Rakuyo's Sword Build |
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Rakuyo's Sword Build
A basic sword build for enthusiasts which offers tips and focuses on speed.
Description
Now I must warn the reader that I myself am not a huge fan of the sword moveset, but I have compiled a list of interesting skills that will guide you past the worst stinkers and provide you with some useful information. In Nioh the sword is a jack of all trades weapon with no particular specilization, which is both its strength and its weakness. One of the first moves you want to get is Sword Ki, which is a powerful tool for breaking guard and inflicting Ki damage. It summons an energy wave that hits all enemies around you, but its range is limited. Acquiring Sword Ki opens the path to Relentless. This allows you to spend Samurai Skill Points on extra Ki if you want it. Another move you want to get right away is Swallow's Wing. Swallow's Wing is a slash and backstep that can be used to vary and lengthen any quick attack combo of any stance. If you want to, you can acquire Morning Moon. This combo ender only functions in High Stance, but greatly improves its potential damage. Of course you will have to have to trade out Swallow's Wing in High Stance for Morning Moon, which means you'll lose that fast combo ender in High Stance. At that point you should spend Samurai Skill Points to acquire things like Ki Pulse: Heaven, Ki Pulse: Heaven, Ki Pulse: Earth, Living Water: Heaven, Living Water: Man, Living Water: Earth and Grapple. These skills will activate on all weapon trees, and are required to acquire new skills. Living Water is quite useful, and Grapple is required to properly exploit Paralysis. You can also unlock Indomitable Spirit, which is helpful for recovering Ki when your health is low, but you'll have to get past Kick to get it. Make sure you specify that you don't want Kick to overwrite Swallow's Wing, unless you absolutely want to try Kick. The next skills you may want are: Sword of Discernment (novice), Swift Step (Adept) and Flowing Shadow (Veteran). Sword of Discernment is a square based alternative to Sword Ki, which is not strictly speaking required. Swift Step is a very handy trick for getting behind large enemies. Flowing Shadow is a skill I absolutely recommend you get. You have to switch out Sword Ki for it, but you acquire a really damaging and flexible skill. Flowing Shadow is ideally used right after an enemy attack, and you can easily stunlock light enemies using just this skill. The Mystic Art of my preference is Sword of Execution.
The main stance for this build is Mid Stance. The strong attack stabbing combo is really handy for exploiting openings and just generally outranging enemies. The quick attack combo allows you to do good damage, while still watching out for extra enemies by performing wide horizontal swings. If you've got Morning Moon then you've got a properly damaging High Stance. Switch to Low Stance when dealing with really fast enemies like Oni-bi's or Amrita Foxes. The Low Stance quick attack combo is really fast and good for inflicting Status Effects, but its range is really short. The Low Stance strong attack combo inflicts a lot of damage, and can function as an alternative for the Mid Stance quick attack combo. If you're dealing with Yokis or Namahages, the High Stance quick attack combo is the best way to knock their horns off.
Particularly interesting swords to look out for are: Raikiri (can be acquired early, deals Lightning damage and scales with Spirit), Kusanagi Tsurugi (Scales with Spirit and cancels out status ailments through Purification), Atagi Sadamune (adds Crossed Sickles Set Bonuses, deals Water damage). Armor sets that offer Sword specific bonuses are: Yagyu's Garb (improved damage & defence, Ki recovery by parrying) and The Greater Good Set (improved damage & defence, damage reduction and free Elixirs). The Sohaya Tsurugi is a high quality sword that belongs to the Tranquil Foundations Set, and it inherently deals Earth damage. It counts as a Tachi. Nami-oyogi Kanemitsu is a high quality sword with inherent Water damage and it's part of the Warrior of the West Set. Possibly the best sword is the Dragon Sword, which combines with the full Dragon Ninja Set for greatly increased damage.
Swords come in two types: Tachis and Katanas, which slightly changes their scaling properties. Its either B+ Heart, C+ Skill, D+ Strength or B+ Heart, C Skill, C Strength.
For more information on scaling and speccing see Weapon Scaling Tables.
Sword Skills In The Build
- Sword Ki
- Swallow's Wing
- Morning Moon
- Sword of Discernment
- Swift Step
- Flowing Shadow
- Relentless (passive)
- Indomitable Spirit (passive)
- Iai Quickdraw (optional)
- Tempest (optional)
- Backwave (optional)
- Quadrisect (optional)
Sword Skills I Don't Like
Anonymous
Sword of Meditation actually has a lot of use on stealth builds. It's the only move in the game that isn't interrupted by fog yokai. With a little practice you can OHKO them consistently. (Credit goes to /u/GodofProphets on reddit.)
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