Now that you’re fighting another human boss in Nioh 2, you might expect the worst but Saito is more of a continuation of what Imagawa Yoshimoto is all about. On one hand this is great news but on the other it means you’re in for another rather easy fight.
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 Saito Yoshitatsu
What makes Saito Yoshitatsu so easy and hard is, despite having all the shortcomings of a human character, they can yokai shift. However, if you just play tag during the yokai part and/or get a couple hits here and there, this is a relatively easy to overwhelm boss.
Similar to Imagawa Yoshimoto, you want to simply take turns attacking. Get your hits in, let Saito waste Ki and then punish ideally leaving them open to a grapple hit. With enough aggression, a strong enough teammate or just overwhelming them, you can actually out damage most of the difficulty. You’ll still have to handle the shift parts with some tact but the majority of this fight is just about getting your hits in and then moving back. Once you have this down it shouldn’t take long to win.
