Whether you’ve been stuck at a boss, or simply want to enjoy the game with a friend, Nioh 3 offers different ways of co-op. In this guide, we'll cover playing with human players.
0 comments
The way co-op works in Nioh 3 hasn’t changed much from past games. If you’ve played earlier games in the series, or even Team Ninja’s other recent releases, you should have a general idea of how things work.
If you’re new to Nioh, or you simply want a refresher on what items you need, and details on when/how to summon other players, this guide is for you.
How to play with other players in co-op
Nioh 3 has several ways of joining other players’ games, and opening your own to them. The process can initially appear needlessly complicated, but we’re going to break it all down for you below. For clarity, the section below refers to co-op with other players, not their AI copy. Unlike summoning AI companions, co-op is proper multiplayer that requires PlayStation Plus.
Summoning a Visitor (hosting)
So long as you’re online, you can reach out for help at any point during missions. When you pray at a Shrine, head to the Co-op menu and hit “Summon Visitor”. You then offer Ochoko Cups and wait for another player to answer the call.
Your Ochoko Cups will be refunded if no one joins, or you decide to close your session before anyone joins. You can also set a password so only friends can join your game. You can have up to two players (Visitors) in your session at the same time.
Note that this form of co-op is designed for shorter sessions. In other words, it’s the sort of thing you rely on when taking on a tough boss or exploring an especially challenging mission.
Becoming a Visitor
If you instead want to help out others, you might want to consider becoming a Visitor yourself. From any Shrine, under the Co-op Menu, hit the Become a Visitor option. You can refine your search, or enter a password if you have one. The game will then refresh the available sessions and show you a list that matches your criteria.
Note that this is a very limited form of co-op. Certain functions, such as the ability to open chests and doors, won’t be available to you as a Visitor. You should really think of yourself as a person with a singular mission: aiding another player’s quest.
Becoming a Visitor is a good way to get level-appropriate gear, too, as enemies will drop loot scaled to your character’s level, not that of the host. Finally, once the mission objective is achieved, the session will automatically disband and everyone will go back to their worlds.
Expedition Mode
Expeditions are specifically designed for players who want to co-op the game with others for extended periods of time, not simply when they need help with specific obstacles.
Because of the way it works, everyone is going to need to be on the same page when it comes to what mission is being tackled, which is why two sub-modes exist under Expeditions. With some exceptions, the two work in the same way, but you’ll need to decide on the right one to use based on the type of mission you want to tackle.
—Story Mode—
Story Mode is what you go to when you want another human player to accompany you in the game’s campaign. This covers open world exploration, main missions, and other activities. Only the host will be able to make story progress in this mode. If the world changes as a result of a story event, that will only be reflected in the host’s world.
The game will always defer to the host in various other ways. For instance, if the host prays at a Shrine, all enemies will respawn and everyone in the session will be healed. All players will also get immediately teleported to the host any time they pray at a Shrine.
As is the case with all co-op play, there’s going to be an Assist Gauge that will decrease each time a co-op partner dies. The mission will automatically fail if it’s entirely depleted. The gauge can be refilled when the host prays at a Shrine.
To start a session, simply select Story Mode from the Expeditions sub-section of the Co-op menu at any Shrine in the game. From there, you can either host, or join another player’s session as a guest. If you want to host, you can select Create Room, and set a few conditions.
If you want to browse the available rooms as a guest, you select Search, narrow down by setting conditions, and confirm to see what’s available. Then just pick the room you want to join.
—Mission Mode—
Mission Mode is where you’re likely going to find the more advanced players, as it’s designed for anyone who wants to grind already completed missions with others. This section also covers side missions, which are likewise designed to be repeated for farming purposes.
Unlike Story Mode, guests have a bit more agency in this one. Only the player who prays at a Shrine will have their HP restored, this also extends to the host, who can no longer heal everyone. Life can only be restored once per shrine, too, which is a limitation you should definitely keep in mind.
In Mission Mode, the different players can go their separate ways and pick their own fights. If anyone decides to pray at a Shrine, the others won’t be teleported to them, and enemies will not respawn.
From the same Co-op Menu, enter Expedition and select Mission Mode. Likewise, you can set your own parameters and create a room, or search for other rooms to join as a guest. There’s also a Quick Match option if you’re not bothered about what you want to play.
Because of the way this mode works, if you decide to host a session, you’re going to have to wait in the Eternal Rift hub area while others join you. You won’t be able to continue playing while you wait for other players to join.
