Nioh 3 | Patch Notes 1.03.02 – 1.04.01

Team Ninja has released a wave of updates for Nioh 3, bridging the gap from version 1.03.02 to the latest 1.04.01 hotfix. This series of patches represents a major shift in the game’s economy and combat fluidity.

Endgame and Economy Adjustments

The most impactful changes focus on the Shogun’s Journey difficulty and the overall gear grind:

• Lower Soul Matching Costs: Material requirements for Soul Matching are now reduced when using an item with a higher +value than your current gear.
• Higher Loot Quality: You now have a higher probability of finding equipment with increased +values in the Shogun’s Journey.
• Glory Gains: Glory rewards for multiplayer missions, Expeditions, and graves have been increased across the board.
• Auto-Refills: Sacred Arrow Amulets now refill automatically when praying at a shrine, similar to Elixirs.

Combat and Mechanics

These updates address several “feel” issues and balance outliers:

• Boss Aggro: Bosses no longer lock onto a single player in co-op sessions, allowing for more dynamic team movement.
• Jump Attack Buffering: Inputs for Strong and Quick attacks are now registered immediately after a jump, removing the previous delay.
• Elevation Tracking: Ninjutsu like Flame Breath and Onmyo Magic now track better when enemies are on different terrain levels.
• Deflect Parity: The Deflect Martial Art for dual swords and cestuses was previously shorter than other weapons. This has been fixed to match the standard parry window.

Weapon Specific Fixes

• Sword: Fixed Severing Spin enhancements and Haze II animation errors.
• Cestuses: Improved mid-air Final Blow landing and fixed a bug where High Stance Strong Attacks consumed all Ki.
• Switchglaive: You can now properly Guard while using Wildfire Flux and Tempest Flux.
• Tonfa: Fixed a damage exploit involving the Kannagi Mystic Art.

Editor’s Take

The Nioh 3 Patch Notes 1.03.02 – 1.04.01 show a developer moving fast to remove friction. By lowering Soul Matching costs and fixing the “tunnel vision” boss AI, Team Ninja has made the co-op endgame significantly more enjoyable. The jump attack fix is also a subtle but vital change for players who felt the movement was a bit unresponsive at launch. If you hit a wall in the Shogun’s Journey, these economy buffs are the perfect excuse to jump back in.

Update History