Nioh 3 diverges from its predecessors by putting a fully-explorable open world in the forefront instead of the series' traditional mission-based format. The worlds themselves may not be as expansive as in other RPGs, but they're still full of important items and upgrades for players to find, and all of those will come in clutch when you find yourself staring down a giant yokai with snakes for arms.
In this guide, we'll be covering some important items as well as activities you'll want to do before making a beeline toward the main quest marker in Nioh 3.
Nioh 3: How to Get & Use Character Creator Codes
Nioh 3 features an expansive character creator where players can either design their own character or use a Character Creator Code to import designs.
Where to Go First in Nioh 3?
After you finish the tutorial and the subsequent section in Hitokoto Slope, you'll find yourself in the outskirts of Hamamatsu Castle. An eldritch monstrosity is looming over the horizon, the skies are red, and yokai are roaming the roads. While you can definitely head straight toward the giant bone monster in the sky, the enemies there will likely rip you apart if you arrive unprepared. You'll want to complete the following activities or collect the following items first if you want to get the best shot at succeeding.
Find All the Scampuss Cats
A Scampuss is a round, cat-like yokai that you can occasionally find sleeping somewhere in the wilderness. Wake them up, chase them around, and pet them once they calm down. Doing so will reward you with either Samurai or Ninja Locks, which you can use to unlock Samurai or Ninja skills.
The routes that a Scampuss will lead you around often have some interesting loot and interactibles too, so keep an eye out when you're chasing one.
Find and Shoot Down Chijiko Yokai
Chijiko are ferret-like yokai that are often seen floating around as handballs. They like being used as target practice, and if you shoot one down, then land next to you. Much like Scampusses, Chijiko will reward you with either Samurai or Ninja Locks, giving you even more skill points to work with.
Some Chijiko and Scampusses may also give you additional skills or transform existing ones.
Find and Guide Lost Kodama
Kodama are small spirits that hang around Shrines. Finding and guiding Lost Kodama will lead them toward Shrines and grant you Kodama Blessing points, which you can then use to upgrade your Elixirs in Nioh 3. Upgrades include:
- Stronger Elixir healing
- Higher Elixir drop rates
- Gain bonus damage after using an Elixir
- Gain bonus damage reduction after using an Elixir
You'll need to find a lot of Kodama if you want to upgrade any of these bonuses more than once, so it's best to start finding as many as you can, as early as you can.
Pray to Jizo Statues
Jizo Statues are sort of like Kodama, but instead of being yokai, they're literally just statues that you can pray to. Doing so will give you Jizo Blessing points, which you can spend on upgrades and bonuses related to Life Corrosion and Crucible realms.
Life Corrosion in Nioh 3 can be a real pain since it reduces your maximum life. Jizo blessings will help you deal with it more effectively.
How to Get Better Gear
The best sources of loot early in Nioh 3 are enemy bases and Lesser Crucibles. Both have plenty of enemies for you to fight, and once you complete them, you'll be rewarded with a shower of loot.
Lesser Crucibles also have a chance to drop weapons imbued with Crucible Arts. These are powerful skills that you won't be able to get anywhere else. If you reach max Familiarity with a weapon that has a Crucible Art, you'll be able to use that same Crucible Art with other weapons of the same type.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Raise Your Exploration Level
By doing any of the above within the boundaries of a specific area, you'll raise your Exploration Level for that same region. As your Exploration Level rises, more items, collectibles, and points of interest will become visible on your map, giving you an easier time finding them all.
Increased Elixir Healing Skill
Just south of the Hojo Shrine is an enemy base with the Panacea Curefast skill. This increases the healing you get from Elixirs by 15%, and it stacks with the bonus you get from guiding Lost Kodama. To get it, clear the enemy base, then use the key that drops from the bandit chief to unlock the storehouse.
Bonus Amrita Gained Skill
To the north of the Prospect Hill Shrine (the very first one you find after arriving in the region), there's a small enemy base occupied by bandits. There's a chest next to the archer standing on the scaffold that contains Vital Spirit, a skill that increases the amount of Amrita you gain after defeating an enemy by 4%. It's not much, but the bonus adds up quickly, allowing you to level up faster than usual.
The enemy base here also has a Lost Kodama in it.
Armor Piercer Skill
Armor Piercer is a Ninja passive skill that increases the damage you deal with Final Blows and Grapple attacks by 10%. You can get this by going to the small village between the Ikeda Ferry and Tokaido Shrines. There's a locked door on the house on top of the hill in the village, and to get the key that opens it, you need to beat the Yamainu in the village center.
There's also a Chijiko floating above the house containing Armor Piercer.
Farming Amrita and Crucible Weapons
Once you've made it inside the major Crucible in Hamamatsu Castle, you can start farming Amrita and Crucible weapons in earnest. There are plenty of strong enemies inside the Crucible, and they all have a fairly decent chance of dropping a Crucible weapon as well as decent amounts of Amrita. Fight your way through the ruined castle town until you make it to the Jakotsu-Baba boss room. Once you reach that point, simply run through the area again, or farm the Ippon Datara near one of the Statues.
You can offer any excess weapons and armor to Shrines for more Amrita. Offering weapons with full Familiarity will yield more Amrita. Alternatively, you can disassemble them to get crafting materials. Use those to get stronger weapons and armor once you unlock the Blacksmith at the Eternal Rift.
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
