Skeleton Warrior

Skeleton Warrior

Enemy Type	Yokai
Weakness	OFF
Resistances	Poison
Immune	??
Special Drop	??

Skeleton Warrior is an Enemy in Nioh.

Enemy Description

"Yokai taking form of armored skeletons. Warriors who are unprepared for their death when it comes, or who take their own lives, return as these angry spirits to roam the battlefield and assault the living indiscriminately."

"Being half-decayed skeletons, Skeleton Warrior lack stamina, but they feel no pain and will not stop fighting until they are completely destroyed. They often attack in groups armed with swords and spears, so care must be taken not to become surrounded by them."

Combat Information

Skeleton Warriors are usually treated much like human enemies, as they bear similar size and threat. They have a very limited moveset, however, making them poor at one on one battles and even worse at chasing the player. Their attacks seem to consist entirely of either single strikes or two-swing combos. Learn their attack patterns and adjust to dodge them.
Skeleton Warriors frequently attack in groups. Take advantage of their slow chasing speed to separate a crowd or pick at its edges.
These warriors have a major weakness to the tripping attack available to Kusari-gama, which flattens them extremely reliably and opens them up to a final strike.
Despite consisting entirely of bone, Skeleton Warriors are quite vulnerable to headshots. If you see one from a distance feel free to hit it with an arrow or bullet, especially if it will reduce a battle from three or more combatants to two.
Be aware of Skeleton Warriors armed with bows. Much like human enemies they are capable of launching arrows at staggered, unpredictable intervals, and are frequently accompanied by Yoki or other close-combatants. Prioritize despatching the archer, or kill it with your own ranged weapons before engaging its allies.
Some Skeleton Warriors are much taller than the others and armed with axes. These are more aggressive fighters, with more health and much more offense. Be careful of your surroundings with these enemies, as you will need space to dodge its strikes and the flow of combat may bring other enemies into the battle.
Blocking is fairly effective against regular Skeleton Warriors. Be wary of its allies, as they often accompany other threats. Blocking is effective against Skeleton Archers, but they can follow a blocked arrow quickly with another one, so be wary of dropping your guard after just a single shot. Do not attempt to block the large Skeleton Warriors wielding axes, as they will quickly break through your guard with powerful blows or combos. Instead, use horizontal dashes to avoid its overhand attacks or start the fight with an arrow or bullet to knock it down.
Skeleton Warriors have no area attacks.
Ninjutsu can be helpful against Skeleton Warriors. An individual skeleton has only limited health, so a power pill can allow a player to quickly kill one combatant out of a group. Poison is ineffective, but fire shurikens or kayaku-dama can deal damage quickly and reliably.
Skeleton Warriors will lose stamina fast from being attacked, and are prone to collapse after consecutive hits on them.
The Axe skill called Rumbling Earth (and his upgraded version) can totally deplete skeletons's ki, in order to permit you to critical hit them while on the ground.

Attacks ( Large skeleton warrior )

Charge ( axe roar skill ) : charges forward, damage is lower than other attacks, side-stepping recommended
Vertical downwards slash : slow, easy to side-step and punish, but large damage and ki damage. Often used if you stay in front of it. I recommend baiting the attack by getting in front of the skeleton, side-step, punish, and ready to dodge the axe sweep.
Axe sweep : swings the axe in a wide arch, range and speed are low, so step back to dodge, and then you can step back in. If you stay close, but not in front, this triggers often, but sometimes triggers when staying in front. If you block this while in front of the enemy, the following combo will generally hurt or kill you
Axe sweep -> upwards slash : mostly frontal, but has some lateral range. The skeleton will combo into this if you step more or less in front of it after dodging the sweep, or stay near, or for the sake of it. It also hits behind the skeleton
Axe sweep -> upwards slash -> downwards slash : Same as the basic downwards slash, baiting it is a decent idea. Also, it has terrible tracking, the skeleton will sometimes do it when you are at its side, and it will not hit you.
Run and vertical downwards slash.

Notes & Trivia

骸武者（むくろむしゃ）: Mukuro Musha - "Skeleton Warrior."