Part 34

Conquer the challenging Yuki-onna boss fight in Nioh 3 Part 34. Learn her moves, weaknesses, and strategies to emerge victorious. Your guide to beating the ice queen!

Alright, so we're nearing the end of this section, and you'll find some BUTTERFLIES just behind the ice chunk blocking your path. Go ahead and take them out, then destroy that ice to open the way forward. You're pretty much at the boss door now, but before you barge in, make sure to check the area to your left for a [_CORPSE_].

Quick Note: If you ever need to backtrack to the boss area from the last SHRINE, it's super easy and you can do it without pulling any aggro. Just head left from the shrine, wait for that Fiend to pass by, go right towards the gate, through it, and then straight back to the boss. Piece of cake!

~ BOSS ENCOUNTER: YUKI-ONNA ~

Okay, so this boss... I'll be honest, Joro was a bit of a pushover, and that spider? Didn't give me any trouble at all. But Yuki? She definitely had my number the first two times we clashed, more than most bosses. The third time, though, I finally figured her out, and now you will too. Doesn't she feel like she stepped right out of Dark Souls? What a fantastic boss fight!

Yuki is a formidable opponent. She's incredibly skilled in close combat, but she also has a nasty habit of hitting you from mid and long range. To make matters worse, her attacks inflict the 'Water' status effect, which lowers your physical resistance – exactly what she wants! So, for this fight, make sure you bring plenty of healing items. A full stock of Elixirs is a must, but if you can bring along the Regeneration Talisman, things will be much smoother. Yuki is also, understandably, weak to fire, so Fire Talismans will be a big help here.

The good news? Yuki doesn't have a massive health pool. Scattered around the arena are icicles that act as ranged ammo. You can use these to land headshots, which will help a ton. Familiarize yourself with her moves below and focus on countering her 'Ice Stomp', 'Ice Breath', and 'Halberd Combo'. Doing so will open her up for good damage. Finally, once you see her Stamina bar get low, and especially when she drops below half health, pop your Living Weapon and go absolutely wild on her. You should be able to put her into a break state and then string together quick attacks to really chip away at her health.

More than the previous bosses, this one might take you a few tries to get the hang of. Specifically, figuring out the range of her 'Ice Charge' and her various 'Ice Shot' moves (especially the Ice Spread and Ice Barrage) might take a fight or two. My advice for these is to learn the exact range of her Ice Charge – understanding this can turn a deadly attack into an easy counter-attack opportunity. Also, remember there are THREE different variations of her Ice Shot move.

And that's it! She's tough, no doubt, but learning her patterns, bringing ample healing, and utilizing items like the Fire Talisman can make all the difference.

BOSS MOVES:

• Dancing Halberd: This is a fancy move, and it looks really cool too! Yuki will THROW her halberd at you. It magically dances forward in mid-air, hitting you multiple times if you're caught in front of it, before reappearing in her hands. Your best bet is to do a quick dodge to the left or right. Blocking this will drain a significant amount of Ki, which you'll likely need for other actions.
• Halberd Combo: This is Yuki's basic attack. She'll approach you, often slowly, and then perform a two-hit combo with her halberd, sweeping the blade outwards. Try to get in for one or two quick hits after the second strike, then back out. Yuki will likely attempt her 'Ice Stomp' attack after this (see below), so be ready to dodge that and punish her for it.
• Ice Stomp: This is Yuki's 'get away from me' move. When you get too close, Yuki will raise her leg and stomp down, creating a large circle of ice around her. You have a split second to get away from her when she initiates this move, but ideally, you'll have baited it out and evaded it beforehand, KNOWING she's about to use it. The KEY to this attack is understanding that once the ice goes UP, you can safely walk...