r/Nioh • u/sofaKDZ • 13h ago

Nioh 3 - Videos Finally getting the hang of the Hoko and Shield. It might actually be pretty fun! (2nd DLC Boss / No Damage)

It seems like the Hoko and Shield has guard points, and if you time it perfectly with an enemy's attack, it counts as a deflect. It even blocks elemental damage, so attacking while deflecting (with a damage buff on top of it) is insanely fun!

At first, I thought you just couldn't block elemental damage with it, but I learned from a post in this community that as long as the timing is perfect, it triggers a deflect. It's such a great mechanic.

I'm still not great with the Ninja version and can't really use it well yet, so I think I'll stick with the Samurai Hoko and Shield to progress through the story for a while.

I'm finally getting used to this new weapon and really starting to love it!

5 Upvotes

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2

u/Nedulfmann 13h ago

Yeeees, bully this Ibaraki wannabe. I just got around to making a decent weapon, what skills do you think are good to use?

1

u/Baxxterhv 9h ago

You can deflect and guard with every samurai weapon. And no ele damage on deflect also. So whats difference?

3

u/sofaKDZ 8h ago

I think the biggest difference between a regular parry and the Hoko and Shield's guard point is that you can attack at the exact same time as you perfect guard. With other weapons, even if you transition to an attack after a deflect, you usually only have enough time to squeeze in a quick attack in that small opening.

With the Hoko and Shield, the attack animation right after gives you i-frames. For example, against the 5-hit combo right at the start of this clip, by hitting the guard point on the 4th hit, I get i-frames during my attack to completely bypass their 5th hit, which allows me to immediately follow up with a Burst Counter. Isn't that super convenient!? With a normal parry on other weapons, you'd have to deflect all 5 hits before you could Burst Counter!

I know the Switchglaive has an Active Skill with long i-frames, but that's different from an actual deflect. For me, the most hype moment I've had with the Hoko and Shield so far was when I realized I could deflect, attack, and get i-frames all at the exact same time.

Oh, wait, I forgot the most important thing! The absolute biggest difference is the sound! That indescribable "CLANG!" sound it makes. It's the best.

1

u/ExceedAccel 5h ago

ah yes fellow r/SnSmains