How to Farm Familiarity in Nioh 3
Nioh 3 isn’t quite as simple as other Soulslike games. Apart from its combat system that makes heavy use of technical combos, it also has a more complex gearing system that more closely resembles a Diablo-style ARPG. While every weapon can roll with different modifiers, they all have one thing in common: all weapons in Nioh 3 are affected by the Familiarity system.
Weapon Familiarity is very easily overlooked, but despite that, it’s an important mechanic that everyone should be taking advantage of. Here’s how it works and why you should care about it.
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What Does Weapon Familiarity Do in Nioh 3?
- Increases the stats and damage dealt by your weapons
- Unlocks Crucible Arts (if any)
The more you use a weapon, the more familiar your character becomes with them. This translates to you dealing more damage with a familiarized weapon, and if you also happened to have maxed your Familiarity with a weapon that has a Crucible Art on it, that skill will become available to you as well, even if you’re using other weapons of that same type.
By maxing out your Familiarity with a weapon, you’re essentially extending its shelf life by letting it keep up with higher-level equipment. Of course, your gear will still eventually become overshadowed by better items, but if you have the resources, you can use the Eternal Rift Blacksmith’s Soul Match service to raise your weapon’s level. It will still retain its Familiarity level, giving it an edge over other pieces of gear.
How to Increase Familiarity in Nioh 3
Unlike Amrita, you don’t need to defeat opponents to gain Familiarity. All you need to do is deal damage with your weapon. If you want to max out your Familiarity with something as quickly as possible, then it’s all a matter of picking your favorite punching bag and fighting them until you’re satisfied.
This is best done against bosses, preferably ones that you can fight repeatedly, like Jakotsu-Baba. To fight a quest boss that you’ve already beaten once, go to any Shrine, then pick the Battle Scroll option. From there, select the mission you want to replay, then make your way back to the boss arena. Instead of beating the boss as usual, fight them until right before their health bar depletes, then reset the fight by dying to them.
When you reach full Familiarity with a weapon that has a Crucible Art, you can find the newly-unlocked Crucible Art in the Customize Martial Arts/Ninjutsu menu.