Now that Nioh‘s Dragon of the North DLC is available, a few gamers have started asking questions in relation to the new additions that have been introduced to the game. One of these new additions is Way of the Demon — a challenging difficulty mode that makes the game even tougher.
New difficulties are all well and good, but unlike conventional methods, Nioh doesn’t just let you pick any of these difficulties right off the bat. A fair bit of work will need to be done first. So how do you unlock the Way of the Demon difficulty mode? It’s quite simple, really.
How To Unlock Way of the Demon in Nioh
Beat The Game Twice
Yes, you read that right. Before you even think about punishing William further, you will need to complete two playthroughs of the game.
Way of the Demon essentially acts as Nioh‘s NG++. After beating the game for the first time, you will unlock Way of the Strong. Once you return to the game overview screen, you can choose any available mission on this difficulty. If you’ve got the DLC, complete all main missions on Way of the Strong and then return to the overview screen. Now you can get started on Way of the Demon!
So, to summarize:
- Complete your first playthrough
- Return to general overview screen and pick Way of the Strong as the chosen difficulty for any available mission
- Complete all main missions on Way of the Strong
Folks have also been curious as to whether the epilogue mission, The Queen’s Eyes, also needs to be completed in order to unlock Way of the Demon. That is indeed the case — completing The Queen’s Eyes is required for unlocking Way of the Demon. This last hurdle to NG+ can potentially be a tricky one, so here are some quick tips in making it through this mission relatively unscathed.
Tips For Beating The Queen’s Eyes
1. Recommended Level Equates More To Gear
The suggested level for the mission is 145, but that refers to the level of the gear dropped by enemies. Rather than your own personal level, be sure that your equipped gear is up to standard before you hurl yourself into the epilogue.
2. Have Living Weapon At The Ready For The Three Kellys
This is arguably the hardest part of the mission — even more so than the boss. If you can’t use Living Weapon to buff yourself, use a summoner’s candle to recall your Guardian Spirit and use spirit stones to fill it.
Kill each Kelly one by one as quickly as possible. Breaking the tank with the Yokai will help lure each one as they appear, so go super-saiyan on these idiots — and with some luck you’ll be never seeing them again as they don’t respawn.
3. Put the Hundred Eyes Out Of Its Misery
Compared to the Kellys, this boss is a piece of cake. Fire enchanted weapons combined with magic buffs are a great help here. And stick to this creature’s rear to avoid deadly attacks. Living Weapon will also come in handy once again here, when the eye lasers are summoned a second time.
Once the tentacled beast is dead…
Way of the Demon Is Yours!
We hope this has helped you in progressing to the hardest difficulty Nioh currently has to offer. If you need help in any other aspects of the game, look no further than our other GameSkinny guides:
- Nioh Guide: Complete Isle of Demons Kodama Locations
- Nioh: Beginner’s Tips and Tricks Survival Guide
- Nioh Preferred Weapon Guide
- Nioh Third Boss Battle Guide: Hino-Enma
- Easy to Use Nioh Elemental Effects Guide
- Nioh: Sloth Talisman Cheat for Beating any Boss
