At this point you should have a good idea of the basics Nioh 2, none of which are really needed here. Yokai bosses and honestly enemies in general require a lot more skill and planning to defeat than some of the human characters, which in some ways are the easiest bosses in the game. Naturally, your first human boss, Imagawa Yoshimoto, is pretty easy, all things considered.
General tips
- While every boss has their own specific details, which are detailed below, these tips are designed to give you additional insight into how to improve at Nioh 2 in general.
- You always get three elixirs on spawn. There is no reason to be frugal with that amount.
- Spear is the easiest weapon to use
- Once you have a bosses move set down, don’t be afraid to invest in additional supplies to come out ahead
- Most fights follow a predictable arc. Dropping the bosses Ki down to zero typically causes them to enter the other world phase and dropping it to zero again will bring them out. There is also a timer but it’s good to know when these phases are going to take place.
- Build around your play style or where you fall short. If you lose in the other world, increase your resistance there. If you can’t manage your Ki due to blocking, increase your toughness.
- Typically the best way to block attacks is to do it before you take each hit, over holding the button down. Certain attacks have enough of a delay that you can actually block, wait to regain your Ki and then block again to withstand attacks.
- As you progress, look into useful abilities like sloth to help you overcome tricky parts.
- Don’t be afraid to use summons. Regardless of what people say, Nioh 2 is not a super easy game and there is no shame in using any and all mechanics to your advantage.
- You can also find more general tips here.
How to Defeat Imagawa Yoshimoto
In many ways Imagawa Yoshimoto is one of the most straightforward bosses in Nioh 2. He relies heavily on a dual sword fighting style, uses a lightning attack frequently and is aggressive to a fault. With these traits, you’re best off bringing an AI partner to distract him and then have him tire himself out.
Ideally you just let him do a couple attacks, counter once or twice and if you’re quick enough or do it enough times he will either fail to block or run out of Ki. When the latter happens, grapple for massive damage and just repeat.
The only thing that might give you some trouble is being overly aggressive. Instead of chasing after breaking him each and every time, focus on doing some damage and then playing it safe. More often than not, when you get greedy is when you lose.
