Nioh 3 – The Hamamatsu Incident Walkthrough

You’ve made your way to the first open area in Nioh 3, called Warring States. You’re done with the tutorial and ready for some action.

Your main objective is to reach Hamamatsu Castle, but you’re free to explore the surroundings, fight enemies, and gather better equipment for your character to be prepared for what is coming.

Note

This is part of our Nioh 3 – Guides And Walkthrough Hub, so if you want more content, guides or walkthrough about the game be sure to check it out.

Make Your Way Toward Hamamatsu Castle

The Hamamatsu Castle lies far to the east of your starting point. Before heading there, it is strongly advised to level up your character to at least level 12 and obtain better equipment.

This can be achieved by exploring the map, liberating enemy outposts, defeating foes, and confronting roaming bosses.

Once ready, make your way west. Along the route, you will encounter a village that you must pass through first. It is overrun with Yokai, so prepare to face them.

At the village’s end, you will reach a bridge. Cross it to continue. A cutscene will show samurai staring at a strange red object floating in the sky that has claimed the castle.

As you approach, they become alert and draw their swords. The leader, Tokugawa Ieyasu, asks you to identify yourself. This requires revealing your guardian spirit for recognition.

Your character does so, capturing the attention of the lady present and prompting the samurai to sheath their blades. She appears to recognize you and informs the leader of your identity.

The castle has fallen into the Crucible, and they need your aid to free it. Follow the lady, as she will lead you to the entrance.

Follow Naotara

As both of you approach the entrance to the Crucible, Naotara will recount the story of many who have tried to free the castle from the Crucible, warning that it is a perilous place filled with Yokai.

Before the entrance, you will find a Shrine that you can activate and use to level up if needed. On the opposite side, a small friendly Yokai acts as a merchant. Be sure to check his wares before entering.

When you feel ready, approach the entrance and interact with it to be transported to the Crucible realm.

The Crucible, Explained

Before you go inside, let us explain how the Crucible works. The Crucible, or Lesser Crucible that you may encounter as you explore the open areas in the game, is a realm where all the Yokai inside have an advantage over you.

They are stronger in terms of health and attacks. Whenever you take damage inside, you will gain Life Corrosion. This means your maximum HP will be temporarily reduced.

This alone can make things much harder. Luckily, if you have been exploring, chances are you already encountered some Jizo shrines.

Whenever you pray at one of these, you gain Jizo points. These Jizo Merits can be used at any shrine to obtain Jizo Blessings. There are four in total and they are:

• Life Corrosion Recovery (Elixir): Cures Life Corrosion and restores Life when using Elixirs.
• Elixir Drop Rate (Crucible): Increases the drop rate of Elixirs while in the Crucible.
• Corrosion Recovery (Guardian Spirit Skill): Increases the amount of Life Corrosion cured when using a Guardian Spirit Skill.
• Melee Damage (Crucible): Increases damage dealt by melee attacks while in the Crucible.

If you’ve invested in Life Corrosion Recovery (Elixir), you do not have to worry about this mechanic as much.

Now the good side of being inside a Crucible is that your Amrita Gauge fills quickly. This means you can activate your Living Artifact more often, and in that state, you deal more damage and your HP will not decrease.

Another thing worth noting is that if you are using any Summoning Seals obtained from Soul Cores, these minions will also deal extra damage since they are Yokai.

Inside the Crucible, there are no shrines; instead, there are Bodhisattva Statues. These act as your main checkpoints and your fast travel points or your exit from the Crucible.

Enter the Crucible

Now that you know all about the Crucible, it is time to go inside and free Hamamatsu Castle. From the statue, head up and you will need to go through the town first.

Drop down and then follow the path to the left. Kill any enemy on sight. Eventually, you will find a field of lava. When you approach it, some platforms will emerge that you can use to reach the side.

Before you progress from here, go to the right through the broken house and continue to the right. At the end of this path, you will be able to interact with a door that will serve as a shortcut to the statue.

Now go back to the opposite side and use a similar platform that will give you passage. Use it to reach the chest on the other side. As soon as you approach the chest, a Yokai will appear and you need to defeat it.

When you are done here, go back to the platforms from earlier and cross to the other side. Here, you will find another big Yokai blocking your way and you need to kill it.

Go through the burning houses, which will take you to another green lamp. From here, climb up and follow the path to the right. Eventually, you will be able to spot a ladder that you can kick down.

This is another shortcut that will take you to the chest location from earlier, so in case you die, you can backtrack from the two shortcuts that you unlocked.

Keep following the main path and you will come across a one-eyed Yokai with a hammer. Defeat it and progress forward. Just past him, you will find a second Bodhisattva Statue that you can interact with.

Do so in order to replenish your health and level up your character.

Second Bodhisattva Statue

From the second statue, enter the house ahead and move through it. A few Yokai enemies will be here, so deal with them. Turn left, then take another left that will lead you into the courtyard.

Here, you will encounter Mikoshi Nyudo, a large Yokai that you need to defeat. Mikoshi Nyudo uses his staff as his primary weapon, swinging it in wide arcs that cover a large area.

In addition, he can call down lightning attacks as well. This is a good time to use your Living Artifact to eliminate him quickly.

After you deal with Mikoshi Nyudo, progress forward to the next house and then head to the right. Here, you will find a Crucible Wraith that you can defeat.

From here, the path is mostly straightforward until you reach the third Bodhisattva Statue.

Third Bodhisattva Statue

Head into the alley, then climb onto the rooftops of the nearby houses. Make your way to the other side. You will need to go through some burned houses again before returning outside.

From here, simply follow the lamps, and they will eventually lead you to another statue. This marks the end of the Crucible, and all that remains is to face the boss behind the door in front of you.

Defeat Jakotsu-baba

This boss is no joke and will probably put your skills to the test. He uses a mix of melee and ranged attacks, along with elemental damage, and is quite unpredictable when it comes to anticipating his next moves.

Jakotsu-baba Attacks

The fight begins with the right serpent coiling back and snapping forward. It glows just before striking, giving you a moment to dodge. Avoiding this early hit sets the rhythm for the rest of the fight.

Almost immediately, she swings her staff in a wide horizontal arc. Dodge carefully, then use the brief pause afterward to land a quick hit before pulling back.

Her claws come next. She pulls them back while the serpent swings with her, making the reach tricky. Evade toward open space to stay safe. Sometimes she jumps back, sending the serpent forward for two fast strikes in a row.

Keep your eyes on both attacks and dodge at the right moment, or you’ll get caught.

She can bring her staff down from above in a sudden, sharp strike. Dodge out of the way and be ready for what comes next.

Occasionally, her head stretches forward like a serpent. It moves fast and sneaky, so stay alert and dodge as soon as it lunges.

Jakotsu-baba also uses ranged attacks to keep pressure on you:

• The left serpent can breathe a burst of ice. Keep moving until it finishes, then take the opening to land a hit.
• The right serpent spits fire in a quick burst, dodge at the right moment, then strike during the small pause afterward.

One grab attack she has is the fire-headed serpent sometimes tries to grab you. Before it does, smoke curling around its head serves as your cue. Watch it closely and dodge at the right time, as you cannot block this.

During certain phases, a glowing crystal appears on her head. It hangs low, offering a brief chance to hit safely.

If you use high stance attacks or your bow, you can hit it and break it, giving a small window for follow-up hits.

Jakotsu-baba Strategy

Just like all bosses in Nioh 3, rushing is a death wish so you want to take things slowly, preserve your heals, and watch the attacks from a safe distance.

The serpents’ heads are the most annoying, so you need to constantly keep an eye on their moves. Whether it is a lunge or a swing, make sure you wait until she strikes, dodge or block it, and then go in for a few hits.

For serpent ranged attacks, fire bursts, ice shards, and grabs all have clear warnings before the attack is initiated, so keep an eye out.

Most openings come after heavy attacks or ranged attacks. This is where you can strike or heal, depending on what you need.

Whenever the crystal shows up on top of her head, you must break it as fast as possible. As mentioned before, breaking it lowers her focus and gives you another opening.

Do not overextend your attacks and exhaust your Ki. You always need to have some Ki left to either disengage or dodge if needed. Parrying can be helpful, but if you’re not good with timing, there is no need to risk it.

When the boss enters the Dark Realm, just use your Living Artifact if you have it. This will make it end quickly and preserve your original HP and Elixirs.

Cleanse The Hamamatsu Castle

After you’ve finally managed to beat Jakotsu-baba, you interact with the Crucible ahead to cleanse the area. This will remove the strange red object from the sky, and the whole town will return to normal.

This means you will finally be able to access the castle. The lady from earlier, Naotora, will come and thank you for extending your help.

During the conversation, she will offer you her Spirit Guardian and tell you a story before heading inside the castle.

A Yokai will breach the door and try to attack you. Just as you both get ready to fight it, someone kills it from behind. This is Hanzo; it seems he did not die back in Edo Castle.

Eternal Rift

After the reunion, Ieyasu will explain the situation, and you all will need to make a plan to deal with the dangers that come along.

Later, Naotora will give you a sacred item called the Guiding Mirror. When you first touch this mirror, you will be able to travel back in time to the same cave where Kusanagi first took you in the prologue.

This is now called the Eternal Rift, and it acts like a hub area where you can do multiple things:

• Unlock Battle Scroll-exclusive Missions (Samurai and Ninja)
• Use the Blacksmith (Upgrade, craft, and forge)
• Trade with Sudama
• Change Appearance
• And more…

Feel free to explore this location and interact with all the characters there. After all, you deserve to take a breather and a rest.

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