Ibaraki Doji is a mandatory boss you’ll face in Chapter 2 of the Heian region in Nioh 3. You’ll encounter this boss a second time later on. This first encounter is easier than the second fight, so it’s the perfect time to study the boss, its movements, and its attacks.

How to Beat Ibaraki Doji – Boss Strategy Guide

Overall, the damage the enemy deals isn’t that high, and you have room to make mistakes during the fight. Ibaraki Doji attacks frequently, and her attacks are quite varied. They’re powerful for a boss, and you can’t escape them by staying at a distance. The combat tactic I use in this fight works well against most enemies in the game, especially when the boss poses a challenge. The key is to allocate all your skill points with a focus on Skill and Magic.

During the fight, I try to stay as far away from the boss as possible to avoid getting hit by the attacks she unleashes close to her. From a distance, I make the most of all my Ninja Tools. In this fight, I use the Fire Shuriken, the standard Kunai, and the Shuriken. These items recharge very quickly when you perform a perfect dodge. They also deal a lot of damage, and you can throw all of them while moving, which is especially important.

Ibaraki Doji Boss Fight – Attacks and How to Dodge

In the battle against Ibaraki Doji, you’ll be dodging a lot, since the boss attacks frequently and in a variety of ways. Pay attention: when the boss uses ranged attacks, you need to learn how to dodge them. The first attack, where the boss fires slanted beams, is easy to spot. They move fast, so you need to react quickly and dodge to the side. The second attack isn’t as obvious.

The boss summons energy orbs that appear right where you’re standing. You need to instantly dodge as far to the side as possible, because in a moment, these orbs will start dealing damage. The other attacks are easier to understand. They target the area around the boss. So, if you stand too close, you might get hit. If you always stay far away, you’ll easily dodge most attacks just by positioning yourself right. In this fight, I don’t need weapons at all, so I don’t invest any skills in weapon attacks. Instead, it’s very important to equip all seven pieces of the Head of the Iga Ninja set.

Together, they provide a nice bonus to the damage of your Ninja Tools and also speed up their cooldown. This set also activates a very useful ability to use a Ninja Tool without reducing your stock. That means you can throw a kunai or shuriken, and your stock won’t decrease. For this build and the tactics I’m showing you, this is the most useful thing you can add to your arsenal.

Best Build for Ibaraki Doji – Ninja Tools and Magic Strategy

On those rare occasions when you run out of Ninja Tools, you should use magic. But remember that the boss is immune to electric attacks, since that’s her element. So it’s best to prepare spells of other elements for the fight. These could be fire, water, or wind. By the time I face the boss, my powerful Demon of Pride and Demon of Envy abilities are already active, so I use them first. Then, whenever possible, I cast fire and water spells.

As soon as my Ninja Tools recharge, I use them immediately. In this battle, you don’t need an ultimate ability, since the boss deals a lot of damage in close combat and this ability will quickly disappear without dealing significant damage to the enemy. Any support summons will also be useful. I usually use Enenra and Bloodedge Demon, as they deal a lot of damage and can set the boss on fire, causing him to take additional damage.