Nioh Challenge Entry #4: Weapons of my Enemies

I know there are lots of people playing Nioh that didn’t see their 3rd death until long after they escaped the Tower of London. I’m definitely not one of those. While I’m enjoying this style of game, I’m definitely a novice at it…I rarely play melee games and I don’t often play action RPGs, but I think I’m hooked…so far. We’ll of course see how things play out and if I can keep my determination in the face of so many deaths, but for now, I’m starting to figure things out. And one of those things I need to understand are the weapons of my enemies.

The Crossbow

After my last journey, I woke up, back in my cell. The wall was still broken and I was able to get out, get past everyone and head to the ‘more skilled’ swordsman from last time. He stood across a bridge from me so I charged.

Which was a good thing since he also had a crossbow. Which shot bolts past me as I ran at him.

I got the jump on him as he switched from crossbow to sword and I pushed him up against a door.

Whack, slash, Bam! He goes down leaving the path to the exit unguarded. So I proceed onward.
Note to self – it takes time to switch from ranged to melee weapons, at least for some bad guys…take advantage of that.

I decide to be more cautious as I open the door exploring the other side. Sadly, it was just another part of the tower, not the exit I wanted.

The Spear

Nothing on either side of the door, but I see the light of a lantern in a room off to the side, gotta be careful there. As I creep closer and closer, I notice the light isn’t moving and the guard doesn’t seem to be coming back out of the room.
So I peer around the door and see he’s looking the other way…my good luck! I charge into the room and am confronted by 2 guards – one wielding a sword like mine and the other with a long spear…utoh!

Fortunately, I learned how to dodge and block since my last death…Unfortunately, I was fighting 2 opponents simultaneously for the first time and that spear had a long reach. My charge into the room gave me the initiative though and I made a few damaging swings but when the spear-man came at me I backed off, out of the room. The fight became a dance in the hallway, with my swings and blocks trying desperately to keep both guards at bay while I scored a few hits.

Unfortunately, as the swordsman backed off and the spear-man came forward for a second round, I blocked high when the guard swung his spear low.

So much for learning how to dodge and block…back to the cell…I’ll get past these guys next time.

Note to self – don’t get too aggressive in any fight, it’s better to take things slow and whittle the opponent down over time, impatience leads to death.

Slowly but surely, I think I’m getting better in the game but of course, the death count keeps adding up.

Death Count: 4