Quick answer: Armor in Nioh 3 is divided into Light, Medium, and Heavy categories, each requiring specific stats like Constitution, Skill, Strength, or Stamina to unlock their full effects. Players can equip distinct armor sets for their Samurai and Ninja styles, allowing for separate weight and defense profiles that switch instantly during combat.
Armor categories and stat requirements
Protective equipment in Nioh 3 is split into five slots: Head Armor, Torso Armor, Arm Guards, Leg Guards, and Foot Guards. Every piece falls into one of three weight classes, which determine the level of physical protection and the impact on Ki (stamina) recovery. To activate the special effects on a piece of armor, your character must meet specific stat requirements.
- Light Armor: Identified by a single-shaded weight icon. This category prioritizes low encumbrance and fast Ki regeneration at the cost of physical defense. It typically requires points in Constitution and Skill.
- Medium Armor: Identified by a double-shaded weight icon. These sets balance defense and weight, offering moderate protection without severely penalizing movement. They generally require Constitution and Strength.
- Heavy Armor: Identified by a triple-shaded weight icon. Heavy armor provides the highest physical defense and Toughness, allowing you to block attacks more effectively and resist staggering. Equipping these pieces usually requires investment in Stamina and Strength.
Equipment also varies by rarity, indicated by text color. The hierarchy progresses from Common (White) to Uncommon (Yellow), Rare (Blue), Exotic (Purple), Divine (Green), and Ethereal (Orange). Higher rarity tiers grant more powerful status effects and stat bonuses.
Managing weight and agility
The total weight of your equipped armor determines your agility rating, which affects movement speed and Ki consumption for actions like dodging and attacking. Keeping your total equipment weight below 70% typically maintains a B-rank agility or better, preventing the slow "fat roll" dodge animation and excessive Ki usage associated with C-rank agility.
Nioh 3 allows you to maintain separate equipment loadouts for the two primary fighting styles: Samurai and Ninja. You can equip a full set of Heavy Armor for the Samurai style to maximize blocking capabilities and Deflect mechanics, while simultaneously equipping Light Armor for the Ninja style to prioritize evasion and mobility. Switching between styles in combat instantly swaps your armor properties to match the active style.
Set bonuses
Many armor pieces belong to specific named sets that grant passive bonuses when multiple matching items are equipped. These bonuses scale based on the number of pieces worn, often culminating in powerful effects at 5, 6, or 7 pieces. A "Set Bonus Requirements Reduced" effect on an accessory can lower the number of pieces needed to activate these tiers.
Common sets and their focuses include:
- Brave Demon Hunter Set (Medium): Provides the "First of the Four Guardians" bonus, which increases Life, Martial Art damage, and Ki recovery speed. It often utilizes Cestuses as a matching weapon.
- Crimson General Set (Heavy): grants the "Pride of the Crimson Army" bonus. This set favors tanky playstyles by adding defense bonuses based on Stamina, reducing Ki consumption while guarding, and boosting damage when unscathed.
- Blessed Sleeve Set (Light): Activates the "Straight and True" bonus, focusing on ranged combat with increases to Bow damage and auto-targeting for weak points.
- Tatenashi Set (Heavy): Offers "The God of War Looks Down" bonus, heavily focused on damage reduction, projectile protection, and damage bonuses based on equipment weight.
- Flying Kato Set (Light): Provides the "Master of Illusion" bonus, designed for Ninjutsu users with improved Ninjutsu gauge charge and elemental damage.
Obtaining armor
New armor can be acquired through several methods:
- Enemy Drops: Armor drops randomly from defeated enemies and bosses. Specific bosses may drop unique items; for instance, the Twin-Snake Helmet is a rare drop from the boss Jakotsu-baba.
- Forging: Once the Eternal Rift is unlocked, players can access the Blacksmith to craft specific armor pieces. This requires gold, crafting materials, and the specific "Smithing Text" for the desired armor set.
- Bloody Graves: Defeating the revenants spawned from Bloody Graves allows you to obtain pieces of the gear they were wearing when they died.
Certain equipment sets are tied to specific game editions or purchase windows. For example, the Hellfrost Equipment Set and Hellfire Equipment Set are distributed as bonuses for early purchases or pre-orders of the official game.