Jakotsu-Baba is the first true yokai story boss in Nioh 3, and she can be pretty tough for players who are new to the series. The boss' attacks are fairly slow, but they hit extremely hard, and given how Jakotsu-Baba tends to mix her combos up every now and then, players will more than likely get clipped by a move that they didn't see coming.
As intimidating as Jakotsu-Baba seems, she can be easily beaten with the right strategy. In this guide, we'll go over a few quick tips on how to fight this boss in Nioh 3.
How to Increase Ki Recovery Speed in Nioh 3
Ki represents stamina to perform attacks in Nioh 3, and here's how players can increase the Ki recovery speed to increase survivability in combat.
Nioh 3 Jakotsu-Baba Boss Tips
First, we strongly recommend using Ninja Style against Jakotsu-Baba. Not only do you get easier access to all your Ninjutsu, but you'll also have an easier time managing your Ki and learning the boss' moveset with Ninja Style thanks to its low Ki costs and nimble dodges.
The safest and most effective way to fight Jakotsu-Baba is to drain her Ki using attacks that deal strong Ki damage. One of the best options here is Kickslash combo for the Ninja Sword, which you can do by using a Heavy Attack after a Light Attack. Your entire strategy is to just hit Jakotsu-Baba once with a Light Attack, kick her once or twice with Kickslash, then dodge away.
For this strategy to work, you need to be very aggressive. You don't necessarily have to use a Ninja Sword for this, but you do have to always try and get behind Jakotsu-Baba for your Backstab passive to work. If you think your current build isn't quite cutting it, you can respec in Nioh 3 freely.
Be mindful of the Yokai Realm patches that the boss leaves. Cleanse them with Ki Pulse, or lure her away. Also, if she runs out of Ki, all of your attacks will stagger her.
Here are some other tools that will help you out a lot during this boss fight:
- Hit Jakotsu-Baba with Shurikens to keep her Ki from regenerating
- If you have an elemental weapon, use a matching Uncanny Ninjutsu to quickly build up elemental status effects
- Cicada Shell will let you dodge attacks even if you're out of Ki.
- Use Nekomata as your Guardian Spirit. He'll let you use the Thunderclaw Kick skill, which deals good damage while letting you disengage from your target.
Again, stick to her back, hit her twice or thrice, then dodge accordingly. Only leave her side when she has Yokai Realm patches under her, and only do so to recover Ki. By staying close to her, Jakotsu-Baba will not use any of her powerful ranged attacks, and even if she does, she'll just whiff them entirely.
Dark Realm Phase
When the bosses enters her dark realm phase, the first thing you'll want to do is try to break her horn. Doing so will deal a massive amount of Ki damage, potentially knocking her out of the dark phase entirely. You can do this by using your ranged weapon or by spamming Shurikens in the general direction of her face. You can also try hitting her horn by using jump attacks.
If you feel like you're too weak to fight the boss, try farming Amrita by fighting one of the two Ippon Dataras hanging around some of the Statues inside the Crucible. We first beat this boss at level 18, so being at least that level should be fine, but if all else fails, consider playing co-op.
Nioh 3
- Released
- February 6, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo
- Publisher(s)
- Koei Tecmo
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Nioh
- Number of Players
- 1-3 players (online)
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- February 6, 2026
- PS5 Release Date
- February 6, 2026
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
