BLOCKING
This is pretty straight forward. Holding L1 makes you block and allows you to strafe your target. It is very important to know that your stamina will regenerate slower while you are holding block. I covered this after dodging because I want you to rely more on positioning than keeping your finger stuck on L1 and wondering where your stamina is.
Attempting to block at the wrong time is also very bad for your stamina, which we'll get to in the Ki Pulse section.
KI PULSE - Where has my Stamina gone?
This is where Nioh gets interesting, and where most players struggling with the game are likely losing all their stamina. Whenever you use your stamina for attacking you will notice a portion of the stamina you used will be colored red. Once you've finished attacking the red portion will begin filling up with a silver color, and your character is surrounded by glittery particles after every attack you make.
This process is Ki Pulse, and is done by pressing your stance button (R1) when the red portion if filling up or has been filled. I say this because you won't always get to wait until the entire red bar is filled up before you have to do something else.
When this is done your character will flash briefly and you will regain the amount of stamina that has begun to refill. In addition to this you will be instantly placed back in neutral position, meaning you can now perform any action from here. The benefits to this in combat cannot be overstated, as allowing yourself to essentially cancel your attack's recovery animation while also getting a refund on stamina is simply wonderful and will enable you to choose your next move immediately and conquer your enemies.
It will feel weird and first, but get yourself into the habit of pressing R1 after you've finished any attack action. You'll be glad you did.
If you attempt to make a new attack without a Ki Pulse, you will lose all of the red portion on your stamina and spend even more stamina on the next attack. This is horribly inefficient and will make you drain all of your stamina before you know it. Finesse in using this mechanic will separate skilled players from unskilled players very quickly.
Successful Ki Pulses when the red portion has filled completely will result in a flashier animation indicating you did it perfectly.
**CAUTION** Attempting to Block after an action that consumes stamina will immediately consume the remaining red portion. As it is probably very tempting to immediately start blocking after an attack, I urge you to instead reach for the Stance button and learn how to Ki Pulse, as all your stamina is going to vanish otherwise.
Stance Pulse
I don't know what the game officially calls this, but since you are returned to neutral during a Ki Pulse you've probably figured out that you can also change your stance during this time. This habit will allow you to quickly and efficiently deliver attacks, refund your stamina, and switch into another stance that might suit your situation better as combat continues. Doing this simply feels really good, and will give you a huge advantage in battle once mastered.
Some stances gain specific bonuses from Ki Pulse.
Low Stance - Ki Pulse Evade
Unique to this stance, evading during Low stance also counts as a Ki Pulse by itself. This means you can attack, and then dodge instead of pressing R1. Doing this when the red portion fills completely allows you to perform the dodge for free. For FREE.
I touched on this during the explanation of Low stance, and this is the mobility I was referring to.
Iai Stance
So there's actually a 4th stance involved with combat, and that is the ability to sheath your weapon.
What is this good for? Well, sheathing your weapon is how the game considers you out of combat, and to this end it begins refilling your stamina bar immediately. Normally after making an attack there is a brief period where your stamina will not move. What this can mean for you during a fight is that it is possible to Stance Pusle into the Iai Stance for immediate stamina regeneration.
What else? For swords, one of the special moves you can learn by spending Samurai Points is the Iai Quickdraw. Done by pressing and holding R1+O, your character begins to charge up until either releasing the buttons or reaching the full charge, unleashing a fast horizontal strike that hits decently hard.
The value in this attack is that by using Ki Pulse you can enter Iai Stance and begin charging your Iai Quickdraw very quickly, far quicker than manually sheathing your sword to attempt the same move. Doing this allows for actual combo potential with this attack, which sounds fun, doesn't it?
Walking vs Running
So a few users have noticed when you are locked onto an enemy your character will turn his back if you begin to run around. This is particularly troublesome as being struck in the back deals flanking damage.
A partial solution is to simply hold L1 and block, which automatically tracks your opponent. Alternatively, simply walking by pushing lightly on the analog stick will also allow you to strafe and track your opponent, but with the extra benefit of full stamina regeneration because you're not holding down L1.
Backstep
So I mentioned earlier that pressing Evade without a directional input results in a backwards evade by default. This is actually important to remember considering the aforementioned back-turning control scheme. In the event you need to dodge away from your enemy, fight the urge to hold the analog stick backwards while doing so, as it is very easy to end up turning yourself around before attempting your roll and getting hit in the back instead for the horrible, but juicy, flanking damage.
Need to retreat? Just use a backstep!
Grapple
This can be viewed in your Skills menu, but when an enemy has run out of stamina and begins panting it is possible to deliver a grapple attack. Default assigned to Triangle, simply approach your opponent and your character will begin to deliver a thrusting attack. If you're not currently in Mid stance, don't be confused, as this is the grapple attack.
Upon connecting you impale your enemy on your sword, and kick them to the floor. Each weapon type has its own version of this attack, all of which result in a knockdown.
Downed Attack
Now that they're on the floor, approach your opponent and press Strong Attack while they're down. This will deliver a special attack made for this purpose, usually some kind of downward stab. All weapons can do this.
Special Moves
In your Skill Customization menu you'll notice many boxes that are probably empty. When you level up you gain Samurai Points and these can be spent on unlocking weapon skills. I recommend getting all the weapon skills that involve gaining a new attack, as they all only cost 1 point each, and you can easily gain several Samurai Points per level up, especially if you leveled the Skill stat. Iai Quickdraw is one of these.
High Stance - Morning Moon
After any Weak attack, press Strong attack to deliver a leaping vertical spinning strike that hits twice. VERY strong, but also slow. A unique trait of this move is that it can be done in place of a Ki Pulse.
Can also be Ki Pulsed after.
Mid Stance - Backwave
Guard an attack the moment it strikes you, causes the opponent to lose their balance. Can be Ki Pulsed afterwards.
Mid Stance - Haze
Press Strong attack while guarding an incoming blow to parry it. Can be Ki Pulsed afterwards.
Mid Stance - Water Shadow
Press Weak attack while guarding an incoming blow to parry it and place yourself behind the opponent. Can be Ki Pulsed afterwards.
Mid or Low Stance - Kick
After any Weak attack, press Strong attack to deliver a straight kick. Deals stamina damage, so it's good for breaking down their guard. Can be Ki Pulsed afterwards.
Mid or Low Stance - Sword Ki
After any Weak attack, press Strong attack to release Ki from your sword in an area around yourself, damaging and stunning enemies. This can often cause a crumple or knockdown if their stamina is low. Can be Ki Pulsed afterwards.
Mid or Low Stance - Tempest
Upon breaking an enemy's guard (done by having an attack blocked when they have no stamina) continue using Weak attack to initiate an animation that sends them to the floor.
Low Stance - Heaven Flash
After any attack, Weak or Strong, press Forward + X to run up the opponent's face and come back down with a falling strike on their head. Extremely satisfying and flashy. Must input this during your attack, otherwise you'll just get a Ku Pulse Evade instead. Easier to do after Strong attacks.
This move is particularly interesting because it can dodge attacks during the part where you've jumped above the opponent's head. The falling attack can also be aimed, so try not to miss.
Aiming - Be aware of your thumbstick
Unlike Dark Souls, or many other games with hard lock-on, you are still able to attack in any chosen direction with an opponent targeted. What this means is that if you're fighting someone that is about to dodge left to avoid your incoming High Stance attack, you can choose to purposefully aim your attack ahead of them to connect, or to aim at a different opponent than the one you have targeted. The double edge of this mechanic is that it can also cause you to miss your own attack if you have the analog stick pointed in a given direction while you're trying to hit something, so be aware of this.
Plunging Attack
If you run off a ledge and press either Weak or Strong attack while in mid air, you will perform a falling attack onto anything below you. Very useful for getting drop on unaware enemies, as a direct hit will almost always cause a knockdown, allowing you to attack them further.
Guardian Spirit
In the demo you have a choice of 4 Guardian Spirits. Your chosen spirit can be swapped out at any time while visiting a shrine. Each spirit gives you a set of passive bonuses while in use, some of which can only be used when you have the correct level of Spirit stat.
When you are alive your spirit is with you, but when you have died once and left your sword mount behind, your spirit waits for you there. This means that you will not have any of the bonuses your spirit normally gives you until you've retrieved it from where you died. If you die again before reaching it, you will be given your spirit back, but at the loss of all the Amrita you once had.
Spirit Mode
You'll notice the icon of your spirit on the top left corner of the screen. When you kill things and gain Amrita, this icon begins to fill up. When full, press /\ + O to enter spirit mode. This is pretty much the game's super saiyan, and gives you imbued power for a duration based on an element that your Guardian Spirit embodies.
The default spirit, Kato, is fire themed, and so your weapon will be imbued with flames. Unleashing your spirit will strike any enemies close enough to the spirit itself as it flies out of you.
Your health bar and stamina bar are combined during this time, and also function as Spirit Mode's time duration. Attacking will deplete the bar as if it were stamina, and being hit will deplete the bar as if it were your health. This means that you're technically unkillable while merged with your spirit, but if you get hit too much it will be wasted.
Killing foes and collecting Amrita, however, will refill portions of the bar, meaning if you embark on a killing spree you can prolong your time in spirit mode for quite a while.
While spirit mode is active you will only be able to use Mid stance, as this mode uses its own specific attacks. Weak attack will do exactly what you expect from Mid stance, while Strong attack will perform a very wide horizontal attack.
Holding down Strong attack will make you charge briefly, and then unleash a barrage of strikes before you.
As you would expect, this mode allows for an "oh s***" button in tough encounters, such as when faced with multiple enemies you don't feel confident in defeating.
Keep in mind, however, that if you die and are unable to retrieve your sword mound before dying a 2nd time, your spirit guage will also be emptied when you are awarded your Spirit back upon revival.
**CAUTION** Switching or sheathing your weapon will end Spirit Mode, so make sure you've got your preferred weapon out before you unleash the fury.
Videos:
Sword and Stance Basics -
Ki Pulse Examples using Sword -
Combat application -
I'm far from a diehard.