We’ve reached the halfway point in our march through all the bosses of Nioh 2 — and Chapter 3 continues to ramp up the difficulty. In the first Nioh, boss difficulty plateaued after the difficult opening acts, and eventually the bosses just became routine. That isn’t the case here. Every boss is a challenge, and they’ll only get harder in the next chapters.
That doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. Below, you’ll find screenshots and tips for handling each boss fight. Whether you’re fighting a demonic general with one giant sword, or a Yokai owl with three eyes, the bosses of Chapter 3 have their own unique challenges you’ll have to solve. Like always, learning to Burst Counter their deadliest attacks is incredibly important, and draining their stamina leaves them vulnerable to attacks.
Check out all the boss guides for Chapter 3 below.
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 | How To Beat Every Boss | Ch. 1: Mezuki, Enera & Yatsu-no-Kami | Ch. 2: Imagawa Yoshimoto, Kamaitachi & Saito Yoshitatsu | Ch. 4: Gyuki, Kasha & Ryomen Sukuna | Ch. 5: Shibata Katsuie, Tokichiro & Daidara Bocchi
How To Beat Tatarimokke
The three-eyed owl fights on the ground and in the air, using its wings and talons to strike. In the area, it summons soul-like projectiles to track you, or launches an array of feather in a wide arc pattern. He’ll shoot a laser from the center eye at longer range, and if you circle behind him, he’ll swipe his wings in a 360 degree spin.
There are green barrels all over the arena — destroying them will imbue your sword with purification power. It deals more damage temporarily against Yokai. It’s especially useful when the giant owl summons the Dark Realm.
When in the Dark Realm, the remaining ‘eyes’ will appear as a glowing red orb. To dispel the Dark Realm, you’ll need to destroy the red orb. Doing so will stun the monster temporarily if you’re quick. Use the Purification buff on your sword when targeting the red eye in the Dark Realm — the red eye makes the enter area dark and summons a constant stream of globes.
The grab attack is fast and wide. When it attempts to grab you, just run — don’t dodge!
Destroying the red orbs will slowly blind it, limiting its magical ability until finally all three eyes are broken. When it’s blind, the boss will remain mostly on the ground and attacks with simple wing / talon attacks. It’ll sometimes use the laser, but it won’t summon more soul projectiles.
Counter Burst when it lunges forward while glowing red, and destroy the eyes in the Dark Realm when they appear. You can also poke-out the eyes earlier with ranged attacks, but it’s a little tricky to pull off.
How To Beat Magare Naotaka
This general transforms into a muscular Yokai with his arm in a sling. He swings a huge Odachi around with one arm, and he’s extremely aggressive. He’s too fast for your slower weapons, so I recommend swapping to a regular Sword — anything that can keep up with him. The trick is just finding a good opportunity to attack!
In normal form, he has one red burst attack. It’s very slow, so be patient before attempting to Burst Counter! Learn how to Burst Counter him. Just practice until you figure it out. It’s important to lower his anima meter and make him vulnerable. When he summons the Dark Realm, you can Burst Counter a spinning sword attack. It’s extremely easy to counter.
The only time to do significant damage against the boss is when you lower his anima meter completely and stun him. Unlock skills for your weapons that lowers their anima meter. Get Stun moves like the Shoulder Tackle to drain his anima meter, use Burst Counters, and hit him hard while he’s stunned. He doesn’t recover his maximum.
Stay close to him, and try to stay near the arm that’s in a sling. If you stay near that arm, you can more easily avoid his sweeping Odachi attacks.
How To Beat Azai Nagamasa
A swordsman with claws and one-wing, he uses Yokai magic in conjuction with his one-handed katana technique. Like the player character, he has his own counter guard stance, so don’t attack when he’s ready for you. While guarding, he can summon feather projectiles or generate explosive blasts from the ground. Just dodge left or right to escape the explosions.
In the Dark Realm, Azai will grow a second wing and begin attacking much faster. He can swoop around the battle area, launching semi-tracking golden feather projectiles. Be prepared for a tough fight — he moves slowly, but he’s extremely quick. He’ll unleash sudden attacks that can take you by surprise.
In both Dark Realm and normal forms, Azai will glow red at range and lunge forward. That’s when you can Counter Burst, and it’s fairly straightforward — he’ll either unleash this attack from the ground or in the sky. Like any boss, draining his maximum stamina makes him a lot easier.
For the final boss of this chapter, Azai isn’t particularly difficult. His attacks are predictable. Take your time, whittle him down, drain his stamina and you’ll defeat him.
