The final boss of Nioh 2 is a Yokai of Legend — one of the big three Yokai in Japan. If you’re a mythology buff, you’ve probably heard his name. This is Otakemaru, a seemingly invincible demon. And weirdly enough, he really doesn’t seem all that hard when you first encounter him. The trouble is, he gets progressively more difficult as the battle goes on. What starts out as a surprisingly easy final battle quickly becomes overwhelmingly tough at the end.
Unlike other Dark Souls boss fights, you won’t have to deal with extra phases or unexpected health bars. But, there are some dirty tricks in this fight. The boss takes far, far less damage when you reach the 50% mark. You’ll be slowly cutting down Otakemaru’s final 50% for most of your time fighting him. And, like other Yokai, he can summon a Dark Realm to fight in. His attacks rapidly change with his alternate swords, so you’ll need to memorize a wide variety of attacks to win. Oh, and your Yokai Shift is practically useless in this battle. I guess once you’ve reached the end, you can’t rely on that easy-win button any longer.
More Nioh 2 guides:
12 Tips To Help You Get Started Slaying Yokai | Beginner’s Guide | 8 Extremely Useful Advanced Tips | Healing Fast, Instakill Attacks, Invisibility & More | How To Farm Proficiency & Earn Skill Points Faster
Boss Guides:
- Ch. 1: Mezuki, Enera & Yatsu-no-Kami
- Ch. 2: Imagawa Yoshimoto, Kamaitachi & Saito Yoshitatsu
- Ch. 3: Tatarimokke, Magare Naotaka & Azai Nagamasa
- Ch. 4: Gyuki, Kasha & Ryomen Sukuna
- Ch. 5: Shibata Katsuie, Tokichiro & Daidara Bocchi
William
The progatonist of the first game is your next opponent. His spirit hangs back and uses magic while William fights — he can summon ‘Living Weapon’ like in the first game, and he sword attacks are extremely fast. He’ll swap between a katana and a spear. Once he’s down to 75% health, you’ll win the fight.
William isn’t your final enemy. He’s here to help! With William, you’ll fight your way to the true final boss – a legendary Yokai that’s much more difficult than he seems.
Otakemaru
Interrupting the strange ritual, you’ll absorb the yokai behind all this. Instead of fighting him for real, you’ll take on your Yokai Shift form. It changes into all three forms of your yokai — and unleashing different attacks depending on the current form. Meanwhile, Tokichiro will summon help periodically and send it down to help you fight.
The first forms are challenging, but they won’t be too tough for you. It isn’t until you drop him down to 50% health that he transforms into his true, final form. As a god-like Yokai, he uses his sword for powerful swings. He can teleport instantly to close the distance, lunge forward with a lightning blast, or summon a huge stream of lightning in all directions. Dodge forward to avoid the incoming strikes.
As you lower his health, he’ll gain more swords. He’ll summon four hands, each one holding a different elemental sword. Watch out when his hands glow — they’ll lunge forward and unleash a grab that can insta-kill you if you’re not full health. Try to stay as high health as you can in the final 1/3rd of the fight. One grab attack is enough to kill you.
Watch for his Burst Counter — he’ll use two swords to attack, with one in each hand. Like all the other bosses, draining his Anima is a good way to deal a lot of damage. Remember in the Dark Realm, your magic energy recharges much faster, so unleash your summons often to put pressure on him.
Beware his Burst Counter when he’s got all of his swords. He’ll swing, then launch all of the swords forward. If you miss the Burst Counter, this attack can easily kill you. I recommend playing it safe.
With his three swords, he’ll swap attacks depending on what sword he’s using. The Ice Sword can summon a wave of ice projectiles that he launches. With Lightning, he’ll stab the ground and generate waves of lightning near him. With Fire, he’ll stab the ground and create a small explosion, with tracking explosions.
In this form, he can rain swords from the sky. Keep moving, and attack him when the swords start to stop — you’ll have a moment to get him before he recovers.
Perform a Death Blow when he’s down! Play it safe to win the day here. Hold back, wait for him to lunge forward with a heavy attack, and attack while he’s recovering. If you take it slow, you’ll be able to beat him.
