You’ll face Tokugawa Yoshinobu near the very end of Nioh 3. By this point in the game, the enemies should be as challenging as possible, but you’ve been playing this game for quite some time now. So it’s interesting to see who will prevail – a formidable opponent or your own experience as a player. Let’s take a look at this battle between Tokugawa Yoshinobu and my ninja, who has already endured many difficult trials.

Nioh 3 Tokugawa Yoshinobu boss guide – how to beat Tokugawa Yoshinobu

So, first off, I should mention that giant fish don’t scare me. On the way to the boss, I’ve seen so much already that this boss sparks curiosity, but definitely not fear. This is my first attempt to defeat the boss, so I’m paying close attention to the attacks the boss uses. That’s why I won’t start this video with a description of my build.

In short, my stat distribution leans toward magic and skills. As in most of my fights against tough bosses, I don’t plan on getting too close to the boss. All my attacks are carried out from a distance. I use Ninja Tools and magic. That’s enough to defeat this opponent quickly and easily.

Nioh 3 best Ninja Tools build – lightning weakness Tokugawa Yoshinobu

From the very first seconds of the battle, it becomes clear that Tokugawa Yoshinobu is vulnerable to electric attacks. This is great news. My Ninja Tools consist of a fire shuriken, Thundering Calamity, and a standard kunai. The Thundering Calamity ability deals massive damage to the enemy, which makes me happy. So at the start of the battle, I switch to the magic tab, where I have electric shots, Magatsu Warrior, and the Demon of Obsession ability. Wind attacks aren’t as effective, but I activate them periodically to deal additional damage.

This is the first time in the entire game that I’ve used my ultimate ability and failed to deal any damage to the enemy. Maybe I didn’t pick the best moment to use my ultimate ability. But as soon as I got really close to the boss, I immediately took a massive hit that completely wiped out my ultimate ability bar. So I realized once again that this boss needs to be defeated exclusively from a distance, where it’s always safe and comfortable.

Nioh 3 ranged strategy boss – how to beat boss from distance

Also, while keeping my distance, I first use up all my Ninja Tools, and then switch to magic abilities. If a perfect dodge recharges my Ninja Tools, I use them immediately. You never know when a perfect dodge will work, so always keep the option to replenish your Ninja Tools. In this battle, there’s absolutely no need to get close to the boss. At this range, he frequently launches powerful attacks that are hard to dodge. At long range, you’re almost always safe. Plus, your attacks deal a lot of damage, which is good news.

Every time Thundering Calamity recharged, I had to move to medium range for the shot to hit the target. But it’s worth it. Some hits with this skill deal up to 3,000 damage to the enemy. That’s a great stat. In this battle, I didn’t notice a significant difference between Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s dark and light phases. The key to this is staying at long range, where most of the enemy’s attacks can’t reach you.

And those minor lunges when the boss charges at you are easy to predict and dodge in time. I’m not even considering the moments when Tokugawa Yoshinobu fires long-range shots. They’re very slow, and you don’t even need to dodge them – you can just slowly step aside, and those shots won’t hit you.

Once I’ve exhausted all the magic from the first tab, I switch to the second tab. Here, I start by using the Demon of Envy ability, and while the debuff is active on the enemy, I manage to set the boss ablaze with a repeated fire attack. Now, for a while, my opponent will take additional fire damage, which speeds up the entire battle. In fact, I can already see that the boss has very little health left, and I still have plenty of magic shots.

Of course, wind and water don’t deal as much damage as electricity, but I don’t see the point in rushing and putting myself in danger in close combat if this battle can be brought to a conclusion with magic shots. Which is exactly what I’m trying to do, periodically dodging Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s attacks.