Every Weapon Type In Nioh 2, Ranked

One of the biggest selling points for Nioh 2 is its diverse weapon class system. You can pick from 11 different weapon types, starting with two, with the option to change at any point during the game. Each weapon is drastically different from the rest, having its own skill tree, progression path, and special challenges that lead you to mastery.

As such, creating a build in Nioh 2 can be daunting with so many options. New players will have a hard time figuring out the most effective weapons and the play style that works for them. Needless to say, some of these weapon classes are better than others.

Updated February 16th, 2025 by Hilton Webster: In the grand pantheon of Soulslike game, few can hold a candle to Nioh 2. It’s incredible enemy design and flashy combat are already amazing, but the depth of its weapons is where the game really shines. We’ve tied up this article a bit, and added some recommended pairings for each category.

11

Axe And Hammer

Understand that all the weapons in Nioh 2 can be effective when used correctly, so even axes and hammers can be dangerous if used properly. That said, there are a few reasons why they come in last place. Axes and hammers deal heavy damage, allowing you to tackle large health bars with ease.

However, when you’re face-to-face with a Yokai that doesn’t stagger much, the long windups and start lag for these weapons’ attacks can often put you in a precarious position. Your window of opportunity is much smaller because of how long it takes to swing these weapons. You can make a build with these, but you’re going to lose the mobility that most other weapons offer.

Best Pairing

Axes and Hammers are excessively slow, so it can be great to pair them with something faster and more evasive. Fists and Tonfa work great for this, as does Dual Swords.

10

Hatchets

The Hatchets are one of the more unusual weapons in Nioh 2, giving you ranged and melee options in one weapon. These dual hand axes, despite their appearance, allow you to fight at a few different ranges. Low and mid-stance force you to get aggressive, but each hit comes out so quickly that you can plow through enemies with ease.

There are also abilities that allow you to throw hatchets at foes, back-step while attacking, and more, meaning that you can be much more nimble while dealing damage. They can take some getting used to, but the Hatchets let you close the gap and start pummeling an enemy in an instant, while keeping some good evasive abilities.

Best Pairing

Combining range and high speed together, the Hatchets already make a powerful threat. Putting them with something slower, like the Spear or Axes and Hammers, lets you punish enemies while still letting you swap to a faster weapon when required.

9

Switchglaive

The Switchglaive is arguably the most unique weapon in Nioh 2 and one of the best. In each Stance, the Switchglaive takes on a different form. In low-stance, it’s a blade that sits parallel to your arm. In mid-stance, it becomes similar to a spear. In high-stance, it’s a large scythe. Each stance is almost a completely different weapon.

Seeing as it’s in the name, the Switchglaive is all about swapping between stances. Each has its own niche to fill, but together it becomes an unstoppable weapon in the right hand. It’s a bit like a Bloodborne Trick weapon, giving you lots of utility if you can wrap your head around it. Even if you primarily use a single stance for the Switchglaive, you’ll still find some reason to love it.

Best Pairing

The Switchglaive is already quite technical, and promotes switching between Stances. This makes it a natural fit with the Odachi’s own Stance shifting.

8

Sword

There’s nothing quite like old reliable, and that’s true of the sword in Nioh 2. It’s just a classic katana, so there’s a level of familiarity with the weapon for most players. The sword has two subtypes as well that scale with different stats, meaning you can build out different stats and still find great utility with the classic Sword.

There’s a bit of everything with the Sword. You can parry, you get a decent degree of reach, there are some powerful evasive and charged moves. Though it lacks some of the mastery of other weapons, it comes with very few drawbacks too. It’s a great weapon that works in every scenario.

Best Pairing

The Sword is an incredible all-rounder, so just about anything can fit with it. Consider the Splitstaff if you want some extra range, or Dual Swords if you’d prefer something that can work in close quarters.

7

Kusarigama

The Kusarigama is one of the most visually interesting weapons in Nioh 2. A sickle with a metal ball and chain on the other end, the Kusarigama offers a lot of options as well as a high-skill ceiling. It requires a high degree of knowledge to use effectively at all, but there is no other weapon like it.

It lets you fight at a distance, and gives you good control of your surroundings by swinging the ball around. It lets you drag enemies towards you as well so you don’t have to enter harm’s way yourself. The weapon allows you to fight up close or at a distance. Because it scales with agility, you’ll have a much easier time weaving around your opponents and applying Ninjitsu to your build.

Best Pairing

The Kusarigama has a lot of great utility, though is a very tactical weapon. For something with a bit more consistency, consider pairing it with a Sword or Spear.

6

Dual Swords

If one sword isn’t enough for you to take on hordes of Yokai, then the dual swords might be the weapon for you. This hyper-aggressive weapon encourages you to get in your enemies’ faces and tear them apart. The Dual Swords have a lot of skills that encourage you to keep striking without letting up a single inch.

Dual Swords are obscenely fast, the fastest weapon by far in the game. However, they’re an extremely risk-reward weapon. You have to be right up in front of an enemy to hit them, but even the High Stance attacks can be pulled off faster than most other weapon types. Enemies can be defeated in the blink of an eye, but so can you.

Best Pairing

Dual Swords have incredible power, though the short range can easily put you in harm’s way. The Kusarigama can give you that extra range, while letting you drag in enemies for those close-up attacks the Dual Swords thrives at.

5

Tonfa

The Tonfa are some of the most challenging weapons for new players. While they certainly look cool, using them can be quite tricky. Like the Dual Swords, the Tonfa require that you get up close and personal with your foes.

One of the main aspects of the Tonfa is their ability to rapidly reduce Ki, while giving you lots of abilities to keep your own topped up. They don’t deal excessive damage, but they let you dance around the enemy indefinitely if you manage your Ki properly, and dropping their Ki and unleashing a critical hit is sometimes more effective than whittling down their health regularly.

Best Pairing

Tonfa can deal incredible Ki damage, but can be demanding to use constantly. Having a safer weapon to fall back on, like the Sword, can be a welcome reprieve.

4

Fists

Many weapons in Nioh 2 seem underwhelming at first glance but have an incredibly high skill ceiling. The fists fall into that category. While fighting close-range can be an issue in Nioh 2, the fists’ level of finesse, attack options, and move combinations make them undeniably fun to use.

There are two subtypes of fists – those that drain Ki, and those that take HP. They fall somewhere between Dual Swords and Tonfa, needing you to be up-close and incredibly fast, but giving you the chance to stun enemies and charge up some powerful combos yourself. They’re a bit more lenient in terms of learning than the Tonfa as well, even if they have less evasive abilities.

Best Pairing

Because of the shared speed and focus, Tonfa can go great with Fists so that even when you change weapon, you can keep up the assault on an enemies Ki while keeping your own high.

3

Odachi

At first glance, the Odachi can just seem like a heavy sword, but that’s just a bit of misdirection. The real calling card of the Odachi are the combos it can pull off, letting you swap between stances in a single combo until you have no Ki left. Yes, it can strike hard like a heavy weapon, but the weapon is so much more than that.

Across all three stances, the Odachi remains mostly the same. Instead, you are meant to flow across all three stances so that the enemy never has the chance to strike back. While it can start slow, the Odachi is surprisingly fast once you get a combo going. It’s a relatively simple weapon to get into as well, offering you immense damage, and even some good defensive options with the massive blade as well.

Odachi is Japanese for big sword, which feels fittingly literal.

Best Pairing

With the flowing combos of the Odachi and its surprising range, the Spear goes great to bolster its strengths.

2

Splitstaff

The Splitstaff is a complex weapon. It is a staff, but the two ends can extend like nunchaku. This opens up the most unique ability of the weapon – almost every attack can be extended in terms of distance and length for a bit of extra Ki. Getting the timing and spacing right can be difficult, but you can master the battlefield if you do.

Because of that extra ability though, managing Ki becomes the hardest part of wielding this weapon. You can cover a massive amount of range around you with it though, and certain extended attacks let you rip through an enemy’s Ki, too. There are some great movement abilities in here too, letting you hop out of harm’s way when you need it.

Best Pairing

If you want to keep up the range of the Splitstaff but also have some strong close-range capabilities, then Hatchets make for a great pairing.

1

Spear

There’s just no getting around it. The Spear was the strongest weapon in the original Nioh, and it’s one of the strongest weapons in Nioh 2, as well. It has the longest melee range of any weapon, incredible damage-dealing potential, and each Stance lets you effectively handle enemies at any distance with more appropriate speed.

The Spear has incredibly defensive and evasive options as well. Enemies can be parried and thrown to the ground. It has extra powerful critical strikes, you can easily move yourself around the area with it. It has a bit of everything, and is pretty easy to pick up, too. It might not be the fastest or strongest weapon in the game, but the sheer power it offers with little investment is unmatched.

Best Pairing

Every weapon can fit with the versatility of the Spear, though pairing it with either the Splitstaff or Kusarigama gives you some extra coverage around your unprotected sides.