Baba Nobuharu boss battle strategies in Nioh 3 – Fight techniques and guide

Baba Nobuharu is a deceptively calm opponent whose precision and discipline punish every mistake. Outsmarting him means mastering his timing, disrupting his counters, and using his confidence against him – a duel where control and patience matter more than brute strength.

Baba Nobuharu strengths and weaknesses

Baba Nobuharu excels at maintaining pressure through swift spear combos and precise reach, punishing careless dodges with counterthrusts. His disciplined stance control makes close-range engagements risky, especially when he enters a stance-focused phase that boosts his defense and counter damage. However, his reliance on predictable spear patterns leaves openings after heavy attacks, and his recovery speed slows once his Ki is drained. Exploiting these brief windows lets players break his rhythm and force him into disadvantageous positions.

When fighting Baba Nobuharu, you should take advantage of wind and lightning attacks in case you have access to any. The boss’s design or moveset is not really elementally-centered, giving almost no hints about his weaknesses, but since he uses two water-based attacks, you can assume from there that lightning is the way to go. While the boss takes more damage from lightning-based attacks, Baba Nobuharu is resistant to scorching, meaning that fire attacks are less effective.

Baba Nobuharu will chase you and stay in melee range to attack you for a large chunk of the battle. Kiting the boss and hitting him from afar using ninjutsu is a good strategy to exploit his shortcomings. Another weakness you can take advantage of is that most of his combos have long animations, giving you enough time to recognize and respond to them. He will also take a few seconds to recover after finishing certain combos, creating the perfect window for you to strike.

Baba Nobuharu moveset

Baba Nobuharu’s moveset centers on swift, deceptive strikes and mixed-range combos that punish predictable patterns. He mixes rapid forward sprints with feints to bait parries, followed by precise sword slashes and sweeping lunges that trap opponents between his stance shifts. Mastering his timing requires reading his wind-ups and exploiting brief windows after his combos, then punishing with high-damage ki blasts or ripostes to keep pressure. Stay mobile, bait forecasts, and intervene with counterattacks during his recovery phases to break through his defense.

Baba Nobuharu’s most dangerous move is his special ability, which creates an illusion that shows a copy of him performing an attack. In most cases (more on that later), his copy will launch an attack and, after a few seconds, the real Baba follows up executing the same move. If you don’t know how to identify the illusion, Baba Nobuharu will trick you into using your defense moves at the wrong time, leaving you open to his real attacks. As far as we know, there isn’t a way to cancel his ability, but you can prepare for it.

There are situations where the boss will use one of his attacks without a duplicate. However, whenever Baba Nobuharu is about to create an illusion, he will release steam from his left demonic arm. Since all his moves are quite slow, you have time to watch for the steam and then respond accordingly. Recognizing when he’s using a duplicate is only part of the solution. You will still need to time your parry or dodge to avoid the real attack.

When it comes to his moveset, Baba Nobuharu uses relatively simple attack sequences, but each blow can be devastating. If you don’t want to worry about memorizing every pattern, you need to keep in mind that he rarely performs single-hit attacks. More often than not, he follows one swing with one or two additional attacks, so keeping your distance from him is the general best strategy. Although we had decent gear at level 39, two to three hits were enough to kill us in ninja mode. We found out that level 42 was a comfortable spot, as his attacks were no longer as deadly.

In his normal mode, Baba Nobuharu performs a three-swing combo; a 360-degree slash attack; a charged grab attack; and a jump-into-vertical-strike combo. If you stay behind Baba, the boss will slap his tail and quickly turn – slicing anything in front of him with his axe. Baba Nobuharu also has two burst attacks – telegraphed by a red aura around the boss – which you should memorize to burst counter them.

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When Baba Nobuharu changes to his Dark Realm mode, he adds two water-based attacks to his rotation. In one, he drags his axe along the ground and sends a wave of water toward you. His second water attack consists of a wide water slash that he fires in your direction. While Baba is in his Dark Realm mode, there is a chance that he doesn’t perform the same action as his duplicate. After creating a copy of himself, he jumps to the opposite side of it and goes for a wide swing attack. It can be a bit confusing at first, but once you understand what is happening, it’s possible to avoid his attack.

Best early game builds for Nioh 3

Here are three strong early-game build directions for Nioh 3 that are easy to play, hit hard, and don’t require rare loot.

1. Beginner Samurai Sword build (very safe)

Focus: Balanced damage + survivability, easy to learn.

• Weapon: Sword (katana). It has forgiving timing, good blocks, and simple combos.

• Stats: Prioritize Constitution and Strength, then Skill and Heart once basic requirements are met (around 6 Con, 8 Str, 5 Skill, 8 Magic if you follow common starter setups).​

• Armor: Go for medium-to-heavy armor with bonuses to melee damage, defense, and Ki recovery. Set bonuses that add melee damage and toughness are ideal but not mandatory early.

• Guardian Spirit: Guhin is an excellent early pick; it boosts melee attack and defense and has a strong Wind-based active skill.

• Soul Cores: Scampuss is a standout early core, staying on the field, interrupting enemies, and giving Spirit gauge and luck bonuses.​

Playstyle tips:

• Stay mostly in mid-stance for safety, swap to high stance only when you clearly see an opening.

• Block first, then punish with short, safe combos instead of going all-in.

• Use basic buffs (attack/defense talismans) as soon as you get early Onmyo points.​

2. Ninja Tonfa build (fast and aggressive)

Focus: Speed, pressure, and status effects; slightly higher skill requirement.

• Weapon: Tonfas. They are one of the best Ninja-style weapons, with very fast strings and low Ki usage.​

• Stats: Emphasize Skill and Dexterity (for ninjutsu), with enough Constitution/Strength to wear light-to-medium armor.

• Armor: Light gear that boosts evasion, ninjutsu power, Ki, and possibly elemental or status application (Saturation, etc.). Duplicates with utility effects like Untouched Elixirs, Life Drain, and Faster Movement are very strong early.

• Guardian Spirit: Spirits that add mobility, ninjutsu power, or elemental damage are ideal; if you’re already using Guhin for another build, you can still pair it with tonfas for Wind damage and extra safety.​

Element/status angle:

• A common early approach is Water-element tonfas to inflict Saturated, increasing damage taken by enemies.​

• Because tonfas hit many times, they quickly build up elemental status.

Playstyle tips:

• Stay close, dodge around enemies, and use rapid combos instead of blocking.

• Use kunai/shuriken and basic ninjutsu bombs or bubbles to control space and keep bosses under constant pressure.​

• Aim to break Ki quickly; once they’re out of Ki, go for finishing blows.

3. Heavy Axe or Switchglaive Samurai (slow but tanky)

Focus: Big hits, strong defense, good for players who like slower, deliberate play.

• Weapons:

  • Axe: Massive damage and wide sweeps for mobs but slow; requires planning.​

  • Switchglaive: More flexible, mixes reach and elemental play while still hitting hard.

• Stats: Stack Strength (and Constitution) for axes, with some Stamina for heavier armor. For Switchglaive, lean a bit more into Magic and the weapon’s scaling while still maintaining toughness.

• Armor: Heavy armor that boosts defense, Ki recovery, and strong-attack damage. Take advantage of your higher toughness to face-tank more hits than lighter builds.​

• Guardian Spirit: Guhin again works very well, giving Wind damage and extra protection. Kongojishi is another option if you want more Wind damage and reduced damage taken while attacking.​

Playstyle tips:

• Use Ki management skills and defensive passives (like Unshakable-style effects) to avoid being punished while swinging slow weapons.

• Save strong attacks for when enemies whiff big moves; otherwise poke with safer hits.

• Use elemental imbues (Wind or Water) on your weapon if you find them, to add status and extra damage.​

Simple recommendation table

If you tell me which weapon you enjoy most (sword, axe, spear, tonfas, switchglaive, etc.) and whether you prefer Samurai or Ninja style, I can give you an exact early-game stat spread and a short “what to level each 10 levels” plan.

Best skills to unlock first in early game builds

For early-game Nioh 3 builds, you want skills that improve survivability, Ki control, and a few high-value weapon moves. I’ll keep it generic so it works with most weapons.

Universal “get these first” picks

These are strong no matter what you’re building into:

• A core defensive passive that boosts max Life or reduces damage taken on guard/block.

• A Ki Recovery booster (after dodging, after a perfect Ki Pulse, or while in a specific stance, depending on the weapon tree).

• Your weapon’s first Ki Pulse-enhancing skill (anything that makes Ki Pulse easier or tied to attacks).

• A basic damage-up passive for melee (e.g., “melee damage vs. full-health enemies”, “close combat damage”, or stance-based damage).

• Early Elixir / healing efficiency or “more Elixirs carried” type passive if available in your tree.

These make mistakes less punishing and keep your pressure up even with low-level gear.

If you’re playing Samurai-focused (katana, axe, spear, switchglaive)

Prioritise:

• 1-2 bread-and-butter weapon moves that:

  • Come out fast,

  • Are safe on whiff/block,

  • Work as combo enders (often mid-stance or low-stance skills).

• A guard or toughness passive tied to your main weapon (easier blocking, reduced Ki damage when guarding, etc.).

• Any early skill that adds Ki damage / break to your attacks, helping you stagger and punish bosses.

• If you have access, a simple counter-type skill (not necessarily a fancy parry, but anything that rewards timing).

Skill unlock order example (generic Samurai):

1. Life/defense passive

2. Ki recovery passive

3. Safe main-stance combo skill

4. Melee damage-up passive

5. Extra heal/Elixir-related passive

If you’re playing Ninja-leaning (tonfa, duals, ninjutsu-heavy)

Focus on mobility, pressure, and status:

• A dodge or movement enhancement (reduced Ki on dodge, better directional dodge, or similar).

• Early ninjutsu capacity/damage upgrade, so your kunai, shuriken, or bombs actually matter.

• A fast gap-closer or follow-up skill on your main weapon that lets you punish whiffs quickly.

• Any skill that boosts Ki damage or status build-up (great with fast, multi-hit weapons).

Skill unlock order example (generic Ninja):

1. Ki recovery/dodge passive

2. Ninjutsu capacity/damage passive

3. Fast combo/gap-closer for your weapon

4. Melee damage-up passive

5. Optional: back-attack/behind-damage passive once you’re comfortable getting around enemies

Magic / utility picks that are worth it early

Even if you’re not a full caster, a few magic/utility skills pay off immediately:

• Basic weapon buff talisman (attack-up or an element like Water/Lightning).

• A simple defense or toughness buff (defense up, reduced damage, or increased toughness).

• Faster casting speed if it’s available early in your tree.

Unlocking just one offensive buff (weapon enchant) and one defensive buff makes every build feel much stronger in early missions.

If you tell me:

• Your main weapon (katana, axe, spear, tonfas, dual swords, switchglaive, etc.), and

• Whether you lean more Samurai, Ninja, or magic,

I can list a concrete “first 5-7 skills by name” to grab in order for your exact early-game build.