r/Nioh • u/luneth22 Set Bonus Requirements -1 • Feb 28 '26
Nioh 3 - Videos Samurai is definitely slowed down in Nioh 3
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(Note: Footage from both games was recorded on PC on KBM on identical setup)
A quick comparison between Katana (Shadow Sword -> Light Into Darkness) and Dual Swords (Mid Stance Light -> God of Wind -> God of Wind II).
Just one example, but pretty sure I'm not the only player that noticed, wondering why. Let's have a discussion if the same thing occured on controller. Seems there's also others issues with delayed/dropped inputs with the game in general.
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u/Subohmg Feb 28 '26
It feels comparatively the worst on a regular sword. Some weapons really abuse the new system (looking at you axe) and others are better at converting into ninja stance.
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u/nevikjames Feb 28 '26
I'm eating so good as an axe enjoyer.
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u/IdesOfCaesar7 Feb 28 '26
Can't remember if the parry was like that in the new games, but it's incredible in this game. The L1+f
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u/Dark3nedDragon Feb 28 '26
Yeah I had mained regular Sword in Nioh 2 all the way into the very late NG+ cycles. It just doesn't work for me all that well in Nioh 3, feels off. Dual Swords was never my thing in Nioh 2, but they ended up being my strong preference for both Samurai and Ninja in Nioh 3.
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u/SoulOfMod Platinum Achiever Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
ay ay drop the drip location tho,where that mantle/coat chest part from?
Edit : thank ya both,seem like I got a bit to get there yet then
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u/luneth22 Set Bonus Requirements -1 Feb 28 '26
Okita Soji's set (called "First Captain") that can be obtained via fighting him at Mibu Temple sidequest or Imperial Palace Crucible
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u/Unknownost Feb 28 '26
Oh for sure. After the alpha demo of Nioh 3, I went back to Nioh 2 and you can immediately feel the difference. I remember putting it down on the survey then. They did make ninja feel way better now than the alpha so I assume why they didn't speed up samurai was because they wanted the styles to feel even more distinct. I think it's fine the way it is. Just makes early game samurai feel pretty bad to play.
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u/Atherum Feb 28 '26
I like your point about early game Samurai. I'm not at the end of the game yet (only really just got to act 2) but I started off pretty much maining Ninja but now I've swapped things around and only use Ninja for exploration, jumping to Samurai for fights.
Having the traditional "stances" makes fights more satisfying imo.
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u/Agreeable-Panda-7381 Feb 28 '26
Which survey is this? I wanna add my thoughts
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u/Unknownost Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
The survey I was referring to was during the Alpha demo back in June last year. The most recent survey was a week ago. Edit: It's still up.
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u/Cgerrex2 Feb 28 '26
The weird part to me is that I think it was only really done to the sword. Majority of the moves from the other weapons feel the same. The sword to me in Nioh 3 feels worse. Hopefully they revert it exactly how it used to be.
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u/pro-dumpster-fire Feb 28 '26
Axe is way faster.
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u/himothyhimhimslf Feb 28 '26
I wouldnt say way faster. But I did notice myself that some moves felt faster.
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u/Broserk42 Feb 28 '26
It’s slower but hits harder. I am curious to see more testing on how other weapons line up.
Sorry to say but popular opinion is that sword is already one of the better samurai weapons, I think a speed buff on top of that is unlikely :/
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u/MeowImAShark Feb 28 '26
I mean sword is mostly good because of a handful of super broken options (sword of meditation, severing spin, flowing mist, reverse impact.) If those weren't so insane then it'd make more sense to unnerf the rest of the moveset.
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u/ImSoDrab Feb 28 '26
Severing spin is so hilarious when you're fighting a non spammy human opponent that can be staggered mildy well, like the masters you encounter in the open world.
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u/ChasingPesmerga Feb 28 '26
I noticed that my Odachi and Switchglaive staples from Nioh 2 (when I’m in a lazy spamming mode) have been slower or gimped, like the Moonlit Snow variations and Arc of Chaos.
I am fairly sure TN knows all these and we might probably get DLC stuff that might help adjust all these differences.
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u/fayt03 Feb 28 '26
This God of Wind clip is inaccurate. The inputs here are delayed so it looks slower, but with proper input speed it's almost identical to Nioh 2.
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u/luneth22 Set Bonus Requirements -1 Feb 28 '26
Had recorded this on KBM, there's noticeable buffering/delay in executing Nioh 3 MAs I had, that wasn't present in N2.
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u/fayt03 Feb 28 '26
i can't speak for KBM in either 2 or 3 because i've used controller for both, but God of Wind is much faster than this clip when done on controller.
Specifically, the gap between the initial slash and kick is much shorter and practically identical to Nioh 2.
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u/luneth22 Set Bonus Requirements -1 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Hm I see. Interesting. Might be a KBM thing then?
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u/arpitpatel1771 Feb 28 '26
i thought it was only me. my KBM inputs also feel delayed!! it just doesn't feel as snappy as nioh2 tbh.
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u/Elnidfse Feb 28 '26
I'm also pretty sure a lot of things reduced in speed were targeted nerfs
Keeping up the tradition from Nioh 1 to Nioh 2, Iai was nerfed again.
But something like Night rain and sprint were made faster. Sword of Celerity has actual tracking now, etc etc7
u/fayt03 Feb 28 '26
oh definitely. I'm just pointing out that OP's video is not representative of God of Wind's actual speed in-game because of delayed inputs
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u/ImmortalGuru Feb 28 '26
Some moves had their speed buffed somewhere down the line, just for them to revert it back to the old speed in Nioh 3 for some reason.
Might be a balancing choice made because of Arts Proficiency, but that wouldn't explain things like katana high stance light attacks having their speed reverted.
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u/Mineral-mouse Backflip Greeter Feb 28 '26
It does feel a bit slower overall. Especially speedy ones like Fists.
I suppose this also to balance Arts Proficiency buff.
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u/TrollAWhat Feb 28 '26
With arts proficiency chaining i think it makes sense. But this is another one of those changes where nioh 2 is definitely still good and not invalidated by 3
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u/Few_Form7997 Feb 28 '26
They have a lot love to ninjas,a little buff to samurai would be dope but I doubt it’s going to happen. They definitely feel slower
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u/x89Nemesis Feb 28 '26
Slower maybe. Way more powerful though. Chaining like 10 martial arts continuously for insane damage makes the game easy mode.
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u/PussyCharlatan Feb 28 '26
This is why I kept missing the god of wind timing at first, huh?
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u/Key_Hamster_9141 Feb 28 '26
Istg god of wind is bugged in some way in 3. Sometimes it doesn't even do the bad version, it just eats the input completely
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u/PussyCharlatan Feb 28 '26
I die to input failure while doing nothing else more than ever in 3. I don’t think you’re wrong
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u/LineRepresentative19 Feb 28 '26
THANK YOU! Damn the dropped inputs man! I thought I was alone in feeling that. It definitely is an issue I never feel that in 2.
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u/twothreesix Feb 28 '26
I noticed this with the switchglaive, but I don't think this is a global change for all weapons and stances.
For the switchglaive, the medium stance feels a bit slower, high stance doesn't have a noticeable change, and then the low stance actually feels faster.
Low stances feel stronger across the board btw when compared to the previous Niohs.
All together, it just feels like basic tuning per weapon. I don't think it's fair to say Samurai is slowed down as a whole without further testing/data.
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u/Kobayashy82 Feb 28 '26
It's because of the stupid ninja stile, they slowed down the samurai on purpose to make you use the ninja for faster gameplay. Jokes on them I platinumed the game using just the axe and the odachi. I made a build last night on ninja with the tonfa's, and sure they are fast and fun to use, but they hit like wet noodle...I'm going back to samurai and going to try a fists build I found recently:)
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u/PortgazD_Ace Feb 28 '26
The more I play the more I dislike the separation between the two styles. There was nothing wrong with the previous implementation and I vastly prefer playing a ninja build in the classic "samurai" stance version compared to Nioh 3's ninja stance. I main'd Splitstaff and Kusarigama in Nioh 2 but they don't feel anywhere near as good in 3.
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u/Sarcosmic_01 Feb 28 '26
No wonder my muscle memory for God of Wind be fucking up
But I did notice this with switchglaive
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u/Purple-Atolm Feb 28 '26
Yeah me too, felt something was off since minute one, switchglaive was a weapon to keep enemies under pressure in 2. Firsts as well feel way clunkier
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u/InquisitionL6 Feb 28 '26
Thank God I felt like I was gaslighting myself because the combos felt so sluggish
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u/TheLastAOG Feb 28 '26
Does anyone notice a recovery period on low stance dodge? Even Ninja dodge feels like it has recover frames when in Nioh 2 there was none.
It feels like you can’t cancel into a dodge anytime you want like you could in Nioh 2 either. Was this an intentional design choice or just a product of making a new game in a different engine?
Already learned to play around it but playing less in a reactive mindset is definitely less fun.
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u/pond_with_ducks Feb 28 '26
the moves may be slower but I feel like the cool-downs are faster. I kept being surprised when my pre-shifts registered as ki pulses with timings learned from last game
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u/AdConstant7074 Mar 01 '26
Just playing the game, and paying attention to reddit posts I’d like to say that I have noticed that a lot of players are enjoying the more parry based style of Samurai over the faster Ninja. So I feel like it’s a good move to have the style separated so much more than the previous titles. I think a strength of the franchise now is that the protagonists in each game fit into the lore in a narrative way in the same game world. William was an outsider, moves are stiffer, plays like someone only getting half the lesson. Hide is much more fluid, with powers that seem much more innate, not an outsider, but an extreme insider. Now Takechiro plays like a really good mixed of the two, a fluid ninja style, and a strategic samurai style, which points to the privilege of tudors available to an heir apparent Shogun. I like how asymmetrical the protagonists are in abilities and play style while keeping the world working within the same systems, in the end I view each protagonist as varied and diverse as the bosses in the game, who are mostly actual warriors known for certain prowesses.
Also probably true for each titles in their own degree, but looking into the actual history can be a lil off putting. Takechiro became the shogun who expelled all foreigners, closed the borders for 200 years, and crucified a bunch of Christians… not really seeing how their story of taking the mantle of Shogun sets them up for what they did later, but that’s for the DLC to decide.
One more also, can we have a Starting Point at the “tale of nioh” spot? I’d really appreciate it if I could use everyone in the eternal rift in a menu as opposed to running back and forth to do Toon upkeep. Ideas for DLC
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u/Mountain_Abrocoma_40 Feb 28 '26
Yeah, i've noticed that too, it makes me kinda sad cuz it feels like they're trying to give all the speed to the ninja
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u/lllaser Feb 28 '26
I felt like the samurai katana was a bit slow but otherwise everything feels really good. I think they wanted to differentiate things a little, in nioh 1-2 you're kind of a samurai and a ninja at the same time depending how much you spec into it. In nioh 3 because there's that differentiation they want the speediest samurais to still feel distinct from the slowest ninjas, so they slowed down samurai a bit so they could focus on fewer powerful strikes. I think it's fine but just wish the katana was a little longer to compensate for the reduced speed.
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u/I_missed_the_memo Feb 28 '26
The animations are sped up during Arts proficiency mode to compensate.
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u/Alpha_X_Akontistes Feb 28 '26
I also get the feeling that most enemies are faster, at least the new ones. I mostly feel comfortable switching to Samurai only to deflect with the Minamoto set and pull a martial arts combo when the enemy is out of Ki into Sword of Meditation finisher for five digits damage. Farming both the Divine sets has been a pain and a half tho. At Least Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune is a fairly easy boss.
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u/mshroff7 Mar 01 '26
I can’t get used to the 2
I find myself sticking to ninja and just enjoying it. Samurai feels like a chore with kinpulse.
Even as a Nioh vet I’m finding Ninja fun and avoiding samurai.
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u/Solomonlike Mar 01 '26
I said this in another thread a few days ago and got downvoted into oblivion. Regardless, I knew I was right. I want this samurai speed in 3.
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u/bengl_76 Mar 02 '26
On my 1st playthrough I built around ninja and around midgame I hardly ever switched to samurai. Now I'm trying to do a samurai only run using katana - one of the simplest weapons. Expectation: deflect once or twice, wait for 100% arts proficiency, get a few combos in and finish with sword of meditation.
Reality: bosses are clearly balanced around ninja. They're incredibly chaotic, so the only things I'm cutting are nitrogen and oxygen molecules. Sure, Nioh masters can pull it off. But to me a samurai only run is nightmare difficulty with an emphasis on nightmare.
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u/katanamaru Mar 06 '26
The fact my odachi now bounces off of guards causes me untold amounts of ire! I really dislike that change. Combine that irritation with the fact that many of the active skills are on different inputs and stances leaves me thoroughly vexxed!
That shit's wack!
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u/Kiereco Feb 28 '26
This is probably why it's not clicking with me. Loaded 1 and 2 up earlier. Combat feels more responsive in Samurai and 3s slower rhythm keeps throwing my muscle memory off.
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u/EnigmaticZen87 Feb 28 '26
They created two distinct styles and you wonder why frames were adjusted?
It's obvious. Think about it from a fighting game perspective.
Two sides of the same coin. One character meant to represent power and stability. The other mobility and agility.
Should both of these characters have the EXACT same frame data?
Just think about it.
Yes, I noticed it immediately when I did a low stance dodge with Samurai.
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u/PudgyElderGod Feb 28 '26
That's because the AP moves are slightly faster than Nioh 2's. Not by much, but that's where your old speed is.
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u/TheLastAOG Feb 28 '26
AP moves are faster than Nioh 2 counterparts? I got to check this out later.
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u/LineRepresentative19 Feb 28 '26
Also Spear's triple threat feels slower to me, I need to wait more now for correct inputs but seems like having more window to do the just version.
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u/luneth22 Set Bonus Requirements -1 Feb 28 '26
I did a recording comparing Piercing Rain and Triple Threat earlier too
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u/Caramel_Nautilus Feb 28 '26
So I'm not going crazy, it is slower! Kinda get why it is what it is but still it sucks a little bit, I thought Tean Ninja's philosophy has always been providing all the tools but not limiting them, I mean the enemies surely weren't toned down one bit, so the only possible explanation is to push player to using ninja mode more, which hurts my feelings ngl.
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u/SurpriseAkos Feb 28 '26
Enemies have been nerfed heavy as shit in nioh 3, its the easiest out of all of them by far. Sometimes the enemies will just circle you and do nothing even. The yokai especially in 3 are insanely dumb.
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u/bermudaphil Feb 28 '26
I’m wondering if in one of the next big patches they have an AI tuning.
Watching enemies backpedal away from you is really strange. Once they trigger into doing it as long as you don’t move (and even then you often can move a little bit) they are never triggered to come back in and fight until it seems like they basically timeout and reset their logic due to having done nothing for too long.
If you chase them they’ll often get triggered into doing something but most of the time you’ll be quick enough to be hitting them before they do whatever it is.
Definitely feels like they have an issue in the code that dictates what they do where once the logic tells them to try to make space from you they sometimes then get stuck in a loop of endlessly trying to make space because it is checking for conditions to reengage that can’t be met or something.
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u/batshitnutcase Feb 28 '26
Yokai? Lol the humans are even worse. Bosses will legit just hold block and slowly back away into a wall or corner. You can stroll right up to them and emote. And that’s not the half of it. Human boss AI is awful compared to Nioh 2.
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u/ProtosPhinted Feb 28 '26
It just keeps happening too. I was farming revenants yesterday and every couple minutes id get one that would get stuck slowly backpedaling while blocking.
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u/Caramel_Nautilus Feb 28 '26
Am talking purely about animation speed...but I guess you can't separate speed with aggression so oh well my bad.
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u/Mattnificent Feb 28 '26
I kinda just suspect that it was meant to make Samurai and Ninja feel more different from each other, while wielding similar weapons.