Nioh: How to Make Every Boss Way Easier | Magic Exploit Guide

Unlocking Onmyo magic status effects sounds lame compared to awesome sword techniques or killer ninja tricks, but some of the Onmyo debuffs can turn even the toughest Nioh boss into an absolute joke.

These overpowered skills might not sound that exciting to an outsider — Lifeseal and Sloth. They don’t hurt bosses, they don’t make you stronger, and they take awhile to charge in combat. In most games, these basic-sounding debuffs wouldn’t hurt a fly. In Nioh, they’re unstoppable weapons of destruction.

Sloth is the key Talisman here. When unleashed on a targeted boss, their movement and attack speed will slow down considerably. They’ll move like they’re swimming in molasses. Some bosses are so slow, you’ll be able to run circles around them. They’re so slow, you’ll easily be able to read their telegraphed moves. It makes dodging easier and gives you more time to attack.

How to Make Every Boss Way Easier | Magic Tips & Tricks

There are two key magic skills that significantly reduce the difficulty of boss battles; Lifeseal and Sloth. Here’s how to unlock these Onmyo Magic skills.

Onmyo Magic Lifeseal Talisman
- Training Required: The Way of Onmyo: Novice
- Jutus Cost: 4 (x2 Lifeseal Talismans)

Onmyo Magic Sloth Talisman
- Training Required: The Way of Onmyo: Adept
- Jutsu Cost: 5 (x2 Sloth Talismans)

To use Onmyo Magic, you’ll need to raise your Magic Core Stat.

Novice Onmyo Magic Requirement: 5 Points in Magic
Adept Onmyo Magic Requirement: 10 Points in Magic

To use Onmyo Magic, you’ll need to prepare Talismans at the Shrine. Each magic type has a Jutsu cost. If you have to choose between these two skills, we suggest going with Sloth. Put the Talisman in your item menu, and use them when you’re locked-on to a target. It takes some time, but it’s worth it.

Lifeseal lowers the recharge rate of your opponent’s Ki (Stamina) — against humans or other opponents that use up lots of Ki, this makes it far easier to drain their stamina bar and leave them exposed to a Killing Blow or Heavy Attack.
- When an opponent’s Ki is completely drained, they’re stuck in an exposed, stunned state.

Sloth slows an opponent’s attack and movement significantly — this is one of the best spells in Nioh, and it works on bosses. No boss (currently) has a defense for this. They’ll move slow. Really, really slow. That gives you more time to attack and more time to evade easily telegraphed attacks.

Sloth is almost too useful in Nioh, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this spell get nerfed in future updates. Use it while you can!

More Nioh guides, walkthroughs and secrets on Gameranx: