The Blacksmith is one of Nioh’s most in-depth and rewarding features but it can be a little overwhelming at first. Check out this in-depth Nioh Blacksmith Guide for information on how to use the Soul Match and Reforge features to their maximum effect.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Buy & Sell
The Blacksmith in Nioh is a place you’ll want to visit on a very regular basis, after every mission. You can use the Buy and Sell function to purchase ammo, making sure to keep an eye on the Special Finds tab as this can often sell rare and valuable ingredients or even set pieces for some of the games incredibly strong armor sets.You can also sell your items here. Inventory management is one of Nioh’s lesser popular elements as the system is very convoluted and the naming system doesn’t do it any favors. You may be tempted to sell items here but that’s not the best use of your spare gear. As well as offering your excess gear to the Shrine for experience points, you can also Disassemble gear. If you want to make Gold fast in Nioh you don’t want to sell gear directly. Instead Disassemble it and sell the materials. They are worth much more than the individual item itself.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Forge
The Forge is one of the few elements of Nioh’s Blacksmith that’s easier to understand. You can use the Forge to craft various weapons, pieces of armor and tools. Initially your selection is limited but later when you discover items and other valuables, such as Smithing Text, the choices grow. Forging is one of the best ways to ensure your character remains strong, using gear close to the current level requirements for the Sub Missions and such you’re completing.As an example. At level 20 you complete a Sub Mission to unlock the Raikiri, a sword that includes the Lightning element in its attacks. Incredibly potent against enemies weak to that element. After a few levels that sword becomes weak and even with the elemental damage, you’ll find yourself struggling to kill tougher enemies. This is where the Forge comes in.
The items you Forge grow in level with you. So that level 20 Raikiri becomes a totally different items. At level 70 you can craft a Raikiri in the Blacksmith that can range from level 64-73 with 407-439 damage, along with the Lightning elemental damage and other potential random Special Effects.
In short, find an item you like that works for you and keep checking the Forge for potential upgrades as you progress. This becomes even more powerful when used with the Soul Match feature.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Soul Match Guide
The Soul Match element of Nioh’s Blacksmith is one of the more confusing elements. Soul Match is a method with which you can use to strengthen your strongest items to include rare and powerful bonuses. Check some of your weapons and armor and some of them will include a Special Effect with a small icon, two blocks and an arrow. This represents a Special Effect that can be Soul Matched to another weapon. Check the screenshots below for an example:
As you can see from the screenshot above I have put my Rai Kokutsugu Dual Tachi as the base. This is the weapon you want to improve. At the moment it has a “Break” skill that I don’t particularly need, I tend to use Low Stance which has minimal break anyway. Note: You can press the help (options) button and then highlight a skill to discover its benefits.
An important factor here is that my Familiarity with the Rai Koku is at maximum – this is important as a skill will not be transferred unless you have maxed the Familiarity.
Much earlier I discovered another sword, the Atagi Sadamune. This particular version of the weapon has the Proficiency Bonus on it. By using this as the material I can then replace the Break on my original weapon with the new perk from this one.
Weapons and armor work the same. Find traits that compliment your personal style of play and go from there.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Refashion
The Refashion feature in Nioh is one of my favorite elements of the game. It allows you to change the appearance of any weapon or item to something else. Personally, I have the Iga Jonin set as the main appearance for all my armor because, well, ninja. It costs a little bit of Gold but it’s worth it. Nobody wants to look bad while kicking ass right?Best of all, any items you discover will be automatically placed in the Refashion menu. You don’t have to own them, store them or even have them on your person. So find yourself a matching set of gear that looks great and you can wear it as much as you want, all the while benefiting from the stats of the highest level gear you can find.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Hair
One of Nioh’s less inspired features. Once you have unlocked the Hair option you can use this option to change William’s hair and beard. There’s not many options. Thanks to Brandon in the comments I’ve learned you can actually hide your helmet, whoop!Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Reforge Guide
Reforging is another fantastic tool to fine tune your favorite weapons and armor. Whenever you find, purchase or make a weapon (even set pieces) they all have a random set of Special Effects they can include. Some are very specific to a certain style of play while others are more rewarding, such as offering additional gold or damage. For example, if you’re not bothered about Gold having an item that improves Gold drop rate is useless.You can select a trait (some traits cannot be reforged) and it will randomly add another trait in its place. It does cost some Gold and Spirit Iron Fragments but the cost is worth it. Check the screenshots below for an example:
My Osafune Kanemitsu has a Parry trait on it that I don’t particularly want. So using the Reforge option I select the trait and hit Reforge.
I Reforge it and now have a permanent Skill Break trait instead.
Nioh Blacksmith Guide – Disassemble
The Disassemble element is easy to get to grips with. You break down items into materials that you can use to create or improve other weapons and armor. The rarer the item, the better the materials received when Disassembled.
