Guardian Spirits are essential entities in Nioh 2. They can significantly boost the performance of your build if chosen correctly. There are over 20 Guardian Spirits in the game, which you can unlock by completing various missions. This guide will highlight five of the best Guardian Spirits for the early, mid, and late stages of the game, as well as their locations.
In the very beginning, you are able to choose one of the three starter Guardian Spirits, and then you can add or change to other spirits as you unlock them. Obviously, spirits need to correspond to your build.
Ame-no-Mitori
- Attack: x1.00
- Defense: x1.05
- Type: Feral
Ame-no-Mitori is the best of the three starting Guardian Spirits. The other two give you Fire Resistance and Boost Life, but Ame-no-Mitori increases your Ki recovery rate, and that’s very important regardless of the build you’re using in the early stages of the game.
This Spirit Guide also increases your running speed and divine rice drop rate. But the best effect is the Lightning Damage boost by 20%, which is significant in case you’re using the Lightning Build.
The best armor set for this type of build would be Master Archer, which is a part of a Golden Boy set that uses Sozasamonji Matsukurago dual swords and Master Archer’s Bow.
If you choose another Guardian Spirit at the start of the game, but still want to find and use Ame-no-Mitori, then you can get it by completing The Point of No Return quest at the end of Act 3 of the main story mission.
Tengen Kujaku
- Attack: x1.05
- Defense: x0.97
- Type: Phantom
Tengen Kujaku is probably the best Guardian Spirit of all non-starting spirits in Nioh 2. It has an incredibly high Anima Bonus damage stat and elemental attack boost. This is by far the most powerful spirit, which will fit almost all attack-based builds.
You can get Tengen Kujaku after killing Oda Nobunaga boss during The Demon King’s Blade mission.
The best possible set for this type of build is The Crime of Patricide, which is based on the Genryu armor. This set uses the Udoto sword as its main weapon, which scales with Heart. The set can be obtained by beating Saito Yoshitatsu boss during The Hollow Fortress mission.
Usura-Hicho
- Attack: x0.90
- Defense: x1.15
- Type: Phantom
Not interested in offensive builds? Well, your best choice would be Usura-Hicho, a life recovery Guardian Spirit.
Its main power is the Purification effect, which restores your health. It fits the Shrine Maiden’s armor the best, which is a part of the Servant of the Gods set. This set can be obtained by completing The Viper’s Sanctum mission.
But don’t think that this spirit has no offensive power. On the contrary; it has the same Anima Bonus damage, as Tengen Kujaku, and Active Skill Ki Damage, which adds to your total attack power.
You can get the Usura-Hicho spirit by completing The Viper and the Butterfly mission.
Atlas Bear
- Attack: x1.15
- Defense: x0.82
- Type: Brute
How about combining both the massive attack of Tengen Kujaku and the life recovery effect of Usura-Hicho? The Atlas Bear spirit does exactly that. It has an increased melee damage stat and life drain effect when using grapple. You can get this spirit by completing The Warrior mission.
This Guardian Spirit pairs really well with the massive Sohaya armor, which is part of the Yokai Annihilator set. The only way to get this armor is to farm Sohaya Ninja enemies that spawn near the cave at the shrine. You will need a lot of Luck to be able to get the smithing text.
Itokuri
- Attack: x1.02
- Defense: x1.00
- Type: Feral
The endgame is probably the easiest part of Nioh 2, as you have everything you need except a few rare items. This means that the best endgame Guardian Spirit is Itokuri.
It will help you farm for those unique items that you couldn’t get before due to its Luck +40 effect and increased item drop rate. This combo will definitely allow you to get everything that you need for new game plus of Nioh 2.
As for other bonuses and effects, Itokuri offers Anima Charge bonus and Paralysis Accumulation effect. Both are very useful even in the latter stages of the game.
Itokuri can be obtained by beating Matsunaga Hisahide boss during the Master of the Three Evils mission.
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These are the best Guardian Spirits in Nioh 2. For more Nioh 2 guides, check out the list below:
