Nioh 3

Unlock Details

Defeat all 13 Masters. Masters are human minibosses scattered across the open world. Once a region reaches Exploration Level 4, their locations are automatically marked on the map with a white-and-red person icon. The 13 Masters are found in these areas: Warring States Lake Sanaru Lake Hamana Iinoya Futamata Heian Kamo Village Nishiichi Awawa no Tsuji Hachijo Bakumatsu Shijo Gion Nijo Castle Kyoto Imperial Palace Kyoto Imperial Palace The final Master in Kyoto Imperial Palace is locked behind a barrier of red crystals. To reach it, first complete the Side Mission “Beast of the Underworld” in Bakumatsu. Start the mission in Shichijo near the Shrine “Shichijo Abyss – Stratum” by speaking with Thomas Glover. Progress through the area and defeat Kasha after the “Shichijo Abyss – Armory” Shrine. Completing the mission unlocks cannons throughout the regions. Return to Kyoto Imperial Palace and use the large cannon south of the red crystal barrier to destroy it and reach the final Master.

Tip

Raise each region to Exploration Level 4 before hunting Masters. Once they are marked on the map, cleanup becomes much faster.

Warning

Master #13 cannot be reached until you unlock the cannons through “Beast of the Underworld.” If you see the red crystal barrier and cannot break it, you are not missing some secret ninja trick. You just need the cannon.

Unlock Details

Defeat 10 enemies with a Strong Attack or Martial Art enhanced by Arts Proficiency. In Samurai Style, watch the circular gauge in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Attacking fills this gauge with blue energy. Once it is full, your next Triangle Strong Attack will glow blue. That enhanced hit needs to land the killing blow on an enemy. Do this 10 times total. The easiest method is to weaken an enemy first with Square light attacks, then wait until the Arts Proficiency gauge is full and finish them with the glowing Triangle attack.

Tip

Farm this on weaker enemies so you can control their health more easily. Nothing is more annoying than carefully setting up the perfect blue finisher only for your previous light attack to accidentally delete them.

Unlock Details

Capture your first Enemy Base. Enemy Bases are open-world locations filled with enemies. Defeat everyone tied to the base to clear it and claim the area. Most bases also contain a reward chest, and some have other useful collectibles nearby. You should unlock this naturally while exploring the first few regions.

Tip

If a base feels too difficult, leave and come back later. There is no penalty for deciding that today is not the day you fight an entire camp at once.

Unlock Details

Successfully perform 10 Burst Breaks. When an enemy begins charging a red-glowing attack, press R2 shortly before the attack connects to perform a Burst Break and interrupt it. The timing is the important part. Do not press R2 the instant the enemy starts glowing red. Wait for the actual attack animation to begin, then press it roughly half a second before the hit would connect. Larger enemies and bosses use red attacks frequently, so you should get plenty of opportunities while playing normally.

Tip

If you want to farm this, find a large enemy with an easy-to-read red attack and practice on it repeatedly. Once the timing clicks, this goes from “why does this never work?” to “please glow red again.”

Unlock Details

Learn a Martial Art from a Crucible Weapon for the first time. Crucible Weapons are dropped by enemies inside Crucibles and are marked with a red skull icon in your inventory. You should get several automatically during the first story-related Crucible. Equip any Crucible Weapon and keep using it until its Familiarity reaches the maximum. You can check this in the inventory by highlighting the weapon and looking at the blue Familiarity bar above its Attack value. Once that bar is full, the weapon’s Crucible Art is permanently learned and the trophy will unlock.

Tip

Just use the weapon while clearing normal enemies. This should only take a few minutes, so there is no need to turn it into some grand training arc.

Unlock Details

Successfully use a Guardian Spirit Skill to perform a Burst Break. This feature unlocks after defeating Takeda Shingen, the fifth main boss, during “A Fiery Invasion.” Once unlocked, build charge for your Guardian Spirit Skill by attacking enemies. When the skill is ready, a circle to the left of your health bar will light up. Wait for an enemy to begin a red-glowing Burst Attack, then press L1 + Square just before the attack connects. If timed correctly, your Guardian Spirit Skill will interrupt the attack and the trophy will unlock.

Tip

Treat the timing the same way as a normal Burst Break. Do not activate it as soon as the enemy turns red; wait until the actual attack starts moving toward you.

Warning

You need to progress far enough in the story to unlock Guardian Spirit Skill Burst Breaks first. If L1 + Square is not doing what you expect, the feature may not be available yet.

Unlock Details

Defeat the hidden optional boss Demon of Envy. The Demon of Envy is found in Heian > Hachijo > Anneibo Temple. From the Shrine, face away from it and turn left. Climb the scaffolding, then drop down into a slightly hidden cave. Follow the path through the cave to reach the boss. There is a Spirit Vein along the route leading to the Demon of Envy.

Tip

Like the Demon of Pride, this is a high-level optional encounter. It is much easier to return after progressing further through the story with stronger equipment and more abilities.

Warning

The entrance is easy to overlook because you need to climb the scaffolding and drop into the hidden cave rather than simply following the main path. At this point Kunimatsu’s emotional journey is starting to look suspiciously like a full optional boss rush.

Unlock Details

Defeat the hidden optional boss Demon of Obsession. The Demon of Obsession is found in Bakumatsu > Nijo Castle and is marked by a golden chest icon in the northwest corner of the area. To reach it, first travel into the Mibu region. From Mibu Temple – Main Gate Shrine, head toward the hill south of the golden chest icon and drop down into the route leading toward the boss. Follow the path to reach the Demon of Obsession and defeat it to unlock the trophy.

Tip

Like Kunimatsu’s other hidden demons, this is an optional fight, so there is no reason to rush it. Coming back with stronger gear and a more complete build will make the encounter much easier.

Warning

The approach is not obvious from the Nijo Castle side. You need to access the route from Mibu and drop down from the hill near Mibu Temple – Main Gate. Kunimatsu has now turned pride, envy, and obsession into boss fights. Therapy was apparently not available in this era.

Unlock Details

Defeat the hidden optional boss Demon of Pride. The Demon of Pride is marked with a golden chest icon in Warring States > Iinoya. Start from Sengan Waterfall Shrine, then use the Spirit Vein slightly north of the Shrine to reach the golden chest location and the boss. You will need to return here later after progressing far enough in the story to unlock the required Guardian Spirit. That Guardian Spirit is obtained automatically through story progression.

Tip

This is a high-level optional boss, so there is no real benefit to forcing the fight early. Come back after finishing more of the story when your level, gear, and skills are much stronger.

Warning

You cannot reach the boss immediately when you first explore the area because the required Spirit Vein ability comes from a later story unlock. Kunimatsu apparently hid his pride behind a high-level demon and a traversal requirement. Very emotionally healthy.

Unlock Details

Purify a Lesser Crucible for the first time. Lesser Crucibles are combat arenas that spawn several waves of enemies. Defeat every enemy, then destroy the red crystal blocking the area to purify the Lesser Crucible and unlock the trophy. Clearing them also increases your Spirit Force, which lets you use stronger Guardian Spirit Skills.

Tip

Summoning Seals and Ninjutsu work well here because you can deal damage from a safer distance while the arena is full of enemies.

Unlock Details

Purify all 23 Lesser Crucibles. Each Lesser Crucible acts as a small combat arena. Enter the area, defeat every wave of enemies, then destroy the red crystal to fully clear it. Clearing Lesser Crucibles is useful beyond the trophy because each one increases your Spirit Force and can open shortcuts needed to reach other parts of the region and additional collectibles. Once you reach Exploration Level 4 in a region, remaining Lesser Crucibles are automatically marked on the map with a red spike icon. Press R2 on the map to check the regional collectible tracker, then mark any missing ones and follow the compass. Nothing is missable. All areas remain available after the story, and missions can be replayed through the Battle Scroll at Shrines.

Tip

Tip: Use Summoning Seals and Ninjutsu if a Lesser Crucible is giving you trouble. Keeping your distance while something else gets punched in the face is still a perfectly valid strategy. Tip: Clear these as you find them instead of saving all 23 for the end. The extra Spirit Force and newly opened paths will make both combat and collectible hunting easier later.

Unlock Details

Defeat any Master for the first time. Masters are human minibosses found throughout the open world. They are marked with a white-and-red person icon once you raise a region to Exploration Level 4. Defeat any one of the 13 Masters and the trophy will unlock.

Tip

If one feels too strong, leave and come back later. Ninjutsu, Summoning Seals, and jumping attacks are all strong options against Masters, so there is no need to stand there trading honorable sword blows if the game gives you explosives.

Unlock Details

Defeat 10 enemies with Ninjutsu. Switch into Ninja Style with R2, then use Ninjutsu with R1 + Square, R1 + Triangle, or R1 + X. The Ninjutsu attack itself must land the killing blow for it to count, so weaken enemies first if needed and finish them with Shuriken, Flames, Bombs, or another Ninjutsu attack. Ninjutsu charges refill automatically as you land melee attacks, so you can keep cycling between close-range combat and ranged finishes.

Tip

Flying insects are great targets for this. A couple of Shuriken are usually enough to drop them, which makes farming the 10 kills quick and painless. For once, the tiny flying enemy is actually helping you.

Unlock Details

Complete the Novice, Adept, and Veteran training missions for both Yagyu Munenori and Hattori Hanzo. Their training missions unlock gradually as you progress through the story: Novice Available during Main Region 1: Warring States after completing the first Crucible. Adept Available after reaching Main Region 2: Heian. Veteran Available after reaching the final Main Region, 1864 CE – Bakumatsu, once you receive the Main Mission “A New Era.” When Veteran becomes available, return to the Eternal Rift and speak with Yagyu Munenori for Samurai training and Hattori Hanzo for Ninja training. Their missions can then be played from a Shrine through the Battle Scrolls menu. The Novice and Adept missions are short dojo fights against groups of enemies. The Veteran missions are direct fights against Yagyu and Hattori themselves. Against Yagyu, you are forced to use Samurai Style. A Spear works well here. Let him approach, land a heavy attack as he comes in, then create space and repeat. There is no need to turn it into a heroic ten-minute combo showcase. Against Hattori, you are forced to use Ninja Style. Dual Ninja Swords are useful for landing quick hits and rapidly charging your Ninjutsu. Once charged, back away and use Ninjutsu from a safer distance.

Tip

Tip: If the Veteran missions are not appearing, make sure you have completed the earlier Novice and Adept missions for both characters first. Tip: These fights are much easier once you are deeper into Bakumatsu with stronger gear, so there is no reason to struggle with them the instant they become available.

Unlock Details

Capture all 26 Enemy Bases. Enemy Bases are scattered throughout the open world and are usually filled with groups of enemies that must be defeated before the area is considered cleared. Once you reach Exploration Level 4 in a region, remaining Enemy Bases are marked automatically on the map with a red skull icon. Press R2 on the map to check the regional collectible tracker, then mark any missing bases and follow the compass. Some Enemy Bases are tied to Myths or Main Missions. If an Enemy Base icon is missing entirely, it may not be available yet because the related quest has not started. If the icon is visible but the base has no enemies in it, you are probably missing the required Myth or story progression. Keep advancing the main story and complete the Myths in that region. The quest-linked bases will become available as you progress. Nothing is missable. All areas remain explorable after the story, and missions can be replayed through the Battle Scroll at Shrines.

Tip

Raise each region to Exploration Level 4 before doing cleanup. Once every base is marked, the remaining hunt becomes much easier.

Warning

Do not waste time searching an empty Enemy Base or one that is not appearing on the map. If there are no enemies there, it is almost certainly locked behind a Myth or Main Mission. Apparently “Total Control” means not only defeating every enemy camp in four different eras, but also respecting their appointment schedule.

Unlock Details

Use a Summoning Seal to summon a Yokai for the first time. First, obtain a Soul Core. These can randomly drop from stronger enemies and look like red hearts. Take the Soul Core to a Shrine without dying so it can be cleansed. Then go to Shrine > Manage Soul Core > Onmyo Box > Yang Position and equip it. After equipping the Soul Core, assign the Summoning Seal to one of your shortcut slots. Use the Summoning Seal while fighting an enemy and the equipped Yokai will briefly appear to help you. The trophy unlocks the first time you successfully summon one.

Tip

You will get plenty of Soul Cores naturally, so there is no need to farm this early. Once you have a usable one, the actual trophy takes only a few seconds.

Warning

If the game says the Soul Core cannot be used, keep defeating Crucible Wraiths and collecting more Soul Cores until you obtain one that works with summoning. Apparently even summoning a demon now requires the correct paperwork.