Shidou and Nue are a recurring duo boss in Beast of Reincarnation, pairing a fast, samurai-like human with a lightning-summoning Nushi. The fight can stall your progress the first time you face it, but it runs on a fixed script. Both enemies take turns attacking, both share the same weakness, and there is one order-of-kills trick that makes the encounter far more manageable.
Quick answer: Both Shidou and Nue are weak to Poison, so equip poison gear and poison skills on Koo. Focus Shidou but stop attacking at 30% HP so he siphons life from Nue. Repeat until Nue sits near 30% HP, then finish Shidou to end the fight.
Shidou and Nue weakness and how the fight is structured
Both bosses share a single weakness: Poison. Bring gear that inflicts the status, and load poison abilities onto Koo so you can keep the ailment ticking on whichever target you are fighting. The Dokuzeri-style poison attacks work on both of them.
You encounter this duo across the main story, so the fight is impossible to miss. You will meet the Nue Malefact several times on its own before Shidou joins in, and once he does, the two of them gang up on you. Their attack patterns stay the same across encounters, but they hit harder the deeper into the game you get. During the final meeting, Nue enters an enraged state and deals extra damage.
Note: The game only lets one boss attack you at a time. The lock-on reticle automatically shifts to whichever enemy is about to strike, so leave the targeting alone and fight whoever the game highlights. Each one-on-one exchange lasts about a minute before the focus swaps.
Shidou attack patterns and counters
Shidou is the more dangerous of the pair despite having fewer moves. He is quick, and he can parry your ranged attacks, so lean on melee pressure and clean deflections. Almost everything he throws out can be parried, with two clear exceptions you must dodge instead.
| Attack | What it does | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Sword combo | A two-hit strike that sometimes extends into four hits. | Parry each swing, leaving a beat between deflections. |
| Branch swing (tendrils) | Turns his arm into a branch and swings twice, side to side. | Parry both swings; roughly a second and a half between each. |
| Vertical tree slam | Rises into the air glowing red, then drops down with his tendrils. | Cannot be parried. Time a perfect dodge as he lands, then counterattack. |
| Siphon | At low HP he drains health from Nue. | Rush him and attack to interrupt and stun him (see strategy below). |
Nue attack patterns and counters
Nue has the larger health pool and takes longer to whittle down, but its moves are more readable. It opens by pouncing, favors a long claw combo, and mixes in tail swipes and lightning. After its claw string, it usually pauses for a breather, which is the safest window to unload damage on its head.
| Attack | What it does | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Opening pounce / Giant Leap | Jumps back, glows red, then leaps at you. | Dodge as it lands for a perfect dodge. |
| Claw combo | A five-to-six-hit swipe string that ends with a body slam. | Parry every strike; watch its claws the whole time. |
| Tail spin | Raises its tail and spins to hit you with it. | Parry each swing; they land about two seconds apart. |
| Lightning / Thunder Strikes | Summons lightning, usually while you are busy with Shidou. | Cannot be parried. Keep dodging left or right until it ends. |
The health-siphon strategy for killing both bosses
The trick to this fight is controlling when Shidou dies. He steals Nue’s health at low HP, so you want to weaponize that behavior instead of fighting against it.
If you would rather stop the siphon entirely, watch for the moment Shidou starts draining and immediately close the distance to hit him with Koo’s Nushi skills. A well-timed knockdown interrupts the drain and stuns him.
Best skills and how to build meter
Prioritize dodging and parrying, because both build Entanglement Overdrive. Triggering Overdrive slows time and lets you chain extra hits, which is when you want to spend your strongest attacks. Whenever you knock a boss down, pop Overdrive and stack damage before it recovers.
- Kiku: Bloom Strike deals solid damage and almost always knocks Shidou to the ground, opening a free window to punish him.
- Higanbana: Roots can Bind Nue and pin it in place; if it lands, activate Overdrive to keep Nue grounded longer.
- Blade Art: Sakura and Iado Strike are strong picks for burst damage on either target.
- Poison skills on Koo keep the shared weakness active throughout the fight.
Filling Koo’s meter to reach these skills depends on clean parries, so tighten up your deflection timing on Shidou’s sword and branch swings and Nue’s claw combo.
Rewards for defeating Shidou and Nue
Clearing the final encounter with the duo removes them from your playthrough for good and hands over the following:
| Reward | Details |
|---|---|
| Bloom Art: Erica | Strangle Lv. 1. |
| Blade Art / Finisher | Blade Art: Nue Lv. 1. |
| Black Blossom | A sword with the Poison Storm ability; each slash calls down poison lightning on nearby foes. It starts at 21 attack, so upgrade it if you plan to use it. |
You will know the fight is over when both health bars are gone and the reward screen appears. If it keeps dragging on, the usual cause is killing Shidou too early before Nue’s bar has been drained down, which forces you to grind through Nue’s full health the slow way. Stick to the siphon cycle, keep poison active, and save your heals for the moments Nue plants its attacks and pauses.
