Nioh 3 Demon of Pride boss fight guide

The Nioh 3 Demon of Pride boss fight is the first secret boss you can find in the open-world Soulslike, and boy is it a toughie. If you’re on track with the recommended levels for the various areas and quests in the game, you’ll be around level 53 when the option to fight the Demon of Pride opens up, but for this fight, you’ll want to be closer to the level 90 mark.

If you’re skilled enough, you can certainly take it down earlier, but we’d recommend waiting until you don’t get too severely punished for making one mistake. If you’re hellbent on taking this fierce foe down though, we can help with this guide to its strengths and weaknesses, and the best weapons to use. Here’s how to beat the Demon of Pride boss fight in Nioh 3.

Demon of Pride location

This secret boss is available as soon as you’ve defeated the Great Tengu boss during “The Age of Clans,” the first mission in the Heian period. This will grant you a new Guardian Spirit, the Kurama Tengu, which you can then use to traverse the spirit vein that leads to the Demon of Pride.

The Demon of Pride is back in the Warring States period however, in the Iinoya region. At the far east side of this region, you’ll find the Sengan Waterfall shrine, which is just south of the aforementioned spirit vein. Climb up to the base of the waterfall and speak to the ghostly apparition to begin the Demon of Pride boss fight.

Demon of Pride strengths and weaknesses

Image: Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo via Polygon

The Demon of Pride has a number of different water-based ranged attacks, which means that if you can learn its moves and evade/deflect them consistently (more on that below), you’ll be better served by sticking close to the boss. Any equipment you have with water resistance is worth running to help protect against these.

On the other hand, the Demon of Pride is weak to electricity, so weapons and ninjutsu that deal electricity damage are a boon. The boss becomes more aggressive during the second half of the fight too, so stay on your toes and if possible, save your Living Artifact for this stage because you can deal more damage, have unlimited Ki, and you’re invulnerable.

Demon of Pride moveset

The attack with the most devastating potential the Demon of Pride will cast is where it sends out an unpredictable, homing water bubble. It zigzags through the air and requires precise timing to dodge, but if you have a ranged attack, you can destroy it in midair. If not, it deals a significant amount of damage in one hit. You should also watch out for when it summons up to five water bubbles above its head, which will rest there until they’re periodically sent out towards you. These don’t zigzag, so they’re more predictable, but they’ll still hurt if they connect with you.

It also has a couple of different burst attacks, which are obviously preventable with Burst Break, but using the Style Shift Burst Break technique isn’t recommended because the timing can be frustrating. As a result, you should rely a little more on Guardian Spirit Burst Break, as that can be executed at any point during the charging window, and simultaneously deals damage to the boss. One particularly painful burst attack is when it arches its back and zooms across the floor towards you, which requires quick reflexes to evade or Burst Break.

Up close, the Demon of Pride has a few different melee attacks, including various sweeps with its arms that drag along the floor. One chain of these it will sometimes perform is a few rapid swings in quick succession that you don’t want to commit too quickly to interrupting. Wait until the full sequence has finished because at the end, it may summon a huge water bubble that it forces into the ground, causing a shockwave. It also has a stomp attack that is easily avoided with a quick evade.

Demon of Pride rewards

Image: Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo via Polygon

Defeating the Demon of Pride will net you the Demon of Pride soul core, which will summon the Demon of Pride if placed in the yang position, or it will create its trademark water bubbles in the yin position. You’ll also get the “Death From Above Water” Transformed Art, which can be used with hatchets.

Need more help with Nioh 3? We have more top tips, a guide to the best weapons, an explainer on how to emote to charm Nurikabes and Mujinas, and more.