Nioh Third Boss Battle Guide: Hino-Enma

Following the training wheels Executioner in the Tower of London and second boss Onryoki (who many already learned how to battle in the earlier demos), third boss Hino-Enma is easily one of the most difficult encounters in any Nioh mission.

Keeping the desiccated corpses of men on the ceiling of her cavern like some sort of succubus/spider mashup, Hino-Enma can paralyze you, drain your health, and launch lightning-fast, devastating attacks all in rapid succession. 

Below we cover how to stay alive for this incredibly hard boss battle. Need any other help with Nioh? Check out our other guides:

• Beginner’s survival guide
• Preferred weapon guide

Trust me… it’s not worth the danger

Weapon Choices for Hino-Enma

With so many different weapon, armor, and stance combos, the biggest challenge going into a boss is deciding on how to tackle the fight. Making slight tweaks to your loadout can turn an impossible battle into just a devastatingly hard one.

For third boss Hino-Enma, your best bet is to use a fast weapon that deals medium to high damage but allows you to get out of the way of attacks quickly: in other words, you probably want a sword in mid-stance with light armor.

Other combos can work, but this is the among the “easiest” load outs for defeating Hino-Enma. If you don’t prefer sword fighting, a spear is a good option for attacking a distance to avoid her grab attack.

Learning Attack Patterns

Hino-Enma’s umbrella attack is easy to dodge backwards to avoid, but this is the least of your worries. Your primary worry at the start of the battle is to watch out for the whirlwind spin wing attack that rapidly drains your Ki.

Even more devastating is the close range grab attack, which does a ton of damage and simultaneously heals Hino-Enma. She utilizes this if you get too close, so stay at the outer range of your weapon — far enough way to avoid the grab but still just barely land your attacks.

If you get dazed by the spin attack and then grabbed, you can be taken out immediately in that two-hit combo. To make sure you can keep dodging and attacking, constantly utilizing your Ki Pulse is critical so you don’t run out of stamina.

The other major attack to watch out for is the launched projectile that will paralyze William. Either dodge to the side if you’ve got the pattern down, otherwise dodge forward to jump under it. You can prepare for this dodge because purple mist will rise and she will make a noise just before launching the projectile.

After dealing enough damage, Hino-Enma takes to the air for swooping attacks and launching down sharp projectiles before coming back down to the ground. While in the air, stay on the defensive rather than trying to take aim with a ranged weapon, as she moves too quickly to get much damage in before you’ll be taken out.

To win this fight, wait for an opportunity to attack — allow her to chase after you a bit and utilize any of the attacks mentioned above, then when she’s recovering launch a few strikes. It’s also a good idea to try to get behind or to the side first, but don’t let an opportunity to strike pass, since she has the ability to heal herself if she lands a grab attack.

There’s a tight rope walk here on range: if you get too far away, watch for a back flip animation warning that Hino-Enma is about to quickly charge forward. Keep dodging the projectiles and eventually she’ll go down.

Stay out of reach, but close enough to strike

What strategy and weapon load out did you use to beat Hino-Enma, and how many tries did it take you to finally achieve victory? Let me know in the comments.