing at you constant loot. Less loot but more valuable would make a big difference
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I love it, it's like playing Diablo and a Soulslike at the same time. Besides there are filters in every Nioh game that reduce you seeing item drop spam as well as settings to get rid of anything lower quality than what you choose in a single click. The game gives you the tools, just use them and the problem goes away. Besides, Nioh is made to be beaten half a dozen times, and and you can't even get the best tier gear until a few playthroughs in, so just play the game and don't worry about loot if you hate loot.
 
RafterXL said:
I love it, it's like playing Diablo and a Soulslike at the same time. Besides there are filters in every Nioh game that reduce you seeing item drop spam as well as settings to get rid of anything lower quality than what you choose in a single click. The game gives you the tools, just use them and the problem goes away. Besides, Nioh is made to be beaten half a dozen times, and and you can't even get the best tier gear until a few playthroughs in, so just play the game and don't worry about loot if you hate loot.
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Don't get me wrong I love Nioh franchise. I have played both many hours and I think they are great games but yes what I usually do is to ignore the loot and dont pay much attention to it because its quite overwhelming to keep track of every single item you get.

Let's hope the level design in this one is a bit better than previous ones.
 
car sliding GIF
 
RafterXL said:
I love it, it's like playing Diablo and a Soulslike at the same time. Besides there are filters in every Nioh game that reduce you seeing item drop spam as well as settings to get rid of anything lower quality than what you choose in a single click. The game gives you the tools, just use them and the problem goes away. Besides, Nioh is made to be beaten half a dozen times, and and you can't even get the best tier gear until a few playthroughs in, so just play the game and don't worry about loot if you hate loot.
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This.

All the tools are there if you choose to use them to simplify item management.

The volume of loot matters though because everything is customizable down to transferring affixes between pieces, the idea being that you can build multiple customized load-outs for every occasion. A necessary thing as what works well on NG will likely need to be completely revamped for successive game cycles as some tricks simply do not work as enemies get tougher.

Honestly I'm replaying Nioh2 (again) right now, and I'm struck by how ridiculously good the combat is, it really leaves all the competition in the dust.
 
Larxia said:
The excessive loot kills these games for me.

I played Nioh 1 and 2 with a friend, and there's some fun there in coop, but I really wish the loot wasn't so atrocious.
You just get constantly spammed by ton of new loot, so much that you're just never excited about it, and it really becomes a chore to constantly manage your inventory. And if you do find something a little better than usual, it will be rendered completely useless in the next mission because even the lamest wood sword will be better than your legendary weapon from the previous mission.

At some point I just gave up and started dismantling all the loot I found without even looking at it, because otherwise you spend all your time in the menus to organize your equipement, only to change it again 5 minutes later.

I don't think I will play this one, I had enough and I can't deal with this heavy inventory management and repetitive loot system anymore.
Click to expand...
NiOh 2 is the real Diablo 4 (or what I wished Blizzard should've gone for with Diablo 4).
 
Specifically with Nioh 2 and likely Nioh 3(not sure if 3 will top 2) you have a 3rd Person Diablo Action RPG with tons of intricate systems that play into each other and it leaves many other games in the dust.

Always my favorite comparison

 
Much as I like the series lack of enemy variety is a big bugbear of mine especially considering how long these games are.
 
Thought the demo was really boring and didn't even finish it but for fans this is probably a no-brainer. Felt like the same thing they've been iterating on ad nauseam without any changes to the things I personally don't like. Level, enemy and encounter design, loot and art design aren't my cup. I'm sure combat is as intricate and detailed as ever though.
 
Joe Cool said:
Can someone please explain the difference between Samurai and Ninja mode?
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Samurai mode is traditional Nioh; 3 stances (move-sets) to switch between that trade off speed and stamina cost for damage/stamina damage to the enemy. Key feature is Ki pulsing which is a means of clearing the circular pools created by Yokai that impede stamina regen. Defence is block, dodge or stun.

Ninja mode has 1 stance but greater speed and mobility at a cost to damage dealt when the enemy is facing you. Does increases backstab damage, and has the mist ability to phase through and get to the enemy's rear, think of it as a fast reposition as you can't just do it over and over. Like Ki Pulsing you trigger it at the end of an attack or combo. Additionally this seems to clear Yokai mist pools now although it didn't in the alpha demo. Defence is block, dodge, and parry.

Both styles have their own independent armour loadouts and 2 melee and ranged weapons each.

On top of this you have Yokai skills, which when equipped give you a special ability and some sort of buff, and guardian spirit skills and the devil-trigger style transform.

The only major regression appears to be no more onmyo magic this time, which kinda makes sense as ninjutsu also offered ranged elemental magic damage and enfeebs. Its not clear whether this is gone completely or its just going to be a late-game unlock. Either way ninjutsu also offers sneak/invis tools so you can better sneak attack.

Its just the Souls stamina system built out to an enormous degree, but once you understand the basics it feels quite straightforward and manageable. Mainly because its a true ARPG where everything is stat-based and customizable down to individual affixes on weapons, armor, accessories etc. You don't need to master everything at once so long as you level up and are geared appropriately - you can stick with the subset of the options that you like.

On the other hand if you really want to go deep you can link virtually anything together and just annihilate stuff...

If you're just looking for a fast-action game with simple gearing and a skill tree this is not the series for you. There are systems on top of systems and an avalanche of gear constantly dropping Diablo-style. Standard inventory size for Nioh is 500 items, with a 6000 item storage box (!) Both of which will fill rapidly if you don't dismantle, sell, or drop on the regular.

Some people don't like this loot-heavy style, but if you are really into build-crafting its just peak. Wo Long and especially Rise Of The Ronin's do similar things but are toned-down significantly, and at least in my opinion suffered a bit as a result.
 
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I'm in chapter 4 of Ninja Gaiden 4 and I just don't think it's gonna end up giving me that NG fix I was looking for.

This may actually end up coming closer.
 
Clear said:
Samurai mode is traditional Nioh; 3 stances (move-sets) to switch between that trade off speed and stamina cost for damage/stamina damage to the enemy. Key feature is Ki pulsing which is a means of clearing the circular pools created by Yokai that impede stamina regen. Defence is block, dodge or stun.

Ninja mode has 1 stance but greater speed and mobility at a cost to damage dealt when the enemy is facing you. Does increases backstab damage, and has the mist ability to phase through and get to the enemy's rear, think of it as a fast reposition as you can't just do it over and over. Like Ki Pulsing you trigger it at the end of an attack or combo. Additionally this seems to clear Yokai mist pools now although it didn't in the alpha demo. Defence is block, dodge, and parry.

Both styles have their own independent armour loadouts and 2 melee and ranged weapons each.

On top of this you have Yokai skills, which when equipped give you a special ability and some sort of buff, and guardian spirit skills and the devil-trigger style transform.

The only major regression appears to be no more onmyo magic this time, which kinda makes sense as ninjutsu also offered ranged elemental magic damage and enfeebs. Its not clear whether this is gone completely or its just going to be a late-game unlock. Either way ninjutsu also offers sneak/invis tools so you can better sneak attack.

Its just the Souls stamina system built out to an enormous degree, but once you understand the basics it feels quite straightforward and manageable. Mainly because its a true ARPG where everything is stat-based and customizable down to individual affixes on weapons, armor, accessories etc. You don't need to master everything at once so long as you level up and are geared appropriately - you can stick with the subset of the options that you like.

On the other hand if you really want to go deep you can link virtually anything together and just annihilate stuff...

If you're just looking for a fast-action game with simple gearing and a skill tree this is not the series for you. There are systems on top of systems and an avalanche of gear constantly dropping Diablo-style. Standard inventory size for Nioh is 500 items, with a 6000 item storage box (!) Both of which will fill rapidly if you don't dismantle, sell, or drop on the regular.

Some people don't like this loot-heavy style, but if you are really into build-crafting its just peak. Wo Long and especially Rise Of The Ronin's do similar things but are toned-down significantly, and at least in my opinion suffered a bit as a result.
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Thank you so much for the detailed reply and information! Now I am interested in the Ninja playstyle and will look for more info on it. Thank you!
 
March Climber said:
Even as a Code Vein fan, I can say there was no reason to bring up Code Vein alongside Nioh other than for it to get dragged by Nioh fans in this thread.

Let our small community enjoy anime souls in peace.
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They're literally a week apart. Games get more and more expensive and people ask about what they should get. I'd pick NiOh 3. Code Vein II January 30 and NiOH 3 February 6. An exact week. Someone might feel obligated.
 
Poppinfresh said:
I'm personally looking forward to both games
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Same, but...
Northeastmonk said:
They're literally a week apart. Games get more and more expensive and people ask about what they should get. I'd pick NiOh 3. Code Vein II January 30 and NiOH 3 February 6. An exact week. Someone might feel obligated.
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There's not much of an overlap in fanbase aside from the genre itself, and at this point the genre (and gaming itself) is large enough for Nioh players to never care about games like Code Vein, especially not on GAF.

I doubt Avowed, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Yakuza buyers were sweating about which game to choose back in February.
 
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Nioh 2 is my action goat. Can't wait!
Lets Go Sport GIF by ALL ELITE WRESTLING

I LOVE the loot system in Nioh 2. I love menu management in loot games. I derive fun from it. I spent a hundred hours in menus in BG3. I ain't trying to sell yall shit. This series is an action legend. Skip at at your own loss but you are missing a masterpiece just like with Nioh 2. This is the real ninja gaiden.
 
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The Nioh 3 demo will be released on January 29, 2026 on PlayStation®5 and Steam. Carry your save file to the full game.

"Conquer the Crucible, Become Shogun."

The latest installment in Team NINJA's dark Sengoku action RPG series enables players to swap instantly between samurai and ninja styles as they face formidable encounters with monstrous yokai. Explore villages where suspicious beings lurk in the all-new open field, take on the daunting challenges of The Crucible, and transcend through time to survive the cursed kingdom across the ages of Japanese history.

Release Date: February 6, 2026
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