If you’re having trouble deciding what stats to level in Nioh 2, and what level to get them to, you’ve come to the right place. In this in-depth article, we’re going to delve deep into a comprehensive guide of stats in Nioh 2.
Weapons
The first and main factor to consider when looking at your character build or stats, is what weapons you’re using. Weapon types could make up a whole guide on their own, but in effect, each has a main stat that improves its damage, and two side stats that improve the damage at a slightly lesser rate.
Some weapon types, such as swords and axes, have subcategories that scale differently. For example, weapons that use the axe moveset can be either axes, or hammers. Both scale mainly with stamina (B+), but what their secondary (C+) and tertiary (D+) stat scaling is, changes between axes and hammers. There may be more subcategories further into the game, or from DLC, but what I’ve discovered so far is detailed below:
While this matters less at endgame (due to the remodelling system letting you alter stat scaling), you need to choose wisely in order to actually reach that milestone. Immediately you can see that some stats are useful for multiple different weapons. Skill, for example, is the main stat for both dual swords and hatchets, while also being the secondary for swords (tachi) and kusarigama. Therefore, if you wanted to maximise damage, you could invest only in skill and wield dual swords/hatchets as your two weapons. Or, if you prefer the sword or kurisgama, viably increase their damage as a secondary.
The difference in damage gained per level actually seems to be relatively small, between a C scaling stat, and a B+ scaling stat. Looking at the damage difference from levels 5-70, the damage dealt seems to increase a static amount per stat level. For the C scaling stat, this is around 1.79 damage a level. For the B+ scaling stat, this is around a 2.39 damage a level (for the weapons being tested, this magnitude will vary, but not the percentage difference). This means investing in a C scaling stat is actually 75% as effective as investing in the primary B+ scaling stat.
Best Weapon Pairs
There are several weapon pairs that pop out right from the get go:
- Dual swords and Hatchets – Both of these rely on Skill as their main scaling stat, you’ll do max damage with both just by leveling Skill. What’s not to love? Plus Hatchets have one of the best movesets in Nioh 2.
- Axe and Odachi – An Axe requires Stamina, which lets you have the equipment weight max to wear heavy armour, an Odachi requires strength, which is required to activate heavy armour abilities, along with a little more equipment weight max. Really efficient combo.
- Spear and Tonfa/Axe(hammer) – A spear needs constitution, and Tonfa/Axe(hammer) both use it as a secondary, whilst being a good complementary moveset. For a challenge, go for Tonfa and their ki damage speciality. Choose Hammers as a pure damage madman.
- Sword (tachi) and Dual Sword – Both these weapons have a primary stat that scales as a secondary with the other. Use the Dual Swords to apply elemental effects, then go to town with the Sword for damage. At higher levels with Heart and Skill fully levelled, the scaling combo will be some of the best in the game.
- Many, many more…
To choose a weapon that best pairs with your favourite, simply look down the table of stat scaling, and find what weapon has your favourite’s primary stat, as a secondary. The only ones this doesn’t work with are the Kusarigama, and the Switchglaive, due to these also giving Ninjutsu and Onmyo Power respectively. Using either of these you sacrifice a stronger second weapon for the advantage of better Jutsu. Instead choose a weapon that goes with the secondary scaling for the Kusarigama or Switchglaive. Your main weapon will be as strong as ever.
Quick-Start Guide – Caps
Before getting into the gritty stats, if you’re just looking for how to make your build and what stats cap at, read this section first. Just follow the simple steps when playing, and you’ll have a perfectly efficient build from the get go.
- Get Constitution to 10
- Get Heart to 10
- Get Courage to 10
- Get Skill to 10
- Get Strength/Skill/Constitution to what is required for your armour
- Get Magic/Dexterity to whatever you need for Onmyo/Ninjutsu Capacity
- Get your primary weapon stat to 99
- Get your secondary weapon stat to 99
- Always increase Stamina to what is needed to keep <30% equip burden for light armour, or <70% for medium/heavy armour
Resistances
Resistances all act the same way, they’re simply affected by different stats. Constitution effects Poison/Paralysis, Heart effects Fire, Courage effects Lightning, Strength effects Water. These stats levels don’t effect the resistances to the point you really have to worry about them, equipment can more than cope with any weaknesses you find. Just bear in mind if you’re having trouble with a certain element, it might be that your stats are lacking in that department. Perhaps find an accessory or two that can boost where you lack.
The way resistances increase is in set amounts until you reach caps in the stat that increases them. There aren’t any real soft or hard caps, simply a slow decrease. This is summarised below:
Stats
Constitution
In Nioh 2 Constitution affects Life and Poison/Paralysis resistance. The amount that it affects Life at each stat level rapidly decreases from 40 to 25 until it hits 10. At the level of 10, the amount per level becomes flat for the rest of the levels.
Magic/Dexterity
Magic and Dexterity in Nioh 2 both act the exact same way. They both increase the capacity available for readying jutsus, and the power of Ninjutsu or Onmyo abilities respectively.
The hard cap for jutsu capacity is at level 30 for both stats. At this level, the max capacity you can have with be 30 as well. Each level from 5 to 30 will give one capacity, aside from one or two of the levels, which give 2.
Ability Power (ninjutsu and onmyo) has no clear hard or soft caps, instead slowly decreasing with the stat level increase. Both of these can be seen below:
Heart
Heart affects total Ki, Fire Resistance, and the rate of Ki Recovery. Strangely, for Ki, there’s a spike of increase just before it hits a cap. Every time there is a decrease in the amount Ki increases per Heart level, there’s a large increase beforehand. This means it’s wise to get Heart to a cap, even if you’re not using the stat for a weapon. The amount Ki increases per level rapidly decreases at 15 heart (from 15 Ki from a level, to 5 Ki from a level), making it the most I would increase the stat to unless I’m using a sword.
Ki recovery, while not having as large an effect as Courage, does not fall off sharply, but instead rather slowly. Start at 3 Ki recovery per level, it hits 1 Ki recovery per level at 14 Heart, and then slowly but steadily decreases further. Since total Ki drops off heavily at 15 Heart, I’d suggest keeping that as the maximum you increase it to unless using an applicable weapon.
Courage
Courage is the main player in Ki Recovery, but also contributes to Onmyo Magic Power, along with Lightning Resistance.
Ki recovery heavily falls off at 10 Courage, from 6 per level, to 3-4 per level. From then on it’s relatively stable, until 21 Courage, when you begin to see even lower gains per level. Definitely get Courage to level 10, and then focus on other skills instead (unless using Tonfa).
Onmyo Magic power rapidly falls from 3 per level, to 1 per level at a Courage of 10. Again this means leveling courage past 10 is inefficient unless you need the scaling.
Stamina
Stamina has a slightly higher effect on Life per Level, than other stats. It increases at around 25 per level of stamina, until a stamina of 10, when it decreases to 15 per level. Constitution nets you a nice 25 life per level, even after it hits the cap, so Stamina is never useful for just life.
Equipment weight max is the other effect of stamina, which rapidly decreases until Stamina is level 15, at which point it stabilises and begins to decrease more slowly. If you’re running light armour you don’t need to increase this at all. If you’re wanting to mix medium and light armour but keep an agility rating of A (< 30% equip burden), it’s wise to increase the stat to at least 15, further if your armour choices require it.
Strength
Strength affects Equipment weight max, by a very tiny amount, and increases the increased Ki Recovery after a Ki Pulse.
The Equipment weight max increase is negligible, and useless to level Strength for. The amount a Ki Pulse is increased, however, can be useful. At high levels of Skill it’s better to increase Strength instead. The decrease in the amount Ki Pulse improves is gradual, with no real caps.
Skill
Skill affects Ninjutsu Power in the same way that Courage affects Onmyo Power, very little, but could make a difference for a couple of levels. Skill also vastly increases the power of your Ki Pulses, but this hits a cap at Level 10, going from 10 per level to 7 per level, and slow decreases from then on.
Maximising Your Stats
With all that out the way, how do you figure out what stats to level up to maximise your abilities?
First, level your stats to meet any hard caps that are extremely rewarding. Choose what cap you want to hit depending on how much you value what the stat gives. I, for example, love having more Ki to block and dodge, therefore I would never not hit the cap of 15 Heart. If I didn’t care as much I’d probably just get it to 10. Magic/Dexterity, Stamina and Strength do not contribute the max values to any base combat stat (Life, Ki, Ki Recovery or Ki Pulse), therefore, you don’t need to increase these unless for other reasons. The caps are as follows:
Beyond that, increase Magic/Dexterity to hit the capacity that you require, bearing in mind the jump at a stat level of 10. Level Strength/Skill to meet armour requirements if needed, and then focus in your main weapon skill. Bear in mind that at certain points you’ll be receiving fewer base stats from the main base stat skill. For example, Courage usually increases Ki Recovery more than Heart, however, if your Courage is greater than 30, increasing Heart gets you more Ki Recovery until Level 10. Likewise if Courage is greater than 50 and Heart is less than 20.
Demonstrating this are graphs of the base stat increases according to stat level:
If you haven’t yet purchased Nioh 2 and you’re simply reading for fun, buy here to help our tiny site.
The original Nioh is just as good, if you haven’t played it yet it’s a third of the price and has just as much Yokai slaying fun, though it’s admittedly easier if you know how to build a character.
If you really enjoyed Nioh 2 then I can heartily recommend Sekiro, a game that feels familiar in style but has a much more cut-throat combat system, absolutely one of my favourites alongside Nioh 2.
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