Nioh 2 Weapon Combinations Guide | Nioh 2 Weapon Scaling & Synergy Breakdown

[@yellaturd]

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.

[@issamoshi]

every time the kodama gives me a Tonfa as reward I curse him lol

[@velocityraptor2890]

i also fell in love with the tonfas very quickly

[@dankeykang4576]

I just went sword+dual sword for that Roronoa Zoro roleplay

[@Onos]

Hehe that's cool. Gotta love a bit of role play.. Mine is based on a character from one of my fave books!

[@jamesmartin6737]

@@Onos What's the book?

[@Almtyhalfbreed]

My favorite weapons come from kung fu movies. And in the game the weapons doesn't have good synergy 😢😡

[@HamsterPants522]

@@jamesmartin6737 Are you serious?

[@jamesmartin6737]

@@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?

[@alexkaen1701]

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.

[@morbidsnails1913]

Spear and Switchblade for me, I platinumed Nioh using nothing but the spear and loved it. Great vid btw, that chart is very helpful.

[@Onos]

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

[@newtonslore]

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!

[@gtavtheavengergunnerlegend3340]

agreed

[@mackstertube]

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

[@malazan6004]

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

[@danparsons1423]

I really liked the spear in Nioh 1 so I think I'm going Spear+Switchblade - something old, something new.

[@Onos]

Sounds like a good rationale for a Nioh veteran, you already know what you like so why mess with the system! 😁

[@Austin-tx4tn]

Spear and kasurigama would be solid

[@SkeleSama]

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

[@Onos]

@@SkeleSama sounds decent.... I like having a decent longer range option... Think I'm greedy! I want everything! 😂

[@malazan6004]

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?

[@MaximilianGordon-Claassens]

Odachi has always been my go to. Just feels good, heavy hitter but rather fast attacks, plus they look badass

[@Onos]

Have to agree with you there! They look awesome!

[@chrishastings7583]

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...

[@Jaychilled]

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

[@Onos]

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!

[@brentlineberry4098]

^Unga Bunga baby!

[@HaVoK1802]

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

[@realnamesnotgiven6193]

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.

[@cyanagida1628]

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.

[@Onos]

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]

@@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!

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@wisamal-hakim5531]

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

[@cyanagida1628]

@@wisamal-hakim5531 I’ll definitely check out John Gwynne. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Bleachdemon88]

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.

[@fishnutz5196]

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

[@Onos]

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.

[@mackstertube]

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.

[@Onos]

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 😂

[@RagnarokMic]

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.

[@Onos]

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!

[@DevastatorsPissed1]

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.

[@Onos]

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 😂

[@gediminasmorkys3589]

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.

[@smudgy264]

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

[@tcr_tagger3738]

Nice vid. Extra points for referencing my favourite book series! Druss is a beast.

[@tcr_tagger3738]

Dual swords, skilgannon build!

[@Onos]

Yeah I love Druss! And your Skilgannon idea is fantastic!

[@calebsookhoor1913]

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🙌

[@Ch35h1r3C47]

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.

[@Onos]

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

[@Ch35h1r3C47]

@@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

[@Onos]

@@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

[@mr.murlock9780]

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+.

[@76boycey]

Great video mate keep up the good work look forward on joining you on the play through.

[@Onos]

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!

[@TheAMB13]

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

[@Onos]

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

[@Hawntbawt]

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.

[@xlairvoyant]

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.

[@austingaw5851]

The hatchets scale with magic in the full release.

[@Onos]

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

[@GiggaGMikeE]

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.

[@Onos]

@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!

[@GiggaGMikeE]

@@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.

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@ajdinvrabac8165]

All I need is my Kenpachi Zaraki Odachi pure strength build

[@gabizord7779]

Can't forget constitution, the mad man is like a living tank

[@sadocommando2434]

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.

[@Onos]

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 😂

[@Arclor]

@@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

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@AggressiveSushi]

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.

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@DaBachela]

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

[@chitin122]

Kusarigama is worth it by itself that weapon is so fun and amazing.

[@mrmatejator]

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.

[@themediocregamers2900]

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!

[@Onos]

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!

[@themediocregamers2900]

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!

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@themediocregamers2900]

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!

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@LawrenceKassab]

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.

[@Onos]

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

[@malazan6004]

When you learn to use kusarigama it truly is the best weapon love it

[@MrSarakash]

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]

Yeah it's a good match. How are you enjoying the magic build? Still haven't tried that properly myself!

[@MrSarakash]

@@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.

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@Tucker0603]

So Triple axes with the Axe + Hatchets = courage build? nice!!!

[@whinegummi6329]

This is what I call an awesome video. Subscribed

[@crimsondemonx]

Man you should have way more subs

[@Onos]

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!

[@abdallahabdallah3815]

Agreed

[@Onos]

@@abdallahabdallah3815 thank you for saying that. Its so nice to get good feedback!

[@abdallahabdallah3815]

Onos Gaming Keep up the good work and expand on it. You’ll get there in no time

[@Happyblobz]

After watching, decided to go with axe/hatchet. Working well for me. Awesome video

[@Onos]

That's brilliant. Hope it works out well for you! Thank you for the vote of confidence too!

[@Happyblobz]

Onos Gaming keep the videos coming( after the kid is asleep of cod!)

[@Onos]

@@Happyblobz Hahaha I will. The little man has to come first, but I'm really enjoying making the vids and chatting with you guys!

[@grief6052]

Very informative video! Keep it up bro

[@Onos]

Thanks bro. Glad you found it useful!

[@Thorthephilosopher]

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

[@Onos]

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!

[@joebagodonuts5468]

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.

[@Onos]

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, 😂😂

[@gtavtheavengergunnerlegend3340]

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

[@AggressiveSushi]

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.

[@Onos]

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!)

[@Rkilla7]

Bet you didn't notice hammers and axes in the axes tree have different synergies for some reason in Nioh 2

[@Onos]

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?

[@Paeddl]

I use Switchglaive and Sword, not the best Syncwise but works for me.

[@Onos]

Agreed... Always go with what feels the best. To me I just like to over plan 😂

[@darkinsanity98473]

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.

[@Omnibus4Everyone]

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

[@Omnibus4Everyone]

Also, sorry about the absurdly long comment

[@Moraalridder123]

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?

[@Omnibus4Everyone]

@@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

[@Moraalridder123]

@@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

[@Omnibus4Everyone]

@@Moraalridder123 Nice. Not a bad choice at all to use a set to round out set bonuses! GG

[@XvvKravenvvX]

Liked for the David Gemmell reference, don't stop with legend though he's in 6? Books. All of David's work was amazing

[@Onos]

Hahahah finally someone got it!! Extra points for you. And yeah David Gemmell is amazing!

[@BlackVulcan22]

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!

[@Onos]

Hahah thanks bro! Got loads more nerding to do. Grateful for the sub!

[@eric5997]

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

[@Onos]

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!

[@eric5997]

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

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@trinity3422]

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

[@jechtd92]

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.

[@Onos]

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!

[@jechtd92]

@@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.

[@franks6349]

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

[@Onos]

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!

[@franks6349]

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

[@Onos]

@@franks6349 totally agree. I'm debating whether to switch the hatchets for something else!

[@erickallert2114]

I am a big fan of the switchglaive an kusarigama combo, because i feel like those two give me the most utility and variability.

[@Onos]

Your timing is perfect... I'm just about to be moving on to one of those shortly! Just been finishing up my hatchets work!

[@catzilla3961]

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.

[@stephenmclemore7614]

Duel blades and sword combo is fun... they flow well together for crazy cmbos..

[@GriFFonRec4]

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.

[@Onos]

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!

[@deedoss5714]

How is kusaringama with tonfas? It feels and looks so cool to play with, like i chose them both not even thinking about the synergy

[@Onos]

If you want to use those I'm sure you could still make it work! Unfortunately though, none of the stats line up directly so you'll have to invest in a few areas to make sure each weapons damage is boosted as you level up

[@deedoss5714]

@@Onos thats unfortunate, i still like the combo tho, im kinda going for a ninja style build using hand to hand combat up close and a kusaringama for the more ranged style battle

[@sjonwallace191]

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.

[@khbikhib]

So i decided to get bqck to the game and saw your video , I used the odachi as main and the fists they boths scales with str , and the fists compensates the speed odachi lacks , Anyways , thanks for the book recomendation thats a really nice touch !

[@DChainZ_YT]

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]

Dillon Chaney I’m currently doing SB and DS myself and love it so far!!

[@DChainZ_YT]

@@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

[@DaniBearID8]

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?

[@Onos]

Either could work (by looking at the stat scaling) personally I preferred the dual swords but that's just me

[@DaniBearID8]

Thanks :-) I mean, sword is more versatile but dual swords are great for speed and defense (really high block stat)

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@mattgreen753]

Finished Nioh 1 on Way of the Nioh and tried all builds. I have to disagree with your saying the spear sucks - it's a great weapon. Also, curious how you determined that the spear should have a worse range rating than the odachi. Did you take into account that the spear has a mystic art passive that ups its range of thrust attack?

[@Onos]

No I didn't take that into account! Good point. I've had a lot of feedback about the spear so I'll definitely be revisiting it to make a more informed decision. Ultimately I made a decision based on the basic moves! Perhaps I needed to wait! 😂😂

[@mattgreen753]

@@Onos Just wanted to say I've come back and used this video as a reference multiple times so thanks for making it! Right now I'm running a shuriken/kunai build with kusarigama but I'm definitely going to be respeccing - just trying to figure out to what. I haven't unlocked the remodel feature yet but it seems like it opens up the possibilities for so many more builds. Tonfa is looking pretty cool - I want something melee weapon focused since I've been mostly standing back and throwing things at enemies.

[@Onos]

@@mattgreen753 thank you for writing that! Makes me happy that people have found it useful! Is there anything else you'd like to see? I've been umming and ahhing about what content to produce. A lot of the big boys have a lot of stuff covered and I don't really want to rehash the same topics too much unless I can put something useful together for people!

[@quiettimegaming3642]

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.

[@Onos]

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!

[@quiettimegaming3642]

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?

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@Gharon]

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...

[@Onos]

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!

[@angelquiles3482]

Awesome info! Thanks man!

[@Cloud9999Strife]

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.

[@Onos]

Maybe you'll have more luck this time around. Are you using the same weapons for Nioh 2 or thinking of something different?

[@Cloud9999Strife]

@@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.

[@crazy_nazgul1920]

Very solid material, sir

[@jayjustgames1725]

Nice! Very helpful

[@Onos]

Thank you! Glad you found it useful

[@IVANGUARDI]

This is excellent work, thank you sooo much! Really helps me out.

[@Onos]

My pleasure! Really appreciate the feedback! Makes it all worthwhile.

[@thebus9185]

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

[@tmanno1987]

I love the hatchets and they have good synergy with the switchglaive

[@nowherefool5869]

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.

[@Guts_cr1tikal]

what do you think of hatchets and kusa? I want to use Hatchets as a primary but am having a hard time with deciding on a secondary....not crazy about the axe... I really wished odachi would work 🙄

[@Onos]

Hatchets and kusarigama could work... Both scale v well with the Skill stat. Other options that will scale with skill are spear, sword or dual sword. Hope that helps?

[@Guts_cr1tikal]

@@Onos thanks man🙏🏼 I ended up going with the glave and hatchets as secondary....both have skill and magic scaling let's see how that will work

[@Onos]

@@Guts_cr1tikal my pleasure dude. Hope it works well for you... Let me know how it goes!

[@firechar27]

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

[@Onos]

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 😂

[@firechar27]

@@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

[@Onos]

@@firechar27 Hahaha I think sucking at this game is perfectly acceptable... Just don't give up... Its meant to be hard but v rewarding

[@firechar27]

@@Onos For sure! That's all part of the fun after all

[@ericbarclay1526]

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).

[@Onos]

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

[@lSeKToRl]

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.

[@Onos]

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!

[@murphydaveelte]

Great breakdown thanks. Still torn about what to use. Tbh i don't like this system - why limit our choices like this? And it seems clunky - maybe I'm not understanding it but fist weapons scale with strength which lends it'self to heavy armour but that doesn't make sense to me!

[@queenscornerofnohits6656]

I hope you can enjoy Axe, something most of us Nioh players cannot do.

[@Onos]

I hope so too... I reserve the right to change my mind 😂😂

[@hadriennogueira3726]

I really like axe, played the first game axe+spear

[@Onos]

@@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 😂)

[@chibi_undercover9663]

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.

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@Almtyhalfbreed]

My playstyle is sword, surigama but i like magic. And don't like the weapon for magic. How can i balance that?

[@pooria1426]

my lvl is 65 now with switchglave magic build.its strong but i dont want to use magic spell all time and realy love odachi too.do you think should i use book of resurection and go for odachi$sword build or i should continue with my current build?

[@Onos]

As long as you have the money you can buy more than one book of resurrection anyway... So could always try it out... You'd need to spend some time building up your Odachi skills though... But there is nothing to lose really other than some time

[@jtd10902]

Great methodology. Thank you for the video.

[@Onos]

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!

[@abdallahabdallah3815]

I love the move set and range of the Odachi. I’m also interested in the ninjitsu skill tree. Do you think an Odachi/kusarigama combo could work? Or I’m I better off with Odachi/Dual swords?

[@thebus9185]

I’m wondering the same thing - kusarigama was dominant in the first game - but I assume dual swords will scale better

[@abdallahabdallah3815]

Road Rage I would like the versatility of long and short range pairing, while mixing ninjitsu for some utility. I just read that skill affects ninjitsu to some degree. So I’m thinking of rocking the Odachi with the Dual Swords, focusing on Heart, Strength, and Skill

[@thebus9185]

Abdallah Abdallah that is also my plan

[@ryanstrowbridge6211]

I used duel swords and odachi in first and worked great

[@abdallahabdallah3815]

I’m currently only using the Odachi with Paralysis focus. Really fun build

[@mohammed.f7773]

Switchglave + spear for me More health & Omnyo 😍

[@Onos]

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! 😂

[@MOKAD82]

@@Onos Switchglaive + spear + stamina = Onmyo + Health + health + heavy armor = immortal 😂

[@Onos]

@@MOKAD82 sounds great... I just couldn't get on board with the spear moveset! Will definitely have to revisit it though at some point

[@obihider3159]

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

[@Onos]

@@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!

[@everettphelps9678]

I might be wrong but I’m playing through Nioh 1 and 2 at the same time and I think they changed the spear a little bit. It’s moveset feels worse in 2. Also the kusarigama feels weaker in 2

[@Geronimoooh]

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.

[@Onos]

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.

[@Ben-xl7ft]

Great info, cheers!

[@jasongibson1225]

I haven't got the game yet and still wondering what I would pick. I was thinking about a switchglaive and kurisgama pair. However that is probably the hardest pair to master, with also the largest range. Hardest pair because of the challenge of distributing both ninjitsu and onmiyo trees, but also has the largest range for the same reason. It would be VERY grindy I think. However I also feel it has the potential to be a glass cannon, with plenty of tools at somebody's disposal to greet every battle with many different strats and tactics. Diversity is an obvious advantage of the kuirsgama/switchglaive. Could make for an interesting build for somebody who is up for a challenge. A fucking ninja mage sounds op in the right hands.

[@Onos]

Haha that made me chuckle. A ninja mage does sound like an absolute beast - like you say though I suspect it may end up being quite a grind to build!

[@jasongibson1225]

@@Onos I think I'm gonna try it when I get it. It might be grindy, but I play MHW so bite me lol. If I don't like it I guess I'll just re-spec.

[@Onos]

@@jasongibson1225 Hahaha love it! I really enjoy finding builds that work for me too... Seem to prefer going against the popular choices!

[@jasongibson1225]

@@Onos I'll sub you if I see you play around with this idea lol. Sounds like you might be up for the challenge lol. Ninja MAGE!!!

[@Onos]

@@jasongibson1225 I'd definitely be up for the challenge! Just need more hours in the day to pull it off!!

[@natenatto4211]

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!

[@Onos]

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!

[@NickKnackisB4ck]

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!

[@Chid098]

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.

[@pinkhairvulcanus8153]

So this is my problem, I invested too much on stamina so I can beef those heavy armors but I don't use an axe. Instead, I've been using a switchglaive all the time. Does that mean I should replace my current weapon for an effective one for my stats but I don't enjoy using, or should I keep using my switchglaive?

[@Onos]

Tricky one. Only the Odachi and axe will scale their damage directly with stamina... If you want to boost the switchglaive, you need to invest in skill, magic or constitution. You could use the book of reincarnation from the blacksmith to sort out your skill points etc.... It 10,000 gold the first time so you could give that a go if you wanted to sort it out and rebalance

[@pinkhairvulcanus8153]

@@Onos wow, that was a speedy reply, thanks. My 2nd weapon of choice is an odachi tho',. Imma still use my switchglaive but I dont wanna invest too much on magic. How many points should I put on magic to make the glaive more efficient? This is the last question. Thanks again in advance.

[@Onos]

@@pinkhairvulcanus8153 no problem... I enjoy chatting about this stuff! You're in luck then... What you'll probably find is that your Odachi will hit much harder than your switchglaive right now. If you used magic and planned on picking up some Omnyo magic along the way that would probably result in a heavy armor mage build of some sort

[@YeOldeMachina]

Tonfa+ axe is life. Not the best synergy ever but I dance around em and then bonk em w/the big stick

[@malazan6004]

Sounds good will have to try! Do you have any good pairings with spear?

[@Strider-Ragnarok]

I want to have one weapon only, but I want to know if having 2 of the same weapon stacks buffs?

[@Onos]

Not that I'm aware of but it's something worth testing! Which weapon did you decide on?

[@Strider-Ragnarok]

@@Onos Odachi.

[@Strider-Ragnarok]

@@Onos Odachi. I tried with same and different weapons, then went to the status menu and did not see anything stack. I just want to make sure this is the case.

[@lapismage1897]

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.

[@Percival917]

So, what would you recommend for someone like me, a total crackhead for the Tonfas?

[@Onos]

hahaha you mean to go with your tonfas? I did a video on combining Axe and Tonfas for early game - they scale well together

[@creamofthecrop6743]

Yeah I love the noise tonfas make and the ridiculous ki damage

[@xFiebsi]

I play Tonfa and Axe , even though i absolutly love Odachi and Dual Swords but i allready played alot of them in Nioh1

[@Onos]

How're you finding the tonfa and axe so far? Ive been using the Axe mostly!

[@xFiebsi]

@@Onos still not sure about the Axe but love the tonfas for the forward advancing moveset.

[@Onos]

@@xFiebsi yeah same here. The Axe can be insanely powerful with a few skills invested! Have you seen my axe/tonfa build video? Might help a bit

[@azraelselvmord3650]

What did you decide to go with? Axe and hatchets sound good? Is it viable?

[@Onos]

At this point I've pretty much tried everything. Currently enjoying the fist weapons the most

[@Ocean5ix]

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...

[@Onos]

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 😂

[@osutinheizu8250]

Does odachi have iai moves?

[@Onos]

@@osutinheizu8250 sorry I don't think I can help you there... What are iai moves? Maybe I'm just not familiar with the term?

[@MG-eo8ps]

Osutin Heizu yes it has one that works similar to the katana single slash one

[@LCH.RawMan]

@@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