Alongside regular missions and the dreaded Twilight missions Nioh plays host to another rewarding mission type, Sub Missions. This Nioh Sub Mission Guide tells you everything you need to know to unlock new Sub Missions as well as providing information on the rewards and items you get for completing them.
Sub Missions become available after you complete the games first mission, Isle of Demons. Once this is completed you unlock your first Sub Mission, Death to Bandits. Typically you unlock new Sub Missions through completing the main story missions, although some are unlocked through different means. Below is a list of the Sub Missions we’ve discovered so far as well as information pertaining to rewards, how you unlock the Sub Mission and any tips should they be difficult to complete.
It’s also important to note that most Sub Missions enhance rewards once completed. For example: The Finder’s, Keepers Sub Mission provides Smith Text: The Raging Bull’s Armor on initial completion but after that it provides the full Raging Bull set.
Death to Bandits is unlocked after you complete the main story mission, Isle of Demons. You head back into the same map and must work your way back to the beginning where the Bandit Leader sits within the house near the first Shrine. You get Quality Leather Cord, Quality Ingot and Spirit Iron Fragments.
Wreathed In Flame is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission, Deep in the Shadows. When you spawn in to the burning village you need to traverse across the rooftops and look for a new type of enemy, rolling fire demons. Take them out to complete the mission. You get a Hyottoko Mask, Kayaku-Dama, Spirit Iron Chunk and Mikazuki Kusarigama.
Finders, Keepers is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission, Deep in the Shadows. You need to hunt a demon for a drop. When you load into the area look for the turtle like enemy with the red shell. Kill him to complete the mission. He does flee a lot so it may be a good idea to clear the area first. You get the gesture Prostrate, Ikkoku Nagayoshi Spear (Earth), Smith Text: The Raging Bull’s Armor and The Raging Bull: Hizayoroi. You also unlock Side Mission Kanbei and the Overlord
Kanbei And The Overlord is unlocked after you complete the Finders, Keepers Sub Mission. You need to head into the mission and move towards the start, to where the locked Boss Room is. Nearby enemies will spawn, continue to take them out until you get the key. You unlock Guardian Spirit Mizuchi, Heshikiri Hasebe, Smithing Text: Heshikiri Hasebe and Smithing Text: Legendary Strategist’s Garb: Kinu (both of which are parts of the Legendary Strategist’s Garb Armor set)
A Request From Ginchiyo is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission The Spirit Stone Slumbers. When you enter the mission follow the pathway up to the right and you’ll notice a long set of stairs with a boulder resting at the top. The item you need is located within a chest inside the room at the top of the stairs. Note: It is possible for the chest to spawn in different locations so if it’s not there, look for another chest. You get Smithing Text: Raikiri, Summoner’s Candle and High Quality Wood.
Invitational From The Warrior Of The West is unlocked after you complete Sub Mission A Request From Gincho. You get Guardian Spirit Paired Raiken, Young Samurai’s Locks and Spirit Iron Chunks.
The Guardian Of The Underworld is available as soon as you reach the next region of Chugoku. It’s a simple mission, fighting off waves of enemies. There’s only a few waves, with the final including a big and small cyclops and some magic users. Not that difficult if you come prepared for a fight. You get a Smithing Text: Yokai Water Pot, Young Onmyo Mage’s Locks, Spirit Iron Fragment, Wind Amulet
The Three Angry God’s Sub Mission is unlocked once you complete The Silver Mine Writhes Main Mission. You get the two Guardian Spirits you didn’t choose at the start of the game, Young Ninja’s Locks and Highest Quality Iron Kozane.
The Magatama Of Fire is unlocked after completing The Silver Mine Writhes Main Mission. You need to head to the second area in the poisonous mines, the other side of the shortcut door (that is now closed again). Check the lower level in the corner for an enemy that appears. You get High Quality Tamahagane, Quality Ingot and Quality Wood.
The Bridge of Bone Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission, The Ocean Roars Again. The mission is rated a 4 difficulty but it’s not that challenging. It’s a series of bridges with increasingly difficult fights on each bridge. You get the Stifle a Laugh gesture, Smithing Text: Sticky Pot, Young Samurai’s Locks and Ambush Unit Armor Suneate.
The Heir to the Nioh Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission, The Ocean Roars Again. You need to run through to the end boss room and kill a wave of enemies before a mini-boss, it basically has the same moveset as the boss you fought in the cave. It’s a tough fight, fire helps to deal with the ooze like creatures.
You get Guardian Spirit Hi-nezumi, Furiwakegami Hiromitsu, Smithing Text: Furiwakegami Hiromitsu and Master Samurai’s Locks.
The Conspirators Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete The Bridge of Bone Sub Mission. Once you head inside the ship you need to exit on the left side and run through to a cave. Inside is a door, there’s a couple of ninjas and a mini-boss inside. Take him down to complete the mission. You get Guardian Spirit Aya-komori, Atagi Sadamune, Smithing Text: Atagi Sadamune and Smithing Text: Kingo’s Armor.
The Ogress Sub Mission is available as soon as you enter the Kinki Region. Simple Sub Mission. Head in, get to boss, take her out. Watch for the spawning ghouls and you’ll be fine. You get Master Ninja Locks, Highest Quality Wood and High Quality Lacquer.
The Battle Of Ohashi Bridge Sub Mission is available as soon as you enter the Kinki Region. This is another series of bridges but it’s just one main battle. The boss is weak to poison attacks and will summon two poison ghouls half way through the fight. You get Nioh Stance (Resolute) gesture, Shura’s War Axe (Wind), Book of Reincarnation and Spirit Iron Chunk.
You unlock The Disappearing Ranjatai Sub Mission after you complete Main Mission the Spider Nest Castle. This is an item finding mission. You need to keep searching treasure chests until you find one with the item, it’s likely to be in a chest with a Mimic. You get Sandalwood Splinter, Fudo Kuniyuki & Yagen Toshiro (Fire) and Master Onmyo Mage’s Locks.
The Demon Hunting Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete Main Mission, Falling Snow. There’s a few demons to clear out, including two of the fire wheels, before the final boss that’s actually the boss from the first mission. You get Master Samurai’s Locks, Red Demon Armor: Kabuto, Red Demon Armour: Kote and Spirit Iron Fragments.
The Malefactors Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete Main Mission, Falling Snow. It’s a simple mission. Head in, take out a couple of Yokai and you’re good to go. You get Yogarasu Kusarigama (Water), Smithing Text: Fudo Kuniyuki & Yagen Toshiro and Smithing Text: Summoner’s Candle.
The Red Oni Of The Li Sub Mission is unlocked after completing the Demon Hunting Sub Mission. This is a very tough 1v1 battle against a guy wielding a spear with fire. You get Guardian Spirit Enko, Akaoni-no-Sankaku Spear (Fire), Fire Omamori Charm and Highest Quality Iron Kozane. The armor set you get from him is one of the best armor sets in the game early on.
Greater Demon Hunting is unlocked after you complete Main Mission, The Demon of Mount Hiei. This is a really difficult fight at level 70. You face a variation of the first boss but he hits like a truck. Would highly advise medium+ armor, light armor will likely get you one-hit a lot. There’s an NPC that joins mid-way through the fight, be sure to keep him up to help you finish it off. You get Doji-kiri Yasutsuna (Wind), Kaido Armor: Do and Daion-jin’s Sake.
The Fallen Onmyo Mages is unlocked after you complete Main Mission, The Demon of Mount Hiei. Another simple one, working your way through killing the enemies. Be careful when killing the mages, certain ones will spawn much larger Yokai. You get Smithing Text: Sacred Ash, Young Onmyo Mage’s Locks and Himorogi Branch.
The Missing Catalogue is unlocked after you complete Main Mission, The Demon of Mount Hiei. It’s a simple mission, work through and kill the boss. He’s down the second hole in the basement, one of the cyclops guys. You get Smithing Text: Saika Clan Armor, Shinobi Box and Spirit Iron Chunk.
The Three Souls Sub Mission is unlocked as soon as you arrive in the Tokai Region. Simple Sub Mission, has three of the child-like cyclops at the end so be sure to save some big damage to dispose of them before they transform. You get Woman’s Face Visor and Small Soulstone.
Of Withered Grass And Yokai is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission The Iga Escape. This is a quick mission, few groups of enemies followed by two large Yokai with the tongues at the end. The Sloth spell works great here. You get a Tengu Visor, Young Ninja’s Locks and Spirit Iron Fragment.
A Fiercer Flame is unlocked after you complete the Main Mission The Iga Escape. This one is simple. Head through the house back towards the start and take down the Yokai in the courtyard at the beginning. You get Highest Quality Ingot and Fire Omamori Charm.
You unlock The Trail Of The Master after completing Main Mission Memories of Death-Lilies. This one can be a bit of a pain. You need to find 3 wooden tiles that you can use to open the door on the bottom level. Clear every enemy and loot every box, the locations aren’t fixed. Watch out at the Hot Springs as they tend to spawn groups.
You get Highest Quality Tamahagane, Whetstone and Hyottoko Mask.
You unlock The Seven Good Tidings after completing Main Mission Memories of Death-Lilies. This is a very easy Sub Mission. You just have to track down several Kodama, make sure to keep an eye on your radar for the purple dots. You get Kodama Dance gesture, Kodama Bowl, Inhabited Kodama Bowl and High Quality Wood.
The Okehazama Incident Sub Mission is unlocked after completing the Main Mission in Tokai Region that’s just a series of cut-scenes. This is another series of mini-battles culminating in fight powerful rev type enemies. You get the Shoo gesture, Master Samurai’s Locks, Smithing Text: Yokai Incense and Earth Omamori Charm.
The Giant Frog Brawl is unlocked after you complete The Defiled Castle Main Mission. This is a single fight against the boss frog you fought earlier. It’s a pretty simple battle. You get Master Ninja’s Lock, Yokai Water Pot and Highest Quality Leather Kozane.
The Rising Shadows is unlocked after you complete The Defiled Castle Main Mission. Another easy one. Head back through the castle, all the way to the first Shrine point from the Main Mission and clear out the enemies. Smithing Text: Shinobi Box, Highest Quality Lacquer and O-kanehira & Uguisu-maru (Lightning).
The Champion Of The East Sub Mission is unlocked after you complete The Rising Shadows Sub Mission. This is a 1v1 boss battle mission against Honda Tadakatsu, it can be a difficult fight. Farming some Dung can help if his healing causes problems. You can also use Yokai Pots to keep his stamina down and just grapple to kill him quickly. You get Guardian Spirit Shinka, Tombo-Kiri (Wind) and Prayer Beads.
The Unrepentant Thief Sub Mission is unlocked as soon as you reach the Sekigahara Region. It’s an easy mission. You need to run all the way back through the level, past the boats, and back to where the first Shrine is. You’ll find a Kappa there, take it out. You get the Roar Gesture, Braided Straw Kabuto, Smithing Text: Sacred Bush and Water Amulet.
The Silent Crow is unlocked after completing Main Mission Immortal Flame. It’s inside the large dojo again, find the wooden tiles and open the door on the bottom floor to take down the boss. It’s the vampire type enemy from earlier in the game. You get a Bellowing Tenryu and Highest Quality Wood.
Desperate Retreat is unlocked after completing Sekigahara Main Mission. Very simple mission, work through killing the enemies. Not even a proper boss in this one.You get Gesture Warriors Oath, Sohaya Tsurugi (Earth), Smithing Text: Sohaya Tsurugi and Smithing Text: Greater Good Armor.
Kurodas Determination is unlocked after completing Sekigahara Main Mission. You get Gesture Play Dead, Ichi-no-Tani Kabuto, Smithing Text: Ikkoku Nagayoshi Spear, Highest Quality Tamahagane.
The Demons Daughter is unlocked after you complete Main Mission The Source of Evil. You have to rescue the prisoner, the girl was in the boss room for me. You have to kill the sentry outside to get the key and enter the door. You get Master Samurai’s Locks. Scorpionfish Kabuto, Highest Quality Ingot and Highest Quality Lacquer.
The Watcher In The Darkness is unlocked after you complete Main Mission The Source of Evil. You get Guardian Spirit Yatagarasu, Ravenwing Rifle, Spirit Iron Chunk.
The Mountain Of Remorse is unlocked after completing the Main Mission A Defiled Holy Mountain. This is a relatively simple mission. You can skip every enemy and just run straight through to the boss room at the end. The two horned Yokai that spawn do sometimes explode so if they drop to their knees with any Ki left, back away. The waves are timed so you need to clear enemies as quickly as possible. You get Vengeful Spirit Visor, Smithing Text: Daion-jins Sake and Highest Quality Lacquer.
The Inheritance is unlocked after completing Main Mission The Samurai from Sawayama. This is a series of timed spawns followed by a single enemy battle. It’s not that difficult, be prepared for a bird enemy though. You get Guardian Spirit Genbu, Bellfower Kabuto, Fame Samurai’s Locks and Smithing Text: Shingiku Medicine.
The Ghosts Of Sawayama is unlocked after completing Main Mission The Samurai from Sawayama. You have to go in and break a bunch of crystals before fighting the mini-boss from an earlier level, the flying enemy with the double swords. You get Hinomotogo (Fire), Summoner’s Candle and Spirit Iron Fragment.
The Two Kings: Nioh is unlocked after you complete The Demon King Revealed Main Mission. You have to battle Lord Muneshige and Lord Tadakatsu at the same time. It’s a very difficult fight. I would suggest using a Sloth Talisman on the quicker one and then drown the bigger one in Yokai Pots to bring his stamina down for a grapple. You get Shiranui (Fire) and Prayer Beads.
The Kodama make a return in the DLC for Nioh, Dragon Of The North. There are 25 in total and some are easy to find while others can be very difficult to spot. Check out this guide to find them all in the Tohoku Region.
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There's a rather strange side quest in Nioh that sees a fellow behind a door asking you to gather dung. This Nioh Dung Ball Guide will tell you how much dung you need to do get to complete the quest and get the trophy while also providing information on how to farm the dung quickly and what you get in return.
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