Apart from the Guardian Spirits and the different weapons you can wield, you still need to have some Nioh 3 skills. Although Nioh 3 builds on systems from earlier entries, it also introduces several mechanics that can feel overwhelming at first. Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, passive skills, and masteries all play a major role in shaping your character. At a glance, it looks complicated. In practice, the game does a solid job of organizing everything through clear menus.
Once you understand how these systems connect, unlocking and managing Nioh 3 skills becomes far less intimidating. In this guide, we’ll walk you through every step, from unlocking active abilities to equipping passives efficiently.
How to Unlock Nioh 3 Skills Like Martial Arts and Ninjutsu
Martial Arts and Ninjutsu follow the same rules, but they serve different combat styles. Martial Arts are exclusive to the Samurai path, while Ninjutsu belongs to the Ninja style. Each ability requires its own currency. Samurai Points unlock Martial Arts, and Ninja Points unlock Ninjutsu techniques.
You earn these points naturally as you progress. However, some skills are tied to exploration or special activities. That means venturing off the main path can sometimes reward you with unique abilities earlier than expected.
After unlocking a skill, equipping it is straightforward. Open the Customize Martial Arts or Ninjutsu menu. You’ll immediately see a notification highlighting newly unlocked abilities. From there, navigate to the correct tab. Depending on the skill, it may appear under a specific weapon or under the general combat style section.
In most cases, the game equips new abilities automatically. However, conflicts can occur when two skills share the same combo input. When that happens, you must manually choose which version you want active. For example, if you unlock both Heaven Flash and its elemental variant, only one can be assigned to that combo. The swap option lets you decide which attack triggers during combat.
How to Unlock Nioh 3 Skills and Masteries
Beyond active techniques, Nioh 3 also features passive skills and masteries. These fall into three categories: Common, Samurai, and Ninja. Unlike Martial Arts and Ninjutsu, these abilities don’t change your moveset directly. Instead, they enhance your character with stat boosts or added effects.
Regular passive skills can be equipped freely, as long as you stay within your capacity limit. Masteries work differently. You can only activate one mastery per category. That means you can equip one Common mastery, one Samurai mastery, and one Ninja mastery at the same time, but no more than that.
To activate these bonuses, head to a shrine and open the Skill Management menu. From there, you can enable or disable skills and masteries as needed. Always keep an eye on capacity costs, as exceeding the limit prevents activation.
Final Tips for Mastering the Best Nioh 3 Skills
Once you understand the structure, the system feels surprisingly flexible. Still, there’s one crucial habit every player should develop. Practice newly unlocked abilities in the training ground. Some Martial Arts and Ninjutsu techniques rely on strict timing. Others require memorizing complex inputs.
This becomes even more important when optimizing builds around the Nioh 3 best samurai skills or refining setups focused on the Nioh 3 best ninja skills. Testing abilities in a safe environment saves frustration later, especially during difficult boss encounters.
With time and experimentation, the entire skill system opens up. And when it does, Nioh 3 skills become one of the most rewarding parts of the game’s combat depth. For more Nioh 3 guides, stay posted to RetroNoob.
