The best skills in Nioh 3 are split into three categories: Samurai, Ninja, and Common. Samurai and Ninja skills can only be used by their respective combat styles, but Common skills can be used by both. Skills are also entirely passive in Nioh 3, as opposed to martial arts and ninjutsu, which are active abilities. However, some of these passive skills are also considered to be “Mastery” type, of which you can only equip one at a time.
There are loads to choose from though and most of them require finding the respective Secret Skills Texts in the first place, so you can’t just equip them all right from the start. You’ll also need to increase your skill capacity to maximize your potential, which we have the details for below. Here are the best skills in Nioh 3 that you can find within the first two regions of the game.
The best Common skills in Nioh 3
Here are the best Common skills in Nioh 3, along with their cost and where you can find them.
| Skill Name | Cost | Description | Type | Location | Period |
| Attack Mastery II | 4 | Increases Attack by 12. | Passive | In a chest in the Iinoya enemy base. Climb on top of one of the smaller buildings, and then drop through the hole in the roof. | Warring States |
| Panacea Curefast | 5 | Increases Life restored by elixirs by 15.0%. | Passive | In a chest in the Tenryu River enemy base. Reward for completing the base; use the key to unlock the small hut in the center. | Warring States |
| Awakening | 3 | Allows you to use Onmyo Magic faster. | Mastery | Complete The Way of the Onmyo: Novice. | Eternal Rift |
| Repel Expert | 5 | Extends the window of opportunity for a successful Style Shift Burst Break. | Passive | In a chest in the Funaokayama enemy base, unlocked after completing the base. Found on the porch to the left of the temple entrance. | Warring States |
| Vigorous Spirit | 5 | Applies Auto Life Recovery to yourself as long as your Life is above a certain threshold. | Passive | On a corpse near Matsuo-taisha shrine in Sagano. Follow the path from the shrine, round the corner, then drop into the water below to find the item. | Heian |
| Vital Spirit | 4 | Increases Amrita gained when defeating an enemy by 4.0%. | Passive | Inside a small chest in the Tenyru River enemy base. Defended by an enemy with a bow and arrow, on a wooden platform. | Warring States |
The best Samurai skills in Nioh 3
Here are the best Samurai skills in Nioh 3, along with their cost and where you can find them.
| Skill Name | Cost | Description | Type | Location | Period |
| Defense Mastery II | 4 | Increases Defense by 14. | Passive | In a chest near a temple during “Those Who Live In The Shadows” myth. Behind the shack where you’ll find the Mysterious Ninja Master. | Warring States |
| Running Water | 2 | Enables you to perform a Ki Pulse by dodging. | Passive | In a chest in the Hamamatsu crucible, northeast of the Clan Estate Bodhisattva Statue. Jump across the floating platforms when your Guardian Spirit lights the nearby lanterns and follow the path to find the chest at the bottom of a ladder and guarded by a skeleton. | Warring States |
| Recoup | 5 | Allows you to recover a portion of Ki expended when guarding by performing a Ki Pulse. | Passive | In a chest at the end of a cave near the Castle Town East shrine in Hamamatsu. Go to the long bridge then use the spirit vein to reach it. | Warring States |
| Indomitable Spirit | 6 | When your life drops to 30% or lower, your Ki recovery speed increases by 25.0%. | Passive | In a chest in Lake Hamana. Head to the upper courtyard of Horie Castle to find the chest inside the small shack behind the area you can place an item. | Warring States |
| Enduring Arts | 2 | Charges the Arts Gauge when you successfully perform Burst Break while switching from Ninja Style to Samurai Style. | Passive | In a chest in Sagano near the Matsuo-taisha shrine. Look for the Nurikabe on the in-game map, then either kill it or emote to get past and find the chest. | Heian |
| Resolute Arts | 6 | Reduces damage taken while Arts Proficiency is active by 15.0%. | Passive | On a corpse east of the Lake Sanaru North shrine, at the edge of the hill. | Warring States |
The best Ninja skills in Nioh 3
Here are the best Ninja skills in Nioh 3, along with their cost and where you can find them.
| Skill Name | Cost | Description | Type | Location | Period |
| Backstab Life Siphon | 5 | Restores Life when you deal damage to an enemy from behind. | Passive | Inside a cave in Maisaka Village, behind the Nure-onna crucible wraith. You must drain the water in the lake using two levers to access this area. | Warring States |
| Pufferpuss Technique | 4 | After a successful Evade, an illusion of a Scampuss will appear for a moment, grow spikes across its body, and attack your enemy. | Passive | On a corpse north of the Horiike of Arashiyama shrine in Sagano. Use the rocks in the water to hop over to the small island to the north. | Heian |
| Butterfly’s Grace | 3 | Reduces damage taken from attacks while in mid-air by 10.0%. | Passive | In a chest south of the Mount Kurama – Chokushi shrine, in the first region you reach in Heian. | Heian |
| Aerial Strike | 5 | Increases mid-air attack damage by 7.0%. | Passive | On a corpse past the spirit vein east of Hamamatsu Post shrine. | Warring States |
| Battle Frenzy Kata | 6 | Inflicts Reduced Defense, Increased Damage Dealt on an enemy after a successful Final Blow or Grapple. | Passive | In a chest in the Hachijo enemy base, just below the Anneiyo Temple shrine. | Heian |
| Yokai Banisher | 4 | Performing Mist within the Yokai Realm will remove the realm from that area. | Passive | Defeat the Great Tengu in the intro to the Heian period. | Heian |
How to increase skill capacity in Nioh 3
Skills in Nioh 3 can only be equipped within the constraints of your current skill capacity, unfortunately. This means you have to be very choosy about which skills you use, because you can unlock far more than you can ever equip simultaneously.
You can increase your skill capacity though, and there are a few different ways to do so. Firstly, any “Warrior’s Texts,” “Samurai’s Texts,” or “Ninja’s Texts” items will increase their respective categories by one (with “Warrior’s” referring to the Common category). These can be found all throughout Nioh 3, often as rewards from defeating bosses, looting corpses, and opening chests.
Memorandums are also available via the Sudama merchants and for completing all of the exploration goals in each region. However, you’ll need four of each respective memorandum to unlock one skill capacity upgrade. These cost two Yokai Teardrops apiece if you buy them from a merchant.
Need more help with Nioh 3? We have guides to the best weapons, our top tips, how to get Glory, and more.
